ToTS Chapter Six Black Wing Many years ago The hollow sounds of constant gunfire could be heard off in the distant. The only available light source came from the random but constant lighting ripping across the night sky high above. The once parched landscape was now soaked, as the rain from the dark clouds above pelted the dry dirt turning it into a swampy mix of mud and weeds. The wind was howling something fierce. The wind was no better, trees could be seen bending and cracking from the force of galling gust of unrelenting wind. The gunshots were now closer and more frequent than before. All of a sudden five cloaked figures could be seen sprinting around a corner, popping off a few rounds over their shoulders as they continued to run. If it was not for the brief flashes of lightning from above or the light give off by their fired rounds they would have been nearly impossible to see in the pitch black of dead of night. The five figures all looked to be wearing the same color and style of armor, black combat armor. The only truly distinctive figure among the figures was their size to one another. As the group ran there appeared to be three bigger figures and to smaller figures, all firing shots over their shoulders. Not far behind the group was the cause for the fear and worry. What had to be a combination of one-hundred Fallen, Cabal, and Vex could be seen pursuing and taking shots at the fleeing cloaked figures. Blood curdling howls could be heard coming from the oncoming horde. One mistake, one slip up and they would be done for; there was no chance of fighting off this horde if they were to overrun them. They wouldn’t be able to fire off enough shots to keep them at bay before being buried by the group’s numbers. “Captain what is the plan?! We can’t continue to keep running from them, they will be on top of us before long and it will be all over when that happens,” could be heard coming from a female voice, the strain in her voice could be heard as she tried to keep up and talk at the same time “Ashley don’t you think I know that we are in deep right now. Im trying to radio our evac but with this storm I can't get a strong enough signal to our ship. Besides if you have enough energy to talk put that into running and keeping that horde off my ass.” “Ashley you worry too much,” laughed one of the bigger figures. “Just think of this as some over-due target practice, we all know you could use it.” “Chase now is not the time to be making light of the situation, I not sure if you have noticed yet but we have a group of menacing aliens that want to rip us apart. We also do not currently have a way out of here either,” voiced Alice. The group was not yelling at each other all the while still running, “How about all of you just shut it and concentrate all that hate back onto the group that is chasing us. You right now are disgracing what it means to be a member of Black Wing, save the smack talk for when we get back to bar. I don’t know about you but I plan to get out of here alive and in one piece.” The group had gone silent after hearing Richard’s words. There appeared to be a new found spark among the group, they no longer seemed tired and their shots were now finding their marks despite the poor visibility. “Team listen up, we are going to have to wait out this storm, I can’t get a signal through. That means we will have to find a spot to hunker down and fight this horde off until the storm clears up. I have found a suitable spot to make our stand, stay close and watch each other back and we will all make it out of here just fine,” yelled Stark as he lead his team onward. They were going to make it out of here he was sure, he had the plan and he had the team to pull it off. I was going to work, it had to work. “Just a little farther team, we are most there.” The group rounded a corner to see a massive parking lot. The rusting frames of abandoned cars could be seen spread out among the otherwise barren parking lot. At the other end of the parking lot was what appeared to be a courtyard that lead up to some steps that lead even further up to a barely standing building. The surrounding stone pillars and buildings had already completely collapsed making the courtyard the only possible way into the only now standing building left. As the group ran across the empty park-lot Stark started laying out what he want each member to do. “When we get to the courtyard I want Richard at the top of the stairs, Richard your job is to pick off any baddies that get to close to any of us. I will take point at the front of the courtyard. I want Chase and Ashley to my right and left, don’t let any of them flank us. Finally I want Alice at the other end of the court yard right behind me, you are to catch any of the ones happen to slip through either Chase or Ashley’s side. If we all do our jobs we will make it out of here and have one hell of a story to tell when we return to the Last City.” When the group reached the courtyard they all stopped and put their right fist out, touching one another. Together they all chanted as one “Going in alive, coming out the same way” everyone took one final look at each other before separating to do their assigned task. It was now a waiting game, the horde would soon arrive and they would have the fight of their lives on their hands. This was the best possible location and strategy for the kind of enemy they were facing. By having to run across a nearly empty parking lot it left the enemy open to constant fire from the defending group with little to no cover. For those who made it past the wall of gunfire it still was not over. Numbers mean nothing in an enclosed pace, having to funnel into a closed off courtyard meant they could only come from one direction making. Stark and his group were not in place and ready to go, all that was left now was to fight until the storm cleared up so that they could call in their evac or kill every last enemy. Stark looked to the sky and did not like what he saw; the storm did not seem to be letting up one bit. It was still down pouring, him and everyone on his team had to be soaked to the bone by now. The wind only made it worse; the chilly wind was going to sap any remaining body heat right off of them. Not being able to see anything due to the heavy rain Stark radioed up to Richard “Richard its impossible for me to see anything from where I am, take a look through your scope and tell me if you see anything.” No more than a few moments went by until everyone could hear Richard yelling “Hear they come get ready and give them hell!” This was it; it was either do or die. The fire fight that was happening was something you only heard about in fairy tales, a group of skilled warriors going up against a mighty horde of monster, fighting for their very lives. The battle raged on for hours. The waves of Fallen, Cabal, and Vex seemed to be never ending, when one fell two more would take it place. The battle ground was a mixing pot of sights and sounds. The stench of blood and gore was thick in the air as dead and dying Cabal and Fallen screamed in rage and agony before falling and littering the parking lot and courtyard. There were also the occasional burning robotic bodies of a recently destroyed Vex. The night was no longer pitch black, the firestorm of bullets lit up the battle field in a spectacle of different colors and hues. Chips of cement and mud could be seen flying everywhere as bullets flew through the air only to miss their targets by mere seconds. All was going well; the plan seemed to be working. The horde was having a hard time getting into the courtyard, most would only get a few steps in before being riddled with bullets. This made it even harder for those behind because they now had to step over or climb over the increasing wall of bodies. Stark could hear the yells of his team mates calling out numbers. His team had made a game out of who could kill the most targets in an encounter, the winner got a free meal at the bar and the loser had to buy everyone a round of shots. “Seventeen Ashley, I hope I'm not beating your ass to bad,” yelled Chase as he took cover from some incoming fire. “Damn, I've only got twenty, sorry to disappoint you Chase” Laughter could be heard coming from everyone in the group as they hid from the ensuing gunfire. Wanting to put the attention onto someone else Chase went on to ask Alice the same, “Alice your quiet over there, I hope it’s because you’re concentrating and not because you have no kills yet.” “As for a matter of fact Chase I have….” Just then blood could be seen shooting out of her chest in a red mist, Alice with a look of shock on her face hit the ground with a thud. A Fallen stood not far away in the shadows with its arms now raised victory. “Alice!” screamed Ashley as she ran to her downed teammate. Richard, Chase, and Stark made short work of the Fallen that had some how snuck through unseen, downing it before it had a chance to fire off another shot. While running over to where Alice had fallen Stark yelled orders over at Chase, “Chase fall back with me, we need to protect Alice while Ashley tends to her wounds.” “Alice stay with me, come one Alice speak to me, you need to stay awake,” pleaded Ashley as she began to work on her. Alice was not responding as was losing massive amounts of blood. “Captain we need to get out of here now and some place safer, I can’t work on Alice properly in this condition,” voiced Ashley with the sound and look of dread as she feverishly attempted to stop the oozing wound in Alice’s chest. “Richard I need some heavy covering fire now, we are falling back into the building!” Not long after two fireballs of fire could be seen and heard roaring over their heads and into the ever closing horde. The two fireballs were then closely followed by to massive booms.