The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

A woman runs full speed towards us, and I watch in growing horror, as one of the Gorongiath soldiers raises his weapon to shoot her down; in her arms, she carries a small child. I raise my rifle without any conscious thought; Colin hisses a warning, "Vivian, no."

But I can't just let this go. Dimitrov pushes into me, shoving me to the side, making my shot go wide and hit some kind of transportation device ineffectively, not even a second later the woman tumbles to the ground, rolling head over heels, coming to a stop just by our feet.

She lies lifeless on her stomach, with an ugly hole in her lower back, seeping dark black blood. A tiny cry rings out, and one of the female soldiers next to me races forward, picking up the alien child, she runs back into the spaceship.

Colin's face is a mask of determination. "Move out."

Apprehensively we leave the hangar's relatively safety and make our way towards the melee. Closing in I notice more of the slaughter happening all around us.

Gorongiath soldiers file into the city and shoot indiscriminately at anything that moves. It doesn't even matter if it is a Phinaruh. Animals, which I assume are either livestock or pets, receive the same fate as the other aliens.

A handful of Phinaruhs have finally managed to organize themselves behind an array of vehicles and return fire. Everything inside of me screams not to shoot at them, they're only defending themselves, but as we advance, I can't see an out for us, if we don't want to watch our friends die or raise red flags with the Gorongiath. I'm sure they were ordered to watch us like hawks and report to Quill any kind of interference or insubordination. If this plan is going to have a chance of success, we'll have to play by their rules until Lorant finally gives the word.

More ships land and eject more soldiers, humans and Gorongiath. The Gorongiaths throw themselves into the fight with abundance, while us humans stand by the platforms, frozen in horror.

Come on, Lorant, I pray, give the freaking order.

And finally, through our earphones, we hear the words I've been waiting for, "It's a trap, pull back."

All my pent-up anger releases with the first shot I take at the first Gorongiath getting into my path not wearing the black ribbon on her arm. She has no idea what is happening, never sees it coming, my aim is true, and she is thrown off her feet, landing in the dirt, eyes wide and glassy. Quickly I move on to my next victim.

For the first minute, it's like shooting fish in a barrel, but then the Gorongiaths catch on that their supposed allies are not only falling back but are shooting at them.

As easy as it is for them to realize the humans turned on them and to fire at us, it's a lot harder to distinguish their own comrades shooting at them. They can't figure out who or why.

Even the Phinaruhs seem to catch on that we're on their side and cease firing at us. It's still chaos all around me, though. The smoke is getting worse, and then I hear a loud screeching sound coming from the sky. I lift my head just in time to see the first alien ship crash down. It smashes into the forest. The impact shakes the ground all the way to where I stand. The air battle is in full gear. More screeching fills the air, and as I look up, I realize that the next ship one is not going to crash into the forest but right into the city. I press my rifle across my chest and start a full out run, away from the buildings.

The blast from the impact throws me to the ground. It's as if somebody kicked me in the back. I fly forward and have just enough time to put my hands out to cushion the blow somewhat. Still holding the rifle, my fingers take the brunt, and I feel skin peel off my knuckles. I have enough sense though, to use the impact to roll around to get back on my feet, just in time to see one of the Gorongiaths aim his gun at me.

I throw myself on the ground and roll towards his legs, his rifle is too long to get out a shot, as I close in on him. My body connects hard with his legs, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. For a moment it seems as if he'll be able to keep his balance, my hands push out and finish the job to get him down.

Half of his body lands on me. Forcefully, I shove and kick at him, before pulling my knife and stabbing it into his chest. It bounces off one of his many ribs, causing him to cry out in pain. Bringing the blade back around I try to slice his throat, but he has regained some control and stops my hand.

A power struggle for the knife ensues. I've gained a lot of muscle, but I'm still no match for a male warrior when it comes to strength. My upper body is on top of him, my lower half is turned away at a ninety-degree angle, making it impossible for me to use my legs to kick out at him.

I cling to my blade, his hand holds my wrist mercilessly in a death grip, turning it slowly to point at me. If I don't let go now, he'll take the knife and kill me within seconds, leaving me with only one choice. I let go of the blade and push myself to a standing position, reaching for my Glock.

His eyes fill with glee as I release the knife. He thinks he has won as he pushes himself to his knees to get up, but by then, I have the Glock in my hands, and pull