NOVEL FROG Chapter 98: The Ambush
Panda had to cut his call with Indie abruptly to get a closer look at whatever was startling the Heartaches. He stepped into the cargo bay, where seemingly everyone was looking out the three gates leading to the outside. Due to the shadows of the quarry, it was hard to see exactly what was happening. But as he got closer, a couple of bright lights appeared, contrasting hard with the gray tones all around them. They were small and warm, but they grew bigger and more menacing as they got closer.
Both squads were puzzled and kept their guards up, but a few Heartaches began approaching the gates to see what was going on. Faye and Ignatius stepped closer, but that’s when Panda noticed that the strange figures with lights were none other than an antipunk army arriving at the factory, holding torches, pointing rifles at them from all directions, but also bringing heavier equipment to deliver a full-on assault while the enemy least expected it.
–GET DOWN!– Panda shouted and forced both Ace and Chappy to drop to the floor, foreseeing the sudden gunfire that caught the rest off guard. A large wave of antipunks had surrounded the cargo bay, and despite them still being far away as they made their way to the bottom of the quarry, they didn’t hesitate to open fire, instilling panic in the team as they tried to take cover.
–AMBUSH!!– Ryu screamed at the top of his lungs before breaking into maniacal laughter as his teammates quickly got into formation. They spotted the enemies coming from both directions: a large row in the front with two main gates and a smaller group coming from the left side, though they were closely approaching the side gate to get some shots in the room.
The Heartaches stuck close to the main gates, covering behind the adjacent walls while trying to assess the number of enemies approaching. But with the antipunks flanking from the left, Panda focused on blocking the side gate with his shield to let his squad run to safety. Ace and Chappy couldn’t make sense of what was happening until they saw Shade crawl back to take cover behind some of the large boxes at the entrance of the room, trying to make his way back to the assembly room. They all stayed low to avoid the bullets flying across the gates and into the room behind them, but Chappy and Ace were the closest to the side gate, so they stuck close to Panda’s feet as he shielded them.
Out of everyone in the cargo bay, Zoey was the most exposed since she was right behind Faye, almost right in front of the main gates. Once the ambush started, Faye and Ignatius stepped aside to take cover with his teammates, leaving Zoey alone, who froze in place for a second, almost getting struck by the first burst of bullets if it wasn’t for Saint dragging her to the side.
They both took cover behind the wall between the two front gates, and while she remained in shock, only looking around to see how everyone else reacted, Saint controlled his breath to keep an eye out for the closest threats. But as the Heartaches were also taking cover next to them, Saint and Zoey had barely any space to protect themselves, and with the antipunks closing in and getting more and more bullets into the room, they had to move from their spot before it was too late.
–Come on!– Saint shouted at Zoey while trying to drag her to the boxes with Shade. It was at the other end of the room, with a constant stream of bullets flying across both sides, but Saint was just as focused as Panda to keep Zoey safe, even when he was visibly just as scared as his friends. Waiting for an opening to slip past the bullets, Saint kept moving, avoiding getting shot as Panda was drawing most of the enemy’s attention. Zoey couldn’t move, but as Saint forcefully pulled her to the entrance of the cargo bay to hide behind the boxes, she started coming to her senses when she saw the panic and terror on Shade and Saint’s faces.
–Are we surrounded? Where are they coming from??– Cookie asked in confusion after jumping to the corner between the left side-gate and the one closest to it to take cover. He couldn’t see the enemies; he could only guess how close they were from the sounds of the gunfire growing louder, so he relied on the Heartaches taking peeks to look at the incoming attackers. However, they remained silent, only whispering to each other as they formed a plan, leaving Cookie waiting anxiously for someone to take action.
He looked at Panda, who was too busy trying to shield as much as possible by standing in direct sight of the side gate and the left one at the front, and since he was the only one exposed, the antipunks focused fire on him until they saw Cookie trying to make a move. He tried to run over to Saint, Zoey, and Shade since they were able to retreat safely and were now watching the chaos unfold in the room. But right as he took a step, a bullet flew by his head, scaring him into hugging the corner of the wall, staying as close as possible to it.
Looking at Panda, who was now getting overwhelmed as the enemies were flanking and taking the side gate, Cookie realized there was no strategy other than to wait for the antipunks to approach. And with the Heartaches unable to fight back at a distance, Cookie didn’t have the patience to wait for the antipunks to reach the room for them to have a shot at fighting, so he took matters into his own hands. He had noticed the shutters of the gate, and although there was no button or lever to close them manually, the rollers above were still found inside, and he only needed to reach them to roll down the shutters fast enough.
So, while everyone thought of a plan to retreat safely, Cookie went ahead with his instincts and pulled Faye and Nolyn to the corner with him before jumping for the rollers on top of the gate next to him. He hit it with the handle of his sword, and with sheer brute force, he broke the hinges and allowed the rollers to close the gate immediately. The Heartaches were confused, even frustrated by his decision to close the gate since the antipunks were getting closer to their reach. But despite their jeers and complaints, Cookie proceeded to close the other gate in the same manner, almost getting shot in the process, but ultimately managing to block the front from the antipunk gunfire.
However, the enemies were right outside, banging on the gates, which were not too sturdy to begin with, but they now appeared flimsy after Cookie broke the rollers, pressuring the Heartaches to take action. Cookie took his opportunity to run to the assembly run, and with Panda’s help, he cleared a way for the others to follow. Agnus led her team to retreat, with Shade running back as well, but Saint and Zoey hesitated to leave their friends behind until they were certain they could escape. Luckily, after seeing what Cookie did, Panda pushed forward until he reached the side gate, and with the help of Ace and Chappy, who held onto his shield after he detached it, they closed the gate, allowing him to run first, quickly followed by the other rookies and Saint.
With everyone running back into the assembly room, they realized there wasn’t much for them to take cover, so they kept running past all the conveyor lines and retreated even further into the furnace room. Saint, Ace, and Chappy waited for Panda as he ran into the office next to the cargo bay to retrieve his machine gun first, where he got to check outside for a brief moment. He saw a clearer number of antipunk soldiers coming for them from all sides of the quarry, but what caught his attention was a familiar group approaching from the center, heading for the front gates of the cargo bay.
–Trash is here, those filthy, vermin wormfu-...– Panda muttered as he spotted the antipunks’ main squad calmly approaching the factory with their small army at their side. Saint got curious to see Panda shocked and stepped closer to the office’s window, only to see exactly what he was staring at, though he was even more surprised by their arrival.
–What? How are they alive?! Didn’t we trap them in the cave??– Saint asked in utter confusion, his eyes in disbelief at the sight of the antipunk squad appearing and leading this charge against them, and even indignant for the fact they escaped a certain death. Despite Panda taking a moment to ponder as well, he didn’t seem too shocked, only upset, although he didn’t get a chance to respond as the office quickly came under fire after some antipunks spotted them watching through the window.
–We have to go now! Regroup with the Heartaches and take cover!– Panda ordered as he began running out of the office, with Ace and Chappy following shortly after. Saint ducked but froze for a moment to see if those antipunks were the same ones that escaped through the thin tunnel at the cave before it collapsed. He caught a short glimpse but didn’t get to confirm if they had suffered any losses before all the windows shattered and opened a path for the antipunks to come in.
Forced to retreat but constantly looking back to check if the enemy was near, Saint’s anxiety increased by the second. He saw how the gates at the cargo bay were smashed to pieces, and the antipunks had broken into the factory once again, but now they were even coming from the office. But seeing his friends and the Heartaches running for their lives towards the furnace room encouraged him to do the same, and with more clarity and determination, he found the lights of the assembly room, which he proceeded to run off to stall the antipunks a little.
He was the last one to enter the furnace room, but once he rejoined the rest of the team, he noticed that the Heartaches were already taking positions all throughout the catwalks, behind the furnaces, and even right on top of the gate that he ran through. They were waiting for the incoming attack, and while Saint seemed to want to join them, he was ordered by Panda to take cover with the rookies, so he had no other choice but to run to the back of the furnace room and wait next to the boilers with Ace, Chappy, Zoey, and Shade.
–I’m scared…– Zoey muttered and kept mumbling to herself while the rest of the squad focused on finding a safe spot to take cover. She was mostly ignored, but once Saint reached the boilers, he immediately noticed how frightened she was, so he approached and tried to comfort her with a hug, even though she seemed so lost that she didn’t react to his touch.
–It’s okay, we’ll get out of here… We can kill all of them if we work together, right?– Saint reassured and then asked Panda and Cookie as they headed to the back as well, though the former stood still between the first row of furnaces and didn’t get to listen to him. He was more focused on preparing his machine gun to blast any antipunk that entered the room since he locked his sights at the gates in front, keeping an eye on Pan as she was waiting right above and waiting for a signal. Instead, Cookie was the one who turned to Saint and the rookies to make sure they calmed down.
–Yea, as long as they only come through the front and don’t actually have us surrounded…– Cookie replied with confidence, but not fully convincing Saint and Zoey due to his slightly witty tone. They smiled nervously to stay optimistic, but they did feel safe now that Cookie assumed his position at the top of the same furnace he used before to jump to the main crane, which he climbed again to head to the front of the room with some of the Heartaches.
The young warriors seemed to have every spot covered, as they could get the jump on any of the enemies with their higher-ground advantage. They blended in with the smoke and some of the dead bodies left behind, but even if they struggled, they could easily distract the antipunks to let Panda kill them from the ground. He kept a direct eye on the closed gates of the assembly room, focusing solely on any movement, waiting for the moment they opened as the antipunks could be heard rushing through the room behind them. But while it looked like the team was prepared to switch roles on their enemies and ambush them in the furnace room, Chappy couldn’t help but get paranoid and retreated further into the factory.
Seeing as he couldn’t do much to fight, he walked out of the furnace room, heading back through the hallway on the left. Ace followed him in confusion, trying to make him turn back, but as they reached the middle of the hallway, Chappy was completely stunned when he looked out the small window that Faye had peeked through earlier. Apart from seeing the same large pipes that held the elevated section they were on, he saw a distant silhouette that he mistook for mining equipment at first. It was the full extent of the antipunk army approaching the factory, and it looked several times worse than what they saw at the cargo bay.
–Oh no, we have a problem…– Ace muttered in a mix of disbelief and distress as he got to see more waves of armed antipunks closing in on their location, seemingly covering the entire left side of the quarry, with many heading towards the front entrance with the dead pile of miners. But now, the antipunk's forces were enough to petrify Chappy, as they were more threatening than ever and somehow more equipped to bring devastation as they now had bigger weapons at their disposal, including a few ballistae and small catapults aimed at them.
–We are screwed, aren’t we?– Chappy asked in a completely dejected manner, almost accepting his fate as he stared out the window to watch the large army approach. Ace was also distraught by the sight, but unlike him, he took quick action and dragged him out of enemy sight before they were spotted. But now that it seemed pointless to return to the furnace room and fight, knowing more enemies were coming from behind, Ace made sure to warn everyone about the grim reality of their situation.
–They are everywhere! They are coming from the left flank and the front!!– Ace shouted to his teammates and the Heartaches as he panicked and ran back into the furnace room. But despite them turning briefly to hear him and processing the information, once they came to the realization that they were being surrounded, it was already too late. Even if they tried to back away now, they couldn’t run anymore. The antipunks had entered the furnace room, so they were forced to fight for their lives and find a way out before they were completely trapped.