"Bound to the wall! Enemy plane, high!" Thompson shouted as the roar of what appeared to be machinegun fire echoed in a distant quadrant within the settlement.
Two explosions kicked up a large pillar of dirt, and embers were spread around the impact zone. "Hurry up! Hurry up! Get out of the kill-zone!" Patterson roared as he saw several members of the Volunteer Corps running for cover.
"Simon, you're covering them, light suppression! Green, get Mike and the princess inside that building!" Thompson directed. "We'll meet back up when the rest are here!"
With the princess withdrawing a small dagger in place of the rifle she once had, she used her left side to help Mike off a nearby wall. Green moved across the street towards the building Thompson pointed out, and with the help of Randall, who had switched to his handgun, the two set up a cross-pie to look within the building. "Breach." With that word said by Sergeant Randall, Green kicked the door opened and moved away from the door as the three looked inside. With their immediate corners clear, the Private First Class took point as he moved in with a shaky finger over the trigger of his rifle. What they entered looked to be a long-abandoned tavern. Scattered wooden cups, bowls, and trays littered the room with a light layer of dust. It was almost as if time had been frozen when the inhabitants left. It was a cold feeling.
Sweeping the rest of the building, the gunshots that came from the unknown plane both echoed throughout the settlement and Lecca's mind. She kept her questions, and her feelings to herself. The reaction the sergeant gave to the unknown aircraft stunned her. It was almost as if he recognized the craft. Her belief in the story of the "Holy Knights" cracked, and a part of her lost faith in the story. She bit her tongue and sharpened her eyes as she corrected herself; after all she was one of the summoners. The line of thought made her want to pound her head against the nearest wall.
"Hey man what are we doing here?" Green said as he took a seat at one of the many empty tables. "This part of the world is fucked up. Another world? Magic? Fucking monsters and a Demon Lord? I'm loosing it man…" He sighed.
Neither Lecca nor Mike responded. The princess wanted to find a way to comfort the young soldier, but she had now words as the silence kept her mind distracted from the outside world. Though explosions and gunfire rang out through the streets, she curled up into a small ball on the floor, her hands covering her ears, and her eyes now remained clamped closed as she tried to make sense of everything.
Calling out from the door they entered through, Patterson slammed the door open as another wave of bullets slammed into a nearby building where a small number of the Corps members attempted to hide. Along with the rest of the squadron, Mr. Que and three other Corps members, including the guild attendant, stepped inside and took cover within the tavern.
Lecca held her over her ears as she heard the muffled voice of PFC Green. "What the hell were those two dead guys, huh? It looked similar to something out of Wolfenstein, like some World War One German Storm Trooper shit."
"Private." Thompson said sternly making the young man quiet.
"Apologies…captain…" He said meekly.
Thompson shook his head as he folded his hands over the rifle sitting in his lap. He watched as the young man took a seat next to Mike and Lecca, his sharpened eyes, and broad appearance was momentarily highlighted in the low amount of light that shed through the semi-destroyed window shutters.
With the tavern they hid in shaking due to the sudden impact of a large explosion not far away, Lecca remained curled up and her body shook. "Hey…" A soft voice came from beside her, the same comforting that she had known the entire time, even before the special reconnaissance mission. Opening her eyes to a light pressure that had appeared on her right shoulder, she looked to the corner of her peripherals, and there, Mike sat with his helmet and goggles still on; he gazed at her with a worried and fear-filled expression.
Her light-brown eyes flashed back to her knees that were tucked against her chest. With hesitation, she slowly removed her hands from her ears. Mike removed his hand as the young woman beside him turned towards him, snaking her arms below her knees, her dirtied-ruined, long white skirt shuffled loosely as she sat in a position of comfort.
She breathed in with shaky, uncontrollable breaths. Lecca did not know why, but tears began to form in her eyes, she was beginning to lose control of herself. "I-I've killed people before…" She said in a breaking voice. The men around the room all looked at her. "W-why am I like this!? I don't, I don't-I've killed h-people…"
"The hell?" Richard said with wide eyes.
Crawling on his knees, Mike closed the gap and grasped Lecca by the shoulders. She had a far away gaze, and her face was a deathly white. Sighing, he took her into his embrace and hugged her loosely as he brushed aside the weapon strapped over his chest. "She has shell-shock." He admitted firmly. "This will take a minute." He said rubbing the silver-hair of the woman in his arms. He let out a violent cough as he set himself against the wall attempting to nurse his broken ribs.
"Anyone hear the plane?" Patterson suddenly said as he gazed out one of the semi-covered windows. Silence enveloped the room, only the sounds of Lecca's crying was heard as the men move towards the exterior of the building.
"No. I don't hear shit." Richard exclaimed moving away from the window he stood at. "You think it bugged out?"
"Only one way to find out." Malkovich said as he approached the door. Before he could place his hands on the wooden door, Captain Thompson grabbed him by his vest and slammed him against the wall.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He said fiercely.
"Sir, we're not going to figure anything out if we stay hidden here."
"So, you just want to get killed, sergeant?"
"No captain. Though I already signed my will."
"Yeah? Well that shit is null and void right now!"
Simon cut over his captain's tirade looking outside the window. "Sir we've got Volunteer Corps members running around. I think it's over."
Cursing to himself Thompson left go of Malkovich. He shared a brief glance at the two on the floor and through it all he could only wish that some weird magical portal would open to allow himself and his men to get back to Earth. Mr. Que and his men stood silently behind the Rangers, each had a look of confusion, with the guild attendant holding fear. Seeing them at the corner of his eyes, the captain sighed as he grabbed hold of his rifle.
"I'll be the first one out there. Everyone else stay inside the building until I give the all clear."
Ignoring his captain, Mike turned back to Lecca. She had calmed down and had collected her emotions. She remained in his tight grasp and had yet to back away. "Thank you…" That was all she could muster as she fought against the urge to keep her arms wrapped around the sergeant. Quietly she withdrew herself, but she failed to remove herself from his arms.
"Area clear! Let's get a move on people!"