The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(14)

“Fuck!” the female Abscrag shouted.

“Hit him!” Reese ordered.

“I can’t! My electroshock rifle is out!” Alkan replied.

“Take mine!”

Torran switched on the light on his weapon, illuminating his way. The Abscrags had him in view and there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be able to find a place to hide before they’d be on him. It was easier to move with the light revealing the obstacles on the forest floor.

The Abscrags were relentless in their pursuit. A few managed to get ahead and double backed in an attempt to charge him. Not faltering in his run, he fired directly at their heads, not wasting ammunition on their armored bodies. The faces of friends vanished into clots of bone, flesh, and brains.

The terrified soldier broke free of the trees and dashed across a field flanking the woods. Illuminated by the moonlight, the wild grass undulated in waves around him. In the distance were the spotlights on the high walls of The Bastion. Home had never looked so far away.

Reloading his weapon as he ran, Torran tried to block out the sound of the heavy footfalls that were gradually gaining on him. A few times he stumbled as his foot caught on gnarled roots, jagged rocks, and uneven patches hidden by the grass. Each blunder lost him valuable ground and time.

Activating his wristlet, Torran opened his comm to the SWD command. “Base, the squad has wiped. There are Abscrags at my location. They are armed with electroshock weapons. I need immediate evacuation.”

“Master Seeker MacDonald, find shelter and hold your position until we can dispatch a tiltrotor to retrieve you,” came the answer he did not want to hear.

Torran leaped onto the road that cut through the open fields toward the underground subway station. The asphalt was uneven, but at least he could see where he was going. A few seconds later, the sound of additional heavy boots slapping against the blacktop reverberated through the night.

“I’m in route to the entrance to the subway station. Please relay request for the doors to be opened.”

“Are Inferi Scourge in pursuit?”

Torran didn’t have to look over his shoulder to know that they were. He could hear their screeches and the pounding of their feet as they advanced on him. Yet he still needed to report in his status. He shot a quick look behind him. The Abscrags were definitely closing the gap. Their weapons hung at their sides, but his former squad seemed to have no interest using them. Instead they were snapping their teeth and growling out one word: “Hungry.”

“I have at least twenty in pursuit,” he answered truthfully, and knew he was sealing his fate.

“Find a secure location and contact us for evac,” the woman on the other end answered without an iota of emotion in her voice.

“There’s no way I can shake these—”

Torran realized base had killed his comm connection when the wristlet went dark.

“Shit!”

Lungs and muscles burning, Torran surveyed the area ahead. The scorched remains of Inferi Scourge were in piles along the road along with bins filled with items salvaged from the bodies. The special ops unit had obviously cleared this area before the final push. If the Abscrags weren’t so close, he might have been able to hide among the bodies.

Footsteps of an Abscrag were directly behind him. Torran hoped it was only one closing the gap. Lifting his weapon, he came to a hard stop, letting the butt of the heavy duty firearm punch over his shoulder. There was a loud grunt as the Abscrag collided with his body. Torran’s weapon slammed into the face of his pursuer, knocking the Abscrag back. Pivoting about, Torran used his weapon as a shield to knock the his attacker completely away before firing at the head of a man he’d once had drinks with in an illegal pub. The creature fell at his feet.

Three more Abscrags closed in and Torran took a deep breath, aimed, and fired rapidly at the exposed faces of all three. More were coming and there was no time to strip the weapons or ammunition off the bodies if he were to keep ahead of them.

With nowhere else to go, he ran toward the subway station.





Chapter 5


The maintenance cart zoomed along the track and through the endless blackness. Lindsey fought against the suffocating fear the absolute dark inspired within her. It was far too easy to imagine the Inferi Scourge hiding in the murk, ready to seize her as she passed and drag her into the rough ground to infect her, but the sensors on her helmet only revealed the track unspooling through a long tunnel.

The dread twisting her insides made it difficult to not be overly imaginative. She didn’t seem to be the only one disquieted by the surroundings. The others with her had lapsed into nervous silence too.

Opening the comm to Petra, Lindsey queried, “What’s his status?”

Though Lindsey didn’t want to ponder the survival chances of the lone survivor outside the wall, she couldn’t help but do exactly that. To open the doors was a huge risk, not only to her small squad, but possibly the city.

“They’re leaving him to die,” Petra answered. She sounded like she was gritting her teeth. “All the SWD forces are concentrated on the areas visible to the news feeds. They’re putting on their big show. Vaja says there is a lot of concern about the squad wiping because of something they’re calling the Aberrations. SWD command is working on an idea to deal with the threat, but they’re calling the squad a loss.”