October 31st, 2552, 8:11 PM
Thomas
I opened up the door to the small store down by the medical tent and stepped in. The place had been cleaned out and was now full of medical supplise, I walked around a stack of boxes and found what I was looking for.
"I thought I said I wasn't taking any more, and I ain't doing nothing halloweenish either." A man said on a bed before me.
He was laying in the bed that was by
the wall, he faced away from me but knew I was there.
"I'm
not here to give you anything." I answered. "Just to talk."
He lifted his head up over his shoulder and peaked over at me. It was Steve.
He quickly realized who I was seeing as how I wasn't in my armor, but in a company uniform. He shot up to a sitting position against the wall on his bed with excitement and invited me over to sit by him on in the empty chair. I was only allowed five minutes with him do to his sickness but used it well as I talked with him.
I told him a bit about his 'virus.' I didn't tell him all of it, I didn't want to tell him that something was inside of him and had infected his bloodstream from the inside. It was already to late for him. Owenson had already planned and to have Steve killed during his sleep tonight before he was fully taken in by it in the future. It hurt me to talk to him and know that he was soon going to die, but the way he talked, I knew he knew that his time was short as well.
We only talked about it briefly. He wanted to know what was happening on the front. The rules among the military for as long as it remained in command contact was that anyone that hadn't been to the newly opened front and didn't know where not to be told so that there would be no trouble from the member until he was already there. I was permited to tell Steve everything I knew though, seeing as how he would never end up going back. He was shocked to learn about everything but didn't take it to hard.
It wasn't long before the guard stepped in and said I had to go. He gave us a minute to say our goodbyes, for the final time. I said mine meaning it for the last time, Steve knew, he asked if he was going to die soon and how. I denied that he was and answered it as "One life, one meeting" to try and hide it, but he still knew, it only expressed more that he was going to die.
I exited the building with tears in my eyes. I headed down the street a bit and stopped to think things over. I walked across the street to the line of steaming pans on the tables and got some food. I made my way down the line as the cooks put food out on the tray. I headed up to the upper level and made my way down to where the road turned off to the cots. I sat on the ledge of where the building side extended out to the turn of the street.
I must of sat around for thirty minutes just picking at it and eatting a few bites here and there. I was deep in thought. I thought about my brother mainly. Jake was dead and Steve was going to be killed tonight in a few hours. Everyone I knew was dieing and I wondered if Dave was still alive.
I turned my attention to a group of about fifteen guys and girls who where standing around something in the street. They blocked whatever it was as they huddled in around it. They had been there for the past ten minutes doing what ever it was they where doing.
I sat there and watched them in the
dark for about another ten minutes before one of them got
excited.
"It's working!" He announced aloud, causing
everyone else to huddle in a bit more.
They where putting their ears in more than their faces, I took it he had a radio on him. They stood huddled in for about five minutes before one of them shouted out to another man down at the line of food.
"The seconds been defeated Jack!" He yelled out, causing more attention from the guards and other soldiers.
The man named Jack, who was in the food line, dashed back to the others and feed in with them to. I listened in as best as I could while they talked. They said that the second was defeated and that the last of the army was going in to cover the retreating teams as they headed out of Missouri and to the defensive line in Kansas.
It took it a sec to hit me. I tossed my tray aside and to the ground below as I hopped down. I made my way up to the others and huddled in, they glanced up at me as I came in but returned their attention back to the radio. I listened in.
I listened as best as I could, I could now hear the snap of gunfire going on in the distance as I listened in to the man transmitting everything.
"Again, they pushed second back.
Fourth is defeated a hit from the water, rising out land twenty
minues ago! Now mo" The voice was barking out like mad.
The
handheld radio went dead.
"Hold on." The man holding it
said as he flipped it over and began messing with some wires on the
opened back.
The second had now lost and it seemed the forth also
lost. The fourth had counter attacked in the southern states, second
in the middle, and the ninety-nineth in the upper.
"To hit
Again. Moving Tex attacking!" The voice on the radio
started before going dead again.
"What did he say?" Someone
asked.
"Couldn't tell." Another replied.
We all stood there as the guy tried to fix it again. We sat around for a bit and I began to notice something as we sat there. I stood up and listened, focusing out everything else. The raido was dead but the distant gunfire could still be heard.
I looked among the others. They where all tied in with getting the raido fixed and wern't hearing the shots. I looked over at a guard standing by the cots, he too was looking around and could hear it.
"On move! They're going to
attack!..." The raido started up but was silenced by a sunnden
loud whining noise.
I covered my ears and looked around, everyone
else was doing the same. It was the militarized cities emergency
alarms. I stood there with my ears covered like most of the others
until the alarms stopped.
I took my hands away from my ears and looked around with everyone else. A squad of MP's bolted past us down the street and around the corner toward the medical tent. I started walking slowly down the street. I made it to the corner and looked around. A squad of marine MPs stood around talking to a CO. They soon finished talking and the MPs exited though the gate and into the freesection of the militarized city camp.
It wasn't long before the gunfire could
be heard from the freesection of the camp. I stood around at the
corner and waited for something to happen.
"All personal."
A voice said, it was coming over the speaker on the top of the
building above my head. I looked up at the seaker, startled by
someones voice suddenly coming out of it.
"All camp combat
personal to arms now and to sectors A though C." The voice
finished. I rechonized the voice as Owenson.
I looked around as soldiers made there way up the ramps and to the nearby armory. I continued to stand around and wait for orders, I wasn't an offical combat personal of the camp. Soldiers began coming back down the ramps, guns in their hands as they made their way out the gate and to other sectors of the militarized city.
I began to think. It had to of been them, the so called 'protectors'. They must of finished off though the defensive line after pushing back the fourth and made there way to us. But we appeared to be unprepared. We surely would of gotten a warning ahead of time that they had broken though. I continued to think.
We had recieved a warning, the radio. I thought back about what it said and it all came clear. They came by the water, attacking our defences from the water ahead.
"All non-wouned personal to arms,
again, all non-wounded personal to arms." Owenson's voice
ordered over the camp speaker.
I looked around as people began to
get up and make their way to the armory. I took off on my way as
well.
I headed up the closest ramp, just before the bunkered medical tent. I made my way up and came to a stop in the crowed of soldiers. Everyone was talking, talking about how they where going to get revenge and kill the enemy once they got there gun and called out for theirs.
They soon began to clear out as people
where soon being given guns.
"Set up defensive positions
throughout the camp once you recieved your weapon, commanders, check
and organize them afterward." The speaker ordered out to us.
I
heard machine guns start firing soon after.
I soon made my way into the main armory area. There where two upper areas by the ramp that lead to the gate behind the tent. One one of the upper sides a man handed out guns to people and the other a man gave out ammo. People where handed gernades and other things at the base level by a enterence to the commanding quarters where a few boxes sat.
I soon recieved my gun, a BR55 and made my way though the commanding quarters to get out. I took the first left and headed for the ramp where I came up at. Soldiers sat around the area with their weapons, bayonets already attached to their BR55s. They sat along the upper side walks and along the ramp walls waiting for more orders.
I made my way down to the street and looked at the gate. The three sixty-five caliber machine guns where firing into the free section of the camp, the enemy was just on the other side. I jogged down the way toward the gate and started up the ramp by them. I hoped up the side to the small upper platform and where the small ladder that lead a top the gate to where the guns where, I climbed up.
I kneeled a top the platform above the gate and looked out. I couldn't see anything at first, they must of been invisible in the dark somewhere. I looked out at where the gunners where firing, out at the catwalk ahead down the street. I failed to see what they where shooting at for a second, then I saw it move. I thought it was a ball rolling down the street at first but it suddenly moved off to the side and went stright up the catwalk wall and to cover on the other side. It was one of the aliens but it was diffrent.
I continued to look out. It took me awhile but I finally began to see them, they where everywhere. Everywhere little ball like creatures slithered along the ground and up and down walls on the buildings.
The machine gunner next to me stopped
firing.
"What are you doing?" He yelled.
I looked
at him to find him looking at me.
"Shoot them already!"
He yelled.
I looked away and soon after his gun was firing again.
I raised my Battle Rifle up and took aim down the scope and switched the firing mode to semi-automatic. I spotted one of the creatures cutting though the street ahead, machine gun bullets flying and hitting the ground around it but its small size making it a difficult target for the gunners. I traced the target until my movement was perfect with its and a tad ahead of it. I shot.
The round flew true and hit it. The small creature exploded the second the round hit it. I lowered my rifle and looked out. I began to notice them poping as rounds made contact with them. The creatures made me think of popcorn.
I raised my rifle and took aim down the sight again and found a target moving along a dirth path ahead. I took aim and shot, I missed. I shot again and missed and soon found myself shooting as rapid as I could on semi-automatic at it, pulling the trigger over and over and sending death its way again and again. I missed all twenty-nine rounds that remained in the chamber on a single target at only fifty or so yards. The thing was so small that it was just hard to hit at that range.
I reloaded my gun and took aim on a diffrent target about seventy or so yards out and managed to hit it on my seventh shot. I sat around and continued to shoot.
I was reloading my gun when a marine
bolted around the corner in front of the gate and began running down
the street screaming his head off, his hands reaching for the middle
of his back. He soon fell to the ground, face first. He began rolling
around screaming.
"Get it out, get it out of me!" He was
screaming.
The gunners had stopped firing for the moment as they
watched the marine in shock. I raised my rifle up and took aim and
shot, hitting the marine in the back of his right shoulder, though I
aimed for his neck. I shot a few more rounds at him until he quit
moving and became silent, putting him out of his pain and fear to
what was happening. I felt horrible for having to shot another
soldier, but it was for the best.
I looked at the gunner to my right, he was looking at me for what I had done. He looked away when I looked at him and began shooting again, I turned away and seached for another target. The marines words where flying though my head as I searched. He was screaming about it being inside of him. I found another as it climbed along the side of the catwalk, defiying gravity. I began to shoot at it while I thought things over.
The thing had gotten inside of him. I began to think back to when I was in Antarctica and the papers I had read. It talked about the virus life form and how it got inside of people to take contol for its own means. It never listed them as a protector either, they where diffrent. We where fighting the virus form, not the aliens that I had fought in England. It was the things that Steve was infected with, as well as many other soldiers.
I conintued to fire, shooting more raipidly then before with anger running though my veins.
We continued to fight on for about another three mintures before they began to pull out it seemed. The parasites soon began heading off the other way, away from us. The gunners quit firing and so did I as they disapeared further into the darkness, gunfire could still be seen and heard from the remaining soldiers in the sector of the camp ahead and city.
The gunners next to me started cheering a bit and doing hi-fives with eachother as I watched them. I jumped a bit as a hand landed on the back of my left shoudler. I looked over to find another marine there. He had a handgun, a few empty magazines rested on the platform by him. I had never noticed that he was beside me and was fighting as well.
"We showed them didn't we!"
He said excited.
I smiled a small bit, but my smile quickly
disapeared slowly as the ground slightly started to shake here and
there. The marine took his hand off my shoulder and his smile too
disapeared as he noticed the ground shaking slightly here and there
in timed intervals. The gunners too noticed this and began to look
around as they stood there, confusion in their faces.
The ground began to shake harder and harder as the seconds passed and soon began to rock my body as I was forced to use my hands to balance myself as I pressed them against the ground by my sides, to prevent me from swaying from side to side.
The sound of concrete being busted could be heard, it was the sound of buildings being torn apart and falling to the ground. I figured out where it was coming from. The source was in the freesection of the camp, off to our left on the otherside of the buildings, behind the commanders quarters. The ground shook violently and the sound of a building dropping came again followed by something else.
I glanced out to see the crane that had once stood in the freesection of the camp fly across the grounds and smash into a building, the crane was in pieces, still the cranes most intact pices was over a hundred feet long. The pieces flew into the building about three-hundred yards ahead. Dust filled the air around the area as the crane slammed into it. The crane pieces fell to the ground after hitting into the building. The pieces where easily anywhere from twenty feet to over a hundred on some. We where all hit with amazement and complete fear.
The gunner to my right looked over at me, I noticed his movement and looked at him. His mouth was completely dropped and his eyes where wide, almost wide enought that his eyeballs could just roll right out of his head.
"M-Mein got..." He said to me in a diffrent language, I don't even think he realized he did.
The ground shook violently again, catching me off guard as it caused me to fall from the top of the gate wall and down to the street ten feet below.
I layed there in the street on my back, blood starting to pour slightly out the corner of my mouth. The ground shook again and the sound of a building coming apart could be heard. I was in my company uniform and not in my mechanized military suit, otherwise I would of been fine from the fall. My back hurt for a bit and went numb and I couldn't move any part of my body from the neck down. I was defenceless.
The ground shook violently again and
another building started to come apart.
"Look out!" A
voice yelled out. It was close.
I laid there unable to move. A soldier soon appeared and began to drag me across the steet back toward the nearby ramp. My back began to burn as it made friction with the cement, it was nice to know I still had atleast some feeling in my body.
I was dragged to a squad of soldiers
that took cover along the ramp walls. A medic came up and examined
me.
"Where do you hurt?" He asked.
"My body's
numb and I can't move my arms or legs." I said back, getting
scared about being paralized during an attack.
The medic pulled a
needle out of his pouch, along with a tube that had liquid in it. He
filled the needle with the liquid and injected it into my forehead.
"You'll be moving in a minute soldier." He said as he
put everything back up.
I was rested up against the wall. I sat there and waited for something to happen, but everything remained quite and calm for the moment.
Time flew by and two minutes had past
without anything happening. The soldiers stood looking around, their
guns pointing out from their hips. I still couldn't move.
"Move!"
A voice yelled out from the otherside of the camp.
The ground began to shake. The sound of
what sounded like to me to be the sound of a machine powering up
masked out everything else.
"Go, go!" The voice yelled
out as the sound of a building being dropped occured.
It continued on with only a seconds
break as another buidling dropped and the shaking got worse.
"What
the fuck is that!" Someone yelled out.
I could hear it, it was the sound of something huge walking.
There was a lound slaming sound followed by the sound of a building being crushed. It happened over and over. Rifle fire soon broke out for a second but stopped after the sound of a colapsing building.
I looked to my right at the soldier who
was peaking out around the corner down the street.
"Oh my
god." He said quietly and with shock as he backed away from the
corner slowly, fear in his eyes, his mouth dropped.
I looked down
at my hand and tried to make a fist. I could finally move, but only a
small bit. Not enough to fully make a fist with my hand yet but none
the less was starting to be able to.
"What is it?" A
young soldier down the line asked.
I looked over at him as he stared at
the one man, who continued to slowly step backward until he bumped
into the wall behind him.
"Let me see." The soldier
said and stepped out from the line and tried to make his way forward.
"No!" Another soldier barked out and grabbed him,
pulling him in. "Stay in cover Jackson!"
It sat quite for a second until a awful noise let out. It was like a moaning noise, a mechanical moan. It was lound and hurt my ears but I couldn't cover them like everyone else was doing after dropping their guns to the ground. The sound was coming from what ever was walking among the top of the buidings.
It stopped after about ten seconds. The team pulled their hands away from their ears and stood there. One guy picked up his gun and walked forward and peaked out. I looked at his badges, he was a sergeant.
"Davison! Target front and
center!" He hollard out.
I looked down the line as the man in
the back picked up his M19 Rocket Launcher he dropped and made his
way up. He peaked out around the corner and using it for cover he
shot off two rockets and stepped back in.
There where two explosions seconds
after and the sergeant peaked back out.
"No damage, didn't
even leave a mark!" He said getting extremely nervous and
stepped back in.
I tried to stand. My legs bent and hurt but I ignored it and I soon was able to get to a half standing position while using the wall as support. A soldier soon helped me up the rest of the way and handed me my gun.
I made my way down the line slowly and stepped out a bit and looked. It was huge and far advanced beyond us. It was machine. It had four legs that led up to the base of it. The base stood about a hundred yards above the buildings that it stood on. It had a something on the front that suck out a bit infront of it and had a upper platform above the base platform. On the upper part was what appeared to be a gun, easily five to six times my size. The thing itself from top to bottom was easily around one-hundred and fifty yards. I couldn't see the back of it from where I was, but it I could see about fifty to sixty yards of it in length. Two green oral lights lit up in the belly section of it and it had two front lights just in front of those that just flashed out ahead of it.
The thing let out another moan and I covered my ears. It soon quit like the previous one but this time afterward the base of it dropped doward toward the roof by the smoke stacks and the anti-air cannon. The crew had already ditched the cannon it seemed.
The main lights under it suddenly started flashing among the camp. I jumped back into cover as the light flashed in on me. I made my way up the ramp and started to head down to the other section of the camp, I was still abit slow as I started to get out of my numbness. I entered into the commanding quarters and headed stright, going toward the cots.
I entered in though a opening and was coming up to the ramp leading downward to the street again by the doors that lead into the main cot area when a marine down on the ramp corner began shooting. I came to a stop and rasied my gun from the sudden firing. He stopped firing when a purple beam stuck him in the face, droping to the ground dead.
The marine standing just above him on
the upper level fired from his corner. He feed back in behind the
wall just in time as a purple beam snaked past the corner and hit the
ground.
"Targets!" The soldier yelled out. "Their
on the roofs, the'll have a flank on us in thirty!"
Gunfire broke out all around. Soldiers began shooting from other parts of the camp at the roofs. I turned and bolted off. I turned right for the nearest ramp as I re-entered the commanders quarters.
I came up to a squad of soldiers that where using cover along the ramp wall and upper section wall above them on the second platform. I headed down the ramp and stopped just before the bottom as a marine fired from the corners at the roofs. He was soon brought down by a series of blue oval shots. He dropped to the ground and started screaming and holding his side where the oval rounds hit.
"It burns!" He started
screaming as he jumped up and stumbled out into the middle of the
street.
A series of pinkish needles stabbed into his body seconds
later. He screamed as the needles flew and pierced into his body. A
split second later he exploded. Chuncks of his body and armor flew
our way and off elsewhere.
"Мы
не можем остановить их!" A russian
yelled out, saying that we couldn't stop them.
I lowered my right
hand that I used to block the flying chunks of the person. I gripped
my rifle right in my left and and bolted out into the street. I
bolted out and cut left and headed as fast as I could the twenty feet
down. I came to a sliding stop as I opened up the store door and
hopped inside, needles chased and collided into the walls, just
missing me as I jumped in.
"Steve!" I yelled.
"Thomas!"
He hollard back. "Is that you?"
"Yes!" I announced back.
I found Steve crawling out from under
his bed where he had taken shelter at.
"What's going on!"
He asked.
"No time, we gotta go!" I barked as the lights
went out.
Screams began letting out all over the camp. This was no longer a team fight but every man for himself at this point, I knew we had to get out of the camp and run.
I helped Steve up and we made for the door. The door wasn't shut all the way so I kicked it open. The door only went a bit before stoping and flying back. I kicked the door again as it went out a bit farther and came back in which I kicked it again. This time it flew open and a alien stood there, its gun on the ground, the door knocking it out of it's hand.
I quickly raised my rifle and fired a series of shots into it. After about nine or so round its shields dropped and the next few rounds went in. It stepped back as the rounds pierced into it and fell dead leaning up against the side of the medical tent.
"Lets go!" I yelled and stepped out and checked the area. It was clear along the street and the nearby roofs, the enemy still was in combat at the far end on the roofs though but posed little threat to us.
I turned left after exiting and came up
to the ramp and peaked around. A alien with one of the glowing swords
stood there and quickly looked around for new threats. A marine laid
beneath his feet. The marine suddenly moved slightly.
"You
bastards!" He screamed out, a gernade in his hands that rested
by the aliens feet. He poped the cap off and fliped the swich as the
alien looked down at him.
"Cover!" I yelled.
A
explosion filled the air and shapnel flew down the ramp corridor.
I peaked back around, nothing much was
left.
"Come on!" I barked and dashed up to the gate.
I looked around for the button that opened the gate and quickly found it. I hit it and the door started to open a bit. It stopped after about seven inchs. I hit the button again but nothing happened.
I dropped my gun and tried to pull the doors apart with my hands. I braced myself and pushed the two sides away from eachother, but it wouldn't move. I continued to try and push them apart until blue ovals rang down upon us, hitting the gate right beside my head, just missing me. I dropped to the ground for cover, grabbed my gun and stood up.
"Run!" I said to Steve and took off up the ramp, Steve behind me.
I went up the ramp and went stright, going for the commanders quarters, wondering if there was another way out from there, a secret escape for the general.
I turned the corner to enter his
quarters and slid to a stop, falling backwards to the ground as I did
so. A group of aliens shot down a marine as he charged at them.
People lay dead everywhere, even General Owenson.
"Back!"
I barked out, causing the aliens to look our way.
I stumbled back
up to my feet and me and Steve re-entered the armory. We started down
the ramp again but stopped and headed back up as we noticed a squad
of aliens among the roofs overlooking our position.
We cut left this time and headed down the small and narrow ally. We emerged out in front of the commanding quarters. I pushed Steve into a small room and jumped in with him before the aliens noticed us. The room was only about five by five feet and had a window on the side by one of the ramps.
We stayed quiet, trying to hide in the dark cubby room in the night. I closed my eyes and found myself praying a bit in my head. I opened them to find nothing, or so I thought. Before our eyes one of them re-appeared out of mid air. It had been invisible.
I raised my Battle Rifle up and pulled the trigger. The gun made a funny noise and never shot, it jammed on me. The creature took a step forward and examined us a bit. The little covering of its mouth opened up and its mouth became visible. It made what appeared to be some form of smile. It suddenly rasied its gun up and shot Steve in the head, killing him instantly.
Steves body leaned over on mine afterward. My eyes where on Steve. His head was glowing a tad blue from the color of the round and the skin was being eatten away as I watched, starting to show his skull and brain. I looked away from Steve and back at the creature. Anger suddenly filled me and drowned out my fear. I jumped up and let out a yell as I attempted to spear the creature. The alien side stepped me. I felt its fingers grab hold of the back of my head and a thrust of momentem being added to my lurge as my face was slammed into the nearby concrete wall.
