Chapter 9 Critical Situations Get Worse
Character Sgt.. Paul Jackson
Jackson had just emptied another clip of the lancer that he was given and looked for the next target while he reloaded. K was a great help keeping all of the undead that got near the wall from getting over it his new form was literally tearing the undead to shreds with or without his flaming sword. Jackson made a note to ask about that sword later.
"The undead have stopped charging," said K.
"Is that a good thing," Jackson yelled.
"Not usually," K answered.
"Great if they have stopped then that means that they are waiting on something, probably something big." Jackson sent another burst of gun fire down range, followed by a pyroblast from Haggard. "Why have they stopped?" Jackson asked K as he jumped over the wall.
K looked over at him, "I don't know and I don't like it."
"Couldn't you just block off the tunnel with a wall instead of just giving us cover with it?" Jackson asked.
"I could but it wouldn't take the locust long to dig through it," K answered. A buzzing sound startled Jackson then he realized it was the communication device that Dom had given him.
"Hello," Jackson answered the communicator. "Jackson get K back down here now tell him we have Corpsers breaking through the walls," Fenix shouted through the communicator, "Now! Do it Now!" A large boom followed by a crash and the communicator went dead.
"K we need to go," Jackson started.
"I heard," K said, "everybody head back for the labs I'll close up this tunnel and catch up." Jackson jumped over the wall and followed John and Haggard who were already running toward the labs. Jackson looked back to see K sprinting to catch up which he did and then pass both John and Haggard. Jackson caught up to Haggard and the two fell into step as they rounded the corner and headed for the door.
"I hope K closed that tunnel pretty well," Haggard rasped.
"Me too," Jackson replied trying to keep up his breathing. They saw John race through the door and immediately get knocked back out by a flood of scientists, Fenix and Delta. John started to run back toward Jackson.
Fenix yelled, "we are taking the rest of the scientists out the front door instead of up the truck entrance fall in behind us if those undead and locust have cleared the road ahead we will have to protect these civilians." Jackson and Haggard fell into step with John at the back of the scientists.
"Vanguard duty again feels like home," Jackson thought, as the group headed for the block in the tunnel. "How are we going to get out," He asked Fenix.
"Second tunnel to our left is an emergency escape rout and seeing as this is an emergency I figured we would make use of it," Fenix said.
Character Cynder
"Spyro to the left," she shouted at him. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a missile that exploded right where he was a second ago.
"What are these things," He yelled back to her.
"I don't know but we have to keep them off the scientists long enough for them to get to the road," she replied as she dodged a spray of bullets. A group of large bi-pedal locust with chain guns and missile launchers strapped to them came out of the ground about fifty feet away from the two dragons as the scientists were starting to head for the road that would take them to the evac point.
"I think one of the scientists called them Brumacks," Spyro said as he rolled up to her avoiding some more bullets.
"Can we kill them," Cynder asked looking over her shoulder to watch the fleeing men get over a hill and head for the road.
"I don't see why not just don't get hit with any of those bullets," Spyro replied.
"O like the rockets are much better," Cynder countered as they took flight to avoid some more bullets. From the air Cynder could make out four Brumacks two of which were trying to pin them down and two that were heading for the road. "Spyro we need to keep those two from reaching the scientists," she said as she dived toward one.
"Cynder we don't even know if we can kill them," Spyro objected as he followed her.
"Let's see if they like my tail scythe," Cynder thought as she went in low over one's head and brought her tail down onto it. She heard a crunching and gushing sound as she pulled her tail through the Brumack's head. Circling back she saw the Brumack just standing in the road with its rocket launcher harness in two halves on each side. "Spyro we don't have to kill them just remove the riders." Spyro, who was already heading toward the other Brumack, nodded his head. Cynder watched as Spyro dodged a volley of rockets and land on the harness. She watched as he flung the two locust driving the Brumack into the air letting one fall to the ground and die in the landing and blasting another with his ice so it shattered when it landed. "That's two down," she said.
"Two to go," Spyro finished. Some trees crashed to the ground some 100 feet from where the two were and the other Brumacks came out of the forest spraying bullets and rockets at the two dragons. Cynder shadow melded and let the rockets and bullets pass right through her. Spyro just turned into his boulder and took the fire from the two Brumacks. "Cynder," he thought to her, "I'll distract them you take out the gunners." Cynder headed for the Brumacks while telling Spyro she would. Appearing behind the two Cynder jumped on the first one's back while slicing the harness off the other one's back. One of the locust got out of his seat and shot at her with its gun before her claws smashed him against the Brumack's side. Most of the bullets bounced off her horns and scales but, one hit her in the back lower part of her jaw and it was now stinging and bleeding, though not much. She blew the other driver locust into the air with a cyclone and jumped off the Brumack's back. Spyro ran up to her, "Your hurt," he said licking the blood from her jaw.
"I'll be fine," she protested but didn't make him stop until her jaw felt less like it had been attacked by a swarm of angry hornets. "Spyro we need to check on those scientists," she said after a minute.
Spyro looked at her then relented and said, "I guess your are right again. This is one time that I'm glad our children are not close by," Spyro said.
"I think I agree, that one bullet hurts more than any arrow I ever took in the war." Spyro breathed his healing breath into the wound closing it up and extracting the bullet. "Thank you," Cynder said.
"You know I can't stand to see you hurt," he replied. The two started flying toward the evac point.
Character Kalathanon
"Get them out of here now Fenix I'll deal with the Corpsers," K yelled out at Fenix who was heading toward the exit and had been joined by John, Jackson, and Haggard. The wall behind K broke open and a six legged, spider like, locust that was as big as K was in his half form, came out into the hall. "Ok you beastie, come here," K thought as he charged the Corpser. It struck out at him with one of its spear-like legs, only for K to doge it and cut it off at the "knee" joint. The Corpser backpedaled from the first strike, then lashed out with two more legs. K rolled barely getting under the swing of the first leg, but jumping on the second. Running up the leg K jumped toward the Corpser's head. He grabbed onto the side of the head to avoid being bitten by the huge jaws that comprise the entire front of the Corpser's head. K drove his sword into the head only to get smashed into the side of its head by the back of a leg, and fall onto the ground. He rolled to avoid the spear-like legs being thrust at him as he got up. His sword still burning into the Corpser's head, K struck out with his claws, tail, and magic. Sidestepping another thrust from the Corpser, K sent a spike of disintegrating energy into the Corpser. It jerked back and up, then fell to the ground. K summoned his sword and started heading for the exit when a huge, gray, four-digit "hand" came out of the hole and dragged the Corpser's corpse back into the side of the tunnel. K morphed into his "normal" dragon form and flew the remaining length of the way out determined to get to Fenix and warn him and the others about the demon. "That hand couldn't belong to any normal creature," K thought, "Spyro and Cynder have gone out the other way." He stopped torn between warning his friends or his charges. Duty won this fight, K headed for Fenix's patrol. "Besides Spyro and Cynder can take care of themselves and are much faster if they need to flee," K tried to comfort himself to no effect.
