"The Ravens are ready to evac the last of the civilians, all Gears fall back to your rendezvous points and be ready for evac." Sounded command's voice through Ejijah's helmet communicator.

Elijah slotted a fresh magazine into his Lancer and opened fire over the pillar he had been using as cover. A Drone collapsed under his automatic fire and he quickly adjusted his aim take another another charging Drone when a Hammerburst round crunched into the concrete beside him. Elijah ducked low as another flew through the air over him. Several more passed over him before he stood again to return fire. They were in a stalemate which suited Elijah and his fellow Gears fine, they only needed to hold the Locust back for a few more minutes, soon they could evac and leave this damned place to them. Then came the crash of collapsing earth.

"E-hole!" shouted a Gear before a Grenadier ended him with a Gnasher blast.

Elijah turned to see a half-dozen Locust emerging from the ground. He reached for his Bolo, primed it, and threw it into the group. A moment later the grenade exploded shredding four of the newly emerged Locust and stunning the others. A cheer went through the Gears as the remaining two were gunned down beside their fallen comrades and their collapsed E-hole. It was cut short by another crash, this one bigger than the first, and then came a guttural voice.

"Boom!" It called.

In an instant two Gears were obliterated by a Boomshot explosion.

"Boomer!" cried Elijah's CO more as an order to focus than to alert anyone to the newcomer.

Elijah glanced down at his belt and realised what he had feared to be true. He was down to his last magazine.

"Fire at …" the CO tried to continue before both his sentence and body were cut short by another Boomshot explosion.

"Fall back!" called a frantic voice over the the still raging battle.

Elijah turned and ran to the end of the street bullets whizzing past him as he ducked around the corner. A glance back revealed a pair of Boomers lumbering behind the fleeing Gears, reloading their Boomshots for another volley. Elijah took aim and fired at them trying to buy the fleeing Gears some time. As the first couple of Gears rounded the corner his Lancer ran dry. He reloaded and took aim again. The Boomers had made no attempt to avoid his fire, each had a dozen bullet wounds, but Boomers while they were stupid but they made up for it with pure determination. Elijah opened fire again hoping to put down at least one before they fired again but he was to slow. Another Gear was killed by the first Boomshot round while the second round slammed into the wall Elijah was behind.

His head ached and his ears rang as he pulled himself clear of the rubble. What had he been doing again he thought to himself when he heard a murmur from behind him.

"Boom"

He turned to see the hulking form of a Boomer standing over him. It didn't look down instead it fired its Boomshot towards the still fleeing Gears. Elijah looked to see the round miss and released a breath he didn't notice he had been holding. The Boomer started reloading its Boomshot as Elijah looked around for his Lancer. He refused to let this brute kill anyone else but he saw his Lancer several meters away and cursed himself for letting it go when he had been tossed back. The Boomer had loaded its Boomshot and was readying to fire when Elijah remembered his sidearm and pulled his Snub pistol. He let out a shout as he pulled the trigger repeatedly each round thudding into the Boomers chest and head. It stood confused by the sudden discomfort before a round punctured it's thick skull and ended it's life at the same moment Elijah's Snub clicked empty. Elijah panted for a moment before noticing the falling body.

"Oh Shit!" he called out and scurried out of its path getting clear just as the huge sack of pure muscle crashed to the ground. Elijah got to his feet and looked around for his Lancer once more before looking to see the second Boomer fall under Lancer fire from two other Gears. Elijah limped over to them getting feeling back into his legs.

"What's the situation?" Elijah called to them as he retrieved his Lancer.

"E-holes popped up all through our defensive line, at least a third of our guys are dead; we need to get to the Evac they won't wait more than a few minutes after this shitstorm." Answered one of the pair.

With no further encouragement the trio ran through the streets until the Ravens were in sight.

"We made it!" called one of the other Gears.

Then came a gunshot and the Gear collapsed. Elijah spun to see the glint of a sniper scope in one of the buildings behind them. Elijah aimed his Lancer and opened fire on the window while backing towards the Ravens. He didn't stand much of a chance at that range but he hoped for force the sniper to stay in cover long enough for them to reach the Raven. His Lancer clicked empty only a moment later. Elijah quickly reached for another magazine on his belt. Finding none he turned and ran. There was a crunch in front of them as the ground gave way to another E-hole. Elijah kept running till he got close to the emerging Locust where he revved his chainsaw bayonet and drew it across the chest of one of the Locust Drones. He moved to another before the first had even hit the ground and after dismembering the second he took off at a sprint. Then came the gunshot. The pain. The fall.

He landed on the road. His mind dazed by the pain. He saw the Gear clamber into the Raven as it took to the air. They were in a rush. More so than he would have thought. The mounted chain gun could handle a few Locust Drones with ease. The he heard the crackled warning over his communicator.

"Hammer of Dawn free fire zone established. All Ravens fall back now!"

He was stunned, no longer by the wound but by the warning, a Hammer strike wasn't uncommon when things got tough but to designate a free fire zone meant it was far worse than he had imagined. He looked to the Raven to see it lifting off. They were leaving him.

Then came the light. The heat. The crashing. And the darkness.

Elijah's eyes opened to see blackness. Was this death. No. He shook his head confirming his hypothesis. There was far too much pain for that. He reached up and wiped his visor. As the dust cleared from the visor a dim light shone through. He pushed himself up and felt the stabbing pain in his shoulder. He remembered the gunshot and looked to see the blood. He sat up and checked the wound. A feeling of relief washed over him as he saw the wound wasn't life threatening at least for the moment. The bullet had ricochet off his armour and buried itself in the soft tissue missing any bones or major blood vessels it seemed. It was painful and he was exhausted but he knew he needed to find some first aid. He reached for his Lancer and attached it to the magnetic holster on his back. As he stood up he reached for his Snub again. Reloaded it and set out through the rubble.

The Hammer strikes had levelled everything as far as Elijah could see. If they had access to the Hammer of Dawn why hadn't they used in in the defence rather than destruction of the city. Elijah worked through the rubble it was slow work and exhausted him even further. Soon he was forced to stop and rest so he leaned against some of the rubble to get his bearings. It had been an unbearably long day and still there was so much to do. He saw it then. A couple hundred meters away. A crashed Raven. Its hull appeared to be mostly intact so it was possible that there might be supplies still intact. He pushed himself up once more and started through the rubble towards the downed Raven with a sense fresh sense of purpose, he might be in crap situation but he was going to make it. At least the Hammer strikes had eliminated the Locust in the area Elijah thought to himself instantly regretting it. A moment later he heard grunts and heavy breathing. His heart sank before the Bloodmount was even visible. Of course there would be Bloodmounts searching the rubble for survivors. Elijah cursed his luck and ducked behind another pile of rubble. He had two magazines for his Snub there was no way he could put down a Bloodmount and its rider with that. He snatched a look over the rubble. The Bloodmount was a dozen meters of so from the Raven. It hadn't seen him. He could turn back look for supplies elsewhere. But he knew his chances were slim. If they were here they would be everywhere possibly in greater numbers. He had to risk it. He sucked in a breath and darted forward to another pile of rubble then another. He was only a few meters from the Bloodmount when it turned. The rider couldn't have seen him. But it approached him none the less. It could smell him. Elijah cursed the creature. It wasn't sure among all the death but it would be proved right none the less. It was now or never. Elijah leapt to his feet and ran towards the Raven. The Bloodmount gave chase and its rider roared as it fired its Hammerburst. Elijah fired recklessly behind him emptying his Snub magazine once again. He heard several grunts at least one had landed successfully. He reached the Raven and hauled himself through a puncture in the hull. He looked around. They were all dead. The Gears, the Pilots, he turned away at first but quickly remembered why he was here.

He heard the Bloodmount slam against Hull in frustration. The rider appeared in the puncture Elijah himself had crawled through. It roared again and levelled its Hammerburst. But Elijah ducked into the cockpit and slotted his last magazine into his Snub. He looked back to see the rider clambering in. Elijah fired. Again and again. The rider never had time to react before his body was riddled with holes. The Bloodmount slammed against the hull again reminding Elijah of its presence. He reached for the Gnasher of one of the fallen Gears. Elijah readied himself before approaching the puncture and getting the Bloodmount in his sights. He fired again and again. Each blast tearing the Bloodmount apart more than the last until finally it fell to the ground. Elijah put the Gnasher aside and looked around for the familiar blue crate. The metal box was emblazoned with the COG saw one under the Gears and gingerly pulled it towards himself and opened it. It was fully stocked and Elijah praised his latest turn of fortune. He pulled out Lancer magazines and Snub magazines loading up both the weapons and his belt. He pulled out two Bolo grenades and lastly a Stim. Resting himself against the hull he reached for his wound and pressed into the wound to find the bullet. The pain was immense and his vision blurred but he found the bullet and eased it out of the wound. The wound wasn't overly deep which he was thankful for but needed the Stim all the same so he activated the Stim on his shoulder. There saw a tingling as the flesh knitted itself back together but soon it was over. Exhaustion washed over Elijah and he tried to fight it but failed. His eyes closed and he drifted off into sleep.

How long he had been out he didn't know but he was ready now. His shoulder was good as ever, his ammunition stores were replenished and he was ready to get out of this damned city. Now he only had to figure out how.