Secret War: Warhammer 40,000 by Ben Agar (reading eggs books TXT) 📖

fallen back into the corridor; not even their armour could withstand Autocannon fire for long. Yet still, they were trying to shoot from behind their cover.

After seeing this, I sprinted out, straight toward Karmen, Jelket, Arlathan, Halsin and a remaining Stormtrooper.

"I'll take Karmen!" I yelled, pushing past the Stormtrooper to take her bed off him. "Arlathan, Halsin! Take Jelket! You! Torris is injured behind the last row; he needs your help!"

I didn't wait for a reply before I was moving again, almost recklessly pushing her toward the flier as bolt rounds exploded around me, she was strapped down so safe from falling off, but I could still trip and fall easily.

Eventually, I reached the flier, running to the other side, then, with Adelana's and the old man's help, lifted her inside.

I turned in time to see Verenth, Vex, and Helma climb inside; both of them didn't bother to spare me a look; both looked beyond terrified. Verenth looked like he was on the verge of despair; Selg was dead, his friend. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.

I slipped past and looked around the edge of the flier, seeing to my satisfaction that they'd followed my orders. Arlathan and Halsin carried poor Jelket, who, much to my shock, was somehow now semi-conscious. His head lolled about, his face a mask of shock and agony.

Following them was the Stormtrooper struggling with Torris, the large ex arbitrator's arm over his shoulder, his face coated entirely in blood. I looked down to the entrance, seeing the Space Marines were properly pinned, but I doubted that they would be for much longer. I saw no sign of any.

Without hesitation, I sprinted forward, making the roughly twenty-metre space in such a short time the Stormtrooper didn't notice me until I was slipping Torris' left arm over my shoulders, forcing him to flinch in fright.

"Come on!" I roared, and together we ran toward the flier.

Just then, the frigging Autocannon decided to run out of ammunition.

I reacted faster than even I knew, shoving the Stormtrooper into cover. He cried out and fell to the floor as I slipped beside him.

With a roar, I lifted Torris onto my back; he was a good one hundred and thirty kilograms even out of his armour. It was a feat of strength I would've been utterly incapable of before my enhancement, but even now, it was a struggle; my back and legs screamed in pain.

Roaring again, I ran on with all the speed I could muster, stepping side to side in a pathetic bid to avoid the surely soon to come bolter fire, but I knew it was all for nothing. I heard Torris mutter something about leaving him behind.

But the bolter fire never came; instead, there was a yell, a pained cry that made me look over my shoulder; what I saw made my eyes widen with surprise and almost stop in my tracks entirely.

Darrance was amongst the Space Marines, his power scimitar a blur of slashes, keeping them at bay. One of the big bastards was on the ground, both of his legs cut off at the knees, three of them were disarmed, their bolters cut in twain and discarded on the floor.

The Stormtrooper then caught up and helped me carry Torris the rest of the way. We don't bother to take him around the other side of the flier; together, with help from Arlathan and Halsin, we lifted Torris into the ship.

+Get in!+ Karmen roared in my mind, but I ignored her, turning back to watch Darrance in his desperate fight.

"No!" I said and started into a sprint, activating my power sword in a blaze of blue light.

+Attelus!+ she cried, but I ignored her; enough people had died this day! I didn't like Darrance; he was arrogant and, at times, downright cruel and incredibly condescending. A jerk who I would never even consider being friends with, but he was a comrade; we'd fought side by side on numerous occasions. He had willingly put his life on the line against the ornithopter only because I'd asked. He'd stood up for me when Etuarq had cruelly torn into me verbally.

I wasn't going to let another comrade die after losing so many already, not even Darrance.

As I ran, Darrance was abruptly disarmed, one of the Space Marines smashing his sword from his grasp with a mere flick of his wrist, then he was in the midst of wrapping his huge paw around the stunned Darrance's neck was when I converged on them.

All their attention was on my comrade, so they didn't see me coming until my power sword sliced through the wrist of the Space Marine, reaching to crush my comrade's windpipe. I darted forward and cut apart another's bolter.

"let's go!" I roared, and we turned, sprinting and weaving as the last remaining bolter fired at our backs while the rest gave chase. Their huge feet hit the floor so hard it was a struggle for me to keep my footing as they shook everything.

"Karmen!" I yelled. "Get the flier going!"

She didn't respond.

"Karmen!"

+You're insane!+ she screamed, her psychic voice high pitched with panic and upset.

"Just...frigging...do...it!" I screamed, wanting to say, 'I'm nearly there,' but said nothing, knowing now wasn't the time for my snark.

A second later, the flier lifted off and started toward the huge hole in the wall, hovering only about a metre off the floor.

With a feral snarl, I picked up the pace and glanced over my shoulder; Darrance was lagging a good three metres behind. He was barely keeping his distance from the pursuing Marines.

"Frig!" I snarled as I saw the nearest Marine's gauntleted hand reaching to wrap around Darrance's ankle.

The hotshot took the Marine straight in the face; it didn't kill him but sent him sprawling backwards, head over heels, smashing hard into the Astartes running just behind.

Despite myself, I laughed and turned away, raising my sword in thanks to Hayden a second before the flier flew through the hole.

I veered right as the distance lessened and saw the flier turn outside, so its side was facing the tower, Hayden and Arlathan waving us in. The gap was a good five metres wide; I was pretty confident I'd make it, even onto a rumbling, constantly moving flier, just, but Darrance...

It was a frigging long way down, thirty-one stories down to a very, very messy death.

Despite this, I didn't hesitate, throwing myself into oblivion toward the open. I screamed, my arms swinging, flailing around as if it'd make me go further somehow. I mustn't have spent more than a second flying through the air, but it felt like a million frigging years. A million years, screaming before finally landing on the ledge of the passenger area of the flier with such strength, it caused pain to echo up my legs and me to cry out.

I cried out, my hands spinning around as I began to overbalance and fall. Arlathan's hand grabbed me by the collar of my flak jacket and pulled me back in.

Arlathan looked like he was about to say something, but I ignored him and turned just in time to see Darrance jumping off after me.

Instantly, I knew he wasn't going to make it, not by a long shot.

With a cry, I sheathed my sword, threw myself to the floor and reached out, down below the flier's bottom side and my fingers barely wrapped around the wrist of Darrance's reaching arm.

Darrance yelled out, and he swung to a stop as the flier began to pull away.

"That is the second time I meant to die today!" he cried. "But it is the second time you've stopped me from doing so! Soon you might be even with me, apprentice!"

I laughed and began to pull him up, but there was a cry of dismay; then something huge and heavy landed abruptly landed into the flier. Something so huge and heavy it caused the ship to tilt sideways a good thirty degrees violently. Before even I could react, I abruptly slid off the deck and flew into empty air.

I screamed, and my hand shot out desperately, only just catching the ledge with my index finger and thumb. I cried out again; the wind and cold battered at me as I struggled to get a better grip while the combined weights of Darrance and me threatened to make me let go. The flier abruptly adjusted itself flat, only a split second after I got my grip, but I still couldn't see what was going on inside the flier.

A dead body was suddenly flung from the flier. I knew it was dead because it didn't scream, and I managed to see brains and blood flood from its crushed skull. The blood coated Darrance and me as it dropped by us. I couldn't tell who it was; it fell too fast.

I hoped to hell it wasn't Adelana.

"Karmen!" I screamed as the flier began to veer, and my fingers started to slip. "Help me!"

Then on the left, someone abruptly fell to the deck, their head over the edge, looking down at me with wide eyes. It was the old man; I still couldn't remember his name.

"Help! Please!" I cried.

The old man didn't reply, couldn't reply as two huge, armoured fingers wrapped around his neck and squeezed.

The man's head popped off with an almost absurd abruptness, then his corpse was tilted forward and off the edge, falling through the black-brown clouds out of sight.

Then the Marine appeared over us; its red eyes unforgiving, unrelenting then reached out.

I cried out and closed my eyes, preparing myself for the pain and long fall after, but instead, I felt the fingers wrap gently, almost daintily around my hand, and suddenly, I was hauled back onto the craft along with Darrance. The Marine lifted us with breathtaking ease.

Gasping for breath, I tried to comprehend what had just happened, but I was quickly answered.

+I cannot hold it for much longer!+ Karmen's voice screamed through my thoughts.

Either she had miscalculated or was using understatement because a split second later, he shook his head and was seeming to regain himself. Then began to advance on Darrance, drawing back his fist. I fumbled for my sword, seeing now that Darrance had lost his, but my arms, my fingers and upper body screamed with pain. I glance about, leaning on my left elbow to see the others were crowded in the furthest corner, holding on for dear life. Adelana was there, much to my relief, Arlathan, Verenth, Torris and the old woman, the one remaining Stormtrooper. Helma and Halsin were laid still on the deck. Hayden's back was sitting back against the wall beside Karmen's bed and Jelket; his head hung limping lifelessly forward, and I winced as I saw his right shoulder was almost crushed into pulp.

Darrance scrambled back, trying to make space between him and the behemoth, but his back quickly hit the edge of the entranceway. The Marine, punching to crush Darrance's slightly built body.

The hotshot round exploded deafeningly through the flier, hitting the Space Marine in the punching hand, causing him to stumble slightly. I turned to see Hayden; he had his smoking long las raised with one hand.

It was only a slight opening, but it was enough as Arlathan sprinted forward with a roar and the Stormtrooper opened fire with his hellgun, blasting the Marine in the face in an almost constant stream of laser shots.

Arlathan drew a short sword from a sheath on his belt, and it came to life in a blaze of light. I recognised it immediately as one of Glaitis' power blades. I'd forgotten he'd taken it after her death and, with one slash, cut it into the back of the Space Marine's knee.

The Marine didn't make a sound, no scream or anything, but his leg gave out even still, and he dropped into a kneel.

Before Arlathan could finish him, the Space Marine swung out his hand and clipped the Magistratum detective's chest. I winced with the sound of bones breaking, and