The Secondary Saga

[The Grey Man]

Group 2 – Clayton, Zora, Roger (das me), Klaud, Isaac

[spoiler]I ran with the others through the cramped hall, holding up the rear alongside Klaud. The temple had started crumbling down all around us after we’d made short work of our clones. Bits of loose stone crumbled and fell, making vision difficult as we sprinted towards light—towards the only hope we had.

That was when I noticed it. The hairline fractures in the ceiling, all converging and coalescing. It’d crush me for sure if I didn’t move. I could kick it into high gear, damage myself further, but I’d probably be able to run past before it came down.

It would also crush Klaud if I chose to outrun it. I could try to drag her forward, but that would just slow us both down. So, it seemed, I had a choice, and I had to make it fast.

I winced a little as I ran. I knew what to do. I always knew something like this would be what killed me.

“Klaud, heads up!” I warned her. Sweating, my breath ragged from my cracked ribs, the damage in my leg screeching throughout my body, I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply. With the last of my strength, I broke into a full sprint. It didn’t take long to reach her.

—KRRAAACK—

We both looked up; it wasn’t just a particularly large piece of ceiling. It was practically a boulder. If I pushed Klaud forward, I’d risk her falling down, and in this corridor that was a death sentence. There was only one thing to be done.

I stopped running, planted myself firmly against the floor, and raised my hands up. She started forward, trying to stop me, and the falling slab of stone struck her hard in the face. It landed evenly on my two hands. I immediately regretted this decision.

“Go!” I choked out. She obliged me.

It didn’t take long for my knee to give in under the weight. On the order of seconds, the weight of that great stone had asserted its dominance over my strained and hurting arms, bringing it hard down against my face. I screamed out in pain as the rock drove me further and further into the ground, its weight coming down hard against the full sum of my parts. I was enveloped entirely by the oppressive bit of broken rock.

All was black.[/spoiler]

Memory/Flashback

I made my way east. It’d been a few days since they’d taken the house, so I had a pretty good idea how to deal with them. At least, I felt like I’d be fine if I could trust the stranger’s advice. I looked down at the gun in my hands. The thing was ancient. It was pretty hard to believe that it would help me out, but whatever. I shuffled through the vegetation. There she was, plain as day. The old ranch house. Our garden, our house, and even our personal crafts were on lockdown. The NTNJ soldiers were walking in a loose circle around the whole property.

I remembered what he told me. Look for gaps in their defenses, then exploit them. Scanning the situation through the scope of the antique rifle, I saw them. It was actually pretty easy to spot the odd man out—he didn’t seem to pay much attention, compared to the other guys. He was walking around pretty lazily, barely holding his gun up, while the others seemed… I don’t know, more professional?

It didn’t matter. He’d be the first of many. I brought my crosshair down towards his torso and squeezed the trigger gently, just like I’d been told. A quiet pop echoed out. He jerked forward. I’d hit him. The tranquilizers took a few seconds to work their magic, but it still happened too fast for him to really react.

I looked around the rest of the premises. Looked like I was in the clear to start taking out a few more of them. I popped a second guy as he rounded my car. He fell down pretty quick, but freaked out and started firing off his gun into the air. It had caught another sentry’s position.

Shit. I’m not good at this.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and swallowed a scream. I turned. The stranger.

“You want to get your family back, right?” he whispered, hunched just as low as I was. “You’ll never even get in if you do it this way.”

“Look,” I explained to him, trying to keep my cool, “I’ve never done this in any way before today.”

“Well, you seem to have pissed one of them off. Take a look.”

He motioned towards the house with these words. I brought my gaze over to where he’d indicated. The third guy was trying to jostle the rookie awake. “Shit,” I muttered, taking careful aim and pegging him as well. He fell.

“Okay, you’ve cleared the outer perimeter,” the stranger said, sounding awfully calm, “but they’re going to know that you’re out here now. How do you plan on sneaking in there undetected?”

“… I don’t know, you tell me.” I shot back. “I just want to be done with this and have my family back.”

“Ha,” he chuckled, lighting up another one of those weird tiny cigars. “I’d like that too… but that’s not how war works, I’m afraid. Here, take this pistol and make your way over to the craft over there. I’ll cover you with the rifle.”

He handed me a second gun, and I relinquished it to him. I turned it over in my hands. Late 20th century maybe? I couldn’t figure out where he’d gotten this crazy thing either. I appreciated the help, but why couldn’t this guy just use normal guns like a normal person? I didn’t even know how to work this thing.

“It has a long trigger pull as the safety, holds 12+1 in the chamber, fires a high velocity lead projectile around 45mm in diameter into the target; their laser-proof mesh armor can keep the shots from killing them, if they’re lucky, but vibromesh is really not made for yesterday’s firearm,” the stranger helpfully explained. I held it in my hands. It was lighter than my old lasergun I used as a plinker. I didn’t really like the way it felt in my hands. I aimed it towards the ground, and put my finger on the trigger…

“It’s also really loud, so don’t shoot it until they’ve already found you,” he warned. I nodded, and, keeping my finger on the trigger, ran down towards the personal craft, sliding up next to the great behemoth of alumisteel and fortiglass. I stole a glance upwards to see what it looked like.

Two in the living room, one in the kitchen. They were moving around pretty quickly, too, rifles at the ready. I felt pretty unsure of myself.

One jerked his head towards me; I dove down. The sound of glass breaking, of confused shouting, of lasers colliding with my sweet baby hovercraft, and you know it had to be just ruining the slick paint job I dropped 800 neo-creds on. It quickly dawned on me that the craft was now the only thing separating me from certain death, and panic began to creep its way into my joints, a slow shake overtaking my entire body, my breathing becoming uneven with the most primal kind of fear.

Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the cacophony left. I stole another peek. Nothing, but a window was broken. He’d shot them through the windows… I rushed to the front door, small gun at the ready. Taking a few deep breaths, I waited for my racing heartbeat to steady as I grasped the handle of the door…

Fading into the real world

BOOM

Gunshots. I snapped my eyes open. Every part of my body, from my head to my hands, was pulsating with a ferocious kind of agony that washed over me in waves, like some macabre tide of dismal suffering. I could hear primal, feral screams, and the sounds of battle loomed outside of the periphery of my hazy vision.

Was I dead?

I could hear Clayton, Klaud, Isaac… Their voices definite in identity, but indistinct in the meaning of their words. No. Unless we’d all bitten the big one, I was very much alive. As my vision shifted in and out of focus, I realized that someone was carrying me. “Hey,” I said weakly, “What’s happening?”

At least, I think I said that. It was hard to tell, I was pretty fucked up. Also, possibly partially blind and deafened now.

An answer came, but to my ears it was just sound. I looked around instead, desperate for answers. Pain shot through my body as I craned my neck to get a better grip on my surroundings. Zora, the alien from before, was assisting me along. Shakily, I kept craning my head, now to direct my line of sight towards the sounds of chaos and war.

Fields of screaming, fetid and diseased looking creatures shambled towards the group horribly. Isaac had taken point, and was utterly decimating them, cutting a path for the others to follow.

I wished, more than anything else, that I could help, but I knew my limits. I couldn’t even see straight… To try to shoot like this, especially with so many of my teammates relying on close-quarters combat, would have only disastrous results.

I could only hope that my senses would stabilize themselves soon.