Story: Always in your arms (all chapters)

"Meg, I'm coming."

My thighs twitch as my holsters pop open; I draw my weapons silently and gracefully into both hands. My fingers caress the triggers lightly as I grit my teeth. The guard's on the other side of door have no idea there about to be dead. With a swift kick the door folds in. The guard’s jump, I fire twice; both go down before even making full height or drawing their own weapons. I press myself to the far wall and peer around the corner, an empty room with two doors.

"There."

I pick the right side door; I turn with stealth and speed through the door into an open area room, my Meg is on her knees in the middle with one guard with his back to me. The man guarding Meg is dead in a heartbeat as a bullet passes through his head. Meg turns her head up to me; her eyes meet mine as a smile crosses her face. I open my arms to welcome her as she is already running to me; I let myself smile as I wait for her sweet embrace that I always welcome, but then blood blossom from two spots in her chest like opening roses. My heart sinks, the look of shock in Meg's eyes is more then I can bear as I drop to my knees and catch her dead-fall.

Without thinking my guns come together behind her back and fire as the unseen sniper falls to the ground with a loud crunch and then all is silent again. Warm fluid drips on my shoulder, I hope for tears, but blood fills my nostrils.

"Jo, I'm..." Meg groans into my ear as she takes shallow breaths. I'm frozen, I want to tell her she ok, but can't, I think she already knows.

"I-I-I'm sorry..." Meg shudders breathlessly as her arms grip my body tightly. I feel her blood soak through my shirt; Meg's limbs start to loosen around my body, her warmth slowly draining from her as she trembles. I lean her back carefully to see the damage. Two chest wounds, a hand tighten around my heart.

"J-Jo, p-please..." Her light blue-eye’s shine cheerfully as crimson liquid sliced down the sides of her mouth.

"K-kiss m-me." She asks in a soft whisper, I look her over silently, her color is slowly paling. I close my eyes, I think of all the times I could have kissed her.

"I'm going to get you out of here." I tell her as I try to cradle her in my arms, she screams in excruciating pain as her insides rub and touch in ways they shouldn't. Panic and fear is slowly spreading through me, but I fight it off I know more guards are coming, I can't fail her, not now.

I'm grinding my teeth now, the killer in me wants to clean house, kill them all for what they did to Meg. The hate and anger boils inside, every muscle in my body tightens, as the door on the other side of the room swings open. I don't even look up; my pistols empties themselves into the doorway as I count three different yells and bodies hit the floor.

"Jo jus’ leave m-me." Meg murmurs as she coughs blood on herself. I can't and I wouldn't, I will get her out of here.

"Jo, Meg? Come in, where are you?" Amy's voice cuts through on my comm.-link. I stare at the comm.-link unsure what to say as I hear more feet stomping towards us.

"I'm here, Meg's hurt badly, I need a quick exit put a shell in the north part of the build and HURRY!" I'm yelling now, Amy hasn't done anything wrong but I'm yelling at her. I feel the desperation bearing on me like a heavy blanket, I have to move and fast. I hear my exit coming, the whistle the from Germany 88's shell is clear as day and right on target

“Thank you Amy.”

I cover Meg with my body as the shell explodes. Windows smash every direction from debris as the warehouse shakes violently.

"Meg, we have to go." I tell her as I pull my red scarf off and double wrap her chest and hold the up the ends.

"This is going hurt so bite down on these, are you ready?" She nods slowly as I lift her up and over my right shoulder. She yells painfully into the makeshift gag as I move for the door. I'm met with gunfire; I fire instinctively in every direction as bullets dance around me. Meg's tightens around me so I can fire with both hands, I drop empties, slap my thighs onto new clips waiting for action. I move behind some crates keeping them between them and me. Meg moans shallowly, she's losing more blood the more I move. I check the corner; I see the exit, 20 feet a flat run in the open.

“I need to try... No, I need to do this... for Meg.”

I inhale deeply, exhale and....hope.

I run, I run harder and faster in my life for that opening. I hear the yell's of the guards as the gunfire starts to track me. My muscles are burning from the heat of fire. I’m tense; I keep count 10, 15, 19… then it happen. I'm hit. My left arm goes down, I death gripping my left gun as I bring my right over Meg's back and keep firing. Then I see a figure in the opening...

It fires in the guard’s direction, and then I know. Sai stood proudly as she fired her machine gun with a vengeance. I don't stop as I run by her and sprint for the transport. Amy stood by the open door as I race up into the transport. Sai is right behind Amy and me in trail.

"Go, go GO!" I'm screaming as Sai shuts the door and heads for the wheel. I turn to Amy, she scared of what she sees…, blood, and a lot of it.

"I want you to put another shell into the warehouse." I feel my calm come back, I put Meg on the couch, she's even paler as I check her pulse, it’s weak. Sai came in from the cockpit after setting the auto drive and dashed for the first-aid box. I lose myself for a minute.

"Help me Jo, or we're going to lose her." Sai orders as she rips open Meg's shirt. I hear the 88 go off as its sweet whine is swallowed by it huge explosion. I holstered my guns and help Sai. I patch Meg's chest with my good arm in swift motions as Sai tap's her with a bloodline. Meg's eyes slowly open to Sai and me as she tries to speak. I hush her softly as I lean down and kiss her blood-soak lips. I lean back, a smile works across her face as her eyes close again. I'm afraid for her, I look to Sai, the nervous look in her eyes is’ in helping.

"Is she going to be Ok?" I'm scared by my own voice as Sai latched, and coupled Meg's body with lines, and hoses.

"She's sable, but I don't know how long, she needs full E.R. attention." Sai figures as she checks and double checks everything. I stand up, I feel weak, drained…, old. I leave Meg's side for the first time and sit in the empty walkway alone. I pull my knees in and cross my arms over them, bury my face, and for the first time in a long time... I cry.

“Jo? Jo, wake up.” A small voice asks softly as a hand followed. My face snaps upright as I seize the hand. Amy yelps shockingly as I realized her arm doesn’t bend that way. I feel bad but keep a straight face.

“What!?” I demand harshly as I let her go.

“ M-meg wants to see you.” Amy murmured coldly as she rubbed her arm. I climb to my feet and walk to Meg’s room without thanking Amy. Sai says we’re still a good 2-hour from anything able to treat Meg so we moved her to her room for comfort more then anything. I knock lightly, crack open the door and slide in. Meg lies peacefully on her bed, her chest wrapped with fresh dressing as her IV dripped lazily. I kneel beside her and take her hand into mine. Her blue eyes flicker weakly as she squeezes my hand in the process.

“Jo…” Meg moans feebly, smiling brightly as she focuses on me.

“Meg please, save your breath, we still have a long way to go.” Soothingly I cup her cheek and tucked her blankets around her. My heart throbs painfully as I refused to look right at her. I hate it; my heart feels like it bleeding to dead and I can’t make it stop. She’s hurt so bad but keeps smiling at me.

“I want to t-thank you for s-saving me Jo.” Meg groans cheerfully as anyone would with two holes in their chest. I want her to be quiet, not to be heartless, but just because it hurts me to listen to her like that. I hush her again, lean over and kiss her on the forehead.

“Now get some sleep.” I mention joylessly as I look over what seems like a smiling corpse. Then the intercom blares on with Sai’s distressed voice.

“Jo, Amy get up here we’ve got company.” I bolt out the door into Amy’s wake. I smell fear radiating off the small girl, I’m even a little scared as we push through into the driver’s cockpit. Sai’s at the wheel, pushing buttons for the auto-defense systems. I glance at the sensor board blinking numerous red dots, they’ve followed us. I feel my stomach twist, there not happy with are performance back at the warehouse and now they’ve come for blood.

“What do we do?” Panic is pouring out of Amy’s as she looks to Sai then me. I wait for Sai to say something as I catch the corner of her eye has that look. “Do or die.” I simply grab Amy and yank her out of the cockpit.

“Jo, what do we do there right behind us?” Amy’s almost hysterical as she pulls at my arm. I want to slap her so bad I can taste it; my mind is reeling with ideas, thoughts and situations as Amy continues to tug at my patients.

“Go up to the top turret and fire the rest of the 88’s shell’s then go to the rear guns, and remember to stay out of the gaps, ok?” I ordered belatedly, I feel my insides turning unconvincingly at a hopeless order as the girl heads for the turret. Only a few minutes before that convey will be too close for the 88’s barrel, damn I wish we had Jango. Jango had been damaged almost to the point of destruction in my last battle, so that left us to defend are self‘s. The first shell jolts the massive truck as it heads back the way we came.

“J-Jo what’s going on?” A shallow voice asks behind me, I turn to it to find Meg in her doorway propping herself up with her over-sized gun.

“Get back in bed Meg, this won’t take long.” I assure her unemotionally as I motion her back to her room.

“But I want to help Jo.” Uselessness was one thing Meg had always hated even when she found me. If you can’t pull your end of a job, then you go hungry. I’d heard her say it a million times to that band of kids she used to run with before hooking up with me and the others. The second shell roared off to the unknown as I know the count, only 1 round left for the 88. Then the gunfire starts pinging off the truck, it’s started...

“Ok jus’ make sure no one gets in.” I set her up on the couch; adjust her barrel to the door then head for the ladder to the roof of the truck. The third and final shell rockets away as Amy slides down the ladder to the floor and races for the back of the truck without a word, she knows what she needs to do and I’m proud of her for it, I just hope I can tell her sometime. I climb the ladder to the roof and fling open the latch. The cover rips it’s free as the cool wind rushed into the stair well. I climb out to see the chasers and tracers coming up behind us. Gunfire lights up all around me as vehicles start surrounding us, firing indiscriminately at the hulking semi-truck. I smile sinisterly as I hear Amy open fire from the rear with the mod M-60, a motorcycle caught in the cross fire explodes with a disturbingly bright fireball as I see the large group of vehicles following us. Trucks, jeeps with machine gun mounts, cars firing cop style out the windows, motorcycles with single and dual riders, fire openly at the truck. I feel the bloodlust build as I join Amy and fire off round after round into random pursuers. I’m dread stuck as I realized we don’t have enough ammo or weapons to fend off all the attackers, but I keep shooting, I keep shooting for Sai and Amy…, I keep shooting for Meg.

I know it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens then the rear gun goes silent.

“Amy…”

I crawl back to the ladder and slide the rest of the way. Meg’s face held an upsetting look, even she knows. I sprint to the rear gun compartment. I see the blood streaming from under door and I fear the worst. I open the door and flinch back violently; the young girl was spattered to the wall like a sick painting. Amy’s body was in a sitting position, her legs out with her head back over a box of bullet, staring up at the ceiling in surprise. I notice the large caliper bullet that had pierced the compartment and the brown girl.

So much for staying out of the gaps I think appallingly as I look over the girl sitting in a pool of her own blood and bullet shells. I sigh astonished and even startled thinking she never screamed went it happen, at lest it was quick. I inhumanly close the door and head back to Meg. She’s looking for hope; I give her none by shaking my head silently. The bleakness of the situation is starting to get to me.

“Meg, come back to your room.” I drone frailly as I take her hand and pull her off the couch. I feel her fight me to stay, but after seeing Amy everything seems numb as I drag her to room. Meg’s hot with anger as I force her to her bed.

“JO! We have to help Sai, she out there by herself!” Meg screams in my face, I know Amy wouldn’t be the first as the intercom fires to life with Sai’s urgent voice.

“Jo! there’s to many of them, we’re not going to…” Before the static could consume Sai’s voice another explosion rocked from the front of the truck. Sai is dead and if that explosion did its job, she like Amy, hopefully didn’t feel anything. I grab Meg tightly as the truck turns too sharply to the right and jumps off its tires. The truck slammed indifferently to the asphalt with total disregard for the passengers. I’m slammed to the wall with brutal force gripping Meg unyieldingly. I smell blood, Meg’s wounds are open again she‘ll be dead in a few minutes even with the I.V. and blood.

The semi screeched to a bloodcurdling stop as the lights cut out, and reserve kicks in, dim light fills the room. I can only imagine how Amy took the fall.

“Jo? Are you ok?” Meg uttered forebodingly as she squirms around in my arms.

“I’m fine.” I grunt somberly as I let the red haired girl go.

“We need to get out of here.” Meg acknowledges as she tries to leans up, then screams. She’s hurt to badly to go anywhere and it’s just a matter of time before they come to check the dead. It’s the end of the line…

“We’re not going to make it are we?” Meg realizes ominously as she turns to me, the dim light shimmered over her dreadfully looking face, her eyes look into mine.

Wanting…, waiting…,

“No.” I admit cheerlessly as I start checking my gun. My Mach Eagle holds 9 bullets, 8 for them, 1 for us. I scoot my back to Meg’s sideways bed with Meg still in my arms. She’s trembling; I not sure from blood lost or being scared.

“Will it, be quick.” Meg asks dismally as if reading my mind.

“One right through are hearts.” I confess, unable to lie to her as the footsteps approach. I raise my gun to the door and open fire. Grunts and yells echo from the hallway as I count in my head 8, 7, 6... I keep firing 5, 4, 3, 2... The hallway goes silent; as I know we only have a hand full of seconds before they storm in and gun us down. I turn the gun on us, putting the barrel over Meg’s heart.

“Jo, I’m scared.” Meg whispered hazily from blood lost as her hand grips the gun too.

“I am too, Megan.” I admit as I load back the pistol‘s hammer.

“Jo, that’s the first time you’ve said my real name.” Meg sobs as she holds back from crying all out. Tears streams down my own face, I whisper into ear as the door opens.

“I know…”

Story: Always in your arms (all chapters)

Chapter 1