Universe in Flames 3: Destination Oblivion by Christian Kallias Read Free Book Online

feet in diameter, Argos threw the
attack at Ares, who reacted instantly. He drew a circle with his hands and
created a mirror shield.
    “Perseus’ mirror shield!”
shouted Ares as the fireball impacted the shield and was sent back towards
Argos, whose eyes widened in surprise.
    Argos extended
his hands to block his own attack, but the moment he did so, Ares was upon him;
three instances of him, in fact. One grabbed him from behind and locked Argos’
shoulders against his torso, while the other two each kicked one of Argos’ arms
out of the way. Argos was engulfed and burned by his own attack. The resulting
explosion sent every duplicate Ares flying. The two copies disintegrated from
the blast, while the original landed against the ground nearby, breaking a
couple of ribs upon impact.
    As the dust from
the explosion settled, Argos was on his knees, black and red smoke rising from
his bloodied body. His red, glowing eyes, enhanced with rage and exploded blood
vessels, gave him a psycho-madman look.
    Blood flowed from
his mouth as he spoke. “You little cockroach. You’re gonna pay for this!
Tenfold!”
    Ares never really
hoped that this trick would do anything but delay the inevitable, but seeing
how powerful the attack had been, he had hoped it could perhaps put Argos
temporarily out of commission; but no such luck. Argos was panting heavily but
the look he cast Ares froze his blood. His mind raced, trying to figure out
something else to throw at Argos, preferably before he healed himself. Then it
came to him.
    Ares threw a
fireball at the rubble he had created to let Aphroditis escape, which surprised
Argos, and started running down the same corridor she had used minutes before.
    “You’re not going
anywhere, coward!” shouted Argos as he rose to his feet and started chasing
Ares, who had a good head start.
     
    *  
*   *
     
    Aphroditis
arrived at her ship and lost no time powering it up. After a few seconds she
took off from the huge asteroid in which their base was hidden. She could sense
Ares’ life energy drain more with each minute since she flew the communications
chamber. Tears still flowed down her face. Ares was one of the Olympians’ most
fearless and skilled fighters, but she knew he was no match for Argos. No one was
but Chase.
    She maneuvered
the ship out of the asteroid field, entered Earth’s coordinates and jumped her
ship.
    “Goodbye, Ares. Thank
you,” she said, while looking outside her cockpit at the lightshow of
hyperspace travel with a heavy heart.
    Chase, I beg
you, come back to us before it’s too late .
     
    *  
*   *
     
    Chase felt as if
he was a prisoner inside a tank filled with liquid. His heart pumped hard but
he couldn’t move a single muscle. He wanted to pound against the glass through
the green liquid but he was paralyzed. Something was running through his veins
that prevented him from moving, no doubt delivered by the tubes entering his
body and holding him in place within the green-tinted tank.
    That’s when he
heard her voice in his mind, as if it was his own thoughts.
    “Help me, Chase,
please help.”
    He felt dread
mixed with intense sadness at hearing Sarah’s voice. Another nightmare, the
same he had been experiencing every single night since he blew her ship. That
thought alone sent him towards a whirlwind of self-hatred. But, like every time
before, nothing happened in the dream. He was there, powerless to do anything
but experience the repeated scene again and again, every time he managed to get
some shut eye.
    But then
something different happened. The door into the darkly lit lab opened and a
shadow entered. It took a while for his eyes to focus and see in the darkness, but
he recognized the shape as his eyes adjusted.
    Argos!
    He wanted to feel
rage and explode his liquid prison, but instead he was afraid, terrified even.
He didn’t understand why. He was not afraid of his brother. In fact, since he
had defeated him on Damocles station, he was