The Crossing Dawn

X. Down in Flames

"We agreed on it before! I get three legs and the ribs."

"Well that seems unfair. Why the hell?"

"Because I'm a lady."

"Oh, please. You have a smaller stomach than me, so it should be me who's getting more. But I'm only asking for an even split!" I argued as Claire wanted all the chicken to herself, acting greedily and overcome with gluttony.

"You know I'm not letting this go. You're simply postponing your dinner with all this bickering. And I'm not being greedy. Thank you very much." She said as she took the food from the table and began eating.

"Wait, how did you- argh, fine. Just don't be surprised when I pass out mid-action tomorrow, because I wouldn't be." I responded.

Claire, being the little child that she was, pretended not to hear me. Instead, she made sure I heard the gross sounds of her exaggerated chewing. I knew I was getting nowhere, so I decided to cut my minuscule part and try to eat as much as possible.

After we were done eating and cleaning up, we prepared for the long day ahead of us. We headed outside and sat down with the crew, preparing for our first official "mission."

Lance could be seen with a battered clipboard, hands behind his back. He was discussing an obviously elaborate plan.

"Alright, for those who don't know, we're planning on claiming Fort Six and freeing the innocents who have gotten kidnapped. The Magpies feast in a few hours, so this will be a fast job." Said Lance with determination in his voice.

Raven pulled out a hand-drawn map of the fort, which was surprisingly detailed, and showed it to the group.

"We will be divided into two teams. Team one will be consisted of Charlie and Nathan, and they will sneak through the back entrance, then wipe those sons of bitches out. Simple as that." Lance elaborated.

"B-but boss, there have to be at least fifty of them. This is suicide!" Said Charlie.

"Allow me to finish. The second team will consist of myself, Raven, and Claire. Thankfully, Fort Six is surrounded by large hills which allow us to get a massive vantage point. We will all be equipped with silenced sniper rifles and form a triangle around Six." Lance said. "Most of our guns are silenced, and Charlie and Nathan will be heavily equipped for the odd case that things go south. This is the plan. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Yeah, I do. Care to explain team one's role a bit more? I don't know how we would free all of these people. Are the doors not locked?" I asked with worry in my voice.

"Locked? Yes, from the inside. Magpies are like angry, feral monkeys. Don't expect any advanced security systems or anything like that. They only have primitive weapons except for the few at the top. Each of you have a single smoke grenade. Use it wisely."

Charlie and I locked eyes and simultaneously nodded. I was nervous, but the people around me were experienced at this type of thing. They had survived all this time, so I was not willing to let them down. Charlie tapped my shoulder.