Acid Burns

Brach started jogging to the ramp, turning occasionally to fire at the zerg. He fired
one last volley on the roaches before leaping at the ramp, but he'd wasted too much time.
They were closer than he'd estimated. The front roach rose up on its front legs and opened
its maw, vomiting a stream of acid as Brach landed on the ramp. It hit him above the right
knee, knocking him off-balance. He collapsed on his stomach beside Lee, and she watched
in horror as his neosteel armor smoked and dissolved before her eyes.
Brach screamed in pain, but even with his helmet mike, Lee could barely hear him
above the engines. He writhed in agony, flailing his arms, and accidentally pinned Lee to the
floor of the ramp. She struggled under the weight of his suit to reach around her belt,
twisting her shoulder to find a grenade. Something popped inside her shoulder joint, but
there was no pain. Her fingers closed around the smooth, cold, hi-ex pebble. She wrenched
her arm back out, up, and under, releasing it.
"Go! Go! Close the ramp!" she shouted into her headset. The grenade arced through
the air, catching sunlight through the open hangar. It landed in the ragged mouth of the
roach that had hit Brach.
Lee watched the zerg explode through the thin slit between ramp and hull as it
closed. Two marines wrestled Brach onto his back while another shouted something at the
pilot. The engines spun up to full burn. The medivac rose off the ground, turned ninety
degrees, and blasted the zerg with its exhausts as it soared away.
Brach, still flat on the floor, turned his head to Lee and raised his visor. He smiled,
winced at the pain, then smiled again.
"Always said we were a good match."
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