Chapter 18
"Griiiiiiind!" The deep, gravely voice rumbled from outside the opening in the wall.
"That's a new one." Jack whispered from behind cover as the Boomer stepped into view.
It wore a large metal helmet and carried with it a big, rotating barrel machinegun. It swung the barrel towards the room and advanced cautiously, or was it sluggishly?
Jack looked over at where Daze and Holly were hiding behind a couch. So far the boomer hadn't noticed them, but he wondered if it might see his legs under the chair. Jack looked at the small piece of mirror in Daze's hand. Jet had run up stairs to see if he could maybe take it out from the hole in the ceiling.
Daze had said that the orphanage was pretty nice, with most modern amenities, but the whole place was going to hell pretty fast.
Jack tried to calm his breathing. He wiped a small amount of sweat from his forehead and looked back at Daze who was studying the Boomer intently. Jack wasn't so much scared that there was a Boomer in the building that would kill him as soon as look at him, he was more scared that the mindless brute would start unloading into the furniture at any second.
Jack had realized that about himself long ago. Danger wasn't to be feared. Danger was to be embraced, conquered, destroyed. It was lack of control that drove him to sweat and pant and grip the lancer till his knuckles turned white. He wasn't in control of his situation and that made him nervous. He was waiting, defending. "Whoever attacks calls the shots," he remembered his father saying.
"Attack, attack, always attack!" It was his fathers motto, and Jack had taken it to heart.
He had also realized something else. The locust were anything but unbeatable. They were, for the most part, stupid. Luring drones into ambushes had been easy and moping them up afterwards had been even more so. Their only real advantage was that they seemed numberless, and that they could attack from anywhere. Otherwise they weren't any more difficult to kill than the normal human, well at least the normal infantry weren't. His father had told him that If they knew their enemy, and they did for the most part, and knew themselves, which Jack knew he did, then they would have nothing to fear from a hundred battles.
Yet now Jack was faced with something he didn't know, though it was only slightly unknown to him. He knew Boomers and he knew machineguns, yet he hadn't known the two together.
But if he knew Boomers, then he knew how to kill this one. Jack pulled a smoke grenade from his pocket and looked at Daze. Daze looked worried for a second till Holly gave him a tug and whispered in his ear.
"Stay put." Jack mouthed as he pointed to the ground and pulled the pin.
Jack threw the grenade. It bounced and skittered to a halt next to the outside wall. There was a brief clicking, like the sound of a thrashball card between the spokes of a bicycle and then the deafening roar of the machinegun drowned out all else.
"GRIIIIIIIIND!" The Boomer yelled over the rattle of fire.
Jack leapt from his hiding spot and ran at the lumbering giant. It started to turn its attention away from the harmless smoke grenade, now ripped apart and scattered around the floor, and swung the machinegun towards Jack.
Jack fired a quick burst that shattered part of the helmet but did little else to slow down the beast. He revved the chainsaw of his lancer and swung it towards the Boomer's midsection. Suddenly the Boomer's hand left the handle of the machinegun and knocked Jack against the wall.
Usually they were in the middle of reloading. Jack realized his mistake all to clearly. The clicking sound came again as the Boomer aimed straight for Jack.
"Hey fat ass!" A voice came from the hole in the ceiling above the Boomer.
The Boomer looked up at Jet's smiling face as a stream of fire engulfed it. It roared in pain as it swung the machinegun around, aimlessly firing into the ceiling.
Jack leapt from the wall and ran towards the Boomer. He revved his lancer and swung it down into the Boomers wrist. The saw churned away at the bone then broke through. The lancer swung down and Jack held it behind him for a moment before he flipped it upside down in his left hand, then brought it up through the locusts face. The Boomer's head snapped to the side as brain and bits of eyeball sprayed through the air. Jack watched as the huge frame started to fall when he heard Jet shout to him from the hole.
"Real Boomers!" Jet pointed out past the hole in the wall, "The kind that blow sht up!"
Jack heard the ominous "Boom" as he dashed behind the dead Boomer's body and ran. Almost immediately heat enveloped him and he went flying into the couch which tipped over and sent him sprawling into the laps of Holly and Daze.
"Smooth move dork!" Holly said as she cuffed him on the side of the head, "You almost got yourself killed."
"Tell me later," Jack said as he slid back to his chair and fired at the reloading Boomers, "Just take down the left one first."
Holly and Daze both leaned up on the couch and fired at the advancing Boomer. The wave of bullets ripped into it as it raised a hand to its face to protect it from the incoming fire. The other Boomer, meanwhile, reloaded and raised its boomshot to fire just as the other locust toppled to the ground. Suddenly its head jerked back and then forward again, revealing a gaping hole in its forehead. It fell to the ground as its boomshot discharged harmlessly into the sky.
"That was pretty close!" Daze exclaimed breathlessly as he leaned back into the couch and reloaded his lancer. "Here, lets get those boomshots quick, cover me."
Daze set down his lancer as he moved to the hole and looked out. He saw a barrel sticking out from a window in one of the houses across from him. He pointed it out, then ran out as Holly and Jack's lancers rattled to life. He slid in between the bodies with bullets kicking dust around him. He pulled the ammo belts off the locust and draped them over his shoulder, then he grabbed the boomshots and ran as fast as he could back to the orphanage.
"Go, go, go!" Daze shouted as he ducked back inside the orphanage. Holly and Jack quickly followed him out of the line of fire.
"Take this to Susan." Daze said to Jack, holding out the boomshot and the accompanying ammo belt.
"Be right back." Jack said as he took the items and ran to find Susan.
Daze reloaded the boomshot and set it down on the ground.
"You gonna use that?" Holly asked.
"I'm thinking if giving it to Jack," Daze looked back down the hallway, "Unless you want it?"
"No, no, I trust Jack with it," Holly flashed Daze an impish grin, "Now Jet on the other hand…"
"Heaven forbid!" Daze laughed.
"Heaven forbid what?" Jet shouted from the hole in the ceiling with a certain look of indignation, "You guys were talking about me weren't you!"
"Why would we be talking about?" Daze asked innocently as Holly snickered.
"Look! Look at her!" Jet pointed incredulously at Holly, "She's laughing at me!"
"And why wouldn't she be laughing at you?" Jack said as he jogged back into the room.
"Oh great, now you too!" Jet held the back of his hand to his forehead and assumed the role of the tragedian, "Is the whole of the world allied against me?"
"Oh suck it up!" Jack laughed, "No way in hell you're getting your hands on a boomshot!"
Daze and Holly both looked at him in surprise.
"What else would you have been talking about?" Jack asked as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"You want it?" Daze still looked slightly astonished.
"I'll take it," Jack said with some resignation, "But where should I put my rifle?"
"Set it on the stairs," Daze said. He watched as Jack ran off then came back without the rifle.
"So what do we do now?" Holly asked as they waited at the back of the room, weapons trained on the hole in the wall.
"We attack." Jack said quietly.
Daze looked over at him. "Attack? How?"
"We go in the houses and clear 'em out." Jack looked from Daze to Holly. "Otherwise they'll just sit there and call for reinforcements."
"You're right," Daze said, "But who'll guard this part of the house?"
"I got it!" Jet exclaimed from the hole, "But you guys better not be assholes to me anymore!"
"Deal," Holly said as she loaded her lancer and looked out across the open ground to the houses.
"Then lets go!" Jack loaded the boomshot on his back and clipped the spare ammo to his belt.
Dust fell from the ceiling as hammerbursts rattled from the corner upstairs room of the old, abandoned house.
Daze made his way stealthily up the steps with Jack and Holly right behind.
"Boomshot, through the door." Daze whispered to Jack. The locust must have seen their bolt through the open to get to the house.
Jack nodded and pulled the heavy grenade launcher from his back. He aimed it toward the doorway and fired.
There was a whistling sound as the grenade flew through the air and then an explosion. The grenade exploded into a shower of smaller grenades that made quick work of anything in the room. Daze saw a spray of blood and chunks of flesh go flying as the wall collapsed and revealed the next building over.
"Lets go!" Holly said as she pulled at Daze's sleeve.
"No, lets go this way!" Daze ran up the stairs and checked for any surviving locust. When he found none, he looked across the gap at the other house. It's wall was broken down and there was an easy spot to land.
Although they were technically individual houses, the buildings were more like a freestanding apartment complex. The houses were so close together that they had been the main practice for the teens free-running growing up.
"You expect us to jump?" Holly asked wide eyed.
"Yeah, now lets go." Daze ran to the edge and jumped across easily. Jack followed and made it as well. Holly stepped up to the edge nervously.
"Come on sis!" Jack encouraged her, "It's easy!"
Holly took one last look then jumped. She landed on a piece of broken tile and almost fell when Daze caught her and helped her up.
"Thanks." She said somewhat bashfully.
"No problem, now lets finish these locust." Daze secured the lancer on his back, drew his revolver and looked out down the hallway. Nothing moved.
"Let's go." He whispered as he moved noiselessly down the hall.
Daze heard grunts and low guttural noises coming from one of the rooms down the hallway.
He pulled up next to the doorway and waited as Jack and Holly made their way quietly to him.
Daze glanced in and saw three grubs watching the house. Daze pulled his head back and held up three fingers to Holly and Jack. He pointed to Jack and then motioned to the left side of the room, then to Holly and motioned towards the right side. They both nodded.
Jack moved up to the door and waited. Daze tapped him on the shoulder and he moved in. Daze saw him fan out to the left side of the room then saw flames spurt from the barrel. Daze aimed his pistol and fired one shot. The locust had turned and was bringing it's hammerburst with it when the shot shattered it's head and sent brains and blood spraying onto the windowsill. Daze heard the rattle of a lancer to his right and watched as the last grub fell dead.
"Nice!" Daze said as he turned and high-fived Holly. He gave Jack a satisfied nod, which was returned, and walked out into the hall. Daze ran up and checked the last room before the stairs. Empty except for an old bed.
Daze made his way down the stairs and found a door that looked out at the old strip mall. He saw a hole in the wall and through it saw locust moving around, bringing ammo and supplies into the mall. It looked as if they were setting up headquarters for a lengthy campaign.
"That's not good." Jack looked out the door and watched as the locust hauled a troika into a room.
"I know," Daze replied. He walked off a little way and spoke into the earpiece, "You there Clara?"
"I'm here."
"Are the locust moving at all?" Daze asked.
"No. From what I can tell, I've taken all of them out in the houses opposite the ones you were clearing."
"So where are they now?"
"They're almost exclusively coming from the strip mall."
"Perfect!" Daze smiled and moved back to the door, "We should be back in a little bit."
"Sounds good. I'll keep poppin' heads. Clara out."
"How many are left?" Holly asked as she looked out the door.
"It looks like this is it." Daze said with satisfaction, "How much boomshot ammo you got left Jack?"
"Three shots." He said as he patted the clip on the underside of the heavy weapon.
"Okay good. I want you to take a shot at any locust in the hall as we run down it. Then I want you to reload and find any emergence holes that are out in the parking lot, okay?"
"Got it."
"Good." Daze turned to Holly. "You and I are going to go running down that hall and clear any locust from those rooms before they know what hit them."
Holly nodded as she checked her belt for ammo.
"You short?" Daze asked.
"I have two clips left and this one," She patted the bottom of the lancer, "Plus a few more for my pistol."
"If you need any let me know."
"I will," Holly smiled at him, "Thank you."
Daze looked at Jack and then Holly again. "You guys ready?"
They both nodded.
"Go."
Jack ran through the door and burst into the long hallway of the strip mall.
"Boom." Jack smirked as the boomshot round whistled down the hallway and exploded in the middle of a group of locust.
Daze was right behind him, running down the hall when Jack veered off and jumped out a broken window and went running for a stunned locust standing next to a large emergence hole. The locust started to pull it's hammerburst up when Jack leveled it with a mighty swing from his boomshot. The locust fell on it's back but Jack brought the heavy barrel crashing down on it's head before it could rise. Jack turned to the hole and fired a rocket down it.
Daze looked back down the hallway and saw a grub burst out from the doorway on his left. There was a quick burst from Holly's lancer and Daze saw blood spray along the wall next to him. Already he was past the door and to the next one when he slowed down and looked inside.
A locust with a lancer met him face to face. It revved the chainsaw but before it could swing, Daze had squeezed the trigger and sent a burst of bullets through it's body.
Daze kicked the standing locust to the ground and emptied his clip into a group of five locust that had been scattered at various points watching the orphanage.
"Clear!" Daze heard Holly yell from somewhere in the room next to him.
"Same here!" He shouted back as he reloaded.
Daze ran back out into the hallway and saw Jack fire a burst into a door handle and go crashing through the door into a room without slowing down. Daze ran past as he heard lancer fire.
He stopped at the entrance to a room and looked in. Two drones were working on setting up the troika turret. They had screwed in the base and were just about to mount the machinegun. Daze wondered why they weren't waiting for him, it must be because of the firefight with the house. It was probably drowning out all the noise they were making. Daze saw a streak of blonde hair fly past him and saw Holly rushing for the last door in the hall.
Daze stepped into the room and sprayed one of the locust with lancer fire then drew his pistol with his left hand and shot the other twice in the chest. The drone's mangled corpse fell to the ground as Daze reloaded his pistol.
Daze had stepped out into the hallway when he heard a scream. He looked down the hall and saw Holly's body go flying out the door and skid along the floor to a stop.
"Holly!" Daze shouted as a figure stepped through the doorway and towered over Holly's limp form.
Daze finally got a good look at his enemy. Instead of being naked from the waist up, the Grenadier was clothed in dark red armor. It carried the same large shield and held the heavy pistol in it's left hand. The same scar marked it's face that had both when it attacked the first time and when it had killed Mercy.
The Grenadier looked at Holly and raised it's pistol.
"No!" Daze shouted as he fired his lancer and ran towards the locust.
The pistol roared to life as the Grenadier spun towards him in surprise. Daze saw Holly's body jerk as a spray of blood darkened the floor. A pool started to form around her limp body.
"You son of a btch!" Jack shouted as he fanned out around the locust, firing his lancer.
The Grenadier fired at Daze then took shelter behind it's shield as Jack gained it's flank. It rushed at Jack who ran for it without stopping. He revved his chainsaw and tried to dropkick it as the Grenadier plowed through him with it's shield. Jack was thrown back as the locust crashed through a window and disappeared amidst a hail of gunfire from Daze and then Jack.
Daze started to run for Holly's body
"Holly!" Jack shouted as he slid to a stop in a pool of her blood, "Talk to me Sis!"
Daze ran up and looked down at her body. Blood was trickling from a cut on her head but the real problem was her side. It looked like she had taken two bullets in her lower abdomen. Jack was on his knees and feeling her back as well as around in the wound.
"Is she alive?" Daze asked.
"She's breathing, but for how long is anyone's guess." Jack tore off a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around her stomach then tied it tight. "Do you have any first aid supplies in the house?"
"Yes."
"Then we need to move her now!" Jack moved to her side and slipped his hands under her head and legs.
"I'll radio ahead!"
"Good."
"Clara!" Daze spoke breathlessly into his mic as he helped Jack pick up Holly, "Holly is hit! I need you to get a mattress ready now!"
"Okay! We'll set it up downstairs," Clara sounded worried, "Just get in here quick!"
"Why?"
A loud roar answered his question.