"Gray Trailer"
(Music: Bury Me Alive by We Are the Fallen: /watch?v=IxLtOzIJ3qg)
"Regret is the chain that weighs you down, but the resolve to move on is the blade that can set you free."
As the dry winds blew in, Grei Schimmel raised an arm in a poor attempt to keep the sand out from his deep blue eyes. He gently pulled up the already worn gray scarf he wore, covering the lower half of his face. However, to no avail, the sands continued pelting the exposed portion of his face. Even as he wore his black combat boots, the sand was a bit hard to trudge through.
'It seems a sandstorm's brewing. Better start moving faster.'
The desert land of Vacuo must certainly hate him. While he had finished his Huntsman classes at Shade Academy quite early, the shifting sands over the horizon were an obvious sign of bad weather. There was a time when days passed by while he only stayed within the comfort of his home. Well, it didn't really matter to him if several days of class were suspended. That just meant he had more time to study in advance.
"I wonder if mom and dad are already home," Grei murmured to himself as he dusted off the sand that began collecting on his ebony combat jacket. He heightened his pace, hiking up a smallS dune. As he reached the top, he set his eyes upon the entrance to the village where he lived. He perked up and began dashing, ignoring the bits of sand that got into his shoes.
His breath was heavy when he reached the entrance. The thirteen year old boy took another deep breath and exhaled as he strode into his beloved home.
Grei slowly walked along the pavement. Normally, even if there were signs of a sandstorm stirring not too far, the faunus inhabitants of the village were still out and about. Children would run around playing while their parents would watch over them. Otherwise, they were away working. However, no one was around. Not a single soul greeted him.
As he reached an intersection he heard an unfamiliar male voice from the right side. Instinctively, Grei rushed into an alleyway in an attempt to hide.
"-gather them up into the evacuation center. Make sure none of them escape as well. If the boss finds out, he'll flip. This is one of our first operations. So don't screw up," the man threatened over his communication device.
'If everyone's trapped in the evacuation center, that probably also means mom and dad are cooped up in there as well." He inched closer towards the corner to catch a glimpse of the source of the voice.
The man was clad in a light steel chest plate, arm guards and knee guards, complemented by black clothing covering the skin. He donned a hood and wore a steel mask that resembled Grimm. 'The White Fang,' he thought. He remembered that the White Fang served as the symbol of peace between man and faunus, bearing the logo of partnership. However, the blood red symbol slashed across by claws spoke otherwise.
Grei began to move further back into the alleyway. As soon as he reached the wall, he unlocked his weapon, Hound's Fangs, from its stasis. With a quick flick of his wrist, sharp blades in the form of claws released themselves from the fingers. He dug the claws into the wall and began climbing. Swiftly and silently, he began scaling the houses. His body felt light, jumping from rooftop to rooftop until he reached the perimeter of the evacuation center.
"Bingo."
The boy dropped down, his fall cushioned by bags of trash nearby the area. As he retracted the claws, he turned to the building and began treading lightly towards it. He noticed the area was already heavily guarded by a few White Fang soldiers.
Grei cursed under his breath. He had no way of getting in unless he wanted to get caught too. From the corner of his eye, he saw a Bullhead making its descent, kicking up a bit of sand in the process. Several of the White Fang guards lined up to meet, who Grei assumed, was their leader. One soldier in particular went up to him.
"Lieutenant, sir!" he saluted.
Their leader had a surprisingly normal build. He sported a similar outfit with the other soldiers. The only difference was that he had no hood on and his mask was slightly different. "Are the captives ready for transport?"
"Yes sir. We've made a list covering their personal and health information. Most of these brothers and sisters are capable of labor."
The lieutenant nodded. He gestured to several more aerial transports coming into the village. "Round them up and transfer them into the airships. There's a need to head back as soon as possible. And one last instruction: Once we've confirmed that all of these captives have gotten onboard, make sure that there will be nothing left of this small town."
"Affirmative." The soldier then turned towards the other men and signaled them to begin moving the faunus hostages into the airships. Trucks of more faunus parked beside the airships and were ready to unload.
Grei could only click his tongue in frustration. Everybody he knew was going to be taken away just like that, and he knew he couldn't do anything, especially against the terrorist movement. He continued to lay low in the alleyway, trying his best to come up with a plan. Time continued to tick as he watched his faunus neighbors, his friends, and even the village chief slowly walk towards the airships that were waiting for them. White Fang soldiers directed them towards their destination, some even threatened
His eyes widened once he saw his parents moving along the line. They were wild dog faunus. His dad held his mom tightly and protectively while she cowered at the sight of the armed men.
One of the soldiers aimed a gun towards his mother. "Hey! Get moving! Don't tell me you need your husband to hold you just so you can walk."
"Don't talk to my wife like that," his father barked back. "Can't you see she's scared because of what you're doing?! I thought the White Fang were a symbol of peace. But why'd you change?! Why do you push for so much violence?!"
"If you don't calm down, sir, I'll have to make you calm down. With a bullet through your head." He threatened the boy's dad with the rifle in his hands. However, the dog faunus began growling adamantly in protest.
The soldier was about to pull the trigger when out of nowhere, a mortar was launched and blew up one of the nearby buildings. "What the…?!" His father took advantage of the distraction. Letting go of the boy's mother, he lunged at the armed man with his claws bared. He threw a swift punch to his jaw, cracking it along with the mask from the sheer force, leaving the soldier unconscious.
All of a sudden, armed humanoid robots in white sieged the area. Their bullets blazed through, killing off some of the White Fang. Then, human soldiers from both sides started pouring in.
Grei looked forward, readying himself for a sprint. 'This is my chance!' He rushed into the storm of bullets. The sound of bullets whizzed past his ears as he nimbly weaved through. "Mom! Dad!" he grabbed the hands of his parents as he made a beeline for cover from the shootout.
The family rushed into one of the nearby stone buildings. Grei and his father barricaded the entrance with several pieces of furniture. They slumped down in exhaustion as the rush of adrenaline slowly began to disappear.
"Son," his father faced him. "Thank goodness you were around. Normally, your mother and I would ask how your day has been. But I guess it's clearly obvious after what just happened."
"Why are the White Fang here?" the boy asked.
"I don't know, son. But for whatever reason, I don't think the Atlas military would let them continue onward. If they do escape, then there's nothing they can do."
"Dear, for now, I think we should leave the village while they're still fighting," his mother spoke up. "We can use that window over there." She pointed to a broken window at the corner of the building. "I remember that it leads to a shortcut to the main entrance of the village."
Grei and his father nodded in unison. They broke off the sharp edges of the already broken window and started climbing out one by one. As Grei was about to jump out of the stone building, a large mechanical suit burst through the barricade and crashed. Grei lost balance and fell back inside. A portion of the building had collapsed as a result of the suit, and blocked off Grei's escape route.
"Mom! Dad!" he shouted.
"Grei, honey! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine! I'll try to find another way out!"
"But that's crazy! We can't just leave you!"
"Please, mom! I can do this!"
"We'll hold you to your word, boy!" his father shouted back through the rubble.
With a determined look, Grei turned around and headed for the opening made by the mechanical suit. He cautiously walked ahead as he tried to avoid the areas with plenty of gunfire.
The gray haired boy heard a rocket launched in the distance, followed by a deafening explosion. Grei was thrust away from the area, skidding to a stop several blocks away. He got up with a grunt and patted the sand that got on his clothes. He narrowed his eyes in focus, looking further ahead. He counted several White Fang coming in. From the opposite side, he heard shouts from the Atlas military soldiers as well as the mechanical march of the Atlesian Knights.
"Don't let that kid get away!" one of the terrorists howled out.
"There are some more White Fang over here. Intercept them!" a golden haired Atlas soldier hollered over to her comrades.
Grei exhaled deeply. "It looks like I'll have to fight my way through this one."
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed his claws and took on a fighting stance that resembled a martial artist. He closed his eyes, waiting for the proper moment to strike. Men from both sides already aimed their guns at each other, with Grei caught in the center. They pulled their triggers.
His eyes opened and launched himself within an instant at one of the White Fang soldiers. Grabbing his shoulders, Grei pulled him in to deliver a swift knee to the gut. The man grunted and gasped in pain as he fell to the ground unconscious.
Grei immediately ducked and rushed to another soldier with his claws pulled back. He struck him thrice in the chest, the soldier's blood spilling on the ground with each hit. The gray haired boy leapt onto his face and propelled himself backwards to another target. He slowed himself midair as he gave a painful spinning kick to his enemy, sending him flying into the rubble.
Some of the men slowly began to back off from the boy, baffled by their inability to land a single bullet on him.
Grei ran and slashed across another White Fang's chest. Before he could even fall down, the boy pushed him away with a kick to his already wounded chest. He snapped his head towards the Atlas soldiers, who were backing off as well.
The gray haired boy felt the blood rush to his head, the urge to fight taking over him. He leaped powerfully high into the air and remained airborne for a few seconds almost as if he was floating. And with a sudden burst, he fell downward onto the remaining soldiers. The ground exploded as he landed unharmed from his own attack. Large chunks of rock and sand knocked themselves into the androids, crushing their steel frames.
Grei swiftly rushed to a man and gave a quick chop to his back, an audible cracking sound reverberating across the field. Using the soldier's body as a stepping stone, he leapt to an Atlesian Knight. He slashed repeatedly, mauling at the robot's chest. He hopped off the dismantled android which made a loud thud as it fell on the floor.
The gray haired boy panted, exhaustion catching up from his assault. He laid out the bodies of his foes on the sand beneath him, before retracting the Hound's Fangs. He looked ahead and noticed he was nearly out of the town. He kicked into a sprint and headed for the open gates. He could even see his parents waiting for him from afar and waving him over, a worried glint in their eyes. He ran even faster until he was just a few steps away from them.
"Mom! Dad!"
What came next stopped him in his tracks completely.
Several drops of warm fluid fell on the young boy's face. Blood. His eyes widened in fear at the sight in front of him. Two blades had impaled themselves through his parents' chests. There was no scream, no yell, not even a weak cry of pain. The swords were pulled out as quickly as they appeared and their lifeless bodies dropped onto the dry sands.
The boy's mouth was wide open, completely stunned at the sight of his parents. He looked ahead only to find a masked soldier of the White Fang. A cold smirk crawled onto the lieutenant's face.
"I thought I had made it clear to these fools that if anyone tries to escape, no lives would be spared. But it seems their skulls are as thick as that of a Goliath." He spat on the blood that began pooling beneath the bodies.
Grei ran and knelt beside them and tried shaking their already cold bodies. He choked back a sob, refusing to believe the thought. He pulled them close into a tight hug as tears ran down his cheeks.
With a howl, Grei looked on at his foe, unleashing his claws for another brawl. He lunged in and slashed across the White Fang's body, but the man nimbly moved to the side and retaliated with a slash of his own. Grei staggered back with a new cut on his right arm.
He got up close and started throwing chops, kicks, and slices. However, none of his attacks connected. His opponent only seemed to grow more amused at his despair and anger.
Grei pounced at him, aiming for the lieutenant's head. He felt time slow down while he was in midair. The boy never reached his enemy. He rasped at the new pain spreading from his abdomen. The White Fang lieutenant had stabbed him faster than he could blink. The man forcefully removed his weapon and sent the gray haired boy flying with a kick.
The White Fang lieutenant sauntered over to the boy and raised one of his blades, preparing for another swing. Grei looked up, his vision blurry from the tears. With a downward slash, the gray haired boy felt a searing pain across his face. Blood trailed down from his left brow, the gash profusely bleeding.
"Agh!" Grei screamed and reeled back as his foe laughed mockingly. His vision began to swim because of the pain. He tried to keep his eyes straight on the lieutenant, but to no avail, he was left on the ground beside his parents with only his arms keeping him from falling flat on the sands.
'Is this it…?' His body grew heavy. 'I couldn't even save myself… How was I even supposed to save my parents?' His arms gave way and body landed with a painful thud.
'Are you willing to put your trust in me?' a voice rang within his head. Grei's eyes grew heavier and heavier. 'If you are, I would be more than happy to assist you.' To Grei, it seemed as if the voice had a manic smile.
Even as his vision was distorted, he noticed a small wave of darkness escaping his hands. He didn't have time to wonder why it gradually grew bigger and bigger. His breathing became weaker with each passing second.
"Just how… stupid can… I get…?" He finally gave in to sleep, the darkness seeping into him along with the rest of the world.
