Demon World

Alison tracked the dark figure as he moved through the alleys. He seemed to be heading for the beach. There would be no cover once he reached the open sand. If he was trying to avoid the rat demons, the beach was definitely not the place to go. Unlike the others, who were partially hidden by the beached raft, he would be a sitting duck out there.

She kept him centered in her crosshairs. What little trust she had in him was fading quickly. Why is he going for the beach? Does he know we're there? If so, who sent him -- demons or humans?

The man reached the street and paused behind a derelict car before making the final push across the four lane blacktop. "Don't do it," Alison muttered with her finger on the trigger. The man glanced to his left, then his right -- always look both ways before crossing -- then darted out, sprinting across the cracked pavement. He bounded over a wooden fence, the divider between the beach and the street, leaping over it with the deftness of a man accustomed to running for dear life.

For a fraction of a second, Alison considered that he might just be a survivor, struggling to stay alive in a world gone mad. But, at the same time, she knew she couldn't afford to take that risk. The man was in mid-jump, halfway over the fence, when the low-density bullet struck him in the chest. The impact punched him back and he landed a few feet on the other side of the fence, flat on his back.

The sound of the shot was only a dull thump; even the sharpest of ears would have difficulty discerning where the bullet had come from. The man was on his feet instantly, clutching his abdomen in pain, and probably feeling as if he'd gotten in a fist-fight with an invisible gorilla. Meanwhile, Alison was poised to take another shot unless he laid down his weapon or offered some indication that he came in peace.

Fast movement caught his eye and he swung his scope over to see a man running for the beach. He took a deep breath as he lined him up for a headshot and then watched him propelled backwards. So their arc of fires converged at this point. Poor guy was he aware that they were there with scopes trained on him. Was that why he was running? If they were doing their job right that bullet should of been the first indication. Then again it might be a demon in which case they were about to pepper his soon to be corpse with some bullets but then again he could just be fleeing the demons but surely someone wouldn't survive this long out here if they ran about like that.

"Your move" he whispered under his breath as the man rose back up.

On the order to stand down, Ava dismissed all remaining sentry butterflies, including the ones stationed near the snipers and the one near the man with the hat. One by one, the perception of the butterflies vanished from her mind, until only one remained; her own. And with that, she felt just how cold she was, how numb her extremities were, how painful breathing was.

Someone draped something heavy over here, and Ava clutched at it before looking up, into the light blue eyes of her hero. He ordered her to come and talk to him about something he called ‘god’. She had heard the word before, but had never enquired about the meaning of the word. And right now, she didn’t care. She let herself fall to her knees and let out a sigh of gratitude.

Joseph caught sight of the man, gun in hand, running like a deer. It was a young man, leather vest, torn jeans, and a broad brimed hat. Joseph raised the pistol level with the man, was about to shout a warning as the man appeared to be about to clear the fence without breaking stride and the man flew in the opposite direction he should have been going landing with a groan. "Did youz guyz get the number of that bus?" Joseph heard him say rather loudly before groaning again. Joseph took off towards the man, cleared the fence himself and kicked his shotgun further away before stepping down on the man's chest firmly and pointing the pistol at his face.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked the man sternly.

"I'm Robert, you can call me Rob, and I was sent here to help youz guyz find the resistance, but if you'd rather not then it's fine with me." He said angerly. "We need to move soon, once it gets dark no one will want to be out on the streets." He added this time sounding a bit worried.

When she spoke Joseph looked up at her, but to her annoyance he seemed exasperated, even frustrated, with her interference, and appeared as though he might disregard her advice. Meav clenched her fists, determined not to be dismissed, but the CO obviously had second thoughts as he looked back down at Ava.

“Right, Ava, stand down, then go see the doctor she’ll warm you up.”

Meav nodded, but before she could begin to assess the severity of Ava’s condition the Spanish priest appeared over her shoulder and draped a thick jacket around the child. It was a kind gesture, but likely futile; Ava’s core needed to be warmed, the jacket would only heat her externally. Body heat was the best source for her given the limited medical supplies, and a hot drink if it could be arranged.

Her ears were caught by the priest’s voice, thick with a Spanish lilt. “That should help. Remind me to talk to you about god when we have a chance.”

Incredulous, Meav rolled her eyes. God? Seriously? Meav had a healthy respect for all creeds and religions, but philosophical discussions were rarely profitable and, in the end of it all, it was their companions’ skill, not their religious beliefs, that would help them. Besides which, she had serious doubts about Ava’s ability to comprehend the notion of a God.

But she had other priorities now. Shaking her head, she moved over to where Ava had fallen to her knees and crouched down in front of the child. She was careful not to touch her yet, as that had seemed to upset her before.

“Ava. Listen to me. You’re too cold right now and we need to get you warmed up, but I need you to a couple of things for me first. I need you to touch your little fingers to your thumbs, and I need you to tell me if you feel sick. Okay?”

The woman who had put the cold strip on her leg after the incident on the plan. The orders were clear enough, yet Ava was now in a constant state of confusion. Raising her hand in front of her face, she inspected her hand, finger by finger before realizing the woman was still staring at her expectantly. Stretching her arm, she nearly face-palmed the woman before moving thumb and small finger together. Since she had no feel in either finger, she simply moved them together as close as she could; still several millimeters apart.

Standing like that, she thought on the second order; was she ill? Vivian had asked her that same thing a number of times, but she had never expected Ava to respond. This woman obviously did. Hesitating, she raised her other hand and pressed it against her brow. She didn’t feel warm. So she wasn’t ill? “I do not understand the question. What is sick?”

The instructions were simple enough, but the child seemed to be having trouble processing them. She stared blankly at her hand before slowly stretching her arm out, almost hitting Meav, and moving thumb and little finger close. Close, but not together. Meav silently cursed. Ava, meanwhile, had lifted a hand to her forehead and was still looking confused.

“I do not understand the question. What is sick?” she asked.

“Ah,” Meav blinked. “It means … do you feel nauseous at all?”

Looked like they had found a scout. Mack stepped over to where their CO had the new arrival unarmed and on the ground. He passed the girl, and his fellow highlander...damn, he still didn't know her name. Have to fix that.

As Mack walked, he took his rifle into a two-handed grip. He arrived in time to hear the newcomer.

"I'm Robert, you can call me Rob, and I was sent here to help youz guyz find the resistance, but if you'd rather not then it's fine with me." He said angerly. "We need to move soon, once it gets dark no one will want to be out on the streets."

"Whoa, whoa, back up a little." Mack said. He turned to his CO. "I don't recall any 'resistance' mentioned in our briefing, sir."

Alison watched through her scope as the German approached the downed man and began to speak with him at gunpoint. She couldn't hear a word of what they were saying, and was too far away to read their lips, but the man didn't seem like he was going to cause any trouble. Didn't seem like he could cause any trouble with that gun in his face.

But she had other matters to attend to. After switching her bullet density back to its lethal level, Alison returned her attention to the rat demons prowling the alleys. There were more of them now and they were moving dangerously close to the street. They still didn't seem to know where they were going; just a pack of hungry demons rummaging through trash and rubble. But they might spot the group on the beach at any moment, at which point all hell would break loose.

"Dammit," Alison muttered, shouldering her rifle strap and preparing to move. The situation was beyond her control. With the sun setting, they needed to find proper shelter; there was no way she could defend this entire area, even with the other sniper's help. Too many blind spots between the buildings and too many targets to track. And Ava's butterflies had disappeared as well; their surveillance system was gone. The perimeter had been compromised and she didn't have a radio to inform the others of that fact. She would have to go to them on foot.

She descended a ladder into the building she was atop, then carefully made her way down to ground level, keeping a sharp eye out for any rat demons that may have come inside for a quick snack. So far, she saw nothing. Upon reaching the front door, she opened it a crack and peeked out. The street was empty. The nearest alleys semed to be empty as well. Staying in a low crouch, she ran out and stopped behind a pickup truck with four flat tires. She used her NV binoculars to take another look around. Two rat demons were fighting over a bag of garbage. She waited until they tore it open, spilling the contents all over the alleyway, before she moved on. The rats were too busy lapping up the rubbish to notice fresh meat.

She reached the other side of the street and ducked behind another car, within sight of the others on the beach. From there, she took a moment to remove her black cloak, lest the second sniper think she was another unwelcome stranger. Still crouched, she ran across the sand of the beach, which was now shrouded in near-darkness. Nightfall was fast approaching.

She hastened to a full sprint as she drew nearer and was out of breath by the time she reached them. She waited a moment to catch her breath before going on. "Sir," she calmly said to the German, who was still interrogating the new guy; Mack seemed to have joined in as well. "The perimeter has been compromised. Rat demons. There are too many of them and firing would only stir up a hornet's nest. What are your orders?" she said apathetically.

Joseph looked up at te sniper thoughtfully for amoment and then down at the man on the ground. "Get up and show us to this 'resistance'." He ordered the man but firmly stepped on his hand as he rolled and tried to reach for his shotgun. "Ve vill be keeping that safe." He informed the man before getting off his hand and scooping up the shotgun.

"Is this guy alwayz this grumpy." he commented shaking his sore hand.

Joseph ignored him, glanced at the sniper and said. "Go get the other sniper back here, everyone else prepare to leave."

“Nou-see-ous…” Ava pulled back her arm and hugged herself, still cold, still shivering. She had heard, no, read, that word before, on the medicine that Vivian had given her for stomach aches. She stomach didn’t ache now, so no, she didn’t feel nou-see-ous. She was just cold.

“I do not feel nou-see-ous at all.” Looking around, she spotted her shoulder bag sill lying where she had dropped it. With the weight of the jacket on her shoulders, she started crawling towards it on hands and knees. By the time she had reached it, the woman wasn’t far behind, and Ava didn’t mind. She huddled the bag for a few moments before opening it and taking out a square plastic box. Sandwiches.

It was a good sign. Or at least, it was if the girl had actually properly understood the question but from the way she had sounded out the word ‘nauseous’ Meav couldn’t help but have doubts. Looking down at the child, she realised she was crawling away towards her bag. While it was good that she wasn’t so cold as to impede muscle movement, if she was crawling because she couldn’t stand that was a very bad sign. But Meav doubted it was that; if Ava couldn’t stand, she wouldn’t be crawling so easily.

And then there was the object of her search. Meav watched curiously as Ava pulled a square plastic box from the her bag and opened it, revealing a set of sandwiches. Relief washed over Meav. If Ava was hungry that was good. Very, very good.

But she was still too cold and needed warming.

“Ava.” Meav crouched down in front of the child. “Listen, your body is much colder than it should be and we need to get you warmed up. The best way to do that is to share body heat. The way Danny was doing on the raft. Do you understand?”

"Is this guy alwayz this grumpy," the new guy asked after Joseph denied him use of his gun.

Are you always this stupid? Alison thought, but kept her comments to herself. He was incredibly easy to shoot -- she knew this from experience -- and was probably just as easy to kill. They would have to protect him on their way to this so-called 'resistance', which could be a trap. In her opinion, the man was more trouble than he was worth. Should've 'accidentally' shot him in the head.

"Go get the other sniper back here, everyone else prepare to leave."

She nodded and turned toward the north, looking in the direction of the hotel the other sniper was atop. It seemed so far away. Was he seriously asking her to go through Rat Land again? Couldn't one of these other lazy bastards do it? She was tempted to tell the German to 'f**k off' and disobey his order. But that wouldn't help anyone, would it? She sighed and began walking toward the street, trudging through the sand until she reached the wooden fence dividing the beach and the road. She leapt over it and scurried to the nearest cover: a row of rusting newspaper stands.

From there, she used her NV binoculars to see what lay between her and the hotel the shapeshifter was atop. Two rat demons in the nearest alley, rummaging through a dumpster. Another one sniffing a battered car on the other side of the street. A fourth one coming out of a broken shop window. And a fifth standing aimlessly in the middle of the street, sniffing the air. The damn things were multiplying; there were nowhere near this many a few minutes ago. There was no way to sneak by all of them now. She would have to stealthily kill at least two or three to get through unnoticed.

Alison switched her rifle to the cutting laser setting, so she could fire it without making any noise. The bright laser would be very visible, but it was far less noticeable than the sound of gunfire. Holding her gun low to the ground, she aimed it at the rat by the car, and squeezed the trigger. The laser swept under the car, slicing off the creature's legs. The rat demon fell over and she quickly ran to it, and crushed its head with the butt of her rifle, killing it before it could cry out in pain.

The two in the alley could be avoided. Using the car for cover, she waited for the right moment, then darted past them and ducked behind a delivery truck lying on its side. There were two rat demons standing between her and the hotel; one in the street and another emerging from a shop. She decided to kill two birds with one stone. With another low sweep of her laser, she deprived them of their legs. Once they were on the ground, she fired again, slicing off their heads.

With no more demons in the way, she ran toward the hotel. But, seeing no way onto the roof, she ducked behind a low wall on the other side of the street, hoping the sniper would notice her. She tried to signal him, but there were more demons coming, so she was forced to hide again. If he didn't come down soon, they would have to fight their way back to the others.

Danny shifted in his posistion uneasily as he moved his scope off the now handled man who hadn't been allowed to recover from the impact of the shot before been malhandled and denied his weapon. Courtesy and trust was a privelage that couldn't be allowed out on the field. Of course if it was a demon depriving it of a shotgun was hardly a big deal they were a walking weapon... just like him. It wa interesting were the boundaries blurred thanks to magic. There were more of these rat things appearing now, they were becoming more and more agitated by the lack of food. The fact that man had surfaced perhaps explained why these creatures still trawled for food it meant that there must be some still about even after all this time although he couldn't imagine it would be in any trash can on a street. They were becoming more aggressive now fighting amongst each other for what they found and they didn't seem content to stay put they'd move on soon and discover the rest of the group. Two snipers couldn't handle all this and even if they could they didn't have the ammo to spare. They hadn't even made in roads into the island and they couldn't afford to expend all their ammo on low ranking demons. A red light shot out of an alley way slicing up one of the rats silently and luckily not rawing the things attention. Just him. It became apparent he was only the sniper still in place all the more reason to break posistion. The fact the woman had came here suggested they were moving on. He swung the rifle over his back and clipped it up tightening it so it was secure before rising to a crouched posistion and moving to the side of the builing leaning over the edge to check the area was safe for his descent By this time the woman seemed to have taken cover behind a wall just across from him looking around her anxiously for any more threats. But in a cityscape looking left and right didn't quite cut it. This wasn't just some 2D battlefield threats came in from above to.

Thats when he saw it. Movement behind her on the 2nd floor of some delapadated building. He was already swinging the rifle off his back and priming it ready for the shot before he had the thing in his sight. The window exploded as it caught the scent or sight of fresh meat showering glass over the floor and splintering the wooden planks that boarded the window up luckily only the glass seemed to hit the woman, the planks of wood snapping in two and hurtling sideways from the force opposed to directly down. It was met with a muffled explosion as the bullet tore through the rat things head before it had even dropped a foot out of the window. It hit the ground hard and was shortly followed by him sliding down the building as his newly formed claws tore through the brickwork of the building slowing his descent. He ran across the road and plunged the claws deep into the creatures body before using his foot to hold the creature down as he withdrew the claws.

"We need to get out of here now the sound of the bullet would have been masked by the window breaking but that coupled with that creatures fall will probably draw the rest. I had to take the shot otherwise we might not be having this conversation. Lets hope the fresh meat of that thing will keep them occupied while we get out of here."

With the box still in her arms, Ava watched the woman speak. Again, many of the things the woman said made little sense. Body heat, Danny. But despite her shivering, she thought she understood the woman’s point; it had been warmer with the man close to her. Without another word, she pushed herself to her feet, took three steps and sat down next to the woman. After she had comfortably pressed herself into the woman’s arms, she returned her attention to the plastic box.

HERA had always prided themselves for their botanic gardens and near endless food supply. The sandwiches had been created from fresh bread and cucumbers, buttered with butter created from synthesized milk. Only the best for Project Avalon. In the days since Ava had left HERA, the sandwiches had gone stale, yet she didn’t mind. It wasn’t as much about taste, but rather the sense of eating something that reminded her of things that were calming, and things she liked.

The woman would have to act as a substitute Vivian. She wasn’t doing a very good job.

Alison muttered curses under her breath. The rat demons seemed to be everywhere and that damn sniper was still up there, ignoring her. He was taking his sweet time while she was down here in Rat Hell. I swear if he doesn't come down here in the next ten seconds I'm gonna-

The sound of breaking glass brought her back to reality. She aimed her rifle up, in the direction of the rauckus. Time seemed to slow. A rat demon and a cloud of falling debris were coming down upon her. She had the demon in her sights, but was soon peppered by raining glass and forced to break away. She rolled to the side as the sound of a gunshot cracked through the still night. The creature hit the ground with a heavy thud, followed by the clatter of falling glass and metal. Apparently, it had taken the window frame with it when it jumped.

Alison remained huddled in a little ball, in an attempt to shield her face from the falling glass. When the noise and chaos finally ended, she looked up to see him -- that damned sniper -- standing over her, probably feeling rather full of himself. She didn't like being anyone's damsel in distress nd certainly didn't like being outdone at shooting.

"We need to get out of here now," he said. "If the bullet didn't alert them that things fall would of. Had to take the shot otherwise we might not be having this conversation."

She stood up and brushed the dust and debris off of herself. Did he expect a 'thanks'? He should've fired sooner; it would've been an easier shot and he could've spared her the glass shower. She'd thank him by not saying what was on her mind. Now, the rats were coming out of every nook and cranny, creeping out of every alley, every busted storefront, every wrecked car. They came slowly at first, searching for the source of the commotion. But once they sighted two pieces of fresh meat standing in the street, they broke into a full sprint.

Alison shouldered her rifle as she began backing away. "Yeah, we need to go. The others should be ready to move by now." She squeezed the trigger, carving a path of destruction across a pack of rats that had gotten a little too close. The laser easily sliced the demons in half and left a blackened scar on the buildings behind them. Their smoldering torsos and legs fell to the ground, twitching for a few moments before lying still.

There was a sharp click from her rifle as it ejected a depleted power cell. The cutting laser was too wasteful to keep this up for long. She caught the cell as it fell from her gun and dropped it into her backpack with the others, then began running at full speed with the shapeshifter running alongside her. She knew he would probably change into some faster animal and make her look slow by comparison. That jerk.

He liked how despite the events she still had time to brush the dust off herself like appearance mattered right now he flashed her a grin that didn't quite have the mischevious slant he desired. There was something about dead eyes that sucked in the light around it that just put people on edge. "You can thank me later." He couldn't resist saying it he knew she was the kind of girl that would hate that. He couldn't help but wonder if she was imagining him when she was slicing up the demons.

God that was an impressive rifle he couldn't help but think right now was a perfect time to remove the girl and acquire that rifle. No one would know he killed her and that it wasn't the demons. He still had the claws out, one quick slash and she'd be bleeding out over the floor the lacerations would match the demons close enough and they'd rip her apart and buy him time to escape it wasn't like the others would question it.

She cut a path through the demons infront of her operating the rifle like it was an extension to her. It was an impressive feat hell she might even have been able to put up a good fight if she knew what was coming for her. But he was an infiltrator the idea was they didn't know what was coming. He could feel his claws lengthening as he toyed with the thought. They'd only just got here though if an oppurtunity had presented itself already there would be another one right now it was best to keep the numbers up and establish himself with the others maybe he could take a few of them out at once later. He kept pace with her tearing apart any demons that got past her laser. Besides he hadn't given her a chance to thank him yet.

"Doesn't matter if they're ready the moment they see our entourage they're be on their feet." He kicked off a wall and swung his hand ripping its throat out and proppelling it into another group as his other fist punched into the top of the creatures skull keeping it hanging to him so he could hold it up as another rat bit into its flesh hoping for something else a bit fresher he swung his hand battering the dead and the living one into the wall barely breaking pace.

Near by a rat demon sniffed the air carefully. He was one of the eldest members of the rat clan. "Blood?" He said thoughtfully, his eyes scanning from the spot he hide in an alley. A human and something else moving quickly, one of his brothers dead on the ground. "Blood!" He said louder, unlike the rest of the rats he wore more than rags, he pulled his cloak tightly around himself and took a deep breath, hunger and blood lust forcing itself into his mind. Others already where running towards the corpse. "New humans?" Even for a wise rat he was stupid by any standards, still the other demons would want to know about this, and they would pay with much better food than a rat corpse. He walked slowly away from the others who where gorging themselves on the corpse of their own.

Joseph heard the glass and the gun shot that the noise must have been meant to hide and quickly saw the two running towards him. Looking in the direction a short few seconds later rats swarmed something, it must have been food, but where they stood as soon as they looked up the group would be easy to see. He held the shotgun in one hand and the pistol in the other. "We move now!" He anounced the local man scrambling to his feet and running without so much as asking them to follow. Joseph waited for the others to start moving, he'd cover the rear. The two snipers tearing a path of distruction on the moving demons.

Mack's question had gone unanswered, and upon reconsideration, he supposed it wasn't quite that important. The two snipers returned after a crash of glass and a flurry of movement. Mack dropped into a kneeling position; lifting his rifle and covering their backs as they ran toward the group.

"We move now!" Their commander stated. Fine by me, Mack thought.

The rats were gathered around something and were making a big ruckus over whatever it was. Mack was tempted to fire a few bursts into the horde, but that would only attract their attention; best to get a head start. Once the snipers had rejoined the group, he stood, and followed their new 'guide'. Beside him, Akane had drawn her long blade and held it in a two-handed grip as she followed.

While she waited for Ava to process what she had said and decide whether or not she understood, Meav found herself drumming absently on one thigh with her fingers. On reflection she was beginning to realise she had never been good with children; her mind naturally over complicated things and she found it difficult to simplify information, and children were unpredictable in their reactions. Meav was never sure how to be with them, whether to smile, be gentle or strict or neutral. It was one of the reasons she had decided against specialising in paediatrics.

And now here she was faced with a child who didn’t seem to know she was a child and apparently didn’t understand basic human interaction. Or at least wasn’t very skilled in it. Thankfully Ava decided this time she did understand. Taking a few steps, the girl sat down beside Meav and settled herself comfortably in her arms. Then, without a word, she turned back to her sandwiches.

“Ah, yes …” Meav murmured, a little taken aback. “That was what I meant … I suppose.”

Shaking her head, she wished this wasn’t so awkward. But the important thing was to warm Ava up before she got even colder and became hypothermic, and without any thermo blankets or warm liquids then all they had was body heat.
Or not.

A crash of glass was followed by the reappearance of the two snipers sent off to scout, Alice and Danny, and a swarm of rat demons. Meav swore internally. It was just one thing after another now, wasn’t it?

“We move now!” Joseph called.

“Damn.” Meav scrambled to her feet, grabbing her pack and rifle with one hand and Ava with the other. “Time to go.”

As she started running it occurred to her this might warm Ava up as well, if she wasn’t too cold as to impede muscle movement. Small mercies, she supposed.

Fransisco did not wait for the others to follow, they would have to keep up, he was behind the strange man quickly, cross in hand, and bible in the other. Rat demons swarming from all directions now, the noise and smells attracting them. The man in the lead expertly dodged a rat demon's clawed hand and Fransisco gripping the top of the cross pulled gently on the bottom and it slid away revieling a dagger blade. The rat moved to react to him, still off balance from it's attack and recieved a dagger expertly into the eye, fransisco cursing it to the bowls of hell in spanish.

Joseph waited till the two snipers slipped past him, he had been fireing his lugar but figured that he needed something bigger. With quick skillfull moves, he holstered the pistol, withdrew the mini gatling and then reached pulling out his chain of ammo quickly loading it into the weapon. He had been moving backwards the entire time and looked up to see a rat demon to close for the gatling to start working. Holding the gatling in his left hand his right went to the hilt of his saber and with an flash drew and slit the demons throat. "Nice try." He told it sarcasticly and holstered the sword, stepping back held the gatling up and held the triger, 9mm bullets tearing into the rat demons as he held the weapon in two hands. He knew that this load was mostly used up in the ship so finished it off, now half out of his 9mm ammo for the gun and drew the sword back out and took off after the group killing another demon that tried to cut him off from the group. Behind him a dozen dead rat demons riddled with holes, and more injured and limping after.

Mack bit out a curse as the situation got a bit more heated. The rat-things had taken some notice of them now and were coming in spoiling for a fight. Mack took up position near the rear of the group, covering their escape as he fired short bursts at any demon who decided to venture too close. He aimed for heads; and though he didn't imagine there was much up there that the creatures cared to use; a triplet of rounds in that area silenced them well enough.

They followed the newcomer as he ran like a man possessed toward...wherever on God's green earth they were going.

* * *

Akane was now much more in her element. With her single long blade drawn she was finally facing that which she knew; flesh and blood. And bleed they did. Her katana danced and weaved, severing throats and limbs and spraying the pavement with the red fluid as she helped cover their escape.

Alison continued running, firing, then running some more. She was slightly annoyed to see that the new guy was leading the way. He had said something about a resistance a moment ago. She felt that that was a load of bulls***. But right now, it really didn't make a difference whether he was leading them to safety or to a trap. They were in enough trouble right now. She just wanted to be anywhere but here. Surely the city had a safer place than this; a place where they could make a proper stand, rather than just run and gun.

Alison fired into the rat pack one last time and her gun depleted another power cell, ejecting it from the frame. She caught the depleted cell and dumped it in her backpack. She couldn't fire anymore right now; that was the last one on the gun. She had more in her bag, but stopping to take them out would get her mauled. Now she just had to run for dear life. God, I hate this so much right now, she thought.

Fortunately, others had taken up the job of covering their asses. The Asian lady was doing well with her sword and the German was puting in work as well. If they could keep it up, they might live to see another day. Of course that all hinged on finding shelter before night fully fell. She didn't know much about the demon's habits, but common sense told her that the worst of the worst probably came out at night.

They'd made good pace and caught up with the group and outpaced the majority of the rats which meant once again his powers had become largely redundant and there was no way he could take up posistion and snipe not that it would thin their numbers even if he could. So he ran, now that Alison was safely with the others he changed form adopting a more stable four legged running form and running aside the messanger from this so called resistance.

His breathing was becoming ragged now and despite his form he wasn't moving as fast as he could and probably as fast he should still if he kept enough distance it would be ok. The sound of automatic fire pierced the area and the mini gatling made a reappearance if only that could have been saved for a better use later. He threw a glance back behind him uneasily to see a scene of shrapnel and gore before he flicked his head back in time to jump an obstacle he would have otherwise stumbled over. just keep up, just keep going, hopefully they'd find safety.

The man lead them swiftly and expertly through the maze that was the city, ducking, jumping, and generally moving in a way only someone who knew the city could, though he slowed often to allow the others to keep up. Joseph stayed gaurding the rear, sword in one hand pistol in the other, while Fransisco stayed as close to the guide as possible.

He ran through a door half blocked by stepped to the side allowing the others to pass, waited till Joseph went by, giving the guide a look of distrust before moving past as the man kicked a board causing a calapse infront of the door. He was breathing heavily but made his way back to the front and lead them on out the back and down a few more alleys, slower than before and then made it to a warehouse. "Welcome home boyz." He anounced and stepped throught the entrance, Joseph made to follow first but Fransisco stormed on in. The sound of a large amount of weapons being readied alerted them to the presence of the others. "It's ok, these guyz are with me." He told the men hiding through out the warehouse, the slowly appeared, ragged, some overly skinny, most armed.

"Resistance?" Joseph said softly to himself unimpressed. They needed a real leader if they ever hoped to win this war. "How did you know we where coming?" He asked the man softly, knowing that now he was in control if the others decided to attack.

"You'll find out pretty soon." Was all he said. "Eat somefood first, and make yourself at home."