Riser rubbed his thick beard with one hand. Lisa had abandoned him for the second time. At least this time she had said goodbye. She was going to Sky Lord Island - though she hadn't really explained why. It seemed like a perilous journey to undertake on her own. She had refused all offers of help, insisting that nobody could travel with her. Sometimes she still acted like a six-year-old. Riser wished she were still around so he could tell her as much in person but he doubted it would do any good. He just hoped she was going to be okay.
Rachel had set off back towards the Orange Zone to warn Central Command about the approaching cleric army. She hadn't been at all pleased about it but Lisa and Ranno had badgered her until she had agreed to their demands. There had been an awkward tension between mother and daughter during their reunion. They disagreed about Lisa's father.
Rubbing his beard, he watched the sun sink low on the horizon. Rachel had gone one way and Lisa had gone another. He had nobody but bloody Ranno and the minotaurs for company now. None of them cared about him. He wished Oliver were still around. At least he was interested in hunting.
Checking his miniguns, he loaded extra ammunition cartridges from the containers on his back. The exoskeleton had worked much better than he had expected. It had now been combat tested. Somehow he was still alive.
The minotaurs scraped their hooves on the ground nearby, snorting as they loaded their packs with food and supplies. They didn't look at him unless he made a point of getting in their way. Most of the time they acted like he didn't matter at all. He was used to it by now. He had never been important to people.
His father had left when he was just a young boy. He hadn't bothered to say goodbye. His mother had always shown more interest in his brother. Riser had been overlooked since he had first learnt to walk. Even learning for a second time didn't count in most people's eyes. He was just Riser, that guy who follows us around.
He couldn't help thinking about his brother, Damen. It would have been his birthday today if Rachel hadn't killed him in the basement of the Mekinet News building. So much had happened since his brother's death.
He wondered whether Damen would be angry with him for not seeking some kind of revenge against her. Was he betraying his brother just by talking to her? She was Lisa's mother. Their goals were crossed now. He couldn't hurt one without hurting the other. He just didn't have the heart for all that hatred and bitterness anymore.
He had been angry for a long time but if it hadn't been Rachel who had tracked him down to the basement of the Mekinet News Building, it would have been another soldier. It didn't mean he liked it. It didn't mean he had forgiven her for what she had done. But he had long since realised that there was nothing he could do to bring his brother back.
'Let's go,' Ranno said, gesturing for Riser to follow.
The old man turned and walked away, heading to where Kuerolong and the other minotaurs had gathered. Their shiny black eyes watched him with contempt. Riser was used to getting a cold reception. He didn't care what they thought of him. He was no fan of theirs either. He was only accompanying them because Lisa had asked him to, not for any benefit of his own.
'Are you ready?' Ranno called out to him.
Riser nodded, powering up his exoskeleton.
'We'll be moving fast. Make sure you don't slow us down.'
Riser shrugged. Maybe the old man would have a heart attack. He hoped he was around to gloat when it happened.
Kuerolong threw his head back and snorted, dragging his hooves across the ground. He made a strange deep warbling sound in the back of his throat and then set off at a sprint, raising a dust cloud behind him. The other minotaurs followed with Ranno close behind them. Riser engaged his exoskeleton and settled into a steady four-legged trot, adjusting his speed until he could keep up with them while maintaining a regular stride.
Kuerolong seemed to know where he was going. Riser didn't bother to ask where that was. All he knew was that they were gathering an army to send to Los Verion. If they managed that much it might help Lisa defeat Malkor, and then just maybe they could all get back to their ordinary lives. Riser wasn't sure what that was anymore. Was he a hacker, a prisoner, or just Lisa's friend? Maybe he was battle man as Oliver had often called him. Certainly he had drawn blood. Riser chuckled, wondering how his own life had become so unfamiliar to him. He smiled at the sunset as his exoskeleton did most of the work to keep pace with the others.
* * * * *
They ran through the night as the skies cleared, revealing a thousand tiny stars overhead. The ground turned from rough scrub land to dirt plains with clusters of trees punctuating the way. Hills rose on one side, their dark curves hiding so many secrets. Riser knew there were more than a few wolves in the area. They howled in the distance, sometimes jogging alongside the minotaurs but always at a safe distance. He didn't know what they wanted. Maybe they were just curious. After a while they backed off into the hills and he didn't see them anymore.
They travelled for hours. Riser called out, complaining about the relentless pace but no one took any notice of him. He was starting to believe that Ranno Hon-Erran might actually be a nanomachine after all. He certainly had a lot of energy for an old man. He didn't sweat. He didn't tire or eat. He didn't even take a shit as far as Riser had ever noticed. It wasn't natural. He was determined to bring it up with him the next time they spoke.
The minotaurs were another story. He could smell them from a kilometre away and his sense of smell had never been good. Their backs were covered in a thick white paste and their snouts steamed into the cool air as they ran with heavy, pounding hooves.
They carried long halberds with ferocious-looking curved blades. Some of the smaller minotaurs looked as though they were finally starting to tire. He could see their strides getting shorter and their pace gradually slowing after hours of gruelling running.
King Kuerolong was much stronger than the others. He never slowed. He showed no signs of weakness. As he pulled away, it was Ranno who had to call out on behalf of his companions. The other minotaurs would have struggled on without complaint until they collapsed and died of exhaustion.
Riser was tired too but his exoskeleton had been doing most of the work. He was tired of being ignored, and tired of being bounced around. The long run had shaken his brain and shaken his bones. He could hardly tell them apart anymore.