Chapter 7

"Susan!" Jordan stopped and shouted back to where she was struggling with her supplies. "We have to hurry!"

"I'm coming as fast as I can!"

"Want me to carry you?"

"I'm fine"

"Hey Justin," Jordan shouted over, "lets go back and help her out, I'm thinking she's pretty tired out."

"Aight dawg" Justin laughed as he turned around.

There was barley a breeze as the cogs and teens made their way along the deserted streets of Jacinto city. Rojas, Daze, Cole, Holly, Jack, Jet, Clara, and all of victor squad were staying close up front while Cather, Justin, Susan, Jordan and Baird took up the rear.

"Emphasis on rear." Damon said to him self.

Baird thought about the things heíd seen in his life as a soldier. Unimaginable atrocities, gruesome fights with the locust, horrible acts committed upon the stranded, humans who were locked in the same struggle as the cogs.

He pondered morality and ethics...had they done something wrong by obeying the orders that seemed too horrible to even dream. Did life even matter? What was evil. Were the locust, who killed men, women and children without thinking really evil...or was the cog High command the ones who were the true monsters? They had Coalition squads wipe out whole villages of stranded for no apparent reason whatsoever.

How long until these mere children would see the same things, hear the same screams that had haunted him in the stillness of night. Hopefully they never would.

As much as he liked being a hard-ass, he was starting to like these stranded kids.

"Well," he thought to himself, "like might be too strong of a word."

"You need me to grab soma that stuff baby cakes?"

"Only thing I need you to do is stop patronizing me, "she tried to look miffed but Jordan knew she liked it, ìI would appreciate it though, it really gets heavy after awhile."

"I'll take that rope and the medic kit, then if I get hit I can fix myself up with one...or just finish the job with the other." Justin smiled as he strapped them on and then started off.

"He better catch up to his own "baby cakes" pretty soon," Susan said to Jordan while she handed him the grenades and some extra ammo clips.

"I love you."

"What?" Susan looked puzzled.

"What do you think I said." Jordan smiled down into her eyes, then kissed her.

Susan stood there somewhat surprised as Jordan turned and walked away.

"Wait," Susan ran after him, "slow down you big nut, what was that for!"

Baird stopped under the shade given by a canopy above some old gas pumps. Those kids were jogging up the road and he could see the others already some way up ahead. He wiped the sweat out of his eyes and pulled on his goggles, the sun was blazing bright and the lack of wind made it almost unbearable.

"At least those locust sons of Bches are just as cooked!"

He looked over at Cather who was chuckling to himself as he watched the teens.

"Boom."

Baird heard the deep voice rumble from somewhere behind him.

"Aww S!" he dove from the gas station and rolled as the explosion ripped apart the support beam he had been leaning against. The whole canopy fell and blocked the boomer from sight. Baird got up and started to run.

"Run!" he shouted as bullets started peppering the ground around him. "Just get outta here!"

Jordan reached over, picked up Susan and started running as fast as he could.

Cather and Justin returned fire at the locust until Baird reached them, then they all started running.

"Ohhhh no," Justin said looking back, "that's quite a couple two, three we got chasing us."

"No S kid?"

"We have to find a way to slow them," Catherís voice rumbled from his huge frame, "any ideas?"

"We could drop a building on them," Justin suggested as they ran, "at least if we have enough explosives."

"Good idea," Baird was already looking for a suitable building, "How many Det-packs you got Cather?"

"Enough."

"Alright then. See that building about a two hundred meters off and to the right? That's were we're headed." Baird looked at Justin and then smiled. "You know what, why don't you drop one of those and weíll see some fried locust."

"There's one thing we can always agree on." Cather unclipped a det-pack and peeled off the sticky seal, he then slapped it on an old newspaper stand as they ran by, then grabbed the detonator off his belt.

Although there were scores of locust, they werenít all that fast, so when they had reached the stand Cather, Baird and Justin were already at the building.

"Blow them all to hell!" Baird said as Cather pressed the button.

The explosion ripped apart the locust who were just passing by, sending flames, blood and flying limbs everywhere.

"Eat that Mother Fers!" Baird shouted as he turned in to get started on the explosives. "I'll set them up while you guys cover me."

"Make em think we're holing up for a long fight," Cather said as he began grabbing desks, chairs and tables, and started throwing them out and around all the first floor windows and doors of the building, "it might make em try and flank us or something, give the others time to escape."

Justin reloaded his Hammerburst and moved to the windows and began to rake the advancing locust lines with gunfire.

The locust slowed for a moment but began running again as a higher ranking locust in the back of the lines began to bark orders at them.

"How much longer!" Justin shouted backing away from the window, at the same time grabbing his Gnasher. "Cuz they're getting really close!"

Cather rushed over as he finished blocking all the entrances except the one that Justin had been firing out of, and an escape exit on the other side.

"Cut em down as they get in." Cather pulled up his lancer and fired into the first locust that jumped through the window. The bullets ripped into its neck and shoulders spraying blood out its back and even catching a few unlucky locust behind. The locust soldier fell gasping for air, its head hanging to one side.

Another locust jumped in behind the first and slipped on the blood that was starting to pool at the entrance. As it struggled to rise Cather fired over it into the growing number of grubs outside the window, then he looked down and stared at the wretched creature.

"Unlucky little prk," Cather took a few quick steps forward then brought his boot down on the locusts skull, "How much longer Baird?"

"I just found some main support beams," Baird's voice crackled through Cather's mic, "we should be outta here in two minutes, three tops."

"Well you hurry up!" Cather pointed to the escape exit. "You watch the back, we're going to need a clear way out!"

Justin checked his shotgun, inserted another round and worked the action to make sure it was loaded. It was. He ran to the opposite side of the entrance and looked out the blown out window.

Justin pulled his head back just in time as the Hammerburst rounds shattered the small amount of remaining glass.

"We got some back here!" Justin shouted to Cather.

"Hold em off!"

"I'll try!" Justin backed up behind a small pillar so that he could see the entrance but hopefully not be seen by any entering locust.

Then he waited.

Golg had seen his comrade dropped as he entered the building and decided to look for a different way in. All the entrances had been barricaded with odds and ends of human furniture.

"They have little hope," he thought to himself as he rounded a corner, but then saw a way in, "Ahhh, they are just stalling."

He was just about to enter when one of the humans looked out of the hole. Golg brought his weapon up and fired at the young human who quickly ducked back inside.

He cursed himself for not being ready.

Golg shouted to two more of his fellow locust and told them of his find.

"I'll enter first!" hissed a large grenadier menacingly.

"The honor is yours." Golg replied humbly, as if he didn't care. The truth was that he cared very much, having been only two weeks out of the hallow and wanting to prove his worth.

But he also knew that there was someone on the other side who knew they were there, and that death did not have as great a chance at honor as life.

The grenadier entered and the other followed him.

Nothing happened as the grenadier stepped through the opening.

"Would that I could have had that hon..." Golg didnít finish his thought.

They heard a faint click just as the second locust stepped into the room. The locust was turning to see what it was when the boom of a Gnasher rang out in the relative stillness of the moment.

The first shot ripped apart the locusts waist. As its torso began to fall the boy levered another round into it, knocking it back and sending blood and pieces of skull and gray matter against the wall.

"Cather!" the boy shouted to one of its friends.

The boy fired again, this time at the first locust in the line, the shot caught the grenadier in the left arm, tearing off his hand as well as destroying his shotgun.

Golg heard the sound of a grenade explode as he fired at the boy, who took cover behind a pillar.

The grenadier meanwhile had drawn his knife and attacked the other human.

Golg stared in astonishment at the biggest human he had ever seen. The man stood almost a head taller than the grenadier, who himself was know for his stature.

The locust rushed in with the knife held low.

The man batted the locusts hand away as he backed up. The grenadier rushed in again, this time with the knife raised. The human caught the locusts arm as he brought it down to stab the man, then struck the grenadier across the jaw, sending teeth and bone flying. As he did this he kicked down and into the locusts knee, shattering it and throwing the grenadier off balance. While the locust fell, the man wrenched the knife from its hand and, when the locust had hit the ground, buried it into its chest.

Golg turned to fire at this newly acquired threat when he heard a lancer and felt a searing pain in his own knees.

He fell to the ground, supported only by his arms and what was left of his legs.

As he fell he saw the man, who had just come from some lower basement.

"Thanks Baird." the boy said gratefully.

"No problem kid."

"Lets get out of here!" the big man said, moving to the door, "are the charges set?"

"Yeah their set, now just wait a moment."

The man who had shot him now approached Golg and squatted down next to him.

"How'd you like that son?" the man asked in a calm voice.

"Long live...the...Queen!" Golg could only wheeze through the pain.

"Well now that's to bad, because this is why your dead and Iím alive, why weíll win this war and you wonít, you little Son-of-a-B," at this the man pointed to his head, "this is why!"

"You fight for some "queen" and we fight for life! That is why we will win!" and at this the man leaned down and whispered in Golg's ear. "Lobotomized..."

As it said this, Golg felt the humans hand grasp the back of his neck and lift up in a fast, jerking motion, then bring his head down fast and hard.

Golg watched the ground come rushing up to meet him, and then knew only blackness.

Baird stood up and looked out of the building.

No new locust had come around the to see what had happened.

"Put a grenade out there and lets go!" Justin shouted as he reloaded and continued firing at the locust through the window.

"Grenade out!" Cather shouted as he threw it. "Go, go, go!"

Baird jumped out of the window and ran to the corner of the building. He stopped and looked at the locust that had just been caught in the explosion. As they crowded to get back in, he started firing into the mass.

"Get over here Damon!" Cather shouted, he and Justin already some way up the street.

Baird fired the rest of his clip and then turned to run.

He hadn't run far when he felt a shock wave and a blast of heat from behind him.

He turned to look.

The building that they had just been in was starting to rumble and screech as the metal support beams gave way and fell.

The locust that had chased them were now dumbstruck as the building unexpectedly toppled and fell on their comrades, blocking the road from their reinforcements.

As the three or four surviving locust stood in awe, a shot rang out and the head of one exploded in a shower of crimson.

"Clara!" Justin whispered to himself.

The other locust turned to flee but only one escaped as Clara's bullet flew true.

"Nice work!" she said as she walked up to them. "But what happened to your mics? Rojas has been trying to get a hold of you."

"We switched so that we could communicate with out being interrupted," Cather explained, "we better switch back Baird."

As Cather updated Rojas on what had happened Justin embraced Clara.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you," Justin said as he caressed her face, "it was close there a couple times."

"Like you're the only one whose happy." she said, staring into his eyes.

"Hey love birds," Baird snapped at them, "Rojas and the others are holed up under a bridge waiting for us, so if you don't mind..."

"All right," Justin said as he let go of Clara, "lets go!"