THE SECOND CRADLE - BOOK TWO OF THE IRON CRADLE SAGA Chapter 7: CHAPTER SEVEN - Family

Read chapter 7 of THE SECOND CRADLE - BOOK TWO OF THE IRON CRADLE SAGA by JE PAYNE on NovelPedia.

CHAPTER SEVEN ROSLYN RESEARCH FACILITY: Family “That’s the last of it, Colonel.” The sergeant set the case of ammunition down on the floor beside him. Dmitry looked down at the 5.56 ammunition. “That’s not going to last us more than the night, is it, sir?" the sergeant asked in a low voice. “No, it’s not.” Dmitry pulled his hat off and wiped the sweat and dirt from his brow. Pass it out, Sergeant. Let everyone know we need to make it count. He turned and leaned over toward General Daniels. “General, I want you to know that it’s been an honor.” He held out his service revolver, handle first. “I need you to go back into the cafeteria with the civilians, sir.” “Like hell, Dmitry. I’m not leaving you out here to die while I hide.” “I think you misunderstand, General." He pulled his hat back on, just as an explosion shook the floor under their feet. The last of the marines came sprinting back down the corridor and dove over the barrier. One of the Marines hit the ground hard, throwing his back up against the barrier. “That was the last of the C4, sir, but we took out a couple of the walkers," he said, still trying to catch his breath. Dmitry looked back to General Daniels. “You and Henry now have the last sidearms with ammunition. Everything else we have is sitting behind ‘this’,” he said, kicking the makeshift barrier. “I implore you, General, go back into that cafeteria and protect those people.” “I don’t think it’s going to matter much anyway,” the sergeant said quietly. “Not if those things keep coming like they have been. But if they get past us…" “The honor was mine, Dmitry... The honor was mine.” Daniels pulled the slide back on the pistol and moved toward the cafeteria doors without another word. The Colonel turned and faced the line. “Sergeant.” His voice carried down the corridor. “It is my understanding that at the end of this hall we have an overwhelming hostile force. We're outnumbered three to one, low on ammo, with no relief coming.” The sergeant looked up at him and slowly broke into a wide grin. “Sir, I think you heard wrong!” he barked back. “Then enlighten me!” “What I see is a target-rich environment, with excellent potential for close-quarters combat. Hell, there's no place I'd rather be, sir!” “Oorah!” the Marines roared. “Sergeant,” Dmitry said, sliding the blade onto the front of his rifle, “fix bayonets." The corridor went quiet. The only light came from the iridescent glow of the dead constructs and the strange chemical they had been spraying across the walls and floor. It was viscous, and it stained everything it touched. It was on the barrier and on the marines themselves. A spider-like machine dropped from what was left of the stairwell above. It slipped in a glowing puddle, found its footing, straightened itself, and began moving toward the barrier. Its six legs made a scraping sound on the concrete, purposely scraping some of its bladed limbs on the floor to taunt the defenders. “Hold your fire. We let them get closer first" A second construct dropped from the breach. Then a third. A fourth. The end of the corridor began to flood with the constructs, and they picked up speed as they poured in, swarming across the walls and floors. The first one that dropped, reared back, and launched itself at the barrier. Every rifle on the line opened up, barking with rapid fire. It was deafening. The concussion was overwhelming, as the air filled with the smell of cordite and shell casings rained across the floor. The marines worked their shots, knocking constructs off the walls and pinning them to the ground, bullets tearing into them. Glowing gore sprayed off the ones that went down and lit up the machines still moving in from behind them. The rifles started to dry-fire one by one. A construct came over the top of the barrier and got two limbs around a marine’s neck and drove the others into his chest, tearing and stabbing. Another marine moved in from the side, driving his bayonet up under it and lifting it cl