Chapter 5: Right place

October 18, 2023 10:14AM

Aviel entered the forest opposite Sanders and headed in to look for the Resistance. The forest was quiet and looked bare of any obvious tracks or footpaths. She supposed that wasn't surprising as the Resistance would be trying to stay hidden. Aviel was not as good a tracker as Sanders, but that didn't mean she was useless in these woods. She had been a Ranger for years now and had picked up a number of tricks during that time. Doubly so when it came to dealing with the damn Resistance.

One thing the scum bags could always be counted on was to build somewhere out of sight. Doubly so if it was a place giantesses couldn't get into easily or funneled them into one path. And they really, REALLY loved being underground where the giantess' size was more a hindrance than an advantage. Rather than wonder about the forest hoping to get lucky, she headed for the houses and looked for any basements or other underground places.

The first three didn't have anything, basements or otherwise. She did find a few places to get into the houses, but knew the Resistance would not go into the house proper. It was too open and too exposed for them. She moved on to the fourth and found it had a storm cellar, something she knew the Resistance couldn't resist. Doubly so with most people stocking their cellars with plenty of food and water in case they got trapped inside. While the food would be long spoiled, the water would still be good as long as it had been sealed right. All that water and the wildlife outside to hunt would make it the perfect outpost.

She approached the cellar through the thick brush and looked through her binoculars to get a better look. An, obviously, man-made hole had been cut into its massive, wooden entrance door creating a way down into the cellar. Outside the hole two men in Resistance clothing were chatting away while idly sipping at some kind of drink. She felt a wave of anger wash over her as she took out her weapons and began to creep toward the two guards.

She was able to get within a few scale feet of them thanks to the brush and caught a bit of their conversation. It wasn't about anything important, though, just general bullshit about somebody dating someone or if some group was going to do something. She ignored their talk as she slowly raised her knife and aimed it at the further ones head.

With a flick of her wrist she sent the knife flying toward the man's forehead. He stopped mid-sentence as it hit him and he starred, slack-jawed, at its sudden appearance. He never got a chance to full register what happened as he fell over, dead before he even hit the ground. The other swore and turned just in time to get a glimpse of Aviel before she plunged her sword into his throat. He stumbled back and gurgled once before Aviel pulled the sword out and sliced off his head.

"Be glad I need you to be quiet," she told his dead corpse as she flicked the blood off. Tempting as it was to let him drown in his own blood, she didn't need him making anymore noise.

With the guards dispatched, she moved to the hole and glanced in. She couldn't see very far thanks to her eyes not being adjusted to the low light, but could see the immediate area around her. The hole lead to the first step of the massive staircase leading down to the cellar. A "table" made of random bits of wood along with some equally hap-hazard "chairs" were set up nearby. A few scraps of cardboard with pictures of cards drawn on them set on the table along with what looked to be some kind of half-assed radio. At the very edge of the step were some large drums with some cables sticking out of them. The cables snaked down into the darkness out of sight. A more normal sized staircase lead down off this large step and down to the next.

Aviel slowly moved forward, both weapons ready, and peeked over the side of the step. Thankfully, the large steps below her were vacant of people. At the bottom of the staircase was a number of random junk scattered about haphazardly, some of it with sharp edges pointed upwards. A Foot trap, the kind that Resistance members loved to use against giantesses. A giantess that had her foot cut open was one that was easy to escape/kill depending on what they had on hand.

Past the foot traps, Aviel could just barely make out forms that looked like buildings and the soft glow of artificial lights. Her eyes still hadn't fully adjusted yet so she wasn't able to make out anything certain. Rather than wait, she decided to get moving and get down to the floor.

She keep herself low and ready for a fight as she made her way down the stairs the Resistance had made. A number of the large steps were missing small bits of wood here and there, obviously having been used to make the smaller stairs she was using. After a few minutes of walking, she finally reached the bottom.

In front of her was a virtual forest of broken glass, rusted metal, and chipped stone all shooting up into the air. All of it was far too large to be of any danger to her unless it fell over, but would have cut an unaware giantess' foot to shreds, even with armored boots. She would have to remember to warn Isabella about this trap when she found the Doctor and called her in.

Aviel weaved her way through the trap, still not running into anyone. Of course, there really wasn't much that needed to be checked on with a trap like this, so that wasn't all the surprising. She reached the end of the maze of junk and stopped at a large broken rock before peering out beyond the trap. Her eyes had fully adjusted now and she was able to see far more clearly.

Past the trap was what looked to be the main outpost of this area. The outpost wasn't huge, only having three real "buildings". The closest one looked to be a barracks made out of an old cardboard box. A few lights could be see inside along with a few people milling about. Three men were standing outside the door having a chat and playing a game of cards on the steps leading in.

Across from the barracks was an old, rusted can of beans that had been converted into a radio tower. On top of the can was a huge array of jury-rigged antennas and transmission masts, probably made from old cellphones parts. Most of them looked to be held together by nothing more than duck tape and prayer. Cables snaked out and into it every which way making it look like the center of some giant spider web. Aviel could just barely make out the dim glow of artificial lights coming from the windows near the top of the tower.

At the end of the "street" between the two buildings was the last building. It looked to be a large open air warehouse that used an old Doritos wrapper as its cover. It was near pitch black inside making it impossible to see what was inside.

Outside the three buildings, Resistance people were going to and fro or milling around. Some where working on their "weapons", some were running back messages, some where doing as close to nothing as humanly possible, all the usual stuff people in outposts did on down time. She counted at least twenty people outside. Far too many for her to take, doubly so with an unknown amount in the buildings.

While calling in back up was the safest bet, she wasn't here to play it safe. She was here to prove herself and get promoted so those....murderers would tremble before her might. So she could crush them like they deserved. And the best way to prove herself was to rescue the Doctor and THEN call it the rescue. But that plan went up in flames when a sudden flurry of activity caused her to slip back behind cover. At first she thought maybe someone had noticed the two Resistance guys were gone. Maybe they had found their bodies and knew someone was inside. She gripped her weapons tighter as she leaned back out just enough to see. A large man appeared at the top window of the can tower.

"We got Society bitches at the gates, boys and girls. Rear guard, get to your positions and lock and load! Everyone else, grab what you can and get the train ready to go!" he yelled down at them as the entire outpust suddenly burst to life. A number of people rushed into the barracks one way and came out armed with their makeshift rifles the other. They all began to rush toward the staircase, thankfully going around the trap where Aviel was hiding.

Meanwhile, others were grabbing anything not nailed down and taking it toward the warehouse. The warehouse lit up to reveal a dull red caboose like one might find on an old model train set. Past it, Aviel could just barely make out more cars and a working train engine up front. The engine went into a large hole that looked to have been blasted out of the wall and into a large pipe, most likely the old sewage pipes that were now unused and unfull. The creative bastards had used a fucking model train set to give them a perfect means of escape. She was about to call in Isabella when her headset came to life on its on.

"Captain, Aviel, I know where the Doctor is at. He is in a storm cellar next to the fourth house on the left going toward the dead end. The Resistance are probably about to move him, though, so we need to hurry," Sander said through the radio sounding a little...odd for some reason. Looks like he had managed to give them away. But he did confirm that the Doctor was here so she guessed it was an OK trade off.

"On my way. Aviel where are you?" Isabella responded as Aviel felt her face creeping into a smile.

"Right where I need to be," she answered as she realized that she was in the prefect spot to get the Doctor out in the confusion. "I am inside the cellar. The bastards have already gotten word about us and are setting up for your arrival. They got a foot trap right at the bottom of the steps so watch out. Past it is their outpost along with the train they are trying to escape in," Aviel reported crouching down lower. She was glad that the Resistance was making so much noise getting ready to leave so she didn't have to worry about anyone hearing her.

"Wha- how did-" Sanders started before Isabella cut him off.

"Sanders, not now. What do you mean a train?" Isabella asked.

"Like a model train you might get for a kid or a train junkie back in the old days. Looks like it goes into the old sewage lines. They are loading it up right now with their equipment. Haven't seen the Doctor yet, though," Aviel said as she looked around to make sure no one was heading her way. Most of the Rear Guard had headed up the stairs and were almost out of sight. The others were far too busy getting the train loaded to notice her.

"Understood. Aviel I need you to get in there and find the Doctor and get him out. I can't fight the Resistance and worry about stepping on the Doctor at the same time," Isabella ordered as she began to breath harder from her mad dash to the cellar.

"Consider him already safe," Aviel said with a vicious smile. Isabella had a much larger stride then all of them, but she still had to run past four old houses before she got to them. it would be another minute or two at least before she got here. Plenty of time for Aviel to find the Doctor, get him out of the way, and kill some of the Resistance bastards along the way.

She creep forward, sticking to the shadows and hiding behind random crap that had fallen to the floor. There wasn't a lot of cover to use, but the half controlled chaos of the Resistance evacuation made it easier for her to stay out of sight. She moved up to the radio can and pressed herself flat against it. She stayed in the shadows cast by its huge form before moving toward one of the windows on the side facing the other way from the barracks.

She didn't dare look in, but pressed herself against the "wall" hoping to hear something. She couldn't make out much through the metal save for some indistinct talking and things being moved. She was about to give up when she caught something.

"Doctor, you're with me," the same gruff voice that had yelled the warning said. Loud booted footsteps echoed through the wall heading for the exit. Aviel cursed to herself as she remembered the entrance was on the same side as the barracks. There was no way she could sneak over there without getting seen.

Instead, she keep going around the can till she was able to see the "street" between the barracks and radio tower. There was a lot of things getting moved around and a lot of people moving around, making it hard to pick out the Doctor. After a second, however, she was able to spot him thanks to him still having his normal clothing on.

The Doctor didn't look any worse for wear. His old black beard and glasses were still on his round face. His clothing didn't look to have been torn or anything such as that. The only odd thing about him was there was something around his neck, though Aviel couldn't make it out from this distance. She might have thought he was not a prisioner if it wasn't for the beast of a man behind him.

It was the same man who had yelled out the tower, but unlike before she got a good look at him. He was huge, easily seven scale feet. His black hair was shaved down and his face almost looking to be in a permanent scowl. He was packed with muscle and his patchwork of clothing barely contained him. On his back was a massive gun nearly as big as he was and didn't look anything like the weapons she had seen the Resistance using. It almost looked like a chaingun, but didn't have the usual massive drum of ammo a weapon like that would need.

Aviel couldn't help but gulp a bit looking at the monster of a man. Even without the gun, the man made Sanders look tiny and he was escorting the Doctor straight to the train. He alone would be enough of a threat, but with all the others still loading the train...

"Isabella, might want to hurry. They are loading Manchent onto the train," Aviel said as she watched the two men board the front car of the train. No sooner had their boarded, did the lights on the train come on. The effort to load it redoubled as the train got ready to leave.

"I'm here, delay them Aviel!" Isabella yelled out. A second later, the huge cellar door exploded outward as Isabella's gargantuan form pulled it completely off its old hinges. The sound was horrendous and Aviel had to close her eyes as the cellar was suddenly flooded with light. For a brief second silence settled over the area, as everyone held their breath. Then all hell broke lose.

Far away gunfire and rockets came from back up the stairs as the rear guard tried to hold off Isabella. Isabella used the door as a shield from the gunfire before her foot came crashing down like a meteor, causing the cellar to fill with the echoes of its impact. At the same time, the people in the outpost began to scream and yell in panic as they piled onto the train. Aviel opened her eyes as she held her hands to her ears. She had to squint to see thanks to the glaring light, but she could just make out the form of the train. And it was leaving.

"The train is leaving! Isabella, hurry!" Aviel screamed over the radio trying to be heard over all the noise. She didn't bother trying to hide anymore, hoping the chaos would keep her hidden, and made a mad dash toward the retreating form of the slowly speeding up train.

She glanced back at the towering form of Isabella and couldn't help but be awed at the sight. Isabella was, practically, dancing all over the first step of the staircase, every stomp crushed entire squads of Resistance members. Gunfire bounced off her green energy shield surrounding her body. A barrage of anti-giantess rockets flew toward her, but Isabella used the wooden door as a shield to stop them. The rockets blasted apart the wooden shield, but gave Isabella more than enough time to crush the rocketeers before they could reload. Cast in the green glow of her shield, Isabella looked like some kind of descending Goddess unleashing her wraith on the tiny Resistance. Aviel could hardly wait till it was her turn to be so powerful... The gun fire died down as Isabella stomped out the last of the rear guard. Aviel couldn't help but shudder at just how many people Isabella had killed in less than a second and without getting so much as a scratch on her.

With the defenders dead, Isabella looked up at where the train was and started down the stairs. She got to the second step, before a massive explosion ripped through them and caused the stairs to collapse underneath her. Isabella yelled out in surprise before crashing down into the rubble that had once been the stairs, sending a massive rumble through the ground.

Aviel barely managed to keep her feet as the earthquake from the explosion and Isabella's fall hit. A large stack of boxes came tumbling down towards her and she had to smack it out of the way before getting back to her feet. She took off at a full sprint as the train began to hit full speed. Behind her, she heard someone yell something and the air suddenly began to be filled with bullets and gunfire. She ignored them as she ran for the last car on the train, a large flatbed with a number of tied down boxes.

Just as she was nearing it, a massive explosion of wood and planks came from behind her as Isabella threw off the wood that had fallen on her. She leap over the foot trap Aviel had warned her about and landed right on top of the barracks, crumpling it like it was nothing. Her massive hand swung down and swat the people shooting at Aviel away into the air, their screams of pain and terror vanishing in an instant. A massive gust of wind blasted into Aviel's back and nearly caused her to tumble. She managed to keep her feet for a few more steps before diving for the edge of the train. She grabbed hold of one of the tying ropes and pulled herself up onto the flatbed before looking back.

The train had entered the pipes now and was gaining speed fast. Isabella's massive face looked in half a second before her hand came into the pipe. It rushed forward trying to catch them, but the train had reached full speed. Isabella's hand came within a few inches of the train before it clamped close, barely missing the train. Aviel heard Isabella curse and slam her fist into the wall as the train, and Aviel, were now out of her reach. Aviel was on her own.