"It's my brother. I can feel him." The mysterious harnessed girl, Jenny was saying as the 2nd Mass' convoy continued to roll south towards Charleston.
Tom and the others on the med bus began to look at the odd girl when they heard a banging on the back of the bus, and to the horror of the young Matt Mason, he saw a gruesome being on the opposite side of the back window.
"It's my brother." Jenny was saying. "It's Tyler, I have to go."
And with that the child easily broke her restraints and ran out of the med bus, shoving Dr. Anne Glass aside. The convoy came to a halt momentarily as Tom, Captain Weaver, and the other fighters went to investigate the incident.
"What was it?" Weaver asked Tom.
"Probably another harnessed kid, I don't know." Tom confessed.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of high-pitched gunfire in the distance, the gun going off so rapidly that one couldn't hear an individual bullet being fired.
"That's Mech fire." Tom stated the obvious in a fashion that invoked fear in himself and everyone around him.
"Get the civilians covered, fighters take defensive positions!" Captain Dan Weaver began barking over the screams of the 2nd Mass' civilians and the surprise of the fighters. "Move! Move! Move!"
Tom instinctively ran toward the med bus only to find that Anne and Lourdes were already escorting Matt to a "safe" location, to which he nodded his head in thanks and then rushed to join Weaver at a hastily formed defense line as the Mech fire drew closer.
"That damned kid…she led e'm right to us!" Weaver snarled.
"We don't know that." Tom quickly countered. "This could be unrelated." He said, trying to remain as calm as possible.
Mech fire continued to be heard in the distance, along with the familiar sounds of the Mechs advancing.
"Wait." Dai said as he was listening. "It doesn't sound like that Mech fire is being directed at us…"
"You're right." Weaver confirmed after a few more rounds of fire. "What the hell is going on?"
"Here they come!" One of the 2nd Mass' fighters shouted.
Skitters and Mechs began appearing out of the tree line and moved towards the road, though not directly toward it. To the astonishment of the 2nd Mass, the aliens appeared to be moving backwards, as if they were in retreat.
"OPEN FIRE!" Weaver ordered as the 2nd Mass began to unload their shots toward the Skitters and Mechs headed their way. The rattle of gunfire quite predictably pinged off the Mechs but was having some success against the Skitters. Then the Mechs turned their attention toward the 2nd Mass, firing their rocket pods at the beleaguered militia. A few of the fighters began to go down to gunfire or shrapnel as their comrades tried to pull them to safety.
Suddenly, as the Mechs were advancing closer and closer to the 2nd Mass' defense line; two were hit by rockets and went down in a blaze. A few further in the distance had their legs torn off and were promptly turned into Swiss Cheese.
"Someone's using Mech bullets?" Tom Mason stated more than asked as he and Weaver looked on in surprise.
The heads of a few Skitters also began to explode in the distance- no doubt because of well-aimed sniper fire coming from the woods.
"Whoever's doing this…they're good." Anthony muttered in an impressed fashion as he pumped a shotgun, shooting off the leg of a Skitter that had skidded too close to the 2nd Mass' column.
"More of them!" Weaver shouted as yet more Skitters and Mechs emerged from the distant tree line, clearly trying to fight back against whoever their assailants were.
"LOOSE!" A distant voice ordered.
Flaming arrows arced in the distance, emerging from the trees and landing smack-dab in the middle of the Skitters and Mechs. The ground around them suddenly exploded and burst into flames. One Mech was immediately taken out. Skitters in the area screamed- if one could call it that, in pain.
"RAAAA!" War cries filled the air as previously concealed fighters emerged from cover and charged. They began to gun down the Skitters first, leaving the Mechs disoriented, and then followed up by shooting apart the Mechs with either rockets or their Mech rounds.
"Skitters! On the left flank!" Dai began to shout as some of the 2nd Mass' fighters turned their attention toward Skitters advancing out of the trees on their left. The fighters began to shoot, only to see muzzle flashes from atop the trees peppering the Skitters' backs and crowns of their skulls with bullets. They all quickly went down.
Tom noticed movement in his periphery vision. He turned to find two pick-up trucks with .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns mounted on their backs, flanking either side of the Skitter barbecue alley, pumping rounds into them and any stragglers that managed to evade the oven.
Then came a rumbling sound in the distance. Captain Weaver turned his head to see about forty riders on horseback chasing a few skitters behind the 2nd Mass' column. All of them were gunned down by assault rifle fire from the riders, who then circled around and shot grenades from their grenade launchers into the muck of Skitters trying to escape the crossfire.
Through the maelstrom, Matt noticed Jenny along with "Tyler" huddling by the trees in the column's rear. He saw that some of the recently-emerged men on horseback were using swords now- and saw not too far away one of them hacking the top of a Skitter's head clean off the bottom half of the head. Blood splashed in all directions. Against his own intuition, Matt headed toward the harnessed pair.
"Jenny, are you alright?" Matt asked, trying to overcome his fear. The girl, for her part, only looked at the lead rider, seated on a magnificent black horse.
"Damn." He said as his sword got stuck in a tree after splitting a Skitter's skull open. He continued to ride on, intending to close the noose around the aliens that he'd intended from the outset of this ambush. It was a rather simple job that he was used to- respond to an enemy detachment reported by his scouts, and pin them between a hammer and an anvil, annihilating as much as was feasibly achievable without compromising his overall mission in the field. He and his troops were all dressed in black and grey form-fitting combat fatigues because it helped conceal them in the dark. He pulled out a pistol- obviously custom made, and shot an approaching and disoriented Skitter three times in the head. He turned his head toward assault rifle fire in his rear to see a Skitter get plastered with bullets and ripped to shreds.
"Better watch yourself, Phantom." The shooter said. "What would you do without me here?" He taunted.
"I'd be in a better place." The rider on the black horse taunted back. "Take that however you wish."
The two nodded to each other and headed off in opposite directions, one on foot and the other on horseback.
Meanwhile at the line of the 2nd Mass, the fighters were fending off a straggling pair of Skitters. A few screams of the wounded began to fill the air as the formidable creatures were way too close for comfort. Tom and Weaver working in concert finished one of them off and Anthony blew the other one's legs off before firing a 12-Gauge round point-blank into its face.
"Get Dr. Glass and Lourdes." Weaver ordered Tom, who obeyed quickly, running down the line to find the pair.
Tom Mason quickly found them taking cover behind one of the vehicles.
"Guys, Captain Weaver needs your help to treat the wounded. Try and get them on the med bus." The two women nodded and began to move until suddenly Tom uttered more words. "Where's Matt?" He asked, turning his head everywhere to try and find his nine-year-old. Tom frantically began to search as Anne and Lourdes had to move toward the wounded.
"Jenny…what is it…?" Matt asked; his heart pounding.
"It's him…" Jenny said in fear, looking at the man on the black horse that led the troop. "He's the man that killed my guardian."
"MAJOR!" One of the infantrymen shouted as the lead rider rode by, tossing his sword that he'd lost moments before.
The rider caught it expertly, bringing it back to a combat position in his hand with grace.
"Infantry!" He shouted, getting their attention. "Move yourselves up by the tree line and cut off any avenue of retreat! Cavalry, sweep down toward the road with me until we encircle them! Galatea!" He motioned toward a tall female rider on a chestnut-colored horse.
"Yes?" The woman answered with a sarcastic smile. She had grey eyes and long, flowing platinum hair, and looked to be 5'11."
"Take your troop left; I'll go toward the right. We'll meet up in the middle and complete our encirclement."
"You're the boss." Galatea shrugged with a smirk as if to show she weren't entirely serious about her statement or the entire engagement.
He smirked back as Galatea went off.
Matt seemed to be divorced from reality as he tried to make sense of the entire situation- the aliens, Jenny and Tyler, and this mystery contingent of fighters that had happened upon them all at the same time. Then he heard a familiar sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he saw Jenny and Tyler's harnesses glow.
He turned to see a Skitter- who through the chaos was carefully examining him. His run-in with the harness facility a few weeks prior was not lost on him as he now began to feel the full-force of that fear.
"MATT!" Tom Mason shouted through the storm of gunfire, Skitters, Mechs, and frenzied war cries, going off the line to get to his son before the Skitter did.
The events unfolding with Matt were not unnoticed by the rider on the black horse as he was heading in that direction. He thought to grab his pistol and fire a few rounds into the Skitter, but knew better than to risk hitting the child that visibly didn't have a harness on. Instead he charged forward, sword in hand, leaning forward in his stirrups as he bore down on the Skitter. The green alien turned around to face the rider, but it was too late as the next moment had the tip of the rider's sword impaling his skull between the eyes, splitting the head in half and the force of the impact taking it clear off the rest of the body. The rider circled back and grabbed Matt with one hand, bringing him up in front of him on the horse's saddle. Jenny and Tyler, for their part, ran away in fear.
"Word of advice, kid." The rider got the young Mason's attention. "Don't make harnessed friends."
Matt began to try and speak as the rider turned his head to see Galatea using her assault rifle's grenade launcher to shoot out a leg on one of the Mechs. It fell immediately and was subsequently peppered with holes coming from all directions. The light in its center quickly went dim. He smirked.
"IT'S OUR QUARRY!" A voice shouted in the distance.
All heads turned to see an Overlord stumbling out of the tree line, a crossbow bolt lodged in his thigh and purple blood flowing out of the wound.
"So the bastard finally got flushed out." Galatea muttered to herself.
The rider on the black horse contorted his face into a frown and gritted his teeth as he sped his horse to a full gallop, sword in hand, frantically riding toward the Overlord like a madman possessed by the devil. The gunfire had at this point stopped and his troops were cheering him on.
"COME ON RIGEL LET'S SHOW THIS BASTARD WHAT WE'RE MADE OF!" He shouted down to his horse in encouragement, as if it fully understood the magnitude of the situation. Matt was deeply afraid of the speed he was moving at atop a horse as he'd never even been on one until now, but he also felt the thrill of approaching one of the gigantic grey aliens that had caused all this death and chaos. "RAAAAAAAA!" The rider screamed devilishly as he stood up in his stirrups and stared into the Overlord's eyes- deep blue meeting the cold and emotionless dull brown. The tall alien for its part didn't even seem to be afraid of death looming in on him.
And then the sound of steel hitting flesh filled the nearby air as the rider on the black horse sped past the alien. Purple blood was piled on the tip of his blade as the sound of a head hitting the ground signaled the finality of the engagement.
"YEAH!" The mystery troops cheered as the horse and rider circled around, the rider raising his sword in triumph.
The 2nd Mass for its part was astonished. Never had they quite seen an attack on an alien detachment this effective.
"Who the hell are these people?" Weaver asked the question that was on everybody's mind as the rider on the black horse approached the 2nd Mass' column, along with the long blonde-haired woman, the man that had shot the Skitter behind the leader earlier, and a few other infantry and cavalry.
"MATT!" Tom Mason rushed toward the front of the line as the rider reached the 2nd Mass and dismounted, grabbing Matt and carrying him over to Tom.
"Excuse me, but does this belong to you?" He asked the person that was obviously the boy's father, handing him over to Tom's outstretched arms. "What's our status, Howling Wolf?" He asked the man immediately behind him.
"Six walkers and twenty crabs killed, along with one skinny." He smirked at the last bit. "Seriously what was that, the third skinny you've bagged? You might just be humanity's leader in killing those bastards."
Weaver took a look at the one reporting the statistics. He was a bit on the short side, around 5'7," with red skin and long black hair. The man was an Apache. He was certain of it.
"What of our losses?" The lead rider asked.
"Five wounded." The platinum-haired woman responded. "Vamp was hit dangerously close to the femoral artery but Scissors thinks he's gonna be alright."
"No one killed?"
"Not this time."
"Good…" He trailed.
"The plan went about as perfect as we could have hoped. Let's just be grateful for it." The man identified as 'Howling Wolf' said.
Weaver and Tom took a good look at this mysterious commander. He was around 5'10" with stunningly deep blue eyes and auburn hair. He conducted himself with a grace and confidence that one wouldn't expect for someone so young and in a world of shit. In fact, all of these people looked young- in their late teens and twenties. A scarce few looked to be in their early thirties.
"Who are you people?" Weaver asked in his trademark gruff voice.
All three turned toward the 2nd Mass.
"Funny, because I was about to ask you the same thing." The commander said with a smirk.
A few of his troops began to point their weapons in caution.
"Lower your weapons." He ordered with a hand gesture. "I don't think these people are enemies."
Tom and Weaver looked at each other in a manner communicating that it was best to just introduce themselves.
"Captain Dan Weaver, and this is my XO Tom Mason. We're from the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment."
"The 2nd Mass?" The commander asked in surprise. "Last I heard most of the Massachusetts guys were wiped out in that failed attack on Boston."
"Well, we're still around." Tom answered with a faint smile. "And I never did thank you for saving my son."
The commander smiled back. "I see. And I've heard of you both. It's good to finally meet you."
Tom and Weaver looked at each other in curiosity.
"We're on our way to Charleston." Tom added.
That got everyone's attention.
"I see." The commander said again. "Goddamn, Avery must have been successful after all. Well, my name is Major Francis Hutcheson and these are my guys. We're popularly known as the Riders of Havoc. Our job is to basically be Charleston's screening force. We patrol this a radius of a hundred miles around the city, raiding enemy positions and bleeding them as best we can. We can't let their ground forces get near the city if it can be helped. But I've made sure to make it seem like these are just random attacks so they don't get a hint of what's going on."
Weaver was impressed. The young man knew deception on both the tactical and strategic level. What's more he was given the rank of 'Major.'
"These two are my second and third-in-commands, Captains Alan Mensa and Olivia Taper. But their code names are Howling Wolf and Galatea. My own is Phantom."
"We're sorry we had to run into you people as we were hunting our prey." Olivia, or Galatea, smirked as she motioned toward the dead Overlord.
"Strange. The first one of those things we killed was because we got lucky on a scouting mission." Francis said. "I must say I took a pretty good shot. But these last two were in the field, somewhere you wouldn't expect them to be. It's rare for one to even be seen, let alone come out here in harm's way."
Tom reminisced about the situation so recently at the hospital, only the outcome this time was completely in reverse- the Overlord got caught off guard along with his contingent, and a great array of firepower was brought to bear on him. These were surely good signs of the organization in Charleston.
"We came across a similar situation last week." Tom spoke up. "Did you manage to find any information?"
"Not really." Francis answered him. "The second one talked through one of his harnessed buddies, something about some fucking crab rebellion that he was investigating. We didn't get much more out of him before I put a bullet through his brain in our firefight. I assume that's why our headless friend was out here too."
"Crabs…you mean the Skitters?" Weaver asked.
"Yeah." Francis answered. "We've always referred to them as crabs in our unit, though I've heard them referred to in that way also. The skinny we came across that time was kind of in a rough spot and mentioned that he was trying to find some rebels and that we didn't concern him. He'd let us go if we simply left. Little did the son of a bitch know that I had another contingent on the outer perimeter to reinforce us." Francis smirked.
"Major. We better leave this place soon. Their air power could show up at any moment, and even though we have guys with Stingers on the periphery, we can't risk it."
"On the mark as always Galatea." He said. "Get the wounded in the vehicles. Captain Weaver, I suggest you get your people ready to move. I can't guarantee you much in this crazy world but you have my word that we'll see you safely through to Charleston."
"I appreciate that…Major." Weaver said somewhat reluctantly.
Francis nodded at the captain. "Riders of Havoc! Let's get ready to move out!"
"Remember to take as much of the Mech scraps as possible!" Alan ordered. "We need them for our rounds!"
"2nd Massachusetts, let's go! To Charleston!" Weaver shouted toward everyone in his unit.
"What about Hal?" Tom said to Captain Weaver as they were making their preparations. "He probably doesn't know what happened."
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Weaver said with a pat on Tom's shoulder. "Let's move!" He ordered again.
The Riders of Havoc shadowed the 2nd Mass through the rest of the night and into the morning. The leaders of both units gathered as the sun rose over the horizon.
"You're only about ten miles out from Charleston now." Francis said to Tom and Weaver. "There aren't any enemies around for miles- we've made sure of that. Just keep to this road and you'll reach the city. We can't go back yet; we have a few things left to do first. Best of luck." He ended and shook both Tom and Weaver's hands.
With that, the Riders of Havoc went off to continue their mission. Only a few minutes later the 2nd Mass would arrive at Charleston- or what was left of it, finding the bridge to the city destroyed as well as the city itself.
"We were betrayed." Weaver said to Tom as they began to soak it in and Tom headed towards the med bus. "They don't seem like they're working for the enemy but they obviously don't give a damn about us!"
Tom would usually object to such outbursts from the captain, but he couldn't think straight now. His hope had seemingly been shattered. His nine-year-old made out a will. The feelings of distraught would continue for a few more moments until they found Colonel Porter, with Hal in tow, who gave them the good news.
"Major Hutcheson is quite a character." Porter said to Tom and Dan as he led the 2nd Mass safely toward Charleston. "In a way, he's the leader of the new government's 'youth movement' you could say. And he's damn talented- as you were made aware."
An understatement, thought Dan Weaver. He'd never seen a human group do as well against the aliens as Hutcheson and his Riders against that detachment- not to mention decapitating the fishead. Hopefully this was just a sign of things to come. There was also the fact that Hutcheson, despite looking no older than his mid-twenties, technically outranked him, though he did not know of the young man's background.
"But he can also be an arrogant son of a bitch." Colonel Porter continued. "And he can be exceedingly manipulative. He's smarter than most people- and what's more he knows it and prides himself on it."
"Don't think I'd like him." Weaver joked.
"Not too sure myself." Tom followed. "But he sounds- and acts like he's everything we need in this war."
"Indeed." Colonel Porter confirmed. "Charismatic, calculating, and downright dangerous."
Don't know how much I'll follow through with this given the main thing I'm working on here (and yes, I will update it). But this was just an idea and because I really like this show, especially the 2nd season.
Regarding what happened after they saw Charleston, if you're reading this you probably saw, so I didn't see a need to repeat it lengthily.