Young Writers Society

Word count for the whole chapter: 6.511

Alice

At the end of the tunnel, they reached a wall where all of the bullets she had fired ended up rammed into. After all the bodies they went through, bullets were thin like needles, but clear, without a single drop of blood on them.

Shael took the other road alone only moments before it happened, and it was only her, Daston and Dan remaining together.

That’s when their walk turned into an open brawl. That lone soldier who first appeared before them yelled to freeze, before her sniper blew his torso apart. He was not older than she was. The kid with his whole life before him, manipulated by the government of the state. What was this world they lived in?

For a moment, she felt like a complete bad guy, ruining peace and killing innocent people. But she trusted Shael with all of her hearth. Something wicked was going on, behind all the disgusting things she already knew, and there was no one else to stop it all. Some men had to fall for the freedom of everyone, for the sake of truth. There is no revolution without blood.

Several more shocked men ran into Daston's bullets. He missed so many of them but fired them so relentlessly that they were all shot down.

None of them was ever in a real battle. So why am I different from them?

They were pressed. She started using normal bullets, equally deadly on shorter distances. Actually, she was really good with using sniper at short distance combat which was unusual and for most of people, unexpected. They fought their way to the large room with dozens of smaller rooms around, and they were taking cover in one of them. Soldiers blew the door away but they were unable to storm in; now both groups were in a stalemate position.

“There is more than hundred soldiers out there. What do we do?” it was Daston with his cold voice. She was afraid of the calmness this man held. After all he have lived through, this had to be nothing more but a mask. This is a man who made a bloodbath in the middle of the capital one year ago, all alone. He couldn’t be just a normal person.

“We wait”, Dan said. He wasn’t even worried, scribbling something into his notebook, completely focused. “They will throw the gas bomb soon.”

Dan seemed to know every little detail about the plan. Why was she spared of such knowledge? She was more than capable to remember it all. And there was no way Shael would ever think of her giving up information. Then why?

She had heard the hissing of the bomb just in time. Stepping out on the doorway, she blew it back with one precise shot. The soldiers never fired a bullet at her, completely surprised with her action.They are the best of what The State has to offer, but they are stil all kids.Rain of bullets followed through the doorway just as she stepped away, to the safety of the wall.

The smoke would buy them some time. They had to reach the main complex soon.

“Time for the grenade, Ali”, Dan said, lost in thoughts.Ali? I will make you eat the grenade!Nevertheless she kept her cool. She is Shael’s elite solder. She could do anything. The grenade slowly rolled on the ground, into the smoke. As soon as the blast happened, Dan ran to the other corner of the room.

The grenade was there only to blind the soldier’s heat sensors. They were armed good enough to survive usual blasts, but this one didn’t blast to kill, it was there to warm them up.

Dan revealed a small passage in the wall. “Move”, he ordered. Daston went in first with her following, and Dan sealing the place where they entered.I wonder how Shael discovered this passage.It was only matter of time before the soldiers have found their escape route. It’s not that it mattered, at all, anyway.

They climbed the ladder down for a few minutes. They must have gone deep down, more than hundred meters. She finally saw Daston in front of her, jumping down. They will make their entrance on top of one of the giant pipes leading out of the fort. The ladders stopped three meters above the ground, so she had to jump too.

Soon they all followed the giant pipe. Electrical installations were all over the place as well as many other, smaller pipes. It was quite a sinister place to be.Not considering that we are inside the Mountain. Damn.

“Don’t be afraid, darlin’ ”, Daston said not even turning back; it reminded her of Shael.

“I’m just wandering what is he doing now”, she said, but she was also scared to death. She had never thought for a second it could happen; her being scared again, after all she had been through.

“It’s none of our concern”, Dan joined their conversation, annoyed.

I will kill you.But before she came to imagine a scene of Dan dying most painful deaths, he continued:”But don’t worry, Hashi and Fade have made enough noise so far. They won’t be too concerned about us, or Shael, if they ever notice him.”

She absolutely hated Dan for having all these information. Wasn’t she Shael’s soldier? “Just what exactly are they doing”, angrily she brushed off.

“Well, considering these two are the army themselves, they had probably already broken all of the outer defenses with ease.”

She was surprised. What she had done so far was wipe off a platoon before the poor kids even knew what was going on, and then got stuck surrounded. Considering the Fort’s outer layout, there were four more defendable stages on this side. There was no way she could clear them all alone. Just what were these two men?

“Don’t be so concerned, Alice”, he continued, “we are not the main force, but we will certainly have equally important job done.”

She didn’t realize she was pouting.Guess I didn’t expect the company to be so skilled. Everyone is really good at what they are supposed to do. Why did I think it was just me?

Soon they are stepping into the unknown. The truth is, Shael have only had plans of this layer of the Fort, backside outer defenses. Actually, she was rather impressed by the Fort defenses so far. There was no way for a human being to enter this place without the permission. It was only that the Shael was something more than a human that allowed them to do what they are trying to.

They wouldn’t survive if they are constantly in combat. Yes, they escaped for now, but the soldiers have certainly already found their escape route, and have blocked all the possible exits. She will have to fight few more times before they reach the checkpoint. It was all going exactly according to the plan;plan which was bound to fail.

“Daston, you are bleeding!” she had almost yelled in surprise. His rather pale, almost healed scars across the face were slowly bleeding now. Few moments ago they were barely noticeable, so how could the wounds open now?

“Yes…” his voice was tired as he replied. But he haven't changed his pace, or showed any signs of exhaustion. “Don’t you worry about me, this is not significant. Just follow the plan.”

Dan didn’t even seem to have noticed their conversation. He was still lost in thoughts, checking his notebook from time to time. Being the only one who was certain they will fail, she couldn’t guess why have he even come with them.He will betray us. I better make sure it won’t happen. That might be the exact reason why are we certain to fail. Well, Danny-boy, I’ve got bad news for you.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked her, completely serious.

“It’s none of your concern”, she replied, satisfied.

“We are not in position to smile, or get lost in thoughts. Concentrate, Ali”, he scolded her, acting like a father before naughty kid.

Shael, I’m afraid you didn’t train me well enough. I will kill him.

“We reached the end”, Daston broke the silence. There was wall before them, and a ladder leading up, through a small opening on the ceiling. The pipe led straight through the wall.

She filled in new round of penetrator bullets. The heat sensor attached to the gun was ready. This heat sensor of hers was just a tiny bit better than the ones soldiers here had; it had two meters range of advantage. And that was essential to the plan. All the soldiers will fall before they even find her.

Moving slowly, barely half a step, she caught pale heat signature above. Daston and Dan stood few meters behind, leaving this job for her alone. They thought they had the ambush ready, but those two meters she had were precious. The bullets flew straight through the wall, towards the soldier. She could see the blood sprinkling around. Instantly, more heat signatures appeared, but she moved few steps behind. If she were to be seen for just a second, they all die. As soon as the red color became pale again, shots followed.

Confused soldiers started shooting the tunnel they were supposed to climb, clueless about where she was. In a matter of seconds, they all fell. Stepping forward, she caught more signatures. They started retreating, but she wouldn’t let any man run. Few more bullets, and none of them remained.

Gun that would fire bullets through the wall. This weapon never ceased to amaze her.

“Clear”, she stated. But it was still on her to do the job. Swiftly, she took different parts of the gun and replaced the ones already attached. The only visible change was the wider barrel. One of the fatter bullets she had around her waist found its way inside. Significantly louder shot blew the wall right in front of them.

Daston ran. His face was still bloody, but his scars were now healed. She hated not knowing all the details. The gramps was something, but she couldn’t figure out what exactly.Could it be… he was the one they experimented upon?

But she had no time to think. They had to be swift now; open combat was out of the question, and it would mean certain failure. The group of three entered the Mountain’s sewers.