Countdown by John Walker (most life changing books TXT) 📕

to be paranoid. Any civilization had to be over fifty miles away, probably more. That meant no help would be coming anytime soon. If they took out the garrison, they’d have the place.

“Follow my lead,” Zem hurried over to the nearest door. It happened to be ajar. He opened fire, pouring several blasts into the area. Someone screamed. Footsteps scuffled about; probably four people.

McCully opened fire inside as well before pressing her back against the wall to the right of the doorway. Zem didn’t hesitate, charging inside.

“Christ!” Torrence hurried after him for cover. McCully cursed as she followed. They had to hop over a body.

“Who the hell?” A man shouted from somewhere ahead. One blast hit the ceiling to Torrence’s left. She took a knee, aiming to the right of Zem as he continued his relentless advance.

“Clear the right!” Torrence shouted. He took a step out of the way as she fired, suppressive shots down the narrow corridor.

Zem continued shooting as well, keeping his motions conservative and tight. The sound of falling bodies rose above the clatter. Torrence had to pick up the pace to keep up but she remained crouched. The three of them reached an intersection where the hall broke off while still continuing down.

“McCully, left,” Zem called, “Torrence, right. I’ll go straight.” He didn’t wait for comment but kept moving.

Shit, this guy’s intense! Torrence complied though she sensed the hesitation of their third. McCully didn’t like the aggression, that much was obvious. Getting into the mix the way they were carried incredible risk but it also gave them the initiative. Biggun clearly didn’t anticipate a full-on raid. Probably because they scanned the ship and didn’t see a lot of us.

The reason for the smaller crew made more sense. It still felt insanely dangerous, flat-out suicidal had they shown up and found fifty people there… or a hundred. I wonder what he would’ve done. She half imagined he would’ve ordered Dora to blast the place, taking the buildings out in the process.

No, it has to be intact for when Loch comes home. Torrence slowed as she reached a door on the right. Glancing in, she didn’t find anyone. Moving to the next opening, she peeked in.

A man knocked the barrel aside, punching her in the face. The helmet absorbed the blow, making him cry out.

Torrence shoved him away, kicking him in the groin before turning the weapon on him. He held up his hand, shouting at her to wait as she put him down. The rest of the room proved empty. She stepped back into the hall.

A shot hit her on the shoulder, making her stumble, but it wasn’t enough force to put her down. Armor saved her life, the HUD showed it had another two, maybe three shots in it before it wouldn’t be capable of taking another. Damn, MerCon really does make incredible gear. Bastards held out on us.

She caught sight of her attacker hiding in a doorway. They moved back into cover.

Torrence knelt again, this time pressing against the wall while aiming at the portal. She drew a deep breath, forcing herself to be patient. The man peeked out again a moment later… she pulled the trigger, blasting the wall directly beside him. He screamed, likely burned from the proximity of the attack.

When he made the sound, she charged, rapidly blasting the wall where he hid. As she arrived, he opened up, but she didn’t burst in on him. Instead, she leaned her weapon around, firing from high to low.

He stopped shooting and she took a look. A smoking hole in his neck gave her confirmation that the target was down.

“Met some resistance,” McCully said. “Three down over here.”

“Two here,” Torrence said. “Continuing sweep.”

“Five more over here,” Zem said. “Should only be four assholes left. Dora, get me a sensor sweep. Feed it to our HUDs. Nostros, is Biggun secure?”

“Yeah, he ain’t going anywhere,” Nostros replied.

One person burst out in front of Torrence, running for the end of the hall. She took a shot, narrowly missing him to the left. He fired a pistol behind him, totally blind, that came shockingly close to a clean hit. She jerked herself to the left away from his weapon arm then laid down a barrage.

Cutting him down at the knees, he let out a heavy grunt then crawled toward the exit. Torrence took aim to put him down for good when someone jumped her from the left, slamming her into the wall. Her rifle fell from her hands, hanging from its strap. Her attacker worked the body, though the armor absorbed the blows, she still felt them.

Throwing an elbow, she caught the guy in the head, but it didn’t get him off of her. He kept at it, introducing a knife a moment later. The blade slammed into her side, but it didn’t penetrate. She spun with a huff, shoving him away. Instinct told her to go for her pistol. Her opponent was too on it; too adrenalized.

He came back at her in an instant. She blocked a blow to the left, following up with a jab to his nose. Without an armor to protect him, the hit shattered the cartilage, splattering blood against the wall. Even that didn’t deter him. He came at her again, flailing his fists. She held her arms up, twisting and weaving to absorb his attacks.

Torrence tossed a knee, getting him in the gut. He huffed before grabbing her by the front of her armor. That was it. Once he grappled her, she drew her pistol. He grabbed her wrist, but it was too late. She got him in the hip. As he crumpled, she pressed the barrel to his head… pulled the trigger… ended him.

The guy crawling away made it to the door, but he hadn’t gone through. Torrence shot him in the back then