Dendoncker sidestepped until he was standing next to Tony. “The hell was that? Sounded like a goddamn plane coming down.”
“I think it was a building collapsing. How are you for ammo, kid?”
“I got a shitload, but there’re a shitload of targets too. I don’t know which will run out first.”
Tony checked his own supply and saw he was down to two magazines. Dendoncker had so many that the curved metal containers seemed to hang off every inch of his belt. Tony was glad to see he was prepared. “Where are the others?”
“Taking up the rear, over there. Demons are coming at us from all sides. I reckon they plan on surrounding us and spreading our fire.”
Tony looked back and saw men firing at the circle’s rear. “It would be the smart thing to do. It means we have no way out of this fight besides winning or dying. There’s no third option.”
Dendoncker nodded. “Whatever happens, happens. Can’t cheat death forever, right?”
“You’re right, this has to end. Let it be today.”
“You’re a good bloke, Colonel. I want to go out following a good man.”
Tony chuckled. “Then I have your final orders, soldier.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Go give the bastards hell.”
Dendoncker ran off to rejoin the circle. Tony did the same. It was too chaotic to stick together, so he focused only on what he could shoot.
The ground shook.
Another boom clattered the air, echoing between buildings.
Tony lost his footing, the grass becoming trampled and slick. He went down on one knee, his rifle strap yanking at the back of his neck as he lost a grip on his weapon. He quickly got a hold of it again and emptied his current magazine into a pair of burnt men joined at the hip.
Tony shook his head in disbelief.
Siamese twins? What on earth did they do to end up in Hell?
He was about to get back to his feet and reload when something caught his attention. He looked left and upward, seeing something moving behind a multi-storey car park built from shiny beams and carefully sculpted concrete. The three-level structure suddenly turned ugly, clean lines contorting as concrete cracked and crumbled. The shiny beams bent and came loose. Within seconds, the car park came crashing down, and a towering beast, more terrifying than anything Tony had ever seen, appeared amidst the rubble. The creature almost seemed to glow.
Portsmouth’s soldiers stopped firing, stunned into inaction. Many of them had fought giant demons before, even helped kill a few, but this was three times the size of any they’d ever seen.
Tony was the first to take a shot at the giant beast. His rifle was empty, so he yanked his 9mm from his belt like a gunslinger and started popping shots at the giant. It was more symbolic than an actual attempt to harm it. He just needed to break everyone out of their stupor. The gunshot was a rallying cry. “Take it down,” he yelled, reholstering his handgun and pushing his final mag into his rifle. “Take it down.”
Echoing his call, General Thomas rushed back and forth inside the circle, his mouth pressed against a radio. “Take it down, take it down. Gunners fire. AT teams fire. Give the enemy everything you’ve got.”
The chaos went up a gear as machine-gun fire was overruled by the kaboom of the L118 firing. Shells whistled overhead and hit the giant demon with pinpoint accuracy, striking its chest and torso. The beast staggered, crashing against the French restaurant and demolishing it. Falling debris obliterated the nearby demons and scattered many more. The whizzing sound of RPGs joined the fray. Explosions lit up the fringes of the battle. Parts of demons rained down to earth with a splitter-splatter. Rifle fire, shotgun blasts, and handguns barked endlessly. Demons screeched in pain and anger, their bodies shredded and torn. The battle raged and twisted, but never once did it cease.
Until suddenly it did.
The only movement was the grey smoke drifting through the searchlight beams. No more demons emerged from the shadows. Their leader lay motionless in the rubble.
Did we win? Is it over?
Tony wasn’t sure who started it, but the army began to cheer. He couldn’t help but join in, but when someone grabbed him from behind, he spun around with his rifle raised, ready to shoot.
It was General Thomas.
The old man was beaming. “We did it! I told you, didn’t I? We finished the bastards off once and for all.”
Tony had no words. If true, they could finally reclaim the land. They could take back the farmland and factories, power plants and water facilities. They could exit the dark ages.
Thomas was screeching like a lunatic, running back and forth along the lines. “We are victorious. We are victorious. Long live Great Britain. Reborn and everlasting.”
The smoke gradually cleared, revealing demon corpses, body parts, and dozens of injured soldiers. It was like something out of a nightmare, as close to Hell as Tony ever wanted to get. Yet they had won. They had faced their end and refused to accept it.
Dendoncker appeared in the centre of the circle, a delirious grin on his face. “Christ, we beat them.”
Tony nodded, still unable to speak. He looked around, searching for signs of life. The playing fields were only full of cheering men. There were no gunshots or cries of pain.
It can’t be this easy. This doesn’t feel right.
Something shifted overhead, just above Tony’s view. He tilted his head back, expecting to see a bird, but the small shape flew too quickly across the night sky. It glinted against the moon and rapidly descended.
Tony’s stomach turned.
Dendoncker disappeared. One second the young corporal was standing there smiling, the next his body was ten feet away in the grass.
Tony whimpered.
A slither of Dendoncker’s skull remained, most of it now plastered to the heavy chunk of cement that had fallen
