《Rising of the Red Tide》Chapter 21 (Part 1)
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Qi Lian dove into the pile of Red Tide soldiers as they stood stunned by the number of bullets flying through the air at them. This freed Jeffrey from them. Jeffrey was able to get up, despite being terribly bruised and hobble away. The Red Tide soldiers she had knocked down seemed more concerned with their own safety than with getting Qi Lian, as they headed towards the bomb shelter rather than pursuing her.
Qi Lian was not done however, she needed to free her other friends. Dhruv, Noah and Martin were all lined up, and now the Red Tide soldiers behind them were using them as shields from the rain of bullets. Qi Lian came up behind the soldiers and managed to stab one in the back, the one holding Noah, before the other two noticed.
Noah, upon being freed, ran and dove for cover beneath Dhruv's van. Qi Lian now kicked the soldier holding Dhruv in the face, knocking her backwards and causing her to release Dhruv. Dhruv followed Noah's example after he was released. But as Lian made her way over toward Martin's captor a stray bullet passed through Martin's head.
"NO!" Qi Lian yelled with a pained look on her face, before punching the male soldier in the face. Qi Lian reached down and grabbed the Red Tide soldier, lifting him up and throwing him out into the region most heavily under fire. She watched as several bullets smashed into him .
Qi Lian felt a mixture of remorse, guilt and anger. She now took a moment and scanned Fort Tilden looking for Han Xin. He was going to pay for the people she had lost over the past couple of days. After a few moments of searching her eyes fell upon her target. He was still holding Clayton over his shoulder, but now was heading up over the top of the bomb shelter.
Qi Lian ran and leaped up onto the side of the bomb shelter. Once her feet hit the ground she began running again, heading toward Han Xin. Han Xin turned and faced her, just as she had nearly caught up to him. He was holding a knife above Clayton's back and Clayton lay unconscious.
"You have ruined everything you fool! You will pay for this!" Han Xin yelled.
"It is you who will pay Han Xin. Give yourself up now. You know this is over." Qi Lian replied.
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"That is where you are wrong Qi Lian. The nuclear war has already begun. We have already launched several missiles. Once the world believes it is under attack from China and the United States what do you think the response will be?" Han Xin asked.
"What is wrong with you Han? Do you really think the rest of human kind will follow you after what you have done?" Qi Lian answered.
"Who said the human race would ever know it was me who did this?" Was Han's response.
"Set Clayton down now you piece of crap. You are a sorry excuse for a human being!" Qi Lian ordered.
"I am not a human being, and neither are you Qi Lian. We were made in a test tube, and we are not the product of human evolution. Every trait we have was methodically chosen, by an artificial intelligence, far superior at what it did than any human could be. We are a species apart." Han explained to Qi Lian.
"You are really deluded in the mind!" Qi Lian yelled, searching her mind for some sort of strategy to get Clayton back safely.
"And now I must go, this is not over Qi Lian." Han said, slamming the knife into Clayton's back.
"NO YOU COWARD!" Qi Lian screamed, running to Clayton.
She could see Clayton laying on the ground face down, as Han had thrown him down and run off toward the water. Han took a big leap and jumped into the Atlantic ocean which surrounded the Fort.
Qi Lian turned and saw a Code Blue soldier running toward her.
"You stay here and help him." Qi Lian ordered pointing to Clayton.
"Han is mine!"
The Code Blue soldier did as ordered running to Clayton's side. He picked Clayton up and began running with him back toward the helicopters. Qi Lian turned and ran full speed, also jumping into the water surrounding Fort Tilden.
The water was extraordinarily cold when Qi Lian landed. Once the shock from this wore off, Qi Lian began swimming in Han's direction. She couldn't see him, it was too dark now, but she could hear him ahead of her in the water.
Qi Lian, like in so many things, excelled in swimming, even in comparison to the other Red Tide soldiers. She began gaining on Han, despite the fact she had to stop once in a while to adjust her course toward him.
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After several minutes of swimming she was finally close enough to see Han Xin. Now she began to gain on him faster, no longer needing to stop to hear him.
When Qi Lian caught up to Han Xin she grabbed him by the leg and pulled him backward with great force, causing him to dip his face below the water. He struggled for a moment to get himself turned around. Once he did he swung his free leg up, kicking Qi Lian in the face.
Han now pulled his head above the surface. He produced a knife and began swinging it at Qi Lian, desperately trying to stab her. Qi Lian grabbed Han's hand which was holding the knife and with her other hand punched him in the face. His head fell backward, but she pulled him forward and again punched him in the face. This time Han dropped the knife.
Now Qi Lian pushed the dazed Han under water and held him down. He struggled to come up for air but Qi Lian made sure that he could not. The more he struggled the harder she held on to him. She wanted to ensure that there was no chance of him escaping her grasp.
After a few minutes of struggling, Han's body went limp. He was no longer able to fight back. Qi Lian held him under water for a bit longer. She reached down and grabbed his neck searching for a pulse and found that there was not one. Finally she pushed him down with all her might into the depths of the water and began swimming back to shore.
Qi Lian was exhausted from all of the fighting that had occurred over the past few days. Yet she swam as fast as her body would allow to get back to shore. She needed to check on Clayton. In that moment he was all that she cared about. She did not even take a moment to enjoy having finally killed Han Xin.
Upon arriving at the shore Qi Lian looked around, but could not see Clayton anywhere. What she did see were helicopters now taking off, with their lights searching the water. She ran until she caught one of the remaining helicopters. When one of the men saw her running toward it he pulled up his gun to shoot, assuming that she was one of the terrorists. That is until a hand reached over.
"No she is one of us." Jeffrey said weakly.
The soldier lowered his gun.
"Jeffrey have you seen Clayton?" Qi Lian asked worriedly as she approached the helicopter. She needed to yell in order to be heard.
"Yes Qi Lian, I saw Clayton. He was not doing well, but Dr. Dhruv and nurse Noah insisted on riding in the helicopter with him. I know those two will work their butts off to ensure he survives." Jeffrey replied through labored breathing.
Qi Lian got into the helicopter and it took off moments later.
"How about Darnell?" Qi Lian asked looking around.
"I am sorry, but he didn't survive." Jeffrey answered.
Qi Lian sat down taking in everything. She felt immense sorrow that she had led to the deaths of Qi Wei, Martin and Darnell. And even after all of that, how many countless more would perish as a result of Han's nuclear attacks, which Qi Lian had been unable to stop? And then there was Clayton, a good man who certainly didn't deserve to die. She hoped with all her heart that he survived.
"Where are we going?" Qi Lian asked feeling defeated.
"I don't know specifically, all I know is we are going to a nearby military installation. We will all be safe there though. With thousands of Code Blue soldiers, I don't think there is any threat we can't handle." Jeffrey said.
"How about nuclear war, can you handle that threat?" Qi Lian wondered.
"We have a contingency for that as well. There are fallout shelters available for such a circumstance." Jeffrey responded.
"And what about all the people who don't have access to these things?" Qi Lian asked.
"All we can do for them now is pray. I am sorry that we were too late Qi Lian. But if it wasn't for you they would have released many more nuclear weapons." Jeffrey replied.
Qi Lian hung her head low. She knew what Jeffrey said was correct, but she wished she had been able to do more. She wished she hadn't fell for Han's trick in Plattsburgh. Going further back, she wished she had never relinquished control of the Red Tide to Han. There were a series of mistakes that she had made that led directly to the untold death and destruction that they were about to witness now.
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