Chereads / District 42 / Chapter 14 - Breaking into the Complex

Chapter 14 - Breaking into the Complex

Casper and Sionnach finally had arrived at the complex that kept the energy tower. Both of them were ecstatic since everything went as smoothly as possible. After several hours of continuous suffering and pain, followed by misery and exhaustion, they finally could do something with 100% of success. It was barely unbelievable.

They had circled the complex since its front was being guarded for about eight Frelsi and a bunch of more common citizens.

Some Ridire were exchanging shots with them, but the fight seemed to be completely stuck at that point.

On the back of the construction, more battles were happening. It seemed that that side of the complex was more dangerous than the front.

Three more experienced Ridire were taking control of half of the battlefield, shooting and swinging their battle-axes, wiping their enemies in a matter of seconds.

On the other hand, two Frelsi armed with old-looking weapons and some humble devices were doing the same.

"How can those guys use their devices?"

"They aren't using the moderns ones. The Frelsi don't like to take advantage of the Energy and technology offered by the government. Instead, they make their own devices, based in different types of electricity."

"What the hell those Frelsi guys really want? Who they are exactly, Nach!?" Casper was getting impatient because of the lack of information. He was risking his life in a situation he could not understand completely and it frustrated him a lot.

"No time for explanations, Casper! We need to make it into there somehow! Immediately. We still aren't in a position where we can simply get into a fight, and there are enemies on both sides."

She was entirely right. They were in the west wing walls of the complex. In the two gates, south and north, huge battles were happening to decide who would completely dominate that place.

Each second that passed, a bunch of lives was being plucked and more blood was spilled.

Casper needed to brush it off and try to think of a solution for that situation before someone finds them out and their lives were put at risk.

"Casper lay down!"

The soldier promptly obeyed and threw himself to the ground.

Suddenly, big rocks started to fall from the sky, crashing the ground like meteors.

Casper felt everything trembling around him, a rock barely managed to fall onto his legs.

"It was a device!?" He yelled, calling Sionnach.

"Yes! It was! And a powerful one!"

The rocks stopped falling. A bunch of craters could be seen on the ground. The battlefield of the north gate was now filled with smashed corpses and rocks.

Suddenly, more Ridire appeared roaring while attacking fiercely and crashing on the barrier made by the citizens and Frelsi.

Now, the north gate's battle was even more intense than the south's.

Apparently, the Ridire stole a device from the Frelsi and used it as a surprising element to make an opening to attack.

Some of their men get caught in the powerful effect of the device (which seemed capable to levitate objects) but they were willing to pay the price for the victory.

"Casper!" Nach crouched next to him. "I… I don't know what to d…" Before she could finish a blinding light filled their vision.

Casper felt his eyelids burning with such intensity and he closed his eyes as fast as he could.

Fortunately, he got blinded for just some seconds, but the same could not be said about the people on the south gate.

A powerful flashbang was thrown over there, and soon enough more Frelsi appeared as reinforcements.

The more Casper and Nach kept on the same local, the more horrendous the battle became.

The number of people with different weapons and devices was increasing, which made the battlefield get filled with unpredictable and varied attacks.

"That's enough for me! We will break into this freaking complex now!" Casper yelled, standing up. Sionnach, supported by him, did the same.

"But… What do we do?"

Casper's mind entered in a deep train of thought, he looked to the sides, wondering what to do.

The frustrating feeling of impotence and indecision grew in his heart, making him get even more stressed.

Casper scratched his neck in anger, wandering about in circles. His blood boiled in a crazy rush through his body. Even the weather could not help him to cool down himself.

Sionnach looked to him with concern. She seemed agitated and was lost in what to do. The more she thought about it, the more impossible it seemed to be.

It was simply impossible to climb up the complex walls, particularly because they would be easy targets while climbing such an extensive obstacle.

She held the photo that was in her pocket, right on her chest, her hands shaking like crazy. She started to pray to Odin and call her Brother's name in her mind.

Seeing that she was on the verge of sink completely in desperation, Casper got even more agitated.

"What the hell is this!? You are kidding, right? It can't be impossible to accomplish it, can it!?

"Use your freaking mind, man! Use your god damn IQ to something, right now! Think about this situation!"

Casper looked to the south gate: the battle was spreading towards the east, the opposite direction that Casper and Sionnach were.

Looking then to the north gate, the battle was spreading to the west. They were going to make all the complex surroundings a battlefield this way… and Casper and Nach would get caught on that fuss.

All of that was happening at a crazy speed.

Casper was about to say something to Nach, but an energy ray nearly stroke his right arm. Someone that was with a modified Sniper had shot on him.

"Damn you! And damn this freaking wall!" He screamed in his mind, getting close to the wall.

"W-what will you do!?" Sionnach grabbed his shirt.

"I will climb it!" He yelled. Then, suddenly, something came to his mind. "Wait, climb?"

He remembered when he needed to do parkour in the city buildings; at some point, he climbed a huge reservatory.

"Wait, Nach, do you know where is the reservatory of this region?"

"That reservatory?" She pointed to the outstanding big steel cylinder about two kilometers in front of them.

"What does it have inside?"

"Old water, since it has been out of use for a long time."

Casper analyzed the situation, organizing all the steps he had to accomplish to make his plan work perfectly.

"Nach… Can you wait a bit, and get out of the west walls?"

"Yes!" She had no option instead to trust him.

"I will be right back! And do something do get all the Ridire out of the battlefield!",

Casper started to run for it at a speed that he himself thought that was amazing for someone who was so worn out.

He ran first to the battle happening in the south gate. The soldier heard Nach screaming something, but he ignored it.

Casper was looking to a man in specific. He was a Ridire, but he could not be selective now.

Sneaking behind him, Casper hit his neck with the hunting rifle's butt as hard as he could. The other Ridire and even some citizens aimed towards him, but Casper had already started to run again, leaving his rifle behind.

He was with a determined expression… And a bunch of grenades and other explosives in his hands, running as fast as he could towards the reservatory.

Nach was making her way to go to a building's roof. Casper had said to her to make her comrades retreat. She did not know why, exactly, but that soldier seemed to have a good plan in mind, and she could comprehend what it was.

She ran towards a building very far away from the west wall, entering it and climbing up to the roof.

She, then, activated her mask, sending a signal to the others with it. Even from that distance, she could tell that most of them could receive the electronic signal.

In an exaggerated movement, she launched his hands up and then crossed. A signal that meant to stop the battle and retreat.

Her comrades seemed to get confused. Half of them just ignored and kept attacking, or maybe they did not see the signal. The other half promptly stepped back, running towards her while they tried to retaliate against the enemy's attacks.

"I-it's working… More or less…" She sighed in relief. "But Casper what are you doing there that it's taking so long…?"

Suddenly, a bunch of huge explosions could be heard.

With her heart beating faster than never before, she looked towards the reservatory… That was falling from the platform it was on top of before.

"T-that idiot really did it!? What the hell…"

The cylinder bounced on the ground sometimes, then started to roll. However, it was too heavy, also the path was filled with obstacles and was just slightly reclined.

The reservatory was not able to reach a good speed.

It rolled, accelerating little by little. Soon, it crashed against the wall, making a huge crack on it, but only that.

"It failed… Even this crazy plan… Failed completely…"

All the Ridire that could retreat from the fight were gathered around the building that Nach was on top of. They realized what was the plan, and that it had not worked.

Everyone looked to that reservatory with their expectations decreasing, their morale lower than ever before.

Casper appeared walking on a near street.

"Casper!" Sionnach yelled, calling him.

Casper looked at her and gave a thumbs up.

The reservatory steel body started to expand more and more, in a grotesque way.

Even the Frelsi down there looked at it dumbfounded.

Then, Nach realized what Casper just did.

"Holy shi…" She murmured, then remembered to say something more important. "Attention, Ridire! Lay on the ground, now!"

As soon as everyone did it, the reservatory cracked, a strong jet of water was coming out of it…

"When alternative A, B, or C seem to not work out…" Casper thought, covering his ears. "Choose the one that's not listed…"

Suddenly, the reservatory exploded; pressurized water was flying everywhere, with enough power to cut someone's body in half. Pieces of steel were launched in all directions as well.

And, most important, a huge hole appeared on the east wall of the complex.

"Now! Go for it!" Casper yelled, running towards the new entrance.

With a war cry, all the Ridire stood up from the ground and followed him into the complex.