Duelist: First Person, Josh

i had a rough time moving out of the way as i heard the growl of cerbus' coilgun. the taste of bile stung the back of my throat as the ring-penetrators chewed a thick branch off of the tree that i was standing in front of only moments before. i tapped my tongue switch, letting out a short burst from my booster pack. the extra lift sent me over the edge of the ravine i had been skirting in an attempt to avoid the tank-like suit that encased cerbus. knee-joint servos whined as my suit tried to absorb the shock of the thirty foot fall onto uneven ground. i didn't look back as i bent forward and used my booster pack again to sprint towards a knoll but i could feel the heat through the insulation as a painting laser chipped away at the resin shields on the back of my left shoulder, but there was nothing to be done for it but keep running. my only hope was the knoll ahead. as i crashed to the ground behind the rise of earth that was my salvation, i could hear cerbus laughing in my helmet phones.

"That was smooth as silk, young Joshua. You run real nice." the ground underneath me rumbled as a round from cerbus' shoulder mounted mortar launcher slapped the small hill i lay prone behind.

"Fuck you!" i tried to think of something a bit more dashing, but i was out of breath and was really not in the mood for the banter.

"That is not polite, Joshua. Maybe i should come down there and teach you some manners!" the proximity alarm went off in my helmet, telling me cerbus was on the move. "Not polite at all!" i sat up over the top of the knoll for long enough to snap off a few rounds from my own coilgun only to find out that cerbus was still standing at the top of the ridge, hands on hips. my suit ai had a firing solution an instant before i twitched the muscle in the my first and second finger of my right hand, switching to full auto. he must have thought he had disabled my mains or something like that. my heart skipped a full three beats as the old veteran panicked, ran his booster pack on full and shot into the air describing a lazy somersault until gravity kicked back in. the entire time it was raining bits of his shielding as i peppered him with ring-penetrators. he hit the ground hard and lay still for a few seconds. not wanting to approach a wounded tiger, i prodded him with my painting laser and he reacted by climbing raggedly to his feet. as he rose, a visible spray of hydraulic fluid shot from his thigh joint. i had scored a lucky shot. cerbus' leg slowly straitened then locked into place, forcing him to drag it behind him as he limped to the cover of a grove of trees.

"Who's laughing now, asshole," i mumbled. cerbus did not respond as i began my climb up the ridge to finish the job.