2 :: Berserk
Despite Alton's death, Red forced herself to do what was expect in an timely manner. Merchant had yet to detect any sorrow emitting from Red unless he had made a silent mental note he showed no sign of it.
Red wanted to show unlimited rage against the Locust. She wanted to kill all of them but she knew that no matter how many kills she could manage to score none would make up for the loss she suffered. She also bared in mind that she would keep her actions straight; nothing too risky or crazy.
The Raven wailed through the clear sky, hovering just above the jagged rooftops. Merchant leaned precariously out of the Raven, one hand secured on a handle.
Red kept her head down. Despite her helmet, she felt like she was exposed and valuable. She suddenly found her Lancer in her lap very interesting and stared at it, lost in trance.
Her thoughts would grind to a halt every time she thought: He didn't want to me to know he was missing? Half of her believed what he did was right but the other was heavily disgusted by it; how a brother so loving could keep something so vital hidden. She wondered who all knew, who knew and avoided to mention it. She knew what Alton did was right. If she had known, she would had gone after him to find him and possibly get killed. He did it because he loved her too much.
Red stumbled on her thoughts as the Raven jostled violently, Merchant almost loosing his grip. Red could hear the pilot laughing. "Hang tight, sir. Air pockets."
Merchant grumbled something and then turned to us, seated against the Raven's wall. "One of our squads, Gamma, is MIA after their comlinks were suddenly disconnected. We're going to find out what happened to their asses. We're going to be dropped off at their last known –"
The Raven veered off track, tilting at a terrifying angle. Merchant cursed as he lost his balance and slid. Alex launched forward and grasped his forearm leaving Merchant dangling freely over speeding rooftops.
Bullets sparked the Raven's hull, punching holes in it.
"Locust!" Someone screamed.
Scott staggered up and manned the attached railgun. He fired downward, spewing bullets.
Red clung onto any held down solid object and looked around hastily. Alex began heaving Merchant back on board with another fierce hail of bullets knocked the Raven off course again but this time the bullets sparked the engine. Merchant tumbled out again, Alex barely got a hold of him in time.
"The engines gone! Fu-" The pilot's screech was cut short as the bullets shattered the windshield and hit the pilot. Crimson blood exploded the interior of the cockpit.
"Shit!" Scott shouted.
Without a pilot, the Raven spun wildly around, flaming. It dipped downward and plunged toward the ground.
"Red! Help me!" Alex cried in a strained voice.
Red helped Alex hold onto Merchant as best she could but she wasn't strong enough compared to Alex. The Raven was getting closer.
"We need to jump!" Scott shouted and shoved Alex forcefully on the back. From lack of balance, Alex fell over the side yanking Red along. She closed her eyes tight and prayed she didn't splatter all over the ground. Red's grasp on Merchant released -
She met the ground – hard.
She slammed onto her stomach, knocking her breath out of her and then bounced onto her back. She felt something snap in her chest as she cried out. Pain ripped through her torso as she lay there motionless, gasping for air.
"Kennedy..." Merchant's raspy voice whispered over the com. "You asshole."
Red groaned and forced herself to sit up. Scott was a few meters away from Red. She wanted to punch him.
"I saved your lives." Scott grumbled staggering up. "Would you rather burst into flames?"
"Shut-up." Merchant barked. "Hoover, Capps. Respond."
Red could only moan as she shook off the pain that still welled strongly in her chest. She pressed herself against a wall for support to catch her breath.
"I'm alive." Alex grunted. "No thanks to you, Scottie."
"Enough. Regroup in the parade – Locust!" Merchant ordered.
Red found her Lancer lying on top of a mound of debris. She jogged painfully over and snatched it up. Scott found his own and we jogged for the parade.
Red and Scott had landed in a gap between two buildings and Red lightly remembered seeing a wide open area surrounded buildings of various sizes and shapes. That must have been the parade Merchant was talking about.
As they approached the entrance of the parade, the chatter of Lancers echoed off the buildings. She heard a deep bellow rattle her skeleton from their six. They spun around to see a pair of Boomers, cumbersome, relentless Locust that were normally heavily armed, lumber towards them.
Red automatically fired her Lancer, the bullets ate away at one of the Boomer's shoulders, causing it to slow.
The second Boomer fired it's cannon a rocket streaked from its barrel towards her. Red threw herself onto the ground and heard Scott holler, "Boomer!"
"Aw shit." Alex groan over the comlink.
Red didn't take a second thought. She pushed herself up and ran towards into the parade. Scott sprayed bullets onto the Boomers as he followed. Another rocket streaked past Red's head; she could feel the heat.
"Whoa!" She gasped, keeping her eyes straight.
A shower of noisy bullets tracked a path behind Red and Scott as they joined Merchant and Alex behind a concrete barrier.
"That's what shot us down." Merchant threw his thumb towards a Locust stationed on a railgun. "Capps and I will take care of the Boomers." He looked at Scott. "You and Hoover take care of the grubs and that railgun. Go!"
Red and Scott met eyes for a beat before taking off towards the railgun. Red slammed up against a crate and peeked around and fired. A Locust seeking cover was shot down to its knees before she finished it off with another burst.
A rocket from the Boomers exploded close to Scott and tossed him up and over his cover. "Dammit! I thought you were taking care of the Boomers!" Scott yelled.
"It ain't as easy as it sounds!" Merchant returned hastily.
Red decided to move up. Scott regathered himself and moved forward. Soon, her and Scott cleared an open path toward the railgun.
"Whew! One Boomer down!" Alex cried out.
"Red! Distract the railgun guy so I can pick him off." Scott said. Before she could interfere with his plans, he disappeared around their cover. She grunted irritated and resumed to fire at grub, not bullets running lower and lower.
Ten seconds ticked by and Red flipped down to reload. "Hurry up!" She screamed and peered back up in time to see the grubs head exploded into a bloody burst of brains and bones. Red traced the origin of the shot and saw Scott crouched down with a sniper rifle in hand.
Red gave him a thumbs up. He returned it.
"Boomers down." Merchant reported. "Regroup."
As they reached one another to discuss further movements, the ground trembled and shook. They shouldered their rifles and searched for the source. A thunderous crack sounded to their right as a Emergence Hole exploded.
"Get down!" Merchant shouted. We scattered and took cover as the grubs crawled out.
Alex was panting beside me as he reloaded his Lancer, a puff of heat releasing from rifle. Red fired at the grubs creeping out of the Hole, dropping as many as she could. She made a mental note that her ammo was running low.
"Control to Theta. Respond. Theta, do you respond, over."
The voice surprised all of us. We exhaled in unison.
"This is Theta, Control. Our Raven was shot down. Pilot's KIA." Merchant reported, his Lancer rattling his voice.
The voice didn't return for a beat, which scared me for a moment. "Acknowledged, Theta. Proceed three-hundred, fourteen meters due north of your current position. Gamma's last known location was there."
"Yeah, I got it." Merchant responded, annoyed.
Suddenly the Hole collapsed inward and silence descended upon us all, the only sound was an occasion pop and our heavy breathing.
"Let's go." Merchant urged. "Before the grubs decided they want a rematch."
Jacinto was silent. No birds, animals, or insects were roaming around. No movement at all, just silence and utter stillness. Jacinto was crumbling into ruins, if not already ruins. Civilians – Stranded were hiding out around Jacinto is small gangs and settlements with make-shift order. The Stranded hated the Gears guts and found no appreciation into all the killing they do. The Gears received all the supplies and food that the Stranded couldn't have and they found it unfair. And it was. Very unfair but Gears needed it more than those skimpy Stranded did, they weren't the ones risking their necks every second of the day and for what? Some of them think we were fighting for their sake. No, Gears fight mankind's general existence on Sera.
Glass and debris crunched under Theta's boots as they neared Gamma's last known location. They hadn't spoken, they listened for any sound that could possibly lead to an attack. But it was just silent. Silent.
They were walking in a square-shaped formation underneath a highway when a thunderous shriek reverberated from the opposite end. Red's heart nearly stopped as she realized what it was.
Theta scattered, searching desperately for hiding spots. Red and Alex scurried into a nearby building and hid underneath the empty window sills.
"What the hell is that?" Scott cried.
Merchant shushed him but it was too late. It charged at them with blinding speed. Merchant and Scott leapt out of its path and sought knew cover.
"A Berserker. Now shut up!" Merchant whispered in the comlink as they slid into the building as well.
Bersekers were damn ugly and down-right scary. Being the female Locusts, they were very large and had a full body of heavy muscles. Her skin was a twisted array of tan veins, gasps, and bumps. She threw her head back and sniffed the air intently.
"We need to move." Merchant whispered. "Stay as quite as you can. She's blind but has the best damn smell and hearing. Continue towards to Gamma's LKL, quietly."
As his voice rung in Red's ears, she could barely control her hammering heart. She feared the Berserker could hear her. Merchant moved quietly in a crouched position and moved further inward.
There was a staircase in the center of the room and on either side were passageways leading into darkness.
Merchant went first down the right passageway followed by Alex, Red, and Scott –
Crack!
Scott gasped and the Berserker's bellow shot in their direction. Adrenaline shot through Red as she sprinted forward, Merchant was far ahead. She could hear the Berserker crash through the front wall and follow our footsteps. Merchant turned left abruptly and sprinted farther into the house. Red listened hard for Scott and Alex's breaths behind her.
Merchant stopped, throwing an arm out.
They all stopped and listened.
Red could feel the floorboards beneath her boots rumble as the Bersekers using her only senses to track them, wobbled her way around.
"We need to get out of here. Follow me." Merchant's hushed voice said over the comlink. He eased forward. "And... who stepped on that?"
"Sorry, sir." Scott.
"Dammit, Kennedy!"
Red just shook her head.
Merchant turned into another room and pointed at an open doorway. Red felt a rush of relief wash through her as she entered the room. But the floor creaked and squeezed. They all cringed with every –
The Berserker found them and charged down the hallway. Scott shoved them all forward and they fell in a heap.
"Get up!" Merchant urged.
The Berserker spun around and ambled into the room. The floor boards creaked with distress and – snapped!
The next thing Red knew she was falling, her screams echoing in her helmet. Darkness enveloped the others, cloaking them. She could hear their screams but not see them.
She felt the air gush up around her as the small dot of light grew smaller and smaller. She skid down the side of the hole and continue to fall into nothingness.
She panicked as the screams of the others were slowly diminishing and them lapsing into silence.
The only sound were her own screams as she vanished further into the abyssal pit.