The skeletons tried hard to slash them with their swords, but the soldiers would perfectly use their swords as shields against them. Even the slashes that could reach their bodies would be deflected away by the thick rubber strap of their uniforms. When they failed to cut them, the skeletons plotted to first disarm the soldiers. However, as the skeletons concentrated their efforts on taking away the guns, it gave more chances to the soldiers to do more offensive to them. By the tenth minute, the soldiers had not registered any injury on their side despite the efforts the skeletons had put in to cut them.
The skeletons decided to first run away from the battle scene because the human soldiers had started overpowering them. When they reached one hundred meters away, the wind became stationary again. Its spinning speed and strength more than doubled. A minute later, the skeletons and the whirlwind returned with renewed vigor. The soldiers were made to lose their balance by the strength of the wind, forcing them to start struggling to hold onto the armored cars for anchorage. One by one, the ghosts would come across them and would cut them several times all over their bodies. The soldiers’ ability to fight back had been reduced because they had to maintain one arm holding onto the vehicles in order to avoid being blown away.
But the greatest challenge which the soldiers were facing was the way the wind kept on changing its pattern of rotation. It would rotate in a clockwise direction for a while and would then change abruptly to a counterclockwise pattern before going back to the clockwise direction. It kept on doing this over and over again and whenever it would change pattern, some unlucky human soldiers would be lifted aloft. As they floated within the wind, the skeletons would find it easy to stab them repeatedly and after some time the rubber coating of the outermost layer of their uniforms loosened. The metallic plates of the second layer also started protruding through the cut areas and later dropped off.
The soldiers were then relying on the innermost layer of Kevlar for defense against the stabbing effects of the swords. Though they were not being cut, they were constantly feeling pain from the bludgeoning attacks. Due to this pain, the company started losing the courage to continue with the fight. They had not only become tired, but had also started registering some casualties. The skeletons were however even more determined to see them die.
The last blow to the human soldiers came when the wind started moving up and down in a series. As it rose, it would lift the soldiers up to a distance of over ninety feet off the ground. It would then push them down to the ground as it returned. It was through this regular rising and falling of the wind that the greatest number of the soldiers were killed. Whenever the soldiers would be carried up in the air, three or four skeletons would hold their swords vertically on the ground below them. As the wind raced back to the ground with them, they would fall on the tips of these swords. The swords would then manage to penetrate through the Kevlar lining of the soldiers’ suits and hence pierce through their flesh.
Lt. Col. Tim also died in the same way. After being lifted up by the rising wind, four skeletons staged their swords below him. When the wind pushed him back to the ground, he fell on these swords. One pierced through his thoracic region and reached his heart which caused him to die instantly.
All along, the soldiers in the helicopters had just been watching the ground fight from above. Though they were also armed with M16 rifles, they had not tried to take action for fear of injuring their colleagues who were battling with the skeletons on the ground. But when the wind started blowing away the sliced body parts of their colleagues, the pilots decided to call for help from their seniors. “Bodies of our colleagues are being thrown out of the wind, sir!” one pilot reported. “We need an elite squad sir! Team Bravo has been eliminated….,” reported another pilot.
Their seniors responded by sending a more elite squad of US Navy SEALS. The SEALS were putting on a similar personal armor, but their heads were covered with Modular Integrated Communications Helmets instead. The communication gadgets that had been installed on these helmets enabled them to communicate with each other and to receive orders from their team leader, Col. Davison. The helmets had also been fitted with AN/PVS-14 Monocular night vision devices, to provide a better vision through the translucent wind.
At the time of their arrival, the skeletons had killed almost all the soldiers of the first squad and had started opening the armored vehicles to obtain the two scientists who were by then lying unconscious in their car seats. The SEALS started by shooting into the wind to disperse them away from the cars before they dashed into the howling wind.
They were using XM25 Individual Airburst Weapons as their rifles! These computerized firearms were capable of shooting a next generation of 25mm grenades that could be set to explode in mid-air at or near the target from a distance of up to five hundred meters away.
The detonating distance of the grenades could also be manually adjusted by the user, ten feet longer or shorter before hitting the target. These firearms were a perfect choice for the skeletons which were running in unarmored targets because the grenades could detonate at a proper distance to produce an airburst effect. The resulting fragments could then distribute evenly over a wide area, but without penetrating the armored entrenchments of the military vehicles in which the two scientists had been abandoned. The soldiers continued shooting without stopping and five minutes later, they had managed to injure five skeletons. The five skeletons had been shattered into pieces and their bones had been lifted up and were also floating in the whirlwind.
The SEALS had also come with remote controlled Black Knight military tanks which they sent into the wind first. As soon as they entered the wind, they started shooting at the skeletons with their 30mm cannon guns. With their advanced autonomous navigation system, these tanks had the capability to design and follow their own routes without dependence on outside sources. This enabled them to trace and target the skeletons with a higher degree of accuracy on their own. The tanks were also moving in groups of five, being separated by very small gaps which made it difficult for the wind to blow down any of them.
The helicopters had also been ordered to fly back to Moffett Airfield. They had been replaced by two F-15 Eagles from the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno Air National Guard Base. An MQ-1 Predator drone from the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March Joint Air Reserve Base in Riverside was also sent to the scene. Although this unmanned aircraft was armed with two air-to-surface Hellfire missiles, its mission was capturing live streams of the events that were taking place at the battlefield. It was feeding the videos directly to the US National Military Command Center in Pentagon. The whole action was thus being watched live by officials at Pentagon and other US Military Command Centers.
Before entering into the howling wind, the SEALS changed weapons from Airburst firearms to double edged swords and large diamante shields that could protect the whole of their bodies. Apart from intercepting attacks from projectiles, the shields could also be used as bludgeoning weapons against the skeletons. When in the wind, the soldiers occupied the gaps between the tanks to avoid being blown away because the tanks were acting as their wind breakers. Others went on to anchor themselves to the tanks by fairly long chain straps just in case the wind became more disastrous. Those that went far away from the tanks copied the skeleton’s style of running in the same direction as the wind to maintain balance.
The wind had reduced in strength because there were a few remaining skeletons. This served in favor of the SEALS since they could then fight well with the skeletons without facing much resistance from the wind. Soldiers from each side were swinging their swords in the best way they could in order to slash their adversaries. Sounds from these swinging swords filled the place as they constantly hit each other. The skeletons would have been better at fighting with swords than humans but the shields the soldiers were using could not let any sword reach them. Instead the SEALS were successful in cutting the skeletons at some instances.
After fighting with the SEALS for a duration of
twenty minutes, the remaining skeletons decided to give up. They stopped attacking the human soldiers and rushed to the armored cars. They pulled out the two scientists and wrapped them in their body bags. They took them alive without dissecting them because the soldiers could not permit them to do so. They ran away from the scene towards the Pacific Ocean in which they dived out of sight. The SEALS tried to run after the whirlwind but their heavy personal armor could not allow them to move faster. The two F-15 Eagles and the Predator Drone were able to follow the wind until it disappeared into the ocean but they never attempted to shoot into it.
Although they had not rescued the two scientists, the SEALS team had a reason to celebrate. Thirteen of the twenty five skeletons had been shattered into fragments. The broken bones of these skeletons had been scattered around the area by the wind before it left. A Utility Military Plane from Plant 42 Palmdale, an aircraft manufacturing plant in the Antelope Valley, landed at the site. All the broken bones were loaded on it and were flown to the home of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. Research on these bones was later carried out by US scientists in order to determine their origin. The two Pave Hawk helicopters together with four others returned at the site to help in the rescue and evacuation of the wounded soldiers.
A water search was initiated immediately especially in the area where the wind had been seen dissipating into the ocean. Multiple government agencies were eventually involved in trying to identify the ghosts’ underwater cover. Though the ocean had remained calm throughout, all US warships were ordered to keep a distance away. Civilians and the policemen who had thronged the coast were restrained from going near the ocean to avoid similar mistakes that had occurred at the coast of Oregon during the first raid.
Deep down in the ocean, after the arrival of the last small aircraft, the airship started planning to leave. The ship rose through the water silently, causing neither a whirlwind nor a cyclone. When it came out of the water surface, it was reflecting a very bright dazzling light which made it impossible to be viewed by the naked eyes and even through the finest binoculars. All the fighters that tried to fire missiles at the UFO were faced with multiple failures in their weapon systems. The few that tried to move closer to it had all their computer systems failed completely and ended up crash landing into the ocean. The Us Army further tried to fire surface-to-air missiles at the ship from the coastland, but none survived the hot laser beams that were being emitted by the airship.
Initially, it was flying slowly but when it reached 100 feet from the water surface, its speed increased. It started flying hypersonically until when it disappeared in space without being intercepted by any manmade plane. More still, it was totally invisible to both radar, satellite and other detection methods and therefore when it entered space, the army lost track of it.
On reaching planet Ghostia, the airship landed amidst cheers from the skeleton warriors who had lined in the Ruthst Square to see the scientists that had been brought from earth. The skeletons of the five scientists who had been dissected before being brought to Ghostia were removed from their body bags and forced to march out of the airship first. The other two living scientists went out last. The ghosts were surprised to see the two living scientists walking out of the aircraft. Those at the back had to stretch their necks to see them properly. The most excited were those who had left earth thousands of years before. They wanted to determine how man had evolved through the ages. Among them was Lord Ghost himself. He could not help hide his happiness and as Professor McDonald walked passed him, he forced him to stop for a moment. He gave him a strong handshake and said, “Welcome to Ghostia, sir.” “You shall always be remembered by man and the ghosts as the first humans to reach the planet of the dead.”
The seven scientists were then separated according to their professions. The physicists and computer scientists were taken to the armory on the last two floors to help in the manufacture of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. These missiles were to be used against distant countries that would try to rise against them. These ICBMs could be armed with either conventional or non-conventional warheads, depending on where they were going to hit. The nuclear physicists were also to be used to devise ways through which the ghosts were to take control over the world’s nuclear stockpiles which the ghosts feared most.
The microbiologists were added to Lord Ghost’s team which was manufacturing deadly pathogens which the ghosts were to use as Biological weapons against humans. The microbiologists had been ordered to engineer slow killing bacterial spores which would inflict untold pain on the victim before killing them. These pathogens were to be used as the last resort in case humans tried to defeat the ghosts.
The five slain scientists were to retain their helmets. These helmets had replaceable fluids that were supplying nourishment to the brain and the whole head region via small tubes that had been incorporated within. Without these fluids, their brains would stop working and the scientists would feel much pain before dying slowly. Limiting the supply of these fluids was the only way the ghosts could control these scientists. The two living scientists were promised to be taken back to earth at the end of the mission. But if they failed to comply, a torture team had been set up by Lord Ghost to check them! Professor McDonald was given the privilege of heading the microbial team but he was to work under close surveillance lest he sabotaged the whole process.
After working hard for some good days Dr. Christine fell sick. She had been infected by the pathogens they were culturing. It was a trying moment for Prof. McDonald as he watched his wife falling and rolling over the ground in total pain. She was crying out loud whilst holding onto her swelling tummy. Her screams attracted Lord Ghost who was by then in a nearby room supervising the work of the other scientists. He rushed into the building only to find her isolated on the ground.
By then, an antidote for the infection had not been made and she was destined to die. Lord Ghost knew this and hence ordered his guards to rush her to Arcacidia and kill her from there. They knew that her soul was to be attracted into Arcacidia to be dressed into her new eternal skeleton. By killing her from there, it would be easier to follow her up as she came out of the tunnel. They would then bring her back to the laboratory to proceed with her unfinished business.
The guards put her onto a stretcher on which they were to carry her out of the facility. Prof. McDonald was not aware of their plans but he could not let her suffer to that extent yet he knew that she was going to die by all means. As the guards walked passed him, he grabbed a gun from one of them and used it to shoot her twice in the chest. She died instantly and the guards dropped her down. They immediately aimed their guns at the professor and they were ready to dismantle his brains if it were not for Lord Ghost’s intervention. Knowing the loss he had registered, Lord Ghost could not let them kill him because he was the one in charge of the whole process.
The professor was given the benefit of the doubt and was forced to return to work. However, Lord Ghost could not hide his anger. He put more pressure on the scientists and forced them to work for longer hours in order to complete the weapons in time.
CHAPTER FOUR
EARTH DOWN
According to the war plan Gen. Cov’s committee had executed, attacking all the countries on earth at once was not only going to be costly but it would also be impossible for them to win seven billion humans at once. Instead, they had planned to attack the United States first and then use its military advantage to subjugate the other countries. Their first task was to use their advanced computing skills to switch off and then take control over the world’s communication and computer networks. Without proper means of communication, humans across the globe could not be able to mobilize and stand against their common enemy.
The warriors had been divided into four divisions. The first division was made up of infantry skeleton warriors only. These were to arrive on earth first by means of Lord Ghost`s magical powers. The second was the Air Force div
ision which was to move to earth using the small and medium-sized aircraft. The large airships had been left for the third division. The fourth division was the reserve force which was to remain on Planet Ghostia.
Each division had been assigned a different mission to execute. The infantry skeleton warriors were to be dispersed in all major urban concentrations in the US. They were to keep running on the streets and perform minor attacks on both civilian and military installations with an aim of causing confusion in the country. The ghosts expected the US to respond to the attack with all her military strength, only to be taken by surprise by the arrival of the second division. The aircraft of the second division were to engage the US Air Force in an aerial combat and an anti-ship warfare with the US Navy. Computer specialists also attached to the second division were to wage an electronic warfare against the whole world in order to take over the world’s communication networks. The commander of the second division was to be Roth himself.
The large airships of the third division were to be loaded with different sets of equipment which their engineers were to use to assemble ballistic missile launch centers on earth and laboratories from where they were to perform their clandestine experimentations. All the scientists, including Prof. McDonald and the others who had been brought from earth were to be relocated to earth to work in these laboratories. Lord Ghost was to command this division himself. He expected to find when man had already been defeated by the first two divisions.
Gen. Cov had volunteered to stay on the planet to command the reserve force. He had chosen Gen. Path to stay with him as his deputy. The reserve force was to retain a quarter the amount of all weapons the ghosts had manufactured. The reserve force was to be on standby, waiting for a call from Lord Ghost or Roth in case the attack went out of their expectations. Its second role was defending the planet and the palace, just in case Lord Ghost`s opponents chose to use that opportunity to overthrow his government.
Skeleton Wars Page 5