Fire and Steel

Chapter 5: Radha

The Legionnaire stepped towards Radha, her metallic braids lengthening as she approached. Instinctively Radha stepped back, the adrenaline surging through her blood forcing her to act through the paralysis that had gripped her limbs. She needed to get away from this place, from the person she was standing before; It was just too painful to see her and so Radha ran. Blasting a jet of flame into the ground, she rocketed herself towards the thick canopy of the Sower's preserved piece of jungle. The rushing air around Radha forced her to fill her lungs with fresh breath and clarity began to return to her mind, the battle instincts that had been drilled into her bones finally kicked and she began to reassess the situation.

As Radha reached the zenith of her leap, she heard the wrenching sounds of tree branches being pulled from behind her before they were released with a snap, and Radha saw the Legionnaire hurtling towards her as a missile fired out of a sling. Radha loosed a jet of flames from her palms, shifting herself out of the trajectory of the rapidly approaching Legionnaire who in turn shot past Radha before slowing down as she spread her metal braids outward, some sinking into the branches of the surrounding trees while the remaining shot like lances down at Radha.

"You were always a good runner 29, but there will be no escaping this time. You are coming with me!" The Legionnaire, declared as her iron tendrils threatened to entangle Radha.

'NO!' Radha thought to herself, it hurt to be called by the number that had tried to replace Radha's name, it hurt more to see Her Like this, but that pain did not compare to the smouldering wreck that the Facility had left in Radha's mind; she would not be taken back. Burning through the dozen needling thoughts in Radha's mind was the burning conviction to never be taken back to the Facility. Radha landed on a thick branch and kicked backwards off it, twisting mid-air to avoid a pair of tendrils that had been poised to impale her legs.

"I'm not going back there Aberi! Not even with You!" Radha yelled back as she ducked another lancing braid.

"That isn't my name 29!" Aberi yelled as she continued her pursuit, weaving like a serpent through the boughs of the forest.

Aberi swung her neck around, causing the metal braids to lash out and from their tips, a barrage of metallic spurs flew at Radha. Radha leapt off a branch with a twist spinning in the air to face her pursuer before thrusting her hands forward and unleashing a swirling torrent of flames that melted the needles robbing them of their aerodynamic momentum. The melted needles fell through the canopy searing holes into bark and leaf alike. Radha suppressed the guilt over hurting the Sower's Sanctuary, but It was either this or being riddled withAberi's needles. Being carried by the momentum of her flame,  Radha somersaulted backwards, kicking off a branch to launch herself higher till she broke through the canopy.

She needed a clearer idea of where to go, and she needed distance to think. The reality of the situation that had been buried by Radha's instincts had finally begun to set in fully. The person she was fighting was Aberi and she'd been crafted too. A moment later, like an arrow, Aberi shot through the canopy as well and as the two women reached the highest points in their leaps it felt as though time had slowed down around them. Radha looked at Aberi, scanning her once familiar features for any signs of the girl she had known.

The signs were there... but they had been altered, her skin still shone in the sun, not with the glow of her rich brown skin but instead with a metallic tang, the braided hair she took so much pride in that she fought tooth and nail to maintain even in the face of the Facility had been replaced with metal.  Her eyes were the worst part, they had once been the colour of fertile soil, eyes that had once spoken a hundred words when her lips could not; now they looked hollow, devoid of everything except focused rage. It was a chilling reminder of what the Facility could have done to Radha had she not escaped and it drove an icy dagger of guilt into her heart for leaving Aberi behind. But she wasn't there anymore, Aberi was out here in the open and Radha was running from her.