Chapter 04: The Whirling Dervish

Slave to Memory [5 of 44] - Murph faces a relentless Seeker in a rain-soaked battle. With forgotten skills stirring, he fights for survival—and for a girl he barely knows.

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Time slowed for Murph.

He swung the rebar with all his wiry strength at the head of the monster before him. Fear froze his veins as acid rain fell, flashing yellow in the high spotlights that cast deep shadows across the courtyard. Damp rot and decay filled his senses.

What are you doing?

The bar moved as if through treacle. Hot metal popped and groaned as water hissed and cooled on its surface.

Too slow.

The monster's head whipped round. Where eyes should have been, a sensor bank flared a warning red - a silent predator's growl.

Murph was committed. He followed through, throwing everything into the swing. His feet planted in the slick mud and grime.

He had to save her.

The bar stopped dead.

The monster grinned a lipless rictus, the steel bar held firm in its fist. The force shot back up through the metal into Murph's shoulder.

A whirring, buzzing thing slammed into his side.

Sprawled on the ground, Murph blinked back the stinging rain and fought to regain his breath. He couldn't suck in air fast enough. He remembered being stronger than this.

Wind swirled in the confined space. Lights flicked off in overhanging hovels. Through grubby curtains, he saw eyes wide as saucers—watching, but wanting no part in this.

Fool! You're no match for a Seeker!

And who are you?' the machine-man said, stalking toward Murph. It cocked its head, eyeing the rusted steel bar in its hand. The Seeker hefted the bar, gripping an end in each fist. Still grinning madly at Murph, rain dripped off its face, blue light reflecting off exposed teeth.

With a screech of metal, it bent the bar in half.

The bar blurred, then clattered out of sight. The Seeker lurched forward, barking a laugh as it kicked at Murph's ribcage. Something snapped. White fire flared in his side. Carbon steel exoskeleton enhancing its strength and protecting vulnerable human parts, the Seeker broke Murph's ribs without hesitation.

Murph clawed at the mud, trying to crawl away as blows struck every critical point. The Seeker targeted organs, bones, joints—the most efficient strikes to render him immobile and useless. He remembered knowing how to do that.

All you can do now is die.

A kick to the stomach launched him into the air. As he spun by instinct, he reached out to the drones, willing them to attack the Seeker. But nothing happened. He wasn't that anymore.

All you can do now is die.

He landed heavily on his back, something hard and unforgiving digging into his spine. A cry of pain escaped his cracked lips.

He tried to reach for it, but the Seeker kicked him again. It circled, still grinning, flesh tight across its skull. Drawing out the fight like a cat playing with a mouse. Relishing the game. Stun and release.

Break bones and watch 'em crawl.

All you can do is die.

“Then dying is what I'll do,” Murph said, feeling the familiar shape pressed against his spine.

Murph rolled over and saw the girl still there, eyes wide as a deer's, rooted by fear. Sucking in air, he forced out one word: “Run!”

Her panicked eyes met his, and thank Turing, she listened. She ran. Half the drones zipped after her, the Seeker's head whipping toward her fleeing form. Murph reached behind him and grabbed hold of a handle.

Good.

“A distraction, hmm?” the Seeker mused.

Murph climbed unsteadily to his feet, his side screaming in protest. His lung wasn't punctured—a small miracle. With the girl out of harm's way, he raised his revolver in a white-knuckled grip.

“Die, abomination,” he snarled, firing.

The first bullet hit a container. The second found flesh. The third and fourth were intercepted by drones, spinning off in a shower of sparks and broken motors.

The fifth went skyward as the remaining drones knocked Murph down. His gun skidded across the ground, lost in the debris. Shouts of alarm rose in the distance, accompanied by a wary siren.

“We don't need you alive,” the Seeker growled, probing its shoulder. Its hand came away red. It licked the blood from its fingers.

Raising its good arm, it formed a fist and brought it down in a smashing gesture. Murph looked up as the hornet swarm of drones rose, grouping tightly before diving towards him.

Now you die.

Instinct stirred again. He swiped at the air, trying to ward them off.

Time slowed again for Murph, his thoughts tragically clear. He'd failed. Thrown his life away for a moment's distraction. He hadn't saved her. He'd be dead, and she'd be caught.

He closed his eyes and swiped both arms at the drones.

Metal screamed. Motors died in the mud.

Then silence.

< That was for the girl. >

Scattered drone pieces lay in muddy furrows on either side of him.

They'd missed him!

He was alive, save for a new sharp pain. Mostly unharmed.

And alive.

His shaking hand found blood and a jagged piece of shrapnel. A shard of a Blue Nile drone protruded from his leg.

The Seeker roared and rushed toward him.

Through the blood loss and pain, recognition flashed like lightning.

The sky flickered. Rain fell.

But he knew.

Murph made a sharp cutting motion. A blade slicing.

The Seeker fell.

Forward momentum made it crash on top of Murph, its body locked. The human part of it screamed, trying to bite at Murph and writhing in an inactive power frame.

Trapped.

Murph heaved it off him and vomited from the strain. He pulled himself free and lay panting, rain falling into his eyes and mouth. Stinging.

He was alive!

On the floor next to him, the Seeker continued to wrestle and break free. It moaned and keened, an animal howl rising in the sudden hush.

No more motors whirred. Just the soft patter of rain falling on two bodies lying in the dirt. One frozen and furious, the other broken and smiling.

Heavy footsteps squelched behind him. Murph couldn't fight another. There was nothing left in him. Nothing left to give. Nothing more to take.

But he'd done it.

His vision faded as strong hands dragged him into a complete and enveloping darkness.

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