The Cold War: by Nick Venom (the best novels to read .TXT) 📕

The Delta faction was in control of ninety percent of the United States by the year 3022. The remaining ten percent belonged to the slowly shrinking Aztec faction, which was running out of options. Unlike the strong and expanding Delta faction, the Aztecs held onto a few sparse bases, one of which was the Lost City Facility. The Lost City Facility was stationed outside of Lost City, a city full of chaos and lawbreakers with drugs and debris sprinkled within it, creating a bad foothold for the Aztec faction. It was an awful city for the already undersupplied and weakening Aztec factioners to hold onto. 

The Lost City Facility held twenty men split into three groups. Their arsenal consisted of two green camouflage humvees and limited ammunition. The man in charge of the small base was General Wells. He was the spawn between a Delta father and an Aztec mother  - who joined the Aztec faction after his father’s death. His father was a monster.

Wells rose up the ranks, eventually reaching the title of general. Once he hit the title, he was sent to the Lost City Facility and given complete control of it. With him at the helm, he managed to keep the base floating, surprising as the Delta faction was slowly surrounding them.

Reports of the Delta faction closing in on them jumped at Wells. He responded by contacting the leader of Alpha Squad for intel. They were sent out of the base to scavenge for supplies. 

He grabbed a nearby transceiver and contacted them. “Alpha Squad, report in, over.” He then waited for an answer; tapping his fingernails on his desk. He waited for the crackle of the transceiver to deliver good news. 

“Alpha Leader, codename ‘Wix’, transceiving in.” The leader of Alpha Squad exclaimed into the transceiver. “We’re en route to HQ with supplies. Eta of fifteen minutes, over.”

“Copy, over and out,” Wells muttered, laying the transceiver down on the desk. He then sat down on the chair, resting his head on the desk. His heavy eyelids collapsed; his breathing steadied. By the time somebody found him, he was in a heavy sleep. The fatigue or running the eroding base had hit him harshly. However, his body stood up and forced him to sleep, even if it was a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, Wix had handed the transceiver to his second-in-command, known by the codename of Ash. “Thanks,” He muttered. Ash glanced at him and nodded. He then turned to look out of the humvee at the desolate landscape in front of them. Lifeless as far as the eye could see, and even a little further after that. 

Ash, however, grew to enjoy the emptiness. He was accustomed to it ever since his parents abandoned him. Ever since their departure, Ash wandered aimlessly before meeting Wix and joining the Aztec faction’s efforts. Now, he stood with the Alpha Squad, acting as the second-in-command of Lost City Facility’s runner squad. They were the fastest squad, good at making scavenging trips. 

Ash glanced over his shoulder,  his reddish-brown hair flowing out of his sand-colored helmet. His dark skin glowed off the sun, which shined onto him and illuminated him. He wore sand-colored gear with an M4 lying on his lap, not loaded, with an AN/PRC portable transceiver attached to his back. 

Behind him stood a man, known by the codename of Gunner, at the humvee’s machine gun pit. Gunner noticed Ash’s glance but ignored it.

He wore the same camouflage outfit that Ash had, but unlike his African-American descent, Gunner was of Japanese descent. Aside from the Japanese features, he had bulky muscles, bumping his shirt size up by two sizes. 

Wix noticed the small movements but continued to drive down the remnants of the road split in two different directions with a grass patch acting as a median strip.

  “Grim reporting in; a Delta truck on the other side of the road. Over.” Grim, the fourth member of the Alpha squad, radioed in. Ash handed Wix the transceiver. Ash flicked a switch on his transceiver.

“Heading in the opposite way? Over.” Wix said.

“Correct, the Delta truck looks like a civilian vehicle. Permission to make contact with it? Over.”

“Permission granted, over and out,” Wix stated. He continued to drive straight, plunged into silence for a few moments. The Delta truck that Grim was talking about appeared in front of them. Wix scoffed, amazed at Grim’s eagle eyes as the sound of a fifty-caliber machine gun roar to life. It threw a large handful of bullets into the Delta truck, breaking the temporary silence. 

The truck passed by him, on the other side of the road, forcing Wix to peer in his rearview mirror to check out the wreck. “Grims! Ajax! Report to base immediately. Over and out.” The humvee behind them with Alpha members, Grim and Ajax, roared past them and headed down the road.

Wix maneuvered the humvee over the grass median and headed towards the wreck of the Delta truck. Once they made it to the truck, they pulled up in front of it. Wix and Ash got out of the humvee, leaving Gunner on the fifty calibers to monitor the area. Ash opened the driver's door and pulled the driver out of his seat, dropping the driver’s body onto the ground. He then snatched his dog tag. On the dog tag read the name Riley “Snitch” Housser.

“Sir, this is a Delta factioner. It looks like they were in a hurry as well.” Ash stated.

“It looks like they came from the same direction as HQ,” Wix deducted. Ash heard his words and took out the transceiver. He handed it over to Wix, who grabbed it and raised it to his mouth. “Alpha Leader reporting in, over,” Wix said. He waited for a few moments before he got a response.

“I can hear you loud and clear Alpha Leader. What is your situation? Over.” Wells said, his voice with hints of sleepiness embedded in his words. He seemed to have woken up moments ago.

“We made contact with a Delta truck and disabled it. The truck appears to have come from the same road that connects to HQ. Over”

“Okay, I will tighten security-” Wells was then interrupted by loud shouting and sporadic gunfire. “Alpha Leader! Report to HQ immediately. Delta factioners are attacking. Over and out.” The connection cut off as Wix and Ash scrambled to get into the humvee. Wix turned the humvee around and floored the gas. Their destination was the Lost City Facility. 

Ash took the transceiver and contacted Grims and Ajax after switching channels. “Grims! Ajax! Situation report!” Ash shouted into the transceiver. He waited for what felt like an hour but got no response. “Grims! Ajax!” He repeated, but to no avail. Wix dropped all of his weight on the gas pedal, pushing the humvee to its limit. Ash switched channels again and received words from Wells.

“Alpha squad report in! We’re taking heavy fire over here! Where are the supplies? Over.” Wells shouted on the radio. Ash handed it over to Wix, who took slight pressure off the gas pedal.

“Eta is seven minutes out. I sent out the other humvee earlier, it should be closer to you than us, over.” Wix said.

“There aren't any Aztec humvees anywhere in sight. All I heard was an explosion coming from the main entrance!” Wells shouted, his voice irritated. “Hammer squad is taking a beating on the frontline. We need the supplies now! Over and out.”

Wix pounded his forearm on the steering wheel. “Damn!” He shouted. He applied more pressure on the gas pedal, shaving time off. “Be prepared to go into hell. We cannot allow the Delta factioners from taking over the Lost City base.” He declared. “Hoorah!”

“Hoorah!” Gunner and Ash shouted simultaneously.

The humvee rolled up to the main entrance, mostly unseen by the overwhelming Delta force. The second humvee that was sent ahead was consumed by flames. It was burnt to a crisp; one arm could be seen coming from what used to be the driver’s seat window. 

“Sir, that’s Grims and Ajax’s humvee. It seems like they were ambushed at the beginning of the battle.” Ash deducted.

Gunner who wielded the fifty caliber machine gun noticed a convoy of humvees roaming around the base. “Wix! I see several humvees hovering around the main facility. Permission to make contact?”

“Hold off. Don’t attract their attention!” Wix ordered. “Ash, get in the driver's seat!” Ash nodded as he jumped into the driver’s seat while Wix slid into the passenger seat. “Gun it.” He ordered. Ash nodded and stepped on the gas, roaring the humvee to life and pressing it towards the main facility of the base that held General Wells and the other soldiers defending the base. 

Out of nowhere, the transceiver that Ash carried roared to life. Ash grabbed the transceiver and handed it to Wix. Wix took it and raised it to his ear.

“Hammer Squad Leader Ultin reporting in. We suffered four KIA’s. We need reinforcements on the frontlines, immediately. Over.”

“Alpha Squad Leader! Report in. Over.” Wells demanded.

“Alpha Squad Leader reporting in. Over.”

“Alpha Squad! Attack the Delta convoy while you make your way to Hammer squad! Over.” Wells ordered.

“Copy. Over and out.” Wix said into the transceiver. He then looked straight as they came closer to the trenches that Hammer Squad was held up in. As they neared the trench, the convoy began pouring their bullets into the trench that acted as a moat around the main facility. The convoy noticed the lone Aztec humvee, soon lighting it up with bullets.

“Sir, we can’t get close to Hammer Squad. The convoy won’t allow us!” Ash shouted.

“Gunner! Get off the machine gun. In this fire, we won’t be able to hit anything!” Wix shouted. Gunner slightly nodded before retracting his head from the machine gun pit. He raised his assault rifle and pointed it out of the window towards the convoy of five humvees and two cargo trucks. Wix got back on the transceiver. “This is Alpha Squad Leader Wix, we’re unable to make it to your position due to heavy fire. Retreat for pick-up. Over.”

“Hammer Squad Leader Ultin reporting in. We’re unable to move with our dead and the fire. Can you charge against the gunfire and pick up the dead and wounded? Over.”

Wix jerked his head back, slightly confused. “You’re wishing for us to take the fire? Over.”

“Correct, we can’t do anything while we’re trapped. Over.”

Wix gnashed his teeth. He took in a deep breath before exhaling. “Copy. Move your men to your right corner of the trenches, over.” The trenches that Hammer Squad couldn’t escape from were shaped in a square around the main facility. The Hammer Squad were in the south trench while Echo Squad was in charge of the northwest trench.

“Copy, moving now, over and out,” Ultin reported. Wix turned towards Ash and ordered him to head to the corner.

“Sir! That’s impossible to do. We would be taking heavy fire from the Delta convoy!” Ash shouted.

“We’ll be fine, but keep your head down. Gunner! Once we stop, get out and open the trunk. Move the dead and wounded into the trunk. Anybody who can still fight, move them to the backseat.” Wix ordered. Gunner nodded. “Ash, gun it!” Ash applied more pressure on the worn-out gas pedal, pushing the humvee towards their destination. 

The convoy applied more pressure on the Aztec humvee, forcing Ash and Wix to duck their heads to avoid the incoming bullets. Ash swerved in front of the corner with the front of the car facing the convoy while the back of the humvee faced the trench. Gunner opened his door and jumped out. He raised his guns and popped off shots aimed at no one in particular. Gunner then turned around and jumped into the trench. He turned to his left and noticed two barrels aimed at him.

“I’m from Alpha Squad, here to pick you guys