There coming!”
Jake, as they ran, “Their coming!”
Nece, “Their coming!”
A town’s person in the area meeting up with them, “Who is coming?”
Abreon, as three or four began to gather about them, “Soldiers!”
A second town’s person shaking her head, “It can't be! There isn't a militia for over a thousand kilometers!”
Abreon holding out his two rifles, “Then how did I get these, in a non-militarized zone!”
The woman, “I don’t know.”
Abreon: “Take me to the town’s committee leader!”
Loss was pulled out of a tailors shop, “I’m here! I’m here!” They waited until he reached them. Loss, looking over heads, “What is the problem?”
Abreon, as Loss made his way through the gathering, “There is an army company in the woods passed the hills.”
One, “The kuffor hills?”
“Yes, and we have the guns to prove it,” Abreon holding folding them out, “See!”
Loss making his way to Abreon, “Let me see.” Abreon handing him one, “Looks real. It’s not a hunting rifle. Not one of ours, “ then handing it back to Abreon, “But were in a non-militarized zone.”
Abreon to him, “I understand, but maybe a few town’s decided to incorporate.”
Loss, “Impossible!”
Abreon incredulous, “Well their here now!”
Loss, “What are we to do?”
Abreon angrily to him, “We must fight! We must hold the warehouse; we have a better chance of surviving if we keep the warehouse!”
The townspeople strung lines of wire back and forth along the road leading to the warehouse to form a grid. Abreon, Nece and Jake then tapped into the warehouses leads, patching the outside power grid to a control unit inside the warehouse. The three of them then connected the leads ready to energize the grid when necessary. Finally, they with the help of some of the townspeople covered the outside grid with dirt and debris in order to conceal it. It was compulsory for all the townspeople to enter the warehouse and reside in basement level three. That is where they would hold their final stand and although they were equal in number to the opposing company, they lacked weapons. This problem was solved by the clever use of the warehouses automation units and the surrounding storage units, forming corridors and mazes while the townspeople could wait in ambush them watching through cameras.
Abreon, Nece, Jake and another named Samuel all had the rifles, which were available from the previous incursion in the woods. Samuel was a thin short townsman with little hair, and a long nose, “I'm getting word,” Samuel speaking into his headset, “they’ve entered the town?” then, “Okay, let me know, don’t keep me waiting.” to Nece as they sat in front of a glass window upon the second level, “When they are in rage, we will electrocute them. Any who remain will fight hard. Remember, this is only the beginning.”
Nece, “We will.”
Samuel, “We have the laser rifles, but the few townspeople with rifles have the combustion type.”
Jake, “Well, we have the high ground advantage “
As the company neared, the hidden grid Abreon waited watching from one of the warehouses window, waiting, holding his breath, as four, then ten, then twenty-five of the total stepped onto the power grid, unaware of what they were stepping on. Abreon whispering into his headset, “Read, hold it…No, No, hold it until more get onto the road.”
Jake, “We have got to get them now.”
Nece, “No, no we have to wait a little longer.”
Abreon whispering into the headset, “Just a few more moments.”
Now a total fifty-five of the company’s soldiers were on the road to the warehouse and on the wire grid. Nece: “We have to do it now!”
Abreon, “Now! Charge those lines now!”
The grid lit up in blue and white arcs jumping, trailing and traveling about the lines of the grid, gripping them from their boots up, burning them, killing them almost instantly. The remaining hundred and fifty left in the company scatterings taking refuge where they could.
Nece to Abreon, “What do we do now?”
Abreon stepped away, “Get back.” each of them doing so, Abreon blasting the window away, it splintering everywhere. Abreon, “Okay.” pointing; “Each one to their own window. Blow them out and fire!”
Each doing the same to their windows that looked out on the remaining company. The rest of them seeing the encroaching soldiers firing at the warehouse windows and at them, each of the townspeople crawling to the edge of the windows, looking out, then when shots came, pulling to the side. Abreon looking out, “Hold you fire until there on top of us!”
Nece clutching her rifle, “Okay!”
Jake, “Got it.”
Samuel, “Yes.”
Three of the invaders crawling closer upon the ground in the open, Abreon, “I got the nearest!” aiming, shooting, missing, he and the others returning fire, Abreon ducking Nece and Jake, “Will pick them off!” Abreon peeking out and firing again, this time killing two of the three, “Rounds!”
Nece, “Eight on the charge.”
Jake, “Seven!”
Samuel, “Eight on the battery.”
Abreon watching as three more crawled up, others firing from where they hid, Abreon firing, killing one, then the others in Abreon's team firing with a few of their combustion rifles, killing another, everyone in Abreon’s team backing from their windows, “Rounds everyone?”
Nece, “Five!”
Jake, “Six.”
Another with a combustion rifle, “Ten.”
Samuel, “Six.”
Abreon: “That’s enough, we got them worried. Save your rounds and go to the Omega position! Let them in.”
Abreon waited behind a wall of crates, with another of the townspeople, with five rounds left in his rifle, he waited for another weapon, two soldiers flanking the contours of the warehouse bulkheads tight. Abreon waited, hesitated until he saw one of their barrels poke through the darkness. Abreon pulling the rifle as he swung the interloper about, the second towns-person, snapping the invading soldier’s neck. The second soldier charged them, Abreon kicking the second, his weapon dropping, Abreon then shooting him as he got up. Abreon tossing one of the dropped rifles to the towns-person, then taking the second he tossed it to another, who was atop a crate near him while still holding onto his laser rifle.
Abreon winding his way along a corridor formed by crates, upon the second level of that warehouse finding four more soldiers, shooting one, then another, the other two backing away taking cover behind a crate. Abreon dropping his empty weapon taking the two dropped by the dead soldiers and firing both of them as he turning about to hit a wall of seven more invaders. He fired, firing at them until he was out of ammo. Abreon looked at his rifles then dropped them. He thought he was as good as dead, until a wall of crates fell upon the ducked soldiers killing them. Abreon smiled to himself as he took two of their rifles and fired upon the remaining other two, flanking the forefront crate until they were hit. Abreon now heard the sounds of gunfire loud, everywhere and in all directions.
Abreon looking at concerned faces through the darkness, “Tomorrow morning their going to come back and swoop over this town, killing everyone. Glaring at Loss, “Were going to burn this town with or without you.”
Loss, “Why?”
Abreon ducked behind the controls of a robotic arm, waiting until two soldiers were near and then with the unit’s controls swung the arm, nocking one of them across the corridor killing him instantly, grabbing the second crushed him. He listened again to the sounds of rifle fire, now light and then finally ending.
Abreon pulled Loss over to him, shaking him, “Listen? We can't defend the town against hundred’s or thousand troops! We have to burn the town!”
Loss, Jake, Nece and Abreon walked out of the warehouse as other townspeople followed. Others came out of various hiding places as a hundred and seventy stood on the main road intersect
ing the town, Loss again to Abreon, “Why!”
Abreon, “Because Loss, if they capture this town intact tomorrow, they use it to further their domination in this region! You all will die or become slaves.”
Ten
Those buildings burned, the corrugated aluminum buckled and turned black, the flame retardant insulation peeled from the metal, the solar panels cracked and shattered, the assembly factory drew hot flames of red and white, the warehouse collapsed from the intensity of the fire, Abreon turned about, looking. The world was on fire.
Abreon raised his fists yelling out, “Burn them all!”
Nece hugged him, “They’ll have nothing left at all to take from us!”
Three thousand soldiers on foot and upon vehicle stormed into the town. The vanguard in the lead troop transport stopped before the townspeople, a high-ranking soldier stepping out, with guards surrounding him. He stood with his rifle to his side, “Who is the leader here?”
Abreon pushed Loss aside and stepped forward, “I am.”
The commander looked around at the smoldering ruins surrounding his division, “I am commander Dulo, head of the Srax army division two. Why have you burned this town?”
Abreon, “To save the world.”
The commander was perturbed with Loss answer, “I will not accept this answer. You are quite wrong. The world cannot save itself. The strong break the weak, the weak break the fools and the fools perish. That is how this world of ours functions.” Then with a wave of his hand, the commander told his troops, “Take him back to camp! Take them all back to camp.”
Abreon