lung bursting sprint through the ancient woodland thick with gnarled tree roots. He had almost a quarter of a mile to cover on bad ground. In his day he would have covered that in less than three minutes.
He ran, slipping twice and scrabbling to his feet to continue as he counted more shots from ahead and to his right. He was blowing hard, but he knew there had to be more in the tank. He paused, finding where Pete had stopped the vehicles by killing two drivers. The cars were abandoned, the occupants gone forward on foot. The foliage was too thick to see into the distance, but the steady rhythm of gunshots still came only now it was mixed with the staccato sound of return fire from something smaller firing automatic bursts. He turned to his left again and ran as hard as he could for two hundred metres to gain the high ground. He steadied his breath, checked his weapon and crept down towards the road, scanning.
Movement ahead, he raised the gun in a fluid motion and instinctively fired twice into the middle of the body in front of him. He moved forward, willing himself to go on despite his fear.
Movement to his right. Two of them. He dropped one knee and aimed, firing twice more into each shape. He forced himself to his feet, to keep moving.
He was lost in himself; a machine designed to kill the enemy quicker than they could kill him. His weapon drills were slick and spoke of long hours of practice he feared he had forgotten. He was alive, he was angry, and they would be sorry.
~
“NOW!” Neil screamed.
Jimmy gunned the engine of the small lorry, making it jolt forward to unveil the heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck.
Neil opened up on the lead vehicle, heavy bullets punching through metal and plastic easily. At that distance it was butchery. The front vehicle swerved off the road into a fence where it stopped dead against a tree, exposing the second car in line to the murderous fire.
~
Leah took careful aim on the windscreen of the tail end vehicle. As soon as Neil began to fire she put four rounds in quick succession straight where the driver's centre mass would be.
The car lost control and slammed into the rear of the second vehicle which had ground to a halt. Leah scanned along the wreckage, searching for a target. A rear door opened on the last car on the side away from her, a tentative head popped into view and looked forward to where it thought the danger was.
“Over here” she whispered to herself, like in the film she shouldn’t have watched about the alien who killed all the soldiers in the jungle.
She fired, immediately searching for a new target.
Neil fired only occasional bursts now, as she scanned for movement.
They were hiding in the dead ground on the other side of the vehicles. Rich would have been there, but he had gone to ambush the ones attacking Pete. She waited for a break in the firing and bawled Neil's name as loudly as she could.
"What?" He shouted back.
"Fire under two" she shouted. They had to be forced from cover before they had a chance to reorganise and fire back.
"What?" He yelled again.
"FIRE. UNDER. THE. SECOND. CAR!" She screamed, carefully pronouncing each word. They heard her, and started to move.
Neil sent three bursts under the car, splaying two of the attackers out on the ground and making another two run for the nearest cover of the tree line.
She lined up on the first one, judging his speed and fired just in front of him. She fired a second and third bullet into him as he hit the ground.
The other one was gone.
~
Joe had thrown himself into the bushes to cut the corner between the farm and the road. He now lay flat, catching his breath.
He heard the undergrowth being trampled and the sound was fast approaching him. He knelt up, rifle scanning the bushes ahead. Too big to be a dog, not even Ash, and no farm animals were anywhere near this woodland. The noise was coming fast, desperate sounds escaping the runner as
He ran, slipping twice and scrabbling to his feet to continue as he counted more shots from ahead and to his right. He was blowing hard, but he knew there had to be more in the tank. He paused, finding where Pete had stopped the vehicles by killing two drivers. The cars were abandoned, the occupants gone forward on foot. The foliage was too thick to see into the distance, but the steady rhythm of gunshots still came only now it was mixed with the staccato sound of return fire from something smaller firing automatic bursts. He turned to his left again and ran as hard as he could for two hundred metres to gain the high ground. He steadied his breath, checked his weapon and crept down towards the road, scanning.
Movement ahead, he raised the gun in a fluid motion and instinctively fired twice into the middle of the body in front of him. He moved forward, willing himself to go on despite his fear.
Movement to his right. Two of them. He dropped one knee and aimed, firing twice more into each shape. He forced himself to his feet, to keep moving.
He was lost in himself; a machine designed to kill the enemy quicker than they could kill him. His weapon drills were slick and spoke of long hours of practice he feared he had forgotten. He was alive, he was angry, and they would be sorry.
~
“NOW!” Neil screamed.
Jimmy gunned the engine of the small lorry, making it jolt forward to unveil the heavy machine gun mounted in the bed of the truck.
Neil opened up on the lead vehicle, heavy bullets punching through metal and plastic easily. At that distance it was butchery. The front vehicle swerved off the road into a fence where it stopped dead against a tree, exposing the second car in line to the murderous fire.
~
Leah took careful aim on the windscreen of the tail end vehicle. As soon as Neil began to fire she put four rounds in quick succession straight where the driver's centre mass would be.
The car lost control and slammed into the rear of the second vehicle which had ground to a halt. Leah scanned along the wreckage, searching for a target. A rear door opened on the last car on the side away from her, a tentative head popped into view and looked forward to where it thought the danger was.
“Over here” she whispered to herself, like in the film she shouldn’t have watched about the alien who killed all the soldiers in the jungle.
She fired, immediately searching for a new target.
Neil fired only occasional bursts now, as she scanned for movement.
They were hiding in the dead ground on the other side of the vehicles. Rich would have been there, but he had gone to ambush the ones attacking Pete. She waited for a break in the firing and bawled Neil's name as loudly as she could.
"What?" He shouted back.
"Fire under two" she shouted. They had to be forced from cover before they had a chance to reorganise and fire back.
"What?" He yelled again.
"FIRE. UNDER. THE. SECOND. CAR!" She screamed, carefully pronouncing each word. They heard her, and started to move.
Neil sent three bursts under the car, splaying two of the attackers out on the ground and making another two run for the nearest cover of the tree line.
She lined up on the first one, judging his speed and fired just in front of him. She fired a second and third bullet into him as he hit the ground.
The other one was gone.
~
Joe had thrown himself into the bushes to cut the corner between the farm and the road. He now lay flat, catching his breath.
He heard the undergrowth being trampled and the sound was fast approaching him. He knelt up, rifle scanning the bushes ahead. Too big to be a dog, not even Ash, and no farm animals were anywhere near this woodland. The noise was coming fast, desperate sounds escaping the runner as
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