Fang: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 3) (2 page)

Danny's team joined them. Ahead, Xavier kicked in the door. Gavin tossed a grenade inside and waited for it to explode before he went through. Smart move, in Zach's opinion. They had no idea what was lurking down there. They could be walking into an ambush for all he knew.

“
Lights,” Gavin said. “It's pitch black down here.”

Everyone switched on their gun lights and stepped through the doors. They were in a subway station. Ahead of them was a decrepit, rusted ticket counter and turnstiles to access the train platforms. The rails themselves were empty.

“So which way did they come from?” Karen said.

“
There's no way to tell,” Miko said. She was their best tracker by far. “Too much disturbance of the ground and such.”

“
We came from the south,” Xavier began. “I'm pretty certain that they came from another district, and the only direction that leads that way is east. So we should probably head down the eastern end of the tunnel.”

“
So does the western end of the tunnel lead anywhere?” Ethan asked.

“
Not a question we really want to think about right now,” Karen said.

Zach agreed with that. There were too many troubling possibilities, and they needed to concentrate. Who knew what was lurking down here?

“Alright, let's get a patrol file going,” he said. “I'm going to be up front to search for traps and the like. I want a machine gun up front, so Ethan, you're with me. Gavin and Xavier as well. Danny, take Miko, Karen and Javy and cover us from the rear. If I'm shot, chain of command goes through you.”

“
Are you expecting to get shot?” Danny asked.

“
Considering we're walking through the dark waving lights around, I'd say that's pretty likely. But we need to figure out what's down here,” Zach said. “Besides, that's what we have Javy here for.”

“
Uh, I don't have many cures for a bullet in the face,” Javy replied, nervously fingering his medic's kit.

“
Come on.”

They set off through the dark gloom of the subway tunnel. Zach had loaded up a grenade into his launcher. If they ran into trouble they would need firepower as quickly as possible, and it would take precious seconds to load. He just hoped that they wouldn't have to climb through any tight spaces. That would be an inglorious way to die; killed by your own grenade when the trigger snagged on something.

“Just how big is the subway system in Indianapolis?” Javy wondered aloud.

“
Noise,” Karen said.

“
Like they're not going to see our lights,” Javy said.

“
OK, I'll concede that,” Karen said.

“
They're pretty extensive,” Xavier said. “I think I remember looking at a map when I was there for a basketball game.”

“
Maybe that's a good thing?” Ethan suggested. “It could give us a way into the other districts without having to blast the walls.”

“
That works both ways,” Gavin said. “And judging from the size of the attack up top, they're not just going to let us have this place without a fight.”

That in itself was an unsettling prospect. The alliance had thought they were safe. The only way into the district was over a long bridge bracketed by artillery and machine guns, and the rest of the city was held off by thick walls. There was no way that an enemy could hope to break through by a frontal assault. The defenses were too strong, maybe even stronger than those at Lerna Bastion. But if there were other ways to bypass the walls...

They were flying blind, Zach thought ruefully. Everyone had been so focused on getting themselves established in their new holdings that they hadn't properly scouted the place. Oh, they had explored the city, looking for the ideal spots to set up bases. But their eyes had been on searching for prized locations, and it was very easy to miss things with blinders like that on. Say, for instance, the presence of a massive tunnel system under their feet.

They had gone about fifty yards when he heard a noise coming from in front of them. It was faint at first, but it steadily grew louder and louder. It sounded like scratching. And Zach knew what that probably meant...

A shape appeared for a moment in the beam of one of their lights, then disappeared again into the darkness. Zach caught a glimpse of something long. It was enough. He pulled the trigger of his launcher.

“
Contact! Chilus! CHILUS!” he warned as he toggled his carbine to full auto.

This was bad. Very bad. Chilus were huge mutated centipedes. Stretching up to six feet long, they were highly dangerous. Their mandibles were capable of slicing someone in half, and they were quick as well. Worst of all, their chitinous exoskeletons made them almost impervious to bullets.

The only effective way to kill a chilus was with either flames or armor-piercing bullets. None of them had either of those options with them.

The rest of them opened fire anyhow. If they couldn't kill it, at least they could slow it down. Ethan managed to get his light on the chilus and shot a long burst from his machine gun into the creature. It was forced back, hissing angrily at them. As more lights illuminated it, Zach realized that they were in trouble.

“RUN!” he ordered.

The chilus behind them wasn't normal size, or even large. It was gigantic, at least ten feet long, and their bullets were doing little more than angering it. Their only choice now was to run for it or be cut in half when it lunged at them.

Zach could hear it moving behind them, mandibles clanking. He didn't chance a look back, but it was likely that it was fast enough to catch them. They would need some way to get it off their back.

Thinking quickly, Zach grabbed a hand grenade off his belt and pulled the pin. He dropped it behind him as he ran. A few seconds later there was an explosion, followed by an angry sounding shriek. He didn't expect that it would kill or even injure the chilus, not by a long shot. But at least it would slow it down.

The others in his group picked up his idea quickly. Gavin and Xavier pulled grenades as well and dropped them in the path of the advancing chilus. It sounded like they were effective, but Zach hadn't looked back. He didn't want to risk tripping, and he couldn't bear to look back anyhow.

They made it back into the station.

“It's not following us,” Ethan commented as he looked back. The monster had disappeared back into the darkness.

“
We're going to have to go back there, right?” Danny said.

Zach grimaced. “Yeah. With a flamethrower. Or five.”

Things had just become very complicated.

CHAPTER 2

Rain of Fire

“Any news from them?”

Nora looked up as Selene entered the command center of Lerna Bastion.

“They're mopping up the last pockets of the enemy attack,” she said.

Selene nodded and walked over beside her. “Well, that's good.”

“Yeah.”

“
That doesn't sound very happy,” Selene commented.

Nora hesitated for a moment. “The attack came out of the subway tunnels under the city.”

“There's subway tunnels under the city?”

“
My point exactly.”

Selene frowned. “How big are they?”

Nora shook her head. “No clue. They got about fifty yards down the tunnel before a huge chilus attacked them.”

“
Ah,” she said. “Well, nothing we can do about that now. We've packed up, by the way.”

“
How much more was there?”

Selene shrugged. “Most of it was stuff in the armory, which we consolidated in the basement armory here. No point in having everything decentralized up here for the permanent garrison.”

Nora smiled. “Yeah. I don't envy Knight Battalion one bit.”

The Hydra Alliance had gained a considerable number of members since the capture of the Eagle Creek district, and command had decided to make organizational changes to accommodate the influx of troops. They had formed their troops into four battalions, each under the leadership of a single commander.

Lerna Bastion would be held by Knight Battalion, made up of Sacred Sword, Band of Brothers, Bravehart, Jackal, and Merlin, one of the first companies to join after the battle. Their commander was David of Sacred Sword, probably one of the most experienced battlefield leaders in the alliance. They would protect Hydra's northern territory from Ragnarok Company, and they would also conduct limited operations to keep their enemy off balance as well.

Dragon Battalion would be based in the south, and would consist of Marauder, Crimson Eagle, Griffon and the new arrivals Taurus, Viper and Lion. Their job was to keep on the attack and take the rest of Indianapolis. Other battalions would help them when needed, but they would provide the backbone for most attacks. With Cody of Marauder in command, they would be a fearsome unit.

There were two special battalions as well. The first was Rogue Battalion, lead by Gina of Grizzly Company. The battalion was based off of the existing armored company, consisting of Grizzly, Ironfist, Archangel and Storm Hawk, augmented by the arrival of Viking Company. They would provide the hammer to any attack, bringing assault guns and mounted troops to bear. The problem was that they had sustained heavy losses in the fighting for the Eagle Creek district, and it would take time to replace their lost vehicles. They still had plenty of experienced infantry, however, and that would be very valuable.

And then there was them. Black Wolf, Redd Foxx, Raven, and the newly arrived Spectre had been formed into Ghost Battalion, lead by Anna of Redd Foxx Company. They were rangers, the fast-moving, quick hitting strike force of Hydra. They lacked the staying power of the other battalions, but they made up for that with speed and infiltration ability. Utilizing helicopters and river craft they could deploy anywhere in the Old Chicago region. Once they were on the ground they were like their namesake, able to fade in and out of the landscape without being noticed. They could fight well too, and all those strengths lead them to be expert raiders. They had carried out a campaign in the north for some time, attacking Ragnarok installations and supply lines.

There were other companies that didn't fall under the umbrella of the four battalions. Hephaestus Company, their builders, were completely separate, and there was talk of forming an air force company to operate their choppers and aircraft. But the battalions would be doing most of the fighting.

Selene looked away for a moment. “Speaking of organizational changes, are the rumors about Karen true?”

“What rumor are you talking about?” Nora asked.

Selene shrugged. “Nothing huge, and it's mostly contained to her squad. I heard about it from Danny. Supposedly she's being removed from her position in Black Wolf to form her own company. Is that true?”

Nora sighed. “Yes and no. She's being asked to form another company, yes. But we're not exactly kicking her out of Black Wolf. She'll still be a part of the company.”

“
Doesn't she have to leave to join another company?” Selene asked.

“
Actually, she doesn't,” Nora informed her. “You can join another company as long as both company commanders approve. You can only be a part of two companies at a time, though, and you're out of luck if one of the commanders decides they don't want you to do that. But it serves our purposes just fine.”

“
Purposes?” Selene asked.

Nora nodded. “We're getting a lot of requests for membership, but a lot of them are inexperienced players. They don't have the stealth skills, and they're probably not going to be able to pass the ranger challenge for a while. But we want them to join, and we don't want to turn them away.”

“So your idea is to form up a company of those recruits lead by Karen?” Selene deduced.

“
Yeah. Our plan is to form the recruits into squads. They'll learn, and they'll take the ranger challenge with their squad mates. Once they pass the challenge they'll have the choice of joining any of the companies in the ranger battalion.”

“
What are they going to do while they're learning?”

“
They'll fight as normal. They might not be able to infiltrate, but they'll be able to provide support to us, at least.”

Selene leaned over the holographic map table in the center of the commander center and idly cycled through the battlefield view of the Eagle Creek district. There wasn't much going on right now.

“What's she going to name her company?” she asked.

Nora smiled. “You remember what her previous company was named, right?”

“It was Bulldog, right? Is that what the name is going to be?”

Nora shook her head. “No. in her mind Bulldog Company is dead and buried.”

Karen had been the company commander of Bulldog Company, a small group of around ten members. They were content to exist as such, going on small adventures by themselves. Nora could certainly understand the sentiment. Some of the best times she had with Black Wolf was when they were a small company trying to find their way in a vast world.

Their size had cost them when Ragnarok Company had come calling for them. Karen and the rest of her comrades had refused Ragnarok's offer to join; they would maintain their own identity, or they would go down fighting. They had gone down fighting.

Bulldog Company had been crushed by Ragnarok, their ten members no match for the thousands of troops that their huge enemy could call upon. They had no allies to call upon either, and their pleas to Hydra had gone out far too late. They had lost their stronghold and then tried to take it back in a hopeless effort, but they had failed. Their company had been disbanded when the forty eight hour time limit had passed without them being in possession of a stronghold. They had come south to Lerna Bastion, asking to join Black Wolf.

Nora was glad that they had joined. Karen's leadership qualities were almost immediately apparent, and she had quickly been put in command of the third squad in Danny's Bravo Wolf Platoon. The rest of Bulldog Company had acclimated well, and were valuable members of Black Wolf Company. But Karen had a grudge against Rangarok Company, and it drove her into a fury every time she fought them.

“So what's the name?” Selene asked.

“
It's going to be Barghest Company,” Nora told her.

“
I have no idea what that is.”

“
A barghest? Well, it's a mythical creature from northern England. It's kind of like a big, black ghost dog. They're supposed to be heralds of death.”

Selene smiled. “Ragnarok is going to crap themselves every time she shows up.”

Nora laughed. “I don't envy them at all.”

“
So who's taking over third squad?”

“
We haven't figured that out. Still hammering out the details,” Nora said. “The debate is whether to move someone in the squad up to command, or to shift someone else into the spot.”

“
Ryan is the obvious choice,” Selene said. “He's the only one of the originals without a command. Well, except Miko, but can we really count her?”

“
Technically she's in command of a unit.”

“
That's consists of herself,” Selene pointed out.

“
It still counts.”

Selene shrugged. “I just think that he shouldn't get passed over too many more times. He's definitely cut out for being a leader, and it's going to rankle if he gets passed over again. He already was passed over twice for people with less experience.”

“But you chose Logan,” Nora said. “And Karen was the right choice as well. Also, keep in mind that Barghest Company is going to need officers, and that might be a landing spot for him as well.”

“
We need to make sure that we don't drain ourselves too much,” Selene said. “We're still going to be doing a lot of fighting, and we need good leaders.”

“
Right. But we have plenty of good leaders to choose from, and this might help some of them spread their wings when they might not be able to in the main company. I-”

“
Nora?” the single other occupant of the command center called to her. It was Sean of Jackal Company, who was acting as the radio operator.

“
What's up?” she responded.

“
I'm getting a transmission from Ronin Company. They say that it's urgent, and that they need to speak to the highest ranking officer.”

“
That would be you,” Selene said.

“
Technically that would be Yusuf, or Jack. You might even qualify,” Nora pointed out.

“
Yusuf's on the walls right now, I have no clue where Jack is, and he's part of a new company anyhow, and you're a lot better at making nice than I am,” Selene said. “That makes you the highest ranking senior officer present.”

“
Great,” Nora said flatly. She wondered just what they were asking for now.

“
I'll put them up on speaker,” Sean said. He flipped a switch on the huge main set which boosted the range of personal radios.

Nora cleared her throat. “Ronin, this is Wolf 2. Ronin, this is Wolf 2.”

“Wolf 2, this is Sam from Ronin Company. Our position at Fort Odin is under attack by Ragnarok forces. We're requesting reinforcements.”

Nora looked over at Selene, who raised an eyebrow. Fort Odin and its sister Fort Baldr had been captured by Ronin's alliance. Originally built to guard Ragnarok's territory from Hydra attacks coming from the south, they were now a thorn in the side of the enemy company. Ragnarok wanted them back for sure, and Nora was honestly surprised that it had taken them this long to mount an attack.

To Ronin the forts were an important strategic position and a source of pride, but for Hydra they were something else entirely. Their presence would keep Ragnarok busy, giving the Hydra Alliance the time they needed to take Indianapolis. At least, that was the theory. Several of them had been dubious of Ronin's ability to keep Ragnarok at bay, and Nora was on the fence about it. But at least it would buy them
some
time.

“
Sam, how large is the force that's attacking you, and how are they armed?” Nora asked, trying to delay her answer for as long as possible.

“
They're coming in battalion strength, at least. Five to eight hundred. We barely have two hundred in the fort right now, and Ragnarok is heavily armed. They have armored vehicles with them, and artillery.”

“
Pulling out all the stops,” Selene muttered next to her.

Ragnarok had another trump card in their arsenal. For months Hydra had been the only group to possess significant armored vehicles, but Ragnarok had started to debut their own. They were wheeled, so they lacked the off road mobility of their Hydra counterparts, but they were still useful. Even though they had less armor than a Ram or a Bull, they could move quickly and provide armor support that would trouble infantry.

“Can you hold them off?” Nora asked.

“
Not unless we get help, and we're going to need a lot of it,” Sam replied. “Reinforcements are coming from across the river, but it's going to take time, and Ragnarok might have something else planned.”

Nora paused for a moment. “Sam, we can't spare any reinforcements. The only thing I have here is the garrison force for the bastion, and even that is understrength right now. Most of our troops are in Indianapolis right now, and they're currently fighting. We have no way to get them to the battlefield right now either. We took a pounding in the battle for the district.”

“We need help. Anything,” Sam said.