Nowhere To Hide
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Okay guys, this here is my first serious attempt at writing something, so here I will put the first chapter of the book. Enjoy!
- Chapter 1 - Odd Friends -
Guardsman Ventory felt shivers run down his spine. The Chaos marine was only a couple of feet away, but he hadn’t noticed him yet. The traitor marine walked past. He relaxed, and spotted a shotgun lodged between two duracrete pieces. If he could get it, he might just be safer. Crawling silently across rubble, he silently picked it up. But it was empty. “Oh, damn”, he thought. There had to be some shells around. There were some around a dead guardsman’s belt. He silently slid them in the receiver of the shotgun, and stuffed the rest in his pockets. After cocking it as silently as possible, he stood up. The Chaos marine was inspecting a room. Ventory seized his chance. He silently crawled across the hallway and stood up just behind the marine. The putrid smell of rotten flesh struck him. He almost passed out. “Must be one of those Death Guard marines”, he thought. “Hey, stinker!” The traitor spun round, only to see two barrels staring at him. “Tough luck, man” Ventory said and pressed the trigger. The heavy buckshot tore the marine’s head apart and threw the headless corpse to ground. Ventory wiped the tiny bits of metal and rotting meat from his face and heaved. “Had to get a full face helmet”, he groaned miserably and shuddered. It’d take months before the smell would go away. Now he would be fly bait. But that had to wait. He needed to link up with the rest of his platoon. If he could just get his bearings, it would be a lot easier to navigate this barren wasteland. This had been a fine Imperial city, but ravaged after years of bitter fighting. But, now he had to find the HQ. He rummaged through his memory. Their HQ had been situated in a big crater, which concealed it from scouts. “Like that’s going to help me now” he muttered. Then his thoughts were interrupted by a distant booming. He saw several black spots against the evening sky. His heart jumped with joy. It was the Astartes! The battle would be a lot easier now. The drop pods were altering their course and Ventory could clearly see that they were closing in on his position. His heart sank. If he remained where he was, he’d be turned into a pâté. Strapping the shotgun to his back, he made a break for it. Down the alleyway, past a burning Chimera APC, several dead Guardsmen… But it was too late. The drop pods smashed in the nearby houses, smashing them apart. He was running , avoiding pieces of buildings that were flying around. He could just see the end of houses. Suddenly, a chunk of duracrete knocked him to ground, breaking his leg. “Ooow, damn!” Ventory shouted in pain. Straining to get the duracrete piece off his leg, he grabbed the shotgun and used it to free himself. Then, crawling slowly, he sat down a bit further and waited for somebody to come. Sergeant Darius first noticed the running figure. It looked human, but you could never be sure, especially when a Necron Flayed One had hid itself in a dead body and almost managed to kill an Imperial fireteam. After informing other marines, the drop pods were shifting, and homing in on the figure’s position. The landing shook the drop pod violently and a second later the hatch fell off. Darius jumped out and took cover behind the hatch. After inspecting his surroundings, he noticed a trail of blood. It seemed fresh. Also, there was a faint smell of rotten flesh. He suddenly tensed. “Brother Marcius and Brother Vearn, follow me. I think we have some Death Guards on us.” “Acknowledged.” The trio walked off to the blood trail. Suddenly, Darius heard irregular breathing. It didn’t sound like a Death Guard marine, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He jumped out and aimed his boltgun at the noise. “NO!” somebody shouted. A hail of small projectiles hit his armour, not doing any harm. “What the…?” the same voice said. Darius squinted and saw a pale-faced guardsman sitting in shadow of a duracrete chunk, the blood trail leading to him. He was holding a shotgun, his leg twisted at an awkward angle. “Thank the Emperor; I was thinking it was more traitor marines! I am Guardsman Ventory of the 9th company of 712th Malbrede Regiment. Who are you?” Darius stepped forward “I am Sergeant Darius of 3rd squad of 4th company of Warhawks chapter. Come. You are injured. Our apothecary will take care of you. Just before we go, can I ask why do you smell like a Death Guard?” “Well, I was standing right behind one of them when I shot him. I shouted at him. He turned round, and BOOM! I shot him. Sprayed me completely with his head, though. After then, I tried to find a way out, but you came down and I got my leg broken by a duracrete piece.” Suddenly, a distant howl echoed through the ruins. Ventory felt terrible fear numb him. What in Emperor’s name could make such blood-chilling noises? Darius bent down and picked him up. “We cannot delay. We must go.” “But where? I don’t think that you have a base here, do you?” Ventory said, puzzled “I mean, you dropped down only more or less half an hour ago.” “Yes, but the rest of the company is already on ground. We were to do a recon patrol.” Darius answered. “Then why are you taking me to your base?” “See that shotgun you’re carrying? It’s a space marine shotgun, and as such, only space marines can use it without breaking their arms.” “It is? Now I understand, more or less.” “Let’s go then.” Apothecary Kerlan felt quite satisfied with himself. The bone had accepted the prosthetic repairer without problems, now his patient would be able to walk freely in a couple of days, or less with a bit of luck. “How is it feeling?” he asked. “Pretty good, thank you.” Ventory answered. “Well, have a go at walking.” Ventory stood up from the table and touched floor gingerly. Then, feeling more reassured, he stood up completely. He winced slightly, but the pain was bearable. He did a step. Then another one. “Feels great! Thanks, apothecary!” “Go then. Our captain is waiting for you.” Ventory swallowed uneasily. He never liked the idea of going the Marines’ base, but, with that terrible screaming, he could either wait and see the damned thing for himself and probably get killed, or take a hike to their base. Not that he really had a choice. Those marines had picked him up and strolled off. And now, he was standing in front of the doors that led inside. His heart was pounding and it felt like it was trying to jump out of his mouth. He raised his hand to knock, but the door slid apart with a hiss. He saw a figure approaching. It was a servitor. The worker drone stopped in his front. “The captain is waiting. Follow, most beneficent one.” It turned round and wheeled off. Ventory followed, feeling quite unnerved by now. The interior of marines’ chapel-barracks was full of sparring combatants, practising with their swords and bolters. Several scouts noticed him and followed him with their eyes. They came to another door. The servitor stopped at spoke in the voxcoder “I have brought the guardsman that 3rd squad found, most venerated captain.” The door slid open. Ventory stepped in and the door closed. Several meters further, the captain of the company was standing at a table, discussing with several other marines. There were several Terminator marines standing in the corners, looking at Ventory suspiciously. The captain was clad in ornate power armour, but dented and dulled by years of constant fighting. His face was deeply scarred, and his right eye had been replaced with a bionic one. He noticed Ventory and strode towards him. Deep booms resounded within the great hall. Ventory felt himself becoming more and more smaller and insignificant with every step the hulking marine took towards him. He felt his knees wobble, but steadied himself. The captain towered above him, not saying anything, and then bent down on his knee. Then he spoke “Finally I meet you.” His voice was thick with emotion. “W-what?” Ventory asked, dumbstruck “I am here to be interrogated, right?” The captain raised his head and looked in his eyes, locking him with his steely, dark gaze “Do you know not of your father? He was the one who sacrificed himself and that way he saved our gene-seed, and our chapter. If a chapter’s gene-seed is lost, stolen or mutated, they are doomed. We are forever indebted to all of his family.” “Then how come I never heard of it?” “Would you have believed it? Officially, your father would have been listed as KIA. Departmento Munitorum never could actually calculate how much soldiers have died and how much have been enlisted each day. But in reality, he saved all of the Warhawks. Now then, what can the Warhawks do for you?” “I know this will sound crazy, but I’d like to have some time off. In the last few months, I’ve seen hundreds die.” Ventory sighed “Our regiment took heavy losses at the defence of the capital’s fortifications.” “It will be done, friend. There’s an Inquisitor that’s a good friend of mine. Perhaps you’ve heard of her? Amberley Vail. She also holds the memoirs of Ciaphas Cain.” “Where will I be going?” “Vail will inform you when you meet her. If you want to know more about your father, feel free to visit our librarian. He holds all the information we have collected.” Ventory was feeling quite tired, but didn’t let it show. “I know you’re tired. You can take my personal quarters and…” “I thank you for that, but I should see the apothecary. He hasn’t quite finished with my leg. Besides, I’ll be just fine sleeping outside.” “As you wish.” “Well, see you tomorrow then. Goodbye.” He turned round and went through the door. He noticed that all the marines in the training hall were watching him. Not a single blade clashed. No-one even moved, just stared at him.