|
|
| Story |
 
|
(Page 2 of 4) A Tale from Desolation by Frank Carentz
 (2 ratings)
|
His fingers flew over the sequence strokes purely from muscle memory and finally lingered over the start button.
"Ready?" he grinned at Cooper.
"Sure ‘nough."
"Then its go time."
Jon's finger pressed down on the button and the Reaper began to hum. The hum was joined by the sound of rushing air as Jon pulled the lever to open the lift vents, pushing the whole of the monstrous machine into the air.
"Straps secure?" Jon asked.
"Check."
"Guidance, Blade control?"
"Check, check".
With the last check confirmed Jon pressed forward on the stick, a slight scraping could be heard as the vent panels shifted beneath them driving the massive Reaper forward and out into the light of day.
*******************
The sound of gunfire rang through his ears as his finger squeezed back on the trigger again releasing another flash from the end of his barrel. The twin Long-arms lit the night like fireworks at some ancient parade. His hands rising and falling in alternate succession, as if he was conducting a symphony of death, but in place of a baton he led the orchestration with flying lead.
The bullets ripped through the oncoming masses but did nothing to halt their approach. Almost as fast as they fell, they would rise again. He looked over to his partner, also engaged in battle, pumping and firing his rifle into the oncoming gang of lumbering bodies.
"How you doin over there Jack?" he yelled over the sound of gunfire.
"Ah, you know..." he fired a shot, ripping one of the targets legs off at the knee; it spilled forward to its chest.
"...makes me feel special that we're getting so much attention."
Jack pointed his barrel down and let loose another slug into the legless bodies head.
"Fall back, I'm almost out!" he yelled to Jack, stepping back, his guns still blazing one after the other.
"Jesus Hicks, there's too many!" Jack yelled, moving backwards toward a shadowed alley.
"God damn Breathers are everywhere tonight."
"Must be ‘cause you smell so good." Jack snickered
They quickly side stepped into an alley, using the corner as cover to reload their weapons. Hicks crouched. By the time threw down the empty cylinders of his Long-arms and dropped fresh ones into them Jack had turned the corner to start firing again.
"That's odd."
"What?"
"They stopped followin' us."
"What are you talking about? Stopped following us?" Hicks glanced up at his friend.
"No, I'm serious; they've turned tail and are leavin'." Jack began to chuckle
"I'm not jokin', look at ‘em, shambling their Breather hides right on back the way they came!"
Hick's stood and walked out of the alley.
"Well, what are they doin', they got a town meetin' to go to ‘er something?" He asked Jack.
"Can't say that I have any inclination." Jack replied as he removed his hat to scratch his head in confusion.
"I've never seen that in all my trips to D-town."
Hicks' sentence was cut short as a figure flew over him as if it had leapt, tackling one of the retreating Breathers to the ground.
| |
|
|
|
