Rescue And Loss Of A Dead Friend

They arrived at the destination a little over an hour later. The other group already had showed up and been prepared. They all hopped out of their car and strolled over to the Lieutenant. As they approached closer to him, he began reading off the plan and forwarding intelligence to their wrist devices. Which they all noticed, resembled a large touch screen phone set inside a socket. On it, they could see it displaying the technical information on building schematics, topography of the surrounding land, and the last known location of the survivors. 

John ordered his squad over, as the Lieutenant stiff hand pointed, signaling for them to go down the right corridor. John and his group walked over to the passage, scanned around and took off on their hike down the set route. They studied the terrain with their rifles forward, prepared for dangers. They were studying for any signals of movement. All around them they heard the sounds of crackling fires, from the nearby cars and buildings, and the tones of their boots stomping down onto the concrete and asphalt streets and sidewalks.

"Hold for a second" Greag shouted out loud. 

Everyone actively stopped and glanced at him in attention. 

"What? Why are we holding?" Sean asked with confusion. 

Greag was scouting around, pointing his gun in front of him as he was searching for something. Seconds later Greag replied. 

"I heard something. Almost like a buzzing noise." 

Everybody started to gaze around and observe for anything, but they could only hear the popping of the fires, and the hissing from the wind. The only thing they saw was the debris and dust that drifted through the air.

Each of them shrugged their shoulders and proceeded down the road. They could see half demolished buildings on either side of them, with glass breaking off in fragments from the windows of dilapidated buildings. Sizable portions of rubble would drop from the tops of the old skyscrapers. 

Greag sped up ahead of everybody and tried to take the advantage, when a large chunk of the construction next to him fell, crashing into the pavement beside him, knocking him over on his ass. 

John in reaction ran over to him, intending to offer him a supporting hand. As he was helping hoist him up, they heard a rustling from the building across from the alley. Sean and Bryan retorted and started to point their weapons toward the gap. Sean looked over at John for an order confirmation. John's views went from the architecture to Sean and signaled for them to move in and check the vicinity. Bryan advanced and entered through first, while aiming throughout the room. Sean followed in afterword, his eyes scanning his surroundings. John and Greag stepped in once Bryan gave the all clear. 

"Take five you guys," John directed. 

With sighs, they all had a seat and issued to unwind. Bryan removed his helmet, as he was traipsing around the room. Inspecting the trinkets were throughout the area. In the center was a broken table. The stink of musk and burned carpet was permeating the air. John detected a dusty old grand piano in the back end. He stepped over to it to see more detail. It was a little worn out, with its faded red mahogany wood staining. With scratches across the top and covered in debris and dust. He went closer to it and started tapping on a key. The beautiful tone of a C note played. He tapped on the key a few more times, took a seat and began to play. He performed as if he had been playing for years. The delicate tones and chords melded together to show a musical symphony masterpiece. 

His friends listened in astonishment and attended to him. Relishing the melody while they each closed their eyes in tranquility.

John concluded the song. Sean looked over at him and declared. "That was beautiful. I forgot how lovely music was. I never knew you could play?" 

John glanced at him. "I honestly never knew either." 

Everybody stared at him with astonishment. Bryan stepped up and asked. "How is it you know how to do many of these things? You said you have done none of this shit, but you seem to be a natural at them. For fucks sake you took out four creatures back there."  

John remained there pondering for a second, shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I don't know." 

In the mix, everybody heard a slight buzzing. Re actively they all hopped up in attention and swung around. In front of their views they could perceive that at the entrance was a tall black individual, a grayish colored gaseous haze enveloping it. Making it problematic to determine what it was. Only the bright fluorescent green eyes were pronounced, and through the haze they saw a mouth, with what appeared to be dogged like teeth. Everyone, surprised, struggled to grab for their rifles. 

The being leaned forward and opened its mouth. The vibration of a high-pitched scream was let out, as if it were howling. Within the blink of an eye, it moved up to Bryan, and scooped him up. Before they realized it, Bryan, and the individual were out through the door. They all hustled to snatch up their weapons and darted out of the building.

"Where the fuck did it go?" Sean yelled. 

John went on the radio, calling for the Lieutenant. "Sir, we have a situation. We ran into one of those ghost-like creatures, and they have one of my men". 

Only static returned through. John tried the transmission again. "Sir Do you read me? Is anyone there?" 

Still, no sound other than the static. "Fuck I think we're alone out here" John yelled, nearly tossing his gun to the ground and then continued, "lets move out and find Bryan, we are not letting that thing take him." 

They went off on a run down the alleyways, searching around every corner and roadway. Pursuing Bryan and the creature. John had to stop to catch his breath. When the others noticed, they stopped up ahead of him, and urged him what was wrong. 

John responded while wheezing, "These fucking creatures. I'm going to fucking kill that thing if it hurts him." 

As John was speaking, Sean heard a rustle in an old dilapidated bakery close by. He shuffled over to it, with his rifle pointing ahead of himself. The noise rustled again as he advanced closer. His heart was pounding as he was approaching the disturbance. While John and Greag were still behind talking and catching up with their breaths. 

Sean went into the opened door and over to a counter, as he realized the turbulence was coming from behind it. He halted in front and delayed collecting himself and then plunged over the counter. There He found a young woman holding on to some children. Sean shouted out for John and Greag to come into the building. They sauntered in to see the people huddled up around Sean. John instructed the squadron to secure the section. 

"Are there others nearby?" John interrogated the lady. 

From the rear area, a few other individuals came scampering out. 

"Are there others around?" John asked them all. 

An older man that had appeared from the back, while holding a cane, started to speak. His hoarse voice was shuddering in what sounded like a Polish accent. "No, the others were killed off. We're all that's left. We've been hiding between the buildings from those... things." His thick accent made it difficult to understand.

John radioed to his lieutenant, "We found survivors." 

Yet they greeted him with static in return. He glanced to Greag as if searching for the answer. Greag only shrugged his shoulders in response. The clunking from the metal shoulder pads as they touched the top of his breastplate. John irritated, transmitted to command. 

"Command this is Sergeant John Stewart, we have survivors and cannot get in contact with the ranking officer. We need a destination." 

A few seconds passed by before a ladies voice from command came on the radio to reply. 

"Sergeant Stewart, we are sending the destination to your wrist device now. We will try to contact your officer."

John stared down at his wrist piece, the screen was displaying the location on a digital map, nearby behind them. 

"Damn it's just saying to go back to the vehicles." John bitched. 

"Well, it's better than being here you pussy," Greag insulted him. 

"Well, we have our commands, asshole, so let's move out. Protect these people at all costs," John barked to everybody, as he scowled at Greag. 

He turned his head and gazed at the citizens and advised them to follow them, doing as they are told if they wanted to survive. They all nodded their heads to show that they understood. 

Everyone started to backtrack and trail down the alleyways, with the civilians following behind. The sound of the wind starting to pick up, the crackling of the fires still blazing on, and the boot and shoe soles pounded upon the cement and asphalt surface. The sun was settling down. So, they all sped up their pace, attempting to beat the nightfall. 

"Only a little more to go." John thought to himself. 

Suddenly they could hear the resonance of a buzzing noise. John thought to himself more. 

"Fuck, we can't have this right now. God, they better not be around." 

With the sunlight singing beams of rays. They began to realize the cars straight in front of them, but also they could see some white glowing things move across from alley to alley. 

John stopped dead in his tracks and called for everyone to halt. He studied ahead until he noticed another figure ordered. "Get behind cover." They all ran and piled behind walls and cars that were surrounding them. John erected his head up over the burnt surface of the car he was hiding behind and peeked, looking for whether or not he saw anymore of the glowing things. 

In his search a white glowing thing shot across the road and stopped in the middle of the street. It looked as if it were floating off from the ground. Its head jolted to John and the civilians that knelt next to him. Everyone was looking at what looked like a ghost, with wings of pulsing light and gas that protruded out from its back. It had a face that resembled that of a bee, and appeared to be wearing a gown of smoke, which floated at the end. As it was hovering there glaring at them, another one came out, and then another, and within seconds there were dozens of them up ahead of them. 

Greag and Sean perked up and began to point their weapons down at them and looked at John for orders. Seeing that John was staring the creatures down. John waited to see what would happen next. 

One creature looked at another and charged in towards John. Startled John pulled the trigger on his weapon and opened fire, while screaming to everyone to fire. The bullets and tracers soared through the air, down the street. Each projectile only seemed to pass through the target. With no competition, it floated past John, knocking him over as he tried to avoid it, and seized a hold of the older man. The creature gripped the elderly fellow by his side and opened its mouth to the size of a basketball. 

Seeing only its row of teeth, the venerable guy began to scream. The thing lunged its lip downward, and bit down upon the guy's skull, ripping his skull off from the base of the neck. Blood was spewing out the stump. The loud noise of the crunch of his scalp as it was being chewed up and crushed. Everyone stared in horror as it threw the lifeless, mangled body down onto the ground behind it. The creature swallowed the fellow's head and then looked at John again. The other creatures were now beginning to charge in.

Just as the first animal jolted toward John. John reacted, grabbed for his gun and shot at its head. POP. The bullet blew a hole through the creature's skull, dropping and killing it. John watched as a gaseous light was flowing from the wound up into the open. John then turned around to the other inbound creatures and began to crack off rounds at their heads. 

One after another they went down, they illuminated the air with the white gaseous light. The rest of the squad took notice of what he was doing and followed his act., all but one creature had fallen. That last one swung in by Sean's side and grabbed a hold of a little girl. Sean locked up with fear, as he stared at what was about to occur. The little lady was in a frenzy of screaming and struggling to get free.

John instinctual ran toward the individual as its mouth gapped, jumped up onto and off from a car, using it as a leverage point. He pulled his knife out, swung his arm at the creature, and buried its blade within the skull of the animal. John toppled off from it as it dropped the kid and tumbled to the ground. A gaseous light started to flow out from the gash up into the air. 

John walked over to its lifeless body, grabbed a hold of his machete and pulled it from its noggin. Its limbs began to twitch, and in a reaction John stomped the bottom of his boot heel into its head, crushing it. Fragments of bone and brain matter splattered around. 

"Move out and keep your fucking eyes open." John bellowed in anger. 

Everybody stood there staring at him in amazement of what just occurred. John went off on a jog over to the vehicles. Greag and Sean looked at John for a minute. They plastered the amazement of what had happened on their faces. Lost in themselves of how John took out most of those things, not to mention the one manually. Everybody in an awe, deciphering how he did it, and how he did it so fast. They each shook their heads. Snapped out of their daze, and rallied up the remaining civilians, and chased after John. 

Once they reached the vehicles, they saw that John was already piled inside of one car, with the engine running. The melody of the whistling from the turbo and a slight, but beautiful rumble. John rolled down his window and shouted out to Greag. 

"Greag I need you to load some passengers into the other car and drive that one." 

Greag looked at him, and then at the other car and shook his head yes. He twisted around and shouted to the noncombatants, demanding for them to load up inside the automobiles.

The citizens all loaded up into the back of the vehicles. John, Greag, and Sean rallied in the middle, between the cars. They took off their helmets. Showing Greag and Sean's expression of amazement and confusion. John's face went from a blank to sad demeanor within seconds. With the weight of his trauma, he dropped to his left knee. 

"We lost Bryan and so many people." He blurted out as he began to tear up, everything caught up.

Sean stooped down intending to comfort him. 

"I know. It sucks for us too. He was a dear friend of ours too, but he's gone." 

He paused, took in a breath and continued. "Sides there's always us, we ain't going nowhere." 

He slugged John's arm pad and brought him to snicker and smile. He stood up and pulled himself back together. 

"There he is, our fearless and somehow talented leader. Though honestly, I don't care how you gained those talents out of thin air. They saved our asses several times back there."

John chuckled up and blurted out the order. 

"Everyone load up." 

They dispersed and went to the automobiles. After squatting down and closing the doors, John radioed to their authority. "Command we are at rally point and awaiting. We have survivors but no news from the other half of our squadron." 

A few seconds passed by, and a female answered the transmission. "You have the ok to get those civilians back here. The Lieutenant and his division are gone." 

John's face went sour. He took a minute to consider the words necessary and radioed to Sean and Greag. "Command gave us the ok to go home, boys. Turn on your GPS back home." 

With no disputes or complaints, they rushed off into the night, headed back home.