Do not feel ashamed. My only regret is involving her in this situation. Tabs should never have inhabited her when her mother died.
“I don’t blame you or Tabs, Ladm. I blame those assholes that killed Marta and these damn Americans breathing down our necks.”
Unfortunately for this plan, everyone else was in better shape than Vladimir, so they all kept up pretty easily. A few minutes later, the unmistakable sound of a Kalashnikov pierced the early morning air, its familiar peck-peck-peck joined by a chorus of higher-sounding rat-tat-tats. Flocks of birds took off, flying around trees as the forest came to life. The exchange continued for a few minutes, and then stopped. The forest settled and became silent again. The group stopped in unison and looked back into the thickets.
“Be well, Sachin,” Rin bowed. “May you find a-”
“Later! We don’t have time to mourn.” Vladimir shoved her forward urgently. “We have to keep going.”
Ohr looked at the others and then shook his head. “It’s no use running. We’re not going to outrun dogs and federals in their own country.” He pointed at a small ledge off to the side. “That is as good of a point as we’re going to get. I say we make a stand there and die fighting. I refuse to be run down like an animal, with my back to the enemy.”
Vladimir shook his head.
He is right.
“No,” he said, looking down at Alex. “We keep going.”
There is no other chance. You have a day’s worth of forest in front of you and the enemy only minutes behind. This will be the only time you can choose the battlefield. This ledge is an elevated spot facing west, your back will be against the sunrise. It is the right strategy.
Vladimir grimaced. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but it seemed the damn federals had forced their hand. He swung his rifle from his back and stomped toward the stone ledge. The others followed suit, climbing up the steep slant and stripping themselves of their gear. He watched as the surviving Epsilons attached their signature bayonets to their rifles and pistols, and then huddled together and prayed. Vladimir wished he had that sort of fervor. Over the past few months, his faith had been shaken.
A few minutes later, the group was entrenched in a defensive formation around a cluster of boulders elevated several meters above the ground. Vladimir hated to admit it, but Ladm and the others were right. By now, the sounds of the barking dogs were all around them, and he expected to see their hunters any minute. Hiding would be useless; no doubt the federals were carrying portable Penetra scanners.
Vladimir turned to Alex and pointed at a small crevice off to the side. “I want you to hide in there until this is all over. Don’t come out until I get you. If we fall, you keep running, understand?” His daughter made a face and drew her pistol. Vladimir snarled. “Definitely not. You are not…”
She cocked the pistol in one smooth motion. “Don’t be silly, Papa. I cannot escape the scanners. Besides, you’ll need me. I’m a better shot than you.”
Vladimir stared at his daughter, half with terror that she was about to wander into a firefight and half with pride. He dropped to a knee and drew her close. “Your mother would be so proud. Keep your head down. Shoot only when you have a clear target.”
“I got movement,” Marsuka hissed.
The others scrambled to the edge and took up position behind cover. Vladimir pressed his back to a boulder and unclipped his satchel of spare magazines. He placed three on the ground and handed the bag to Ohr, who was kneeling against the other side of the boulder. He looked over at Alex on the other side of him, positioned in between two smaller rocks. Dark figures emerged from woods, moving in between trees and brush, flanking them on both sides.
“They know we’re up here,” Petr growled. “Fire at will before they entrench.”
He opened fire and the rest followed suit. Within seconds, the dark forest was lit up by yellow bursts of enemy muzzle flashes. The rattling exchanges punctured the previously calm dawn. The sky came to life as hundreds of birds took to the air, adding to the chaos and confusion.
The fight went well at first. Between the skill of the Epsilon-trained operatives and their elevated position, the body count initially skewed heavily in his group’s favor. The federals had far superior numbers though, and as Vladimir’s group’s casualties began to mount, so did the enemy’s ability to sustain the fight. Slowly, the tide changed.
To his left, Polski, one of the Epsilons, took a bullet to the head. Vladimir pulled Alex from the edge and pointed at the body. She nodded and scampered on all fours to rifle through the dead Epsilon’s coat for spare magazines. She found four and tossed one to Vladimir.
He caught it mid-air and pointed at the other end of the ledge. “See if the others need some as well.”
He glanced to his right as Ohr pulled back to reload. He only had one magazine left on the ground next to him. All of them must be running low by now. Ammunition wasn’t light after all, and most of their carry weight was reserved for food and supplies. He heard Marsuka call out that he was dry. He looked to his left as Alex slid another magazine toward the scientist.
No sooner did Marsuka pick up the magazine, than he stiffened, a bullet puncturing his neck. Alex dodged out of the way as his fell to the ground and rolled toward her. Vladimir’s heart broke. She was far too young to witness such things. Then, if it was even possible, the situation took a turn for the worse. Just as Vlel, Marsuka’s Quasing, rose into the air, a jet of flame shot up from below and consumed him. The small group watched horrified as the millions year-old being evaporated into the morning sky.
Their dwindling group fought on with renewed vigor. Vladimir shot two more federals before he had to reload, and then four more. By that time, only Rin had ammunition left. A few seconds later, she had run out as well. They had lost, and this ledge would become their grave. The gunfire became one-sided, until eventually, someone below ordered a ceasefire.
“Come out with your hands over your heads, aliens,” a voice bellowed through a bullhorn. “We know there are five of you up there. We have scanners. There’s no escape.”
Vladimir held Alex tightly as he desperately prayed for an escape. The best he could hope for was the so-called Alien Containment facility, a top-secret prison where the Western countries incarcerated and ran tests on the Quasing. The worst and most likely outcome was torture and death, and with that, the death of Ladm as well.
The time has come to surrender to the Eternal Sea.
That was the logical thing to do. Give Ladm, Tabs, and the others a chance, but Vladimir had never been one of those fanatics. He had come to Ladm later in life and had never developed the zeal that many others of his rank possessed. He looked over at Rin and Ohr; those two weren’t hardliners either. All three were just smart, capable people who saw an advantage with the Quasing and took it. Now it had led them here.
His gaze wandered to Petr. He was as fanatical as they came. If his Quasing told him to kill everyone in the group to allow the others a chance to escape, he would do it. Right now, the man was praying with his eyes closed, preparing to sacrifice himself. That was the group’s next move. That was the only move they had left.
Logically, it is the right decision. Make your peace.
Vladimir squeezed Alex tightly and knew he couldn’t do it. She was an innocent; she had her whole life ahead of her. Surely, the federals would show mercy. Not even they could be so cruel.
“You have one minute before we gas your location, aliens,” the voice from below called through the bullhorn. “I cannot guarantee your safety then.”
Petr finished his prayer. There was going to be little mercy from either him or the federals, but as of this point, he knew on which side his little girl would have a better chance of surviving.