Overrun

by Michael Rusch

  Kirken fell through the angry burst of the blast.

  He landed with an avalanche of shattered glass and twisted metal as the walls of the old bank weapons armory crashed down around him. Bodies, parts of the building, nearby vehicles and the ground all around were completely engulfed by the flame.

  Through it all, Kirken managed to pull himself up through the scorched air and find his footing. When he was up, he just started to run.

  His shirt, the back of his pants and head were covered with fire. A tumbled load of wreckage crashed across where he had landed seconds before.

  Small and large concrete portions of the structure flew and fell from every direction until a second blast ripped from the compound. Its force buried itself into Kirken's back and knocked him roughly forward toppling him from his feet.

  Kirken rolled twice in the dirt to extinguish the largest of the flames eating away at his clothes and body. For a quick instant, he turned his head to look at the chaos he had created.

  The old bank weapons armory was completely gone. The obliterated shell of what was left standing from the blast was completely consumed by a violent raging fire.

  Kirken gazed in fascinated horror at what he had caused. He then stood and again forced his legs to run.

  Chapter 28

  "Sir, we’ve got a large explosion at the old bank in Beuford, Washington," a voice sounded from a transmitter speaker hanging along the wall.

  Tuttle looked up from where he had been resting his head across his desk through the window to the control room. People flooding from three separate doorways started sitting at and reactivating the dark empty command stations. One by one and some at the same time, the empty screens at the front of the room quickly breathed to life.

  Tuttle jumped up from his chair and also ran inside.

  "Inside the building?" Tuttle asked rushing to stand behind the shoulder of the man who had called him. "Or from the surrounding vicinity?"

  "We’re reading a six point nine blast factor," the console operator reported. "Not quite enough to level a large structural building."

  Pushing his way through the sudden surge of personnel reassembling about the command center, War Minister Faulken moved to stand behind Tuttle's shoulder. They both stared intently across the console operator's controls. The large array of video displays loomed in front of them at the front of the room.

  Faulken exchanged glances with Tuttle and then looked up at the screens.

  "Composition of that six point nine?" he demanded evenly.

  "We've got three satellites moving into position now," the operator reported. "Judging at this point from debris damage to nearby buildings, the blast came from the structure’s upper half. There are a lot of rooftops across the block on fire, and the upper floors of many of the buildings have been blown entirely away."

  "Is it still up?" Tuttle asked barely able to breathe.

  "Its base structure is still there," the operator said adjusting his controls methodically. "I can still detect a large section of it even through all the fire. But its upper levels are completely gone. What's left is most likely a gutted shell. Until the satellite with the high intensity search cameras rolls in, I can't tell for sure."

  Faulken turned his head to look at Tuttle.

  "It is no longer feasible to wait, General. Send the firebomb team in tonight. And then launch the ground team.”

  “There is still a risk.”

  “Regardless of all risk. Send them tonight.”

  "War Minister, we don't have those kind of men to waste!" Tuttle argued sharply. "Especially on such a mission as this. We both know troop numbers all over are dangerously low. We cannot afford to undertake this type of risk to those men we have left. If the J.G.U. can still mount a defense from that weapons base, and most likely they can, our ground teams will be detected and eliminated by the reinforcement troops we expect to enter the town within the hour. Once that first squad is detected, the J.G.U. will seal the city up even tighter. We'll never be able to get anything else in. We'll lose it for good."

  “Tuttle, if we lose that city for good…," Faulken's face pulled tight with rage and determination. “…this whole country most likely will die. It will only be a matter of time before they learn the exact location coordinates of Science Dome 15. And once they get that, they will roll everything they possibly can against what little line of defense we have remaining in place to keep that facility from falling. And when they fully access the technology there, this war will be over. It will all be over.

  “I am giving you a Priority One order backed by the President himself," Faulken’s voice became a hiss. "That city must be destroyed within the next twenty-four hours, regardless of loss to resources, technology, or men. Send all your teams in now. Actions taken less than this will be considered criminal."

  "Sirs," the console operator exclaimed momentarily interrupting Faulken’s rant. "The surveillance satellite is coming around."

  Faulken looked towards the fiery pictures coming across the monitors while Tuttle gazed at the numbers and information appearing across the operator's controls.

  "The blast kill ratio was very high," the operator spoke again. “There are bodies down all around the compound and the surrounding blocks wiped out by the blast. Falling rubble more than likely buried scores of others closest to the building along the ground."

  Tuttle looked up towards the fiery carnage displayed from different angles across the wall of holovid screens.

  "It was very high indeed," the operator said again drawing in a deep breath.

  "Tuttle," Faulken said gravely looking back at him. "I want the firebombing to begin tonight. Troops inside before the sun comes up. The time is now. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Is that order clear, General?"

  "Yes, sir," Tuttle replied defeatedly.

  He was about to walk away when an alarm sounded from the control panel. Another command console operator hurriedly punched his fist across its lit switches and keys. Bright flashes of light came from the viewscreens forcing everyone in the room to cover their eyes or look away.

  "Another blast, sir. Much larger this time," the operator reported. "The satellite should give us an exact view of the building in the next two minutes."

  The command area fell silent as everyone in the room stared in fascinated horror at the fiery scene across the screens. Tuttle and Faulken waited rigidly behind the console operator with their arms braced against the back of his chair.

  "The new satellite feed is coming online now, sir."

  Tuttle leaned further over the operator’s shoulder barely able to believe the flaming chaos in front of his eyes.

  "Sir," the operator said. "That building is completely gone."

  Chapter 29

  They moved within the shadows of the storefronts and kept away from the few working lights that lined the sides of the street.

  Mel followed Brandon listlessly. Her hands hung limply at her sides. The area was sinister and dark. They traveled in silence back towards the center of town. Neither of them spoke. They just quietly walked.

  Brandon clutched his bloody tire iron tightly in his right hand. Mel lowered her head and plodded along quietly after him. She pulled the tattered jacket she still wore more tightly around her thin shoulders. She wiped away the last of the blood that had stopped seeping from the wound across her face with her sleeve.

  Walking around a corner, they could see headlights dimly in the distance two blocks further ahead. Brandon pressed his back against a storefront and pulled Mel next to him. The empty roof ledges of the surrounding stores loomed menacingly over their heads.

  "Let's rest here for a bit…," Brandon said sliding his back along the wall towards the storefront door. "…before we go back to find him."

  Mel nodded in the darkness and looked toward the ground. Brandon swung his tire iron in a delicate motion and carefully broke the glass at the center of the door.

  He reached through the opening to finger the lock
when a sudden cloud of brilliant light appeared ahead of them through the dark. The angry sound of manmade thunder soon followed violently battering the empty rooftops.

  Glass from many of the nearby buildings shattered and fell from their frames.

  Brandon grabbed Mel roughly by the arm and pulled her after him as he ran towards the blast. They no longer crept through the shadows but ran at a full sprint down the center of the streets. The brilliant light and booming sounds of explosions increased the further they went.

  They ran towards the fire that licked straight up into the night about ten blocks ahead. When they finally came upon roads heavy with military traffic, Brandon pulled Mel back inside the shadows of the storefronts.

  Following the flames visible across the rooftops, they turned a corner and found themselves two blocks away from the source of the blast.

  "He got in there," Brandon said less to Mel but more to himself. "He made it in there."

  "Where do you think he is now?" Mel asked timidly following Brandon closely down the length of the street.

  Tanks and trucks rushed past them towards the flaming buildings ahead. They pressed themselves hard against the walls of the storefronts each time a vehicle raced past.

  The exploded fires scorched the surrounding air until it was almost uncomfortable to breathe. They gagged and choked from the sudden surge of heat that seared their throats and threatened to ignite the tender tissue lining their lungs.

  When they were less than a block away from the old bank, Brandon dove to the ground beneath the back of a large truck and pulled Mel after him. They squirmed side by side through the hot sand until they were directly beneath the engine.

  Both spitting sand from their mouths, they cautiously looked out from beneath its front. Straining their necks as far out as they dared, they both mesmerizedly watched.

  Twisted burning steel from the destroyed bank jutted out towards the sky. The top two floors of the facility had been blown completely away by the blast. Smaller explosions spewed pieces of concrete and stone into the sides of nearby buildings and consumed every surrounding rooftop with a blanket of raging fire.

  Trucks and jeeps raced to the exploded armory. Soldiers leapt from their cabs and cargo areas even before their drivers brought them to a stop.

  Brandon and Mel covered their ears when the engine of the truck they hid beneath suddenly roared to life.

  "C'mon," Brandon said crawling back through the sand and pulling Mel after him. Before they were completely out, it pulled away leaving them lying fully exposed in the openness of the street’s center.

  "This way." He tugged at her arm and ran closer towards the flames. Through the confusion and chaos spilling across the streets, Mel and Brandon moved further down the block. They were almost directly across from the facility when a convoy of vans and supply trucks barreled down the center of the roadway forcing them to dart for cover. They hid in the back of an empty jeep until the procession had completely roared past.

  They were about to jump out and move again when a second blast sounded through the night.

  They both carefully lifted their heads and stared across the street towards the source of the explosions and flames. They covered their heads with their arms as pieces of the building dropped down around them.

  "Oh my God," Mel said to herself and pulled at Brandon's arm.

  The top third of the building had been completely ripped apart. Falling concrete and steel crushed dozens of troops and completely covered the entrance to the compound. Soldiers jumped from the rushing vehicles and frantically scaled the rubble to search for those buried beneath.

  Bloody hands and limbs protruded from the piles of rock. Shrieks of pain filled the air.

  The pandemonium of the moment no longer made it necessary for them to hide. Soldiers rushed in every direction. Flame and smoke made it difficult to see.

  Brandon stepped out of the jeep and led his sister closer to the building. Mel stared into the blazing fire and began to quietly sob.

  Brandon took her hand and pulled her after him as he climbed up a large pile of fallen rubble at the far side of the compound.

  When they were at the top, Mel turned slowly around just in time to witness the next blast. As she raised her hand to shield her eyes, a movement coming from one of the windows near the middle of the building caught her gaze.

  It obliterated in an instant just after the explosion and a dark body sailed through. Arms and legs flailed about as the figure plunged to the flaming earth inside a rain of disintegrated concrete and smashed glass.

  She strained her eyes trying to better see through the smoke when in the next instant the last undamaged section of the building also exploded. A mountain of fire and heat erupted from what was left of the bottommost levels of the old bank. The darkness of the night became like day as more flames raged across the already scorched terrain.

  The force of the blast punched both Mel and Brandon hard across their chests sending them tumbling over onto their backs. Brandon rolled over on top of Mel and did his best to protect both of them from the falling debris with his arms.

  After the latest onslaught of destruction settled, Brandon raised his head through the heavy layer of dirt and grit that had just fallen across where they had stood. Mel brought herself slowly up next to him and wiped desperately at the hot sand and building dust that filled her eyes.

  Trying hard to see through stinging tears, she looked back towards the building for the figure that had fallen in the shower of glass just before the blast.

  "Oh, my God, Brandon, look," Mel said pointing with her arm.

  Smoking wood and steel completely covered the area in front of them. Large and small flames ravaged the entire ground. And not more than a few feet in front of them, a single man on unsteady legs did his best to run through it.

  Mel felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched his feet catch and his body tumble into the flames. But the figure stood and staggered doggedly towards them again.

  The man had not seen them and didn't move purposefully in their direction. He was only trying to get away. His hair and most of his clothes were on fire. Holding his hands out in front of him, he tripped and fell forward another time.

  With his arms raised over his head to protect against the continued fall of debris, Brandon ran toward him.

  * * *

  Kirken hobbled towards what he hoped was the outside of the compound. Concrete and steel fell around him. His body screamed with agony from the licking flames. He could barely see through the intense smoke and heated air.

  Drawing from every ounce of power and will his body had ever contained, he forced his legs to limp faster. If not to escape the reach of the flames, he fled the chase of the J.G.U. soldiers. He wanted to at least die with the satisfaction that he did get away.

  He clawed at the flames on his back and the top of his head until two hands seized him from the smoke and tackled his body to the ground. Kirken's shoulder screamed from the impact and the new pain.

  The arms and weight of his attacker rolled him twice over in the sandy dirt. With all the might he could muster, Kirken swung with his good arm at the person on top of him.

  He didn't notice that the flames eating his clothing and exposed parts of his skin had been extinguished and ignored the familiarity of the face into which he was now driving his fists.

  None of it registered. His senses were completely fried. His nerves could no longer contain the fear and rage swelling inside. Everything erupted from his clenched jabbing hands in a vicious vengeful fury.

  Kirken buried his fist into his attacker's face and felt small bones break along its cheek.

  Their bodies rolled intertwined through the burning rubble until Kirken emerged on top and swung again. He landed two more punches, one across his attacker's chest and the other square across his face.

  Only then did he finally see who it was beneath him. Whose face was stained dark red by a deep cut along the left side of his jaw.
But the recognition did not make the rage or hate go away.

  Kirken still saw the demon that flickered behind the boy’s eyes. He hammered again without mercy trying to beat away the horrific evil that had overcome and taken his son.

  A sudden piercing scream through the air and flames finally made him look up. He relaxed his grip on the form twisting below him and stared away into the flaming din.

  There a second figure appeared from the fiery shadows, and a new pair of hands reached toward him to pull him away. When he felt their touch, Kirken relaxed his fists and finally let go.

  The words, “Daddy please…”, gently pleaded into his ear.

  Kirken closed his eyes against the sting of black smoke.

  He allowed the figure he held beneath him to get up and scramble back into the surrounding roar of the flames. He felt two sets of arms pull him from the ground and allowed them to lead him away.

  When they had stepped from the compound back onto the street, he looked down to see that his daughter, Mel, was one of the figures that supported his weight. He stared at her sadly. The relief he thought he’d feel upon seeing her again did not come. The guilt that had been driving him lingered heavily in his heart and did not go away. Thankfully, however, it no longer pressed him to go on.

  He sensed pain and fear in her own eyes. And felt his body take it on as his tortured own.

  He allowed the vague shapes of the figures that held him to lead him away from the raging fires consuming the compound and back towards Beuford.

  Smaller blasts punched at their backs knocking them twice to the ground as they went. Each time they picked themselves from the dirt and continued steadily toward the haven offered by the shadows just beyond.

  Held by his children on either side, Kirken tried to will his body to keep moving.