Chapter 17: Everything wrong
[Glenn]
The city was everything you'd expect a dead city to be. The once bustling streets were home to nothing but shadows. The structures built by man long time past were on their last limb, some could be seen already starting to break apart in the distance.
A gecko gunned it across a small crevice in the pavement.
Glenn was once a city plentiful of people as it was plentiful of happiness. Citizens lived their lives day by day without any worries. Free to decide what they wanted to make of themselves. Free to live their lives as they seen fit. Free to bask in the glow up laughter and good merit…..then the Grimm came.
The rattle of a machine gun followed by a shriek.
The Grimm, creatures of pure evil bringing forth only destruction set their sights on the Glenn, their very opposite. The people of Glenn fought long and they fought hard making the Grimm work for every centimeter of ground they took. Children, mothers, elderly it didn't matter everyone played their part and took up arms against the force of evil.
The crevice began to fill with blood.
They were not successful in their endeavors. Every man woman and child fell to the sharp claws and fangs of Grimm. Their combined will to survive and protect would never falter, their resolve would never succumb to treacherous invaders but it wouldn't matter in the end. The people of Glenn would become nothing but a memory and even that would disappear in time.
Light reflected off the pool of amassed blood.
Their fighting spirit however would live on forever. Even when you push us down, kick dirt in our eyes we always get back up. Smash everything we have ever known to dust and we will survive, we will adapt. With the force that drives us we built new cities, became stronger.
The hand of a dead Grimm landed in the pool.
So next time when they come we will be ready.
[Glenn, Auburn]
Damn, they weren't kidding when they said this place was infested. Beowolf bodies were everywhere around us, on the road, hanging out of buildings. Not even a few blocks in to this place and we had already faced enough opposition to rival any number of Grimm I've ever seen.
All of these fuckers were focused on one thing too and that was the assholes who had entered their city. Would be pretty funny if I wasn't one of those assholes and if I wasn't about to go look for an even bigger fucker than the ones already trying to cut me into little bite sized pieces.
Our driver jerked to the other side of the road to avoid a rather large Grimm body that had found its way in the middle of the road. In doing so he lined us up with a pretty big fucking ramp made from debris.
"Hold on!" No shit genius!
I pulled Leon down from the hatch so he wouldn't shoot out the top like a rocket propelled man, His ass slammed down on the seat just as the front wheels went airborne. You know when they say everything slows down when your life flashes before your eyes?
That theory is complete bullshit.
Me and Leon clung to each other and screamed as everything raced past us in a blur. Then it was over, the few seconds of airtime we had were anything but fucking slow! My fellow screamer and I gave each other awkward looks before disengaging ourselves from one another and composing ourselves.
The only woman of our team had a giggle fit. That bitch "I heard you scream too!"
"Wasn't me!" she laughed while pointing up front.
The driver was gripping the handle with almost enough pressure to break it. His eyes were about the size of dinner plates and he was pale as a ghost. If he was the one who produced such a girly sound then I had nothing to worry about when it came to my scene.
"How much farther?" I asked the driver.
"No-t far now chi-ldren." It was hard to be funny when you were about to piss your pants.
Beowolves were running through the alleyways and across the roofs on all sides, better be really big open space around that building or we would be overwhelmed in no time. A thud hit the hood joined by a Beowulf sticking its head through the hatch.
"Dust! Kill it!" Again no shit genius!
My rifle was too long to pull it up and get a proper shot on it so I pulled out my handgun attempting to unload on the swiping Beowolf. The bullet proof glass on the front shattered as a second Beowolf brought its claws down on it.
The driver screamed while covering his eyes, the gecko swerved making the Beowolf on the front lose his grip and fall towards the bumper where he got a foothold. The first Beowolf tried to reach with his claws at the one who was causing him pain.
That's me for those who don't know.
The handgun clicked empty after blowing off a piece of the Grimm's mask. His claws grazed my face caused by the Gecko's rocking. The driver was still screaming in pain and was being assisted by Robert in controlling the vehicle. He was leaning over with one hand on the steering wheel while the other was trying to get a shot at the Beowolf on the front through the hole it had made.
The Beowolf in the hatch climbed halfway into the cramped Gecko preparing to disembowel at least one of us as Thomas gave up pulling his machete from behind him and grabbed mine, unsheathing it with a yank. Blood squirted on us like a sprinkler as the Beowolf's head detached from its body.
Wiping the blood from my face I pushed the Beowolf up and out of the Gecko. The Beowolf took notice to the absents of its plus one as the barrel of the HMG centered on him. The blue like streams of light tearing him apart piece by piece.
Now dead he rolled under the Gecko sending it slightly in the air. I felt Peach sliding past me underneath to get to the driver who I assumed had caught the fragments in his eyes and was now a liability.
"I need you to move your hands please." She coxed him; his hands left his face to grab whatever he could squeeze the life out of. Robert who was still steering with one hand was the only one other than our medic who could see his face and judging by his facial expressions it wasn't good.
The radio came to live with screaming voices. The Gecko souring through the air was probably our best bet on who was making them. The Gecko landed on the one in front of us caving the hood in slightly before rolling towards us. Robert swerved out of the way of both the rolling Gecko and the one swerving out of control in front of us.
Son of a bitch, looking back there was no hope for the occupants of both vehicles as they were smarmed by a sea of black. The Grimm responsible for dooming the soldiers now had his attention on us. He was an older Beowolf four times the size of an average one and the throwing of the Gecko said he must be four times as strong as well.
Fuck.
[Patch, Undisclosed location]
Violence.
Something that most do not wish for but is a daily part of our lives. One must ask themselves when did it start and why? Maybe it started as self-defense or jealousy. As said most don't wish for it, most loathe it.
Unfortunately for our captive friend Four was not a part of the 'most' category.
Every time the poor bastard tippy toed his way into the sweet painless abyss the sniper yanked him right back out. His thumb and ring finger were the only ones lucky enough to remain intact, his face looked like a large grape, his front teeth were missing and he once again lost control of his bladder. Four borrowed his jacket and placed it under his chair so it wouldn't make a mess.
Three had left the man to his fate almost five hours ago not having returned yet. That was probably for the best, the faunus was devoted she had to give him that but the night was still young. She owned him for another couple of hours.
The only information she had gotten thus far was no, he didn't floss. That was a bit of a mind blower, if we didn't have assholes like this guy in the world we wouldn't have to worry about all kinds of different gum diseases. To hell with being White Fang, poor hygiene is a crime itself.
Pain wasn't getting them anywhere; the guy had an iron will or something. She was a bit lost in mental torture, was she supposed to read him Atlas digest maybe? No that's just a bit to cruel…Something Three had asked ran through her head. She cringed a bit as she slipped her gloved hand into his back pocket. Mickey was only mildly ware of what was going on around him; his senses dulled the numbing pain.
His warden made a sound of awe bringing him to attention "You're not going to believe this but Gracie goes to the exact high school I went to, I recognize that ugly color scheme anywhere." She feigned mild interest "I always loved the uniforms though something about the professionalism always had me."
"You sick bitch!" He growled for once showing aggressiveness.
"I bet she's a real heart breaker, she looks a lot like her mother." She was now pacing, dropping the pictures as saw them.
"You're military! You can't just go and do things to innocents, they know nothing about what I do putting them out of your reach."
"The military isn't supposed to torture its prisoners either….and am I supposed to take your word that they haven't done anything? You don't have any reason to lie to me right?"
War is hell
"Our cause is more important to the individual." He sounded like he was quoting something he had heard.
"I believe the children you left back in that town would disagree."
"We did for a reason!"
"You don't sound so sure."
"I….."
"Had we not been there the army would have just imprisoned them but as you know headhunters don't keep prisoners…for very long anyway."
"You killed them not us…."
"You can tell yourself that, do tell me what you'd expect to happen when you throw small animals to the wolves? We were just doing what's in our nature but you…..you have a lot to explain to the families whose starry eyed children were taken from them to be used as pawns easily thrown away."
"It was Erwin's plan! I had no part in it!"
'Maybe I'm cut out for this mental torture after all." Four thought, thinking it was a bit exiting going through someone's head.
"You're defending him so what's the difference?"
"Erwin's doing the right thing…."
"Sending children to their deaths a very honorable man indeed."
"What would a fucking dog of the military know about honor?!"
"Bark bark ruff ruff."
"Say whatever you want." He said through clenched teeth "As a Faunus I know what awaits us if we don't endure! Do as you wish to me dog."
"I thought we were getting somewhere too…." The screaming that had ceased for so long returned in all its nerve wracking glory.
Very far away in a little townie pub sat Fletcher being the good soldier he was had left his comrade as well as the prisoner. Disobeying orders can mean death for a lot of headhunters but he couldn't find it in himself to give a fuck.
The bar wasn't overly crowded but wasn't the place you'd really go to have fun. Most of the patrons were from the outskirts of the city working in the Grimm infested forests. Like most outback places they didn't take to kindly to new comers or city folk but the stranger had carried himself in a way that said that he wasn't one roll over easy. To some who loved a good fight though this proved to be an incentive as an unconscious drunk laid in an awkward position behind him with a sizable lump on his head.
Three never fancied himself a depressed drinker, whenever any alcoholic beverage made its way to his mouth it always greeted with a smile. The saying goes' Drink when you're happy, but never when you're are miserable'. He wasn't cut out for this like the rest of them, why he even became a headhunter was beyond him. Delroy and Leo had been doing it so long they had become dull to it and Biggs had his racism driving him, than Four…dust the woman enjoyed it!
That girl back in Ruben field, he had almost forgotten about it. Four had murdered her even after she surrendered. There wasn't anyone else around she could have easily let her go but she opted to kill her instead, hunt her down even after she escaped.
"Buy a girl a drink?" She was cute and her intentions were pretty obvious. Any other day and he would of already had her screaming his name in throes of drunken passion but today he wasn't really in the mood mindless humping.
"I don't have any money." Was his lame excuse
"Ahh come on stranger help a girl with an itch" She sashayed up to him rubbing her body on him and showing off her goods.
He may have not been in the mood for mindless humping but his partner was making its protest known, It was really aggravating sometimes. He was saying 'no' and his dick was saying 'fuck her!'. The worst part was that his dick always won these little games of will power. Four would be alright without him for a while, maybe a bit pissed when he reappeared but fuck it.
Without anyone as lookout the shady figures surrounding the abandoned storage closed in on the unaware Headhunter and captive.
[Glenn, Dagger]
"We don't have time to use wire cutters! Go right through it!" The outer complex would be gated of course considering our luck in this city already but Ramirez would like to see hundreds of years old chain hold up against a piece of steel ramming into at sixty five mph.
The chain gave way and shattered like it was made from no more than clay. Their Gecko sped through the large gap followed closely by the rest of Dagger minus one squad. Nothing they can do for them now, they answered the call of duty and paid with their lives, a soldier's death.
A straight stretch of road with clearings on both sides led to the abandoned yacht factory, He could feel a sigh of relief make its way past his lips. At least one thing would be easy and even if things got bad there's enough room for bullheads to land.
"Pull in as far as you can to make room for the others." He ordered the driver.
"Damn… it's pretty big Cap." Layla whistled from her position on the HMG.
"Captain." He corrected her before continuing to eye the structure "And yes its lot larger than I expected."
"Is it because of me?"
"I really hate you."
Alpha team's Gecko was still being drove by Robert while the young soldier from Dagger was being treated by Peach in a speeding vehicle on bumpy roads, she wasn't happy. His right eye was fine only getting blood in it from a wound on his forehead but his left eye was a whole other story. Bits and shards of the shattered front window had imbedded itself in the left side of the young man's face. Most prominent in and around his eye. In his defense he was taking it quite well only screaming once or twice. There wasn't much more she could do for him in the present situation other then tell his CO to keep him out of the fighting so to not aggravate the wound and keep his condition from worsening.
The soldiers ahead of them had already left their Geckos and were taking defensive positions around the massive compound putting down suppressive fire on the hoard of beowolves harassing us. There was so many that you didn't have to even aim to hit something.
The driver who could now see with one eye slowly put his foot on the break creeping the Gecko into a full stop. The team disembarked without Peach who was finishing what she could do for the unnamed soldier before joining her team.
"So we are going into that?" asked Leon "New plan anyone?"
"You got me Leon so we will be fine." Came the self-assured remark from Auburn.
"Yeah now if we run out of ammo we got something to throw at them." Thomas deadpanned walking past the younger soldiers.
"Fuck you old man!"
"I don't swing that way."
"Son of a bitch!"
"Get focused, we don't know what we are going to be dealing with in there." Robert ordered his men. He said a small prayer while walking asking for the safety of his squad.
"Alpha" Ramirez acknowledged the Headhunters "Fifteen minutes than I want your asses back out here, I'm not comfortable in having an extended battle with the Grimm here with our amount of ammo. Fifteen minutes than we leave with or without you, understood?"
"Sir" chorused Alpha
"Good, we'll make sure you don't get any uninvited visitors." He turned away from them and to his men giving out orders.
"I'd rather not be left at a dinner party with Grimm so can we get this show on the road?" Auburn leaves no smartass comment unsaid.
"Alpha on me." Robert through his shoulder into the door knocking it off its frame, leading his men through the valley of death once again.