Origins: Snapshots In Time 176

*Language Warning*
There is a bit of some rather strong language in this post - if you don't want to read language of that nature, then don't read the text in the post. 'Nuff said.

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"C'mon, move, move, move! Digger, get your ass DOWN!" Thorn's bellowed orders cut through the noise of artillery and gunfire like a hot knife through butter. They were in the middle of the no man's land outside of the Concordia wall, like many other squads and units. And as usual, the CPH were fighting dirty. The Geneva Conventions meant nothing out here - never had, to these people. And the Blood Scorpions had long since thrown the book out in how they fought against these people.

When your enemy has no hesitation to start throwing around biological and chemical warfare, your own ethics and how you deal with them suddenly change.

"Sarg, your left!" Ace called, ducking behind an outcropping of rock that had at one point in the past been the corner of a bank.

Thorn didn't hesitate - he turned, ducked, and fired in the direction of the armored CPH soldier that had been getting ready to fire.

"Nitro! Clear that area up ahead! We need a path out of here, the welcome's getting a little rough." Thorn snapped, and then shifted position again, hunkering down in next to Nightmare as the other soldier flung a grenade out into the general vicinity of their enemy.

"Clear path comin' up, Scotty!" Nitro's cackling voice over the comms made Thorn smirk, despite their currently pinned-down position.

"...aww, shit, I hate it when she laughs like that..." Ghost let out a groan as he dropped in on Thorn's other side. "Ace, goddammit, get your ass over here before you get your fool head blown off! Ricochet, you too!"

Ace fired off a couple more rounds and then grabbed Matthew by the arm and propelled the other soldier back, taking cover down with the others within the concrete and rubble around them.

Once they'd gotten dug in, Thorn chanced another look out and scowled. "Nitro, I want the path in front of our position clear of anything wearing CPH marks. Clear?"

"You got it, Sarg!"

"...and for god's sakes, DON'T catch us in the blast!"

"...would I do that, Sarg?" Nitro cackled yet again over the comms, and they could hear Digger's groan filter in over the comms as the armored vehicle went bouncing and jumping over rubble.

"If you were too busy laughing about blowing someone up? YES!" Matthew shot in over comms before Thorn could retort.

The answering peals of laughter did little to set any of their nerves at ease.

It was about ten seconds after the laughter had died down, that the big gun on the top of the Scorpion's vehicle went off. The rain and clouds of dust, twisted metal, brick and concrete showered the entire area.

It took them all a second or two to absorb the fact that the humvee that had been rumbling along towards Digger and Nitro was now upended, it's crew mostly too busy screaming as they were cooked to be bothered with small things like.. shooting at their enemies.

"Digger, hold!" Matthew snapped over comms as he edged around Ghost, Nightmare and Thorn to get a better look. "That thing had ammo boxes on it and--"

The round of secondary explosions that lit up the sky took care of what little oppossition was left still alive in the humvee. In the silence that followed, Nitro's cackles announced the little bomber's amusement. "One load of asshole-a-la-carte! Any takers?!"

"Good enough, Nitro." Thorn retorted and chuckled. "Get those wheels over here and cover our backs. Ricochet, Ace, Nightmare... with me. The rest of you make sure we still have a path out of here."

They split up - scrambling across the debris towards the remnants of an old apartment building. Matthew took point as he frequently did - he had a good track record for scouting, and out of the squad, was the best at it. About halfway to their target location, he stopped, crouched, and held up a closed fist. Thorn, Ace, and Nightmare came to a halt as well, eyes darting around them.

Matthew peered across the debris field with a scowl. "I don't like this, Thorn. There's a life sign over there." And he pointed across to the old apartment building.

"I don't see anybody..."

"It's there." Matthew snapped. "It's only one as far as I can taste. I'm going to take a look."

"Right. We'll cover, just in case Nitro missed somebody with that little round of fireworks..." Thorn replied, and moved along with the others. Matthew broke off from the rest of them and moved ahead a ways, scanning the area as he went. He was stepping over, stepping on, and walking through CPH bodies as well as urban rubble, but he didn't take the time to think about it. He was headed towards that one life-sign, to see who it was.

"Matt, if you get punched fulla holes I swear..." Ace warned over the comms once he'd gotten far enough ahead.

Matthew didn't respond to the healer's warning as he carefully made his way across the area. They saw him crouch, slip off to one side, and then circle around. And then all of a sudden he just stood up.. and lowered his gun.

"..what the hell are you doing, Ricochet..." Thorn's voice came over the comms with just a small note of warning in it. Matthew ignored it as he got in close to the life-sign he'd been tasting the whole way over. When he saw who it was, he stopped and just stared down in stunned silence for a second or two.

"...it's a fucking kid." Matthew finally said into the comms, slowing down from his jog to a careful walk as he approached the child. "It's a fucking little kid with a teddy bear."