with dust as the entire scene, and the marines had almost completely blended in with the rubble. The memory of their attackers flooded back into his head, and he turned to Silva who was still freeing himself.
“Keep moving!” shouted Taylor.
The marines staggered to their feet and rushed onwards. From behind the line of shops, they could hear the engines of the Mechs firing up. Their jeep was still a couple of blocks away.
“We’re not gonna make it!” called Silva.
Taylor turned and looked at the tall buildings they had come from. He still couldn’t see the enemy, but their engines were getting louder. He turned back and could see a small local police station. The doors were left open, and it was abandoned.
“Follow me!” he ordered.
The Major knew they could not outrun the Mechs. These were faster and more agile than anything they had seen before. He gave every ounce of strength and energy to push to a sprint for the building. They rushed through the doors and quickly rolled into cover behind the reception desks. For a moment they sat trying to get their breath back.
The roar of the Mech engines came closer until Taylor could smell the chemicals emitting from the devices. They smelt like a noxious gas, pungent and acrid. Taylor lifted himself up just enough to peer over the counter and into the street. Two of the Mechs landed hard along the path they had themselves just trodden. They peered around desperately, clearly having lost the marines’ trail.
“Guess their tracking skills aren’t up to regulation,” whispered Silva.
He had a cheeky grin on his face, calling a victory over their ruthless enemy. Taylor looked to the other three marines, Jimenez, Mitchell and Paria. Fear was evident in their eyes. Facing the towering Mechs was always a harrowing experience, but safety in numbers always helped to bolster their morale. Now they were left in a wasteland with nothing and nobody to support them. Taylor smiled, hoping to give them some encouragement. After all the bitter fighting he had survived, Mitch was unwilling to die now.
He turned back to the Mechs and watched them from cover. They paced up and down the street in opposite directions. He could see no visual communication between them, so they must have comms equipment beneath their armoured suits. They finally strode off out of view, and he slumped back down behind the desk to rest.
“They gone, Sir?” asked Paria.
“For now.”
“I doubt they’ve given up, Sir. They’ll be scouring the neighbourhood for us. We just blew their shit up, and we’d never let that go unchecked,” said Silva.
Taylor agreed. He considered waiting them out, but there were too few of them to thoroughly check the whole area. Despite this, their presence implied an impending movement into the area. The last place he wanted to be alone in no man’s land.
“How we getting out of here, boss?” asked Mitchell.
Taylor looked around the reception atrium and back to the street. He still couldn’t see the Mechs, but he could hear their pacing up and down.
“It looks like they can’t stay airborne for long, so they’re not much more than our landing thrusters. Let’s get to the roof. We’ll make our way down to the street from there. We should be out of sight and with a good field of view,” said Taylor.
The Sergeant nodded.
“Most of these buildings are joined, and those that aren’t can’t be more than a metre or two apart, should be doable,” said Silva.
“Alright, on your feet, let’s get the fuck out of this dump.”
Taylor straightened his legs but stayed hunched as they made their way to the stairwell. They could still hear the imposing trudge of the Mechs in the street. They were far smaller than the armoured creatures they had faced before, little over two metres. Knowing that they were safe within the confines of buildings that the enemy could not enter was a comforting fact, up until now.
It was a long haul to the roof. The small local police station was housed in the base of an apartment block which was fifteen storeys high. They dared not risk using the elevators. The building was close to a hundred years old and the decor almost half that. The smell of food cooked days before still wafted through the corridors, unable to escape through the sealed windows.
Taylor reached the very top of the building and prized open the door to the roof. He slowly opened it a millimetre at a time and looked for any sign of their attackers. He turned back to the other marines with a nod and a grin.
“We’re in business,” he whispered.
He eased the door fully open and stepped out onto the roof. His posture was still hunched and his rifle at the ready, but his head shot from left to right always looking for any threat. As they reached the edge of roof, they could see that it was joined directly onto the next building and several more after that. They were only divided by half-metre walls which the marines quickly vaulted one after the other.
As they reached the fifth building, they could hear the sound of stomping feet getting louder. These new enemies may be smaller, but they were no quieter. Their armoured suits clanged together as they strode for all to hear.
“Hardly stealthy,” whispered Mitchell.
“Who needs to be stealthy when you’ve got the best armour and the biggest guns?” replied Silva.
They went silent and waited for the steps to pass beyond the entrance to the building they were on. They still had no idea what hearing abilities the Mechs had, but it seemed little different to their own. They were only thankful they didn’t possess thermal imaging devices.
“Back up,” said Taylor.
They continued quietly and cautiously across the roof until they reached the edge, gasping at the gap which divided them and the next building.
“That’s got to be two metres or more,” said Jimenez.
“But with a metre’s drop, should be doable,” said Silva.
“Has to be,” replied Taylor.
Without another word, he took a few steps back and sprinted to the edge to launch himself across. The Major landed hard the other side on the gravel, rolling into a tumble. He was brought to an abrupt halt by a small wall. He shook his head to regain his composure, got up to one knee and nodded to the others.
“Oh, shit,” said Silva.
He followed suit by leaping after the Major. The other three marines were left humbled and quickly made the jump. Mitchell was last. As he made his run for the jump, Taylor could hear a Mech approaching the alley, and so lifted his hand to signal for the marine to stop. The signal caused Mitchell to hesitate, but it was too late for him to completely stop. He jumped short and struck the edge of the building.
Silva jumped forward landing belly first on the gravel and taking hold of Mitchell’s arms. The weight dragged the Sergeant to the edge, but the others took a hold of his legs. They stopped with Mitchell hanging precariously from the roof, and they all froze. Taylor looked down the narrow alleyway towards the location of the Mechs, dipping his head in the hope of remaining unseen.
The footsteps of the creature grew near as they waited, not wanting to make another sound or movement. Silva winced, his elbows and wrists being stretched by the weight of the man he was holding. Their hearts raced as a Mech appeared at the entrance to the alleyway. It stopped and turned to look down the dim, shadow cast alley, scanning for any sign of life.
Taylor prayed that the beast did not look up, or they would all be doomed. A moment later the Mech turned and strolled on. The Major sighed in relief before reaching for Mitchell and hauling him onto the rooftop. They all sat back breathing deeply.
“Fuck me,” said Mitchell.
“For a species with such technology, they aren’t too smart are they?” asked Silva.
“We are just as alien to them as they are to us. Think you can predict the way they think, the way their will respond and act?” asked Taylor.
The Sergeant nodded, genuinely thinking about what the Major had said.
“Do not forget what you learnt in training. Just know that what we are dealing with here was never included
