The Formula

Chapter 15

"Here they come!" somebody yelled

Felix braced himself for what would come next. Five men, as well as Marleen, supported Celia, who put her whole weight behind keeping the drill against the blast door's side. The drill was incredibly loud, and created brilliant sparks as it bored. Despite its noise, Felix clearly heard gunfire erupted from the main hallway.

Rebel soldiers were gunned down in the tight hallways before they could even reach the room. Still, without relent, they pressed against the freedom fighters' defences. Gustaf and Felix did what they could to ensure the rebels couldn't get far enough to take a shot at Celia. Still strapped to the drill, she was completely defenceless.

Felix stood just outside the entrance to the main hall, peering down its length. Rebel soldiers appeared around every corner, firing their weapons and sprinting towards the incoming fire with no disregard for their own safety. The freedom fighter's main turret—a mounted machine gun—barked constantly, chewing through the enemy ranks. More than once, its operator, more exposed than any other soldier, was shot down, and a new one would quickly take his place.

When the enemy got too close, that's when Felix or Gustaf would quickly jump inside and breathe fire or lightning to thin their numbers. It was a gruelling, disgusting battle, and Felix wished every moment to be in another situation—to be done with the killing and death.

After a dozen or so men, the flow of soldiers suddenly stopped. Seconds later, Felix knew why. One of the green armoured soldiers lumbered around the corner and fired a rocket.

The projectile struck near the entrance, collapsing part of the wall and stunning the defenders. In the haze, Felix recovered his wits to see the same mechanized soldier burst through the debris. He raised his weapon and shot several men dead before Van de Sande ran at him.

The hybrid slid between his legs, catching his attention, and fired his enormous rifle into the main's back. The bullet punched through the thick armour of the suit, causing a spurt of blood from the other side. The suited man faltered, gasping from inside his helmet, and tore a panel free from his forearm. He slapped a button situated underneath and after beeping twice, his suit detonated.

Felix flinched from the explosion, which seemed to rush out and strike him like a sledgehammer. When he picked himself up, little remained of the soldier but smoking, ruined metal and cracks in the concrete.

"Harry!" Marleen screamed.

Felix shook his head, disoriented, and hopped over to where Marleen knelt next to a body. It was Van de Sande. His body was singed from the explosion, most of his feathers stripped away. He breathed pathetically, eyelids and fingers twitching. It wasn't the burns that was killing him, however, but the foot-long chunk of metal protruding from his chest.

Marleen sobbed as his chest fell. There was no time to mourn though, as more soldiers began pressing against their defences. Yet another armoured soldier plowed into the room, knocking aside freedom fighters as if they were nothing more than corn stalks.

Howling, Marleen pulled the shiv from Van de Sande's torso and sprinted at the mechanized soldier before Felix or anybody else could stop her. The soldier gunned down three men by the time Marleen reached him. He took a swing at her, but she ducked underneath, then jumped at him. With a cry, she drove the metal shiv through his visor, and twisted it. The body instantly went limp, and she pulled him forward, throwing his body to the ground.

Felix stood in wonder as the hybrid dusted herself off before picking up a nearby weapon. Without missing a beat, she was back in the fray, shooting with pinpoint accuracy. Her vigor spurred those around her, doubling their efforts to keep Celia and the others safe to work.