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E/d note: I want to say thanks to Luke tier holders "Rc1c" – appearing as Captain Chase, "Viswa Venkat Mounish Vadlapudi" – appearing as Staff Seargent Mounish, "Randall Cook" – appearing as Seargent Randall, and "Excaliber" – appearing as Seargent Cal. Keep a look out for their appearances in this chapter! Once again, this chapter will focus MAINLY on the everyday soldiers on the ground during this Original Arc. (word count not affected)
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 2,081)
~ A few moments earlier, with Chase ~
Captain Chase was currently leading his Military Convoy, a formation of armoured vehicles and troops, toward the combat zone. The air was filled with tension as Chase scanned the area ahead through his binoculars. The resounding roars of the creatures reverberated in the distance, signalling the threats ahead.
"Alright boys, listen up!" Chase commanded, "Staff Seargent Mounish, you take your squad and guard the rear. Make sure none of these hostiles sneak up through the back door. Seargent Randall, your squad's acting vanguard. Scout ahead and signal with flares. The rest of you are with me.
We're about to head straight into the heart of this mess. Make no mistake this is not a simulation, when we get in there, you shoot anything that does not look like it belongs on Earth. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir!" The soldiers responded, a sense of camaraderie spreading throughout.
"Good, eyes up, weapons hot! Aim for the weak spots as briefed." Chase ordered as the convoy echoed with the sounds of weapons being readied.
The convoy advanced slowly, the soldiers' eyes darting to every shadow, every movement. Suddenly, a creature lunged from the side alley, crashing into the front vehicle with a bone-chilling screech.
"Contact front! Fire at will!" Captain Chase shouted as the soldiers opened fire, the sound of gunfire erupting from the convoy.
Without warning, the creatures swarmed from all directions ahead of them, their grotesque forms appearing from every corner. The soldiers fired relentlessly, their bullets tearing through the creatures. But for every Messenger that fell, two more took its place. The street became a chaotic battleground, with the creatures' inhumane roars mixing with the screams of the dying soldiers.
"Seargent Cal, get your team up that building! We need a vantage point!" Chase ordered, his eyes and weapon never leaving the battlefield.
"Yes, sir!" Seargent Cal responded, rallying his men.
Seargent Randall was one of the few remaining from his squad, which had been nearly wiped out due to the sudden appearance of the small horde. Finding himself face to face with a Messenger, Randall's expression was grim as he dodged a swipe by the creature.
Randall found himself laying on his back after dodging while he emptied his clip into the creature's neck, hoping it would take out the eye. The creature fell, but another was already upon him. A scream tore from his throat as he was dragged into an alleyway, his last view was of his remaining squad members about to be jumped on by more of the creatures.
"Shit! Fall back to the convoy!" Chase yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the chaos of the battle.
Seeing that the vanguard had been all but wiped out, the convoy's gunners indiscriminately unleased a hail of bullets from the mounted machine guns, mowing down the creatures that approached. Despite this, the creatures advance did not seem to slow down. One of the messengers leapt onto one of the light utility vehicles, its claws tearing through the soldier that mounted the 50 cal.
A nearby soldier fired his grenade launcher onto the vehicle, hoping to kill the small group of creatures now tearing apart the soldiers within, which caused a massive explosion. During this momentary daze, more of the soldiers fell to the creatures as the creatures were the only ones not too affected by the explosion.
"Sir, we're getting overwhelmed! We need to pull back!" Mounish shouted over the comms.
"Negative! Hold your ground, Marines! Civilians lay beyond our line! We are not letting a single one of these bastards even if it costs us our lives!" Captain Chase replied, igniting a fire within the rest of the soldiers as the weight of their battle began setting in. If they had failed to hold their line, civilians would become the next target.
The convoy's position was becoming increasingly precarious. The creatures, as if sensing the weakening defences, grew bolder, their attacks filled with more ferocity. The soldiers fired with renewed determination, aiming for the creatures' eyes and necks, but the sheer number of enemies was staggering.
A group of Messengers breached the defensive line, forcing their way closer into the heart of the convoy. Seargent Martinez and his squad found themselves surrounded, their ammunition running low. Martinez swung his shotgun like a club, bashing into the skull of a Messenger that got too close.
"HOLD THE LINE! DON'T LET THEM THROUGH!" Martinez shouted, his voice hoarse as he reloaded his weapon. The rest of his squad was fighting in close quarters desperately, their backs against a burning vehicle. Martinez's shotgun blasted at the creatures, but they kept coming.
"MARTINEZ, ON YOUR SIX!" Cal's voice boomed into the comms as he and his team successfully got onto the rooftop of a nearby building. As Martinez was distracted, a creature had found its way behind him and dragged him down, his screams cut short as the creatures tore into him.
Seeing more of his men getting killed at the frontline, Captain Chase made the desperate call to regroup, "All units, fall back to the secondary line! Seargent Cal, provide cover fire! Seargent Mounish, ready your men for combat, we MUST hold that line!"
The soldiers began a fighting retreat, covering each other as they moved back to a more defensible position. The military vehicles provided temporary cover, but the creatures were relentless. The battle had been going on for more than 10 minutes, yet their numbers did not seem to diminish by much, whereas the soldiers were already down to half their initial size.
As they retreated, the creatures intensified their assault, but the soldiers resolve held firm. Battered and exhausted, their commanders voice rang out like a beacon of hope in the darkness, "Hold the line! Keep firing!"
Captain Chase knew that there were no reinforcements on the way at the given moment. Most of the other units would have been facing similar situations as his convoy had found themselves in, as the initial intel suggested that there were multiple points of contact with large groups of hostiles. Moreover, whatever available air support had priority positions at the heart of the combat zone, where his convoy was initially headed.
Just as the convoy's defences were about to be completely overrun, a sudden burst of energy erupted from the far end of the street. Explosions echoed in the distance, as the horde suddenly halted their advance and turned around to face the newcomer.
In the moment of reprieve, Chase called out into the comms, wanting to use this time to regroup his force, "All units, take a sitrep! Medics, get the wounded behind the secondary line!" Chase started, "Seargent Cal, report. What do you see?"
Cal, who had the vantage point, took a look through the binoculars towards where the appearance of the sudden newcomer. However, what he saw had utterly and completely shocked him.
"It's. . . Just a person, sir. . ."
Luke had arrived. His presence was like a force of nature, and the tide of battle began to shift immediately. With his recent enhancement abilities, Luke moved with incredible speed, his rifle spitting out bullets that tore through the creatures. His armour did not seem to slow him down, but instead, seemed to augment his abilities in the eyes of Cal.
"Who the hell is that?!" A soldier exclaimed, momentarily distracted by Luke's arrival.
"Captain Chase, looks like I arrived just in time." An unknown voice called out through their comm line.
"Who are you?" Chase asked, unaware of any one man capable of achieving the feat that the armoured individual was currently performing.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is that I was sent to assist you. Though, it's kind of lonely out here, you guys can join in anytime you want." Luke joked, an attempt to lighten the grim atmosphere that surrounded the soldiers. "Don't worry about shooting me, my armour can take the hit. But please, do aim at the creatures and not me."
As Luke spoke, he did not stop his relentless culling of the horde. His arrival brought a wave of hope to the tired soldiers. His movements were a blur as he weaved through the horde, his weapon never missing a shot. The horde that had been overwhelming the convoy had now found themselves on the other end, unable to match Luke's relentless assault.
Staff Seargent Mounish, seeing Luke in action, was inspired. "Let's show these freaks what the Marines are made of! Retreat!"
"Hell!" The soldiers rallied.
With Luke leading the charge, the soldiers began to push forward. The creatures, caught off guard by the sudden counterattack, started to falter. Luke's precise shots took down the most dangerous creatures, while his movements grabbed the attention of the rest of the horde, which were being mopped up by the advancing soldiers.
Finally, as the last of the creatures fell, the battlefield descended into silence. After a few moments, the remaining soldiers let out a hard-fought cry of victory. Chase walked up to Luke as they both shook hands. "Appreciate the help, Mr?"
"I go by Red Hood. You guys put up one hell of a fight." Luke complimented.
Chase brushed off the comment as he pointed out, "Please, you made it look like it was a walk on a Sunday morning with how you easily dispatched these creatures."
"Hahaha," Luke laughed, "I'm an outlier, Captain. They don't make soldiers like me these days."
In the aftermath of their recent battle, the convoy regrouped and counted their losses. Bodies began to pile up as the soldiers retrieved their fallen brothers from the battlefield.
"How's the situation?" Chase asked, hopeful for any good news from Luke.
"It's bad, you guys weren't the only ones who were about to be overrun. I'm certain that there were squads and teams that I couldn't reach in time. . ." Luke revealed, his hands clenching as the unspoken words hung in the air between them.
"You did the best you could. These men," Chase started as he gestured to the surviving soldiers, "They're alive thanks to you. And I can say the same for those others you managed to reach in time."
Receiving the comforting words from Chase, Luke could only laugh at himself self-deprecatingly. "Thanks for your words, Captain.
But the job's not over. We still need you and the rest of your men where the battle is at it's worst." Luke said in a serious tone. Luke then proceeded to give Chase the updates and routes that he could take to link up with any surviving teams he had helped earlier and bring them to the jewellery store to help Natasha.
As Chase began reorganizing and preparing his convoy to move out, Luke took the time to assess all the battlefield through the use of his abilities. In this state of concentration, Luke felt a presence that seemed to call out to him. 'This presence, who is this? How are my water abilities able to pick up this presence specifically? Wait, no. . .'
Suddenly, Luke took off running immediately without warning, surprising the convoy.
'NO! WHAT ARE THEY DOING THERE?!'
As if decided by fate itself, Luke had been able to pinpoint who the presence was exactly. However, he did not like the answer that he had came to.
- End of Chapter 60 –
BOO! ANOTHER JUMPSCARE CLIFFHANGER! AND THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM IN THIS ARC BABYYY! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Next time in *C61 - [See ending for true title]
April's struggles began to weaken seeing that she could not get out of her situation. As she slumped against Pepper, April whispered with tears streaming down her face, "What if something happens to her. . ."
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