Cuthbert smiled, hard and sharp, and rested back against the wall, pausing in his barrage just long enough to break off the arrow still sticking out of his belly. It was getting in the way, and he was too pumped with adrenaline to really feel it. Besides, it wasn't like he expected to live long enough for it to get infected.

Up on the wall, Alain sounded the horn again to signal the second wave. Cuthbert hooted like a boy at play, laughing, and went right back to firing. "Come on, you maggots! Fatherless sons of bitches! Come choke on it!"

One eye, though, was always on Kaine, keeping careful watch for the moment her strength failed her. That distraction was, in all probability, part of the reason he didn't dodge in time to avoid the swipe of a knife across his face. Blinking blood out of his eyes, he drew his gun in one smooth motion, firing point-blank through his attacker's chest, and laughed. "That the best you've got?"