Vanya's Journals, Chapter 44: Darkness DescendsVanya's journal continues with its conglomeration of blue and white sheets.~~~
Several blue sheets of paper are inserted here. Hot air rushed past the lieutenant, smoke spilling out the door and into the night sky as she burst into the control room. "Katie!" she shouted. "Katalina Okablokum, where are you?"
"Here, Captain!" The girl was choking, her voice barely audible over the roar of the flames.
"I can't see you!" Almory called back, trying uselessly to wave away the smoke. "Come to the door!"
There was no response but for crackling fires.
Setting her jaw, the lieutenant rushed forwards into the chaos. Flames licked the walls, roaring violently as they sucked the oxygen from the air. In one corner of the room, the generator buzzed dangerously, burst open and spilling toxic liquids onto the ground as electricity arced between it and the ruined, smoking control panels. Almory made up her mind on a direction and started towards the corner of the room with the shield controls. Glass and twisted metal crunched under her feet as she rushed through the thickest part of the blaze. Finally, she caught sight of Katie's motionless body, curled up in a corner.
"Katie!" she yelled, taking off her helmet. "Katie, answer me!"
Almory began choking as she tried to draw another breath, and knelt, slipping the helmet over Katie's head. Carefully, she picked the girl up in her arms, and gritting her teeth, sprinted through the flames to the door, the heat singing her eyebrows.
Trebor was in a panic, making excuses as Jonah tried to shove a weapon into his hands. "No sir! Take it away! When I signed up for duty, they told me I wouldn't have to carry a weapon! I'll carry on, I'll carry out, I'll carry off, I'll carry over, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry the one, I'll carry the flu, I'll carry the motion, I'll carry you over the threshold, and I'll even
Jim Carrey, but I will
not carry a gun!"
Beside him, Lord Reudh's party were already holding their weapons, glancing about nervously.
Above them, Almory collapsed, choking on the smoke. "Trebor! Quit chattering and get up here; Katalina's in trouble!"
Trebor snapped his fingers at Jonah. "Raincheck our argument," he said, and up the stairs with his pack. "Sis, what happened?"
"It's Tames," the lieutenant explained, carefully laying the unconscious woman out on the ground. "He betrayed us; he rigged the generator to overload when we turned the shields off."
"
Tames?? Armok's beard..."
"Be quick!" Almory warned, putting her helmet back on. "We have to mount a defense." She stood, rushing down the stairs, shouting orders.
Hurriedly, Trebor grabbed his medical PEA and moved it slowly back and forth over Katie's chest, reading the display; his expression darkened as he read the results. Putting it aside, he hurriedly opened the front of Katie's suit, folding back the lower half and sterilizing a section of her chest with a swab. Tossing it aside, he removed a syringe from his pack, carefully examining its silvery contents.
Katie stirred, her eyes fluttering open, but they closed again quickly as she wheezed violently, grabbing Trebor's hand.
"This'll fix your lungs, Snowflake," he muttered, "but it's going to hurt." Saying this, he held her down and forced the metallic tip deep beneath her skin.
Katie screamed in agony, flailing her arms about as she tried to get away. Her chest started convulsing; she began choking violently as if she was trying to cough up her lungs.
The doctor shifted his weight onto her, grimacing and trying to keep the syringe steady. "I know it's not fun!" he shouted, ducking as the wall exploded above him, raining dirt down upon his head. He paused for a moment as she calmed, not relishing the necessary task. "I'm sorry, girl," he whispered, injecting the silvery contents into her lungs.
Her screams echoed through the trench.
~~~
Vanya's handwriting continues. I looked up at where the megaportal stood, beyond the quiet tents. It beckoned tauntingly, an iron ring against the stars. It seemed so far away.
I cast one last frustrated glance in John's direction. He was standing still below me, off in the distance, hardly visible against the deep crimson of the bloodplains. I watched him for a moment, listening to the thunderous gunfire. Finally, I gave up, turning and starting up the hill on my own with a grim determination. "I spent almost a year with you," I whispered. "If you're going to abandon me now, you were never my friend to begin with."
I went as quickly as I dared, staying behind tents whenever possible. I passed an armory, and felt tempted to pick up a weapon to defend myself with, but quickly chided myself for even thinking it. I hated guns; they lacked the honor of melee. To use a gun was to rob a person of their life without even giving them a chance. It was murder.
But then... wasn't Ballpoint trying to murder my friends? Wouldn't they try to murder me?
The thought did little to alter my ideals, and I kept pressing forwards, getting ever closer to the top of the huge hill.
~~~
Several blue sheets of paper are inserted here. After several minutes, Katie rolled to the side, coughing a gray, slurry liquid onto the ground.
"There you go, Snowflake," Trebor said in relief, putting everything back into his pack. "I had to re-grow the tissue in your lungs, they were badly burned. Go easy on strenuous activities for a while." The ground above him exploded again, shaking the earth; fire reached across the sky.
Below him, Almory was giving orders. "Trebor, if she's all right, get down here! Reudh, Tedaz, Strohe, Jonah, take your guns to the lip of the trench. Stay far apart and shoot whatever you see! Where... Where are those scythods??"
"Captain!" Saemin shouted. "They have necromancers! Their lines keep coming closer!" Almory answered his call with a brief nod.
Without warning, the scythods appeared, scuttling over from the armory.
The lieutenant pointed towards the tunnel entrance. "Both of you, take your plasguns and go to the end of the tunnels. If anyone falls in, kill them."
Stomping with their legspikes, the scythods hurried away towards the end of the trench and into the darkness.
A dwarf's voice called out over the gunfire. "Almory, the mag deflector's ready, but it'll take some time to rev up on the emergency power."
Looking upwards, Almory saw Hawkins standing on the walkway two floors above. "Good man," she whispered, and then shouted, "Get to the railcannon and take over from Saemin Lo!"
Katie got to her feet and looked around as Hawkins ran past her down the stairs. Reudh's party were standing at the front edge of the trench, their helmeted heads peeking over the side as they fired rapid shots at the approaching enemy. Katie couldn't see the Ballpoint troops from where she was, but from how frantic Reudh seemed to be, she guessed they were close.
Suddenly, with a incredible crash, Parasol's railcannon exploded from a magcel round, broken pieces flying in all directions. The main portion toppled backwards, landing with a solid thud as it dug into the earth at the base of the trench beside its motionless operator.
Katie's heart almost stopped. "
SAEMIN!!" she screeched, falling forwards and stumbling down the stairs, shaking uncontrollably as she watched a pool of blood grow rapidly beneath his broken form. "
SAEMIN!!"
Almory's voice echoed up towards her above the roar of the battle: "Katalina, he's gone! Put it aside for now! I need your skills! We
need that mag deflector running!"
"He's
NOT gone!!" Katie screamed, tears pouring down her face. "Captain, he needs me!"
"Katalina, get that mag deflector jumpstarted,
now!"
The young woman fell to her knees, sobbing loudly. "But Saemin!! ...Trebor, help him!!"
There was no response.
"Trebor,
HELP HIM!!" Katie screamed helplessly, almost choking on her cries.
Lieutenant Almory rushed up the stairs, two at a time, and got to her knees by the trembling girl's side, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking into her eyes. "Katie," she said quietly, "I need your help. We
all need your help. Do you understand?"
Katie sniveled, nodding and wiping clumsily at her eyes. A napalm shell exploded ten feet to her right, spewing flaming, caustic jelly into the air like a geyser, sticking in little fiery specks wherever it happened to land, spilling down the walls of the trench in little rivulets. As she turned to look, the lieutenant put a hand to her cheek and pulled her gaze back to her own eyes.
"Katie," she said urgently, "We're soldiers. We have a job to do, and we can grieve for him later. Right now, we
need your skill with electronics. Just get that deflector running, and keep it safe, all right?"
The girl nodded again, gradually beginning to quiet down, though she still shook with silent tears.
"Good girl," Almory said, helping her to her feet. "Now go."
Shaking, Katie ran down through the darkened corridor, entering a door near the end under Almory's watchful eye. She herself was stricken by Saemin's death... but she pushed it from her mind. After all... she had to protect the lives of her soldiers.
Behind her, Strohe screamed as a projectile ripped open his arm, gushing blood from the mutilated tissue. Almory watched him fall from his perch; she saw him land twenty feet below with a sickening thud.
While her attention was elsewhere, she had no way of avoiding the shell that exploded by her head.
~~~
Vanya's handwriting continues. I was only several hundred feet away from the crest of the hill. It felt like I was creeping forwards; it felt like I was hardly making any progress at all, with how slow I was going. I hated it then, but I kind of preferred it over what happened next.
On reaching the edge of the line of tents, I found to my dismay that there wasn't any cover between the megaportal and myself. Still... I didn't really have a choice. Though terrified, I swallowed my fears and rushed forwards, trying to gain as much ground as I could before the soldiers at the top noticed me.
It wasn't long before they did. "Name, rank!" a soldier called, shining a bright light in my direction.
I ignored them, continuing my run up the hillside and hoping the 'Ballpoint gray' disguise would hold for a little while longer. I was already halfway there.
"State your name and rank!" came the call again. "Halt!
Halt!" Then, more urgently, "Halt, or we shoot!"
I heard the sounds of guns cocking to fire, felt a burst of adrenaline rush through my veins as I raised my hands, holding them in front of my head like I'd practiced. "
Armok, vendi scild!" I shouted. "Armok, help me!"
Light erupted from my fingertips, forming a domed shield in front of me as I ran, rippling as with blood. It wasn't a moment too soon: shots rang out above, the rapid rat-a-tat of machine guns. Hundreds of little sparks lit up the air in front of me as the entire squad began to fire, their bullets curving away as they pierced my spell, leaving bright red trails in their wake.
My heart leapt into my throat as I heard someone shooting at me from close by.
~~~
Several blue sheets of paper are inserted here. The blast threw Lieutenant Almory forwards, shrapnel shredding the back of her suit and leaving gashes across the backs of her legs, blood running dark against the metal. She landed in a painful heap on the ledge of the second floor, still moving, and tumbled farther, falling to the bottom of the trench beside the railcannon's remains.
"Sis!" Trebor yelled, running from the far end. "Sis!" A blast shook the earth; several tons of dirt cascaded downwards towards his head. Trebor threw himself forwards onto his stomach, scrambling away as the trench began to cave in on itself.
"Trebor!" Hawkins yelled from the railcannon's ladder. "Get over here, she's bleeding!
Mon rithma,
mon rithma arinibid!" he swore, panicking. "Trebor,
hurry!"
"I have medical training!" Reudh called, rushing for the stairs. "I can help!"
Jonah soon joined him, yelling, "We have to fall back! They're almost to us now! The tunnels worked wonders when they caved in, but they're rolling the rest of their tanks across their destroyed units and makeshift bridges!"
Tedaz fired several more shots and leapt down, too, not wanting them to leave him behind.
"I'm all right!" Almory cried out, trying to force herself upright. Her back and legs screamed with pain, but she did her best to ignore it. Looking down the trench, she could see Trebor jogging awkwardly towards her, toting his medical chest at his side.
There was a yell from above. Almory watched sluggishly as a timed motion-sensor grenade bounced to the ground, rolling to a stop ten feet away. Still stunned from her fall, she couldn't even collect the energy to shout, as in the dim corners of her mind, she knew it was the end.
"
No!"
A figure hurled itself from the wall of the trench, throwing itself onto the grenade. As Almory's eyes focused, she recognized the figure. "Hawk, NO!!" she shouted desperately. "Hawk, run!!"
The blond-haired dwarf only shook his head and set his jaw, a stalwart expression on his face as he looked across the ground at his lieutenant. "You know I love you," he mouthed, tears in his eyes.
She didn't have the time to respond.
The explosion shook the walls, gore splattering on her visor.
"
HAWK!!" she screamed, unwilling to accept his bitter fate. Tears clouding her vision, she raised her head to the sky, letting out an unintelligible scream of fury and heartbreak.
"Sis, are you okay?" Trebor called, stopping as he saw the gruesome scene. There was almost nothing left of the dwarf. As he stood, dumbfounded in shock, Jonah pushed him aside, rushing past. Above their heads, shells began to turn away with loud hums as the mag deflector activated.
"
I'll KILL them!!" Almory screamed, panting with rage. "
I'll kill them ALL!!" She charged towards the stairs.
Jonah grabbed her arm, holding her back. "Captain, calm down!" he shouted, wrapping his arms around her and struggling as she tried to twist away. "Honor his memory! Stay and fight! Leaving is suicide!!"
But Almory hardly heard him, giving him a shove and jetting into the sky. Within seconds, she was out of sight over the edge of the trench.
Jonah watched after her, shaking his head. "My gods," he whispered. Reudh and Tedaz arrived, walking up behind Trebor.
"We can't just leave her out there!" the doctor said as Tedaz pushed past. "We have to get her back!"
Swallowing back his misgivings, Jonah nodded. "I know..." the dwarf agreed quietly. "She's turned off her radio... I'll have to go after her."
"Your armor won't take much!" Trebor warned. "It's not as thick as Almory's."
Sighing, Jonah looked up towards the sky, offering a silent prayer. "I know, Trebor," he said softly.
"Where has Strohe gone?" Reudh asked suddenly, looking around. "Strohe!" he called out.
"Reudh, he's here!" Tedaz had stepped around the fallen railcannon parts, and was waving his arm. "He's wounded, we need a doctor!"
Jonah took a deep breath and started giving out orders. "Trebor, take Strohe to the infirmary. Tedaz, you cover him. Reudh, figure out what's keeping Katie and get her down to the infirmary, too."
"That's it?" Trebor asked, discouraged. "That's the whole plan?"
"It's all we can do," Jonah replied, nodding sadly.
"All right, let's move!" Tedaz shouted, taking control of the situation. "Hurry!"
~~~
Vanya's handwriting continues. As I rushed towards the megaportal, the squad above firing into my pulsating shield, I heard gunshots ring out from behind. In a terrified panic, I watched in astonishment as first one, and then another Ballpoint soldier fell, shuddering as bullets ripped through their armor.
"John?!" I cried out, not daring to look behind. "You came back?"
"I had to!" he shouted from behind my shoulder, firing more shots through my shield. "Just do your job! Leave the fighting to me!"
Together we made the final hundred feet at a sprint. As we neared the summit, John clashed with their troops in melee, knocking his gun across one's head, firing shots at another whose face erupted in a spray of reddish mist as he crumpled to the ground.
I stood atop the hill. Everything was black but for the muzzle flashes below; the thunder of a thousand guns echoed in my ears... it was mesmerizing.
The battle stretched out before me, incredible masses of troops pouring down the Parasol side like a tidal wave, threatening to sweep away everything in its path. They were almost to the trench, and though I felt nothing could stop them now, I prayed my friends would be all right. I saw tanks spraying jets of liquid fire, arching through the air and spilling into the trench; I saw portions of the Parasol encampment collapse, so far away; I saw its lights flicker and go dark.
"
Get that portal open!" John yelled urgently, ducking as a soldier swung an electric mace above his head, rolling away from a spinning blade, firing shots into their chests. On the hillside below, the nearest soldiers turned and began starting back towards us.
Wrenching my gaze away from the battle below, I lowered my hands, and the shield disappeared. Pulling out the drive Almory had given me, I rushed to the portal controls - a gigantic console on a steel platform - and searched frantically for the correct slot. Finally, I found it, pushing the little drive in until it clicked.
Nothing happened.
It was then that I realized that the drive by itself likely wouldn't work... pieces of the console had been taken off, the wires within rigged to various pieces of machinery as Ballpoint had tried to force the portal open.
Behind me, I heard a yell. I spun, seeing John clutching at his chest as he gunned down another soldier.
"John!" I shouted, starting to rush towards him.
He glanced at me, grimacing and clenching his teeth in pain. "Get that portal open, stupid!" he hissed. "I'm doing my job; you do yours!"
Shaken, I turned back towards the portal controls, hoping I could undo whatever Ballpoint had changed.
I'd always wondered how it felt to be on the battlefield... but there is no glory. There is only chaos, and death. I no longer felt that everything would be all right. It was a dead girl that stood atop the hill that night, desperately tracing circuits with her fingertips, rewiring the ancient equipment in an attempt to save the ones she cared about.
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Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2279584 times)