The streets directly north of the White House had completely collapsed under the sheer weight of the rubble, fire hydrants sent plumes of water into the sky as they burst all along the smoldering road.
The rain fell ever harder onto the heads of a small group of American volunteers who had been lucky enough to survive the shelling of the street. Their commander was killed and their sergeant badly wounded; anyone with any military experience was out of their fight.
Another Aryan popped his head up from behind a fallen chimney tower, the gunners opened up and the rounds peppered the bare brickwork, sending dust clouds over the soldier’s helmet.
The five women had two Browning machine guns and they were busy feeding rounds into them, they might have been cut off but they were determined to hold the street as long as they could.
One of the young women stood up and quickly hurled a grenade into the mesh of broken concrete about ten feet in front of her. She heard someone shout and then a satisfying explosion.
A few screams were heard from the hole but nothing emerged from it.
The eldest of the women swore under her breath. Has anyone got any water left? A twelve-year-old girl with a soot smothered face raised her hand and then stood to pass the water over to the other women.
“Get down…” Was all the thirty-three-year-old lady could shout before the air filled with the buzz and whine of plasma fire. The rounds smashed into the area around the women and the poor girl was hit clean through the chest.
The girl clawed at her chest as she fell to the floor, he breath was quick and the sweet smell of burnt flesh rushed up her nostrils; she wretched once sending blood across her chin. One of the women left the belt of ammunition and rushed to put a bandage over the wound but it was too large.
“Shit she is hit real bad!”
The older women sighed and fought to keep a tear from forming in her eye, “Get it over with and then jump back on the ammo, we need to keep some suppressing fire down or we will be quickly overrun.”
A large round of plasma exploded a few feet from the machine guns’ position, the heat washed over the area but then it was not quite close enough to cause any damage to the women. Sarah Welch was only twenty-eight and her huge green eyes looked down into the poor girls face.
Sarah was a chef by trade but she knew what had to be done, she whispered softly for the girl to close her eyes and then she pulled her pistol from her belt. She put the barrel a couple of inches away from the girl’s temple and then hesitated as she went to pull the trigger.
The air was heating up to an uncomfortable level now as more and more plasma rounds washed over the area. Sarah was hit in the arm and she rolled to the floor and caught her breath for a second. She came out of her daze and quickly pushed the gun to the girl’s head; she pulled the trigger and finally the girl was at peace.
“Are you alright Sarah? We need you back on the ammo. Sarah?” But Sarah needed a minute to get over what she had just done. It was a sin to take a life and it was even worse to take the life of a child.
The two Browning .50 caliber machine guns kept firing, three Aryan infantrymen had tried to sneak across the debris-strewn sidewalk but they were cut down about five foot from the women’s position; all three were killed instantly.
Another five minutes of continuous fire went by when one of the guns went silent.
“What is it Betty, are you hit?”
“No I don’t know what it is, we still have ammo.”
“Get it fixed love, I’d love to help ya but I am a little busy here.”
Betty laughed but she was nervous, with one of the guns down they were not going to last much longer.
A burning blue ball was tossed towards the women’s position, it bounced a few times in front of them and then exploded. The shockwave rushed through the area and the air was forced from the women’s lungs.
Another three balls of burning blue bounced towards them and one rested right under the barrel of the only working gun.
“Grenade…” Sarah shouted and went to dive on it but she was hit by a stream of plasma that burnt through her neck and left cheek. Then the grenades exploded and the whole machine gun nest fell silent.
The plasma fire stopped shortly after and the Aryans advanced unopposed to check the smoldering crater.
Last Stand
Me 262’s now strafed the artillery around the Capitol building, the guns on the ground were no match for the unopposed fighters and they were quickly taken out.
Commander Michael Orton’s group of main battle tanks were now under direct attack from the enemy fighters as well. They had to curb their advance as losses from air attacks mounted.
“What shall we do commander?”
Orton shook his head. “We are going to have to fall back to the main park. To our final fall back positions. From there we won’t have anywhere to run. We will make our stand.”
Orton ordered all of the tanks to fall back next to the Capitol building where they would have a clean line of fire on any enemy armor that advanced into the open.
Orton tried to call for any available anti aircraft guns but the communications were still not working, he threw his radio against the side of his tank’s turret. The handpiece fell apart.
The streets around the White House were now being systematically cleared. The American troops had little chance to mount an effective defense because they were so scattered and they had no way of communicating with each other.
Four Aryan tanks rounded a corner onto an empty street, they continued through at a steady pace.
Three American privates of the 51st National Guard unit gingerly lit their cigarettes when the tanks had passed. They took deep breaths and inhaled as much of the flavor as they could. They needed to savor this moment.
A large group of Aryan infantry rounded the corner and as the moved with purpose, one of the young privates gave a curt nod. That was when all hell broke loose.
The private opened up with a commandeered browning machine gun, while the other two fired their anti tank launchers at the exposed infantry.
Signed
A large explosion rocked the corner building as plasma smashed into it; the rubble fell and peppered the sidewalk, crushing an abandoned car. The Maus tanks rolled on to press home the attack. They were now on the home straight, less than an eighth of a mile from the White House.
Commander Orton’s tanks opened fire, they concentrated on the closet tank and they focused on its tracks.
“immobilize them, take out as many as you can.”
The Main battle tanks fire high explosives at the enemy tanks tracks, it worked as the first Maus was halted but it continued to fire. Its plasma round struck a Sherman’s tank head on and the vastly outmatched medium tank just disappeared in a cloud of flames.
Ortan ordered the Sherman’s to fall back to beside the White House; they were to be the very last line of defense, along with a huge line of machine guns and infantry that waited on the great building’s steps.
Rounds impacted all along the side of the Capitol building now, it was in a terrible state as more and more parts of it collapsed in on itself. The heavy rain fell in through the missing spots in of the roof and soaked everything inside.
“Fire.” Roared Orton as his tanks kept up a steady stream of rounds, they were holding the enemy back as best as the could but Orton knew their time was limited.
The tank directly next to Orton was hit dead on and the gun dropped towards the floor, smoke billowed out of the open commander’s hatch but nobody tried to escape.