The Final Battle
A novel by
Anna Wu
Published September 2013
San Francisco, CA
Copyright 2013
All Rights Reserved
Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Suicide Mission
The peaceful silence of the Earth's moon had been disturbed hours ago. Sounds of explosions and gunfire ripped through the air. Dust was kicked in the air as a small boy dove across the ground.
James Neutron landed hard on his elbow, but he shook off the pain. Dodging the constant firing of his enemy's machine gun, he ran and dove behind a large boulder.
"Jimmy! Are you ok?" a panicking Carl shouted above the noise of explosions.
Ignoring the cries of his best friend, Jimmy rushed over to Cindy whispered into his headset. "Give me the pulse rifle!"
Cindy slung it off of her shoulder and held it out to him. "Why? I'll do whatever it is you're thinking of doing!"
Jimmy stared at her for a moment, the small wisp of blonde hair covering her left eye. He knew that she was completely capable of what he was about to do, maybe even more so, but he didn't like the idea of sending a woman out to do this dangerous job. He was old fashioned like that. "No, I'll do it," he whispered while grabbing the gun.
He pulled the clip of ammunition off of his belt. It was his let one. Ninety-five rounds of armor-piercing ammo. He loaded three white phosphorous incendiary grenades into the grenade launcher under the barrel of the gun. "Cindy, spot for me. Sheen, man this," he said while taking out his emergency flare gun from his box of supplies. He tossed it to Sheen, who handled it gingerly. "It's not a real gun, but it's better than nothing. Libs," he looked at the wounded girl sitting next to him, "just sit tight. Carl, keep applying pressure to the wound."
He was about to run out from behind the protection of his boulder when he felt someone grab his shoulder. "Spot for me! Let me handle the gun!" Cindy shouted.
Jimmy shrugged her hand off of his shoulder and glared at her. "Not now, Cindy!"
"Gosh darn it, Neutron, you spot me! Give me the gun!"
"God damn it, Vortex, don't second guess me right now! Spot me and we'll settle this later!" he shouted angrily.
Cindy frowned and spun away, speaking into the headset. "Whatever. Just do your macho thing."
Not having the time to fight about this right now, he ran out from behind his boulder. Immediately dozens of bullets flew past him. He jumped as far as he could and rolled behind the safety of a nearby boulder. "Droids ten o'clock, two o'clock, and midnight. All around two hundred meters away," he heard Cindy's voice say. He glanced to his right and could see her looking through a pair of powerful binoculars.
Jimmy popped his head up and turned about thirty degrees to his right. He saw the first of the enemy robots coming at him. "Die you sick son of a biscuit!" he shouted while unleashing a torrent of bullets. The steady clanging of ejected shells hitting the ground near him went unheard. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he ran out from behind his shelter as he heard a faint whizzing sound.
Running as fast as he could, the shock wave of the grenade sent him flying across the ground. He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him. "Droid down, next one is now two hundred meters at four o'clock," Cindy's comforting voice said.
Jimmy rolled out of the way as the stream of bullets poured onto the ground he had just been lying on. Taking the only second he had available, he took aim, pumped the grenade barrel, and fired a grenade. He then kept his finger pressed down on the trigger.
The grenade slammed several feet from the droid, fairly good aim considering that Jimmy was six hundred feet away. The explosion burnt the robot and knocked it over, and the bullets easily passed through the robot's broken shell. It fell to the ground, a smoking piece of metal.
Jimmy's body ached, but he didn't care. His blood was icy cold, time slowing down around him. Things seemed to go by in slow motion. Every detail was enhanced. His adrenaline reserves were emptied.
He jumped up and spun around. He pumped the grenade launcher once again and fired it at the robot he saw out of the corner of his eye. He pumped it again and launched another grenade. Pressing the trigger down so hard it cut into his finger, the last few bullets in his rifle were emptied.
Cindy smiled and let out a primal shout of celebration as she saw the last robot go up in flames. She turned the binoculars towards Jimmy and saw him slowly stand up.
Jimmy got to his feet and slowly cracked his neck. Limping, he began the long walk toward the small metal shed a quarter of a mile away. He pointed the gun ahead of him and kicked open the door. "Game over, Strych," he mumbled with hatred.
The shed was empty. The whirring of computers was the only sound that could be heard. Smiling, Eustace ran out from behind the shed and appeared in the doorway, pulling a gun out of his pocket.
"I'm afraid that it is, Neutron at least for…" he was stopped in mid-sentence by an angry Jimmy whirling around and slamming his rifle into Eustace's stomach. He bent over his shocked enemy and pointed the rifle in his face.
Jimmy wouldn't have pressed the trigger, except that he saw Eustace make a move for his gun. With much resentment, he pulled the trigger. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the blood.
There was none. No loud smack of a bullet, no scream. Just a tiny click of the trigger going back into place. Jimmy became scared as Eustace smiled and got back up to his feet. He pulled the trigger several more times, but to no avail. In a last resort, he swung the gun at him once again.
Eustace jumped backwards and aimed the antique revolver at Jimmy's chest. "As I was saying," he angrily mumbled while stepping out of the doorframe (and Jimmy's range), "the game is over for you. Any last words?" he asked while steadying the gun with his other hand.
Jimmy dropped the gun and put his hands up. He frowned glared at Eustace. "Yeah. You'll never get away with this."
Eustace smiled wider. "How clichéd," he mumbled while tightening his grip on the trigger.
Suddenly a whizzing sound reached both their ears. Jimmy ducked as a bright fireball erupted near Eustace. When he heard Eustace shout out in pain, he ran outside.
Cindy lowered the flare gun and ran the several meters towards him. "Spotting my ass," she angrily whispered while shoving the empty gun into his hands. She bent down and picked up Eustace's dropped revolver.
Jimmy snatched it out of her hands, much to Cindy's chagrin. He cocked the gun and pointed it down at Eustace, who was rolling around on the ground to extinguish the few remaining flames still burning on him. When he stopped rolling around, Cindy walked over and slammed her foot into him. Carl now walked over, and Sheen helped Libby hobble over to stand around Eustace.
Eustace stared up at the five angry kids looking down at him. "What are you going to do now, Neutron?" he spat. He groaned as Cindy slammed her foot deeper into his gut.
Jimmy took a deep breath and let the anger flow out of him. "You know, Eustace, each time you do this you pull me one step closer to actually killing you. So stop it," he shouted into Eustace's face.
"What now?" Carl asked.
Jimmy tossed the gun to Cindy. "Empty it." Cindy glared at him, and he sighed. "Please empty it."
Cindy took the six rounds out of the barrel and put them in her pocket. She tossed the gun back to Jimmy, who handed it to Eustace. He growled while snatching it out of his hands.
Jimmy knelt down as he took the gun from his hands. He drew his fist back, rage etching across his face once again. "This is so you won't attack us on the way home," he said while hitting him hard enough in the forehead to knock him out.
Jimmy stood up and stared at the unconscious kid on the ground. "Go to the rocket. I'
ve got to check something in that shed. Cindy, start her up," he told everyone. They nodded and began the trek back to the Strato XL. Once they were out of sight, he stared down at Eustace. He drew his right foot back and kicked him hard in the ribs. "And that's for nearly killing my girlfriend."
Disclaimer: The pulse rifle and its grenades are actually from the movie Aliens. I don't own that.