Chapter 35:

10:54 pm.

"Hey." A Lastation soldier nudges his buddy in the middle of their patrol.

"What?"

"How long do you think they're gonna fight over there? It's been going on for quite a while." his buddy gives an indifferent shrug.

"Dunno. But praise to Celestia that the fight is over there and not here. I don't know if I'd be able to fight those things." He says with a thankful tone in his voice.

"If you're gonna ask me to fight for this long, I'd rather just shoot myself."

Snickering to themselves, the two Lastation soldiers continue their patrol through the small neighborhood just on the edge of the city.

With the fighting still ongoing at the center of the city, the General ordered that the rest of the units standing by to tighten security and broaden patrols. The silent night aggravates the distant rumbling of the fight. The Loweeans who once occupied this neighborhood have completely abandoned it, leaving only ghosts and shadows.

The two round a corner, encountering a familiar roadblock that their unit has set up down the road.

"I'm gonna go and get something to drink" his buddy asked, relaxing his hold on the rifle.

"Grab me coffee." But he simply gave a curt answer.

"Not gonna come?"

"Nah, something feels… off. Gut tells me I should keep my eyes peeled over here."

"Suit yourself then. Radio if something happens."

His buddy walks off towards the corner building that's beside the checkpoint. Disappearing into it, he firmly grips onto his rifle and looks back on the route they walked from, looking for anything that's out of the ordinary or anything he had missed.

The hairs on the back of his nape had been standing upright ever since halfway through their patrol. Although he's been keeping his eyes and ears sharp, there's nothing noteworthy to report on. He had already deduced that his buddy couldn't sense the dread he was feeling. Like a sniper firmly zoned into the back of his head or a monster waiting for an opportunity to attack.

But there's nothing there other than the sounds of fighting that's deep within the city.

He shakes his head, putting a hand to his face as he let out a long sigh.

"Maybe I'm just tire⸻!"

A hand suddenly covers his mouth. His brain fires off signals. His instincts as a fighter kicks in. Without thinking his hand lets go of his weapon and reaches for the small hand covering his mouth.

"⸺!"

But suddenly, something lodges into his neck. A sharp object that's thin and metallic, puncturing something not meant to be punctured.

"Mmmmh!"

He struggles but the object digs deeper into his neck. He can feel something damp on his chest, something oily and sticky. His heart's beating fast, his breathing getting rough, the tips of his fingers losing senses.

He's losing blood and he's losing it fast.

The person holding him pulls the object out violently, and just as suddenly, it punctures into his neck again. Pain shoots up, causing him to scream underneath the small hand covering his mouth.

"MMMMMGH!"

The edge of his vision begins to blur as the person holding him stabs his neck repeatedly. He tries to peel the hand away, but the grip of it is so strong that it almost feels like it's glued to his face.

"MMGH! MMGH! MMGH! MMGH!"

The stabbing gets more violent. He can literally feel the side of his neck peeling away with each subsequent stab. There's no time left; he needs to think of something.

Perhaps it's his training, or the intense simulations he underwent, or his drill sergeant from long ago, or the pain he's experiencing, but something clicks in his mind, an idea.

He jumps backwards, putting all his weight onto his back as he drops back first onto the floor. The stabber bears the full brunt of the fall, but still doesn't stop. only increasing its intensity. Using his right hand, he quickly reaches to his side arm and pulls it out of its restraints.

Pointing the gun to anywhere, he quickly squeezes the trigger.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Twelve shots fired. Wasting perfectly good .40 S&W ammo.

"...Smart"

IF twists the knife in the Lastion soldier's neck. The soldier flails and jerks before finally stopping.

Sighing to herself, she looks off into the distance, and sees a bunch of men checking out what the gunshots were all about.

"I wanted this to be quiet, but I guess this is fine too" she told herself as she pushes the man's body off her and stands up, dusting herself off and surveying her surroundings.

Lowee's central park is about 55 kilometers from where she is. Even if she is on painkillers, fighting through Lastation's Special Forces is a losing battle. Her wounds, which Compa emergency stitched, might reopen. Even though she's wearing Lastation-grade body armor, just the force of being is gonna be enough for her to reel in the pain.

"I'll play this smart then…"

IF quickly loots at the body before her. With ease and familiarity, her hands weave through his loadout: side-arm on the left, an adrenaline shot strapped onto his helmet, 4 magazines at the right abdomen, a bag on the right full of grenades, flash bombs in a bag hanging from the left abdomen. Being Special Forces, their loadout is different from regular Lastation Soldiers.

With one look behind her, IF sees the rest of the Lastation Special Forces taking position a fair distance away. Knowing they've identified her, she pulls out 4 flash grenades, then pulls out their pins all at once.

She lightly throws them behind her as she sprints off towards the nearest alley.

"SHIT! FLA—!"

*POP!* *POP!* *POP!* *POP!*

4 flash bombs explode all at once as IF darts towards an alley. Before she disappears from their sight, she takes a look behind her and counts.

"20―23, alright…"

"Shit! Fuck! Call up forces on checkpoints 2-Alpha, 2-Charlie, and 3-Delta! Now! We've identified IF and we're giving chase! Sending last known location!"

"Roger. Hailing all units in checkpoints 2-Alpha, 2-Charlie, and 3-Delta, we've identified IF. Hailing checkpoints 2-Alpha, 2-Charlie, and 3-Delta, we've identified IF. Sending last known location to your visors. Please respond"

"Last known location received, 2-Alpha taking point and setting up a pincer attack with 2-Beta"

"Received. 2-Charlie will keep the main roads clear, she might have backup"

"Received. Standing by for backup for 2-Alpha. She'll definitely punch through"

"Right, they have map data" IF grumbles as she listens in, dashing through the alley at a low, steady, and quiet pace.

The houses in these parts of Lowee aren't tall, at most they're two or three-story buildings. The roads are wide as well as its sidewalk. The block she's on has a single alley going through towards the next street. It has a slight turn to the left, with several sources of light slowly pouring in.

She hugs the wall on the right as she runs to the first corner. She stops right by the edge and crouches down hidden by a trash can that's on the other side. She peeks the corner only to suddenly reel her head back as a soldier suddenly walks into view.

"2, no, 4 of them on that street." She grumbled.

Based on what she heard, 2-Charlie is probably a sniper unit hidden in one of the 2 to 3 story buildings. With 3 units closing in on her, a gun fight isn't a good option.

"I hope the drugs don't wear off." She only has enough this night.

She puts away her gun and takes out one of her knives. As she readies her knife, a cellphone keychain dangles from the butt of the weapon. The keychain was a small doll, crudely made in the shape of a nurse.

"…" She stares at it longingly.

Before quickly moving those thoughts aside.

Her ears suddenly perk up as her 5 senses, sense a presence that's about to come out of the corner. Her ears pick up 3 sets of footsteps. Quickly reversing the grip on one hand, she assumes combat position and puts all her brain power imagining the fight ahead.

"Rounding corner, 2-Alpha watch your⸻!"

IF comes out of the corner and stabs the first soldier through the neck. Then, she quickly lets go of the knife stuck in his throat, finds a grenade at his waist, pulls the pin with her free hand, before gripping the knife again.

"Shit! We've got eyes on IF! Eyes on IF! Get over here!"

"Dammit, I don't have a visual!"

IF then jumps and plants her feet on the soldier's chest. She puts power on her knees, kicking the soldier back towards his comrades, simultaneously leaving a hole on his throat as she pulls the knife off him.

*BOOM!*

"Kh! Fu—!"

Without wasting any more time, she dashes towards the second soldier on the right, the third still reeling from the explosion. She stabs him right between the kneecap, cutting through the tendon, causing him to kneel. Then, with her other knife, stabs him through the neck and twists it violently.

She then grabs the AK-12, and immediately twists her body to shoot at the third soldier behind her.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

4 out of 6 shots hit their mark but he was still moving.

She quickly fixes her posture and fires the weapon again.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

All shots hit; target is down.

*STEP!* *STEP!* *STEP!* *STEP!*

Without wasting a single moment of reprieve, IF takes this opportunity and runs into the street they came from.

*BANG!*―*PING!*

She hides quickly as soon as the ground before her is suddenly shot.

"There, huh." She marks the general direction of the shot: around north to north-west.

She sprawls to the ground, aiming the AK to the alley where she came from. And in just a few moments, a soldier comes running into view.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

She immediately squeezes the trigger, gunning down the soldier where he stands. She then jumps up and sprints low towards the mouth of the corner.

Another soldier pops into view at the mouth of the alley. She quickly lowers her stance further, as she shoulder tackles the soldier targeting the solar plexus.

"GU⸺!"

"—!" She notices that she's pinned between 2 teams positioned on either side of the smaller alley. She quickly steps in, forcing the soldier with breathing pains to cover her back, as she squares off with one of them. Noticing the hesitation, she pulls the trigger of her AK.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

She fires eight shots starting from the crotch up towards the head of the soldier in front of her. Her target falls backwards, blocking the 2 soldiers behind him. She then quickly throws a grenade, before pivoting on her right leg and bending down as she turns.

*BOOM!*

The 3 other soldiers holding the other side of the small alley stagger from the resulting explosion. She quickly fires her AK from right to left, hitting their heads in the process.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"Damn this bitch!"

The soldier she shoulder tackled recovers. IF still in a low position, swings her leg towards his shin causing him to trip on the spot. Then as IF stands, she points her AK at him.

*BANG!* *PING!*

"―!" a jam. While modern iterations of the AK are reliable against jamming, no weapon is immune to malfunctions. Without giving it any more thought, she discards the rifle and swings down her knife.

"Fuuuu⸺" She exhales heavily as she stands, pulling the knife in the process.

"4 at the back, 5 or 6 at the front. Snipers at the east, can't see the other side." With only 1 second of rest, she immediately takes a moment to assess the situation. There isn't much time before the rest of the Lastation forces run towards her location. Knowing Adam, he won't put all his eggs into one basket. Meaning, whatever fight that's happening at the center of the city, he'll always commit a few units as rearguard.

"Then—!"

She grabs the grenades hanging onto the sides of the dead soldier and pulls out its pins before throwing the grenades at the 4 approaching soldiers at the back and making a run for it.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

"Goddamn! What the fuck! This chick is crazy!"

"Just move! They're distractions! We've got her pinned!"

In in 5 long strides, she immediately turns the slight left turn where 5 soldiers come into view.

"She's―!"

IF immediately heads towards the nearest one and stabs him through the chest. At the same time, using him as a meat shield, she immediately pulls up her secondary weapon from her leg and fires it in between his arm and torso.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

"Kh!"

The second nearest soldier staggered backwards but didn't fall.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"Tch!"

They started firing at the meat shield without hesitation.

She grabs the knife that's placed firmly on his chest and moves forward as she fires her rounds at the staggering soldier.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

The moment she got close enough, pressed the magazine release and flicks her gun, sending the magazine away. At the same time, her other hand reaches for a spare magazine on her side, replacing the gun's load without so much as a delay. She then drives the gun over to his face.

*BANG!* *BANG!*

1 shot wasn't enough with how resilient he is, so she shot him again.

Still having the shield as cover, she then unpins a flashbang and throws it in between its legs.

*BANG!* *RRRRRRRRNG!*

The gun fire immediately stops, she pulls the knife off of the shield's chest and rushes towards the nearest opponent on the right. As she passes another soldier on the left, she immediately throws a grenade at his feet and jumps, raising her knife over her head.

*BOOM!*

The grenade explodes, sending muscles, blood, limbs, and bones all over. She swings the tip of the knife down towards her target's head, and puts weight on her feet as she plants them on to his chest. He bends backwards, breaking his back and knees in the process, slamming backfirst into the ground with an audible thump.

She pulls out her side-arm, points and shoots at the remaining 2-Alpha soldier.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"Shit, she's a fucking monster. Oi, 2-Delta get your ass moving back there, she's wiping us out! Drive her to the open street! We need fucking backup! Hailing 3-Alpha! 4-Alpha! 4-Beta!"

"Don't they realize I have their earpiece?" IF grumbles as she loots a few grenades and flashes from the corpse before her.

Reaching the end of the alley, finally, she then immediately hugs the wall on the right and peeks behind cover.

She scans the 3-story buildings, looking for anything that would help her find the sniper team. However, knowing Lastation's prowess, they know how to hide well. It'll take time to smoke them out, especially knowing that their opponent is a girl that's small in stature.

Also, she has company behind her.

IF sprints towards the opposite side of the street.

*BANG!*―*BANG!*

"Shit! She's fast!"

It only took 3 long strides before reaching the other side. She then hugs the wall and dashes by the sidewalk to the nearest intersection on the east.

"I don't have a clear shot! 2-Delta she's moving, hurry the fuck up! 4-Charlie she's moving towards your street."

"Roger just finished setting up."

"We're relocating!"

"Good." IF grumbles, them moving means that there's time she can be on the open street. With their sniping skills as is, if she moves at this pace, she'll be able to dodge their aim. Moreover, the more she moves, the more they miss their shots, the more she'll get a bead on their location.

As she reaches the intersection, a jeep suddenly stops in the middle of it. The M249-SAW that's mounted on it points straight at her.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

She immediately jumps through the window of the nearest house.

"She's inside the house! Move! Move! Move!"

"Bad move, IF!" immediately regretting her decision, she runs up the stairs right in front of her. She doesn't have time to set up traps so the only thing to do is to use the environment to her advantage.

Landing onto the 2nd floor, she quickly looks around and found the doors to be open. The floor has stains of blood crawling from one room to the next. IF followed it with her eyes, towards the room to her left, and sees a familiar thing.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me⸻!" IF gets ready for round 2.

*GUHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!*

Edited by: TMCraze, Verthin