I AM SO SORRY ITS BEEN A WHILE BUT SCHOOL HOLIDYAS HAPPENED AND I GOT BUSY AND THEN OUR HOUSE GOT FLOODED CAUSE SHIZ HAPPENED BUT ANYWAYS HERES ZE CHAPTER HOPE YOU LIKE IT :D
We finally arrived in Mercy.
And instantly we could all see something was wrong.
Sam called out to ask for fuel, but no one was here. We walked through the streets, silence echoing our footsteps.
I can hear the others talking quietly but I'm on edge. This is too much like the first few community's within the hollow who fell to the lambent that I helped clear out. I reassure myself with the fact the lambency doesn't effect humans, so it must be something else. Probably killed each other, stupid huma-
Sam suddenly calls out that the pipeline is rigged.
This place is definitely sabotaged, and I keep my gun up and ready to shoot while we walk along the line, Marcus disarming the charges as we go. Dom gives me an odd look when he thinks I'm not looking and I frown at his quickly turned back.
Weird.
We all duck and take cover as someone shoots at us. Some crazy old dude shows himself as Marcus yells out-
"Hey check fire! We're Gears! Gears!"
"Get your hands off those goddam charges!" is the reply. I'm tempted to shoot the crazy guy but Sam raises an eyebrow at me, seemingly reading my mind despite the fact I only raised my gun a little bit.
That's really creepy actually…
"Did you rig the pipeline? You wanna blow this place up?" Well noooo
"Yeah! I gotta stop this thing from spreadin'! Just let me get on with the job." Thing? Oh great there's another disease hanging round. At least it wasn't self-destruction I suppose. Mind you humans just following their nature is… Shit I forgot I was human again. This is my nature too.
We got out of cover and Dom stepped forward "What thing? You got an epidemic?"
"How the hell should I know what it is? Its. Its, its-it's some kind of fever! People start burning up and screamin' and fightin', turnin' crazy! And I'm damned if im gonna turn up like that, like some rabid dog, not even human no more!" I follow the others in stepping toward this guy. I fight back some major nerves. A fever, that exactly what the locust thought the lambency was at first.
Marcus pulls open the door the man had been trying to close "You better come with us. We can get you some help."
"NO! It's too late! Leave me alone!" The man falls back and then runs off.
"Hey come back! We need to know where else you've laid charges!" Sam looked a little frustrated.
I however want to curl up and hide. Or shoot something. If the lambency is affecting humans now… by the gods it's worse than we could ever have imagined.
As we move forward to chase the guy Dom speaks again "Well, he was interesting." I wonder what Baird would have said to that.
Sam looked around a corner "Whatever fever he was talking about. I hope it's not contagious"
I bite my lip "What if it's lambency?"
They all look at me, and I feel very aware of myself for a moment but before Marcus can ask me what I mean Sam spots the guy and yells "Hey! We're CoG, we're on your side!... Where'd he go?"
We made our way over to the houses and Dom looks at me "Only locust can be lambent" he seemed to be watching me carefully, as did Marcus although the sergeant was paying more attention to where we were going.
"Can we afford to assume? Just because we haven't seen one…" I trail off as we find some bad smelling place, and see the pipeline heading down them.
Marcus decides to cut off the conversation for more important things. Hopefully more important things… "Looks like the pipeline takes us into the sewers. Let's go."
I've never heard of sewers before but I decide quickly that I do not want to go down there. Then again there's no way I'm staying behind.
Shit.
Down I go…
"You think the old guy could be down here?"
"In the sewer? Definitely." Dom and Anya talk a little and I hang back a few steps. Being fully honest I feel like a pebble in the middle of rockfall of boulders, a pebble that once tried to destroy the boulders, when I walk too close. Even though in height I'm on par with them, I look sickly thin next to them.
That or I'm paranoid now because of that doctor guy.
Thanks Anya.
We find the crazy old guy dead, and I hear someone crying nearby. The others don't seem to, and Marcus splits us up. He sets Dom up to go with Sam to the right and me and Anya to stay with him on the left.
Once we're done splitting up I speak up "Can't you guys hear that?" They look at me but then there's a particularly loud cry and they hear. We head in that direction, Marcus going first.
Dom and Sam appear on a raised bit behind us, but my eyes are glued to the woman 'sobbing' on the ground.
Its spread to humans. The first lambent I saw were like this. And its spread. I-
Oh no no no no no no no no no! NO!
"Ma'am, are you okay? Who did this?" I want to scream at Marcus to stop but I'm frozen. If its spread then this is bad. So bad.
And I'm being stupid and can't even speak.
"What happened?" he reaches for her and she turns around "-what the hell!" Marcus backs off while Sam yells, finally catching on "She's Lambent! Its spread to humans!"
I finally get control of myself and shoot it in the head.
The others look at me and I calm my shock simply to say "Told you so"
Marcus and Anya share a look but then Sam calls out "She's not alone!" as a horde of the damn things come at us.
Anya calls out while we shoot at them "Marcus they're everywhere!"
He answers while smashing one in the face "Come on! We've got to find a way out of here!"
We keep shooting to finish off this horde of them, yet I have a dark feeling this won't be it.
More and more come and we just keep shooting, steadily advancing through the sewers as we went. I wince as one scratches my leg but Sam is there and shooting it before I can even turn. I don't have time to thank her like I'd seen the others do when helped before the fighting continues.
Finally, it's over and as we look to bring down the ramp Anya looks at me "How can humans turn Lambent? It only affects locust."
Marcus replies for me in his gravelly voice "Yeah? Well now its jumped the species barrier again!"
He starts talking to Dizzy and Dom finds the thing to get the ramp down. Anya keeps looking at me and I sigh "I bet the locust once thought it wouldn't affect them either"
They hadn't.
Myrrah told me in the Hollow how wretches had succumbed first. But none of the normal locust thought anything of it until it was too late. It was just a sickness in our- their pets.
Yeah wretches are pets. Before the war they were bred for wretch fights some nights in the hollow. Then they were bred for fighting humans. Either way no one considering an epidemic among them important.
How wrong they were…
The ramp is finally lowered and we head up it. Anya has nothing to say to my reply and Dom was giving me a strange look again before looking away, and what I assume is a thoughtful look crosses his face "huh, Lambent humans. No wonder the old guy wanted to frag the place."
"Is that it?" Sam sounds scared "Are we all gonna end up like them? Former humans?"
Marcus reassures her "No. We're getting out. We'll grab the fuel and head out of here"
Dom sighs "My great idea to come here…. Sorry Marcus."
"It's just as well we did. Now we know the whole human race could turn Lambent if we don't do something about it."
We head to some kind of courtyard with a circular wall in the middle. It seems empty…
Screw that! Nope!
Of course not!
I hear more coming and we head to the other side of the courtyard just in case. Sam shouts out and points out a guy appearing on a balcony who lets us know the machine gun is loaded. Marcus and Dom grab it, Marcus aiming while Dom reloads, and just in time.
A massive horde appears. I peer from behind a cover on the opposite side of the steps to Anya and Sam, shooting as much as possible. It seems surreal, even the locust thought humanity was immune. And even they would've been stunned. Will be.
I have to sit back as one flanks me and tries to rip my face apart, quickly blasting its head off. I want to watch Marcus and Dom on the machine gun but there's simply too many. I can hear the others coming to a similar conclusion under the constant noise of the machine gun.
Which suddenly stops. I look just in time to see Marcus and Dom throw it down and use their lancers.
Finally, after a few tense minutes the horde stops and the guy from before yells down:
"Quick, before they come back! Climb the ladders!"
Marcus stands watch as everyone goes up, sparing me a moments glance when I went up. Then he followed.
We're in a large and, what would've been once, fancy house.
Marcus said to the guy gruffly once we went further in and had a door locked behind us "Thanks for the assist."
The guy sounded slightly star struck as he replied "Gears.. You're the last people we expected to see."
"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Sam sounds paranoid. Can't exactly blame her.
"I'm fine. But he's not looking so good" The guy gestured to some other dude who's lying on a blood soaked mattress.
I don't know this guy, I don't want nor need too. However, what he signifies…. I curse slightly as we approach and the coughing just becomes clearer and more grotesque.
"Is this how it starts?" Dom asked gently
"Yeah you seen this before? Cause this isn't just rustlung-"
The guy is cut off by a former, may as well call them that, jumping through the window and starting to rip him apart.
The others look shocked for a moment but I just shoot, unable to save the guy but killing the damn lambent. The others snap back a second later, killing the other and turning as the door caved in followed by more of the damn things.
Marcus yells out between smashing a former's face in and shooting another in the legs "Come on! We've got to get to that fuel pump!"
Oh yeah. That's why we're in this hellhole.
Huh. I forgot.
We follow him outside, charging over the walls and only shooting what ones we have too. There's way too many and it'd be a waste of ammo. I find myself being dragged along a bit by Dom because I just keep stopping to stare.
Marcus calls "Come on! To the roof!"
What roof?
Oh gods! More appear. We shoot them but as Anya points out "They just keep coming!"
I hiss as one scratches my arm but Anya shoots it. I then quickly shoot one behind her, a little shocked at myself. Sure, I don't want to kill them outright but I didn't think I'd be that bothered if they did. And now I'm protecting them.
Dammit Sera sort yourself out!
Marcus calls out as he kills the final one in this area.
We walk further, tension thick in the air.
Anya looks at me "How did you know?"
"About what?"
"The lambent"
I sigh, wondering the shit I could explain without actually explaining "It was the only way shit could get worse. Plus, it's a disease, isn't it? Locust are humanoid, all it'd take is something to change in the infection and, lambent humans."
She doesn't look convinced, but accepts it. Marcus and Dom share a look, clearly not believing me at all but not interrogating thankfully.
They lift the gate and we go in, Marcus announcing that were clear for now.
I snort, yeah right.
Sam starts muttering "I am not gonna end up like them. I bloody well am not."
I get in before Dom does "If you haven't already I wouldn't worry too much for now. Just keep in the moment and we'll deal with shit as it comes."
I walk past her and Anya starts talking to Marcus "The locust are gonna be here soon Marcus, we're running out of time to fuel up!"
Marcus nods "Alright, let's find that pump and get the fuel flowing"
"Isn't that what we've been trying to do the entire time?" I mutter quietly but go ignored.
We head further towards the fuel pump, which had been rerouted through the church according to Dom. Marcus picks up some ammo along the way but my hammerburst is still fairly loaded up so I don't worry about it.
As we enter the graveyard of the church Marcus says, "Okay that's it..." before going to Dom "Dom, we'll deal with the pump"
Wait. Where's Dom going? Last time we split up shit went bad, are Delta thick enough to split up again?
"Thanks, but don't wait for me if anything goes wrong"
Uh, alright. I don't fancy dying for your sake so that's fine by me however from everyone else faces...
"Just make it fast"
Yep, Delta is so going back for Dom if shit goes wrong. These guys really have a death wish huh. But then here I am so I can't say anything really.
We walk ahead as Dom goes to one of the graves. As much as I car- oh wait I don't- or do I? Surely not... Argh fuck I hate this. I am not a locust. I am going to have to accept that because if I keep mentally correcting myself I am going to go insane!
I walk behind Anya and Samantha and then stand watch with them as Marcus tries to pull the fuel switch thingy down, hand on my hammerburst. Call me paranoid, you'd be right, and that I know I don't care about.
Dom shows up as it sticks and hands Marcus a very large knife which the Sergeant uses to unstick the mechanisem? Mecha... the techy stuff Baird plays with. I probably know the word but there's more important things right now. Dom pulls down the other switch with Marcus and finally the fuel is flowing.
Marcus lets Dizzy know but then what sounds like all the Kanti in the Locust Horde screaming at once comes from the church and Dom pipes up "Somehow I don't think that's the choir"
Not sure what a choir is but I'll trust Dom on this one.
As we prepare to fight Marcus calls out to us "We finish this bunch and then we get the hell outta here okay?"
"No, I fancied hanging around actually." I glare over at him from behind a statue of a dude with wings but he just shakes his head, apparently giving up for the time being
Dom ignores me completely "You think the old guy laid enough explosives to blow the town?"
"No, but it will put a big hole in it" Sam glanced over while prepping a frag grenade to chuck at the church door.
Marcus nodded as he aimed from behind a pile of sandbags "Then we'll have to settle for slowin' em down."
And with that they broke through.
Shooting the nearest one in the face I copy Sam in throwing a grenade into a crowd of them. Marcus is using his shotgun relentlessly while Dom and Anya fire round after round into the horde of formers. If it wasn't for the fact I was showing no symptoms I would be worried, I lived over the imulsion lakes for years.
Finally, with only a few minor scratches that are quickly treated on Anya, were off again, and Marcus lets Dizzy know through the ear thing that we're on our way back. I just can't wait to get back to him... Maybe I'll let a former bite me and play dead so I don't have to listen to Dizzy's voice anymore…
"Dom, what's the fastest way back to the fuel station?"
"Just cut through the vaults under the church. It used to be an air raid shelter in the Pendulum Wars."
"Better hope we've cleared out the lambent" Sam added on
I glared at her "You had to fucking say it didn't you"
Sam gave me a shocked look, as did Anya, but Marcus and Dom we're already ahead
"Look kid, What's your problem!"
"You're basically asking for something to go wrong. It's like saying 'nothing could go wrong now'."
"you don't seriously believe- "
"I didn't until you pricks kept constantly saying it in some way or another and every time you did everything going to shit."
Sam glared and opened her mouth but Anya cut in "Haven't we got enough problems?"
We both shut up at those words and settled for following the boys, Anya going ahead a little in frustration.
Dom was pulling a face as they started heading along this wooden bridge by the time we hurried to get behind them "Ugh, Smell those imulsion fumes. Never used to be like this"
Sam walked beside him and spoke to Marcus "Hey Marcus, your father thinks its imulsion that's killing Sera, right?"
I'll admit, I got confused for a moment, but quickly sorted myself out.
"Yeah. We killed to get the stuff. And now it's killing us"
Wait…. Was that what these 'Pendulum Wars' were about. Imulsion? Seriously?! You fucking c-
"Yo Marcus, we got grubs, up the highway!" suddenly came through Anya's ear thing
Marcus half yelled to Dizzy im guessing but I've no idea how or… Damn this tech stuff is weird "Is the tanker ready to roll?"
I don't hear Dizzy's reply but Marcus swears "Ah, shit! All right, leave the damn thing – Get to the pick-up!"
Wait what?! "we're leaving it?!"
"It's leaking. Come on!"
He and the others get onto a lift and I follow just as he pulled the lever to make it go down and as soon as we get to the bottom we run out.
I run just behind delta as we head back to Dizzy and the vehicles but the locust burst through the tunnel to our left as we get there and there's too much of a gap to risk just running.
We're stuck.
I am so sorry this took so long. Life just went shit and I've not had time but I promise to try and update more. I might try doing smaller chapters, I dunno yet but anyway thank you for your patience and I hope to have the next chapter out before 2018. If not feel free to start yelling at me. I know I already apologised in the header but I wrote that ages ago to say the least. SEE YOU SOON
