Renegades (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 3)

Chapter 36

Andress's eye was looking as closely as she could through the scope of the composite rifle at the three figures fighting on top of the GDF vehicle. Dante had been knocked onto it, and now he had two Elites to deal with. Andress hoped he could handle it, but she soon saw him being knocked back, the Elites seemingly having the upper hand. She aimed at the two soldiers in black armour, but found that she couldn't get a clear shot with Dante in the way. Then, she saw one of the Elites kick Dante over the edge of the roof, and Andress saw him fly towards the ground, almost in slow motion. She gasped, but then saw that Dante managed to somehow grab onto the rails that surrounded the roof with his feet, with his supernatural reflexes. She breathed out, but realized that he was extremely close to the ground that was speeding beneath them, and the 2 Elites that were above him could throw him off at any time. As Dante held on, Andress focused her scope on the Elites, hoping that one shot would be enough, but then, something flew past her from behind at a seemingly incredible speed. As she looked, she saw a sight that made her jaw drop. Zero appeared to have leaped out of the carrier and landed directly on one of the lines that was hooked onto the back of the carrier, that couldn't have been wider than a tightrope. He then ran across that line, and jumped 5 feet from the line to the roof of the truck, drawing his plasma sword in one swift motion. As the Elites looked up, Zero cut through one of them like butter, while the other one attempted to draw a stun baton. Zero immediately grabbed the electric weapon, holding onto the electrified edge without so much as a grimace. He stared straight into the eyes of the Elite. "There is only one person who deserves that face. And you are looking right at him." He said, before breaking the Elite's arm, and stabbing right through his chest, leaving a glowing hole where the sword had been. Afterwards, Zero pulled Dante up, and looked at him. "Don't thank me yet. If there's anyone in this galaxy who's going to kill you, it'll be me."

Nolun shot his repeater, and destroyed the engine of the last ATV that was following the runner. He then turned forwards, and saw something that sent chills down his spine. The storm above them was beginning to strike down with it's charged lighting closer and closer to the convoy. Also ahead of them were several tower-like rock formations, and the lighting appeared to be striking them several times, like a conducting rod. Before Nolun could wonder how that rock could conduct electricity, he saw that the pieces of rock that had broken off from the explosions of energy were falling towards the ground, but instead of crashing down in large amounts of dust and debris, they were somehow floating up and down, like a large magnet that had been charge with electricity. What the hell is this planet? Nolun managed to think, before he realized that the large rocks were starting to float downwards towards the large convoy of vehicles, and they looked like they were going to do some serious damage. "Bunker!" Nolun yelled, and Bunker responded at the wheel of the carrier. "I see them..." Bunker was nervous when he saw the large floating rocks, to say the least. Once they started heading towards them, he got more nervous. "Everyone hang on!" He shouted, and swerved the carrier out of the path of the rock, and watched as it collided behind them, taking out several Resistance and GDF vehicles. The debris and smaller rocks, however, were much harder to miss, and several hit the windshield and sides of the carrier, covering Bunker in glass. He cursed, and tried to keep the truck on course. Nolun had managed to stay behind Bunker and dodge the first rock, but as he moved out back into the open, he saw another one headed towards them, and he knew that he couldn't move back in time. He saw a small hill next to him, and he thought quickly, turning the wheel and driving over to the hill, the hover pads putting him sideways, almost vertical. Nolun ducked his head as he drove right past the rock, watching it's side pass him, then he drove out through the large dust cloud that followed it's destruction. He breathed out, and followed Bunker, knowing they weren't out of the woods yet.

Dante and Zero saw the large rocks coming in, and acted quickly. They each moved into the truck through the turret, and saw the driver looking back at them. He pulled out a pistol, but Dante moved faster, slamming his head against the window, shattering it and knocking him out. He pulled him into the back of the runner, and took his place in the driver's seat. Zero sat next to him, and cocked the pistol. Dante managed to weave through the debris of the rocks, and kept up with the carrier and runner that had the rest of the crew. Dante activated his communicator and talked to Bunker. "We've commandeered a vehicle. We're coming up behind you!" Bunker responded, and moved closer to Dante's runner. "Roger that." Zero got up onto the gun turret hole, and aimed at the lines at the back of the carrier. He shot off both of the grappling hooks, letting the carrier accelerate to it's full potential. Dante then looked in his rearview mirror, and saw the large GDF armoured vehicle moving in close to their runner. "Zero!" Dante called out, and Zero looked down, then was thrust forwards when the armoured vehicle rammed into them, knocking them slightly off course. The pistol skidded across the roof, and Zero stepped out of the turret to try and grab it, balancing on the roof of the runner. He ducked when gunfire began to erupt from the armoured vehicle, and slid down onto the front, looking at Dante through the windshield. Dante nodded, and slowed down the runner, so the two hover vehicles were side by side. Zero drew his sword and grabbed the pistol, then ran up the windshield and jumped up onto the large GDF vehicle, and cut off several of the automated turrets. As he saw a few soldiers climbing out of the top, Zero shot them with the pistol, and when that ran out, he tossed it away and began to slice with his sword, occasionally kicking soldiers off or subduing them with hand-to-hand. Finally, after killing a soldier, he grabbed a grenade from his belt, and tossed it down into the hole where they had all come out. Zero then jumped back onto Dante's runner, and the two of them managed to see an explosion come out of the armoured vehicle and the entire thing spin out, like some great animal that had been injured, and wipe out along with several other GDF vehicles that were pursuing them. "Hell yeah!" Dante heard Nolun shout over the comm, and smiled a bit. He looked over at Zero, and saw that he was actually smiling a small bit as well. Then, a shot rang out, and something burst through Zero's chest, making him gasp. Dante saw a GDF soldier on a ATV following them, firing a pistol, which had just hit Zero. Dante immediately swerved to the right, and managed to knock the soldier away. As he looked down at Zero, he saw that there was a large red bloom spreading in his chest, and blood was dripping out of his mouth. "No! Just hold on! You'll be alright!" Dante said, his eyes widening. Then, Zero grabbed Dante's chest, and pulled him close. He looked at him with his dying eyes, and whispered one last thing into Dante's ear with his gasping breath. "Kill Gottlieb for me..." Then, he grew limp, and slumped down in his seat, motionless. Dante kept driving, gripping the steering wheel, a single tear trailing down his eye.