The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (34 page)

With anguish Mark slid back behind the cover of
the hill, his head down, eyes clenched shut. It was over; the human race had
lost! Mark doubted whether any humans would survive more than a year upon the
surface if the Trellixian genocidal campaign continued with the civilian
population. Already all the major cities had been destroyed. Dams, power
stations, nearly all the infrastructure built up over hundreds of years had
been ruthlessly annihilated.

Mark stood, realizing he needed to get to his
squad’s rendezvous coordinates. He was hesitant to use his comm, as it might
alert the Trellixians to his presence. The rendezvous point was only a few
kilometers away in thick, concealing forest near another mountain. He hoped the
others in his squad had survived the blast.

Forcing himself to walk, Mark retraced his steps,
taking a roundabout course into the surrounding mountains toward his
destination. He carried a small pack, an assault rifle, and a pistol, as well
as several flash grenades. He almost wished a Trellixian would step out in
front of him, so he could vent his rage after witnessing the recent disaster.
Mark’s immediate commander had believed the base would be able to stand up to
the Trellixian attack.

The missile the aliens had used at the end had
penetrated the base’s fusion energy shield as if it didn’t even exist. The
human scientists hadn’t expected anything like this. That final weapon was
unbelievable, and Mark wondered why the Trellixians hadn’t used it earlier in
the battle. What good his report would do now, he had no idea. The humans had
nothing left to fight back with; his information would be of little value to
the few surviving troops and scientists his commander had indicated were being
held in reserve.

-

Mark carefully approached the rendezvous
coordinates. In the last several hours, he’d encountered no one. He’d heard a
Trellixian attack craft fly over once, but it had continued on to some unknown
destination. Keeping under the canopy formed by the thick growth of trees, he
hoped he would remain undetected.

Nearby he could hear the sound of running water.
The rendezvous coordinates were just to the west side of the stream next to a
clearing. There a rocky overhang shielded a small cave, if one could call it
that, which they hoped would prevent detection from above. Grasping his rifle
and holding it at the ready, he slowly moved through the trees, keeping his
eyes peeled for any signs of danger. The snapping of a small tree branch
alerted him to the presence of someone behind him, and, spinning around, he
brought his rifle to his shoulder, ready to fire.

“Don’t shoot, sir,” a shaken private said, holding
up his hands. “We were beginning to fear you weren’t going to show up.”

“Private Donly,” Mark said, recognizing the young
soldier. “How many others made it?” Donly had been with Captain Reynolds.

“The captain, Private Richards, and Corporal
Sampson so far,” Donly answered. “They’re waiting at the overhang.”

“Let’s go then,” Mark ordered. He glanced down at
his watch, noting how much time had passed and realizing no one else would
probably make the rendezvous.

They quickly crossed the stream and made their
way to the overhang and the small cave extending about five meters into the
mountain.

“Major,” Captain Reynolds said, standing up, her
eyes showing relief at seeing him. “We were afraid that last weapon the
Trellixians used had taken you out.”

He looked around at the small group. All looked
disheveled, with their uniforms covered in soot from the blast. “What was that
damn thing they dropped at the end?” He looked at Reynolds, waiting for an
answer.

“I think it was antimatter,” replied Reynolds,
shaking her head. “It’s highly unstable, and I’m surprised they even used
something like that. It’s far beyond anything we’re capable of.”

“What about Sergeant Anderson and the two
soldiers with him? Any idea of their whereabouts?”

“The sergeant was to the right of our position
and closer to the blast,” Reynolds said in a lower voice. “I don’t think they
made it.”

Mark let out a deep breath. So many people had
died today. “We’ll wait here another two hours. If they don’t show up, we’ll
move out.”

Mark sat down on a large rock and gazed out at
the small stream and forest. His mind was nearly numb from what he’d witnessed.
It had been like this for the last twelve weeks. City after city had been
destroyed, Trellixian troops spreading out and eliminating any survivors, the
human militaries making desperate stands to slow down the deadly advance,
trying to give the civilians time to flee, only to be wiped out by superior
firepower. Mark had lost everyone dear to him. His parents had died when the
aliens hit Houston, and his sister had perished at a hospital in Dallas. She’d been a nurse, working at one of the few surviving medical centers before it
had been overrun by Trellixian troops. He just prayed his sister’s death had
been quick.

“What’s going to happen now?” asked Reynolds, as
she came over and sat down next to the major.

“I don’t know,” Mark replied with a sigh.
“There’s not many of us left. Do you know if any of your family survived?”

“I don’t think so,” answered Reynolds, shaking
her head. Her eyes looked sad and her face pale. Her brunette hair was just
barely visible beneath her combat helmet. “My family lived in Portland, and it
was one of the first cities hit.”

“The Trellixians were supposed to be the solution
to so many of our problems,” Mark said, recalling what the aliens had promised
when the first ship appeared over Washington, DC. “Cures for many of our
diseases, better power systems, new methods to grow food to stop hunger and
more.”

“All lies,” Lisa said, biting her upper lip.
“During the entire time they spoke to the world governments, they were just
preparing to exterminate us. I remember speaking to my dad at the very
beginning, and he was so excited about the possibility of having unlimited
energy. For several years the Portland area had been subjected to rolling
blackouts. He was talking about adding an addition to the house, so if
grandkids ever visited, they’d have their own rooms.”

“Grandkids,” repeated Mark. “Did you have any
brothers or sisters?”

“No,” Lisa replied, her face flushing slightly. “My
parents were hoping that, as soon as I got out of the military, I would settle
down and have a family.”

“Did you have anyone special in your life?”

Lisa closed her eyes and then slowly opened them.
“Yes, Streth and I had dated since high school. I guess the two of us always
assumed we would eventually get married. I was going to finish my tour in the
military and then join him. He had a real-estate business and was doing quite
well with it. He was in Portland when the Trellixians bombed it.”

“I’m sorry,” Mark said.

The two became quiet, lost in their own thoughts.
In the forest, the sounds of insects and an occasional birdcall could be heard.

-

Two hours later Mark stood up and looked around.
It was evident Sergeant Anderson and the two soldiers with him weren’t going to
make it.

“Let’s move out,” Mark ordered. He picked up a
small pack and slung it over his shoulders. They had left a few supplies in the
cave before setting out to observe the battle, and he made sure everyone had
what they needed to take with them.

-

As evening neared, they’d put quite a few
kilometers between them and the destroyed base. The sun was close to setting
when they heard an alien craft fly overhead and saw it land directly in front
of them.

“They must have detected us,” Lisa said
worriedly, as she stared in the direction the Trellixian aircraft had
descended. The tall trees made it difficult to determine how close to them it
had come down.

“How?” Mark was concerned. They were traveling
through a small valley with towering mountains around them and no way to go
around the enemy.

“Heat sensors probably,” Lisa replied. She looked
over at Mark. “They may be searching for survivors from the battle.”

“What do we do?” asked Corporal Sampson, who was
holding his assault rifle cradled in his arms. “Do we need to retrace our
steps?”

“No,” Mark replied as he thought over their
options. “We can’t go back.” Even as he spoke, he heard the Trellixian aircraft
again and saw it rise in the air and vanish to the south.

“They left,” Corporal Sampson said, with relief
in his voice.

“I doubt that,” Mark replied, peering into the
thick forest around them. “They probably set down a squad of their soldiers to
take us out and went in search of more survivors.”

“Do we fight?”

“Yes,” Mark answered. He turned to Private Donly,
who was carrying two backpacks. “How many M24 Claymore mines do you have?”

“Four,” Donly answered. “They can be remotely
detonated.”

The Claymore was an antipersonnel weapon
specifically designed to take out enemy troops. It was directional and could be
detonated from a distance. Each mine would fire four hundred steel bearings
capable of penetrating body armor when triggered. Mark was certain that if he
could detonate one within ten meters of the Trellixians, the projectiles would
penetrate their body armor, killing them.

“This trail we’ve been following is pretty
narrow,” Mark said, looking ahead of them and seeing a lot of tall trees and
overgrowth, which made much of the forest impassable. “I want a killing zone
set up in front of us.” He hurriedly showed Donly where he wanted the mines
placed.

While Donly set the mines, the other four humans
moved back a short distance and took cover behind some large boulders and a
fallen tree lying partially across the trail. When Donly finished, he jogged
back to Mark and handed him the detonator. Four glowing lights were visible,
each designating one of the Claymores.

“Now we wait,” he told the others.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Lisa said, looking at the
lengthening shadows being cast by the mountains. Already it was difficult to
see far into the forest. “It’ll be hard to spot the Trellixians until they’re
almost upon us.”

The time seemed to pass by slowly as the five
waited with their eyes focused on the trail and their ears listening for any
noises that might indicate the approach of the enemy soldiers.

“It’s too quiet,” whispered Corporal Sampson from
his position a meter to Mark’s right. “We should have seen or heard something
by now.” He shifted his rifle, gazing through the night scope.

Even with the night scopes, Mark knew his team
could only see about fifty meters into the forest in front of them.

“Quiet,” Mark ordered, as he thought he saw
movement in the undergrowth. If he was right, the enemy wasn’t using the trail
but forcing their way through the thick tangle of vines and underbrush that
covered the forest floor.

“I got ’em,” said Private Donly, peering intently
at a spot in the forest. “About forty meters out and to the right of the
trail.”

“Crap,” muttered Corporal Sampson, clicking the
safety off his assault rifle. “They’re too far away for the Claymores.”

“Let’s force them back on the trail,” said Mark,
as he reached down and unhooked two flash grenades from his belt. The flash
grenades would emit a brilliant light, as well as searing heat, where they went
off.

Everyone got their weapons ready, knowing that
shortly they would be in a fight for their lives. The Trellixians were known
not to take prisoners. Corporal Sampson also readied two flash grenades,
keeping an eye on Mark, so he would know when to toss them.

“Now,” Mark said, keeping his voice low so as not
to attract the enemy’s attention. Standing in a low crouch, he lobbed first one
grenade and then the second in the enemy’s direction. Corporal Sampson did the
same.

Moments later four loud explosions echoed across
the small valley, as four brilliant flashes of light and searing heat were
released on the valley floor. A lot of movement could be heard in the
underbrush, and then two Trellixians stumbled out into the trail, their energy
rifles held at the ready, searching for a target. Both were clad in full battle
armor with a helmet and protective visor.

Mark instantly pressed a switch on his remote
detonator, and one of the Claymores exploded just seven meters from the alien
soldiers. Hundreds of steel bearings struck the two, penetrating their armor,
knocking both backward and to the ground. “Fire!” Mark ordered, as other
armored Trellixians emerged from the undergrowth.

All five humans fired their assault rifles,
spraying the enemy with hundreds of rounds of armor-piercing ammunition.
Private Donly paused for a moment to lob two more flash grenades toward the
enemy, causing one alien to stagger and go down.

Mark stopped firing and pressed another switch on
the detonator, firing off another Claymore. The four had been set to form a
180-degree kill zone, and another one of the Trellixians had stepped too close.
The alien was nearly cut in two by the explosion.

A sudden scream drew Mark’s attention. He saw
Corporal Sampson stagger and fall to the ground with a look of shock on his
face, a red stain spreading across his chest. “Keep firing!” Mark shouted. He
took a deep breath and shot a quick burst at the nearest enemy.