Stars And Stripes

Chapter 4: False Hope

Daniel stared at the corpse, one eyebrow cocked. "I don't understand. What did you do differently this time?"

Irritation was written all over Varson's face, as if he was angered that Daniel didn't understand the science behind what had happened. "Alright," he sighed. "Lemme make this simple. His armor is somehow electrically powered, kind of like an energy shield covering his skin. That energy shield is what deflects the bullets. Now this is where the science part comes in; the shield can repel scattered, spread out shots just fine. But, if multiple rounds strike it in a close proximity in a short amount of time, the shield will overload, leaving Mr.Crab over here vunerable."

Jenkins looked thoroughly confused, his mouth slightly open as if in thought. "So if we shoot it a bunch of times in one spot, it'll die?"

"In a short, country boy version, yes," confirmed Varson.

Childish zeal overtook Jenkins as he grinned and became giddy with the news. "Whoooo wee!" he hollered. "We can take the fight to these bitches!"

Daniel firmly put his hand on Jenkins' shoulder, trying to retain his excitement. Jenkins stopped smiling and looked Daniel in the eyes, sensing that something bad was about to be said.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, champ, but three Marines aren't going to defeat an alien armada." Daniel spoke softly, trying to to completely destroy Jenkins' hopes. Morale was an important part to a team, but cockiness got people killed.

Jenkins calmed himself, his shoulders slouched slightly. "Yes sir," he wearily said. "Understood."

Night had fully enveloped the world, making distant objects hard to see. Daniel was pretty sure those monsters had some sort of infrared vision in those helmets, so they would have to set up camp for the night, or they could risk it and press on towards the FOB.

Daniel sighed deeply, the last few hours had taken a toll on him. "Alright guys, we got a couple of options." He looked each of his teammates over. Both looked tired, dirty too. "We can either set up shop in a nearby building for the night, or we can continue towards the FOB. I'm thinking that the Crabs have some sort of infrared vision in the visors, seeing as that one over there managed to seek us out."

The others reacted differently to the decision. Jenkins gave a look, suggesting that he was done for the day. Varson just stared off into the distance, deep in thought, most likely calculating the risks.

He spoke up, saying, "I believe our best course of action would be to go on."

Jenkins practically squeeled with disagreement. "Are you crazy?! Those things can see in the night, and you wanna go prancing through the streets when we can't see ten feet in front of us?!" He kept his agitation to a whisper, knowing better than to yell with aliens out and about.

Daniel cut in. "Varson is right. First off, we don't even know if those things sleep. Better to be caught while we're awake and be able to fight, than sleeping to our deaths." His logic made sense.

Sighing in defeat, Jenkins just nodded. Daniel turned to Varson and gave him a thumbs up. "It's settled then, FOB it is. Lead on Varson."

~~~

Dawn was quickly approaching, the first rays of sunlight pierced the blanket of darkness covering the sky. Daniel, Jenkins, and Varson crept along the walls of buildings, running from cover to cover. The three had been travelling all night, making their way to the FOB.

Varson, naturally on point, stopped running after they had crossed an intersection, taking cover behind a large dumpster in front of an office. The others followed suit, curious as to why he wasn't continuing.