Sanctuary

Josh stood dumb folded. For a second, he was back in the Junkyard, with a gang of kids, V leading. He had started to cry, and she had said something similar to him, which made him feel pathetic, offended and, miraculously, better. Save, somehow.

A wall exploded to his left, and he was back in the here and now. Joshua ducked and ran over to V, who was struggling with Zefie, who was still wheezing. He grabbed Zefie’s other arm to support her, and started running again.

“This a better use of breath then?”

 

Jack watched as Roger was shredded to a bloody mess before his eyes. Pumped with adrenaline once again, they made it out into the hall and to the stairs. Jack urged them up the stairs, making sure nobody was left behind. He waited for a few seconds, hearing the sounds of light footsteps on the stairs below growing louder. As soon as he caught sight of Them, he opened up with a volley of rounds. Get the hell out, Jack. He turned and dashed up the stairs, taking them four at a time, stopping briefly on the small landings to try and cover his escape.

Eventually he caught up with the group. Varenna, Josh and Zefie were in the back, stumbling up the stairs as fast as they could. Jack was right on their heels, turning now and then to fire at the advancing aliens.

 

"Thanks, Josh," V managed as they hauled Zefie between them, her feet only occasionally touching the stairs as they went.

There was no time to do anything but run, no time to be afraid. Any moment V expected to be shot to bits.

She heard Jack urging them on, tried to help Josh move Zefie faster. Shots echoed everywhere and they continued up.

V didn't like running up. You could run into a serious shortage of up. But their options were too narrow right now to worry about it.

Up it was. And fast.

 

Joshua panted. He had never been the athletic type, and Zefie seemed to gain weight with every step he himself took. He read the apartment numbers as he saw them fly by. 201. 301. 401. 501. 601… The building only had 5 more floors. He turned to Jack, who was still shooting at the They, who were advancing rapidly.

“I know we agreed we would go up, but we’re running out of up!”

Jack seemed to be to focussed on his fire fight to even register Joshua was talking. He kept urging them upwards. 901. 101. 1101… this was it. The next floor was the roof.

Joshua, now breathing heavily, let go of Zefie’s arm. He looked at V. “One second, give me one second.” He ran up the last pair of stairs and tried to open the doors that went to the apartment buildings flat roof. “C’mon, c’mon…” They were locked.

Joshua stood dazed. He hadn’t taken his keys. And even if he had, he doubted he had a key that fitted. Maybe he should try kicking the door open. He took a step back, then kicked the door. It didn’t bulge. Damned, damned, you moron. Think, think!

“It isn’t opening! I don’t have a key!” he yelled at the others.

 

The group stopped at the top of the stairs and Jess wondered why they had stopped. Were these Dragoons friends too?

Ah. Jess looked over her shoulder, pushed Dre out of the way and shot the lock off the door. “Go. Quickly.”

She turned back to the stairs and joined Jack in shooting at the approaching They.

 

Josh stared at Jessica. "I could have done that." he muttered. He ran back down and started to pull Zefie up the stairs.

 

Darmetrius watched the man lay on the floor slain... shredded. A horrifying sight to behold. His eyes widened, his heart beat rapidly, and his palms started to sweat.

"Oooooh, he dead."

He observed the others just pass over him, and figures it's probably for the best to keep moving on.

As he ran to catch up, it didn't take too long. One of the ladies lost her air quickly and wheezed a little. It was the Zefie chick. Right after the other woman told Josh not to waste his breath. Darmetrius didn't crack a joke there since Josh said a little something. But it was a trip to see that happen.

They reached the top of the stairs to find a locked door, which for some reason caused a pause. That is, until that Jessica woman shot the lock off. A little wise-cracking from Josh, and the group was once again on their way.

"Does anybody know where the hell we're going?"

 

Zefie stumbled up the last of the stairs with V and Josh’s help. She’d been practically carried most of the way up, and now, while Josh fiddled with the lock, she stood panting for breath, gasping as each inhalation made her lungs and chest hurt.

She looked round as Josh yelled something about not having the key. Her throat hurt too much to talk otherwise she would have snapped, Shoot the damned lock!

Luckily Jess seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she pushed Josh aside and shot the lock off. The door swung open. The bewildered look on Josh’s face was priceless.

He muttered something inaudible, then dashed back down the stairs and seized Zefie’s arm again, helping up to the landing and threw the door. Their feet pounded the concrete as they emerged onto the roof – and into what seemed to Zefie to be a dead end.

“Anybody know where the hell we’re going?”

Zefie looked round at Darmetrius. Looks like the roof to me, part of her wanted to say. The other part, panicking with terror, wanted to ask the same question.

 

Joshua started to panic. This was it, the last stop. Finito. He let go of Zefie's arm and shouldered the modfied MN-800. "Damned, why did we have to go up!" He heard the dragoons comming closer.

Joshua stared deperatly at Jess and Jack. "What are we going to do next. For the love of god, tell me you have some kind of plan!"

 

"Because up was the only way available!" V replied, bringing the carbine down to firing position, "It's not like we have a lot of choices here. Is there any cover up here? Our best chance is to shoot them as they try to come out, bottled up at the doorway."

 

Dre pushed through the group and looked frantically about the rooftop. This had been a very bad idea, but running back down into the Dragoons didn't exactly seem like a promising alternative either. Desperately, Dre rummaged around the few items on the roof, searching for something, anything that could save them. Yet, this looked like the end for the group. They had failed.
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Dre looked up at the grizzled old man, sniffing and holding his ground against the strong piercing gaze. "Didn't think so....ye ain't big enough and ye dan't have that killer eye to ye." The old man limped over to Dre and attempted to put a hand on his shoulder, but Dre backed away from the hand and picked up one of the small pieces of metal as if he were going to strike the old man with it.

The old man paused. "Tenacious little bugger, or stupid...ye dan't know when ta back down. If you dan't watch that attitude o' yours it'll get you killed one o' these days."

Dre reached a hand up to wipe the tears from his dirty face. "I'm not scared of you," he said in between halting breaths.

The old man smiled a little bit as he turned to walk away. "The name's Roy O, lad. Stop by sometime. Ye look hungered."
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Roy O. Dre had been doing his best to push the thoughts of the man from his mind, but now it all came back. Roy O had been like a father at first, but now he was more than that. He was Dre's best friend. Roy O had taken care of him when he was sick or hurt, taught him how to survive the cruel Junkyard. Survive. Dre had to live for Roy O. He had promised the old man that he would be back. Promise.

Dre eyed the gap in between the buildings. It wasn't a small gap, but it had to be done. They had to get to the Junkyard. Somehow, Dre knew they would be safe if they made it that far. Somehow.

"Run! Jump the roof! Get to the junkyard," he shouted at the group.

Then the first of the Dragoons appeared coming up the steps, opening fire as they did. Dre charged the stairs, firing the last of his bullets at the Dragoons. Roy O had been right, he never knew when to back down. However, Dre did not intend to die. Not right now. A bullet caught Dre in the shoulder, but he kept a firm grip on weapons. The sound of the empty clips did nothing to stop him from trying to fire. Then, as he came to the top of the stairs, he jumped. Delivering a flying dropkick to the lead Dragoon, both Dre and the group's pursuers went over the rail. Ten stories and several flights of stairs later, a tremendous crash marked the sound of their impact. Then all was silent, and Dre was gone.

 

Why are we stopping? Jack kept his pistols trained on the flight of stairs below as Joshua fumbled with the lock, and Jess eventually hammered a round into it. The door swung open, and Jack yelled at them to keep moving.

"Run! Jump the roof! Get to the junkyard," Dre yelled.

The aliens came onto the next landing, and both he and Jack opened up, the four pistols creating a chaos of noise in the concrete-encased room. Dre's pistols clicked as the clips dried up, and before Jack could stop him, he had hurled himself at Them.

Jack cursed loudly as he turned and charged out the door, slamming it shut behind him. He did a quick scan of the roof and found a piece of scrap metal. He jammed it underneath the door. It wouldn't hold them.

"we need to get outta here. The Junkyards. Is there a way down?" Jack ran to the edges of the roof, looking for a ladder, or a balcony, or anything. Nothing. He snapped his head over to the next building. It was smaller, its roof a few feet lower than this one's.

"We gotta jump the roof..." He said, half to himself.

 

Vishka waited at the top of the stairs. As one of the Dragoons stepped out, Vishka launched an ambush, barreling into him at top speed. He managed to topple the first one, who fell backwards, knocking the others back with the weight. As he did, he fired off a shockwave of steel, sheering off part of Vishka's armour, sending shards of twisted metal in every direction, knocking him to the ground.

"Run! Jump the roof! Get to the junkyard!"

The first Dragoon regained his balance and came back up. Vishka watched as Dre jumped at them. For a second, Vishka had no idea what was happening. Then he heard a sickening crash.

"DRENKI!" he roared, charging back the way he came, trying to save his only friend in the world.

 

"Damn," Darmetrius said as the man Dre fell several stories.

The alien apparently took a liking to the man that dropped. This was evidenced by his scream after watching the plunge. The group won the first round, but They had numbers and technology, how long would the lucky streak continue?

"We gotta jump the roof..."

"What roof... this roof? To where?"

 

Zefie watched in wide-eyed horror as Dre threw himself at Then to give them more time. Vishka charged after him with an earth-shattering roar and Zefie knew if anyone had a chance of saving the redheaded man it was the apparent anomaly of a Dragoon.

“We need to get outta here. The Junkyards. Is there a way down?”

Zefie looked round as Jack spoke and saw him scouring the edge of the building for something to help them. She frowned, knowing from long experience that when trying to escape something you needed to examine your entire surroundings.

Unfortunately it didn’t matter, as their only option quickly presented itself.

“We gotta jump the roof …” Jack muttered, disbelief etched into his face.

The rest of the group seemed equally incredulous, looking at each other as though expecting someone to provide them with a miracle. Zefie, her street gang instincts kicking in, took a few steps forward and looked down. The next building was a few feet away, and lower. Not an easy jump, but manageable. Definitely manageable ... with some luck.

And once they were there, they would be in the Junkyard. Zefie’s territory.

Ignoring the pain in her throat, Zefie forced a few words out. “So … we jump. Should … probably run … at it.”

No-one else was about to do it, and considering her state she probably shouldn’t have either. But Zefie had never been one for backing down.

She took a few measured strides backward, and then breathed in deeply, ignoring the flare of pain as her lungs expanded.

She took the jump at a run, timing herself and pushing off at just the last minute. For a few moments she hurtled through the air, her braid whipping out behind her. Then the rooftop was rapidly rising towards her; she flung out her arms and bent her knees, preparing for the landing.

There was a loud impact as she hit roof, rolling over a few time on her side then getting to her feet. She ached, and would probably a few more spectacular bruises to add to her collection tomorrow, but she had made it to the rooftop in one piece.

She waved at the others to follow, then her lungs convulsed and she bent over, coughing again.

 

*Double post. My bad.*

 

"Jump?" Joshua started to laugh histiracly. "You can't be serious! We're on the 12th floor. Thats a 30 meter drop, you can't seriously expect..." He felt a rush of wind passing him, and several second later, Zefie was waving at the rest of the group from the other rooftop.

"You got to be kidding me. You got to be kidding me. You got to be..." Joshua shook his head. He had been shot at, smacked around, poisoned. He would survive a little jump. He hoped.

He took a few steps back and started to run. As he pushed himself of, he suddenly realised he had no idea how to land.

His landing wasn't at all like Zefie's, who had landed like a pigeon on a rooftop. No, Joshua's landing was more like a garbage truck on a slab of concrete. The air was slammed out of his lungs, and if he hadn't wrapped his arms around his head, he would have probably ended with a skull fracture.

"Did I make it?"

 

I saw Jack jump across along with Zefie. I was not gonna make this jump with the Rail gun attached to me but I couldn't just leave it here. I saw Jack waves his hand as if I was supposed to toss something to him. I didn't know if I was wanted to but I had no choice. I put my hand on the butt of the gun and ran to towards the edge of the roof tossing it at Jack. He caught it thankfully. I had almost passed out at the thought of it being dropped. They continued fire as I step back a few times then dashed for the edge and jumped. I landed with a roll passed Zeffie and Jack.

 

After watching a couple of them jump, he understood they were for real. He wasn't afraid to jump, he had jumped roofs with his brother on the way home many times. Of course, they were poor, and the houses they jumped were more like shacks. He had vertigo, but when he needed to get going, nothing could stop him but himself. So he backed up a bit to get some space, and accelerated, picking up some good speed before his launch.

He easily cleared the jump, but did a little roll on the tail end of it. Getting back to his feet, he dusted his body off and rubbed his shoulder. The same one that he carried that man on. He bumped it on the landing. Then he flashed a cocky look.

"I meant to do that."

 

The death of Dre had not struck Jess as out of place. In times like this, it was merely a choice of fates. Dying to save others was an honourable death – a warriors death. As for the Dragoon – she shrugged. As long as he slowed their pursuers down.

Jess remained where she was, waiting for the civilians to go first. After Darmetrius had jumped she shouldered her rifle and backed away.

She ran and leapt - time stretched out in an eternity - smack. The impact thudded up her legs and she landed in a crouch, catlike on the next roof. She straightened her legs and retrieved the rifle from her back.

 

Following Zefie's lead, Jack took a run at the lip of the building, feeling a fresh rush of adrenaline as he flew for a few brief seconds through the air. He landed on his feet, but let his knees bend as he tucked in and rolled forward, absorbing most of the impact. He stood and saw Bruce looking questioningly over the larger building's roof, cradling the huge rail gun in his arms.

Jack motioned for him to throw it to him. The man looked hesitant but complied. The weight of the gun almost knocked Jack over as he grabbed it. Bruce made it over and got to his feet. Jack handed him his weapon.

"Take care of that. We'll be needing it before this is done."

 

He watched Jess hit her jump with no trouble. He smirked and snorted. He folded his arms and shook his head after giving her a once over.

"Show off," he said to her, his smirk turning into a smile.

 

“Did I make it?”

Zefie looked up and grinned through her coughs as she saw Josh lying spread-eagled nearby, arms wrapped protectively over his head and eyes shut as thought he were afraid to look.

“You …” she coughed and tried again, “… made it.”

She looked back up at the others, and watched as first Jack, then Darmetrius and Bruce, who threw his supergun to Jack for safety, and then finally Jess, braved the jump and landed on the roof. Jess’ was the most elegant landing, much to Darmetrius’ annoyance.

It looked like only V was left on the roof. Zefie guessed her friend wasn’t best pleased about the jump, but V had always been one of the more daring of the Rows’ children that ventured into the Junkyards and had usually more than held her own against the gang kids.

Come on V, Zefie urged silently, holding a hand to her mouth as she started coughing again.

 

“You …” Zefie coughed and tried again, “… made it.”

Joshua opened his eyes. He did? He did! He wanted to jump up, dance around, laugh out louyd. But even the smile that crossed his face hurt, and every muscle seemed to be on fire. He was vaguely aware of the taste of blood.

"Seems I have to work on my landings." he muttered. "Could someone help me up?"

 

Darmetrius lends a hand to help Josh up.

"Yeah, your landing botched a little near the end," he said as he waited for Josh to pull himself up. "Happens to the best of us...," he started up again, "look at me."