Chapter 7

Miles awoke to explosions nearby which shook him awake and he bounded out if bed along with everyone else and quickly got dressed. When he did they all rushed outside into the dawn landscape with the sun rising from the ground far away

Outside a flock of Exclamber birds came down from the sky and dive bombed into a small group of people in the motel. They were ripped limb from limb within second as the twenty birds showed no mercy. They were quickly scattered though as a few soldiers backed up by a Bradley fired onto them and downed at least three with the stream of bullets. The rest of the pack leaped into the air and retreated

A further round of explosions sounded from all around as the town came under heavy attack from all sides. Miles leapt down from the second floor of the motel followed by Doug, onto an old car as a military platoon rolled into the motel. They appeared to be mostly armed civilians and so with Doug behind him, Carla watching Gemma they rushed over to attempt to help.

"How can we help?" Miles shouted running over

"Take a weapon and defend the town, you'll be assigned a squad and defensive location" Replied the militia captain who pointed to a bunch of M16s and combat gear in the Humvees. The two men wasted no time getting geared up and eagerly hopped into the waiting transports as others joined them seeing no alternative.

Inside the M113 the air smelled stale and was moist from the sweat floating around. A red light illuminated the interior cast an appropriate tone across the solemn faces of the men. The vehicle bounced around as it went at high speeds through the raging battle. Occasionally Miles heard helicopters over the constant rattle of the 50cal machine gun which he assumed were battling the Exclamber birds in the sky.

Miles had never handled an M16 assault rifle before though he'd had plenty of experience using firearms. He examined the weapon closely which made the thought come crashing home. He was fighting a war, the world would never be the same, and he would have to fight for not just his country but his species.

The metal can came skidding to a halt and the disembarkation order was yelled out from the driver as the machine gun was now firing all over the place. The ramp dropped and the militia streamed out into the battlefield only to be met with the chaos of what opposed them.

Immediately Miles noticed the sky. It was blood red with a thunderstorm seemingly carrying It. Lightning within the red clouds made them light up every so often before the rumble of thunder. Miles scanned around the long street which he had been stationed to defend. At one end there lay a collection of sandbags blocking off the road which were manned by a squad of soldiers. An Abram's' tank stood watch at the top of the street, turret rotating, observing the area.

Above the blockade the dogfight raged on between the two forces that fought relentlessly, the demonic birds of prey against human manned engines of war. As the militia ran towards the fortifications at the end of the street it erupted with gunfire facing the other side of the sandbags. Most of the men slowed their pace as they realised that part of the hoard was heading straight for them.

Just as they did a helicopter screamed through the air and crashed down as a fireball into a nearby building as it was swarmed by the birds. Both went up in the ensuing blast. This distracted Miles temporarily but a howl soon brought his focus straight ahead of his where the soldiers fighting as begun to steadily retreat.

The militia, seeing this decided to halt and seek cover wherever it could be found. Miles himself found a place where a car had crashed into a shop window; he crouched alongside a few others and aimed his rifle downrange.

The retreating soldiers sprinted for their lives as the speed of the enemy made them very vulnerable, the ones at the rear did not make it. However those at the front dived down as a hail of bullets shot from militia positions scattered out across the street and down into the emerging group of Exclamber

They swarmed over the fortification in no time and leaped onto those to slow. As the volley hit them it seemed to work extremely well as nearly the entire front line collapsed down and appeared not to get back up

Miles fired off successive bursts with careful aiming as did all around him. By now the winded regulars had joined the militia and gave their more experienced shooting into the mix. For a while the group staggered and lost momentum under the hail.

Miles' hands ached from the vibrations that his weapon gave off, he refused to stop the rhythm of the bursts though as anger for all lost drove him to pull the trigger

The Excalmber though seemed endless and resistant to injury, a surge in their numbers suddenly made them pulse forward into a ferocious charge straight at the fighters who seemed unable to stop them. As the howling demons closed on them Miles felt a rumble behind him and the very ground shook

The rumble got louder and louder and clearly sounded over the Exclamber though his own heartbeat dominated his hearing and thumped with intensity. The Abram's tank rolled forward and the co-axel machine gun of it roared away. The main gun blasted the shell out and into the crowd before it.

The explosion ripped apart the ranks of demons in a flash of light and sent limbs flying out along with their dark red blood mixed with the concrete of the road. A few of the militia cheered out as the enemies on the ground here were being forced back. However something new was coming.

A beast, about ten feet tall, smashed through the barricades down the street and charged. It was a purplish shade all over other than markings on the head that appeared to be black face-paint. The face of the beast was covered in a mask of some metallic substance that shone slightly.

The creature ran with its huge arms bulging out as weapons, the legs were extremely small compared to the rest but still managed to carry it along with speed. The howl this thing produced was hundreds of times stronger than the smaller Excalmber beasts.

As it rapidly sped down the street making the ground shake as its mass hit the floor repeatedly the tank fired directly at it. The shell collided with the charging creature and exploded making everyone cover their eyes at the flash. As they all looked back up with fear, the creature pulled itself back to its feet.

The thing was injured heavily as blood trailed down all over it but it surged on nevertheless. Rounds smacked into the skin as the militia concentrated fired as well as the machine gun from the tank; all of them together slowed the beast that only just remained up.

However it reached the armoured vehicle and smashed one giant fist down onto it making a sizable dent. It then grabbed the barrel and with a cracking and crunching sound of bent it upwards. Finally as the men looked on horrified, the beast, with all its strength ripped the whole turret from the vehicle and threw it several feet away.

The Excalmber then turned its attention to the men but by now a few soldiers had armed their shoulder mounted missile launchers and two fired off directly into the enemy. This time it killed the beast outright and the heavy muscular frame collapsed into the ground peppered by the blast marks.