//------------------------------// // Chapter 29: When Strykers Stryke // Story: From Humans, to Cryptids, to... Ponies? // by TLP //------------------------------// March 6, 2018 2 Hours after the Little Bird disappearance Detroit, Michigan What this chapter is heavily based off of. You don't have to watch it, but it could give you a good idea of what it might look like. Plus, the soundtrack is awesome. A group of thirty plus soldiers ran down the battered and destroyed streets of Detroit's ghetto areas, running down a street hill as they occasionally turned around and fired back behind them, killing or hitting the huge horde of Cryptids that were chasing them down as they ran. They have been running for half a mile nonstop, shooting and killing as they ran. They were running away from a landing zone that had been overrun by Cryptids, and killing twenty of their own men as they fought back and retreated. "Keep running! Don't stop!" Shouted a Delta Force member as he turned around and fired off four rounds from his M4 Carbine and killing two Cryptids. Several other soldiers did the same, firing off several rounds into the horde, but doing little to stop the Cryptids from advancing. "How far is the damn rally point?!" Shouted a Ranger running alongside him, sliding in his last magazine for his M9 pistol. "About half a click away, just keep running!" The Delta Operator shouted. The group then heard streaking sounds from above them as they saw purple-white projectiles streak down towards them. They all looked up and saw three Gargoyles, shooting down at them with its tail. "Take cover! Take cover! Take cover, and fire back!" Another Delta Operator shouted. They all agreed as they scattered around for any cover they could find. One of the Rangers got behind the wreckage of a car and mounted his M4, firing off several rounds into the horde, killing several and slowing down the horde, but not by much. The Ranger with the M9 then slid alongside the other Ranger, pulling up his M9 and firing off into the horde alongside him. "Anderson, I'm out of ammo!" The Ranger shouted as he took cover behind the car, taking out the empty magazine and looking up to the Ranger called Anderson. Anderson didn't respond to this as he shot off his last remaining rounds of his M4 into the horde. He then pulled out his own M9 and fired three shots, killing a Scout Cryptid. Two Delta Operators then ran behind the wreckage of a van. One of them stabilized his M16A4 on the door, firing off in bursts, while the other aimed his M4 up at the sky and shot off at one of the Gargoyles, making it drop to the ground as its wings were no longer usable. The Gargoyle then landed on top of a Ranger. The Ranger yelled and tried to push it off, but the Gargoyle just slammed its clawed foot onto his neck, crushing his neck. "Fuck!" The Delta Operator shouted in anger. He then switched to full automatic, firing off his entire magazine into the Gargoyle. It yelled in agony as it collapsed under the dead Ranger. "Ancestors!" Another Ranger shouted. Everyone looked at the horde, and saw an Ancestor right in the middle, slowly making its way towards them. "Shit! We gotta move! Now!" Anderson shouted as he slammed in another magazine into his M4. He then turned around and started running down the street. "Fall back! Fall back!" A Ranger shouted as he shot off more rounds from his M16A4 into the horde. They then all lifted up their weapons and started running down the street. They could hear the screeches of the Cryptids behind them, getting closer as they ran for their life. As they ran down the street, they noticed a couple Scorpion Cryptids climbing on the side of the walls of some destroyed buildings. One of the Rangers then lifted up his M240 and shot off several rounds into them, making one of them tumble to the ground as it burned in its own puddle of acid, with another Ranger doing the same to the other, making its yellow bluges on its back explode. Another one of the Rangers slid away their radio piece from his mouth as he vomited, cleaning up his mouth with his sleeve as he coughed up a bit more. "Fucking hell..." He thought as he adjusted his radio piece back in front of his mouth and continued running. Behind him, a Ranger collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion, with another tripping over him as a Delta Operator helped them up. Anderson then turned around and kneel'd, shooting off his M203 grenade launcher at the oncoming Cryptids, the 40mm grenade slamming into the horde, sending several body parts flying up into the air, while the Ancestor screamed in pain. Then another Operator turned around and shot off more rounds from his M240. The Rangers then recovered and caught up to the rest of the group as they kept running. The sleep deprivation was getting to Anderson as his mind played tricks on him. Silhouettes of children, running alongside and in front of him started appearing, waving, smiling, and laughing at the Tier-One Operator. The area around him was suddenly taken over by a cloud of thick smoke as he kept running, trying to ignore the mind games his mind was playing on him. Anderson then saw on the sides of the street, what seemed like several people, cheering and motioning at him and the others to keep on running as they clapped and cheered. Anderson was suddenly brought back into reality as he noticed the outline of a Stryker vehicle driving up towards him and others, firing off its .50 Cal machine gun at the Cryptids behind them, being accompanied by what seemed to be soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard climbing out out of the Stryker, and firing alongside the Stryker at the Cryptids. Stryker Crew's P.O.V "Alright, your orders are to take your Stryker and the group of National Guards into the ghetto's of Detroit. We have reports of one of our evac sites being overrun, and there are still soldiers M.I.A. Presumably Army Rangers and Delta Operators. You go in there, and lead them out." Said Command over the radio. "Roger that, Warlord. Sandstorm 3-7 is moving now." Said the Stryker's driver, Sergeant Dempsey T. Grant as he drove the Stryker towards the gates of the base. The gates opened as he drove out of the base, and onto the ruined streets of what was left of Detroit. Inside the Stryker, were nine soldiers from the Michigan Army National Guard's 1'st Batallion 125'th Infantry Regiment. "Let's go find our boys." Said the Remote Weapons Station controller, Corporal Kevin P. Marston. Dempsey then gave Kevin a fist-bump as they drove down the street towards the last known location of the Rangers and Delta Operators. The National Guardsmen double checked their M16's and M4's as they awaited deployment. Kevin kept his eyes on the screen that was connected to a camera on the .50 Cal. He was also holding a controller, which allowed him to turn the turret 360 degrees, and to let him fire at will. He slowly turned the turret around, in case any Cryptids decided to ambush them. The weapons system was also capable of turning on thermal-heat imaging, in case he decided to shoot out the smoke grenades, to allow him to shoot at any targets while they were safely covered in the smoke. Dempsey kept driving at full speed, eager to come to the rescue to the Rangers and Delta Operators. Command had planned to add more Strykers to this rescue mission, but they were all either already deployed, destroyed, or being repaired. They were told that they were going to be accompanied by a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to provide support, but it was already deployed. He then heard gunshots in the distance as he turned the corner. He then pressed the gas as he saw several silhouettes of soldiers running away from Cryptids at the end of the street. Kevin also saw this as he turned around to face at the Guardsmen. "Alright, we spotted our boys up ahead! Get ready for this one, because it looks like there's a shit-ton of these fuckers chasing 'em!" He warned. The Guardsmen nodded as they turned their heads toward the back doors, eager to go outside and provide support. Kevin then turned his attention to the screen, gripping his controller tightly, waiting to engage. Dempsey they halted the Stryker, and shouted. "Alright! Go! Go! Go!" The Guardsmen pushed the doors open as they ran out from the Stryker, and set up a defensive perimeter around it, shooting away at the Cryptids behind the Rangers and Operators. "Alright Kevin, light 'em up!" Dempsey shouted. With a grin, Kevin pressed the trigger on his controller, and fired the .50Cal turret into the horde of Cryptids. The Stryker moved back a bit from the recoil of the gun, but Kevin kept firing in rapid five round bursts. The Rangers and Delta Operators then took cover behind the wreckages of cars and buildings as they fired off their weapons. Dempsey noticed that there were about thirty soldiers, including the Guardsmen. He then decided to only carry the injured inside the Stryker, as the Guardsmen and the rest ran alongside the Stryker back to the checkpoint. "Oh shit! Ancestor!!" Kevin shouted. He noticed through the camera that there was an Ancestor right in the middle of the horde. He fired upon the Ancestor, but it pulled up a blue energy shield, the bullets being absorbed by the shield as its other hand formed a black hole like projectile. "Fuck! Pull back, Dempsey! Pull back!" Kevin shouted. Dempsey then started backing the Stryker away as the Ancestor launched its projectile to the Stryker. "Incoming!!" A Guardsmen shouted. Him and the other soldiers around him stood up and ran away from the projectile as it impacted with the Stryker, enveloping it in a dark purple haze as it imploded, making the Stryker disappear in a blinding flash. Dempsey and KEvin were immediately knocked into unconsciousness as the projectile hit the Stryker. An Unknown Amount Of Time Later... Kevin's eyes slowly opened, revealing a hazy and blurred vision as he groaned in pain. He lifted a hand up to his forehead as he cleared his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that the control panel was completely destroyed, and flicking sparks around him. His vision then faded back into darkness as he turned around to the doors of the Stryker, and saw what seemed like four silhouettes of horses slowly trotting towards him. "F...fuck me..." He thought as he faded back into unconsciousness. More Info On The Stryker. In Case You Are Curious.