Dray sprung over the railing, a blur as he sprinted for the injured Nyúlfur as Audas struggled to shoot off after him. She nearly stumbled forward, leg giving out beneath her just when Dray grabbed hold of her. “Are you alright?” Dray asked, “What happened?”

  “I’ll l-live.” she replied, wincing as her hand snapped over towards her leg, shorts tore open and soaking with blood. “Ambush…” she growled.

  “What ambush?” Audas questioned, taking the rifle out of her hands.

  “Raiders… caught us on one of the side roads… the second up here I think…”

  Confused shouts rang behind him as other Nyúlfur come running to see what the hell was happening. “Raiders?” Dray uttered, “How could they have got so close?”

  “They were Nyúlfur…” she replied with a wheeze, “Starting shooting the caravan from the trees… some of us are already hurt…”

  A chill settled over Audas as glanced towards Dray. “You don’t think…”

  He shook his head, “No, Alika wasn’t supposed to come up yet.” He turned back towards the guard, “We’ll help them.”

  Around them, dozens of Nyúlfur were hastily moving as orders and requests were barked out along with the telltale squawk of a radio. “I can help…. Just need to…” she started to peel away from Dray, only to cry out as her leg crumpled, one that was already staining with blood.

  “Got hit with hollow point, right?” he asked softly, manoeuvring her down onto one of the railings.

  Hesitating with pain sketched on her face, she nodded.

  “Then you won’t be much help, but you got up here to warn us. We’ll handle this, you just get some help too, alright?”

  Weakly, she nodded again as a couple of Nyúlfur crouched down next to them, already inspecting her injuries.

  His body tense, Audas jogged back over to the railing, took his longsword and forcefully yanked the blunter – the training edge of the weapon – off, exposing the razor edge of the blade. “Audas.” Dray started as he joined him at the railing, pulling his own blunter off. “Are you sure…”

  “I’m not sitting here while people are in danger.” Audas growled, sheathing the sword as he shoved the internal xenophobia down. In the heat of the moment, he didn’t even care that it was Nyúlfur he was going into combat with, or protecting in this case. As far as he was concerned, there were lives at risk, and he was going to be damned if he was going to ignore it. “Just give me a gun and let’s go!”

  Dray didn’t bother trying to argue with him. A cluster of Nyúlfur were already forming around one of the small, metallic buildings at the yard’s edge. Weapons were carried out as a pair of Nyúlfur shouted at the crowd to keep back. Grunting, Audas pushed his way through to the front with his companion through the crowd. “Axel!” Dray called out, “I’ll take the first team down!”

  “You’re like the twelfth person to say that!” someone shouted back, “Fine, come on through!”

  Wooden finished rifles and shotguns were leaning against the wall of the structure, and Dray quickly up one of the rifles, “I hope you’re ready for this.” He stated, voice low as he tossed the gun over.

  With one hand, Audas caught the weapon. He recognised it immediately, an old M14 Rifle, a weapon he had seen a handful of times back home. It wasn’t ideal, but it’d work. Dray came back over, with a visibly bigger bolt action rifle in one hand and rifle cartridges offered in another.

  His eyes narrowed, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He said, clicking the cartridge in.

  “Okay! Okay! Out of the way! What the hell is going on to get you all so uptight!”

  A low growl rose from Audas as grip tightened round the rifle. No. Not fucking now.

  The grey furred Nyúlfur burst from the crowd like a spring lamb, his bladed staff slung over his back. “Ah!” Kaine murmured as his orbs locked onto Audas and Dray, which then immediately brightened. “Going off for a stroll? Shoot some poor little deer for, you know… a joke?”

  Kaine’s face darkened as he shot a hardened glare directly at Audas. So still angry at me. Great.

  He wanted to snarl back at him, throw back some vicious curse. We don’t have the time for this. Audas grumbled to himself. Instead, he merely simmered and narrowed his gaze. “Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?” Kaine replied with a blank look.

  Dray pulled back the bolt of his rifle. “There’s an ambush down the valley.”

  His face twisted into a frown, “Who would be mad enough to-“. Kaine’s eyes widened, the full gravity of the situation finally hitting him. “Oh crap…”

  At any other time, Audas would have had to clam his lips together to stop himself sniggering. But not now as the grey furred Nyúlfur stormed past them and snatched a shotgun from the wall along with an ammunition belt. “Okay, I take it back! Let’s go and kick raider ass!”

  Audas huffed, satisfied that Kaine would have his head on straight for the moment as seven other Nyúlfur quickly loaded up with their weaponry and harnesses. Audas threw of these harnesses on and loaded the spare ammo into the pockets.

  “Everyone ready?” Dray asked, cycling the bolt of his rifle.

  Audas and the others called out their readiness, and with a final nod, they broke out into a run.

  The dirt track they jogged down was one of a handful wide enough to allow a car to pass through, and they were flanked on both sides with near impenetrable woodland, at least for vehicle access given the narrow paths that occasionally cut through them. Those trails were visibly rougher, but they still offered a better way through for anyone moving on foot.

  Audas wondered how bandits could have got so close to the Hub. He had seen the patrols heading in and out of the town like clockwork for days. They should be able to cover some measure of ground. Then again, it’s a big valley. Could be quite easy to slip through if someone knew where to go.

  Loud cracks started to ring over the treetops. “Rifles…” someone murmured.

  “We’re getting close.” Dray stated. “Can someone call the base?”

  “Problem with that.” Someone replied behind them. Audas glanced over his shoulder to find one Nyúlfur holding up a radio that emitted a fuzzy crackle. “I can’t pick anything up.”

  A cold shiver ran down Audas’ neck. “Jamming?” he asked. It had not been the first time someone had managed to work out how to stop the radios from working.

  “Probably.”

  So, we’re blind. Audas realised, feeling like a cold knife had slipped into his gut. And if all else fails we can’t call for help…

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  They wouldn’t know what the enemy Nyúlfur had on hand, or how any defenders were faring…

  They could have been walking right into a trap.

  “Keep your eyes peeled then.” Dray stressed, and with that, the group started moving down a side road.

  As they closed in, the group began to spread out into the trees, staying off the trail. Foliage rustled around them as they pushed onwards as quickly as they dared. Audas’ finger hovered off the trigger, each heartbeat causing it to twitch. He scanned the surrounding trees, expecting the bullets to start flying at any second. And yet, they didn’t. Where are they?

  With the side road still in sight, the caravan hove into view. It was little more than a pair of carts made of metal and wood. A dead horse lay on the track, but there was no one else in sight.

  Saves the fuel I suppose… but where ar-

  The nearest tree exploded, throwing splinters into his face.

  “Shit!”

  He dove behind the next tree along just as another round screamed past. His shoulder throbbed as he forced himself back up. Everyone was shouting over the gunshots in alarm, and Audas quickly searched his surroundings to find Dray and Kaine in cover along with the rest of the team, backs pressed against craggy boulders.

  Audas tried to peer round the tree, catch a glance of the bastards. How many are there!? And the caravanners-

  A single brown shape rushed out of cover, 400 metres ahead. He swung the rifle round, started to lin-

  Behind him, another Nyúlfur popped into view.

  Audas’ head just snapped back as another bullet skimmed by the trunk. “For fucks sake!” he cried out, recoiling from the shrapnel.

  “Audas!”

  Dray was staring at him with alarm as he cycled the bolt back with a ring. “I’m alright!” Audas barked, glancing back into the trees, spotting the flash of weapons fire “We need to get closer!”

  “I would love that!” Kaine roared, loading a slug into his shotgun.

  Dray leaned out, just for a second before he pulled back. “You see that fallen tree?! The thick one?!”

  Audas glanced back out again, if barely, and quickly eyed the fallen trunk. It was at least twice as thick as he was and lay in a gap within the foliage, about 50 metres away. “I see it!”

  Dust and flint sparked off Dray’s boulder, the Nyúlfur covering his head out of instinct. “When I call out, run for it!”

  Audas’ fingers tightened round the wood of the M14, working up the will to run, “Be good lads and give us some cover fire will you!?” Kaine bellowed, loud enough for Audas’ ears to hurt.

  “We’re already doing that!” someone snapped back, trying to aim his rifle.

  Audas didn’t bother smirking.

  Fresh weapons fire roared around him, thundering down his ears even as he barely caught Dray’s call. Audas broke cover and ran, his feet barely touching the ground, not even bothering to shoot. At the edge of his vision, two bandits dove back into cover, Stay down, stay down!

  With a kick of his legs, Audas dove behind the fallen tree, wincing as his back smacked against it. Dray slumped down next to him, barely keeping his head from striking the wood.

  Then came the startled yelp as bandits started shooting again. Audas didn’t turn quickly enough to see what happened, only catching Kaine tumble almost comically into the trunk with a heavy thud. “You missed you lazy bastards!” he snarled, shouting over the trunk. He recoiled as another bullet whistled by, getting his head down.

  Audas cast a cold glare at irritated Kaine before turning towards Dray. “Any idea how many we’re dealing with?”

  Dray frowned as the rifle shots started to peeter out around them, “I spotted three.”

  “I saw four.” Audas replied. He had been trying to keep count of them, if only for the sake of trying to build up a picture of the surrounding terrain.

  “I… I don’t know.” Kaine admitted behind him. “But sounds like a hell of a lot more than four!”

  For once, Audas couldn’t argue with him.

  “We just need to keep them busy until one of the patrols or the rest of the Hub comes charging down.” Dray stressed.

  Narrowing his eyes, Audas stared at Dray, “Where are the patrols then?” he hissed, “Sh-“

  Gunfire roared back into life and the former human tucked himself back down into cover, trying to keep his head out of the way.

  Enough that he nearly missed the blur of black and brown from behind Kaine. He threw his rifle-

  “Whoa hold fire!” shouted the Nyúlfur landing next to them, one hand raised reassuringly.

  His metallic weapon though did not comfort Audas much.

  A M4 Carbine.

  The same weapon that those troops back in Burningham-

  He shook his head, forcing his bunched muscles to relax as he lowered the M14. Now wasn’t the time to have flashbacks. He didn’t recognise the fighter, he hadn’t joined them from the Hub. “We’re just talking about you lot!” Kaine said, creeping into the corner of his eye.

  A patrol…

  The patroller’s teeth flashed, “Radios are frigging useless. We couldn’t get a call out.”

  “We know.” Audas replied, “You managed to spot a jammer?”

  “If there is it’s either far back or one of the bandits has it.”

  He shook his head, crouching down as the gunfire teetered out again. “We’ve got at least fourteen of the bastards left to deal with.”

  “Left?” Dray asked.

  “We managed to take down two of them, but a few of the caravanners are hurt and we can’t get to them.”

  “Heh!” Kaine exclaimed, “I doubt they can stop all of us!”

  Audas glared at him again, grip on his rifle tightening again. “We can’t get too cocky.” He growled. He knew from experience whilst a lot of bullets could fly wide for one reason or another, it could still be deceptively easy to get shot by pure chance.

  The grey furred Nyúlfur snarled at him as something else struck the tree. “I’m not an idiot newbie!”

  “Can we not argue now!” Dray barked, which quickly recaptured Audas’ focus. “We just need to drive them back.”

  “Or kill them?”

  It took Dray’s dark stare for Audas to realise he had said that.

  “If needed.” He replied, voice low.

  Audas nodded, no longer jerking as more rounds struck the cover at his back, his mind now getting used to the attacks. “Then let’s keep them busy.”

  Spreading out along the trunk and the surrounding cover, the four returned fire. Rifle cracks and shotgun booms echoed through the forests as they rejoined the bullet exchange. Bandits flitted from cover to cover, repositioning themselves whilst like a steamroller, the Hubbers began to press forward. Wolven shapes covered each other as they advanced. Above him, on the left, the rest of the patrol began to emerge, where their military grade rifles flashed orange as their dirty rounds flew down range.

  As Audas leaped over the trunk, another brown shape flashed from a tree. He snapped the M14 up and squeezed the trigger. With a sharp cry, they spun by the shoulder and fell out of sight.

  He didn’t wait to confirm the kill and dove for a boulder just as the next rounds buzzed by him. Dropping to one knee, he fired a burst and forced another shooter back into cover. It was almost a relief to use a gun again, his time operating with the Merryhunters out of Manchester had given him the practice he needed. Practice he hadn’t lost.

  Swapping out the rifle clip, Audas scanned his sides for his allies. Dray hung further back behind a line of Hubber shooters, leveraging the range and power of his bolt-action. Kaine was below and to his right, still carrying that shotgun. Further along, amongst the carts, he could tell caravanners were still alive and fighting.

  Just a few more minutes. He told himself, And we can send the bandits packing.

  As he swung back out again, two shapes shot through the trees, charging towards the right. Fast enough that he barely noticed them. He twisted over and let rip, rifle rounds impacted trees or sailed into the forest as the runners ducked, keeping low and fast.

  Pulling back to reload, Audas pressed his head against the boulder. Were they bolting? No… it was completely the wrong direction, they had more cover behind them, so why-

  He buckled as something blasted into the rock and sent fragments flying over his head. Maybe they were just repositioning? The patrol might be getting onto their flank, boxing them in… no… even a large bandit party would have to fall back against even against the Hub’s full force… es-

  He froze, even as another hosing of bullets blared overhead.

  The caravan…

  Audas snapped his head back round the cover, running a mental finger along their route. One that led right for the caravan.

  …they’re desperate! They’re going to try and snatch some of the supplies!

  Or hold the caravanners at gunpoint…

  Forcing himself back up to his feet, Audas kept his head down as he scanned for the Hubbers, most of whom were still behind him. He must have got further ahead than he thought.

  Kaine slammed into a tree a few metres off, loading fresh slugs into his shotgun. He must have still been trying to close the range.

  Ah to hell with it!

  “Kaine!” he barked, cupping his mouth.

  It took him a couple of attempts before the shotgunner finally spun round, eyes burning. “The hell do you want!?”

  He nearly clamped his jaw shut and jabbed a finger in the general direction of the running bandits. “They’re making a run for the caravan!” he roared.

  “Course they are!” he scoffed, turning to look down the hill. “Why els-“

  The grey furred Nyúlfur froze mid-sentence as the implication seemed to click.

  Even with the gunfire, he could just register the muttered ‘shit’ creep out of his mouth.

  “We need to get down there!” Audas stressed, even as the bullets whistled by.

  Kaine snapped back to him, scowl on his face. “By we, you mean me?”

  For fucks sake-Audas snarled back at him, wanting to reach over and pound at that thick skull of his. “We need to work together!”

  That gigantic smirk returned across Kaine’s face. “Audas.” He started, hefting the shotgun up with a pump. “I don’t care.”

  Leaping up, Kaine charged down the hill. “Damnit!” Audas barked, springing up to follow.

  Buckshot exploded across the boulder, sending him diving back into cover. “Fuck!”

  He could only let out another curse as Kaine charged through the foliage and out of sight.