"They're in the house!" one of the sergeant screamed as he attempted to bar the door with his body. Slain intruders littered his feet and more of them were outside. Torches were now being thrown at him and at the windows in an attempt to set the house alight.
Fire coming from the Grays was extremely brisk and casualties were piling up but the enemy could seem to afford such losses. More and more were coming over the now vacant walls and converging on the house from all directions.
Another powder bag came through a window with it's fuse sputtering. "Upstairs, go!" the same sergeant ordered. By the time anyone could obey the bag was touched off and destroyed the living room where it landed wounding or killing everyone in there. The first floor seemed lost. Those left alive began to make a run towards the stairs, firing as they went.
Sensing their impending victory goons and humans alike surged inside.
"Burn it! Burn it!" officers demanded. Fires began to kindle as the enemy came up the stairs only to see the silhouette of two people standing on the top step.
"End of the line!" Hobbes called out as he lashed with his claws at the first man to come up with a bayonet fixed at his throat.
"Eat this!" Calvin added by throwing a cabinet down the flight of stairs knocking down a score of men and goons. That bought some time but more pushed their way through and began to hurl grenades up at them.
"Run!" Hobbes shouted as he shoved his friend into the doorway of a room where sharpshooters had sought shelter as a string of explosives went off.
"Augh!" he cried out in pain. Hobbes was knocked on his back, his chest riddled with shrapnel. Hurriedly Calvin came to the side of his wounded friend.
"I can't see!" Hobbes cried.
"Can you stand?" Calvin asked.
He struggled but he could not.
"Leave me!"
"What? Never"
"If you don't they were get you"
"I don't care. I won't leave you"
"Go or I'll tell everyone about the noodle incident"
"You swore you would never tell!"
"I will if you don't go!"
Shoving his friend away Hobbes struggled and sat himself up just as another grenade landed on his lap. Hurriedly he threw it back down the stairs but humans ascended with bayonets thrust forward. "You'll never take me alive" he growled at them. Calvin watched in horror as his friend was impaled again and again. With great pain Calvin shut the door. Inside the room the Grays were climbing out a window onto the roof where it looked like there was sanctuary. Those that were left were forced to defend for themselves. Carrying in bags of powder and grenades the humans began to blast out the rooms of the house. On the roof things were just as grim. Ammunition was running out and there was a fire coming from one of the demolished rooms.
"Have any plans, captain?" Batgirl called out.
Miller helped up Calvin onto the roof and ignored the comment. Calvin was the last one to come up and destroyed the ladder to prevent anyone else from coming up. An explosion rattled them it came from below. Another room where the defenders had to be rooted out.
"It looks like it's just us, captain" the sentry called out.
There was just a dozen people left.
"We won't survive this" one of the Grays called out. Miller and Batgirl knew this to be true. The fire was spreading and the crowd below was now firing up at them. It was becoming tenable. It was useless to resist any further. With his company destroyed the captain was forced to make a difficult choice. Should he surrender or go down in a blaze of glory?
Before he could come up with an answer the roof collapsed sending the entire complement down into the depths of a grim deaths.
"We did it!" soldiers cried out. "Let them burn!"
The house collapsed onto itself snuffing out the fire but also doomed those that were alive.
"Kill all those that are left. Use the bayonet!" Garfield commanded. The order was passed down through the ranks. Any bodies that were found were run through again and again. Only then were they accumliated in the center of the plaza where fire wood and gasoline was being thrown together to make a funeral pyre.
"I found one alive!" one of the soldiers called out. A group immediately gathered around as the body was dragged out from underneath the wreckage.
"It's a captain! Bring him to Garfield!"
Dragged by his arms across the freezing snow Captain Miller, what was left of him, was brought before the Great Garfield on his throne. His tattered uniform and charred skin he was nothing of the leader he was before. He knew fully well that nothing would be left of him home and his way of life.
"What is your name?" Garfield asked.
"Screw you!" Miller spat.
"That's not the conduct of a gentlemen."
At that moment there was a murmur of activity coming from the remains of the house.
"We found another alive!"
"Kill him!"
"No, take it to Garfield" an officer ordered but not before he had to fend off a wave of potential attackers that craved to run the body through with their bayonets. "This one will be taken alive!"
Goons roamed away from the heat of the fire. Wounded were healed with their magical power of snow and ice. But, for the humans it was grim. Bodies were strewn all around what was left of the fort. On the redoubts where bitter hand to hand fighting had occurred the silent stood as a silent visual to how desperate the fighting was. Men were still holding tightly in their grasp weapons or bare fists.
Officer had to pull men away from the barbaric ritual of rooting through pockets of the dead to gather up the wounded and bury their own. There were dozens if not hundreds of corpses. The field was blanketed by them. Such a bleak day.
As the body was brought before Garfield the leader sat back and reclined. ⌠Is this the great Calvin that I have heard so much about?■
"Do I look like a guy?"
Miller immediately looked to his right and saw through the blood in his eyes that it was Batgirl.
"Where's Calvin?" Miller asked when she was brought before the orange leader.
"I lost him" she whispered.
"Take these two to a truck and give them our hospitality" Garfield ordered.
Grabbed by their captors and dragged through the slush on the street the two, burned and scared, were placed on the back of a converted pickup truck. Along the way they saw the wounded, that of the enemy, being taken to a hastily made aid station in one of the neighboring houses. It was a grizzly scene. Carried on stretchers the wounded pleaded for their mothers after watching the less fortunate having their feet amputated.
"Think we stung them?" Batgirl said.
"I think they felt us" Miller concurred as the truck lurched forward. Several other armed vehicles joined them and the caravan made it's way out of the neighborhood. It was a slow crawl with the streets caked in a thick layer of ice drivers took their time. Turning right on the main road that would take them back to the city the victorious "army" could be seen at their worse. Houses were being looted. Prisoners of all types were being herded into makeshift pens. Goons were being made by the hundreds on the sides of the road. All of them answer to one leader.
"What do you think they will do to us?" Batgirl asked.
"Not sure," Miller replied bluntly, "But I can beat it will not be pleasent
Hearing those words Batgirl looked up at one of the guards whom was looking back down at her. His weapon was polished and he wore finely fitted winter clothes and he was eyeballing her.
For half an hour the convoy humped through the suburbs. Nearing an intersection they came to a stop.
"Which way?" the driver asked his companion.
"Turn left" he pointed.
Turning that way there came a sharp crack and the vehicle began veer sharply into a ditch. Alarmed the companion looked over to see the driver's head collapsed onto the steering wheel. "Damn!" shoving him aside he tried to gain control of the wheel, but it was already too late. The Truck plowed into a ditch. Thrown into the back of the cab the two prisoners were dumbfounded.
Sniper!
Another crack and the windshield was punctured and the co driver collapsed dead.
"Damn it! Get out!" guards shoved their way out of the back and jumped to the ground only to be swept up by a storm of lead.
"We're surrounded!" they cried out in horror. Batgirl covered herself as bullets pierced the cab.
"They're shooting at US!" she screamed to Miller whom remained unafraid, calm.
Within mere moments, it was over. A heavy silence fell over the land. Looking up, Batgirl found that the cab had been punctured several times two of the trucks were aflame.
"What happened?" she asked as she tried to free herself of the cuffs that bound her wrists.
"You really thought we were alone out here?" Miller said as he righted himself. His wounds were serious and they appeared to be growing worse. Blood smeared the metal housing around them. The bounds were zip ties, plastic, easy to break. Pulling a bayonet from the body of a dead guard Batgirl cut her ties and found her utility belt. Once that was done she went back for Captain Miller.
"How bad is it?"
"I can see Heaven's gates," he smiled.
"Don't go there!" she warned, "You're not done here, yet"
Taking an arm over her shoulder the two exited the back of the bullet riddled truck to a scene of utter destruction. The entire convoy had been destroyed. Guards were dead where they stood. Most never had a chance to exit their vehicles or fire back at their tormentors.
"Who did this?" she asked.
"Some friends"
Several armed men appeared on the sides of the road coming towards them cautiously. Apprehensive they dropped down behind one of the wrecked trucks. "Who are they?" she asked.
"They are friends of mine"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes"
To prove his point, the captain staggered to his feet and rose above the wreckage. Seeing him the figures trained their weapons and approached rapidly. ⌠Hands up!■ they ordered.
"I'm Captain Miller" he told them.
Realizing this only then did they relax.
When they appeared closer did they realize whom they were. Most were clad in civilian attire. Immediately they began to pick of the weapons from the dead. Young and old, women and men, all were here picking through the wreckage.
"Captain Miller?" a voice called out.
Looking over his shoulder a tall, thin man came up his face smeared with black and green grease paint.
"Thought that was you" the man smiled. Looking down he saw Batgirl.
"Whose the chick?"
"The name's Batgirl" she hissed.
"She's with me" Miller interjected.
"Damn glad to see you. We heard aweful things coming from town."
"My company...my company is gone"
A moment of silence came the man looked at the disheveled captain and patted him on the shoulder, "Sorry, Miller, we should have come sooner"
"And just who are you?" Batgirl demanded.
"Captain Simmons of the 2nd Militia" the man responded.
"2nd Militia? How many militias are there of you?" she yelled in anger.
"Relax, we're here to take you to safety"
"Well, it took you long enough. Where the hell have you been? We've been held up in a godforsaken house attacked by goons and machine gun totting nuts. Not only that, we had to be smoked out and a building collapsed on us, not only that..."
"Easy" said Miller placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
She was very upset. This new group of militia would have made a difference in the battle but they were retarded in their advance. Many excused with only one conclusion the complete destruction of the Greys. A medic came up and placed the captain on a stretcher. With Batgirl's help they carried him to the back of a waiting ambulance where his charred uniform was cut off exsposing his burnt flesh that gave off an obnoxious odor. Whew. Her cap was burned as well and full of holes. It was a close call for Batgirl, one of many she had faced thus far but this time it was the worst. The ambulance lurched forward.
"Want me to look at you?" the medic asked Batgirl.
"No, thanks, i'll be getting off here soon" she replied.
"Are you sure? Those burns looks serious" he said.
"That's alright. I've dealt with much worse than this"
Half an hour of bouncing around in the back of the vehicle and that was enough for her. A bag of I.V was pumping into his veins in conjunction with an injection of morphine made him feel no pain at all. The truck came to a sudden stop and the medic stepped out as well as the driver. Where were they? Coming out herself they were in the city at a hastily made aid station for the militia. They were in the midst of evacuating themselves. People were moving to and thro with stretchers of wounded men and women. What a scene. It was something out of a horror movie. Smoking was rising from demolished buildings and fires were raging out of control in others.
"I'm going" she said to Miller.
"To where?" he managed to sit up to say.
"I'm going to find that fat cat. You go ahead and go with these guys to the camps. I'll see you there"
Miller nodded his approval reluctantly.
"See you, Miller"
"Dwayne, it's Dwayne" he smiled.
"Barbara" she smiled back.
"Don't be gone long, Barbara"
