Aiyah's eyes shot open and she tried jumping at her attacker. But the ropes tied around her wrists kept her in place.

A voice broke through her thoughts, "Slow down there."

Aiyah's head snapped up to, a gruff middle-aged man sitting on a stool ten feet in front of her, elbows resting on his knees, fingers intertwined in front of his face. Still a little dazed, Aiyah took in her surroundings. The room was fairly sparse, a bed frame without a mattress to one side, a small dresser across from it. The wallpaper was aged and torn away at the edges exposing the stone walls beneath. Definitely not the museum. Aiyah tried to get comfortable on the chair, but eventually had to settle with 'not uncomfortable'.

"Some nerve you have," he said, lowering his hands, glaring at her through his thick brows. "Coming in here, shooting up my men." He was much more prepared for combat than the others, equipped with a brown combat vest, pockets filled with an assortment of supplies, grenade clipped to his left shoulder, and a handgun holstered on the lower left side. Her eyes shot down to Valkyrie, lying at the man's feet.

"And who might you be?" She asked.

"I am Fariq, and those men you shot were a part of my militia."

"I didn't kill them," Aiyah shot back, staring down Fariq intensely.

"No. You put them in immense pain," he leaned forward, hushing to a whisper, "Some might consider that worse than death." He suddenly sat back bursting into a fierce roar, "And you destroyed my courtyard!"

"Awww, I'm sorry." Aiyah tilted her head much in the same manner of a parent speaking to their child, "Is it in immense pain too?" A stool splintered against the wall next to her.

Fariq crossed the room to her; the scimitar on his waist fell into view. He struggled to not strangle her where she sat, "You come in to my town, injure my men, destroy my buildings, and now you dare speak back to me in this way?!"

Aiyah simply looked up at him and smiled. "Yup."

Fariq leaned in close and pressed a finger into her chest. "You Syntech scum need to leave us alone." He pushed her back and continued, "We can look after ourselves."

She launched her body back towards him, head stopping mere inches away from his face, her eyes meeting his, "Okay, first of all: I'm not scum. And secondly: Why do you people keep saying I'm from Syntech!?"

Fariq opened his mouth to argue, but Aiyah didn't give him a chance. "And third of all: Are you sure? This town is a dump. A little bit of technostuff could really brighten up the place. Make your lives easier."

Fariq stepped back and picked up Valkyrie examining the exceptional piece of machinery with contempt. "Our lives are fine. We make a living here on our own. We don't need your 'techstuffs' ruining our town." He turned Valkyrie around in his hands.

Aiyah looked down at her arms. "A bit of tech can make a real difference in a person's life."

"And you've used it to harm people," Fariq retorted as he flicked the red switch on the side of the gun. The barrel shot back into the weapon, catching Fariq's hand and trapping it in the mechanism. "What the hell!?" he shrieked through gasping breaths, desperately pulling at the machine.

With a grunt, Aiyah tore her arms free from the bindings and hopped to her feet. "Be fair, that was your fault. But I'll take the blame for this part." She grabbed Valkyrie with both hands and with one mighty kick, sent Fariq flying backwards. Aiyah tore the gun from his hands, leaving them bloodied and mangled. He fell back to the bed frame, howling in pain, staining the carpet a dark red. Aiyah wiped the blood off Valkyrie, and dashed out the door, saluting him as she went.

The pounding steps of the guards rounded the corner at either end of the barren hallway. Aiyah was sure they wouldn't be so accommodating a second time. Without hesitation, she covered her head and threw herself out a window landing on the roof below.

She could hear commands being shouted, followed by windows shattering behind her, and soon the area lit up, bullets chasing her as she ran atop the building. Pieces of the roof chipped away, spraying her face with bits of shrapnel, forcing Aiyah to cover her eyes. Bullets whizzed past her as she neared the end of the roof. Suddenly, she felt the force of a sledgehammer slam into her arm as a bullet caught her, ricocheting off the metal appendage into a window across the street. Aiyah tried to maintain her balance, but the force was enough to send her stumbling off the side of the roof and slamming to the ground. She scrambled to check her arm. No damage, save a small divot on the surface. The flurry of bullets above her came to a stop followed by a heavy pause.

A young stammer broke the silence, "I-I think I got her!" A flood of commands from a gravelly voice soon followed accompanied by the distant shuffling of feet on broken glass. "Group one you take the rooftops. Group two with me on the streets. I want that body!"

Aiyah got to her feet and moved to a nearby alley for cover. She was eager to get out of there but she needed that bracer. Creeping through the alley, she came to another street. She looked up to see the welcome centre was right in front of her. Luck was on her side this day. The museum was nearby.

* * * *

Aiyah stopped and crouched down behind a decrepit bench, pulling a timer from one of her pockets, "Nine, eight, seven—" An explosion on the far end of the town caused her to shrink down further behind the bench. "I'm reading the manual closer next time," She muttered to herself, peaking over the bench at the distant pillar of smoke rising above the buildings. Demolitions had never been her forte but that ought distract them long enough.

A few minutes later, Aiyah found herself back at the museum entrance. The fading sun cast a soft, orange hue on the ruined courtyard. The debris from her previous conflict still covered one side. The blood had not been washed from the walls and still dotted the sand, but the guards had been removed. As she crossed through the courtyard it was clear that no one was waiting for her this time.

The interior was still empty. Neither a creak nor breath could be heard as she tiptoed past the rooms, checking each one for an ambush. She passed around a corner approaching the area where the bracer lay.

But it was gone.

Shattered glass littered the ground where the bracer once was. Losing all consideration for silence, Aiyah ran to the case, glass crunching beneath her feet and climbed into the display. She searched the area, kicking the glass aside and looking behind the pedestal in a mild panic.

"It's still here," came a smooth voice from behind her. Aiyah turned and saw Razia, standing at the end of the aisle. The bracer wrapped around her wrist.

"Oh. Thanks for holding on to it for me," Aiyah said, recomposing herself as she approached.

"Don't come any closer," Razia stated calmly.

"Look, I'm just here for the bracer." Aiyah responded, outstretching her hand, "I get that, and I'm out," She tossed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing to a figurative exit.

Razia stood, unflinching, "This heirloom has been in our city for generations. It represents everything that we have fought to preserve in our clan." Her eyes pierced Aiyah's. Her words filled with conviction, "We will not hand it over to Syntech."

Aiyah sighed, "Look, I'm not your enemy here. I'm trying to help you," and she took another step forward. Razia flicked her wrist and a blade sprung out the front of the bracer.

"Stay there." The point of the blade came to rest just inches away from Aiyah's face. The two froze. Razia soon broke the silence, "How would you help us?"

Aiyah locked eyes with Razia, "We're uniting the cities. We wanted symbols from throughout the district, and thought your town's heirloom would be perfect."

Razia looked down at the bracer and back to Aiyah. "Uniting us for what?" she questioned.

"I can't tell you that."

Barely allowing Aiyah to finish Razia snapped, "Then how can I trust you?"

Aiyah hesitated, eyes lowering and her mind churning over the question in silence. Suddenly her eyes came back up to meet Razia's, "Your blade is a symbol for your peoples' struggles. It represents your fight to maintain your independence." There was another brief pause. "We need that for the coming war. We want to rally behind what you have stood for all these years."

The room fell to silence again.

Aiyah had spoken with a sureness Razia found difficult to dismiss, a sincerity that was nigh impossible to fabricate. The blade flicked back into the bracer, clearing the air between the two and Razia began to undo its buckles.

"This bracer has been a part of our struggle for centuries. We alone know its true value." She extended the bracer to Aiyah, "Show them our true value." Aiyah took a step forward and Razia placed the bracer in her hands. "I watched you fight. I'm certain you'll keep it safe."

"I won't be the one using it." Aiyah said, running her fingers along the bracer.

Razia took a moment to take this in, "Who is?"

Aiyah placed the artefact in her bag, "I don't know yet."

"Will they be a good fighter?"

Aiyah looked up at Razia, "I damn well hope so."

Who is this new menacing character!? Check out our new story Pulling Strings to find out!

We hope you loved the story! See all of the amazing art in sequence by Andrew Kwan here:

http://andrewkwan.deviantart.com/art/Injection-The-Heart-of-Sharjah-579531567