Time War: Invasion

by Nick S. Thomas

  "Come on, we have to keep moving," said Rane. He and Hunter went on.

  Harland swung the helmet into the wounded man's face and crushed his skull with a single strike before tossing the helmet aside and carrying onwards. Hunter was in the lead now, and he reached a doorway where he stopped dead as he saw Robak lift up part of a damaged metal trap door and toss it aside.

  "Robak!" he screamed.

  He lifted up his Bren gun and fired repeatedly from the hip as he rushed toward Villiers’ henchman. He wore the same thick steel armour that the rest did, but with no need for mechanical enhancement to support the weight. Bullets bounced from his armour, but he leapt through the hole in the floor without paying any attention to Hunter.

  "Stop!" Rane shouted.

  He and Harland rushed after the young soldier. Gunfire landed at Hunter's feet as he ran onwards. They reached the doorway to get a full view ahead. Three German soldiers were firing at Hunter, and he jumped and slid along the floor, dropping into the hole unscathed. The Germans turned their attention to them now, but it was too late. Rane opened fire with the Browning and ripped through their armour. Shards of wood and brickwork littered the air. The three soldiers vanished into a haze, and finally he stopped firing. They got one foot forward when they heard an almighty explosion and felt the wall behind them cave in.

  They were showered with debris as they ducked down and sheltered their eyes. As they looked back up, the silhouettes of dozens of enemy soldiers were advancing towards the breach, and they knew they had to try and hold them back.

  Hunter landed hard almost ten metres down from where he had slid into the hole. He coughed and spluttered as brick dust filled his lungs, and he got to his feet. He saw a shadow disappear up ahead and heard the heavy footsteps of Robak. He looked back up as if hoping for some help, but it never came, so he ran onwards without any caution at all. Gunfire rang out from a low calibre pistol, and he took the bend to find Robak snap a soldier's spine over his knee before tossing him aside.

  He quickly took aim and fired several bursts into Robak. The weight of the rounds was enough to knock him back slightly, but not one penetrated his armour. The huge creature squared off against him and almost filled the narrow corridor. He took one last careful aim for a headshot and squeezed the trigger. He heard a click, as the bolt went forward and found an empty chamber and magazine.

  Robak grinned and stood defiantly with no weapon in hand, but Hunter was not deterred. He asked himself what Corwin would do, and he knew immediately. He lifted the sling of his Bren gun off his shoulder and threw the weapon to the ground. He drew out his knife with his right hand and his pistol with his left and ran at Robak. He fired repeatedly until the seven shot magazine was empty. One shot skimmed Robak’s neck and cut deeply, hurting him enough to give Hunter the smallest of openings. He dropped the pistol and jumped into the air with his knife aiming for Robak’s collar. Hunter landed with his arms wrapped around Robak’s chest and his blade running sure and true for its target.

  The tip of the blade got to within a few centimetres when Robak’s hand flew into view and blocked its path. The blade pierced his palm and ran up to the hilt and stopped short of his neck. He responded with a head butt that sent Hunter hurtling to the floor with blood spewing from his nose and mouth.

  Robak drew out the knife and threw it aside as he strode forward. Hunter tried to get to his feet, but it was too late. Robak delivered a swift kick to his flank. Several of his ribs cracked on impact even through his armour, and he was once again launched through the air and landed hard on the cold concrete floor. He spat out blood and winced in pain as he got back to his feet, gesturing for Robak to come forward.

  “Come on, just a little longer,” he whispered to himself.

  * * *

  Corwin rushed towards the sound of the Browning gunfire, knowing it could only be Rane. He ran into the room to find the bodies of several soldiers. Rane and Porter were reloading inside a doorway while under heavy fire. He looked down at the hole in the floor where the trap door was.

  “Where’s Hunter?”

  “He went in after Robak!” Porter replied.

  “And you let him go alone?”

  “Kind of busy here!”

  An explosion rang out in the wall a few metres to Porter’s side, and a new entrance into the room was created. Lecia and Williams were quick to rush to the breach. They tossed grenades through and returned fire at the oncoming troops.

  “We have to get to Robak!” Corwin shouted.

  “You do, but if we can’t hold back this wave, it won’t matter!” Williams answered.

  “We’ve got this, go!” Porter called over to him.

  They were barely holding back the waves of German paratroopers and their armoured support troops. The last thing he ever wanted to do was face Villiers’ henchman alone once again, but he thought of Hunter, and took the leap. He landed smoothly at the base and raised his weapon ready as he rushed onwards. He took a bend and felt his heart almost stop when he saw Hunter laying lifelessly a few metres ahead.

  He rushed to the youngster’s side. Thankfully, his eyes were still open, but he could not move any of his body. His breathing was slow, and it was clear his body was completely broken.

  “I tried,” he whispered as tears mixed with the blood splattered all across his face. Corwin rested his hand on Hunter’s cheek.

  “You did well.”

  Automatic gunfire suddenly echoed through the corridor. It was the distinctive sound of a Thompson machine gun firing on full auto. He got to his feet and rushed ahead as quickly as he could. He reached a blast door that had been prised apart. Five bodies were stacked in the entrance as well as another three further in, and then he saw him. Churchill. He stood defiantly in the centre of the room with a cigar in his mouth and a Thompson machine gun in hand. He had on his full uniform and was holding the trigger firmly down and letting out a hail of bullets.

  Robak was advancing towards him and taking all the fire without any concern at all as the .45 bullets ricocheted off his armoured suit. The shots continued to fly until his drum magazine ran empty. Robak was just two metres away from him and stopped to gloat.

  “Your war is over,” he stated.

  He strode towards the Prime Minister, but Corwin took a quick aim at the back of his legs. He fired the last two bursts in his magazine, and the shots ripped into Robak’s thighs. He screamed in pain and was felled like a wild beast. He smashed down to the floor just in front of Churchill who hadn’t even flinched.

  “If I may?” Corwin asked him.

  He’s all yours,” replied Churchill, stepping back out of the way.

  Corwin entered the room and squared off against Robak as he struggled to get back to his feet. Blood was seeping from his wounds, and Corwin could see he was in pain now.

  “Will you never die?” Robak asked.

  “Not a chance.”

  Robak laughed.

  “You couldn’t beat me before, not without your dogs, how will this end any differently? You will never leave here.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

  Corwin charged forward as if to throw a punch, but stopped short and delivered a quick push kick into Robak’s wounds on his right leg. His boot struck hard, and Robak keeled forward slight, allowing Corwin to deliver a powerful uppercut into his broad jaw. Robak’s head snapped back slightly, but he threw his hand around with a quick back fist that smashed Corwin by his right ear and sent him staggering several paces across the room before gathering his balance.

  Corwin took hold of a steel chair, threw it at Robak, and then rushed at him. He cast the chair aside, but Corwin ducked down and delivered a quick punch to the inside if his right thigh, once again hitting the wound; Robak groaned in agony. Robak thrust a knee forward to strike him, but could not generate the power he wanted through the weakening muscles.

  As Robak stumbled slightly from his weak legs, Corwin punched him straight in the throat and cut his air suppl
y off for just a second. He reached for his throat and tried to breathe. Corwin didn’t let up. He delivered two jabs and a heavy hook to his nose that weakened him further, and finally leapt over onto his back and took him in a chokehold.

  Robak grabbed hold of his arms and stood up even with the weight of Corwin on his shoulders and the injuries to his legs. Corwin felt his feet come off the ground, and Robak reached to punch him in the face. The strike landed, but it was weakened, and he took it. Robak went back a few paces and smashed him against a wall, trying to crush him with his weight, but Corwin held on for dear life.

  Finally, Robak slumped onto his knees and collapsed to the floor with Corwin on top of him. Corwin let out a sigh of relief as he got up and drew out his knife.

  “You will not harm another soul,” he said as he moved the blade towards the unconscious man’s throat.

  “Why would you kill this man?” Churchill asked.

  Corwin was shocked.

  “You think I should show mercy after all that he has done?”

  Churchill shook his head.

  “Mercy? Far from it. Just look at him, and all that he was able to do. You know what we could achieve with an army of soldiers like him?”

  Corwin nodded.

  “Like him? No, he’s a monster, but like me? Yes, Sir.”

  “A dozen of my finest men were thrown aside like nothing at all, and yet you bested him all by yourself. What are you?”

  Corwin smiled. “It’s a long story, and you wouldn’t believe me, anyhow.”

  “Try me.”

  Corwin slowly knelt down beside Robak.

  “Well, we don’t come from this country, nor this time…” he began, as he rolled over the hulking body and reached in to check for a pulse. Robak was still breathing, and that made him uncomfortable.

  “I really wish you would let me…” Corwin began and looked back up to Churchill, but stopped dead at what he saw.

  Tano stood beside the Prime Minister with a pistol held to his head.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. For a moment he began to wonder if it were some kind of trick or imposter.

  “You’ve got this all wrong,” stated Tano.

  Corwin stood up and began to approach.

  “Stay where you are, Corwin,” he said calmly.

  “Okay, tell me how you think it is.”

  “The Germans want to kill this man because he presents a threat to them, but isn’t this the sort of power we have been in search of since we arrived in this damned place?”

  “Not sure what you are getting at,” replied Corwin.

  “We kill this man, and we can lead this country to victory, or you can squander our abilities and let us rot in another jail cell until Villiers finds us.”

  “I just don’t see it that way,” replied Corwin.

  “I pull the trigger, and we can start changing the outcome of this war.”

  Corwin could hear the sincerity in his voice. He was genuinely attempting it for the right reasons, but he couldn’t let him go ahead with it. He raised his empty hand and clicked his fingers. A single shot rang out from Lecia, who was just peering through the doorway behind him. Corwin felt the turbulence as the bullet past within millimetres of his ear and struck the slide of Tano’s pistol.

  As the gun flew from his hand, Frasi seemed to leap out of nowhere and lock Tano into an arm bar and collapse with him to the floor. He landed hard and could not resist the strong lock he had been placed in.

  “You know how fucked up that was?” Corwin asked.

  Colonel Williams rushed into the room and to Churchill’s side. He looked down at Tano having his hands bound by Lecia.

  “He is one of yours?”

  Corwin turned to the Prime Minister and nodded in shame.

  “I want him arrested immediately. He should be shot for this,” said Churchill sternly.

  “Sir, I must protest,” said Williams.

  “You were not here, Colonel. This man tried to kill me just like that thing did,” he said, pointing to Robak.

  “Sir, we’ve got the situation under control. You are safe now.”

  “Yes, I should bloody well hope so. Now, about this defector.”

  “If it were not for him, Captain Corwin and his team would never have made it here. And they are responsible for your life here today. They did this for you.”

  Churchill turned his attention to Corwin and was starting to understand he was far more significant than his rank might suggest.

  “You’re a little old for a Captain, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Until a few days ago it was Sergeant, but not in your army,” he replied.

  For a minute Churchill carefully studied Corwin and his ramshackle group of companions. He knew it was perhaps their single opportunity to make their case and really make a difference.

  “Women? You fight with women at your side?” Churchill asked, gazing upon the bedraggled beauty of the Lecia and Chas, but passed off the rather more odd looking Vi who glared at him in a way that seemingly no woman ever had before. But it was when Rane stepped into the room that his eyes truly widened.

  “I didn’t ask for this, and I have no idea who you people are or what you are doing here, so what is it I can do for you?”

  Corwin knew he had it in the bag. He pulled out one of the god awful cheap cigarettes and lit it, smiling as he replied.

  “It’s not what you can do for us. It’s what we can do for you. We’re here to turn this war around. All you have to do is let us.”

  Churchill looked suspicious as he continued to gaze upon the absurdity of everything he was seeing. He looked back down to Robak and remembered the vicious fight that had been displayed before him.

  “Any man that can wrestle a giant like that and win is a friend I would be glad to have in this world,” he replied.

  He strode across the room and took out a tin. He popped it open and pulled out two cigars and passed one to Corwin, offering out his other hand in friendship. Corwin smiled. He knew they were finally in the right place and talking to the right man.

  “We’ve got a war to fight, and no time to sit idle. Will you fight it with me?” Churchill asked him.

  Corwin shook his hand and took the cigar with delight.

  “Bet your ass,” he replied.