The Grey Chronicles Part Two: Under Siege.

Chapter 19: School's Out.

Mariner Children's Academy, capital city of Machinae One, August of 8096 AL.

The doors hadn't even fully opened before Briarios was throwing firebolts. A squadron of Nephilim blocked the corridor, standing shield-to-shield with menacing grins painted across their faces. They brandished swords and axes and maces, shouting and hollering challenges in the rough, guttural tongue in which they spoke. Their shouts changed to yelps as fireballs flew over their heads and at their feet.

"Keep your distance," Briarios yelled to his companions, "They'll turn tail soon, when they do light them up."

"Understood," Alex raised his rifle, drilling rounds through every exposed bit of flesh. Soluna did the same, albeit with a smaller rifle. "Thanks again for the Minos, by the way. This thing is beautiful."

"Hey, I'm right here," Soluna chided in, "At least wait until I'm not around before you oggle other women."

"You two sound like mom and dad," Briarios groaned and smiled as a fireball caught one of the monsters in the knee. He collapsed, grasping at his charred joint as his companions abandoned him. The other dozen Nephilim started backing away, leaving several of their kind dead or dying in the hallway as they fled. A few were foolish enough to turn their backs on an expert marksman, a maniacal woman with an assault rifle, and an angry warrior hurling fire.

"Move up," Briarios ordered. While officially the three were of the same rank, they deferred to him as the fireteam leader.

Alex and Soluna moved forward as their prey disappeared around the corner. While he hadn't been here in several centuries, Briarios remembered the basic layout of the school; the office was on that corner, the hallway they were currently in split into a T and ringed around the central gymnasium. The classrooms were on the outside of the ring. The office was where the security controls would be.

"Alex, plug Nocturnal into the school security system, we need access to the cameras. It's a closed network, you'll need to patch in directly," Briarios followed them. Alex took point, Soluna stood behind him.

"Left side clear, the Nephilim are retreating down the right-hand corridor." Soluna said, firing a short burst off to the right side at the escaping monsters. Alex went left, climbing through the office window and searching for a computer. He found a laptop on one of the desks, then pulled a cord from his pocket. He plugged one end into the USB port and the other into the back of his neck.

"The Nephilim have taken control of the entire school, they've set up a command post in the gymnasium." Nocturnal thought to Alex, "We're looking at about ninety soldiers, forty of them are in the gym and the rest have holed up in the kitchen. The few you met are the only patrol in the halls, they're trying to lay low."

"Thanks, any suggestions?" Alex said back.

"Burn the place to the ground," Alex almost felt the grin, "That would flush the rest of them into the sewers, which is how they entered the school in the first place."

"We're going to be good friends," Alex chuckled, "What about the students?"

"Most of them are being kept hostage in the cafeteria, the rest are dead."

"We can't exactly burn the place down with them inside, what's the quickest way there?"

"That's a matter of opinion, actually; you could very well burn it down with them inside, but you might have a little trouble getting to sleep at night. Follow the left-hand corridor all the way down, you shouldn't meet much resistance. I think you can probably take them; taking them and surviving is another matter."