a burning pulse of energy zipped past his head and narrowly missed singeing his eyebrows.
The section took cover in doorways and behind trolleys like Campbell. They could barely get a shot off under the hail of energy blasts. Taylor could make out a single fallen Mech further along the corridor, but they had done little other damage. Corporal Hall looked back into the face of his leader.
“Sir, we need to get the fuck out of here!” he shouted.
Taylor looked back down at Allen who was still screaming in pain, and with no one attending to him. The Major was still stunned from the blast and had frozen. He looked back into Hall’s eyes with an expression that put the fear of God into the Corporal. Hall leapt across the hallway between enemy fire and reached the adjoining corridor from where the Major had been watching.
He grabbed hold of Mitch by his arms and threw him back against the wall. Hall had only been Corporal for a week, and promoted not through experience or natural progress. He was filling the shoes of a dead marine. Taylor hit the wall hard, and his armour clunked hard against the thick wall that jolted him. He looked at the Corporal in utter shock.
Taylor still looked dazed and did nothing to push him back whilst gunfire continued to rain down the corridor beside them. Hall slapped the Major hard across the face. The Reitech suit made the strike land harder than he had planned, and Taylor’s head snapped quickly around. He immediately turned back with blood dripping out of his mouth. His eyes squinted, and Hall could see life return to his leader.
Mitch took a firm grasp on Hall and wrestled him quickly back against the far wall, and with his left arm depressed into the Corporal’s throat so that he couldn’t breathe. As the man choked, he looked around to see further light pulses smash into the wall just a metre away and blast through it. Dust sprayed out into the air all around them. He looked back to the Corporal who was starting to lose colour in his face. He quickly released his grip, and Hall did his best to stand tall.
“That’s more like it,” he croaked.
Taylor looked down and saw two grenades slung on the marine’s webbing. He let go of his rifle and let it rest on its sling. He pulled out the grenades and twisted the firing cap of the first.
“Sir, the prisoners!”
Taylor remembered his order to not use any explosives during the raid as they could endanger the POWs. He thought for just a second before leaping to the edge of the corridor and tossing one with all his strength. The exoskeleton suit caused the grenade to be blasted down the corridor as if he had hit a home run. He twisted the cap of the other and quickly launched it after the first. He turned back and looked at the surprised Corporal who had just gotten his breath back.
“We aren’t rescuing anyone if we stay pinned here!” barked Taylor.
An explosion rang out along the corridor and was quickly followed by a second. The armoured leg of a Mech fired down the corridor and struck the wall. Campbell was bounced along the ground to the Major. Two of the marines got up for a better look but could barely make anything out through the dust cloud created by the blast.
Just as the marines were readying themselves to fire once again, a burst of fire rang out from down the corridor.
“Those aren’t Mech guns!” shouted Campbell.
“Keep down!” bellowed Taylor.
They remained huddled behind what was left of their cover as a volley of fire rang out beyond the dust cloud. Taylor coughed as the thick dust lined his lungs. Parker, you came for us, he thought. Just as he had broken orders to save her, she was doing so for him. It was not something he liked to encourage, but he liked living as much as the rest of them.
Silence suddenly fell upon them. Their ears were still ringing from the constant fire and explosions. The interior of a room beside them smoked and flickered with flames. Then they could make out the sound of footsteps stomping across the debris of the surrounding rooms. Sergeant Parker appeared through the smoke at the head of her section.
She stood with her hand on her hip, and her rifle slung on her shoulder, looking down at the marines huddled in the ruined corridor. Allen groaned again, and the others finally jumped to his aid. Taylor knelt down beside the man as Campbell checked the wound. The Private was doing all that he could to hide the pain. Tears seeped from his eyes, but he stayed strong.
“How bad is it, Sir?” he asked.
“You’ll be back in action in no time,” insisted Taylor.
Allen nodded in appreciation, but he was sceptical. He looked down at the wound as Campbell lay a dressing over it. He winced as he looked at the damage. He couldn’t move his arm and knew it would be a long time before it fully recovered, if ever.
“Am I going to sit out the rest of the war?”
Taylor shook his head. He knew it was a distinct possibility, but he didn’t want the man to lose heart.
“Count yourself lucky, you just earned yourself a few weeks with a soft bed and to be waited on by a few cute nurses.”
Allen smiled as he gritted his teeth.
“I need you to walk, Private. Can you do that? We cannot afford to leave people behind now.”
He nodded in agreement as Campbell helped him up from his good arm. Taylor was satisfied that they could move. He turned to look at Hall and stared into his eyes. He was saying thank you without making it public. The Corporal smiled back in acknowledgement. A year ago Taylor would have had the marine on a charge for what he had done, but now he knew not everything was black and white. He turned to Parker.
“Any idea where the prisoners are?”
“Just a few corridors west, according to our maps. We were en route when we heard you were in trouble.”
“Much resistance on the roof?”
“No, Sir. We entered the building without contest and only encountered four hostiles before we found you.”
“Alright, any casualties?”
Parker shook her head.
“Good. They were arrogant not putting the proper defensive measures into effect here. If they think anything like humans, it’ll drive them nuts that we’ve pulled this off under their noses once again.”
Laughs rang out from a few of the marines as he lifted his rifle in readiness.
“Parker, you lead the way. Let’s get our people back.”
She turned and quickly went about her orders. The dust had largely settled, and as they continued on down the corridor, they could see the results of their work. The bodies of at least eight Mechs were scattered across the ground and through doorways that had been blasted from their hinges. The creatures’ now familiar blue blood seeped out from dismembered sections of their armoured suits.
Hall spat on the body of the most intact alien as he strode past. Nobody thought anything of it. This was not a human enemy to feel sympathy towards. They hated the Krycenaeans with all the fibre of their beings. Yet they didn’t even know their real name yet or understand their purpose for being on Earth.
A few minutes later, Parker stopped the column of marines to listen. As their heavy boots came to a stop, they could all hear the sound that had caused her re-action. Screams for help rang out through the corridors. They were muffled through the thick walls but were not far away.
“It’s them!” cried Campbell.
Taylor strode up to the front of the column to stand by the Sergeant. Her eyes always appeared to shine brighter upon seeing him. It was obvious to all but a fool that they were in love, even though they rarely admitted it to themselves. The thought of losing each other was something both tried to ignore as much as possible. It was impossible to think of a world where they did not serve beside each other and share a bed afterwards.
The Major turned back to look at the marines who eagerly awaited their orders. Many were smiling at the prospect of finding fellow soldiers alive. He lifted up his Mappad and once more surveyed the images.
“I want this done smart and right. We have a fork up ahead. Parker’s section head right, and we’ll go left. Go room by room, and be aware of your surroundings. Keep your guard up. Let’s move.”
Taylor turned and quickly rushed forward before Parker could take a step. He wanted to do it right, but he
