*** OKAY ACTION STARTING!
Aleksander's heart clenched when he heard their voices. They weren't after him, no, but they were going to start shooting soon. Volger's eyes were hard and pensive. Alek saw him hiss something at a shaken Misana. The man pointed down the hall, towards Alek.
Volger unceremoniously gave him and Dr. Barlow a push and started them running.
"Hans!" snarled Dylan. "Go out with them! We'll stay here and hold!"
"But-" he started but was cut off by Volger, "Protect them!" He shoved Alek hard. Against his will, Alek's legs were running hard. Soon he had caught up with Dr. Barlow and Misana, bursting into the courtyard. Immediately, he dragged both of them behind a group of boulders. Shots cracked at their backs.
"How do we get out?" he cried, barely audible over the din.
"We have to get to the other side!" yelped the terrified man. Alek slipped the swords from their sheaths. He'd never fought with two swords before but he figured this was beyond Volger's jurisdiction now. They felt like they belonged in both of his hands.
He risked a peek over the boulders and promptly nearly got shot in the face. He jerked back down instantly. There were numerously Germans. Too many, he realized, they would surely die.
"There's too many!" he called. "Without guns, we're dead! There's only so much I can do with two swords!" He glanced at Dr. Barlow. The poor woman was on th verge of hysteria. Her eyes were huge with terror and uncertainty. She was completely out of her element. They all were.
Suddenly two forms skidded down the boulders, dropping neatly beside them. Alek jabbed his blades at them instinctively.
"Bum-rag!" cried Dylan's voice.
"Calm yourselves," growled Volger. He leaned close against the rocks and fired his pistol. Alek heard screams of agony from dying Germans.
"Go into those trees," ordered Volger nodding at a small, thick group of trees. "They'll give you more cover." He was extremely calm. It surprised Alek. Regardless, he gripped Dr. Barlow's arm around the sword and pulled her up a bit and nudged Misana forward. They sprinted into the trees, bullets flying and splintering the wood. They knelt and Alek estimated the had seven meters between them and the door into the other half. And almost every bit of space was filled with gunslinging Clankers. But they were falling at a swift rate. The leaves rustled behind them.
"Dylan your-" he started then turned, eyes widening with horror. Intead of Dylan or Volger being there, there were three angry looking Germans soldiers. His shock turned to rage and with a wild snarl, he launched himself at the first. His blades sliced across the man's throat, blood spurting from his jugular. Blood spattered across Alek's cheek. He spun around and jabbed the second man in the lung, below his heart. The third got in several shots before he too was struck down. One tore through the flesh in Alek's thigh and out the back, the other two barely missing him.
He stumbled back, his leg giving out beneath him. He groaned and gripped his wound, blood pouring over his fingers.
Dr. Barlow hissed something at Misana then skittered forward to he dead Germans, snatching up their arms. She cocked a rifle deftly while Misana had duel pistols. They seemed to have recovered from the initial shock and were now outraged.
"This gives us a better chance," she snarled. Alek got to his feet, shaking slightly. He dropped the swords and picked up a large pistol and several grenades. He kept one but put the rest in a pocket in his disheveled jacket. He crept forward and pressed the plunger down and threw it as hard as he could. The Germans were surprised. Just as their minds registered what it was, the grenade enveloped them in a fireball.
Misana and Dr. Barlow dove to the ground as shrapenal ripped through the air. A blackened crater was all that was left. There was a whoop beside him.
"Nice going Al- Hans!" hollered Dylan. "You got a whole load of those clart-suckers!" Blood streamed down his friend's arm, hanging akimbo at his side.
"Yes, very good," said Volger, dour faced. "Now get moving." Dr. Barlow and Misana jumped to their feet and trotted forward. Dylan and Alek followed them, taking the lead, guns drawn and loaded. They had led them about a meter when something bounced off Alek's shoulder. They all looked down. A grenade was blinking at their feet.
Volger seized Dr. Barlow and Misana and sprinted back to the trees. Dylan snatched up the grenade and threw it back the way it had come. He pushed Alek back, shielding him as much as he could. The small bomb exploded in midair, a shower of hot metal and flame coming down.
Dylan let out a scream of pure agony in his ear. The boy crashed onto him, smashing his broken arm into the ground. He gasped with pain. Alek wiggled out from underneath the broken boy's shuddering form.
"Dylan!" he cried. His friend's stomach had been gored with a huge piece of shrapenal, his arm even worse then before. But what scares him was the huge bump protruding from Dylan's belly, blue-black bruises already forming around it.
"God's wounds," he whispered starting to unbutton Dylan's shirt to see how bad he really was.
"Stop, Alek," moaned Dylan grabbing at his hands. "Don't. Please!" Tears streaked his friend's face.
"Dylan," he whispered soothingly. "Calm down. I just need to see-"
"No!" Dylan jerked up with let out a shriek, coughing up large globs of blood. Alek pushed Dylan down.
"Please, Dylan! You wouldn't leave me here right?" But before he could hear his reply, someone kicked him hard in the ribs. Bullets ripped through his stomach and chest, searing pain pouring through his body.
"You can join him, don't worry, boy," cackled a German voice. "Goodnight." Then everything went dark. Through the pain and the verge of unconsiousness, he heard Dylan whisper quickly,"My name is Deryn! And I love you."
Alek could hear and see no more.