been killed. He focused solely
on the attacks at the bottom of the wall.
“Three
second warning!”
The
words rang out in his helmet and they registered for Jack at the last moment.
He turned his head away from the wall and ducked behind cover. He saw the
soldier to his right grab a grenade from the crate, as did every second soldier
that Jack could see along the wall. He took the precious seconds of a break
that he had to reload his rifle and breathe normally. No aliens had broken into
the base. Not yet.
The
explosions rocked through the wall followed by an almost hushing hiss of soil
pattering on the aliens, the bodies, and the marines. The vibration from the
grenades was soft through the wall, but was followed by a much stronger one
that shook through Jack’s entire body. He looked toward the central tower and
saw the pounder raising into the air after having struck the ground.
Jack
didn’t think it was possible that every alien nearby wasn’t already attacking
them, but when he raised his head over the wall he saw new tunnels spewing
fresh Dross out in response to the gigantic pounder. He shouldered his rifle
once more and leaned over the wall. The grenades granted only a momentary
reprieve; bodies were burning, and black stains likes ash joined the green
blood at the bottom section of the wall. The aliens still attacked.
The
latest wave used the bodies to their advantage. They clambered on top of them
and then sprung up on the wall as high as they could. Most fell back down
without anything gained but occasionally one would stick its claws into the
wall to try to climb it. The sound of their claws scratching down the metal was
close to a whine and joined with the howls of the Dross in their attack.
Jack
considered the possibility that they might eventually do enough damage to carve
into the wall and scale it. He slammed the scope of his rifle back inside the
gun and used the standard sights, prioritizing each of the aliens that vaulted
up the wall. Each kill sent one of them limply back down to the ground and
sometimes crushing another below it. He watched down the gun as the alien heads
ascended closer to him, ruptured open from his barrage of bullets, and sailed
back down.
“Second
round! Three seconds!”
Jack
didn’t wait to duck this time and shoved his hand into the first ammunition
crate. He was shocked that he had to fish around to find the final few
magazines and kicked the empty container away after he had them placed next to
his feet. He popped open the next one and eyeballed the grenades. There were
more of them in this box.
This
time the detonations felt like nothing in comparison to the ongoing shock waves
from the pounder tower. He waited a few more seconds for the smoke to disperse
before he resumed his position over the wall. Some of the corpses had been
blasted away but enough remained that the newest waves still jumped up at them,
snapping their jaws together at the peak of their jump.
Jack
reloaded two more times before he took his eyes off the bottom of the wall to
see if more Dross were still emerging. The moving army in the distance looked
no different than when they first started, as if they had made no dent in their
numbers at all. The aliens still looked like one titanic organism spread out
over the ground instead of thousands of separate entities. He could hardly
believe it.
“Third
round! Three—Shit! Breach! South side! Breach!”
A
chill shot from Jack’s neck all the way down his spine. He heard screams. Human
screams. The creatures wailed and screeched, a little differently than usual,
and Jack set his teeth together to the sound of their victory. He snatched some
of the grenades from the crate next to him and dived down the barricade. He
didn’t wait for orders. He didn’t have to. He knew they needed to contain it or
be overrun.
He
found that he wasn’t alone in his thoughts of helping the south wall as others
ran with him when he got onto the ground. The hole in
on the attacks at the bottom of the wall.
“Three
second warning!”
The
words rang out in his helmet and they registered for Jack at the last moment.
He turned his head away from the wall and ducked behind cover. He saw the
soldier to his right grab a grenade from the crate, as did every second soldier
that Jack could see along the wall. He took the precious seconds of a break
that he had to reload his rifle and breathe normally. No aliens had broken into
the base. Not yet.
The
explosions rocked through the wall followed by an almost hushing hiss of soil
pattering on the aliens, the bodies, and the marines. The vibration from the
grenades was soft through the wall, but was followed by a much stronger one
that shook through Jack’s entire body. He looked toward the central tower and
saw the pounder raising into the air after having struck the ground.
Jack
didn’t think it was possible that every alien nearby wasn’t already attacking
them, but when he raised his head over the wall he saw new tunnels spewing
fresh Dross out in response to the gigantic pounder. He shouldered his rifle
once more and leaned over the wall. The grenades granted only a momentary
reprieve; bodies were burning, and black stains likes ash joined the green
blood at the bottom section of the wall. The aliens still attacked.
The
latest wave used the bodies to their advantage. They clambered on top of them
and then sprung up on the wall as high as they could. Most fell back down
without anything gained but occasionally one would stick its claws into the
wall to try to climb it. The sound of their claws scratching down the metal was
close to a whine and joined with the howls of the Dross in their attack.
Jack
considered the possibility that they might eventually do enough damage to carve
into the wall and scale it. He slammed the scope of his rifle back inside the
gun and used the standard sights, prioritizing each of the aliens that vaulted
up the wall. Each kill sent one of them limply back down to the ground and
sometimes crushing another below it. He watched down the gun as the alien heads
ascended closer to him, ruptured open from his barrage of bullets, and sailed
back down.
“Second
round! Three seconds!”
Jack
didn’t wait to duck this time and shoved his hand into the first ammunition
crate. He was shocked that he had to fish around to find the final few
magazines and kicked the empty container away after he had them placed next to
his feet. He popped open the next one and eyeballed the grenades. There were
more of them in this box.
This
time the detonations felt like nothing in comparison to the ongoing shock waves
from the pounder tower. He waited a few more seconds for the smoke to disperse
before he resumed his position over the wall. Some of the corpses had been
blasted away but enough remained that the newest waves still jumped up at them,
snapping their jaws together at the peak of their jump.
Jack
reloaded two more times before he took his eyes off the bottom of the wall to
see if more Dross were still emerging. The moving army in the distance looked
no different than when they first started, as if they had made no dent in their
numbers at all. The aliens still looked like one titanic organism spread out
over the ground instead of thousands of separate entities. He could hardly
believe it.
“Third
round! Three—Shit! Breach! South side! Breach!”
A
chill shot from Jack’s neck all the way down his spine. He heard screams. Human
screams. The creatures wailed and screeched, a little differently than usual,
and Jack set his teeth together to the sound of their victory. He snatched some
of the grenades from the crate next to him and dived down the barricade. He
didn’t wait for orders. He didn’t have to. He knew they needed to contain it or
be overrun.
He
found that he wasn’t alone in his thoughts of helping the south wall as others
ran with him when he got onto the ground. The hole in
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