The Last Bastion of the Living (The Last Bastion #1)(54)

“But if they see us as Scrags, why would they rush us?” Cruz asked.

“They’ll rush the tiltrotor,” Maria answered. “They always have. The good news is we’ll be in a personnel carrier. We’re hitting the ground running.”

“We get to ride around in style,” Jameson said with delight.

“Can’t wait,” Cormier said, grinning. “Gonna take us on a ride that none of you will ever forget.”

“We just need a clear path to get the vehicle up to speed. We’re heading to the gate first,” Omondi continued, ignoring the interruption.

“Will they rush the personnel carrier?” Denman asked.

Omondi nodded. “We anticipate that they might pursue us. We could disembark and go on foot, but we decided against that. There are so many Scrags in the valley we would literally have to push our way through them. It will slow us down. The carrier will get us there faster. Our first objective is the gate. We get it closed, keep anymore Scrags from coming in, then we start to eliminate the Scrags in the valley.”

The hologram revealed the plan in vivid detail. Maria watched with satisfaction as the armored personnel carrier sped past and through the Inferi Scourge horde. A grid descended over the map, overlaying the valley, sectioning it off.

“We will begin eliminating the Scrags closest to the gate and work our way toward the city. Each day, we will stack the Scrag bodies and burn them. We have been ordered to work sixteen hours a day. We then have four hours to ourselves. To read, talk, play games, to do as you please. We blackout for four hours.” Omondi pulled the image around with his fingers and highlighted a few key points.

Watching the grayish faces of the squad, Maria could see that their joviality was giving away to rapt attention. It was fun to joke around to alleviate the stress, but in the end, they had a massive job to perform. As the briefing droned on, Maria marveled at the lack of tension in her body. There were no butterflies in her stomach, no tense muscles in her back, no headache or any other telltale sign of stress to deal with. It was actually really refreshing to not have to deal with any of the physical symptoms of anxiety. Though an occasional worrying thought would wind its way through her mind, she felt remarkably clear-headed.

“We will adapt our plan if needed once we’re on the field, but I have confidence if we stick to our plan we will be done well before the six month end date,” Omondi finished.

“Sounds good,” McKinney decided.

“And to make things a little more interesting...” Omondi killed the map and chart took its place. “The SWD has approved a bonus system for most kills per day. The soldier with the most kills per day will be granted a gold star.”

“Like in kindergarten?” Denman asked, looking amused.

“Exactly like kindergarten. These gold stars will be tallied at the end of our mission and based on how many you have acquired, you will be granted extra perks to your prefab house of your choice.” Omondi grinned.

This elicited murmurs of excitement.

“Like extra wide vid screens?” Jameson asked.

“Oh, yes. Even extra rooms.” Omondi winked at Maria.

She hadn’t even known about this. It was a great way to keep everyone motivated during the long days of killing.

“Almost feels like an old-fashioned game show all of a sudden,” Denman decided.

“A list of what you might be eligible for when this is all said and done has been downloaded to your wristlets,” Omondi continued. “As for the rest of tonight, I would usually tell you to get some rest, but considering we’re dead...”

Laughter filled the room.

“Isn’t there a saying that you can rest when you’re dead?” Gutierrez asked.

“And no rest for the wicked,” Denman added.

“I guess it’s flipped around now,” Omondi said. “No rest for the dead cause we’re taking down the wicked.”

The briefing broke down as cheers filled the room and people excitedly chatted with one another. Maria overheard Jameson suggesting Cruz indulge him in a bit of necrophilia, which resulted in him being shoved off his feet. Laughter and high spirits would give away tomorrow to death and destruction. They all knew it, but there was a sense of invincibility now that they knew that the Scourge wouldn’t identify them as victims.

It was Mikado who said it was like being a god.

Maria didn’t remind him that sometimes even gods met terrible ends in old earth mythology.





Chapter 15



It felt like old times. Memories of the last time she traveled outside the walls of The Bastion assaulted her as she strapped herself into her seat in the personnel carrier. She almost expected to see Lindsey sitting across from her and Ryan grinning at her as he shamelessly flirted. Instead, Chief Defender Obuya Omondi was finishing securing the buckles of his harness.

The personnel carrier had been modified for their mission. An addition had been attached to the rear providing extra space for their equipment. The long, sleek armored vehicle wasn’t the most comfortable to ride in, but it would provide a good base of operations.

Maria sat behind the driver and Omondi took up the space where the passenger seat in a regular vehicle would be. His monitors were up and running. Beside him was Michael Denman, their medic, and he was already checking on all the information being streamed from the armor and helmets of the soldiers crammed into the seats behind him.