Chapter 72

Twin beams of light cut through the dust ahead of them as Tony fingered his M-16's trigger. He was nervous. They were in a tunnel, approaching the main mineshaft, and he didn't want to take any chances. Liv and Finn were out there somewhere. He unhooked a grenade from his shoulder webbing and motioned for his wingman to cover him. He pulled the pin and crept toward the opening.

Tony flipped the spoon and flung the deadly object into the main hallway. The grenade bounced off the opposite wall and landed smack in the middle of the shaft, right next to the machine gun nest.

Tony dropped to the ground and covered his ears. The explosion rocked the tiny hallway. Sand, dust, and body parts blew through the mineshaft. A chunk of bloody flesh landed on Tony's shoe. With a disgusted look, he kicked the bloody mess to the floor and motioned for the other man to follow. Together, they crept into the hallway, flashlight beams flicking from wall to wall. Sunlight streamed through the gaping wound in the main entrance. The thin, metal door had been blown wide open by the RPGs. The machine gun nest was nearly decimated, and he could see no sign of movement.

Behind the remains of the nest, a pile of sand moved. "You alive?" Finn poked Liv in the ribs.

"Umm, I think so. You?" she whispered.

"Close enough. You wanna take out those bastards?" Rapid footsteps were rushing their way.

"Yep. On two?" she held up two fingers. Finn nodded. The steps grew closer. When the last finger dropped, Liv and Finn popped up.

Tony was approaching the sandbags rapidly. If he could find proof of her death, he could salvage this shitty day. He paused to kick a large chunk of arm, but decided it was too hairy to belong to the beautiful girl he had observed earlier. Suddenly, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.

Finn and Liv opened fire at the same instant. Unfortunately, both targeted the same guard. The unlucky man dropped like a stone from the combined onslaught of the AR-15 and the AK-47. He was dead long before he hit the rocky floor.

Tony didn't even notice the man fall. He opened fire, forcing his attackers to drop down behind the sandbags. He kept his finger on the M-16's trigger and sprayed the sandbags. Sand and burlap flew, as gunfire echoed through the chamber. "Die, bitches!" Tony screamed maniacally as brass casings streamed from the automatic rifle. Tony couldn't help but feel like he was the star of an 80s action flick, standing alone, unprotected, and firing on the enemy forces. Unfortunately, unlike the movies, he didn't have unlimited ammo. It took less than four seconds for the M-16 to chew through the last round in the magazine.

A slightly deafer, but otherwise unharmed, Liv and Finn raised themselves up from behind the sandbag embankment, rifles aimed straight at Tony's head.

"Fuck you, assholes! We die together, motherfuckers," Tony screamed as he dropped the spent rifle and reached for the last grenade in his webbing. The first round hit him in the neck as he pulled the pin. The kill shot arrived just after he flipped the spoon.

"Oh shit, run for it!" Finn yelled, grabbing Liv and racing for the entrance.

"Did that asshole just turn himself into a bomb? Why can't he just die like the rest of 'em?" Liv yelled, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

"I don't know, but we better move faster or there are gonna be chunks of us all over the wall. Desperately, they sprinted away from the corpse. Their feet barely touched the ground as they raced for the light streaming through the jagged hole in the metal door. They leaped through the gaping hole just as the concussion from the explosion slammed into their backs. The force knocked them into the snow, flat on their faces.