The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(103)

“We keep to the path I’ve laid out. We kill any Scrags and Anomalies we come across. Remember, short bursts. Conserve your ammunition. Aim for their heads. Retrieve any dog tags you find on the bodies. Mark the location of the corpses on the schematic I have sent to your helm-units. This is different from fighting the Scrags. Anomalies can think and function at a much higher level. According to Chief Defender Omondi they have created projectile weapons. Our armor is older issue, so we’re vulnerable. Don’t play the hero. Take cover if you need to. We go in, we rescue the squad, we clear the building. Understood?”

The “yes, sirs” echoed within her helmet.

“Cormier, bring us to a full stop at the front entrance.”

“Yes, sir. Almost there.”

The carrier shuddered as Cormier applied the brakes. The vehicle decelerated near the front of the building. The once-white granite walls of the facility were stained dark from the passage of time and the elements. There was no sign of movement outside or inside the building.

Maria studied the faces of her squad behind their visors. The men and women returned her steady gaze, resolute and ready to do their job. The bandages covering most of Holm’s face didn’t hide her determined stare.

With a sharp little jerk, the carrier came to a stop. Maria stared out the front window at the silent building. Dark clouds were sliding over the mountaintops, casting dark shadows over the lake. The last thing they needed was rain.

“Mikado, open up this tin can,” Maria said.

“Yes, sir!”

Mikado sprang forward to obey, Cruz right on his heels. Together they jumped out and covered the rest of the squad as they disembarked.

“Cormier, secure the carrier on your way out.” Maria leaped to the ground and nodded with approval at the squad’s quick deployment and efficient securing of the area. They were not just killing machines sent to exterminate the mindless Inferi Scourge anymore. They were soldiers again.

Following in her shadow, Denman motioned toward the approaching storm. “Not good. Visibility will already be an issue inside.”

“That’s what night vision is for,” Maria responded.

The defense system buzzed as it came online when Cormier slid the door shut. The battered vehicle had seen better days, but it had held up admirably. Cormier joined the squad, her weapon at the ready.

“Let’s do this,” Maria said in a fierce voice and headed toward the building.





Chapter 30



The glass crunched under her boot heels as Maria approached the empty floor-length windows that had been destroyed long ago when the gate had failed and the Inferi Scourge had rampaged through the valley. The white stone around the empty windows was discolored. Furniture and heavy objects that had once been stacked against the glass lay in rotting piles just inside the building. The menacing gloom within the massive lobby made Maria’s sluggish heart beat faster.

Mikado and Cruz led the squad, quiet and graceful as they scanned for any sign of the enemy. They were the first to peer into the abandoned building before slipping over the windowsill and being absorbed into the darkness. The small lamps on their helmets switched on, beams of light streaking across the sad remains of a vanquished world.

“Keep alert,” Maria said, trailing McKinney and Holm into the building. Denman was right behind her.

There were signs of battle all around her. Bullet holes were punched deep into the interior walls. The once-white walls were moldy and streaked with dark blots. It didn’t take much of an imagination to know the stains were the markers where blood spilled long ago. The smashed remains of the lobby chairs and tables littered the floor. Bits of broken bones and a few shattered skulls were strewn about.

“Must have fought like hell,” Cruz said in a soft, almost reverent voice.

Cut off from the city, whoever had taken shelter within the building had been doomed. Maria wondered how long the windows had held before surrendering to the onslaught to the Scourge. The lights from the helmets cast shadows across the walls, mimicking wraiths.

The squad spread out across the lobby. Every possible hiding spot was checked.

One by one, seventeen different voices said, “Clear.”

The schematic on Maria’s visor altered to show the lobby free of the Anomalies. Next they would enter a corridor that opened to the offices of the administration of the facility. At the far end would be the stairwell that would lead down to the basement. The doors opening to the corridor were straight ahead. One was slightly ajar, the thin line of the blackness that dwelt beyond the doors an ominous sight.

Maria signaled for Mikado and Cruz to advance. The rest of the squad fell back from the doors, staying out of the range of any possible fire.

“Switching to night vision, “Mikado said, then took up his position next to the door. He silently counted down on his fingers with Cruz, then they shoved the doors open. Keeping in cover, they both peered into the darkness, their helmets illuminated in a ghostly glow.

“We’ve got bodies,” Cruz said, her voice slightly wavering.

“Gutierrez.” Mikado’s voice as grim. “What’s left of him.”

“Advance with caution,” Maria directed.

The small schematic on her screen altered to pinpoint the position of Gutierrez’s body. Flipping on her night vision, she watched the world fade to shades of blue and gray.