"Contact right, contact right!" I shout out, briefly letting go of the forward grip to point a hasty finger at the ten meter high canopy. Racing through the foliage with a startling degree of confidence, are several Yhunian soldiers.
"Hostile group, hundred meters to our three o'clock, canopy level!"
The speed at which they were coming towards us is simply inhuman. Between their seemingly large strides between the branches, I pick out the faint afterimages of their weapons nestled closely to their forms.
They tease my eyes with alarming contours of blue, the ominous colour glowing brilliantly against the colourless night, getting closer with each passing moment.
A brief wave of acceptance washes over my furrowed eyes as I release calculated shoots into the air, leading the bullets in hopes of scoring a hit against one of them. It was my accuracy against the enemy's mobility, and the odds were balanced on a razor's fine edge.
Their numbers however, were undoubtedly dwindling, but it did not make the surviving soldiers any less of a threat. I never once let up the heavy fire even with the likelihood of sustaining another hit, trusting my armor to keep injuries down to a minimum.
My men are doing their best, there is so question about that. So will I.
The possibility of this being a last ditch assault by the enemy comes up to the forefront, but I shelve the thought down, focusing only on the here and now.
"This is Vulture, be advised sensors are picking up inbound movement to our east," my radio calls out unexpectedly, holding the concerned voice of a pilot, ".....unable to verify identification, can you confirm your position Desert Team over?"
"Dammit," I grimace, making no effort to hide my displeasure, "this is Desert actual, we're still holding position. I say again, we're still holding position! Your OPSEC's compromised, get outta here pronto! There's no other choice!"
"Roger that... Vulture dusting off for immediate RTB."
Pillars of smoke continue to rise higher into the air, choking up the view of the aerial battle above as I keep the cohesion going between my fireteam.
"I'm on reserves, down to two mags." Robert declares, still holding onto a sense of calm. We won't last long on our own, immediate contact will have to be made with our Euralian counterparts.
"Their shields are gone, even sidearms will do the trick," I briefly respond, taking the time to reload another magazine, "....reloading cover me!!" This leaves me with only three remaining.
Ammunition is becoming an increasingly worrying concern, strongholding this position will only serve to cripple our combat effectiveness.
"Hostiles almost on top of us!"
"On that tree!" The tempo of gunfire intensifies shortly after.
Looking at our situation in the long term, I decide to relay a set of new orders to my men. They acknowledge with their readiness, weapons drawn, feet firmly planted on the ground, ready to watch one another's backs.
"Step on it, go!" I give out the signal, the first to leave the safety of cover. Spurred on by the intense bombardment from above, a fresh wave of adrenaline courses into my legs as I spare a glance to the sides, keeping tabs on my comrades to make sure they were still okay.
Left and right, I am treated to the sight of red spheres raining down on my position. The brief warmth of each near hit makes my already rapid pulse rise up a notch, pounding harder against my chest.
YOU ARE READING
Into The Rift
AdventureJerome is at the height of his career as a United Nations Operative, his noble job has his skills placed on the line in low profile deployments all across the highly destabilized regions of the African Continent. Regardless of whether the public is...
