by Marc Mulero
He was aware of Lito’s orders to head to Bulchevin, "Let's get you out of here as soon as possible."
"Aye, mijo, but not yet. We got work to do. I have the medics and nurses setting up in that area," Lito said as he pointed to a partially blocked off corner where the jets had landed. "There isn't much cover here and that's a lot of guards prepping in the distance," he continued.
"My squads are setting up as we speak. They're flanking behind the west mountain," Drino said, "We just have to stall as much as we can."
A bullet whizzed above Drino’s head, hitting the ladder of a jet.
They both ducked, "They're closing in," Drino said as he turned around and stood tall.
"We have to give Blague cover, now!" Lito said.
"Soldiers!" Drino roared with a stentorian voice, "Attack! For the Sins!"
Drino let two shielded soldiers ahead of him and then sprinted, hauling his minigun. Lito dashed to the edge of the mountain closest to him, carefully plotting his strategy to bomb the Hiezers. He took a quick survey of the layout of rocks to use as cover. Back on the flat land, a mix of Hiezer elite and infantry guards aggressively ambushed the Sins, unleashing hell in the form of bullets. Their ferocity was stemmed from the Sin's audacity to attack them at their own headquarters.
Lito picked up his radio, "Snipers! Aim for the departing jets in the distance! Those bastards must be the highlords."
"Roger, commander," a Sin sniper replied.
A wave of high caliber bullets clanged as they punctured steel jets attempting to take off. One jet faltered since the pilot panicked for a moment, reducing the thruster speed as it lifted vertically. The pilot recovered and quickly sped off, leaving a trail of smoke from behind.
"Adjust!" the sniper yelled as he repositioned.
A second wave of bullets crashed into the next departing jet, this time hitting a vital fuel pocket. The jet caught fire and spun back down toward a group of Hiezer guards, knocking up the terrain as it swiped the ground. The guards and fighters who were mid-field opened fire, which erupted into an intense, high velocity battle. Both sides of the mountain had enough rocks to take cover, but the land in between was flat and open. The only cover provided was whatever bullet-proof vests and shields the soldiers had equipped. Some guards continued charging as others remained prone, unleashing havoc with their rifles. Sin fighters fell around Drino; their bodies jerked from the impact of bullets. His jaw remained tense while he quickly assessed the situation. He was sandwiched behind two fighters, who were desperately pressing their shields onto the sides of his minigun, trying to deflect the incoming barrage of bullets. Drino pulled the trigger; the engine of the gun revved for a second before the bullets shot out. Drino let out a roar as he swung his gun to take out the closest advancing troops. Blood and falling bodies painted the canvas around them.
A Sin fighter quickly dropped to the floor and took aim at a guard who was getting into position. He fired and watched the guard stumble and fall to one knee, desperately trying to close the wound in his arm where blood poured out. The fighter stood up to get a better shot and finish the guard, but a bullet kicked his head back as it pierced his forehead. His body fell backward and landed contorted.
"We have at least one highlord still on the premises," Lito yelled through his radio, "He's limping out of the fallen jet."
Lito put his binoculars away and pulled out a mortar stand from his backpack. He bobbed his head, unable to contain his excitement. He spun the lever a few times to calculate the precise angle. He then took a moment to witness the chaos of the two forces clashing together; the firing match had now developed into a tangle of close combat warfare and ranged assault. He dropped a mortar down the shoot and fired toward the back of the Hiezer army. Bodies were thrown all around from the blast. Anxious to change his position, Lito quickly dropped another mortar down the shoot. He ducked behind a boulder, noticing a few soldiers shift their rifles to his location. Lito's short, green mohawk barely stuck out above the rock. The guards advanced toward Lito very low to the ground.
"These dudes are more adaptive than the other Hiezer guards I’ve faced," Lito said out loud to himself. "I wonder if they can adapt to these," he said as he reached in his bag and pulled out two hand grenades.
He pulled the pin and hooked one over the rock, past the guards. Lito peeked out, watching the guards’ necks turn to follow the grenade lobbed overhead. Lito rolled the next grenade on the ground toward them before they could react. He then sprinted back toward the Sin camp. Lito plugged his ears while the explosion tore their bodies to shreds.
"Now!" Drino yelled into his radio before a pack of advancing Hiezer guards tumbled onto him.
Drino's coordinated squads flanked from the southwest, emerging from the rock path with ferocity. Squad X positioned themselves midrange, unleashing a storm of bullets toward the advancing guards’ backside. Lito took a glance and although the struggle was violent, the battle now appeared to be moving in the Sin's favor. A guard lunged, desperately reaching his blade toward Drino's neck, in an attempt to take a top commander’s head as a trophy. Drino was overwhelmed with three bodies sprawled around him, pushing him to the ground. Time slowed for a moment; he sat back dazed as gunfire and explosions lit the air above him, deaf to all of the insanity. After a brief moment, his hearing came back and his adrenaline released him from the daze. Drino lifted his head to see the guard about to slice his throat. He wrestled one arm free by flipping a body off of him and snapped the guard's swinging arm. He closed his fist around the blade to prevent it from cutting his throat. He then jerked the blade, quickly twisting it free, and snapping the guard’s shoulder right out of its socket. Blood dripped from Drino's hand as he released his grip on the blade. The cuts were deep, but there was no time to even consider them; he was overcome with bodies desperately trying to make it out of the dogpile alive. Drino cracked another guard's mask with his brass-knuckled fist. He then used his arms to pull his legs out from under a limp body. Without taking a moment to recover, he dove to save a fighter's life, by strangling a guard and repeatedly smashing his temple. Lito, still sprinting for the medic wedge, noticed three slim elite guards run past the crowd. All of them seemed to be equipped with explosives, sprinting at high speed.
"Snipers, focus fire on the three elite guards heading toward the jets!" Lito shouted into the radio.
The snipers, who were covered by rock, adjusted their aim. The guards began to close in on their target. A sniper fired, nearly blowing off one of the guard’s arms. The force of the bullet spun him to the floor. The other two snipers fired. One of the guards dashed and flipped as soon as he heard the gun shot, barely dodging both bullets. The guard regained his speed as soon as his feet hit the floor. A sniper let out another high caliber bullet. The bullet hit one of the grenades attached to the other sprinting guard’s hip, ripping her to shreds. The other elite guard pulled a grenade from his hip as he approached his destination. He flung it into the landing platform of the jet and sprinted to the next. The mid-section of the jet exploded, damaging it beyond repair. As the guard approached the next jet, a man jumped high from the landing platform, tackling the guard before he could pull the pin on his next grenade. The Sin fighters that spotted the guard were hesitant to shoot, considering he was full of explosives and infiltrated the camp. Chella ran up to get a closer look. The man who tackled the guard was Oscin. She almost couldn't believe her eyes; the thin, drunk man apparently found an ounce of courage in him. Chella gathered herself after realizing that Oscin was losing his heroic fight. The elite guard had both of his hands wrapped around Oscin’s neck. She ran over and as Oscin kneed him in the groin, Chella knocked him in the face with her automatic rifle and shot him in the head. Oscin struggled to catch his breath as Chella reached out her hand to lift him up. After ten seconds of coughing and heavy breathing, Oscin finally reached out.
"That was very brave of you," she said.
"What choice did I have?" Oscin asked as he wiped the dirt
off of him. "It was either stop him or blow up in a jet," he said, his breath reeking of alcohol.
Chella smiled at him and jogged after Lito, who was approaching.
"Hey, thanks for the save," Oscin said.
Chella turned back and nodded. Oscin headed back toward his jet. Bullets whizzed in all directions. The flank carried out by Drino’s squads noticeably turned the tide of the battle. Lito jogged up to Chella, when a loud noise echoed through the air. Oscin turned his head to see six Hiezer carrier jets pull up to the fortress. Lito and Chella's faces turned tense, realizing this was an awful turn of events.
"They wouldn't bomb our camp, would they?" Chella asked as the noise of the jets died down.
Lito shook his head, "They have to assume we carry Ayelan with us wherever we set up a base. At the same time, we shouldn’t use our jets for combat either, in case they get blown up. Then we be sitting ducks for their reinforcements. Blague assured that the warfare would remain traditional because of this. Smart man, that boss of ours," Lito said while tapping his finger on his head.
Chella raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"Pull the reserve fighters and send them in under my order. This does not look good,” Lito said.
Oscin ran up the landing platform in a panic and tried to shut it. A moment later, the jet's engines fired up.
"No! That pedazo de mierda!" Lito shouted, turning back to see a rising jet. "Get back here, Oscin! We need every resource we can get!" Lito shouted through the radio.
The jet took off and headed westbound.
Chapter 21
Is this a brotherly feud? No, it's more than that. Blague is genuine and he's always been. It seems like his brother may have just pushed him over the edge. Backed him into a corner, with nothing left to do but fight. No, that's not it either.
Lesh walked beside Blague and Sabin, as she twirled a throwing knife on her finger. The three of them, along with fifteen top Sin fighters stormed the fortress head on as the battle raged on outside.
He wasn't backed into a corner. He just had nothing more to lose. Elaina and his father were taken from him. He saw the layers of hell within this world and this man had enough courage to try and change it.
"It's too quiet in here," Sabin said, with his string blades out and Mars by his side.
Lesh analyzed the area while determining her next moves. Blague confidently led the group, taking note of their surroundings.
"We're going to find what we want in here. All of the highlords couldn’t have had enough time to escape, but rest assured, when we find one, that person will be heavily guarded," Blague said.
The long, prestigiously decorated hallway seemed endless. There were three separate doorways at the end of the hall creating a fork in its path.
"I heard something," Lesh said.
As they slowed their pace, the muffled sound of a loudspeaker echoed through the room.
"Blague," Mulderan's distinct voice came through the speakers, "how curiously aggressive of you to barge in on my progress."
Blague drew his Desert Eagle, fully aware that the trap had sprung. The eighteen of them heard the front door slam shut behind them.
"Your interference has so little purpose. You couldn’t be more ignorant as to what lies ahead of us. Now, you've forced my hand. You will have to hear your friends die with no help from their leader," Mulderan stated, annoyed at the attempted ambush.
Blague's radio went off a moment later, "We're being overwhelmed Blague! Phase two is not a go. I have to stay put, we may not make it!" Lito shouted over the chaos in the background.
Sabin clenched his jaw and turned to Blague, "They knew about the ambush?"
Blague shook his head, "If they knew for sure, they wouldn't have come. They might have had a hunch though, judging by the level of protection."
"What are we waiting for?" Lesh interrupted, "We have to get on with this if we're going to save the fighters outside." She sprinted ahead.
Blague looked at Sabin, "She's right, let's move."
Sabin swung his arm for the team to follow. Lesh flipped upward to the ceiling, hanging upside down from its ledge. She took out a small device made by Rodest and flashed it by the control panel next to the metal door. The door immediately opened. She quickly peeked from the top of the doorway and got a glimpse of the soldiers taking cover in the next room. The room was large and filled with thick pillars from the floor to the ceiling. Lesh dropped to the floor and slipped in. Blague followed with his gun pointed toward the floor. They both took cover behind the first large pillar to their left. The door shut behind Blague, locking them in the room. Another one opened near where Sabin and the remaining fighters were standing in the hallway. A huge elite guard swung a giant fist in through the doorway, smashing a Sin in the temple. Sabin fell back for a moment from the shock.
"Charge the left door!" Sabin shouted as he held Mars by the collar, preventing him from leaping at the guard.
Sabin’s half cape flapped in the wind as fighters sprinted past him.
"Fire!" Mulderan commanded in the distance.
"He's close," Blague said.
Lesh nodded, "No time to waste," she said before dashing in between the pillars on the left side of the large room.
Two Hiezer elite guards revealed their position and opened fire. Lesh flipped high into the air and flung two knives, impaling one of the guards in the shoulder and neck. Blague pushed forward as the attention was on Lesh. He opened fire on the second guard, hitting him in the thigh and stomach. The guard groaned and dropped his assault rifle. Lesh looked behind her and noticed Blague's rage beginning to manifest. She sprinted toward the dead guard and retrieved her two bloody knives. She saw four more guards break their cover and open fire. Her evasive tactics made her a very difficult target to nail. Not losing an ounce of momentum, she ran two steps up the wall closest to her and kicked off into the air, becoming visible to the guards. She tossed a bloody knife into a guard's eye. Screams and curses came out of him as he dropped his rifle. The other guards ran to where they thought Lesh would land, only to find a Desert Eagle waiting to claim them. Blague fired four shots, fatally wounding the three of them. Blague lifted his gun upright as he saw Lesh fly through, landing on her feet from a long backflip.
"He's here, Blague," Lesh said, "I got a glimpse of him."
They both ran toward the next room, strafing back and forth, advancing through the elite guards set to protect Mulderan. Lesh's deadly knives stuck out of each guard only for a second before she recycled them to her next victim. Blague provided protection to Lesh and smoothly switched to the lead in between her kills. They poetically made a mess of the fortress, leading all the way to Mulderan, who fearlessly stood in plain sight. His black cloak extended to his shins and his regal shoulder guards and crown shined in the light. His long flowing hair made it seem like he never tasted battle before. Lesh swung two knives at him, each soaring at just under a hundred miles per hour. Mulderan unleashed his black and gold bow and deflected them effortlessly; knocking one into the wall and one back toward Lesh. Blague rushed out and opened fire. Mulderan took cover before the high caliber bullets could penetrate.
"It looks like this is it for me. It's been a pleasure serving with you all," Drino's struggling, spotty voice came through each of their radios.
Lesh took a deep breath and Blague's rage grew stronger.
He ran over to Lesh and looked her closely in the eyes, "Go, save our friends. I'll take it from here."
Lesh nodded and sprinted back for the door.
Drino held his stomach as the blood poured out of the bullet wound in his abdomen. His brass knuckles were dented and covered in blood. He fell to his knees and grimaced in pain. His free hand fell on the assault rifle of a fallen fighter. Twenty guards marched to snuff out his flame.
The reinforcements, they were so close to the fortress. They had to have known.
Squads X, Y, and Z were commanded to retreat back to the camp on Drino's orders. The reserves
and fighters also regrouped at the camp to await their commander. Few fighters remained on the battlefield after the reinforcements wiped out most of the front lines. Medics ran to the field to save who they could.
If we stay, this could turn into a massacre. I hope Lito makes the right call.
The twenty guards ceased their march a few feet away from Drino and the wounded fighters on the battlefield.
"Cleanup," Drino said out loud to himself, coughing.
They raised their weapons, each taking aim at the survivors. Three of the guards were fixated on Drino, who exuded strength, even with a bullet in him.
"Ready!" the leading Hiezer guard shouted.
The sound of tensing muscles inside leather armor carried through the air. Drino readied himself to die fighting. A moment later, an explosion shot scrap metal through the air where the reinforcement carrier jets had landed. A jet then slowed its speed and unleashed a barrage of bullets upon the unsuspecting Hiezer cleanup crew.
"You're not going down like this, commander," Oscin said through his radio.
Drino grinned at the unexpected save. He drew the weapon from under his free hand and swung his arm with the last of his strength. A trail of bullets from the automatic rifle finished off the cleanup crew. He dropped the gun and fell to his knees when he saw the last guard fall. He stared at the wound for a moment as the blood poured down one of his hands. He looked up to the sky, just before a determined medic hooked him from under his arms and hoisted him onto a stretcher. Oscin’s jet slowed and landed back at the Sin camp.
"I have to stay out there," Drino yelled at the medic, with a strained voice, "There’re still at least five hundred Hiezer reinforcements to our two hundred remaining fighters!"