Champions

"Bad guys inbound," he gasped out, trying to catch his breath. "Right behind me and closing fast."

He no more than finished this proclamation than all three heard the bells on the first trip line start ringing and growls of feral rage emanated from the direct he had come in.

"Fuck," he groaned. Thumbing the mag release on his M9 he reloaded it quickly and turned to engage.

Sapphire moved to his side to get a clear line of fire, and knelt into the crouched firing position David had taught them. Raising the M4 and looking through the ACOG, she couldn't spot any targets in the darkness. Thinking quickly, she called up her magic and cast a ball of light into the air, twenty feet above the trip line that had just rang their enemy's arrival.

As the light flared to life, David reached up with his off hand and flipped up his NODs, they were useless now. As Sapphire began to aim at the people that were exposed by the sudden light, he quickly assessed the situation.

It looked like there were well over thirty people out there. Only a handful had breached the first trip line, and they were about to tangle in the second. Three had tripped over the first, and were beginning to get to their feet. They were dirty, unkempt, dressed in a mixture of threadbare clothing and animal furs, and had wildly savage looks in their eyes and upon their faces, bordering on insanity. There also seemed to be a few women scattered about in the advancing group, but they so closely resembled the men that there could have been more that he thought. The horde was charging their position, and now that the silence of the night and cover of darkness had been destroyed, they began howling in rage as they came forward. He noticed only a few in the group had bows, and none seemed to be able to see well enough to engage them yet. He murmured a quiet prayer of thanks that his love was smart enough to set her light so that it illuminated the enemies' position, and not their own. Assessing the situation and comparing it to the skills and weapons that they could bring to bear, he laid out a quick battle plan.

"Sapphire, take out the bowmen first. After than start with the closest targets, and work further out as you go. Your sector of fire is from the 10 o'clock to the 2 o'clock. Laurena, move to Sapphire's right and cover the 2 o'clock to the six. I got the left side. If they get within striking range maintain your spacing, switch to hand weapons, and don't let them get between us. No guns in close. We can't afford to get hurt." David explained. He hoped that all the training and drills he had run them through would be enough. This was about to be a baptism by fire.

Laurena nodded, and circled behind Sapphire to protect the right flank. The only confirmation he got from Sapphire was the report of the M4 as she set about her work. Good enough, he thought grimly, as he raised his M9 and began to engage the first few runners that had gotten tangled in the ten-meter trip line.

Sapphire had spotted a bowman as soon as David began giving out orders. She steadied her breathing and her aim, but her hands started to tremble as she thought about what she would have to do. More people would die today. More people already had. She didn't want to kill these men and women. Why can't they just leave us alone? she thought. Then David's last remark got through her troubled mind. "We can't afford to get hurt." No, we can't, she thought. We can't let them hurt us.

Her hands steadied and she centered her targeting reticule on the bowman again.

I won't let them hurt us, she thought, as she fired her first round.

Laurena was scared. She did not wish to harm anyone. She certainly did not wish to fight for her life this night. But she had a duty. Even if he were not the Champion, David was still a good man, and worth protecting; and Sapphire was her friend. She no desire to inflict pain and death upon these misguided people, but she would do what she had to. Her new friends had risked their lives to protect her before, and they were doing the same thing again now. She could do no less...she would do no less.

Hardening her resolve, Laurena raised her pistol and waited for the attackers in her sector to get within range. She did not have to wait long.

David had already shot three runners tangled in the first trip line when the ranks closing behind them began to jump over it. The sectors of fire he had called out were for Sapphire and Laurena's benefit, not his. He had more than enough close quarters training and situational awareness to engage any target in any sector without a risk of friendly fire. He could hear Laurena starting to fire as well. He had no idea if she was hitting anything, but the simple fact that she was shooting was a good sign. He had wondered if she would have the courage to do so at all.

As he started firing faster, he was counting down the number of rounds he had left. He had been trying to track Sapphire and Laurena's rounds as well, but it was just too much for him to maintain on top of tracking the enemy. Sapphire had fired at least half her magazine and Laurena had to be close to empty. With three rounds left in his weapon he dropped his stabilizing hand and began to draw his third magazine out, getting ready to reload. He had been using controlled pairs on his targets, and had dropped six targets so far. One of the larger men had taken two rounds center mass and kept coming, so he put a second pair in his face. That stopped him.

Firing of another pair of rounds at a woman that was trying to circle around them on the left, he yelled out "Loading," and dropped the now empty mag from his M9. With the last round in the chamber he slapped in the next magazine hard. Scanning for his next target, he fired two rounds into a man that had crept towards their flank, and had just cleared the trip line at his 9 o'clock. He had trained the women to recognize that the report of his pistol firing was the only notification they would receive that his reload was complete.

"How we doing?" he called out.

"I'm good," Sapphire replied calmly.

"There are too many of them," Laurena said, fear in her voice.

Looking to her sector he saw that a group of three - two men and a woman - had cleared the ten-meter trip line and were closing on Laurena.

"Shift fire right," he yelled quickly, adjusting his aim to her sector and engaging the first target he could. Sapphire hesitated for a heartbeat, and then cast a hasty spell. The remaining man and woman were thrown backwards, and crashed into a pair of trees, hard.

"Shit" David muttered, he had forgotten about magic. "New plan," he called out. "Sapphire, hand me the rifle and push anyone that gets too close back. I'll take out the far targets."

Handing the M4 to David quickly, Sapphire pulled her pistol and began sending bursts of telekinesis to trip or push back any of the attackers close to the ten-meter trip line. Holstering his pistol and shouldering the rifle, David sent two quick pairs of rounds into targets that were closing in on his position from the left.

"Loading," Laurena called out, dropping her spent pistol magazine and loading a fresh one from her belt.

Firing another pair of rounds into a shambling hulk that was charging in, David felt the bolt in his rifle lock back, magazine depleted.

"Loading," he called out, then went to one knee, and executed the fastest reload of his life. Scanning the area he took a quick count, and realized they were slaughtering the enemy.

What he had originally estimated as over thirty opponents now seem closer to forty - over fifty with the ones he had killed and/or wounded out on the perimeter - and they had already killed or wounded over half of them. He shook his head in amazement. With those casualty numbers the enemy's morale should have been broken. They should have been running away by now. Instead the remaining stragglers were a seething mass of howling rage and insanity. They continued to charge in, either unconcerned with, or oblivious to, the fates of their fallen compatriots. It was madness. Worse, only the mortally wounded were staying down.

David knew that the 5.56mm rounds in his M4 and the 9mm rounds in their M9s were made to be wounding rounds. They could kill, but they were more likely to simply wound the enemy in a manner that would take them out of a fight. As long as the gunshot wound was not to a handful of vital areas the person would survive with proper medical care. Sadly, their attackers seemed to be ignoring all but the most damaging wounds. The shots that stopped them were head and heart. Even now, he watched a man struggle to his feet, knowing that he had put two rounds center mass into the guy earlier.

Shaking his head in annoyance, David thumbed the rifle's selector switch from semi to full auto. It was time to lay on enough hate to drop the fuckers permanently.

Sapphire was getting tired. She had begun using her magic to throw backwards anyone that crossed the ten-meter trip line, often targeting trees or other runners with her captives' projectile bodies. Unfortunately, that had started to tire her rapidly; so she shifted to tripping them up, and pushing them sideways into their compatriots. She had managed to keep them back so far; but there were so many, and they just kept coming. As she heard David switch from controlled pairs to controlled bursts, she began coaxing her magic again. She reached out and lifted the high-strength cord of the trip line, and began to wrap it around the legs of the fallen but rising enemies nearest it. It was an imperfect solution, but if she could keep them down just a little longer, they might still have a chance.

"Loading," Laurena and David called out at the same time. The acolyte had kept her head so far, and was performing admirably. Unfortunately, her aim was abysmal. She had already burned through four pistol magazines. "Last mag," the Erosian woman called out, worry in her voice.

Reaching down to her utility harness that she had dropped at her feet, Sapphire pulled two of her three remaining pistol magazines out. Sending a powerful burst of magic to push back the charging groups in her and Laurena's sectors, she handed both mags to Laurena.

"Here," Sapphire said in a hurried and tired voice. "You're doing great, keep it up," she added encouragingly.

Laurena took the ammunition and nodded her thanks, grateful for both.

"Loading," David called out again. He was burning through his ammo much faster now, putting four to six rounds in each target. It was a damn waste, but now most of the ones he put down now stayed there. He had already burned through four of the six rifle magazines on his vest, and he was loading the fifth now. Completing the reload, he immediately targeted a woman rushing towards him and fired a burst into her chest.

"How are we doing?" he called out, shifting his aim to the next asshole.

"I'm getting tired," Sapphire called out wearily. "I can't keep this up much longer."

"I ran low on ammo," Laurena added, "but Sapphire gave me two more mags." She punctuated her remarks with a burst of fire from her pistol.

"How many do you have left?" David asked, shooting two more bursts into a charging pair to his 10 o'clock.

"Loading," Laurena called out. A few moments later she added, "Just one more after this one."

"Sapphire?" David continued his ammo check.

"Half empty one in the pistol and one spare on my harness," she replied grimly.

"Shit," David mumbled under his breath.

Scanning the area he noticed that there were still about twenty attackers moving towards them, but thankfully most were wounded in some way. "Keep up the pressure. We're almost through this," he reassured the ladies.

His immediate sector clear, David shifted his fire into Sapphire's pouring bursts of 5.56mm 'attitude adjustment' into six of the nearest attackers. The pressure on her front temporarily relieved, Sapphire shifted her aim to help Laurena, dropping two more - one of them permanently - before her pistol was empty.

"Loading, she called out, dropping to one knee and fishing her last pistol magazine from her harness. "Last mag," she added as she slapped it home and thumbed the slide release.

Deep within his brain, in a portion not currently focused on fighting for his life and the lives of the women beside him, David congratulated himself on spending so much time training the ladies in loading drills and battlefield communication. Another, slightly larger, portion of his brain was proud at how well they had applied the hard training in the last few desperate minutes. They were performing better than some of the soldiers he had served with. The rest of his brain was scrambling for a way out of this mess.

"Sapphire!" he called out, his mind had either been struck with a moment of brilliance, or a sudden absence of stupidity. "What are the words to send out a magical wave to push all these assholes as far back as I can?"

The Dracian thought it over for a few nerve-wracking moments, and then began to recite the chant to him, phrase by phrase. He repeated each one as soon as she said them, putting every ounce of his need into each word, and feeling his magic building in and around him. It was like the electrical charge in the air before a storm. As he repeated the last few words, his power built to a crescendo, and then pushed out from him in a massive shockwave.

The force was devastating, tossing back the running, standing, and fallen foes alike with a powerful blast. Trees were uprooted, mounds of earth were torn from the ground and cast aloft, and everything went flying away from him as though pushed by hurricane force winds...or a nuclear blast.

*** Chapter 38: Aftermath***

120034APR13 DW

East of the Field of Woe, Erosius

Dropping to his knees, David felt drained. He couldn't be certain, but it had felt like he had put everything he had into that spell. All his anger, fear, frustration, and horror had poured from him through his magic, and now he felt empty and tired.

Kneeling beside him, Sapphire reached over and softly placed her delicate hand on his face, turning it to look into her eyes. As he read the worry and exhaustion there, he noticed the scent of cordite coming from the hand on his cheek; and he smiled through his own weariness at his warrior maiden.

"Sorry," he said. "Next time I should probably lead with that."

She chuckled at his comment, and then hugged him fiercely.

"Yeah, I think that might work better next time," she loudly whispered back jokingly in his ear. All of their ears were still ringing from the sustained weapons' fire.

Realizing that his display of power was most likely not the end in the fight, merely an intermission, he began to lash his flagging mind back into action. They needed to re-arm, they needed to rest, but most of all they needed to move. They had a short window in which to escape before the injured and disoriented attackers recovered, reorganized, and returned with a vengeance.

"We need to get out of here. Hopefully before they recover and return. I would rather slink off into the night than fight our way past them," David explained the new plan.

"Okay," Sapphire agreed, climbing wearily to her unsteady feet.

"Laurena, cast healing on Sapphire if you can. It won't recharge her magic but it might help," David called out. Returning his rifle to his love, he also handed her his last M4 magazine, just in case. "Sapphire, stay here and drop any assholes that comes this way. I'll get the horses and break down the camp."

She nodded, and waited for Laurena's spell of healing while watching their perimeter for any signs of movement. As David jogged towards their horses he rejoiced at his foresight last week. When he noticed their mounts reacting poorly to the sounds of weapons fire during the first day of training, he had moved them a good distance from them. He then moved the mounts closer and closer each day, allowing them to get used to the sounds of the rifles and pistols. By the last day the horses were unhappy, but calm while standing ten feet away from their firing positions. The trio was still a long way from being able to ride their mounts into battle while firing from their saddles, but at least the horses had not run off tonight.

Untying and leading them back to the ladies was easy. Saddling all three quickly would be greater challenge. Once David had returned he noticed Sapphire appeared somewhat rested and more alert. While she continued to watch the perimeter for movement Laurena approached him and cast a healing spell on him. As his tiredness fled he noticed that his previous exhaustion did not seem to encompass his magic as well. He could subtly feel it now, waiting to be called forth once more.

Apparently his body's ability to cast magic, and his magic were separate factors in his potential. He wondered if he could train his body to get used to casting more powerful spells without exhausting so quickly; similar to long distance running training.

Thanking Laurena, he banished their bed; and used his telekinesis magic to saddle the horses, move their belongings, and break down the tent. His magic use has started a throbbing in his temples, not unlike the feeling he got from being awake past the 36 hour mark. It couldn't be helped though, so he just pushed past it. Pulling the Mk 48 from his back, he inspected it to determine what had caused the malfunction earlier. Opening the top he noticed a link from the belt had twisted and jammed up two rounds in the feed tray. Using the pliers from his multi-tool to clear the jam, he swapped the mostly spent ammo belt for a fresh one from his pack. Hopefully 'Murphy' was done making him his bitch for the night. Pulling out two more belts, he put one in each cargo pocket and then extended the bipod legs and took up a prone firing position next to Sapphire.

"Honey, I've got this. Get dressed and ready to move. We are out of here in two minutes."

Responding to his command, Sapphire moved to obey. Slipping on her utility harness, boots, coat, and slinging her rifle. Laurena gathered their empty magazines from the ground, and stuffed them into Sapphire's saddle bags. They would have to conjure reloads later. While they did this David did a quick touch inventory of the remaining ammo on his kit. That's when he noticed he still had two grenades. That would have been a handy thing to remember about three minutes ago asshole, he thought to himself.

Hearing Sapphire and Laurena getting mounted, David rose from his firing position and stowed the bipod, slinging the Mk 48 and sliding it to his back, out of the way. Reaching down he lifted his pack and quickly strapped it behind his saddle, then mounted as well. They rode as quickly into the moonlit night as they dared; away from the killing field in under six minutes. David smoked one of his last remaining cigarettes with a shaking hand once they were away.

***

It had been nearly a full day since the massacre of their enemies and subsequent flight into darkness. Initially moving north away from their attackers, after half a mile they had turned westward again and resumed their search for the Field of Woe. This time they traveled with much greater caution.

David assumed that they would be pursued by any survivors. It was entirely possible that if any foes had even survived the assault they would be few in number. However, paranoia does not play favorites, so he kept them all moving as quickly as they could during the predawn morning. They only stopped when both moons had fled the night sky, leaving them in an unmanageable darkness. During that time they had eaten quickly and allowed the horses to drink from a nearby stream.