I read a review by a reader saying that it lacks more points of perspective, so I decided to give it a try. I don't really like first person, but it's good for showing a character's lack of information and genuine emotion, which doesn't happen when the "narrator" explains everything.
_________
I wonder what I did wrong in my past lives. I was probably a great criminal, one of those who commit the most heinous acts.
Only that would explain being born on Pandora.
Dad and Mom said we were moving to Sanctuary. That we'd have a decent life, away from oppression and the conflicts between bandit factions. Well… that's what the man from Sanctuary promised. He just forgot that bandits also have access to the ECHOnet, and decided to ambush anyone trying to go there.
And how I wished we had just been robbed. Or even killed. But no… we were captured on the way to the city.
The bandit who took us brought us to a scary place, full of yellow robots with idiotic faces. I saw several Dahl symbols. My father said they were responsible for so many bandits existing on Pandora.
I was glued to my mother. So close I could hear her heart beating fast, but she showed no emotion.
"Mom… where are they taking us?" I asked, my voice thin, tasting of fear.
She didn't answer right away. Just pulled me closer, eyes alert. That kind of look only people who live on Pandora have. Eyes of someone who knows everything is going to go wrong but has to dance around it to make it work.
"Tina..." she said softly, not looking me in the eye. "Listen to mommy now, and listen well."
My mom put something in my hand. An object not unfamiliar to me.
A grenade.
"When the noise inside gets louder than out here… use this. And run. Run like hell is on your heels, because it soon will be."
On the other side of the glass, a blonde woman in a lab coat watched us. Cold blue eyes. No emotion. Like she was looking at meat on display. She didn't even blink.
"Commencing slag injection on subjects supplied by Hyperion liaison known as... ugh. Flesh-Stick"
"Don't worry, honey. Everything's gonna be okay." Robots grabbed my father's arms, and he was still looking at me. And tried to smile again. They strapped him to the stretcher, where there were wires, mechanical arms, and needles with a purple liquid.
I tried to run after him, but my mother's hand pulled me back hard.
"Don't look, Tina!" My mother repeated desperately, covering my eyes with her hand.
But I had already seen it.
I saw the man who used to play with me have his flesh swell and turn violet, his face deforming like a balloon.
I saw his eyes go blank, even though his body was still moving.
At that moment, I wished I hadn't been born with eyes.
"Don't... be, don't, honey, everything's worry... okayy." I saw my father's mouth keep mumbling, even though his brain was leaking out of his ears like melted wax.
At that moment, I wished I hadn't been born with hearing.
Dad finally stopped moving, and the robots put him in a black bag before taking him away.
The blonde woman turned to us, looking as terrifying as a psycho. My heart froze when I saw her pointing at my mother.
"Test subject #774: female, adult. Bring her in."
"When I give the signal... You run," she whispered to me. "That grenade... remember? It's your chance."
"And you?"
She didn't answer. Just hugged me.
Mom looked at me one last time, like she was memorizing my face.
Then those yellow robots grabbed her by the jumpsuit and dragged her inside.
And it didn't take long for my mom's screams to reach my ears. Her fate was the same as my father's.
"RUN!"
My fingers were trembling. I reached for what was hidden in the folds of my tattered clothes.
Pulled the pin.
"One…"
My hands were already sweating.
"Two…"
The lights started flashing red. A siren blared, putting everyone in the lab on high alert.
"Three..."
I threw the grenade against the wall, praying that the rusty metal of the door wouldn't hold…
BOOOOOOM!
I closed my eyes as fragments flew everywhere, a ringing echoed in my ears, blocking out the lab's screaming. But I just focused on getting out.
I ran.
Didn't dare stop or look back.
Finally reaching the outside, I thought I had escaped. I needed to reach Sanctuary, that's where my parents wanted to go.
But the sight outside shattered all hope.
Metal colossus
Several of them.
Giant robots. Like the nightmares in my head had grown legs.
One of them crushed three soldiers in a single step. Another opened fire on a group of robots similar to the ones that grabbed my parents, their parts flying like fireworks.
Bullets were useless against them, just ricocheting off their armor. When the heavy vehicles fired rockets, they raised their hands, blue shields absorbing the explosives before returning fire to their attackers.
They were like gods made of metal, untouchable and unshakable.
It was impossible to survive.
My knees gave out. I let myself fall onto the sandy ground.
"Why is this happening? Sniff." My voice came out broken. I didn't even know I could still talk. "Why is this happening?"
"Ah... ahah... sniff MHAHAHHAHAHAHA!"
I couldn't tell where my crying turned into laughter. The universe seemed to have turned against me and decided to throw the most absurd things one after another.
The giant robot finally noticed me and began to approach. I could feel its footsteps sending tremors through my body. When it finally reached me, I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes, remembering the moments of my short life with my father and mother.
A huge hand grabbed me. Lifting me off the ground like I was a porcelain doll.
"Don't be afraid."
Then I saw the colossus open its "mouth" and swallow me. Darkness consumed me completely.
A dim light let me see a human figure sitting, who seemed to be the one controlling the machine.
He picked me up gently. The hatch closed behind me.
"Don't move," his voice was firm, muffled by the helmet. "Stay still, okay?"
I could only nod, very slowly. The red visor on his helmet was terrifying.
My arms froze, glued to my body. I barely even breathed. I was afraid to do anything wrong and be thrown back into that hell outside.
...
...
...
"Pilot, I believe we've found our target," BT said, indifferent to the bullets raining on the shields. "Child's adrenaline levels remain high. She's in shock."
"Seems like it, but we can't leave any witnesses." Maxwell patted Tina's head before returning to his carnage.
("Target recovered, enter the complex and kill everyone, even civilians. I don't trust them to keep quiet.") He announced to the other pilots. He assumed Tina's parents were already dead, given she had managed to escape from the interior.
("Roger that")
The pilots disembarked from their Titans, since the entrance allowed only human access. Athena and Minerva took the lead.
It didn't take long before they returned. The dust of battle still hung in the air when Athena, Minerva, and four other pilots reappeared on the comms.
("Complex cleared. All images and videos deleted.") Minerva reported.
("All targets eliminated.") Athena added.
Maxwell remained silent for a moment, observing Tina still curled up in his lap. Her eyes were dry now; there was nothing left in her to cry.
"Bring Flesh-Stick," he finally said. It's personal.
The others didn't question it. Moments later, two pilots dragged the bandit by the arms. He tried to scream, to plead. When they threw his body before BT, Maxwell moved.
The hatch opened with a hiss. Maxwell descended with Tina in his arms.
Carefully, he set her down, their eyes meeting behind the visor.
"You know how to use this?" Maxwell asked, offering the Wingman. "Doesn't matter. If you miss, it just means he'll suffer longer."
Tina hesitated. She looked at Flesh-Stick, kneeling, panting, blood in his mouth and eyes. The damned psycho who gave up her family. Who destroyed her life.
She said nothing.
Just grabbed the weapon with trembling hands.
The sight of a small girl holding such a large revolver was comical, but no one was laughing.
"AHHHHHHHH!" The scream tore through the air like thunder. A cry of pain, hatred, and grief.
BANG
The first shot was brutal. Flesh-Stick's body fell backward like a rag doll, head tilted at a grotesque angle. A cloud of dust rose as he hit the ground. Blood started pouring from the large hole now marking his forehead.
Silence.
But Tina wasn't satisfied.
Her eyes still burned. Her chest still ached. It wasn't enough. It wouldn't bring her parents back. Wouldn't bring back the warmth of her mother's voice or her father's encouraging smile.
She clenched her teeth, took a deep breath… and aimed again.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
Each shot made her small body recoil. Each shot carried a piece of her rage, but also stripped away more of her innocence.
Flesh-Stick's corpse was no longer recognizable. The Wingman had turned his face into a mangled mess of flesh and bone. Tina still kept her finger on the trigger, even after the chamber ran empty.
CLICK
CLICK
Her hands trembled.
"Enough." Maxwell took the gun from the girl's hands, holstering it.
Tina stepped back instinctively, her eyes flicking between fear and confusion. The silence among the soldiers was deafening.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice still shaky, like she was ready to run.
Maxwell stared at her for a moment. Then, with a slow motion, he removed his helmet.
"Ouroboros." He crouched to her level. "We are the Apex Predators."
"You're a corporation? Like the one that killed my parents?"
"Yes, a corporation like Hyperion." Maxwell didn't deny it. "You can choose to come with me, or go to this planet's resistance, the Crimson Raiders. A girl surviving alone on this planet faces fates worse than death."
"My parents... we were going to Sanctuary."
"Yes, and I suppose they were captured along the way. Now, where were the Crimson Raiders to ensure their people's safety?" Maxwell extended his hand to Tina. "Or do you want to see more of those mercenaries' incompetence? Next time, I won't be there to save you."
Tina seemed hesitant but took Maxwell's hand after a moment of thought.
"In this universe that only respects those who bite hardest, you're either the prey or the predator."