The Symbol of Hope

[A/N I'd like to start off with a special thanks to those who have supported me last year. Jesterkeitt, Cyko_Gamer, and Ekhemos for all those powerstones. Fangjo and Uchiha_Ichigo for having the most comments. Plus, all those who have taken the time out to read my book and those who left a review. Going to start this year off strong from all my recent months of setbacks with a double posting week. Enjoy.]

My question went unanswered as the guy before me looked in utter disbelief. Then I notice the tears welling up in his eyes. I shift a bit uncomfortably at the suddenly awkward situation.

"You guys came for us. Thank you." He says as he grabs my shoulder.

"Us?" I question. 

Behind him, people start to rise up from the rubble they were hiding behind. The other soldiers and I stare in surprise at the sheer number of survivors there were. 

They come forward, a lot of them crying, as they expressed their gratitude towards us. A group of kids come out and hug a nearby soldier, and I look into the eyes of everyone around me. 

I see exactly what Gabriel was trying to tell me. People needed hope, and that's what we just brought them. A sudden thought crosses my mind as I realize, the moment we got here, there were only four soldiers defending this massive group of survivors, and it appeared like they were engaging the small unit of Bastions patrolling here.

S3bastion steps forward, "As touching as this moment is, we need to vacate the area as soon as yesterday. No doubt more are on the way to reinforce this position again."

Knowing that he's absolutely right, I turn back to face the guy I was addressing earlier.

"We celebrated prematurely. We have no way of extracting you, as we were ambushed by omnic forces on the way here." I explain.

"Getting out of the city has been our number one priority for weeks now. Just getting out is enough." He replies. "Plus, you should be informed that there was another group of survivors who decided to remain where they were sheltered instead of wandering like us. However, we lost contact days ago with anyone. Probably the omnics jamming signals."

Checking to verify, I find that our own communications are being jammed as well. Then S3bastion's voice comes out over my headpiece.

"We use a different frequency for our comms, so they aren't affected." He explains.

Based on the information that I have, a quick plan forms.

"S3bastion, you and three others lead the survivors back to a shelter we found in the woods and update the Strike Commander on our situation. Arrange for an extraction at that location in seven hours. That should give us enough time to search for any more survivors and get back out." I address the troops.

Everyone seems to agree with the plan, as even Reinhardt starts to beam down on me with a bright smile. Of course, I immediately feel foolish at my rash decision as the guy tells me the location of where the survivors are sheltered. Who would have thought that Trumps Tower would house at least 300 more New Yorkers hiding from omnics?

What made this even more of an impossibility, was its location. To get to Trumps Tower, we would have to cross the Hudson River, being one of the bridges. Sure, the twenty men we were taking could possibly go unnoticed, but 320 people were sure to be seen.

Since we could no longer dwell idly at our current location without risking an unnecessary gunfight with the enemy, we carried out the plan. All the while we were taking our time, darting from building to building, my brain was working, searching for anything we could use to not cross the bridge with all those survivors.

Based on the information the guy provided, omnics would patrol nonstop at intervals of three hours apart, as there was a lot of ground to cover in New York City. But the number of omnics we were witnessing patrolling was concerning. My guess was that our arrival tipped the Ravagers off, and they in turn increased the patrols in an attempt to stop us. So much so, that in an effort to avoid them, we were currently at a standstill, waiting for omnics to pass where we were hiding, but it seemed like their numbers were endless.

We sat in the remains of a building as the omnics paced back and forth directly outside for half an hour. The thought of engaging was within everyone's minds, but there were too many factors to consider, making it a risk.

The major concern was by revealing our location, the Ravagers could calculate what direction we were heading and if they didn't know where the survivors were before, they most likely would know then. But, as they were unknowingly blocking our progress, a fight seemed unavoidable.

"Ugh. I wish we weren't stuck in a place that smelled so bad. The city that never sleeps. Hah! More like the city that never smells clean." Reinhardt whispers, making those of us who heard him slightly cringe for various reasons.

As I go to admonish him, his words stick to me. An idea forms as I whisper something to Abigaile. Soon, after a couple of moments, information streams in front of my face as what I was looking for is confirmed. I click my visor off with a huge smile on my face as I quietly turn to the troops to run the plan to them.