Chapter 17
They Still Have Those??
[Harry]
Harry punched the air
and did his best to resist the urge to yell out a loud “YUP”. The previously
blocked off metal doorway was now riddled with bullet holes and hanging open.
Another escape route. Hoping that the others weren’t too far behind, he ran for
the doors, sliding to a stop in front of them to wait for the others to catch
up to him. Aria slid to a stop in front of him, followed closely by Daisy.
“You’re insane but it
worked,” said Aria, as Kate and Ryan also arrived.
“That’s all we need,”
said Harry, “now be ready to run. The moment I push these doors open, they’re
going to come right towards all the clanging sounds. Aria, give me a hand.”
The two siblings gave
the doors a good shove and the large steel doors crashed to the ground, sending
a slight tremor through the whole room. Loud shrieks filled the air from the
Carpathians that were still alive. They were charging towards them and they
were very, very angry.
Aria took the lead,
running forwards until she finally bumped into something, causing them to all come to a little pileup there. Harry felt around. It was some kind of metal shelf.
“What on Earth is
this place?” asked Daisy.
“If I am not
imagining things, this has to be one of the old storage rooms, and not just any
kind of storage room,” said Kate.
“What do you mean?”
asked Daisy. It was hard to make her expression out in the darkness of this particular room. The little bit of light that came from the previous one was not doing much to provide light here.
Kate grabbed
something off the shelf and inspected it. “If I am not mistaken, this is a
weapons storage room.”
“Oh gosh, if only
they were usable ones. It would be perfect,” said Harry.
“This one looks
pretty usable to me,” said Kate, flicking a switch on the weapon she was
holding. “If I am not mistaken, this is an ALR – 16, this might
just be an old shipment.”
“The last rifle used
by the human military?” asked Harry.
“Exactly,” said Kate, “The final incarnation before the eventual surrender. I believe almost none of these ever saw battle.”
“Do you know how to
use one?” asked Aria, suddenly. Harry took a stop back as he realized the implications of a decision like that. It would make everything very different if there was something they could hit back with. Harry had certainly looked up the controls for one of these back in the museum and he immediately volunteered.
“Of course I do,”
said Harry, feeling along the shelf till his hand hit something hard and metal.
He grabbed the gun off the shelf, and pointed it towards the direction they had
come in. “It something like...” Harry felt around for the charging handle that should be somewhere on the come. Coming up against a slightly rubberized part, Harry assumed that was it and gave
it a good crank.
With a sudden whirr,
the gun roared to life, lights along the barrel flickering to life. Harry looked towards the others, their faces now illuminated in the dim light from the gun. Far away, Harry could also now see that the Carpathians were
attempting some kind of sneak attack.
This was his chance to do something. Not stopping to think, Harry braced the gun against his shoulder
and aimed it as best as he could. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he
squeezed the trigger.
A bright red beam of
light shot out of the gun, heading for whatever was in front of them. There was
a loud shriek and the sound of roasting Carpathian. An acrid smell spread
through the room. Harry exchanged a look with the rest of them. He couldn’t
make out their faces in the blackness but he imagined they were probably equal
parts amazed and horrified like he was.
“Run?” he asked.
“Grab a gun and run,”
said Aria,"How many of you know how to use one? I don't unfortunately.”
"I don't," said Daisy, sounding rather dejected.
"I definitely can," said Ryan, quickly grabbing the nearest one. Kate gave a nod and picked one up herself.
"Well Daisy, you should also grab one, the intimidation factor alone is still worth it," said Aria, "come on. Things are maybe switching in our favor."
There was a few clanging sounds as two more weapons were pulled out of the shelves.
“Alright, follow me,
and stay quiet,” said Aria, “don't charge the guns unless you have to. They know we’re armed and dangerous and they’ve
just lost three of their number. If they get even a tiny hint about where we
are, they’re going to shoot. We just have to keep moving now. Things are escalating quickly.”
Harry nodded. He'd just killed one of the aliens that had worked so hard to keep them locked up and deprived of so many things. Yet he didn't exactly feel good. He didn't know what to feel at the moment and he did the only thing that he could do. He pushed those feelings to the very back of his mind and focused on surviving the night.
Points: 0
Reviews: 1232
Donate