Further continuous gunfire rattled to the east and north, several muffled explosions as Davis wiped the sweat from his brow, the black NYPD shirt now stained with sodden dust. Smoke drifted across the fleeing civilians, discarded belongings and boxes strewn across the illuminated sidewalks and streets between the vehicles. Fires raged in buildings further into Manhattan Island, the exhausted NYPD officer glancing round as heat swept over him, further explosions to the north as the roar of jets swept over the streets, the sound wave tearing along wide thoroughfares as an air battle continued further north. In the distance he could just hear helicopter blades, the sound from further west and across the Hudson, numerous soldiers being dropped by ropes to bolster defences on the west side of the river.
Davis turned once more as the clatter of metal tracks and the burble of deep engines could be heard, military vehicles surging southwards further to the east as sirens wailed across the high building walls. Looking back westwards, the queue of stationary and abandoned traffic lined both carriageways into the tunnel mouth, several doors open as his eyes moved to the infamous height restriction sign above, the measurement followed by ‘We Mean It!’ failing to amuse him as it usually had, his eyes straining as he realised the overhead and side lights in Holland tunnel were flickering.
The two others drew next to him, gasping for breath as others thrust past, two small children crying as a woman dragged them towards the tunnel, shocked and bloodied office workers in dust covered suits jogging past as the shattering of glass sounded to the north, the officers grimacing as they glimpsed the distant youths throwing broken masonry through shop fronts...looting had begun. Davis shook his head and gestured into the darkened tunnel, ‘We need to get to the other side of the Hudson…this is the best bet I think…we may be safe on the other side...’
His approaching colleague nodded, the shocked wide eyed female shaking her head, the policeman’s hand grasping her arm tighter, the other on his holstered pistol, his face flushed and glistening with sweat. Both ducked as an explosion roared from further east, flames and thick black smoke billowing upwards into the dark sky, their bodies stiffening as they glimpsed the jet black fighter sweep east through the swirling cloud, an armoured personnel carrier on the further intersection burning fiercely along with two nearby lorries, several bodies struggling or laying prone on the tarmac in the intense heat, the older officer shouting hoarsely, ‘We can’t stay here…the enemy is taking the island…’ They ducked as an explosion erupted nearby, screaming and shrieking, the crack of sniper rifles from the rooftops as a forward sections of marines previously dropped from helicopters attempted to delay any invaders that emerged from the smoke and corners further south.
Davis gritted his teeth as more people surged past, several whimpering or crying in fear, gunfire erupting in a nearby street as he instinctively drew his pistol and raised it upwards for safety, another burst of machine gun fire causing him to duck. His sight strained as he glimpsed the looters running in terror towards the north, his eyes widening as one bucked several times, the close gunfire from a side alley almost cutting the youth in two as the bloodied corpse collapsed onto the tarmac between two abandoned vehicles.
Nervous energy and fear swept through his frame as his heart pounded hard, acid rising from his stomach as he coughed, ‘They are all around us...we need to move now...’ He pushed the other two forward towards the tunnel, shrieking at the fleeing people around, ‘Into the Holland Tunnel...run as fast as you can!’
Another jet swept overhead, the roar of engines deafening, the aircraft banking sharply and rising as the pilot fled from Manhattan towards Jersey City, a Morgon fighter surging after its prey, the older policeman shouting desperately over the sound waves at the people around them, ‘They have lost the air battle…we need to get out!’
Davis Michaels waved people past, most now startled and in shock, oblivious to the policeman’s uniform, their bodies jolting as the loud sniper fire from above became more rapid, a heavy machine gun barking from another roof top as the officer spun round, tracers sweeping eastwards along the carriageway as the policeman shook his head, biting his lower lip. Burning bodies now lay in the distance around the destroyed military vehicles, surviving soldiers sprinting away from the intersection as the high calibre rounds from above sparked and bounced across the tarmac behind them.
Then his blood ran cold, glimpsing the black armoured figures moving on the other side of the rising flames, the air quivering from the heat, the hand on his pistol tightening in rising terror as he glimpsed the sparkle of blades slashing from side to side, the flashing of assault rifles as other enemy soldiers returned fire on the sniper positions.
Gasping, he felt the tightness in his chest and turned, shouting hoarsely at the civilians and now some retreating national guard soldiers, ‘Into the tunnel...run!’
Boston Harbour in Flames
US Marine Private First Class Rodrigues pulled himself further up the steep bank, grasping at branches and low bushes for support, the younger soldier ahead of him, the crack of broken twigs beneath his boots as he struggled upwards to near the edge of the trees above, the lights cascading through overhanging foliage and leaves.
The soundwaves of distant explosions swept towards them, a low wailing siren beginning to sound between muffled gunfire, the fighting in Boston harbour erupting further as national guardsmen joined regular marines and coast guard defenders in a desperate attempt
