-or MSI for short. A fallout based fan fiction.
My latest fan fiction work, decided to dig it up and finish off the first chapter. Its a bit longer than usual but I think you guys should enjoy it. Please give feedback, its nice to know what people think of your work (good or bad).
Dont know when I will have chapter two up, for now chapter one will have to do. At first I was a little unsure on what I wanted to do at first but its all falling into place now.
Have a read...
Metro Supply Incorporated
Chapter 1-0 Prologue
The darkness beyond the cracked glass window broke in bursts of dull cabin light and blurred shadows. Glimpses of the underground metro track with broken, abandoned, and scavenged train stops dimly reflected the brilliant white light projected from the small passing train convoy. The smell of damp and the musty air that seeped into the broken and battered carriages combined with the scent of the goods being carried in various crates boxes and piles. Shipments of farmed goods such as fruit, flour and crudely made booze mixed with the stains of machine parts, metal shell casings and medical supplies.
The person observing the scene finding the sights, sounds and smells so familiar his head rocked with the movement of the train over the tracks his eyes shutting and himself falling into a docile sleep. His gun ready and paid for by those that owned the train he was sat in to keep the crew and the cargo safe from threats in this post apocalyptic society. But of course there were no threats in the metro tunnel. It was all collapsed, barricaded or impassable save for the few entry points at either end of the line.
Either end of the line consisted of Refamer and Idrialnust, the two largest settlements for a long way out in the wastes. The fastest link between them being this rolling caravan of train compartments carrying goods from one end of the tunnel network to the other. It was a link only few people had power over of , that meant profit. And in the wastes profit means violence was involved at one point or another.
The Metro Supply was an old subway or train tunnel which ran from the centre of Idrialnust, a large semi-radioactive city ruin, to the border of Refamer, a small and sparse farming community far from Idrialnust with little radiation or toxins in the ground making it an ideal spot for growing crops. The Metro Supply was discovered by the inhabitants of Refamer along with a smashed but functional four carriage tow behind a large rusted diesel engine train. Trade between Idrialnust and Refamer was already in place at the time of the discovery. Food for any supplies the inhabitants of Idrialnust could scavenge from the sprawling city ruin.
After a couple of trade runs and with help from some of the Idrialnust people the inhabitants of Refamer were able to build their own working fusion engine to replace the broken down train. It was bulky and had various pipes and vents showing. The engine would run fine from one end of the track to the other but would then need about three hours to cool down before it could make a return trip. It was crude but it did allow for express freight from one town to the other. Express freight meant that all the other trade merchants lost out on a lot of business and Metro Supply made a lot of money from all the contracts.
Quickly things turned sour however, rioting in Idrialnust as people wanted to trade goods for food first, Refamer had its share of fighting too as angry merchants demanded a cut of the takings, things were looking nasty and at one point the train itself was almost destroyed. To solve the problem 'Metro Express Incorporated' was founded. They organized the trade at each end of the line, they sorted the orders of what would be loaded onto the train next and they took a cut of the profits to pay for a small army of guards to keep everything running smoothly.
And so the supplies kept on rolling, over time Metro Express Incorporated became a dominant force in the two settlements and grew into a large and powerful entity. Regulations and trade mediums were set and more, better armed, guards were hired. Eventually people realised that knocking over the train wouldnt be easy nor profitable and so things calmed down. Still the guards had to remain in case of raiders or crazies. And this is where our story begins, on board the Metro Express as it is headed for Idrialnust loaded with cargo.
Chapter 1-1 The Survivors
Hogan had settled into his duties on the Metro Express very quickly. You board the train at one end, sleep through half the journey, clean your guns and patrol for the other half then get off and blow your pay packet at the other end. It was a simple job and thats how Hogan liked it. Hogan lived in Refamer in a small rented shack in what you could call the centre of town. Hogan sat quietly in the guard carriage which was an old passenger cab with seats torn out to make room for a gun rack and the on board bar altered into a small galley.
Behind the Guard car was the passenger car, at the back of the train. Sometimes people with enough money would pay for passage on board the metro. The passenger car was effectively a safe box. Locks on all the doors and bars welded over every window. Metro Express Incorporated didn't want their passengers wondering about the train, starting any trouble or even hi-jacking the express. To counter this all passengers had to surrender their arms in the guard carriage and then be locked in the passenger car. The car was empty today, with only a few extra parcels on board. A sack of letters and a few packages which would be distributed once they arrived.
In front of the guard car were the two main cargo wagons. Pre-war they were built for livestock with some of the latest health and saftey features. Post war they now they served as large goods storage. Filled with crates of goods from Refamer, mostly flour, vegetables and booze but with a few boxes of fruit this time. In front of the cargo cars was the main engine, the heart of the train, the reason the whole system worked. It was once a large steam engine but had been too badly damaged during the war to operate. Completely re fitted and converted into a fusion engine it served well as an engine which required almost no fuel but careful attention and adjustment. Without careful attention from the engineers it could easily break down or even go nuclear.
Hogan adjusted his hat. It was a baseball cap with a crudely painted MSI logo added to the front. He was wearing shin high black leather boots, blue jeans with a dirty white sleeveless pull on top. Beside him was his jacket, a thick black denim coat with most of the buttons missing. The train engine kept it far too warm to keep the jacket on inside where as outside the train the tunnel was damp and cold. Strapped to his right thy was his side arm. A pistol holster which held a palm sided five shooter. A small silver handgun which was too small for the holster but seemed to fit snugly anyway. A small cloth sack tied to one of his belt loops held spare ammunition.
“Not long now...” Shop muttered as he stepped over Hogans crossed feet.
Shop was the head guard on board the train. He was in his forties and carried a double barrel shotgun, his brown construction boots made soft thuds as he walked and his camouflage army fatigues said the rest. He had his sleeves rolled up to behind the elbow and the odd bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. His bushy brown eyebrows managed to catch most of the beads but some had made it down to his black tank top creating a dark wet triangle on his chest.
“Lets hope the loading crews are awake this time. I hate waiting around on this train and then waiting at the station for the crews to get their house in order.” Pipe said as he sat cleaning the barrel of his rifle with a bit of cloth.
Pipe was the youngest of the train guard. He had a skinny build with raggedy clothes and a mess of hair. He was small and had fair skin but he was a damn good shot with his pipe rifle, which had earned him his nick name and his job on board the metro.
“Yeah lets hope ay Pipe.” Shop replied, still casually striding towards one end of the car.
“Anything new in Idrialnust you reckon?” Hogan asked.
“There's always something new in Idrialnust! You guys seen that new whore they have in the Paw?” Pipe chipped in.
“Trust you Pipe, always thinking with your-” Shop sentence was cut short.
The scream of the metal breaks onto the wheels of the cars threw the train forward with a jolt. Hogan slid off his seat finding a fall to the floor surounded by the sound of grinding metal a quick remedy for sleepiness. Pipe grabbed the headboard of the seat next to him, his rifle sliding off his lap and skidding under a seat in front of him. Shop was thrown from his feet hitting the car floor back first with his feet in the air and sliding along on his back. The scream of the brakes grew louder and the car began to shake and shudder everything being thrown out of place. The odd plate of food flicked up from a table and shattered on the hard wood floor of the car. Hogan grabbed the nearest rail and tried to pull himself up onto his feet. After a moment or two the screech of the breaks began to fade and the train eventually jolted backwards, it had stopped.
“Mother of Christ, what the hell?” Shop flicked himself over onto his elbows still gripping his shotgun tightly.
“Where's my rifle!” Pipe half shouted scrambling off his seat and onto his hands and knees, looking for his lost gun.
“Everyone OK?” Hogan asked.
“Yeah, yeah...” Shop said climbing to his feet.
“Where are you?” Pipe yelled palming under the seats desperately looking for his gun.
Hogan pulled himself up off the floor, quickly drawing his handgun and holding it ready, pointing upwards he drew the cock back with his thumb and gripped it tightly.
“What happened?” Hogan shouted.
Hogan and Shop both began hurriedly making their way towards the front of the train, guns ready. Hogan slid open the shutter which divided the guard carriage from the second cargo car. He stepped through, Shop directly behind him.
“Got cha!” Pipe shouted pulling his pipe rifle out from under a seat.
Pipe sprung back the bolt with a quick flick from his wrist and kissed the barrel of the gun. Scrambling to his feet he sprinted to catch up with Shop and Hogan. Hogan marched into the first cargo car, the dull overhead lights illuminating the various crates and sacks which lined either side of the car. Shop stopped briefly just inside the door to push one of the stacked crates back into place. Most of the cargo was in place, the various ropes and nets holding them in an almost chaotic shambles on either side of the carriage.
“What's going on?” Pipe asked as he jumped over the divide between the cars.
“Emergency stop, but why is what I'd like to know?” Shop replied.
Hogan slid open the shutter to the next cargo car and stepped through, Shop and Pipe right behind him. As he stepped into the next carriage Louise stepped forward from between two crates.
“-Hells going on?” He asked drawing his Desert Eagle from its holster under his left armpit.
“Engine compartment.” Hogan replied stepping past him.
The four guards quickly made their way, single file, to the front of the cargo car. Hogan open the shutter and stepped through into the small cabin attached to the back of the engine. Vasquez was lying on the floor bleeding from the head and looking dazed, Torrin was crouched over him his hands inside an open first aid box.
“Torrin?” Hogan asked as he stepped forward and stopped.
“Vasquez slipped and bashed his head pretty good. What happened?” Torrin replied still fumbling with the first aid kit.
“No idea, have you seen Martin?” Hogan asked as Shop pushed past him, followed by Pipe.
Louise stepped into the car and stopped next to Hogan, looking down at Vasquez.
“You OK V?” He asked.
“Mm mm, I think so.” He replied.
“Haven't seen Martin, he was up front messing with the engine.” Torrin replied to Hogan.
Hogan started making his way forward again, following Shop and Pipe who had already passed through the cabin and into the main engine area. Hogan stepped through to find Martin picking himself up off the floor, Shop and Pipe helping him to his feet.
Martin was from Idrialnust, his skin hung off him, in places you could even see bone showing through. He didn't smell so great but he was wicked sharp when it came to engines, particularly the Metro Engine which was his pride and joy. He had even named it Vera after his long dead wife. Like many of the inhabitants of Idrialnust Martin was a ghoul; a survivor from the nuclear war.
“Have a look for yourself.” Martin replied to Shops initial question as he pulled himself up straight.
Martin limped over to the side of the engine and grasped a large powerful spotlight with both hands, pulling it up back into alignment with the front of the train everyone crowded around to see what it was that had caused the emergency stop.
“Woo ow!” Shop stated, leaning his head out of the train to see what Martin was shining the light onto.
Hogan stepped behind Martin and looked over his shoulder. Ahead in the tunnel about ten meters or so was a massive pile of rubble. Pieces of the tunnels ceiling and walls mixed in with masses of earth and dirt. The tunnel had clearly collapsed for some reason. They all stood in awe even joined by Torrin and then eventually Vasquez who was holding a half done field dressing to the bleeding bump on his head. The group stood in silence all watching as Martin moved the spotlight beam over the collapsed tunnel ahead of them.
“Well that's just great!” Pipe said.
“He's right, this is very bad news boys and girls.” Shop added as he lowered his shotgun.
“No tunnel means no Metro, right?” Hogan pointed out.
“Maybe...” Shop said.
“Maybe?” Pipe asked.
Shop paused to think for a moment.
“How close are we to the station Martin?” Shop asked not looking away from the ruined tunnel ahead.
Martin stepped back from the spotlight and limped over to the back of the engine block, hitting a small stopwatch clock with one hand he glanced at the time shown and paused to work out the maths
“Not far at all Frank. You think maybe the old smugglers run?” Martin replied to Shop, he always used his real name.
“Yeah, I am now.” Shop replied.
“Wait, what? Smugglers run?” Pipe asked.
Shop began to tell the story; “In the early days of the Metro not all the business had been above table as it is now. For a long time the train would make three stops, one at Refamer, one at Idrialnust and one just outside of Idrialnust where various little trinkets would change hands, bound on foot to the local slums and less respectable areas of Idrialnust. They called this little stop 'Smugglers Run.' It was an old maintenance access way which connected to the sewers, a short walk and the sewers connected to an old sewage plant where a stairway lead up to the surface. This is where the money and goods would change hands.”
“Little trinkets... Drugs right?” Pipe added.
“Drugs, slaves, whores, guns, the odd shady character...” Martin added stopping to let Shop continue his explanation.
“That's right, all things bad. The bosses cracked down on it after about a year though, what with all the trouble it caused. Everyone involved was sworn to silence about it and the entrance was barricaded and camouflaged. From the surface doorway you can clearly see Idrialnust. Its only a half hour walk or so...” Shop turned to the rest of the train guard and smiled.
“Sewage plant?” Pipe groaned.
…
Once you entered Idrialnust it was hard to miss the Metro Supply Incorporated main headquarters building. The tower itself stood twelve floor high, seven of which you could walk on freely, but above seven most of the building was total ruin and left over support struts with the odd piece of flooring still held in place.
It wasn't impossible to get to the top floor of course, the large radio transmitter that was fixed in place on the highest beam was testament to this. It granted a privative radio link between the Metro HQ in Idrialnust and the station in Refamer. The Idrialnust station was directly below the Metro HQ building, an old subway stop. The buildings around the Metro HQ had been levelled with explosives and cleared long ago to make room for the large marketplace, stores and warehouse which now surrounded the Metro HQ building. Around this was the perimeter wall patrolled by Metro Guards and beyond the wall the city of Idrialnust panned out in all directions. The HQ was a fortress and a marvel to behold, a monument to the power of MSI.
...
Hogan pushed aside another beam and pulled at the iron door once more.
“No something is still holding it shut.” Hogan stated.
“Here Pipe, shine that light a little closer.” Shop said.
The Guardsmen had left Martin watching the fusion engine while Torrin saw to Vasquez's head wound. They had back tracked in the Engine a little way and found the Smugglers Run. The passage was mostly clear and you could tell which way to go from the left over boxes and tracks from when the run was active all that time ago. The door had indeed been barricaded from the inside very well but it hadn't taken long to clear most of the beams and metal pipes which were holding it shut. Pipe washed the beam from his flash light over the doorway stopping on the last thing holding the door shut.
“There she is.” Louise said, moving his flash light over the reflective object.
A small but tough looking padlock looped through a bar which ran the length of the door and rested in slots holding it shut. The bar would be impossible to move, and thus the door, without first disposing of the padlock..
“Stand back.” Shop said.
Hogan, Pipe and Louise all took a step back down the stairway a few feet. Shop stepped up to the door, the flash lights from Pipe and Louise lighting him up as he raised his shotgun to the padlock. He looked away and covered his face with his free hand. Pipe covered his ears as best he could while still holding the light, Louise took a step back and looked away while Hogan squinted.
Boom... Boom. The sound of the shotgun blasts was almost deafening inside the confined space of the sewer. Everyone stared quietly as the gun smoke cleared.
“... There we go” Shop stated as the bar, now slightly bent and one padlock less revealed itself through the clearing smoke.
Shop set his shotgun down to one side, leaning it against the tunnel wall. Then with both hands he pulled up upon the bar, which creaked as his muscular arms strained to dislodge it. There was a twang of metal and the bar jerked out of place slightly knocking Shop off balance for a moment. Shop cast the bar to one side, throwing it down off the side of the stairs and into the damp darkness below. Shop picked his shotgun up from the floor and turned to the others.
“Shall we?” He grinned.
Hogan stepped forward, holstering his handgun he pushed on the door with his shoulder. There was no visible handle or latch to speak of so he just pushed. The sound of creaking metal resonated through the door frame as the door creaked forward. Shop helped as well, pressing his shoulder against the door beside Hogan's the pair pushed with their legs. The door began to give way and then suddenly with a loud crack it swung open, blinding the guardsmen with a flood of natural sunlight momentarily.
Hogan held his hand over his eyes as they adjusted to the light, as his vision returned his focus fell upon the character stood not ten meters from the doorway they had just forced open. The male character stared back at the group of guardsmen wide eyed. He had an SMG strapped to his back and was wearing leather combat armour painted blue in places. The guy was half way through taking a leak against a wall, flies undone and cod in hand he quickly stopped, stuffed himself away and started to run.
“What the heck?” Pipe commented.
The man ran and jumped down a bank, now out of sight you could still hear him sprinting away, his equipment knocking against itself and creating a dull rumble.
“Ha! Must have been a wonderer, stopped for a piss. Bet he didn't expect...” Louise stopped talking as his eyes set on the vista the rest of the group were staring at.
The group stood silent, staring ahead of them at the horizon in awe. Idrialnust stood about two miles from their location and they had a good view of the city, and the smoke, lots of it. You could still make out some fires burning and flashes of gunfire from some of the ruined building windows. A dull rumble shook the ground as a large explosion went off far away in the city. For brief moments you could hear sporadic gunfire from automatic weapons. Clearly the city had fallen under some heavy conflict.
“My god...” Shop commented.
Just then a low tone mechanical roar started approach from the direction of the city. The group each scanned the direction of the noise, wondering what it was. The noise grew louder and you could clearly tell it was the sound of a large engine of some sort. Fear stuck the guardsmen as the noise crashed over the hill in the form of a large armoured personnel vehicle. It had six huge wheels supporting the massive steel body which was wedge shaped at the front with small glass slits at the top obviously where the driver sat. There were several smaller gun ports lining the upper body on either side and a circular hatch on top from which a man in metal armour operated a fixed M60 machine gun. He also had blue painted armour.
“RUN!” Shop yelled as the group collectively bundled back into the doorway.
The gunner atop the armoured vehicle opened fire, bullets ricocheted and stabbed the walls and door where they group had just retreated.
“Back to the train!” Shop screamed as the group began sprinting back down the sewer tunnels towards the tracks.
“-Hell was that thing?” Pipe yelled.
“Big fuckin' trouble, keep moving!” Shop replied.
The group quickly backtracked through the tunnels. Hogan could feel the adrenalin powering his legs, making them go numb as he ran. The flash light beams jumped from side to side creating a blur of light but just clear enough to see where you were running. The group broke back into the tunnel almost skidding around the corner. The Metro Express was stood waiting for them. Martin was leaning out of the engine compartment which was still facing towards Idrialnust and the blocked tunnel.
“Your back in a hurry Frank...” Martin noted.
“WE -LEAVE -NOW!” Shop shouted between gasps of breath.
“Oh my! Err.. all right I'll see what I can do with the old girl.” Martin said disappearing back into engine block.
A moment later steam began venting from the sides of the engine as it prepared to move. Shop, Pipe, Louise and Hogan scrambled onto the trains engine compartment taking cover behind the metal bodywork. Hogan glanced back at the doorway they had just come. Activating the large spot light on the front of the train he directed the beam at the doorway, thinking of how best to hinder who ever might come through after them.
“Now Mart! Now now now, move this thing!” Shop yelled as he broke his shotgun and began to re-load it.
“Steady now, she isn't as fast in reverse and the heat levels are already pretty high, we try pushing her she might blow.” Martin pointed out.
“Just go!” Pipe yelled.
“All right, all right, I'll do my best.” Martin mumbled as he began working the mass of dials, valves and levers which made up the controls for the engine.
Hogan watched quietly as an armed man in blue painted armour burst in through the doorway, blinded by the light at first he began moving down towards the tracks to get out of the beam. Another man passed through the doorway quickly followed by another and another.
“Shop! We've been made!” Louise shouted.
Just then the first shot from the men in blue whistled over the top of the train. Shop was the first to react, almost without thinking he raised his shotgun and fired one shot after another towards the ever growing mass of pursuers. Louise was quick to follow suit, levelling his Desert Eagle towards the mob he began to fire. The blue mass returned fire, there were many of them now, at least eight or so all armed to the teeth. The sounds of gunshots all seemed to merge into one large orchestral symphony of metal and explosives. In the brief moments between bullets being fired, hitting the train and being fired back you could hear the blue men shouting orders and encouragement to each other.
Hogan drew his small palm sized five shooter pistol and emptied all five shots as fast as he could. The train was beginning to move now, slowly jerking backwards with a jet of steam from the side vents in sequence. Martin was busily working the controls, trying to keep the engine pushing backwards and not blowing up.
Hogan crouched down and opened the cartridge on his small pistol. He tipped the gun allowing the now spent shells to fall out over the engine room floor while with the other hand he quickly opened the small cloth bag of spare rounds attached to his belt. Looking over he could see Shop, down on one knee, he had just finished reloading his shotgun and stood up again gun already aiming.
He fired one shot after another and then fell back down to one knee, using the front of the engine as cover while he re-loaded. Pipe stood up next, one eye shut staring down the barrel of his pipe rifle, he paused just for a split moment and then fired. As soon as the shot was away he fell back down behind the metal cover, a scream of pain echoed out from the direction Pipe had fired in. Hogan re focused himself upon loading his pistol, he took a handful of bullets from the small cloth sack tied to his belt and, using his thumb and fore finger, began sliding once each into the five empty cylinders of the small pistol. A glass readout behind him shattered, hit by incoming fire.
“AHH-shit!” Pipe squealed patting down his pockets.
“My ammo pouch!” he cried as he scrambled to his feet.
Pipe disappeared thought the engine doorway on his way back to the guard carriage to get his forgotten ammo pouch which he had left behind. Hogan flicked the pistol in his hand, sliding the cylinder back into place and cocked the gun with his thumb. He raised himself just enough to point the pistol over the metal chassis of the engine and took aim. The blue dressed hostile force was advancing up the side of the tracks, moving from cover to cover and firing volley after volley of bullets at the defending guardsmen. Hogan fired two shots, hitting one of them, the man cried out in pain and fell to the floor dropping his weapon and clutching his shin.
“Give it everything she's got Martin! Everything she's got!” Shop yelled as he stood up to continue firing with his shotgun.
“Everything is in the red! We have to loose weight!” Martin replied spinning a valve with both hands.
The train was picking up speed now, the pace quickened and cool air began to flow through the engine compartment from behind. Hogan ducked as a spray of enemy bullets pounded the metal cover in front of him. Popping back up quickly he fired the remaining three rounds in his gun and fell back onto one knee. Opening the cylinder of his pistol he reached into the cloth sack and retrieved another handful of rounds. He began reloading just as Torrin burst in through the cabin door.
“What the fu-” Torrin was cut short, everything seemed to slow down for a moment as Torrin's head jolted violently and a spray of blood blew out from the back of his head. The shot had landed right between the eyes, Torrin fell to the floor dead. Hogan froze for a moment shock briefly seizing his limbs.
“NO!” Hogan shouted felling a wash of heat run through his body as he cocked his pistol and stood to face the enemy.
Hogan fired all five rounds in quick succession in the general direction of the enemy causing a few of them to duck. Just as he had fired the last shot the fusion engine crackled and began to make an unusual loud humming sound. The train burst into a higher speed knocking Hogan off balance. Hogan allowed himself to half fall down behind the metal chassis of the engine. Rolling over onto his backside Hogan reached into his cloth ammo sack once again and began to reload.
“You bastards!” Louise shouted as he leant out of the engine cabin, his Desert Eagle ready in his left hand.
Louise began to fire, quickly followed by Shop who stood up and emptied both barrels inside of two seconds. Shop ducked back down, Louise was half way through his clip when he got hit. The round passed straight through his shoulder splattering blood onto the metal behind him. The blow was too much and Louise fell out of the engine cabin with a scream, landing on the tracks bewlow.
No one stopped to say a word, everyone was focused upon surviving themselves.
A burst of gunfire resounded from the tracks, the attackers were not far from the train now, ever drawing closer with each shot. Hogan only have four rounds left at this point. He dropped the last four rounds into his pistol, his hands shaking with terror. He rolled onto his chest and leant out of the open doorway on the side of the engine chassis. He came face to face with two of the attackers who were running to catch up with the train, they couldn't have been more than five meters from the doorway where Hogan lay.
Hogan fired all four shots quickly. The first man collapsed to the floor dead, at least two of the rounds had hit him. The second man took a round the the chest and stumbled sideways falling behind a pile of dirt. Hogan rolled back into the main chassis of the engine as various gunfire landed around where he had been exposed a moment before.
“I'm out!” Hogan shouted to Shop.
Shop was reloading his shotgun as one of the blue men appeared in the forward facing window above him. With a snarl the blue man had jumped up into the window, holding a 10mm SMG. Time seemed to pause as Hogan watched in horror as the man fired his SMG at Shop. The guy had got no more than five rounds off when he took a shot to the head. In an instant his arms flopped taking the aim of the SMG down towards the floor where it continued to fire until the magazine was empty. Hogan looked around to see what had happened.
Pipe and Vasquez stepped into the cabin from the back, Pipe's rifle was still smoking from the shot. Vasquez rushed to the window above Hogan firing his 10mm pistol from behind the cover of the metal chassis. Pipe dropped his rifle to one side and pulled at Shops shoulders.
“Shop! Are you OK?” Pipe cried as Shop pulled himself up into a sitting position clutching his bleeding right arm.
“I'm fine, keep shooting!” Shop replied. Pipe didnt think he just let go of shop and began reloading his rifle.
There was another increase in the noise coming from the engine and again the train had a burst of speed. The train was really moving now, the blue attackers were having to run just to keep up. Martin stepped away from the controls and pulled the empty SMG from the dead man's hand who was still perched in the window. He pulled a spare magazine from the man's forward jacket pocket and went about re-loading the SMG.
“Frank! That's all she's got! We have to loose weight to go faster.” Martin cried as he finished reloading.
Martin turned to face the enemy, the SMG rested upon his hip, he began firing in short bursts. Shop rolled over onto his knees, leaving his shotgun on the cabin floor he pushed himself up with his still good arm and turned to Hogan.
“Come on!” He beckoned as he began running through into the first cargo carriage.
Hogan pulled himself up onto his feet and followed, the gunfire still loud behind him. He followed shop into the first cargo car where Shop was already unbolting one of the large sliding side doors of the cargo carriage. Moments later box after box of goods began to fly out of the open door, shop and Hogan both working double quick to shed weight. Very slowly the train began to gain speed, increasing to the point where running wouldn't even be enough to keep up with it. The gun fire began to die down and eventually stopped. Out of breath and having now emptied half of the cargo carriage onto the fast moving tracks below Hogan and Shop both fell to their backsides, leaning against a crate and the carriage wall to catch their breath. They had survived.
My latest fan fiction work, decided to dig it up and finish off the first chapter. Its a bit longer than usual but I think you guys should enjoy it. Please give feedback, its nice to know what people think of your work (good or bad).
Dont know when I will have chapter two up, for now chapter one will have to do. At first I was a little unsure on what I wanted to do at first but its all falling into place now.
Have a read...
Metro Supply Incorporated
Chapter 1-0 Prologue
The darkness beyond the cracked glass window broke in bursts of dull cabin light and blurred shadows. Glimpses of the underground metro track with broken, abandoned, and scavenged train stops dimly reflected the brilliant white light projected from the small passing train convoy. The smell of damp and the musty air that seeped into the broken and battered carriages combined with the scent of the goods being carried in various crates boxes and piles. Shipments of farmed goods such as fruit, flour and crudely made booze mixed with the stains of machine parts, metal shell casings and medical supplies.
The person observing the scene finding the sights, sounds and smells so familiar his head rocked with the movement of the train over the tracks his eyes shutting and himself falling into a docile sleep. His gun ready and paid for by those that owned the train he was sat in to keep the crew and the cargo safe from threats in this post apocalyptic society. But of course there were no threats in the metro tunnel. It was all collapsed, barricaded or impassable save for the few entry points at either end of the line.
Either end of the line consisted of Refamer and Idrialnust, the two largest settlements for a long way out in the wastes. The fastest link between them being this rolling caravan of train compartments carrying goods from one end of the tunnel network to the other. It was a link only few people had power over of , that meant profit. And in the wastes profit means violence was involved at one point or another.
The Metro Supply was an old subway or train tunnel which ran from the centre of Idrialnust, a large semi-radioactive city ruin, to the border of Refamer, a small and sparse farming community far from Idrialnust with little radiation or toxins in the ground making it an ideal spot for growing crops. The Metro Supply was discovered by the inhabitants of Refamer along with a smashed but functional four carriage tow behind a large rusted diesel engine train. Trade between Idrialnust and Refamer was already in place at the time of the discovery. Food for any supplies the inhabitants of Idrialnust could scavenge from the sprawling city ruin.
After a couple of trade runs and with help from some of the Idrialnust people the inhabitants of Refamer were able to build their own working fusion engine to replace the broken down train. It was bulky and had various pipes and vents showing. The engine would run fine from one end of the track to the other but would then need about three hours to cool down before it could make a return trip. It was crude but it did allow for express freight from one town to the other. Express freight meant that all the other trade merchants lost out on a lot of business and Metro Supply made a lot of money from all the contracts.
Quickly things turned sour however, rioting in Idrialnust as people wanted to trade goods for food first, Refamer had its share of fighting too as angry merchants demanded a cut of the takings, things were looking nasty and at one point the train itself was almost destroyed. To solve the problem 'Metro Express Incorporated' was founded. They organized the trade at each end of the line, they sorted the orders of what would be loaded onto the train next and they took a cut of the profits to pay for a small army of guards to keep everything running smoothly.
And so the supplies kept on rolling, over time Metro Express Incorporated became a dominant force in the two settlements and grew into a large and powerful entity. Regulations and trade mediums were set and more, better armed, guards were hired. Eventually people realised that knocking over the train wouldnt be easy nor profitable and so things calmed down. Still the guards had to remain in case of raiders or crazies. And this is where our story begins, on board the Metro Express as it is headed for Idrialnust loaded with cargo.
Chapter 1-1 The Survivors
Hogan had settled into his duties on the Metro Express very quickly. You board the train at one end, sleep through half the journey, clean your guns and patrol for the other half then get off and blow your pay packet at the other end. It was a simple job and thats how Hogan liked it. Hogan lived in Refamer in a small rented shack in what you could call the centre of town. Hogan sat quietly in the guard carriage which was an old passenger cab with seats torn out to make room for a gun rack and the on board bar altered into a small galley.
Behind the Guard car was the passenger car, at the back of the train. Sometimes people with enough money would pay for passage on board the metro. The passenger car was effectively a safe box. Locks on all the doors and bars welded over every window. Metro Express Incorporated didn't want their passengers wondering about the train, starting any trouble or even hi-jacking the express. To counter this all passengers had to surrender their arms in the guard carriage and then be locked in the passenger car. The car was empty today, with only a few extra parcels on board. A sack of letters and a few packages which would be distributed once they arrived.
In front of the guard car were the two main cargo wagons. Pre-war they were built for livestock with some of the latest health and saftey features. Post war they now they served as large goods storage. Filled with crates of goods from Refamer, mostly flour, vegetables and booze but with a few boxes of fruit this time. In front of the cargo cars was the main engine, the heart of the train, the reason the whole system worked. It was once a large steam engine but had been too badly damaged during the war to operate. Completely re fitted and converted into a fusion engine it served well as an engine which required almost no fuel but careful attention and adjustment. Without careful attention from the engineers it could easily break down or even go nuclear.
Hogan adjusted his hat. It was a baseball cap with a crudely painted MSI logo added to the front. He was wearing shin high black leather boots, blue jeans with a dirty white sleeveless pull on top. Beside him was his jacket, a thick black denim coat with most of the buttons missing. The train engine kept it far too warm to keep the jacket on inside where as outside the train the tunnel was damp and cold. Strapped to his right thy was his side arm. A pistol holster which held a palm sided five shooter. A small silver handgun which was too small for the holster but seemed to fit snugly anyway. A small cloth sack tied to one of his belt loops held spare ammunition.
“Not long now...” Shop muttered as he stepped over Hogans crossed feet.
Shop was the head guard on board the train. He was in his forties and carried a double barrel shotgun, his brown construction boots made soft thuds as he walked and his camouflage army fatigues said the rest. He had his sleeves rolled up to behind the elbow and the odd bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. His bushy brown eyebrows managed to catch most of the beads but some had made it down to his black tank top creating a dark wet triangle on his chest.
“Lets hope the loading crews are awake this time. I hate waiting around on this train and then waiting at the station for the crews to get their house in order.” Pipe said as he sat cleaning the barrel of his rifle with a bit of cloth.
Pipe was the youngest of the train guard. He had a skinny build with raggedy clothes and a mess of hair. He was small and had fair skin but he was a damn good shot with his pipe rifle, which had earned him his nick name and his job on board the metro.
“Yeah lets hope ay Pipe.” Shop replied, still casually striding towards one end of the car.
“Anything new in Idrialnust you reckon?” Hogan asked.
“There's always something new in Idrialnust! You guys seen that new whore they have in the Paw?” Pipe chipped in.
“Trust you Pipe, always thinking with your-” Shop sentence was cut short.
The scream of the metal breaks onto the wheels of the cars threw the train forward with a jolt. Hogan slid off his seat finding a fall to the floor surounded by the sound of grinding metal a quick remedy for sleepiness. Pipe grabbed the headboard of the seat next to him, his rifle sliding off his lap and skidding under a seat in front of him. Shop was thrown from his feet hitting the car floor back first with his feet in the air and sliding along on his back. The scream of the brakes grew louder and the car began to shake and shudder everything being thrown out of place. The odd plate of food flicked up from a table and shattered on the hard wood floor of the car. Hogan grabbed the nearest rail and tried to pull himself up onto his feet. After a moment or two the screech of the breaks began to fade and the train eventually jolted backwards, it had stopped.
“Mother of Christ, what the hell?” Shop flicked himself over onto his elbows still gripping his shotgun tightly.
“Where's my rifle!” Pipe half shouted scrambling off his seat and onto his hands and knees, looking for his lost gun.
“Everyone OK?” Hogan asked.
“Yeah, yeah...” Shop said climbing to his feet.
“Where are you?” Pipe yelled palming under the seats desperately looking for his gun.
Hogan pulled himself up off the floor, quickly drawing his handgun and holding it ready, pointing upwards he drew the cock back with his thumb and gripped it tightly.
“What happened?” Hogan shouted.
Hogan and Shop both began hurriedly making their way towards the front of the train, guns ready. Hogan slid open the shutter which divided the guard carriage from the second cargo car. He stepped through, Shop directly behind him.
“Got cha!” Pipe shouted pulling his pipe rifle out from under a seat.
Pipe sprung back the bolt with a quick flick from his wrist and kissed the barrel of the gun. Scrambling to his feet he sprinted to catch up with Shop and Hogan. Hogan marched into the first cargo car, the dull overhead lights illuminating the various crates and sacks which lined either side of the car. Shop stopped briefly just inside the door to push one of the stacked crates back into place. Most of the cargo was in place, the various ropes and nets holding them in an almost chaotic shambles on either side of the carriage.
“What's going on?” Pipe asked as he jumped over the divide between the cars.
“Emergency stop, but why is what I'd like to know?” Shop replied.
Hogan slid open the shutter to the next cargo car and stepped through, Shop and Pipe right behind him. As he stepped into the next carriage Louise stepped forward from between two crates.
“-Hells going on?” He asked drawing his Desert Eagle from its holster under his left armpit.
“Engine compartment.” Hogan replied stepping past him.
The four guards quickly made their way, single file, to the front of the cargo car. Hogan open the shutter and stepped through into the small cabin attached to the back of the engine. Vasquez was lying on the floor bleeding from the head and looking dazed, Torrin was crouched over him his hands inside an open first aid box.
“Torrin?” Hogan asked as he stepped forward and stopped.
“Vasquez slipped and bashed his head pretty good. What happened?” Torrin replied still fumbling with the first aid kit.
“No idea, have you seen Martin?” Hogan asked as Shop pushed past him, followed by Pipe.
Louise stepped into the car and stopped next to Hogan, looking down at Vasquez.
“You OK V?” He asked.
“Mm mm, I think so.” He replied.
“Haven't seen Martin, he was up front messing with the engine.” Torrin replied to Hogan.
Hogan started making his way forward again, following Shop and Pipe who had already passed through the cabin and into the main engine area. Hogan stepped through to find Martin picking himself up off the floor, Shop and Pipe helping him to his feet.
Martin was from Idrialnust, his skin hung off him, in places you could even see bone showing through. He didn't smell so great but he was wicked sharp when it came to engines, particularly the Metro Engine which was his pride and joy. He had even named it Vera after his long dead wife. Like many of the inhabitants of Idrialnust Martin was a ghoul; a survivor from the nuclear war.
“Have a look for yourself.” Martin replied to Shops initial question as he pulled himself up straight.
Martin limped over to the side of the engine and grasped a large powerful spotlight with both hands, pulling it up back into alignment with the front of the train everyone crowded around to see what it was that had caused the emergency stop.
“Woo ow!” Shop stated, leaning his head out of the train to see what Martin was shining the light onto.
Hogan stepped behind Martin and looked over his shoulder. Ahead in the tunnel about ten meters or so was a massive pile of rubble. Pieces of the tunnels ceiling and walls mixed in with masses of earth and dirt. The tunnel had clearly collapsed for some reason. They all stood in awe even joined by Torrin and then eventually Vasquez who was holding a half done field dressing to the bleeding bump on his head. The group stood in silence all watching as Martin moved the spotlight beam over the collapsed tunnel ahead of them.
“Well that's just great!” Pipe said.
“He's right, this is very bad news boys and girls.” Shop added as he lowered his shotgun.
“No tunnel means no Metro, right?” Hogan pointed out.
“Maybe...” Shop said.
“Maybe?” Pipe asked.
Shop paused to think for a moment.
“How close are we to the station Martin?” Shop asked not looking away from the ruined tunnel ahead.
Martin stepped back from the spotlight and limped over to the back of the engine block, hitting a small stopwatch clock with one hand he glanced at the time shown and paused to work out the maths
“Not far at all Frank. You think maybe the old smugglers run?” Martin replied to Shop, he always used his real name.
“Yeah, I am now.” Shop replied.
“Wait, what? Smugglers run?” Pipe asked.
Shop began to tell the story; “In the early days of the Metro not all the business had been above table as it is now. For a long time the train would make three stops, one at Refamer, one at Idrialnust and one just outside of Idrialnust where various little trinkets would change hands, bound on foot to the local slums and less respectable areas of Idrialnust. They called this little stop 'Smugglers Run.' It was an old maintenance access way which connected to the sewers, a short walk and the sewers connected to an old sewage plant where a stairway lead up to the surface. This is where the money and goods would change hands.”
“Little trinkets... Drugs right?” Pipe added.
“Drugs, slaves, whores, guns, the odd shady character...” Martin added stopping to let Shop continue his explanation.
“That's right, all things bad. The bosses cracked down on it after about a year though, what with all the trouble it caused. Everyone involved was sworn to silence about it and the entrance was barricaded and camouflaged. From the surface doorway you can clearly see Idrialnust. Its only a half hour walk or so...” Shop turned to the rest of the train guard and smiled.
“Sewage plant?” Pipe groaned.
…
Once you entered Idrialnust it was hard to miss the Metro Supply Incorporated main headquarters building. The tower itself stood twelve floor high, seven of which you could walk on freely, but above seven most of the building was total ruin and left over support struts with the odd piece of flooring still held in place.
It wasn't impossible to get to the top floor of course, the large radio transmitter that was fixed in place on the highest beam was testament to this. It granted a privative radio link between the Metro HQ in Idrialnust and the station in Refamer. The Idrialnust station was directly below the Metro HQ building, an old subway stop. The buildings around the Metro HQ had been levelled with explosives and cleared long ago to make room for the large marketplace, stores and warehouse which now surrounded the Metro HQ building. Around this was the perimeter wall patrolled by Metro Guards and beyond the wall the city of Idrialnust panned out in all directions. The HQ was a fortress and a marvel to behold, a monument to the power of MSI.
...
Hogan pushed aside another beam and pulled at the iron door once more.
“No something is still holding it shut.” Hogan stated.
“Here Pipe, shine that light a little closer.” Shop said.
The Guardsmen had left Martin watching the fusion engine while Torrin saw to Vasquez's head wound. They had back tracked in the Engine a little way and found the Smugglers Run. The passage was mostly clear and you could tell which way to go from the left over boxes and tracks from when the run was active all that time ago. The door had indeed been barricaded from the inside very well but it hadn't taken long to clear most of the beams and metal pipes which were holding it shut. Pipe washed the beam from his flash light over the doorway stopping on the last thing holding the door shut.
“There she is.” Louise said, moving his flash light over the reflective object.
A small but tough looking padlock looped through a bar which ran the length of the door and rested in slots holding it shut. The bar would be impossible to move, and thus the door, without first disposing of the padlock..
“Stand back.” Shop said.
Hogan, Pipe and Louise all took a step back down the stairway a few feet. Shop stepped up to the door, the flash lights from Pipe and Louise lighting him up as he raised his shotgun to the padlock. He looked away and covered his face with his free hand. Pipe covered his ears as best he could while still holding the light, Louise took a step back and looked away while Hogan squinted.
Boom... Boom. The sound of the shotgun blasts was almost deafening inside the confined space of the sewer. Everyone stared quietly as the gun smoke cleared.
“... There we go” Shop stated as the bar, now slightly bent and one padlock less revealed itself through the clearing smoke.
Shop set his shotgun down to one side, leaning it against the tunnel wall. Then with both hands he pulled up upon the bar, which creaked as his muscular arms strained to dislodge it. There was a twang of metal and the bar jerked out of place slightly knocking Shop off balance for a moment. Shop cast the bar to one side, throwing it down off the side of the stairs and into the damp darkness below. Shop picked his shotgun up from the floor and turned to the others.
“Shall we?” He grinned.
Hogan stepped forward, holstering his handgun he pushed on the door with his shoulder. There was no visible handle or latch to speak of so he just pushed. The sound of creaking metal resonated through the door frame as the door creaked forward. Shop helped as well, pressing his shoulder against the door beside Hogan's the pair pushed with their legs. The door began to give way and then suddenly with a loud crack it swung open, blinding the guardsmen with a flood of natural sunlight momentarily.
Hogan held his hand over his eyes as they adjusted to the light, as his vision returned his focus fell upon the character stood not ten meters from the doorway they had just forced open. The male character stared back at the group of guardsmen wide eyed. He had an SMG strapped to his back and was wearing leather combat armour painted blue in places. The guy was half way through taking a leak against a wall, flies undone and cod in hand he quickly stopped, stuffed himself away and started to run.
“What the heck?” Pipe commented.
The man ran and jumped down a bank, now out of sight you could still hear him sprinting away, his equipment knocking against itself and creating a dull rumble.
“Ha! Must have been a wonderer, stopped for a piss. Bet he didn't expect...” Louise stopped talking as his eyes set on the vista the rest of the group were staring at.
The group stood silent, staring ahead of them at the horizon in awe. Idrialnust stood about two miles from their location and they had a good view of the city, and the smoke, lots of it. You could still make out some fires burning and flashes of gunfire from some of the ruined building windows. A dull rumble shook the ground as a large explosion went off far away in the city. For brief moments you could hear sporadic gunfire from automatic weapons. Clearly the city had fallen under some heavy conflict.
“My god...” Shop commented.
Just then a low tone mechanical roar started approach from the direction of the city. The group each scanned the direction of the noise, wondering what it was. The noise grew louder and you could clearly tell it was the sound of a large engine of some sort. Fear stuck the guardsmen as the noise crashed over the hill in the form of a large armoured personnel vehicle. It had six huge wheels supporting the massive steel body which was wedge shaped at the front with small glass slits at the top obviously where the driver sat. There were several smaller gun ports lining the upper body on either side and a circular hatch on top from which a man in metal armour operated a fixed M60 machine gun. He also had blue painted armour.
“RUN!” Shop yelled as the group collectively bundled back into the doorway.
The gunner atop the armoured vehicle opened fire, bullets ricocheted and stabbed the walls and door where they group had just retreated.
“Back to the train!” Shop screamed as the group began sprinting back down the sewer tunnels towards the tracks.
“-Hell was that thing?” Pipe yelled.
“Big fuckin' trouble, keep moving!” Shop replied.
The group quickly backtracked through the tunnels. Hogan could feel the adrenalin powering his legs, making them go numb as he ran. The flash light beams jumped from side to side creating a blur of light but just clear enough to see where you were running. The group broke back into the tunnel almost skidding around the corner. The Metro Express was stood waiting for them. Martin was leaning out of the engine compartment which was still facing towards Idrialnust and the blocked tunnel.
“Your back in a hurry Frank...” Martin noted.
“WE -LEAVE -NOW!” Shop shouted between gasps of breath.
“Oh my! Err.. all right I'll see what I can do with the old girl.” Martin said disappearing back into engine block.
A moment later steam began venting from the sides of the engine as it prepared to move. Shop, Pipe, Louise and Hogan scrambled onto the trains engine compartment taking cover behind the metal bodywork. Hogan glanced back at the doorway they had just come. Activating the large spot light on the front of the train he directed the beam at the doorway, thinking of how best to hinder who ever might come through after them.
“Now Mart! Now now now, move this thing!” Shop yelled as he broke his shotgun and began to re-load it.
“Steady now, she isn't as fast in reverse and the heat levels are already pretty high, we try pushing her she might blow.” Martin pointed out.
“Just go!” Pipe yelled.
“All right, all right, I'll do my best.” Martin mumbled as he began working the mass of dials, valves and levers which made up the controls for the engine.
Hogan watched quietly as an armed man in blue painted armour burst in through the doorway, blinded by the light at first he began moving down towards the tracks to get out of the beam. Another man passed through the doorway quickly followed by another and another.
“Shop! We've been made!” Louise shouted.
Just then the first shot from the men in blue whistled over the top of the train. Shop was the first to react, almost without thinking he raised his shotgun and fired one shot after another towards the ever growing mass of pursuers. Louise was quick to follow suit, levelling his Desert Eagle towards the mob he began to fire. The blue mass returned fire, there were many of them now, at least eight or so all armed to the teeth. The sounds of gunshots all seemed to merge into one large orchestral symphony of metal and explosives. In the brief moments between bullets being fired, hitting the train and being fired back you could hear the blue men shouting orders and encouragement to each other.
Hogan drew his small palm sized five shooter pistol and emptied all five shots as fast as he could. The train was beginning to move now, slowly jerking backwards with a jet of steam from the side vents in sequence. Martin was busily working the controls, trying to keep the engine pushing backwards and not blowing up.
Hogan crouched down and opened the cartridge on his small pistol. He tipped the gun allowing the now spent shells to fall out over the engine room floor while with the other hand he quickly opened the small cloth bag of spare rounds attached to his belt. Looking over he could see Shop, down on one knee, he had just finished reloading his shotgun and stood up again gun already aiming.
He fired one shot after another and then fell back down to one knee, using the front of the engine as cover while he re-loaded. Pipe stood up next, one eye shut staring down the barrel of his pipe rifle, he paused just for a split moment and then fired. As soon as the shot was away he fell back down behind the metal cover, a scream of pain echoed out from the direction Pipe had fired in. Hogan re focused himself upon loading his pistol, he took a handful of bullets from the small cloth sack tied to his belt and, using his thumb and fore finger, began sliding once each into the five empty cylinders of the small pistol. A glass readout behind him shattered, hit by incoming fire.
“AHH-shit!” Pipe squealed patting down his pockets.
“My ammo pouch!” he cried as he scrambled to his feet.
Pipe disappeared thought the engine doorway on his way back to the guard carriage to get his forgotten ammo pouch which he had left behind. Hogan flicked the pistol in his hand, sliding the cylinder back into place and cocked the gun with his thumb. He raised himself just enough to point the pistol over the metal chassis of the engine and took aim. The blue dressed hostile force was advancing up the side of the tracks, moving from cover to cover and firing volley after volley of bullets at the defending guardsmen. Hogan fired two shots, hitting one of them, the man cried out in pain and fell to the floor dropping his weapon and clutching his shin.
“Give it everything she's got Martin! Everything she's got!” Shop yelled as he stood up to continue firing with his shotgun.
“Everything is in the red! We have to loose weight!” Martin replied spinning a valve with both hands.
The train was picking up speed now, the pace quickened and cool air began to flow through the engine compartment from behind. Hogan ducked as a spray of enemy bullets pounded the metal cover in front of him. Popping back up quickly he fired the remaining three rounds in his gun and fell back onto one knee. Opening the cylinder of his pistol he reached into the cloth sack and retrieved another handful of rounds. He began reloading just as Torrin burst in through the cabin door.
“What the fu-” Torrin was cut short, everything seemed to slow down for a moment as Torrin's head jolted violently and a spray of blood blew out from the back of his head. The shot had landed right between the eyes, Torrin fell to the floor dead. Hogan froze for a moment shock briefly seizing his limbs.
“NO!” Hogan shouted felling a wash of heat run through his body as he cocked his pistol and stood to face the enemy.
Hogan fired all five rounds in quick succession in the general direction of the enemy causing a few of them to duck. Just as he had fired the last shot the fusion engine crackled and began to make an unusual loud humming sound. The train burst into a higher speed knocking Hogan off balance. Hogan allowed himself to half fall down behind the metal chassis of the engine. Rolling over onto his backside Hogan reached into his cloth ammo sack once again and began to reload.
“You bastards!” Louise shouted as he leant out of the engine cabin, his Desert Eagle ready in his left hand.
Louise began to fire, quickly followed by Shop who stood up and emptied both barrels inside of two seconds. Shop ducked back down, Louise was half way through his clip when he got hit. The round passed straight through his shoulder splattering blood onto the metal behind him. The blow was too much and Louise fell out of the engine cabin with a scream, landing on the tracks bewlow.
No one stopped to say a word, everyone was focused upon surviving themselves.
A burst of gunfire resounded from the tracks, the attackers were not far from the train now, ever drawing closer with each shot. Hogan only have four rounds left at this point. He dropped the last four rounds into his pistol, his hands shaking with terror. He rolled onto his chest and leant out of the open doorway on the side of the engine chassis. He came face to face with two of the attackers who were running to catch up with the train, they couldn't have been more than five meters from the doorway where Hogan lay.
Hogan fired all four shots quickly. The first man collapsed to the floor dead, at least two of the rounds had hit him. The second man took a round the the chest and stumbled sideways falling behind a pile of dirt. Hogan rolled back into the main chassis of the engine as various gunfire landed around where he had been exposed a moment before.
“I'm out!” Hogan shouted to Shop.
Shop was reloading his shotgun as one of the blue men appeared in the forward facing window above him. With a snarl the blue man had jumped up into the window, holding a 10mm SMG. Time seemed to pause as Hogan watched in horror as the man fired his SMG at Shop. The guy had got no more than five rounds off when he took a shot to the head. In an instant his arms flopped taking the aim of the SMG down towards the floor where it continued to fire until the magazine was empty. Hogan looked around to see what had happened.
Pipe and Vasquez stepped into the cabin from the back, Pipe's rifle was still smoking from the shot. Vasquez rushed to the window above Hogan firing his 10mm pistol from behind the cover of the metal chassis. Pipe dropped his rifle to one side and pulled at Shops shoulders.
“Shop! Are you OK?” Pipe cried as Shop pulled himself up into a sitting position clutching his bleeding right arm.
“I'm fine, keep shooting!” Shop replied. Pipe didnt think he just let go of shop and began reloading his rifle.
There was another increase in the noise coming from the engine and again the train had a burst of speed. The train was really moving now, the blue attackers were having to run just to keep up. Martin stepped away from the controls and pulled the empty SMG from the dead man's hand who was still perched in the window. He pulled a spare magazine from the man's forward jacket pocket and went about re-loading the SMG.
“Frank! That's all she's got! We have to loose weight to go faster.” Martin cried as he finished reloading.
Martin turned to face the enemy, the SMG rested upon his hip, he began firing in short bursts. Shop rolled over onto his knees, leaving his shotgun on the cabin floor he pushed himself up with his still good arm and turned to Hogan.
“Come on!” He beckoned as he began running through into the first cargo carriage.
Hogan pulled himself up onto his feet and followed, the gunfire still loud behind him. He followed shop into the first cargo car where Shop was already unbolting one of the large sliding side doors of the cargo carriage. Moments later box after box of goods began to fly out of the open door, shop and Hogan both working double quick to shed weight. Very slowly the train began to gain speed, increasing to the point where running wouldn't even be enough to keep up with it. The gun fire began to die down and eventually stopped. Out of breath and having now emptied half of the cargo carriage onto the fast moving tracks below Hogan and Shop both fell to their backsides, leaning against a crate and the carriage wall to catch their breath. They had survived.