---

Karl looked out from the Black Ops VTOL doorway, below York was strangely quiet but to the East he could see the bursts of gunfire and smoke of missiles as the Landing Forces engaged with the Chimera. He would have given anything to be there, fighting on the frontlines rather than this sulking around in the shadows, but he knew deep down that there mission was far more important than any of those infantries task was. If they were successful it could turn the tide of the war and save America from becoming the very thing Europe had become. An empty husk overrun by these demons.

Looking around Karl surveyed the rest of his six team. Code named X-Ray his squad of Sentinels were all equipped in the standard anti infection armour provided by Special Forces. But despite their identical armour Karl could tell them apart without even glancing at their serial numbers. There was Jack, blonde haired and more than a little cocky Australian, prone to wearing a non regulation bandanna underneath his suit and seeming to consider himself invincible. Then there was Tom, a level headed man with red features and more than a tad short, a refugee from England he had tested positive for the Chimeran Virus and immediately been initiated into the Sentinels program. Next came Daniel, a veteran of the World War and possibly the most experienced man on the team. Despite this he was no leader but definitely good support; his helmet hid his shaved bold head. Then there was Steve who was the definitely the tank of their team, black skinned and short hair he could set up a machine gun in no time flat and could even wield the thing standing up with his massive frame. Then there was the final and most...questionable member of the group, Lina a dark haired pale skinned woman grudgingly let into the Sentinels only because of her crack shot with a sniper rifle. She was a refugee from Russia and had somehow on her way to Britain and then America become infected with the Chimeran virus. The people at Intelligence had grilled her day and night for weeks before giving up on finding out any more on the situation of Russia. She claimed to have lived on a small town on the border and had no idea on what was going on within the country proper. Her story was probably true; anyone closer likely wouldn't have survived.

And he was the squad leader of these elite group of men (and women), he was the one to resume responsibility for these people, he was the one had who to lead them to their objective and bring them out alive. A task looking to be more and more difficult by the look of AA fire rising to meet the VTOL's far off in the distance. His brown hair would have been whipping in the wind had his helmet allowed for any such motion. Hearing the beeping of his radio he quickly pressed the button on the side of his head to active his microphone.

"This is X-Ray squad leader Karl Manex reporting" he said clearly, despite such a development as being able to make a radio small enough to fit on his back without adding too much weight the reception was still patchy and you needed to speak carefully or risk not being able to hear at all.

The caller responded "This is Grey Hammer Command, mission is a go, reports indicate larger resistance than anticipated, proceed to the rendezvous and meet with the convoy containing the cargo with caution. Squads Delta and Zulu will provide a distraction to ensure minimal contacts. Good Luck" And with that the radio cut out, messages had to be short and brief or risk the Chimera zeroing in on the signal.

Giving a hand signal Karl ordered his team to be ready, the VTOL's engines slowed as it switched to hover mode and it lowered slowly onto the street. Karl's head was a machine scanning the streets and alleys for a sign of the enemy. He knew without looking that Daniel would be doing the same from the aircraft's other door. Standard procedure.

Landing gently Karl made another motion and his team scuttled out, Jack leading the way with Daniel bringing up the rear. They spread out finding what cover they could. Giving the thumbs up to the pilots he jumped down the small gap between the helicopters floor and the cement. But in those two seconds everything changed.

A Stalker rounded the corner into the street, its weapons already focusing on the huge vulnerable target before it.

Karl reacted quickly sighting the metal behemoth, he knew that the only reason that the Stalker had not yet fired was because of the special coating on the VTOL specifically designed to prevent tracing and tracking by computer systems, but the Stalker's pilot would switch to manual in a matter of seconds and then their extraction would become a lot more difficult, not to mention the potential loss of his teammates in the ensuing battle.

"Aim for its eyes" he yelled and quickly sighting with his own M5A2 Carbine opened fire on one of the two visual video receptors which served as the 'eyes' for the Stalker when its cockpit was closed. The rest of his team followed his example and the Stalker quickly found itself in the position of danger. Despite several layers of protective shielding its eyes could be destroyed if repeatedly targeted and then it would be a sitting duck. The Chimeran pilot realising the danger slowly moved the Stalkers cumbersome legs to the left, moving the mech behind a building and out of the line of fire.

Karl did not spend time savouring the moment, the transport was into the open sky and with its stealth capabilities should be able to avoid any manual shots the Stalker could get at this range. But already a team of Hybrids were making their way towards the landing zone, drawn by the sound of gunfire and the taste of fresh meat. It seemed to Karl that God himself was against him today, things were not going as smooth as they had planned in the briefing.

Tapping Jack and Lina on the shoulders the three of them stepped out into the open and sprayed carbine bullets at the incoming forces, forcing them to find cover and cease their mad dash. Daniel was already leading the rest of the group to a side alley while they kept the enemy pinned down, running out of bullets he crouched and reloaded, quickly dropping the empty magazine and shoving a fresh one in its place, Jack and Lina doing a similar procedure. The Hybrids taking advantage of the lapse renewed their attack, and Karl knew that any hope of resuppressing them was lost. Keeping low he motioned for them to brake off and follow the others. Spraying a final burst of bullets and trying to avoid the bullseye fire being returned at him he sprinted for the alley.

Panting he thankfully made it around the corner without any critical injuries, his armour deflecting the few glancing shots which scratched him. But he knew the Hybrids would follow and likely bring the Stalker with them, there was no way they could run, fight or even hide with the current forces they had to bear. And he could not lead Enemy forces to the rendezvous, his orders had been explicitly clear on that. The problem gnawed away inside his head.

"Sir we can't go on like this, I can lead them away" Jack suggested his light Australian accent tingling with excitement. Karl considered the idea, Jack was fast, and a single man would have a much better chance of escaping the pursuers once he had led them a sufficient distance. "Can you do it?" he said already knowing the answer. With what he could only assume was a cocky grin on his face the young Sentinel stowed his Carbine and un-slung his Rossmore shotgun. "If they can catch me I'll pull the trigger myself" Leaping out into the open he fired two shots, advertising his presence. The Hybrids not thinking beyond the immediate prey sprinted after him. The ground shaking as the Stalker quickly joined them.

And then like that they were alone, Karl giving the form up signal the team assembled into a ring formation facing outwards. With Karl leading, Tom to the right, Daniel to the left with Lina and Steve bringing up the rear they had a total 360 view of their surroundings, preventing any Chimera sneaking up on them. Moving slowly through the war torn city they stopped at a small Church to survey the area ahead. The bell tower making an excellent viewpoint without compromising security.

"Hope Jack's ok" Tom mused removing his helmet and biting down on a ration he had brought along, "We can't afford to lose any more Sentinels after the last mission". Karl let the squad talk, but he couldn't help but let a hand go to his helmet. As if to trace the scar which the bullet had wickedly carved just to the left of his eye, he had gotten off lucky, many men there had not returned with their lives, or their sanity.

"If he does not return then there is no use thinking about it" Lina responded sharply "It was necessary, there was no alternative, thinking about what might have been only causes us to lose focus of our mission" The rest of the squad went silent at this, Lina had always been logical to a fault.

Indeed Karl may have reprimanded Lina if not for the hand suddenly appearing on her shoulder. Reacting with her inhuman reflexes Lina grabbed the arm and hurled him over her shoulder and onto the floor, her weapon already in her hands and pointing at the downed enemy.

It was Jack.

"And people say we don't get on well" the winded Sentinel remarked picking himself up. Lina just growled and walked towards the wall of the structure, fiddling with the scope of her L23 sniper rifle. The rest of the squad broke out in laughter, Karl silenced them but he did it lightly indeed his own face was displaying a grin and only quieted them with consideration of them being discovered.

"Report" he ordered seeing Daniel climbing down from the Bell Tower.

"Sir the way ahead looks clear enough but I spotted one major camp of Chimeran creatures" Daniel said in a rush "Well what are they doing?" he questioned when he did not elaborate further. "Well it's not in our way but their setting up a mortar position" Karl understood at once, the mortar was likely being set up in retaliation of the invading American strike force. Even a single mortar could claim hundreds of lives and that was if they didn't have the special crawler ones, which considering the situation they likely did. In relation to the mission destroying the encampment was no responsibility of his at all. He was supposed to get to the rendezvous point to secure the cargo and then bug out.

But Karl couldn't willingly condemn the lives of hundreds of American soldiers to such meaningless deaths, their whole mission was a diversion and he couldn't help but feel partly responsible for them. His mind squirmed between the two responsibilities.

"How many are there?" he questioned finally

"I couldn't see very well captain but from what I saw I estimate about a dozen Hybrids and maybe twice as many Menials" His visor remained locked on Karl's, almost pleading. Daniel had always been loyal to both his comrades and the cause. It was clear which decision he would make if he was in charge.

Karl sighed, "Okay where going in, but not a word of this to command understand? And if any of you even think of dying on me, I'll make you wish you'd been converted"
Jack and Steve hot blooded and always eager for a fight jumped and began hurriedly checking their weapons, Daniel being the instigator of the idea was ready to go as well, Tom gave him a small look but quickly began preparing himself. Lina however had no qualms about showing her view of the order, letting out a long string of words in Russian which sounded more than a little violent she marched off to the Church's entrance. Karl watched her as his body went through motions of preparing his gear, something really would have to be done about her, or she'd face a court-martial.

Making a mental note to pursue the matter later he checked his gear and with the confirmation that the rest of the team was ready gave the signal for 'move out'



Through his binoculars Karl examined the mortar position from the park which stood opposite it, it was large and they were at the far end so there was little chance of being spotted. He quickly found that Daniel had been accurate; he counted 3 Hybrids on the almost completely demolished second story keeping a look out from the sections which had not yet collapsed, and roughly 10 more directing and bossing nearly twice as many Menials around on the ground floor. Even from this distance Karl could see the slick sheen of sweat which coated their bodies. They were exasperated from guiding the infinitely dull labour force around all day in the sun. That would work to their advantage. The Menials themselves walked around carrying bits of machinery and power cores, as well as the massive shells which would soon be fired from the cannons. He had been right on the other count as well; several appeared to be the mini spire like ammo which would spell doom for the task force. That sealed the deal.

Turning to face the rest of the squad he outlined his plan. "Okay this is how we're going to do it; Lina will establish a sniper position here and on my command take out the three lookouts up top. As soon as there dead I will give the signal for you Steve to set up a gun turret on the other side and generate as much attention as possible, you can back him up Jack. After they are distracted and turning the other way me, Daniel and Tom will move in from the other side and catch them in the crossfire, with them caught between us we should be able to make short work of them. Any questions?"

Apart from a high five between Steve and Jack and a small grumble from Lina, not a word or movement, they understood. Quickly and silently they made their ways to the positions he had assigned them. With Tom and Daniel in tow he made his own way to the mall. Praying like hell everyone made it through in one piece.



The dry brown grass crackled around him as he and his two squad mates crawled their way towards the mall. Deciding any closer risked being scented by the Chimera he gave the hand signal for them to halt. And there they lay, perhaps just 20 metres away from the building, he could see the lifeless grey corpses which were the Hybrids, the light clammy brown zombies which were the Menials. He could hear their growls and smell their sweat. Making slow movements as to not attract attention he moved his finger to activate the mike in his helmet.

"Fire on my mark" he whispered so lightly that he feared she would not hear. But Lina soon belayed his fears with a neutral "acknowledged". He tensed as he prepared to make the command, as though he himself was lining up the shot, his own scope deciding who would live and who would die. Lina was a good shot, but if she missed and the Hybrids got to cover this whole assault would be useless. And they would be forced to perform a sloppy retreat, very likely killing several of them in the process. The Sentinels were good, but they were not invincible.

With steel in his eyes he whispered so softly that it might have been mistaken for a passing wind "Fire" Lina did not fail him, the bullet was already leaving the barrel.

The first bullet flew towards the first Chimera and struck it right between its three sets of eyes, dead before it hit the ground, but Karl knew Lina had seconds before the other Chimera realised what was going on and ran for cover, she had to beat the clock here, not just the Hybrids. He could almost sense her scope closing in on the second Hybrid, he could hear its rumble of confusion as it sighted its fallen brethren. The Fareye cracked a second time this time striking the beast right in the chest, from his vantage point he could see it go down in a pile of its own guts. Karl tensed, this last shot would be the most difficult, the third sentry would be alert and have more warning, it was likely even now pelting for cover, from which it would then alert the others and then his whole plan would lie in tatters. He heard the Fareye shoot yet again followed by the low sigh as the Hybrid dropped to the ground as if it were a puppet with its strings cut. All three of them were dead.

"Sentries eliminated, I'll remain on site until target area is clear"

"Roger that. Steve, Jack you in position?" Karl questioned relief clear in his voice, but he had barely asked the question than the sound of heavy machine gun fire erupted from the other side of the building. The two Sentinels had heard the cracks of Lina's sniper rifle and clearly decided to start early. He hoped they lived to regret the reprimands he would make.

Adrenaline filled Karl's veins as he charged towards the Mall like a man with no fear. He reached the door in a dozen leaps and with his military grade boots broke down the door. Tom and Daniel were already moving in from the sides covering the diagonals. Levelling his rifle he followed them in.

The place was filled with Menials, sighting along his barrel he opened fire on the first of the slow lumbering beasts, Tom and Daniel already moving on to their seconds. In terms of combat abilities Menials were jokes, they were no threat to the well equipped and superiorly trained Sentinels. And with all the Hybrids outside they could eliminate the beasts at their leisure.

Until three Hybrids suddenly returned to destroy the new threat.

Aiming as one, temporary ignoring the approaching Menials they opened up with their carbines. The lead Hybrid barely had a chance to spot them before its chest exploded from the force of the lead being pumped into it. As far as Hybrids went it was a tough one but nothing could stand up to that much firepower. Its body mangled almost beyond recognition is slumped to the floor.

The two others did not make the same mistake, they fled to cover. Jumping behind one of the cannons he dropped his nearly empty clip and jammed in a fresh one. It would be a game of cat and mouse now, he had hoped to avoid such dangerous close quarter fighting, but with Menials and Hybrids lurking around they would have to risk moving into the centre of the structure, with plenty of ammo crates, machines and rubble for ambushes. Standing up they opened fire on the closest Menials, 5 went down in quick succession, seeing no more of the slow lumbering zombies he motioned for Tom to lead and they began moving forward in a tight triangle, each one of them facing a different direction.

Spotting a Menial Karl opened fire, its face shattered as it fell to the ground with a hiss. To his left and right he could hear Tom and Daniel doing a similar process, it took all his willpower to not turn around and look to enemies which were possibly just feet away from him, but they had to keep formation, or risk being caught off guard. The Menials were no threat, but the hidden Hybrids certainly were. Spotting another of the dull witted creatures he blew its chest open in burst of red blood, killing it instantly, he scanned left and right watching for another target.

It was a small surprise when a Hybrid leaped from behind a crate, but it was a big surprise when instead of opening fire it took two humungous bounds with its clawed feet and knocked the carbine from his hands. Claws erect it tackled him to the ground.

Pulling back his fist Karl slammed it into the Hybrids face, but the blow barely seemed to faze the creature at all, snarling it grabbed him by the shoulders began repeatedly slamming his head into the ground. Tensing both his legs he kicked out knocking the Chimera off him and collapsing clumsily onto a box of bullseye ammunition. Tired and battered Karl could barely pull himself to his knees before the creature was upright and charging again, this time there would be no lucky blow.

Abruptly the air was filled with bullets and the Hybrid with a dumb look on its face died. Panting Karl nodded thanks to Tom and Daniel, they had been unable to shoot with the two of them being so entangled but had open fired in the brief interlude between his and the Hybrid's struggle. Picking up his dented rifle he shoved another clip in. And together they continued their advance through the building.

All was silent now, the sounds of gunfire and roars now nothing but a rustling of the wind, Karl swore, if Jack and Steve were dead he would never forgive himself. But his fears proved groundless, both Steve and Jack walking through the front door as casually as if they were walking into a bar, barring the scratched battle armour, the smell of gunpowder and rifles resting on their shoulders. Like a scene from a Wild West movie.

That changed quick smart when they spotted them though, they knew they had attacked before his signal and their assured stance changed to one of shame so fast you would have missed if you blinked. He could almost imagine the downcast eyes and slight frown, but there would be a time to deal with that later, he was just about to tell them to spread out and find the remaining Hybrid when a series of cracks made him turn rifle raised. He was greeted to the site of Lina standing over the second Hybrid, her Fareye still smoking from the point blank shots she had unloaded into its back. Rasping the crippled Hybrid attempted to grab her, but quick as lightening her knife flashed and sliced its hand clean off. Gaping at its new wound in dumb shock the abomination lay still.

Sheathing her knife she gave a brief nod, nothing else needed to be said.

"Uh sir you may want to have look at this" Daniel yelled looking out the nearest window. Wondering what could have drawn his attention Karl made his way over to the opening and peered out, and almost wished he hadn't.

Goliaths, massive four legged siege batteries were cresting the rise at the outskirts of the city. Karl's heart sunk, there was no hope for the task force now, a single artillery post was one thing, but they were no match against that, nothing could be done.

"Move, move, move I want us at the rendezvous in five minutes!" Karl barked sending his team scrambling. The Goliaths were not yet in range so they still had a few minutes, but when they were this whole town would be bathed in crawlers, and despite the armour they wore to protect themselves from just such an attack it was not full proof, nothing was against crawlers. If they hurried they might still be able to meet the delivery and get out on the VTOL before the attack. But they had to hurry.

Pelting out the entrance and leading his team at a jog Karl moved them down the road, there was no time for formation or stealth, they just moved. Even as they ran Karl was sending out messages out to both Zula and Delta teams about the incoming Goliaths, but if they had any sense they would have already seen them and preparing for extraction.
Recognising the place, he put up his hand to stop his team and then gently motioning they fanned out, moving slowly. The meeting point was dead ahead and he was not going to take any chances, even with those colossal spiders breathing down their necks.

Spotting movement in what appeared to be a battered LYNX, Karl motioned for them to surround the vehicle and then announced himself in his command voice "I am Captain Manex of the American Black Op's division, identify yourselves"

"Oh thank god" shouted a British soldier pulling himself from the wreckage "we thought you'd never come" Turning around he helped another soldier climb out of the busted jeep, this one with severe bandages over the left side of his chest, blood could be seen seeping through the cloth. Both looked battered and tired, much like their vehicle.

"I'm Officer Williamson and this is Private Fields, we were both rangers assigned to protect the convoy which we were supposed to hand over to you" Williamson explained

"Where is the convoy then?" Karl questioned trying to be patient

"We were attacked, hundreds of Chimera, Stalkers, Hybrids, Buzzard's the whole shah bang, they knew we were coming no idea how, overwhelmed the whole convoy in a matter of minutes, I hate to admit it but we ran for it, we figured the only good we could do it was tell you guys what happened"

"Is your radio operational?" Karl asked "No" The British officer replied confusion in his voice from the strange question. "Have you had any contact with anyone, outposts, planes other survivors?" Karl persisted a strange tone in his voice. "No, none at all just me and Fields here" the officer responded

"Good, team X-Ray open fire!"

Shock spread across the two men's faces as the Sentinels raised their weapons, the two British had left their weapons in the LYNX but it would have done them no good if they hadn't, they stood there like statues, too shocked to move.

The first bullets hit them, and they were statues no more, their bodies jerked and leaped at the cascade of lead, the spasms giving them the appearance of dancing, Officer Williamson tried to take a step towards his attackers but coughing up blood he fell to the ground beside his comrade.
The armoured soldiers stared at the two humans they had massacred, they looked to Karl. None of this had been mentioned in the briefing, but they had obeyed. Though he could not see their eyes Karl could imagine the silent question in each of their eyes.

"I was given a separate set of orders to the rest of you; Command has predicted that even with the new armaments and supplies we give them the British military will be completely overwhelmed within 3 months, giving these weapons to them would only delay the inevitable, so Command decided to take the convoy by force, then withdraw the supplies and this secret weapon the British have gotten their hands on back to America" he explained his heart heavy

"What the hell about Britain then or Europe for that matter? Are we just going to let them win?" Tom exploded his voice will with anger, this was his homeland and he had evidently lost none of his hopes for reclaiming it.

But Lina cut in before he could even answer "You have been all over this country in our missions Tom do you honestly think England can be saved?" She let the sentence hang, like a bad smell in the air. None of them could help but look around, England was a mess, Chimera now controlled 90% of the area and more Resistance bases and bunkers were destroyed every day. No military solution seemed possible.

"America can still be saved" Karl whispered "Europe and Britain are lost"

Turning away from the group he radioed the VTOL for extraction confirming the area was secure. He also informed them of the failure of the mission. The convoy had been lost, whatever weapon it held now in the hands of the Chimera. He felt defeated

The VTOL arrived and silently they boarded it, all consumed by their thoughts. Tom in particular was taking the murders badly, Karl put a hand on his shoulder but he stalked to the opposite end of the transport without saying a word. Karl let him go, he was sure Tom would see it had to have been done later one when his head was clear.

"Captain Manex we have a request for you over the radio" called one of the pilots from up front. Activating his own communication unit he zoned in on the frequency, only to find with a shock that it was in Morse code, his eyes narrowed at the realisation. Morse was only used when the data within the code could not be risked to be heard under any circumstances by man or Chimera. He waited until the correct tone signalled the completion of the message and then began translating in his head as it repeated itself. "Resistance noted subject is in route to red facility, pursue and capture" followed by a long list of coordinates and confirmation codes. By the sound of it team Delta had observed the resistance and informed Grey Hammer who in turn had notified the Higher Ups, this order had come straight from the top.

Karl pondered the strange order, true a soldier with a resistance to the Chimera virus was worth their weight in gold to the Sentinels, but by the sounds of all of Grey Hammer was being sent after this soldier, they hadn't even suggested attempting to reclaim the convoy, despite their stanch view that it was the key to winning the war.

Still thinking the VTOL touched down on the small destroyer Grey Hammer, the aerial vehicle just barely fitting on the custom built helipad. In the distance the US Aircraft Carrier "Lexington" massive grey bulk was just visible in the distance. Did they even know what was going on while they calmly awaited the arrival of the convoy? Were their radio frequencies even now filled with cries of pain and suffering, or were they eerily silent?

Staring out at the calm ocean Karl prayed for the poor souls left behind.

---

i was wondering when he was talking about no hope for england if it was after the first game and was like 'what after all we did!'. lol

---

Wind once again buffeted Karl's helmeted face, but this time he was in no mood to savour the view from the VTOL's door. The last three missions has been huge failures, they had tracked the rogue Resistance codenamed "Grayskin" to Grimbsy only to have him airlifted out by a British transport just as they had inserted. Manchester had been too full of AA and Stalkers to even risk an airborne insertion and had been forced to land on the outskirts. By the time they managed to reach the Grayskin's supposed location everyone had been long gone, the failure made all the more frustrating as they learned the secret weapon lost by the British convoy had also been present. Nottingham had been the worst of them all. The Sentinels landing right between charging British and Chimeran forces in what Command soon learned was Operation Shear. They had been lucky to all come out alive in that one, both Chimera and British soldiers gunning for them. The latter apparently mistaking them for Cloven.

Karl's team as well as the rest of the Black Op's were feeling the strain now. Such sloppy missions were not something they experienced often and now they had just had just hit three in a row. It brought back bad memories for Karl, he had only had one true failure before now and the cost was far too high to risk repetition. He could not allow it; no he would not allow it. Too much human life had been lost.

At least some good had been achieved from these botched operations. Seeing how well he and his team had handled themselves under such stressful and tough conditions Command had promoted him. He was now the leader of all the teams attached to Gray Hammer. Now they were all part of the X-ray's.

The X-rays had been sent to Cheshire to retake the secret weapon. Command had theorised that the 'Grayskin' had joined forces with the British resistance and had been there aiding them at Manchester. The plan was if the secret weapon were to be stolen the 'Grayskin' would be one of the first sent to recapture it. Two birds with one stone.

Of course everything had changed as they entered Cheshire, the air was full of Chimeran radio signals, and radar had showed dozens of aerial targets moving in on Northern Command, far too many to all be British. Command had taken this Intel and quickly formed a new plan. Even now British transports were returning from Nottingham to fend off this new attack among them the target. In the end this only worked out for the better, they would move in and steal the weapon in the confusion and most likely nab the 'Grayskin' who would be drawn to it. The first order of business though was to take the Chimeran base camp. And then as a missile flew straight past the VTOL they were thrown into the thick of it.

Black smoke and red motes of light filled the air as they descended hard and fast. The helicopter rocked as a nearby explosion upset them. Karl gripped the handhold attached to the rooftop and swore.

"Things are going to get rough" he shouted to the rest of his team over the howling of the wind and gunfire. The warning was hardly necessary as all of them were being hurled about like ragdolls.

"There's going to be no time for a proper drop off so were going to do a leap" he informed looking worriedly back at the pilots. Such a manoeuvre instead of the tried and true method of the gunship hovering to let the infantry safely grapple or otherwise jump the helicopter stayed so low it almost touched the ground, the men then jumped from it a full speed. It was risky tactic and more than one crew of aviators had died in the attempt, their bodies and craft strewn across the ground as they crashed against the soft but unforgiving earth. Not to mention countless injuries and death from the ground grew who misjudged the jump.
"As if we weren't having enough fun already" Jack commented in a sarcastic tone. Karl agreed with him, things were tough enough as it was without the risk of death and injury before you even fired the first shot. He hoped this one went off without a hitch; they would need every man if they were to accomplish their goal, through lines of Chimeran troops no less.

And then they were over the camp, the red status light on the wall beeping twice giving them the signal to jump. And then Karl was away from the cockpit hurtling towards the ground. He rolled and landed in a crouching position his rifle already in hand and spraying fire into the gizzards of his first Hybrid. Around him Sentinels from the three VTOL's were already among the surprised Chimera and tearing into them with ruthless efficiency. Karl had no time to look out from them though. This was independent work, every man for himself. And then he was lost in the vicious struggle between life and death.

A nearby Hybrid hurled a grenade towards him; he barrel rolled laying himself flat. The roll saved his life the spikes spearing out in every direction. Prone he lined up and gunned down the offending Hybrid. Leaping up he loaded a 40 millimetre grenade into his carbine and fired at a nearby gun emplacement which another of the foul demons was attempting to man. It leaped back its face bloody from the concussive force. But Karl was already moving onto the next target, before the enemy regrouped.

Seeing one of the grounded Buzzard's attempt to lift off he opened fire on the still open cockpit, the Chimeran dropship tilted and rammed into a cluster of mortar emplacements. Both bits of machinery exploded in a burst of shrapnel and smoke. Around him his team were rapidly thinning the ranks of Hybrids. Jack was firing his shotgun in all directions, the scattered blasts ripping the beast's tender skin to shreds. Steve had set up his hailstorm turret and was unloading hoards of bullets into a defensive formation of Hybrids. Tom and Daniel were fighting back to back in perfect synchronization. Lina had retreated to a make shift shelter behind a crate of ammo but was contributing just as much, her sniper cracking as fast as it would load. She was firing one handed the massive frame of the Fareye braced against the metal cover. Her free hand was being used to spray bursts of carbine fire into enemies which got to close. Already half a dozen lay dead before her vantage point. And everywhere the other teams were taking their own toll on the monsters. Karl saw all of this in seconds and then was back into the fight. The Hybrids were beat and they knew it, already the majority were running towards the northern end of the perimeter. Gripping his gun tightly Karl gave chase.

With their backs to him the Hybrids were easy pickings. So loud were the sounds of battle behind them and the stench of smoke from missiles and bullets that even with their superior senses the Hybrids were clueless. Three went down in rapid succession without a single one noticing his presence and several more died even as they turned to face him. Gritting his teeth running even as he unloaded his mag into them. Those who lived after his brutal barrage of lead were put out of their misery with the butt of his rifle.

The Hybrids appeared to be making for some sort of portable shelter. A container not to different from the ones dropped by Buzzard's when inserting shock troops. It puzzled him why they would be making for such a object, but it did not reduce his aim, once, twice, three bursts of fire issued from his carbine, bringing yet another Hybrid to its knees. The five remaining Hybrids saw him now but strangely enough continued running. One running to either side of the shelter the rest turning to provide cover fire as they opened the massive crate.

It was a holding pen for Howlers.

They roared as the galvanised door shifted aside and exposed the sharp sunlight to their sensitive eyes. A thunderous wave of sound almost drowning out the battle issued from their throats. Karl stopped short; this was not what he had been expecting.

The Howlers small beady eyes spotted him as the Hybrids jumped to the side, they charged.

Karl ran. He had no illusions he could stop a pack of the beasts all by himself, and with the remaining Hybrids the only other choice was run and hope he could find a way to stop them.

The Howlers gave chase, their quadruped design allowing them to quickly gain on him. Karl began to pant with excursion. Despite the light material from which it was constructed his armour was not designed for running and his combat gear only added to the weight. His visored gazed scanned left and right as he fled, looking for anything that might help him. At last he spotted something, putting on a last burst of speed he angled for it.

His target was a rack of unused power cells, their lights growing green with the nuclear power they contained. He leaped over the rack and then pitting his shoulder against the frame attempted to knock it over, but it would not budge. Pushing harder he felt it tip, encouraged he put every last drop of strength into the task, urged by the thought of the fast approaching Howlers. A whole new meaning to the term 'Wolves at the Door'

The rack tilted and held still as though waiting to see if something would save it at the last minute and then fell. Its contents spilling out in all directions. Grimly Karl hurled a grenade at the unstable batteries and then leaped behind a piece of Chimeran technology, waiting for the huge explosion.

He was not disappointed. The grenade detonated just as the Howlers reached the rack, the resulting chain reaction blowing them into meaty chunks which rained down from the sky like red rain. Letting out a relieved sigh Karl stepped out from behind the now blackened silver metal.

And got a bullseye straight to the face.

The surviving Hybrids had seen the trap and leapt for cover. They now surrounded him as he fell to the ground. The leader pressed its gun to the side of head execution style. Still dazed from the butt to the head Karl could barely make out up from down let alone fight back. Letting out a guttural growl the leader prepared to fire, but in flash of light the bullseye exploded in his hand.

The Sentinels had mopped up the camp's defences and had come to the rescue of their leader. Almost twenty separate guns ripped the animals to shreds. In three seconds it was all over.

Karl accepted a hand and hauled himself to his feet. He picked up his carbine only to have it brake in half, the impression of a Chimeran foot clearly showing its method of destruction. Abandoning the weapon he surveyed the Sentinels.

"Anyone dead?" he questioned quickly counting their numbers. With a shock he realised that only sixteen were present. There should have been eighteen, six per squad.
"Donnelly broke his arm on entry and was shot before we could get to him" one member Karl didn't know informed. "Greg hurt his leg and stayed back at the camp to keep a lookout" he added.

Karl took it in. One Sentinel dead and another wounded. They had taken worse losses and in much smaller operations than this. He was surprised about Donnelly though, he had been so full of strength it had almost seemed like he would live forever. He had been leader of the second squad of the now X-Rays, officially designated Blue team.

"Sir" Daniel said formally "As suspected the Buzzards brought in a large number of Burrowers in with them, there aren't any left but we can see from the trails they left behind that they travelled east" Karl nodded, considering the subterranean nature of Northern Command it would have made sense to use Borrowers to begin the initial attack. Destroying its infrastructure and paving a path which allowed the rest to bypass the external defences.

"Show me" he motioned

---

Karl stood at the edge of burrowing ground. The massive trail of the giant mechanical worms separating and then leading into twenty individual dark holes, each one of them over 8 metres in diameter. They sloped down almost vertically, in their armour there would be no coming back up once they went down, at least without climbing equipment.

"What do we do now?" one of them questioned peering into the dark depths of one of them. Even with the flashlight built into his helmet he couldn't see the bottom.

"We climb down" Karl replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. This was followed by a lot of stares from the group. Climbing into Chimera tunnels was practically suicide. Apart from the many different strains which would be present down there the tunnels often contained mines, biological agents and sometimes a Burrower making a return trip. To the Sentinels it was referred to as the Gray Zone. Cut off from the outside world, hell even radios didn't work in the tunnels. Something the guys at Intelligence were still trying to figure out.

"Which ones and in how many groups?" Lina questioned business as usual

Karl considered the question. They needed to find the weapon and the 'Grayskin' quickly, as soon as the Chimera obtained this weapon they had so desperately come for they would detonate explosives and bury Northern Command leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. They mightn't even try to escape before the explosion. Chimera had no thoughts of self preservation, they were more than happy to be suicide bombers. There was no time to spare.

"Pick one and jump in, one person per hole" he ordered "we don't have time for anything else"

They looked at him questionably but slowly they began moving towards the pits. They understood what was at stake here.

Selecting the nearest god forsaken hole he went over the edge. Sliding down into the Gray Zone.

He slid for minutes, moving ever deeper into the darkness. The small ridges created by the monumental machines bumping his backside gently through his armour. Finally after what seemed like hours the ground levelled out and Karl picked himself up. Staring up he could just barely make out the spot of light which was the entrance. This worm sure had dug deep.

Activating his helmets flashlight he looked around. The tunnel seemed to go on fairly straight, no sign of the actual base though. Moving his hand to his back he was surprised to find his Carbine missing. He swore, he had forgotten to procure another weapon after his first had been destroyed. He didn't even have a sidearm! God forbid if he died at the hands of some menial because he was unarmed.

Deciding there was nothing for it but to press on he began moving along the underground passageway. The tunnel twisted and turned but seemed to stay roughly in the same direction, he found no Chimera or traps but he approached cautiously all the same.

Finally rounding a bend he came across his first glimpse of Northern Command, it was hardly distinguishable. The entire room was a mess of rubble and steel. Any entrances leading from it lay under a ton of rock. No way through here. He continued on.

Again the tunnel winded and turned yet always seemed to head in the same direction. It seemed to steadily move upwards as well, which made the going slower. After a while he began to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, what if it became too steep to climb? He would be trapped like a rat.

It was just as he thought this that he nearly lost his life.

If he had been paying attention he would have heard the distant scratching and growling of the Hybrids. He took three whole steps around the corner and into the open before he noticed them. Reacting with lightning fast reflexes he leaped back to cover. He had his ear pressed to wall, had they heard him? But after several seconds and no attack he figured he was safe and slowly edged around the corner again.

The Burrower had met an ill fated end, driven with typical Chimeran eagerness it had driven straight into the heart of the base, but by some unlucky stroke of misfortune had crashed into one of the bunkers many steel foundations. It had not been a soft crash either, the girder must have been three metres thick.

The digger had bust open like a tin can with two much air pumped into it. The front was completely decimated, the only exit through the holes in its side caused by the crash. Half the crew were out trying to get it going again, the others were laid out next to it. The casualties of the brutal collision.

Despite being happy at there being several less Chimera in the world and one Burrower biting the dust this caused a whole new set of problems for Karl. He was unarmed and there was a squad of Hybrids between him and his goal. At least he didn't have to worry about finding a route into Northern Command, a large gash had been torn through the thick cement revealing a soldiers barracks. It was only one hundred metres away but it might as well been a million.

He was looking for any way he could bypass the squad when one of the Hybrids caught his eye. Slowly taking out his binoculars he zeroed in on it.

It was definitely the leader, everything from the way it growled to the way it walked screamed "I'm in charge here" but the differences went far beyond that. Instead of the usual six cooling units on its back it had fourteen much smaller ones. They twitched and wiggled like quivers on its back, each one of them crisscrossed with blue electricity. This pattern spread across its armour in an ever expanding pattern. To Karl it gave the Chimera the look of a hologram, like out of those science fiction magazines he had read as a teenager.

But by far the biggest difference was its face. Its three sets of eyes were closer together and even from his distance he saw they were bug like, sticking out of their sockets and rotating, they worked independently from one another but at the same time coordinated. They were also a brilliant dark blue in contrast to the ordinary yellow. Its snout was much more angular, almost a streamlined version of an ordinary Hybrid with an overall narrower face. And if it were possible it seemed to have even more teeth than the original, the pointed fangs gleaming wickedly.

Karl made a mental note to mention this to intelligence. It was possible he had come across a new strain.

The leader evidently gave up trying to repair the busted burrower and called the Hybrids in. Gathering around him it appeared to be giving orders, curious for a Hybrid when they normally only used the most basic of tactics. After their talk the Chimera marched through the gash, Karl leaned forward eagerly. This was just the break he needed.

But at the last second the leader turned to the final Hybrid making its way into the base and pointed to their destroyed transport. The Hybrid let off a howl of protest but was quickly silenced by an even bigger roar from its commander, cringing it made its way back to the vehicle and stood. Satisfied the leader followed its troops through the opening into the base.

Karl seethed in frustration; trust him to come across the only Hybrid smart enough to leave a guard. Normally a single Hybrid would have posed little problem but alone and with only his knife for company taking out even one was going to be tricky. Seeing the Hybrid turn its back on him he began to creep towards it.

He had to move slowly, even the slightest noise would alert the Hybrid to his presence and despite its creators claims that the anti infection suit was designed for every situation moving stealthily was not one of them. More than once he had to hide behind a piece of rubble or broken metal when a loosed rock sent his enemy's gaze in his direction. Finally he was edging along the worm's battered bulk and within metres of his target knife drawn.

Readying himself he lunged.

The Hybrid spotted something on the ground and leaned over.

His knife instead of sinking into the demon's foul throat scraped one of its cooling apparatus's. Suddenly he was facing an armed, dangerous and very pissed Hybrid. All he managed to do was knock away its weapon and then it was upon him.

It's claw came straight across his neck, the razor sharp claws shredding the plastics and metals. The nails bit hard raking across his skin, he staggered back coughing and dropping his knife. He tasted blood.

The Hybrid flexed its hands and moved in for the kill. Eager for his flesh.

His vision turning red Karl punched the Hybrid straight in the face. Now it was its turn to step back, this time spitting out broken teeth. Karl did not relent, his second blow was already landing on its stomach, the beast wheezed as its soft underbelly gave the punch a loud thud as it landed. This was followed by a knee to the groin, the brown skinned monster collapsed to its knees.

Karl was far from done, skipping his knife and went straight for the thing's throat. His armoured fingers digging deep into the soft flesh. It gasped and clawed at him as slowly the life was choked out of it. He wrung its neck until it resembled clay, so bent out of shape and deformed it was impossible to guess what it might have been before the transformation. And blood, lots of blood.

He rose from the kill, examining his neck wound. It bled sluggishly but was not a major concern. It stung like hell though. The loss of adrenaline bringing back the pain the heat of battle had blocked. He was covered in the blood of his enemy, he had lost control. He criticised himself for such bloodthirstiness, fits of rage may be expected of a new recruit but such lapses were below him.

Sheathing his knife he looked for the discarded bullseye. Eventually after several minutes he found it...in pieces. The cheap weapon had spilt clean in half upon impact. He sighed, today was just not his day.

Deciding that nothing could be salvaged from the wreckage he moved towards the entrance to the base. Peeking around the corners he looked for the Chimera which had come through, no Hybrids but the place was a mess. The combination of the crash and the resulting panic from the invasion leaving the room in disarray. Prowling among the beds he finally found what he had been searching for... a working weapon.

It was a 22 LRR. A sub machine gun favoured by British commando's in close quarter and urban fighting. Affectionately dubbed "The Corkscrew" it held two hundreds rounds in two separate magazines. Using technology similar to those used in the Reaper pistols wielded by SlipSkulls the two magazines were used in unison, by meshing the bullets the gun could achieve a rate of fire faster than any other gun. 22 rounds a second in fact, the reason for its name. It's bullets were small and in comparison to other guns relatively weak. But the sheer number of bullets and its lightning fast speed ensured many a fan where moving fast was more important than brute strength.

Karl smiled as he inspected the weapon. As absurd as it sounded he did feel a lot better now with a weapon in hand. Realistically it made little difference at all; there were probably hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops in here and one gun was hardly going to make a difference. That didn't stop the feeling though as he retrieved several spare clips of ammunition sitting atop a nearby locker.

He proceeded down a nearby hallway. Three dead British soldiers lay there in a pool of blood, two engineers and the third a medic. They had never even stood a chance, their weapons not even drawn from their holsters. Karl made a sign of the cross and muttered a pray under his breath before proceeding. Even though he likely would have been forced to kill them himself had he come across them alive he still respected their cause.

Stepping over the bodies he came into must have been a cafeteria, half eaten meals and drinks abandoned in a hurry. He selected an entrance which seemed to have been the direction in which they had moved and went through it.
He passed through several more hallways and rooms without incident when his radio exploded with static.

"This is X-ray Sentinel Jade I am need of assistance are any friendlies out there?" came a female voice.

"This is X-ray leader Sentinel Manex what is your situation Jade?" Karl replied quickly, he looked left to right attempting to hear the source of her voice. She had to be close if the radio was picking up a signal down here.

"Oh thank god it's you Karl" Jade responded relief clear in her voice "I met up with Fred from Blue team a few minutes ago; everything was going well, no Chimera to speak of at all. Then suddenly a bunch of SlipSkulls ambushed us, Fred's down and I'm wounded. I managed to fight them off but one got away, can you help me?"

"Come in this is X-ray Sentinel Briar of Red team" came in a third voice.

"Tom" Karl exclaimed recognising his squad mate "Jade is in trouble and I can't locate her. Can you reach her?"

"Where are you" Tom questioned

"In some kind of storage area, a Burrower tore right through the hallway nearby" she answered desperation in her voice

"I think I passed that a few minutes ago" Tom replied "Hold your position until I get there"

"Thank you" Jade replied

Karl nodded to himself. He was unhappy about Fred's death, two Sentinels were down now but he was confidant Tom would bring Jade out alive. Despite being a little shaken from the killing of English soldiers in cold blood at York he was still one of Karl's most trusted men.

"I hear footsteps you must be close" Jade commented breaking in over the radio.

"No I'm still a few minutes away" Tom replied uncertainty in his voice

"Just some soldiers by the look of it" Jade informed and then to the approaching humans "Hey who are you..." before the radio became filled with the sound of gunfire. Then static.

Karl's heart leaped into his throat "Tom" he bellowed panic in his voice. Tom didn't waste time with words, panting as he ran to the room. Then that noise too was gone, the signal had cut out.

Karl stood still hoping to regain the signal but after a minute had to concede defeat. Had the fled SlipSkull returned? But she had said they were human, had they been British who had attacked her out of panic? Like at Nottingham? There was nothing to do but soldier on now, and hope Tom could deal with whatever had happened.

Karl continued on Corkscrew held tightly. Aside from occasional signs of a struggle he found nothing of note as he ventured ever deeper into the underground labyrinth. What was odd though that he found no more bodies, instead he found trails of blood, all converging and leading in the same direction.

Deciding to investigate he forwent what would have been his preferred path and followed the trail of crimson death. A red carpet to whatever was waiting at the end, and Karl had little doubt it would be unpleasant.

As he travelled Karl began to encounter his first power outed areas. It was little surprise considering the amount of damage which he had seen inflicted on the base. He thought little of it though, his helmet light providing ample illumination for the darkened areas. He was glad of it too, as soon the lighted areas ceased to be found. The small torch his only company in the pitch black darkness.
He entered what appeared to be large circular chamber when naturally the light went out.

At first he was too stunned by the darkness assaulting his eyes to do more than stop moving. Silence seemed to screech in his ears. Then something else. Concentrating he tried to identify the origin of the slight sound. It sounded sort of like...a slurp. So faint it was barely there. Fiddling with the lamp and the only result being a useless clicking noise he began moving towards what he remembered to be the direction of the centre.

The noise got louder as he moved forward. He stopped as his foot hit something. Moving slowly he nudged it and felt little resistance. It was soft. Not waiting to discover what it was he continued, stepping over it. No sooner had he taken two more steps than his boot once again bumped against something soft. Once again jumping over the obtrusion he again attempted to move on but found his path blocked by yet another soft object, and when he tried to skip over it he again encountered more softness. In all directions.

The slurping noise had grown stronger as he had pressed forward. It seemed to surround him, coming from all directions. Cogs began to tick inside his head. He decided that it was definitely not a loose pipe and began to make his way to what he believed to be the way out. But his foot caught and he fell to the ground face first.
Groaning in pain as his neck wounds reopened and fresh blood trickled down his chest he reached out hand. This did not grasp something soft though, it was scaly.

AND MOVING!

The thing twitched and in a screech was gone. Shaken Karl leaped to his feet and cocked his submachine gun. Turning around in all directions in an attempt to spot the movement of his attacker to no avail. The slurping noise seemed stronger now; he could make out individual tones, all the same. Slurp, Slurp, Slurp.

Karl would definitely be happy to be rid of this place now. But he was thoroughly disorientated now. He had no clue as to where he had come from or where he might find an exit. The darkness and the anonymous sounds were thoroughly unnerving him.

Doing another circle his gun clanged as it struck up against metal. Placing his hand on it he felt switches and relaxed slightly. He knew what this was; back in the US these things were used as portable power suppliers, mostly in military camps. Feeling around the back he found it was already plugged in. Locating the main power switch he flicked it. And the lights on roof spluttered to life.

And what he saw almost made him wish he hadn't.

The room was filled with corpses. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. They were piled four or five thick in some places and sometimes higher. They encircled him in every direction. They weren't clean either. Blood poured not only from their death wounds but also from those obviously made post mortem. Many had been gutted their ribcages torn open and their chests hollowed out. Skulls were cracked open with brain matter scattered about like pink salmon. Karl gagged at the sight, he felt sick inside.

The culprits of such defiling were not hard to spot, indeed many still gorged on unconcernedly, their massive slippery bites making the sounds Karl had noticed earlier.

They were leapers. Over a hundred, filling their bellies in what must have been an all you can eat buffet for them. Their screeches filled the air as the light angered their now used to the dark eyes. In seconds Karl was the focus of almost every Leaper in the room.

Swearing Karl opened fire. His bullets punching holes in several of the scorpion's hard skin and killing a dozen before they had the chance to move. Sighting the long sought after exit he ran for it, cutting down any of the insects which got in his way with swathes of gunfire. He felt a lancing pain in his thigh and turning around brought his foot down on a Leaper which had got to close. He dropped his two magazines and inserted a fresh ones moving all the while. Backing up he held the monsters at bay through the sheer amount of bullets he pumped into their ranks, and still they came, their mouth's wide open and screeching their terrifying cacophony. Finally reaching the door he continued to fire one handed while the other struggled with the door. The first ones just metres away from him and already preparing to make their sharp lethal hopping actions which had earned them their names, he closed the door with a smash. Taking special care to lock it tightly.

He rested there for a moment. The horrible screaming still bellowing even through the door's thick metal. He had seen death, bucket loads of it. But that hadn't made the sight any less horrifying. A conversion centre...thousands of men being converted in a wave of crawlers... blood everywhere...and seeing it all without being able to lift a hand to help.

He shook his head dislodging the memory. Think of the task at hand.

He once again made his way down the now lit corridor. The blood leading into the slaughterhouse made the cement slick and forced him to move carefully. Last thing he needed was a broken back.

As he moved he cast his thoughts back to the implication of the feeding room for the Leapers. Such a set up was not constructed just for a few hours insurrection. Did the Chimera mean to take the base intact rather than merely blowing it to bits? Chimera rarely cared for any kind of Human technology, but was this secret weapon different? If it was their only hope then they would truly be doomed if the Chimera turned it against them.

He came into a junction and on a whim chose the left path. The one which was not bathed in blood. Above him what seemed like a tremor occurred, evidently other Burrowers were still in commission. He held onto the wall until the worst of the quakes subsided, glaring in the direction where he suspected the tunneler was.

The tremors having passed he stepped away from the brick barrier. Massaging his neck he briefly allowed himself to gain his bearings and was just about to move out when his radio came alive. He moved his hand to the button located on his helmet.

"Anyone there" he called out

"That you Sarge?" a young voice came back questionably

Karl sighed "I'm a captain Jack". Honestly sometimes he wondered whether the Australian was clueless or just enjoyed playing the fool. Perhaps both. Either way he was a damn good soldier.

"Okay Captain" Jack replied with a large emphasis placed on the second word in what could have been sarcasm. "I'm here with Steve and Daniel and we think we've found our err... secret weapon"

"Jack?" Karl responded questionably. There had been a strange hesitation in the man's speech. "What's wrong?"

"It's an Angel" Steve replied instead. "They had us running around after this death trap like dogs, all for a *bleep*ing angel" his voice growling in anger.

Karl was stunned, they had seen several angels during their trips into England. Always hovering hundreds of metres above the ground. They had no interest in combat, at the first sign of being threatened they almost always fled. Karl wasn't sure which was the bigger shock, the fact that the British had been able to catch one or that they had actually believed they could contain such a monster.

Then a second thought occurred to him. What if the British hadn't meant to contain it? If the creature had been brought overseas the Chimera would have followed it like a flock of sheep. Had the government even known what they had been trading for? Had the British planned to betray them?

"What's its status?" he finally asked

"Dead" Daniel replied. "There was a big battle here, dozens of Hybrids and British regulars all killed before we arrived" his voice grave. "All except one"

"He opened up the specimen tank" Jack broke in excitedly, "And he killed the thing singlehandedly" he said in a rush. "Of course then we realised the Angel was the secret weapon Command had us chasing"

"Well that's one of the two objectives done with" Karl replied, "Inform the rest of the team of the Angel if you can, if you use morse code you should be able to boost the power and break through the concrete"

"There's one more thing" said Daniel "Were not sure but Jack thinks' he saw a Cloven in the shadows earlier. If he was really there he disappeared before me or Steve could see him, but we thought we should inform you just in case"

"You know the procedure" Karl said back dread in his voice "Were not allowed to let any confidential data fall into Cloven hands, see if you can find where the British keep their files. Burn them all, leave no trace"

"He...Karl you....breaki....up" came back a voice he couldn't recognise. The entire frequency was being engulfed in static.

Then he noticed the growls.

He turned and fired from the hip catching the first Hybrid in the stomach. The small bullets creating dozens of punctures in its chest. It dropped to the ground only for another to step over its corpse, and then another, and another.

He took cover behind an alcove breaking off from the small hallway. Bullseye bullets giving off the smell of smouldered rock as they impacted against his position. He fired around the corner blindly emptying the whole clip. More to make them think twice before advancing than actually trying to hurt anyone. Dropping the dual smoking magazines he inserted a pair of fresh ones. He hoped they were enough, he only had two more spare.

Stepping out he sighted and fired, the Hybrids ducked back from their positions. His eyes opened in shock as he realised one of them was the strange blue eyed Hybrid he had seen before. It stepped out into the open and unleashed a torrent of its own ammunition in return. But he sidestepped the poorly aimed response and opened up again. Too late the Hybrid saw it had been outwitted.

Or so Karl thought, the blue eyed Hybrid in a movement so fast it could scarcely be seen with the naked eye grabbed one of its comrades and gripped it in front of him. The Hybrid had only a chance to growl before Karl's bullets cut it down. The inhuman shield soaking up the rounds in place of its leader. With a snarl the Hybrid cast the body aside and with its remaining ally advanced under a screen of bullets.

There was no dodging this attack as the Sentinel retreated to his cover. Two rounds struck him and one penetrated his armour. He gasped as the white projectile buried into his flesh, pain already lancing up his side. But he gritted his teeth and peeked around the corner. The Hybrids had him suppressed now, taking turns to empty their clips while the other advanced. It was a tactic which had been used since the invention of firearms and Karl was surprised to see the two Chimera using it. Usually they did not have the heads for such manoeuvres.

He fired some more shots around the corner and managed to wound the ordinary Hybrid but it kept on coming. He prepared for one final burst of gunfire which would see him dead but might give him the chance to take out one of them. Better to die fighting than to huddle behind a lump of rock in fear. He leaped out from behind the wall and opened fire on the first of the Chimera. A spray of bullets catching it across the neck and stopping it dead instantly. He swung his gun towards the second of his attackers knowing it was futile. Already the blue eyed Hybrid's gun was rising, its finger already pressing the trigger. It was too fast.

Then in an almighty crack a bullet came from behind and caught the beast on the side of head. Half its face ripped off by the brutal slug. The creatures hand went to its head in shock. It's angular snout hissing a wordless snarl, before it fell to the cold cement quivering.

There at the end of the hallway stood Lina, nothing distinctive about her beyond her smoking Fareye sniper rifle. She lowered it and surveyed the dead Hybrids.

"You've been busy" she commented. Karl couldn't help but smile at that, talking about your kills was as about as close to casual conversation as Lina got. Even now she was chambering another bolt into here rifle, preparing for the next encounter.

"Thanks for the help" he said back trying to not grip his side where the bullet had penetrated. Lina would demand she remove the bullet and stitch the wound right now if she saw he was wounded. Blood and guts did not bother her in the slightest.

As she made her way towards him Karl looked at the blue eyed Hybrid. He wasn't sure why but his gaze drew him to the things now ravaged face. The left side of it was almost completely gone, even the three eyes. The other three were shut. He was about to move on when a stir of movement caught his eye. One of the closed eye lids had a crack of blue beneath it.

The Hybrid was faking!

"Lina" he yelled but it was too late. With unnatural agility it leapt to its feet and gripping her by the throat hurled her into him, sending them both crashing to the ground. Grunting as another jolt of pain radiated from his chest he shoved her aside and aimed his Corkscrew from the floor, determined to go down fighting.

But the Hybrid was interested only in flight, running down the hallways as fast as its clawed feet would carry it. Karl opened fire as it rounded the corner and managed to land a few hits, but then it was gone.

Leaping to her feet and swearing in Russian Lina ran to the corner and stepped out gun raised, but turned to him and shook her head. It had escaped and trying to follow it in this labyrinth would be a waste of time. Not to mention dangerous.

"How did it survive?" she asked mainly to herself as she came back to him and gave him a hand getting up. Karl shook his head. This strain was evidently stronger than a normal Hybrid. And faster and smarter to boot. A deadly combination.

"I found an exit" she mentioned "I think the Grayskin is gone, I overheard some British radio signals detailing his Evac, he's heading to Somerset now I think". Karl wondered why on earth he would be heading there but decided to leave such thoughts until they had escaped this tomb.

"Where is it?" he asked



The exit turned out to be a small elevator shaft, leading all the way to the surface. Activating a small radio burst flare unit they waited for the others to home in on the signal. In total fourteen Sentinels reported in. Jade and Fred, the two members from Blue Team who he had contacted over the radio were missing. For a while Karl thought all three were lost, until Tom came in, the last of them.

"What happened" he asked urgently gripping the man by the shoulder. Tom looked tired, his head drooped and his shoulders were slumped. And there was something else different about him. Something Karl couldn't place.
"Jade and Fred are dead sir" Tom Briar answered his voice lacking emotion. Karl took a step back. Three Sentinels lost in a single mission, was the price they were paying worth this Grayskin? It had better be.

"How did they die?" he asked quietly making sure no one else present at the lift could hear them. Best to keep up morale until after they were out of here and back at the relative safety of Grey Hammer.

"That Slipskull they mentioned came back with reinforcements" he said dejectedly "I killed them but it was too late"

Karl nodded. "I'm sure you did all you could" he said attempting to comfort the man. But Tom flinched away from his touch and walked over to the lift, facing the wall. He didn't say a word even as they boarded the waiting transports on the surface.