Dystopia X

The Break Down

I awoke to the sound of gunfire merely meters from me, and the defening sound of fighter jets streaking across the sky. My vision blurred and my body weak, I lifted myself upwards and could just make out the many bodies laying around me. I felt sick to my stomach, blood and bodies everywhere. Gun shells left around my feet, rubble surrounding me and trapping me, pushing against me as I fight for a breath of fresh air. As my vision starts to focus, I see Carter. My good, and only, friend, standing nearby. His gun was raised and pointing towards me. Confused, I could barely make out him saying the word 'duck'. I swivel around to see a Andrew, but not the man I used to know, this man was covered in blood and his eyes were as dark as the night sky. He smiled, his yellow teeth showing, and he looked down at me, hair wild and eyes wide open. This was definitely not the man I knew, this was a cold-hearted killer. 

"Jaelynn! Move out the way already!" Yelled Carter, loading the gun and resting his finger on the trigger.

"Shoot already Carter, I'd like to see how powerful that gun is, not like you could actually hit me to begin with" spat Andrew, his face gleaming in the moonlight. Without another word, Carter pulled the trigger, the all-to-familiar sound of gunfire filled my ears. The bullet soared across my head and pierced into Andrew, but that's only if he hadn't moved. Within a blink of an eye, Andrew was gone, not a trace, not a word. He had just disappeared. 

"What the hell?" shouted Carter, now whipping his head around desperately trying to find Andrew.

"Leave it, he teleported" I muttered. Grabbing onto the nearby steel bar that was sticking out of the building's structure, I pulled myself onto my feet and dusted myself off.

"Good to see you're ok" said Carter, looking at me as if he was my worried mother. 

"Ok is far from what I am..." I replied with a heavy sigh. There was a pause.

"Lets move, Annika is closing off base within the hour" he continued. I nodded in response and we both turned and carefully climbed our way out of the bottom floor of the building, as if a sudden movement would cause the structure to completely collapse. 

Once we were outside, the moonlight lit up the surrounding area, providing just enough light to be able to maneuver towards our destination. It was late, the trees were blowing back and forth from the light wind. The night was cold, causing an eerie noise as a gun was fired in the distance. We walked in silence, knowing that we had lost more than 12 of our faction members in today's fight. However we continued on, walking past the bodies of our friends. I tensed up as I saw the normally bright and sunburnt face of Jamie, now cold and lifeless. Pushing through the pain and fighting back tears, Carter and I continued our journey back to base. 

As we took the final turn around the bend that met the base walls and the city line, we could see the trucks pull into the station. I hiked up the path and walked into the huge, metal building. Everything was cold, some lights were flickering and the voices of fellow members echoed around the room. Carter nodded and quickly turned out, walking briskly down the dark corridor. I was left there, standing alone, bruised and batten in the entrance hall. Slowly, many more voices joined in, creating an even louder echo. Some voices were hushed, others almost yelling, everyone knew that the fight for this planet was getting harder. Hope was slowly decreasing whilst our man power was slipping through our fingers. 

I stumbled towards a table and collapsed onto the chair, leaning my arms against the cold, steel tabletop, I looked forward. Zoning out, my mind elsewhere. However, eventually a large and handsome boy came striding towards me, he pointed his chin up as a way to say hello.

"Afternoon, Jae Jae" he said, smiling like a child.
"Don't call me that, Chase" I muttered in response. We locked eyes for a brief minute before he continued.

"How was your sector? My squadron didn't lose anyone... but we were sure as hell close to it" he rubbed the back of his head, then smiling again, as if the smile could wash away the pain.

"12 gone..." whispering, I looked down and stared at my own reflection on the table, I couldn't bring myself to believe 12 people were lost in my sector alone. But then again, we were the biggest target, having Thomas and myself in the team,

"Squadron 11, or as I like to call you, team suicide!" he yelled, spreading his arms wide then cocking his head back as if he had been shot.
"This isn't a joke Chase" I yelled in return. The conversation between us was often heated, but its just because we cared.

"Alright, alright, calm down Jae" replied Chase.

 After five minutes of small talk, Annika, the leader of our faction walked into the room. Hush fell over the room, everyones heads were turned towards the front, every gaze fixed onto her.
"Good afternoon Faction Feighan... today has been a hard day for us. As we have lost 13 in total from our faction from our work today. May those souls be travelling to a greater place as we speak". Everyone nodded in agreement, because when one dies, they hope that they won't be going 'downstairs'. Considering our current state, even if you did wind up downstairs with the hot headed guy, it wouldn't be much different.
"As you know, the enemy have started to pin point the major faction's locations. We must fight everyday knowing that our identity and cover is slowly being torn apart. It is our job to save it" said a rough voice that accompanied a thin and tall man with pale skin and black hair. Now if you were to ask me, if you were wondering who would end up in hell next to lucifer himself, it'd be him. 

"Thank you Jeremy" added Annika before continuing, "All of you to your dorms now, get some rest and if needed, treat your wounds. We do not have a known big mission for another week or so. Continue practising and we shall gather here tomorrow".

Everyone slowly trickled out of the main hall, buzzing of conversation filled the air. You could hear little snippets of conversation between everyone. I dragged myself to my dorm, my feet heavy and my shoulders slouched. Tired and feeling weak, this was no state for one of the top fighters. However I ignored the fast approaching unconsciousness and continued to my room. Falling onto my bed, I kicked off my boots and stared up at the ceiling.

"Rough day I heard, you ok Jaelynn?" asked a loud and concerned sounding voice from across the room.

"Certainly wouldn't deserve a cheer, Victoria" I mumbled in return.
"It'll be ok Jae... it was just a bad day. Everyone, or every squad, gets it" chirped in a quiet voice from the corner.

"I know Mim, but today just felt... wrong" I mumbled, Mim was short for Miriam, a small and weak looking girl. But trust me, if you get on her bad side or agitate her, you better start running. The other room mate of mine was Victoria, a tall and strong African girl. Why she was in the English Faction, I don't know, but I'm glad we had her. She made you feel safe and protected, even a small bit of calmness could go a long way in this world. This being so, finding someone who will protect you, you want to keep a hold on them.

"Well I'm done for today" said Vic, clicking her gun together and placing it down on the table, "Night" she continued.

"Night" Mim and I replied in unison. 

I didn't sleep much that night, I laid in bed staring at the ceiling. The screams of my now dead squadron members filled my ears. Maybe if I hadn't been taken down by Andrew, I could've helped. Demons weren't an easy match, but being me, you have your perks. However, you still can't save everyone.