“[i]What?[/i]” Cameron shouted back to Justin, but the noise sounding above them answered her question quite quickly. She had only heard stories of such machinery, but never thought she would be able to see one for her own eyes; big, black, dragonfly-esque flying contraptions heading straight for them. Cameron found herself paralyzed with shock – both fearfully and in awe – but as soon as the helicopters began to attack, the awe subsided and was replaced by pure adrenaline. 

“Shit!” Cameron grunted as she ducked down and began to sprint across the rooftop. The gap was approaching, but she continued full speed until she launched herself off of the roof’s floor and propelled forward, landing forcefully on the rooftop Justin had occupied. Out of breath, she ducked behind the ledge on all fours and inhaled deeply. “There’s no way we’re gonna get through this one.” Was that something pessimistic to say? Maybe. But it was also realistic. The Harbinger’s equipment and numbers definitely gave them great advantage over the small squadron. 

She tilted her head upwards to look at Justin and forced a smile. “So, if I am gonna die, I wanna say thanks again for all you’ve done. I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far without you.” Cameron wiped the sweat off her forehead and took another deep breath. “But, if we do make it, we gotta find a different hobby. The perilous adventures were fun at first, but…” she nudged her head towards the approaching helicopters.

The latch on the roof popped opened, and Connor popped his head out. “Are you guys suicidal? Come on, get in!” 

Once everyone was back in the structure, they all tried their best to ignore the sounds of bullets and screaming that were taking place only yards away from the door. “Our reinforcements should be arriving any second. Hopefully some will make it through the line and be able to get some of those birds out of the sky. One of our guys has a makeshift bazooka on his truck, so Rogers, Simon? Get to work on some ammo for him. That’s our only hope.” 

Connor turned to the pair and sighed. “Reload and get ready for when our guys – “ 

A horn that played a song pierced through the rumble of the helicopters, and Connor’s eyes lit up. “My boys. They’re here!” The exchange of gunfire began to increase, and the horn again rang, but this time in the back of the building. “Let him in, let him in!” Connor ordered, and a silver door was unlatched to welcome a tall, built man with dark features and long brown hair. 

“Jesus, Connor. What’d you get us in to?” The man eyed both Cameron and Justin up and down before returning his attention to their leader. 

“Our friends brought company. The Harbingers.” 

“Dammit,” the man shook his head. “We could only rally twenty cars. Didn’t know it’d be this bad.” 

“Not your fault, Sam. Let’s just try to save our asses before we disintegrate,” Connor patted the man’s shoulders, then looked to them. “This is Sam, our best bet at making it out of here alive.” 

Sam shook Justin’s hand, but after again surveying Cameron, she lifted her hand and kissed it. “Not many pretty girls left anymore.” 

Although it was inappropriate in the circumstances, she couldn’t help but blush slightly. “Well, there’s gonna be one less in a minute.” 

“Right,” Sam nodded, turning towards the rest of the room. “Men, we got three vehicles parked out back. Let’s cram in as many as we can and charge these fuckers. Let’s go!” 

Cameron turned to Justin and took a deep breath. “Let’s do this, huh?”