Cogs Of Fate

The Cavalry Breaks Through

Present Day

The generator finally kicked on, though unstable. The already dim lights overhead flickered unreliably as the residents of the bunker continued to protect themselves from the dangerous intruders filtering in.

Agent Christopher finished tying her belt around her thigh to keep the pressure on her wound. She grimaced as she tucked the last bits of the belt around and out of the way. She glanced over her cover, checking for any more intruders. So far, she had taken out a handful. She knew she was running out of ammo in her handgun. If she was lucky, she had a few more rounds but her mental counting told her she only had three or four bullets left.

Across the room, she spotted Mason and Jiya. They motioned for her to head in their direction. She shook her head, unsure if that was the smart move. She didn't want to put those two at risk.

Mason scanned the distant hallway and common living area. He didn't see any movement through the smoke and bodies that littered the place. He motioned for Denise to come again, more urgency to his movements.

Jiya watched as Denise shook her head again. She turned to Mason and whispered, "Anything?" Mason shook his head. She whispered, "Cover me...I'm going to get her."

Mason held his gun before him, aiming in case anyone showed up as Jiya rushed forward across the room toward Agent Christopher.

She knelt beside the wounded agent. "Come on."

"You shouldn't have come out here for me," Denise scolded.

Throwing Denise's arm over her shoulder, Jiya muttered, "You can write me up for it later." A small smile graced her lips, almost as if she had just said an inside joke only the two of them knew.

The two stood up to begin their way over to Mason. They took two steps forward when a voice behind them ordered, "Hold it right there!"

Jiya's eyes widened, staring at Mason. He shook his head, silently telling her that he didn't have a good shot at the intruder behind them.

"Turn around," the voice ordered. The sound of a gun loaded echoed loudly behind them.

Jiya and Denise slowly turned to face the man behind them. When they were face to face with him, they noticed he was wearing his combat gear, armored mask still covering his face. He held his rifle in front of him, pointing it at the two. He motioned over to the couch. "Sit down."

As Mason watched the two women get shuffled over to the sofa, he turned and snuck away from the room, hoping to find a new place to hunker down until it was safe. He even hoped to run into Flynn or Tenley.

At the opposite end of the bunker, Flynn had a hold of Tenley's wrist as he led her carefully through. He paused at the corner, listening for anyone approaching before peeking around to see. The dark hallway was empty, aside from the residual smoke that wafted through.

His heart raced and the deafening sounds of it beating echoed in his ears. He glanced over his shoulder at Tenley who seemed equally as terrified. He could feel her heartbeat racing as he held onto her wrist.

He tugged her around the corner slowly, eyes scanning the halls around them as he inched deeper into the bunker. Flynn paused at the entrance to the next hallway, glancing down the length before continuing forward.

Taking a couple of steps into the hall, Flynn heard a man's shout nearing them. Glancing over his left shoulder, he spotted one of the armed intruders rushing them, knife in hand. Flynn pulled Tenley behind him as quickly as he could before the man's blade found its target. Tenley shrieked as she tumbled to the floor behind him, landing hard enough to allow her breath to escape from behind her lips.