This Forsaken World Chapter 13
Sergeant Victor Grimm
Suzy regained her footing and backed up to stand with the alien soldiers. She slowly smiled as they surrounded her, keeping there attention on me and ignoring her for the moment.
"You were a mole to draw out more survivors, weren't you?" I snapped in anger, scanning my surroundings to figure out the best way to fight back or avoid the enemy. While my shotgun and her discarded pistol were nearby, the aliens would blast me the second I went for them. I still had two grenades but going for those would also inspire a swift death. I struggled to come up with something, anything, to survive.
"Yep, you see, they promise to turn us if we help them. You have no idea what an honor that is." The smile seemed to spread even more on Suzy's face and it really got under my skin.
"So you don't mind betraying your own species to help aliens who plan on enslaving us? This turning, is it really worth it? What would you become?" I white knuckled the knife as I waited for the inevitable.
Just as the woman was about to reply, one of the enemy soldiers removed his face mask and gripped her throat, dragging her close.
"You fool...your not worthy of anything more than livestock." The man's skin was milky white as though he'd never had the sun touch him once in his entire life. Blood red eyes blazed like ruby's and his long fingernails cut into the woman's throat. His head might have been shaved except there was no evidence of hair growth at all, as though it was a natural thing.
Turning to smile at me, long canines glistening, he lifted the woman one handed and buried his fangs into her jugular. Trying to call out, the woman kicked her feet and whimpered until the alien had sucked enough blood she went limp.
Wiping some of the crimson liquid on his bodysuit, the man tossed the woman aside, the body hitting the ground with the cracking of bone as the right leg twisted in the wrong direction.
Just as the enemy soldiers were about to advance on my position, a loud growl resonated nearby followed by the powerful revving of an engine. The plastic exhibit windows shook and the aliens looked around in confusion.
All I could do was thank Hank in my head as I used the distraction to my advantage. While I'd run multiple options, I decided the grenades were the best approach, they would do the most damage and they had a chance of hitting multiple enemies at one time. Using both thumbs to pull the pins, I chucked them underhanded to either side of the group.
An ear splitting explosion filled the chamber as the grenades exploded. Body parts flew in every direction or splattered into the wall and I dove for cover into the supply closet.
After several moments I stuck my head back out and grinned as Hank walked out of the garage. Scooping up my weapons and adding the pistol to my arsenal, I left the closet and marveled at the destruction.
"Well, that's one way to do it. Good job trooper." The grizzled vet said, slapping me on the back and walking over to the crater. I was surprised the entire area hadn't collapsed, this museum was built from sturdy stuff.
From the appearance, it looked like I'd placed the explosives in the right spot as there were no surviving aliens. Toeing a more or less intact corpse, I flipped it over and aimed my shotgun at the head, examining it closely for any life signs. Satisfied, I moved to stand near the Staff Sergeant.
"Suzy betrayed us. She was an operative leading us into an ambush. She said something about being turned before they killed her. I'm thinking those fanatics have no idea what there in for when the aliens have no use for them." I watched a wave of emotions wash over the gruff soldier before anger won out.
"Understood. Are the other's okay?" He shifted his stance, scanning our surroundings with piercing eyes.
"She said they were unconscious, I didn't get a location though. They could be anywhere in here. Although, she didn't have a lot of time so they can't be far. Thanks for firing up the car by the way, the distraction saved my life. Where did you find gas anyways?" I raised an eyebrow in question.
"Believe it or not, there was a tank in the trunk. Not sure what that was all about, kind of weird to put some there but there was survival rations as well. I think someone had the same idea as us, they were prepping this car for an evacuation." Well that was a bit of good news for a change.
"Let's hope we find the others before they return. Let's spread out to cover more ground, meet back here in ten with or without the rest of the group. I'll take the aviation wing, you head for the locomotive exhibit." Hank didn't even question the orders, which was interesting since he outranked me.
Moving with a purpose, I began to search every door or corridor that I passed. It was slow going and I was about to give up as the timer ticked down when I stumbled across the survivors. The group had been restrained with para-cord and they lay in a heap inside the woman's bathroom.
Grinning at the looks I received, the rest of my group wide awake and alert, I withdrew my dagger and proceeded to free them.
Commander Devin Crowe
Leaving a trail of blood in my wake, I used the wall for support and made my way to the hangar bay and what I hoped was salvation. The gunshots were picking up in intensity and I hoped no one was dying on my account. What point was a rescue operation for one person if more died in the process?
A black clad alien turned towards me as I advanced and dropped his rifle, rushing me and attempting to throw a punch. Despite all of my ailments, my survival instincts took over as well as adrenaline. Ducking to my left, I predicted a follow through as the man lost his balance and I shoved him hard into the wall.
Before my opponent could recover, I slid across the floor to go for his discarded rifle and scooped the strange looking weapon up. My body was screaming in protest at the sudden movements and I knew I would no longer be able to stand up under my own power. Luckily, I had the upper hand with the enemies weapon and I took full advantage of it.
Swinging the weapon up to my shoulder, I squeezed the lever and what looked like tranquiler darts shot out of the double barrels, spearing the man in the groin and chest. The alien took two steps before he went down, landing on his face.
Turning the rifle over in my hands, I whistled softly. So the gun's were designed to disable instead of kill. They must use it to capture other species for food or slave labor.
I cursed as I tried to stand and felt no strength. I knew I was severely dehydrated, I hadn't had anything to drink in some time. Food, pain, the drugs after effects and severe fatigue all worked to keep me down and no matter how hard I tried to rise, my body refused to cooperate.
Glancing down the hallway towards the hangar, I swallowed my dry throat and attempted to call out.
"In here!" I shouted, my voice hoarse and broken up.
Tossing the weapon aside, I used my hands to start dragging myself towards the gunshots. It was slow going and pitifully embarrassing, but I was determined. The gunshots were beginning to lessen and I swore loudly.
"Alliance, I'm in here!" I yelled, attempted to rise once more with a push-up. My shoulders quivered from fatigue and I bit my lip, grunting with the effort before I was rewarded with regaining my footing.
I was forced to use the wall heavily as I limped forward. As I approached the hangar door a pair of Alliance soldiers entered the hall and stopped dead when they saw me and my condition. One of the men moved forward and supported me with an arm over his neck. Grateful for the assistance, I shifted my weight to compensate.
The second soldier was covering the door, firing an occasional burst from his shortened carbine assault rifle. The standard weapon for Defense Force infantry was too bulky in the close confines of spaceships, therefor, they had been cut down to a smaller size and issued aboard Fleet ships.
"Commander, we're with S.C.A.R. (Special Combat And Recon, The alliance military special forces) we've got a transport in the hangar. We got you sir." I grinned and allowed myself to be guided towards one of our combat transports.
While many Alliance transports varied in design to match whatever situation we needed them, they all had similar builds. A sleek oval shaped body, pressure door panels on both flanks with long cylinders to either side with pylons connecting them to the main ship. A drop down ramp was universal for every transport class to allow cargo and large numbers of personnel to load in or out.
The military assault transport held rockets in the cylinders, twin Gatling turrets under the nose and armored panels instead of the traditional non-armor variants.
A dozen special forces troopers were covering the hangar in various positions hiding behind supply crates, enemy fighters and structural elements. I noted only one man had been injured and the rest were unharmed, something I was very grateful for.
A second trooper came over and took up the other side to help support me between the two of them, it allowed movement to be a lot faster. I was all but carried into the transport and they placed me into a seat near the cockpit, strapping me in and making sure I was secure.
As I watched the rest of the troopers begin to file into the combat ship, moving up the ramp in pairs of two, fatigue and pain took over and I lost consciousness.
Sergeant Victor Grimm
Once everyone was freed we made our way back to the muscle car. Hank had already returned and he was currently sitting in the drivers side of the mustang, adjusting the radio.
"Well, one good thing about Suzy being dead, there's more room in the car now." I smiled to the others but noted my attempt at humor was shrugged off and ignored.
Everyone filed into the car one at a time and I turned around to the plastic cage we were trapped in. Bringing the shotgun up, I fired several slug blasts into the thick panels and they eventually cracked. Moving towards the sides I kicked with my good foot and was rewarded with a crunching sound as the plastic gave way at the seams and fell over.
Pumping the shotgun slider, I ejected my spent shell and loaded a fresh round, I took my place in the passenger seat and nodded to the Staff Sergeant. "Ready, I'm driving next time though."
The man gave me a quick smile before holding up a strange looking rectangular device. "Look what I found?" He shook the object in my direction before pushing it into a slot on the dashboard.
A few seconds went by before a song started playing with an awesome beat that matched our situation perfectly.
"What is this?" I shouted as Hank cranked up the volume and rolled down his window.
"It's called AC/DC, Thunderstruck. I'm sick of this stealth crap, if we're going to leave this city, we're doing it in style. Evan, break out the rear window and shoot anything that shoots at us, understood?" I could barely hear over the music but it was AWESOME!
I barely registered Evan's gunshot or the shattering of glass as I rolled down my own window and stuck my head out. Hank drove the car down the hallways a little faster than I'd anticipated, expertly dodging pillars, exhibit signs and concession stands. The way he was driving you'd have thought he was a race car driver or something.
As we came to the doors he slammed on the brakes and glanced over at me. "Evan, give him a grenade." The private hesitated for a moment before tossing me the explosive device.
"Ah hell yeah." I didn't wait for instruction, putting two and two together. Pulling the pin, I tossed the grenade with all my strength and it landed in the very middle of the doors. A rippling explosion resonated, debris flying everywhere before a gaping hole was exposed at the entrance.
"Punch it!" I yelled, readying my shotgun. Hank didn't need anymore motivation as he revved the engine, dropped it into gear, and hit the gas. The vehicle roared like it couldn't wait to get free and it ramped off some rubble as it cleared the door.
A new song began to play and Hank yelled so we could all hear, clearly enjoying himself as he was acting more alive than I'd seen him since we'd met.
"This one is highway to hell!" He put the car through a slide as he took a sharp turn and the back end fishtailed. Lily was screaming with joy and I laughed, the entire experience thrilling and one of the greatest moments of my life. Naturally I was tapping the roof with my free hand to the beat.
The moment was shattered as a Walker and at least twenty enemy infantry spotted us and began a chase.
"Hank, two blocks, turn left, there's a construction site we can drive through to lose this tail." The man nodded and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
Evan was firing short bursts out the back window, targeting the infantry as the mechanized walker was a waste of ammo. While he didn't hit more than one target, it worked to slow the rest as they dove for cover.
Lila and her brother were trying to lay low but the backseat of the mustang was very tight and cramped, as it was the private was more or less leaning out the back window at this point, fully exposed.
As we turned to the left, a pair of enemy fanatics in red robes took aim at the car and fired a collection of bullet across the rear end, obviously not good at leading targets that were moving fast. I snarled and raised my shotgun as we got closer.
"This was a classic you scumbags!" I yelled with fury as I unloaded a shell into one target, following up as fast as I could with reloading and firing a second. I could hear Hank laughing in the cab and I shook my head in disbelief.
The muscle car broke through a 'caution work area, hard hats required' sign and went off road, driving through the dirt path underneath the building.
A solar powered cargo truck came screaming around the corner as we left the construction site and I cursed, noting there were three targets with a mounted machine gun on the top of the vehicle.
"Staff's, we got a tail, keep up those evasive maneuvers!" I slid my shotgun back into the cab and withdrew Lila's pistol, aiming at the enemy driver and squeezing off a few rounds.
The problem with a pistol was they were designed for close quarters, it was incredibly hard to hit a target at any extended range. I was wasting rounds but my hope was the driver would spook and break off or at least cause a mistake and they would crash.
Evan climbed back into the car. "I'm out!" He informed me.
Well shit, this wasn't going good. The Mustang could more than outpace the enemy vehicle, if we had open ground to do so. As it stood we were attempting to drive inside a walled off city with little room to lose a tail and less to take turns. If Hank wasn't such a skilled driver, we'd most likely be plastered to the side of a wall at this point.
Realizing my pistol was simply wasting ammo, I grinned as a new idea came to me. Ballistic shells from the mounted gun on the cargo truck opened fire and the Staff Sergeant tried to evade them. I ducked inside and turned the radio down for a moment.
"Staff's, bring us alongside them. I'm going to jump aboard and steal the truck. Evan your coming along to use the mounted gun. We'll follow you out of the city." The veteran smiled and gave me a thumbs up, turning the music back up as another hard rock song from the same band began to play. This must be the greatest hits version because every song was great.
Leaning out the passenger window once more, I waited until we came up alongside the enemy truck. Luck was with us as the turret wasn't able to shoot directly down and so long as we stayed close it wouldn't be able to fire on us. I grabbed my shotgun and jumped into the back of the cab, surprising the driver and his passengers.
Time for some fun!