(Links to previous chapters in comments). One after another the lookouts exploded under concentrated fire from the Fallen. It was the first sign of an attack against them and it crippled them. As people scrambled to defend themselves, the aliens surged forward without concern of the heavy weapons that now smouldered in burning placements. Smashing aside and sweeping over the forward guard posts to storm the buildings, Dregs and Vandals leapt into the interior corridors and the slaughter began. Mattaus ran as fast as he could from his room as men, women and children screamed and died by the dozens. [i]I told them![/i] He cursed silently. [i]I told them this would happen![/i] A massive explosion rocked the building he was in and sent him tumbling into a wall. [i]Damn Hausen! I should have been on lookout![/i] The older man and patrol shift leader had taken Mattaus off duty for venturing too far from the settlement whilst on watch earlier that day. Despite arguing with him, Mattaus had walked away and settled back in his room. He had allowed this to happen. [i]'Neglecting my duty!' Idiot! I knew I had seen something![/i] Picking himself up, Mattaus ran for the nearest doorway and the sounds of the fighting and the dying. [i]Not again. Not going to sit back and let this happen again. Not...[/i] [i]" ...responding. I'm not sure she can be stabilized...so much blood plus the dehydration, it's not..." "She is everything. EVERYTHING! You have to..."[/i] "... get to the other side and support Samson. The Fallen are pushing hard..." Mattaus shook his head at Hausen and breathed through clenched teeth. [i]Idiot![/i] "Hausen, we need to break the..." "DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME MATTAUS!" Hausen's face was red with rage, veins pulsing on his brow as he shouted at the young man. "For once do as you're told and work with us or God help me I will shoot you myself! Get to Samson and help him and GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Mattaus opened his mouth to argue, but Hausen had already turned aside. Men and women were rushing to him as he walked and taking his direction without hesitation, immediately heading to different locations on his word. "Who put him in charge?" Mattaus growled as he watched. "We did". Mattaus started at the nearness of the voice. Turning, he found a middle aged woman with dirt-matted hair and a bloody cut on her face staring at him as she reloaded a battered shotgun. "We did", she repeated, "when The General was killed in the first strike on the lookouts, when The Council was slaughtered in the first bombardment; and when everyone else supposed to be leading us was running around arguing with each other". She pointed at the now jogging figure. "We did when that man talked more sense than anyone else and when what he said worked". She rolled her neck. "Now shut up kid and do as he says. Maybe we might..." [i]"...have seen us? They've kept away from here until now. Do you think they saw us get them? Saw where we came from? We shouldn't have rescued them, its put us in danger. Do you think they..."[/i] "...are still coming! There are too many of them! We have to get out of here! There is no way we can hold! We..." "...have to get away!" Mattaus jerked as he screamed and immediately cried out as pain lanced throughout his body. He clutched his head in his hands and willed the agony away, panting with the effort. As he did, he stared through the gaps between his fingers trying to find the Fallen that were bursting through the defences. White, cracked plastered walls met his eyes. His heart pounded as the sights and sounds of howling Fallen remained. Slowly, every so slowly, the pain abated and he managed to push the images of memory to the past and realise the now. The walls had simple, faded framed images upon them but were otherwise bare. There were no windows. A single open doorway led out of the room revealing a short corridor of similar fixtures ending in a closed wooden door. As he took all of this in, Mattaus realised that he was on a small bed raised from the ground to approximately waist level with rough beige sheets covering his lower body. His old clothes were gone and he was wearing just an off-white over-sized bed-shirt. A tube was also sticking in his arm. He reached for it. "Not a good idea". The man that spoke was standing in the corner of the room. He was bald, gaunt with prominent cheekbones, dark shadows under hazel eyes and wearing similarly off-white over-sized clothing and dark pants. A thin metal band encircled his head just above his eyebrows and wires ran into his ears. "You are extremely dehydrated. That tube - and a number of other things - has been keeping you alive the past couple of days". "Couple of days?" Mattaus croaked. His voice was weak and rasping. He felt light headed as he spoke as if the effort were draining his strength. The man nodded slightly and as he did, small lights lit in the metal headband and a blue shimmering haze appeared in front of his face. Mattaus could just make out words and what appeared to be the shape of a body in the light. "Day and night really. All of you were in a bad way. You are recovering well though. Should be better in a few hours". Mattaus opened his mouth to speak but suddenly the room span. "Easy", the man cautioned. "You've lost a lot of..." "...people back there. We have to go back!" He agreed with Samson and besides, he needed to fight. The constant hiding and lack of action since their escape was gnawing away at him. He needed to do something, take back some measure of control. He had done everything he could, but it still had not been enough. Again. Every time he had not been there, been ready, people had died. [i]Never again,[/i] Mattaus vowed. [i]I will always be ready. I will never allow myself to relax.[/i] "There is no one back there, you know that". Hausen's voice was flat, the statement simply and firmly made. "Others may have escaped, but I doubt it". He looked around at each of them. "You saw how many there were. They came to slaughter us. Pure and simple. We are all that is left". Samson shook his shaved head. "I'm going back". He stared at Hausen challenging him to disagree. The other man shrugged his shoulders. "I can't stop you. You know we have a better chance together, you know heading back into an undoubtably occupied area is suicide". He shrugged again. "You do what you have to do". "Come with me", Samson said. Hausen shook his head. "We are moving on, not back". "We?" "Mirim and me and whoever else wants". Mattaus looked at both men. He ached to go with Samson and get back into the fight, his hands trembled with the urge, but Hausen was right. There had been too many of them, a wave of screeching murderers killing everyone standing before them. He wanted to fight, but he did not want to die. "I'll go with you". Both Samson and Hausen looked at Mattaus who nodded at Hausen. "I'll go with you". Hausen's face hardened. "You can go with Samson". "Like you said, we have a better chance together". "I need people I can count on, not someone who will run off at the first chance of a fight". "That's not what happened. If you had listened to me instead of..." "You left your post once, how do I know that..." "Dad". Both men stopped and looked at the young woman who had spoken. Blood matted her dark hair and her clothes were thick with the dust and grime of their flight. Dark lines ran from her red eyes where she had been crying. She walked up to Hausen and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need everyone Dad". "Mirim, I need to be able to trust everyone. If we are going to survive everyone needs to be able to lean on each other". He glanced at Mattaus. "He just thinks about himself. I can't count on him". Mirim looked at Mattaus. "Can we count on you?"