Delta Squad

This chapter takes place during the main timeline of the story

The landscape is a barren, gray wasteland with shrubs dotting its scarred face. Craters and trenches are stains on the surface with black blast marks seemingly everywhere. The thunderous whirling of the heliship makes my ears ring as we speed above the devastation below. My earset begins to beep and I prepare to hear my mission, 

“We have a squad of soldiers in a town about two clicks from where we’ll set you down,” says our commander, James Locke, “ We can’t bring you guys any further because of the anti-airs in the same town. Your mission is to reach the checkpoint and secure the soldiers, to take out those A.As and to bring down as many enemy personal as possible. We’ll land onto of a hospital in the southeastern part of town. Hoo-rah,” and a buzz signals the end of the message. 

In the heliship my squad of six prepare to drop, arming ourselves to the teeth with amour and weapons. Across from me sits Nick, our demolitions expert, who is coveting his two sawed of shotguns with a pack full of grenades and C4 between his legs. With a twig like but well defined body, this Latino sports a thick mustache and chops with a classic cowboy hat to cover his balding mullet. 

To his left sits Jake, the big gunner, strapping on some heavy battle gear and checking his Mini Gun for any defects. This redneck hulk is as clean shaven as a marble with scars shooting across his face from close encounters, notably his infamous “Streak” which goes across his right eye all the way to the left corner of his mouth. To Nick’s right is the rookie Tony, hold his battle rifle as close as a child to his blanket. Wearing the full set of armor, he’ll soon realize that that helmet is only going to slow him down, if he realizes fast enough. 

To my left is Connor, our sniper although not to shabby with dual SMGs, pushing bullets into the clip and into the slots going across his chest. Always wearing his signature Aviators, the classic New Yorker looks like a mobster with his black hair slicked back and a cigarette constantly burning. To my right sits Captain Sean, the deadshot, he could pull of a headshot with his modified rifle from three hundred yards away while doing a cart wheel. Coming from Northern Maine, his crew cut is neatly flat with a front jutting into the air. Always looking out for his squad, always ready to catch a bullet for anyone of us and us for him. The story of his nearly blinded left eye, which is now a striking light blue is a reminder of what we face out there. 

As for me, my name is Jack Patterson and I am a special forces soldier like my father before me. I always keep a shaved head with an incoming beard to compliment my tired, blue eyes and the slender nose of mine. I tighten my forearm guards and tightly pull my gloves over. I reach back to holster two semi-automatic pistols on my thighs and my classic revolver in my left boot. I stand to wrap around my belt with rifle clips and my plasma edged-knife. On my right shoulder I arm a bulletproof shield a little bigger then a dinner plate. Finally I bring up my rifle, semi-automatic with red-dot aimer and heat seeking grenade launcher add-on, just how I like it. Another beep sounds from my earset, this time its captain, “ All right men we’re at the drop sight, the ship isn't stopping or slowing town so everybody tuck and roll and get ready to shoot who knows what’s down there. Stick together!,”

 “ Lets take ‘em out!” says Jake, 

“ Whoo let’s get some!” replies Nick,

 “ Get ready Delta,” says Sean, “ JUMP!” and so I take a giant leap with arms outstretched. 

As the ground comes closer I angle myself head forward and as soon as my hands hit I tuck in and slide a few meters to a halt, raising my rifle instantaneously.

 “ Regroup Delta!” yells Sean and so we all meet inside a giant crater. “ Heat’s picking up some cowboys sir,” says Connor looking through the scope of his rifle.

 “ Nick throw so napalms up there and we’ll head out,”

“ With pleasure,” says Nick with a grin as he pulls the tag on two grenades with each hand and tossed them over.

  The explosion is deafening, but we all charge up guns blazing. Jake’s mini gun starts shooting a river of bullets as Sean and I take either side of him keeping anybody from getting a shot at the big guy. 

“Move up,” says Sean and so we move up in a V shape scanning for enemies in the trenches.

 Suddenly, we see a mass of hover-cycles ramming towards us with Electrospears in front eagerly waiting to gore us. We all dive out of the way except Jake who plants down and pulls his arms tight to his chest. 

“Jake!” yells Connor but a purple shield appears before him and one cycle crashes into it an explodes in a fiery ball. 

“ Woah Jake, when did you pick up a Energy Shield?” I ask sliding next to him and returning fire, 

“ Back in New Orleans. They’ve been miniaturizing the shield around the city for years and I won one in poker. Added it on yesterday,” he replies.

 “ You dirty cheat,” says Connor sniping from a trench behind us,

 “Won it fair and square partner. Might be my fault though that they got completely wasted,” 

“ Here they come!” says Tony in a shaky voice. 

Connor takes two of them out in rapid succession while I hit the engine of one, leaving four left. Jake begins spraying at them but Nick screams

 “ Jake! Let's give 'em a special!”, 

“ Yea but they’re moving! You can’t do it now!” he replies, 

“ Now!” orders Nick and so Jake goes on one knee and still fires, taking one out on the left. 

Gracefully, Nick steps on his back with two plasma grenades tied together with thin rope and he leaps up and throws it at one of the cycles. It wraps around the electrospears of one and weighs that cycle into the one next to it and then the bombs explode taking the last one with them to the death. 

“ Nice shot partner!” says Jake giving Nick a knuckle.

 “ Told ya,” says Nick,

 “ Let’s move Delta we got to get to the town quick. Strap up cause we’re sprinting!” says Sean,coming back to the group covered in soot, “ Move!”. 

We all get up and start sprinting due north. The trenches are filled with cowboys springing up from beneath so Nick rolls into one on the left with his shotguns and blasts his way through while Connor kick flips into another and with three shots takes out the entire battalion. On top Sean, Jake, Tony and I have our hands full running right through the army and take everyone out. In front is a barricade of sandbags with a gaiting gun mounted on it. 

“ Jack! Catch!” says Nick running in the parallel trench as he throws up a pack of four smoke discs. 

I push the activation buttons on the top one and fling it to my left as I run right. Then the next right as I cut left and then the last two towards the barricade. Smoke covers the area while the gunner is struggling to find out where I am. Finally I reach the bags and step on it, do a flying twist and take out the gunner and his two comrades in mid-air. 

“Clear!” I scream,

“Clear!” says Connor, 

“Clear!” says Nick and so we regroup on the surface and reform our formation. 

“I see the town at the base of this hill,” says Connor as he take point. 

“Almost there men!” says Sean as he catches up to Connor. 

Sprinting fast across the battlefield, we fire at the enemies popping out of the holes in the ground, like an extreme wack-a-mole. Distracted by my success, I failed to see a sudden cliff and tumble downward. I land on my face hard but get up quickly to be looking down the gun of a tank. “ Woah!” I scream as I roll out of the way as soon as the tank fires.

 “Yo!” screams Nick from onto of the cliff as he throws me a live grenade. As soon as I see it flying through the air I step on the tank and jump back off to catch it. Once I have it I hurl it hard at the tank’s back vent and it goes through. I land and curl up tight as a huge explosion goes off behind me. I turn back around to see the treads of the tanks engulfed in flames. 

“Jack your awesome!” says Tony just standing there in awe, “ Start getting your head out of the clouds and you’ll be awesome too,” I reply with a smirk as the rookie looks down in embarrassment. 

“Move team those soldiers won’t last much longer,” orders Sean, 

“Captain, I’ll stay up hear to provide sniper support,” says Connor. 

“Fine, just watch yourself out here,” and so they shake hands and split. 

“C’mon team lets show 'em cowboys how it’s done!” says Jake. 

“Jake aren’t you a cowboy?” says Nick, 

“ Shut up I’m a good cowboy,” says Jake with a shove,” 

“ All right there chill down Buffalo Bill I was just kidding,” says Nick with a chuckle.     “We’ll laugh once we’re safely on the trip home,” I say as I begin to charge down the hill.