“This is happening!”

  Miles sprang back into action and threw down the Ruger. He pulled a pump action shotgun from the wall, racking a shell into the chamber just as his attacker pushed its weapon arm in through the breach in his bunker. The weapon fizzled with light as it was about to fire.

  “Oh, no you don’t!”

  He took aim right at the muzzle of the weapon and fired. His buckshot went straight into the muzzle, which erupted with an almighty explosion. He was lifted off his feet, crashed into a gun rack, and hit the deck. The wind was taken out of him, and the room filled with dust. His hearing was almost gone, and there was a horrid buzzing in his ears. He struggled to get back on his feet and racked another shell.

  “All right, you son of a bitch, where are you?”

  As the dust began to settle, he could see the breach was near twice the size it had been. There was an overpowering smell of chlorine all about, so much so it burnt his eyes and nose. He was hurting and a little stunned, but the adrenaline was keeping him going.

  “Son of a bitch. Coming here, destroying my home, trying to take me down. Where are you now? That’s right, you messed with the wrong guy!”

  He drew closer to the breach to confirm his kill. But he froze as the creature appeared and about to smash into the breach once again. He fired the shotgun before it could do it. The impact was enough to knock the thing back a little, and a few more shells pushed it back further still, but the gun was empty in no time at all. He could see holes, or dents at least, in the torso of the creature, and yet it came at him once again.

  He leapt back and turned to his wall of weaponry. He grabbed an old AK47, thinking it would pack a little more punch. He chambered a round and opened fire at point-blank. Most of the rounds were glancing, but some made it through, and still the creature slammed against the breach. It was now almost wide enough to get through. It was a terrifying prospect, as it seemed so powerful it could tear him in half. He threw the AK down now it was empty.

  That’s when he spotted his box of dynamite. He sighed, knowing if it was getting that desperate, he had no other choice. He threw the box open and stuffed as many as he could in a bag, throwing it over his shoulder. He noticed a red boxed flare gun. He snatched it from the box just as the wall behind him gave way. He leapt aside as the towering metallic creature barrelled inside the room and crashed into a corner.

  "See how you like this, you son of a bitch!"

  He lifted the flare gun and fired. The flare bounced from the creature’s armour and landed on the floor in front of it, lighting up the room with vivid blinding light. The creature screamed loudly and staggered back against the far wall, thrashing about as if in a panic. He grabbed his AR15 and bug out bag, a pistol belt, and rushed for the gaping hole in the bunker. As he neared it, the monster threw one of its arms out wide. He ducked under, narrowly missing the strike that would have wiped him out. He got outside and stepped to the side of the breach, backing against the wall. He took a few deep breaths to compose himself. The thing was still thrashing about inside. Glass smashed as the room was being torn apart.

  Miles drew a Zippo lighter from his pocket and held out two sticks of dynamite side by side, just for good measure. The fuses lit on both.

  "Whatever you are, you're out of here," he said with a smile.

  He tossed the sticks through the breach, but one bounced from the creature’s arm as it swung blindly. The stick of dynamite landed on the flare as it burned at the base of the fuse.

  "Shit!"

  He ran with everything he had. There was an almighty explosion as the bunker and remains of the lodge above it blew outwards in every direction. He was thrown off his feet and landed hard on his face. He felt rubble crash over his back, and something pierce his side, but he stayed down, protecting his head as the debris landed all around. Finally, as the dust settled, the forest fell silent once more. No more screams from the thing that had attacked him. He sat up. Almost nothing remained of his home. It had been obliterated, but he had a smile on his face.

  "That's right. You knocked on the wrong door!"

  He winced in pain and looked down. A slither of wood was protruding from his flank.

  "Jesus...shit..."

  He slowed his breathing and tried to calm himself. He didn't want to pull it out quite yet for the risk of blood loss. He used his rifle to support himself and got back on his feet. There was a slab of concrete and steel burrowed into the trunk and windshield of his truck. He looked around in all directions. He was finally alone, and that was both a good and a bad thing.

  "Well, shit..."

  Chapter 8

  Ross looked back across the terrain they had covered as the others passed by. Payne had been carrying the wounded Pope for some time. He was barely even conscious. The sun was all but gone from the sky, and there was a loud crack in the distance. A sound he knew all too well. The whole team stopped for it.

  "Explosives? Who the hell would be blasting at this time?" Ortiz asked.

  "It's a long way off, a few klicks easy, and no concern of ours," replied Ross.

  But truthfully he was concerned as well. Nothing was adding up here, and that was the most terrifying scenario for a small team like he led. They were used to being the ones with all the information. With the tech and the assistance, enemy movements and strength. Now they knew nothing. They were quite literally in the dark.

  "I get there is some strange stuff going down, but who the hell would be blowing charges like that in the middle of nowhere, and in the dark?" Ramos leant in close to Ross.

  Ross could tell he was on edge, and that wasn't like him at all. But there was no answer that would calm his nerves.

  "Dunn, how far out are we?"

  "Three klicks, maybe a little more."

  Ross sighed.

  "What is it?" Ramos asked.

  "It's already dark, and we're drawing a hell of a lot of attention to ourselves."

  "What do you want to do?"

  "Hey, kid?"

  Donny was still unarmed besides his knife. He looked every bit as terrified as when they had found him. His eyes peered wide, looking back and forth, as if expecting something to leap out and attack him at any moment.

  "You said these things attacked you at night, and they could see like it was day?"

  "It seemed that way, yes. They could sure see us when all we could see was nothing."

  The rest of them had stopped, seeing he was having second thoughts about their plan.

  "What is it, Boss?" Payne asked.

  "Shaw's guys were picked off on the move at night. They walked right into an ambush. Let's not have a repeat of that."

  "Okay?"

  "We choose where we fight. We hunker down where we are. Wait for them, and play this on our terms."

  "And if they don't come?"

  "Then we spend a night under the stars, Jose, and head back at first light."

  Nobody liked the idea of staying put, but were all reminded of the bodies of the fireteams they had discovered. They had all seen more than enough death in their work, but this was different, because it couldn't be explained. It didn't make any sense, and that uncertainty was the worst of it.

  "This is as good a place as any," he said.

  "No, we can't stop here," Donny pleaded.

  No one else questioned his orders, and furthermore, they knew it was the best call.

  "If whatever did this to your buddies is anything like as formidable as you think, then I want to be ready for it, not caught out like chumps," said Ross.

  Donny looked angry.

  "You mean like we were?"

  "No, you had your orders, and you followed them based on the information you had. But things have changed. Knowing what I know now, I'm not gonna get stalked by whatever it is that hit you. I figure we'll have to face it sooner or later. Might as well be here." He drew his sidearm and handed it to the young soldier, "Will you stand with us?"

  Donny looked at the Colt .45 ACP pistol being offered to him. Even with the modernisation it had, it still looked pretty much like the pistol his grandfather used, and probably his great-grandfather, too. It also packed a much greater punch than the sidearm he'd lost. He gladly took it, fully appreciating quite what an honour the offer was.

  "All right," he said, looking at the uneven ground around them. It was ideal to provide cover and somewhere to spring a trap.

  "We work in pairs. Nobody goes anywhere alone, one with NVGs on, one without. We still don't know what we're dealing with; so let's cast the net wide. Olsen, you're with Dunn, and I want you up there. You're our eyes. Payne, Ortiz, I want you on that flank," he said as he pointed, "The rest of us are taking the centre. It's a simple plan. We wait, we watch, and we catch these assholes with their pants down. Nobody else dies here today, you hear me? Get to it. We could have a few minutes or a few hours to wait. Stay sharp, and be ready for anything. Now I know I've said that plenty, but I really mean it. Some crazy shit is going down here, and until we know what, we don't rest, you got it?"

  Nobody needed to respond. It was a sombre time for them all. They understood the tactics, but it was still a daunting prospect. Ross helped Shaw carry his wounded comrade up the embankment where they were taking up position. They laid him down gently.

  "You stay with him. Protect him, and also keep him calm and quiet, you got that?"

  "Yes, Sergeant."

  "I mean it. You don't move from his side unless I tell you to."

  "Yes, Sergeant."

  Ross lay down and put his rifle beside him. He clipped his NVGs onto his helmet and lowered them into position to assess the scene. He felt Ramos wanted to say something the way he lay so close, sighing as he plucked up the courage. They were old friends, and yet he clearly wasn't comfortable.

  "You've got something to say, spit it out."

  "I'm just trying to figure out if we're deploying an ambush or a last stand."

  "Don't go all Custer on me. We don't fight to lose. We don't ever fight to lose, and we haven't yet."

  "I know. I..."

  Ross flipped the NVGs up and out of the way and turned to face him.

  "We haven't even faced the enemy, but you're scared?"

  "Don't tell me you ain't. Those boys might have been a little green, but they’re not rookies. That boy can handle himself, and I bet the rest of them could, too. Whatever hit them went through them like they were nuttin."

  "Element of surprise, superior hardware, an enemy not expecting to have to fight. They were on an exercise for God’s sake. This is home soil, not goddamn Kabul."

  "So you're confident about this plan, then?"

  Ross didn't reply and looked off into the distance, as if hoping he would let it go. But out of the corner of his eye he could see his friend waiting.

  "No, not really, Max."

  "That's what I thought. What do you think we are dealing with here?" Ramos asked quietly as they settled in for what could be a long wait.

  "Wouldn't like to say."

  "Technologically advanced, audacious enough to hit deep into the country. Who the hell would have the means and the balls to do it? Certainly not the Russians."

  Ross laughed.

  "The Chinese?"

  "Not exactly their style, is it?"

  "I mean, we got some enemies around the world, but not like this. Home-grown, maybe?"

  "There’re more assholes like that all the time, but not with this kind of hardware and capability."

  "So what then? What are we facing? A rogue element using experimental tech?"

  "Come on, don't you think we'd have heard of tech like this if we had it?"

  "No. We're as expendable as everyone else. We get told what we need to know, you know that."

  Ross groaned as he nodded in agreement.

  "Boyd came out here because of a hunch. If he had any idea it would be like this, can you imagine him coming out with anything short of an army?"

  "Nope."

  "Then he couldn't have known."

  "Well, that makes it worse. I'd rather this was a secret from us, than find out nobody knew it was coming."

  "I've got contact," Dunn said over the radios.

  Ross flipped his NVGs down, but as he did, a high-pitched whistle crackled through their radios. It was almost defeating. He winced and looked around for the source of it, but everyone else seemed to be having the same problem. He reached down to the receiver and turned it off, but his ear was still buzzing. A gunshot rang out from Dunn's position. He'd not waited for the order, and Ross was appreciative of that. He followed the sharpshooter’s line of sight, and that's when he spotted it.

  "What the fuck?"

  He could see it now, in outline at least. A tall, bipedal soldier, but it wasn't Human. It was either encased in some kind of suit, or was a robot of sorts. It was like nothing he'd ever seen, except in the movies. He couldn't tell if Dunn's shot had found its mark, but he couldn’t imagine for a second that he would have missed. Another shot rang out that echoed all around them. Ross watched the target carefully this time and noticed the bullet found its mark. In the darkness he couldn't tell if it penetrated or not. But they all had a good view of the target, and that was enough for him.

  "Fire!" he roared.

  He lined up his target and let loose. The target was knocked back by the volley of bullets; caught in the perfect crossfire as the wilderness lit up. Finally, it went down, and they all held their fire. They were scared, but they still had steadfast discipline. Ross was studying their target carefully. He had a clear view, and it wasn't moving. He panned across to look for other targets.

  "Well, hell, yeah, we nailed that asshole," Ortiz got up triumphantly.

  A cracking sound rang out at their backs, and they turned around as a sizzling bolt of light hit Ortiz square in the chest. He was launched from their mound and crashed down into the terrain below. Ross saw two of the enemy bearing down on them. They were coming from the direction of the vehicles. He couldn't believe they had been outflanked with such ease, but there was no time to fret over it.

  Blinding light flashed out before Ross as one of the enemy opened fire. He staggered back stunned and lost his bearings. It was like a stun grenade had gone off before him. He dropped to one knee to compose himself. He lifted the NVG set, in time to see Donny closing the distance with the enemy, firing as he did.

  "Come on, you fuckers!" he was screaming.

  Full auto fire echoed out around them as Payne was giving it to them. Sparks flew ahead, and dozens of rounds struck one attacker. Payne kept his finger on the trigger. It was as if the whole forest was lit up, all of them giving everything they had to give. But another flash of light soared out and struck Payne's beloved Gunta, breaking it in half. He was aghast, but reached for his sidearm to stay in the fight. His body armour smouldered where debris from the enemy weapon was burning into it, but he was too focused to either notice or care, maybe both.

  Ross took aim and fired off a few more shots, but was soon empty. He didn't need the NVGs anymore. The muzzle flashes and the enemy’s weapons were lighting up the scene. Olsen cried out as his arm was struck by one of the enemy weapons, and Payne was clipped lightly, too. The energy weapons of their enemy were powerful, and that was something Ross was keen to avoid as he darted forward for the cover of a tree. He slammed in a new magazine and took aim at an enemy. He had a better view of it now, and it shocked him. Yet he had no time to think or worry about it. It was the enemy, and that’s all that mattered.

  He fired another burst at a target. It knocked the hulking beast back, but Dunn's well-aimed shots to the head put it down. Ross turned his attention back to Shaw. His magazine ran empty as he rapidly sent shots flying towards his enemy. He reached down for another magazine, but Ross could see the enemy lifting its arm-mounted cannon to fire.

  "No!"

  He rushed forward and pounced onto the Private. The burst of energy skimmed Ross' arm and singed his flesh. They crashed down into the dirt. Donny shoved him off angrily.

  "What are you doing?"

  He reached for the magazine and slammed it into the pistol. He rose up as Ross got to one knee and reacquired his target. The thing was aiming right for his new friend.

  'Thing' is all I can think to call it.

  It was an enemy combatant, but of what kind and from where he had no idea. It was taking aim at Donny, and that was all that mattered. He wasn't going to lose the entirety of the young man's team out here. He took aim at the weapon of the enemy and fired a few carefully aimed shots. The light faded from the weapon as it lost power, and he smiled in response.

  "That's right," he smirked.

  He kept firing at his enemy. The bullets once again found their mark, but seemed to do little. He dropped the magazine and reached for another. But half way through loading he looked up to check on his target. It was running right for him. He fumbled the magazine in a panic. Something he would never normally do. But this was no ordinary situation. Finally, he slammed it home, but the monstrous foe was upon him, launching a backhanded strike at him as if he were a child. He flew through the air, having been struck with immense force. So much so, he was lucky his neck didn't snap. He tumbled through the mud and leaves before coming to a standstill.

  Ross spat out the debris in a furious manner. He was fuming, and as he got up, he saw the enemy slowly closing in on Private Shaw as if he were no threat at all. He'd drawn his knife ready for a close quarters fight. Ross admired his bravery, but it wasn't going to win him the battle here today.

  "Hey, you, asshole!" Ross roared.

  The creature spun around. It could hear him, even if it couldn't understand what he had said.

  "Yeah, you, whatever the fuck you are, you can go back to whatever shithole you came from."

  The creature let out a howling wail as if it were some kind of war cry, and then ran right for him at quite an alarming pace. He couldn't get out of the way, but moved off to one side as he turned away; just enough that his hulking form bounced off him and continued. It wheeled around for a second charge, as if thinking it could do better, but Ross wasn't going to give it the chance.

 

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