Chapter 2 – Blast
And in that parting shout, Aleks released all the pain, rage, fury and love he felt at that moment.
The bitter lover and jilted patient felt the blast of energy leave his body. Blowing the iron bars out of the windows. Blasting a hole in the wall. Flinging the grated doors clean off their hinges.
Aleks had the attention of the entire garrison. Men came running from all directions. The guards focused all of the weapons in his direction.
And for a moment, Aleks held back. Afraid to step out of his cell. Knowing they would shoot. Doctor’s orders. The men all feared him. He would exact his revenge if they didn’t. At the very least, not treat them in a moment of need. They would all do whatever he said to protect his interests.
Then Aleks realized that some might not wait for him to step out of the cell anyway. They would shoot him just to please the angry doctor and avenge Aleks perceived betrayal just to get in his good graces. No telling what story the doctor had fed them. Most likely Dr. Sevastyan had told them that Aleks had assaulted the woman. They would be furious at him.
Aleks bolted back out through the building. There was no need to run right through the middle of the soldiers just itching for a chance to pop him off. None of them would be friendly. Most of them resented the fact that he had survived the slaughter of his comrades. All of his friends and brothers were no longer among them.
There were still a few guards in the building. But it would be easier to deal with them than the angry horde outside. And it was actually easier than he thought.
The first guard he saw stood up from his desk and raised his rifle to his shoulder. Aleks held up his hand and shouted for him to stop. As soon as he did, an invisible wave of energy swept out from Aleks core and out through his extended arm.
Aleks felt the warm wave sweep out across him. He could feel the built-up pressure leaving his body. He could even sense when it reached the soldier. Shoving him violently backward. Aleks realized that he could feel everything that the energy wave passed throughout to a range of about thirty arshins. It was almost as if the energy were an extension of his very body.
He smiled grimly at his new source of power. Aleks had never felt anything like this before in his life. But then again, he had never loved anyone like Natasha before. He walked over the fallen soldier who had been slammed back against the wall and then knocked forward across the desk.
Aleks pursed his lips. Blood pooled dripped down from the soldier’s head where it had been smashed against the back of the wall. The man’s legs fractured where the desk had slammed into his body immediately after. Pushed back against the wall in the blast as well. Crushing the lower half of the soldier’s body.
He picked up the soldier’s rifle and slung it over his shoulder just in case. No telling how long these energy blasts would last. Or how long he would be able to use them.
The sound of running steps echoed down the hall. Aleks turned and held out his hand toward the sound. Waiting for them to appear. He stood there as they turned the corner and came to halt. Nervously eyeing the dead guard at Aleks’ side.
Several raised their rifles uncomfortably. Nervously.
Aleks raised his hand calmly. Confidently. Waiting for a few more racing feet he could hear echoing in the halls to reach the rest of the group. No sense in having to shoot out more than one blast at a time.
He had sensed some weakness in his body after the first blast left him. Immediately after, he could feel the energy building back up again. Almost like a battery. The feeling of energy trickling back into his core.
It might take a bit to build back up again. He had no idea if his next blast would be as strong as the first. He didn’t want to have to take the risk of using it and then being to weak to follow up on the others.
“Stand down! What have you done with Comrade Feodor?”
Aleks looked down at the fallen soldier. He looked back up at the group of soldiers at the end of the hall. They shuffled nervously and slowly moved forward as the well-trained unit that they were. Aleks didn’t want to kill them unnecessarily like he had Feodor. But he wasn’t sure how much power to release. The first time had only been a single soldier. This was a group of about twelve men.
Ultimately, Aleks didn’t hold back. He released the energy as he had previously. A quick shout. Extending his fingers out from his balled up fist in their direction. The effect was swift and deadly. The fact that this was a group didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
The men in front took the full brunt of the blow. Slamming back into those behind them. Flinging them back down the hall like rag dolls.
Aleks had the sensation that his body adapted and released the necessary amount of energy accordingly. The effect of the force was the same on the men, but he could definitely tell that it took more out of him. He released a second blast in quick succession at the one man who was still alive and tried to get back up onto his feet.
It was a much weaker blast than the first, but still strong enough to knock the man back up against the wall. He lay there unmoving. Aleks heard men the sound of more footsteps coming in from behind him. Through the hole in the wall. He didn’t wait for a group this time. Aleks moved quickly past the pile of bodies in the hall.
He heard shouts behind him when they reached the pile of corpses he had left behind. When he reached the front door of the building, Aleks opened it a little to look around. Most of the guards from this end had been knocked out in the blast. The rest had run around to the other side.
Aleks stepped out and ran quickly for the far end of the camp. A few men saw him. Those that tried to stop him, he took out with a single silent blast of energy. These were definitely weaker than the others. But still powerful enough to get the job done. The only sound they made was the rustle of the leaves and grass that moved out from him.
Neither were the blasts very visible. He could see a light shimmer in the air immediately after the energy blast left his body, but that was about the extent of its visibility. His strongest connection with it was in his sense of feeling. Aleks could feel every blade of grass and leaf and object as the waves moved out from him.
The feeling he had was almost that it was as if his body expanded out immensely and then immediately occupied his space once again.
Aleks could hear the guards following along behind him. The dogs barking. He picked up his pace. It would soon be dark, and he had no idea where to go.
The barking got louder quickly. Three of the dogs had been released to run on ahead of the pack. Following swiftly on Aleks trail. But they didn’t pose much of a threat. He took out all three with a single blast.
It was almost like petting them. He could sense every square inch of their furry, black and brown bodies. Aleks felt sorry for them and started to pull back. Until he sensed sharp ferocious teeth in their powerful jaws preparing to snap around him as they leaped into the air.
He almost had the sensation that he could have let the energy blast pass harmlessly over their bodies if he had wanted. But he didn’t. Their teeth would hurt. So, he knocked them backward as carefully as possible.
One managed to get up and ran off yelping in the opposite direction. Back to the guards that had released it. But the other two lay still. Aleks felt sorry for them. They were only doing their job. They were good creatures.
But he couldn’t feel sorry for long. More were coming. The sounds of the group died off as the dog reached its pack and the guards stopped to calm it down.
Aleks continued to run blindly into the woods. Trying to put as much distance between himself and the camp as possible. He wouldn’t be able to run forever. His leg and arm still hurt from that fateful night. Even though his body had healed well, Aleks could still feel the after-effects lingering in his cells. And the little physical therapy he had been through wasn’t enough to get him back into the peak physical performance that he needed to outrun his battle-hardened comrades.
After a few minutes of jogging, Aleks paused to catch his breath. As his head cleared, he realized that he was moving in the wrong direction to catch up with Natasha. She would be getting on the train with the rest of the soldiers. Tonight’s train would be headed back west toward Moscow where Dr. Setvastyan would be intent on sending Natasha.
The tracks nearest the base ran along the edge of Lake Baikal. Aleks needed to get back down there and find a way to hop on it. Or stop it. Whatever it took to be with Natasha again.
Continue Reading Chapter 3 – Bodark >>>
