The Decay

Chapter 22 - Attack on the base

22

Mike led everyone towards the airforce base. It was a few minutes past midnight and the sky was at its darkest. Mike pointed to the top of the nearby hill. “Team C takes position at the top. The line of sight will be excellent. The rest, keep following me,” said Mike, not waiting for a response before heading upward.

Mr. Autrey went prone and assembled his sniper rifle. Remember the white flare, he thought to himself. Mrs. Autrey went down next to him, binoculars in hand. “This is going to be so much fun, honey,” she said, enthusiastically. He looked at her briefly, chuckling, and kissed her on the nose. “You're right dear, it will be fun indeed.”

Mike, Anita and the rest headed down the hill overlooking the airforce base. On reaching the base, Mike stopped short as Darius spoke. “Team A, we're splitting off here. Underground entrance is that way,” he said, pointing towards the left side of the base. As they went, Alexander felt Christy's nervousness. He looked at her and gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled briefly in response, before following Darius.

The fence that Anita had cut through previously had been repaired with a block of wood. She bit her lower lip briefly. “We have to find another way into the base,” she said, looking at Mike. Sam, Mike and Anita were crouched next to the repaired fence. “Look, over there”, said Sam, pointing at a ladder lying next to a toolbox. “Talk about getting lucky,” remarked Mike. Within a minute, they had all climbed the ladder and jumped to land safely on the other side. No guard seemed to have been alerted. “Let's split up. Anita, go with Sam around the back. Get inside and sweep the east side. I'll get in here and move towards you guys.” Sam nodded, but Anita looked concerned. “Be careful Mike,” she said. Mike offered her a smile. “I could say the same to you. And besides,” he added, “Sam might slow you down,” he said, nudging Sam who gave him a sarcastic look. “Very funny, Mike,” he said.

After a brief hug, Mike broke a nearby window and entered the base. Looking behind him, he saw Anita and Sam hurrying off.

Darius grabbed a mercenary by the throat with one hand and crushed his windpipe. Christy looked at him, horrified but didn't say a word. “We're almost there,” he said, the usual annoyance in his voice. This was the fourth mercenary that Darius had killed after entering the base. He still hadn't shot a single bullet... or used his knife. Alexander was thankful that he was together with Darius. Having little combat experience, he had not needed to do anything else than stay at a slight distance from him till now. Christy, whilst also being thankful, was more horrified at the sheer force that he possessed.

Exiting the room, they headed down a dimly lit corridor, past several unmarked doors, some made of wood and others made of solid steel. At the end, the corridor forked into two. A sign hung overhead with the words Armory and Barracks, an arrow showing that the armory could be found on the left and the barracks on the right.

Instead of heading to the right as they had expected, Darius turned the left corner and walked towards the armory. “Where are we going?” asked Christy, hastily. Darius offered little more than a grunt and continued walking.

Mrs. Autrey saw two shadows move towards the ladder previously used by Anita and the others. “Over there dear, approaching the ladder.” Mr. Autrey shifted the position of his rifle slightly so that the scope moved over towards the ladder. Sure enough, a few metres away were two mercenaries, now running towards the ladder that was not where it was supposed to be. As one of the mercenaries was about to shout in alarm of a possible intruder, he heard a very faint thud, followed by a bullet entering his skull. Before his body hit the ground, the second mercenary felt a sudden, massive pain in his throat as a bullet had torn through the soft tissues, leaving him to die, choking on his own blood. “Beautiful shots dear,” remarked Mrs. Autrey. “It certainly looks like I haven't lost my aim over the years.” Shifting his gaze, he no longer looked down the scope but rather directly at his wife and gave her a kiss on the nose.

Mike turned right into a broken corridor, his movements agile and silent. A light was dangling from the ceiling and the two doors in the corridor had been broken. It seemed abandoned. Turning right again at the next corner, a sign notified him of the presence of the Administrative offices up ahead. As he took another step forward, he heard footsteps coming from somewhere in front of him. Quickly, he stepped back and took cover behind the corner he had just come from. The footsteps approached him. Lying low, he peered around the corner and saw a mercenary walking towards him. Waiting for the right moment, Mike grabbed the man and dragged him around the corner, slamming him into the nearby wall. The man took a second to realize what had happened and tried to fight back. Dodging Mike's fist, he charged head first into him. Mike felt a strong pain as his back his the wall. Grabbing onto his neck, Mike dragged the man's head down to meet his knee which hit him square in the forehead. Having lost his momentum, the man staggered backwards and it was at that moment that Mike dexterously unsheathed his knife and planted it in the man's chest. It only took a moment before the man became quiet and fell limply to the ground. Mike rubbed his back briefly before turning the corner again, moving forward.