By now, the men's spirits were soaring. There would be no rests until the enemy had been completely driven back. Only one last hurdle remained and that was to get into the church and get the hostages back out alive. But the question was how? I rushed forwards into Vincento's arms glad to see him again. The enemy probably never expected their Sentinel defence to fail, especially to a lone spy. Now that it has, they've taken a very big blow. However, the enemy still are battle hardened mercenaries and breaking into the church will require much effort and combined strength.
As I survey the situation and explain it to Vincento, I shake my head telling him that rushing in without a plan would be useless. The sudden movement of my head reveals a red dot and I try to move Vincento away but it is too late. A bullet hits him in the chest and he crumples to the ground. I dart away, and look up at once for the bullet was aimed at my head from a higher position. In the church's tower, I see the sniper and he begins to take aim at me again.
At once I dash away from Vincento, hoping that the medics will get to him in time.
"Sniper!" I scream out and make a run for the path up to Garcia's home. More bullets hit the ground around me and finally one hits me in the left foot. Then it stops abruptly. Looking to the left market entrance balcony, I see another young man holding a rifle; one of the two people Vincento had been teaching to use the sniper. Poetic justice I suppose. Vincento prooved to be more than he seemed. He was still breathing when I got back to him, but barely alive.
"Get back this town," he said to me in a hoarse whisper and then he closed his eyes.
I only nodded, not being able to understand why I could not cry anymore. Before I could dwell any deeper, a young scout came to me.
"Sentinels!" he cried, bleeding from many wounds in the right arm. "They've rebuilt lots at the front of the church."
I commend him for his duty and sent a medic his way. The one thing I'll ever regret was that I never got his name. No sooner had I left him, grenades flew past and killed him and the medic on the spot. Worse, more grenades continued to flood the sides of the church. I watched a lone brave soldier try to evade the grenades only to be shot down by heavy gunners and Sentinels.
There didn't seem to be any other way to break through. All was lost perhaps. One by one my forces reduced and the prospects did not look good. The enemy may be trapped but they were still strong. Trapped and desperate, two not very good combinations. I looked around hoping to see some way out of this while my foot continued to bleed. A medic came by to heal the wound and as I looked at the wound, a wierd sense of inspiration hit me. Since both sides of the church can't be accessed, then we'll just go THROUGH the church, right in the middle. It was worth a shot. I stood up so quickly bumping the medic over. At once I relayed my idea to the men and they agreed.
Unfortunately, the enemy decided it was time to break through and they no longer flooded with grenades but ran out by the numbers cutting down the few people who had been caught unaware. In the end, it was an all out firefight as we tried to hold back the enemy while one of the men sets the detonator pack behind the church. I watched him slowly setting the pack from far and he was trembling as it was a delicate job but I wished he could have been faster. Already war weariness was showing, and the people of this quiet hilltop town were not meant for fighting.
Silently I watched another one of my men approach the guy setting the detonator pack. Perhaps it was from the experience but I knew at once that the other man was no hilltop townfolk. It was too far away to shout out to warn him so I grabbed a rifle from the man beside me and took aim and fired. I missed horribly, throwing away the life of one of my kinsman to the spy. He was murdered on the spot but at least the other snipers took out the imposter.
With all the men occupied in some dangerous firefighting, I decided to set the bomb. Limping silently up the stairs to the side of the church, I made my way to where the two dead bodies lay, carefully avoiding any stray grenades and bullets. Strange as it seemed, I could have sworned only the townsman was bleeding. No blood seemed to be flowing from his corpse. I realized too late that it was a trick as he suddenly jumped up at me with the knife aimed for my heart. I heard the sound of the knife sinking into me just as a sniper bullet takes him out for real this time. Opening my eyes, I put my hands into the pocket and find that my locket had saved me from imminent death. There was a dent where the knife struck but other than that, everything was fine. I kissed it lightly and returned it to my pocket.
Trembling, I set the detonator and get out of the way. A loud explosion fills the town rocking the hill again as the back of the church is blown open. I am the first to rush inside with my heavy machine gun severly punching holes into the bodies of the few enemy forces who had come to inspect the explosion. As the dust cleared, only one figure remained standing at the entrance of the church. I heard the doors close and a familiar voice laughing haughtily.
"Gonzales..." I say grimly.
There is a banging at the doors but he ignores them. Instead, he stares back at me like an eagle, eager for its prey. For the moment, we both stare at one another, waiting for some kind of signal. And then it starts. The low whine of Gonzales' machine gun sounds and I dash behind the churchbenches. The wall crumbled where the bullets hit. I tried to return fire but the oncoming hail of bullets prevented me from showing myself.
Crouched hidden at the leftmost side of the pew furthest away from Gonzales, I waited for him to stop but he did not. On the right side of the churchbenche, I watched as holes are punctured into them by the force of Gonzales' machine gun. Slowly, the holes come closer to my side. Realizing that shooting my gun takes a few seconds, I could not easily fire at him quickly enough. Just then I had another idea...
Gonzales continues to spray his bullets trashing the churchbenches as if they were made of glass. However the grin on his face disappears as he finishes shooting from one end of the churchbenches to the other. By then, I had already made my way underneath the churchbenches. Taking this chance, I dash out and fire up my machine gun and let the bullets fly whilst running for cover. Gonzales however crouched just in time to evade the bullets.
"So it's boiled down to this..." Gonzales said out haughtily. "Run... but you can't hide. Just like your pretty girl. Oh, she can run very well."
At the mention of Maria, my eyes widened.
"But she didn't run very far before I got her... hur hur hur."
All at once the rage inside me exploded. I dashed out spraying my bullets in every direction.
"That's right," Gonzales said, "let it all out."
Just as I finished firing, Gonzales appeared in turn to let loose his spray of bullets. I was caught unaware and took some shells in the thigh and arm before managing to return for cover. The pain swelled and I was lost in seas of thought. What happened to Maria?
As if he could read my mind, "She's dead," Gonzales shouted out and then laughed haughtily again.
"No!" I screamed out and darted out and began firing. Gonzales did not hide but let loose his bullets at the same time. After what seemed like an eternity, the bullet sprays and rattling stopped. Gonzales continued to stand haughtily, with his same grin. I slumped on my knees. Only the wall to my left was riddled with bullet holes. Gonzales slumped, blood pouring out from the fresh wounds.
The banging of the church doors stopped, before it was finally struck apart. Men rushed in cheering and clapping. Amidst them a medic came to tend to me, and Vincento appeared, bandaged and supported by the two young men he had taught to snipe. Shocked as I was, I could not say anything. At once he came and put both hands on me, and closed his eyes in a solemn prayer. So understanding, like the father figure I never had.
"You.. you know?" I asked, grief starting to fill me.
"Yes," he nodded. "We've won." At this some of the men clapped in agreement.
"No, about Maria..." I said, barely audible.
"What about Maria?" Vincento said bemused.
"Alessi?" a small sweet voice came from the room above. At first I did not want to believe it but when I turned, I saw Maria, my sweet Maria, climbing down the ladder from the tower with the help of the other townsfolk.
"Maria?" I said, the colors returning to my face.
"I'm okay Alessi. I'm fine," she said as she ran towards me. "I heard everything. The man lied."
"But... he did not hurt you? There is blood..." I asked, still unsure of myself, wiping away the blood from her face.
"No Alessi, the evil man was killed. It's just his blood splatter on us. See?" she said twirling around like a nymph.
"Come," Vincento said to me, as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Come outside, you are a hero now."
"I thought you were dead..." I said to Vincento as I approached him, Maria clasping onto my bandaged arm.
"Like you, I am stubborn as well," he said as we walked outside. "I don't die without a fight."
Outside the town is becoming normal again. People are reunited with the loved ones and the corpses are being cleared out. Sometimes I wonder, if not for people like Marcello and Lucient and even old Vincento. Could we have achieved such a victory? If everyone fought only for themselves, and not for some greater purpose? I had not stuck to the original plan but nobody has to know that. At least I got lucky and managed to destroy the Sentinels. Perhaps it is time we started learning how to build such Sentinels ourselves, so the invaders cannot get in so easily. At the same time, we must be vary of spies, and traitors. They are the worst of their kinds. Though I cannot understand, a part of me actually enjoyed the whole experience. Looking back, I sometimes wonder when the invaders will come again. For now the town is ours. But perhaps one day we'll have to fight to take it back again. For now, I think I will wed my Maria... once they rebuild the church.
Author's Final Word: Okay, in a way, the story does reflect on some of my early experiences with avanti, when players were altogether new to the map and the sentry gun made it almost impossible for players to get past. In my case, I was the only one to use the spy against the sentry guns and it really caused alot of havoc early on. Still it is a great map and one of the most romantic ones as well. I'd spend a night there with a loved one any time:P
As I survey the situation and explain it to Vincento, I shake my head telling him that rushing in without a plan would be useless. The sudden movement of my head reveals a red dot and I try to move Vincento away but it is too late. A bullet hits him in the chest and he crumples to the ground. I dart away, and look up at once for the bullet was aimed at my head from a higher position. In the church's tower, I see the sniper and he begins to take aim at me again.
At once I dash away from Vincento, hoping that the medics will get to him in time.
"Sniper!" I scream out and make a run for the path up to Garcia's home. More bullets hit the ground around me and finally one hits me in the left foot. Then it stops abruptly. Looking to the left market entrance balcony, I see another young man holding a rifle; one of the two people Vincento had been teaching to use the sniper. Poetic justice I suppose. Vincento prooved to be more than he seemed. He was still breathing when I got back to him, but barely alive.
"Get back this town," he said to me in a hoarse whisper and then he closed his eyes.
I only nodded, not being able to understand why I could not cry anymore. Before I could dwell any deeper, a young scout came to me.
"Sentinels!" he cried, bleeding from many wounds in the right arm. "They've rebuilt lots at the front of the church."
I commend him for his duty and sent a medic his way. The one thing I'll ever regret was that I never got his name. No sooner had I left him, grenades flew past and killed him and the medic on the spot. Worse, more grenades continued to flood the sides of the church. I watched a lone brave soldier try to evade the grenades only to be shot down by heavy gunners and Sentinels.
There didn't seem to be any other way to break through. All was lost perhaps. One by one my forces reduced and the prospects did not look good. The enemy may be trapped but they were still strong. Trapped and desperate, two not very good combinations. I looked around hoping to see some way out of this while my foot continued to bleed. A medic came by to heal the wound and as I looked at the wound, a wierd sense of inspiration hit me. Since both sides of the church can't be accessed, then we'll just go THROUGH the church, right in the middle. It was worth a shot. I stood up so quickly bumping the medic over. At once I relayed my idea to the men and they agreed.
Unfortunately, the enemy decided it was time to break through and they no longer flooded with grenades but ran out by the numbers cutting down the few people who had been caught unaware. In the end, it was an all out firefight as we tried to hold back the enemy while one of the men sets the detonator pack behind the church. I watched him slowly setting the pack from far and he was trembling as it was a delicate job but I wished he could have been faster. Already war weariness was showing, and the people of this quiet hilltop town were not meant for fighting.
Silently I watched another one of my men approach the guy setting the detonator pack. Perhaps it was from the experience but I knew at once that the other man was no hilltop townfolk. It was too far away to shout out to warn him so I grabbed a rifle from the man beside me and took aim and fired. I missed horribly, throwing away the life of one of my kinsman to the spy. He was murdered on the spot but at least the other snipers took out the imposter.
With all the men occupied in some dangerous firefighting, I decided to set the bomb. Limping silently up the stairs to the side of the church, I made my way to where the two dead bodies lay, carefully avoiding any stray grenades and bullets. Strange as it seemed, I could have sworned only the townsman was bleeding. No blood seemed to be flowing from his corpse. I realized too late that it was a trick as he suddenly jumped up at me with the knife aimed for my heart. I heard the sound of the knife sinking into me just as a sniper bullet takes him out for real this time. Opening my eyes, I put my hands into the pocket and find that my locket had saved me from imminent death. There was a dent where the knife struck but other than that, everything was fine. I kissed it lightly and returned it to my pocket.
Trembling, I set the detonator and get out of the way. A loud explosion fills the town rocking the hill again as the back of the church is blown open. I am the first to rush inside with my heavy machine gun severly punching holes into the bodies of the few enemy forces who had come to inspect the explosion. As the dust cleared, only one figure remained standing at the entrance of the church. I heard the doors close and a familiar voice laughing haughtily.
"Gonzales..." I say grimly.
There is a banging at the doors but he ignores them. Instead, he stares back at me like an eagle, eager for its prey. For the moment, we both stare at one another, waiting for some kind of signal. And then it starts. The low whine of Gonzales' machine gun sounds and I dash behind the churchbenches. The wall crumbled where the bullets hit. I tried to return fire but the oncoming hail of bullets prevented me from showing myself.
Crouched hidden at the leftmost side of the pew furthest away from Gonzales, I waited for him to stop but he did not. On the right side of the churchbenche, I watched as holes are punctured into them by the force of Gonzales' machine gun. Slowly, the holes come closer to my side. Realizing that shooting my gun takes a few seconds, I could not easily fire at him quickly enough. Just then I had another idea...
Gonzales continues to spray his bullets trashing the churchbenches as if they were made of glass. However the grin on his face disappears as he finishes shooting from one end of the churchbenches to the other. By then, I had already made my way underneath the churchbenches. Taking this chance, I dash out and fire up my machine gun and let the bullets fly whilst running for cover. Gonzales however crouched just in time to evade the bullets.
"So it's boiled down to this..." Gonzales said out haughtily. "Run... but you can't hide. Just like your pretty girl. Oh, she can run very well."
At the mention of Maria, my eyes widened.
"But she didn't run very far before I got her... hur hur hur."
All at once the rage inside me exploded. I dashed out spraying my bullets in every direction.
"That's right," Gonzales said, "let it all out."
Just as I finished firing, Gonzales appeared in turn to let loose his spray of bullets. I was caught unaware and took some shells in the thigh and arm before managing to return for cover. The pain swelled and I was lost in seas of thought. What happened to Maria?
As if he could read my mind, "She's dead," Gonzales shouted out and then laughed haughtily again.
"No!" I screamed out and darted out and began firing. Gonzales did not hide but let loose his bullets at the same time. After what seemed like an eternity, the bullet sprays and rattling stopped. Gonzales continued to stand haughtily, with his same grin. I slumped on my knees. Only the wall to my left was riddled with bullet holes. Gonzales slumped, blood pouring out from the fresh wounds.
The banging of the church doors stopped, before it was finally struck apart. Men rushed in cheering and clapping. Amidst them a medic came to tend to me, and Vincento appeared, bandaged and supported by the two young men he had taught to snipe. Shocked as I was, I could not say anything. At once he came and put both hands on me, and closed his eyes in a solemn prayer. So understanding, like the father figure I never had.
"You.. you know?" I asked, grief starting to fill me.
"Yes," he nodded. "We've won." At this some of the men clapped in agreement.
"No, about Maria..." I said, barely audible.
"What about Maria?" Vincento said bemused.
"Alessi?" a small sweet voice came from the room above. At first I did not want to believe it but when I turned, I saw Maria, my sweet Maria, climbing down the ladder from the tower with the help of the other townsfolk.
"Maria?" I said, the colors returning to my face.
"I'm okay Alessi. I'm fine," she said as she ran towards me. "I heard everything. The man lied."
"But... he did not hurt you? There is blood..." I asked, still unsure of myself, wiping away the blood from her face.
"No Alessi, the evil man was killed. It's just his blood splatter on us. See?" she said twirling around like a nymph.
"Come," Vincento said to me, as he put a hand on my shoulder. "Come outside, you are a hero now."
"I thought you were dead..." I said to Vincento as I approached him, Maria clasping onto my bandaged arm.
"Like you, I am stubborn as well," he said as we walked outside. "I don't die without a fight."
Outside the town is becoming normal again. People are reunited with the loved ones and the corpses are being cleared out. Sometimes I wonder, if not for people like Marcello and Lucient and even old Vincento. Could we have achieved such a victory? If everyone fought only for themselves, and not for some greater purpose? I had not stuck to the original plan but nobody has to know that. At least I got lucky and managed to destroy the Sentinels. Perhaps it is time we started learning how to build such Sentinels ourselves, so the invaders cannot get in so easily. At the same time, we must be vary of spies, and traitors. They are the worst of their kinds. Though I cannot understand, a part of me actually enjoyed the whole experience. Looking back, I sometimes wonder when the invaders will come again. For now the town is ours. But perhaps one day we'll have to fight to take it back again. For now, I think I will wed my Maria... once they rebuild the church.
Author's Final Word: Okay, in a way, the story does reflect on some of my early experiences with avanti, when players were altogether new to the map and the sentry gun made it almost impossible for players to get past. In my case, I was the only one to use the spy against the sentry guns and it really caused alot of havoc early on. Still it is a great map and one of the most romantic ones as well. I'd spend a night there with a loved one any time:P