Difference between revisions of "Atlantis Rising: Chapter 7"

Revision as of 20:32, 17 March 2010

Chapter 7 is finally done. Now we can get on with the real book. That's the end of the exposition/introduction period, so get ready for the good part.

Previous Chapter: Phoenix Rising: Chapter 6

Homepage: Atlantis

Also see: Reaper's First Drop

15:00Hours, January 6, 2013 (Military Calendar), US Military Special Operations Marine Shock Forces Training Camp, Miami, Florida, USA

"Squads, line up!"

Matt, Jamie, Scar, Holly, and Malcolm stepped quickly out of the showers, shrugged on their light olive-drab regulation T-shirts and cargo pants, and grabbed their combat packs, lining up as a squad in front of the DS at the Live-Fire Training Exercise Range. His name, Matt had gathered, was Sergeant Mathys.

They had a Drill Sergeant for each class and several Drill Intstructors, plus a Drill Instructor guide that, oddly enough, was there solely to guide and direct the recruits to their next class and whatnot. But Matt had come to like Mathys the best. He followed normal military protocol, but wasn't quite as militant about it. He also had a rather dry sense of humor.

Mathys directed a role-call, and once everyone had been accounted for, launched into his briefing. "Recruits, today marks the first-week completion of your training. Therefore, you are expected to have learned the ropes, get the basic feel of military life. And now you are ready for your true purpose here.

"Each and every one of you has shown, at some point, an inexplicable and powerful force of will at your disposal, be it a curious ability to lift objects beyond your reach and many times that of your natural strength, although elevated beyond the natural norm in all of you. Or the unfortunate and alarming tendency to light things on fire when you concentrate on them."

Here Jamie leaned in towards Matt and whispered, "I bet that would really suck if you were with your girlfriend at the time. Nothing says first base like lighting your date on fire."

"Or boyfriend, sexist." Scar whispered. Jamie grinned.

"Regardless, each of you has an innate ability that raises you far above the standard infantry." Mathys continued. "We are the Marine Shock Forces. When the Army is in trouble, it calls the Marines. When America is in trouble, she calls us. We are the winners of wars, the enders of tyranny. The Elite of the Elite. And each of your abilities makes this possible.

"Therefore, after having learned the ropes of this training camp, you are now deemed ready for your first instruction in the use of your powers. The conspirators in you will have heard of this, and so I shall say. We have names for your abilities, names like Telekinesis. Pyrokinesis. Hydrokinesis. Geo. Electro. Aero. Photo. Psi-healing. Remote Viewing.

"Now, your Psichokinetic Training Instructors, for that is what it is, Psi, will work a little differently than the regular military discipline allows. Your psi training will be more personal, with a broader range of goals. Now, if each squad will follow their guide, they will show you the area where you will go everyday, starting today, at fifteen-hundred hours, to practice your psi. Good luck, Marines."

This was the first time any of them had been told their branch of the military, and the first time they had been referred to as such. The squads filed out, following their guides.

"So, what's this going to be like?" Scar asked. Matt shrugged.

"I assume they're going to teach us more control, like, how to use it. And about the fallout from it." Holly said.

"Are they gonna make us do it so much we get the Hangover?" Jamie asked.

"I-" Matt was cut off by the roaring of an approaching engine. A Humvee pulled up in front of them, spewing gravel as it spun to a stop. In the driver's seat, perfectly healed, was Carter.

"Good afternoon, gents." Carter said. "Hop in."

Matt noticed Carter's lapel, which now held the badge of Staff Sergeant. "You were promoted!" Scar exclaimed.

"Technically, yes." Admiral Ford said, stepping out of the passenger seat. "Promoted for bravery and valor in the field. In fact, he should have been laying in the hospital for another year, except for a curious occurrence of advanced regenerative healing capabilities. The Warfare Intelligence Office informs me that Staff Sergeant Carter's unique psi abilities were no doubt triggered by his close proximity to Kenderson as he used psi, as were the rest of you."

"Cool..." Jamie breathed.

"However, your new promotion, Carter, is as of now void and will be so until you complete your psi training. You hereby assume the rank of Recruit, as the same as every other trainee at this facility. You will not, however, be assigned to a squad, or be assigned a squad. You are not obligated to proceed with any of the training the recruits take, save for your psi-instruction, but it is strongly encouraged for you to retain a sharp edge.

"On a less formal note, be careful. This world of psi is a mysterious and complex affair. Be careful you do not lose your way, and good luck."

"Sir!" The six of them saluted.

"Good day, gentlemen. I will see you before too long, I would imagine."

They saluted again, and Matt's squad piled into the Humvee, Matt riding shotgun.

"Do you know where we're going?" Matt asked Carter. It was kind of strange, now that his previous Sergeant was technically a lower rank, although Matt had no jurisdiction over him and would never have dreamed of giving Carter an order.

"Yeah. We follow the road." Carter smirked, pointing to the road ahead of them.

Matt grimaced. "I mean, where does this road take us?"

"We'll know it when we see it is what they told me."

After a minute of driving down a relatively wide and well-kept tropical jungle road, they reached the destination, or must have, because the road ended.

At the end of this road was a clearing in the jungle. The clearing was large, obviously not natural. It was a complete acre and was filled with a giant obstacle course. Off to one side, a sand pit stretched half the length of the clearing, with markers on either side that gave the distance. The other corner of this side was entirely occupied by an open-aired pavilion, under which was set up into a series of metal bars, not unlike the "Playground" they went through in the morning.

The far corner was taken up by a low structure. Matt blinked: it was oddly out of place in this world of military methods and warfare. It was obviously someone's house, for the outer area was dominated by a wide porch, complete with chairs, tables, and ceiling fans going at full blast to repel mosquitoes. The house was two stories, well lit by floodlights on the outside and softer regular lighting on the inside. It did retain to the world of war at least in that it was camouflaged jungle green, dark brown, and matte black. If not for the white-washed gutters that outlined the building and the sharp trimming, Matt's gaze might have slipped right over it. The back of the house looked like a firing range, with a row of stalls that encroached into the jungle.

The other corner was completely taken up by a combination workshop and garage. Trios of gleaming silver tables were aligned into perfect rows. Thousands of dollars' worth of tools were scattered all over the tables and the workbench that ran the complete length of the side of the building, which was enclosed on two sides. The other wall was lined by an array of different vehicles, ranging from a squad of motorbikes to a pair of huge tanks. Every vehicle, large or small, was dismantled in some part or function: the armor had been stripped from a couple Humvees and could be seen on the adjacent table with arc welders and plasma cutting torches stationed around it. The tanks' barrels had been removed and were resting on another table, sharing space with dismantled shells.

The middle of the clearing was mixed up into a variety of things. There was a pool, at least 100 feet deep and 50 feet wide, filled with pure, crystal azure water. Next to it was a smoldering brick furnace, with an automated bellows and a conveyor belt that continually dumped coal into the blazing maw. Across from these two was a tall spire of granite, diorite, and other hard stone. The ground was littered with pebbles and stones.

And sitting on the porch of the house was a lone figure.

The squad approached the lone man cautiously. He didn't look all that impressive, garbed in black cargo pants and a white T-shirt which read, "Marine Shock Forces" across the top and below that, "Semper Durus," with a black Matrix jacket over it. Clean-shaven, dark blond hair cut razor-short covered his head. He was of middling size and stature.

As the crew came closer, Matt was shocked to realize that the man's irises were a deep, pure gold.

"Welcome. I am Leonidas. And you are Matthew Kenderson, James Campbell, Holly Dayne, Scarlett Miller, Malcolm Pierce, and Ian Carter. You must be thirsty. Please, sit, and I will manage drinks." The figure waved his hand, indicating a row of chairs arranged in a semi-circle around himself. Matt glanced at Jamie, then sat down in the middle chair, directly across from Leonidas.

Leonidas waved his hand again, and this time seven glasses rose seemingly of their own accord off the counter in the house. They floated towards the screen door, which opened as they neared, glided out the house, and hovered in front of each of the amazed crew. Matt grabbed his glass from the air and took a sip.

Vanilla coke. His favorite.

"Neat trick." Malcolm muttered as he took a swig from his coke.

"You are, undoubtedly, wondering why you are here, what we will be working on, and how this will be accomplished."

"Yes sir." Matt said.

"We have precious little time to waste, so lets get to it. I am your psi training instructor. Here, I will instruct you in the art of psi. How to use it. How to control it. When to use it. I will teach you the fine mechanics of using telekinesis to create a shield, guarding you and any allies that are close by. I will teach you how to use pyrokinesis to superheat metal and form it how you will. I will teach you how to use hydrokinesis to accelerate yourself through the water, and even walk on the ocean's surface.

"Now. For starters, I'd like to assess each of your separate abilities and observe which elements you prefer to work with. I have in mind base indicators already, but I'd like to be sure. To start, I'd like each of you to follow me to the Grounds, where we will be practicing this first week or so." With this, Leonidas set off at a brisk pace for the middle of the clearing, leaving the bemused crew in his wake. Matt looked around with a raised eyebrow, then got up and followed Leonidas, as did the rest of the crew.

They stopped at a small garden grove in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by the pillar of rock, the pool, and the furnace.

Leonidas stood with his hands clasped loosely behind his back, his short-cut hair rippling in the breeze. The six of them lined up across from him.

"What is psi?" Leonidas asked suddenly, and began pacing slowly in front of them. "How do you define it? How would you - categorize it? Control it? Use it?" He stopped pacing and stood in front of them, and Matt was suddenly struck by how much Leonidas seemed as Morpheus to them. Tumbling down the rabbit hole? All they needed now was an Alice in Wonderland reference. "These are the questions I will answer, in due time. For now, let's get to work. I want each of you to concentrate. Search yourself for that nameless energy.

"What energy, you ask? It is possible to manipulate objects beyond your body with regular energy, and this is how you will achieve the fine control that you must have for this war. However, when raw force is required, there is a much more efficient method."

"I am talking about that fiery- sorry, electrifying feeling that supercharges your being. You can feel it, maybe, when you are frustrated beyond rational thought. When your heart has been ripped into pieces. When you get that euphoric feeling that accompanies tremendous achievement. When you feel fear. For some of you, this will be easy. You might have a memory, say, that conjures up these emotions readily. Here you will find how to use this emotion to extend your raw energy beyond your body, shaping it into the form you desire. Now, for a quick lesson. The mechanics of Psichological workings, as it were.

"The use of psi comes with several prices. First and most directly, to use psi requires the energy to do so. Not everyone has the ability to use this power, as I will explain in a moment.. As I said before, the mainstay of the psi that you use will feed off of your regular bodily energy. This energy fuels the power to the same level of strength as it would to do it manually; that is, it requires the same amount of energy to accomplish the same goal whether you do it manually or psichokinetically."

"Psi, or what we know causes the ability to use 'Psi-powers,' is actually a hormone released by one's pituitary gland. In select groups of people, 'psi-potentials' such as yourselves, your pituitary gland controls an extra hormone that releases the from your body and that created by emotions into kinetic energy outside your body. This psi-hormone is triggered by the hormone adrenaline. When the adrenaline is good and pumping through your system, it acts as a chemical key that unlocks the pituitary gland into releasing psi-hormones, which in turn allow you to, again, release the energy generated by your body. With me so far?"

"Um..." Jamie said.

Leonidas smiled. "Simply put. Really simply. Your psi powers work because of your bodily energy. In order to utilize this ability, you have to concentrate. Think about what you want to do, picture it becoming so, let the adrenaline course through your body and control your senses. Then think about using that energy that is now coursing through your body and directing it into the path which you have chosen. For example, say, you wanted to light this leaf on fire," Leonidas lifted a leaf to his head-height with Telekinesis. "I would concentrate on the leaf, allow my adrenaline to flow, and then direct the energy generated into the leaf as fire." His eyebrow twitched, and the leaf spontaneously combusted. The flames ate along the length of the once-green plant and left it charred and blackened. The breeze caught the remnants and scattered them. "All clear?"

Leonidas's question met nods of varying enthusiasm. "Sir?" Matt asked. "You said these abilities were unlocked by adrenaline. It might be different for someone else, but I don't think there's much adrenaline going through my veins right now."

"Well done, Matt. Herein lies my problem. To attempt to do what I did just now - that is, to use Psi energy when you have no adrenaline flowing through your body - takes the ability to produce adrenaline consciously. Normally, adrenaline flows by itself as a result of subconscious signals to your brain, which instinctively releases the hormone. What I just did was to manually control my pituitary gland, and thus light the leaf. This ability you are not likely to attain for many more years, likely after this war has started and ended. An easier way, although somewhat less effective and powerful, is to conjure a memory that induces an adrenaline surge."

Jamie grinned. Matt elbowed him.

"But how do I, in a controlled, non-risk environment, get your adrenaline through your system? There are various methods. Over the years, we have realized that your body's hormones and chemicals always pump faster when your body is in movement, like in a car or on a boat. Then there is music. Most adolescents are very prone to the effects of their favorite music, especially when that music is something with a fast, solid beat, such as Alternative or regular Rock, Metal, and other sounds along those lines.

"And then, of course, there is live combat exercises. We will use a mix of all three." Leonidas pulled a small iPod stereo and an iPhone out of his jacket pocket, selected a song, and set the device on a small stainless steel table set off to the side, pumping the volume to max. Matt immediately recognized the pitched lyrics of Linkin Park's "From the Inside," and had to struggle not to roll his eyes. Linkin Park was one of his favorite bands, but the pun here was going way too far.

Leonidas pulled a chair from the table, sat, and waited, checking his watch every so often. "For this assignment, you will be given no weaponry but your mind. That's all I can tell you, besides the fact that you are ordered not to leave the boundaries of this section of the jungle." Matt and the crew stood, waiting. What were they supposed to do?

They didn't have to wait long. Soon after Leonidas had gotten comfortable, the exercise began.

"Shh, listen!" Matt ordered suddenly, ears perked. He could have sworn... there! A faint, distant whistling. It seemed to be getting closer and louder- "HIT THE DIRT!!"

The exercise began in the form of an artillery shell detonating just outside the clearing. The 40mm shell buried into the dirt and detonated. The explosion tore free of the thin metal container and forced itself out in every direction, lighting the underbrush on fire and splintering trees as if they were matchsticks.

Matt threw himself to the ground, covering his head as more shells detonated around them. He crawled to the spire of rock and dived under an overhang, which provided him with a slight amount of cover. He was only dimly aware as Jamie crawled in next to him.

Holly had taken cover in a shallow depression a couple yards away. Carter was with Scarlett and Malcolm, sheltered behind the giant stone forge.

And Leonidas was calmly sipping a glass of water, still sitting at the stainless steel table as explosives rained down around him.

Matt's adrenaline was going now, that was for sure.

Matt felt an invading presence press on his mind, like a cloud of ice. Then Leonidas's voice sounded inside his head, You might want to consider setting up a barrier, the infantry attack will follow up momentarily.

Matt shook his head clear. If Leonidas could do it, so could he. He concentrated on extending his awareness outside his person, trying to ignore the explosions that came near and far. He concentrated -- and then inhaled sharply. His vision, although his eyes were closed, had jumped to a blue, alternate spectrum.

Heat sources were a snowy white in his new vision, as was Jamie's mind, right next to him. Colder places were a midnight blue, and the rest was a pure, crystalline water of varying shades, from ice to azure to navy. Matt waved his arm in front of his face, watching fascinated as his muscles, veins, and arteries were outlined in bold white, while his bones were a denser, cool gray color. His sight had been extended, where he could see through barriers to a degree when he focused, such as trees. He was aware of each piece of life throughout the jungle. His vision was sharp, crisp.

Shadows were lightened, so Matt could somewhat clearly see in darkness that would have blinded him. He could see details that would have escaped him before. An artillery shell struck near him, and the vision flickered as Matt lost focus.

Is this what God sees? Matt wondered as he returned to himself. He shook his head, then returned to this alternate reality, this time looking at Jamie.

As Matt focused on a link between his mind and Jamie's, a white cord suddenly sprang into existence between them. Matt then focused on a message, Get ready, incoming infantry, and imagined his message being sent along the line. Almost instantaneously, Jamie recoiled, cocked his head, and nodded. He sent back, Good, and pointed to Holly, and then Malcolm. I'll get Holly, you get Malcolm Matt sent, then opened his eyes.

The watery spectrum faded as clouds beneath the sun's rays, and Matt sidled around to where Holly was crouching behind a boulder. Matt tapped her shoulder, then sank back into the Spectrum, and focused on sending the same message to Holly. She nodded and drew Matt's consciousness into hers.

Matt didn't resist as his mind was tugged out of his body, down the snow line, and into Holly's crystalline figure.

Matt blinked in surprise once he was inside her body: Holly's spectrum was different from his own. Here, the intermediate heat zones were a vivid, emerald green. Shadows were outlined in much greater detail, but her sight range was limited compared to his own. Once outside the immediate area, thick banks of obscuring Opaline clouds blocked any further awareness.

Cool... Matt thought, and felt as Holly's head bobbed in agreement. Very cool. Alright. So we've got infantry inbound. Holly, I need you to stick to the shadows, then do your stuff. Scavenge whatever weaponry you can.

Roger that, chief. Matt reluctantly severed their connection and returned to his own body.

Jamie was waiting for him. Whoa, you see blue?

Yeah what do you see?

Jamie mentally reached across and pulled Matt's consciousness into his own.

Jamie was definitely a pyro. His Spectrum vision was layered orange and red. The intermediate layer was a fiery orange, shadows were a dark gray, and high-heat was bright white. Jamie's vision balanced distance, clarity, detail, and night vision almost perfectly. Scar, Malcolm, and Carter? Matt thought.

Scar's got a little more clarity than me, and a little better night vision. But her distance isn't as good. Malcolm's the reverse. Carter can see the farthest, I think, but his night vision sucks. His is all silver, black, and blue, too.

Right. Let's go see what kind of guns those soldiers are packing.

Matt severed their communication and leaped up from his hiding place, sprinted across the clearing, and slid into the cover of a wide tree.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon after he had camouflaged himself with leaves and dirt, a 3-man Search and Destroy team advanced right past his position, completely oblivious to his presence.

Matt waited until the last of the soldiers had passed, then jumped out of his pile of leaves and tackled the last soldier high, driving him to the ground. Matt smashed the soldier's head repeatedly against the ground, hard, getting the attention of the other two soldiers. Time to try something new.

Matt concentrated on the two soldiers, time seeming to slow to a crawl. The two men raised their weapons, but Matt tossed a hand up, almost casually, and redirected the soldiers' bullets into the ground. Once they stopped firing, he hit each one, hard, with a ball of Telekinetic force. God, it felt good to let it loose.

The attack wasn't lethal, but definitely guaranteed to keep them out of the fight with broken noses, knees, and ribs for several hours. Matt grabbed a soldier's PP-19 Bizon Sub-Machine Gun, some ammunition, and ran back into the clearing, trees and jungle ferns whipping past as he sprinted.

Matt got back just in time to see Jamie and Scar going to town on another S&D team. Matt leveled the Bizon at a soldier that was trying to flank them and pulled the trigger, compensating for the recoil. A long, concentrated burst served to cut the soldier down, and Jamie whipped around, saw the flanker, and nodded his thanks to Matt.

Malcolm had just climbed to the top of the furnace, crouching low to avoid bullets. His eyes were suddenly ablaze with a sickly red light as he fired one-handed with another re-purposed SMG, and with his left hand manipulated a stream of fire out of the furnace and into the surrounding jungle. It hadn't killed anyone, but the smoke and fire would effectively screen off half the clearing momentarily.

Matt looked right to see Holly rise from the darkness and grip a soldier around the neck with one hand, pinning his arms with the other, just like they had been taught in Hand-to-Hand training. But the soldiers, who were equipped with Russian Spetsnaz GRU equipment, had also trained at the same place, and for much longer than a week. The soldier twisted out of Holly's grip and attempted a counter-attack. Matt was just about to jump in and help when Holly's eyes flared emerald, and a rock the size of Matt's fist flew out of the granite spire and whacked the soldier in the head.

The soldier fell to the ground, and Matt jumped over his body, dragging Holly to the ground as an MG opened up in the jungle off to their right and cut ribbons out of the leaves she had been standing in front of. Crimson training rounds spattered the trees.

They both sidled around behind the rock spire, and as soon as they were clear of the Machine Gunner's lane of fire, sprinted for the pool of water, which was surrounded by a low concrete wall. Matt fired rounds from his Bizon SMG as they went, until an invisible force gripped him around the legs and sent him sprawling.

Matt kicked himself free of the Telekinetic shackles and rolled onto his back in time to see another Spetsnaz-armored soldier approaching him, hand surrounded in a murky blue mist that was associated with using TK. Matt quickly concentrated and sent a TK blast back at the soldier. Matt could imagine his own eyes flash blue as he sent the blast, but the soldier, with a flick of his wrist, deflected it.

Matt stared in disbelief as he was again wrapped in a Telekinetic grip, this time much stronger, and lifted into the air. But the soldier didn't get any further than that. Jamie had by this point found a gun, turned around, and leveled the clip from a AN-94 Russian assault rifle at the Spetsnaz-soldier, whose TK grip promptly fell after he hit the ground, snoring.

But then Jamie was knocked to the ground, and yet another soldier materialized out of the jungle, and sent Matt spinning a second time.

This was quite enough. Matt was through with being knocked on his butt. This time Matt rose and conjured an image of a storm, of sitting in an out-door terrace that was sheltered by an overhanging porch at his house, listening to the rain. As the feeling from this memory rose, though Matt wasn't sure what emotion it was, he was able to lift a large sphere of water from the pool and sent it shooting for the soldier.

The soldier stopped it in mid-air, and Matt could actually feel the drain of energy from his body as he mentally battled this soldier. Instead of trying to batter his way through with brute force, Matt shattered the crystal-pure sphere of water into a thousand droplets, which broke the soldier's hold on the water. Matt then sent the droplets flying into the soldier, and manipulating them so that they stayed as hard as metal beads as they impacted. The soldier dropped.

Holly sidled around to him, firing another stolen assault rifle. Two Spetsnaz troops walked out of the writhing inferno Malcolm had created, calmly, wraith-like, the flames peeling away and vanishing before the two. One raised his left hand as he held his assault rifle loosely in his right, aimed at the ground. Before he could do anything more than make Holly's hair stand up on end, Matt socked him in the chest with his own TK blast. The soldier went sprawling, but the second one raised his rifle then and fired a burst into Holly.

Matt stepped in front of her, his arm cutting through the air as he swept aside another burst of rounds, then cut the soldier's legs out from under him.

Matt stooped, grabbed Holly by the collar, and dragged his butt and hers into cover behind the wall, sending a quick mental message through the spectrum to Jamie and the others to join him. They were going to go with the blockade.

There had been thirty soldiers in the original group. Matt estimated about 20 left, plus a rapidly approaching helicopter. Things did not look good.

Jamie vaulted over the concrete wall, a Saiga-12 Russian semi-automatic shotgun in hand. Malcolm came in from the other side with another AN-94, followed by Carter and Scarlett, both with SMGs.

Leonidas looked at the formation and sipped his coffee. No one had even bothered him.

The six of them held their position, peeking out above the concrete and loosing a few shots every now and then. Grenades sailed into the square, but the crew quickly sent them shooting into the pool of water.

Jamie started, then flew backwards into the concrete wall seemingly of his own accord, grunting as the air was crushed out of his lungs.

Matt was there instantly, laying suppressive fire. The grip around Jamie slackened as Matt put a burst into the tree by the head of a soldier whose eyes were glowing. Matt drilled two more bursts into the Spetsnaz-soldier's chest, sending him down and out.

Matt fell back behind the wall with Jamie, both breathing heavily. "Thanks." Jamie muttered.

"Anytime."

"How many more?"

"Twelve more-" Matt was cut off by Scarlett screaming. Stopping only to swear, Matt dove into the pool as his quickest way to get to the other side. This sucked. He and his team were dressed in T-shirts and cargo shorts, for crying out loud. These guys were armed and armored like Spetsnaz troopers. They had artillery support, and a virtual army of heavily armed men with extensive psi-training? What did he get? A bunch of adolescents with newly discovered power?

Matt climbed out and crouched down next to Scar. She had taken a splattering of rounds in the chest. Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem. But because they wore no armor, the training rounds were stiffening her T-shirt at an extremely rapid pace, and the anesthetic/tranquilizer was having a particularly potent effect.

While Carter covered him, Matt ripped a strip of cloth off the bottom half of Scar's shirt and used it to bind her broken rib and wipe off the tranquilizer-laced paint. Those training rounds still hurt.

Scar was going to be pretty drowsy for a while, but she could still fight.

"Thanks." Scar murmured.

"This is getting to be a thing with me." Matt said, grinning.

"What, tearing half my shirt off?" She asked groggily.

Matt pressed an SMG into her hand and dived back into the pool, swimming back to his position beside Holly.

"How're things?" Matt asked, panting.

"Oh. Things are great. That helicopter is circling just outside the clearing. Thought you might want this, just in case it made a pass." Holly said, holding up a Russian 9K38 Igla Man-Portable Air-Defense System. Basically a guided missile launcher.

"Ooh, Jamie'd like that. I'll pass it on over to him. What else you got?"

"What, you need more than a missile launcher?"

"Ha ha. I thought sarcasm was my area of expertise."

Holly grinned and hefted a Kord 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun (HMG).

"These guys did their homework. This is some genuine Russian gear." Matt commented as he slung both the HMG and the rocket launcher over his shoulder and deposited them at Jamie's feet. "Enjoy. You need any help with that HMG?" Generally Medium Machine Guns were operated by two people, and HMGs were almost always reserved for vehicle-mounting. They were just that heavy.

"Nah. Most infantry don't have the benefit of Telekinesis. I'll be fine." Jamie replied.

"I'm gonna check on Malcolm." Matt said, and ran over to the back wall where Malcolm was holding. "How's it going?"

"Peachy. Just dandy. I mean, we're only being attacked by an army of blood-thirsty ex-trainees equipped with serious Russian gear. What's new with you?"

"Scar got hit pretty bad. Busted a rib. I think there's only about nine-" Matt ducked as a sustained burst chipped the concrete by his head. As soon as it ended, he twisted around and fired back, taking out the soldier who had fired. "Make that eight more."

"What about the helo?"

"Jamie's got it covered. Holly managed to drag up a missile launcher. Somehow. I dunno. I think the helo was bringing reinforcements."

"Aw, too bad we ruined their party."

Matt ducked again as an explosion spattered the wall with crimson paint. Holly, who had been standing up, took a hit to the shoulder and spun around. Carter rose and tried to get the soldier but was drilled in the back from four different directions.

Matt swam back for Holly's position as Jamie sent a roaring maw of flames into the jungle around where the shooting had started, effectively trapping the four soldiers into the clearing, where they were quickly picked off by combined fire from Matt, Jamie, Scar, and Malcolm.

Matt climbed out of the pool and knelt next to Holly.

"My arm's getting stiff. Can't feel it." Holly spat between gritted teeth.

Matt touched her shoulder and she inhaled sharply. "Dislocated shoulder. Alright. Look that way. Ready. Okay. You're going to feel a slight tug-" While Holly was listening to him talking, Matt quickly snapped Holly's shoulder back into place. She gasped and swore, then swung her arm and nodded.

"Alright. Let's go do what we do best." Matt said. "Two left."

The five of them rose as one and charged.

Next chapter: Phoenix Rising: Chapter 8