by Trent Falls
His shot had punctured the top of the grey and green camouflaged tank, forming a small rip. Liquid oxygen streamed out of the top under pressure, forming steam the minute it hit the atmosphere. John could hear someone shouting somewhere.
He fired again at the same point.
The world ahead of John flashed over. The boom was louder than any artillery shell he had heard; about ten or twenty times louder than standing next to a lightning strike, he imagined. The force of the blast threw John back several feet. He landed on soft wet dirt and clumped leaves, managing to somehow get to his feet a few seconds later.
The heat was incredibly intense. Even thought the tanks had been small the fire blazed hotter than any inferno John could recall. He instinctively ran away from it, running back up the hill through the trees. John’s ears rang for a moment but, amazingly, began to hear somewhat normally again in a short amount of time.
Behind John the fire roared, licking into the sky in a fiery column of orange and yellow that was as bright as the sun. Someone far behind on the airfield could barely be heard screaming at the top of their lungs over the angry roar of the fire.
John ran as fast as he could back up the hill. He could hear a vehicle somewhere in the distance… ahead of him to the right. He saw through a break in the trees that someone had taken the open air ATV, the Forager, and was driving swiftly down the hill. The Forager was filled with six men, a few of which looked armed.
At the tree line atop the hill, John stopped. His heart pounded furiously. He scanned the area in half a second, then raised his M10 carbine up to his sights again. There was a merc guarding the main entry. John sighted him first and fired. His bulled ripped through the merc’s heart before he could hear the shot. Another merc to his left responded to the sound. John had his carbine up and swung left, taking quick aim on the other merc before he could raise his weapon. Another loud crack from John’s rifle. The merc fell; dead.
The two mercs on the roof, their attention caught by the sight of the blaze, failed to act quickly enough. John shot one through the head. The second rooftop guard was hit in the neck.
The way looked clear. John booked for the front door. Stupid! Dangerous!
He quickly slid the key card in the reader. The blast door hissed open ahead of him. John rushed in, completely disregarding safety. He could only pray he still had the element of surprise in his bold assault.
There was no one immediately inside.
As the interior was more confining, John let his rifle fall loose on his sling and pulled out his 9mm pistol. He kept the pistol trained intently ahead of him as he rushed in a crouching run deeper into the complex. His pistol swung ahead of him around the next corner flashing briefly to aim at any dark unsuspecting corner around him.
After all this time the training still kicked in. He was a machine. The parts of his brain that ruled his compassion were shut off. He acted on learned response.
John reached the Koi pond. The black granite room echoed his every step, even with the padding of his boots.
Rochette appeared around the corner. The hefty merc, in his t-shirt and sport coat, was genuinely shocked to see a commando in greasepaint aiming a pistol at him. Rochette, terrified and off guard, could only reach into his jacket for his own firearm. He barely pulled out the pistol before John shot him through the chest, then through the head.
Rochette’s body fell lifeless to the polished black floor. John took two steps towards the body when Roberts came rushing out instinctively to help. Roberts was unarmed. John, acting on pure reflex, shot Roberts through the head.
Everyone in the complex aside from Julie was an enemy combatant in John’s mind. He didn’t think twice as he continued down the granite walled corridor, leaving Rochette’s and Roberts’ bodies behind.
Having some sense of bearing from seeing the building from the outside, John was able to find the stockade relatively quickly. Still in a hurried crouch, he raced inside, his 9mm pistol ahead of him.
The Xen merc on watch was already on his feet but unarmed. With the terrifying sight of John coming towards him he reached for a nearby submachine gun.
“Don’t do it!” John yelled.
The Xen didn’t comply. His right hand was on the weapon on the nearby rack when John shot him through the upper arm.
Julie yelled in terror at the gunshot. The Xen howled in pain. He stumbled a few feet, clutching his badly bleeding arm and eventually falling back into the office chair of the watch station.
John, menacingly, took the last few steps to the guard station. He aimed his pistol down hard on the Xen’s head. John’s terrifying gaze alone, white eyes peering angrily out through his dark greasepaint camo, was a weapon in itself.
“Open the fucking cell!” John boomed.
Another merc rushed into the open doorway of the stockade. John had spun right well enough in time to shoot the merc just as he ran into the room. The red of his brain matter splattered against the back wall while the mercs body stumbled forward. The dead body collapsed to the ground as John swung the pistol back on the wounded guard on watch.
Julie yelled again. “Uncle John?!?”
“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR OR I KILL YOU!!!” John yelled at the wounded Xen guard, pointing his gun down again at his head.
The Xen guard whimpered. The smell of urine became prevalent as the guard pissed himself. His hands tapped hurriedly over his workstation.
“Jules! Get your shit! We’re leaving, honey!” John yelled.
The mag lock released. Julie’s door flew open. She ran out, unsure in her first few steps. She saw her uncle. He was suddenly larger than life. His black military-like outdoor gear, his dark greasepaint on his face, the 9mm still aimed at the guard… he was terrifying to behold.
“Come on, girl! This is for real!” He urged her forward. “Stick close behind me and move fast!”
Julie paused for a brief moment, seeing the blood stains on the wall and the dead merc on the far end of the room.
“DON’T LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT ME!” John shouted to her. “Now, let’s go!!!”
Julie forced herself to comply and followed her uncle.
John kept his weapon trained on the Xen bleeding at the guard station. He kept his weapon trained on him until he and Julie disappeared around the corner.
Julie did as her uncle asked. He was fast. They ran down the long corridor leading away from the stockade, emerging out into the Koi pond chamber.
Julie howled upon seeing Rochette and Roberts’ bodies bleeding over the floor and into the water.
“Jules! Don’t look, I said! Look at my back and follow me!”
Another merc appeared ahead. He managed only one wide shot from his pistol before John shot him through the head.
Julie yelled out again but tried not to look.
John noted to himself silently that he had four rounds left in his pistol.
They passed the bodies and headed towards the front door.
Around the corner were two more mercs. Both looked dumbfounded but remained at the exit, as they were likely ordered to. John switched his pistol to his left hand and pulled out his combat knife with his right. He was intent on cutting them both. One spotted him but not in time to raise his weapon. John shot him, left handed, through the neck. The second guard could barely turn around before John stabbed down on his right shoulder, then in his side, and finally through his back to try and pierce the heart.
Both were dead in seconds.
John put his knife away.
He had three rounds left in his pistol.
He turned back around to Julie. She was trembling terribly. John wished he could comfort her but that part of him needed to stay shut off for a while.
John raised his wrist com for a second. He depressed the call key on the com.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” John spoke in a low tone.
“On my way.” Alex’s voice came back through the com.
“Sweetie, this will all be over soon.
Trust me!” John assured his still terrified niece.
She looked down at the bodies.
“Damn it, look at me! Not at them!” he pulled her chin up so her eyes met his. “We’re going to run out these doors. When we do I want you to haul ass to the left and head north through the woods. Got it?”
Julie nodded hesitantly.
“Got it?!?” John demanded louder.
“YES! Yeah! Left. Head north. Haul ass. Where will you be?” she whimpered.
“Right behind you.” John holstered his pistol and pulled up his M10 again. “Ready?”
Julie nodded.
John, crouching low, hit the release for the blast door. It hissed open again. The daylight poured in. No threats beyond were noticeable. John turned the barrel of his carbine out the door to cover Julie.
“GO!” he shouted.
Julie ran out the door.
John spotted Xen standing fifty yards to his right and put him in his sights instantly. The Xen got two shots off. John finished him with one through center mass.
John looked left. Julie was still running. He hurried after her.
Julie was about forty yards ahead of him when yet another merc appeared from the tree line; the Xen that had been on patrol near the metal cargo container. He had his rifle about held up to Julie to stop her when his head exploded in a red mist. Julie paused in stride to see her uncle had fired the shot.
“RUN!” John yelled at her, the cold of his breath escaping like an angry beast.
Julie needed little more compulsion to run. Terrified, she ran faster than she believed she could. John scanned the area in a flash once more with his rifle sights before taking off after her. He could hear the Forager returning just as he hit the tree line himself.
John’s running feet trampled like a fleeing animal over the mucky terrain. He caught up to Julie in a few moments. They ran on almost a hundred yards further before John slowed her.
“Alright, Jules, hang back.” John slowed a few steps.
Julie, reluctantly, slowed to a walk. They both kept walking as John took aim for a bit behind them. He stopped and crouched, pulling her down too with his free left arm.
“Alright, we don’t have much time.” John noted to her indirectly while sighting down his weapon into the forest.
He could hear voices and footsteps in many directions ahead over a wide flank.
“Fuck!” John breathed to himself, glancing for a half a second at Julie. “Alright, about fifty meters down there is a break in the trees.” John pointed down into the forest beyond them, away from the compound. “We’re going to fall back there. Alex should be here any moment to pick us up.”
“Uncle John, I…” overcome with emotion, she tried to hug him.
“No time for that now sweetie!” he pushed her away. “First we survive, okay?” John spoke in a more familiar and friendly tone to her.
Julie nodded gratefully.
“Go. I have you covered. Go!” John urged her to continue on.
Julie again did as her uncle ordered. She ran away in the direction of the clearing.
John remained where he had been crouched, still aiming his weapons out into the trees. The sounds of approaching soldiers were getting closer. They had him flanked. They cast a wide net in their pursuit. And there were a lot of them! Perhaps a dozen based on what John could hear.
A human merc appeared from the foliage ahead about eighty yards away. John fired, striking the man in the chest and dropping him.
“Over here!” another distant voice said.
“There! There! There!” said another.
It was cold and the wind had shifted. It was difficult to tell how close his pursuers really were.
John fell back, knowing he needed to switch positions. He ran off, not directly after Julie but off to her rear right flank. John would cut back and zig zag, covering his own previous position until Alex could get there.
“Alright I’m three minutes out.” Alex’s voice spoke over John’s wrist com now that he was in range.
John raised the communicator up to his mouth and replied in a hushed tone. “Haul ass, Alex! I got multiple unfriendlies on top of me!”
“Did you find her?” Alex asked.
“Roger that. She’s in a clearing northeast of my position. Rig the boom arm and the rescue netting.” John answered.
“Copy that.” Alex replied.
John again changed positions. As he did he saw another merc. The merc fired on John, getting in several close shots. John, restraining panic, fired back. It took three shots for him to strike the merc.
“Fuck!” John ran again. He was running out of space between him and Julie. He didn’t want to lead them to her. He tried to get a sense of where his niece was as he ran. He tried to run parallel to where he figured she was headed, trying to catch a glimpse of her through the breaks in the trees.
For a moment he did see her long blonde hair. She was uncomfortably easy to spot between her bright blonde hair and her blue top.
John found cover behind a pair of trees and some knee-high ferns. It wasn’t much in the way of cover but it would have to do. He could hear the mercs approaching. There were a lot of them!
There was a sudden whoosh overhead, followed by a deep rumble. Alex had arrived; at least that’s what John hoped. If it was a merc shuttle they were done for. John waited behind the cover of the trees, keeping his eyes out to where he figured the mercenaries would emerge. His left hand went to the navcom strapped to his wrist. He pulled out a small earpiece from the device and placed it over and into his right ear. The earpiece wasn’t really designed for the rigors of the outdoors, but it would have to do.
“Ok, I’m coming around.” Alex’s voice spoke through the earpiece.
“You got me?” John asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, I have your position.” Alex replied over the com.
“Jules is about,” John checked the readout on his navcom, “seventy meters or so north northwest of me.”
There was a pause on Alex’s end of the line. John could hear the whine of the Tequesta’s VTOL thrusters and repulse emitters overhead circling around unseen beyond the canopy treetop.
“Got her!” Alex’s voice finally responded. “Got a visual on her too. She sees me.”
“Good, get her up. We have a number of hostiles heading in this direction.”
“I know.” Alex confirmed grimly.
“How many?” John ventured to ask.
“I can’t count them all. About eighteen. Maybe twenty.”
John took a deep anxious breath. “Fuck!” he exhaled worriedly. John thought of his weapon. He checked the black lettering on the tiny grey screen above ammunition sleeve. The LCD screen showed he had 18 rounds left. He decided to hold off on flipping the dual clip to reload. He just hoped he’d have enough bullets and be able to rearm. He did, quickly, reload his GX9 9mm pistol. The pistol went back in his side holster without pause, after which he took a solid grip again on his carbine rifle.
Julie had reached the small clearing. She had seen the Tequesta back on Earth and recognized the ship. It seemed so out of place to see it on that planet, hovering over the tall evergreen trees reaching to the sky around her. It was also odd to look up underneath it as it hovered in the sky right above her head. The trees swayed broadly under the Tequesta’s thrust. The loading ramp at the back had been opened. A robotic arm extended out the back, holding what looked like a large black nylon harness. The harness quickly descended. As it got to about ten feet above Julie’s head she realized it was a large black cargo net.
Hesitantly she grabbed onto the black net. It didn’t look safe, nor did the sight of the Tequesta floating about sixty feet above her. Still, she knew it was her only way out. She’d also have to be quick to allow her uncle a chance to get on board. She grabbed the netting wrapping it around her arms several times to be sure it would hold her. She then directed a thumbs up with her right hand, thinking that Alex was watching from above.
The netting pulled up. Julie let out a terrified squeal but tried to keep her fear under control.
There was a sudden eruption of gunfire. Julie could barely hear the firefight over the Tequesta’s jets and her own pounding heart.
John returned fire on the mercs that had shot at him. He was sure he killed one but three others were emerging from other parts of the forest. He fired three more shots at the group of them, covering his own withdrawal before running away from the group. He had ran, daring to turn his back and run without any other choice. Turning your back to run was a cardinal sin in a firefight but John had no cover.
He didn’t run far. John reached a thick tree not far from the clearing. He slid behind the tree as bullets whizzed around him. More than once he heard the familiar loud snap of a bullet passing uncomfortably close to his head. Once behind the tree he let loose, firing several three-round bursts into the approaching mercenaries.
The mercenaries were close enough for John to get a good look at as he fired back at them. They moved up in rotating cover formation, also using the trees for cover. Trees didn’t offer as good of cover as was popularized in fiction. John was able to shoot through the edge of a tree one of the mercs was hiding behind, cutting through the merc’s upper right arm with a bullet.
Julie had got to the top of the ramp. The robotic arm pulled her inside. Once certain of her own safety, Julie unwrapped her arms from the black netting and ran towards the front of the ship. The robotic arm swayed back out.
The firefight around John was getting more violent. John remained crouched behind the tree he was using for cover. Hordes of bullets bit into the other side of the tree, chipping away at the sides and getting uncomfortably close to John’s arms and legs.
John turned his M10 over his shoulder to fire blindly around the tree. The returned fire gave him enough cover that he was able to get behind his weapon and aim. John killed a merc only four feet away from him with two rounds. He shot another fifteen feet away in the head, turned his rifle hard left and shot at a third, missing with another three round burst.
“IS SHE IN?!?!” John yelled into his headset while reloading.
