Accession: CATU Book 5 Ch. 15-16

"What the hell are you, you ugly bastard?" she gasps from beneath his grip.

I am a being far more powerful than you.

With that he throws the slim woman into the wall. Her shoulder hits first then her head. Darkness consumes her for an instant, blacking out the world. Then her vision returned to normal. When she opens her eyes it is just in time to see the demon standing over her with a sword that seems to have materialized from his skin.

——

The divers come in fast against Stone. The first of them each holds harpoon guns and are quick to use them. Instead of firing them all at once each diver waits for him to dodge out of the way before firing the next shot. Stone uses his quickness and quick wit but the divers are equally as quick to anticipate his next move. Every shot comes closer and closer until finally one comes too close and slashes his leg.

The harpoon shreds his pants and carves a gash in his right thigh. He grimaces against the searing hot flash losing some of the vital air he is holding. He takes a moment to check the wound while the divers are busy reloading and sees there isn't much damage. His pants managed to deflect most of the momentum, but his bigger threat now is the blood.

He curses silently in his head. Then a hand wraps around his neck, another grabs his hand and forces the knife from his grip. From the odd angle of the attacks he figures there are two people wrestling with him. He has only a second to think and the glint of metal coming from his right makes the choice of who to fight first is made.

He reaches up intercepting the knife, grabbing the diver's hand with his left, redirecting the attack into the face of his other attacker. The hold around his neck instantly slackens and falls away. He twirls into the other attacker pulling the diver in close and around using the man as a blocker. Just in time too. Stone feels a poke in his ribs and he pushes the man away to see a harpoon tip sticking out the makeshift blocker's midsection.

He starts to swim at the first diver in his sights. His target throws away the harpoon gun and pulls a knife of his own. They meet midway grabbing each other's knife hand with their free ones. As they struggle Stone makes sure to keep his attack between him and the others as they fire their harpoons in an attempt to hit the lone agent.

Stone lost track of how long he has been underwater but as his lungs begin to burn he knows it is getting to his time limit for holding his breath. So he lets go of the man's knife hand and pulls off his breather and mask. The diver drops his knife and releases Stone's arm to reach up and flail for the breather.

With his hand now free Stone slashes at the panicking diver's hand one at a time drawing deep wounds and a fair amount of blood. All color in the man's face drains. Stone reaches in and grabs the breather to stick it in his mouth to take a couple hard breaths.

It becomes suddenly strange the other divers aren't firing at him anymore nor are they making an effort to press an attack while he is distracted. His answer becomes apparent when something large and heavy bumps across his leg.

Instantly he spins around catching the tail end of a large shark. He curses silently again and takes in his surroundings. All around him and the other divers are sharks. Not just any kind either. The water is filled with Great White sharks and any moment it is going to turn into a feeding frenzy.

He swims in a circle trying to plan his fastest route out of there when the largest shark he has ever seen is making a streamline straight for him.

——

Dupree acts panicked at the sight of the sword and waits until the demon steps in to use it. His hand comes up into the air for a slash and her foot leaps out at his feet. Using the wall to push off, Dupree sweeps her leg around, her foot catches the back of the demon's ankle.

He falls to the ground, surprised. Dupree lets a smile form on her lips making sure he sees it. Anger flashes in his face and he rolls to bring the sword around but this time Dupree is the quicker. She brings her left leg up to block his hand then uses the other to drive a kick flat into the demon's face.

Oriatis reels back from the blow. Black blood spews from his nose to spray the deck. Dupree isn't done with the assault though. She sends another set of kicks to the demon's face and chest before rolling away and up onto her feet.

She reaches around for her carbine and finds air. She checks for the strap which is no longer present. It must have been ripped free when Oriatis began his assault on her. She looks back to the demon. He is beginning to pick himself up, blood steadily drips from his face. She only has seconds.

And there it is just a few feet away. Her P226 lying under a chair. She takes a step forward for it and finds herself flying fast and hard into the deck. Her head hits and pain shoots through it. Oriatis has a hand wrapped tightly around her ankle and is now pulling her toward him.

He lifts Dupree into the air by just her ankle. The blood rushes to her head and increases the pain by tenfold. She feels like going to sleep and has to focus everything she can to just stay awake.

Oriatis dangles the limp form back in forth. Not so tough are you now bitch? Then he reels back with the sword, aimed straight at her throat.

——

The Great White shoots straight at Stone with lightning speed. Its jaw hangs open wide showing off it razor sharp teeth with a biting force strong enough to rip the agent in half.

Stone readies himself, squaring his body to match the sharks. As the Great White shoots in the last remaining distance Stone pushes out his hand touching the shark's nose and pushes with his feet to bound over the jaws of death. The force of the shark's movement against his stationary form shoots the agent over and down on top of the shark.

Stone tumbles before grabbing hold of the dorsal fin. With his body steady he rides the shark through the infested waters watching the other divers in a fight for their own lives against the sharks. Bodies are being torn to pieces and the scraps fought over by the sharks.

As his shark coasts through the frenzy he begins to improvise a plan. He brings around his knife and jabs it into the back of the shark. He repeats the strike again and again. Once he is satisfied there is enough blood pouring from the wounds, he lets go and shoots for the surface.

——

Everything is a haze for Dupree. Her head bangs like a drum and her thoughts are trapped in a fog. She knows she is going to die and is pissed it is going to be this way.

Oriatis would have enjoyed the pleasure to torturing the young human, but there is still the other one to think about so he has to end this quickly.

Then a light flashes through the windows blinding him momentarily. He looks out to see a helicopter hovering just outside. Anger surges through him just as the underbelly guns opens up.

His releases his grip of the agent's ankle, letting her fall head first onto the deck. The new and sudden hit sends another agonizing wave of pain through her head. The bullets from the helicopter tear easily through the bridge like scissors through paper, ripping up electronic equipment, papers and whatever else sits in the way including Oriatis.

The bullets sink into his flesh, pick him up off the deck and sends him into the wall. He slams into the weakened wall, pinned by the heavy fire. His sword with the arm still attached falls to the deck first. Blood sprays from the wound and the life is ripped from his body. After several seconds the gun comes to a rest and the demon's body falls to the deck in two pieces.

Dupree lay there for several long minutes allowing the pain to subside before attempting to move. From outside the bridge she can hear the helicopter landing then the sound of gunfire following.

Thirty seconds later silence falls over the ship. The only thing that can be heard is the crackling fires from the night's earlier explosions and the short circuiting of electronic equipment that now lay in pieces across the deck.

Dupree pushes herself up onto elbows and pulls herself over to the pistol still remarkably laying in it same spot. The chair is now gone laying in pieces, but the gun remains intact. She grabs it and pulls it toward her then hears a noise from the entry of the bridge. Before she can turn she feels a foot on her back before being shoved down.

"We have a live one here. Doesn't looked like Oriatis'. Over."

There is a pause. Then, "Copy that. Eliminate all targets."

The soldier takes the pressure off her back and raises his carbine. Three shots are fired and the soldier falls backward onto the deck. Dupree pulls the gun from her side and out from underneath, then rolls over.

She sits up and pulls the headset from the man placing it over her head. "Long? Do you copy? Long?"

Dupree peers over the wreckage of equipment. A helicopter sits on the pad below and a circle of soldiers stands at its base.

"Fuck," she says to herself.

She watches for a moment longer. The apparent leader of the group is relaying orders and pointing. Every time he points one of the others would take off in that direction. "Fuck," she says again when he points in the direction of the bridge. Her direction.

She picks herself up and runs through the door heading into the ship.