An hour later, Talulah and Will laid in the suite's bed after their "heated session", the white sheets sheltering their naked frames from the room's cool air. Both had an expression of satisfaction on their faces.
"Hah..." Let out Will. "You got very wild back there. I guess you really wanted to do it, huh?"
Talulah blushed slightly.
"Yeah, maybe I got a little too carried away..."
"Nah, don't worry. I also needed to blow some steam off after these months."
Talulah gave him a nod. She sat on the edge of the bed, and picking up her clothes, began dressing. Will watched as his girlfriend put back her panties and bra. Despite the underwear, the boy could appreciate her beautiful figure, from her toned back to her slim hips and curvy rear. No matter where you looked, she was gorgeous.
Snapping out of it, Will decided to ask her something.
"Tell me, how you've been? I mean, with the war and shit..."
At that moment Talulah's expression saddened. She stood up and watched the outside through the window, with a lost look on her gray eyes.
"... It's been hard. Reunion has spent these past months trying to stop the Russian Army's advance. We've tried everything we could; from sabotaging infrastructure, raiding supply trucks to guerrilla warfare, but... it isn't enough." She let out a deep sigh. "They've got most of Ursus under control, the Empire is on the brink of collapse... But that isn't the worst." She began talking with a broken voice. "The worst is what happens in the occupied territories..."
"Talulah..." Will stood up and walked over to her. He put his arm around the draco and cuddled her. She rested her head against his shoulder.
He continued.
"The occupied territories...? Is something terrible going on there?"
Talulah raised her gaze and looked at him. Her eyes harbored sadness.
"Will, if only you saw what they do to the people... Thousands have been sent into factories and mines as forced labor, and there they work in inhuman conditions till death."
Will was left speechless.
"My God, are they really...? It's a horror!"
"Yeah." She nodded. "But they're not the only ones; the Infected are suffering as well. Ursus used to persecute them, but the Russians have taken it to another whole level. They send all Infected into the so called "gulags"... and there they're killed in gas chambers." She made a pause. "You know what angers me the most? The Russians murder hundreds of innocents each day, yet we can't even fight face to face with them; the only thing I can do is sit and watch as they continue slaughtering more and more people..."
When she finished telling, Will hugged her tightly.
"I see, you've been through a lot lately... but now I am here." He planted a small kiss on her forehead. "And together we'll kick the Russians out from Terra, I promise."
"You think so?" Asked Talulah
"Yeah, I do."
The two didn't say anything else. They just stood there, enjoying each other's presence... but before they could even realize, an artillery shell landed right next to the HQ.
The room shook vibrated for what seemed an eternity, but some seconds later it went all back to normal. Talulah and Will exchanged worried glares.
"We should go back with the rest." Said the boy. "The Russians are closing in."
"Right." She replied. "But let me put on my dress first."
With that said, they finished dressing and hurriedly left the suite.
X-X
Matt was totally immersed in the dream world, but his slumber was interrupted when someone poked him in the cheek.
"Nnggg... c'mon, just a little more..." Upon reopening his eyes, he saw that it was Mostima. He shrugged off his sleepiness and said. "Ah it's you, Mostima. Why did you have to wake me up now? I was having a wonderful dream..."
At that moment an explosion went outside and rocked the entire place. Mostima looked at him with serious expression.
"The Russians are about to storm this place, so we need to evacuate now. The rest has already packed things." She reached her hand to him. "C'mon, we haven't got much time left."
Matt took her companion's hand and stood up emitting a muffled grunt. They then went in search of their companions, and some minutes later found them. Exusiai and the rest of Penguin Logistics were present, but Matt noticed the absence of someone.
"Hey, have you seen Will or Talulah anywhere?" He asked.
"Last time I saw them they went upstairs." Replied Exusiai.
Suddenly, Lappland spoke.
"Hey, but speaking of the devil, look who's coming down the stairs."
Matt turned to where she was pointing, and in effect, his friend and Talulah had returned from the second floor. He looked over to them and said.
"Oh, you've returned. What were you doing up there?"
"Just talking a bit." Answered Will.
Matt wasn't dumb, he knew that the two had most probably done more than just talking. That's why he responded in a strange tone.
"I see, "talking"... Anyways, we're about to leave the base."
At that moment Nine and some of her men appeared in scene.
"Nine, how's going the evacuation?" Talulah asked her.
"Smoothly. Our forces in the north and east sectors have safely pulled out from the city."
The draco let out a sigh of relief.
"That's good to hear. Now it will be our turn to leave."
"Right." Nine turned to one of the Reunion foot soldiers and said. "Quick, bring me a map."
The dude nodded and ran away, and shortly after he returned with the map. Nine grabbed it and spread it out on a nearby table. Everyone went over and made a circle around it.
"Ok, so here's a map of Trotskygrad." Explained Nine. "The Russian Army has taken most of the city, so we've decided to evacuate." She then pointed at an area on the outskirts of the city. "See this area? We'll escape through here, the Western Docks. However, our scouts have reported a high concentration of Russian troops on this sector. It will be hard to get there without getting detected."
"What about the sewer system? We won't be noticed if we go through the underground tunnels." Said Will.
"Well, there's a problem with that." Replied one of the Reunion fighters. "Due to the bombings, a chunk of the sewers is currently collapsed. There's no way of telling if there's an open path to the Western Docks."
"In that case, we'll go through the sewers as far as we can. The rest of the way we'll go on the surface." Concluded Talulah "It would be the best course of action."
"Yeah, I agree." Replied Nine.
"Ok, that will be our plan then." Said Exusiai. "Now, we have some time left till..."
BOOOMMM! – A missile made impact on the top floors of the HQ and obliterated them. The explosion rocked the entire building, making rubble fall from the roof. Nine threw them a serious look.
"There's no time to waste!" She hurried everyone. "Grab your things and leave!"
X-X
Time later, as they had predicted, the Russian main force finally reached the HQ. However, by the time the Russians stormed the building, Matt, Will and the rest were already far from there.
Following Reunion, Matt and his companions left the HQ behind and walked through the destroyed streets for a while, until they found an entrance to the sewers.
With the help of two Reunion foot soldiers, the two boys moved the sewer's lid away. The moment they took it off a strong smell hit them like a truck.
"Ughh... it smells bad..." Complained Matt. "Who will go first?"
The other three glared at him without saying a word. Matt expression turned off. He looked down at the darkness beneath him for a bit, then he looked back at Will and the rest.
"Seriously?... *sigh* Fine, I'll go." He put his leg on the first bar of the ladder, and he began climbing down to the dark underground.
Once everyone had reached down, the lid was closed and the group started making their way towards the Western Docks.
/ /
The underground tunnels were engulfed in complete darkness. The only light down there came from the group's flashlights There was an ever-present smell of residual water and putrefaction across the sewers, making almost impossible to breathe there. Trash and rubble were also present, scattered around on the dirty floor.
Will and Talulah were at the helm, along with a couple of Reunion dudes armed with the stolen AKs. Matt, for his part, was more or less in the middle of the group, along with Nine, Exusiai and some others. They all were holding back the growing anxiety on their minds as they walked through the sewers.
A deep silence enveloped the tunnels. The only things they could here were the splashing of their feet against the water and the sound of their own breaths. Every now and then the tunnel shook lightly, product of the explosions on the surface.
Like that, they slowly kept advancing through the underground... but suddenly the ones at the front came to a halt. With a confused face, Matt went over to the front and asked.
"Hey, why did you stop so suddenly?"
"Shhh..." Will silenced him. Everyone listened carefully; it was very faint but from the adjacent tunnel a noise could be heard.
"You hear it? There's a sound coming from there." Whispered Talulah to him. She then turned to one of her men. "Go check what's making that noise, but be careful."
"Ok." The Reunion soldier slowly walked towards the tunnel. Everyone held their breaths as he disappeared behind the corner... but then, to their surprise, they heard him laugh.
"Hahahaaa! No need to worry, lads, it was just a rat!" Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but at that moment... "Wait... OH SHI-!"
FUASHHHH! – A massive column of fire erupted from the tunnel, incinerating the poor man before their eyes. Immediately after the flames extinguished, people armed with assault rifles shot in their direction, but with the darkness they missed. It was then that they heard them speak.
"Вы убили их? (Have you killed them all?)"
"Я не знаю, Я не вижу здесь дерьма. Мы должны были принести фонарики. (I don't know, I don't see jackshit down here. We should have brought lanterns.)"
"снова распылите туннель из огнемета. Мы позаботимся о том, чтобы они все были мертвы. (Spray the tunnel again with the flamethrower. We'll make sure they're all dead.)"
The soldier nodded and pulled the trigger, but before the flames could reach Will and the rest, Talulah got in the way by raising a wall of fire that stopped the Russian one right on its tracks. Before the Russians could even realize, Talulah casted her Arts, and with a swing of her sword she sent a wave of heat so intense that it melted everything on its path, including those fellas.
When the flames dissipated, she saw that there was nothing left of her enemies.
"They may have advanced tech, but they won't ever surpass my flames." She said to herself.
After staring at the scene for a bit, Will let out a sigh and said.
"Ok, we have to continue. Staying here is dangerous."
The rest knew he was right, so they had no choice but to continue the walk.