Real battle II

Velis made them go in a roundabout way to the second bridge. Avoiding potential enemy patrols.

The stone bridge was small with no railing and the stream wasn't wide but very deep. Both sides of it were steep made out of slippery cobblestone. At Least there was nobody around.

"Can we take a break? Us needs to change bandages and we should calm down a bit," Steve suggested. He wasn't tired, but since they broke into an empty house they were relatively safe and should use this opportunity to freshen up.

"Fine, I also think it's weird that it is not guarded," Velis brought a table near the window so he could watch the bridge and the map. Relf and Us prepared a meal while Steve watched the backside of the house.

"Here," Relf gave Steve some warm soup and milk.

"Thanks..."

"Velis told me you want to run away,"

"Damn him... I want to run with you guys!"

"You have been running like this your whole life, right?"

"What? Not really... it's just the best way to stay alive!"

"Hmpf, coward," Relf smirked, making Steve angry.

"I don't care about that, I didn't ask to be lost in fucking space!"

"Space?"

"It doesn't matter..."

"I don't... why are you not trusting us so suddenly?" Relf asked.

"Suddenly? This was always my plan! I came to the guardians because the city where I was staying was under attack. It looked like an easy way to stay alive for a while..."

"I don't care about guardians, I know that you all had different reasons to join, but I care why you don't trust us!"

"I trust you, but not the guardians... you can come with me!"

"Guys! Come here!" Velis called them. It was a nice escape from the conversation for both of them.

"Did you find the enemy?" Us asked, unhealthy curious.

"Yes, they are on the roofs of the two opposite buildings,"

"I can barely see them, but you are right!" Relf agreed after a couple of minutes of looking.

"Their orange uniform is blending well with the roof tiles," Steve said.

"How can we cross the bridge?" Relf asked.

"I don't know..." Steve shook his head.

"Should we wait?" Relf suggested.

"I don't think we have the time for that..." Velis said.

"So what?" Relf asked.

"I still have some smoke bombs..."Steve pointed out.

"The bridge is too narrow, so even if they cannot see us well they will still hit us,"

"What if we are not on the bridge?" everybody looked at Relf

"Even if we could swim across and climb the shore, we would have to be fast enough and hope they won't hear the water splashing!"

"No, I mean wait for them to shoot and then run through!"

"That sounds really risky! What if only a few shoot without thinking?"

"I doubt there is a lot of them..."

"I think I can swim across..." said Steve and Velis looked at him.

"What? Not a chance! You and Relf will run across after the enemy stops shooting, while we are going to cross it by climbing the bank!" he said and looked at everybody.

"Okay, we will wait a bit and if nothing changes we will do this... everybody is okay with that?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll swim this kind of distance in a flash!" said Us proudly and they went back to their spots. Steve could see a family hiding in one of the opposite houses. The father was kneeling to talk to his two young sons and the mother was standing behind them. Steve followed them, looking at them smile while the mother was silently crying.

"Steve?" Velis called.

"What?" Steve came to see him.

"We are leaving!" he said and showed him a small squad of five worn-out soldiers sneaking around the wall of an opposing building, going towards the bridge.

"I already waved at them, showing them to wait. So we need to move," he explained.

"They must have come from the barracks... they might be followed," said Relf when they crossed the street to meet them.

"Hello..." Velis ignored him and greeted the soldiers.

"Why did you stop us?" one of them, looking tired and annoyed, barked at Velis,

"There are enemies on the roofs on the buildings on the other side of the river,"

"What? Damn it, we didn't notice...thanks!" his attitude quickly changed to gratitude.

"You know how to use these?" Steve asked pointing at the musket the soldier was holding.

"Yes, somewhat..."

"You all need to rest and..." said Velis, but was interrupted.

"No time, we are retreating... barracks have fallen! Enemies might come for us! Damn it! If we cannot cross the bridge... do you have any ideas?" the soldier looked at Velis who slowly nodded.

"We can make a smokescreen and after they use their shoot we run through that,"

"I cannot run that fast," said the soldier honestly.

"Ditch the armor! Look we also don't have a big metal plate..." Us responded and although not excited they started to strip after their leader started.

"Everybody listens, we will cross the bridge and go inside the left closest building, we can attack them from below," the soldier talked to his man. "How many enemies?" he asked Velis.

"We don't know, but I doubt that it will be a lot... there might be enemies waiting for you inside, but there is nothing we can do about that..." Velis said honestly.

"It's alright! We will go! You did great recruit, now stay behind us and don't get killed!" said the leader of the squad and started to sweet talk his man to boost their morale. Velis didn't mind that at all because Steve had two smoke bombs and so they would use the second one and wait after the enemy shoots for the second time. It was a bit more dangerous since they could see the plan, but also the soldiers could attack them and cripple them that way.

Steve threw the bomb from the safest place and the smoke raised before the bridge. It took a while for it to spread enough so the soldiers yelled like they are running.

It worked! The gunman on the roofs shoot the empty bridge and the soldier sprinted as fast as they could.

"Do it now!" the second bomb made the smokescreen denser. After the second barrage, Velis gave a second order and Steve couldn't believe he reached the wall of the opposite building without a wound. Velis with Relf stood next to him and Us disappeared inside the building. They followed him inside, where they found several dead bodies of soldiers and enemies, but when they got through the barricade made out of furniture upstairs they found two of the soldiers waiting for them.

"You alright?"

"Yes, you?"

"The rest is gone, but we manage to get through this mess without any big injury,"

"We need to go then," said Relf and turned just to see two enemies on the stairs.

"Enemies!" Relf yelled and everybody took cover behind the furniture, one of the soldiers picked up the musket and missed. Giving friendly soldiers the opportunity to run at them and slashed them.

After they confirm it was everybody they used the backdoor to get on a yard with only a small bonfire.

"Great job! Now we have to climb the fence and sneak up to the gate!"

"Yeah!" Relf and Steve helped everybody over the fence and then climb it themselves.

"The enemies from the second building might follow us... so watch your back!" they ran while taking cover.

"I hear a battle!" Us and so they stopped. One of the soldiers broke the window of a nearby building and went inside. It took him a while to open it, but they were all glad he did since an enemy unit came out of the corner as soon as they took cover inside.

"Oh, there are people here!" Relf said in surprise from the second room. Since Steve stayed near the window, he only heard whispers from the other room, until Velis took his place.

"They let us in, so we can lead them in the gate," he whispered.

"Do they know how many enemies are there?"

"They saw about five people going around the Gate building and another ten that stayed before it,"

"Us heard fighting!"

"Yes, the guardians barricade themselves inside of the Gate building and got surrounded by the enemies. We need to hurry!"

"Why? We can rest here for a while and think of a plan," Steve asked.

"They are waiting for something, probably back up," said Velis.

"Oh, God! They could destroy the whole building as they did with the bridge!" Steve realized.

"I have never heard about destroying the gate, do you think it's possible?"

"I don't want to find out!" Steve said meekly and Velis called others.

"So they have five people going around the building while the rest is in front of it?" Velis asked Relf.

"Yeah, they saw them two hours ago."

"It's simple, we kill them," Us said suddenly and opened the door without thinking.

"What the hell are you...." but Us already left and soon after him Velis, followed by Relf. Steve could only leave the soldiers and join them too. Us led them towards the gate building sneaking in the bushes. Thanks to the walls of the house around them, they were hidden from the eyes of people in front of the building.

"Let's wait for them on the other side of the gate building," Valis suggested, and Us smiled as they went around the back and wait. Since they were not sure in which direction the enemy will come from. Us and Velis stayed near the closest corner and Steve with Relf went to the other.

"You are not thinking about running now, right?" Relf asked him silently with a smile.

"Shut up, of course not..." Steve was glad he was not as angry.

"They are coming from our way, it's ten of them..." Velis said with an unsure voice and Steve with Relf come to them.

"Fear is normal," Us without looking at the rest of his group, almost knowing what Steve was thinking. His voice was deep and strong and made them all a little bit more confident.

"They all are holding muskets, so watch for that..." Velis said and took a deep breath.

The enemy had ten people going in pairs. They were watching the surrounding alleys, but not the building. So they did not expect a big muscle man to jump at them with a giant glave destroying their ranks. He smashed one man to the ground, cut his partner, and made people close to them stagger.

Velis quickly pierce the chest of one of a soldier and Relf did the same. Steve slash was blocked by his target, but that didn't stop him and he quickly strikes his side, making him fall down. He didn't finish him, because he was scared to get shoot, so he struck the enemy next to this one, who was trying to aim at him. He slashed him and the shot missed, while a splash of blood hit Steve's face. In such a split second Steve didn't have time to look around so he got hit in his stomach by a blunt end of the glave. He was pushed several meters and kneeled while holding his stomach. That hit saved his ass as the enemies focused on him.

It was something that the enemies didn't expect. Since only four of them were left alive and uninjured, they tried to recreate the couples, but Us didn't hit the middle of the unit, but the same side was attacked by Relf and Velis. It was destroyed right away, but Steve attacked the remaining people who all tried to take a shot at him. If it wasn't for Us instinct, he would be rigged with holes.

However, Steve couldn't think about that. There was no time. He had to attack them! He ran at the soldiers who managed to pull out their swords and blocked Velis and Us attacks.

"Watch out!" Relf jumped back and pulled out his bow. It was surprisingly useful since Us could hold two enemies on one spot, but the soldiers were not surprised anymore and Velis was slashed in his hand and his sword fall on the ground.

Relf's arrow found a target, but one of the injured soldiers got behind Us and stabbed him to his side. Us couldn't hold his glave anymore and also fall to the ground. Steve meanwhile fought a soldier with an arrow in his side, which probably was the only reason he could still block his attacks. He could also get a glimpse of the man's face, young, not much older than Steve, white as a sheet.

"Watch out Relf! He is using the musket!" yelled Velis and threw his knife with his left hand missing the target who shoot Relf. The noise of the shot rang in their ears as Relf falls on the ground and Velis was hit to his hand again because of his moment of carelessness.

Steve was the only one still standing, but he got his hands full with the one who was fighting him and so when Velis yelled at him to watch out for the second one he turned his back and run away. Dodging the bullet.

However, he quickly turned around the corner of the Gate building.

His mind was in haze and he was in pain. It took him just a split second to come back and shoot those two enemies with his alien gun before they could finish Us and Velis. It was so fast that it took everybody by surprise.

The gun wasn't loud, but the muskets were so it wasn't unexpected that several enemies run at them from the front side of the building.

However, they stopped after they saw Steve use a weapon they didn't know.

"Is Relf alive?" Steve yelled worried and kept shooting at the enemies, the gun had no recoil and it had many shoots, so the enemies quickly took cover. His suppressing fire scared then for now.

"He is alive, but he doesn't look that good," Velis yelled back and tried to go to Us, but Us stood up holding his new bleeding wound.

"Take him, I can still walk!" he roared.

"Are you sure?" Velis asked, but Steve helped Us before the enemies could take aim. As they hid behind the closest wall several people came out of an alley and started to help them to get away. All civilians, armed with axes and knives. They managed to take them all inside of a nearby butchery shop.

"These two need a doctor!"

"I am here!" said one man with a bag and started to order people around to save Relf and Us. Velis bandaged his hand and talk to the people.

"What was that weapon? I have never seen light to hurt somebody!" one man asked and several others made a circle around Steve, who didn't know what to say. It was Velis who saved him by making their leader, a man with a big black beard and muscled body, order them to pay attention.

"This kid will go for several other people to join us and we are going to finally attack the gate building! With the patrol gone and they scared of the unusual weapon we have a chance!" he said and Velis took Steve to the side, away from the people.

"I don't care about the weapon now, but try to look more sure of yourself! The leader saw it and he believes it's the only way to beat them! I cannot use my right hand well, so don't count on me!"

"A-alright... I am sorry I hide that from you...wait! They want to attack, but what about Us and Relf?"

"I'll take care of the injured, don't worry," said one man, obviously a doctor.

"I go for the soldiers then,"

"Everybody prepares for the attack!" the leader of these people start to build up morale, but Steve was more and more unsure about this. Finally, he could not hold it anymore when the soldier joined them.

"Leader, here... this is the weapon, anybody can use it just press the trigger, like a crossbow and it shoots. It has a lot of shoots so don't worry about miss,"

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"I want to stay with my comrades, Velis is staying as well and frankly I might not be injured, but I am exhausted, and relying on me would just hinder your plans," Steve looked into the man eyes and after a breath moment of silence, the man smiled and accepted the gun.

"Very well, protect the injured," he said and Steve gladly opened the door to the butcher shop and start helping the doctor with the bandages

"They will live, the bullet was annoying to pull out but it missed his organs. The big guy lost a lot of blood, but he is also not in imminent danger,"

"Thank you,"

"Well, it is my job," Steve tried to look around for some alcohol, but found nothing, while Velis tried to wield his sword in his left hand. The doctor finished treating his patients and went in the back of the building for supplies when they all felt a close explosion. It shook the building and woke up Us, whole slowly sat down.

"Lay! You are in no condition to walk!" the doctor yelled, but he didn't listen to him. Meanwhile, Velis and Steve were outside looking at the smoke coming from the gate building.

"What are we going to do?" asked Steve.

"Well, you said it yourself that they could blow it up..."

"Yeah, but... let's hope the gate is not buried,"

"Hmm? For now, let's take a closer look,"

"What, wait!" Steve followed him through the alley, just to see the Gate building still standing, but its roof was caved in and windows shattered. They could not see it clearly, but the smoke was coming from the front of the building, so they silently sneaked around it for a better view. In front of the building was normally a small square with a statue. Right now the enemy made a small barricade in the surrounding streets and put gunmen on the roofs of the nearest building.

They obviously blew off the front wall of the gate building and now they were fighting violently with the civilian group several meters away from the statue. They must have attacked them moments ago, just after the explosion, while they were all focused on it and backed off, but the difference in strength was obvious and the enemies soon start to kill the attackers.

"We have no choice, but to run away," Steve said, but Velis didn't respond and run across the street. He leans towards the side of the Gate building and started to climb to the broken window, by using the rubble from the roof and cracks in the wall. Steve had no choice, but to run to him.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I can see it! The gate is fine! After all, it is near the backside of the building!" he said and jumped down.

"What are you?"

"We lost... the only job I have right now, is to get you to safety!" Velis said.

"You want to use the gate?" Steve was shocked to hear that, after all, there was a battle going on near the bloody thing, and the gate wasn't exactly silent! Velis was already running to the back of the building.

"What about Us and Relf?"

"We are going for them of course!" he said, but when they reach the back of the building they found both of them standing there leaning to the doctor, who was also wearing their weapons.

"They are stupid, but I also think, we should leave!" the doctor said.

"Great job guys! We have no time, we are climbing this window! Steve, you first help me get up," ordered Velis, and Steve now without any hesitation started climbing the wall. He used his fist to break the remaining glass and hopped in the window frame.

"Grab my hand!" said Steve and Velis joined him on the window frame.

"Go dial the gate I will help them," Steve nodded and jumped down. The roof up here was still just barely holding, breaking apart every second, so there was not much rubble. Steve tried to ignore the yells and cries of the guardians joining the civilians in the fight.

"AghhH!" Relf tried to hold his pain when the doctor helped him from the bottom and Steve from the top. His head spins, and Steve caught him with his hands, and they both fall to the ground.

Steve then quickly ran towards the dialing machine and start turning the gate. In the meantime, everybody gathered near him, even some injured guardians fleeing from the battle. Several bullets hit the gate as it opens and the vortex to another planet saved them, as they went through.