2026-03-18 19:27:16
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Fall Back
The heavy steel doors of the secret elevator slid apart. Grinding metal screamed against the stone floor. Yellow hazard lights spun in a slow, rhythmic circle above the dark threshold.Logan tightened his grip on his iron blade. Jace raised his bloody steel pipe. Caleb aimed his stolen pistol directly into the opening. The soldiers of the Cold Blooded Army braced themselves for a brutal fight. They expected a massive biological nightmare to charge out of the darkness and slaughter their front line."Hold your fire," Logan commanded his men. "Do not shoot unless it steps into the light.""Nelson kept this elevator sealed for a reason," Sergeant Cross warned from the back of the formation. "He threatened to feed deserters to whatever lives down there.""Did you ever see the beast?" Jace asked. The large mechanic did not lower his weapon."Nobody saw it and lived," Cross replied. "We only heard the noises.""What kind of noises?" Caleb asked. He kept his eyes locked on the pitch black vo
Opening
The red digital zeroes blinked on the cracked screen of the detonator.Lieutenant Graves pressed his bloodied thumb against the activation button a second time. The small plastic device clicked hollowly. He pressed it a third time. He slammed the detonator against the concrete floor. The explosive charges wired to the massive fuel tanks remained entirely dormant."Why did it not ignite?" Graves whispered to himself. He stared at the pooling diesel fuel soaking his uniform. "The signal transmitted. The relay engaged."Ashton stood over the broken officer. The Hunter commander wiped a smear of dark oil from his face and looked down at the dead detonator."You trusted your infrastructure too much," Ashton told the lieutenant. "You forgot we had mechanics inside your walls before the siege even started."Four hours earlier.Scalding steam flooded the primary boiler room. Caleb smashed the butt of his stolen pistol into the digital control console to lock the pressure valves. The analog di
3,2,1...
Ashton navigated the dark maintenance corridors with lethal precision. The falling emergency shutter had separated him from Logan, forcing the Hunter commander to route through the lower utility levels of the sprawling military installation. He bypassed the thick chemical smoke and the chaotic crossfire by utilizing the narrow, subterranean ventilation pathways. His thermal optics revealed the lingering heat signatures of retreating soldiers, but Ashton ignored the scattered infantry. He hunted the command structure. He tracked a single set of frantic footprints leading away from the collapsed central junction.The trail brought him directly to the shattered steel doors of the primary motor pool.Lieutenant Graves sprinted into the cavernous chamber. The room smelled of heavy grease, pulverized stone, and raw diesel fuel. Towering stacks of high explosive mortar shells lined the reinforced concrete walls in pristine wooden crates. The heavy artillery weapons Logan had ruined hours ago
Orders
Fernando kicked the shattered remains of a wooden supply crate out of his path. The iron runners of the captured mortar sled scraped loudly against the concrete floor as the logistics team hauled the heavy weapon forward. The Iron Ranks controlled the upper storage bays completely."The enemy is falling back toward the central junction," Cole reported to his lieutenant. The young soldier wiped a smear of soot from his forehead."They are moving too fast," Fernando noted with a deep frown. He checked the ammunition magazine in his captured assault rifle. "Professional soldiers do not abandon fortified high ground without a tactical reason.""Maybe we broke their spirit," Cole suggested hopefully. "We blew their sandbag barricade to pieces.""You do not break Old Guard veterans with a single explosion," Fernando corrected the young laborer. "Lieutenant Graves rules his men through absolute terror. They are more afraid of their commanding officer than they are of our bullets.""Then why
Who Is Fighting?
The iron grates of the primary holding pens slid open with a loud metallic screech.Caleb tossed the electronic security ring onto the freezing concrete floor. Dozens of starving captives shrank back into the dark corners of the massive cell. They stared at the flashing red strobe lights illuminating the corridor in pure terror. The deafening sirens signaled their immediate execution."They are coming to purge this block," Caleb announced over the blaring alarms. He pulled two heavy sidearms from his tactical belt and kicked them across the floor toward the huddled masses. "Pick the weapons up. You fight right now or you die in a cage."A young scavenger with hollow cheeks stepped forward and grabbed a pistol. He checked the magazine with trembling fingers. Three other captives rushed to gather loose steel pipes and jagged pieces of concrete rubble from the corners of the cell."Stay low and move toward the exit," Caleb commanded the growing mob. "Do not engage until they cross the th
Blaring
Caleb pressed his back against the damp concrete wall and listened to the echoing footsteps. He held his stolen pistol close to his chest and waited for the Old Guard patrol to pass the intersection.Jace stood right behind him. The massive mechanic gripped a thick steel pipe in his calloused hands. His breathing was heavy and erratic."They are walking right toward us," Jace whispered in the dark."They are turning down the utility corridor," Caleb corrected him quietly. "Keep your voice down. We are letting them pass.""I am going to crush their skulls," Jace snarled.Caleb turned around and grabbed the large mechanic by the collar of his canvas coat. He yanked Jace downward until they were eye to eye in the shadows."You are going to stand perfectly still," Caleb ordered."They killed Toby," Jace replied. His voice shook with raw grief and blinding anger. "They shot a boy in the back while he was running away. I am not letting them walk past us.""Toby is dead," Caleb stated. He de
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Reader Comments
they really think that money belonged to them...and that they can take his house from him that is laughable...unfortunately this is as far as I will read.