Chapter 11

"Run!" Rojas shouted as he weaved in and out between the halls and pillars that made up the House of Sovereigns, "Go! Go! Go!"

Daze drew his revolver and turned as he ran. He aimed at the nearest wretch and fired a shot. A hint of joy caroused through him as the bullet traveled through the wretch's shoulder and ripped into a wretch behind. Blood gushed from where the first wretch's arm had been. The body tripped some of the locust running behind, while others slipped on the blood.

"Yeah!" Daze made a gesture of triumph and continued running.

The others were some way ahead of Daze. He saw Jordan slow down and wait as everyone else continued on down the hallway. Daze pulled up next to him as Jordan jogged.

"How you doing?" Daze asked as they ran.

"I'm good," Jordan smiled, "I'll be a lot better if we get away from these locust ho's."

"Tell me about it," Daze turned down a hallway and followed the others.

"What do you think will happen to Cole?" Jordan asked, looking back.

"I wouldn't worry about him. Odds are he'll end up all right." Daze doubted himself that there was much hope. Cather was gone and so were two more good men. What did Cole have that they didn't?

Besides the boundless energy.

"Well if anyone does it, it'll be him." Daze said.

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"What is this place?" Holly asked Susan as they ran.

"The house of Sovereigns. It used to be the central government of Jacinto," Susan gazed at the marble statues and once, beautiful tapestries that lined the walls, "Funny that I've never been here before, Daze sometimes comes here alone."

"What does he do?"

"We don't know. He would just leave and say he'd be back later," Susan looked back over her shoulder at Clara, "She followed him here one time, she's the only one who can keep up with his free running, but when she finally found him, he was sitting at the base of one of the statues."

"Who was the statue of?"

"It was a Cog for sure, but she said that the head was missing and she didn't recognize who it was."

"Was it his dad?"

"Well, that's what we think, but then again he would go to the Tombs of the Unknown on the anniversary of his fathers death, so it might have been someone else."

"Why didn't she just read the dedication or whatever the statue was called?"

"Well he found her and ran so she had to follow him," Susan slowed for a moment and listened, "He knew his way around and she…Look out!" Susan slammed her shoulder into Holly, who went sprawling, as a wretch landed on the ground right where she was going to be. Susan sent a burst of bullets into the wretch and bent to help Holly up.

They heard the shot of a rifle and Susan almost fell as the body of a wretch landed on her back.

"Happy birthday!" Clara chimed from behind them.

Susan shook off the small locust and helped Holly up. Then they plunged into the thick of the fighting as wretches started pouring into the hallway. She heard the boom of Daze's revolver, the crash of a shotgun, and a revving chainsaw as the wretches closed in.

"Sht!" Rojas shouted as he tried to open a large, metal door.

"What the Fck is the matter?" Baird shouted back from a few feet away.

"It won't open! Dmn thing is busted!" Rojas looked around. "Get across that gap!"

Rojas pointed to a crevasse through a door way and into the hallway beyond. "Go now!"

Baird hacked his way to where Daze was fighting near the doorway they had just entered.

"We're leaving!" He shouted over a burst of lancer fire. "Start backing out!"

Baird fired down the hall at the gathering locust soldiers.

"We got company!" He shouted to the others, "And they ain't the pint-sized kind either!"

"Hurry up!" Rojas shouted as he waited for them. "Lets go!"

Daze turned and saw the locust come out through the doorway. He heard a crack and saw the first locusts body fall headless to the ground.

"You go first Baird!" Daze said as he stopped and hid in a doorway as the locust opened fire.

Baird ran and jumped to the other side with a wretch right behind him. Baird caught on to the ledge and while the others pulled him up, Daze stuck his foot out and tripped the wretch into the hole. It fell down and as it did, Daze shot it in the back. Daze turned and fired at the locust who were crowding up the hall.

"Daze, go!" Rojas said as he reloaded.

"You first! I can move faster than you and we need to get going!"

Rojas hesitated, and then jumped. He landed on the other side and started off. "Move! Daze, lets go!"

"Come on Daze!" Holly was lying prone, firing at the locust. "The others are leaving!"

Daze fired one more shot at the locust and then turned and jumped across the hole, almost landing on Holly. He grabbed her by the back of her pants and lifted her up and shoved her toward the way the others had gone. He spun around and put a bullet into the pursuing locust and turned to run.

"What was that for?" Holly was incredulous when he caught up with her, "You reached down my pants!"

"I did not, I only grabbed your belt."

"I'm not wearing a belt…"

"Oh, well that's my bad," Daze tried to pretend to be embarrassed, "But we did need to go quickly."

"Not that quickly."

"Well its done now. Help me with this door." Daze stopped quickly and was trying to heave a large, metal door into place. Holly came back and helped him shove it into the doorway.

"Daze…are you there?" Daze's earpiece crackled with static. "Hurry up. We are in a small room at the end of a couple hallways."

"How do we get there?"

"Take the last door on your left and then go to the end of that hallway. There should be a railing that looks down on a bunch of wooden benches. Climb down, and we're in the next room straight ahead."

"Be right there." Daze turned to Holly, "Lets go."

"Sounds good." Holly smiled and gave an on flip of her hair.

Uh oh. Daze thought to himself. Where did that come from?

As they entered an open air walkway they smelled a strong, decaying stench that made their skin crawl. Daze reloaded his revolver and held it ready.

"Watch out." Daze cautioned.

"Daze?" Holly asked looking over the edge, "What is that?"

"It's a Seeder." Daze pulled her back from the window, "Be careful for Nemacyst."

"For what?" Holly looked back out the window.

"Get away from there!" Daze looked back and saw a large, bloated sack of metal and skin float through a window a few feet from where Holly was standing. He stood, frozen with terror.

"Pst…Holly," He whispered, "Duck."

"Why?" Holly asked and then followed his gaze.

Daze watched in horror as the tentacles twisted quickly and the Nemacyst leveled out towards Holly.

"Duck!" Daze roared as he brought up his revolver and fired.

The bullet burst the Nemacyst in mid air, sending a blackish green liquid everywhere. Holly fell forward on to her right side and screamed in pain as the inky green liquid burned into the skin of her arm and shoulder. Daze ran over to her and started to help wipe it off with his sleeve. He noticed the pool of blood and acid that was forming on the ground below her.

"Are you hurt?" Daze bent down over her, "I see blood, where is it coming from?"

"I…I think it…its…what was that thing?" Holly looked around deliriously.

"I think some of the acid got in the wound," Daze searched her side and soon found a large piece of metal sticking out from the inside of her left arm. He pulled the piece out and watched as the blood started to gush from the wound.

"Wha…whats happen…happening to…me?" Holly's eyes began to roll back in her head.

"I'm not sure, I think it has something to do with the acid, it may be poisonous." Daze wiped the blood away from the wound as it continued to flow, "I think that should get ride of as much poison as we can expect."

Daze cut a clean strip of cloth and used it to tie up the wound.

"Clara. Clara are you there?" Daze radioed ahead, "Tell Jordan and Justin to come back to the railing, I'll be needing them in a second. Out"

"I've heard some hypotheses that the acid also works as a neurotoxin," Daze said as he tied up her arm, "Though nobody has been dumb enough to try it."

"Hah…thanks…" Holly managed a feeble laugh, "…so…will I get better?"

"Well, it looks like it may only be temporary, heck, the best you could do was mumble just a minute ago."

"Sorry…"

"None of that, I should have checked to see if there were any out there," Daze grabbed Holly's lancer from where it had fallen and set it in her lap, "now hold on, I'm gonna lift you up."

Daze slipped his right arm under her legs and wrapped his left under her shoulder and around. She put her right arm around his neck to hold on and held the lancer loosely with her other arm.

Daze walked to the railing and looked down at Jordan who was standing just below it. Justin had already climbed back up and was just swinging a leg over when he saw Daze.

"What happened?"

"A Nemacyst attacked us, I killed it but a bit of shrapnel got lodged in her arm and it might be infected." Daze held her out to him, "Here, lower her down to Jordan, I'll hold onto your belt."

Justin took her and, as Daze steadied him, lowered her down into Jordan's waiting arms.

"Hurry up Daze!" Rojas said through his mic.

"We're here," Daze holstered his revolver and climbed down after Justin, "Just a sec."

"Wait…" Justin whispered, "I hear something."

Daze stopped.

He heard the heavy tramp of running feet.

"Go! Jordan get her in there quick!" Daze and Justin stopped and looked back. They could hear the sounds getting louder.

"Quite wasting time!" Baird shouted, "We need to get out of here!"

Daze and Justin hurried into the room. Behind them Baird and Rojas closed the door and locked it.

The building started to shake.

"Emergence holes?" Clara asked.

"Nope," Rojas looked thoughtful, "Just a bunch of pissed off locust."

"What are we going to do?" Jack asked.

"This is where we part ways," Rojas said, "You guys are going to go into that room, through the next door, and then head to the left. You should be able to get down stairs find the fortress from there."

"What are you going to do?" Daze asked.

"I'm going to sell out so you guys have a chance." Rojas starred grimly at the door. "Baird? Do you know how to get to the tombs from here?"

"Yes sir." Baird was less argumentative than he was usually inclined to be. "And I got the resonator right here."

"Good. Hand me your shotgun." Rojas took the shotgun from Baird and made sure it was loaded. Then he took all the extra ammo he had and gave it to his men. "Hole up in the tombs and wait for Delta…they should be coming along soon. I'll wait for them."

"Yeah," Baird looked down, "Why don't you let me…"

"No!" Rojas softened a little. He put his hand on Baird's shoulder, "I wont let another one of my men die if I can help it. Besides, its been a while since I've seen Kim."

Baird was silent.

"Go, Now." Rojas flipped the shotguns around in his hands and then rested them on his shoulders. He leaned against a pillar and waited as the locust pounded on the door.

Baird led the way out of the room with the others following after him.

Daze lingered a moment. "Rojas, why? You have a son and a wife! You've the most to lose out of everybody!"

"I can't let another of my men die. I'm their leader. First in the charge, last in the retreat. I have to pay for the abandonment of my people, I must regain my honor."

"Screw honor! Your son needs a dad!"

Rojas stepped over and rested his hand on Daze's shoulder. "This is my path, and that of my fathers, let me tread it as they did. The brave warrior has nothing to fear from death, I only wish that I had been one years ago."

"Then, good bye Rojas."

"See you around."

Daze walked out of the room and looked back. Rojas gave a final wave and then stepped back to the pillar to wait.