Aberrations

Disclaimer – Read Chapter 1’s disclaimer. The story continues…

The Terror of the Unknown.

“This is One, I am in position.”
“One to Two, is primary secured?”
“This is Two, primary is secured.”
The radio chatter squawked into his ear as he silently crept through the pine forest’s undergrowth. He approached the edge of a clearing, nearing it but never leaving the protective cover of the dense pine thicket. Carefully lowering his rifle into a comfortable firing position he surveyed the area before him with his high powered scope.
“Three here, in position; have both secondary targets secure. Two, One, report status.” He spoke softly into the microphone at his lips.
“One here, no targets in scope, area unsecured.” A voice echoed through his headset.
“Two here, primary is on the move, heading to sector three.” A second voice responded.
“Primary acquired, I have good lines on all targets. Taking shots, doing this as clean as I can.” With that simple statement he aimed and fired three shots in rapid succession, each round went hurtling towards its intended destination.


It was a wonderful day for the Guinness family; just yesterday their lost brother had been reunited with the family. Gaelin had been found and rescued, for a little over a year he had been the guest of an unknown organization.
Eliza, unlike her two older brothers, did not care about the ‘why’ of her brother’s abduction; merely that he had been returned safely to them. She hummed a minuet contentedly as she busied herself preparing the outdoor table. Setting each place carefully and assuring that each place setting had all that would be required for the meal to come.
Gavin smiled at his sister’s happy little tune, but quickly his expression turned sour as he thought about his brother’s abductors. Even though his mind was clouded with worry about who would want to kidnap his brother, he still managed to keep enough attention on the meats he was grilling for lunch. He mused as the food cooked over the open flame, turning each piece so that it would evenly heat.
Gaelin ambled around the house, lugging two trays that a normal man would have struggled to carry. Each of the trays was laden with various foodstuffs prepared ahead of time for the cookout; potato salad, coleslaw, deviled eggs, a ham, corn bread, rolls, and many other foods adorned the trays. He smiled as he saw his siblings at work, but no sooner had he taken two full steps into the backyard did something occur.
Something struck his forehead, his mind told him that it should have registered pain, but instead the sensation of a minor impact was delivered. He blinked twice and peered up as a steaming metallic slug fell from his forehead and onto the pavestones at his feet. His keen vision immediately recognized two more bullets screaming through the quiet air towards his siblings, as he saw one destined for his sister white fire burst from his eyes.
Sensing something amiss Gavin looked up from the grill and felt something smack into his temple; the impact hurt a small bit, akin to someone poking him with a little force. The round’s impact was followed by an odd burning sensation, akin to one of the muscle relaxant creams used to treat sore limbs. Flashing white light came into being not some five feet from him, he looked up to see his baby sister surrounded by a shell of blinding white energy. The bullet aimed at her was harmlessly consumed by the shield, but Gaelin was already moving.


The man identified as Three, watched his three shots go wasted upon the targets. Each one failed against the super human powers of the siblings, “Shit! Abort! Repeat Abort!!!”
“Three, clarify!” One shouted back over the communications link.
“Ineffective, Abort mission, Repeat; Ineffective, Abort!” Three shouted back into his microphone.
Just as he had finished his response, he began to rise and silently creep back into the pine thicket; only to come face to face with his primary target, Chromium. The blood fled from Three’s face, and he began to contemplate the best methods to avoid a swift and painful death at the hands of this metal abomination.
“Attacking with such cowardice, I could forgive. Attacking my brother, I *might* could forgive.” Chromium sternly said as he grabbed the man by his shirt. “Attacking my sister, however…”
Chromium easily hefted the man into the air, and held him so that he could look into his eyes directly. “I should break you in two, rip off your limbs, and crush your skull; but no, death is to good for you… besides, you will soon want to tell me everything I want to know; Or…” With that Chromium tossed the man onto his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, and walked to join his siblings.
“You, sir will talk; or I will have Gavin gate your sorry ass to the middle of the Gobi Desert… naked and unprepared.”
Three reached for the long bladed knife he kept on his belt, but failed to make it in time; the sound of his hand breaking under the immense pressure of Chromium’s grip was enough to inform him that he may have one unbroken bone in his hand, just maybe.


Three’s scream of agony blared into the headsets of One and Two. “Three! This is One, respond, what is your status! Respond Three!”
“One this is Two, Three has been compromised. Initiate procedures.”
“Two, this is insane, he is one of us.” One responded.
“We all knew the risk, we are… expendable, and Three has just been expended.” Two callously snapped back.
“Yes Two, I understand and comply… but I can’t get into position in time, withdrawing to L Z.”
“Good One, this will only take me a moment, I will meet you there.” Two crawled out from his hiding place just behind the crest of a small ridge, he carefully drew a bead upon Three’s bouncing forehead. “Sorry Theo, I’ll make sure your wife and kids are well taken care of.”


Gaelin brought the assailant to his siblings, his brother Gavin scowled when he saw the man. Eliza looked at him with pity; she could feel his pain and even sense the fear coursing through every vein.
Gaelin sat the man down in a chair and looked at him, white fire still poured out from his silvery metal eyes. “Who do you work for?” Chromium calmly asked.
Three thought of his options then felt a searing pain in his shoulder. The bullet missed its intended target and instead tore through his shoulder and bounced out of his chest. Three’s entire body began to fall numb, everything began to grow darker; only the fire spitting from his target’s eyes remained undiminished. As his vision neared total darkness he muttered, “Proteus.”, with that word his pain was over.
Eliza burst into tears, as she felt his spirit depart from his body; the eternal being freed from its earthen vessel. She had never been so close to death before, the emotions of it completely overwhelmed her; she too felt numb, her vision too dimmed, and she began to sink.
Chromium and Gavin, both caught their falling sister; Gavin looked at his brother with great fear in his eyes. “She fainted, I don’t know why, but she will be fine.” Chromium said, “I think the emotions here are too much for her, you know how fragile she can be.”
Gavin merely nodded, not one to argue with his brother’s opinions about Eliza, and carried his sister inside to her bed.
Chromium looked at the man he had just saw perish; he felt that the man’s death, while not at his own hands, was somehow his fault. His father’s voice echoed into his mind, deep from within his memory; “Every man deserves to live, even the most flawed man has a right to be here, do not take killing lightly sons; Remember He has his plan, and well we just gotta try and find our place within that plan…”

~ A/N – Wow, that took a bloody long time eh? Yeah so shoot me, wait don’t, bullets hurt ya know? Anyway, more chapters will follow as I find the time and inspiration to get them done. If you like this story, well Review it please. 22 Chapters more to go before the real work begins… But hey, You got to know where you have come from, to Know where you are Going.