Nine Lives

[Samus Aran]

I’m in a little over my head here. I hunt monsters, not people. Primes are different. They come back. This feels wrong, even for me.

But they’re forcing my hand. As one of them runs towards me, blade upheld, I raise my bow and feel that focus that takes over when I’m about to make a kill. A second later, he’s dead.

I turn back to the man on the ground. Is he even worth saving? Assuming he survives, he’ll make a marvellous meat shield, but that’s a big assumption. He’s got a lot of gumption but that doesn’t stop blood loss. “You all right there, big guy?” If he doesn’t get up soon I’ll have no choice but to leave him to the sharks.