Isaiah Moore didn't dare to look back as he tore down another small alley. His white t-shirt clung to his chest as his long legs carried propelled him forward. The boy's face was covered in a thin layer of dirt and a small cut lay across his right cheek. His matted hair flew danced wildly around his head as he turned yet another corner, stopping suddenly and pressing his sweaty back against the wall.
The only sound Isaiah could hear was his own breathing, which he struggled to do due to the amount of dust he had inhaled since he had been running. But suddenly another sound made his ears prick up and his breathing suddenly cease. The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed down the alley, accompanied by the low laugh that made Isaiah's blood run cold.
A Locust footsoldier had been following him ever since he had left his home, or what was left of it. He had watched his next door neighbour taken away by a small group of the Locust, and judging by the screams made by him, he was suffering a gruesome torture. The footsteps didn't stop and were coming closer. Isaiah thought running some more, but in the end he would only end up collapsing to the floor or running into another Locust.
The deep grunts of the Locust as it progressed down the alley was amplified off the walls. The creature wore a twisted smile on its face, bearing a set of grey sharp teeth. It was enjoying stalking the young human, and he would take much pleasure in killing him. He had already killed the boy's parents, and he was next on the agenda.
Isaiah began to calm down, which was hard to do in the situation he was in, but he managed. His throat burned as he tried to gasp for breath, but the air seemed poisoned and smelt of a mixture of sewage and fresh earth. The Locust soldier was coming close now, and Isaiah began to contemplate giving himself up. Just as he was about to step out into the large alley that contained the Locust grub, the distant sound of a helicopter could be heard from above.
The King Raven began to sweep over the tight network of alleyways, and passed briefly over Isaiah's position, not noticing the teenager's frantic cries at first. By now the Locust was yards away from Isaiah who began to pick up pace again, sprinting down the alley he was in. He could hear and smell the Locust grub as he turned on his heels and rain.
Suddenly bullets began to spray from the Locust's Hammerburst. Isaiah swore loudly and got into a crouched position yet still ran. Bullets hit the surrounding walls and objects but none were hitting Isaiah, much to the grub's dismay. Little did the creature know that the King Raven had picked up the sound of the gun and was beginning to fire bullets of its own.
Isaiah turned back to see the Locust's body being peppered by white hot lead as he slowly crumpled to a heap. Isaiah then looked upward to see a helmeted Gear stop to reload as the Locust began to crawl backwards to whence it came. But then a crack sounded off from the alley it had crawled into, and instantly the grub's head was blown off.
"Holy shit." Isaiah managed to say before doubling over to catch vital air. The gory scene was too much for him and the bile which had gathered in the back of his throat now trailed out from his mouth. When he had stopped vomiting, he looked up to see three figures charging towards him. Before he could cry out, Isaiah fell backward, hitting the cobbles with a dull thud.
--
The sound of helicopter blades had drifted in and out of Isaiah's mind as he sat unconscious, strapped up into one of the seats in the King Raven that had saved his life minutes before. When he came to, the first thing he saw was the helmeted Gear that he had seen in the shooting out from the helicopter The Gear was looking outside for a brief moment, but a groan from Isaiah made him turn to face the boy.
"Sir, the kid's come round." The COG soldier said, turning his attention back to whatever was happening outside.
Isaiah's turned to his right to see a man suited up in full COG armour, minus the helmet. What replaced the helmet was a pale face with deep blue eyes. The man's cheeks were slightly hollowed from what Isaiah presumed was lack of food, and bags had formed underneath his eyes. The man looked Isaiah dead in the eye.
"Nice to see you with us kid." The COG smiled. "You've been in and out of consciousness for at least twenty minutes now."
"Really?" Isaiah sat up slightly, feeling around his head. He stopped his hand at a small lump near the back of his head. "I thought I only hit my head."
"You hit it hard though, hard enough so we could hear it from the other end of the alley." The COG paused. "I'm Staff Sergeant Frank Averdana. Call me Frank."
"Isaiah. Isaiah Moore. What's happening here?"
The King Raven descended, and from what Isaiah could see the skyline of Ephyra changed into tall spires of churches and large buildings. They were flying merely thirty feet above the barren streets below.
"I'm sure you've heard of the Lightmass Bomb?" Frank began. Isaiah nodded.
"Of course I have; it detonated underground and wiped out.. some of the Locust, right?"
"Some, would be the understatement of the century Isaiah." The helmeted COG spoke up again. "That bomb wiped out merely a fleet of the Locust Horde. They've resurfaced now and we've got to finish the job."
That explains the Locust butchering half of my street, Isaiah thought, casting a glance outside. He could see a small convoy of APC's moving down a path carved out of levelled buildings and what was left of the original road. Two King Ravens were hovering above the APC's.
"Delta-Six, this is Charlie-Six. We have visual on you above. Orders from Prescott say we need to move out of Ephyra and towards Landown." A monotonous voice spoke over the speaker system inside the Raven. "We're escorting these APC's to the main bulk of the convoy. May need assistance, over."
The pilot motioned for his communicator but Frank put a finger to his earpiece and cut across. "Roger Charlie-Six, but we have a civvie on board. Hold while we offload at a safe checkpoint, over."
"What? You can't leave me in Ephyra! I'll die!" Isaiah protested, throwing an arm upwards in fury. The COG opposite him shook his head and took a place behind one of the heavy armaments on one side of the Raven's hold. "There are no safe places here anymore! Don't you see?"
"Listen Isaiah, it was nice meeting someone with a lot of spunk like you, but you'll end up being a liability to us if you stay."
"Delta-Six, negative on the drop-off. We have strict orders to remain with the convoy until Landown, no stoppages. Keep the civvie with you. Over."
Isaiah couldn't help but smile as the defeated Staff Sergeant murmured "roger" and faced away from him. He saw as the city began to thin out into small snow plains. He had never been this far away from Ephyra, so seeing what the other side of the citadel looked like was a first.
But the sight-seeing would promptly stop when the convoyu regrouped.