Pocket Legends: Neo Mages Episode 6: Anderson Chapter 3: Judgment
Pocket Legends: Neo Mages
Episode 6: Anderson
Chapter 3: Judgment
Andropov: These sunnova… how the hell did they know?
Our remaining group of the squad dashed through the dim hallway, as we passed more charcoaled figures of what once were known as the Crimson Army. A few bullet ridden masked insurgents lay on the floor with their puddles of blood. We then discovered the stairs below but came to a halt. Something was not right.
Andropov: *whispers* “We’ll take them out.”
Nobody responded back. They plucked out their grenades from their satchels and prepared to pull their pins. We were still cautious, as these were no ordinary armed people. Tsh-click. Pling. I quickly threw it into the other room and bolted away.
Andropov: “GET BACK!”
Boom! FWOOSH! A swirl of flames blazed right out of the door like a flamethrower. Turning back, one of my comrades burst into flames, howling in agony before gunshots erupted. BANG! BANG! CRACK! He fell to the floor. Others were disgusted but immediately turned into hatred. A series of gun firing emerged. They threw their grenades back, while we returned theirs. BWOOM! Casualties rose from both sides. Knowing staying behind meant losing our mission, I quickly sprung myself into the room. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! PING!
Andropov: Why am I here… in this sack of these worthless crap?
Click-chick. Eight rounds were in the chamber. Heaps of paper flew everywhere as all noises around me shouted.
Andropov: Mikhailov… The Crimson Army… Was I just used as a tool all along? Naw… no time to think about that. Gotta take down the missile. So everyone of us can go home and rest in peace. Come on… Just let it end here…
…BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! PLING! My final clips were loaded into the rifle. It seemed not a single enemy stood. I slowly peered around the insurgents I shot. One elder insurgent who seems to be the leader wheezed while his bloody hand laid on his stomach. It seemed he ran out of his magic.
Andropov: The elf Angela told me… Magnus?
I looked down at him with deep concern, as he stared back at me.
Magnus: *wheezes* “Hero of… Rushia… You know what to-”
THWACK! There was no point wasting another bullet for him. A rifle butt is just enough for him. One of the soldiers rummaged around and discovered a secret file. He quickly went to me and handed out the file. In no response, I began to inspect it. A few minutes passed.
Andropov: “Tch! Just as I thought. Dragunov set up all behind this. The raid at the airfield… All just trick us into plunging down another war again!”
I gnashed my teeth, filling with rage. However, one of the documents described what the Three Dragons were. Something she needed to know the most.
Andropov: So that’s why…
I turned back to the one who gave me.
Andropov: “Keep it. Alright, let’s go!”
The soldier nodded to me as everyone prepared to make their final stand. The underground bunkers began to rumble. Alarmed, I dashed up the concrete stairs and looked outside.
Andropov: WHAT?!?!
BROOOAAAAAARRRR!!! The gigantic missile soared up into the sky while spewing out mana blue ignited fuel. As it became smaller, it headed towards the south. I slowly slumped down on the stair floor, taking off my helmet. Both of my heads grasped my head in disbelief. As soon as it hits the capital, it’ll happen again. A never ending cycle of what we did our best to avoid. My eyes shut closed tensely for a couple of seconds. Then, my instinct came out of a bang.
Andropov: “EVERYONE, RETREAT! HEAD BACK TO BASE!”
We had to get away from the Crimsons as soon as possible. Heavy reinforcements must have arrived by now.
Andropov: Were we baited?! Or was it inevitable all along?! Either way, we lost time!
Adrenaline pumped up as the surviving group desperately ran for our lives. Passing through the buildings, they should give us decent cover for us to get away easily. That is, because gunfire erupted behind us.
Andropov: “WE’RE ALMOST THERE!”
Hundreds of bullets pierced through walls, creating small explosions of dust and debris. None of us got shot. Far away, there was another group that waited for us.
Andropov: “Yakov! We have to go!”
Yakov: *groans* “Why does it have to end like this…?”
His arm was covered with bandages soaked with blood. Only two of his remaining comrades remained. Their faces were nothing but despair and frustration.
Yakov: “My whole group nearly got wiped out… Did Mikhailov abandon us?”
Andropov: “Save the details for later. We leave now.”
Two of us were the last who remained. Others had escaped through the fence. The surviving unit sneaked away from the missile base and as farther we went, the lower our morale sunk. We were still in the open, but what else could we do besides retreating?
Yakov: “Ah… the village. Everyone over there is… You know what I mean, sergeant…”
Andropov: “...”
Yakov: “Now that I think about it, I think back at the camp… wouldn’t we be better off if we laid our guns… Wait, is that a Shturmovik?”
A shot down attacker that crashed down not long ago was riddled by heavy caliber ammunition. The rear gunner who had been shot barely looked anything like us, as flies swooped around the rotting flesh.
Andropov: “Step away from the plane. Could be booby trapped…”
Following the pilot’s footprints, it led to the village. Now, there were a lot of footprints that were leading towards the rear of the empty village. The stench became heavier.
Yakov: *mutters* “Agh...animals.”
By the look of his expression, it was as we predicted. We turned right, and viewed what we saw. At that moment, we could no longer feel anger. It was nothing but mere pity. We looked at some of the worst the Crimson Army has ever committed. Shouts erupted at the center of the village.
Yakov: “Crimsons already?!
I looked forward to what was happening in the scene. My eyes turned malevolent.
Andropov: “No… Just our old enemy.”
Pilot: “LET GO OF ME! HEY! HEY! GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU SCUM OF EARTH!”
Two of our soldiers grabbed him as a hostage. He was forced to kneel down, as we surrounded him like a pack of wolves. Less so of us being human now. The pilot looked up and had an expression as if he knew me. He seemed to be at one age before retirement.
Pilot: “Ah… The Hero of Rushia as they say. No wonder you made it out of the hellhole.”
He looked as if he was a pile of garbage. No, lower than a Dark Alterran soldier.
Andropov: “Were you the one? Who killed our battalion commander?”
Pilot: “Pfeh. So what if I did? After all, I did what I had to do. Eliminating scum like you because ever since the riot… You all became such a disease against the people.”
All of us felt we could smash his skull instantly.
Pilot: “There’s no use clinging to your dead man. He’s gone. What more do you want from him? Huh? Guess time passes by.”
I grasped my rifle.
Pilot: *sigh* “Hurry up. Just make my day-”
SHANK! SHANK! SHANK! Seconds later, his face turned into pure horror as if he had regretted spitting utter grime earlier. As soon as he hit the ground, his body slowly made him smaller. Struggling to survive, he barely did as best as he could.
Pilot: *whispering* “Mother… mother… moth…”
There he laid still. None of us even cheered. The missile could hit the capital by now. The sunset had started to fade away.
Andropov: “Move out.”
Leaving the body and the entire village, there was barely hope for us anymore. We might as well be ghost soldiers at this point, because the solemnity of defeat is near.
To Be Continued…
