The Demon Sword: Sorataki

Chapter 5: Overexert

The duo sprints down the spiralling staircase, there with long strides covering five steps per stride with fluid ease. With descending leaps and bounds, there steps echoed through the walls around them. Soon they reached the same floor that Natalie could see the kids on.

Pushing through the single fire door Andrew on Natali's silent command went onto his tip-toes as they tread in exaggerated fashion down the empty hallway. Taking a right down it's darkened path Natalie again went even slower, lighter.  

Andrew dittoing Natalie did what he could to match her strides, willing himself to be quite they reach a corner where Natalie kneeled down softly behind the wall.

Natalie looked back at Andrew with a face that told him this-is-it. Nodding in understanding he reaches out for his trusty sword on his back and ever so gently pulls it out of its thick double sided belt holder.

A dark mist began to imitate around him like a second layer of skin. When in high pressured situations Andrew always felt naked, crippled even when he was not gripping the handle of his father's sword. Feeling as if he had gotten his limb back his persona was posited and deadly focused on the task at hand. Natalie seeing this lifted up two fingers which earned her a narrow frown and glare from the dark knight.

Only two? Maybe I'm too amped up for this. Andrew thought to himself.

Seeing that he understood her sing she turned back around to look at their obstacles. They stood there with automatic guns hoisted on shoulders looking onwards. There was easily twenty meters away etched between them. 

Armed and with thermal goggle anything they did now will trigger a reaction. Bullets will fly no matter how they approached this. But it had to be done. For just beyond them, just behind the door lied the cells with the children they have come here for. Their goal was just within reach.

Natalie had a few powerful moves in her arsenal that could likely prevent a gun fest, but alas due to a numerous amount of reasons she could not risk it. Not with their line of fire leading straight to the cells. Not after...

She looks around to Andrew one last time. A seeping regret expands in her chest dimming her other senses. Calming down she steels herself. Casting aside any unneeded distractions she steadies her breath. Kicking off the corner she was quickly followed by Andrew.

The two men seeing the duo rushing through the hall did what they stood there for and began to open fire. The sound of crackling gun's bled through the halls drowning out Andrew's battle cry. Natalie moves in a criss-cross manner whilst keeping her eyes locked on her chosen target.

Meanwhile, Andrew was swiping his sword to and fro, thick and fast in-between the line of the bullets travel towards him deflecting them, however with the goggles on he found the lofty timing required to pull off such a feat both more simple and yet harder than normal. Thankfully the knight's armour that shrouded him deflected the three metal projectiles that he miss-timed parrying.

Just then however Natalie got hit by one of many bullets streaming around their narrow circumference. Its sudden impact lodged it into her shoulder making her jolt back in a sloppy fashion losing her evasive flow.

Hearing her suppressed grunt though the deafening chug of magazine clips being emptied Andrew looked over his shoulder with his thermal goggles to see droplets of yellow liquid ooze off her shoulder as she reaches out to her wounded arm with her other hand. In a fit of rage, he turned back to his targets. It was as if his death glare depleted their ammo since the clicking came soon after.

With their stances withdrawn one of the men attempts to reload his gun in a blind panic. Experience clearly not on his side he makes stupid mistakes as he hurried himself to insert a fresh magazine. A mistake that Andrew picked up on quickly, and will not give him the chance to amend.