Zayn held onto the rail at the side of the staircase as his vision swarmed, and forehead remained bloody.
He muttered numerous insults at the new timeline as he tried to figure out a way back to the extraction point before they left.
'At least in WW3 we were all humans, not goddamn hulks.'
He looked up, then down—just stairs for miles. He could open any random door, but chances were Vale was still lurking around.
The echo of his steps was the only thing audible. That made things clear to him.
The walls were soundproof, which meant Levi wouldn't know if he was dead or alive—and as such, they could leave at any time without him.
He used the rail to drag himself up. 'Let's get this over with.'
****
A few moments prior
As Captain Jones dragged Levi forward toward the extraction point, with only three low-level Aurelian soldiers behind them, they left Zayn to fend for himself.
Levi turned his head every so often—he could hear everything that was happening—but he had a job to do as they pressed on toward the extraction point.
Just as they reached the second floor—
BAM-BAM-BAM!
Gunfire erupted in tight bursts from behind a corridor as the remaining Aurelians moved to cover the extraction hallway. The dim, flickering overhead lights cast jagged shadows over the bodies piling near the bulkhead doors.
As the bullets rang out, Levi tackled Captain Jones again, using his body to shield the captain's head. He barked at the soldiers, "Suppressing fire, now!"
Without hesitation, the three soldiers behind him obeyed instantly. They met bullets with bullets, unleashing a thunderous echo of assault rifle fire down the corridor.
"WAIT!"
Levi heard it—the enemy wasn't firing anymore. He ordered his men to stop.
An eerie silence fell. A tense calm washed over them.
The kind just before a storm, and then—
From the far end, an echopulse grenade clattered in—
CLINK—CLINK—THUNK.
DOWN!
VROOM!
Levi tackled the Captain again, shielding his head. The explosion unleashed a searing white light and a shockwave that tore through the hallway.
The echopulse grenade didn't have firepower—instead, it distorted the nervous system: vision, hearing, and balance manipulation.
Levi tried to stand up but fell backward, his vision doubled and swarming, a loud ringing in his ears, and the world spinning around him.
He glazed over at his soldiers as they staggered like drunks—POW! A single shot planted itself between the eyes of one of them, and his limp body fell backward as an arch of his brains sprayed across the floor.
Stretching his hands out, Levi dragged the remaining two down. The parade of bullets continued, chipping away at the control panel they had ducked behind for cover.
Paa. Paa.
Levi slapped himself. Once. Twice.
Trying to get a grip on his motor functions again—it returned slightly, but it'd have to do. He pulled the rifle from the grip of his dead soldier.
He didn't look, just placed the gun over the panel and refused to let go of the trigger until it ran out. It was just a necessary delay until his soldiers got their functions back.
"Cover fire!"
As he barked, a wall-mounted turret finally activated, targeting anyone who dared to sprint across the open center. Levi barely avoided its sightline as bullets shredded the floor inches from his head.
The turret fired non-stop in the direction of anything and everything that moved.
Levi pulled a plasma rifle, instincts telling him exactly where to fire. He aimed for the right corner of the turret and fired precisely.
BLAM! Levi shot out a power panel—sparks showered everywhere—frying the turret and the lights with it.
Darkness swallowed the floor as the Aurelians finally raised their heads. Levi patted and checked Captain Jones' body to see if he had any injuries—he was good.
Through the darkness, silhouettes emerged—red visors glowing.
Echelon Elites.
"Shit," Levi growled, slamming a fresh mag into his gun. "They sent fucking dogs."
The Elites moved like ghosts, high-precision rifles in hand, cutting through the smoke with deadly accuracy. One dropped to a knee—fired—
PAK!
One of Levi's men took a round straight through the skull. Blood sprayed across the wall in a swift arc.
"Fall back! Sweep left!" Levi shouted.
Another Elite leaped from above, landing with the crunch of broken tile, and raised a shotgun—
BOOM!
Levi pushed them and ducked, felt the blast graze his arm. He rose and emptied five rounds into the Elite's chest plate until it cracked and burst red.
Levi didn't look. Just grabbed the Captain by the collar and bolted into the smoke.
"Move—MOVE!"
They were less than a hundred feet from the extraction doors now. The hallway narrowed into a final death funnel.
Another burst of gunfire behind them. Levi turned and fired without aiming.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK.
An Elite's helmet shattered, the man collapsing mid-charge.
The final soldier shoved Jones through the blast doors—just as a sniper round tore into his neck.
Levi was about to enter but—
He turned.
"What are you doing, Levi?" Captain Jones yelled.
"Sir, they're too close. If I don't eliminate them, they'll just keep coming," he said as he slammed the door.
Now faced with five Echelon Elites, fully armed and in armor.
He spat onto the floor as he raised his fists and took a stance. He'd never been one to give up. Or know when he was outnumbered for that matter.
Pitch-black darkness—the only thing visible, the visors of the Elites as they slowly spaced themselves out, circling him like hyenas about to devour.
Levi took a deep breath as he closed his eyes—his ears were all he needed.
Their heartbeats. Their breathing.
The soft hum of plasma coils charging.
The slightest tap of armored boots on tile.
The guns were raised as the frequency he heard heightened.
PZW!
The rifle fired as Levi jumped out of the way, closing the distance between himself and another Elite, pulling the blade the Elite had in his sheath.
BAM!
Arm drag—he dragged the Elite's arm and used his weight to slam him into the ground.
They're aiming for him.
PZW! PZW! PZW!
Plasma rifles flared, lighting up the hallway for split-seconds in blinding blue flashes.
He dragged the Elite back up, like a ragdoll, just in time—using him as a shield to block the incoming fire from the others.
He let the body go as it fell to the ground with a THUD.
As the body dropped, the Elites shifted slightly at the sight.
A second Elite broke formation—
Bad move.
Levi lunged toward him as they kept firing—but not faster than he could move.
Levi grabbed his arm, wrenched it into a joint-lock, and slammed the knife into the side of his ribs—three times, fast and low, where the armor's weakest. Then he turned the body and pushed it forward just as—
BLAST!
Friendly fire—one Elite shot his own.
"Shit!"
"He's fast—switch to thermal!"
Too late.
Levi darts through the smoke and darkness, knife dragging against the wall for just a second—a psychological cue.
They fire blindly at the sound.
He's already behind them.
CRUNCH!
He jams his elbow into one's neck so hard you'd think it broke, slams him against the wall, knee to the groin—knife straight through the visor.
Red lights blink out.
Two left.
They back into each other, sweeping their sights.
No sound. No footsteps. Just the hum of their suits and the high-pitched whine of their plasma coils charging back up.
"Watch the rear," one mutters, voice sharp through his comms.
The other doesn't answer—too terrified.
Their grips on their guns trembled yet they wouldn't let go.
From above, Levi drops like a spider, knees slamming into the Elite's shoulders, driving him to the ground with bone-snapping force.
CLANG!
The soldier struggles, arms flailing for his gun—
But Levi's already ripped off the side of his helmet and drives his thumb into the Elite's eye socket. The red visor flickers—cracks.
"Gah—AGH!"
Levi doesn't speak. Just drives the knife into the soft meat under the jaw—pushes up until the blade pops out through the top of the helmet.
He yanks the weapon free. Stands, drenched in blood.
Only one left.
The last Elite sees the carnage. Sees the monster rising from the corpse.
He raises his plasma rifle.
PZW! PZW! PZW! PZW! PZW! PZW!
Firing non-stop at everything.
Levi dives widely to the side. A second too late and he'd be ash.
The Elite moves in slow, sweeping left, right, fingers tense.
He turns the corner—
THUNK!
Levi throws his blade, and it buries itself halfway into the plasma rifle's barrel.
Click. Click.
BOOM!
The rifle explodes in the Elite's hands—a burst of white-hot light and searing plasma backfire.
"Arrrrgh!" he screamed as he practically scratched his face off, until he slumped onto the floor.
Face half burnt.
Levi walked toward the door and pulled the handle.
He stopped—
A heartbeat.
He turned, but it was too late.
The Elite with the burnt face was already there—with the gun.
BANG!