Hellgate London - Exodus Part 42

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l," someone swore.

"I told you there were a lot of them," Wertham said.

"We can't hold them," Simon said. "We can only slow them."

"We wouldn't have to slow them as much if the train were up and running," someone grumbled.

"And it would have been better if we'd left an hour ago," Wertham said. "But there's no use complaining about that now."

None of them, Simon noticed, suggested they leave. While they'd been tending to the survivors they'd pulled from the wreckage of the city, Simon had seen that the Templar had shown more spirit while surviving on lean rations than in living in the relative lap of luxury within the Templar strongholds.

They were born to fight,Simon realized proudly. But that also meant dying in battle.

A few tentative blasts from the demons' weapons struck all around them. Then three of the Templar were struck, but their armor protected them.

"Hold," Simon said calmly. "On my mark." They held.

The demons came closer, bearing down quickly.

Paddington Station was wide and tall. Shops lined the walls on either side of the rail lines. Most of the gla.s.s had been broken and the goods stolen over the last few weeks.

"Ready," Simon said,"now!" At the same time, he sent a signal through his armor, broadcasting to the detonators they'd placed at that end of the tube.

All of the Templars had the same signal coded into their HUDs. That way the explosives they'd seeded the mine with would go off as long as any one of them survived. They'd mined the tube at that end as a defensive line. The other end of the tube past the train spur had been mined as well, in case they'd needed to shut down an attack from that end.

The explosives detonated in waves, throwing debris and clouds of dust into the air. In an eye blink, that end of the tube was obscured and littered with wreckage. Rocks pounded Simon's armor but he ignored it. Part of the high ceiling sagged and came down, dropping across the advancing line of demons. "McCorkleson," Simon called over his HUD frequency, patching in to the radio the man carried. "Yeah," McCorkleson answered. "I guess they're on us, then."

"They are. Where's the train?"

"We're almost out of it. The other train took longer to move than we'd thought." Simon had known that from what he'd seen before he'd had to leave. "Hurry."

"I will."

"We'll hold them here as long as we can." "Take care of yourself, Simon."

The first of the demons burst through the roiling dust cloud, clawing over the debris-covered bodies of those that had fallen. Without hesitation, they launched themselves at the Templar.

"Fire!" Ethan said, pointing the Spike Bolter and squeezing the trigger. He held the pistol on target despite the yammering recoil.

The other Templar opened fire as well. Palladium spikes, flames, and toxic liquid covered the distance separating the two groups. At first the Templar fire ground the demons to a halt, dropping bodies to the ground whole and in pieces. Then more of the demons kept coming.

Two Blood Angels flew overhead, streaking forward and attacking before anyone realized they weren't just shadows streaking the high ceiling. They swooped down at once, firing powerful bolts of spectral energy that blazed yellow-white. The bolts struck four of the Templar and blasted them from their feet.

Simon lifted his Spike Bolter and tracked one of the Blood Angels as it pa.s.sed in front of him. Before the first of the Templar had landed on the ground, he was firing palladium spikes that knifed through the Blood Angel's body and perforated the wings, turning them into leathery rags.

Screaming in pain and defiance, the Blood Angel collided with a wall only a few feet away. One of the Templar rushed forward with his sword as the demon tried to get to its feet. The Templar swiped twice, cutting through the Blood Angel's neck and again across the midsection, spilling the demon's insides.

The demons established a line and opened fire. Their flames, rounds, and toxic spew struck the Templar. Some of the human warriors dropped in their tracks, and a few of them-Simon knew-wouldn't be getting up.

Forty-Eight.

Taking more deliberate aim, Simon chose his targets, watching as the palladium spikes slammed into the demons. But there were too many of them. They kept coming.

"Look out for the ceiling!" Wertham yelled.

Glancing up, Simon saw that the Stalkers had scuttled up the side of the tube walls and had clambered to the ceiling, hanging upside down as they prepared to drop onto the Templar. "Break!" Simon yelled. "Form Fists!"

Immediately, the Templar broke into small combat teams. Most Houses trained for that style, allowing the Templar to form four- to six-man units to cover each other's backs during hand-to-hand fighting.

Simon joined the three Templar he'd a.s.signed himself as a Fist member. He sheathed his sword for the moment and scooped up a Scorcher from a fallen Templar. Using both pistols, he peppered the nearest wall with palladium spikes and fiery b.a.l.l.s that spread on impact, striking several Stalkers in quick succession, dropping them like flies.

"McCorkleson!" Simon yelled, slipping and sliding through demon gore at his feet. "Almost!" the man replied. "Almost, Simon. Just hang in there."

The Templar on Simon's right got hit by an astral blast that tore him in half. Simon aimed the Scorcher at the Gremlin that had fired the weapon, then squeezed the trigger.

The Greek Fire round that belched from the Scorcher struck the Gremlin in its ugly face. The round detonated, engulfing the demon's head in flames. It screamed and clawed at its head, but the efforts didn't last long and it collapsed.

The wall shattered, then spilled inward, followed by a huge, bulky shape. When it shook the debris off like a dog emerging from a lake, Simon recognized it as a Carnagor. Two others tore through the wall on the other side of the tube. One of them tore into the demon ranks and left dead scattered behind it.

Tossing its ma.s.sive head around, the Carnagor nearest Simon roared and charged, maw open. Simon stood his ground, firing steadily, piercing the creature's face with palladium spikes and filling its gullet with explosive rounds that detonated on contact and gave it fiery breath.

"Break!" Simon ordered.

Several of the Stalkers had taken advantage of the Carnagor's presence to scuttle forward again. They hung from the ceiling, s.h.i.+fting back and forth as they tracked their prey and pounced.

Simon darted to the side, drawing the Carnagor's attention. The huge creature tried to turn its body to pursue him, but its forward momentum was too much. Its taloned feet tore through the pavement on either side of the rails.

Running as fast as he could, Simon ran up the wall to avoid the Carnagor's gnas.h.i.+ng fangs. His boots automatically extended the spikes that grabbed traction on the wall. He ran up until he felt gravity overcoming his momentum nearly ten feet up. Then he kicked hard and propelled himself into the air away from the wall.

Holding the pistols pointed in either direction, using the 360-degree view afforded by the HUD, Simon fired at the demons. The palladium spikes chopped into the Stalkers on the ceiling while the fiery explosions ate into the Gremlins on the floor. Dead Stalkers fell from the ceiling and Gremlins dropped where they were hit.

Arching his back, Simon leathered his Spike Bolter and reached for a grenade. He landed on the Carnagor's back and called for the spikes to lock him down. His armored boots jerked with impacts at the force required to tear through the demon's thick hide. Several demons' weapons struck Simon with projectiles, fire, and toxic liquid. His armor took a beating but held. He ignored the onslaught, feeling the huge demon beneath him twist and turn.

Rearing on its hindquarters, the Carnagor reached for Simon with its hands. Kneeling quickly beneath the grasping fingers, Simon pulled the pin and shoved the grenade into the Carnagor's left ear hole. Then he vaulted from the brute's back as it started scratching at its ear.

Simon didn't think the thing was intelligent enough to know what he'd done, but somehow it sensed that he'd gotten the upper hand. It roared with rage, stamped the ground, and started to dig through the ground. Before it got very far, the grenade exploded and turned the ma.s.sive head into a gory mess of steaming, cooked flesh and burned bone. The Greek Fire continued to burn, consuming more of the creature.

Several of the demons jumped on Simon, bringing him down with their sheer numbers.

"Simon," McCorkleson called. "I've got the train on the tracks. Should I wait for you, or-"

"Get out of here!" Simon roared. He put a hand on the ground and shoved himself up, throwing as many of the demons from him as he could. He reached over his shoulder and drew his sword. Focusing the arcane power he had, he said a quick Prayer of Conflagration.

Immediately a flaming nimbus appeared around him, setting several of the demons on fire. They squalled and peeled away from him. By then the tide s.h.i.+fted and Simon had both hands on his sword.

Simon swung, cleaving bodies almost effortlessly. He slashed again and again, not worrying about skill.

All he needed for the task at hand was brute strength. There was no need to finesse when targets tried to envelop him like a coc.o.o.n. Despite the damage he was inflicting, the demons continued to try to drag him down. They'd succeeded in taking some of the Templar down.

"Retreat!" Simon yelled to the survivors. "Retreat!"

"You heard him!" Wertham crowed. "We've got a train to catch!"

Simon fired the Scorcher into the face of a Darksp.a.w.n that shot at him. All of the Templar that were able to, disengaged from the demons and ran down the tube. Simon waited for just a moment, then ran after them. With his enhanced strength and speed, he surprised the demons and managed to get a head start.

He hoped it was enough. h.e.l.l dogged his footsteps.

Dragging himself to the top of the dead demons, Warren looked around in disbelief. He'd seen the Templar. They'd been seriously outmatched, outnumbered. Even now nearly half their number lay scattered across the tube floor. Those that still lingered in life wouldn't last long.

Standing, swaying, his eyesight showing double now because a chunk of ceiling had fallen and clipped him in the head, Warren knew he'd never be able to catch up with the Templar. The one who'd taken his hand was still alive. He screamed in helpless fury, then an idea came to him.

He looked at one of the nearby Blood Angels. "Come. Obey me."

The Blood Angel glided over to where he stood. She hissed and snapped at him, but she didn't come close to him in spite of her efforts.

"Down," Warren ordered.

Kneeling, the Blood Angel was only inches from Warren's feet. Wiping blood from his eyes, Warren threw himself on top of the demon.

"Get up," he ordered, wrapping his legs around the Blood Angel's waist and leaving her enough room to use her wings. "Fly."

The Blood Angel rose to its haunches and threw itself forward. It flapped hurriedly, struggling with the extra weight. Then it was airborne, streaking over the carnage and pursuing the Templar. At her best speed she barely made headway against her quarry. Warren knew then that the armor gave its wearer extra speed and strength.

Glancing down, he saw that the chase continued. The demons weren't going to simply let the Templar get away. They were in hot pursuit, and they weren't going to stop until they overtook the Templar.

Looking forward, Warren felt the Blood Angel's muscles contract and loosen as it winged through the air. It shot over the leading demon hordes and caught the attention of the Templar.

Then, ahead in the darkness, Warren spotted a bright light headed away from him.A train!

He recognized the train for what it was almost at the same time he realized that it was moving under its own power when it should have been stalled. Somehow the Templar had arranged an escape.

The Templar caught up to the last car and pulled themselves up. They scattered across the train car at once, lying p.r.o.ne and filling their hands with pistols.

Several energy bolts and flaming explosions whizzed by Warren, ripping into the ceiling and the walls around him. The Blood Angel never wavered, but she threw bolts that struck the train and knocked one of the armored men off.

Summoning the power he felt within him, Warren created a glowing ball of force in his hand. When he felt, instinctively, that it was the proper size and strength, he threw it at the train.

Two of the knights dodged away, fleeing back along the train car, but a third wasn't so lucky. The ball of crackling blue-white energy smashed into the knight and blasted pieces of his armor away as it knocked his body from the train to the nearest wall.

The train continued on its way but hadn't reached its top speed yet. The demons closed on it.

Warren guided the Blood Angel with his thoughts, causing the demon to dip down low enough so that he could see what the armored men had sought to protect. When he looked through the broken gla.s.s windows and saw men, women, and children huddled fearfully on the floor of the train car, he was surprised.

He was even more surprised when something whipped out of the darkness and wrapped around the Blood Angel's neck. Then the demon was yanked sideways, brought into a distinct collision with the side of the car.

Dazed, Warren tried to hang on to the Blood Angel, then he saw the demon's feet slide under the train car's wheels. Recognizing the danger, he jumped for the side of the train car just before the churning wheels yanked the Blood Angel beneath them. Before he could pull himself up, a knight stood at the edge and peered down at him, pointing a large pistol straight at his face.

Running hard as he could, Simon caught up with the train with the last of the Templar. His HUD informed him that nineteen of the warriors had been lost. The number shocked him. He'd expected some losses, but nothing like this.

Don't think about that,he told himself.You've still got over a thousand people to save.

Taking three more steps, pulling to within five feet of the train car, Simon reached for the safety bar surrounding the platform. Something hit him in the back between the shoulder blades and threw him off-stride. He lost ground for a moment, then recovered and ran again.

When he was close enough this time, he jumped as hard as he could, propelling himself forward and aiming for alt.i.tude, using all the strength the armor gave him. He spun in the air and pulled his other pistol, filling both hands, then firing at the wave of demons trailing the train.

Palladium spikes and the Greek Fire rounds staggered the advancing demons but didn't stop them. But the train was finally gaining more speed.

Simon landed on his feet on top of the train car, feeling it cave in slightly under the impact of his weight.

He was tilted too far forward, though, and couldn't stop himself from falling on his face. He skidded across the train car top for a moment, watching helplessly as a Blood Angel swooped in and the rider on its back threw a glowing energy ball that slammed into a Templar only a few feet away.

Forty-Nine.

In disbelief and horror, Simon watched as the glowing ball of energy ripped the Templar to shreds and knocked his scattered remains from the train car. The doomed Templar's Grappler sped across the roof of the train car.

Releasing the Scorcher, Simon grabbed for the Grappler and barely caught it. The Scorcher slid off the side of the train car and disappeared.

Grappler in hand, Simon stood and anch.o.r.ed his boots to the train roof. He shoved the Grappler toward the Blood Angel as it overtook the train and glided alongside. Simon aimed at the demon's rider at first, then realized that would leave the Blood Angel still able to attack. Behind the train, the demons were finally losing ground, falling back as the train raced on. They were almost free.

Simon s.h.i.+fted his aim to the Blood Angel and squeezed the trigger. The nano-molecular line crossed the distance between him and the demon, then looped around the Blood Angel's neck. Triggering the Grappler's reel, Simon braced himself as the line tightened. He yanked, pulling the Blood Angel into the side of the train.

The impact vibrated through the train car. Simon held on, then felt the Blood Angel pull back with impossible strength. Realizing that the creature was getting caught under the train car's wheels, Simon released the line from the Grappler. A moment later, he saw torn and b.l.o.o.d.y hunks of the scattered Blood Angel along the train's wake.

Then he saw the demon's hand holding on to the side of the train.

Simon stepped to the train's edge, listening to the scream of metal along the tracks, and saw the man attached to the demon's hand. He was surprised to find that it was the same man he'd encountered while searching for Balekor's Hammer.

Leveling the Spike Bolter, Simon aimed between the man's eyes. He didn't know how the man had gotten there or why, and he didn't know what had moved him to conspire with the demons, but it was going to end now. The Templar had left too many dead behind them to let them go unavenged.

He pulled the trigger as the man threw up a hand. Arcane energy gathered in front of the man and the palladium spikes froze in midair. Undeterred, Simon holstered the Spike Bolter and plucked a grenade from his gear, pulling the pin and dropping the grenade into the man's face.

As Simon had expected, the grenade froze in midair as well. But the grenade would also explode.

Before Simon could move, though, the man gestured at him.

An invisible wall of force slammed into Simon, tearing his boot anchors free of the train's roof and throwing him across the train.