Plumes of smoke rose above the pines along the western horizon. Sergeant Vong's attention turned to shouts and gunfire somewhere on the base.
Striding across the tarmac was a nude, hairless figure. He squinted and determined whomever it was was male.
More gunfire erupted around the soldier as his comrades urged him to join the fray.
Now the figure was festooned with long ribbons of smoke, smeared with soot, but unharmed and unhurried. 1/x
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Below a clear and cold sky, Owen was annoyed with the temperature. A steady breeze meant the sunshine did nothing to warm him.
In the first hour of his transformation he lost clothes to gunfire and bombs.
Hair did not share his invulnerability.
Bullets didn't bounce off like Superman. Instead they pancaked and fell. Others he picked like scabs.
Something deep down urged him to trespass on the base. Eyes darted and nothing stoo— Is that Rick? 2/x
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Smoke cleared to reveal a grunt reloading. He looked up when he felt Owen's gaze.
Owen?"
"Rick?"
"Stand down!" The rifle held steady and drew a bead on his friend's forehead. "I don't w-want to hurt you!"
"You won't." The nude man lunged and the gun fired. A second later Owen looked in Vong's eyes as he pried the shot from his scalp. "See?"
More shots erupted and cut down Sergeant Richard Vong in his prime and tickled the trespasser. 3/x
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Salmon and gold rays slanted across the base after hours of combat that only served to stall the trespasser.
He killed no one.
The unlucky ones merely found themselves caught in the crossfire.
Owen knew he was there to kill one person.
An important individual hiding underground.
He figured it was best to save his potential to fulfill that grim purpose.
Owen tore through a hangar door like a shoji. 3/x
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Waves of men and gunfire broke against Owen. Some became angrier their target didn't fight back, fuelled by mortal impotence. Not once did he lift a hand against them or flinch.
In the nude man's heart, he felt his heartbeat sync with his target's.
He was close.
Owen stopped to rip open a soda machine and have a drink.
His body didn't ache. He felt no bruises. His hands glided over his bare skin and found no blood. 4/x
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Colonel Samuel Grim was all sinew and muscle. He regretted what came out of his mouth next.
Fortunately no one heard as the blast door was blasted off its hinges.
Metal screamed as it twisted.
His men and women shot at the nude man, but no one connected for fear of being the first direct casualty of the seeming immortal before them. 5/x
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Owen stopped.
Owen shouted, "You don't know how to finish this, do you?"
A faint voice from all directions said, "Yup. Anything else could get me in trouble."
Owen nodded. "Go to sleep. You wrote something and that's enough." Beat. "And thanks for the taste of immortality."
"Welcome. Just can't think of anything with a very specific word like '#befogged'." 6/6
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