Fate of Aorullu, A Warhammer 40K Fan Fiction

Post 9 - Race to Home

Ryu had learned from Greynar that these green skinned creatures were called "Orcs", their most salient characteristic being the need to do battle and violence. That was a difficult concept for him to understand. Even the wildest beast Ryu had fought or killed before, would attack for food or for protecting its territory. Unless urged by a terminal threat of hunger, no beast in his world would go out of its way to attack any human settlement. From what he saw, though, during their stalking the orc horde, he was more than convinced of Greynar's description of the ways of the Orc.

 "We're not going fast enough. We should outrun the horde if your village has to have a chance to evacuate."

 "This is the fastest I can go, great warrior." Ryu felt ashamed that he was slowing down this giant warrior. He was already at his limits, pushing as fast as he can, along the uneven and treacherous ground of the ravine but apparently, he was not fast enough.

Greynar viewed Ryu for a moment and said "You look strong enough. Climb on my back and hold tight. It will be a fast ride!"

As humiliating it was for Ryu, he had to admit that their only chance of outpacing the Orc horde was to go faster and short of flying, this could be the only possible way. His cheeks reddening a bit by shame, he climbed onto the back of almost a two and a half meter tall Greynar and clung to his armor hands and feet.

They lunged forward with a jolt and Ryu almost lost his grip on the warrior's armor, flung back with unnatural force. He could not have expected such force, he could not have dreamt of moving with such exhilarating speed. The silent buzz and clicks of the giant's armor a very faint but constant note on his ears, they charged along the ravine with godlike velocity, the roots of towering trees snaking in and out of the walls of the waterway, with knee deep water streaming down along their path.

The flow of water over the rugged ground and through the roots of the trees was loud enough that Greynar could keep his breakneck pace without having to worry for the sound of his footsteps. Space Marines could not be considered the stealthiest of the species due to their heavy armor but that was taken care of by the spring season here. It would be another matter if Ryu would try to run in the muddy soil softened by the streaming water but Greynar’s superhuman muscles coupled with the servomotors of his armor did not even acknowledge the resistance of the slimy soil.

The greenskin horde was proceeding through the forest in complete disorder, in a parallel route to them. Ryu hoped that none of those savage beasts would be smart enough to try the waterway for their progress. The beasts did not seem to have any intention of changing their path, anyway. They rather seemed to be enjoying the walk through the forest, which provided them with easy targets to hunt and vent out their endless supply of brutish savagery.

Ryu could not keep track of the time. He was able to do very less other than spending all his concentration on clinging on to the metal warrior's back. Thoughts about the looming danger the orc horde presented for his village, and the incredible power and indestructiblity of the space marine flitted in and our of his focus. He felt sure that the space marine could handle several of the orcs at once but the Orcs were an army. His only hope at that time could only be to evacuate the village urgently and gain some time for the village council to think of a strategy.