OMG. This thread is way too funny for words. I need to d/l Zoner's HL tools for HL:Manifestation so I thought "Hey! I can upload my story!"
So...(brace yourself and try not to pee)...here it is.
Chapter 7
?Hell in all directions.?
It was time for Mark to make the decision. Kaufman wasn?t the kind of guy you could follow into the unknown. He was a mysterious character and came off as too much of a risk taker. Mark had been under Dan?s command before and he was much cooler about his actions. Mark thought back to the advice Dan had given him when they were pinned by the gunship back in the city. It had only been a day ago but it seemed like forever.
?I?m going with Dan.? Mark said, looking Kaufman dead in the face.
?Fine.? Kaufman shrugged. ?Come on people, lets move out.?
?Actually I?m going with Dan too.? said Fitz. Suddenly everyone else stopped and turned to Fitz. These boys all felt the same about Kaufman. They had all been discussing his leadership in comparison to that of Fitz while he was in the combine base. He just didn?t have the level of respect.
?Alright.? Said Kaufman ?Fine! It?s like that? Fuck you all then!?
?Oh come on.? Said Dan ?I need a squad leader anyway. You can be lieutenant.?
?Fuck you!? Kaufman spun around giving the squad the finger. ?I?ll go on my own.?
As he turned back to the outpost to walk away a huge explosion rumbled the ground beneath the men?s feet. A huge tripod like creature burst up from behind the hill, blinding the men with a nose-mounted floodlight. Kaufman turned and pelted towards the squad. Then the cry went out. A cry that would be heard many more times and would send a chill down the spine of even the most hardened soldiers.
?STRIDER!?
The beast stood upright and its abdomen slung out, aiming towards the squad. Its incredible charging force bent the light around and into it. Kaufman had been the only one to see this before. He knew the incredible force that was about to be released. He knew it all to well.
?OH FUCK!? He screamed. The squad was desperately running, trying to reach the ridge of the hill before the particle cannon released. Mark turned back to see the blast. A deafening bang rang through his ears as a blue beam of light ripped the air past his right ear. The explosion sent him hurtling onto his back and all he saw was a blinding white light. He thought he was dead for a second or two, until the sky came back into focus. He couldn?t move anything except for his head. He was almost totally paralysed. He turned his head to the left to see Kaufman facing him. His eyes were staring blankly into the grass and his face was covered in blood. His stomach had been blasted wide open and his guts had been spread across the grass. Mark didn?t want to think about it and simply looked away. He turned his head right, so as not to look at the horror in Kaufman?s dead face only to see another body even more worse off. The ribcage and contained organs were splattered across the ground and the remaining arm was completely mangled and raised, holding a wildly chattering radio. Mark almost stopped himself from looking at the face. He didn?t want to know who this was but he had to. He looked at the remains of the face. The skin had been torn away making it unrecognisable. However wasn?t Fitz and it wasn?t Dan. He heard their voices just behind him.
?FUCK!? yelled Dan.
?Where the fuck is your radio?? Fitz asked frantically.
?Gregory has it.? Amber shouted.
?Ok. Where the fuck is Gregory?? Dan was looking around.
?All over the fucking place.? The voices were getting closer. Fitz dove to the ground next to the remains of Gregory. Mark struggled and lifted his arm. Fitz fell back and yelled. ?Holy shit! Mark?s still alive.?
?Bring him up here.? Dan yelled as the strider continued to pelt the landscape with its rail gun. Mark felt himself being dragged by the shoulders. Suddenly he was behind a rock, which was being used as a barricade against the striders rail gunfire. Amber was leaning over him and applying some form of first aid.
?What are you doing?? Mark was still numb ?Where am I hit??
?I?m just looking at your shoulder.? She said. ?You landed on it awkwardly. I think it?s dislocated.?
?Hey Amber!? Dan shouted across the field. ?What?s the frequency of the Halls??
?They?re on Channel 5.? She shouted back while cracking Marks shoulder back into place. Mark felt the control coming back to his body. He scrambled to his feet and looked up at the towering strider.
?What in the Hell?s name is that?? he yelled to Amber.
?A really nasty creature that?s going to blow you to bits if you sit there doing nothing!? She peered over the edge and shot 3 rounds at the lumbering beast. It turned to her and fired. The shots bounced off the rock next to her head. She dived back down behind the cover. Mark was looking around for his machine gun.
?Damn it!? he yelled, ?Where?s all my stuff??
?Probably got vaporised by that strider!? Yelled Dan and he went back to tuning the radio. ?Amber, give him your revolver.?
?Ok.? she said, reaching around to the back of her belt. ?I want it back though.?
She handed the 357 to Mark. It was as cold as ice in his hands and a lot heavier than he thought it would be. He leaned up over the rock and fired a shot at the strider. It also appeared to give more kickback than he thought it would. He fell back and landed on his backside. He looked over and Amber was laughing to herself. She seemed to be able to keep herself cool even during combat. If you took a picture of her face at that moment and passed it around later on, anyone would think that she was just standing there, almost posing. She hadn?t flinched or panicked once.
?Hey,? Mark was curious ?How do you stay so calm like that??
?What?? She leaned over and blasted the strider with two more shots. ?I don?t know.?
?Hey guys!? Dan was shouting into the radio ?You?re closer than I thought! Follow the gunfire!?
?Who is he talking to anyway?? Mark asked Fitz
?The Halls.? Fitz replied
?What are the Halls by the way. Is it some sort of headquarters??
?What?? Fitz laughed, ?No they?re two English brothers. They have a garage near City 17. Well, they
had a garage. Now it?s just a safe house filled with heavy weaponry.?
Suddenly there was a whistling noise behind the strider. A rocket smashed into the back end of the creature and sent it staggering forward. It began to turn on the spot to look behind and another rocket took out the abdomen cannon. It bellowed smoke from a hole in the side as it dangled uselessly underneath. It began firing across the field as Dan?s radio crackled into life.
?Shit! Dan! Send one of your guys over. We need a third set of hands for this other launcher we?ve got.?
?Roger that.? Said Dan looking to Mark ?I?ll send someone over. I?ll need the rest to give covering fire.?
A) Send Mark
B) Send Fitz
C) Send Amber
D) Send Dan