UNSCDF2 Chapter 36- Extraction

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 21, 2001

2205 Local Time

            “Did I just see the Russians?” May peeked out from the stairwell to the first floor.

            “I think you’re right.” Christopher exclaimed as he took a peek.

            A group of Russian scattered about the hallway and began to clear rooms one by one.

            “If the Russians are down here, which means…” May’s voice trailed off.

            “Top floor is compromised.” Forester spoke quietly.

            “We need to get up. I’m not going to let my Sarge turn.” Taylor stared at the group.

            “I understand Taylor, but we’ll be killing ourselves if we go up.” Forester glared.

            “Then we need to go up as one of them.” Taylor suggested.

            “Christopher, watch Casey. Taylor, May, and I will get some uniforms.” Forester directed.

            “Plan LT?” May asked.

            “When one group clears one room, we go from behind and take them out.” Forester replied with confidence.

            “They go in groups of three.” Taylor studied.

            “Then we’ll make it look like a prisoner transport.” Forester replied.

            “They are going to the room opposite of us now.” Taylor peeked out the door.

            “Get ready marines. We only have one shot at this.” Forester pulled out her bowie knife.

            “Oh right, we need to keep it clean and quiet.” Taylor put his MSG-9 down against the wall and unsheathed his combat knife from his belt.

            May pushed the stairwell door open quickly as Taylor and Forester snuck out. Once Taylor and Forester got into position behind some open doors, May nodded to Christopher and closed the door quietly behind her before rushing to meet up with her teammates.

            “Flashlights. Inside.” Forester whispered as she peeked her head into a room that three soldiers had entered.

            “I’ll get the center guy.” May waved her combat knife in a downward motion.

            “I’ll take the left and Taylor can get the right.” Forester looked at her blade.

            “Got it.” Taylor nodded.

            “Ready?” Forester took a deep breath.

            Taylor and May nodded in unison and crouched as the two slowly turned inside the room.

            “Go.” Forester commanded in a short whisper.

            Taylor made a dash for the soldier on his right and tackled him to the ground whilst May lunged with her knife at the soldier in the center. Taylor jabbed his knife into the back of the soldier’s head and twisted the handle while May made a slash at the throat of her target. Upon realizing what had happened to his comrades, the last soldier lifted his AK47 to aim at the dark assassins, but was intercepted when Forester approached from behind him and snapped his neck. The soldier collapsed to the ground with a thud and everything turned to silence.

            “Get dressed.” Forester crouched beside the soldier she had killed and began to strip his clothes.

            “If you girls like, I could leave first while you change.” Taylor looked around.

            “Just don’t look. Face the wall while you change.” May replied with annoyance.

            Taylor grinned and then turned to face the wall. He took off his helmet and body armor and placed it aside. As the three marines put on the militia outfit, they secretly concealed their RaidComm transmitters into their newly acquired military helmets.

            “Do I look like a militia or what?” Taylor picked up an AK47 and held it coolly.

            “Sure…” May laughed as she swapped her primary weapon.

            “Let’s go.” Forester waved at the doors.

            The marines exited the room and quickly moved to the stairwell. Christopher lowered his weapon as he recognized his comrades in militia clothes.

            “How’s Casey doing?” Taylor eyed Casey.

            “Not too well, but he’s holding on.” Christopher reported.

            “Squad two. Report in squad two.” the radios buzzed on the militia outfit.

            “Hurry! Get to the elevator now!” Forester spoke rapidly.

            May pushed the stairwell door open and the marines quickly got out. Christopher lifted Casey to his feet and carried him to the elevator with the aid of Taylor.

            “Squad two, do you copy?” the radios buzzed again.

            Forester hit the elevator button and the elevator doors opened.

            “Attention all units! Squad two is down. Search and destroy.” a man spoke on the radio.

            “Up we go.” May pressed the elevator doors closed.

            Before the elevator ascended, Forester tapped onto her RaidComm.

            “Good luck Zyrok and Frederick. We’re going up.” Forester spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Okay, you too.” Zyrok replied just in time before the elevator shot upwards and the transmission fizzed.

            “Remember folks, prisoner transport.” May looked at Christopher.

            “Take these.” Christopher handed May his M16 and concealed his Lock 17 pistol under his flak jacket.

            “Here’s the story, Christopher and Casey were captured by us. Their team had encountered multi-limbed zombies and they were the only survivors.” Forester quickly briefed.

            “Sounds good.” Taylor nodded.

            “One more thing. Vladamir told us to interrogate them topside.” Forester added.

            “Good idea, I’m betting that they don’t have contact of him either so it will be easier for us to make things up.” May replied.

            “Get ready.” Forester readied herself as the elevator reached to the top.

            The doors opened and three militia soldiers pointed their guns at the group.

            “Freeze!” one soldier called out.

           “We’re bringing prisoners up for interrogation under Vladamir’s orders.” Forester pointed at Christopher and Casey.

            “Where is Vladamir?” the soldier asked.

            “He’s down there with the others. We tried contacting up here, but it seems like we’re out of range.” Forester responded.

            “Oh, hang on.” the soldier looked at his comrades.

            “Take them to Dimitri?” an old looking soldier asked. 

            “Yeah.” the soldier nodded and looked at Forester.

            “Alright soldiers, move it.” Forester ordered.

            Suddenly, the building shook and a rumble was heard as Forester and the soldiers walked into the hallway.

            “The UNSC is here!” one soldier ran out of a room coughing as dust filled the halls.

            “Follow me.” the old soldier waved at Forester to bring her squad up the stairwell.

            Once the marines reached the ground floor, dust and smoke was everywhere. Some soldiers huddled against the wall with injuries while others had a shocked face. Forester glanced out of the broken window and saw a Pelican in the sky firing missiles at the trucks mounted with heavy machine guns. As the missiles impacted their targets, explosions ripped through the silence and shook the ground. A marine was at the rear of the Pelican firing the M60 mounted turret at the stragglers in the open.

            “This way.” the old soldier waved at a corner.

            Forester watched the Pelican and then turned to follow the soldier. She knew it was her time to act and get the marines out of the hot zone. As Forester and her marines reached the corner, she noticed that the soldier was alone. In a fluid motion, she yanked out her concealed bowie knife and impaled it into the soldier’s back. A cry was heard, but the distant explosion sounds masked the assassination.

            “Let’s get a ride out of here.” Forester told the group.

*          *          *

            “RPG!” Parker called out form the back of the Pelican

            “Deploying countermeasures.” Pruett pressed on the button.

            A barrage of flares fired from the rear of the Pelican and lit up the sky into an eerie glow of red. The RPG smashed into a flare and exploded violently and flung shards down to the ground.

            “This is Lieutenant Forester, who is in the Pelican over?” Forester spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Forester, Pruett here. Parker and I are the only ones here to assess the situation. From the looks of it, you’ve lost control of the facility.” Pruett replied.

            “I’m afraid so Pruett. Pruett, I’ve got Casey seriously wounded, are you able to do a quick extraction?” Forester asked.

            “You’ll need to hold on for a few minutes while we clear out the outside threats.” Pruett replied as he looked at the fires burning from destroyed vehicles from his window.

            “Roger, any suggestions where we can extract?” Forester asked.

            “Umm…the outside is a mess. How about the roof of the building?” Pruett responded.  

            “Roof sounds great, we’ll head up first.” Forester answered.

            “Okay, we’ll extract in…ten minutes.” Pruett estimated.

            “Copy, Forester out.” Forester ended the transmission.

            Brandon swerved the Pelican to the left as an RPG barely clipped its wings. He noticed where the soldiers were camping with the RPGs and fired two missiles. The ground below him exploded and flung bodies into the air.

            “What a shot!” Parker called out from the back.

            Two pickup trucks sped out from the corner of the building with mounted turrets. The soldiers fired the turrets at the Pelican’s belly and managed to penetrate its thick armor plating.

            “Hull integrity at seventy percent.” the computer in the cockpit spoke.

            “Shit!” Pruett pounded on the console as he realized that he had one more missile remaining in the missile pods.

            Pruett target locked one truck and fired the last missile. The truck exploded and flew in the air while the other truck continued to move around.

            “I’m out of missiles!” Pruett exclaimed.

            “Switch to GAU-19!” Parker called out.

            Pruett looked at the console and saw a purple button. He pressed it and heard the GAU-19 barrel rotating.

            “Eat lead!” Pruett squeezed the trigger and the GAU-19 fired a torrent of armor piercing rounds into the truck.

            The bullets lit the sky up with quick flashes of light. The truck exploded as it was peppered with bullets and Pruett stopped firing. He smiled in satisfaction and laughed at the destruction. Pruett turned the nose of the Pelican towards the roof of the facility and noticed that a couple of snipers and RPG wielding soldiers camped. Pruett squeezed the trigger and unleashed death and destruction.

            “What did I say? Reign of terror…that’s…” Parker laughed, but was cut off as a sniper round hit in the chest.

            “Parker!” Pruett turned his head his head and saw Parker drop out of the Pelican and into the dark grounds below.

            Pruett knew Parker didn’t make it. Either the bullet killed him or the fall did, but he had not time to grieve the loss of a comrade. Pruett looked at his watch and sped the Pelican towards the edge of the roof.

            “Pruett, we’re coming up. Get us out of here.” Forester spoke on the RaidComm as she pushed the rooftop stair doors open.

            Pruett quickly turned the Pelican so that the rear of was facing towards the marines. He clicked on the autopilot button and picked up his M16 resting against the cockpit doors. As the team of marines ran at him, he noticed some soldiers still alive camped out behind the rubble. Pruett fired off a couple of rounds creating a light suppressive fire before he mounted on the M60 turret. While Pruett unleashed a fury of bullets, Forester and May got on the Pelican first.

            “Get in the cockpit.” May ordered Pruett as she stepped in to replace Pruett on the turret.

            While Taylor and Christopher carried the unconscious Casey onto the Pelican, Forester and May fired heavily at the rooftop stairs as a swarm of soldiers ran out.

            “Lift off!” Forester shouted as Casey was strapped into his seat.

            “Copy.” Pruett turned off the autopilot and pushed the throttle forward.

            The Pelican jerked forward abruptly and the facility became distant.

            “I’m closing the hatch. Everyone inside.” Pruett pressed a button and the hatch at the rear of the Pelican sealed shut.

            “Get us to Base immediately.” Forester commanded as she ran inside the cockpit.

            “Got it ma’am.” Pruett acknowledged.

            “Hang in there Casey.” Taylor looked at his friend with a worried face.

Reygi, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Secronom Research Facility

April 21, 2001

2245 Local Time

            “We’re here at the armory.” Hariprasad stood in front of a big blast door.

            “Get that bypass going now.” Frederick commanded as she watched some figures run down the hall.

            Hariprasad swiped the Secronom keycard on the access panel while Cookson pulled out a small datapad from his backpack. The pair quickly worked together in disassembling the panel and attaching the wiring to the datapad. While the pair was doing the system bypass, Nevarez and Schmidt looked at both ends of the hallway.

            “We’re in.” Cookson pressed a button on his datapad and the doors hissed open.

            “Move it.” Zyrok ordered as he saw three spiders run towards them from the hall they came from.

            Nobody fired a round because they didn’t want to attract attention so they all quickly hurried inside. Hariprasad hit the button inside and the doors slid shut.

            “Woah!” Nevarez looked inside to see guns and ammunition scattered around the floor.

            “Looks like they were in a rush.” Cookson exclaimed.

            “Look what I found.” Hariprasad picked up a fully loaded M60.

            “Nice.” Cookson smiled.

            “Everyone, load up and stock up.” Zyrok shouted as he picked up a XM8 off a gun rack.

            “Zyrok, I’ll look for the armor.” Frederick walked to a room at the back of the wall.

            “Okay. Schmidt, go with Frederick.” Zyrok directed.

            “Yes sir.” Schmidt nodded and hurried off with Frederick.

            Zyrok watched as the marines swapped their weapons with the new toys they had uncovered inside the armory. As he walked past a cabinet, he noticed some handgun ammunition and took a full box. Zyrok felt satisfied and decided to see what Frederick had found. He walked briskly into the room and saw a nice sleek armor behind a glass wall.

            “That’s nice.” Zyrok stared in awe.

            Frederick looked at a computer console and typed on the keyboard.

            “Bypass?” Zyrok asked as he saw Frederick take out her datapad and placed it next to the computer.

            “Yeah, remote access.” Frederick tapped on her datapad.

            In a few minutes, the glass wall slid down and the armor was readily available for the taking.

            “Go ahead, try it on.” Zyrok urged Frederick.

            “Not like this.” Frederick looked at Zyrok and Schmidt with a raised eyebrow.

            “Oh…right, sorry.” Zyrok grabbed Schmidt by the shoulders and walked out.

            After a few minutes of waiting, Frederick walked out of the room dressed in the new suit of armor.

            “Wow…you look…” Zyrok stared in awe as Frederick’s hair flew in the air.

            “Amazing…gorgeous. I know.” Frederick smiled as she put on her helmet.

            “Hahaha.” Zyrok blushed lightly and looked away.

            “I was going to say that you looked cool, but oh well.” Schmidt smirked.

            “Let’s get going. Can’t wait to blow this place up.” Frederick walked out to regroup with her marines.

            “We have to rescue a soldier here. She’s trapped on this floor.” Zyrok interrupted.

            “She a Russian?” Cookson asked.

            “Yeah, but we’re blowing this place up. We don’t leave her behind especially when we said we’re going to get her.” Zyrok looked at Nevarez and then Schmidt.

            “Fine. Go and save the damsel in distress.” Frederick crossed her arms.

            “Come on Frederick, it’s not like that.” Zyrok pulled out the radio.

            “I just want to complete this operation as fast as possible with the least casualties.” Frederick thought about Robertson.

            “I understand, but I’m keeping my word. Plus isn’t this that makes us better than the Russians?” Zyrok reasoned.

            “Oh, alright. Let’s get it done quickly.” Frederick rushed.

            Zyrok turned on the radio and held it closely to his mouth.

            “Hey, you still there?” Zyrok spoke on the radio.

            “Yeah, is that you Captain?” Tanya replied on the radio.

            “Yes, it’s me. Where are you?” Zyrok asked.

            “I ran out of the vent because those eight-legged zombies found me.” Tanya replied quietly.

            “You alright?” Zyrok asked.

            “Yeah…I’m okay.” Tanya whispered.

            “So…where are you?” Zyrok asked again.

            “I’m in a laboratory. Wait…Room B5531. Where are you Zyrok?” Tanya replied.

            “We’re in the armory. We’ll be with you shortly. Sit tight.” Zyrok ordered and clipped the radio this belt.

            “Central room is in B5535. We can split and do both things at once.” Cookson suggested.

            “Sure, 1-3 can prime the self-destruct sequence while we go get Tanya.” Zyrok looked at Schmidt and Nevarez.

            “Sounds like a plan to me.” Schmidt cocked his newly acquired XM8.

            “Let’s get moving marines.” Frederick pointed at the closed blast doors.

            “Lock and load.” Zyrok aimed his XM8 at the door.

            “In three…two…one!” Cookson slammed his hand on the button and the door hissed open.

UNSCDF2 Chapter 5- Hostile Takeover

Safdar Kalay District

Haji Aziz, Kandahar, Afghanistan

April 6, 2001

1815 Local Time

            Zyrok and the marines fired at the door as it swung open. To their surprise, there was no one. The marines held their fire as they looked at each other cluelessly. Suddenly, a small cylinder rolled into the ground beside them.

            “Cover!” Zyrok shouted as he jumped away.

            The cylinder exploded with a very deafening bang and flashed an intensive burst of light. Then everything happened so quickly as the marines struggled to get back into situational awareness. Two militia armed with AK47s sprinted inside and knocked Casey and Foo to the ground. Zyrok tried to aim his gun at the militia when another armed man rushed into the room and disarmed Forester. The man had a bowie knife pressed against Forester’s neck and Zyrok pointed his gun at Forester’s captor.

            “Drop it soldier.” an old man with a beard walked in with two more militia behind him.

            Zyrok turned his head at the old man while training his gun at Forester’s threat.

            “Not a good idea. Put your gun down.” the man repeated as the two men behind him pointed their MP5s at Zyrok’s head.

            “I’m surprised you speak English.” Zyrok exclaimed refusing to lower his gun.

            “If you want to talk, put your gun down or the other way is not so pleasant.” the old man laughed.

            Zyrok scanned the room quickly and noticed Casey and Foo lying flat to the ground with two militia training their weapons at their back. He noticed that they didn’t seem to be aware of the unconscious Taylor lying on the ground. Perhaps they had assumed he was dead. Zyrok looked at Forester mildly struggling as the man pressed the blade to her neck. Seeing that he was outnumbered and had no plans out, Zyrok sighed.

            “Fine, let’s talk.” Zyrok lowered the pistol and dropped it to the ground.

            “Kick the gun over and get on your knees.” the old man commanded.

            Zyrok listened obediently as he kicked his pistol away from him and got on to his knees. For the first time, Zyrok felt scared in a new different way. Had it been zombies, he would have died quickly instead of wondering when his last breath was.

            “There.” Zyrok held his hands in the air as he looked at the old man.

            “Good.” the old man smiled as he rubbed his chin.

            Zyrok saw a man run up to him and removed the kukri from Zyrok’s belt. The old man nodded to the man and the man nodded back.

            “Wait…” Zyrok blurted as he saw the man beside him swing the butt of his gun to the side of his head.

            The helmet adsorbed bits of the shock, but Zyrok’s head spun in sharp pain. He heard Forester screaming in the background as he slowly collapsed to the ground. Zyrok watched out from his broken visor with droopy eyes as he saw two boots step in front of him. He could feel himself getting picked up and then the world turned black.

Haji Aziz, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Safdar Kalay District

April 6, 2001

1845 Local Time

            “Lieutenant, we found their location.” Cookson spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Where?” Frederick responded back.

            “One block north of your location.” Cookson answered.

            “Got it. On our way.” Frederick patted Hariprasad.

            Hariprasad turned the Warthog and sped down an intersection. Frederick looked around the streets with her SA80 while May constantly rotated the turret to different buildings. The Warthog halted to a stop as Cookson and Christopher stood beside their Mongoose.

            “Set up a perimeter.” Frederick got out of her seat.

            “Yes ma’am.” Cookson nodded and walked off.

            “Where are they?” Frederick asked Christopher.

            “There.” Christopher pointed at a decapitated marine on the ground.

            “Oh damn, that’s Simon.” Hariprasad walked up beside the corpse.

            “Looks like their ride got blown up as well.” Frederick looked at bits and pieces of a Warthog littering the battle torn street.

            “We’re too late.” Hariprasad crouched beside his fallen comrade.

            “Look around. See if you can find some trace of them.” Frederick commanded.

            “Yes ma’am.” Christopher saluted.

            “May! Let’s look around.” Frederick shouted.

            “Yes Lieutenant.” May replied and hopped off the turret.

            “It looks like Echo tried for cover.” Frederick looked at a building with a section of its wall blown off.

            “Looks like grenade launcher or RPG.” May examined the blast radius.

            “Weapons ready marines.” Frederick slid along the wall to the opening.

            “Go!” May shouted at Christopher and Hariprasad.

            The two marines moved into the opening in an organized manner while May covered from behind.

            “Room’s clear.” Christopher shouted.

            May and Frederick moved in and stepped over a couple of bodies.

            “These folks aren’t militia. They’re terrorists.” Frederick kicked at an AK47.

            “It looks like they were holed up in here.” Christopher speculated.

            “Perimeter secured LT.” Cookson spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy Cookson. Stay sharp.” Frederick spoke back.

            “No UNSC marines here…odd.” May looked at the bodies.

            “Let’s check that room. The door looks breached.” Frederick pointed her gun at a door filled with bullet holes.

            “Breach and clear.” May ordered.

            Christopher steadied his M16 as May pushed the door aside. Christopher stormed in followed by May and Hariprasad.

            “We got a man down here!” May shouted.

            Frederick walked into the room as she saw Taylor lying on the ground.

            “Look around, see if there’s any more.” Frederick crouched beside Taylor and checked his pulse.

            “It’s only him.” Christopher reported.

            “I got a weak pulse. I need a medic.” Frederick called out.

            “Let’s administer a dose of morphine.” May opened her backpack and pulled out a needle.

            May injected the needle into Taylor’s arm and checked his pulse.

            “Heart rate’s dropping. Christopher, get the medic bag on the Warthog for me. Hurry!” May shouted.

            Christopher rushed out of the room as May emptied her backpack onto the ground beside Taylor.

            “Hang in there Taylor.” Frederick looked at the unconscious marine.

            “He’s not going to make it.” May checked Taylor’s pulse.

            “Here!” Christopher sprinted to the ground and dropped a bag beside May.

            “Get the clothes off his chest!” May ordered as she opened the bag.

            Frederick pulled out her bowie knife while Hariprasad removed Taylor’s flak jacket. Next, Frederick cut the clothes open revealing Taylor’s bare chest.

            “Step away.” May pulled out a defibrillator and placed two pads onto Taylor’s chest.

            “Hold on Taylor.” Frederick looked nervously.

            “Clear!” May shouted as she pressed a button.

            The defibrillator delivered a jolt of electricity and shook Taylor. May touched Taylor’s neck for a pulse reading and smirked with frustration.

            “He’s not stabilizing!” May looked through the medic bag.

            “Hit the defibrillator again.” Hariprasad suggested.

            “It’s only got two shocks left. It will be a waste.” May pulled out a box and ripped out a needle.

May dropped the box to the ground and Frederick glanced at it. It was marked “Adrenaline”. May pierced the needle into Taylor’s chest and emptied the contents.

            “Clear!” May shouted as she pressed the button on the defibrillator.

            Taylor’s body jerked as the electricity jolted through him. Suddenly, Taylor’s eyes opened and he gasped for air. May grabbed an oxygen canister and attached a mask to Taylor.

            “Breathe in slowly. Everything is okay.” May assured Taylor.

            Taylor closed his eyes as rich oxygen filled his lungs.

            “Phew, that was close.” Hariprasad breathed relief.

            “Yeah.” Frederick agreed as he watched Taylor rest on the ground.

            “Give him a few minutes and he should be fine.” May stood up as she wiped her face with her sleeve.

            “Good job May. You saved a life today.” Frederick congratulated.

            “It was nothing.” May breathed heavily.

            After a couple of minutes, Taylor slowly opened his eyes. He picked himself off the ground and looked at the marines huddled around him.

            “Easy there.” May assisted Taylor to his feet.

            “Taylor, what happened?” Frederick asked.

            Taylor squinted his eyes and took off his oxygen mask.

            “I remember an explosion and then being carried.” Taylor breathed out.

            “What next?” Frederick handed Taylor her water bottle.

            “I remember myself on the ground and I couldn’t open my eyes.” Taylor took the bottle and took a sip.

            “Was it here that it happened?” Frederick pointed to the ground.

            “I don’t know. I heard gunshots and people talking. The last thing I remember was a woman screaming.” Taylor replied.

            “Forester…” Frederick looked upset.

            “I’m sorry Lieutenant, that’s all I recall.” Taylor handed the water bottle back to Frederick.

            “No, you did great. May, contact base. We may have hostages.” Frederick put the water bottle onto her belt.

            “Roger.” May nodded.

            “Hariprasad, assist Taylor to the Warthog.” Frederick commanded.

            “Base, this is Jackal. We’ve located Taylor, but the rest of Echo is missing. We may have hostages, over.” May spoke on the RaidComm.

            “Copy Jackal, give me a second. All UNSC personnel here have an emergency transponder in their helmet in case they get lost in the desert. I’ll head to the communications tent to take a look. Hold for a few minutes, over.” Sears replied back.

            “Roger, holding.” May waited.

            “Alright, it seems that Forester’s transponder was activated five minutes ago.” Sears reported.

            “Base, where is she?” Frederick interrupted.

            “By the looks of it, she’s on a vehicle and about to exit your district.” Sears spoke quickly.

            “Location Sears, I need it now!” Frederick waved at her marines as she rushed out of the building.

            “Two clicks northwest of your district.” Sears reported.

            “Copy, two clicks northwest. Base, dispatch the rest of Jackal Squadron under my direct orders.” Frederick commanded.

            “Copy Lieutenant, will do. Shall I dispatch a Pelican?” Sears offered.

            “Don’t, they’ve got missiles. Get two Warthogs with turrets and one troop transport Warthog.” Frederick replied.

            “Roger Lieutenant, I’ve just notified your squadron.” Sears replied.

            “Taylor, stay here and wait to get picked up. Turn on your emergency transponder.” Frederick waved at Taylor.

            “Ma’am, I want to fight.” Taylor replied.

            “Well, there aren’t enough seats. Wait and we’ll take on them together.” Frederick pointed at the building.

            “Yes ma’am.” Taylor replied and ran towards the building whilst turning on his transponder.

            “Base, get Jackal to pick up Taylor via his transponder and then ask Williams to head towards Forester.” Frederick spoke on the RaidComm.

            Frederick watched as Christopher climbed behind Cookson’s Mongoose and then got into the passenger’s seat of the Warthog.

            “These terrorists shall pay for Simon’s death.” Hariprasad shouted angrily.

            “Hell yeah!” May agreed as she fist pumped in the air from the turret.

            “Step on it marine!” Frederick shouted as she cocked her SA80.

UNSCDF Chapter 36- The Last Stand

Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado, USA

Old Radar Station

March 26, 2001

1850 Local Time

            Zyrok and Pruett ran up beside Casey and the others. The zombies were violently shaking the fence as the marines shot at them.

            “The fence isn’t going to last long.” Casey observed as the fence began to swing back and forth.

            “We got to hold the line. Help isn’t on the way till another twenty five minutes.” Zyrok fired his pistol.

            “We’re low on ammunition Captain.” Schmidt reloaded his pistol.

            “Use whatever you can to fend off the zombies.” Zyrok pointed at a rusty iron pipe on the ground.

            Nevarez shouldered his empty M16 and took out his Lock 17. Taylor fired his M21 slowly and made sure that every round took out a zombie. Pruett watched nervously as the zombies growled viciously.

            “This is why I’m a pilot!” Pruett sprayed his pistol at the zombies.

            Zyrok watched as three Bones squeezed past the horde and stood in front of the fence.

            “Fall back!” Zyrok shouted as the Bones began to swing.

          With three hits from the Bones, the fence toppled over and flung dirt in the air. The marines ran backwards firing whatever they had to slow down the brutal horde. Zyrok put away his empty USP and took out his bowie knife. A zombie ran at him with its arms out and lunged at him. Zyrok was agile and he took a step to the left and grabbed one of its arms. He stuck his leg out and tripped the zombie and knifed the zombie to the back of its head. Casey swung his Washington 870 like a baseball bat. Every zombie that ran at him was returned with a well placed hit to the skull. Pruett, on the other hand, was not doing so well as the others. A zombie charged at him and pinned him to the ground. Pruett was pushing the zombie’s head away from his face with both hands and was having a hard time breaking free. Schmidt jumped up behind the zombie pinning Pruett and impaled its head with an iron pipe. Schmidt reached to his belt and gave Pruett his combat knife.

            “Thanks man.” Pruett dusted himself and took the knife.

            Zyrok watched as a Bone whacked Nevarez to the ground and growled loudly. Nevarez fired his Lock 17, but did little damage. Zyrok sprinted towards the Bone and jumped onto its back just before the Bone was going to pummel Nevarez. The Bone roared and spun around in circles trying to shake Zyrok off. Zyrok held onto the Bone tightly with his left hand and jabbed the bowie knife with his right hand into the Bone’s neck. The Bone hissed and cried out loud as Zyrok yanked the knife sideways severing its head. The Bone collapsed to the ground and Zyrok rolled on the dirt. He looked at his right hand and saw blood beginning to seep through the bandage. He ignored the pain and stood up to face two zombies running at him.

            “This is useless. We need to find safety,” Nevarez shouted in exhaustion.

            “Let’s see if we can get on top of the building.” Casey pointed at the radar station.

            “Go guys.” Zyrok ordered as he snapped a zombie’s neck and decapitated another zombie beside him.

         Pruett and Nevarez ran towards the building while the rest were fending off the horde. Zyrok watched as Casey, Taylor, and Schmidt stood beside him fighting.

            “Taylor and Schmidt, go!” Zyrok ordered as he saw Nevarez boost Pruett to the roof.

            “Sir.” Schmidt handed Zyrok his iron pipe.

            “Thanks.” Zyrok took the iron pipe and sheathed his knife.

            A Bone ran up to Casey and swung at him. Casey attempted to block the swing with his shotgun, but miscalculated. The Bone sent Casey flying a few meters and knocked his shotgun away from him. Casey was injured, but he stood up to face the Bone. Casey shouted a war cry and lunged at the Bone with his combat knife. The Bone swung wide and missed Casey by a couple of inches. Casey slid under the Bone and slashed at its legs. The Bone growled in pain and fell to its knees. Seeing the opportunity, Casey hopped onto the Bone and viciously stabbed its head repeatedly until the Bone was no longer moving.

            “Go Casey!” Zyrok smashed a zombie to the side of the head with his pipe and heard a sickening crack.

            Casey nodded and ran towards an eager Nevarez standing beside the building. Nevarez boosted Casey to the roof and watched as Zyrok fought the horde by himself.

            “Come on Captain!” Nevarez shouted.

            Casey, Pruett, Schmidt, and Taylor watched from the roof as Zyrok held an iron pipe with his left hand and a bowie knife with his right. The horde began to circle around him as he swung wildly at the zombies. Zyrok turned to head towards the building when a Bone stepped in front of his path. Zyrok felt that he was a goner, but he was going to give it his best shot and die heroically. Zyrok gritted his teeth and ran towards the Bone. The Bone, however, was walking slowly towards him as if it was not afraid of him. Zyrok watched as the Bone grunted and slammed his fist forward at him. Zyrok rolled sideways and dodged the hit. The Bone jumped at him and pummeled the ground with its feet where Zyrok originally stood. Zyrok bashed the pipe to its arm when suddenly he felt a sense of agonizing pain to his back. He turned around and saw a tentacle zombie swinging at him. Zyrok winced in pain as he felt blood dripping out from his broken Reactive SLX. The armor had absorbed some of the damage and had served its purpose. With that, Zyrok threw his knife at the tentacle zombie’s head and dropped his armor to the ground and watched as more zombies crowded around him. He held the pipe with both hands and watched as the Bone advanced towards him. Zyrok was in a lot of pain and he was exhausted. He moaned in pain and charged at the Bone. The Bone did an uppercut, but was parried by Zyrok’s pipe. Zyrok saw blood drip from his hand down the pipe as he countered the hit.

            “My turn.” Zyrok smiled as he spat blood on the ground.

            Zyrok crouched and put a well placed stomp to one of its knee. The knee snapped and the Bone fell to one side. Zyrok quickly turned and dispatched an incoming zombie as it was just about to claw at him. The Bone roared and swung at Zyrok, but Zyrok easily stepped back and dodged the shot.

            “You can do it boss.” Casey and Taylor encouraged as they watched from the rooftop.

            “I can do it.” Zyrok muttered under his breath to realize that all he needed to do was to kill the Bone so he could get to the roof.

            “Kill the Bone and get out. There are more zombies coming.” Taylor shouted as he scanned the area behind Zyrok with his M21 scope.

            Zyrok turned his head quickly and saw three more Bones and two more tentacle zombies. He shifted his weight forward and brought the iron pipe down on the Bone’s head, but was blocked by its muscular arms. Zyrok danced left and right until he stood in front of the Bone and jabbed the pipe upwards into his jaw and penetrating through its skull. The Bone collapsed and lay in a pool of blood. Zyrok climbed on top of the Bone and ran towards Nevarez. Zyrok could hear the thundering footsteps and the vicious growls as the horde chased after him.

            “You go up first.” Zyrok commanded as he stood beside Nevarez.

            “You go first boss.” Nevarez offered.

            “No, you go first. That’s an order.” Zyrok ordered.

            “Alright, let’s make it quick.” Nevarez watched as the horde was a couple meters away from them.

            Zyrok crouched and boosted Nevarez to the roof. He cursed at the pain in his back and hand after he boosted Nevarez.

            “Come on boss. Jump!” Nevarez stuck his hand out over the roof.

            “We got you.” Casey stuck his hands out.

            Zyrok watched as his marines stuck their hands out to catch him. He hadn’t seen this camaraderie before in his team. He smiled and jumped upwards. The first jump was off and he was nowhere near the hands.

            “You can do it Captain. We’ll catch you.” Taylor reassured.

            Zyrok looked at the horde behind him and swallowed his fear. He took a few steps back and ran towards the wall. He jumped and managed to slip his right fingers to Nevarez’s hand.

            “Got you.” Nevarez held Zyrok’s hand tightly.

            Zyrok swung his left hand upwards as he began to feel himself slip from Nevarez’s hand as blood oozed out of the bandage. Pruett managed to get a hold of Zyrok’s left hand just in time as his right hand slipped from Nevarez’s grasp.

            “Pull!” Pruett shouted at the marines beside him.

            The marines pulled Pruett back slowly and Zyrok began to ascend. Suddenly, Zyrok felt his legs get pulled downwards as the horde below him clawed at his dangling legs. Zyrok felt intense strain to his left arm and saw himself beginning to descend downwards as more zombies grabbed his legs.

            “Nooo…” Casey shouted.

            “Pull harder people.” Pruett held Zyrok’s hand tightly refusing to let go.

            “It’s not working.” Nevarez pulled Pruett with all his might.

            “I’m not going to lose you Zyrok.” Casey shouted and pulled Pruett.

            Zyrok knew the inevitable was going to happen. He was going down and he was losing his strength in his arm.

            “First casualty of this mission and it’s going to be me…” Zyrok thought.