“And be careful. We’ve got unstable structures, maybe unexploded ordnance, as well as the potential for remaining enemy forces, looters and all sorts. Don’t forget Amiens.”
He sighed as he thought back to the betrayal that still remained as a bitter experience that caused a bitter hatred of the civilian population; it would not soon be forgotten.
“I’ve got it, we’ll find a way through. How long till you can get that air support?”
“I’m still working on it, but by the end of the day or morning at the latest.”
“Great, nice of them to rush.”
“This isn’t a unique scene. Most of the French towns and cities that were fought over are reduced to rubble. We’ll be slogging through them for months.”
She went silent as they both looked out once more at the desolate and apocalyptic looking landscape.
“Enough, we have work to do. Remember to keep in radio contact.”
Taylor smiled.
“Yeah, nice to have that back. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to have personal radios.”
“Our equipment developers must find a way to get around that jamming for when this war continues. For now, let’s just be thankful to have it all back.”
They turned and left the rooftop, taking just a last glance at the shocking sight as they trooped down towards the mountain of work which lay before them. Chandra was pleased to see that the rest of the Company and the civilians who had joined them had already begun work. They were running rubble out of the area in the troop transports that had taken them there.
“Count yourself lucky, Major. You go exploring while we slave on.”
Taylor smiled, and she couldn’t have been more accurate. He was aching to get ahead onto something more interesting. The fact that what waited for them the other side was the same work was something he tried to ignore and forget. He turned to see that Parker was waiting with three marines at a side alley that was still in tact.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
He paced forwards to lead them and looked back just once to see Chandra step forward and get stuck in with the manual labour they had been reduced to.
“You know where this leads, Sergeant?” he asked.
“I’ve got maps of the area, but they are only part of the puzzle. This should be a good start for us.”
“We could just use our boosters and go across the rooftops,” shouted Williams.
Taylor nodded and sighed at the same time.
“It’s appealing certainly, but if only we can make it, that doesn’t help.”
“If we just had some damn birds in the air, we could sort this problem in no time,” replied Clark.
Taylor stopped and turned back to them with a stern face.
“We’re using old tech and tactics, I get it. Look around you. Maybe last year we had access to whatever we wanted and needed, but that just ain’t the case anymore. It’s not exactly glamorous work, but at least nobody is shooting at us. Now, can we carry on with a little less bitching?”
A large aircraft burst across the sky, sending vibrations through the ground. For a moment they all flinched. They had become accustomed to expecting anything above them to be enemy craft. They relaxed as they saw a friendly transport plane rush over the city at remarkably low altitude. Taylor relaxed and righted himself. As he began to speak, Lam leapt forward and pushed him aside, and the others scattered. A chunk of concrete almost the size of a car crashed down between them.
Taylor pushed Lam off him and looked around with a panic to see if Parker was okay. They had all scattered with just a metre or two between them, and a crushing and immediate death. He patted Lam on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” he snarled.
“Bloody flyboys!” yelled Parker.
Taylor tapped his intercom. “Chandra, this is Taylor, over.”
“Already on it, Major. We have a few light injuries here, but everyone is okay. What is your status, over?”
“Near miss, but we’re all okay, over.”
“Time for someone to get a grilling. Good luck, over and out.”
Taylor turned back to the other four marines who looked distinctly unimpressed.
“Fucking idiots,” snapped Lam.
“As if it wasn’t enough that we had an advanced alien race trying to make us extinct, our own bloody people are trying to kill us,” replied Taylor.
“I’m sure they were on an urgent mission to bring General Schulz his afternoon snack,” Parker grinned.
“Alright, let’s get moving.”
They wandered for hours through side streets and derelict buildings, trying to find a safe route through, and marking their waypoints as they went.
“Can’t we just use the city ring road?” asked Lam.
“No, it’s bumper to bumper with abandoned cars, and a hell of a way to have to walk it. The civilians who fled in a panic clogged the roads solid and had to leave on foot. First thing we have to do is establish a straight route through towards Paris.”
They continued on through the blown windows of a shop front and into another alleyway. They reached a mound of bricks that had collapsed in from a small explosion. Mitch lifted his Mappad and studied it carefully.
“Access here could open up the route we need. It may be worth clearing.”
He noticed a roof access ladder that was still intact just a few metres back.
“Make a start on it. I’ll head to the roof and see what the situation is up ahead, make sure it’s worth our time.”
He strode over and placed his hands on the bars of the ladder.
“You know you could jump it,” muttered Eli.
“True, but call me old fashioned, I like to do some of the work myself.”
He began to climb the ladder and felt less than his body weight as the suit propelled him quickly to the roof. As he neared the top, he felt one of the rusted metal steps buckle under the weight of him and all his gear. He took a firm grasp with his hands on the rungs and hoisted himself up without incident. Mitch looked down from the roof to see he had climbed eight storeys while the others had only just begun to start working.
The cool icy wind hit his face from the exposed rooftop. Many of the structures around the building were at least partially still standing, but he could see several collapsed skyscrapers dotted across the city. He looked down again to the rubble blocking their path. He nodded as he realised that they could clear the way with an hour’s labour.
Morbid curiosity overcame the Major, and he turned and strolled across the rooftop, looking out across the rest of the devastation. Just as he reached the centre of the roof, he felt the floor under his feet shake. Before he could respond, it gave way beneath him. Taylor collapsed through a gaping hole that he had created and quickly crashed into the next floor down. The weight and bulk of his body and equipment made him to smash through the floor.
Black ash and dust filled his throat and chest as he continued to descend through floor after floor. The entire internals of the structure had been destroyed by fire. The weak floors were providing just enough cushioning to slow his fall but enough to hurt like hell.
Finally, after he broke through the fourth floor, he landed hard on a solid surface, and the wind was taken out of him. His back plate took the worst of the impact, but it jolted his body. His ass went numb from the landing, and his helmet lashed against the ground, stunning him for a moment. He shook his head to clear the dust, but it only served to clog his windpipe further as a soot cloud arose around him.
As he regained his composure, he could hear the faint sounds of his comrades shouting and calling for him. He tapped his intercom, but it did nothing. The impact had destroyed it. He reached for his rifle that had been slung on his back, only to realise it was long gone. He looked up through the breach he had created and saw the smashed weapon hung by its broken sling on the sixth floor.
“Shit,” he muttered.