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14 Thadius "Wojtek" Ironclad

The rain plops against my armor, I grumble, "Damn rain won't stop." That old man pats my shoulder, "What language is that?" I sigh. What's he saying? He waves, "Come on in already!" I wander after him and spread the tent's opening. They all turn as I squeeze through the opening, lowering my head to fit inside their little home. I walk up to a table and they clear the way for me to kneel on the floor. They smoke and slap thin cards down. They deal me in and I rub my chin. I flip them up and one guy's hand reaches to mine. "You don't show us-" I turn to him and he smiles, shaking his head. "Hmmm." He smiles, "Has he ever played blackjack?" Another taps the table, a man hands him a card, "Where do think he's from?" The old man leans in, "He's secretly a giant!" They roll their eyes as another waves his hand once, "Nah! I'd say he's Russian." The one with golden hair smiles, "That isn't Russian though, it's some odd language. Maybe from some dead language?"

The noisy box comes on again, "Major! Come in!" The old man gets up and grabs the smaller box, pointing at himself, "Major's here." Sir, I regret to inform you- Your family's district- Major shouts, "Don't you fucking say it!" It's been compromised. Everyone gets up and grabs their weapons. Sir? As they all shout, Major shoves a weapon to me, "Flamethrower." Respond, Major! I nod and he marches out the tent. "Privates! Grab the equipment!" "Yes sir!" I take the crate and lift it up with ease as the Privates watch in shock.

Major leads us through the monstrous rain, like sand smacking against our exposed skin. Major tells me to drop the crate, they suit up as a man in uniform marches up, "Major! Stand down!" Major marches up to the man, "You've had us clearing that filth in the better off districts! While our families had to use buckets in fear of our own toilets! And it didn't fucking matter, did it?!" The man raises a gun to Major and I grunt with a stomp. He turns to me as I stare at him. He looks into my eyes as I crack my knuckles. They open the hole and the privates zip him up. Major grabs a flamethrower and he shoots a flame out. "Major! If you come back up! It's treason!" He stares ahead and huffs through a mask, "So be it." He hops and falls down the hole. Flashes of light and heat come from the hole. The man shouts, "That goes for anyone who-" "Wait!" I hop down without one of their fancy suits.

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I stomp down on a tendril and grip a another with my bare hands and crush it, making it squelch and pop. What's left of the damned creature drips from my fist as flames whoosh past me. It's like I'm back home. I shake my head as everyone who had died are no longer beside me. Others drop down, one of them cheer as they tap onto my shoulder hard, "Damn, Wojtek!" They hold onto me and raise their flamethrowers to a large wall of the black tendrils and the trash they had intertwined with. Flames whoosh against it, as the wall burns, water floods towards us. I angle my heels as my calves strain, I groan as the water pushes me for a moment, but I quickly find footing below the water for the men beside me.

A man jumps down in a thicker suit. He jams a gun to the wall and a large metal hook cracks into the tunnel's walls. He follows us down, shooting more hooks in, then another brings in lights. "Big guy!" Major points ahead, then shows me how to use the flamethrower. "Alright, privates! Stay here and guard with him! We're going to the outflow pipes!" I sigh deep. I know what that meant, at least. Defend. I grin as my teeth grind at their shrill noises from the darkness ahead. Don't be shy. I pull the bar back and a flame whooshes out the end. I stop pulling it and I grin wider as the flame stops. Come on out.