The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion #2)(97)

The wind blew through the exposed roof and buffeted the three soldiers as they climbed. Snow began to whirl about their heads and settle onto their helmets. Torran cautiously tested each spot before advancing. The sharp metal and glass made the climb precarious. Lindsey reached the apex of the mangled vestiges of the escalators and paused. Torran also hesitated when she glanced back at him.

“We have to jump across to the next landing,” she said in a breathless voice.

Immediately, Torran’s gut clenched into a tight knot. “Vanguard, let me move up and go first.”

Beneath their bodies, the structure was creaking.

“No, MacDonald. Hold your position. This area is not very secure. It’s a little over a meter jump. The problem is this shifting crap under me.”

Struggling to not give into temptation and check to see how far they might fall, Torran searched for a different option. The metal creaked and the wind whistled loudly, making him even more afraid. He considered retreating to give himself more time to analyze their predicament. Maybe they could hold position at their location until they could discern a better way around the obstacle.

“We can’t stay here,” Franklin declared. It was as if she was reading his thoughts.

“Just long enough to figure a way past this mess,” he replied.

“We can’t,” Franklin persisted. “They’re inside.”

Torran gave her a sharp look and recognized she was deadly serious. Torran increased the volume of his external mic and listened. What he’d first presumed to be the wind howling through the roof was actually something much more terrifying. It was the screech of the Scrags. Since the tube was soundproofed and they were too high to hear the herd at ground level, that meant they were inside the structure.

“Confirm they are inside,” Lindsey ordered.

“They’re inside,” Torran grimly answered.

The noise was swelling, getting louder, or maybe he could hear it more clearly now that he was aware.

“Then we have no choice,” Lindsey decided.

Torran turned about just in time to see her jump.





Chapter 28


When Lindsey leaped, she felt the wind tearing at her body and, for a frightening moment, was convinced that she’d be flung by the gust to the ground. Holding her breath, she sailed through the air over the gap between the wrecked escalator and the landing across from it. The river and the mass of Scrags in the road far below looked almost like a painting beneath her feet. If she fell, she would be dead the second she hit the water or the ground. Then the panorama was obscured by warped metal, dingy cement and broken tiles, and Lindsey crashed onto the landing. Momentum carried her forward and she rolled her body into a tight ball to keep from injury. Coming to a stop at the base of the next set of escalators, she raised her head to see Torran standing near the top of the rubble and staring at her in terror.

“I’m okay,” she said quickly. “Just be careful when you jump. That pile is really unstable.”

“Noted,” Torran replied, and cautiously took a step forward.

Bits of cement, metal and glass rained down. With a resolute expression on his face, Torran launched himself forward. Lindsey scrambled to one side, giving him plenty of room to land. Being taller, longer, and stronger, he easily cleared the gap and landed on his feet. Stumbling forward, he caught himself on the wall and spun about to face her. His hand grasped hers for a split second, and she saw the fear in his eyes.

“Shit, they’re almost here,” Franklin shouted.

Lindsey immediately unhooked her weapon and aimed across the gap toward the spot behind Franklin. The other woman scrambled onto the rubble. The passage of Lindsey and Torran must have loosened the pile, because it visibly shifted beneath Franklin’s feet. With a terrified cry, Franklin threw her body forward. Unable to kick off with her feet, she flailed through the air, hands stretching out to grab the platform. Torran dove forward, landing on his stomach, and miraculously managed to grab one of Franklin’s wrists. He let out a grunt as he took the full brunt of her weight.

“I’ve got her. Cover us,” Torran said through gritted teeth.

Lying across the landing, his arms over the edge, he struggled to pull Franklin onto the platform. It seemed odd that he was trying to help the woman who had abetted in the murder of the squad, but Lindsey knew Torran had his reasons. She was surprised and saddened by the coldness in her own heart toward Franklin. The soldier’s urgent cries and terrified gasps of breath resounded in Lindsey’s helmet, but she couldn’t help but think of her squad thrashing in the water around her as they suffocated to death.

The first few of the pursuing Scrag horde scrambled onto the rubble heap. Screeching, their twisted faces almost appeared gleeful at the sight of the humans. Lindsey opened fire, aiming for their heads. The bodies of the Scrags toppled over the edge. More appeared, climbing without fear onto the noticeably rickety pile. Large chunks of the flooring gave way, spilling the escalator remains and other debris into the void below. Scrags tumbled through the widening opening, but more kept swarming onto the rubble in an attempt to reach the humans on the other side of the gap.

Torran finally managed to get a solid grip on Franklin’s armor and started to drag her over the side. A Scrag hurtled itself off the disintegrating structure and slammed into Franklin, nearly wrenching her out of Torran’s clutches. Torran shouted in pain and his body slid forward, toward the brink. Lindsey threw herself on top him, pinning him to the floor and stopping his slide.