"This sucks!" Kiran sniffed in disgust. "South Wales... This is the damned Command's fault. HQ was an asshole for sending us, and Gravell was an asshole for following the orders!"
"Shut the fuck up!" Lodwick called from his position, holding his Longshot, scouring the area for movement. "Can't concentrate with you whining!"
Robert shook his head and carried on searching the remains of the King Raven. The sun's light reddened, which worried him. As the area was cast into shadow slowly, Robert knew soon that the Kryll would arrive, and they would be in major trouble if they weren't somewhere indoors and full of light when the Kryll came. Things were not going as planned: Robert had so far found some medical supplies and an ammo clip for the Lancer rifle. The others had found less: Kiran had only found one bullet for the Boltok pistol (which Robert took with gratitude being the only one with the Boltok), while Joseph had only found a shredded bandage.
They carried on salvaging in silence, feeling hidden eyes watch them. The Locust were around, they knew it, but the question was where.
"Perfect!"
David stood up from where he sat, holding the transmitter in front of him. His voice was joyful, almost victorious. It was the first good thing Robert heard since before the crash. David approached Robert, and showed him the information on the transmitter. Robert looked, and grinned as he saw it.
"Does that say what I think it says?" Robert asked, knowing that it did.
"Oh yes," David said gleefully. "I think the Luitenant will feel better about the situation."
"What? What is it?" Joseph asked, starting to move in on them.
David turned to him. "We have a place to hole up before dark, and it is not that far."
Kiran's head snapped around. "Where?"
"It's a warehouse," David replied. "Used to be used to store military equipment and food three years ago. Also has an operational Troika."
"As far as we know," Kiran said, bringing a cloud over their parade. "In three years, the Locust could have easily overrun it, even destroyed it."
"We still have to try," Robert retorted, glaring at Kiran.
Kiran did not reply, but shook his head. It was obvious to Rob that he was reluctant to accept good news. It helped to make him expect the unexpected, but it was also aggravating. Robert was not a fan of pessimism, and Kiran was just a storage room of it.
The Luitenant appeared from the building, followed by the Sergeant. At their arrival, David ran to them, and held out the transmitter. Robert could not hear them from their distance, but he could see the look on Gravell's face soften, and he nodded. After listening to everything David said, he walked towards the others. Hilde tapped David's shoulder, and walked behind the Luitenant.
"Alright men," Gravell ordered. "We have our next target. There is a warehouse located a few klicks away. If we move there fast and quiet, we can get there in one piece." Robert noticed everyone's attention was fixed on Gravell. "We will move in two groups. Group one will consist of myself, Hilde, James and Ashford. Group two will consist of Bevan, Lodwick, Lloyd and Reed. Group one will lead the way, while group two will cover the rear. Move fast, quiet, and continuous. If we can do this, we can go through without any incident." Gravell leaned his shotgun on his shoulder. "Let's do this, men!"
"Finally, a chance for a hot meal," Joseph sighed.
"Will you shut up about food?" Kiran snapped.
"Quiet!" Gravell hissed, and started moving down the road with the others in group one, weaving around the wrecked cars.
The two groups kept low, ensuring nobody's head was above the car roof's level. Robert kept at a steady speed, directly behind Lodwick. Behind him, he heard Joseph breathing hard, finding it difficult to move fast. It made Robert worry. Joseph's breathing was loud, and could give away-
A bullet whizzed past Robert's head, causing him to hit the ground in reaction. A scream of agony echoed from behind, and Robert knew instantly who it was. It was Joseph.
Guns started blazing from Kiran's Lancer, who had moved next ot Joseph, protecting the obese pilot. Robert crawled to the two, wanting to see Joseph's wound. Joseph screeched in pain, clutching the wound in his shoulder. The blood trickled through his fingers, soaking Joseph's bare hand. Robert turned and saw Lodwick taking cover behind a wrecked truck, returning fire with his Longshot. He had taken down two Locust, Robert saw. The enemy had been waiting in a building. Group one was not visible.
Robert reached Joseph and Kiran, and saw the fear and shock in the large man's face.
"Joseph, I need you to calm down," Robert said calmly.
"I've been shot! I've been shot!" Joseph cried, ignoring Robert's words.
"It's best we leave him here!" Kiran shouted. "He's going to be a burden for us!"
Robert ignored Kiran, and grabbed Joseph's arm, grabbing the pilot's attention. "Listen, we have to move. Just keep low and move fast. We can catch up to group one if we are fast enough."
Joseph seemed to not listen at first, but after a few seconds he nodded to Robert, and pulled himself into a crouched position. Lodwick still lay in his position, firing a fatal shot when he can. The bullets hammered down on Lodwick's vehicle violently, eager to pierce flesh. Lodwick signalled Robert, and as he fired a shot, Robert ran to Lodwick, followed closely by Joseph and Kiran.
"What the Hell, man?" Lodwick cried over the gunfire. "We have to move now!"
"Where's group one?" Robert answered.
"I don't know. They took cover further ahead. They haven't shown any sign of being close by. Maybe they have trouble of their own."
"I hope not," Robert sighed, and fired over the truck, one shot resulting in a cry from a Locust.
Gunfire rained on their position, but suddenly stopped. Kiran peered around the corner, and turned back to the others.
"They've gone!" he hissed. "This is bad! They've probably found a weak spot on our location, and-"
"Let's not waste time!" Robert interrupted, and without any other words, ran forwards, dodging and weaving through wrecks and rubble. He heard Lodwick and the others close behind, their footsteps echoing through the now dead silent area. Yet Robert still felt eyes watching him. The Locust were around, and they were waiting for weakness.
A screech echoed from behind them, causing Robert to pause briefly. The screech filled the entire street, and threatened to shatter his ear drums. The cry last as long as two minutes, and as Robert realised what it was, he started to sprint for his life. The cry from Kiran confirmed his fear.
"WRETCHES!"
The others started to flee, but now they were making a great mistake. They were not keeping low, exposing them to any snipers. However, it seemed the Locust were not intending to shoot. Especially when they didn't need to waste ammo. Robert could hear the Wretches clawing their way to their group, their cries and hisses filled with hunger.
"In here!"
Robert looked ahead, and saw a sight that filled him with hope. Luitenant Gravell stood at the entrance of a small building, aiming his shotgun behind Robert. What filled him with hope was that it was a short distance, and it was easy to make. Without stopping, Robert turned his direction towards Gravell, and sped for the building. Behind Gravell, Robert saw Ashford providing cover fire, firing his Lancer.
As Robert reached Gravell, two hands fell upon his back, and knocked him into the building. The figure that pushed him rushed past, and as it entered the building, Gravell slammed the door shut. As Robert turned, he saw that the figure had been Kiran. The blond soldier had blood spattered on his armour. It was fresh blood.
Gravell approached Robert, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Where are the others?"
Robert suddenly realised. He did not see Lodwick and Joseph enter. They seemed to have disappeared as soon as the Wretches appeared. He had not heard or seen them since.
He looked up at Gravell in shock. "I don't know."
"Great," he heard Hilde mutter. "They lost them!"
"Then we know what we have to do," Gravell said, and turned to David. "I want you to use the transmitter to get to the warehouse with the others. Lloyd and I are going to retrieve the others."
Ashford stood up. "No sir. I'll go. You need to lead the others to the warehouse. Besides, if you die we lose all hope of escape. Command will only answer to you."
Gravell was silent for a second, but nodded. "Valid points. Be careful, and get back to us before nightfall. That's an order." Gravell pulled out a flare gun. "When we reach the warehouse, I will fire this. Keep a look out for it."
Robert nodded, as did Ashford.
"Alright then," Gravell said, tightening his hand around his shotgun. "Let's do this!"