Redamancy ✷ Simon Riley

Chap 9)

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞
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As Bravo and Alpha team formed an accustomed formation and watched each other's six with reliable precision, they advanced into the third building with guns raised.

A small group of armed marines encompassed the outside of the structure like a den of poisonous trained serpentines to make sure no foes attempted to barrel at them from behind at full force.

The rest of the soldiers were led into the building by Lieutenant Riley to clear the first floor of hiding enemies. Poppy was vigilant of her environment and kept an attentive sharp eye towards white-painted doors that were marginally a gap.

Thick oak wood and plastered interior walls were eminently weak towards oncoming bullets. They had torn through the walls like cadaverous flesh and bone and placed lesions and maims that made them unstable to lean against.

Sergeant Dargie made sure not to stand in front of the closed doors as she advanced down the dimly lit hallway with other marines following behind her. She did not have an exact number of how many AQ soldiers were currently on the first floor.

The last time she checked, she could not see through walls. She couldn't see the silhouettes of enemies inside rooms with doors shut. She was no supernatural being with such useful power.

As marines cleared rooms of hostile foes, bullets fired with echoed bangs that bounced off the walls. The clatter of heavy weapons was heard dropping to the floor along with bodies.

Debris skidded across the floor as Poppy's boot bedizened feet forcefully walked around the first floor. Grey chalky rocks slid across the floorboards concluding with a grimace emerging on her face at the racket it induced.

In no time, the entire first floor had triumphantly been cleared of armed enemies. Lieutenant Riley, a Bravo marine, Sergeant MacTavish and Dargie were making their way to the stairs to clear the second floor.

"Heading up to the second deck," the marine in front of Ghost on the stairs announced.

"Pushing to second deck," Simon authenticated.

Raising her left foot, she lowered the sole of her boot on the first step before beginning to sluggishly ascend the concrete stairs a few at a time behind Simon. MacTavish stayed taciturn but cautiously observant behind Poppy as he trailed silently behind her.

Ambling past a square window, she turned her head around to take a glimpse outside. It was only a split second but it was sufficient time for her to notice the early morning sky and the twinkling stairs starting to descend towards the horizon unhurriedly.