Death In The Time Bay: Part Two
DEATH IN THE TIME BAY: PART TWO
_ The pain was terrible, most of it originating from his knees. It was agony, plain and simple, sheer agony that wracked his body, from toes to groin. Jack pushed himself up, aware as he did so of the popping of the shattered bones in his legs. The mission hadn't gone well at all. The target's guards had seen them immediately and opened fire. Jack still remembered one of them clearly, a big wolf, completely white, holding his MP-40 to his hip and opening fire. He had done most of the damage. _
_ The first bullet had knocked his left leg out from underneath, him, a second cracking his temporal insulation device, rupturing the batteries and spilling battery acid onto his hip. But Jack hadn't noticed that, he was much too concerned by the gaping bullet wound that had taken a chunk out of his shin. The bone was broken, and the muscles severed. Blood was pumping out, and Jack knew that it was bad. _
_ They had pulled him onto the Machine, bullets punching through the sliding door and shattering the windows. Jack had wanted to sit up, but he was too weak. Then a final burst of fire ripped through the door and Harper went down, his shoulder a bloody mess. Tanya had reached over to see if he was alive, then the Machine lurched as the driver set the year and pressed down the ignition._
_ Things had happened very quickly after that. Jack saw Tanya suddenly jerk, then something blurry and almost translucent appeared through the bullet holes in the door. It moved quickly and Jack suddenly heard a loud, unearthly keening noise, like the wind through the gates of hell. _
_ Tanya looked up from Harper's prone form and just had time to gasp before the thing exploded into shards and everyone in the Machine was torn apart. Jack felt something slice into his stomach, but had no time to react before the thing continued out through the bottom of the Machine and into the time stream. Blood covered the walls and Jack knew that everyone was dead. _
_ Then the Machine was still, and Jack felt a heavy sense of relief. It took him some time to summon the strength to move, but he did, and he saw his rescuers for the first time. A tall, stately wolf in a waistcoat and long black pants, and a young fox wearing operator's overalls. _
_ "They're dead." He said, and then passed out. _