“So why are we here?” a soldier asked. His ID said Farrelly.
“Most residents cleared out, but there were a few holdouts,” Tyren said. “Our mission is to rescue people from an orphanage.”
I cringed, like someone had punched me in the gut. “Orphanage?” I blurted out.
Tyren raised his eyebrows, then read intel on his command tablet. “A few nuns volunteered to stay behind with the sick and disabled children who couldn’t travel. They had food supplies and holed up, to wait out the attack. But the situation here is very dangerous. They need to be evacuated.”
A raven-haired woman with a scowl said, “We’re risking our necks for a bunch of kids? Aren’t there more important targets to hit?”
Her words angered me; I almost leaped out of my seat.
“This is important, Perez,” Tyren said, glaring at her. “This is our mission. No more questions.” He leaned back and met my gaze.
Slowly, I nodded. We're doing the right thing. I know what it's like for orphans. I grew up afraid, always on edge. What kind of hell had these kids lived?
The cruiser slowed, and we geared up. The soldiers rushed out of the landing door. I strapped on my medical unit pack so it rested across my back, then patted the switchblade I’d tucked into an ankle holster on my right leg. As I exited, Tyren grabbed my arm.
“Take this.” He handed me a semiautomatic rifle.
I frowned. “I’ve only done target practice—”
“And I hear you’re a good shot. Be safe out there.”
Ducking, I ran down the ramp to join the rest of the squad and another group of soldiers that were clustered near an armored tank.
The city lay spread out in the distance. A fire burned along an avenue. Black smoke swirled in the air, ominous.
The river cut a swath through the center, and a steel bridge with brightly painted arched beams was the closest path across.
Tyren shouted above the wind. “No tanks on the bridge; I want this to be stealth. Perez and Farrelly, proceed into the center on foot. The target is inside that large granite building, second floor.”
The two soldiers zoomed in with their Enhanced Combat Helmet visors. I was still getting used to mine. The polyethylene material would protect against small-arms fire and debris fragments. But reading the navigation and scanning for heat markers seemed difficult, even distracting.
Tyren scanned their faces for agreement. “Report back when you reach the orphanage.”
They nodded and descended the sloping hill. I followed their long strides, marveling at their speed, when suddenly, large objects in the sky caught my eye. Comets, I thought.
“Incoming pods!” Tyren shouted into his comm.
The other soldiers tensed and gripped their rifles as if ready to shoot. But shoot at what?
“Stay back, Sarek,” he said, “close to me.”
I peered up. The dark pods splattered the view, their dark metal glistening against the flat, gray backdrop. Beautiful and horrific all at once.
I had seen nothing like it.
Two pods made impact near the bridge—skidding into the ground with a roaring thud. The sound shook our bones as if a towering giant had slammed her fist into the earth.
The vessels rained down heavier now and filled most of the sky. How could there be so many?
One hit the side of the orphanage. The soldiers nearby scattered, and I didn’t know what to do. I looked to Tyren, but he was distracted, giving orders and checking on intel.
Before long, Perez’s voice flooded Tyren’s comm. “Captain, you read?”
“Tyren here, over.”
“Sir?” she said. “We need the medic. A child was hit. Shrapnel wound.”
He glanced at me and frowned. “On our way. Hang tight, Perez. That’s an order.”
Shrapnel wound. The words floated in my head and rested like dull lead in my belly.
“I’ll go.” I started forward, but he grabbed my arm.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Sir!” A soldier from a nearby squad rushed over. Sweat coated his forehead, and the color had drained from his face. “Captain Tyren, we’re facing a full-on assault from the incoming pods. The Heavies are emerging and… our Captain—he didn't make it.”
Tyren looked between me and the soldier. Indecisive. And in that moment, he was just as exposed and afraid as the rest of us.
“Tyren, I’ll go,” I said, feeling detached from my body. Someone stronger had taken over. Where did she come from? “They need you here. All I have to do is run across the river and into that building. I can handle it.”
He stared into my eyes, his mouth twisting. After a few seconds, he grabbed my shoulders. “Be careful. Stay in contact. Report as soon as you're safely across and in the orphanage. Do not stop for anything else.”
I hurried down the hill and through ghostly city streets. Never had I seen a place so abandoned. I wondered whether anyone had waited out the fighting. Did they watch as I sprinted past their windows? Had they lingered, not believing the reports of aliens falling from the sky. Did they believe now?
Adrenaline propelled my legs until I reached a deserted street. I slowed to a jog, staying beside the buildings. Would it matter? The combat instructor had tried to prepare the troops for the Heavies. But the details were sketchy, and the more questions I’d asked, the less they knew.
Gunfire erupted behind me, the sound ricocheting against brick, concrete, and metal, so I couldn’t tell how close it was.
Pressed against a building, I paused, catching my breath, then followed a side street, head down, praying not to be noticed.
Something clattered nearby.
Ducking into a small, sunken stairwell, I tried a door only to find it locked.
A loud explosion jolted me, and I crouched in the vestibule where delivery men had once entered the basement.
Behind me, alien pods rained down on the city like metal seeds. The earth-wrecking spores tore gashes into land and pummeled the city’s architecture, shattering windows and spewing debris.
Luminous violet clouds washed over the sky. Looking north, where I headed, there was an eerie calm. To my south,
