H.I.V.E. 9: Bloodline by Mark Walden

Author:Mark Walden
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781838488307
Publisher: Noodle Fuel
Published: 2021-05-05T18:30:00+00:00

chapter eight

Otto came to with a start, coughing violently as acrid black smoke filled his lungs. He unclipped his seat belts and dropped onto the ceiling of the inverted cockpit. To his left, Nero was hanging limply from his own seat, and Otto shuffled across the ruined interior of the helicopter, doing his best to ignore the sound of crackling flames coming from somewhere in the rear of the aircraft, and reached up to release Nero’s belts. Trying to support as much of Nero’s weight as he could, he lowered him clumsily to the ground, then hooked his hands under Nero’s armpits and began to pull his limp body from the wreckage. He dragged him twenty metres across the small clearing that the helicopter had come down in and propped him up against a tree trunk. Nero was still breathing and his pulse was faint, but regular. There was a nasty gash on his cheek, but he was at least alive. Otto looked back at the wreckage of the helicopter that was now beginning to burn more fiercely and counted his blessings that they hadn’t sustained more serious injuries.

‘Over here!’ Otto heard the shout from the other side of the clearing, and he dived for cover behind a fallen log as Disciple troops began to fan out across the clearing. There was no way he could get to Nero’s unconscious body without being seen and the treeline was ten metres away across open ground. He tried to connect to anything that might give him an edge with his abilities. The only functional electronics within range were the soldiers’ communication systems. Otto thought back to Francisco’s simulation, and overloaded them with a thought, sending an ear-piercing screech through the soldiers headsets as they advanced across the clearing towards him. Then he made a break for the treeline as the soldiers cursed in pain, wrenching out their earpieces. He was within a few metres of the treeline when the first soldier spotted him, raising his weapon and squeezing the trigger. Splinters of wood exploded from the trees around Otto as he ran into the darkened forest, bullets buzzing through the air around him. He looked over his shoulder as he ran, seeing the swaying lights of the soldiers behind him as they chased him. He heard the snap of a twig and spun around just in time to see another Disciple soldier step out from behind a tree ahead of him and swing the butt of his rifle at his head. The gun smacked straight into Otto’s forehead, knocking him off his feet and sending him tumbling onto the forest floor, unconscious. The Disciple soldier looked down at Otto’s fallen form as several of his teammates ran up to him.

‘We’ve found Nero unconscious in the clearing back there,’ one of the other soldiers reported. ‘We’re taking him back to the transport.’

The man standing over Otto looked up at his squad leader.

‘What about this one, sir?’

‘You know your orders,’ his superior replied.

‘He’s just

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