The four sat down at a table in the cosy bar. The Lo de Ponxe en el Kinto Pino was family owned and it showed. Nice little touches to the décor and friendly staff made the four tourists feel welcome.


    Rae''s face screwed up and she looked at Paul. “Can you read Spanish Paul?” He shook his head and looked up at Edward who shrugged his shoulders.


    Sam raised her hand. “No worries guys Caero can translate. Hey Caero you can right?”


    AFFIRMATIVE.


    “Who the hell is Caero?” Asked a bewildered Paul. Sam smiled knowingly. “Its the H.U.D.''s name. You guy''s really should try to learn a bit more about that thing on your wrist”


    She looked at Edward. “I''m surprised at you Edward, I would have thought you would have been all over it.” He nodded. “Yeah I guess, it''s just been a really busy couple of weeks.”


    “Pfft! I''ve been almost blown to pieces twice, been in a coma for a week, nearly blew up the ship and almost got windswept off the Haven in a tornado. I found time!”


    Paul rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah we get it. Poor little captain marvel had a bad week. We had to go to academy lessons, You don''t see us complaining.”


    Rae looked at him incredulously. Paul grimaced. “OK, you don''t see those two complaining.”


    Sam snickered. “Paul your such a twat I really don''t see what Rae sees in you.”


    He looked hurt until he felt Rae''s arm around his waist as she kissed his ear. He grinned and turned for a proper kiss as Sam gagged.


    Rae disengaged and smiled at Sam. “Don''t knock it until you''ve tried it.” Sam looked at Paul and grimaced.


    “Yeah I''m good thanks.” Edward grinned at Paul. “One woman''s meat is another women''s poison.”


    Rae looked at the translated version of the menu in her H.U.D. And her face scrunched up. “Talking about poison, why is there no meat on this menu? Caero are you sure you translated this correctly?”


    AFFIRMATIVE MISS GROMWIN. THIS IS A VEGAN RESTAURANT.


    Rae looked up in horror at Sam who looked towards Edward with a wide grin. Edward grinned as he heard two simultaneous versions of


    “You didn''t!?”


    One with a tang of outrage and one with surprised delight.


    Sam munched on her vegan Piquillo pepper pasta with a big cheesy grin on her face as Rae stabbed at her vegan chorizo paella. Paul had the same as Rae. As long as he could drink he really didn''t care that his meal didn''t have meat in it. He secretly quite liked the spicy food, but even he knew that saying so would definitely not be good for his relationship with Rae.


    Edward had tofu chorizo and lemon cauliflower rice with sautéed potatoes. He smiled at Sam as she clearly relished eating in a meat free environment.


    The four of them had decided to stay at the bar and had transferred away from the tables after their meal and were chatting amiably as the late afternoon turned into evening. It seemed to Sam that the day had been perfect. She smiled contentedly as she clung onto Edward''s arm, she felt a spark of warmth inside her and every time he smiled her heart melted a little more. so this was what what being normal felt like. She liked it, she liked him.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


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    Sam looked up startled as one of the grey icons turned a bright orange. All four were suddenly caught unawares as Caero broke into their conversation.


    ALERT!


    POTENTIAL TERRORIST ACTIVITY IN THE CITY. SEVERAL UNCONFIRMED ENEMY COMBATANTS ARE IN YOUR VICINITY.


    Sam looked around sharply trying to identify who Caero was talking about. She spied four more bright orange icons. “Caero are the orange icons the U.E.C.''s?


    AFFIRMATIVE. RED WILL BE CONFIRMED ENEMY COMBATANTS.


    Sam grabbed Edward''s arm. “C''mon guys we are getting out of here, lets get back to the ship!”


    Rae nodded and was beside her in an instant. Paul lagging just a couple of feet back as he turned to collect his jacket. Suddenly there was an almighty BOOM! And the evening sky, just turning dark lit up with an bright incandescent orange light, Sam felt the power of the explosion inside her and horror filled her soul.


    “The ships been hit!”


    The others looked stricken at her then a shot thundered loudly in their ears and Paul crumpled to the floor. Rae screamed as she looked about wildly, panic in her eyes. “Caero! What the fucks going on?...Caero?”


    Sam shouted into her head, but nothing.


    She heard another explosion. No not explosion, a gun shot! She turned to see one of the orange icons turn his gun on Rae and her chest exploded as she flew back. Her blood gushing from half a dozen holes in her body.


    Sam turned and drew his life essence instinctively and the body withered and died in a second. She felt heat blossom inside her as she spied another orange icon aiming at her chest. She felt pain blossoming inside her and she sucked the life from him, using part of his essence to heal herself.


    She turned to see Edward lying in a pool of blood and her whole world started to spin. She felt half a dozen impacts to her torso but didn''t even blink as she gazed down at her friends. Her only real friends in the whole world lying dead on the floor of the bar.


    The place was utterly destroyed! Tables and chairs torn asunder, glass and food strewn every where...bodies of the patrons...all dead. She looked around seeing three orange icons turn Red and her shock turned to rage.


    She clenched her fist and two of the three died in an instant. The third saw what had happened to the first couple of hired guns and was out the door as soon as he saw his weapon made no apparent damage to his target.


    Sam eyes filled with rage as she raced to the front of the bar and she saw a Red icon racing away in a car. Three more icons blinked from grey to Red inside the vehicle and she pulled the life from all four.


    Even as the car crashed into on coming traffic. She felt her rage blossoming, they had killed her friends! The ship was gone! Everything was gone! she felt herself losing control as the berserker in her linked to her essence.


    She whirled around, every icon was Red! It didn''t matter the actual colour. They had killed everyone she had spent the last couple of weeks getting to know. Her new home. Luke...sergeant troll,..porter! The corporal who had healed her wrist....what was it? Reed? All dead!


    She smashed out at an oncoming car and siphoned off the life forces inside as she used gravity magic to hurl it aside. The vehicle exploded and shrapnel hit her in the side of the face. Her rage grew deeper. She could barely see.


    All she could feel was the heat inside her building up as she continued to suck the life from every icon in sight. They all deserved to die!


    There had to be more. Back stabbing little weasels hiding in the crevasses of the city just waiting for her to stop. Then they would scurry away, safe in the knowledge they had killed everyone who was dear to her. Well that was not going to fucking happen!


    She could feel every living soul in the city and she would suck the life from every fucking one of them! They wanted death and destruction!? Then she would be their fucking reaper!


    Sam grasped the tendrils of life in her fingers and she PULLED! She felt her new faux leather jacket burn to ash in a second alongside the rest of her clothes.


    She stood in the centre of Valencia the very personification of death incarnate as she rid the whole city of life. She felt her skin slough off her bones as the enormous energy she pulled in became too much and she shrieked as she let it all go in one massive ball of energy.


    The resulting explosion sundered the entire city. Satellites from space would record a five mile crater half a mile deep where once had been a beautiful vibrant city, now there was just an enormous hole devoid of life....almost devoid. A teenage girl, naked and unconscious lay dead centre of the crater seemingly untouched by the whole event.