The Might of the Sun and Man

No Free Rides

“Yea, sure thing, boss.” Morrison was tired of saying “boss” even though Aero never asked him to. It was an insulting way to let him know how much he despised Aero. Morrison had always been in his shadow, when Aero dismantled the Bearz, when he started the “Encourage” organization, when he took the seat of power becoming the world’s “benevolent” leader. Morrison was always one step behind. It was unbearable. He thought about how he was gonna do it as the jet screamed the same. Kill the seemingly unkillable man. Today was the day that being second fiddle came to an end. He was going to crash the plane, tell everyone the ship malfunctioned, and that Aero appointed him to be the new world leader before his death. “Beginning our descent, boss.” Aero was silent. All he could think about was Kenna. The person that meant everything to him was destroyed right in front of him. He couldn’t save her. No power alive could reverse what Flare did. And he was going to have his vengeance. Tears flooded his eyes and dripped onto the ship’s floor. Kenna was with him from the very beginning. Their fates were intertwined long before the bombs fell. When they met wandering the wasteland, Aero was ready for all of it to end. Seeing as he was the first one she met since the war, she wasn't about to let him go that easy. Their loneliness finally cured, they vowed to fix everything that was destroyed, no matter how long it took. But now, the dream has died, and AJ was utterly shattered as the ship tore through the sky. Morrison turned back, “Look I know we don’t always get along, but for what it’s worth I am truly sorry.” Aero frowned, “Yea, thanks man.” Morrison grinned evilly, “Sorry I won’t be able to see your ugly ass face when you crash!” The plane was falling at a much more accelerated rate now and was almost perpendicular to the ground. Aero sprang to his feet but Morrison had already ejected his pilot seat. He was so grief-stricken that he hadn’t noticed that Morrison put the plane into a nosedive. He tried to level the plane out but the controls were locked and it was too late to try to override them. The plane crumpled as it made contact with the ground and instantly vaporized the surrounding demolished buildings and structures. Morrison crashed the plane nowhere near the Unity Forest but rather the location of the destroyed Bearz compound, the world’s largest and most invasive raider organization. Morrison took advantage of Aero’s grief to redirect him here. He was elated. He had done it. He cleansed himself of his greatest rival. But as he fell back to the Earth, he saw an object tear through his parachute. A bullet. Then a hail of bullets. As more and more shredded through the fiber, Morrison fell faster and faster. He hit the ground hard, shattering his hip bone. He cried out in pain, but the bullets were still flying. Why were there still so many raiders here? Regardless, he returned fire with his own pistol and hopped as fast as he could. The situation was growing bleaker by the minute. He was hurt and the remaining Bearz raiders outnumbered him greatly. He took cover behind a wrecked truck firing pot shots in the general direction of the raiders, hoping to hit someone. But every shot missed, growing pale as he realized a harrowing miscalculation. He only had 1 bullet left. He was sure he brought 3 full magazines but somewhere along the journey he lost them. Wait. The ship. He stored them in a storage compartment just in case Aero caught on, he could reach them for extra firepower. “f**k!” he screamed, he wasn’t going to make it. But he wasn't going to let them take him either. He put the barrel to his head. “Not gonna let raiders take me.” As he was about to pull the trigger, the men and women started screaming and yelling in fear. The gunfire was targeting a completely different direction now. The guns, firing wildly, sounded desperate to find their target but it seemed every shot missed. And, slowly, more and more guns ceased firing, as if their wielders were silenced. “What the f-” He peered from behind the truck and saw all the raiders that were firing at him just moments ago now dead on the ground. Silence, save for the flames of the explosion consuming every last bit of wood and debris the complex had left. A dark figure emerged from the flames. “No.” Morrison felt terror as he saw Aero, limping, covered in scars, and walking towards him with a bloody katana. “No! Get the f**k away from me! You’re supposed to be dead! You’re a monster! You’re not human!” He backed away, trying to crawl but his injury pained him too much. He was a goner. “No, you’re not sorry, Morrison. You never were. I trusted you, but you’ve shown me that you’re truly the scum of the Earth. I see now that people like you, like Flare, are beyond saving. I gave you every chance I could. I covered for you, I took the blame for you, I loved you like a brother...but this is the last straw. This will be the last time you f**k me over. And now my wife will have to rest amongst this wreckage, consumed by the shadow of the home to the lousiest scum this world has ever known.” Morrison grew furious, “But you didn’t! You ratted me out! I’d be in your shoes if you would’ve kept your f*****g mouth shut!” Aero gritted his teeth angrily, “Morrison, you killed the C.O. with no remorse and wasn’t planning on telling anyone, even swearing me to secrecy. And I fully intended on keeping it. But we were being tortured to tell the truth. They drug me through the mud for 25 days. But I took it all. Didn’t mind it one bit. The only reason I told anyone was because they were going to torture Kenna next.” Morrison shook his head, “That’s not all. No matter what we did, what drills we competed in, tournaments we participated in. Tests we took. You were always better. Always the best. But I worked harder and I-” he stifled a sob “I deserved it so much more than you!” Aero shook his head, “You were never going to beat me. I was more talented than you long before we even made it to Fort Pride and I always will be. Because of this.” He extended his palm and held a green orb of energy to Morrison’s face. “I have power you can’t even imagine. I can’t be shot, I can’t be killed, and I can heal from any injury if I sustain. Moreso, I can even heal others...a mercy you don’t deserve for the disgusting filth you’ve done.” Morrison cried out in fear, “What are you gonna do to me?” Aero said nothing as he slashed the katana across Morrisons face, leaving a deep, painful scar across his eye. Morrison screamed in pain. He then thrust the weapon into his uninjured leg. He howled and squirmed to get the sword out, but Aero broke the hilt of the blade clean off, leaving the blade inside the leg. “Fuuuuuuuck!” He leaned down looking Morrison right in the face. “I’m gonna leave you here to die, but if you dare choose to survive this, you’ll be right where you belong. Among the most evil scum this world has to offer. This is your only chance to change, because if you ever try to attack me or anyone I love again, I’ll flay the skin and muscle from your bone, keeping you healed so you experience every unbearable torment” He walked away, back to Fort Pride. Morrison realized at that moment, he was doomed. And that no matter how hard he tried, he would never catch Aero.