by David Peters
“And what is the size of this incoming force, Hastings? What is their makeup, movement speed?” Mike asked angrily.
“The scout reported numbers in the thousands. There simply aren’t that many of these things out there. He’s exaggerating; he saw a few dozen Hunters and panicked. This is all overreaction. At most there are maybe a hundred of those Corrupted coming. Hardly a match for our well trained forces. The biggest attack we have ever seen here was barely over one-hundred enemy units.”
“I have never heard Thomas exaggerate as long as I have known him. He gives the most accurate field reports we get and is a stickler for the most minute of details.”
“Are you questioning my authority, Michael?”
“I’m questioning your ability to lead, Hastings. I’m guessing this plan to flank the enemy wouldn’t have you in the attacking force now, would it?”
“Of course not, I would lead from the wall. I can’t lead if I can’t get an overall picture of the battle and the wall is the most obvious position to command my units effectively.”
Martha shook her head, “We don’t have time for this crap anymore, gentlemen. Hastings, you are welcome to stay and fight, but you are not in charge. Michael, take everyone but Dean and Grant to the armory. I want those two on the wall watching that horizon. Send out the alarm at the first sign of the ‘Rupts.”
“On it, ma’am.”
The crowd broke up and the two ran up the wall while everyone else but Hastings ran toward the armory shed.
“Martha, you cannot leave me out of this. I have been running the security details since the first day I set foot here. I know my job and I do it with the utmost integrity and skill.”
“And I let you do it because we had nothing else for you to do. We let you sit and deliver your wonderful brand of guidance while the decisions didn’t really matter. Everything is on the line now and I can’t allow you to continue with your game. I’m sorry, Hastings. I simply don’t have time for this,” Martha turned her back and walked carefully up the rock stairs.
She turned to follow Mike as Hastings stood and stared at the dirt at his feet.
Thirteen men filed out of the shed. Each person had several rifles slung over their shoulders and were carrying various heavy boxes of ammunition and explosives.
Mike directed them to place the boxes at twenty foot intervals around the wall facing the direction of the incoming attack, “Weapons check!”
The sound of magazines being slammed into rifles and rounds being loaded moved up and down the line.
“We have movement out to the front!”
A small line of dust was forming more than two miles away and moving in the direction of the town. Mike looked through his heavy field binoculars, even at this range he could see the large Corrupted Guards pounding through the dry dirt as they ran toward Folkesburg.
“Sound the alarm! We have less than twenty minutes at best before first contact! These people need to move faster!” Mike turned back around and watched the leading element as it approached. Dean was standing next to him as he watched.
Mike lowered his voice and continued, “I used to get stuck in the rear lines all the time. Chow halls were almost always somewhere near the arty. I’d kill to have a few of those right now. Right there in the parking lot, a line of tubes behind us ready to lob death twenty kilometers away.”
“I remember you told me you were in one of the times we went into Iraq. Think they could turn ‘em all to mush?”
“You would see that entire group covered in black, rolling thunder. Turn their entire leading element into a crater. Hell, they’re still far enough out for a tactical nuke I’d bet. That would sure be pretty right about now.”
“Instead, we have these pop-guns, some ancient hand grenades and some dynamite that may or may not work. Bet half of this crap isn’t worth much more than throwing rocks.”
“Diein’ of old age is over rated. Look at those people behind us. Find a face, a kid, a scared woman, it doesn’t matter. Once you find one, tell yourself you are doing this for them,” Mike said as he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. He turned to those behind him and shouted, “Targets are fifteen minutes out and closing fast!”
Behind them the air raid siren sounded again. Several people stopped momentarily to look toward the wall then moved quicker than they were before. Already the town looked like a war zone. Doors were left wide open, clothing was strewn about as people ran toward the tunnel entrance.
The line of Guards was less than a mile away now. They ran with determination. Their faces were a mask of hatred and anger. They wanted to tear the world of man to pieces. Their feet pounded out clouds of dust and sand as they thundered across the open range of dead grassland. Sappers struggled to keep up with the rapid strides of the far larger Guards and not get crushed under their massive feet.
Mike checked his weapon yet again, “Don’t waste your shots! Remember, go for the Guards’ legs! The upper body is too heavily armored! Sappers are chest, Hunters are,” he paused for a second, “hell, shoot the Hunters anywhere you can! Save your grenades and dynamite for large groups and for the love of Pete throw them far enough away that you don’t kill yourself!”
Martha walked down the line giving words of encouragement to the men and women on the wall. As she moved through empty space between defenders, she would look out toward the field at the ever growing number of Corrupted. They could make out the vast number of Sappers running to the sides and in front of their larger Corrupted brethren. They knew the Hunters would be behind the main force waiting to exploit an opening in the wall surrounding the town. When the horde got within a mile they began to hear the sounds of the approaching army. Their pounding feet and the heavy breathing could be heard on the wall. Even the occasional hiss could be heard over the growing thunder of their feet.
“Aim for the Sappers at the Guards’ feet!” They had learned in talking with Paradise Falls that Sappers could be used as ammunition and Guards could throw one nearly a hundred yards. They could also be detonated early and used against the Corrupted to create walls that would be impenetrable until the pools of biofuel exhausted themselves and the heat died down.
Five hundred yards out the monsters began to slow down. Several of the Guards began to pick up Sappers in preparation for the battle. Mike took careful aim with his French-made assault rifle. Five hundred yards was a long shot on a single target, but he had thousands to choose from. His first shot struck the dirt a dozen yards to the enemies’ front. Roars from the Guards moved down the line. He fired again and hit a Sapper in the middle of the thing’s chest. The Corrupted detonated, starting a chain of a dozen or more before they were able to move out of the fire. From five hundred yards it sounded as though someone was stepping on bubble-wrap as the explosions rippled down the line. Two Guards roared in anger as they were rapidly consumed by the Corrupted flames. Their angry yells rolled across the open plain.
With the first shot fired, people began to panic as they struggled to get into the tunnel and out of harm’s way. Someone packed in too close to a horse pulling one the carts spooking the already terrified animal. It reared several times before the driver could get it under control. Several screams could be heard from the crowed as people were knocked to the ground by the frightened horse.
A single booming voice commanded everyone to calm down, “Pick these people up and get them in the back of the cart. You there, help me with this one!”
They made room for the injured in one of the wagons and began to file into the tunnel again.
Mike’s success prompted the other shooters to begin taking carefully aimed shots. As the approaching force closed in past the three-hundred yard range, multiple hits began to ripple across the front. Muffled ‘whumps’ of explosions marked successful hits as the Sapper fires began to spread across the attackers like stacked matches. With the initial attack still two hundred yards out, it stalled in the heavy black smoke. The twisting orange flames became too much for the
Corrupted to fight through and not lose their Sappers before they were in range. The dry grasslands quickly caught fire and sent flames out in all directions adding to the rolling inferno.
There was a pause in the firing as the flames and smoke obscured the adversaries from one another. With a loud grunt, a single Sapper arched high over the flames and landed seventy yards from the wall with an instant detonation. Several more landed in the field but they learned quickly that their range was too limited.
Martha lowered her rifle and spoke quietly to Michael, “I think we may have bought the town an extra fifteen minutes with that. Everyone check your ammunition!”
“They are going to flood through mad as hell. Once those flames die down, they are going to come hard and fast.”
“I think they already are.”
Several Guards pounded through the flames, their bodies trailing thick black smoke and flames as they charged through the still smoldering curtain of fire. They carried a Sapper in each meaty hand as they ran. No one needed to be told to start firing. Michael took careful aim and sent a three round burst down range. The first two stuck low but the third thirty-caliber round shattered the right shin of one of the things. The shattered bone could no longer carry the weight and the leg buckled, sending it crashing into the dry field and detonating both of the Sappers it was carrying. New fountains of liquid flame erupted starting several new grass fires and engulfing the wounded Guard. Three more fell in the same manner before they were in range and could begin to throw their living explosive weapons.
Mike watched in horror as a Sapper sailed far over his head and crashed through the roof of a now empty cabin. The home burst into flames as the wooden shingles were dowsed with the fuel. The extreme temperatures on the roof and walls turned the inside of the home into an inferno. The windows shattered as the intense heat turned the wooden structure into smoke and ash. Two more struck the wall fifty feet to his left, instantly immolating the three men standing there. Sappers began to land on the same section of wall repeatedly. The super-heated soil flowed out of the wall as if it were water. At least six of the cabins behind them were fully engulfed now as they continued to bombard the town. Pools of burning fluid, Sappers that had struck nothing, burned all over the main square of the small town.
Michael could see the barricade of fire being built behind them, “Martha! We are going to have to fall back any minute! When that wall gives way they will flood through. We need to get the ammo boxes down on the ground. We can fight from the first line of cabins and keep falling back in the same manner but we need to get through that wall of fire behind us while we still can!”
Mike looked toward the town and saw several of the heavily loaded wagons making their way down the gravel road toward the tunnel. He could see the few remaining townspeople that were desperately throwing everything they could grab into the carts.
He ducked as a shadow passed over his head. A Sapper flew several feet over his head and slammed into the small paved area inside the gate. The blacktop began to buckle under the heat. He grabbed the heavy box at his feet and began to move down the stairs. The wall shook as at least three more Sappers pounded into the base below where he had just been standing.
A blast of heat flashed over Mike as one the defenders took a direct Sapper hit. The Sapper had struck the man in the chest as he was taking aim to fire. It blew him completely off the wall in a scream of agony, his body rolling to a stop just a few yards from where he was standing. The screaming stopped abruptly and the man lay still.
Nine of them were still standing as they took up positions to defend the town behind the ruptured wall. Four more detonations in rapid succession blew a massive hole completely through their defensive perimeter sending soil and rock flying into the courtyard. Pieces of rock the size of softballs landed around Mike as he covered his head with a free hand.
A hasty defense was quickly set up just behind the row of burning cabins. The heat was oppressive but he wasn’t really aware of it as he focused on the battle. He looked over his shoulder briefly to see how many more were still trying to escape. He could see a few charred bodies lying in the field near the horse barn. People caught in the open with few places to hide.
Several defenders lay prone in a gully with a clear view of the open section of wall. Another group knelt behind several of the cabins that had yet to catch fire.
Mike passed several grenades to those around him and pulled the pin on his as he waited for the first Hunter to show. His group was lying prone on a small hill just behind the first row of burning homes. Others followed his lead and waited as the fires around them continued to rage. Thick black clouds drifted over the wall where they had been standing. The few timbers still standing were billowing orange fire and black smoke.
The silence was unnerving as they waited for the assault. The crackling of burning homes and the fires on the wall wasn’t enough to mask the savage Hunter cries from the darkened bank of gray and black. Hundreds, if not thousands, of cries filled the town. Mike felt the blood drain from his face, there were so many of them and so few people to fight them. He saw movement in the smoking opening and threw the first grenade. The explosion was heavily muffled by the number of bodies absorbing the energy. Dean threw the next one, again with the same muffled results.
The main gate shook heavily as the Guards began to physically assault it. The pounding stopped suddenly and silence fell over the battle yet again. With a massive series of pounding explosions, Sappers slammed into the wall in their final acts of self-immolation. The gate buckled and collapsed under the tremendous heat. Nothing more moved at the first breach having been firmly routed by the grenade attacks. As the first shadowy shape made its way through the destroyed entrance, several grenades landed in the smoke and flames. Again muffled detonations filled the air. Several blackened body parts were blown into the open courtyard. The Corrupted paused again as they waited out the flames.
“Why ain’t they attacking us? They could take us in seconds!” One of the nearly panicked defenders yelled out.
Mike looked at him, “It’s their own fires keeping them back. I’ll bet that most of the fields out there are burning now, probably hard as hell for them to see in all that smoke. They can’t figure out where to focus their next attack because they can’t see in here. Once they break through that last cloud, they will come in force and you’ll get your wish. Just be ready to pull back!”
Martha leaned close to Mike, “Last cart is heading out now, another minute and we can shut the door. We only need to hold them that long!”
Mike never moved his eyes from the front gate, “We may not have that long. The wind just shifted and it isn’t doing us any favors.”
It was a subtle change in a slight breeze but the black, swirling clouds were suddenly pushed away from the gate and out into the field. Black shadows poured through the entrance by the hundreds. Hunters screamed for blood as they fanned out only to be cut down by the withering automatic weapons fire from the defenders. Bodies were piling up but the Hunters were getting closer to the defenders as they used the Corrupted in front to absorb the bullets. Every dead Hunter was another yard closer to the humans.
“Fall back! Fall back!” Mike fired three round bursts into the black mass of Hunters. He couldn’t miss at this range, no one was. He stood and pulled Martha to her feet.
“We need to fall back to the last line of cabins now!” He turned and pushed Martha toward the next line of cabins. Dean ran at his side, stopping several times to turn and shoot. Three of the defenders stayed at the first line firing continuously until they were overrun. Their screams barely heard above sounds of the rolling battle and the burning town.
Six of them lay low on the small concrete berm around the evacuation tunnel. Behind them the concrete sloped down sharply until it was level with the bottom of the large tunnel opening. The driver of the final cart was having trouble with his horses. The shooting and smoke had them terrified and they were refusing to enter the t
unnel. The first of the Hunters came through the burning row of cabins. Mike was now down to single round shots. He had three magazines remaining. Ninety rounds. It seemed like so much but it would be gone in less than a minute once they began flooding through.
“We need to seal the tunnel!” Martha yelled out.
Mike sprinted down into the entrance and tried to pry open the rusting lock mechanism. Even with all of his weight on the six foot pry bar he couldn’t unlock the counterweight holding the door open.
“Dean, give me a hand here!”
Dean jumped onto the end of the bar and the two of them bounced on the bar to try to release it. With the sound of overstressed metal, the lock mechanism gave way and they toppled to the ground. The large door rolled less than six inches before it stopped.
Dean looked into the narrow gap between the outer and inner wall. “This isn’t going to work. The lines are still pressurized and holding the door open. The primary lock won’t recess into the wall with the pressure on.”
“What the hell do we do?” Mike almost yelled.
“Give me your knife. If I slide all the way in here, I can cut the main hose line.”
“You won’t be able to get out of the way from the door in time. That’s twelve tons of concrete and steel!”
Someone behind Mike grabbed the knife out of his hand.
“I’ll do it.” Hastings said quietly.
“What? Why?”
Hastings stepped into the gap and started to slide into the narrow gap, “Because I have spent the last two decades of my life living a lie. Because I thought I had everyone snowed and I’ve come to find that they were just letting me, well, be me. Maybe this will make up for me being so messed up.”
“Hastings, you are clinically insane, but you are alright. We need to get everyone on the inside of the tunnel!”
A Sapper detonated at the top of the concrete bowl taking two more defenders in a fiery explosion.