by Tyler Wild
Plasma bolts erupted from the end of the street. They streaked in our direction and slammed into the wall beside us.
I spun my rifle in the direction of the alien fire. A soldier had angled his weapon around the corner of a building and was taking potshots at us.
The alien was a bipedal creature. It wore body armor that hugged its form perfectly. The camouflage pattern was urban breakup. The advanced material and intricate design allowed the alien to move fluidly. Its head was enclosed in a helmet, and the alien was nothing short of menacing.
My crew flattened themselves against the ground, and I took cover behind a small tree that grew out of a portal in the sidewalk. I trembled as I lined the creature up in the reticle of my sites. My heart pounded.
I squeezed the trigger in rapid succession, firing several shots at the alien. Muzzle flash flickered from the end of my barrel, and smoke wafted. The sharp smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils as the weapon recoiled against my shoulder. Brass casings ejected from the port and clinked against the sidewalk.
My aim was dead solid perfect, but it didn't seem to do any good. The bullets just bounced off the alien’s armor.
The creature ducked behind the corner. But a moment later, he angled the barrel of his weapon around the brick and opened fire again. More brilliant blue plasma bolts streaked toward me. One hit the tree in front of me exploding the wood, showering splinters and bark in all directions.
I tumbled aside to avoid the blast. It damn near cut the tree in half, and it toppled to the ground, snapping and cracking on its way down. Leaves fluttered. The tree crashed into a parked car across the street, flattening the roof and breaking the windows. Glass shattered, and small shards bounced against the asphalt. The car’s alarm buzzed in rhythmic pulses.
I crawled into the remains of a nearby alley with the rest of my friends, then angled my weapon around the corner, taking fire at the alien. The AR-15 was a single shot semi-automatic rifle. Despite the recent media hype, it wasn't fully automatic, as many often think. It wasn’t a military grade weapon and was certainly no match for an alien plasma rifle. It was a glorified 22 caliber and didn't so much as dent the alien's armor. A high-powered deer rifle might have been more effective.
I ducked around the corner as more plasma blasts exploded the brick beside my face. Concrete chips showered, and a plume of dust filled the air.
I motioned for the others to fall back down the alleyway. Going toe-to-toe with the alien was going to be a losing battle. I was lucky that he was on his own. He must have gotten separated from his unit.
I angled my weapon around the corner once again and squeezed off a few more rounds, just for good measure. I got lucky and hit the alien in the narrow space between his helmet and his chest plate. Green blood spewed from the alien’s neck. The thing clutched its throat, trying to stem the tide of goo, but it was a futile attempt. Horrid shrieks emanated from its damaged vocal chords.
I watched as blood seeped through its long fingers. After a moment, the beast collapsed to its knees and fell face first onto the concrete.
I was stunned. At first I couldn't believe it. My eyes lit up with glee, like I had won a prize at an arcade.
The alien’s plasma weapon had clattered to the sidewalk beside him. It was too good an opportunity pass up. I took a deep breath and darted from the alley, heading across the street. It was probably a bad move. I had no idea what lurked around the next corner, but I had to have that weapon.
I took a brief moment to look at the alien up close. The creatures had triangular heads that reminded me of a praying mantis. Their form was long and slender. I didn’t dare lift off the helmet to see what they really looked like.
I scooped the plasma rifle from the sidewalk and admired it with gleeful eyes. It was featherlight and perfectly balanced. The design wasn’t all that different from a standard rifle. It matched the alien’s camouflaged armor.
I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to survey the weapon out in the open. After I grabbed a few extra magazines and grenades from the alien’s carcass, I dashed back to the alley and rejoined the others.
“Holy shit!” Oliver exclaimed as he looked at the otherworldly weapon.
Now that I was not in the immediate proximity of the dead alien, the rifle reverted to a matte black color. I assumed its camouflage pattern was connected wirelessly to a signal from the body armor—paired in some way, like a Blutooth phone.
The weapon had an adjustable stock, and a short 10 inch barrel. A lightweight rail system with an intricate design encased the barrel and provided an attachment point for accessories. There was an angled fore-grip attached and a tac-light to the side. An advanced scope was attached to the upper receiver.
I shouldered the rifle and looked through the sight. The magnification power was fully adjustable. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The reticle was similar to a holographic sight, but it seemed to track targets. I could only assume the projectiles had some type of guidance system allowing micro-adjustments during flight. The heads-up display in the sight provided real-time updates. The sharp, angular glyphs of the alien language were unreadable to me. But I assumed the display was providing data on range, remaining ammunition, and other critical information.
The lower receiver accommodated a magazine that held the plasma projectiles. I pressed the mag release button and pulled the magazine from the well. It was loaded with hundreds of small projectiles the size of toothpicks. I jammed it back into the well and it clicked into place. The rest of the lower receiver resembled a normal weapon. It had a pistol grip, a trigger, a safety selector switch, and a select fire switch—which I assumed allowed single, burst, or fully automatic mode.
It wasn’t designed for a human hand, so it was a little large for my taste, but still functional. I didn’t want to run into any more aliens, but I was anxious to squeeze off a few rounds. What kid didn’t dream of owning a laser weapon as a child? Now I had one.
We left the alley and advanced toward downtown, staying low and creeping alongside half demolished walls. The closer we got to the epicenter, the greater the destruction.
The street sign at the corner read Washington Avenue. This place looked nothing like I remembered. It was practically unrecognizable, save for a few landmarks.
I didn’t have much time to wallow in the devastation. The sound of an approaching alien platoon echoed off the remains. A jolt of fear raced through me like an electric shock.
We ducked into a dilapidated building and took cover behind a low wall. A squad of four aliens marched down the street, sweeping the area. I hoped they didn’t plan on doing a structure by structure search.
10
The footsteps of the alien soldiers clattered against the concrete as they marched through the street.
I held my breath, trying not to make a sound. My pulse pounded in my ears. I glanced to Oliver whose face was twisted and distorted as he desperately tried to hold back a sneeze. His skin flushed, and the veins in his neck bulged. He looked like he was going to pop at any moment.
I shook my head no, hoping he could stifle it. But nothing was going to hold it back. It built steam and exploded like an atom bomb. Snot hurled from his nose, tumbling through the air.
I swallowed hard, knowing we were totally screwed.
The alien footsteps stopped. Then one of them turned and headed toward our position.
I figured it was better to attack first. I popped up, angling the plasma rifle over the edge of the low wall and opened fire at the creatures.
I squeezed off two rounds. I didn’t have time to wait and see if they would be effective against the armor. I repositioned the reticle of my site, taking aim at another member of the squad. I squeezed another double tap, then readjusted my aim again. This all happened in the blink of an eye.
The plasma bolts tore through the alien armor like it were tinfoil. In a fraction of a second, I had dropped three of the soldiers. Smoke wafted from the scorched holes in their chests.
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br /> The fourth alien managed to squeeze off a few shots. The blistering bolts of plasma streaked toward me, impacting the wall, sending chips of concrete scattering.
I ducked for cover.
The air was filled with the sharp smell of plasma ions. It had a distinctive odor.
On my belly, I crawled to a section of the wall that had been blown away. I angled the plasma rifle around the corner and took aim at the remaining creature. He had taken cover behind a wall on the opposite side of the street. He blasted at me before I could get a shot off.
I ducked quickly out of the way as his plasma bolt exploded the concrete beside me.
I cringed. He was no doubt calling for backup. I had to silence the beast before there were more of them.
I grabbed one of the alien grenades and lobbed it over the wall. It bounced across the concrete and exploded with a deafening bang, incinerating the alien. It rumbled the ground and blasted dirt and debris everywhere.
I peered over the wall and looked with wide eyes at the devastation. It left a gaping hole in the remains of the structure and had carved a small crater in the ground. A plume of smoke and haze hung in the air.
I hopped over the wall and scavenged the carcasses for extra magazines and grenades. I had a feeling those were going to come in handy.
Oliver grabbed a rifle. I suggested the girls grab the other two that lay on the ground.
“I don’t know how to use one of those things,” Hannah said.
“I’ll show you,” I replied.
Hannah hesitated, but Skyler snatched one up and slung it over her shoulder.
“Trust me,” I said. “There may come a time where you’ll be glad you have a weapon.”
Hannah finally scooped up the plasma rifle, awkwardly.
I gave them a crash course in how to operate the weapon. “This is the safety,” I said pointing to the switch. “It stays on until you’re ready to fire and goes back to the safe position as soon as you stop firing. Do not point the weapon at anything you don’t intend to kill. Never place your finger on the trigger until you intend to fire.”
Less than a second later, the weapon discharged. A plasma bolt blasted between Oliver and me. I could feel the searing heat as it raced by. My eyes widened, and my heartbeat spiked. “What did I just tell you?”
“Sorry,” Hannah said like a scolded child.
“I said keep it on safe.”
“It is!”
I looked at the receiver. “The safety selector switch is set to fire.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know? I don’t read alien.”
I couldn’t blame her for that. “Just be more careful.”
We were on the outskirts of downtown and continued moving toward the epicenter. As we proceeded inward, the devastation grew so intense that the landscape was little more than mounds of rubble. There was no point for the aliens to patrol the area. Almost nothing had survived, and no one was foolish enough to venture in—except us.
A single high-rise structure remained—the Windsor Tower. It was a posh, luxury high-rise that had offered stunning views of the skyline. Somehow, the 40 story building had remained standing—though it lacked its previous luster. It had been split in half, like someone had taken a giant chainsaw to the center of it—each half exposed to the elements. Twisted metal beams protruded from the remains of the structure. Electrical wiring dangled. Ragged sheet rock lined the exposed edges. It reminded me of the Oklahoma City bombing.
There was no telling how long the building would remain standing. It wasn’t structurally sound anymore.
“Where’s he at?” I asked, staring up at the tower.
Skyler pointed near the top floor. “There!”
Brett moved to the edge of the debris and waved at us. “Hey. I’m up here!”
I could barely hear him—he was 37 floors up.
“Thank God you’re okay, baby!” Skyler shouted.
Brett was on the south side of the building. The apartment he was in had been sheared in half. The hallway that had connected the two sides of the building was gone. Brett was trapped in a corner room with no access to a stairwell. Climbing down from that position would have taken a feat of skill exclusive to elite climbers.
“How the hell are we going to get him down?” Oliver asked.
I shrugged.
11
It was probably a bad idea, but we had already come this far. The stairwell in the northeast corner of the building appeared to be intact, but there was no guarantee. The building had been subject to massive stress. Unimaginable shear forces. Concrete was cracked. Steel sub-frames were stressed and weakened. The whole building could collapse at any moment.
It was dangerous.
Not to mention the toxic dust and debris from asbestos-containing substances and other hazardous construction materials. And who knew what kind of unseen dangers the alien explosion had caused?
Maybe the area was highly irradiated? The explosive blast had the force of a nuclear detonation, though it didn’t seem nuclear in nature. Maybe we’d all be dead in a few days from some type of fallout? Maybe it would take 20 years and we would all die of a rare blood cancer? It was too late to worry about at this point. I’d be thankful if we made it through the next half-hour.
We spiraled up the staircase. Sections of the stairwell wall had been blasted away. Wind buffeted the openings. By the time we reached the top, my quads were burning, and my chest heaved for breath. My lungs were on fire, and my body was dripping with sweat. I realized just how out of shape I was.
At the 37th floor, the steel fire door to the stairwell had been ripped off. There was a tiny strip of concrete that led from the stairwell to the first apartment on the north side. It was all that remained of the hallway.
From where I was standing in the stairwell, I had a clear view of Brett in the south section of the building. The gap between us was maybe 10 feet. He was in a southeast corner room—and he wasn’t alone.
He looked relieved to see us. “Thank God you’re here!”
This was a guy who was about to kick my ass yesterday, so I didn’t show much enthusiasm. Skyler, on the other hand, was a little dismayed at what she saw.
Her face tensed and she shouted across the chasm. “Who is that?”
The object of her ire was a stunning redhead with wavy hair, emerald green eyes, and creamy skin. She, and her enticing curves, were trapped with Brett in the corner bedroom.
“This is Madison,” Brett stammered, innocently. “She’s a… friend.”
The redhead sneered at him. Obviously she didn’t consider the two friends.
“Oh, no! Fuck this! I did not come all the way down here and risk my life to rescue you and some skeeze-bag.”
The redhead lifted her eyebrow. “Who are you calling a skeeze-bag?”
“Oh, you know who I’m calling a skeeze-bag!”
The two snarled at each other from across the chasm. They were like two cats with their backs hunched.
“Hey, calm down,” Brett said, trying to defuse the situation. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Oh, really?” Skyler said, incredulous. “What is it then?”
As much as I didn’t like the guy, this wasn’t doing us any good. “How about you two fight about this later and we figure out a way to get them out of there?”
“Fuck that! They can rot and die in there for all I care.” Skyler spun around and started marching down the steps.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Hey, I know you’re upset right now, but we all risked our lives to get here. Brett may be a supreme douche-bag, but we need to help them.”
“Um, not a douche-bag,” Brett retorted.
“Yes, you fucking are!” Skyler shouted. Her voice echoed across the building.
“How about you scream a little louder?” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm. “Let the aliens know exactly where we are?”
Skyler’s rage-filled gaze turned to me, and her intense eyes narrowed.
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For the second time, I was on the wrong end of a dirty look from her. Not a position I wanted to be in.
“I’m sorry, but my boyfriend just fucked some random whore. I’m entitled to be a little angry.”
The redhead didn’t like being called a whore. She had a diabolical sneer on her face. “Oh, keep talking smack, honey!”
“For fuck’s sake, can we just get this over with?” Hannah erupted. “It’s not like this is the first time.”
Skyler’s head tilted and slowly craned toward Hannah. Her level of anger before paled in comparison to this. The devil himself would be afraid of Skyler in this emotional state. “What?”
Hannah knew the moment the words left her luscious lips that she should have kept her mouth shut. Now the cat was out of the bag and Hannah had to come clean. “You can’t tell me you didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
Hannah hesitated, delaying the inevitable. “Everybody knows he’s been fucking Avery Johnson behind your back?”
“Everybody?”
“Everybody!”
“That little slut! I’m going to kill her.” Skyler tried to contain her rage. Her body trembled and her jaw tensed. “And you didn’t think it was important enough to tell me?”
“I figured you’d shoot the messenger.”
“You are supposed to be my best friend. You’re supposed to tell me these kinds of things!”
Madison shouted across the chasm. “If it’s any consolation, honey. I didn’t fuck him. He couldn’t get it up.”
Brett’s face flushed with embarrassment. “That’s not true!”
Skyler glared at him. For a moment, I thought she was going to take aim at the plasma rifle.
“I mean, I didn’t fuck her. I just couldn’t get hard for her because…” Brett tried to spin it, ”I love you.” He looked at her with sad, puppy-dog eyes, pleading for forgiveness. “You know you’re the only one who means anything to me.”
“Douche-bag,” I coughed.
