322: The Second Hunter

The Second Hunter

"Run…." a low growl escaped the clone's mouth.

"Big sister?" Lily asked hesitantly. 

The little girl wasn't stupid and knew that something was happening to Sophie. 

There was a dangerous chill running down Lily's spine as she lay helplessly in the arms of her big sister.

[Monster]

[Killer]

[Freak]

Three words looped over and over in the clone's mind as she desperately struggled to regain some sanity.

Sophie's wanton killing and violence had finally tipped the hybrid girl over the breaking point and these out-of-control emotions were proving to be too much to bear.

The clone moved with jerky puppet-like motions as she slowly lowered Lily to the ground and placed all of her remaining protective devices on the little girl's body.

Every second was agony as the waves of bloodlust entering her mind were beginning to cloud her judgement.

There was only one thing that the clone could do now before she fully lost control.

'Sophie' activated her enhanced vision and scanned the entire length of the starship for the route to the exit.

The strain of using the full extent of her ability caused small droplets of blood to leak out of her already scarlet eyes.

"Lily… you… need…" 'Sophie' muttered hoarsely as her speech became more incoherent.

"Straight… ahead… take… two lefts… one right… and then…

[Monster]

[Killer]

[Freak]

"Arghhh!" the clone screeched in agony. 

Terrible memories of the slaughter that Sophie had committed on the upper deck flowed into her mind once more.

She could almost taste the sickening sweet… almost delicious… tang of fresh meat ripped straight from the corpses.

"Big sister! HELP HER PLEASE!" Lily ran towards the shivering clone and gestured towards the other mercenaries for help.

It was no use as the mercenaries could not understand what language the little girl was speaking.

"Hell no… I'm out of here!" one of the more cowardly mercenaries took the opportunity to run as he saw the collapsed body of their captor.

He would not be the last to flee as the other mercenaries took the opportunity to escape from the sight of the dangerous warrior who was now clearly distracted.

The strength that Sophie had previously displayed by unleashing her cultivation pressure had squashed any rebellious thoughts in their hearts.

Even seeing the clone's hunched-over posture was not enough to convince the mercenaries that they could successfully kill her.

It was a far better option to just run and wait for the security units on the ship to take out that lunatic.

"Sophie… I… urghh," Lily cried out in pain as 'Sophie' roughly pushed her tiny body away. 

The little girl went flying several feet in the air and hit a metal wall before sliding to the ground with a dull thud.

A shimmering blue glow appeared around her body as one of the barrier devices activated to absorb the impact of the blow.

"Listen… you… need… to run… NOW!" 'Sophie' trembled as the urge to kill continued to rise.

"Remember… I… will… only… say … this… once…

There was no time to waste. 

The mental connection between Sophie and her clone was proving to be a double-edged sword.

'Sophie' stabbed her fingernails into the fleshy part of her knee and softly hissed with pain. 

This would only provide her with a few minutes of clarity at most.

She raised up her head and took one final glance at Lily. 

The emotions on the little girl's face were as clear as day…

Worry, Concern and Love.

She was a good kid.

She deserved…. better.

Who would want a mad beast as a protector?

Feelings of shame and guilt rose up in the clone's heart that were so strong that even Sophie paused mid-way through her killing spree and stared at an unknown direction.

'Sophie' opened her mouth to give the directions to the exit room and this time the words flowed clearly and properly.

Perhaps the determination to at least save the little girl who relied on her was enough to temporarily hold the bloodlust at bay.

"Lily. You need to go straight ahead and then you will see split paths in the corridor. Take two lefts and then one right," the clone whispered.

"The exit array has an activation button that requires the fingerprints of a crewmember. This is going to be nasty, but you need to press it using this."

The clone reached into her pocket and gave Lily the severed hand from one of the aliens Sophie had killed by the holding room for the mercenaries.

She knew for certainty that even if only a select few individuals had access to the exit array, that this severed hand belonged to one of them.

Those two aliens were the same ones that were in charge of activating the metalloid bridge that led into the starship and also served as guides for mercenaries to their rooms.

Lily frowned slightly as she cautiously grabbed the severed palm. 

There were a million questions forming on her lips but the serious glint in her big sister's eyes forced the little girl to hold them back.

Lily whimpered softly as she stared at 'Sophie' with worry in her gaze. 

The heavy feeling of the severed palm in her hand seemed to weigh her down.

She just couldn't understand what was happening.

Why was her big sister acting so scary?

"What… about you?" Lily bravely asked. 

"I…I… Arghhh!" 'Sophie' clutched her head in pain as a fresh wave of bloodlust surged uncontrollably into her body.

"GO! RUN NOW!" she managed to yell before collapsing to the ground.2

Lily's eyes started to water as the last image she saw before turning around to run was the convulsing figure of her big sister.

[Monster]

[Killer]

[Freak]

Over and over these mocking jeers looped in the clone's mind until she found herself whispering along to the chants.

"Monster…. killer… freak…" 'Sophie' muttered darkly as her eyes slowly rolled upwards.

One minute passed…

Three minutes passed…

Five minutes passed…

'Sophie' suddenly froze and then got up from the ground with smooth, graceful movements. 

There was no longer any hesitation in her steps as she immediately sniffed the air and headed towards the direction of the escaping mercenaries.

The clone's eyes were completely scarlet and all threads of reason in her mind had been snapped. 

Extending out her bladed appendages, the clone scuttled along the floor of the corridor with movements similar to a crab.

A second apex predator now roamed the starship in search for fresh prey.

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