Wings of Death

The Bait

It was a clear night, the Captain knew the risks but they could not wait any longer. If the Blood Demons managed to reach their base before they could acquire the materials it would end in disaster. He asked all the survivors to stay alert and follow Lieutenant Amy’s orders to the letter. The Bloodwings did not pose any serious threat to them as long as they were inside Fort Barton, but even a single Blood Demon could wreak havoc on them. The Fort’s defenses were quite effective at quickly taking down Bloodwings which got too close to the walls but they would not be able to do anything against the Blood Demons. Major Morris instructed the Lieutenant to relocate the survivors to the underground fallout shelter if a Blood Demon showed up. For now he thought it would be best to keep it a secret from the survivors in order to prevent any chaos. The one mile safe radius around the fort had still not been breached by any Bloodwing after the Vipers had cleared it during the second day of the invasion.  As of now the survivors had nothing to worry about and could carry on their day- to- day activities without fear.

Captain Elijah and his men checked their gear one last time before heading out into the night. The convoy consisted of two armored pickup trucks, 2 Shock Hounds and 3 Arch Knight Tanks. The other Shock Hounds were in need of repairs after the last mission and were still at the base.  Their first destination was Birch Street. The soldiers stopped their tanks and got down at the marked location. So far they hadn’t encountered any Bloodwings. It seemed they had done quite a good clean up job last night. The Captain ordered them to take positions inside the buildings and then rode off toward City Square accompanied by the other Shock Hound. On the way to City Square he encountered a small swarm of Bloodwings. The two Shock Hounds eliminated the swarm without any problems. They knew the real test lay just ahead. As soon as Captain Elijah spotted the Blood Demon he ordered the other Shock Hound to retreat immediately and regroup with the rest of the team. He did not want to risk the lives of his men, especially after what had happened to Jackson. It was all up to him now. He slowed down his Shock Hound and carefully approached the Blood Demon. When he was just a dozen meters away from it he activated the turret and started firing grenades at the target. The Blood Demon immediately let out a scream and rushed towards the vehicle. In a flash, Captain Elijah turned the Shock Hound around and sped towards Valmont Street. The Blood Demon kept spitting acid pellets at his vehicle which narrowly missed the mark. He had to drive at such a speed that the creature could just keep up with him but fail to hit the vehicle with the acid pellets. As soon as he had crossed the large hospital on the left he contacted his men on the radio and alerted them.

The soldiers had taken their positions on the 13th floors of both the buildings and were waiting for the Blood Demon. Sergeant Abel was currently the officer in charge due to his rank.

“Get ready men! The Captain is headed this way. He is bringing the Blood Demon to us. Wait for him to pass and then engage the Blood Demon together”, he shouted.

“Sir, I can see the Captain’s car”, cried Corporal Matt. He had spotted the Shock Hound in the distance using his binoculars.

“Steady men”.

“Blood Demon spotted. It is right on the Captain’s tail”, reported Corporal Matt again.

“Hold your fire. Let it come closer. We have only one shot at this!”

As soon as Captain Elijah saw the marked buildings he increased his speed and stormed past them. The Blood Demon flew right into the ambush zone.

“Open fire!” roared Sergeant Abel and immediately all the men fired at it with their Rain Blasters. There was no escape for the Blood Demon this time. It was hit simultaneously by several jets of rain water. The Blood Demon screamed in pain and writhed in agony as its wings began to corrode upon coming into contact with the rain water.

“Don’t let up! Keep Shooting!”

The men kept shooting it with high powered jets of rainwater and soon the Blood Demon melted into a pulp and dropped dead on the ground.

The Vipers had done it! Their first objective was now complete. Captain Elijah stepped out of his Shock Hound and saluted the brave men of Viper squad. Nathan, Alex and Joshua felt honored to be a part of such an elite team. They knew this night would be etched into the pages of history forever. Even when all the odds were stacked against them, the men of Viper squad managed to defeat the enemy. Everyone was jubilant at their success.

“Congratulations men! We have won our first battle but the war is far from over”, exclaimed Captain Elijah.

The men were allowed to rest for a while before proceeding with the mission. Nathan called up Margaret and gave her the good news. She was ecstatic to hear that they had finally managed to take down the Blood Demon. After 10 minutes the team was ready to head out once more.

“Abel, Gurney and Matt, I want you guys to take the pickup trucks and head to the village marked on your map. The rest of you are going to come with me. Alex, I am counting on you to get the cable car operational again. Let’s move out!” Captain Elijah was going to lead Alpha team himself while Sergeant Abel was in charge of team Delta.

Alpha team headed towards Olson road, it was the only road which connected the hill to the rest of the city. Team Delta cut through the countryside and headed towards the small village named Dewberry.

“The path which leads to the bunker is a narrow one so we have to go in a straight line formation. Watch out for the Bloodwings and pray another Blood Demon doesn’t show up”, said Captain Elijah in an anxious tone.

It took them around 30 minutes to reach the foot of the hill. Till now they had only encountered two swarms of Bloodwings on their way.  The clouds had veiled the moon completely, leaving the road in utter darkness. It was going to be a treacherous ascent.