The Dogs of War

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The Broken Fox
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by The Broken Fox »

Coatl_Ruu wrote:
The Broken Fox wrote:Also I think Bailey is shaping up to be The Lancer in that certain band... ;)
Lesse... Duke is The Hero, Bailey is The Lancer, Achilles is The Big Guy, and I guess Lieutenant Crichton could be The Smart Guy. Which does, of course, make Sebastian The Chick. :P
NOOOO! Why did you have to tell me?! I wanted to figure it out on my own! :evil:
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

AAAH! Sorry! :shock:
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Bino »

Sebastion as the chick, love it :P
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but it sounds fun.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by The Broken Fox »

copper wrote:I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but it sounds fun.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveManBand
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

You tropers always talking beautiful nonsense...

I suppose it makes sense though. Can't wait to see how the five man band gets out of there.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by valerio »

I am Valerio and I care only that this fiction is well written and much enjoyable
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

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valerio wrote:I am Valerio and I care only that this fiction is well written and much enjoyable
It is, so you have little to worry about!
Bino wrote:I don't have any tricks up my sleeve right now that don't involve roleplaying... :x
So...... *kisses sleet* BOOM! I WIN!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Bino wrote:
valerio wrote:I am Valerio and I care only that this fiction is well written and much enjoyable
It is, so you have little to worry about!
Glad to hear it. ;)

Okay, good news / bad news time:

Bad news: No update this week. I have entirely too much to get done, so this little project is going to be on the back burner for the next few days.

Good news: Next week is spring break, so I should be able to crank out not one, but two decent sized chapters with my free time!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

That's awesome. Two updates in a week! :D

It's alright, Coatl. We understand completely.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Good news! Chapter 3 is nearly completed, I just need to edit it and I'll be able to post it tomorrow.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

I will be anxiously waiting for it Coatl. This is a great fanfic.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by valerio »

Coatl_Ruu wrote:Good news! Chapter 3 is nearly completed, I just need to edit it and I'll be able to post it tomorrow.
*Dances* yay!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Here's the next installment, as promised. 8-)

----------

Chapter 3 - The Run

Bailey dashed ahead through the narrow alley with her pistol trained on Rasshim, her footsteps echoing off the high brick walls. Duke followed close behind, dragging along Achilles and Sebastian's still-unconscious bodies. The sounds of shouting and boots on the hard-packed ground were still audible, but they became fainter with every step he took.

“Ugh.” Achilles. Duke stumbled to a halt and laid the two injured dogs down on the ground. “Bailey! Hold up. I think Achilles is comin' around.”

“Yeah. I guess,” the Doberman grumbled. He pushed himself up against the wall for support. “Th' heck happened?”

Bailey reappeared at Duke's side with the warlord Rasshim in tow. “Some of this idiot's idiots bashed you and 'Bastian in the head,” she spat, jabbing the man with the pistol's barrel again. “In other words, the situation is fubar. We need to get out of here as fast as we can.”

Duke tapped the ground impatiently with one foot. Even though they had taken Rasshim prisoner, things seemed to have taken a decidedly downward turn. He clicked on the radio on his collar and began to speak. “Cerberus to Cerberus 2, requesting evac, over.” No response. He tried again. “I repeat, this is Cerberus to Cerberus 2, do you copy, over?”

Static. With a muttered curse, Duke clicked off the radio and spun on his heel to face Rasshim. The man was watching him with a smug, lopsided grin. Bailey slammed the butt of her pistol into the back of his knee. With a grunt of pain, the grin disappeared and Rasshim dropped to the ground.

Duke slowly walked over to the cursing, spitting man. Bailey's blow had brought his face down to eye level, a fact that Duke seized on. He reached out, grabbed Rasshim's collar, and pulled the man's face to within inches of his own.

“You know something, don't you?” he murmured, looking intently into the man's eyes. Rasshim met his gaze with that same smirk. And then he began to laugh.

Bailey whipped her pistol across Rasshim's cheek with a dull crack, sending the man tumbling into the dust. Before Duke could do so much as move, Bailey was on top of Rasshid, pulling the man's gasping, snarling face directly up to her own. Her ears had fallen flat against her skull, and a low growl rumbled out of the back of her throat.

“Something happened to them,” she hissed with deadly precision. “I want to know what.”

Rasshim let out a low chuckle. “You are too late for that, dog. Much too late.”

Achilles pointed to the end of the alley. “Duke, Bailey, I think we've got incoming.” He was right. Three soldiers, armed with assault rifles, stood in a line at the open mouth of the narrow alley. Duke quickly looked back the way they'd came. Another detachment of Rasshim's men had sealed that way off as well. It looked like they were stuck.

Duke's eyes flitted across their surroundings, searching for something, anything, that might lend them a route of escape. It wasn't long before he spotted it: a narrow door, set back in a shadowy recess of the wall. It had been invisible when they first passed, but it would serve them well now.

“Bailey,” he hissed. “You see that door? Take Rasshim over there. Get it open, then you, Sebastian, and Achilles will go through. Got it?”

Bailey nodded sharply. “Gotcha.” Then, she turned her attention back to Rasshim. “Get up, maggot!” She hauled the cursing man to his feet and shoved him forward down the alley, being very careful to keep him between her and the armed soldiers. Once they got to the door, she tried the handle.

Locked.

“Mmph,” grumbled a muffled voice. “W'happened?” Duke looked over to see Sebastian pushing himself up off the ground, looking blearily around with dull, unfocused eyes.

“Good to see you're up, buddy,” Achilles murmured. “Now, come on, we gotta get outta here.” He went to pull the dazed Shepherd up and motioned for Duke to help him out.

While Duke was helping Achilles collect Sebastian, he heard a few sharp gunshots echo off the walls of the alley. When he looked back, Bailey had shot out the lock on the door. The inky black interior had been opened up to them.

“Come on, come on,” Duke hissed, waving Achilles onward. The Doberman pulled Sebastian's unconscious body over his shoulder and silently obeyed. Bailey passed through the doorway and into the building. It was then that the shooting started.

“Down!” Duke roared throwing himself to the dusty pavement just as the bullets started to whiz over his head. Achilles dove for cover, landing within ten feet of the door.

Sebastian wasn't quite fast enough. A stray shot drilled into his foot, sending him tumbling forward into the dust with a cry of pain. Almost instantly, Duke felt a a shock run through him. He lunged forward, all but throwing himself on top of Sebastian. Achilles hurried back, and together they hoisted the injured dog to his feet and dashed to the open doorway. Duke frantically waved Achilles and Sebastian through, before slamming the heavy gate behind him.

The room was nearly silent, aside from the heavy panting of the three dogs. But Duke knew from the moment he entered that they weren't alone. The room's air was thick with the scent of human.

In the corner, a single light clicked on. When he'd blinked away the glare enough to see, his fears were confirmed.

In the room's center stood Rasshim and four armed soldiers. They had Bailey at gunpoint. Her pistol was lying at the edge of the light, underneath a dust-covered chair. Her eyes flickered up from her toes to meet Duke's gaze just once. In that instant, he saw a world of fear, apprehension, and, above all, shame.

“I... I”m sorry,” she muttered. Both her paws were balled into fists. “It was a trap. I wasn't fast enough.”

Rasshim narrowed his eyes at the Boxer. “I told you not to speak, dog,” he hissed.

Bailey slowly turned around to face her captor. Through gritted teeth, she growled “And I told you that you could kiss my-”

Without warning, the warlord punched her directly in the face, knocking her unceremoniously to the floor. Bailey rolled over onto her stomach and tried to push herself back up. One of the soldiers came up from behind and hammered the butt of his rifle into her shoulder.

“Enough!” Duke lunged forward, tearing his pistol from its holster. The four soldiers raised their rifles and each chambered a round. The sound was like thunder in the tiny room. Duke stopped, frozen in his tracks. Achilles was standing warily over a cowering Sebastian. Bailey's body was shaking, whether from fear, pain, or pent-up rage, he couldn't tell. Duke surveyed the scene, and admitted defeat. He let the gun drop from his grip, and he raised his arms above his head in a gesture of surrender.

“Good,” said Rasshim in a clipped tone. “I am growing tired of this.” He barked off a command to the soldiers. The four men picked up coils of rope and moved in to restrain the dogs. With his ears flat against his skull and a sinking heart, Duke held out his arms. Two of the men pulled the rope tight around his wrists.

A third came up from behind and pulled a wet, foul-smelling rag over his muzzle. Instinctively, Duke drew in a sharp breath. Slowly, the room began to darken around him. Chloroform!? Sh-

Black.

---------

When Duke finally came around, it was to a bouncing, rumbling sensation. Beyond that, he had no idea where he was. His restraints cut into his wrists and ankles, rubbing the aching joints raw. A muzzle had been clamped over his mouth, and a blindfold was tied over his head, completely obscuring his vision. On top of that, they'd taken his gear, collar, and body armor. After so many months of wearing all of that, he felt almost... naked.

His senses of smell and hearing were still at full working capacity, however. He could hear the roaring engine of an ill-maintained truck. He could make out the low mutterings of the driver and a passenger, up ahead, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

Scent was by far the more useful of the two. It told him Bailey was nearby, though she was probably restrained just as he was. Then, there was one other. A new scent, but one that was familiar at it's base level. A jackal. Female. But he had no idea what one would be doing here...

He tried, out of curiosity, to move. No dice. He could squirm a bit, but that was all. Whoever had tied those knots must have known what they were doing. He listened carefully, but all he could hear of Bailey was her shallow breathing.

Suddenly, Duke felt a knife slicing away at the rope binding his ankles. He tensed instinctively, waiting to see if the blade's owner had good intentions.

The rope around his ankles fell away, relieving the the tearing and scratching sensation that had been wearing its way through his skin. The muzzle came off next. Then, the cold blade brushed against his throat.

Duke surged upward, knocking the knife aside and filling his lungs to let out the loudest bark he could. Instead, a paw clamped down over his mouth. The blindfold fell away, and he found himself squinting up into the the tan-furred face of a nervous-looking female jackal. She was making rapid shushing gestures and taking small, furtive glances up towards the front of the truck, and the driver. “Quiet, stupid dog, quiet!” she hissed in thickly accented English.

The driver yelled something and hammered on the back of the cab with his fist. Duke decided to be quiet. Gently, the jackal released her death-grip on his muzzle and sliced through the rope binding his wrists. Duke sat up, massaging the aching joints while his savior went over and released Bailey in the same way. In a few moments, the three of them were crouched down in a rough triangle in the center of the truck bed. Duke took a few minutes to judge his surroundings.

There were sitting on the dirty, worn wooden bed of a truck that looked like its age could be compared favorably to that of dirt. The canvas covering was perforated in at least two dozen places, letting air whistle through. A thin slot sat squarely in the wall separating the bed of the truck from the driver.

Bailey ran one paw down the side of her face, leaving furrows in the dirty white fur. “Alright, so what do we-” She cut herself off when the jackal began making the frantic shushing gestures yet again. “... what do we do now?” she continued in a lower tone.

The jackal pointed to the back of the truck, closed off by a low gate. “We jump.”

“You're kidding,” Bailey said flatly.

Duke shrugged. “If we jump off to one side, we'd hit sand. Roll with the landing, and we should be fine. This bucket isn't exactly hauling.”

“Alright, fine. When?” Bailey looked again to the jackal.

“Now. Come.” The canine that had released them crept over to the low gate at the back, released the latch, and silently lowered it. Waving the other two over, she stepped out onto it. Duke followed her, and Bailey came shortly after.

Once they were out on the rickety platform, they realized that jumping off the back of a moving truck might be a bit more difficult than either that jackal or Duke had originally thought. The hard-packed dirt road whipped past underneath them, and the side of the road seemed awfully far off to jump to...

The man in the passengers side banged on the back of the cab again. He yelled something to the driver, who glared back through the slot with widened eyes.

“Jump?” suggested the jackal.

“Jump,” agreed Duke.

They jumped.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by valerio »

Man, this was so INTENSE! Darned humans must PAY for what they did! :twisted: :twisted:
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by The Broken Fox »

Oh noes! :shock: And where's Sebastian and Achilles? What have they done to them?! :evil: We also seem to be introduced to a new character... I wonder, I have a feeling she'll have a definite role in the upcoming chapters. And even though Bailey has a head start, she might even be a rival for the title of Action Girl... :lol:
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Russiarules1 »

And the adventure keeps going! Nice...
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

Very nice update. I can't wait to see where you go with this.

I wonder where Sabastian and Achilles went. :?
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

For all the questions, I suppose the only answer I can give is "we'll see" :P

Glad you guys liked it. Chapter 4 is currently in the works.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Bino »

Finally caught up! Can't wait to see what happens!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Wow I really need to update this more. Anyway, Chapter 4 is up... now.

----------

Chapter 4 – Q And A

Sebastian was huddled in tight, furry ball, doing his best not to panic. His foot had stopped bleeding, but a burning pain shot through it every time he tried to do so much as twitch it. His head still ached, and a lump the size of a small egg was swelling up where that soldier had whacked him.

The room was dark, cold, and damp. And Achilles still hadn't woken up. With a grunt of pain, Sebastian edged himself over until he was at the unconscious Doberman's side.

“Hey. Achilles,” he murmured. “C'mon, snap out of it.” He gently shook the dog's shoulder, but got no response. He let out a shuddering sigh and pressed himself in closer. They must have drugged him. Sebastian could still feel the Doberman's heart beat, but it seemed slow and faint. He was well and truly out. All Sebastian could do was wait for it to wear off.

Until then, he was alone. He looked around the tiny room, and saw utter blackness. An icy hand gripped at his stomach. With a gulp, he grabbed the other dog's paw and squeezed it tight.

Try and think about something else, he thought. Don't dwell on what you can't change. So, he thought of something else. He thought about his mom and dad back home, about the summer days they'd spent playing catch in the park. He thought about watching the sun set over the lake with Ruby, then running up the hill so they could watch it set again. He thought about the jerk that Ruby had dumped him for. He thought about the look of pride he'd seem on the other K-9 officers when they found out he was joining the service.

Heck, he even thought about that smart-alec cat at the groomer's who always teased him when he came out of the bath looking like a drowned rat.

He thought about how he might not see any of them ever again.

Sebastian leaned against Achilles' shoulder and let out a quiet, shuddering sob. Burning tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over and bring with them a torrent.

“ 'Bastian,” muttered a slurred, tired voice. “ 'Zat you?”

Sebastian blinked, looking up with a forced grin and doing his best to wipe away the tears. “Yeah, it's me, Achilles. Glad to- glad to see you're awake.”

“Yeah...” Sebastian felt Achilles shift in his place. “Where th'heck are they keepin' us?”

“I-” Sebastian bit down on his lip, trying to keep the quaver out of his voice. “I don't know. We're still in the village, but... I dunno. The back room of some building, I couldn't see which one. If it even mattered.”

“Agh. Great,” Achilles grumbled. The larger dog pushed himself up off the floor. “God, my head hurts. How're you holdin' up? Aside from... your foot, obviously.”

“I...” Sebastian sighed. There were so, so many ways that he could answer that question. Finally, he decided on the simplest, most truthful one. “Achilles, I'm scared.”

The Doberman let out a humorless bark of laughter. “Yeah? Well, lemme tell you, you're not the only one. I'm not an idiot, I'm scared too.” He put an arm around Sebastian's trembling shoulders. “We just gotta stay calm. Everyone back at base knows where we went. They'll send people out, and they'll find us. You don't gotta worry about that.”

“Alright.” Sebastian pulled in a deep breath, then let it out in a slow, shuddering gust. “It's just... I don't want to die, Achilles.”

“Hey,” Achilles barked, tightening his grip on Sebastian's shoulder. “You are not going to die. I'll make sure a'that.”

A faint, tired grin started to spread across Sebastian's lips. “Thanks, Achilles. That-” He froze, tilting his head to the side and flicking one ear off to the left. “Wait. Do you hear something?”

----------

“Ow. Ow. And, before I forget, ow.” Duke was gingerly getting to his feet, slowly stretching out his aching, bruised limbs. Though it was still low in the sky, he had to hold one hand to shield his eyes from the blazing light of the sun. “Jumping off a truck that's going down a desert road at about thirty-five miles per hour hurts. Who would've thought.”

Duke stumbled awkwardly over to the ruined stone wall that Bailey and the jackal were already crouched behind, being careful not to slip and fall in the sand. He knelt down in the dust next to the two females, ducking down behind the rocky remnant. “Alright,” he panted. “What now?”

Bailey opened her mouth to respond. She sat there with one finger raised, until she seemed to realize that she had no idea either. With a frown, she snapped her jaw back into place and leaned back against the hot rock wall.

Duke looked back and forth between the two others. “Right. So I suppose we're just going to stay here for the rest of the day, then?”

“Well,” said the jackal, twitching her ear. “We could begin by stopping the two men who are trying sneak upon us.”

Bailey and Duke froze, listening intently. Sure enough, soft footsteps, muffled by the sand, were slowly coming their way. The two men from the truck were less than fifty feet away, and coming closer every second.

Bailey sniffed the dry air. “Any of you smell gunpowder? I don't think they're armed.”

“Nah, I don't think they are,” Duke muttered, shifting himself into a better position in the hot sand. “We can take 'em.” He took a sidelong glance at the jackal, who had picked up a pair of heavy, blunt stones. “Um... what are you planning to do with those?”

The jackal turned her head to one side and looked at him with a puzzled expression. “They are for 'taking them'. As you said.”

A toothy grin that would have put a hunting wolf to shame spread across Bailey's face. She clapped the jackal on the shoulder. “Sister, I think you and me are gonna get along just fine. Incoming.” Without so much as a change in expression, she jumped up, turned in midair, and dove for the legs of a man that had just come around the corner of the wall. Both of them tumbled away and out of sight.

Duke was stumbling awkwardly to a standing position when the second man came careening around the corner and skidded to a halt, sending a thousand grains of sand skittering off and away. Duke had barely taken one step in the man's direction when he say a fuzzy brown blur out of the corner of his eye. A gray smudge whizzed past his head and slammed into the man's temple with light thud. He fell limply to the ground without protest.

The jackal walked past Duke to inspect the man's unconscious form. She glanced back at the Shepherd, who was staring ahead with an expression of slack-jawed amazement. “What is it that you are looking at?” she asked with a sly grin. “Come, your friend may need some help.”

As it turned out, Bailey didn't need some help. When Duke and the jackal rounded the corner, they found the Boxer sitting on her now-unconscious captor with her arms crossed, wearing a smug grin. “What took you two so long?” she called.

“Very funny,” Duke grumbled, rolling his eyes. “So, as I was saying, what do we do now?”

“Well,” Bailey began. “We could start by having a little meet-and-greet. For example, I would like to know what the name of our new crew member is.”

“Zara,” stated the jackal. “My name is Zara. And you are being... ?”

“I'm Duke. Corporal Duke Walters. And this is Lance Corporal Bailey.” He gestured to Bailey, who responded with a thin smile and a lazy salute.

“Oh.” Zara's brow furrowed. “So... you are with the military?”

Duke sighed. He should have known that might be a problem. “Yes, but we don't mean you any harm. You probably saved our skins back there, and we owe you for that.”

Zara still looked wary, but this assurance seemed to satisfy her. “That is fair.”

Bailey got up off the man's unresponsive body and walked over to Duke and Zara. “Now, Zara, there were two more dogs in our squad. Did you happen to see where those low-lifes took them?” When she mentioned Rasshim's men, her paws clenched involuntarily into fists.

Zara shrugged helplessly. “I am afraid not. I had been hiding in the back of truck until they put the two of you in. I saw nothing else.”

Bailey seemed ready to accept that, but then she paused and turned back, as though something had just clicked in her mind. “What were you doing there, anyway? It looked like that village was deserted.”

Zara froze. She averted her eyes for a moment, then looked back; first to Duke, then Bailey. Slowly, she opened her mouth to respond. “I... The men had seen me and I needed some place to hide.”

Bailey growled under her breath, then leaned in until she was inches from the jackal's face. “Alright, but if I find out that you know something and aren't telling-”

“Bailey!” Duke barked. “Th' heck is the matter with you!?”

In a slow, shaky motion, Bailey let her paws unclench. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back and took a step away from Zara. “Right. I... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's just...” Her voice faltered. “Heck, Duke, I miss them.”

He put one paw gently on her shoulder. “I know. I do too. But right now, we need to focus on getting ourselves out of this mess.”

“Right, right, I know.” Bailey looked back to the road, then down to the man lying at her feet. That same wide, toothy grin made an appearance again. “Well, these two bozos had the courtesy to leave us a perfectly good truck. I'd bet the keys are still in the ignition.” She turned to regard the other two canines standing at her side. “I don't suppose either of you are up for a little ride?”

----------

Sebastian and Achilles sat huddled together in the dark, maintaining a petrified silence, while the world seemed to be tearing itself to pieces around them. It had started with the low, rhythmic thuds of a helicopter's rotor. Then, from that deep hum, a series of faint hisses had whispered out to the world . But they were only the heralds of the roaring thunder that followed almost instantly behind.

After that first dynamic assault, things had become more muddled. Men shouting, some in a language that they had both heard but neither understood; booted feet rumbling across the ground, the sharp cracks of gunfire and the deeper thuds of what could only be a vehicle-mounted machine gun.

But following that there came the worst sound of all: the sound of silence. They sat unmoving, hardly daring to breathe, straining for any kind of noise.

Finally, a few faint sets of footsteps whispered softly through the nooks and crannies of their prison walls. They seemed to be drawing nearer. Then, one voice called out. One loud, commanding, and very familiar voice.

“Is that-”

“Ssh!” Achilles shushed Sebastian. “Listen!”

The voice called out again. It was nearer, clearer, and left the two dogs with no doubt as to who its owner was.

It was all Achilles could do not cheer. Instead, he called out in response. “Hey! Hey! Over here! Come on!” Sebastian joined in as well, and soon they were both hollering at the top of their lungs.

“You guys here that?”

“I think it's coming from over there.”

“Someone trapped?”

“I dunno. Winters, Brunsen, get that door. Three, two, one... now!”


A gunshot rang out, and the lock on the door of the dogs' prison cell shattered. Two men pushed the door open, letting the blinding light of the sun flood the tiny room. The pair brought their arms up in front of their faces, trying in vain to shield their eyes.

A large, tall silhouette stepped into the doorway. “Well, if it ain't Sebastian an' Achilles,” came a gruff voice in a bemused tone. “What kind of trouble did you two get yourselves into now?”

----------

“Just put them down right there.” Duke pointed arbitrarily at a spot of rocky sand next to the road and, by extension, the truck. Bailey and Zara let their comatose cargo drop roughly to the ground with tired groans.

“Next time, you carry 'em both,” Bailey grumbled. “Now, I suggest we make tracks. Duke, you can take the driver's seat, but I want to show you something first. Zara, why don't you check the back, see if there's anything we might be able to use.”

“I will see what I can do,” the jackal said curtly. She nimbly pulled herself up on the fender and dropped with barely a rustle into the truck bed and out of sight.

“Come on,” Bailey muttered, gripping Duke's shoulder.

“But what are-”

“Sh!” She clapped one paw over his mouth and cast a narrow eyed glance over at the back of the truck. When Zara didn't reemerge, Bailey grabbed Duke again and pulled him over over to the other side of the truck. She gestured for him to sit. With a puzzled look, Duke lowered himself down to one knee in the sand on the side of the road.

Once the Shepherd had seated himself, Bailey sat down as well, crossing her legs underneath her. With one final suspicious glance to the back of the truck, she leaned closer to Duke. “Now that we're alone, do you really think we can-” Bailey cut herself off, then scrawled two words in the dust between them.

trust her?

Duke opened his mouth to respond, then thought better of it and responded as Bailey had asked. Why not?

Bailey rolled her eyes and slapped one palm to her forehead. Random feral, she scrawled back. Know zip about her. Chummy with Rasshim. Need more?

Saved our lives.

Bailey read that, reached out to scratch a response... then hesitated. She let out a heavy sigh. Fine. Benefit of doubt. Use caution anyway.

“That's better,” Duke whispered.

“Duke? Bailey? You may want to be seeing this.” Zara was looking down at them from the roof of the truck. Bailey instantly snapped out with one arm, scattering her final message to the wind.

“What is it?” she she asked in a clipped tone, quickly getting back to her feet and marching to the back end of the truck. Duke scrambled to his feet and followed after her.

Another vehicle off in the distance was coming down the desert road, bringing in its wake a drifting cloud of dust. Zara dropped lightly to the ground next to Duke and Zara. “Someone is coming. I found these in the back.” She handed Duke a the pair of binoculars that he'd been carrying when they'd first embarked. “They do not look too friendly, but see for yourself.”

Duke brought the binoculars up to his eyes. With a few adjustments to the knob, the image resolved itself into one of a pair of ramshackle trucks, rather like the one they had been imprisoned in. But, unlike theirs, these trucks each carried nearly a dozen shrouded soldiers with assault rifles in hand. The sight sent a stone falling into the pit of his stomach.

“Right. Time to go.” Duke tossed the binoculars back to Zara. “Bailey, help me grab the idiot twins. I've got an idea.”
Last edited by Coatl_Ruu on Thu May 05, 2011 6:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by valerio »

yay for epic update! Cavalry to the rescue, about time too!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

That was awesome, Coatl! As always, you are the best at action sequences.

So two are saved, and two are in dire straits. Will Duke ever catch a break?

I can't wait for the next part, Coatl! :D
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

valerio wrote:yay for epic update! Cavalry to the rescue, about time too!
copper wrote:That was awesome, Coatl! As always, you are the best at action sequences.
Excuse me while I go stroke my ego. :P
So two are saved, and two are in dire straits. Will Duke ever catch a break?
There is a simple answer to that question. I can't tell you what it is, but I assure you that it exists. :3

Also, I just noticed that this thread had nearly three thousand views. :shock:
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

So... wow. Almost a month since the last update.

Yeah... that was a combination of work, procrastination, and now having no idea where to go next. I'm almost done with chapter 5, but I'm sort of... stuck. I should be able to get it up within the next few days.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

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Coatl_Ruu wrote:So... wow. Almost a month since the last update.

Yeah... that was a combination of work, procrastination, and now having no idea where to go next. I'm almost done with chapter 5, but I'm sort of... stuck. I should be able to get it up within the next few days.
it happens. Just relax, take your time, no worries about your writing and you'll do fine for your loyal fans.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

valerio wrote:it happens. Just relax, take your time, no worries about your writing and you'll do fine for your loyal fans.
valerio wrote:loyal fans.
*glee* :3

----------

Chapter 5 – Masquerade

“Hey, Duke?” hissed Bailey from her hiding place near the floor of the truck.

“Yeah?” Duke whispered back, peering cautiously over the dashboard and making a small adjustment to the steering wheel.

Bailey shifted in place, trying to make her position less cramped. “Remember how I said this might actually work?”

“Yeah?” Duke said again, a bit more cautiously this time.

Bailey craned her neck to cast Duke a baleful glare. “I take it back. This was a stupid idea.”

Duke sighed, then gently patted his seat. Or, rather, the lap of Idiot Number One. He, along with Idiot Number Two, was strapped into the seat, still in a state of peaceful unconsciousness. Over on the passenger's side, Zara was holding the other man in position, doing her best to keep his head form lolling to one side or the other.

Bailey was lying on the jouncing, dusty floor of the cabin, helping Duke work the pedals while the Shepherd steered. In theory, if any of the trucks Rasshim's soldiers commanded tried get a look inside, Duke would duck down and make it seem as though two humans were driving the truck.

That was the theory. It was about to be tested. Duke cast a quick glance in his rear-view mirror. The two other trucks, still almost overflowing with armed soldiers, were gaining on them. “Bailey!” he called to the Boxer crouched below. “I need more gas!”

“Yeah?” came the female's muffled, but no less biting reply. “And I need . We're already flooring it, we aren't gonna go any faster.”

“Well,” Duke said flatly. “That's just great.” The truck's wheels droned on, rumbling across the ill-maintained asphalt of the desert road. “Well... what if we tried slamming on the brakes, letting them come past us, then turning around and trying to make our escape in the other direction?”

Bailey leaned back, turning her head skyward once more. “Then they would know something was up, and they would turn around and catch us. Or shoot us. One of the two.”

“Hmm.” Duke frowned, tightening his grip on the wheel. They were running out of time. Those soldiers couldn't have been more than a hundred feet back, and they were closing in. “Any ideas, Zara?”

“Hmm?” The tan-furred female jackal looked up in mild surprise. “Oh. I do not know. You two are big military dog, I have been hoping that you would come up with something.” A hint of a smile played across her lips.

“Right. So we're stuck,” Duke sighed. “Bailey, ease up on the accelerator so we can let them pull up alongside us.”

Bailey let her paw off the pedal and gave the brakes a gentle touch. “I hope you've got a plan, boss man.”

“Actually, I was going to wing it.”

Bailey laughed silently. “My kinda plan,” she said with a toothy grin. “Worst comes to worst, I'll bite 'em in the shins and go from there. Who knows, maybe one'll drop their gun or somethin'.”

“That's the spirit,” Duke replied without conviction. The other two trucks were rapidly approaching in the mirror. “Zara, ready?”

The female bit her lip, casting a nervous glance out at the sun-scorched road. “I... suppose that I am.”

“Good. Just try and cover your guy's mouth with that bandana he's wearing. Wouldn't want to answer questions for 'im and not have his mouth move.” Duke did the same for that man he was seated on, and took another quick glance out the window. “Alright. Bailey, they're pulling up alongside. You need to stay absolutely quiet.”

“He said, stating the stupidly obvious,” Bailey muttered. Still, she shrank lower down in the dusty compartment. Zara ducked down and flattened herself against the floor of the truck as Bailey had.

Duke, on the other hand, plastered himself against the door of the truck, taking care to rest Idiot Number One's hand on the wheel to assure they wouldn't just drift off the road. Now came the hard part.

The sound of another engine and the gravelly rumble of tires on asphalt increased in volume, until it sounded to Duke like the other truck was directly behind. Which it was.

A human's voice called out, straining to be heard over the roaring din and avoid being swept away by the wind. Duke resisted the urge to peek over the edge of the door and stayed where he was, wedged against the unconscious man's leg. “Zara!” he hissed, trying to keep an eye on the door and look over to the jackal at the same time. “What's he saying?”

“He said hello, and asked if we needed help,” Zara responded promptly. “What should I say back?”

“Ah... just say hi back, and that we're fine. That should do for now.” Duke gently grabbed the arm of the man strapped in to the driver's seat of their own truck and moved it back and forth in what he hoped looked like a wave.

The man's hand flopped back and forth like a ragdoll. Duke cringed, and quickly pulled the arm back down.

Zara called back to the man in the other truck, adopting an exaggerated low, gravelly tone. She sounded more like a troll with a sinus infection than any human Duke had ever heard. “Oh, we are so dead.,” groaned Bailey from the floor of the truck.

“Hush,” Duke whispered, listening intently for the reply. A new voice shouted across the windswept gap this time, with what seemed like an accusatory note hidden within. Duke looked to Zara with confusion. “Translation?”

“They, ah... they are wanting to know why we are not being with the other men of Rasshim.” Zara looked from Duke to Bailey with widened eyes. “What is it that I should tell them?”

Duke's pulse quickened. This whole charade might fall apart within seconds if they didn't do something fast. “Um... I don't know, tell them that we're... uh... carrying prisoners! Yes, that's it.” Duke nudged the female Boxer crowded on the floor by his feet as Zara called out her response. “Bailey! Go in the back and pretend to be a prisoner.”

Bailey tilted her head back and gave Duke a look that logically should have frozen the Shepherd's blood in his veins. “What kind of friggin' idea is that?”

Duke let out an irritated sigh. Even though they were ten feet away from a couple dozen armed soldiers out for their blood, that was no excuse for insubordination. “Just do it. It might buy us some-”

“Duke! Bailey!” Zara hissed. “They are wanting us to pull over.”

“-time,” Duke finished with a groan. “Right. Well, we obviously can't do that, and we can't outrun them...”

“I've got an idea.” Bailey slithered up from her place by the truck's pedals. “Zara, take my place. Duke, make sure we stay right alongside that truck. I've got an idea.”

“Hold up,” Duke said, putting a paw firmly on Bailey's shoulder. “What, exactly, are you planning on doing?”

Bailey smacked away Duke's paw and hauled herself up onto the seat. “I'll just jump over to the other truck, grab a gun, and shoot out their tires,” she said in a tone that would probably have been more appropriate for discussing a shopping list. “Easy.”

Duke's eyes narrowed, and he pulled Bailey back from the open window and looked her squarely in the eyes. “No. Absolutely not. That would be tantamount to suicide.”

“Well, do you have a better idea?” A dangerous note of smoldering irritation had crept into Bailey's tone. “Either we do something now or we'll have something like thirty armed soldiers trying to shoot us full of holes!”

“Right, but I won't let you do THAT!” Duke tapped on the steering wheel with rapidly diminishing patience. “Right, here's what we'll do.”

DUCK!” Zara shrieked. An instant later, a rolling storm of cracking sounds split the air, and a dozen metal slugs whizzed through the cabin of the truck, tearing through the thin metal like it was wet paper. Duke let out a stream of obscenities, instinctively jerking the wheel to the left.

The dogs' truck crashed into the one driven by Rasshim's men with a shuddering crunch, sending bits of metal and shattered glass flying everywhere. The shooting abruptly ceased as the soldiers yelled out and tried to keep their balance.

Duke turned away, then pulled another hard left to crash back into the truck. This time, his window was lined up with the passenger's side.

The man seated there had a pistol aimed directly at Duke's forehead.

Time seemed to slow down. Adrenaline pumped into the Shepherd's bloodstream, his pulse skyrocketed. Then, in an instant, he calmed himself. He knew what to do.

He knocked Bailey aside and slammed on the brakes. The other truck seemed to fling itself forward with a screech of tires on asphalt. The opening in the windows that connected the two trucks scythed shut, and with a yelp of pain, the man dropped his sidearm. The weapon landed in Duke's lap.

“Hey, Bailey,” he called. The frazzled-looking Boxer poked her head up from below and fixed Duke with an indignant glare. “Th'heck was that for?”

“Here's a gun,” Duke said without taking his eyes off the road. “Care to shoot out their tires for me?”

Bailey's irritated aura vanished, replaced by a wide, all too familiar grin. “No need to ask twice. I'm on it.” Bailey snatched up the pistol and leaned across Duke, staying steady despite the jouncing of the truck's creaking suspension. She leaned out the window, brought the weapon level with her eyes, aimed, and fired.

One, two shots buried buried themselves in the dirt behind the truck. But three, four, five and six tore holes in the vehicle's back tires, sending the truck spinning wildly off to the side of the road with the newly deformed black wheels hissing angrily into the desert air.

Bailey retreated back inside the cabin of the truck and blew the smoke from her pistol with a smug grin. “That should slow 'em down.”

Duke cast Zara a glance, noting with a furrowed brow that she was tightly gripping the edge of the door, with her ears laid flat against her head. The jackal's gaze flitted all over, and her mouth was drawn in a tight grimace. Understandable, of course. This was a combat situation. He was trained for it, Bailey actually seemed to enjoy it half the time, but... Zara just hadn't been prepared for it.

A bullet whizzed through the cabin, punching a fist-sized hole in the windshield. Duke flinched, causing the truck to swerve off to the side of the road before Duke could, with a pounding heart, get them back to the center. Right. Time to concentrate on getting away.

Another volley of shots rattled through the cabin. Duke was vaguely aware of Zara screaming. Bailey raised her pistol and yelled something as well. Duke barely noticed. He just steered the truck so that they were directly in front of the second of Rasshim's vehicles, yelled for the other two to hang on...

And slammed on the brakes again.

The truck bearing Rasshim's men flung itself forward into the dogs' vehicle, bashing the vehicle's grill two feet into the engine block in a spray of spare parts and an explosion of screeching metal. Soldiers hanging off the side lost their grip and fell off, tumbling into the sand like discarded childrens' toys.

Duke reached down with his foot and slammed the accelerator to the floor. Bailey and Zara, who had been thrown forward when he'd hit the brakes, tumbled back in their seats. Duke paid them no heed. He was staring coldly down the road with narrowed eyes. The truck rattled around them, almost seeming like it could shake itself to pieces at any moment. A few stray shots ricocheted off the metal of the truck's cabin, but they quickly trailed off into nothing. Soon, the only sound were those of the truck: the ailing engine, grumbling like an injured animal; the tires rumbling along the road.

Bailey let out a nervous titter of laughter, and the silence was broken. She pulled herself up onto the seat next to Duke, and her faint giggles soon grew, until she was laughing hard enough that it almost knocked her out of her seat. The waves subsided, and after a moment she sat still in her seat, wiping her watering eyes with a wide grin plastered onto her face. “I... heh... can't believe we... a-heh... actually pulled that off!”

Duke gave an ambiguous grunt, and adjusted the rearview mirror. The two trucks he saw receding into the distance were most certainly undriveable. Smoke billowed from the one they'd just slammed into, and the one Bailey had shot the tires out on sat listlessly in the sand even further back. As they drove on, Rasshim's men quickly became nothing more than specks against the dust and scattered farmland.

Duke patted the leg of the unconscious man he'd seated himself on. “Tell you what,” he said. “We'll ditch these guys, and go from there. How's that sound?”

“Sounds great,” Bailey replied, pulling herself up onto the seat in between Duke and Zara. The jackal flinched, looking like she'd just been pulled back to reality. Bailey barely noticed, instead looking to Duke with a wide grin. “We've just gotta find a patrol and we're home free.”

Duke nodded absently, staring off down the road. “Right,” he muttered. “Home free.”

They definitely weren't out of this yet, though. He was sure of that.

----------

“This is Hydra One to FOB Delhi, do you copy, over”

“FOB Delhi to Hydra One, we read you loud and clear. Are you prepared to proceed to the target, over?”

Sergeant First Class James Anselmo listened to the pilot's terse reply. “Affirmative. We are in position to proceed to the target, over.”

“Roger that, you are authorized to proceed. FOB Delhi out.”

The Apache helicopter banked hard to the right with barely a change in the omnipresent drone of the rotors. Sergeant Anselmo got a tighter grip on the support rail and his assault rifle, but didn't really register the change. When he'd first heard that Duke and his squad were MIA, he'd been the first to propose, and then volunteer for the rescue mission. They'd already taken out Rasshim's forces in the abandoned village, retrieving Sebastian and Achilles in the process, but Duke and Bailey were still missing.

Fortunately, they'd managed to pick up the signal from the GPS devices embedded in the two dogs' collars and use that to find the general direction they'd been taken in.

Sergeant Jim Anselmo glared forward, through the cockpit and into the blazing afternoon sky. They might be combing the desert by air for hours after they reached the last point the GPS devices had transmitted from, but was going to get back the dog who saved his life.

----------

Far below, a jackal crouching in the brush watched in stony silence as the Apache helicopter roared overhead. He waited a few moments, then pulled out a dusty radio unit, fumbled with the controls, and muttered a few terse words into it. A man's voice answered in a similar tone.

The American helicopter was rapidly receding into the distance. The jackal watched for a few moments more, nodding in grim satisfaction. With short, efficient motions, he got to his feet and brushed some of the dust from his brown fur.

The jackal's dark eyes narrowed as he watched the helicopter reach the horizon. It wouldn't be long now.

With the radio unit slung over his shoulder, the slender jackal darted from his hiding place and followed in the chopper's wake.

----------

Autuor's Nose: Yeah, that took way too long. I'm going to get started on Chapter 6 right away. You know... so this doesn't happen again. The tricky part I mentioned will probably fit better at the beginning of the next chapter.

So. Until next time, folks!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Daggy »

Very entertaining! Rather interesting as well. Good job.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by valerio »

Awesome update! I want to hear Duke as dubbed by Matt Damon now! :D
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Thanks! Glad you guys liked it.
valerio wrote:I want to hear Duke as dubbed by Matt Damon now! :D
Hah! That could work. :P
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Reconstruction »

Omg i gotta say it your even better than me and I got some pretty good reviews for my first time!

I love your story plz continue it or unless you're already done, but either way I hope to read more!
I'm a fairly interesting person once you get to know me, but seeing as nobody can successfully navigate my minefield I guess they'll never truly know.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Reconstruction »

Omg i gotta say it your even better than me and I got some pretty good reviews for my first time!

I love your story plz continue it or unless you're already done, but either way I hope to read more!
I'm a fairly interesting person once you get to know me, but seeing as nobody can successfully navigate my minefield I guess they'll never truly know.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Glad you like it! I do plan on finishing... soon. I didn't have a chance to write last week (vacation, wee~) , and before that I had massive writers block. SO, soon I hope to get back on track and finish The Dogs Of War with a couple more chapters.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by copper »

Dogs of War is just great. You really can capture the action, Coatl. it is amazing to me that you can do it so well.
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Rollofthedice »

You are kind of amazing. Dialogue is pretty authentic, and I like the action scenes as well. There's a few grammar errors, but nothing that stands out very much.

Great job!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Thanks! I'm glad you guys enjoy it.
Rollofthedice wrote:grammar errors
Rgh. Note to self: proofread the next chapter a bit more. Any you could point out to me? I'd like to fix that...
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Rollofthedice »

Coatl_Ruu wrote:Any you could point out to me? I'd like to fix that...
(Chapter 5:)
Autuor's Note:
(Chapter 3:)
A new scent, but one that was familiar at it's base level. A jackal. Female. But he had no idea what one would be doing here...
(Should be 'its')
The rope around his ankles fell away, relieving the the tearing and scratching sensation
The blindfold fell away, and he found himself squinting up into the the tan-furred face of a nervous-looking female jackal.
I suggest you download Open Office, a free word processor, to check for more errors - it basically has all the features of Microsoft Word, and for zero cash!

EDIT: Wait, some of the ones I quoted aren't there? That's strange...
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Autuor's Note:
Actually, that one was intentional. But thanks for pointing out the others, I'll have to go back and fix that. I've already been using Open Office to write this, so unless..

Oh, it's part of the spell-check function. That would have been good to know... Anyway, thanks for the help!
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Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Coatl_Ruu »

Chapter 6 – End of the Road

They had been driving now for nearly half an hour. For that time, they had seem none of Rasshim's soldiers – just the road and the withered farmland all around. The old truck rattled dangerously around them as the hot wind swept past, but seemed to be holding together, at least for the time being. Duke, Bailey, and Zara were all unhurt, and it seemed to them as though the danger had passed, that they had plenty of time to decide what their next move would be.

The amount of fuel they had was another matter entirely.

“We really can't go much longer like this,” Duke said flatly. He was still in the driver's seat, though he had to sit on the edge of the seat to reach pedals, and his eyes barely peeked over the dashboard. “We'll have to stop somewhere.”

“I say we keep going as long as we can,” muttered Bailey, who was sitting just to Duke's right. “Put as much distance between us and those creeps as possible.”

“But they know we were still going down this road. If we keep going straight, they'll just get a new transport and come after us.”

“Well, there's an intersection right up ahead,” Bailey said, pointing to a thin, hazy line that intersected the road they were traveling down. “Pick a direction and we'll go with it.”

“Neither of us know the area well enough,” Duke shot back, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “For all we know, we could just be walking into another-”

“We should go right.”

Duke and Bailey both looked to the third passenger in surprise. They'd almost forgotten about the jackal sitting quietly next to the open window.

“Why right, Zara?” Duke asked.

“There is... small town down to that way,” the jackal replied hesitantly. She hadn't turned from the window. “They would be willing to help us. I have been there before. Some families being very kind. Also, the man Rasshim has no power there.”

Duke furrowed his brow. Bailey looked doubtful, and was regarding Zara with a thoughtful, almost suspicious expression. Her distrust of the mysterious female jackal certainly hadn't decreased. Duke, on the other hand, found he was willing to take Zara at her word. “Then right it is.”

As the truck rumbled onto the cracked , ill-maintained side road, Bailey regarded Duke with an icy stare, but wisely said nothing.

---------

The helicopter swept over the empty land, turning the rocky, sandy ground into an ambiguous brown blur with its speed. Nothing could be heard inside but the monotonous drone of the engine. Through the cockpit, a jagged chain of mountains could be seen rising up in the distance, a series of serrated spikes tearing at the sky with icy claws.

Sergeant Anselmo stepped gingerly through the narrow, short corridor between the cockpit and where he and his men had been seated. The man brushed aside a bundle of cables and squeezed through the narrow space. “Wouldn't've hurt t'make this place a little cussin' bigger,” he grumbled under his breath. Finally he stepped through and leaned against one of the few portions of wall in the cockpit that wasn't occupied by dial, levers, switches, displays, or any of the other dozen different instruments that happened to be found there.

The pilot glanced back and gave the sergeant a quick nod. Anselmo leaned in closer so he could make himself heard over the din. “How much longer until we reach the source of the signal?” he almost shouted.

The pilot tapped the bulky headset he was wearing without taking his eyes off the controls. With a groan, Anselmo put on his own headset and clicked on the radio. “I said, how much longer?”

“Our ETA is about ten minutes, Sergeant,” the pilot's tinny voice whispered through the headset. “If anything changes, you'll be the first to know.”

The sergeant nodded grimly, but didn't move from his spot. Instead, he kept looking out the window, peering closely at one spot in particular. “I think I see some movement down there,” he muttered, and pointed to a spot by a small protrusion of rock by the side of the thin band of black that was the road. The pilot squinted and leaned in, trying to get a better look at the rapidly approaching point. “Probably just some ferals,” the man finally said. “But if you want I can swing around, try and check it out.”

“Do it.”

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On the ground below, three jackals stood in stony silence, listening intently for the one sound they had been told to seek: The drone of a helicopter's rotors beating their way through the air. And now, they had found it.

Their target was approaching quickly. It was time to break cover, but they had to work with haste. One opened the bulky package they had been given and finished assembling its contents. One pulled out a battered pair of binoculars and peered past the jagged rock they were hiding behind, out at the speck sailing towards them out of a sea of blue.

The third, and largest of the trio, stood perfectly still, staring out at the horizon with an impassive icy glare.

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“What the heck are they doing?” Sergeant Anselmo muttered, half to himself. He rummaged around in one of the pouches on his vest and produced a pair of binoculars. Bringing the lenses up to his eyes, he peered out at the trio of jackals on the ground below. What he saw all but froze his blood in his veins.

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With a practiced ease, the other two jackals pulled their weapon from the case they'd transported it in. They knew not what its name was, only its function, but any soldier would have recognized it immediately: a portable surface-to-air missile launcher.

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The binoculars fell from the sergeant's eyes. “Evasive action.” The words were a hoarse whisper, almost immediately swallowed up in the din. “Evasive action!” he almost roared at the pilot. Anselmo grabbed on to a low hanging metal bar and turned to the back of the chopper. “Men, hang on to something. This is gonna get ugly!”

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The paired moved as one, loading the weapon and aiming it at their rapidly approaching target.

The third jackal narrowed his eyes as he watched the helicopter come ever closer. They had to fire at exactly the right moment. And that moment would come right... about...

“Now,” he snapped. With a flash of flame and a deceptively quiet hiss, the rocket shot out of it's launcher, and painted a trail of thin grey smoke across the sky. Closer... closer...

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“They've fired. Attempting evasive action.” Even over the roar of the engine, the pilot's voice sounded strained. Anselmo's grip on the steel support tightened, chanting a silent, frantic, wordless prayer even as he stared at the rapidly approaching missile. Unbidden, the words “brace for impact” sprang from his lips. The roar of the engine seemed to fade, then fall silent altogether. There was only his own heartbeat and the imagined hiss of the rocket as it crept ever closer. Time was almost at a standstill.

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Impact. Flame blossomed at the helicopter's rear. Smoking shards of debris flung themselves off into space. And, after a few moments of hanging in space, the helicopter followed.

Down, down, down the craft went, plummeting like a bird with a broken wing. It bled fire and ash as it tumbled. The main rotor still scythed through the air, trying in vain to keep control.

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With a crash, Sergeant Anselmo was dragged back to reality. The floor of the helicopter lurched underneath him. For a moment, then seemed to be gliding forward, gently, like a leaf that's found it's way to the eye of a storm. Then, in a stomach-churning cacophony of screeching metal, James Anselmo felt horribly light. The floor was falling out from under him, the helicopter was falling, falling, falling.

Inside the cabin, chaos reigned. Screaming voices, straining machinery, the crackle of flame. All of it came together in one long, keening wail as the craft plummeted to the earth. In lurching, twisting motion the ground seemed to be crawling up to meet them. Closer, closer, faster, faster.

Crash.

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The three jackals watched in grim satisfaction as the helicopter disappeared behind a hill to the west. A small thud and a plume of oily black smoke that began to ooze its way toward the sky were all that they could see of their handiwork.

The largest of the three looked at the other two impassively and nodded. Their work was done. It was time to rejoin the others.

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AUTUORS NOSE: Well, this chapter is probably the shortest one I've posted so far. It's also probably taken the longest for me to release. Yeah, I've got no excuse. Anyway, I was trying to create a fast-paced "feel" to this chapter by cutting back and forth between the two viewpoints. Whether I was successful is another matter entirely...

Well, only a couple chapters to go. Stay tuned, folks. :3
Daggy
Posts: 776
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 9:31 pm

Re: Coatl Ruu's Fanfiction Repository: The Dogs of War

Post by Daggy »

Tuned as always. Hope they survived D:
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