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Devil Seed

By

Gemma the Ice Wolf

8

Tsing's Chinese

Friday 12:18pm

Aaron pulled his car into the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant four blocks from the hospital. It wasn't very busy, which he liked. That just meant he could be in and out in a reasonable amount of time. As he walked in he admired the décor which was designed to make the place look like seventeenth century China. There was a gong in one of the back rooms and a red dragon hanging overhead. A woman at the front desk nodded to him as he walked over.

"Hello."

The woman nodded again.

"How may I help you today?"

Her English was good. Aaron could appreciate that. He wasn't sure what dialect of Chinese she could speak and if it was anything outside of Mandarin, Szechwan, or Cantonese, he would have a hard time talking to her.

"I'd like to make two orders to go." he said.

She handed him a menu and he looked it over. The individual dishes were nine dollars each. He looked at the combo plates. Looking down the list he found one that looked good and closed the menu.

"I'll have two number tens please."

The woman wrote down the order and took it to the kitchen. When she came back she handed him a receipt.

"Your order will be ready in thirty minutes."

He nodded to her.

"Thank you." he said.

He walked over to the waiting room and sat down on one of the large sofas that was fastened to the wall. Reaching into his jacket pocket he took out his cell phone and scrolled through the list. He pressed send when he reached Mia and brought it up to his ear. After two rings she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mia it's me. Our order is gonna be about half an hour so I thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Oh, okay. I just had them get something for Cody. It'll be a while so you should be back by the time his food gets here."

"Alright then. I'll see you guys in little while."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

He put the phone in his pocket and sat back. The restaurant was quiet say for a few people at their tables. His mind started to wander. An hour earlier he and Mia had been talking about meeting each other's parents. Mia's were busy most times so it would be difficult to meet them. Lisa on the other hand was only out on certain occasions. At least that would be easy. Lisa had taken care of Aaron and the others since they were eight. All four of them had lost their families and the guild had found them hiding in a meat locker. It was just over six months that Lisa was assigned to the special units division of the guild and that's where she met the four boys. At first it was rather difficult for all of them. Spike was always vulgar and constantly getting into shouting matches with her, Terry was always crying, Cain almost never spoke, and Aaron had to act as a mediator for all of them. He ended up having to mature a bit quicker that the others. Most times he was with Terry playing some quiet game while Cain sat in a dark corner of the room and watched them not saying anything. Spike eventually settled down and started joining them. This was a great relief to Lisa as she was finally able to communicate with them on an even level. A year later they were reintroduced to school which proved difficult for them individually. Aaron and Spike were constantly getting into fights with the other children. Some of them picked on Terry which got them royally steamed. Cain even got into the fray a few times. He became their quiet partner and that was how their friendship grew. Lisa could only watch them grow and give them advice when they needed someone to talk to. Throughout their following years the four of them signed up for the guild academy. They volunteered for the super soldier experiment and by the time they all had turned fourteen they had graduated as the youngest cadets on record. During the ceremony they asked Lisa to stand with them for a picture. She was surprised when they declined on going to the graduation party. It was when they were home that the four boys held a special party for her instead. She had looked after all four of them and it was their way of showing their appreciation. They even had several members of the guild staff join in. She was the best thing that happened to them. The closest thing they had to a real mother. After the mission in Paris she became their assistant and advisor.

A smile spread across Aaron's face when he thought about everything that had happened in ten short years. The first two had been the hardest for all of them and in that time they had become a family. He pulled back his sleeve and checked his watch. It said twelve forty eight. Half an hour had flown by while he was thinking. He hated when that happened.

He stood up and started for the front counter. The woman there was waiting with a large plastic bag containing two large and two small containers. She handed him the bag.

"Your total is eighteen ninety five." she told him.

He took his wallet from his left pants pocket and handed the woman a twenty dollar bill.

"Keep the change." he said.

Picking up the bag he stepped out of the restaurant and back to his car. Once inside he put the bag in the passenger seat, started the engine and drove away. He didn't get but two blocks down the street when he saw the backed up traffic.

"Oh this is just terrific." he grumbled.

A few minutes went by. The traffic hadn't so much as budged. Aaron drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. If this kept up he and Mia would be having cold Chinese. He didn't like that idea too well. A loud thumping blasted through the streets. He shrugged it off, figuring it was one of the nearby cars with the bass turned up. He really hated that. The thumping started getting louder. His eyes shifted left and right. It was definitely one of the cars up ahead. It got louder and louder. The ground started shaking. Now he was feeling a little concerned. A flaming object shot across the intersection and slammed into one of the cars. The car flipped over and on top of another. Smoke rose from the driver's side.

"Okay so maybe I was wrong."

People started getting out of their cars and running back down the street while others grabbed their children and headed for the nearest shelter. Aaron reached under his seat and picked up the revolver. He checked the cylinder, all six bullets were unused. A loud blast erupted through the streets and another object soared through the air and smashed into the hood of a pick-up. The engine exploded and the truck rolled back into a van. Aaron was just about to climb out of his car when he caught a glimpse of something moving behind one of the buildings. The thumping was louder than ever and the ground was shaking with every vibration. A long metal pole landed on top of an SUV and then lifted up. It pounded into the ground and three more poles appeared. Aaron looked up following the source of the poles. He squeezed the grip of his gun. The poles were connected to a large discus with a green cyclopean eye searching left and right. A cannon was located underneath the discus and it seemed to follow the movement of the eye. It started turning up the street while two more followed closely behind. One of them fired a burning projectile at a tractor. Two blocks down another pair of the spider like machines were converging on the building to the left and firing through windows. Aaron's eyes grew wide. That was the hospital.

He climbed out of his car and put the revolver in his jacket, then took out his cell phone and dialed faster than he ever thought possible. He put it up to his ear. It took three rings before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Terry, it's Aaron. Is Cain with you?"

There was a short pause.

"Yeah he's with me. What's going on?"

"The hospital's under fire. I need you guys here pronto!

"The hospital?"

"There's a bunch of these metal things. They look like spiders. I don't know what they are but they're shooting up the street. You gotta get here fast!"

"We're on our way."

Aaron put the phone back in his pocket. There wasn't anything he could do now except sit tight and wait for Cain and Terry to arrive. His thoughts went to Mia and Cody. He could only hope that they would be alright.

Northridge Hospital

Friday 1:12pm

Mia sat in a chair next to Cody's bed. The two decided while they waited for Aaron they would watch some TV. They had settled on a cartoon show that Mia hadn't seen since she was six. The two laughed as a mouse dashed into a hole in the wall and a cat dove after him. The cat got his head stuck in the wall and the mouse started playing the cats whiskers like a guitar.

"This is classic." Cody said between giggles.

"I just don't understand why anyone would find this violent." said Mia.

Suddenly the signal went out and they were left with nothing but white noise. Cody moaned in protest.

"Aw?! It was getting good too."

The floor started vibrating. Gently at first then started growing into a full pounding that shook the room. Mia got up slowly and approached the window. She jumped back when she saw the mechanical spiders marching through the street. One of them looked up at the window, directly at her.

"What is it Mia?" Cody asked a little worried.

Mia shook her head.

"I don't know Cody, but stay away from the window."

She walked up beside him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Aaron," she thought. "please be alright."

* * *

Terry had just slipped on his combat suit and was in the midst of getting into his boots when the truck jerked to the left pressing him to the wall in the back. Guns, bullets, and combat gear rattled and swayed as they sped down the streets.

"Take it easy Cain. You don't want to flip us over, do you?"

Cain swerved to avoid an oncoming SUV. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the road.

"Hey, Spike's the stunt driver not me. You want to get to the hospital fast, so we're going fast."

Terry stood up grasping one of the handlebars above him. Stepping over to the other side he reached into one of the storage cabinets and took out a grenade launcher and checked the ammunition. He grinned.

"I don't suppose this will be one of our easier jobs."

Cain nodded.

"From what you told me we may have some trouble with this one. We've never tangled with robot spiders before."

Terry slowly stepped to the front of the truck and took the passenger seat next to Cain.

"Regardless, they're in for a surprise."

"This feels a lot like our emergency trip to Paris, remember that?"

Terry nodded.

"I remember. Someone found a nest of carriers and the whole area was put on lock down. Boy what a trip that was. The crazy thing is, we had already been there once before and we hadn't run into anything biological. Just a bunch of smugglers stockpiling VX nerve gas."

Cain's eyes shifted to the mapping computer next to him then back to the road.

"You better get ready. We're coming up on the street now."

Terry looked up ahead. The entire street was blocked up with vacant cars.

"Uh... Cain."

"I see it." he said.

Cain turned the wheel hard to the right making the truck skid in a ninety degree angle and slam into a car. He pressed his foot on the gas pedal again and pulled the truck onto the sidewalk. Terry spotted the first of the mechanical spiders up ahead. Opening the window he pulled himself halfway out and held up the grenade launcher.

"You know how to aim that thing right?" Cain asked.

"I'm the explosives expert remember? I handle everything from pipe bombs to rockets."

The truck sped up and Terry took aim. He fired two rounds, one striking a leg and the other hitting the cannon underneath the body. He fired three more. Two shots struck the body while the third hit a car. The robot collapsed just as they pulled up next to it. Cain glanced at it while Terry pulled himself back inside.

"Good shooting." said Cain.

"Yeah, I did pretty good for not using the sights."

Cain rolled his eyes.

"You smug, son of a..."

He was cut off by someone calling to them.

"Hey guys! Over here!"

Cain looked out his window. It was Aaron. He was waving to them from atop a van in the middle of the street.

"Hope you weren't waiting long." Cain shouted.

Aaron jumped down from the van and ran to the truck.

"I wish I hadn't been. We've got at least four more of these things surrounding the hospital."

Terry pressed a button on the dashboard. The back door of the truck clicked and swung open.

"You'd better get in and armor up then. We've got bugs to squash."

Aaron climbed in and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the small bench and opened a locker with his last name printed on it.

"They sent us some new combat suits." said Cain. "The quacks in research made some adjustments so the suits interact with the nerves and muscles. They'll boost our strength and speed so we won't have to go red eye so often."

Aaron nodded.

"Very cool. I see they haven't made them bullet proof yet." he said indicating an armored vest.

"Unfortunately no."

Aaron quickly took off his jacket and set it aside. Then kicked off his boots and started putting on the black suit.

"Did either of you call for backup?"

"Yeah." said Terry. "Right after you hung up. They're sending us two choppers."

"Which means they should be here any time now."

"So in the meantime we have to deal with these things ourselves. Better get out mister thunder maker."

Aaron finished fastening on his boots and vest then picked up a combat knife and fastened it to the vest and slung his revolver into a side holster. He opened one of the weapons lockers, taking out a rocket launcher. He picked up two small rockets and loaded one into the launcher.

"Let's hit it. Cain, you suit up. Terry, you're driving."

Cain climbed in back while Terry jumped into the driver's seat. Aaron sat down in the passenger seat with the rocket launcher and set the second rocket next to it. Holding up the launcher he pulled himself half way through the window just as the truck started moving again. Coming up to the next intersection Terry pulled the truck off of the sidewalk and started down the street. Two more of the metal spiders were marching in their direction just as they reached the hospital. One of them fired a flaming projectile hitting the ground next to the truck as it sped up.

"Alright, hold her steady!" Aaron shouted.

He rested the rocket launcher on the roof of the truck and peered into the scope. Raising the launcher he lined up his target with the crosshairs. His hand rested on the firing button.

"Torpedo away!"

He pressed the button. The rocket sprung from the launcher leaving a trail of smoke behind it. It collided with the spider, exploding on contact. The robot spider staggered forward then collapsed onto the street.

"That's one down!" Terry shouted.

Aaron climbed back into the truck and picked up the second rocket from next to his seat loading it into the launcher. Terry pressed his foot all the way down on the accelerator. Sweat started to dampen the fur on his forehead as they were fast approaching the next robot spider. It fired two flaming projectiles on either side of them. Terry kept the truck steady. It fired again. The projectile exploded on the ground in front of the truck causing the front end to jump. Aaron climbed back out of the window and propped the rocket launcher on the roof of the truck. He took aim and fired. The rocket darted straight for it's designated target and exploded. The spider staggered backward into side of the hospital, smashing a few windows and collapsed on the street. Terry slammed on the brakes. The trucks tires screeched bringing it to a halt. The smell of burnt rubber on asphalt lingered in the air.

"Scratch two more spiders." said Terry.

Cain had just finished putting on his boots and gloves when his ears twitched. He could hear something. I sounded like a rapid thumping and it was coming from up ahead of them. He grinned.

"Sounds like the cavalry just arrived."

Just above the city a pair of military choppers were moving in on their designated area. They circled around the hospital once. The two remaining spiders had started firing on the building. Flames were rising from some of the smashed windows. Keeping a good distance away from their targets the pilots opened fire with their twin machineguns. One of the spiders turned it's attention to them and fired a pair of flaming projectiles at them knocking out one of the choppers guns. The two choppers swooped down low, firing two sets of miniature missiles at the robots saucer shaped body. Most of the missiles hit their mark sending the spider sprawling back and collapsing onto the street, smashing a few cars beneath it. The second spider was now pulling away from the hospital building and stepping back. Once again the two choppers swooped down and fired their missiles. Two of them struck a leg while the rest crashed into the body knocking it over its partner and crashing to the street.

Terry turned on the radio and picked up the receiver from the dashboard.

"Well done fellas. We can take over from here. Over."

A male voice came over the radio.

"Roger that. Heading back to base now. Over and out."

Terry set down the receiver and looked over to Aaron then back to Cain.

"Well that wasn't such a chore now was it?"

Cain harrumphed.

"Speak for yourself Terry. Do you know how long it will take to clear all of this up?"

Aaron sat back in his seat.

"Probably a good week or two." he said.

Terry shrugged.

"Oh well. No use in dwelling on it right? Let's go scout the area before the cleaners arrive. They'll probably be on their way as soon as the choppers get back to base."

The three climbed out of the truck. Terry took a hand grenade out of the pouch on his belt and tossed it up a few times. Aaron pulled out his revolver and Cain climbed out the back door with a katana mounted on his back and an assault rifle in his paws. One of the spider robots was still burning from the rocket Aaron had fired earlier. It was relatively quiet. No sirens, no helicopters, nothing.

"Well this place sure died in a hurry." Terry joked.

Neither Aaron or Cain answered. Aaron stepped out from behind the truck looking at the now derelict street. Robot parts and cars strewn up and down the street. He shook his head.

"Just what the hell was this all about?" he asked. "I mean these things just pop out of nowhere and start wreaking havoc on a hospital. It doesn't add up."

"Neither does anything else that's happened since we arrived." added Cain.

"Somehow I feel like this was just a diversion. Don't you think?"

"More like a way to observe us." said Terry.

Cain and Aaron looked at him with worried expressions. He started walking to the front of the truck

"Think about it guys. If this were a distraction our enemy would have taken advantage of our situation. This was just a test."

Aaron shook his head.

"The worst part is, I think you're right."

Cain said nothing. His ears twitched and his eyes started shifting left to right. Aaron caught sight of it.

"What is it?" he asked.

Cain sniffed the air twice and looked up ahead of the truck.

"Someone's coming."

Just a block down from them stood a tall figure. It was a male hyena. His fur was dyed red with black spots. He wore a pair of goggles on his forehead, an armored vest, a broadsword on his back, fatigues, and combat boots. There was a sadistic smile on his muzzle as he reached to his side and held up an RPG launcher and fired three rounds laughing hysterically.

"Hit the deck!" Aaron yelled.

Both Cain and Aaron dove for the ground a few feet away from the truck and covered their heads.. Terry threw himself to the sidewalk behind a trashcan. All three projectiles hit the truck one by one. The truck exploded upon impact with the first two. The third only causing further damage. Aaron looked around after the third explosion and stood up.

"Cain," he called out. "you alright?"

Cain picked himself up.

"A little singed but, I'm fine."

Aaron then turned his attention to the front of the truck.

"Terry, are you alright?"

"I'm alive." he called out amid stifled coughing.

Aaron and Cain dashed around to the front of the now demolished truck. Cain kept his eye on the hyena who was slowly walking towards them throwing the RPG launcher aside. Terry was sitting on the ground next to a trash can clutching his leg. There was a large chunk of metal embedded in the leg and Terry was wincing in pain as he bled rather slowly.

"Aw shit Terry!" Aaron exclaimed as he knelt down next to the leopard.

"It's not as bad as it looks." he said with a weak smile.

"This isn't the time to be making jokes." said Cain. "Aaron get him out of here. The cleaners will be here shortly and they'll have a medic on standby."

He looked up at Cain.

"What about you?"

Cain reached to his back and unsheathed his sword and tossed the assault rifle aside.

"I'll take care of the psycho."

He slowly started marching in the direction of the hyena who was even now taking out his own sword. Aaron turned his attention back to Terry.

"Come on, let's get you away from this."

He grasped Terry's arm and supported it on the back of his neck. He then started to rise and Terry lifted his injured leg. The two started in the opposite direction of Cain. Terry clenched his teeth as they slowly walked to the corner of the street and turned there. Aaron set him down against the wall to let him rest. He was just about to say something when his phone started ringing in his pants pocket. He quickly reached in and took it out. He answered.

"Hello?"

"Aaron? Oh thank God you're alright. I was so worried."

It was Mia.

"Hey Mia! Yeah, I'm fine. The whole street's a mess right now. Listen it may be a while before I'm able to get back to you. Think you can hold out till then?"

"I'll be alright."

"Okay, I'll come for you as soon as I can. Just wait for me."

"Okay I'll wait for you here."

She hung up. Terry looked up at Aaron as he put the phone back in his pocket.

"She must be worried sick."

Aaron nodded.

"Yeah. Of course I'm worried about her too. She's up there with her little cousin and I can't do anything from here."

"You ever thought about telling her?"

"About all this? Hell no. I don't want her involved in this."

Terry sighed.

"But what if the relationship becomes more serious. What'll you do then? You know that she'd have to find out eventually. It would only be a matter of time."

"I know. I know. I just don't want anything to happen to her like it did to Izzy."

They fell silent for a moment. Terry didn't know what to say. He was concerned for his friend. Aaron finally broke the silence.

"So how are you feeling?"

Terry grinned.

"Let me put it this way, it's my first week on the job and I've just been stabbed by car parts."

The two of them started to laugh. Terry had a knack for making jokes in the most serious times. Especially when it was at his own expense.

"We're super soldiers remember? We don't bleed as badly, but the pain sure is horrible."

Aaron nodded.

"Just hang in there buddy."

"Maybe if I'm real lucky they'll knock me out before they lop off the leg."

They both started laughing again.

Cain stopped abruptly watching the hyena. His tail remained still as he curled the upper lip of his muzzle, bearing his fangs. His katana glimmered in the light of the sun as he held it up in an attack formation. The hyena stopped just a few short yards away with the same sadistic grin he had since he fired on the three of them. His broadsword gripped tightly in his right paw.

"Just who the hell are you?" Cain snarled.

The hyena chuckled.

"A mercenary. Nothing more." he said.

"And who hired you?"

The hyena lowered his goggles.

"That's none of your business."

He charged. Cain was taken aback. His speed closely matched any of the three of them. He had just enough time to bring up his katana and block the first attack before shoving him away and coming in close with a vertical slash. The hyena jumped back and skidded across the ground. He brought up his sword in a defensive position as Cain made a blinding dash after him and blocked the next attack. The hyena gave a devilish grin as he quickly raised his sword upward and back dragging Cain along with it. He then backhanded Cain across the face sending the wolf staggering to the side. He quickly recovered and held up his katana once again. The hyena started laughing.

"Come on." he taunted. "I want to play with you a little longer before I kill you. Then I'll deal with your two friends."

Cain turned his head spat out some blood.

"Even if you do manage to best me, which is doubtful, you won't get past Aaron. He has a few secrets that even you probably don't know about. Best write out your last will and testament now, because either way, you will die!"