With Dusk at my side, we descend through many corridors and passageways and I can hear the sound of battle getting louder and louder.When we finally reach the battle it’s completely escalated into cheer chaos. The Martians, aliens, and mutations are seemingly being overrun by the sheer number of Dwellers. From my rough estimate alone the Dwellers must outnumber the Rebels by at least three-to-one.
“No wonder we were called here,” Dusk states. “This is madness.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” I look over at Dusk and see a hatred wash over her. I’d thought of her as a shooting hard person to deal with, but seeing her like this; it brought matters to a whole new level.
Dusk swats aside the jacket she has worn the entire time I’ve known her, and pulls out a shocking huge gun from her waist pocket.
I smile. This is what I was made for.
“Let’s get this done.” The words aren’t out of my mouth for more then a second before Dusk fires a strategic shot at a horde of Dwellers hanging off of a winged alien. The alien is some ten feet in the air with at least ten Dwellers on him. To my surprise Dusk’s gun doesn’t fire bullets but a plasma substance which ignited the Dwellers in a fiery blaze.
I can hear their screams for our vantage point.
“That poor alien was dead before I’d pulled out the whooper here,” Dusk mentions, pointing towards her gun. “I need you to come in from the left and make a path through to your right.”
I see a way of doing this and I question to myself if I have the run-up and strength to get through so many opponents all at once.
“Can you do this, Ravage?”
“Only one way to find out.” I coil up and spring off away from Dusk. I can hear the plasma blasts from behind me and the sounds of death that one gun is making. Awesome as it is, it doesn’t hold a candle to the sound of battle in front of me.
I plow into the Dwellers like a street-sweeper clearing waste. To my surprise the armour holds up and the alterations Dr. Tewantin has done to my body have very practical uses in a real battle.
The sound of crushed Dwellers’ bones helps too.
I take careful judgement not to maim or harm any Rebels; however, I find it hard to separate Rebel from Dwellers -- there is just that many. I uncoil my body and stand up to get a good idea of my surroundings. Standing before me is one shockingly tall Martian. She has four Dwellers before her all with the look of death in their eyes.
“Bring it on you little scuzzes,” the Martian says. I step forward and swat them aside like they were nothing.
“Hey!” the Martian protests. “I had that.”
“Don’t mention it!” I recoil and continue along the path Dusk wished.
Before I realise it I’m at the end of the path, with what seems like fifty Dwellers either pushed aside or crushed. I uncoil and turn myself around, the sound of battle still as furious as before. In my haste, I hadn’t asked Dusk what the next part of her plan was.
Then I see her, following my path with gun in hand. The air is alight with fire and the feeling I’ve had of the coldness in the air is quickly evaporated by Dusk’s trigger-finger.
I smile in Dusk’s direction but then notice just how much of a difference we’re making. We’re in the middle of a large battlefield and it seems that Dusk’s gun is like a candle’s flame.
I see more Rebels holding back but it’s not doing much. For every Dweller which is lost to battle, two more take its place.
“Your men are getting killed here!” I grab Dusk and pull her to my side. “Stand here and use that gun on whatever gets near you. Do not follow me, just stay here and defend yourself.”
“Ravage, what are you going to do?”
“Fight.”
***
The next few minutes flash past before me. I can feel the weight of Dwellers’ blood on my body and I take little thought in the fact that it’s been a very long time since I’d seen proper combat such as this.
Dusk remains in place, and even being some distance from her I can still hear her communication device at her side. To my surprise, I hear the voice of Dr. Tewantin.
“Yes, I’m here. What is it?”
“I’m sending in some reinforcements.”
I uncoil myself and stand before a horde of Dwellers, raising my arms above my head and bringing them down with such force that the Dwellers burst like ripe melons.
“How can you do that, Dr. Tewantin? We have no more men on duty,” Dusk comments with desperation in her voice.
“Is Ravage with you?” I hear Dr. Tewantin question, a hint of child-like enthusiasm in his demeanour. “How is his new body holding up?”
“Huh?” Dusk replies. “Good, and yes he is here. What do you mean, ‘reinforcements’?”
“I’m sending in some of Ravage’s old friends,” I hear over the speaker in Dusk’s hand and I’m astounded. “They should be there any second now.”
A great big shadow looms over the battle field as the Dwellers quickly get wind of what is happening. I’m not so quick to catch on.
I hear the roar and suddenly see many, many Dwellers turn tail and run back through rocky corridors and crevices. It is my men from Hellrock, cutting a bloody path through the Dwellers numbers.
“What the shock?!” I utter in disbelief.
The roar continues through the battlefield as our side suddenly begins to make headway. My men, suddenly out of unexpected retirement, do what they do best. They fight like there’s no tomorrow.
“Run!” seems to be the general cry from the Dwellers, as more of my men get their bloodlust. It doesn’t take long, but I can see it in their actions and their voices.
Meanwhile, I’m floored from the shock of it all. Just what has Dr. Tewantin done?
***
END OF BOOK FOUR
“No wonder we were called here,” Dusk states. “This is madness.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” I look over at Dusk and see a hatred wash over her. I’d thought of her as a shooting hard person to deal with, but seeing her like this; it brought matters to a whole new level.
Dusk swats aside the jacket she has worn the entire time I’ve known her, and pulls out a shocking huge gun from her waist pocket.
I smile. This is what I was made for.
“Let’s get this done.” The words aren’t out of my mouth for more then a second before Dusk fires a strategic shot at a horde of Dwellers hanging off of a winged alien. The alien is some ten feet in the air with at least ten Dwellers on him. To my surprise Dusk’s gun doesn’t fire bullets but a plasma substance which ignited the Dwellers in a fiery blaze.
I can hear their screams for our vantage point.
“That poor alien was dead before I’d pulled out the whooper here,” Dusk mentions, pointing towards her gun. “I need you to come in from the left and make a path through to your right.”
I see a way of doing this and I question to myself if I have the run-up and strength to get through so many opponents all at once.
“Can you do this, Ravage?”
“Only one way to find out.” I coil up and spring off away from Dusk. I can hear the plasma blasts from behind me and the sounds of death that one gun is making. Awesome as it is, it doesn’t hold a candle to the sound of battle in front of me.
I plow into the Dwellers like a street-sweeper clearing waste. To my surprise the armour holds up and the alterations Dr. Tewantin has done to my body have very practical uses in a real battle.
The sound of crushed Dwellers’ bones helps too.
I take careful judgement not to maim or harm any Rebels; however, I find it hard to separate Rebel from Dwellers -- there is just that many. I uncoil my body and stand up to get a good idea of my surroundings. Standing before me is one shockingly tall Martian. She has four Dwellers before her all with the look of death in their eyes.
“Bring it on you little scuzzes,” the Martian says. I step forward and swat them aside like they were nothing.
“Hey!” the Martian protests. “I had that.”
“Don’t mention it!” I recoil and continue along the path Dusk wished.
Before I realise it I’m at the end of the path, with what seems like fifty Dwellers either pushed aside or crushed. I uncoil and turn myself around, the sound of battle still as furious as before. In my haste, I hadn’t asked Dusk what the next part of her plan was.
Then I see her, following my path with gun in hand. The air is alight with fire and the feeling I’ve had of the coldness in the air is quickly evaporated by Dusk’s trigger-finger.
I smile in Dusk’s direction but then notice just how much of a difference we’re making. We’re in the middle of a large battlefield and it seems that Dusk’s gun is like a candle’s flame.
I see more Rebels holding back but it’s not doing much. For every Dweller which is lost to battle, two more take its place.
“Your men are getting killed here!” I grab Dusk and pull her to my side. “Stand here and use that gun on whatever gets near you. Do not follow me, just stay here and defend yourself.”
“Ravage, what are you going to do?”
“Fight.”
***
The next few minutes flash past before me. I can feel the weight of Dwellers’ blood on my body and I take little thought in the fact that it’s been a very long time since I’d seen proper combat such as this.
Dusk remains in place, and even being some distance from her I can still hear her communication device at her side. To my surprise, I hear the voice of Dr. Tewantin.
“Yes, I’m here. What is it?”
“I’m sending in some reinforcements.”
I uncoil myself and stand before a horde of Dwellers, raising my arms above my head and bringing them down with such force that the Dwellers burst like ripe melons.
“How can you do that, Dr. Tewantin? We have no more men on duty,” Dusk comments with desperation in her voice.
“Is Ravage with you?” I hear Dr. Tewantin question, a hint of child-like enthusiasm in his demeanour. “How is his new body holding up?”
“Huh?” Dusk replies. “Good, and yes he is here. What do you mean, ‘reinforcements’?”
“I’m sending in some of Ravage’s old friends,” I hear over the speaker in Dusk’s hand and I’m astounded. “They should be there any second now.”
A great big shadow looms over the battle field as the Dwellers quickly get wind of what is happening. I’m not so quick to catch on.
I hear the roar and suddenly see many, many Dwellers turn tail and run back through rocky corridors and crevices. It is my men from Hellrock, cutting a bloody path through the Dwellers numbers.
“What the shock?!” I utter in disbelief.
The roar continues through the battlefield as our side suddenly begins to make headway. My men, suddenly out of unexpected retirement, do what they do best. They fight like there’s no tomorrow.
“Run!” seems to be the general cry from the Dwellers, as more of my men get their bloodlust. It doesn’t take long, but I can see it in their actions and their voices.
Meanwhile, I’m floored from the shock of it all. Just what has Dr. Tewantin done?
***
END OF BOOK FOUR