The Peeling Trilogy by Iain Rob Wright

Author:Iain Rob Wright
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: SalGad Publishing Group
Published: 2012-10-30T04:00:00+00:00

THE PEELING: BOOK 3

Warriors

By Iain Rob Wright

------

Staff Sergeant Matt Parker stood tall on the back of the tank and peered through his binoculars.

“Slow her down,” he shouted as he clung onto the Warrior’s turret.

The Perkins-Rolls-Royce V8 Condor engine of the British Army Infantry Fighting Vehicle slowed down with a disappointed grumble. Discarded rubbish and human waste crunched beneath the weight of its treads. All around, the city of Birmingham lay in ruins; its humanity abandoned and broken. Paint peeled from every building, but the ever-present bloodstains seemed only to intensify with age. Gradually the city was turning red.

“You spot something?” Corporal Cross asked his sergeant from the gunner’s seat. The tank’s 30mm cannon was empty, as was its coaxial chain gun, but it still commanded attention from those who did not know. The only ammunition Parker and his men had been able to snatch up when things had gone bad at Tidworth was enough explosives for a single barrage from the tank’s eight grenade launchers (positioned in two clusters). Fortunately, they were all equipped with personal arms and each of them carried a L85A2 assault rifle (or SA80) with roughly a magazine of ammunition each.

Parker inched his binoculars to the left, picking up movement amongst the rubble of a firebombed Post Office. “We’ve got civvies up ahead. Two-hundred metres. Bring us to a halt; let them come to us.”

The civilians up ahead were just kids, and they were visibly afraid. Upon seeing the tank, the two teenagers tried to scurry behind a scattered pile of masonry. Parker picked up the megaphone that hung from a lanyard attached to the Warrior’s side storage. He raised it to his mouth and moistened his lips.

“Strangers, you have been spotted. Please identify yourselves so that we can categorise you as non-hostile.”

The teenagers did not come out.

Parker increased the megaphone’s volume. “I am Sergeant Matthew Parker of her Majesty’s Armed Forces. I mean you no harm. If you need assistance I will provide it to you. Come out now, please.”

Tentatively, the two teenagers reappeared from behind the rubble like frightened mice. It was a boy and a girl. The boy was Black while the girl was pale and ginger-haired. They were an odd pairing, indeed, but then, in the current world, people found companionship wherever they could. Social norms no longer applied.

The teenagers approached the tank; the boy walking protectively in front of the girl. As they got closer, Parker identified them as young adults. He also saw that his early estimation of them being afraid was not entirely accurate. They were not so much afraid of Parker or the tank as they were distrustful.

Parker placed the megaphone down and placed both his palms out to his side, showing that he was unarmed. He also tried to smile but found he had forgotten how to.

“What do you want?” asked the teenage boy defiantly.

Parker shrugged. “Just want to check in with you folks. Everything okay? Are you in need of assistance?”

The lad huffed and shook his head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.