Recovery Finished

"What should we do with the huntsmen Stephen?" Alina asked Stephen, waiting for an answer.

"Damon, head into the hallway. The rest of us need to keep the unarmed huntsmen safe, tell them to meet us at the top." Stephen ordered. Marksman rifle in the ready, i walked through the hallway Sebastian entered. Behind me, the group started going to the ladder. I can't maneuver my rifle correctly given it's length longer than my other weapons. I passed open doors, some containing weapons, beds, and even a kitchen and gunsmithing room. With the hanging lights i can faintly make out figures walking slowly. Viewing them, a gunshot and a large spark of light lit up the area.

"SHIT RUN!" Sebastian's voice echoed out. Loud footsteps moved in rapidly, getting louder and louder, they're running back. I ran back at the main entrance, footsteps behind me fast approaching.

Back at the main entrance I stepped to the side of the hallway, waiting for them.

Dashing out the hallway into the entrance, Sebastian, followed by his group and 4 other huntsmen.

"You 4 head up the ladder." Sebastian commanded the huntsmen, just as he stopped talking, a beam of yellow grazed the side of his face. In retaliation Sebastian slammed his back to the wall close to the hallway, with his gun up. He blind fired at whoever tried to shoot him.

With him I returned fire at the hallway, I peek my head out to aim at the hallway, searching for the shooter. Just as I spot him, I fall down, a great force slammed into my face. My vision went into a daze, my vision seeing everything moving around, like a blurry trance. I moved myself back to cover and sat leaning to the wall. Did my mask just save me? Was it a pistol shot or rifle shot? Whatever it was, my mask saved me.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Sebastian shouted in a rage, shooting more and more, firing shots faster and faster. In the hallway a yelp of pain interrupted the shooting. I stood up focusing my eyes again after the shot.

"Damon you alright?" Sebastian asked worryingly. I nodded to him.

"Holy shit your mask has a dent now." I touch my mask and indeed, the part above my nose had a shallow dent into it. Sebastian walked into the hallway, with a few gunshots, he went back out.

"Sorry, just had to make sure that fucker's dead, let's head out now." Sebastian headed to the ladder, looking down the hallway. I see a corpse, presumably the corpse of the man that opened fire. I went to the ladder, beginning my ascent back to the top. As i took just 2 steps up, i was thrown back down, my whole back slamming onto the steel floor. In front of me, yet another insurgent, this time though holding a hatchet. Shit.

The man dashed towards me his arm up gripping the hatchet, ready to kill me. I aimed my rifle towards him, pulling the trigger, the rifle went flying out of my hands, clattering to the wall behind me, completely missing my shot on him. Turning back at him, his arm raised up ready to strike. I struggled with this bastard, kicking and thrashing about until he fell back from a strong kick. Attempting to reach the rifle, he grabbed the back of my vest, just to slam me against the wall. In an instant, searing pain flowed through me from my shoulder, blood gushing out, the hatchet became buried in my shoulder. Just a few seconds after, I couldn't feel my arms and legs, losing control over them, With my control lost, i feel something else take over, it's the trance. My body began moving by itself, making it's own actions. Quickly, my body shoved him, removing the hatchet from my shoulder, my arm slammed the hatchet deep into the man's head. Pulling that hatchet out to continue landing blows on his head, cleaving at his face and jaw, without remorse nor stop, only continuing to bludgeon his head. After many hits to the corpse, control came back to my body, blood stained my mask and vest, the hatchet still in my hand, blood dripping down from the handle and blade itself. Hope that insurgent is dead. I placed the hatchet on my belt, hopefully it helps in the future, picking up the rifle, I fired at the corpse's head. Making sure that he's really dead, with my gun and a new melee weapon, I went up. Finally leaving this claustrophobic place.

Back on the desert, the group along with my team waited.

"Damon, your shoulder...." Alina said, shocked.

"He can heal, we have to go now." Sebastian ordered, leading the team away from the entrance.

Our last walk back to the base, heat more tame than before.

"Damon, this is Xavier. The one you looked through right?" Mary pointed at one of the unarmed huntsmen, he has curly brown hair with some strands covering his bloody face.

"Looked through?" Xavier asked, confused at what Mary said.

"Well basically he has this odd power where he can see what another person is seeing but can't control them."

"Huh, weird."

Down the desert, the blood stopped gushing from my shoulder, but still leaving a nasty wound.

"Damon what happened, and sorry I didn't help." Sebastian asked.

"An insurgent tried to kill me, in the end I got a big wound here, along with this bloody hatchet."

"Good job, you got your first trophy from fighting." Lennox congratulated me.

The huntsmen suffered from the heat less, with less equipment to carry.

"Did any of you find any custom guns and huntsmen armor?" Sebastian asked to us.

"None, no room just a room Damon went inside of, but it's just chalk full of magazines and basic weaponry, maybe wildfire took it." Alina replied.

"Marcel how many minutes left?" Stephen asked Marcel, his breath dry.

"We made staggering progress, about 10 minutes now." Marcel answered. Stephen aimed his sniper rifle up.

"Hmm, I could see the camp. Dunno if that's the camp or a hallucination from the heat." Stephen laughed.

Walking through the unforgiving sand for some time, the silhouette of the camp we landed on was finally in view. A feeling of suspicion arose inside me, like something is watching us from a far. Hiding and waiting for a clear shot. We gotta keep our guard up. Tightening the grip on my rifle, prepared to quickly engage anything that opens fire.

Fuck, the heat. We got closer to the camp, this heat makes it difficult to think. All i can do is just walk forward.

in the camp, the ship stayed, stationary and awaiting our return.

"Alright, that's all of them, good job to you all, we'll tend to the wounded. Get on." One of the people on the ship greeted us.

Before we could all enter, Xavier, screamed out in pain. Falling down to the ground, his leg was shot off, bleeding profusely spewing out on the ramp.

"Get him on, Sebastian find the shooter." The man ordered, with the other huntsmen, they ran inside the ship.

Under the cover of a big sandbag pile. None of us knew where they came from.

From the sandbags, bullets hit close.

"Stephen find the shooter and kill him." Sebastian commanded, shouting with the shots continuing. Above cover, i helped in locating the shooter, fearing that the shot may get through my mask. Where is he, i need to find him quick. Up on a sand hill, a bright glint showed up. Focusing on the glint with the rifle, i pulled the trigger. Quickly trying to finish him off before he finishes me off.

Firing till the mag became empty, I went back to cover, hoping Stephen kills him or one of my shots got him before he hits me from this cover. Stephen fired as well, re adjusting his aim after each shot. Till the very last bullet in his magazine, he went back under cover.

The shots didn't continue after our suppressive fire.

"Damon head up that hill, make sure he's dead" Sebastian ordered.

Out of cover, I ran to the hill. My rifle pointed up at the mountain, waiting for that sniper to peek his ugly head up if he didn't die yet.

Up the hill, behind the peak of the hill. It's the sniper, his head, gone. Blood rushing out from the stump that once had a head. The whole sand under his body soaked in blood and it's still flowing out.

"Damon is he dead?" Sebastian called out.

"Yeah, his head is gone. The blood is still flowing out."

"Alright head back down were leaving, the soldiers here will examine the corpse themselves." Sliding back down on the hill, calmer now that the shooter is dead.

Back on the ramp, a trail of blood from the top went to the sand below. In the ship Xavier laid on the ground being tended to by multiple people. The huntsmen i gave my weapons to handed them back to me, both saying thank you.

Back down on my seat, I tried calming down even with the scene unfolding in front of me. Shit, his leg. Please, don't die Xavier. Still bleeding out and being healed by Alina and other huntsmen or ship personnel, I feel something inside me. An empty feeling or something dying inside. Is it because Xavier got wounded? The ship lifted up, completely forgetting I need to strap myself on the seat.

Hastily strapping myself, I watched the scene continue, still with this feeling of being empty for whatever reason.