Sway's Demise (10 page)

It was Sway’s turn, “Everyone scatters, some run back for town but most flee into the forest, where a second ambush lies. This is what they were going to do to us.”

Sojin, the only voice of reason, shook them from their trance, “Time to go.”

Chapter 8: Fear

“Fuck, fuck! We just left them!”  Richard cradled his head, Leandra clinging tightly to his shoulders.

The truck sped along the highway out of town, not caring to look for survivors anymore. They knew what fate awaited their own if they didn’t hurry back. Over the rumbling of the exhaust, Sway heard Fabel calling out on the radio, trying to raise both the Vancouver team, and home, with no responses from either.

Reese shook Richard, “There was nothing we could do! They were already dead!”

He looked up with wet eyes. “Not
them
,” he pointed back to the destruction they’d abandoned. “Our families! We left our community to be ripped apart and eaten by these alien fucks!” He tore his helmet off, tossing it to the steel bed.

Sway’s legs bounced, the nervous energy trying to escape no matter how bad her muscles burned. Reese gripped her knee, helping her short, quick breaths slow into something more rhythmic. The warmth of his palm spread calmness through her, or perhaps, it was the shock settling in.

“Stop, Richard.” She finally uttered, “Your crap isn’t doing us any good.”

Richard spit with acidity, “Fuck you, Sway.”

Eli’s retort was swift, and powerful. His punch sent spittles of Richard’s blood across Leandra, and the cab window. “Don’t you fucking lose your shit, Richard. We’re getting home, and that’s all we need to focus on right now.”

“We wouldn’t fucking be here if it weren’t for her! She’s the one who wanted to go!” Leandra pointed to Sway with assertion.

River defended her, “Yes, and now we know the Priyon are here to kill us! All the more reason for us to get home and kill them first.”

“We would have discovered that in a matter of hours if we’d just stayed there!” Richard wiped the red from his lips.

Sway stood, fed up with him. “No, we would have been presented with the same option that lured the Kelownans out!” Screaming, the heat in her voice couldn’t be tamed.

“The naked, pale ambassador we saw in the forest this morning would have walked right up to our door, told us they forgave us for defending ourselves, protecting our territory, and then convinced us to pack up our shit and come out!”

Her mind went on, painting gruesome images, “We would have died without a peep in the night. And Xander’s baby, Reese’s dad, your sister,” she pointed to Richard, “they would have been dead by dawn, eaten alive if they were unlucky.”

“Fucking shut it, Sway!” He shoved her down to the hard metal, her helmet knocking on the gate of the truck bed.

A brawl broke out, Eli swinging wildly as Reese attempted to keep the peace. “Enough! All of you! We’re a team, goddammit, not a squabbling pack of animals!”

They separated as Reese helped Sway to her feet. The window to the cab opened and Fabel poked through, “What the fuck is going on back here!”

“Not shit,” Richard grumbled, rubbing his face as Eli licked a swollen lip.

“ETA seventy five minutes! Keep it together guys!”

Tom was right. They were too young, too inexperienced, too scared, too… too helpless. They were lost in a vast abyss of emotion they didn’t have the depth to handle. Sway missed Isla, Dmytre, her family, and Reese when they were alone. The taste of his lips on hers played out like a dance in her woozy brain, seducing her into a comatose state.

She lived out a daydream where nothing had gone wrong during initiation. The Priyon never invaded their area. Reese and Sway married, had two or three children of their own, grew a greenhouse with herbs like basil and rosemary, and he cooked because lord knew she couldn’t. Eli never worried about technology again, they were the best of friends, like they should be. Dymtre grew into a strong young man, joined Beacon, excelled in communication and history, met a girl of his own—maybe the one he’d chased with a worm. It was beautiful. Serene. Perfect.

The truck bumped, jolting her from euphoria, and she wiped at the cold on the back of her neck. Wet fingers came away smeared with red, and she realized the smack to her head was harder than she’d guessed.

“Reese—” Vision blurred as she stared at the blood trickling down her palm.

He grabbed her fingers, then, in a panic, unsnapped the helmet. “Are you ok? Sway, look at me!” Reese held her chin, turning wandering eyes to his.

“I’m tired,” her eyelids drooped, and she fought back a yawn.

Eli knelt before them, “What’s going on?”

“She’s bleeding, I think it’s a concussion. The damn helmet didn’t do shit.” Reese tossed it aside as black began swirling its way around her peripherals.

Eli lifted her face. “No, no. Don’t fall asleep.” He looked to Reese. “She could go into a coma.”

“But I can’t.” Sway’s eyes shut, the comforting ether of dreams trying to steal her away, then her head jostled about.

“No,” she looked to Reese who was trying desperately to keep her awake.

Sway’s lips fumbled with the words, so quiet they had to lean in, “I’m not brain damaged. I’m tired.” Darkness came for her once again, and that time, nothing would pull her from it.

A hard dip ripped Sway from the comforts of the void, and she inhaled sharply as she pulled away from Reese’s shoulder.

“Where are we?” She grabbed at her M4, verifying it was still there.

“Another ten minutes until we’re home. We just passed our territory marker.” He looked into her eyes, “You look ok. I think you were just exhausted.”

She rubbed at her neck, the trickle of blood dry and rough, “What happened while I was out?”

He shook his head, “Not a thing. Silence from home and Vancouver, but we could be out of LOS.”

She was the one who wanted to leave. Leandra was right. It was all Sway’s fault. She cupped her hands to cradle her face, and inhaled shallowly. Command squad recommended the trip. It wasn’t
all
her fault, she nodded to herself.

Sway felt the truck sputter as they veered off onto exit 369, following the road around to Summit Drive, to the Overlanders bridge; Home Bridge, they called it.

The sun was low against the towering hills, reflecting orange light from the water as they crossed. Fabel’s voice was excited as the radio crackled to life. Sway was unable to make out the shouts from the other end, but it seemed dire.

Pop, pop, pop!
The distinct sound of high caliber rifle fire was barely audible over the truck’s roar, but she heard it. Her fingers trembled, mouth growing dry. She didn’t want to believe it was truly happening. The beginning of the end.

The cab window slid back. Fabel’s face was anxious as he said, “Load up. Just got Command on the horn. The city is under attack from the east and south.”

South, exactly where they were coming in from.

Eli asked, “Have the walls been breached?”

He shook his head no, and Richard panicked. “How are we supposed to get in?”

“We have to ram through the Priyon first. Fight our way in,” Eli said, his voice calm and steady.

In a flurry, Sway reached for her side pack.
The grenade!
She pulled it out, showing it off to the other occupants of the truck.

“I’ll never say you over-prepare, but damn, Sway, you know how to pack.” River held her hand out for a high five, and they slapped palms excitedly. It wasn’t much to celebrate about, but celebration was exactly what they needed to stay positive for what was coming.

Leandra flustered, “How do we light it? Fabel’s flint lighter is gone.”

Sojin rotated, pushing Fabel out of the window. She folded in all fingers except her middle, getting a tense grumble from the rest of them, but it wasn’t her intention. The tip of her metal digit flicked back, and a small stream of forceful fire erupted from the end. She held the other hand out for the grenade, “Give it here.”

The truck picked up speed as Sway passed the bottled gunpowder along to her, hoping her aim was true. She was a Mew, she wouldn’t miss, she convinced herself as they all readied their weapons.

“Brace for impact!” Fabel shouted as he strapped on his seatbelt. They crammed to the front of the truck, pressing against each other and the benches, doing everything they could to reduce the potential for injury. The engine whined as it accelerated in protest. They held their breath; it couldn’t be long off.

Crack!
They shuddered, but held tight as a Priyon went reeling over the top of the truck, its mangled limbs spraying blood over the canvas covering. Another, and another, their cries dousing the sounds of the truck as they snapped legs and crushed shells.

Sway had only known the sound of the sea once, on a visit to Vancouver with her parents, but she was reminded of it. The trampling of small feet was the wind, the Priyon cries, seagulls, the roar of the truck, a fishing boat, and the cracking of shells was the waves slapping against the rough rocky shore. She was calm in that moment, inhaling through her nose and imagining the salty scent of the ocean.

The canvas back was torn off and the horde of Priyon exposed to them. Eli dove to his stomach, L96 pointed at the back gate as it, too, was jerked away. The truck fishtailed, and corrected, engine blaring in their ears. Leandra fell beside him, their shoulders pressed together.

Reese and Sway dropped to a knee, maneuvering between the sniper’s legs. The bump of crushed aliens kept their aim from being accurate, and so they waited until it was absolutely necessary.

A Priyon gripped the back of the bed, inadvertently sticking its mouth directly over Leandra’s barrel as she fired. Their ears rang from the volume, but they never blinked. The red life force of the foreign creature filled the inside of their vehicle, painting Leandra and her death machine.

She pulled back on the bolt, chambering another round with ease. The truck slowed and Sway recognized the buildings around them. They were at the Tranquille Fortune gate.

“Everyone down!” Sojin screamed from above as she mounted the cab, grenade in hand. They jumped belly first, piling on top of one another and covering each other’s heads. Was one grenade going to be enough?

The bottle sailed through the air, landing in a group of advancing Priyon. They all knew not to look, but did anyway as flaming cotton balls, bits of concrete, and charred glass shards rocketed away from the mass of enemies. Limbs and mandibles splattered against the bed, some of them still wriggling.

With the truck at a stop, and the Priyon pushed back, the gate began to open for them. Sway scrambled from the mobile coffin, her gun trained on their right flank.

“Sway! Get back in here!” Eli screamed as Reese and River jumped down to join her.

With her heart drumming away inside her chest, Sway fired on an advancing alien. The 5.56mm round pegged it in the sensory nerve, dropping it instantly.

“We have to keep them away from the gate!” she shouted. Enemy after enemy came screaming towards them, the fire of their hate fueled with each kill.

The truck clamored through, scraping the mirror on the left side of the makeshift wall and ripping it off. The gates were closing, and they stepped back, still firing as the Priyon became more courageous. Reese was the last one through as the metal locked tight around them.

“Get up on the wall!” Xander yelled and they rushed up the ladders on either side of the thirty-foot barrier manned by only two remaining Beacon members.

Xander addressed them with command, though the patch on one’s chest indicated she outranked him. “We’ll hold this point as long as possible, join back up with your squad.”

The Priyon were climbing on everything they could to get over, including each other. Their clicks and screeches filled the air with palpable anger, turning Sway’s gut with fear.

They took aim at the countless Priyon streaming in from the east side streets. The imminence of their destruction pressed on her like a weight.
They sent a thousand Priyon or more for each one of the community. It was the final invasion.

“Fire on them farther back! Don’t let the bodies pile at the gate!” Fabel stood shoulder to shoulder with her, whips of ammunition exploding from the end of his barrel.

Sway looked back to Xander, who was on the radio with, she could only hope, command.

“What’s the plan!” Her gun led a rather large beast, and with a short trigger pull, put an end to it.

“Evacuation! We need to hold this entry point for another eight minutes! We’re taking the train out!” Xander flew up the ladder, his weapon poised faster than she could blink as he fired with them.

“Changing mags!” Eli pulled away from the wall, his hands shaking as he reached for his pocket.

Leandra knelt at the far edge, each shot pushing her stabilizing stand off the ledge. “Sir, this is insane! We can’t hold them here for two more minutes, let alone eight!”

Xander fired on a growing crowd, dismembering many of them. They flailed about, their shrieks of terror filling the young Beacon members with dread. “Hale, if two men and a wall could hold the Priyon off for ten minutes while we came in, we can hold it eight more!” Xander swapped his magazine, dropping the empty to the ground.