Battle Beyond Reality

by Nick S. Thomas

  One carried a curved sword like Axel now had, and the other a large bladed machete. There was a standoff for a moment, each trying to judge the other. They were still in shock at his presence, and the bodies of their comrades did not help their morale. But a few words broke the silence as another arrived in the doorway.

  "Infidel!" he yelled as he drew a knife and rushed forward.

  Axel slashed down at his outstretched arm, for the man attacked like an amateur. The blade cut deeply in to his forearm. He dropped the knife and retreated back towards the doorway. But out of the corner of his eye, Axel could see the other two rushing towards him. He cut into the blade of the sword to stop it dead, but was forced back as the other came at him, swinging wildly with the machete. He parried from one side to another. The sword wielder cut low, and that drew his guard down.

  He backed away, but not quick enough, and the machete cut his cheek. He winced with pain. The wound served to boost his anger, and he lunged forward as if to cut at the sword user, but as he went to parry, he turned his wrist and cut over at the unsuspecting machete user. The blade cut deep into the side of his head, and he went down.

  The other came at him, but he lifted the hilt high, parried his blow, and stepped around his attacker, slashing down at his leg. The blade bit in as he rushed past. The man let out a furious cry and ran forward as if the wound had not affected him at all. Axel dropped his blade over his attacker, rotated it up onto the other side of the man, and then closed in against him. The blade ran his attacker through, almost all the way to the hilt. He let go of the weapon and took a deep breath.

  "Who...who are you?"

  For a moment he had even forgotten that the hostage was in the room.

  "My name is Axel, and yours is Edra. I'm here to help. To get you out of here."

  He grabbed a blade from the table and slashed her bonds.

  "The others, there were two others with me," she pleaded.

  "It's okay. My team is on it."

  "Are you sure?" she asked in a shaky voice.

  "Trust me. They aren't just my team. They're my best friends. I'd trust them with my life. Come on. It's time we got you the hell out of here."

  Chapter 10

  Axel fired two shots as an enemy fighter came up the stairs ahead. He ran on, and as he took the bend he spotted another, but the man had clearly already seen his comrade go down and was waiting for them. He let out a burst of fire with his rifle. In the confines of the house the unsuppressed gunfire was deafening, but worse than that, he knew what it would attract. There was no need for subtly anymore. He drew out a flashbang, primed it, and tossed it around the corner as the fire continued. White light lit up the hall. He took the bend quickly and rushed on, firing as he went. Edra followed without hesitation.

  "Axel!" she screamed.

  He turned in time to spot an enemy fighter rushing up another stairway at the far end of their position. The rifle was trained on him, but the glass window at the fighter’s back smashed. His body jolted as two shots struck his back, and he fell down.

  "Juan, you marvellous son of a bitch."

  Axel realised what had happened and grabbed Edra, leading her down the stairs. He froze when he saw someone at the bottom, but soon relaxed. It was Ava.

  "You secured the hostages?"

  "We got 'em."

  "Are they okay?" Edra asked.

  "They'll be fine, so long as we can make it out of this mess."

  "I think I have an idea for that!" Victor rushed in.

  As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they could see Edra's two friends beside Ava, and she rushed to them.

  They could hear the shouts of ILAN rebels outside, trying to work out what was going on. They knew it wouldn't be long until they figured it out.

  "What you got in mind?" Axel asked.

  "Follow me."

  He led them on and out of a side door to where a few vehicles were parked. Two were normal cars, but the third was a six-wheel Chinese made armoured car. It was about forty-years-old or more, but looked like it was still in use. It was well armoured, with a gun turret with a small cannon and co-axial machine gun.

  "That thing still work?"

  "Looks like."

  "All right, we might make it out of this yet. Let's move. You lead the way."

  Victor stepped out to find two rebels climbing over the fence into the compound. He took aim and knocked them down.

  "I'll get the gate!" Axel yelled.

  He fired as another tried to climb over, and the rest of the team rushed for the armoured vehicle. Ava was first inside as Victor covered the rear door. It was half-inch thick steel.

  "Damn, this thing is a beast," said Victor.

  "Yeah? Let's hope she goes as well as she looks."

  "She just needs a woman's touch. She'll be fine," joked Victor.

  Edra and her friends slumped down into three of the six small passenger seats in the rear. They were in shock and couldn't believe how Axel Ward's team was talking to one another. It was as if this was any other day to them.

  "Don't worry. We'll get you out of this hell hole," Ava said to reassure them.

  But the truth was, she was no more certain than they were. Maybe even less so, as she had some idea of what they were facing.

  "Where are the rest of you?" Edra asked.

  "Well, there's Juan covering us, but that is what we got." She jumped into the driver's seat.

  "Four soldiers, how can that work?"

  "We’ve made it this far, haven't we?"

  Her tone was calm and relaxed as she turned the ignition. To her relief, there was power, and the fuel gauge shot up.

  "Old school," she said with a smile.

  She pushed the starter switch, and the huge lump of an old diesel engine began to turn over slowly.

  "Come on, come on baby," she said to herself.

  The engine roared to life as black smoke belched out from the rear, and the brutish oil burner began to chug away with missing a beat.

  "Woo! We're in business!" Ava yelled excitedly.

  She looked back to see Victor climb inside, but he stood with the door open. She reversed back, and then gunned it a little as she headed for the door. Axel went for the lock and prised it open. As he was fighting with the door, another of the enemy collapsed down beside him. Juan had taken the shot. He had to rely on his friend for cover, had to trust in him. He pulled back the heavy door on its runners. Two pickups and almost twenty gunmen were waiting outside. He drew out a high explosive grenade and tossed it towards them. They cried in panic as they ran for cover.

  Ava hit the gas, and the truck roared forward until it reached the door and slid to a halt once more. The grenade blew as Axel rushed to the door and climbed in. Victor shut it behind him as he moved forwards into the spacious turret above and behind Ava.

  "Do you think she'll make it to the border?"

  "I've got faith in her!"

  Nobody was blind to the fact that it was blind faith, but it was the best they were going to get.

  "Hit it!" Axel ordered.

  She floored it, and the strong torque of the heavy lump of an engine caused them to lurch forward. It had little speed, but a lot of power. Gunfire rang out as bullets ricocheted from the armour. None of the small arms the enemy had could touch it. Axel climbed into the turret to find it was loaded and ready to go. This was clearly a vehicle that saw plenty of use. A hat and a cigarette packet rested over the breach of the cannon, which was loaded with a box magazine. He took up the controls and rotated the turret around as they sped away from the enemy; which was fortunate, as he noticed one pulling out a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from a vehicle.

  He swivelled the turret around and took aim, squeezing both triggers. The cannon and machine gun lit up simultaneously, and two of the trucks and all around them ignited in a ball of flame. Ava slammed the brakes on to bring them to a halt once more. He knew exactly why, because he knew where they were. Right back where they had first laid ey
es on the compound. He got up, reached for the hatch on the turret, prising it open in time to hear a thud as Juan jumped onto the vehicle. He climbed in through the hatch.

  A few shots pinged off the armour as he sealed it behind him, and Ava once more floored it to get them on their way. Axel was back in the gunner’s seat as two pickup trucks raced into the street ahead of them. Spotlights and their headlamps lit up the road, but Ava was still driving in darkness. Her night vision was letting her see and adapting to the lights automatically. He took aim at one of the trucks and opened fire, but they’d closed the distance in no time. Ava had kept a steady speed and smashed into both vehicles simultaneously. They felt the impact, but the armoured behemoth barrelled through the makeshift roadblock with ease, leaving two crumbled wrecks in its wake.

  “Woohoo!” she screamed triumphantly.

  They got out onto a wide-open road and picked up the pace. Axel breathed a sign of relief. It seemed like they might do it yet.

  “About ten minutes and we’ll be in the clear,” declared Ava.

  Finally, they were left in peace, with just the drone of the engine as they went on.

  “Who are you people?” Edra asked.

  “We were sent to help. That’s all you need to know,” replied Axel.

  “You’re UAN soldiers?” asked one of the men.

  Juan laughed.

  “You kidding me?” Victor joined in.

  “If not, what are you doing here?”

  “You know, Edra,” replied Axel.

  Her face turned to anger.

  “This was my uncle’s doing, wasn’t it?”

  “Be thankful you have someone who cares enough to do something to get you back.”

  But she still didn’t look happy at all.

  “UAN was willing to let you die there, so what’s the problem?” Juan asked.

  “The problem is, I am sick of him interfering with everything in my life,” she snapped.

  Juan laughed. She gave him a wicked look, but he brushed it off.

  “Oh, come on. You’ve been given the money and resources to do whatever you want in life, and you used it to jump into the sort of danger only a fool would do.”

  “Like you? You are all here, aren’t you?”

  “Sure, but we came armed,” replied Victor.

  “You think guns are the only way to change the world.”

  “It wasn’t smart words and kind hearts that just set you free, was it?” Juan replied.

  “There’d be no need for any of it if people could show a little humanity.”

  “Don’t be so naïve.” Victor was becoming fed up with her attitude.

  “Why? Shouldn’t we dream of a better world? Shouldn’t we expect it? Demand it?”

  “Sure. Go and pester your politicians for it, but you are out of your depth here. These people, they don’t speak the same language as you do. They understand this, and that’s all.”

  Axel couldn’t help but agree with Juan.

  “Shit we’ve got trouble coming!” Ava pointed to the North.

  He turned to the loophole on the side of the turret, and his heart sank as he saw blue flashing lights.

  “Local cops.”

  “And that’s not all.”

  She directed his gaze to the North-West. Three Army vehicles were en route to intercept them. Juan and Victor were both peeping through loopholes now as well.

  “Government forces, we can’t fire on them.”

  “The hell we can’t, Juan. We do whatever we have to do,” said Victor.

  They both looked to Axel to be the arbitrator.

  “Whatever we’re gonna do, we sure better do it fast,” insisted Ava.

  “They take us, and these kids are going right back to those ILAN assholes, and you know it,” insisted Victor.

  “And we start shooting at local forces, and we could start a war!”

  “The war is already here, Juan, how else do you think ILAN operates unopposed?”

  “What’s it gonna be?” Ava shouted.

  Axel took a deep breath, as he tried to work it out in his head.

  “We’re here as private individuals. That isn’t on the UAN, and I won’t let them take any of us alive. We do what we have to do.”

  “Those aren’t the bad guys out there. Just soldiers doing their job, same as us.”

  “Then they will have to do their job, Juan, same as we will,” replied Axel.

  They could hear calls from loudhailers. They were being told to stop, but Ava hadn’t adjusted course or slowed at all.

  “Look!” she said.

  The border was in plain view now. High fences stretched across the open plain in two tiers, with a thirty-metre gap between. There were towers every few hundred metres, and a large gateway with a queue of traffic trying to get through.

  “We aren’t stopping, not for no one,” he declared.

  He turned back to the gun controls and swivelled the turret around.

  “This is crazy,” insisted Juan.

  “Yes it is,” he replied as he squeezed the trigger. The machine gun fire fell short, and it was no accident. He strafed in front of the police cars that were closing with them quicker than the military vehicles. He was sending them a warning signal.

  “Just stop,” he said to himself.

  “They aren’t gonna stop coming. We do something now or this is gonna get real ugly.”

  But they kept coming. A police officer climbed out of the window with a rifle in hand and began to fire shots at them.

  “They can’t touch us in here,” insisted Juan.

  “Stop them now, before they really get hurt!” Ava yelled.

  He took aim again at the tyres of the front vehicle and let off a burst from back to front. Two tyres were blown out, and the car went into a spin. The one behind it smashed into the first as they both veered off the road, vanishing in a cloud of dust. Seconds later, the turrets of the Army vehicles began firing. The rounds were much heavier than what the police had hurled at them. Glass on one of the loopholes cracked on impact, and the rounds were hammering the armour like a sledgehammer.

  “This thing got smoke launchers?”

  “Sure, Axel, but they’re empty.”

  “Get your foot to the floor, and don’t stop for nothing.”

  He rotated the turret around to take aim at the Army vehicles. He aimed for the armoured glass of the driver’s hatch to try and force them to slow down. He opened fire with the machine gun, but the rounds would not touch it. Finally, he gritted his teeth and fired the cannon. The shells exploded in impact, as they were HE. They’d never penetrate the armour, but the blasts were enough to blind the driver, and he began to slow, causing the second vehicle to veer and clip the lead vehicle.

  It was light, but enough to make its side wheels lift off the ground. They were teetering on the edge and looked as though they might recover. That was Axel’s chance. He squeezed the trigger once more, and the cannon roared to life. Explosions impacted on the side of the vehicle, enough to push it past the point of no return. It tipped and crashed onto its side, grinding to a halt. He turned back to the other, firing several more shots to keep the driver disorientated, but finally the magazine ran empty. There was nothing more that he could do.

  He spun the turret around. They were two hundred metres from the border wall. Ava wasn’t heading for the gates, but for the fences.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You’ve seen that line. We aren’t going near them. That’s just civilians trying to go about their lives.”

  “Yeah, and right now, so are we.”

  “Trust me.”

  Gunfire pinged off their armour once again as the armoured car returned fire. Two men in the nearest tower opened fire on them as well, but it was only rifle fire. They were tearing along, going flat out. Axel’s ears popped, and something penetrated the vehicle. He looked around to see a hole in the rear door, and the shell was embedded in the turret ring beside him.

  “Wh
at the hell was that?” Ava asked.

  “AP, they’re throwing AP at us!”

  Another shot ripped through the armour above the door and burst right out of the side of the bulkhead beside Juan.

  “Get down!” Victor hollered.

  He grabbed the man beside him and pushed him off his seat flat down against the floor of the vehicle, as the others did the same. Another shot ripped through the vehicle. Ava swerved back and forth as best she could with the wallowing heavy vehicle. They saw one of the shots impact in the ground ahead of them.

  “Hold on!”

  She straightened up, and a few seconds later they smashed into the fence. They were rocked by the impact, but the heavy vehicle burst through with ease. It was the first hurdle, and Ava kept her foot on the gas as another shot ripped through the vehicle. It struck the armoured driver’s glass in front of her and embedded in it. Cracks stretched out and slightly obscured her vision, but nothing was going to stop her now.

  There was suddenly an almighty explosion as the vehicle was lifted off the ground. A mine had ignited beneath them. They came crashing back down. The rear door flipped open and twisted so that it stuck there. They were in plain view of the enemy. They’d lost one wheel on each side, as well as the rubber from another.

  But they were still moving forward. Ava gunned the engine. The exhaust was shot, and so it sounded like a tractor. They smashed through the next fence as the vehicle chasing them came to a standstill. They were untouchable now. They were safe.

  “We did it. We did it!” Juan yelled excitedly.

  He looked around to check on everyone, the hostages they had rescued first. “You all okay? Is everyone okay?”

  His gaze finally reached Victor. His friend was smiling but leaning back in a seat awkwardly, as if he could not move properly, and he looked pained.