Smokescreen

A Chapter by The Lost Ghost

The Lost Ghost must make a hasty escape.

THE LOST GHOST
Book 1 Chapter 4

The first of the elite troops rush out of the elevator and drop to one knee. They aim their automatic assault weapons directly at me. The only light in the hall is from the open elevator, dimly lit behind them, casting shadows along the perimeter. It adds to their terrorizing image, giving them a momentary psychological advantage over me. They're almost mythological looking, as though they are creatures emerging from the darkness, supernatural sentinels here to snatch me away to the underworld. The rest of the squad exits and split into two lines on either side of the hallway and, while in formation, advance towards me. One of them starts shouting at me through a muffled face mask. "Drop to the ground! Belly down, hands behind your head! Do It!" My adrenaline is spiking and my muscles tense, ready for action. I take in everything as I consider my next move, my senses overloading with intel. The sound of their boots is like thunder on a cold summer day, echoing through the night sky. It's loud and unnerving, causing the hair on my exposed forearms to rise. The acrid odor of gun oil makes my nostrils flair; it's a scent I'm all too familiar with, especially lately. I find it strangely intoxicating. The taste of blood and sweat in my mouth reminds me of my mortal limitations. I barely escaped the guards from earlier, my current wounds serving as painful reminders, badges of a battle won but a war yet to come. My black hoodie and olive drab cargo pants, stained with blood and covered in dust, will provide no protection compared to their black Kevlar padding and vests. I analyze the space around me. No rooms to duck into. No vents I can use to escape. The area is narrow, with not a lot of room to maneuver. With no where to run and my previous injuries still being fresh, a full frontal offense would be fatal. There are eight of them, all equally trained, all deadly, working as one team, a force to be reckoned with. I have to make a decision before they take action, but it has to be the right move. The wrong one, and I'm finished!

I release a smoke pellet from my hand that I had retrieved from my belt pouch before they entered the hall. The smoke forms a large cloud, instantly filling the area, providing cover for me to disappear, unseen and safe from the sharpshooters. After dropping to the ground and rolling off to one side, shots ring out, the soldiers firing on my last fixed location, every round missing it's intended target, flying blindly into the smoke. The bullets sound like hornets buzzing past me; the noise of ricocheted bullets off of metal light fixtures is distracting. I push a button on my goggles and the lenses switch from clear to night vision, and then to infrared. Nothing in the room is visible to them, but I am able to see their body heat, able to find each person's location. The image of their heat takes the form of a reddish orange and yellow silhouette. I know where they are, but they don't know my position. And to make matters worse, for them, at least, the smoke is laced with a special mixture I concocted. It contains a blend of pepper spray and a regurgitant that blinds them and makes them nauseous. Their eyes burn; they swell, overflowing with tears, unable to cease the pain. Their mouths fill with bile and vomit, further adding to their misery. The chemical is fortunately filtered out through my mask, making me safe to the effects, but I've tested it on myself before, so I'm well aware of the potency and the agony they're experiencing. Now is the time to make my move.

I run head on through the crowd. Its unnecessary to try to fight them, even though at this point, they're unable to defend themselves. But if I don't escape quickly enough, the smokescreen will disperse and they'll regain their composure. I use this to my advantage. I don't need to beat them all, just incapacitate a few, slow them down. Ultimately, I need to get out of here as fast as possible! I'm able to navigate between them, tripping them, leaping up and vaulting off of the shoulders of the tallest guy, knocking him down. Then I kick a man in the chest, making him fall back into a couple of guys near him, flooring them as well. I sweep the legs of a soldier, causing him to fall and become a barrier for another, who stumbles. An elbow strike renders him unconscious and a knee to the stomach of another eliminates one more. I can see the light of the open elevator. Its just a few feet away. Suddenly, one of them fires into the smoke, hoping to hit me. After a few of their members yelp in pain, its clear they have been struck by the errant bullets intended for me. The squad leader quickly reacts. "Cease fire! Cease fire!" he barks. Their armor prevents any fatalities among their group, but injuries are still present. They will need a much needed break to recuperate and regroup before pursuing me again. I dive into the elevator and quickly hit the door close button, providing shelter. I switch my goggles back to clear, then jump to my feet, and remove the escape hatch door overhead. I peer into the darkness, looking infinite, examining the length of cable I'll have to climb to reach my next destination. Some of the soldiers must have regained themselves. They start shooting at the door, which will only hold them off for so long. I switch my goggles to night vision mode and proceed to climb up, headed to my next destination...

prev chapter