Meant to be action-packed, fun, and clean. John is a good young man whose morals, skills, and maturity are pressed past the limit. How will he react when the world is flipped upside down.
I
I spouted a string of curses meant to slay demons and wound gods; it did neither.
"Gene, we're being flanked on the left; go now! Go, go, GO!" I shouted, seeing a small window of opportunity for our survival. A supply drop had landed not far from us. Inside it would be enough ammo and other supplies to allow us to change the tide of this battle. It wasn't much, but we were the best for a reason.
"Going!" came the reply as my teammate dashed forward and to the right. The enemy zeroed in on him.
"Cover fire," I shouted, using my HUD to ping a location downfield where the enemy was bringing down the most heat. They outnumbered us, had more ammo, and better positions. Essentially, it looked terrible.
"Give them hell, boys!" came Grover's reply. He was my second in command and the heavy artillery gunner. A barrage of gunfire resounded around us as my remaining three teammates sent the last of their ammo downrange. Bullets flew, debris spread, and curses were flung. It was a valiant effort; we even managed to take down one careless enemy who got too far from cover.
Then we ran out of ammo.
The counterattack came hard and fast. We were pinned, had no primary weapon ammo, and beaten up. The force of the attack drove us deeper into cover. I looked through my HUD to see the damage to my team and their supplies. It wasn't a pretty sight! I pulled my pistol, looking over the barricade, then ducking back quickly as bullets ricocheted too near for comfort. Gene needed to complete his mission, or we were out of luck.
"Gene, hurry the hell up!" I said and grunted as a single round made it through the barricade that I was taking cover behind, hitting my body armor. I moved to the edge, hoping it hadn't been eaten away as much as the rest of the wall. I was quickly running out of adequate protection. To my right, Grover fell to the ground cursing loudly.
"I'm hit bad!" he spit the words with venom; my HUD displayed a red light on his midsection. The shot had penetrated his protector. I was about to call for medkits when the world tipped upside down. An earth-shattering explosion blew away our cover and sent us flying. One second I was calling out to Grover; the next, I was flipping head over heels. I landed hard on my back while my vision blurred into a chaotically confusing mess.
"Artillery, cover!!!" I shouted, trying to scramble or shamble behind anything that hadn't been blown to bits by the initial strike.
"Got it," Gene shouted in our ears. Instantly my health returned, and all my ammo replenished. The hum of my shields coming back up was music to my ears, and my vision sharpened immediately. I stopped dead run and turned around, facing the enemy team smiling from ear to ear.
"Counter assault!" I shouted, setting my weapon to three-shot burst. The grenades that appeared at my sides itched to be used. I obliged, tossing one with an expert motion. It landed perfectly behind a partially crumbled wall three enemies were using for cover. Two made it out; the other flew into the air with the blast. Two enemies down, six to go.
"Wooooooohoooo!" my team and I yelled in unison as we charged. I took the two that had run from cover in the head with armor-piercing rounds. They fell to the ground in a heap with dust and blood billowing out from under them. Four down, only four more. A shot hit my shield hard, nearly depleting it.
"Sniper!" Grover shouted, and I dove just in time for the second bullet to whiz by safely. The sniper's nest was blown from the earth a second later. You shouldn't attack the group leader first when there was a rocket launcher behind him. Noobs. Dirt and debris fell from the sky like rain around me while I advanced, shouting like a maniac. Three left.
