The Dark Descent: A Science Fiction Thriller (Into the Dark Book 1) by William Oday

Author:William Oday [Oday, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: William Oday
Published: 2019-06-08T22:00:00+00:00

32

The twin apes appeared from a nearby stall carrying submachine guns. They hunkered behind the barricade with malevolent grins twisting their faces. They were the types that weren’t overly concerned with which side was right or wrong or what the ensuing fight might be about or mean to the winners or the losers.

They were in it for the fight.

Plain and simple.

And there were times, like now, when that was just fine.

If we had any chance of surviving, we needed every knuckle-dragging, chest-beating caveman we could get. A few more people drifted out of nearby dark corners and joined us behind the barricade. They carried various firearms and looked like they knew how to use them.

So this was how a revolution started.

Had others started this way?

By a flashpoint of circumstance and not purposeful intent.

Had other leaders started in the same position of doubt and only in retrospect appeared confident and assured?

I barely remembered my own name.

Yes, more events were coming back. But a few flashes of memories were a weak foundation for a leader to stand upon.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Bullets pinged off the other side of the barricade.

Reflexively, I ducked, despite the barricade being tall enough to stand behind.

A whooshing sound and a wave of heat made us all drop to the ground as a cloud of flames billowed over the top of the barricade. It roiled out and down to the ground behind us.

A flamethrower.

One of the more barbaric tools of war.

General Curtis didn’t just mean to win. He meant to make a point. To make those who opposed him suffer so that others would know what waited for them if they chose the same folly.

A whistling trail of sparks raced overhead. An instant later, an explosion in the distance echoed around the cavern.

A rocket propelled grenade.

The screams of the injured followed.

Two more trails screamed by and two more explosions shook the marketplace.

I put the megaphone to my mouth and squeezed the button. “General Curtis, you’re killing innocent people!”

“Hold your fire!” his voice echoed from their position beyond the barricade and blocking the entrance of the cavern. “Scout, their blood is on your hands.”

I sidled over to the edge of the barricade and peeked around the corner.

Seventy feet away, a unit of Grays was fanned out in front of the narrow entrance. All dressed in full battle rattle and armed to the teeth. The front line crouched behind a solid wall of overlapping reinforced kevlar shields. Bullets weren’t going to do more than annoy them. Grenades would’ve made a dent, but we didn’t have any that I’d seen.

Behind several rows of soldiers stood the general. A squad of soldiers covered him with clear protective shields.

“Is the fugitive Martinez with you?” Curtis yelled.

A bullet pinged off the clear shield directly in front of his face.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Martinez at the other end of the barricade with her rifle pinned to the side for added accuracy.

She shrugged. “Worth a try.”

The general scowled. “Fire at will!”

Several soldiers carrying RPGs filed forward and took turns launching them into the cavern.

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