Fandom Waves of Dementia, A Marker's Calling... (Dead Space)

[Style Kella]

Lance took a moment to gather himself, checking for any severe damage to his suit and shaking the pain out as his RIG worked to administer a small amount of pain killers to sooth the adrenaline and get him back into action. The intense ring of the revolver guided Lea's attention to the fucked up spawn and his friend who slowly advanced.

Several shots sounded and hit before an audible click. JD was standing above the thing as he loaded his last mag into the thing, giving Lea the time to gather his rifle and double check. He had three shots and an extra mag left, leaving him at 10 shots. He got a better angle by rounding a table, not to the direct left of the thing as it stood for round three.

His first shoot was aimed at the knee, the joint shattering as the round hit. It was less gruesome than the others but the thing fell to the ground. The next one hit an arm but had little affect, only cutting about half the arm off. By now the thing began crawling towards JD, Lea moved behind it and finished the one arm off, leaving the thing on one side and hardly able to move, swinging its sharpened bone in an attempt to hit either of the soldiers.

"Finish it, I gotta reload." Lea called out as he fumbled for his last mag, working to load and rack the next set of rounds.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD noticed Lea had recovered from his tussle with the freak and took it down to its last leg while he himself was reloading. He heard the callout and responded, "With pleasure," as he took careful aim with his revolver. He blasted the remaining slashing limb and incapacitated it, the creature still struggling with the dead limb still attached. He grabbed the arm and pinned it's torso to the floor with his boot as he ripped it of and mockingly beat it's husk of a corpse for a moment before tossing the limb aside. Jeff took one last cursory glance at the sword like bone appendage before commenting, "Kinesis could probably turn these things into javelins. Huh..."
He holstered his sidearm and re-equipped his primary before searching around the darkened room with the annoying flicker of lights above. Didn't seem like there was much around though besides that thing's dinner, some poor schmuck who probably worked the security desk.
"Poor bastard never had a chance."

 

[Style Kella]

Lance finished his reload as JD more than finished their attacker. He wasn't used to seeing his friend act so violent, not that he could blame him give the situation. He, too, was having trouble keeping it together. He had been seeing shadows here and there but they were always small, getting away or running the opposite direction. He would have chased them had the voice in his head told him those things were the remains of every victim here.

Lea pushed all that aside for now, keeping cool and getting back with the others was more important. It was quiet as they searched the room, yet the lights were as useful as a floaty in a tsunami; it's there but for what purpose, you don't know. The desk and tables at the walls had a few logs regarding disputes and incidents, a large amount of deaths and murders had been going on over the last few months yet never reported officially.

Lea heard JD speak in regards to the body made meal. "To be fair, we barely stood a chance, and we are leagues above him." Every step inside was met with some obstacle that led them to near death on several occasions. A guy who's basically a cop was ill prepared. "Check this out, it looks like they were hiding official numbers." He tossed the small log across the room that detailed unreported deaths.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

"True," JD remarked as they searched, not finding much beside the log that Lea tossed over to him. He caught it and read the information on the screen, scrolling through and baffled at what he was seeing.
"What the fuck... so many deaths, all so close to this outbreak. No wonder there are so many of these things lurking around here. But, still, there had to be a patient zero or something, right? Like, how did a person go from normal to... that," he asked as he set down the log, giving up in the room and making his way back to the door. They needed to find ammo and fast before they could even attempt to brave the path to comms and admin.

 

[Style Kella]

The first room, and a few after that, was a bust. A few small scuffles with a lurker and bloat, but those were easier compared to the beefed up slasher. Lea was starting to get annoyed by how little they were finding in resource, unless blood and viscera count... The idea of kinesis might work well, it would disarm and attack. His suit lacked the module itself but finding out shouldn't be impossible.

After a while it was down to one room with a ripped open door and a bright light inside. Lea could see the outline of crates and some ammo packs. "JD, I think this is it." He gestured to the door, the metal flayed out like petals on a flower. Whatever was inside didn't like being outside. Or maybe it was peeled to get inside.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD sighed with relief that they had finally found the armory but was leery of the ripped open door.
"Jesus," he exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Looks like something ripped the door like it was a soda can..."
He didn't know what to think if it exactly. It looked like it could have been punched in just as much as ripped open. Nevertheless, the two proceeded with caution and there was a chill sent down Jeff's spine as he saw the behemoth before them. Thankfully for them it was dead. This thing was massive and the ugliest thing they'd seen yet.
"Holy shit..." He gawked, baffled by the size of the beast and trying to avoid it as they looked around for supplies.

 

[Style Kella]

Lea was just as shocked by the Frankenstein-esque monster that laid dead. From up close dozens of bullet holes spotted the joints and the smudges on the thick plates were assumably also attempts at stopping it. "Unless the others tagged him, someone else has to be down here fighting, Jeff. Maybe we can save 'em?" He offered in encouragement, the idea that they weren't useless made him smile a bit as he began shifting through supplies.

From his end he was able to gather another 30 rounds for his rifle, at least 25 for his pistol, and 2 medium medpacks. The find was a lot larger than he expected, the bench at one wall seemed freshly used as well. Maybe within the last several hours or less. "It isn't a whole hell of a lot but it should get me by." He made his way to the bench and looked over possible blueprints. "Hey, J-Man, your guns can run universal ammo, right? We can craft it with some spare scrap. I know my rifle can, pistol needs to be pulse specifically." Lea knew next to nothing about crafting unless it came to bullets, he was taught all sorts of survival from his father, plus the squad had been in a pinch before and Delta was crafty.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD had only looked around briefly when Lea went on about the possibility of survivors. This peaked his curiosity and he cautiously approached the slain beast. There were several bullet holes all over it, but it seemed to just tank the shots like the hulk of a creature it was. He then made note of the armor like playing on the shoulders of the thing. They were thick and chipped away, like whoever fought it focused on attacking it from behind. That's when he noticed the rivet sticking out of a shredded puss like sack where the beefy arm was mostly severed from the joint. Jeff hesitated before reaching in and pulling out the rivet, examining it and then looking at his battle buddy.
"Fucking engineers, man," he chuckled a bit. "Seems like these... mutations do have weaknesses and tools are quite an effective means of defense. Maybe we'll hit up engineering after all, but this should be fine in the short term."
He dropped the bolt and stood again, resuming his search before adding, "But, you're right. Maybe we can save them, even if it's just one person."

Jeff wasn't having as much luck with finding ammo as Lea was, but he was finding a treasure trove of junk metal. There were an abundance of busted guns and tons of spare parts lying around. He was relieved when Lance mentioned crafting universal ammo from scraps.
"Thank God," he sighed and started grabbing some of the scraps.
"Yeah, I have a universal conversion kit on them. Gun can't tell the difference between it and the genuine article," he joked a bit.
"Good thing we can craft it. We have tons of scrap to go around," he said as he approached the bench with a bundle of junk metal.
He glanced at the second screen and noticed someone was working on some pretty wild stuff.
"Whoa," he whistled. "This Nicholas Peters guy... for an engineer he sure likes to tinker with weaponry," he said as he scrolled through the custom blueprints Nick had left open.
"Dude's either a gunsmith in his off time or...," he paused briefly and shook his head as he saw the increasingly complex absurdity of some of the weapons, most of which being heavily modified tools that would probably be used in a zombie apocalypse flick at the cinema.
JD looked at Lea and chuckled a bit. "Fucking nerds... gotta love 'em."

 

[Style Kella]

Lea was grateful that some things were working in their favor. While JD was going on about the scraps and craftble ammo, a godsend, if god was a thing you would apply here... Nonetheless, Lea had found several more audio recordings and text files containing a few situations that arose the leading days to their arrival. He mumbled through some of it out loud, an odd habit of his, as he made his way to the bench to check what his friend was talking about. He scoffed, half amazed and half terrified that an engineer cooked up better weapons than some of the R&D department. "Fuckin' Hell, I really hope this guy is on our side. Those look like they could chew through our armor." He laid what scrap he had gathered on one of the side panels of the bench before walking around the room more.

Looking over the communication records he found a recent out going message. "Hey, looks like the system caught something being sent out some time ago. I'm assuming it's the raw audio and video of that distress call we got." He played the file, as he thought, it was. This time there was no distortion, just the same blue-haired girl from before, Liz? If he recalled right... The same dialogue played through, but the look of stress and fear was more visible when static wasn't in the way. "I'm guessing that Peters guy and Reynolds are working together to get through this. That, or they're both better soldiers than civies." Lance laughed a bit, taking in the many ideas of saving these two or the chances they were too late. This station wasn't that big, they could run into the other pair, he hoped for the better.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

"Yeah, you and me both, brother," JD commented in response to the mystery engineer being on their side. If the guy was still kicking, JD definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of half the shit he cooked up in his off time.
Jeff got to work on converting the scrap into basic ammunition. It would pass well enough for their rifles, but Lea would still need some pulse rounds if he wanted his pistol to last. As much as he knew his battle buddy wouldn't like it, they would probably be switching off to modified tools sooner rather than later. While their firearms had more stopping power, that only seemed to work on human combatants. These... things... ate up their ammo in no time flat and getting a well placed shot on the limbs of an erratically moving target was no small feat. These tools, however, would probably do much better. Plasma cutters in general have a much wider spread than standard rifle fire while having the distance to pull off medium to long range shots. Shotguns could be fine in the interim, but the standard shotties lying around here are much more close range than anything and JD didn't really feel safe with having those monsters any closer than necessary. Still, if worse came to worse, he knew they could always double back for the shotguns.
Lea peaked Jeff's interest while going on about the raw message file, leaving the bench as it worked it's magic. He watched the message play alongside his friend and was in awe. This was the same file as before, but without all of the distortion... it almost seems like an entirely different message.
Typically JD would have laughed at the joke, but he had a nasty thought running through his head, one he wasn't sure either of them would like the answer to.
"Hey, Lance... do you think the message we received was altered to look and sound like it did," he asked with a bit of a sullen tone. "Like... what if EarthGov received the message loud and clear and manufactured the distortion to have us come in blind."
There was a brief pause before he continued.
"If so... you think... you think Sarge knew?" He hated asking the last part, but it was all he could think about. It was the sarge! He couldn't imagine their leader leading them astray... but if the message was tampered with, who's to say that Sarge did or didn't know and lead them into this mess.

 

[Style Kella]

Lance pressed his palms on the desk as he leaned forward, JD's assumption about a tampered message seemed so far fetched. He wanted to refuse the idea that EarthGov would put their people ar risk. "I doubt it, they..." His voice was filled with doubt, the evidence and all this being some freak conicidence just like the Ishimura? It was a hard to swallow pull. "I know there's been questionable actions done and I know they cover shit up, half our ops are never reported to the public right. But, we mean something to them, we've done a lot of good. Right?" If his helmet was down, his friend would see a concerned child rather than a soldier, his voice shook without having a clear answer.
And Sarge was another issue. The team was like a family and Sarge had always done his best for them. Lee shook his head, he trusted Sarge. "Sarge wouldn't lie to us, Jeff, you know that. They would have to break his arms to force him into that." For that Lance knew, he had no doubts about their commander.
He looked back at the message amd began downloading it to his RIG. "We can show him and bring this back as proof. We should also try to find those other two quick." Despite the shadows and worries he had about their chain of command and the fear of thise things, there was a job to be done and he would see it through, even if it meant his life. The bench made the whurring and clunking sound to signal it was finished with its queue. "What all do we have ammo wise and what should we take out there? We gotta figure out a better way to dispatch those....things."

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD could sense the doubt in the voice of his friend. He knew because he had those very same doubts. Granted, all Lea said was true, but would that really stop EarthGov from spinning a different tale for them and for the media? He couldn't answer that with certainty. And, yes, he felt guilty about even suggesting that Sarge was even somehow remotely involved in this, but all bets were off now. JD wasn't sure what to believe or who to trust, even the Sarge. Sarge was like a father to him, but if he was ordered to do something... could he actually do that to them? He didn't want to believe that so he gave very little entertainment to that thought, for Lance's sake. He did know this for sure, though. He trusted what he could see with his own eyes and hear with his own ears and he trusted Lea with his life. He would follow his battle buddy to Hell and back if it was demanded of him.
Jeff agreed about bringing the proof back to Sarge and the others as well as finding Peters and Reynolds. They could very well be great allies in this fight as they had first contact and seemed to be handling themselves well enough based on the video.
"Well, we've got about six mags each, thanks to the scrap and we could probably do the same later for even more. As far as weapons and dispatching our enemies..."
Jeff paused as he thought back to the video of Reynolds and Peters.
"Do what they said, go for the limbs. We've gotta cut the bastards down piece by piece. I suggest keeping a shotgun handy for close quarters, but other than that we should make do with what we've got until we reach an engineering bay or find Peters. If we can all make it to engineering he can work his nerd magic and make us some crazy shit to give us the edge out there."

 

[Style Kella]

Lea could practically see the gears turning in JD's head by the long silence and distant look. He was debating his own feelings and stance, he was methodical like that at times, and generally it was a good thing. Lea respected Jeff for that, for always putting thought into things more than most of the team. But, the silence of an underwater base full of monsters was a little unnerving. Lamce was about to speak up but his brother in arms finally came back to reality. The sound of his voice was oddly reassuring, in a 'I'm-not-alone' way. JD was in short, the closest thing to a brother Lea had and there was nothing he wouldn't do for the guy. Even charging head first into a mob of those fuckers, as long as JD was down, Lea would follow.

He gave an agreeing nod to what his comrade pointed out, finding those two would shed a lot of light on the situation and Peters would give them an edge. "Right, limbs first. I'd suggest immobilizing crowds, if there are too many we can shoot their legs out to buy time." As they discussed their new strategy and seemingly new confidence they made their way towards the elevator. "I guess with one or two taking out their arms may be a better bet, they won't be able to strike us without them. But...that's assuming we get lucky and only get one or two." Lea did his best to present himself as ready and gung-ho, but deep down he was a little nervous, this would conserve ammo but would require composure that he had to get back. And that all left once they arrived at the elevator which was busted open from the inside and off-kilter. "Something must have busted out and off set the cable or gyroscope We may have to take the stairs..." An uneasy tone in the suggestion.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

Jeff took in all that Lance had said and agreed. It wasn't exactly the best situation they found themselves in. They simply had to make the mistake what they had and survive until they had the supplies and numbers advantage over the horde of monsters aboard the facility.

JD was briefly speechless as they stared at the ruined and busted lift. It was just one blow after another that kept setting then back and this obstacle was no different.
"Either that or find another elevator," Jeff finally suggested. Yeah, the maintenance hatch with the stairs would probably be a safe bet, but he didn't like the though of being bottlenecked, trapped in such a tight space with enemies from above and below... not ideal. The other option wasn't exactly thrilling either. That would mean spending even more time on this level when they could be reaching their squad or finding the two survivors from the video. That's not to mention the further waste of ammo and running into whatever the Hell destroyed the lift... Neither option was great, but they had to decide.

 

[Style Kella]

Lance rubbed his helmet in thought, both options absolutely sucked. He took a few steps away from the elevator and JD and then back. "Ok, what about climbing up the shaft? Like we did on that one rock world, scaling the cliff edge instead of going around. Right now it seens quiet and we would only need to worry up if we weld the door shut." It was a little crazy but it would be a decent middle option, they woukdn't need to run around looking for another lift and the shaft had way more room than a stairwell. He made his way into the lift, squeezing past the busted metal. Glancing up at the ceiling, the access hatch already busted inward, shining his light into the dark tunnel in slight fear. The beam scanned the near infinite abyss, occasional blinking green lights glinting but all clear. "What are you thinking, buddy? You alright with a climb?" He tried to sound cheery as if this was any ordinary mission, as if the last several hours weren't true nightmares. But he was tired of cowering now that there was a chance.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD sighed and shook his head as he looked at the ground briefly.
"This isn't exactly the same... But you're not entirely wrong," Jeff spoke, not thrilled about this idea either but it wasn't as bad as the other two. It was a straight shot and they only needed to travel up a few levels. They had the equipment necessary to use the cables of the lift and ride them to the other levels. Plus, it did seem quiet. If there was opposition in the shaft it would be easier to engage in theory and probably less hostiles too.
JD entered the lift with Lance and was a bit terrified of the stability of it. Whatever damaged it must have been massive and cramped in the metal box.
"I'm thinking we need to hurry and move before I have a chance to change my mind," he smirked beneath his helmet and teased his brother, actually finding relief in the fact he was trying to let everything fall off his shoulders and pretend everything was fine. If Lance could try then so could he.

 

[Style Kella]

"Come on, JD, we gonna let a lopsided lift scare us?" Lance pushed the humor further as he attached his rappel clip to one of the cables. His eyes glanced up to double check they were alone, with joy and surprise they were alone. Lea held back any remarks in fear of a jinxing. He turned to his brother and nodded slowly as he activated the magnets in his shoes and began walking up the side of the elevator shaft. "Hey! I uh....not good with this stuff but I'm glad it's you by my side, Jeff, you always pull my ass out of shit creek." He wanted JD to know that if it was anyone walking into Hell with him, ironic as they go up, he would always choose him. He steel his nerves as he made each step, the lift creaking as the pair climbed, their destination just a few dozen feet up a metal prison.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

Jeff rolled his eyes at the comment about the lift. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he ascended through the escape hatch and attached his own rappel clip and gripped the sides of the shaft with his magnetic boots. This definitely made things easier than the cliffside Lea mentioned earlier. The only thing that made it more terrifying was the idea of those nightmarish creatures coming after them in such a compromising position. He quickly shook the thought away as his friend spoke once more.

JD couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Well, if your ass would stop jumping in without a paddle," he quipped back lightheartedly before sighing and being more genuine. "You've got my back, brother, and I've got yours. We ride together, we die together, and we'll fight til the last bullet." Jeff meant every word. The two of them had gone on plenty of ops together and truly were like brothers. If anybody truly knew Jeff it was Lance and the same could be said with the table turned. They had faced horrors before and would face even more ahead. They couldn't let this shake them even when the odds were stacked against them.

 

[Style Kella]

Lance was about a floor ahead of JD and one from where they needed to be. He listened and clung to each word his brother said, the endearment mutual. He stopped to check on Jeff, his body half turned. "I completely agree, to hell and back, no regrets." Those were words the two shared a lot when the going got tough and they had to kick teeth out. "I'm gonna start opening the door, if you arent up here by then I'll signal." With that he closed the gap to the door, taking a breath first before he opened it.

Before his hand could touch the control the cables began to shake and the lift below them slid down a bit, throwing Lance off balance as the cable tugged him away from the wall. His clasp kept him on the wire as he fell a few feet, his hands flailing in an attempt to grab the wire. He nearly passed JD by the time he had a handle on it. Lea took in deep breaths as he heart slam fired his chest, the blood pumping as he nearly feared for his own life.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD listened to Lance as he returned the sentiment and went on about the door. He was about to reply his copy when the lift below shifted and Lea fell the some odd fifteen feet in the blink of an eye back down to about his level.
"Christ alive, Lance," he exclaimed and looked back and forth between his friend and the lift. "You good, brother," he asked as he stood flat out from the wall, the act incredibly difficult to do with gravity pulling at you full force as opposed to in zero-g. He stood on the wall of the shaft and turned to face the lift below. The lift was now at a gnarly angle and he couldn't even tell how it was still wedged in place like that.
"Just breathe, Lance," Jeff instructed as he looked at the couplings to the cables, seeing the clear strain and knowing they were going to either break or drag the entire hydraulic system above them down with the lift. He then turned a bit and glanced up at the system seeing the same strain.
"The brakes are jammed," he relayed the information. "We can either fire and destroy the brakes or destroy the cables. Either way we'll have to be quick and get to that door afterwards because the noise is sure to bring a world of hurt our way."
He then leveled out again and braced against the wall with the cable again.
"Whatdya say, Lance... c'mon, talk to me," he said as he glanced over. It was bad when Lea shut down like that and he was doing all he could from where he was to bring him back from inside his head.

 

[Style Kella]

Lea ran his hands over his helmet as he tried to catch his breath. The blood flow pumping in his ears muffled the sound of JD and his plan. His hands shaking as his breaths became quick and shallow, his helmet lowering in response to the rapid breaths and heart rate. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!" His voice echoed in his head as he took in another breath, holding it this time as he tried to calm down, Jeff's frantic calls easily heard.
"Sorry, Jeff, I-I panicked... I'm ok, relay the plan again?" He looked at his brother, once JD recapped the options Lea pointed up to the breaks. "I vote we shoot them out, it may free up the lift or at least get it out of the way." He didn't know a thing about lifts or how they worked and he didn't care. He waited for JD's opinion and whatever the concensus was, the paired fired their rounds.
The loud screech of metal clashed with the whirl and whoosh of the cables becoming free. The pain quickly ran up the wall to the door, and his brother predicted, the loud scratching and scurring of those monsters came in fast. Grates above and below bursted as the door to salvation opened. Lea pushed JD inside and scrambled. As the door closed a pair of bone blades jabbed into the ground but were quickly severed by the door.
Lea laid flat on his back as he caught his breath, shutting his eyes tightly as the sounds of those things banged around the shaft like angry hornets.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

The situation went from zero to a million in the blink of an eye. The cables for support were now gone as they huffed it as fast as their magnetized boots would carry them. And, of course, the horde of monsters rushing out of the vents above and below them, skittering for the lift doors at near lightning speed was as impressive as it was terrifying. On top of that, Jeff felt like he couldn't move fast enough and he could hear the snarling in his skull like the maws of the beasts were right in his ear.
He lay sprawled on the cold floor besides Lea, catching his breath as well before slowly struggling back to his feet. His adrenaline was pumping and he needed to keep moving. But he was also hungry and exhausted. He desperately needed a break. This was the most nonstop action they had ever had to endure and it was so damn intense, harder than any of the training sims that they had ever gone through. This was an absolute Hell.
"C'mon, Lea," he grumbled and moved to help up his brother. "Gotta keep moving. Maybe we'll find a mess hall on the way to comms and Sarge and the others," he continued, trying to entice Lance with food and drink.

 

[Style Kella]

Lea smiled weakly as he stood, he hadn't even considered food and such. With them constantly running and fighting, their bodies burned through energy stores and fat. "I doubt I'll want any of it, especially if it moves." He joked lightly as they walked down the halls to comns. Lance pulled up his map to check the surroundings, the blue light flickering orange as the map fell apart. He gasped, his hand instinctively shut the map off. "Stupid RIG system.." He mumbled as hr stopped, the pair at a small intersection. Signs on the wall indicated comms and a dining hall were to the right, left held offices and small quarters, and forward seemed to be a mix of storage and data rooms. That way was freaky, blood smears and flickering lights while left and right were well lit, still bloody and full of corpses, but lit.
Lance placed a hand on his brother's shoulder as he pointed down the forward hall. To Lea he saw someone with their back to them, the light above flickered, only brief details showing. Lea didn't know if the figure was real or not, he was tired and starving. "Is there someone down there...?" He asked mostly to Jeff.

 

[Icarus-Ulrich]

JD chuckled a bit at the joke, feeling the same as Lea as they began to walk. They were both running on adrenaline at that point. Coffee and a sandwich would be nice. Hell, even just water and some good ole MREs would hit the spot right about then. But the more he thought about it the more it made his stomach and body ache and groan.
Jeff couldn't help but chuckle again at the map trouble. All he could think was, "Yep, that's government issue for ya." He noticed the signage and made a mental note of the halls and what resided on them. Then he felt Lea's hand and heard his question. He promptly focused down the hall, even raising his rifle to look down the scope. He nodded slowly.
"Yeah... But I can't tell who or even what that someone is," he mumbled softly. The four times zoom on the scope only did so much to indicate more than a general size and shape. It seemed human enough but was dark from head to toe and looked to be wearing a hood or something.
"I've got a bad feeling, Lance..."

 

[Style Kella]

Lance was glad and scared that JD saw the person at the end of the hall. While he relished in the idea he wasn't crazy, knowing someone or something was actually there was a concern. "Take the shot or let's go!" Lance pleaded in a whisper, giving Jeff a light shake. Some creepy figure standing calmly in a this hell hole? That was either pure insanity or the most iron plated balls and Lea wasn't willing to find out.
The whatever down the hall slowly turned and by slow we're talking multiple seconds to complete the action. Once fully turned towards a hall the figure walked just as slow out of view. "No, fuck that, Jeff, that isn't sane." His voice grew louder as he watched where the thing stood, his rifle raised in case it charged. Now would be a great time to leave.