Guns and Blood (3)
Special Forces Captain Seong Gyu-hyuk's younger sister, Seong Ga-yeon. She finally looked at the face of the man holding her. Her eyes welled up with tears, her face crumpling into a sob.
"Oppa? Is that you, oppa?"
"Yeah, Ga-yeon. It's me."
Even the iron-willed Special Forces captain with his steel-hard face could make an expression like that. Yeah. When it's family, anyone would.
...I wonder how my little sister is doing.
Seong Ga-yeon clung to her brother, sobbing. Seong Gyu-hyuk said,
"You did well. You held on strong."
"How? How the hell did you get here? There was no rescue op. You came for me?"
Seong Gyu-hyuk didn't answer. Instead, he stroked her head once, then glanced at her ankle.
"Can't walk, huh?"
Her ankle was swollen like it had a baseball stuffed inside. When Seong Gyu-hyuk lightly touched it with a finger, Seong Ga-yeon let out a pained groan. Cold sweat beaded across her body and forehead.
Seong Gyu-hyuk nodded, then jerked his head toward the squad members behind me. He stood, opened the wardrobe door. The squad members approached and held Seong Ga-yeon steady.
"This'll hurt. Don't make a sound."
One of them pulled off his belt and stuffed it in her mouth. Seong Gyu-hyuk slammed his fist into the wardrobe door with all his strength.
Crack! The door splintered. He gripped the broken wood and ripped it free with a creak. Two pieces of wood. The other squad members unbuckled their belts and knelt by her swollen ankle. Precise, synchronized movements.
Realizing what they were about to do, Seong Ga-yeon nodded and bit down on the belt. Seong Gyu-hyuk applied the splint to her ankle. Wrapped the belt around. And tightened.
"Hnnngh...!"
She trembled like she'd been electrocuted. Two Special Forces members pinned her shoulders; Seong Gyu-hyuk and another tightened the belt around her ankle. All in less than 30 seconds. Trained pros were on another level.
I nodded and said,
"Good on you for saving her, but don't forget the mission."
The Special Forces members and Seong Ga-yeon looked at me. I nodded toward the side. The direction of the armory.
"Let's go. Time to grab weapons."
The squad members nodded. Seong Ga-yeon looked at me, then them, her face hardening as she nodded too. Having her comrades and brother nearby must've given her courage.
Seong Gyu-hyuk handed a pistol to a squad member and supported his sister. Then the five of them followed me down the stairs.
"Um, wait."
As we headed out, Seong Ga-yeon said quietly. I turned. She was drenched in sweat. Days of no food, no water, constant tension, fear, and agony from her ankle. No doubt sleepless for days.
She said,
"Who are you? What unit...?"
"Han Sung-hoon. Civilian."
Short answer, then out the door. From behind, her voice: Civilian...?
She didn't know me. Made sense if the Special Forces teams were on separate missions and I was classified info among them. Team 2's job was linking up with me, probably.
Anyway, not the time for explanations. The squad stayed silent too. We hustled to the armory.
...Quiet. Faint cries in the distance, but not close. Small mercy.
I eyed the warehouse door.
"...Tch."
Not good. The door was twisted, like something had rammed it hard.
I pointed at it for Captain Seong Gyu-hyuk and the squad. They approached, saw it, and reacted—twitching brows, quiet sighs.
They knew too. Opening that door would make a hell of a screech. Every beast in this US base would come running.
I scanned around. Park that way we'd come from. If aggroed, they'd swarm from there.
Status checked earlier—nearly full.
"...Hoo..."
I looked at Seong Gyu-hyuk. He met my eyes. I grabbed the door. Pointed inside the base.
That way. Squad nodded. Seong Gyu-hyuk leaned his sister against the warehouse wall, released her. Squad gathered around me.
I tugged the door gently. Stuck. Wouldn't budge.
...Gotta force it.
"Hoo..."
I shrugged off my backpack, set it on the road two steps away. Unzipped. Six mags.
Glanced aside. Seong Ga-yeon watching on one foot. Squad too.
I stepped to the door, eyed them. Their gazes. That was our signal—ready.
Deep breath. Suuup.
Pulled it open.
Screeeeech!
"Inside, move!"
Seong Gyu-hyuk led, squad rushed the armory. I drew a sword, went to Seong Ga-yeon.
GRRAAAAAH!KYAAAAA!
Roars. Like hundreds of beasts howling at once. Then drumming footsteps.
Crash! Shatter! Glass breaking.
I scanned fast. From the park. And inside the base. Both sides swarming.
"Hic, haak, hngh, haak!"
Seong Ga-yeon hyperventilating. I gritted my teeth. No choice.
Calmly: "You're about to see some weird shit. Just roll with it."
She looked at me, eyes questioning. I sheathed one sword. Pulled two mags from my bag, gripped in right hand. Sword in left.
Left: base side. Right: two mags. Right: park.
KYAAAA!GRRAAH!
Roars and footsteps closing. They're coming.
"Hngh, haak, hngh!"
Her teeth chattering. I clenched my jaw, waited. Coming, coming...!
"GRRAAAAH!"
Here.
Auto-cast: Acceleration
Left. Just 3-4 meters ahead. I flung the sword in my left hand sideways.
Whoosh!
Shadows burst from my fingertips, toes, snagged the sword. Kill.
Shadow planted its feet, raised the sword. Crouched. Swung.
I eyed right. Human beasts filling the road. Small wave from the park.
Threw the mags into the air. They floated slow. Mags released, I drew the Ingram from my right thigh holster. Thrust forward.
Right in front. Circular field formed before the Ingram's muzzle. Anything touching the transparent circle—any part, even a fingertip—glowed red.
I swept the SMG sideways, pulled the trigger.
Chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk.
White flowers bloomed in the air. Spread sideways into a field. Muzzle flashes drifted slow.
Ingram MAC-10, 18 rounds per second. Thirty rounds pierced thirty heads. Mags empty.
No jam this time. Switched to left thigh Ingram. Left hand. Swept opposite. Trigger.
Chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk.
Lost count of Accelerations. Five-plus for sure. Mags empty. Ejected both Ingrams' empties. Raised arms.
Two empty mags floating lazy. Looked up. The two I'd tossed earlier, spinning slow.
Raised Ingrams, slammed into the overhead mags.
Click. Locked. Other side too.
Click.
Dropped hands, caught falling mags. Stuffed in back pocket. Two Ingrams hovering. Reached up, gripped. Acceleration ended.
"--Guh-urk!"
Sixty human beasts ahead sprayed blood, collapsed in a heap. Whooshes and impacts behind. Sword slashes. Crashing bodies.
Ahead. Beyond the corpses, dozens of meters out.
KAAAH!
More coming. Trampling bodies, tripping, clawing up, charging.
Auto-cast: Acceleration
Raised both hands, aimed ahead. Triggered, spread arms wide.
Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.
Thirty, forty beasts in sight. Lost count of shots. Can't stop precisely by headcount.
So, keep firing.
Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat.
Multiple Accelerations later, mags empty. White smoke wisped from both Ingrams. Sixty rounds rapid-fired—needs a tune-up.
But I've got Preservation Gloves. No, Shadow Gloves. Maintenance? Fuck it.
Holstered both on thigh straps. Extended right hand sideways.
Behind—the stragglers. Not many. Twenty, thirty tops. Should be done.
Acceleration ended.
"--Guh-rulk!"
Dozens far ahead toppled en masse. Sharp wind.
Sword slapped into my hand.
"...Hoo."
Sword. Drenched in blood. White smoke rising.
Shook it out.
Splat!
Sheathed.
Shing-clack.
Silence.
...Eyes on me. Turned. Seong Ga-yeon staring. Blank face. Eyes huge. Mouth opening, closing, speechless.
GRRAAAA- Distant barks.
Warehouse door screech. Ingram bursts. Even far ones aggroed.
"H-How...?"
She finally spoke. I looked at her. No words for it.
"...More coming. Focus on escaping now."