Chapter 3: Bunker

Tom proves his prowess.

A few minutes later, we landed in the remains of what was once the city of Portrace. The battle here had been raging on for over a month. Both sides were sustaining heavy casualties, and the multitude of fallen skyscrapers and abandoned apartment building provided no shortages of strongholds to bunker down inside of. I remembered visiting the beaches there with my father when I was little. The sea was so gorgeous, and fishermen crowded the shores, happily and patiently waiting for their next catch. It all seemed so peaceful. It was all gone.

We set up our bunker inside an old bank. It was in a good position in the middle of the city, and easily fortifiable from all entrances. Truth be told, my squad was more akin to assassins than soldiers. Our goal was the same as it always was; kill as many as we can, and don’t get caught. It had proven to be my specialty, and as a special operations unit, we weren’t exactly in the public’s eye. I set my equipment bag on the table. Putting on my sunglasses, headphones, and tying a black bandana around my face, I got ready to jump right into the fight. I didn’t want to waste any time. The glasses protected us against flashbangs, the headphones against sonic grenades and other distractions, and the mask provided a short time barrier against any gas or chemicals. Then, I pulled two katanas out of my bag and slid them into their scabbards on my hips. Next to each sword, a semi-automatic pistol waited in their own holsters. I waited for the rest of my squad to get ready before we headed out.

We each split up, needing no further communication. We knew our goal and we knew our rally point; the rest was up to each of us. I headed into the back of a nearby apartment building, where there was reportedly a mortar stationed. I checked each of the rooms on the first floor, finding them all hastily abandoned. I drew one of my pistols and held it at my side, pulling the hammer back. I crept up the stairs, keeping a low profile. As I neared the landing, I could hear people talking. They were laughing. I turned the corner and put my pistol against the side of one of their heads, quickly drawing the other and pointing it at another. I could’ve sworn I heard three voices. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my neck.

I pulled the trigger on both pistols, gray matter splattering the walls of the corridor. I dropped the pistols, grabbing my “captor’s” arms and lifting my legs. I pushed my legs out, pressing against the wall and knocking the man behind me off-balance. I ran up the wall and flipped over the man’s shoulders, and stood behind him. In an instant, my katana was drawn, impaled through his heart. I turned the blade upwards, carving a small hole in his chest before ripping the sword out through the top of his head. I heard shouting from down the hall and ducked into the nearest open doorway. Soon, the men I presumed to be the mortar squad started advancing down the hall. One of them had an assault rifle.

“S**t…” I muttered to myself. He was standing behind the other three men, so it would be hard to get to him first. I threw my shoulder against the door and broke it; loudly. I slipped inside, running to open the window. I heard the men’s footsteps quicken.

As the turned through the doorway, they readied their weapons, advancing slowly, in a tight group. One man looked forward, two looking to either side, and the man with the rifle bringing up the rear. The saw the open window and didn’t see me. The point-man cussed under his breath. “He got awa-”

His thought was interrupted by the door slamming against the man with the rifle, my sword going straight through it and impaling the man through the stomach. I pushed the door off its hinges, kicking it towards the remaining men; their screaming comrade still attached. The two flanking men rolled to the side, but the point-man had no clear escape route. He got hit by the door, knocking him to the floor, but avoiding the sword. One of the other two men came out of his roll to stare at my second Katana, protruding from his glabella. The other soldier raised his pistol towards me, only to have his hand crushed by my foot, sending the gun skittering across the vinyl flooring. Pushing my foot into his chest, I trapped him onto the ground. I reared up with my other foot, all my focused weight causing his sternum to crack just before my leg connected with his neck, killing him instantly. The point man threw himself at me after finally getting back up, tackling me to the ground. He held me by the neck, his grip tight, his face shriveled in rage. I pulled back my arm, and connected with a strong right hook, fracturing his jaw; but he didn’t let up. I coughed from the lack of oxygen, my hand reaching up to grab the back of his head. I yanked him down towards me, surprising him just enough to be able to bring my forehead up into his nose, shoving it back up into his skull. He reeled back, grabbing at the bloodied mess that was his face. I grabbed him by the collar and tossed him off of me, flipping over on top of him. I held him down by the neck with one hand, my other arm rearing back. My fist slammed into his face. Then again. Then again. I only stopped once I couldn’t feel my knuckles breaking any more bone.

I stood, barely breathing any heavier than normal. I pulled my katana out of the door, and Rifle Man’s corpse slumped onto the floor. Freeing my other katana from the skull of my enemy, I flicked the wet blood off of them before sliding them back into place alongside my hips. Walking back outside, I picked my pistols up off of the ground, reloading their magazines before holstering them. It was time to move one. I heard a new voice come over my headphones’ speakers.

“-ix… Unit six… Do you read?”

“I read, who is this?” I responded.

“This is Sergeant David Adams. I arrived at your home base in Portrace just now, here to provide instruction.”

I muttered under my breath. Any time the higher-ups got involved, people died unnecessarily. It was starting to really get to me. I guess the Resistance just wasn’t as honorable as I thought. They cared more about the war than the soldiers they were fighting for. It wasn’t right. I took a deep breath before pushing my microphone button.

“Yessir. Where do you need me?”

“There’s a machine gun bunkered down somewhere on east Harmony Street. I need you to find it and take it out.”

“On it.”

I went back into the room, searching the bodies. Rifle Man had a couple grenades on him, so I took them and hooked them onto my belt. I slung his rifle over my shoulder as well; I wasn’t dumb enough to take on a machine gun with a sword and a pistol. I climbed out of the window and jumped down to the ground, landing in a roll. I got up and ran towards east Harmony Street. When I got there, I slipped quickly into an alley before taking off my glasses and holding them slightly around the corner; their reflective coating acted as a mirror. I was disgusted at what I saw. Hundreds of bodies laid strewn about the small, two-lane street. It was a perfect funnel of machine gun fire. How many troops were sent in here before me? How many marched to their death. I heard footsteps, fast and heavy. It sounded like there was a lot of them. I slipped further into the alley.

“Adams says we need to take out this gunner!” I heard a man shout, presumably to the rest of his squadron.

“Holy sh*t!” screamed one of them as they rounded the corner, taking in the same sight I saw moments before.

“What-” The commanding officer didn’t get a chance to finish his question. From the fourth story of an office building a block away, a loud rattling sound and a long, sustained flash of light emerged. The bullets ripped through the squad of men like butter, and in less than ten seconds, they all laid on the ground, silent and motionless.

“Did you find it?” I heard Adams in my ear.

“What the f*ck was that…” I asked him quietly, my voice trembling.

“What was what?”

“Why the f*ck did you send them here? I could have found the gunner without fifteen men dying! What’s the f*cking point?” I shouted into my headphone angrily. I didn’t care who heard.

“We don’t have any more time to waste in this city. We all knew what we were signing up for, Corporal. Now go do your job.”

I ground my teeth. “They signed up to be soldiers, Adams. Not fodder.” I took off my headphones and chucked them against the wall. I didn’t want to hear his reply.

At least I did see where the gunner was now. It would be easier to get to him if I had a longer range weapon, but I had to make do. Judging by the sound, there was only one machine gun. Their position would be easily defendable, so it was likely that there was only one or two men stationed there. I untied my bandana and unhooked the two grenades from my belt. I strapped them together with the bandana, one on top of another. If I timed and aimed right, I could clear the gunner from the next alley. I walked to the back of my hiding spot, giving me a good runway. I sprinted at full speed, barrelling out of the alleyway, heading across the street. I heard the gun firing and could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet. I made it to the alley; the gun couldn’t turn enough to follow me all the way across the street without shooting through the building that protected it. I poked my head from around the alley. I had advanced a good 15 meters or so, and was within throwing distance from the gunner; just not at a good angle. I took a deep breath and leaned out the alleyway, practicing my throwing arc for the grenades. I held them side-by-side in my hand, still strapped together. Content that I had my aim down as well as I possibly could, I pulled the pin on the street-side grenade. I counted a full two seconds before pulling the pin on the other grenade. After another full second, I swung my arm, releasing the grenades up towards the gunner. They stayed horizontal in-flight. Right as the grenades reached the window of the gunner, the first grenade exploded, launching the other one into the window. I heard shouting scrambling, but in just one more second, the second grenade exploded inside of the small room. The gun was jettisoned out into the street, and the explosion caused the two floors above to collapse down onto the room, crushing anyone who might have still been inside. I exhaled a deep, relieved sigh. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead and started my walk back to the bank.

I heard a groan and turned towards it. It was the commanding officer of the last squad to fall victim to the gunner.

“Help… Hel… Me…” He groaned through pained breaths. I drew my pistol from its holster, pointing it down at him.

“This is all I can do…” I explained solemnly.

He closed his eyes.

I pulled the trigger.

Author's Note

We are currently editing the first part of Gigalist so if there are grammatical mistakes just know that they will all be fixed very soon! Thanks for bearing with us!