Children of the Sands 2A Story by David Jae Ras continues her journey to rescue her brother.
She turned and ran, stumbling over her feet and tripping, hitting the metal floor. She glanced over her shoulder to see the mutant shambling towards her. Adrenaline spurred her on and she struggled back to her feet, racing towards the tank and scrambling up onto the turret. Then, she felt something grab her foot, nearly dragging her backwards. She kicked out, feeling the grip lessen and she scrambled into the cockpit, reaching up to grab the hatch and pull it down. For a second, she was staring into the milky white eyes of the mutant and then she slammed the hatch shut. There was a hiss of rage and she heard the sound of fingers scrabbling at the hatch. Grabbing the steering yoke, she pressed the accelerator into the floor, speeding towards the exit and the sunlight. As she crossed the threshold, she heard an inhuman scream and a scrabbling sound as the mutant fled back into the shelter of the hanger. Even so, she did not stop until she was several kilometres away from the refinery. Only then did she take her foot off the accelerator, sagging in the seat. Scrambling up, she wrenched open the hatch as quickly as she could, vomiting over the edge of the tank.
Oh, God...oh, God. Wiping her mouth with the back of her glove, she scrambled out of the cockpit and half-climbed, half-slipped to the ground. Her legs felt weak and her hands were shaking. Get a grip, Ras. She said, slipping her back pack and taking her wrench from her toolkit. You've got work to do. She began unscrewing the access panel, her trembling hands making the wrench slip. 'D****t, come on...' She whispered. A hour later, she finally managed to get the Tank repaired, although the interior of the engine was now a mass of wires and hastily jury-rigged components that she hoped would hold together. She was back on her route towards the Sand Devils base when her long-range radar began beeping and she looked round to see three contacts moving towards her from the South-east. S**t. Quickly, she pulled the Tank behind a sand dune and powered down, leaving only her passive sensors running. She scrambled up to the turret and pressed her eyes to the binoculars, scanning the desert around her. At first, she couldn't see anything. Then, three dark shapes appeared over a dune and she focused the binoculars on them. They were three boxy tanks of a design that she didn't recognise, looking like they had been cobbled together from spare parts. Neither of the Tanks looked the same, except that they were all painted in the same blood red colour. She felt her pulse quicken as she reached for the turret controls, flipping open the trigger cover and resting her thumb on the red button. Using her right foot, she pumped the pedal, feeling the turret ratchet round to aim at the lead tank. Reaching up, she wound the lever that cocked the firing mechanism and settled her finger back onto the trigger. She would only get one chance at this. Taking a deep breathe, she pulled the trigger, feeling the turret shake as the cannon fired with a dull thump. Even though the shell was only a primitive gunpowder round, fired by a hammer that detonated the charge, it was powerful. It slammed into the first tank and detonated, the blast tearing the turret apart, showering fragments of metal across the sound. Frantically, she recocked the cannon, ruddering round to aim at the next tank and fired again. However the shot went wide in her haste and, before she could reload, the remaining two tanks opened fire. Two shells exploded near her and she screamed as the tank rocked. Scrambling out of the turret, she dropped back into the cockpit, banging her knee of the ladder in her haste. Ignoring the pain, she flipped the main start-up switches, the screens coming to life around her and she stomped her foot on the accelerator. Her sudden burst of acceleration caught the Tanks by surprise as she roared out from behind the dune, their fire going wide. Grabbing the trigger, she brought up her laser cannon and squeezed the trigger, the blast of energy striking the left tank on it's treads and sheering it through. She was about to line up another shot when she heard a staccato sound as the second tank opened up with it's machine gun, bullets ricocheting off her armour. She swung round out of the line of fire, with the other tank roaring after her, it's machine gun still barking. Taking advantage of the lull, the crippled tank resumed firing, another shell exploding to her left and Ras bit back a curse. D****t. I was hoping to save these... Flipping back the cover of a switch on the left console, she punched the button, two missiles streaking out from the rear launch tubes and striking the tank that was pursuing her. The missiles punched through the armour and exploded, tearing the tank apart. Hurriedly, she swung around to target the last tank, opening up with her machine gun from maximum range as the turret tracked towards her. The hail of bullets ripped through it's armour and the turret stopped moving and she slumped in the chair. Her adrenaline was still pounding and her instincts were screaming at her to leave, but she forced herself to calm down. The last tank was still intact and she might be able to salvage some ordnance to replace what she had expended. Driving as close to the remaining tank as she could, she opened the canopy and dropped to the ground, crouching behind the fuselage. When no gun fire came, she crept forward, scrambling up onto the top of the tank and reaching down to grip the hatch. Heaving, she prized it open, peering inside just as the smell hit her nostrils, a heavy smell of iron that hit the back of her throat. Her stomach heaved and she fought to keep from vomiting, pressing her hand to her mouth. She managed to slam the hatch shut and scrambled down, forcing herself to keep moving. Reaching the rear magazine, she forced it open and pulled out her wrench, setting to work. Ras stopped the Tank on the edge of the ravine and scrambled up into the turret, training the binoculars on the bottom of the ravine. She'd managed to salvage a radio unit from the tank, which had let her track the transmissions to the Base. Below her, she could make out crude, prefabricated buildings, tanks parked on the rocky floor and figures wandering between the buildings and she felt a surge of fear. This is impossible... Then, she saw movement and a column of people emerged from a building. Hurriedly, she focused the binoculars on the crowd in the centre of the base and saw something that made her heart leap. Rad. She thought, zooming in on him. His hair had been shaved and he was dressed in dark green fatigues, but it was definitely him. I'm coming, Rad... Ras waited until nightfall before leaving the Tank and getting ready to go. She had spent the few hours in between watching the base through the binoculars, trying to learn whatever she could. She knew from having watched old movies on the holo that people always seemed to work out the patrol routes of the guards, but she hadn't been able to see any pattern. What she had found was that a single bridge provided entry and exit from the ravine. Working quickly, she tied a rope to the front of the tank and let it drop down into the ravine and waited. When no shout came, she slipped over the edge and began to climb down into the darkness... © 2015 David JaeReviews
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5 Reviews  Last Updated on May 6, 2015 Tags: Tank, Desert, Zombies, Post-apocalypse |
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