Ice Cold

Day ...

           "They abandoned us?" Kevin's voice echoed across time. Calm, they needed to think. All of the eyes, civilian and military alike were fixed on Mardon. He shifted uncomfortably under their scrutiny.

           "It doesn't matter,Sergeant. We do what we always do." He insisted. Kevin breathed deeply, and nodded. "Everyone!" Mardon called out. The attention was almost painful. "Fall back to the bunker. Move quickly, but carefully." As if to emphasize the importance of haste, a roar rose up above the trees.

           "They're here already." Kevin said distantly, his eyes restlessly searching the tree line.

           "You gonna make it?" Mardon asked, grabbing his shoulder.

           "Yeah." He was back,but still restless. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up."

           "You sure?"

           "Yeah. Go. Keep us alive Captain." Kevin smiled at him.

           "Don't call me that." Mardon laughed as he turned to the crowd.

***

           The motors engaged, pushing the door closed. The crowd had scattered throughout the main bunker. Mardon looked around at the scared people in the dimming light. They needed him. They were relying on him. He turned just as the door sealed. The sounds from the forest had arrived. The first impact caught him by surprise, the others screamed.

           "Make sure to go as soon as you can!" He shouted. "Find anyway to get out, escape! Live..." The air became thick,slow, as Mardon turned to face the blast door.

           "But they didn't escape, did they?" Kevin's voice whispered in his mind. "They died, slaughtered as you watched." Mardon felt the tear fall from his eye, the pain that tore through his heart.

           "I tried my best." He answered. "I tried..."

           "It wasn't you. It was them... the chain of command, the..."

           "I was responsible for them."

           "Only because you had to be." Mardon had his rifle to his shoulder, aimed at the blast door as he watched the massive talon tear through the metal in slow motion.

           "I was supposed to die with them." He felt the prolonged recoil as the rifle fired.

           "You didn't even manage that. And what did they do? What did E..."

           "Medals, Badges, and a new command." Mardon laughed sardonically.

           "And now..."

           "We need you." a different voice cut in. He felt Grace's hand touch his face gently.

***

           The impact was far less pleasant than it should have been. Mardon recoiled from the slap and looked around. The Bunker was gone, replaced with the radio room The danger was still here,but different. Kevin stared at him, a sick and somehow sad smile splayed across his lips. Mardon couldn't move.

           "Good morning. How did you sleep?" Mardon stretched his neck. He still wore the armor, but the helmet was gone now.

           "Heh, bad dreams." He looked himself over. There was a bit of a blackening on the breast of the armor, but no other visible damage. "EMP?" Kevin laughed.

           "Yeah. Best way to drop an armored soldier is to break their toys." Mardon nodded, then gestured at Kevin's own armor seated next to the console. The arm was crushed to uselessness.

           "Sorry, by the way." Kevin laughed again.

           "So, tell me, what did you dream about?" Kevin glanced at the console, the icon blinked silently. The look in his eye suggested that he had an idea of the dream.

           "The swamp." Mardon nodded. How long had he been out. Not that it mattered much at this point. He doubted Kevin would have delayed telling him if a message had come. Although, in this state, maybe he would have. He shifted his mind to trying to figure a way out.

           "The first time we were betrayed. Yeah, good times." Kevin's laugh slipped into a hiss.

           "For you, maybe." With no power, the suit was useless. He could still lift it, but there was no way he would of any use while trapped inside.

           "Oh, yeah! That's right! You weren't naturally born were you?" Mardon shook his head.

           "Nope, foreigner." Maybe if he pushed himself up,he could fall on Kevin. No... that's stupid. Best bet would be to get the leg to kick out.

           "You never it easy, huh? This was probably a cakewalk for you." He nodded. Damn this armor. "I killed them." The comment shock any plan out of Mardon's mind, his eyes snapped to Kevin's instantly.

           "What?" Dumbfounded, it was the only response he could come up with.

           "Oh yeah. In fact..." He drifted off and stepped out of the room for a moment. Mardon tried to brace himself for whatever Kevin brought back, but he failed. When Kevin held Will's head up as a trophy, Mardon's heart fell out. Suddenly all of his strength was gone. "Will was the last one. He was lucky, he didn't have to see me kill anyone else. I just let him come over here to call you, then ended his pain for him." Mardon's brow knit together as he looked from Will's lifeless eyes, to Kevin's Psychotic ones. "Megan watched me kill Chris and Shelly, I didn't want them to die alone. Not a love as pure as theirs." Kevin giggled.

           "Why?" Kevin ignored the question, but what he said could have been an answer.

           "The Captain was the only one I enjoyed killing. He abandoned us, just like the rest of them." This revitalized Mardon a little.

           "So now, just like before, it's just you and me. The only survivors of a failed mission." With great effort Mardon began to rise. His grunts of effort and strained thudded into the small room.

           "Don't worry." The laugh again, the damned laugh."I wasn't gonna leave us to their whims again. We will both die,too." Slowly, painfully, Mardon raised the useless hand toward Kevin. Sweat was streaming down Mardon's face, but the fury drove him on.

           "You... forgot... one...thing..." Kevin frowned.

           "You're pathetic. That suit has no power, you can't hurt me in it!" Kevin screamed.

           "No, but I can." There was a loud clang as a pole struck Kevin in the head, dropping him.

           "Bitch!" Grace jumped over his fallen form, and began pulling the emergency release on the suit. Mardon sighed deeply as the individual parts loosened up on him and fell away,clanging uselessly to the deck. Kevin clambered to his feet, sparing them one last look before running away. That wouldn't be the last of him.

           "I forgot how heavy those are with no power in them." Mardon panted.

           "Shit, I thought you were going to have an aneurysm. How did you even stand up?" Grace asked helping him into the chair again.

           Preempting any answer, a sudden sharp beeping startled them. The started at each other for a moment, then looked at the monitor. The icon was flying across the screen leaving strings of code behind it. The printer kicked on, the room was suddenly filled with noise as a message arrived.

           Mardon's brow knit together again, he gasped a scoff. Grace swore loudly.