The Life of an ATLAS Boy

Once in, There's No Mercy

"I told you he'd be good!"
"He will get cocky. He'll start talking to my niece and he will take off his helmet, I know it."
"Stop being so tough on the Recruit, Irons! I know he's only 16, but that doesn't give you rights to pick on him."
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Mr. Eifelly. Remember, I put you in charge of all the Cadets. And you called me crazy when I picked this boy out of the crowd."
"Because you are."
"Let's just watch and see what he does. I hope SENTINEL come and start a ruckus at the school..."
* * *
Being a Guard is harder than it looks. First off, being paired up with someone who's your brother gets a little annoying, since all he does is is tell me what to do. Next, you kinda get annoyed by the kids constantly looking in awe as they see a new Guard on patrol. And finally, will Dawn even recognize me?
"Check the smaller halls,"Calem tells me through the private intercom connecting all ATLAS School Guard helmets into conversation. However, the lines are all different. Line 1 is the International Line, while me and Calem are on Line 7. I check the halls, and no one is to be seen. "Let's check the courtyard," Calem tells me. I follow him, trying to keep my strides matching his. As we walk out into the bright mid-day sun, my eyes catch a glimpse of movement. Holding my EPM3 in a tactical fashion, I see an 18 year old abusing a girl 4 years his senior.
"Stop right there!" I yell at the man. He looks at me, and I raise my EPM3 and aim it right at the middle of his chest, and Calem raises his BAL-27 likewise. The man looks at us, and draws his MP-11. "He's got a gun!" I yell as Calem shoots right at the man's gun arm. The bullets hit their target because the man drops his MP-11 and falls down, clutching his left arm and crying. "He's down," Calem says as he reloads his BAL-27 slowly. "Let's move on."
I follow Calem the rest of the shift through the halls, and the Five Minute Rush bell sounds, the doors open and kids left, right and center flood the halls once more. My eyes flash from person to person, scanning for, well, I'm sure you know. Calem nudges me, and silently tells me that we have to split up. I nod to affirm I understand. He goes right, and I left. I hold my EPM3 close, and I walk straight down the hall.
"You good there, little brother?" Calem asks me.
"You do know you don't need to ask me every two seconds," I reply. Calem laughs and cuts the line between us. I breathe heavily, and the bell rings again, sounding that everyone gets to their classes. When the halls are empty, I relax a little bit. I continue walking when a voice behind me makes me jump.
"Excuse me, sir," a girls voice asked. I turn around to see who it is, and funny enough, it's Dawn.
"Hello there," I say politely. "How may I help you?"
"Do you know where John Olsteen is? I haven't seen him anywhere, and he's the only one that cares about me in this school that's actually a guy."
Blushing under my helmet, I say, "Well, look no further." I start to take off my helmet and the building shakes. Line 1 comes on in my helmet, the Secretary Officer panicking. "SENTINEL has dropped a bomb. I repeat, SENTINEL is attacking!" The alarm sounds as the building shakes again, and all the ATLAS run for the closest door. Shit, I think. My first day and we're under attack. Great.
"I would like to inform you to go to the nearest classroom and stay there until further notified!" I command Dawn as I run with the large squad of Guards. The doors burst open, and the sight of bullets full my field of view. The screams and orders of ATLAS Soldiers fill the air, along with the sounds of XS1 Goliaths marching, their Gatling guns rotating and their missiles firing. Warbirds fill the sky above, shooting down any SENTINEL Dropships that come near. I run to a overturned transport truck for cover, bullets narrowly missing me, some flying past while others ping against the ground. I slide to the truck, and put my back against the cool metal.
I look at the ATLAS troops behind me, all sprinting towards the battle. A soldier falls, downed by a bullet to the chest. Another by a headshot. I peek my head out, and I see SENTINEL Covert Ops Soldiers shooting at all the ATLAS in front of them. Panting, I draw my EPM3 and start firing. The sound of the laser firing out of the barrel is reassuring. I try to go for headshots. I hide once more, only to cool my EPM3 down. I peek out again, find a SENTINEL, and pull the trigger. Three shots hit him; one in the shoulder, one in the chest and one in the head. The laser makes a neat hole in either of the wounds, and the man falls down dead. A raised piece of concrete catches my eye, and I run towards it. Once I reach it, I go prone, and another ATLAS Soldier comes beside me.
"You run weird," he says. I was about to tell him to shut up when I realize that it was Calem. "You need to keep your head up and ass down. Makes you less likely to get hit." And on that note, Calem hops the barricade and goes farther into the fray.
I stay where I am, and that's when a glimmer of something catches my eye. I look closer, and that's when I see a scope.
"Sniper! Get down!" I yell at the top of my lungs, and one of the ATLAS Soldiers comes beside me and empties his HBRa3 into the man.
"Next time," he says, "just shoot." I make a face at him, and continue to keep focus on the firefight that was happening ahead of me. I continuously fire my EPM3 at the SENTINEL troops, either injuring or killing a soldier. That bought us some time, because our EM troops (ATLAS Soldiers with Bullet Brass exos on, along with a Bloodshed V helmet and ATLAS Vigilant shin guards. Their weapon of choice; the EM1 and the EM1 Quantum) were moving forward. Admiring how SENTINEL started to get pushed back, I catch a glimpse of five or so SENTINEL troops move into the school.
Dawn, I thought, and booked it into the school.
"Where are you going?" a soldier asked.
"Trying to keep someone safe," was my reply. I could tell that he rolled his eyes and went back to shooting as if our little conversation never happened.
Once I was inside, I rushed to the door where the SENTINEL Soldiers came in from. I heard footsteps of someone, and I hid behind a corner. When they stopped, I saw the soldiers talking to each other. This is hardly a fair fight, I thought. Five experienced soldiers against me. I knew that my EPM3 wouldn't cut it, and neither would my BAL, but my EPM3 had no ammunition count, so I pulled it back out. I could tell the SENTINEL troops were discussing something, and when they made a conclusion about something, one of the Soldiers walked towards where I was hiding. I pressed up against the wall and held my breath as the SENTINEL walked by. I dropped my gun silently, took out my knife and cut the man's throat, beautiful crimson blood spraying everywhere. I pulled the man to the side and took off his helmet, only to see that the man was actually a woman. I gasped, cursed at myself, and stabbed her right in the eye, followed with a thunk of the knife hitting the back of her skull. I took my helmet off, and replaced it with hers, and listened to the conversation.
"Thank God she's finally gone," a mans voice said. "She never stops talking."
"Couldn't agree more Commander," another said.
"So which room shall we check?" A third added.
"The left one," said a fourth. "She's definitely in here."
That's when I heard a door being kicked down, screams of terror following.
"Not here," the Commander said.
"Then where?" The second voice chimes in.
"I know her, Lieutenant," the third comes in again.
"Oh ya! You come here," the Lieutenant says.
"I wish I came here." the fourth says.
" Shut it Recruit. Now, where to check next..." the Commander asks.
"Knowing the brat," the Corporal says, "she'd be somewhere on the right."
"Then let's start," the Recruit says enthusiastically.
They kick down one door, then another, and another. By this time I had my helmet back on and my EPM3 at the ready. I turned the corner and yelled, "Freeze!" Surprised, the soldiers turned and tried to shoot me, but I was faster. In three shots, the three guards that were standing by the door were down. I slowly unhooked the cooling chamber when a girl screamed inside the classroom. I closed the cooling chamber up, and held my EPM3 at gunpoint. The Commander came out with his helmet off. He held a girl up to him, with a knife across her throat. That's when I realized that it was Dawn.
"Put her down," I demand, "and no one gets hurt."
The Commander laughs. "Do you really think that it's as simple as that, ATLAS?" he asks. He slowly moves the knife across her neck slightly, then stops. Angry, I step forward, and start to slightly pull the trigger. The Commander sneers.
"Do you think that she won't go unscathed?" he asks with a grin, and continues to slide the knife across Dawn's throat, and a drop of blood trickles out of the wound. Dawn starts to tear.
"Aw," the evil man mocks. "Little baby got a-"
"SHUT UP AND LET HER GO!" I yell at the Commander. He stops cutting and looks at me, still holding his evil grin. Then, a force from behind knocks the Commander back, and he let's go of Dawn. Dawn falls to the floor, and starts to crawl away from the SENTINEL Commander. An ATLAS soldier stands behind the Commander, and the Commander starts the fight him. I aim down the ACOG of my EPM3 and pull the trigger. A laser shoots out of the barrel and hits the Commander in the head. Blood and skull fragments explode everywhere. I take my helmet off to see my kill with my eyes, and that's when Dawn comes over to me and wraps her arms around me.
"John..." she says, and bursts into tears and buries her head into my center of my Loadout. Awkwardly, I wrap my free arm around her, and lightly pull her into me. She looks up, eyes sparkling like the first time I first saw her.
"You... you saved me, John," she says. "How can I ever thank you for what you did?"
"There's no need to thank me," I say. She hugs me again, and I look up at Calem. He looks at me sternly at first, then smiles and shakes his head, laughing in the process. I birded him, and he only laughed even more. I knew what I was in for when I got home. Calem checks his wristpad, and his eyes pop out of his head. I waves two fingers in the air, which meant that we had to go.
"I don't mean to ruin this moment," I say softly to Dawn, "but I have to head back out." Dawn smiles, and walks back to a classroom, while I dash to the door with Calem.
"Who's the lady?" Calem says sarcastically. I punch him lightly, knowing I still have my exo-gloves on. We burst through the doors once more, and enter the fray together. Our BAL's are drawn, and we unload into the SENTINEL ahead of us. We rush to the second line, me closer to the school where an overturned car provides cover for my back and a small area for me to fire from. I went prone, and continuously fired my BAL-27 until the unsatisfying click told that the clip was empty. I reloaded, and continued to lay fire on the opposing SENTINEL soldiers. I ducked behind the car as a rain of bullets hit where I was. Remembering that I was beside the school, I pulled my EPM3 out and boost-jumped to the roof. I sniped out a soldier, and his friend looked up at me. He lifted his gun up, and Calem unloaded on the guy.
"No one shoots my brother!" he yells. "That's my job." I laugh, and continue to shoot.
"Calem, covering fire," I tell my brother. He nods, and starts shooting down an open lane while I run across the roof to try and flank the SENTINEL attackers. My boots slam against the roof, and I look at the opposing battle. I shoot until my EPM3 overheats, and I cool it down. I run again, and that's when I see the roof is running out.
By this time, I already got called out by a small group, and they start shooting. I strafe to one side, and all the bullets miss me. I return fire while the lot of them reload their AK-12's and IMR's. I kill two of them, and continue to run. The bullets are back, and they ping off the wall and the metal of the roof. I jump to try to make it to a neighboring house, except I drop my EPM3 in the process of pulling myself up. It clatters on the ground beneath. I swear under my breath, and pull myself up. I pull out my BAL-27, check how much bullets I have left. Not much, I think to myself. I check for a spare clip, and I manage to find two. Good enough, I thought. I replace the near-empty clip with a full one, and I run back the way I came.
"O'er there!" someone yelled. It was a SENTINEL, ARX-160 already drawn. I shot the man, and he fell from a headshot. I found somewhere to temporarily hide. I heard incoming soldiers. I found the wreck of a Dropship and hid in one of the lockers.
"What was the stupid Lance yelling about now?" a voice angrily said.
"Beats me," said another.
"Holy shit," a third chimed. "He's been shot!"
"ATLAS..." the first voice came back. "Find the stupid ATLAS thug and bring him here. NOW!"
"Yes Captain," the second voice said as he ran away. The third stayed to examine the body, putting his fingers where my bullets pierced his skin.
"Captain," the third voice said. "BAL-27 bullets. The guy must've seen Dowedy and ran."
"Shit..." the Captain murmured. "There's no way we can lose this fight. The school hides the most advanced weaponry in history."
"Sir... what types of weapons?"
"Friggin laser guns-"
"You mean the EM1 and EPM3. Those things are everywhere. They aren't that special."
"Private. I'm talking space guns. The types you see on the old Star Wars movies. The ones from Star Trek. Really, any space movie."
"Sweet," the Private said. "I always dreamed of being Captain James Kir-"
"Sir!" the second voice came back.
"What is it Sergeant?" the Captain spoke.
"We found this..." the Sergeant extended his arms to hand something over. "The EPM3 has ATLAS written all over it."
Stupid bastards, I thought. Of all things they take, they nearly take Dawn, whom I hope to see, and now they take MY EPM3?! Can this day get any worse?
Actually, it just did. The Private decided it'd be fun to look at the gun and even hold it. He laughed, and when he accidentally pulled the trigger, it nearly hit me! Damn.
"I feel safer if I held it," the Sergeant said as he plucked the EPM3 from the Private's hands.
"The Lance Corporal died if BAL-27 bullets, not EPM3 shots," the Captain said to his team. "I want us to find that ATLAS and kill him! Move out!"
On this order, the team moved. I peeked through a small opening to see where they went. The Captain went straight ahead, while the Sergeant went left and the Private left to guard his fallen friend's body. He stayed en point, being aware of his surroundings. I waited for his back to be turned, but he always kept looking in my direction. Then, he took off his helmet and started to cry. The hell... I thought as I watched the man cry. I walk out as the man went to his knees and sobs into his hands. As I walk, I hear the man say, "Go ahead. Kill me. Just shoot me."
"Why would I do that?" I ask the Private.
"I'm weak. I'm useless," he sobbed in reply.
"I'll give you a deal," I tell the man. "I'll let you live, only if you swear not to tell them I was ever here to talk to you."
"If this deal is my life, then I'll take it," he smiles and dries his tears. I grab my EPM3 and run off to go behind the SENTINEL lines. I'm constantly hiding behind the walls and ruins of fallen Dropships. The distant sound of gunfire echoes through the backways. The ping of a bullet catches me by surprise, and I jump. I peer out. No one. Must've been a stray bullet. I crouch and continue towards the battle, keeping my eyes ahead of me. Suddenly, a bomb goes off beside me, and I'm flung towards the school wall. I crash through the bricks and into the back end of the halls. My vision is blurred, and I see three SENTINELS overtop of me. They say something to each other, and all I'm thinking now is Dawn. C'mon, I think. Let me live! I just want to see Dawn, and be happy! Is that too much to ask for?
Just when I finish my thought, I see the buttstock of an AK-12 smash through the visor of my helmet.
Please...
Then the world falls black.