Extinction (4 page)

The rest of the herd saw the commotion
and decided that their family members needed help and all fifty or so other
animals came running and kicking to their aid. Winded and with two very painful
and bloody hoof marks on his chest, Seth made a mad dash for the bunker. He
could’ve walked or even crawled there, because no one was paying any attention
to anything except those flying hooves.

He set the mines and almost forgot about
the dead man’s switch in his mouth. That was close to mistake number three of
the day. If that deer had a little bit higher or harder of a kick, KABOOM!! He
would have dropped the switch from his teeth and the charges would’ve detonated
right in his arms. Seth set the charges and ran for cover. Suddenly, he
remembered the mines at the fuel depot. He decided to blow the command bunker
first and use the fuel explosion as a secondary diversion to try to get the
hell out of there. With the deer attack in full swing, he just might be able to
get away.

He let go of the switch and the mines
lit up. A laser beam was shot from each one into the sky and an explosion lit
up the entire compound. The soldier who had first seen Seth had not given up on
his quarry and was now running straight towards him with weapon drawn. Seth
began firing and lit off the second volley of mines. A laser beam went straight
up from each mine and a huge flash momentarily blinded him.

He began firing his weapon at his
unwavering opponent when his rifle abruptly went dry. He reached for a second
magazine and was up pulling the trigger in a split second. No shots fired! He
noticed his enemy had the same problem.

Only one explanation…the training
exercise was over. Central Command had turned off all the weapons, and the
holographic explosions emitted by the mines were being disabled as Seth looked
up. The lasers from the mines, that signaled a distant computer telling of an
explosion, were also disabled. The deer were still kicking the hell out of any
soldier who was near but most marines had the sense to find shelter out of
range.

The general’s shuttle began a slow descent
from above the site to the edge of the compound. The general stepped out of the
shuttle, ducking as he passed through the doorway. He was six foot six inches
tall and seemed as wide as a tank. He had field dress on with a beautifully
custom-made sidearm in his holster.

“Who is the marine who blew up my
command post?!” he barked. “And get those damn creatures out of here before
they kick everyone to death!” he added.

Seth stepped forward at attention and
realized for the first time that he must have several broken ribs because he
couldn’t stand straight and it was difficult to breathe. “I did, General, sir!”
he said in his most commanding voice.             Unfortunately, with broken
ribs and all, it came out only as a whisper.

“Get your ass in my shuttle right now! I
want to hear about how you single-handedly won the war games after your entire
unit got wiped out.” He let out a booming laugh and ordered his personal corpsman
to help the cadet into his shuttle.

With a glare towards the commanding
officer of the compound, he added, “I will speak to you later and you can
explain how a CADET could destroy a whole command center on his own and live to
tell about it.”

The CO went white from head to toe. He
wished that he had been fortunate enough to be knocked unconscious by one of
those deer like so many other marines who lay around him. Then he would at
least have an excuse as to why he had lost his base to the cadet.

During the flight back to Operational
Headquarters in orbit around 09-675, Seth gave a total account of his operation,
including the death of a marine by some indigenous predatory cat. The general assured
him that there was nothing he could’ve done about it and those things sometimes
happened, even in war games.

~

After being cleared from sickbay, Seth
went to his quarters to await graduation the next day. Because of his proven
worth in the field, Seth would be graduating as a first lieutenant instead of a
second lieutenant like the rest of his classmates.
Something to write home
about
, he thought, and he’d be sure to include how his “expensive”
education paid off in the end.

He fell asleep and dreamt of wild cats
attacking him and six-legged deer stampeding over his head. The dreams faded
quickly into visions of his first command. Where would he go? What would he be
in command of? Sooner than he would have liked, the lights came on and he began
to dress for graduation. As he finished shaving, he distantly wondered what the
future would hold for him.

After long hours of boring and
repetitive speeches, his class was dismissed to the crowd of loved ones waiting
to congratulate the new officers and take pictures to remember this moment for
years to come.

It’s not that Seth didn’t believe in
what the speeches were trying to say; he just figured that if you didn’t have
honor and love for the corps already, no words could be spoken that would make
you stand taller or fight with more courage.

Seth wandered around the great hall,
congratulating fellow marines and friends that he had made during the course of
his training. Then his eye caught a sight too beautiful to be ignored. Obscured
by all the movement within the crowd, the vision disappeared behind a family
taking pictures with their daughter. His family was unable to attend to the
ceremony due to work, pressing family matters, and a couple other excuses Seth
hadn’t bothered to remember.

Seth knew First Lieutenant Kyle; she was
smart and very aggressive, which had put her at the top of their class. He
wandered in her direction to say hello when he saw the vision again. In the
corner a young woman sat with someone Seth figured was her mother. The older
woman was crying and a man had just walked up with a priest at his side.

As Seth got closer, his mind began to
race through images and he finally remembered. This was a family he had seen
before. They were almost in the same positions he had seen in the picture with
one exception: Cadet Riley wasn’t beside his sister. Cadet Riley was the
soldier who had lost his life during the training exercise.

Seth felt it was his duty to give the
family his sympathy as he had been there at the end and he still felt guilty
about not being able to do anything. They seemed to look up at him
simultaneously as he got within a couple feet, Suddenly, he was at a loss for
words. “Mr. and Mrs. Riley,” he choked out, “I am truly sorry about your son’s
death. I was near when the accident occurred and I wanted to assure you that he
felt no pain and didn’t suffer at all.” What was he saying! He couldn’t believe
that he was giving Riley’s poor family details about such a gruesome death. “I
didn’t know Cadet,” Seth paused, “I didn’t know Robby very well, but the few
times we were on missions together, he served with the utmost honor. I knew, as
did everyone, that we could count on him if things got tough.”

Mrs. Riley’s tears subsided for a moment
and then she stood to face Seth directly. “Thank you,” she whispered, and put
her arms around Seth and began to sob uncontrollably. He returned the embrace
but didn’t know what to do next. He looked up and saw Riley’s sister standing with
a very composed and strong expression on her face. Seth felt ashamed; here he
was consoling the mother of a dead marine and all the while he was thinking of
how much Riley’s sister moved him. She had such strength in her eyes. She knew
that her mother and father needed support right now, so she was determined to
keep her own feelings deep inside until the shock of it all had left her
parents.

He couldn’t take it anymore and luckily
Mrs. Riley’s embrace subsided and Seth was free. “If you’ll excuse me,” he
began, “I have an early departure and need to prepare my gear. Again, I am
truly sorry for your loss and feel as though the corps has lost a great man and
officer.” With that, he came to attention and saluted the Riley family, hoping
it would show his sincerity. Performing a textbook about-face, he departed.

Once in the hallway and out of sight,
his body became limp. The corridor vanished before him and all he could see was
Robby’s slashed face with terror in his eyes and a voiceless cry for help. Seth
was bent over with his hands on his knees for support, sweating from every pore
in his body and was about to throw up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Are
you all right?” a sweet voice asked. He looked up; it was Riley’s sister. “I
just wanted to thank you for what you said back there. I think it will really
help them. Should I get you some help?”

Her voice showed concern and Seth didn’t
want to worry her, so he righted himself and almost couldn’t speak through the
desert that now occupied his mouth.

“Thank you, I’ll be fine. I don’t want
to keep you from your family so I’m just going to go lay down in my quarters
now.”

“I need a break from that crowd anyway,
so why don’t I help you back to your quarters.” It was more of a statement than
a question and Seth could see the determination in her eyes. He realized that
it would be harder to deny her request than it was to win the war games.

With a slight nod, he began to walk
toward his quarters with one arm around her neck. He found that he was
surprisingly weaker than he had thought and that she was much stronger than he
had given her small appearance credit for.

When they reached his quarters, he
placed his thumb on the ID pad and the door hissed open. Once inside, she laid
him down on his rack and went into the bathroom. She returned with a cool, damp
cloth and placed it on his forehead. “Just get some rest,” she said and started
towards the door.         

“Wait,” Seth called out, “I don’t even
know your name.”

“Emily. And thank you again for your
kind words. I loved my brother very much and it meant a lot to me.” With that,
she left.

What seemed like only moments later, he
heard the door open. He thought that it was Emily returning, but that couldn’t
be because she didn’t have access to his room.

He turned on his side to see who was
there when a black bag was pulled over his head. He began to fight and threw a
punch in the direction of the oncoming bag.

“Son of a bitch!” he heard as the bag
slipped from his head and his hand made contact with an abnormally hard face.
The room was still shrouded in darkness and judging from the pain in his hand,
the assailants were most likely wearing night vision masks. He was at a
disadvantage but that never stopped him before. He threw a wild round kick in
the direction of a whisper and made contact with his bureau mirror. The crash
masked the sound of the two men who had snuck up behind him.

A sharp pain shot through his right
flank as he heard the sizzle of an electric stunner and felt the jab of its
prongs pushing on his kidney. He felt himself losing all ability to maintain
consciousness and as a last-ditch effort went for the gun he kept under his
pillow. He didn’t even come close. His last sensation was that of a medic spray
entering his neck and the crack of his nose as he landed face first on the
deck.

What will the future hold? The question
went through his mind one last time before total darkness encompassed his
reality.

Coalition Military
Installation – Clandestine

Sweat mixed with blood and rain poured
into Daria’s eyes as her feet sank in the mud with every running step she made
towards shelter. She dove for a boulder and popped up on the other side with
her weapon drawn.

She didn’t even know who in the hell she
was running from or how she had been wounded. She only heard a faint whisper in
the background of all the gunfire: “Screw up. Screw up.” What did it mean? She
hadn’t screwed up, and where was all the firing coming from? She didn’t see any
other marines and couldn’t raise anyone on her comlink.

Suddenly Daria felt ice-cold claws
entering the skin on the back of her neck and her body being lifted from the
ground. She tried to squirm around to see her assailant but that just drove the
claws deeper into her flesh. Blood was running down her shirt and she heard the
demon whisper in her ear, “Screw up.”

The beast dropped her and she swiveled
on her feet to bring her weapon to the demon’s face. When she turned, she let
out a small gasp. The creature was wearing Mike’s face and again whispered, “Screw
up.”

Letting out a battle cry, she rushed the
monster and suddenly realized that she didn’t have a weapon any longer. She
threw a punch that was caught easily in the demon’s grasp. She was about to
pull her knife with her other hand when she saw Davies’ face.

He was holding her fist in his hand,
getting ready to block another attack, when she started to remember where she
really was.

“Whoa, marine! Calm down, we’re not in
battle yet. Come on, didn’t you hear the ‘gear-up’ call on the 1MC?”