Shovels and Shotgun: Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2

Everything was on fire and it was all Charles’ fault. It wasn’t her fault that she had to shoot the cans of promethium that set a group of cultists ablaze nor was it her fault that she had to keep grabbing the molotov’s laying around to set everyone ablaze, that was Charles doing. After all, He was the one that charged down their perfectly safe ledge without hearing out the plan they were trying to make to avoid this exact same situation.

And so there they were, trapped atop a fortress with no way to go but forward. There seem to be need end in sight as the crazed cultist poured out from every doorway and stairwell. “Death the servants of the corpse emperor!” They screamed amidst the roar of gun fire and guttural screaming of the damned and dying.

“There’s too many of them!” Usky shouted while Bud roared out as he poured suppressive fire upon their enemies.

Hiding behind some ferrocrete barriers, she prayed to the emperor for strength. “Holy Emperor, Divine Justicar, give me strength to overcome this challenge. Let your light guide my shots and smite my foes that I might live on,” She chanted as she tied a grenade to a bottle of promethium. Lighting the wick, she felt rightious fury fill her heart as she screamed out, “So that I could give the fucking piece of shit who dragged us all into this a peace of my mind!”

Her life as a boring scout, her retirement plan, her Emperor’s be damned peace and quiet, ruined because of one man.

Popping out of cover, she pulled the pin to he grenade and lobbed it at the enemy with all her might.  “Die!” She screamed as she came out of her cover, letting her Longlas run hot as she charged ahead, catching up to Bosco as he slowly made his way forward.

Unlike his asshole of a partner, Bosco was dependable as his tall stature attracted their attention while his shield soaked up their fire. Bosco, Bosco was the persons he could trust with her life as he was there, not like a certain asshole. Everyone should be like Bosco.

“When I get my hands on Charles, I swear I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!” She ranted as she let her shots fly, picking of the cutlist armed with guns while leaving the rest of the mob to her squad.

“Aw, come now Cici, Charle’s not that bad!” Bosco replied with a cheerful smile, “He just got impatient, that’s all. ” Wading ahead, the Ogryn wielded his club with deadly efficiency, smashing and tearing through people as he opened up a path for them. The floor became sleek with gore and blood yet the bodies provided a a path for them to stand on.

“Less talking,” She scolded him before pausing as she heard a huge mutant bellow out before it charged straight at them. Shifting away from the mob, she turned and aimed her rifle right between their eyes. steadying her breath, she let her heart beat before squeezed down on the trigger. The brute fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings as she carved a new hole for them to breath through, “And more killing!”

“I miss this!” Bosco laughed as their slow march to the main gate continued. Despite the number of guns on their end, they still couldn’t catch up Charles who ran ahead.

“Fuck you! And you and all of you!” She cursed out, hating every second of this. They should have run, they should have let the man met his end but to come back to the general empty handed and the goat path discovered would have them all killed. She wanted to live so she fought.

“Damn Cici, you’re awfully lively right now,” Hasim teased her as he covered their back while Usky and Bud repositioned. “In a hurry to catch up to your lover after he ran from you?”

“Not now Hasim!” She gritted out in frustration. Her already frayed patience was gone and this could be their end. Couldn’t he at least be a bit more serious for once?

And so, they kept firing, their lasguns growing hot enough that the barrels deformed but they could not afford to rest nor can they stop firing. It felt like forever until finally, their section of the wall finally fell silent.

“Oh fuck, we actually got them all!” Bud laughed as he panted, hot steam wafting off his bestial form. She wasn’t too hot looking herself as sweat drenched her form. By the skin of their teeth, they actually cleared everyone leaving only the blaring alarms of the alarms ringing in the killing field. She could still hear people shouting at them but for a moment, they could breath.

“Ammo! Everyone grab ammo!” She shouted, reminding everyone to be on their toes. Kneeling down to scrounge up ammo from the dead, she turned her gaze to the massive towers that held the gates to the eastern fringes of the continent.

Up close, she felt dwarfed by them, like an ant staring up from the base of a tree. Up close, she could now see just why the walls of this fortress were red. Nailed to towers were the dead and dying, their blood staining the wall.

She felt her skin crawl at the sight. It felt as if her head was being scratched up from the inside from a mere gaze upon the walls. Maybe it was why Charles run up ahead. He was a Krieger afterall, albeit a weird one, and there were enemies to be had. Speaking of the man, he had left them behind, the windows of the towers lighting up as the scream of people filled the air. How were they going to to catch up to him?

Before she could even think of anything else, she felt the hair in the back of her neck rise as she felt a soft rumbling from the other end of the wall. She stood there frozen, her heart beating hard inside her chest as everyone turned to where she stared. “Oh fuck,” Hasim whispered as a column of Traitor Leman Russ loomed over the distance, their barrels trained at them.

“Their quite early,” Bosco muttered with a frown as he picked up his shield once more, “Thought reinforcement wouldn’t come until we captured the gate.”

While Bosco was down and eager to fight again, the rest of the squad wasn’t so keen about it. “Oh hell no,” Bud then said, voicing their opinion as he started backing away as looked up to the ledge and back at them, “I ain’t paid enough for this.”

She was about to agree until she realized just how far they had gotten. Now that they were at the base of one of the large towers, it would be a mad dash back. It was a hard choice, to fight on or flee but it wouldn’t be up to them as cultist started flooding up once more, cutting them off from their only way out.

“By the Emperor, there’s more of them!” Usky cursed as he too started backing away, his grip on his gun growing slack.

“What the hell do we do?!” Bud shouted, looking around in panic, “We’ll get slaughtered here!”

Not even the normally unflappable and cheerful Hasim could hide his fear any longer. “We’re trapped here…” He whispered in horror before he ducked as the first shots of the Leman rang out. She and the rest of the squad ducked for cover as more soon follow. Not even Bosco could handle it as he huddled up with them.

It was bad, they were now stuck between two forces converging on their position. Looking up to the ledge, she could see that it was a far shorter and less brutal route. There were mobs yes but they didn’t have to face the tanks slowly making their way towards them. If they take that route however, they would abandon not only the mission but one of their own.

It was now or never, do they run behind their tails or stay and fight? Clenching her fist, she screamed out, “Like hell we are!” Grabbing Hassim and forcing him up to his feet, she dragged him along as she shouted, “Everyone, to the tower!”

“Are you mad Cici!? You want us to fight more enemies?” Bud asked, picking up his gun as he followed along and so too did the rest of the squad. Under withering gun fire from the tanks, they ran into the open gates of the towers, following the path that Charles made for them.

“It’s the only way out!” She told them, “Charles is still fighting up there and would you really want another round up here?” before she gestured to the screaming mob of rabid cultist and traitors. It was the only option left for them, to follow their wayward squad member and see the mission through. Even if they do die, at least they’d die quick rather than be torn apart by the hands of these assholes.

“Fuck she’s right,” Hasim whispered, snapping out of his funk as he picked up his pace. Letting go of her hands, he called out to them, “Everyone, to the towers now!”

“How about the plan?!” Bud asked.

“Fuck the plan!” She spat out as they passed the threshold. If merely staring at the walls made her uneasy, being inside made her stomach feel like it was twisting and turning on its own. Gritting her teeth, she powered through as she shouted,  “We split up, we die!”

-x-x-x-

The situation inside the tower was no less intense than it was outside. Despite the hundreds of bodies littering the floor, there were still more popping out of every corner. It was a brutal slog up the tower with cultist jumping out of every corner and even from the pile of corpses as well. Their horrible mutations made it hard to know if they were killed or merely disfigured, making it more of a slog.

She almost missed the wide open space off the top of the wall. At Least there, she didn’t have to deal with some random cultist trying to stab her in the back; they’ll just gut her from the front. With her eyes peeled and her ears straining for any sound, she asked, “Any signs of your friend, Bosco?”

The big ogryn had taken in a more forward role, leading them in the tower. It was almost eerie how the man moved without hesitation or maybe even a strange familiarity to the place but she chalked it off to just pure dumb luck. After all, the Emperor always looked out for his most unfortunate of children.

“He’s up ahead, just following the screaming!” The big guy told them just as a screaming cultist came dropping from the very top of a spiral staircase to down where they were.

“Yeah, I can see why,” Hasim replied as he knelt down, searching for the mutilated corpse for any power cell or ammo they could use. He would find only ammo but no weapons strangely but it was what it was and it was shared among them. Wiping off the blood on the corpse shirt, she pocketed the offered ammo. Waste not want not, the motto of any soldier out in the field. “He also cleaned up the place as well,” their squad leader noted.

Yes, they had to shoot a few more but it was more those chasing after them or the stragglers. The Krieger was simply relentless. It was disconcerting how most of the mans victims were sliced open by something sharp rather than shot but she didn’t have time to think much on it as they got up the stairs.

After several miles of stairs and a few helpful elevators, along with a few pockets of resistance, they finally reached the top of the tower and not a moment too soon as she felt like her legs were about to fall off. She didn’t know how long they had been fighting or how long they had been walking but they reached the very top. They were a ragged bunch and poor Bosco had it worst as he looked bright red and panting.

“Let’s rest for a minute, Charles can have his share of the violence,” Hasim panted, a bit out of breath. She didn’t argue with that as even those chasing them wasn’t having a good time. Whoever made this tower wanted people to suffer through stairs.

And so they sat there, all while the screams of traitors echoed across the halls. Unlike earlier, there were no more surprises. Their pursuers would take some time, giving them ample time to restock and check their gear. Sharing ammo amongst themselves, Cici made sure she had plenty enough for herself.

Looking around, she could see the care and effort placed in making this fortress. From it’s high vaulted ceiling to the artworks venerating the past heroes of the imperium, it wasn’t merely a fortress but a dedication to the glory of man; a dedication tarnished by vandals who seeked to defile every inch of it. Walking up to the remains of the ruins of a stained glass depicting an angry angel of the emperor with the number twelve upon them, she wondered how the rest of the army was doing now?

Looking outside, she could see the clouds stretching as far as the eye could see along with the streaks of artillery slamming against the fortress. The offensive has began and they need to get it opened for them. Cursing, she whirled around, as she called out, “Up! Up!” Forcing her squad mates up to their feet she then told them, “We need to open the gates now!” before pointing at the column of dust moving towards the fortress.

They quickly got to their feet, strapping on their gear as they did so. Looking to the direction where Charles headed, Bud then asked, “Wait, why did the screaming stop?” before a look of a panic dawned on his face. Looking back at them, he asked, “Fuck, is he dead?!”

The familiar sound of people getting disemboweled no longer rang out as it was replaced with silence. Cici was about to bolt for it when Bosco suddenly spoke up, “No, I think Charles just found the Boss Room.”

Bewildered, everyone just stared at him and he looked at them as if they were the ones that didn’t get it. “What the hell are you talking about?” Hasim asked.

“It’s the boss fight you see, nothing to worry about,” Bosco replied as he jogged ahead, leaving them all scrambling to catch up to the giant’s huge stride.

“What boss! Oh god, is there a Warboss here?” She asked. Traitors were on thing but an Ork Warboss? She did not want to meet one up here, where there’s no where she could run and hide. All sorts of horrific scenarios popped up in her head. She really was going to die here wasn’t she?

“Not that kind of boss silly,” Bosco laughed as an eager smile stretched across his face, “I mean the big bad boss of this fortress! Charles really hates him.” His answer however only opened up more question. Charles knew who controlled this fortress? Was there history between them?

All thoughts however would fly out of the window when they finally caught up to the man. There, in the end of a great corridor sat Charles as he slowly spun a piece of prime grox meat over an open fire all while the entrance to the control room lay open. Perking up, the man then had the gall to turn to them and waved as if nothing had happened.

Slowly, she walked up to him, all feelings melting away as the man stared at him in confusion. Her pace quickly picked up as she got to a running start with a warcry. Bewilderment gave way to fear as she leapt at him, her fist cocked before socking him on the jaw. It hurts, it hurts so bad but seeing the man’s head turn as he was sent flying was all to satisfying.

“You asshole!” Cici roared out as she marched up to him, raising her other hands as she questioned him, “How long have you been waiting here?!”

The man cocked his head before he raised up a single finger. Frowning, fury then bubbled up from her chest as she screamed at him, “An hour?! And you didn’t even think about coming back to us to tell you’re ok?” Cocking back her other arm, she struggled not to punch him again but she decided against it.

Seeing the man look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head, she felt the fires of hate inside her heart dim. With a long suffering sigh, she let her anger go as she marched toward the open control rooms, “Whatever, let’s just get this over with!”

Without a moment of hesitation, she passed through the open gates. Ignoring how the hairs in the back of her neck stood as well as the cries of Bosco and the muffled call fo Charles, she ranted, “I don’t get you two! One moment your competent and reliable and the next thing I know, you dragged us to bloodbath!” Shaking her hed, she added, “Here I was worried about you getting your limbs torn from your body cause you charged straight into a Warboss and then I found you grilling food!”

“Cici!” Bosco called out to him but she was not done yet, not when she could see the buttons to open the fortress door flashing right in front of her. Right now, the lights told her it was closed and all she needed to do now was press the other one.

Marching up to the control panel, she continued. “How the hell could you be so inconsiderate? You didn’t offer us a bite or something! You could have at least finished the job!” She maybe a bit upset but she held back from the worst of it as she reached out to the button.

“Cici! No! Don’t push the button!” The two idiots called out but she was not having anymore of their shenanigans, not when they could get this done with. With a simple push, the button labeled to open the mechanism lit up to light and the room rumbled.

For a second, she waited before she smirked as nothing happened. Turning to them and walking back to them, she called out, “Oh stop being so overdramatic, it’s not like a giant would come crashing down from the ceiling-!” before she jumped in surprise as a big heavy thud landed behind her.

Looking towards her squad, she could see the sheer terror in their eyes as heavy footsteps echoed in the now not so empty control room. “Someone’s behind me isn’t it?” She asked them as a shadow stretched over her slight form.

It wasn’t them that would answer a deep growl replied behind her, “Well well well, what do we have here?”