Hitting the bottom of the clip with his left hand he checked the trigger and found it unresponsive. Reaching up he yanked the charging handle and sent a round flying.
Re-sighting his target, he pulled the trigger just as she cleared the corner. The two rounds he got off hit the building.
Scanning the area, he found no upright targets.
“Clear?” he asked.
“Clear,” Steve responded.
“Fuckin’ dead,” Julia said.
Amy and Nancy said nothing.
“Walk the field. Julia, Steve, any survivors get a blade. If you think they’re a threat, put a round in their head instead. Don’t risk getting close. Amy, Nancy, get on that door and see if you can’t get anyone inside to answer,” Felix said. “I want to go see what they were so interested in over in that corner.”
Pulling his magazine free he looked into it. He couldn’t tell how many rounds were left in there, and he didn’t really want to find out at a critical moment. Slipping it into one of his pouches, he put in a fresh clip and then headed off for the corner.
Keeping his distance from the unchecked bodies, Felix let his eyes scout the path out for him.
Reaching the corner, he found something surprising.
An Adriana.
She was alive, though she looked like she’d been thrown through a wood-chipper from the feet up. There wasn’t much left of her from the hips down. Her left arm was gone from the forearm down as well.
“Fuck off,” she muttered, her head turning away from him.
One of her eyes were clear, and the other looked like it’d been partially torn out.
Though he could see why everyone had been crowding around her.
It was slow, probably because of the extent of the injury, but it was obvious she was healing.
Growing tissue anew.
“Hey there, dear,” Felix said, squatting down near her head. “It’s Felix. Going to get you some place to rest, hydrate, and put some food in your belly. I imagine if we can get you some energy and time, you’ll be right as rain. Good thing your sister passed on that regeneration power, huh?”
Adriana turned her head back towards him and smiled brightly. She visibly relaxed from her position on the ground, tears trickling out from the corners of her eyes.
“I found you. I found you, Felix. I found you,” she said.
“That you did. Now, how about you let me carry you inside and we get you comfy so you can put yourself together.”
“They threw several grenades at me. No idea where they got them,” Adriana muttered. “Bet they didn’t expect me to survive. They had to rush me when I was reloading with one hand.”
“Yes, dear. You’re quite the soldier. Maybe we should consider pumping your power up into a crazy level and drown the world in Adrianas,” Felix said. Reaching underneath her, he gently scooped up her broken body and pulled her in against his chest.
Adriana immediately laid her head on his shoulder, her right hand clutching at his back.
Standing up, Felix went over to the rear entry door. Amy and Nancy were there, talking to someone through it.
They both stopped at his approach, eying what probably looked like a corpse to them.
“Open the door. Now. Or I swear by the dark-side of my asshole I’ll—”
The door swung open rapidly. Derek stepped out and held it open for them. “Felix! I’m so glad you’re back. Everyone got back ok, but with the shelling, we were worried about you. Then all those people showed up and—”
Walking past Derek without a word, Felix walked into the post office and headed straight for his sleeping bag.
“Oh thank goodness. I’m so glad to see you—oh my god. Adriana?”
Eva appeared at his side, her hands immediately going to the wounded Beastkin.
“She’ll be alright. Her power just needs fuel to work. Start feeding her until she throws up. Fill her up with juice or food. Anything with sugar, and high in calories,” Felix said. He kicked his sleeping bag open and then slid Adriana inside.
“Smells like you,” said the Beastkin, her one good eye focusing on him.
“I would imagine so. Now. Anything I need to know immediately or can I debrief you later?” Felix asked.
“Later. It can wait,” Adriana said, nodding her head.
“Great. Lauren, Katy, Derek, with me. We need to move some crates inside and re-secure the door. We’ll also need to clear the front so we can get out. Having only one way in or out is making me itchy,” Felix said.
He gently pulled the sleeping bag closed around Adriana and snuggled it up to her chin.
“Rest. We’ll talk more after you’ve got more than a single limb.”
“Nn…” Adriana said, closing her eyes. “I found you.”
“Yes. You did.”
Felix felt better. Having her here, in his time of need, was reality changing.
He was positive he could get through this now.
Taking a quick minute, Felix checked the front entrance of the post office and found that it was mostly intact, just collapsed. With a few quick checks of his power, he found he’d be able to clear it relatively quickly for an escape.
“With me, everyone—except you, Eva, take care of Adriana,” Felix said as he passed by everyone.
Outside there was a single shout, followed by a groan. “Bastard. You’re not getting off that easy,” Julia growled. “Try to stab me?”
Felix stepped outside just in time to see her stomping on a man’s skull.
“Julia, finish him up and move to the next. Better we’re not out here if anyone decides to return. We’ll need to figure out our next steps, too.”
Grunting, Julia dropped her booted heel on the man’s windpipe, and moved to the next body without a word.
Miu’s apprentice, indeed.
“Get everything and get it in. I’d love to believe we won’t have any more visitors but I’m not built for optimism,” Felix said.
Drawing his rifle up partially, Felix remained posted at the entryway. He scanned the alleys and watched the corners. This was a bad situation and he didn’t want his people out here any longer than they had to be.
Julia and Steve finished up their grisly task and helped to bring in the last of the crates.
Not waiting around, Felix got everyone inside and closed the door. He slid the locking mechanism in place. It wasn’t until the solid steel door was closed, locked, and sealed that he felt his anxiety lessen.
Thank god to whoever decided to drop such a paranoid door in.
Turning on his heel, Felix made his way back to Adriana.
Eva was patiently spooning a constant stream of food into the Beastkin. There was almost no time to chew or even breathe.
Felix could see why Eva had taken such an extreme approach immediately.
Adriana looked better. Much better. Her eye and eyelid were now recognizable as an eye and were quickly reforming themselves.
“Nuh mooh. Feel shick,” Adrian gurgled out between heaping spoonfuls.
“Give her five minutes, then stuff her full again,” Felix said, squatting down by Adriana.
Adriana whimpered at that and pouted at him as she chewed. “Get shick and faht,” she complained.
“Uh huh. Wanna give me a rundown of what’s going on while you get an eating break?”
Adriana swallowed and then nodded her head once. “After you… what happened to you?”
“Don’t know. Was in my office with Eva, then was on the street.”
“Nn. Lily thought it was something like that. She could feel magical residue, she said. Anyways,” she said, shifting around in his sleeping bag. “After you vanished Lily and Kit stepped in. They shored everything up and kept everyone moving. They were concerned, but not worried, ya know? They said that you were clearly still alive since all the magic of Legion was still in place. It just felt muted.”
Felix couldn’t help but agree with that sentiment. “My points are blocked, and everything I try to modify is about thirty times the expense that it should be. Someone, or something, is definitely interfering with Legion.”