Episode 8: The Belly of the Beast

Paderborn Cathedral, around 13:25

Lucia grabbed the case containing the transmitter off the table and moved toward the stairs, stealth all but forgotten.

"Come on you three. We need to get going."

The three GIs turned and followed Lucia up the staircase, keeping their rifles at the ready. Halfway up the staircase, the dull wail they had heard became more distinct.

"That's the alarm. I was right, they know we're here." Lucia said.

They continued climbing at a hurried pace. The moment they reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the door, they were hit by a barrage of plasma.

"Anyone hit?" Lucia asked, pulling the door closed for all the meager protection it offered.

"Not me."

"Me neither."

"Same here."

"Alright. The fastest way out of here is the way we came in. Due to the fact that it is across the hall and a few meters down, it is very risky." Lucia said.

"No shit." Byron said.

"It would only get worse." Buck said, "There would be more on the outside. However, once outside, we would be able to maneuver more efficiently."

"Right. Now all we have to do is get there." Lucia said, "Who wants to go first?"

Buck smirked, opened the door, and sprinted toward the opening in the wall, diving through it as a fusillade of plasma streaked past him. The other three glanced at each other, then followed suit. Carrying the case, Lucia couldn't go as fast as the others but almost managed to make it through the opening. Just as she was about to go through the opening, a plasma bolt grazed her right arm, making her cry out in pain.

"You hit bad?" Private Schnider called to Lucia, who shook her head.

"Just a scratch. I'm fine." Lucia called back, "We need to get going!"

"No shit Lucia." Byron called, moving toward the corner. "Cover up ahead."

The group moved toward a house on the other side of the street, dodging plasma blasts the whole way. Grimacing, Lucia hoisted the Thompson to fire upon the explorers.

"Four more incoming at three o-clock." Buck called out.

Lucia aimed at the incoming explorers and fired. The gun jumped in her hands, and the recoil proved too much for her arm.

"Ah!" Lucia cried out in pain.

Private Schnider rushed over to Lucia, hearing her cry of pain.

"Were you hit?" Private Schnider asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Lucia snapped, firing the Thompson again.

Just as she said that, an explosion a few feet in front of the shop blasted chunks of paving stone into the building.

"Look out!"

Lucia managed to avoid most of the debris, but not all. A piece of debris struck Lucia on her burned shoulder, knocking her down.

"I'm fine!" Lucia called out, already hoisting her Thompson to fire at the explorers.

"Concentrate fire on the left flank!" Byron called out as the explorers advanced on their position, menace in their eyes.

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Heinrich hurried down the hall toward the room where Observer Alpha was back interrogating the old battlecruiser that some of his men had found being hidden deep inland. As he moved, he thought about what his subordinate had told him. The girl who had been wreaking havoc on the sirens operations was trapped alongside a couple of Eagle Union infantry.

"Tell me where she is!"

Observer Alpha's shouting could be heard from halfway down the hallway. Obviously, she wasn't getting anywhere with the battlecruiser. Heinrich sighed, they'd had the battlecruiser for the better part of two weeks now, and they still hadn't gotten any useful information out of her. Maybe Lady Purifier could help when she arrived.

"Excuse me explorer, but I have news for Lady Observer. She will want to hear this."

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"Explorers moving in on the left flank!"

"I see them, engaging!"

"Throwing grenade!"

"King Tiger incoming!"

"Look out!"

Lucia moved to dive behind a wall, but she never got the chance. A long lick of flame spat from the cannon on the King Tiger as it hurled it's 88mm shell toward the shop. The shell impacted, sending bits of glass, wood, steel, and stone flying about the shop. Lucia was hit by a shard of wood that tore into her torso. She screamed as a large chunk of shrapnel slammed into her thigh. The cannon on the King Tiger fired again, sending another deadly high-explosive shell toward it's target.

Already dizzy from the first impact, Lucia never knew what hit her. The force of the explosion sent Lucia flying into the wall she was going to use for cover, knocking her unconscious.

"Lucia!" Buck yelled, diving toward her.

Private Schnider and Byron chose their targets carefully, all too aware of their dwindling ammunition supply.

"Pick off the ones toward the front and aim for the head!" Buck called out, applying a tourniquet from the first aid kit he'd brought along.

"No shit. What do you think we've been doing?" Byron called back.

"How is she?" Private Schnider asked moving in closer with Byron close behind, firing carefully aimed shots.

"We gotta get her out of here. I've done all I can to stop the bleeding, but we need to get her to a medic."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Private Schnider asked, firing off the last two rounds in his clip. "I'm down to three clips, and I bet you two are in a similar position. We can't fight our way out."

"Follow me." Buck said, hoisting the unconscious Lucia into a fireman's carry.

Byron grabbed the transmitter case and followed Buck deeper into the building. Private Schnider held his ground, firing at the closet explorers until his clip ran out of ammunition. Shoving a new clip, he turned and ran after the others, plasma flying all around him.

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"Are you sure it's her?" Observer Alpha asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes Lady Observer. My top subordinate was the one who informed me. I trust his information."

"You'd better. What did he say about efforts to capture the girl?"

"Latest reports say that she may have been killed when a Tiger B engaged in the fight."

"While this is less than optimum, I will not object to her death." Observer Alpha told Heinrich, dismissing him

Heinrich saluted, turned, and left the room.

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Buck led the other two GIs through the rest of the shop, and into the house behind it.

"How did you know about this?" Byron asked

"Annemarie back in Cologne. Her building had the same layout." Buck said, laying Lucia on the ground to check her wounds.

"I hope that the SS men and explorers out there didn't think the exact same way." Private Schnider said, looking around.

"If they did, we would have been dead by now." Buck said, hoisting back into a fireman's carry. "Let's keep moving before they realize what happened."

Buck moved through the home to a door at the back of the home, pulling it open revealed an empty street.

"Let's go." Buck hissed.

Moving through a city full of sirens and cultists was no easy task, but the three managed to get back to the jeep without any further engagement. Just as they were about to leave, a plasma bolt streaked overhead and shattered the tree behind them. Glancing up, the men saw a different siren. This one was slightly larger, but still roughly the same size. The weaponry was different as well, with the look of a fork missing it's center prong.

The GIs didn't stick around long enough to study any more of this new siren. With Byron slamming down the accelerator pedal, the GIs took off.

"Come on Lucia, stay with us." Buck urged as the jeep sped away from the city, headed back to the outskirts of Langen.