Borderlands: Unconquered (17 page)

It was buckling inward, and badly cracked.

“I was afraid of that,” Mordecai said, as Bloodwing landed on his shoulder. “When I drove up, I saw ’em moving in some more rocket launchers. They’re concentrating fire on that front gate! You’d better get your people under
cover!”

Dakes was already turning, shouting to Glory to get children and any women not prepared to fight into the center mine. He tossed Roland a shotgun. “You’ll need this for close fightin’!”

Roland nodded and turned to Mordecai, as another clanging boom announced the demolition of the front gate. Now it was breached, bent inward like the lid of a roughly opened tin can. Miners rushed to the
gate, firing at the oncoming Psycho soldiers. Guns roared, the marauders shouted their obscene challenges, and men screamed in pain.

“So are you staying here or what, Mordecai?” Roland asked, having to shout over the racket.

Another ear-shattering
clang-boom
, and the gate shattered completely, in an explosion of spinning, fragmenting metal and a gush of smoke.

“Looks like I’m not going out
that
way,” Mordecai said, staring at the smoking breach, where Psycho soldiers were already rushing in. “Guess I better stay. I sure as hell hope you gotta plan!”

“Get in the driver’s seat of the outrider. I’ll get on the side; we can nail some of these bastards up close and still be hard to hit!”

“Okay, but the outrider’s shield is almost dead, man!”

“It is what it is!” Roland yelled, jumping
onto a running board. “Let’s do it!”

Bullets were whining overhead as Mordecai jumped in, Bloodwing still on his shoulder, and Roland grabbed a hand-hold bar with his left hand, his right propping his new weapon on his hip, an Atlas Hunter’s Hydra, one of the most effective combat shotguns around.

Gong jumped onto the other running board with a Torgue Boomstick in his left hand, and they were
off, Mordecai gunning the outrider straight at the twisted wreckage around the gate. Bloodwing took to the air, flapping furiously overhead, working hard to keep up. They passed between two buildings, then crossed an open area, driving full-bore at the gate. Mordecai reached up with his right hand and tilted the turret gun on the red outrider’s hood, the small rocket launcher aimed toward three
Psycho soldiers clustered to the right of the gate. Mordecai fired, and two well-placed shells knocked them up into blood-splashing backflips. Bloodwing darted down and slashed at two other Psychos, keeping them distracted, ruining their aim, so that Mordecai was able to drive past them without taking fire.

Mordecai spun the wheel, and the outrider whipped about, Roland and Gong white-knuckling
on the grips to hold on. A big Bruiser—with a black mask, red goggles, a Mohawk, and Gynella’s face tattooed right on his chest—came rushing toward Roland, leveling a combat rifle. Roland fired the shotgun propped on his hip, three rounds in less than a second, two of the powerful shotgun’s big loads slamming through Gynella’s tattooed-on face, the third shot blasting the goggles off the Bruiser’s
eyes, blinding him.

Roland lost sight of the Bruiser as the outrider continued its turn, making a complete circle, Gong firing at another Psycho, Mordecai shooting at a blue outrider coming through the gate, blowing the driver’s head off. Two Psychos clinging to the outrider lost their grip as the vehicle spun out of control. It rolled, crushing them, as Bloodwing circled overhead, cawing.

Roland was only peripherally aware of this carnage. He was gritting his teeth as he tried to hold on to the red outrider against the tug of inertia, firing the shotgun again and again at vault-masked Psycho faces flashing by. Mordecai brought the outrider around again, and Roland sent his last few rounds through the still-smoking gap in the gate. He caught a glimpse, as they sped past, of the last
kill-mech, on the plains outside, using its jackhammer to slam a Bruiser to pieces, shooting
another with its rifle arm—before exploding as three grenades hit it at once.

“I’m outta ammo!” Mordecai shouted, firing a last round. He angled the outrider toward the back of the settlement, and bullets cut the ground just to Roland’s left. Then they drove behind the cover of several low rusty-metal
outbuildings near the mines. Mordecai pulled up, and Roland jumped off, having to skid to stop his momentum. Mordecai whistled, and Bloodwing flapped up, landing on his shoulder. Gong was no longer on the outrider.

“Whew!” Roland said, breathing hard. “Some ride. You should sell tickets.”

Roland looked for Gong—and saw him lying facedown about ten paces back. He jogged back, alert for Psychos
as he went, and was relieved to see that Gong was alive, getting dazedly to his knees, but shot through the back of the left shoulder.

“I couldn’t hold on, with that bullet in me,” Gong said, shaking his head in self-disgust.

Roland helped him to his feet. “Come on, get into the mine. You’ve gotta keep an eye on the families, help Dakes get them through.”

Gong nodded and plodded grimly toward
the mine. Roland turned at a tittering sound and saw a strange sight: three Psycho soldiers charging at him, all wearing Gynella’s livery. But they represented three types of Psycho, and they were
coming in a row, one behind the next; first came the smaller one, a Midget Psycho; then directly behind him came a standard Psycho, midsize but fully insane; then a Badass Psycho. Far taller than the
standard Psycho, the Badass had a disproportionately long and powerful right arm but a shriveled and stunted left one—the left arm was useless, but the hugely muscular right arm and the big glowing axe in the big Psycho’s right hand almost made up for it.

All three attackers wore full-face vault masks with glowing eyes. All three were coming in single file but fast, the first one tittering, the
second one gibbering, the third one howling for blood.

Roland was a little amused by the graduated display of Psychos but also a little intimidated.

Still, Roland was a pro. He aimed the Atlas Hydra carefully, fired it when the Midget Psycho was just three paces away, and blew its right kneecap in half. He did it that way so it’d fall right in front of the medium-size Psycho and so it’d still
be lively enough to thrash about and entangle the second Psycho’s legs—and that’s how it worked out, the second Psycho falling on the Midget underfoot.

Roland was going to dispatch the second one when the third, the huge Badass Psycho, gave a short leap and jumped on the back of the second Psycho, crushing the Psycho’s spine. Roland had the shotgun ready, and he fired as the Badass came
at him
like a truck bearing down. But the blast from the Hydra didn’t stop the Badass Psycho. The lunatic bandit’s shield was a tough one, a powerful Pearlescent, and the Psycho stumbled but didn’t take any real damage.

“Come here, meat puppet!” the Psycho shouted.

Roland stepped back, but the enormous, energy-charged axe was swinging at him and struck the barrel of his weapon just as he fired again.
He got off a shot, the powerful shotgun weakening his enemy’s shield, but a moment later the gun was knocked from his hands with such force his fingers felt numb, and he stumbled back, almost falling.

“I’m gonna skin ya, put on your face, and say hi to your mama!” the Psycho shrieked, raising the axe.

Roland got his feet under him, decided to rush the Psycho, but then two rattling bursts from
a combat rifle sounded close to his right, and the Badass staggered, the side of its head half shattered, helmet cracked.

Roland drew his big knife and rushed in, using all his strength to penetrate the Psycho’s failing shield. He forced the blade through the energy field and up, through Gynella’s
G
, and into the huge Psycho’s heart.

The malformed soldier shuddered and fell on top of Roland,
stone dead. A true deadweight, the corpse slammed Roland onto his back, crushed the breath from him as he struck the ground.

Mordecai strode up, grinning. Bloodwing rode on his right shoulder. “Good thing for you I can hit a moving target! Tough shield! You hadn’t have weakened it, I couldn’t have gotten those rounds through.”

“Will you . . .” Roland wheezed. “Get this . . .” He took a hoarse
breath. “Stinking carrion off me . . .”

Mordecai laughed and set to work. It took both of them, straining hard, to roll the Badass Psycho off Roland.

“Well, stop loafing around, Roland,” Mordecai said, as Roland got gasping to his feet. “Let’s move—there’s another wave of them coming.”

Roland picked up his shotgun, but the barrel was bent. The weapon was useless.

He tossed it aside, then noticed
another dead Psycho lying facedown on a Vladof Glorious Havoc, a formidable machine gun. He strode to the body and pulled the weapons and extra magazines of ammo free, just as a red outrider came careening down an alley between two low metal buildings, with a group of Psychos running behind it. The outrider fired a small cannon shell that burst just behind Roland, making him stagger. The outrider
flashed past him, screeching into a turn.

“Come on, Roland!” Mordecai shouted.

They ran full tilt toward the mine entrance, Mordecai just ahead.

“Where are Dakes and the others?” Roland called, between puffing breaths.

“They’re all inside!” Mordecai shouted, as Bloodwing flew above him, screeching.

They got into the opening of the center mine just as the outrider came up behind them, almost
running Roland over. He had to dive headfirst into the mine to keep from getting clipped by a bone-studded fender. He shoulder-rolled, careful of his new weapon, got up, and saw that Mordecai was already stationing himself at the door, firing out at the Psychos.

Moving stiffly, muscles aching from the falls he’d taken, Roland ran to hunker behind the partial shelter of the metal girders framing
the entrances, across from Mordecai.

“Concentrate fire on that damn outrider!” Roland suggested. “Hit the driver!”

They had to take him down fast. One good shell from that outrider’s mounted turret cannon would kill them both in this enclosed space.

Mordecai nodded, and they both aimed at the driver as the outrider spun around, came back for another pass. It fired its turret cannon at the entrance
to the mine. The other Psychos, an increasing throng of them, were taking up firing positions to either side of the buildings across from the mine entrance. Roland aimed the combat machine gun and squeezed off a long burst, the powerful weapon bucking in his grasp.

The red outrider’s turret missed the entrance, raising two fireballs just outside the mine—and then their concentrated fire penetrated
the outrider’s shield, and the driver’s head vaporized in a red mist. The outrider spun wildly, completely out of control. It rolled over and exploded against a side wall of the settlement.

Lucky suddenly appeared, coming from behind, crouching down between Mordecai and Roland. He fired an Atlas combat rifle at the Psychos in quick bursts. He wore a mining helmet with a light on it, and there
was blood dripping from under the helmet, but he didn’t seem badly hurt—Lucky’s eyes burned with hatred for the invaders.

Roland glared at him. “Lucky, get back in there, dammit, you’re too exposed!”

“Kiss my ass!” Lucky shouted back, grinning, firing till his clip was empty. Two of the enemy had gone down to his fire, but more were rushing to fill the gap, as increasing numbers of the Knife
Legion penetrated the wrecked front gate of the settlement.

Bullets sang past and struck sparks from the frame of the mine entrance. Roland emptied another magazine, mowing down half a dozen small Psychos and two or three bandits.

But the press from behind forced the front line of the legion into action. Two big Bruisers roared in fury and rushed at the mine entrance, firing submachine guns
and leading a general charge.

“Come on!” Lucky shouted at Roland. “The mine’s entrance is wired! Back inside! Get to the cavern!”

“Go, you two!” Mordecai yelled, knocking one of the Bruisers off his feet with a burst from his Cobra. “I’m gonna be right behind you!” He set the Cobra aside, took four grenades from his belt, gave two of them to Bloodwing. And he threw the others, in one handful,
at the charging Psychos. Bloodwing was already flapping toward the Psychos, and Roland was afraid Mordecai’s winged partner would get caught in the grenade blasts, but it dropped its grenades like a bomber in the thick of the Psychos and then swooped back, just ahead of the blast cloud.

The four grenades blew up almost simultaneously, about fifteen meters out, momentarily obscuring the onrushing
enemy in a cloud of dust and spraying blood.

“Come on, Mordecai!” Roland shouted. “While they’re eating dust!” And they followed Lucky back into the mine, Bloodwing swooping in after them.

Back and down they went, slipping at times on the slick, gradually descending ramp of stone, hurrying but not able to run full tilt for fear of slamming headlong into girders or the occasional cart. Most of
the time they were in darkness, following the bobbing glow of the light fixed to Lucky’s helmet.

“The whole settlement make it in here?” Roland asked, as they reached the bottom level of the mine. “I don’t see anyone.”

Lucky came to a stop, looking back the way they’d come. They could hear the guttural shouts of the oncoming Psychos, working their way down the mine shaft. Another minute, and
the Knife Legion would catch up with them. “The others are in the cavern—the ones that survived. About half the men are dead.”

“Come on, Roland!” Mordecai said, climbing through the opening at the back of the mine. “This way!”

“Lucky!” Roland shouted. “Come on!”

“I’m coming,” Lucky said, opening a metal box fixed to the wall. “I’ve gotta prepare a welcome for those plug-ugly bastards.”

Inside
the metal box was a switch.