The Last Charge of the 1st Legion (The Last Hero Trilogy Book 3)

by Nathaniel Danes

  He ignored it all.

  Live or die, he didn’t care anymore. Killing was all he desired.

  Burst after burst leapt from his MRG. He was saving his grenades for an armored target, but there were none around at the moment. The enemy threw the faster-moving and less-valuable light infantry at them first, pinning them down for the heavy infantry and those God-awful Krakens to advance.

  He was bored with killing the easy prey. They no longer satisfied his hunger for blood He wanted to crack open a heavy suit of armor and watch the man inside burn.

  Sergeant Alla Babkin grabbed hold of his arm. She’d stayed close to him since Jane died. “We need to pull back, sir.”

  A heavy trooper appeared downfield. He locked onto it, blocking everything else out. Crosshairs settled on the target. His gloved finger tightened but relaxed. Dammit! His prize had stepped behind cover.

  “Sir! We gotta go!”

  The advancing fire intensified now that the Krakens had entered the scene. Small boulders exploded into deadly fragments when struck by KKC rounds. Lasers swept the rims of their cover. The First Cohort rained down grenades and Slayer-equipped legionnaires answered with their own breed of hell. They bled the enemy but were outgunned in the extreme.

  Simms waited, not moving a muscle.

  His men trickled away from the line, not bothering to wait for orders as Babkin screamed a fresh series of curses.

  He waited.

  Mercifully, the heavy trooper broke cover.

  Simms fired.

  The round slammed into the upper leg and detonated. Crippled, the target didn’t stand a chance to avoid the next shot, which tore off the chest plate. Simms grinned and fired another. He watched the naked flesh explode into a gory mess. Blood and guts splashed onto the surface.

  There was no rain to wash away the stain. Nuclear shockwaves had driven the clouds away. The stain would stay there until the battle was over and was dealt with by nature.

  Babkin had given up on him. She’d ordered the retreat in his name and run for it. He was the only legionnaire on the hill. The enemy charged at full speed. He turned and sprinted for all he was worth.

  Shots peppered the ground around him as he zigged and zagged through cover without stopping. He shouldn’t have made it, but he did. His war wasn’t over and he still had a lot of killing to do.

  ***

  “I’m kinda busy here, lieutenant.” Sergeant Gabriel, senior non-com for the First Century, Third Cohort was crouched behind a slab of black rock that vibrated from impacts. This was his third hilltop and he was getting tired of falling back. Popping out from cover, he sprayed side to side and disappeared before counter-fire could reach him. It was time to head to hill number four.

  The lieutenant wouldn’t be ignored. “Sergeant, we have new orders. Run for the rear and make your way to the coordinates I’m sending.”

  He paused to study the map. “You want us to leave the line? Who’s gonna cover our section?”

  “Not our concern. Just do as we’re told.”

  “Hoorah. On our way.”

  The century ran and ran. With nano-enhanced speed, endurance, and balance, they chewed up kilometers of rough terrain. Sounds of the raging battle were a distant drumbeat when they reached their first checkpoint.

  A private put his hands on his knees. “What the hell...are we doin’ out here, sarge?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Cut the chit-chat and save your breath.”

  A chorus of thump, thump, thump echoed off the rocks. His lips curled up into a smile. He recognized the sounds and his heart rejoiced. A squad of Super Heavies ran around a corner. The entire century of lights burst into cheers at first sight of the armored warriors. They’d been fighting too long outgunned,

  One of the metallic humans walked up to Gabriel. It looked down at him and waved. “Sergeant Gabriel, fancy meeting you here.”

  “Corporal Braun.” He slung his MRG onto a shoulder. “You ugly bastards are certainly a sight for sore eyes. Where the hell have you boys been? We’ve been getting the shit kicked out of us.”

  “I’m just following orders like you, sarge.”

  “Any idea what the plan is?”

  Braun tossed his hands in the air. “Hell if I know, but I doubt they called us up for a picnic.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Slaughterhouse

  Pain was the first thing Frost remembered. He thought it was a good sign. After all, the dead don’t feel pain, right? Then he remembered he hadn’t exactly led a righteous life and for a moment was nervous about where he might be. Being surrounded by total darkness didn’t make him feel better. He could barely move as well. His CAL was damaged and of no use. It took a minute for him to recall the final string of events that had put him in this situation.

  The final line of defense had fought hard. He wasn’t sure if their resolve was from bravery or desperation, not that it mattered in the end. No matter what they did, the silver monsters just kept coming.

  The militia didn’t break. They stood their ground and died with their fingers pressed against a trigger. It would’ve been the same story for him, but fate or dumb luck interjected itself.

  He thought he was already dead and had made his peace with it. There wasn’t a better death he could imagine than fighting to save innocent life. His soul needed the credit. Jamming his last clip in, he hosed down a final target. It drove him mad the way his supersonic rounds bounced off their heavy armor.

  It came closer and closer, busy murdering others. Finally his stream of BBs cracked the surface and the pink ooze that powered it dripped out. That’s when it decided to kill him. Ammo spent, he dropped down and curled up to the edge of the trench wall. The last thing he remembered was seeing Wyatt doing the same when an explosion knocked him out.

  Rocking his body, he made enough room in the dirt he was buried in to move a few centimeters. Bit by bit, he dug himself out, emerging from the pile of black earth like some weird green plant blooming.

  He began digging where he last remembered seeing Wyatt, using his hands like high-speed backhoes. Sweat was pouring down his face and he’d almost given up hope of finding her. Then his pinky grazed a hard, smooth surface. He attacked that area and found the corporal. Clearing her helmet, he pulled her out.

  Thank God.

  She was out cold, but breathing.

  “Madison.” He shook her. “Madison.”

  A soft moan escaped her lips. She didn’t move. “Wha...what happened?”

  He examined the area around them for the first time. Hundreds of shattered human bodies littered the ground. An occasional wrecked drone spoke to the final valor of the defenders. Fragments of the destroyed doors lay scattered around the bunker’s entrance. His heart sank. Turning back to his own space, he noticed the remains of the drone he had damaged before taking cover. It had collapsed near the trench’s edge.

  “We lost, corporal.” He pointed with his chin. “I think our friend here fell over and caused the trench to bury us. It must’ve saved us.”

  She struggled to sit up.

  “Take it easy. I can’t get a read on your medical status, so we don’t know if you’re hurt bad or not.”

  “Think I’m fine. Just sore.” She saw the aftermath. “My God.”

  “I know. It’s bad. Looks like we’re all that’s left of the division.”

  She leaned against the pile of dirt. “Any chance there are survivors inside?”

  “I was wondering the same thing.” He stared over his shoulder at the naked entrance. “Best I can tell, we’ve been out for five hours. Those tunnels run for several kilometers in every direction. I’ll bet the slaughter is still underway. Thousands, maybe millions, of people are still alive down there.”

  Her eyes bulged out. “Why isn’t command doing anything? Reinforcements?”

  He shook his head. “No one is coming. Every bunker was set up to be self-sufficient and responsible for its own defense with the forces allocated to it. T
here’s too many places that need protection. Any forces pulled from one area to another leaves someone exposed. Besides, reinforcements could get hit en route by the pyramid or maybe fighters it made. High command has air assets, but I heard they’re saving them for something special.”

  “So they’re just going to let isolated pockets of tens of millions be murdered one at a time?” Her face grew red. He took it as a sign she was feeling better.

  “I think they’re playing for time. Make the enemy have to root out a thousand strong points instead of fighting a couple of large-scale battles where we exhaust ourselves in a hurry.” He shrugged. “It sounds like a cold-hearted strategy, but I’m not sure what else they can do but hold out for a miracle.”

  “Miracle? What kind of miracle?”

  He thought back to Com, the data gifted to him, and the price his father had paid to send that intel regarding the secret alien facility on P-1425X to the people who could do something about it. He prayed it all wasn’t for nothing. “Have hope. As long as there’s life, there’s a chance.”

  “Okay, so where does that leave us? I take it we shouldn’t expect a pickup.”

  “If we leave, our only way outta here is on foot.”

  She cocked her head. “What do you mean, if?”

  “Well.” He turned toward the entrance and breathed deep. “If there are people still alive in there, we’re the only help they’re going to get.”

  “You’re kidding, right? What the hell are two beat-up soldiers going to do? A thousand of those things must’ve gotten past us.”

  “I don’t believe we can save everyone. I’m just sayin’ that we might be able to save someone. After all, isn’t that why you volunteered? Isn’t that why we fought here to begin with?”

  She sighed. “All right. Help me up and let’s find a couple helmets that still work and some ammo.”

  Searching for a new helmet was a gruesome task. He pulled the lid off several of the dead before finding one that worked. Their faces would haunt him forever. They were like portraits of terror captured and frozen onto wax sculptures. Flies and other creatures had arrived to feast on the flesh. He felt no better than them as he scavenged for what he needed.

  Loaded with all the ordnance they could carry, they entered the tunnel.

  The first fifty meters bore the scars of a heated battle. Pitted walls, laser scorch streaks on the ceiling and, of course, the dead, painted a grim picture of the militia’s last stand. A number of empty silver shells were there too, sacrificed as the enemy waded through the kill zone.

  Their commandeered CALs ran passive scans, searching for life. Deeper and deeper, they descended into the pit. Some sections still had lights. Others were cloaked in total darkness. Everywhere they found blood. It coated the floor in a near-continuous red lacquer that stuck to their boots. The ceilings, furniture, equipment, and rough cave walls were decorated with demonic designs of gore.

  How many bodies can a man see before they start to lose their effect? Roger Frost knows, but he isn’t telling.

  Taking a knee behind a hastily-built barricade at an intersection, they debated what to do next. Three tunnels led deeper into the maze.

  He jerked his head at the options. “Which one do you like?”

  “I’m kinda sweet on the way we came.”

  “Just a little further, I promise.”

  “Then right.”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “Fair enough.”

  The jagged hall ran along the natural contour of the cave. It wasn’t pretty but doing it that way had sped up construction. It was just as morbid as the last and had an endless number of doors on each side. Again and again, they opened one to sweep the large barracks with their eyes before moving on.

  They found only death.

  He was about to give up when he heard something. At first it was faint, but it grew in intensity and proximity. They took cover in doorways and waited. He slid a body out of the way. If they had to fight, he didn’t want an innocent corpse to take fire. It was silly, but it made him feel better.

  Soon the roar could be broken down into two parts. Human screams and heavy metallic footsteps. A mass of survivors came running down the hall. Behind the leaders, people were being cut down in groups.

  “I’ll call out the targets.” He steadied his weapon. “We focus our fire one at a time. Grenades only. At least two per attempt. Aim for the belly.”

  “Understood.”

  The thinning mob flowed past them, not noticing their saviors.

  The last civilian cleared their line of sight. “Now!”

  Thunder cracked in the enclosed space. The charging monster stumbled from the rapid succession of impacts and fell to the side, hindering his comrades’ advance.

  Frost designated another target and rose to fire over the bleeding enemy. Another kill was scored. Surprise had bought them two quick victories. Now it was the enemy’s turn.

  A pair of drones standing shoulder to shoulder filled the hall with lasers, hypersonic rounds, and grenades. Frost and Wyatt only survived because they didn’t try to hold their ground. Slipping into the barracks, they retreated with ample protection.

  The barracks weren’t connected, however. Emerging from the last set of doors, they ran backwards while launching the rest of the grenades from their magazines down the hall. It didn’t take them long to catch up to the frantic civilians, who didn’t even notice the soldiers nipping at their heels.

  Wyatt announced herself when the group of six were about to pass the left turn toward the surface. “Left! Left! Left!”

  They turned on a dime like a school of fish evading a predator. Frost and Wyatt paused at the corner long enough to hurl more rounds at their pursuers. Aiming low, they hoped to cripple rather than destroy.

  Adrenaline can carry a normal human only so far. Kilometers still lay ahead when the group started to lose steam. Sprinting strides turned into a quick jog and then a sluggish one.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Sounded the rhythmic footfalls of the enemy who never tired.

  Frost glanced over his shoulder. “We’re gonna have to leapfrog backward to buy some time.”

  “What?”

  “Leapfrog. I fire while you fall back. Then you fire while I fall back.”

  “Got it.”

  They emptied magazine after magazine of precious grenades. Despite entering the fight weighed down with extra ammo, they were getting low.

  “I’m down to my last two mags.” She rushed past.

  Ten more grenades flew out of his barrel. “Me, too. Save ‘em. Run for it!”

  Too soon, the backs of the six exhausted survivors came into view.

  Wyatt stared at him. “We’re not gonna make it.”

  She was right. They didn’t have enough firepower to make another stand and they weren’t moving fast enough to escape. They’d either all die together or maybe some could have a chance.

  “Grab one of them and run as fast as you can.”

  “What?”

  “It’s our only chance.”

  She looked straight ahead. “But—who?”

  Good question. Only two of the six would get a chance at life. None of them were children. That would’ve been easy if a couple of them had been. A mother carrying a baby would’ve also been a clear-cut choice. Nope, these four women and two men had equal cases as far as he could tell.

  Time was running out. He saw a man and woman side by side with wedding rings on.

  Husband and wife!

  “Those two!”

  Accelerating, they scooped up their passengers and poured on the speed. The man he carried kicked and screamed. The others yelled curses in Chinese. His adopted CAL translated them until he told it to stop. He didn’t need them to make him feel worse than he already did.

  Freed from their shackles, they reached daylight as the death cries of those left behind caught up to them.

  The couple kept yelling but he ignored them. Setting them d
own, Frost and Wyatt gathered as much ammo as possible.

  He whipped his head around. “Where the hell did they go?”

  “Back inside!”

  “Fuck!”

  They rushed in and recaptured the ungrateful pair, throwing the couple onto their shoulders as they cried and fought back. Eventually the two whiners settled down.

  Running until their nano stamina gave out, they stopped several kilometers south of Beijing. His hungry lungs sucked air in and out as he scanned the area behind them. “I think we might’ve made it.”

  “I can’t go any further.” She leaned forward, her hands on her knees. “I hope so.”

  He looked at the silent couple. They sat two meters apart and were crying. “What’s up with them? I mean, shouldn’t they be glad they both got out, at least.”

  “You didn’t hear them?” She tilted her head.

  “I turned off my translator.”

  “Oh.” She stepped closer. “From what I caught, we did take a husband and wife, but not ones married to each other. Their spouses were in the group that we left behind.”

  His heart fell into his boot. “Christ.”

  She laid a hand on his shoulder. “Roger, they’re alive because of you. They’d be dead if it wasn’t for your determination to save who we could. There’s an old Hebrew saying, you save one life, you’ve saved the world.”

  He stared off in the direction of the bunker. Smoke rose from entrance. “If only. If only.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  All In

  Nuclear illumination turned night into day. Gabriel looked up and thought the fireball was beautiful. Waves of radiation danced across the sky in bursts of color much like the northern lights on Earth. The respite of beauty in the sea of pain and death was brief. That was one of the last nukes that would fog the enemy scanners. The attack would have to launch soon or forfeit any hope of surprise.

  They were waiting for the enemy to come into position on the valley ahead. Retreating light infantry were luring them into the trap. It couldn’t come soon enough, since reports indicated the main line was starting to fracture. If this trick didn’t work, the battle would be lost.