To Love Victoria

7: A Strange Place

The four of us were in breaching positions at the sides of the door. Two on either side. We had our disassembled rifles in a bag slung over our back, with our swords in our hands, prepared to storm the office building. I could see it on everybody's faces, they were just as nervous as I was. It was an indescribable feeling, that feeling of dread that penetrated my mind. Contemplating my own mortality was something that I had done before, but it was not something that anybody could ever get used to. The idea of what lay after death terrified me, whether there would be an afterlife or oblivion. At times, I could rationalise death, I could accept it but the thought of ceasing to exist was something that horrified me. It was the thought that everything I had ever done, the entirety of my existence would just end up amounting to nothing, all of my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions. They would mean nothing.

I held my breath.

The lieutenant received a message over his radio. "November Squad is in position. Breach! Breach!"

I exhaled.

We rushed through the door and into the reception room, the adrenaline coursing through my veins. My head was clear, I knew exactly what to do, how to survive.

But as soon as I saw what was in the room, I froze. The pale-skinned creature hung upside down like a bat, with a row of spikes along its spine. It twisted its head one hundred and eighty degrees to face me with its unsettling human-like eyes, its jaw filled with rows of teeth bent in all kinds of horrific angles. Its skin was too tight for its oversized body, revealing its unnatural skeletal structure with several exposed bones. The way it smiled at me, it knew that out of all of my comrades, I was the most afraid. It could sense it and it delighted in that revelation. It lunged at me, ready to tear me into chunks of flesh. In my panicked state, I raised my sword. Private Cross swung her weapon, slicing the creature in half while Private Smith stabbed his blade deep into its skull. A thick brown substance splattered across the floor and smoke rose from the wound. "If you freeze up, you die." Private Cross shouted.

She was right, this was a battlefield. There was no time to be afraid. It was fight or die. We kept our eyes on every corner, waiting for something to jump out at us. The Lieutenant motioned to the next door. "Private Cross, take charge. Formation B." We got into our formation, ready to take on whatever was behind the door.

We charged through. Two more of those vile creatures rushed at us, leaping over several desks. The Lieutenant charged, thrusting his sword into one of them, the other turned to me, it's three eyes locking on. It lunged and I stabbed my weapon deep into its gaping mouth, entering deep into its skull. It didn't even flinch, it just continued trying to bite away at my hands that were only inches away from its teeth. Holding it back was a struggle and I could feel my grip slipping. Private Cross plunged her blade into its neck, finally putting an end to it. I put my foot against its head, removing my sword from its throat as more smoke poured from the creature's wound.

The Lieutenant spoke into the radio, "We've cleared the reception area and the first block of offices. We're moving into the central area soon, over."

"Clear on our end, ready to move in." The Sergeant responded.

"I'll take charge. Formation A." The Lieutenant said, approaching the door. Formation A meant that I would be the last one in. We readied ourselves and the Lieutenant spoke on his radio again. "We are in position, are you ready, November Squad?" Sergeant Dunn responded and Lieutenant Riley gave the green light. "Breach! Breach!" He kicked down the door, entering into the next room, being the first to face whatever fresh horrors were awaiting. Private Cross ran in next, she tried to hide her fear but even she was afraid of what was to come. All of us were. Private Smith went in after, his sword at the ready, prepared to strike down anything that would rush at them. Finally, it was my turn. I held my breath and ran in behind my teammates, ready to immediately jump into the battle and the fight for my survival.