RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 45-7: Osprey down! (Part 7)

RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 45-7: Osprey down! (Part 7)

Once the shock of the explosion dies down, Carl, who has been hanging onto his pilot helmet for dear life, shouts. "What the fuck happened!?" With his legs busted, the pilot has been sitting on a white plastic chair, hiding most of his body behind the wall while reloading.

Randall, who's on the ground floor, passes on Gordy's rifle, fully reloaded, to Albrecht. The crew chief promptly takes it after resting his MP9 by a wall, next to a spare one. Randall then answers Carl's question. "Gordy's gone man, we're all that's left!"

"Fuck!" Carl cursed before leaning partially out the window, his MP9 cracking ever so often against the ragtag group of zombies looking forward to cutting them up alive. "And she was such a good one too!" By now, his tone has taken a much harsher edge to it after the loss of a comrade.Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com

Albrecht also adopts a fierce expression, having been forced to retreat and left Gordy alone to her death right in front of him. Randall though, one can only imagine just how bad he must be feeling right now. Gordy has been a sister in all but blood to him, having ventured to many battles ever since they were conscripted to form the 404th Division. As a wolfkin, he used to joke around with Gordy that he would valiantly pass away first due to his fierce racial trait. But lo and behold, Fate is a cruel mistress as always, and Gordy moved on before him. The only thing stopping Randall from rushing out with gun blazing and knife waving is the reminder that he must do as much damage as possible to the enemy before him.

Due to Gordy's sacrifice, the first wave of zombies has taken a big hit while what's left of them are now much more cautious and wary of the trio. Having stumbled into the C-4 trap and Gordy's grenades, these zombies have wisened up. Instead of running at them like headless chickens, the zombies harass the trio while waiting for more of them to arrive before finally overwhelming their location. It's a basic tactic, fitting for their low-IQ mind, but still very effective against the trio as it forces them to burn through precious ammo.

Despite Gordy's G1 rifle not being a weapon Albrecht extensively used, the crew chief has adeptly handled the rifle without much issue. He has been trained in both the G1 and the MP9, not to mention the fact that both weapons share the same handling characteristics. The only differences are the level of firepower and magazine capacity each has to offer. Though Albrecht thinks it should be fine to complain about the optical sight the rifle is equipped with, he is not used to that but it's more of a mild annoyance due to his lack of experience using one. That said, getting the sight on target is still surprisingly easy due to the wide field of view and good eye relief the sight has to offer. He would have loved to use the rifle for a bit more due to its capability to down a target in one shot but unfortunately, a 20-round mag is woefully lacking against an enemy that never seems to exhaust their number.

As the bodies riddled with holes collapse onto each other, Randall knows from experience that keeping this up is ill-advised. The wolfkin watches as Albrecht, who's checking his magazine pouch for any more ammo, swears. "Shit! I'm out of magazine!"

"Albrecht!" Carl pulls a spare mag from his own pouch. "Last one, make it count!" The pilot throws the magazine down, and Albrecht adeptly catches it before reloading. All the while, the onslaught of long-range attacks still hasn't stopped. This means they can't even spring up the booby-trapped Osprey for an explosion either...

The arrow barrage must come to an end, otherwise, their preparation and efforts thus far would amount to none. Having made up his mind, Randall checked his equipment. Two and a half mags for the G1 and a fully loaded USP, smoke grenades, a whole lot of them, and he may have found the use for those after all. Randall then discards the unneeded weight like his rucksack and empty belts. Finally, he unstraps his helmet, which Carl and Albrecht immediately take note of. "Randall, what are you doing?"

Instead of replying immediately, Randall removes his helmet, showing his wolf ears and a head of dark gray. Coincidentally, the bulletproof helmet is adaptable to fit races with different physical traits other than humans. Randall then takes out Gordy's dog tags before removing his own, after that, he flips the helmet before placing the tags inside. With a swing of his hand, Randall slides his helmet to Albrecht who catches it with a look of perplexity. Finally, the wolfkin clears the confusion in the air by saying with a tone of finality.

"I'll be outside." Pulling out a couple of smoke grenades, Randall tosses them out of the garage. "Be prepared to detonate the Osprey when you get the chance."

Looking at the surviving 2-6 crew members one last time, Randall adds. "Good luck." Before rushing outside under the cover of the deployed smoke screen. His posture mirrors that of a predator on the hunt, befitting of the experience he has learned in his childhood.