I ignored the biting cold and surveyed the landscape below a grand structure built in ancient times. I couldn’t see much through thick fog veiling the trees. Homes clustered down the side of the hill. Dyer had his back against a trunk and he scanned the valley. A black dome nestled on the brink of a mountaintop where Armor was set up to contain an alien invasion on Saneris Island. A private house converted to the perfect vantage point and hideout. I hurried down a flight of stairs and joined him near the cliff.
“I was on watch all night. No trace of them this side,” Dyer said.
“They move fast, last sighted lowland. Wanna see what the hype is about?” I asked.
“And risk our lives, sure.” He shrugged.
Through the heavy smoke, I saw the silhouette of a still giant. A chill rushed through my skin. I pointed at it and he followed my gaze. Dyer was a year older. At twenty, he was the youngest recruit until I started training. He grew a scruffy beard and a mop of curls. Oversized chrilics came in our direction in long strides. He kept his gun holster at his hip and his hand trembled reaching for it.
The creatures multiplied, once they discovered the taste of human flesh, death numbers rose in a single week. Four soldiers against thirteen giants and we had to contain them. We became subject to the bloodlust of an alien race in possession of the highest level of technological advancement. A spaceship resembling a cobalt truck container had landed on the platform behind the building.
A quick head count and Dyer discovered thirteen aliens settled for what I presumed was the first time in the history of human existence.
A black racecar parked in an enclosed yard. Dyer loaded a heavy load of weapons in the back. He accelerated to a high speed and we reached lowland where the forest cleared around a wetland. The border of the flood encroached by an overgrowth of grass. The locals called them chrilics and they were impatient when the Armor force sent to destroy them failed on countless occasions. Chrilics were hard to hunt but certainly not impossible to kill. They blended in with the forest. We were yet to capture the first one.
“It’s just standing there,” Dyer whispered.
“I don’t think it can see us.”
Chrilics swarmed the wetland. The closest one turned in our direction. The texture of its skin resembled dry, cracked clay. It rose to a staggering height. Large grey eyes popped out of a round, slimed head. Twelve feet tall monsters roamed aimlessly while we assembled our weapons. Bullets against claws the length of my forearm, we needed bigger guns. The water came up to their knees. A smoke layer crept up their thighs. I counted five, more lurked in the water bodies on the island.
My boots balanced on a slippery rock and it approached with a hunch. My chest pounded. Claws swiftly collided with my diaphragm and my ribs hit a rock. I hissed and grabbed my torso. Biting my bottom lip did nothing to ease the pain. I braved the agony and struggled to stand straight. It leaped in a projectile toward me. The gun vibrated in my hand. My heart pounded faster as the rounds tore through the rough surface of the monster. It lifted giant claws. I dodged every swing passing above my head. I fired in quick succession and the beast collapsed and face-planted in the mud.
“Hide!” Dyer instructed.
It took more than two bullets to drop a giant swaying too close and he was down to three monsters. I bolted in the opposite direction but it took one bound for the creature to land in front of me. I ducked when it reached for me. I swung a heavy sword, slashing through its chest. My mouth fell open when I withdrew the sword and it plunged in a lifeless mound. A pinkish fluid streamed down iridescent scales and painted the cracks etched on the monster.
“Three points for Lana.”
The unexpected compliment made me smile. His features creased in disgust.
“This is too much,” he muttered.
“Look on the bright side. We took down three.”
I couldn’t believe our luck. Nothing mattered more to me than the safety of my people.