Flashf0rward

Chapter 38: The First Wave

Sparrow

Hearing the shooting start from up at the top of the wall was bad enough, but hearing Wren shout that he needed help was worse. I hoped things hadn't gone off the rails already. Whatever was outputting that huge amount of bullets was disconcerting. Knowing that Bailey would be useful in this scenario, I opened the gates and looked at her. "You got this."

She nodded, and ran out up the hill towards the enemy, which I finally saw to be a large Hummer truck. I didn't question how Matthias had gotten his hands on one of those, since it was pointless now that it was here. Watching from behind the slightly opened gate, I saw Bailey managed to run right through the bullets and punch the Hummer. Smiling, I allowed myself a silent fist pump.

Then, she came running back down the hill, shouting towards Sanctuary. "Infantry! Horses coming over the hill!" I knew that we would be needed soon, and I shouted to everyone behind me. "Everybody get ready!" I heard guns cock and bows being drawn, and I steeled myself, my pistol in my hand.

As soon as Bailey got back inside, I heard hooves begin to crest over the hill as the horses charged down towards us. The plan was for Wren and his crew up above to take out as many of them as they could, and thin the herd. But if they got too close, that was where we came in. I grabbed the gate handle, gritting my teeth. "Not yet!" I shouted, everyone itching to fight.

I heard Wren shouting from up above. "Open fire!" The guards peppered the hillside with a blanket of gunfire, shooting down as many infantry as they could, but they just kept coming. I could see some of the soldiers flying off the wall and landing back in the village. I wanted to go out, but I knew it wasn't time. "Hold!" I shouted again.

Wren and Jude, along with their team, had gunned down as much as they could, but it wasn't enough. The time had finally come. As the first horseman crossed the threshold, I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Let's take 'em down!" A roar of voices came from behind me as I threw the gate open, revealing all of us standing there, metahuman and human alike, all ready to defend their home.

I, of course, was first out the gate, my speed assisting me as the rest charged up behind me, taking up the rear. Hearing a bang next to me, I turned to see Angelo, our teleporter, materialize out of thin air in front of a horseman, using the shotgun he had to blow the soldier off of his steed, causing the horse to run off.

Seeing a couple of them starting to shoot at me, I felt my stomach clench as time appeared to slow down. I could perceive almost everything at once. Every bullet, every person, every area of the battlefield was available to me, and I intended to use it. I sped in front of several soldiers, dodging bullets on the way, and firing once in front of their faces.

Then, as I finally came out of my speed and time sped up back to normal, those soldiers were suddenly killed instantly by seemingly nothing, when in reality, the bullet I had shot was just catching up with them. Seeing another horseback rider shooting a rifle at me, I easily dodged his volley and returned fire.

Suddenly, the soldier cried out as he looked down to see a large sharpened wooden spear sticking out of his chest. Looking back, I saw Duncan give me the thumbs up as he then turned to a horse, literally lifting it off the ground with the rider still on, then throwing it across the field, no doubt killing him.

I heard static coming from my shirt. "Sparrow! Sparrow, do you copy?" I pressed the transmit button, hiding behind a fallen horse. "I'm here Wren. We took them by surprise, all right. I don't think they've been up against this many metas before." I heard gunshots on the other end of the line as Wren returned fire. "Don't get too cocky yet. We don't know the extent of these guys' arsenal."

Knowing he was right, I felt a few bullets whiz by my head as I turned around and shot a few rounds back in that general direction. Then, I heard a cry of pain that was much shriller than the others. Looking towards the source of the noise, my eyes widened as I looked at a boy, no older than 15, being surrounded by several of Matthias' men.

Narrowing my eyes, I sped across the battlefield, leaping over horses occasionally as I reached him. Sliding on the ground, I shot two of the men that had him trapped. Before the other two could react, I sped around them and put a single bullet through both of their skulls, seeing the round travel through each of their heads.

Reloading, I looked down at the boy, and offered him my hand. He grabbed it and got back up, panting slightly. "Thank you..." He said, and I could see the hand that was clutching his rifle was shaking. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be strong. We're not out of the woods yet." As if on cue, I heard a bullet whizz past my head, striking the ground next to me and creating a huge hole.

Pushing myself and the boy down, I tried to look for the source of the shots, but it was difficult to see in the cacophony of gunfire. I heard Wren faintly speaking over my radio, and I raised it to my head and caught the last bit of his message. "...on the hillside, repeat, snipers on the hillside! They're taking out our gunners!"

My eyes widened. The hillside was the perfect spot for any sniper. They had the height advantage, as well as the ability to be pretty much invisible behind everything that was going on. With their longer range, they could take out everyone in the camp without even moving in. I knew what I had to do.

Tuning my radio, I spoke into it, hoping he was listening. "Angelo! We have snipers up on the hillside! We need to take them out!" Knowing there was no time to waste, I looked down at the boy. "Find cover, return fire. You'll be alright." Gritting my teeth, I flexed my leg muscles and began to run up the hill.

Making it through the horses and men weren't easy, seeing as how there were bullets flying in every direction. If I made one wrong move, I would die, no matter how fast I was. But, somehow, I managed to make it to the top. Looking around the hillside, I wasn't able to see anything at first, but then, I saw a brief flash of light, a small crack, and felt a bullet fly by me.

They were lying prone in black outfits, making them even more camouflaged, and to make matters worse, there was practically no cover for me up here, so I would have to dodge most of these bullets at practically point blank range. I was scared, since that might be too fast for even me, but I knew what was at stake. I charged at them.

Immediately, four sniper shots came flying at me, the .50cal bullets soaring through the air like needles of death. They were going too fast for me to move to the side, so I did the only thing I could. Leaping into the air and spinning, I made my body as small as possible, feeling one of the bullets graze my left shoulder as I managed to land somewhat gracefully.

My blonde hair around my face, I quickly drew my gun and took out two of the snipers, the other one pulling out a submachine gun and firing at me. My eyes widened, and I dove out of the way, landing on my injured shoulder, crying out in pain slightly. Knowing I was practically a fish in a barrel, I tried to move out of the way.

I heard the bang, and I squeezed my eyes, waiting for the end. When no bullet came, I opened them. Looking up, I saw Angelo had appeared and was choking the sniper out, using his SMG to kill the other one. Pulling my pistol, I shouted to Angelo. "Move!" Letting the choking sniper go, I shot him multiple times in the chest, watching the black-garbed shooter collapse to the ground.

Panting, I lowered my head, and saw a hand reach down for me. Grabbing Angelo's arm, I pulled myself up and looked at him. "Thanks. Didn't think you'd come." He picked up the SMG, checking its ammo then cocking it. "You're lucky I was listening." Looking back down at the fight beneath us, I nodded at him, reloading my pistol. "C'mon, let's keep fighting."