The Last Mission of the Living (The Last Bastion Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Torran crept toward the door. The night vision’s inverted perspective illuminated the hallway with an eerie gray glow.
    A shadow flickered across the threshold.
    Darting forward, he kicked the door shut and hit the lock. Instantly, gunfire started on the other side. The Abscrags now had SWD weaponry. It wouldn’t hold very long against the barrage.
    Whipping about, Torran pushed past the frightened soldiers and fired at the windows. The bullets punched into the treated glass, forming fist-sized indentations, but the window didn’t shatter. “Concentrate your fire!”
    Jonas and Goodwin immediately obeyed.
    The hot metal chipped away at the glass as the guns roared. Behind the three soldiers, the door buckled. It would give way soon.
    “We’re going to get out of the building and head toward the subway entrance one kilometer north. Keep moving and do not slow down,” Torran said over the noise.
    “The rest of the squad?” Goodwin’s gun clicked empty and she swiftly reloaded.
    “Gone. You see the readout.”
    “But it can’t be true!” Jonas exclaimed. “Abscrags aren’t supposed to be that smart!”
    “Maybe we’re not dealing with Abscrags but something else,” Goodwin suggested.
    Torran hated that her comment sounded wholly plausible.
    Finally, a large enough hole formed in the glass to allow them to crawl out. Rushing forward, Torran bashed at a few loose chunks with the butt of his weapon. Their armor would protect them from the sharp edges. Behind them, the door was starting to give way in the frame. Soon, the Abscrags would be on them, yet Torran was more worried about what was waiting outside the building. The scan of the area still wasn’t showing movement, but Torran no longer felt he could rely on the readings. They’d have to trust their instincts and training to survive.
    “I’ll go first. Goodwin, you follow. Jonas, you bring up the rear.” If something terrible waited outside, he’d deal with it and clear the way for the remaining squad members.
    It was a bit difficult squeezing through the hole with his helmet on, but Torran didn’t dare take it off. Torran held his weapon before him with one hand while using the other to push through the narrow, ragged tunnel. Keeping an eye on his surroundings, Torran wormed his way through the opening. The windows faced a concrete pad that was cracked and sprouting weeds. The drop to the ground wasn’t too high, so when he finally pulled his torso through the glass far enough to allow gravity to take control, he fell, tucked, rolled, and shot back onto his feet.
    The area appeared clear, but the sight further along the road gave him pause. Revealed through the night vision, Torran saw many bodies sprawled before the heavy doors to the mine. Toggling through his filters, he swallowed hard. The bodies were warm, which meant they were his squad and they were most likely dead. Raising his head, he saw Goodwin squeezing through the hole in the thick glass.
    “Hurry,” he said, but knew he didn’t need to urge the other two soldiers.
    Scanning the area, he gripped his weapon ever tighter. The comfort he sought from it didn’t manifest as he watched the corpses of his squad in the distance start to jerk and thrash about.
    Goodwin crashed to the ground beside him, but rapidly recovered and stood up. Jonas started through the hole, his ragged breathing sifting through the helmet speakers. Thrusting one hand through the opening, he said, “They’re almost through! Help me!”
    “Cover us,” Torran told Goodwin.
    Eyes wide with fright, she briskly nodded.
    Torran swung his weapon onto his back and raised his hands toward Jonas. He could barely reach the other man and his fingertips scrabbled at the hard, black armor as Torran struggled to get a good grip. Jonas managed to get his other arm through the glass, his firearm dangling from the strap attached to his uniform. Torran clutched Jonas’s hand and strove to pull the man through the opening.
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