Hello Everyone :)
This is going to be my first submission to the site. I hope you like this, because I've been thinking about writing something with these characters for a while, and I hope to continue with them.
I'm not going to ask for reviews in order to keep writing because that's just silly, but if you liked the story, or have something constructive to say about it don't hesitate
Sincerely, The Wolfe
P.S. I do not own the Gears of War Universe (But I wish I did ;)
The fire captured me. It wasn't a big flame, but big enough to keep us warm during out watch. We were ordered to keep watch for any signs of enemy movement this side of Jacinto. Though I wasn't expecting anything to heavy. Our little encampment wasn't anything more than a couple of tents, an overhang, and a few sandbags for cover. We had a troika positioned between them for support, and of course our little fire place. Snow was falling, and everyone was huddled up.
My Sniper, Elliot was sitting on an old tree stump. She was from the UIR originally, but realized that she needed to break her ties from the old war and create new bonds in order to survive this one. She is one of the strongest people I know. It must be hard to see your friends, your family, and anyone else you care about die, but then turn your cheek the other way. But then, I guess we were never really prepared to fight something like the Locust. Turning her head towards me, she said. "Hey Cail, you think the higher ups will forget about us out here? I'm freezing my ass off." Her accent was heavy, and she was hunched over and trying to warm her hands. The longshot she carried with her religiously was leaning against the log.
Another member of my squad, Aaron, was cleaning his nails with a knife. A rather large man by structure, but you rarely ever saw him get mad at anything, except a certain creature with rough white skin. "We're out here because they don't want us stealing all the action." He joked. His weapon of choice was the old style Lancer. Gets the job done quick, but has a hell of a kick for guys smaller than him.
We all grew silent and waited. Goddamn the waiting. I wish something would just show itself so I can know my job isn't worthless, I thought. Maybe soon. It was always a maybe game. Maybe we'll see some more action, maybe we won't freeze our asses off anymore, maybe we'll finally end this war... I Sergeant Cail Wolfe, command Echo squad, and that's really about it. Echo's of the wind and bitter snow fall.
"Hey have you guys heard anything about Delta lately?" Asked Aaron. Elliot moved to get more comfortable and replied, "Last I heard they'd taken out the Worm that was sinking the cities." Aaron sat back sheathing his knife. "Wait a damn minute, you mean to tell me that was the real reason behind our cities falling? I thought that was just a joke." "Nope, turns out it's not," I finished. "But if it's Marcus Fenix against a giant worm, I'd bet on Fenix a hundred times outta ten." … "Hell, I'd bet a million times outta ten," added Elliot. Everyone nodded. "That man is a born leader, I know what he did to get into the Slab was wrong, but if they didn't bust him out. We'd still be in the shit." Said Aaron... "Aren't we still in the shit?" I replied.
Suddenly we heard a twig snap in the woods next to us. Everyone got ready. Like clockwork we were ready to kill whatever came out if it was hostile. Elliot hopped over her log and positioned herself. I kneeled down and steadied my Lancer, and Aaron was ready to fire his on the opposite side. Another snap and instantly I could feel the tension building up. I felt like we no longer needed a fire. My heart started to pound. And not because I was nervous, but because I was ready. A leg appeared from the brush. It was a leg of another Gear. One that was apart of my squad. Everyone sighed. "Stand down Echo." I said... "I can't Sergeant, I didn't stand up first." Remarked Jacob. "Alright smart-ass, whatcha got there?" I couldn't help but notice the fresh kill he had gotten from the woods.
Jacob laid the spoils out on the table and started getting the good parts out and ready to cook. "You know, you should have been expecting me, so why the friendly welcoming party?" He asked. "You know why," I replied. "Can't be too careful." Jacob was young, but he was ready. I had watched him kill over a dozen grubs with his Shotguns. He kept both the standard Gnasher, and the double barreled one in case he needed something in a pinch. But definitely a good Gear. We were all proud to have him in Echo. And it also didn't hurt to have him around when we didn't want just MRE's for breakfast.
All of us had basically the same armor on except for Aaron. He had a more summer type of suit with the sleeves cut off. It was a dark green armor with yellow stripes here and there. All the rest of us wore standard issue COG armor. We had our helmets but we rarely ever used them. I heard stories of Gears getting sniped easier because of the helmet believe it or not. And I would rather keep my head for a little longer.
Once Jacob was finished with the food we all dove in. Stuffing our faces for the first time in a few days. We've been out here on watch for about a week and a half. Not that it matters though. We're far enough out from Jacinto that the bastards could just dig up underneath us. Game over. But regardless we had to follow orders. They were from Colonel Hoffman himself. I shuddered when I thought of the man. He had an intimidating presence about him that made me wonder if I should fear him, or just be glad he's on our side.
When the food was gone we began our daily routines, which consisted of two on watch and two on upkeep. Meaning clean the guns and check the inventory for any shortages. After those two simple tasks we're done then we got to rest for a few hours. Write a letter, think of the past, or stare into the sky. Whatever suits you best. Or you could just keep staring at the fire. Either way, after those hours we switched. Elliot and I usually paired up. I had to admit, for a soldier she was pretty. Long dark brown hair and probably more fit than any of us here. If we weren't in war time I'd probably ask her to dinner or something else. But maybe she didn't even like those kind of things. Who knows what the people in the UIR did for fun besides get into wars and kill.
I needed to stay focused so I decided to drop the idea and kept watching the perimeter. In the corner of my eye I saw Elliot raise her rifle. I tried to follow her line of sight and raised my Binoculars to see what was up... You can't mistake the look of the ground when it starts to go Seismic. It starts off by things along the ground shaking and hopping into the air, then it gets bigger and you can feel it all around you. Then the world beneath comes up and swallows anything caught in the middle. Next thing you know you've either got dead Gears, dead Locust, or both. "This is it Echo!" I yelled. "Into position, we've got enemy contact."
Aaron and Jacob moved in behind us and prepared for battle. Since Jacob only had shotguns he manned the troika and prepared to mulch anything that poked their unlucky head out of that hole. "GROUND WALKERS!" We heard a locust shout as he threw a grenade our way. Fortunately it didn't reach us. We took cover behind the sandbags as Jacob started to fire the troika. The blast kick started my heart into pulse pounding rhythm. When we raised it was hard to see from the smoke of the blast. Once it cleared we had a few threats to deal with. A Mauler, Kantus, and a few grubs. And I swore I saw a wretch book it into the trees, but I could have been wrong. Elliot started trying to pick the weak points off the Mauler. "Elliot! Aim for the Kantus!" I shouted over the bullets. They whipped past us and hit some of the trees behind. I looked up into the sky and to my horror I saw reavers billow through the sky towards Jacinto. Then I felt a massive earth shaking pound. I knew what that was. No Gear can mistake the foot stomp of a Brumak. It wasn't focused on us though, just in the area. Probably heading for Jacinto as well.
"Control this is Echo 1 on the south perimeter of Jacinto. Requesting Immediate back up and air support. We have reavers, large scale grubs, and a Brumak." I radioed. If we didn't get back up soon we'd be neck high is grub shit. "Echo 1 this is control. We're rerouting a raven to your position, but no promises. We've got all of our hands tied here." the man on the other line said... "What do you mean you have your hands tied!?" I asked. "Echo the scale of this attack is larger than you think. It appears that a large majority of the Locust are focusing a full frontal assault on us. You aren't the only ones who need support." … Shit, what the hell is happening?! I thought. "Sarge! What are we going to do?!" Yelled Aaron." ... "Alright Echo step it up, we may be on our own here." I shouted.
I started focusing fire on the Mauler to keep it back while Jacob tried mowing down the grubs. Elliot was scanning to find the Kantus. It had taken refuge in the woods. For some reason time seemed to slow down. This had never happened to me. It was like I needed to look somewhere specific. Like something dangerous was about to jump out at us from a flank. The Wretch! I thought, just as it reared its ugly face out of the brush and jumped on me. Over the gun fire no one noticed that I was struggling with it. I pulled out my knife but it kicked it out and slashed my arm with it's hand. I gave it a swift punch to the face and grabbed my lancer. Before it had another chance I revved the chainsaw and cut it in half. Blood spewed everywhere. That's when my squad started to notice.
Aaron was slowing down the smaller grubs with his Retro Lancer. Trying to give us as much space as possible. "Don't let them box us in!" he shouted, throwing a grenade to their side to keep them funneled into our line of side. We all started doing the same, and it seemed like we were picking them off, but then they would rise again. At this rate we'd run out of ammo. So Elliot rolled out into the open to make a run for it into the woods. "Cover Elliot and I," Aaron yelled, running after her. The Mauler was closing in and we'd soon need to back up. Goddamn it die!... I jumped over the sandbag with a grenade in my hand and stood in front of the hulking Mauler, not afraid to die, but eager to kill it. I waited for it to slam it's massive flail down before moving in. It shook the ground around me, and I almost lost my balance. The beats in my heart started to skip as every bullet passed me. But Jacob kept holding the grubs back. I ran up underneath it's arm and stuck the grenade on it's shoulder before rolling out of the blast range.
A few grubs were staring me down with their hammerbursts eyes intent on killing me the second they could pull the trigger again. I had to move quickly so the only thing I could think of was to pick up the Mauler's shield. Then I realized that the grubs weren't getting healed from Jacob's fire. Elliot and Aaron must have got the Kantus. Before the grubs could shoot me down my two comrades emerged from the woods. One grub got spiked by Aaron's bayonet, while Elliot starting beating down another. I ran after them to join in the fun... After a couple more exhausting minutes the fighting was over. At least for us it was.
"Damn, I never thought we'd get that much action that soon." Said Jacob. "Yeah, me either," replied Elliot laying down for a quick rest... I looked towards the sky, past the tree line to where Jacinto was. More shaking and bullets flying were coming from that direction. It's where I knew we had to go. "No time for rest Echo, come on, we've got a city to help defend. Let's go, double time!" Once they got a head I put my fingers on the earpiece. "Control this is Echo 1, we're still alive and armed, heading your way now." … "Copy Echo 1. Make your way to the CIC for new orders. The Colonel is enacting defensive measures so hurry."
"Roger that, Echo out."