Gears of War: Ascendance by Jason M. Hough

Author:Jason M. Hough [Hough, Jason M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Media Tie-In, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781789092684
Google: 3bSPDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
Published: 2019-07-30T04:00:00+00:00

10: KNOCKING ON THE DOOR

“Easy,” Del whispered. He lifted his edge, eyes locked with JD the whole time to ensure their timing was perfect.

The section of roof rose inch by inch, and once vertical it locked into place. They waited for several seconds, but no cry of alarm went up from the enemies around them. Del could feel their presence, though, like he could feel the other people in a crowd even if his focus was elsewhere.

“Give me a boost,” JD said.

Del complied, cupping his hands together. They both stood on the heavy foreman’s desk, which had been moved to the far corner of the office beneath the small access hatch built into the ceiling. A way to reach the equipment on the roof—air conditioning, solar panel, and so forth. A way out that wasn’t the front door—that was the part that mattered.

He lifted JD until his head was halfway through the opening. Then JD gripped each side of the square exit and held himself in place, turning his head slowly back and forth. After a sweep he looked down.

“Can’t see much,” he whispered. “Going to climb out and look from the edge.” Del nodded, and lifted as JD pulled. Up and out he went in one smooth motion. Del waited, watching the square patch of sky above.

After a few seconds, JD’s face appeared. “Send Dave up.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Dave made his own way, approaching the hatch. JD caught him and ordered him to turn off his thrusters. Inert, Dave weighed quite a lot, and it was only with Del’s help from below that JD was able to wrangle him out onto the roof. Finally, JD leaned back into the opening and held a hand down for Del to use. Del grasped it, jumped, and scrambled up to the small exit.

The roof was dominated on one side by the air conditioner, and on the other by an angled solar cell held up by a metal scaffold. Steel pipes of varying sizes filled the spaces between the two. A small lip, perhaps six inches high, ringed the entire rooftop, broken every few feet by one-inch holes that Del presumed were designed to allow rainwater to drain.

Dust coated the entire area, half an inch thick. A manageable thing to walk around in, but lying in it made Del want to sneeze.

“I’d kill for a helmet right now.”

“Shh,” JD urged. They crawled to the edge. Del held a hand over his mouth and nose, then lifted his head just enough to peer over the six-inch-high perimeter wall. The dusty air had settled, and that came with pros and cons. Del could see the enemy more clearly now, but they would also be able to see him.

Swarm were everywhere. Muscular Drones, almost human in the way they lumbered about, arms swinging casually at their sides. Pouncers creeping around like oversized scorpions, bodies low to the ground as if ready to spring at anything that might move. Farther off, still obscured by lingering dust, were others. Larger shapes.

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