One man and a woman pushed themselves upwards, wincing in pain as they picked up their rifles in response. The woman had lost her lower arm, her teeth clenched as she fought the pain, the assault rifle held in her other hand. She glared at Riaz boldly, her voice a raised hiss, ‘We will fight to the death against this enemy…as we always have.’ She glanced around at the others, ‘The wounded will be in the carriers…who is fit enough to fire the heavy weapons? We will need all the help we can to get through!’
Two more men slowly tried to rise, the pain on their faces evident, one staring wide eyed at Riaz. He swallowed hard, gasping in agony, his abdomen bandaged tightly, ‘Perhaps you humans are not as weak as we thought…it’s nearly time to break out.’ He smiled weakly, wincing, ‘At least the pain will keep us alert!’
Shino stirred as footsteps crunched further up the tunnel, her eyes blinking as she glanced towards the shaft of dim light. Tregan emerged round the bend, two medics following him. He slowed as he approached Debra and Shino, smiling weakly. Hesitating before the two women, his hand stretching outwards to help Shino to her feet, then Debra, ‘Time to get up…’ he turned to face the others, his voice rising, ‘We will shortly be leaving here. All the wounded will be in the carriers…it will be cramped but offer adequate shelter from the enemy.’ The medics moved past him approaching the wounded with further boosts to their armour’s painkillers.
Two orange clad men jogged round the bend, stepping carefully between the body bags and wounded to continue further down the tunnel.
Tregan indicated to them, ‘The mining engineers will set charges further in the mine…we will be bringing the roof down for the Morgons…there will be no mine for them to plunder once we have finished.’ He glanced at the body bags, his eyes filling with sorrow, ‘Unfortunately, we will have to bury the dead here…take the next couple of minutes to pay your respects to our fallen…we will then move you to the surface.’ His eyes narrowed, ‘Always remember that they sacrificed their lives so that we may live.’
He glanced at Riaz, ‘How are you holding….’
The scream from further down the tunnels echoed across the walls, several distorted shots ringing out from deep in the tunnel system. Several whimpers came from the wounded soldiers, their eyes turning in terror towards the darkness below them. Several attempted to drag their broken and injured bodies from the noise, a couple of others grabbing for their rifles.
Tregan stiffened, raising his assault rifle across his chest, his lips curling in hatred, ‘Morgon rifle shots!’ He slowly stepped past them, his weapon rising before him, glancing at the medics, ‘Move the wounded to the surface…I will stop them.’
The four standing wounded turned slowly, their weapons pointing towards the darkened bend below them in the tunnels. Tregan moved forward slowly and cautiously as he passed them, ‘Cover here, I will buy time.’ They nodded in response, the female marine with one arm moving into a recess in the tunnel walls and positioning her rifle to rest over the rocks, pointing at the corner. Further muffled shots rang out, another scream…then a familiar blood chilling shriek.
Riaz stepped down the slope, wincing as he raised his rifle. Behind him, Shino stepped forward, wiping the sleepiness quickly from her eyes, her visor snapping downwards as she moved to adopt a half crouch, raising her weapon to her face as she stepped across the body bags. She hissed sideways at Debra, ‘Protect the wounded…we will go with Tregan!’
Debra swallowed, her surprise evident, ‘Y-Yes…ok.’
A figure swept round the bend below them, Shino’s assault rifle shuddering and beeping loudly as she instinctively squeezed the trigger. The engineer was running fast towards them, his terror apparent as he saw them, his voice shaking as he gasped, ‘Morgons in the tunnel…they have captured the transporter!’
Tregan grasped the man’s uniform as he drew level, the engineer stumbling as he shouted at him, ‘Are the charges set?’
The mining engineer struggled, then stared into his face, his eyes wide with fright, ‘N-no…they have the area. The scientists are dead…several bodies. They are using acid!’ He struggled free, lunging up the slope, pushing his body further up the tunnel, stumbling as he tried to jump over the body bags. Pushing himself onwards in terror and disappearing round the bend towards the light.
Tregan bit his lip, advancing cautiously towards the darkened bend, Riaz and Shino now slightly behind him to either side. The lights flickered again, then went out, plunging the tunnel into darkness. The remaining visors shot down and flickered as the armour reacted to the darkness, the light slowly transforming across them to show the tunnel in darkened shades of grey, their figures indicated by red and yellow heat sensors.
The sounds of footsteps bounced across the walls, further gunshots rang out, then a sickening scream. More shots echoed across the walls as the screaming continued, slowly dulling to a whimper and gurgling, the sound coming from near the corner.
Tregan could feel his heart beating hard in his chest as he nudged his boots closer to the corner, his breath held. Ducking out, he saw the lone figure behind an outcrop of rocks on the other side of the tunnel, the marine brandishing his assault rifle. The soldier spun round as Tregan looked out, his face hidden by his visor, his voice raised in excitement, ‘Morgon infiltrators…heavily armed…I can’t hold them….they have that machine!’
Tregan glanced down the darkened tunnel past him, shaking his head as he saw the several bodies at the end, steam rising from their remains as the acid consumed their bodies and organs. He slowly lowered himself, raising his rifle, ‘When I fire…run!’
The marine nodded quickly, his helmet turning to glance round the rocks. The high calibre bullet whipped past, a thin trail of green acid behind it as the projectile splattered against the tunnel wall. The marine ducked back, clearly terrified.
Tregan leant out, firing a burst of his assault rifle, the weapon kicking back into his shoulder. Shino fell forward next to him, bursts flying from the barrel of her weapon as she fired into the darkness. The muzzle flashes lit up the tunnel walls, the marine lunging forward from the cover of the rocks opposite. He sprang towards them, his body low as he propelled his legs forward.
Two flashes at the end of the tunnel, the bullets zipping past them, their green acid trail behind them. They splattered against the wall, the running marine throwing himself forward, his body twisting as one projectile skimmed over his shoulder armour, the explosion covering his upper body in the foul liquid.
Landing before Shino, Tregan reached out and grabbed his uniform, dragging the soldier forward as more shots rang out. Shino felt the tugs on her legs, the scream of frustration and pain behind her as Riaz dragged her away from the corner.
The marine was rolling on the floor of the tunnel, the acid burning through his armour. Screaming wildly, Tregan desperately reached for the knife in his belt, grasping the handle and raising the weapon to cut the writhing soldiers uniform. The screaming was cut short as a deep gurgling sound filled their ears, the acid seeping onto the soldier’s throat through his armour.
Tregan gasped, running the sharp knife across the uniform, frantically trying to locate the small opening near the tunic pocket through the green bile. The soldier was gasping for air as the liquid ate through his flesh and throat, his voice pitiful, ‘E-End it!’
Tegan swore in frustration, twisting the knife in his hand and thrusting it through the soldiers exposed throat. Shino gasped and scrambled backwards in horror, her gloved hand rising to her face as the prone marine twitched, his face beginning to disintegrate beneath his visor. A victorious shriek echoed across the walls from the darkness, the Morgons greedily sensing another victim.
Riaz grabbed Shino again, wincing as he dragged her smaller body away, his eyes fixed morbidly on the dead marine. Tregan turned to him, his eyes determined, ‘Get to the surface! Get the wounded out…I will hold them!’
Shino rose up, pushing Riaz away, her voice rising to a scream, ‘You heard him…get them
out…I am staying here with Tregan!’
Riaz hesitated, looking into her eyes in fear as she forcefully pushed him again, her voice echoing across the walls again, ‘Get out Riaz! Now! We will follow!’
He gritted his teeth and turned in frustration, pushing his painful body forward as he ran up the slope towards the wounded.
Chapter Twenty Two: Into the valley of death…
As the cold light of morning crept across the valley, the marines of the Armoured Brigade cowered in their foxholes. Shells burst all around them, rocks and equipment boxes shattering and projecting deadly shrapnel across their defensive positions.
Snipers pushed themselves against the rocks as bullets whipped round them, their spots now marked and targeted by the attacking Morgon infantry legion. Shrapnel and rock fragments showered onto the defenders below, their hands over their helmets in fear as enemy artillery fired directly into the ravine. The few trees and bushes were torn from the ground, tossed into the air with dust and stones to mix with the dark smoke that filled the narrow thoroughfare between the high rock faces.
In the command bunker, their commander shouted orders to the two runners before him, his voice barely audible against the explosions outside. Finally giving up in frustration, he grabbed his field glasses and marched from the camouflaged dugout into the maelstrom outside. To his left, a hover tank burned fiercely, three of its crew lying dead in the dust around it, their bodies smouldering.
He shook his head, ducking as an explosion above them on the cliffs showered him with dust and debris. Turning to the bewildered runners, he raised his voice again, ‘Get me a situation report from the rear…how strong are the enemy?’ The marines nodded, turning to run to the right, one clutching an arm wound, the blood seeping through his camouflaged combats.
The commander strode forward, shouting encouragement to his terrified men, ‘Hold your positions! The Morgons are testing our strength! Get ready to repel any attack!’ Rising through the ranks quickly, the officer was twenty eight years old, his jet black hair and dark brown eyes usually immaculately groomed. Excelling in his military training, he had been assigned to mobile brigades…the first unit to advance onto the battlefield and the last to leave, the marks he had received in his specialisation of elastic defence the envy of his peers and even some of his superiors.
He glanced towards the rock face to his left, seeing an outcrop of boulders. Striding towards them, he jumped onto the nearest rock, raising the glasses to his eyes, the auto-zoom swirling the lenses as he stared into the distance. As the glasses began to clear, the distance sensors rising and falling as he moved the binoculars across the broken terrain beyond the ravine, scanning the enemy held territory in the distance.
Smoke obscured his vision, the dark clouds of burning bush and shrubbery complimented by flashes from shellfire. He grimaced as the glasses began to glow red, the smoke swirling across their view. Slowly the artillery binoculars began to project red dots across his view, initially swirling, then forming permanent positions in the enhanced zoom…then they started to flash alarmingly. As he slowly moved the glasses, the smoke swirled and drifted, then he froze, his breath sucked in as he stared through the lenses, the distance counter at two thousand metres. The smoke swirled as a stiff vertical object forced its way through the gloom towards them. Seeing more across the landscape, he swore as he realised the source of the swirling smoke, the rigid black legs emerging from the shroud as they walked forward mechanically. Staring at the tall object in the distance, his stomach turned, the right straight front black metal leg stepping forward, then the rear left, the tall objects emerging from the smoke cover.
Above the tall legs, the crest of the black dome glinted in the dim light, the sparkle clear as he glimpsed the laser cannons on either side, the two black helmeted crew members in the front open topped cockpit of the lead armoured machine. As he drew breath again, he moved the glasses, seeing more and more walkers emerge from the smoke, their mixture of heavy laser cannons and acid guns glinting in the early morning haze. Hundreds of Morgon infantry seemed to rise up from the ground, moving forward with their armour.
The commander dropped from the rock, his mind struggling to comprehend what he had seen. He wiped the dust from his face with his gloved hand, lunging forward to run back towards the dugout. Ducking his head as shells burst overhead as he reached the entrance, his uniform showered with dust. As smoke swept across the defensive positions, he heard the distant shrieking in the distance, the enemy howling for their blood.
The sergeant responsible for the rear defences ran towards him at a half crouch, his face and uniform coated in dust and dirt. Reaching the commander, he stiffened slightly looking up at him, his eyes wide, ‘Sir, I have to report…’ He hesitated, seeing the deflated expression on his commander’s face, then continued, ‘…Sir, I have to report that the enemy is growing in strength in the valley. We are now facing perhaps two or three infiltrator units…they are strongly armed, but no signs of their heavy weapons units as yet.’
The commander looked down at him, shaking his head in dejection as smoke and dust swept across them, several explosions near the forward positions causing them to duck their heads instinctively. He sighed, seeming to carry an overwhelming weight on his shoulders. His eyes sharpening as he made his decision, his face tightening in his conclusion, the situation now making his decision inevitable. Turning to face the end of the ravine, he raised his voice in determination, his body stiffening as the two runners approached, ‘Turn the remaining tanks and self-propelled guns, get every man from the front line…we are breaking out! No rear-guard…one tank and the self-propelled guns in front to punch through into the valley. Full flight…infantry behind the front punch, the remaining tanks and armoured vehicles cover the rear! This position is lost!’
He turned to the startled soldiers, their expressions transforming to terror, his voice lowered, ‘Enemy walkers approaching…many of them.’ He indicated to the sergeant, ‘Get the engineers to set more charges in the ravine…bring as much of it as we can down before they get here...that should slow them down.’ He glanced across their terrified faces, ‘Make the explosions count…we have little time left…if they break through with walkers we will be slaughtered! We re-group at the village!’
He turned on his heels and marched into the bunker wiping the moisture from his eyes, his sighing voice going unheard as the marines ran obediently from the entrance, ‘It’s now every marine for themselves!’
Chapter Twenty Three: Time to Run!
Riaz stumbled in the darkness, his chest heaving as the pain from his shoulder and ribs swept through his body. Pushing himself upwards, he ran on, struggling to see in the darkness. He stumbled again, this time falling forward, his boots tripping on the body bag and sprawling across several of the tightly wrapped prone lifeless figures. His terror rising, he looked up, seeing the last couple of wounded struggle up the opposite tunnel wall in the gloom, their terror at the shots and shrieks stirring them on.
He forced himself upwards, grasping his rifle tightly in one hand, revulsion and pity for the bodies beneath him pushing him forward. Scrambling across several bags, his legs scraping across the bodies beneath, he rolled onto the floor of the tunnel, hearing shots from behind him, the firing becoming almost continuous.
He winced as he struggled to his feet, the breathing constricted across his chest as he lunged on, the slope rising before him. His boots slid on the dust of the tunnel as he slipped, then pushed forward. Rounding the bend in the tunnel, he screwed his eyes up at the dim light above him, hearing the burbling of an engine outside the tunnel entrance.
The last of the wounded were emerging into the morning light as he saw the silhouette of a figure walk forcefully into the light, the man shouting at him, ‘What is going on?’ The captain holding his rifle across his chest.
Struggling for air, Riaz gasped back, ‘The Morgons…they are in the tunnels! ’
The silhouette pointed to him, his arm outst
retched towards Riaz as his head jerked to the side, ‘Get him!’
Two more silhouettes emerged from the sides of the opening, running towards him as he staggered up the slope. Grasping his arms, they dragged him forward, his yelps of pain going unnoticed as he was thrust into the light.
The captain turned from the entrance, shouting across the clearing, ‘Blow the tunnels…we are leaving!’
Riaz forced the panicked shout through his heaving chest, ‘Nooo! There are two still in there!’
The captain spun round to face him, his face menacing, ‘You left them?
Riaz shook his head, struggling with his words as he saw the tank slowly move to the crest of the slope leading to the track, the engine growling loudly in the hastily repaired machine, ‘They are giving us time!’
The captain nodded grimly, ‘Very well…but they need to hurry…mount up!’ He turned and waved the marines forward towards the two carriers as the rear doors were slammed shut.
Riaz was half dragged across the clearing, his boots sliding across the dirt, ‘A-Aren’t you going to get them?’ Muffled gunfire echoed from the beyond the dark entrance.
The captain’s head spun round, a glare on his face as he shouted after him, ‘We have no time…and we will need all the marines on the way down…’ He turned back to the two marines engineers before them, ‘Give them a minute…then blow the tunnels…we will be on the slope!’
The two men nodded obediently, running to one of the forward barricades, a long cable snaking across the ground towards the entrance.
The Last Marine in the Galaxy (Galaxies Collide Book 1) Page 22