Haywire

The failure of the Mission Lead, to coordinate his forces lead the task force into a deadly ambush. The firefight continues for two hours since the first shots had started. Several of the government's forces lay dead on the ground as the fist squad was annihilated.

Contacting the Mission Lead is impossible since he is the first one to drop during the firefight. Carlo and his men could not even hope for anything about the second squad, they are almost wiped out as well.

Carlo's squad have eight members of their 10 man squad left after the two being killed during the first hour of the firefight. They cannot afford themselves to remain in this position for we may be killed one by one by the enemy if this continues.

Carlo told the remaining members of his squad to move despite enemy fire. The power armor operators tanked most of the enemy gunfire to protect theirr squad mates when moving.

As They move forward some eight hundred meters away from their initial position, one more of their members was hit from a gunshot from his side. Carlo and his men immediately formed a perimeter as firefight resumes once more. In front of us a thick foliage, trees and thick grass where the enemy could have been hiding.

"What now?" Axel yells at me after being hit by several rifle rounds to his armor.

"Hold on, return fire!" Carlo ordered his men to shoot at the enemy behind the trees.

Their suppressive fire is effective as the enemy fire withered.

"Hold your fire!" Carlo shouted on radio in thinking the enemy may have retreated.

This was his fatal mistake, Carlo was unable to see the enemy due to darkness plus his concealment. The enemy is holding an anti-materiel RPG launcher loaded with HEAT round. The only thing Carlo saw was the rocket that flies directly to one of their comrade in power armor.

A loud boom can heard for several hundred meters as one of their comrades exploded and reduced into smithereens. In the spot where he was standing, only the leg part of his power armor and some wreckage remains, which is burning on spot.

It was Serge's power armor that was hit by the enemy. Carlo and his men were struck by the event that made us stop in an instant. The downing of one power armor emboldened the insurgents as they once more rain fire on their position. They resumed their mocks and jeers on us as they shot relentlessly at Carlo and his men.

"Sir, we have a few ammo left!" A soldier who is in prone hiding behind a mound of mud said to me.

"We have to move out of here and fast!" Axel said on his power suit returns fire furiously to their enemies.

Carlo decided that they have to move out or else we will be wiped out. Therefore, ordered Axel to maintain constant suppressing fire at the enemy while Carlo's other squad mates who have no power armor to crawl their way out.

The situation is indeed dire and desperate as they fight to the last of their bullets. As the last man is about to escape. A mortar shell landed on him and reducing him to shreds after the explosion. One more from their squad is killed by the enemy.

In response, Carlo ordered the rest of his squad to retreat as fast as they can. Carlo and Axel continued to maintain disciplined bursts of fire from their weapons as they retreated slowly. Rounds from enemy small arms are heard clanging and hitting armor of their power suits.

It is when Carlo noticed that the direction of hits from enemy fire is getting lower and it seems they are targeting the weaker parts of their power armor. They are aiming at the weak spots, occasional hits from enemy larger sniper rounds sounded like a loud thud and is bending the armor. They never intended us to leave this place alive. It makes Carlo wonder if we can even get themselves out alive.

Carlo once again closed his eyes and prayed to his maker as the rounds that is landing on his power armor intensifies. What is worse, the integrity of the armor is getting weaker as larger caliber rounds hit it. I continued to retreat behind not knowing that his power armor is leaning in front of a large tree.

Clank! Clang! Ping! Thud!

Those are the sounds Carlo hear inside as he continued trading fire with the enemy. He looked at Axel as he is about to exit the combat zone and signals him to go ahead. He retreated along with five of non-armored soldiers. Several seconds later after trading shots with his enemy, one machine gun attached to the right shoulder of Carlo's power armor overheated. The other weapon that is carried in the left arm of his power armor is out of ammunition.

The enemy seeing that Carlo could not anymore return fire at them comes out from hiding. He sees they are holding their weapons and some are carrying some bottles. If his hunch is right, they are carrying flammable liquid, probably gas inside the bottles which is lit by a cloth that is dangles from the bottle.

"Are they going to burn me alive?" Carlo froze in his position.

They began mocking and jeering him once again as they gather in front of me. Then angrily shouted at him, it looks like they want to torture him before they want to kill him.

"Can we get this over with?" Carlo asked one of them but I hear no response but only shouting from them.

One of them even shoots the head of his power armor with his rifle, only to be stopped and reprimanded by almost hitting his friends with the ricocheting rounds.

Another one of them lights the cloth of his Molotov cocktail, raises his right arm then assumes stance to throw it at me. Carlo closed his eyes inside his power armor thinking that this is the end of him. Carlo kept his calm and composure, closed his eyes again for the third time. He prayed once again to his maker to give him at least a less painful death.

As Carlo try to open his mouth, someone suddenly shouted. When he opened his eyes, the insurgent who is about to throw his Molotov cocktail at me caught fire. In a split second several rounds of rifle fire landed on the insurgents as the thundering sound of gunfire is heard several meters away.

The insurgents tried to hide but are being reduced by the precise fire from unknown contacts. The ones who tried to run to the foliage got themselves gutted down by accurate fire. While those who remained and traded shots was hit at their heads. One by one they fell as the ground and blood flows from their corpses.

Carlo sighed in relief as the combat is finally over. As the figures comes out from hiding, his senses started to numb and his sight blurred. He can hardly breathe and it seems like he is loosing consciousness.

"Could it be?"

The oxygen indicator beeped as the gauge lowers down to dangerous levels. It seems like the A.C. and the oxygen filter is damaged.