Short Story: Breakups & Atenists
The cold winter air is biting her skin and up here it was even colder. There were times the German used masks for HALO jumps, not this night. She wanted to feel the pain in her body, hoped it would overcome the pain in her heart. But it did not wok. She had been here about a year ago, the same situation, the same reaction, the same pain. Her HUD glasses warned her, the last gust of wind had taken her off course for a bit and her position was not optima, she was descending too fast. ‘Fuck it’ she thought and corrected the vector but not the speed. Rovena needed action and she needed it fast. A click and the HUD was disabled.
Rovena opened the parachute only in the last possible moment and drew her signature HK VP 70s. Both pistols were equipped with a silencer and the drum magazines that Ariawen had gifted her as a joke. Today the German did not care to be selective with her target, when she had read the Venice report of a new cell of Atenist cult forming in this village she only asked if collateral damage was accepted. And it was.
She spotted to men wearing AK rifles, they were the first to die. pfft pfft Two clean head shots. Next she spotted a couple, hand in hand, the heads slowing closing in for a kiss. click Rovena switched the guns to the automatic burst mode and send two three round burst into each of them. Enough to prevent them from raising an alarm, but not enough to kill them. Relationships are pain and the should learn that. At least the would die together and not alone.
Tears formed in the German’s eyes and blurred her vision. Gladly she had the HUD and weapons in automatic mode. It took her for more shots than she liked but a few seconds later everyone on the outside was dead. Or at least would be in a few minutes after painfully bleeding out. Rovena carefully reloaded both pistols and holstered them before reaching to her back.
How the fuck could this bitch do this to her. Wreak her relationship, just to drop her after a year, when they were about to get married. At least this year she made it past December. Improvement. Yes, only a few days but … Fuck it. No new tries with relationships. Not worth the effort.
About 5 meters off the ground the released her chute and slammed hard into the ground. Her roll took some of the force from the impact but it was not nearly enough. The would leave her bruised but the pain got her back to the now. These damn thought would kill her one day. She groaned painfully and got back to her feet, drawing both pistols again.
Her teary, steel blue eyes fell on a elderly woman, holding a baby and dandling it while looking out of the window. Another painful flashback, her heart races and the breathing suddenly stops. The tears are now flowing freely down her cheeks while her mind can not back off from the past, the lost opportunities. She wanted kids so badly, but now she would not have them, instead watch others ….
Rovena could not take it any longer. She send several bullets through that window, killing both, the woman and the baby. Better. Much better. Kids were pain too. Let them die. The shattering of glass was what raised the alarm. Or was it someone inside the house? The German could not tell, her senses were drifting again. Pain, anger, hate and disappointment. ‘Not the time for this. NOT … THE … TIME’ she slapped herself in the face, hard enough to leave a imprint of her hand.
BAMM A bullet hit her protective vest and this is where her instincts took over again. A roll behind a truck to get some cover then she returned the fire. ‘Fuck those Atenists’ Rovena holstered her left pistol and summoned a large ice shield to protect herself from the projectiles while she closed the distant and kept firring at the surprised enemies. They were no match for trained and bloodlusting woman. Most of them had never seen combat so far and their first experience would be their last.
Several bullets impacted on the ice shield, eventually penetrated it and made it shatter in a million pieces but it was too late. None of the Atenists was still alive. Bloos started to soak into Rovena’s back turtleneck and the protective vest covering her chest. A wound had opened under her arm and one of the bullets had glanced her other arm. Heavy breathing the German went to her knees. Again, she enjoyed the pain, focused on it to keep her emotions at bay. ‘Don’t cry. You are Rovena. Start to act like one.’ The words of her grandma echoed in her head and she nodded.
The women rose to her feet again and holstered her pistol. Grandma was right. Don’t cry. Control yourself. Be the strong woman she raised you to be. Fuck everyone who gets in your way.
A chuckle left her lips. Grandma would have not phrased it like that. Still, it reflected what she meant. Determination returned to the German and she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Rovena checked the houses, gathered all evidence and secured the artifact she was looking for. There were more civilians but none of them dared to resist her when she locked them up. Her eyes stayed on the dead couple for a moment, then moved on to the old woman with her grandchild. At least she knew what her new nightmares would be. And that they were only her own fault. In a way, that felt good. Not to have anyone to blame than herself. No Sophie to blame for this one. She smiled and tapped her com unit.
“Guardian Angel to HIVE, the package is secured, send a cleanup team and prepare transport to the destruction facility. Mission accomplished.”
She had to finish her mission. She had been wrong, her purpose was not to make Sophie happy, it still was the Phoenix Group. Get them back on track, then leave this world forever … Rovena nodded to herself. She had to get more of that anima blocker, more beekeeper smoke and … She shook her head. First she needed to push recruitment. Then prepare her end.
Rovena could already hear the helicopters approaching when her eyes scanned the village a last time. She chuckled. If I have more breakups, the world might run out of Atenists.