“No point in me bullshitting you, Sergeant.”
Silva nodded. He didn’t want to face the Mechs again either, but at least he’d like to know what to expect. They rode through the ravaged streets, the jeep’s soft suspension taking the worst out of the debris-strewn roads. They passed soldiers and armour from several European countries, Russia and Yugoslavia. Although glad to see the amount of forces they had to defend the city, he was also concerned. If they could not hold off their invaders with what they had in the city, how could they ever be stopped?
They finally reached the end of the western defences and drove north into the mostly in tact but abandoned suburbs. Rubbish blew across the streets, and there was barely a vehicle in sight. The population had long been evacuated. Street after street, and they didn’t see any sign of life. It felt like the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.
A cat ran across the empty road. The men turned and watched as it ran past, mesmerised by the sign of life and its bitter contrast to the abandoned suburb. The roads were narrow, but with no parked vehicles, it was unusually spacious. Twenty storey apartment blocks lined every road. Taylor stopped and looked at the map device fitted in the centre console of their vehicle.
“We’re close now.”
“But, Sir, it’s dead, there’s nothing here,” said Silva.
Taylor tapped the comms channel button on the device.
“Taylor to HQ, over. This is Taylor to HQ, over.”
No reply came.
Silva looked to Taylor with a concerned expression as he lifted his rifle in readiness.
“It could be nothing, Sergeant, but let’s proceed with caution.”
The Major drove on at a more careful pace. They took a bend, half expecting to find trouble, but it was yet another desolate street in the abandoned neighbourhood. Mitch brought the vehicle to a halt.
“On foot from here,” he whispered.
They leapt out from the vehicle and readied their weapons for a fight. No one had any idea of what to expect, but they were all aware of the danger the enemy presented. Taylor signalled to the others to follow his lead. He looked back down the street and to the map device in his hand. He clipped the pad onto the side of his rifle enabling him to get a good hold on the weapon.
The marines crept forward. The district was unsettlingly quiet, despite the low base drone of explosions back in the city centre. Taylor could see another turn up ahead and approached it with caution. His device showed something emitting signals just around the corner. He crept closer, praying to find nothing like the horrors they had come to know.
The four others formed up behind him holding their breath. Silva and two others carried grenade launchers in their hands, and the other had four ARMAL launchers on his back. Taylor carried an M97 slung on his back, with the assault rifle he had become so accustomed to in his hands.
He reached the edge of the building and carefully peered around the corner. His eyes widened as he stared at the strange object before him, a machine of some sort that lay twenty metres from his position. It was half the height of a man and with large rotors in all corners. It was clearly capable of flight but had put down in the street. Lights were active on the body of the device, and it was certainly of alien construction. He turned back to the others.
“What is it?” whispered Silva.
Taylor shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s alien and looks unmanned. It may be a scouting device or transmitter,” he replied.
“Then it’s enemy, so let’s blow that shit up,” said Silva.
Taylor thought about it for a moment before nodding in response to his trigger happy NCO.
“It could have weapons on board. I don’t want to take any chances. We get out there and lay down fire till its burning, you got me?”
The others acknowledged him as he lifted his rifle, checking to be sure the safety was off and it was ready. He held out his left hand with three fingers up as a countdown. Fighting against humans had never been quite as frightening as the alien invaders. Taylor had become accustomed to what he could expect in the smaller engagements he’d previously been involved in, but they rarely knew what to expect from this technologically advanced race.
He lowered the other two fingers one after the other and jumped out into the open with his rifle held high. He began firing before the others had even got around the bend. Firing with short bursts, he could see that a number of the rounds bounced off the metal casing of the device, but others had smashed through. Silva fired his launcher and struck it dead on. The shell almost deafened them as jagged metal landed all around.
The flash had momentarily blinded them and caused them all to stop firing. Smoke poured down the street, and a smell of sulphur wafted past. They looked on at the twisted wreck and debris that was scattered as wide as the street itself.
“Shit, we toasted that bitch,” said Silva.
Taylor cautiously approached the debris. He had seen the enemies’ blood before, and it was nowhere in sight. A glimmer of light and reflection in the distance caught his attention down the long street. He quickly pulled out his binoculars for a better look.
“What is it, Sir?”
The Major’s face turned to stone as he looked on at six of the enemy Mechs. They were jetting towards them with some kind of rocket devices attached to their armour. They were smaller and lighter armoured than those they had previously seen, but no less terrifying. Smoke trails blasted from their backs as they stormed towards the marines.
“Hostiles incoming! Fall back!”
He quickly turned and ran back towards the vehicle they had left. The others didn’t wait a moment to stare at the enemy bearing down on them. As Taylor ran, he looked back to see that their pursuers were already turning the corner they had left just seconds ago.
“Into that building, now!”
He rushed towards a shop front occupying the base of an apartment building. Mitch fired several shots at the tall glass windows and tumbled through it. The glass shattered and collapsed as he rolled into the shop and quickly back onto his feet. He took a few more paces and jumped for the cover of a long shop counter. The smell of coffee still filled the room from where a full mug had been left during the evacuation. It was a local amenities shop that seemed to sell a bit of everything, but many of the shelves had been emptied.
The five marines waited with their weapons at the ready. They couldn’t see their enemy yet, but they could hear them. The hissing of the engines quietened and was replaced with a loud mechanical clunk as the airborne Mechs landed hard on the road outside. The metal of their devices ticked loudly from the heat like the exhaust of a classic gasoline car after it had been shut off.
No one of them said a word. The steps got louder, and the first Mech walked into view, peering into the shop. Before it could lift its huge pulse weapon, it was struck head on by a grenade from Silva. The Mech vanished into a ball of smoke, shaking the room that caused much of the ceiling to collapse.
“Let’s move!” shouted Taylor.
He turned and rushed to the back as heat pulses smashed into the shop. They sent metal shelving tumbling across the room, narrowly missing the fleeing marines. Taylor reached a locked door that led to a loading alley out the back. He lifted his rifle and fired several shots into the lock until it was obliterated. He then kicked the door through. As they rushed out into the street, the building behind them began to creek and shake with the continuous pounding from the enemy’s weapons.
“It’s gonna blow! Run!” shouted Silva.
They dashed to make some distance as chunks of the building collapsed around them.
“Shit!” Silva called out.
The ground around them shook as they were launched off their feet. Half of the building collapsed into the narrow lane. Seconds later, Taylor spluttered as he found himself covered in debris. The foul and dry taste of brick dust filled his mouth, and his face was covered in its residue. His body armour had thankfully saved his back from the impact, though his joints were stiff and sore.
He pushed up; wiping his brow with the cuff of his uniform, but it was of little help. His uniform was as thick
