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the way he moved, how he dropped and rolled, sprang to his feet and ran, firing both weapons, it was clear he had. It was a sight to behold, and Kelly was mesmerized. He’d never seen anyone move like that. Mars was beautiful. The way his muscles moved, how lithe his body was, how there was no hesitation on his part. He was in complete control of his body and his abilities, as if there was no thought process needed, only action and reaction.
    The cannons multiplied, and Kelly swallowed hard. Mars tapped the gauntlet, the edges of a large light shield appeared before it faded, but Kelly was more than aware that just because he couldn’t see it didn’t signify it wasn’t there. Technology had come so far, and yet, as he watched Mars fire his weapons and block with his shield, he wondered how far they had really come. Suddenly the cannons stopped and the panels closed. Was that it? Was it over? Just as the thought crossed his mind, half a dozen floor-level panels opened, and three-dimensional holographic soldiers flooded out. Kelly couldn’t help his gasp. The digital soldiers might not be real, but the weapons in their hands and the way they all charged Mars said the pain they were programmed to inflict, the blood they’d draw from Mars, would be very real.

Chapter Six
     
     
    KELLY STOOD helpless.
    It was an odd sentiment to have, considering Mars was the supersoldier. A thin sheen of sweat covered his muscular body as he took on the digital army. One after another, the programmed men and women met their demise. Once Mars’s weapons had released their final charge, he proceeded to eliminate the threats with hand-to-hand combat, using whatever weapons the soldiers had against them. Kelly took a step back, a shiver running through him at the brutality of the too real display. Mars was a killing machine. The strength behind his fist caused it to plunge through a digital soldier’s chest. He snapped their necks with ease, his kick sending them hurtling several feet away. Did they really need to program all the blood? The sound of shattering bones? The screams?
    Just when Kelly thought it couldn’t get worse, more figures emerged from the panels, but to Kelly’s horror, he realized the next wave of digitized beings weren’t soldiers. They were men, women, and children. Civilians. Kelly shakily took a breath, feeling as though his legs would give out. He felt sick to his stomach, and he pressed his palms against the shield in the hopes of not crumbling to his knees. He wanted to look away, but he found he couldn’t. Mars killed without hesitancy, swift yet vicious. Did he know what he was doing? What it all meant? This wasn’t just an analysis. It was training, conditioning. The more people Mars killed, the more were sent out against him. It had gone beyond a fictitious war between warriors. It was a massacre. A never-ending sea of very soon to be corpses.
    The bodies piled up, limp and dead, bones protruding, streams of blood spreading. None managed to touch Mars, much less inflict any damage. Yet for all of Mars’s actions, it was his expression that terrified Kelly the most. There was no emotion, no remorse. It was a task to be carried out like any other. Tears welled in Kelly’s eyes. This had nothing to do with advancing human life and everything to do with taking it. It wasn’t at all what Jordan believed. They hadn’t created Mars because he had no family or loved ones to mourn his death should he fall on the battlefield. They’d created him to be void of humanity. To kill another human being without feeling remorse, without suffering PTSD. No moral compass to guide him.
    Mars spun and threw an arm around a man’s neck, his gaze landing on Kelly. His brows drew together, and for a split-second, he stilled. Movement to Mars’s right caught Kelly’s eye, and he screamed. Mars jumped out of the way, but not before the knife grazed his side, drawing blood. At that moment, the lights flickered, and the sea of