[u]Chapter Nine: A Name, a Door, and an Angry Russian[/u] Part Three We reached the front and Drew stood in the open doorway while Sierra and I set up at the large openings that had probably once held windowpane. The Hive sat mere meters away, hiding behind the rock shelfs and boulders on the slope and behind the rusted truck sitting by the building. Nothing moved, and a couple dozen, soon to be far more, sets of three glowing eyes watched us intently. I looked back to the room's interior. Large fuel tanks occupied much of the space and small crates lay scattered around, not even big enough to crouch behind effectively. There was no cover aside from a few nooks and crannies, the tanks that would probably explode on taking fire, and the wall between us and the Hive. We would have to keep them from getting past the corner turning over to the barrier -preferably keep them out of the building altogether- but at least we could douse them in flames if they got too close to the tanks. My eyes turned back to the enemy ranks just in time to see a Thrall work up the nerve to take a step forward, digging its foot into the dirt to launch itself in a sprint for the doorway. A bullet pierced its skull before its leading foot even came back down to the ground, and the Thrall collapsed forward in a lifeless heap. Smoke rose from Sierra's barrel once again, its metal still ringing from the impossibly quick shot she had taken. Then the Hive surged forward in a shrieking mass, the movement of their now dead comrade spurring the rest forward. The ring of Sierra's hand cannon continued to echo through the room, Drew's auto rifle and my scout rifle adding in like many bells sounding in the chorus of death. The initial wave made it to the door, but just barely. I pulled out my shotgun and Drew began swinging his fists wildly, and together we obliterated the few Hive unlucky enough to have not been shot on the way to the building. We quickly resumed our positions at the building's openings and helped Sierra keep more Hive from getting to us. Most of the Hive were now unable to get close, but that changed quickly. The area outside was such a long and open strip that the Tomb Ships apparently found it to be the perfect place to drop off troops, and at least a dozen of them were now descending to unload. Acolytes began hanging back around the truck and rocks to fire at us, eventually grouped up enough to keep us forced into cover so we couldn't shoot outside much. The incoming Thrall and Acolytes that weren't pressuring us now had a relatively safe run across the few meters to the building, but we were still able to keep them from making it more than a few steps inside. Then a high screech pierced the air in a sound not quite like the shrieks of the other Hive I had encountered. I stuck my head out from cover and shot down a few Acolytes, buying myself a few moments to look around. A figure rose above the next group of Hive coming our way. It floated above the ground, the large crest of its horns adding to its height, and the tattered cloth of its robe dangling down to conceal its lower body. As it glided closer it raised its gnarled, bony arms and began waving them through the air in an odd pattern, shrieking in varying pitches that reminded me of how humans sing. It seemed to come to a close and waved its three-fingered hand at us as if trying to cut the air with its claws. The air around the doorway was suddenly thick and dark, clouding my vision and causing me to choke on each breath. The three of us moved away from the building's entrance and the dark cloud around it. Even Drew had gone into a coughing fit from that smog, and his lungs weren't supposed to be bothered by foul air. As I tried to recover I felt claws rake against me back, but they didn't manage to bring my shields down so I was merely annoyed by the contact. I swung around, leading with my fist to punch the Thrall that had attacked me. It flew backwards through the smoke and the open doorway, the sound of another Thrall shrieking letting me know that it collided with one of its allies. More Thrall rushed in, unhindered by the poisoned air, and blasts from Acolyte's guns began streaming through the openings in the wall. We were pushed back slowly, ash and bone scattering across every square foot of space given at each of our steps backward. The smog around the entrance dissipated, giving us a once again clear view of the Hive as they came, but that wouldn't help us push forward now that we had to concentrate so deeply on just keeping the Hive more than a few feet away. Another high pitched shriek filled the air and the floating Hive entered the building, swooping low under the doorway and then rising up close to the ceiling. The tanks were taking fire at this point and I saw fuel leaking out all over the floor, the Hive splashing through it so it spread around more with each step. The gliding Hive waved its arms and screeched once again, this time releasing a barrage of energy blasts at us. "That Hive Wizard is proving to be a real nuisance," John shouted, revealing the identity of the floating Hive for me, "Somebody needs to take care of it!" In response, Sierra swung her arm up into the air, her body erupting in flames and a hand cannon of pure fire blazing to life in her previously empty hand. Her hand came back down, leveling the gun's barrel at the Hive Wizard. A bolt of fire shot forth just as a normal bullet would, leaving a trail of fire through the air and sinking into the Wizard's chest. It's body flashed with fiery light before being obliterated in a small explosion. The few closest Thrall and Acolytes stumbled at the explosion, none getting hurt very badly. A Hunter's Golden Gun could only fire off three shots before their Light was used up, and I knew we would need Sierra's next two shots to count if we wanted to push the Hive back. I looked to the oil coated floor. "Sierra, shoot the fuel on the ground!" I commanded. She looked to me and then the floor, realizing what I had in mind. The barrel of her fiery gun was now pointed towards the ground several feet away, and another stream of flame spouted from its muzzle. Everything lit up brightly with firelight. Flames spread quickly across the room and up the fuel-splattered legs of the Hive. Soon most of the room was coated in dancing fire and the agonized screams of the Hive died away. Sierra used her last shot to shoot a fuel tank that was near the door, causing it to explode and launch flaming fuel and shards of metal into the Hive that were waiting at the door where there had been no fuel on the ground. __________________________________ Link to ToC:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0 Link to Chpt 9 Pt 2:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/215289127/0/0 Link to Chpt 9 Pt 4:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/215289356/0/0 Yeah, WAY longer than chapter 2