Fevered Calamity by R. D. Fluke

Author:R. D. Fluke [Fluke, R. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon
Published: 2024-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

6. Siege

“God dammit, go!” shouted Chuck.

He fought to catch his breath after quarreling with Vendez and Jasper to leave him behind. The two pleaded for him to join them, but there was no point. His coughing had gotten worse… and bloodier over the last several hours. And, then there was Grace….

Not happening. I’m not leaving my Grace.

Chuck pulled the sheet away from the tunnel to let them through. The barking from the search teams in the distance intensified. Muffled voices argued beyond the shed door. One voice sounded like the radio operator he’d been listening to earlier. Paws scratched at the building, amplifying his anxiety.

This is it.

Chuck peered into the tunnel and spotted his two friends navigating to the other end with their rifles’ flashlights illuminating their way. Above him, the shack received a swift kick. After a second boot failed to breach, a burst of automatic fire pierced Chuck’s ears. He got into position and waited for the inevitable.

Standing at the bottom rung, he aimed at the hatch. The rustling noises came to a stop when one troop called out something. The man’s voice grew animated as he tapped on the trap door several times, and others joined the frenzy. Chuck exhaled as the hatch lifted, letting their lights creep in from the other side.

Chuck's pulley system raised the tank, bringing it into view above the silhouettes of KAC troops. He smirked at the closest soldier as he fired. A heavy slug rocketed out of the barrel and splattered the man’s head. A burst of skull fragments coated the hatch in blood. As planned, the foreign invaders approached the manhole, weapons aimed.

Chuck sent a second round between them and pierced the leaking propane tank above. The bright flash of an explosion engulfed the enemy soldiers, killing them instantly. The sheds’ walls exploded outward.

Chuck broke the breach of the shotgun open and slapped new slugs in. A trooper came into view, stepping over his fallen comrades. Chuck’s slug nailed the grunt and he wailed as he fell through the manhole, right before his head cracked on the cement floor of the bunker.

Another invader peered through as he stepped over the corpse and aimed in. The KAC trooper fired a burst down the shaft as they traded shots. The soldier fell backward, out of view, screaming in agony. Chuck, too, dropped back from a searing jolt of pain he received in his left shoulder. He glanced at the gunshot wound as blood soaked through his shirt’s fabric.

Not good. Hold on, Grace.

Chuck crawled toward the passage as another burst of fire erupted from the hatch. Ricochets pinged off the surrounding walls. Tucking the shotgun under his arm, he stood up to enter the tunnel and spotted a grenade falling into the shaft. It bounced off the bottom rung as he pulled the supply rack to block the passage. He leaped deep into the tunnel’s darkness as the explosive device went off meters away. The earth and timbers around him shuddered from the blast, and the concussion sent Chuck reeling, unsure which way was up.

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