‘I gotta get outta here!’
Connor flinched as a strong hand grasped his shaking shin, just above his combat boots.
‘Take a deep breath, Major,’ General Hobbs’ voice whispered into the darkness.
‘We’re safe in here for the moment,’ Sergeant Reilly’s deep voice followed.
How could they be so calm? They were caught like rats in this tunnel with nowhere to go.
The stench of damp, mouldy air; the trickle of loose stones and the scuttling of insects had his skin crawling.
Connor was an extremely well trained soldier. Never had his courage been questioned.
Nothing could’ve prepared them for this. Glittering metallic discs the size of football fields had fluttered down to hover over the desert.
All short wave radios had suddenly begun to emit shrieks of static.
The sound had driven them to their knees, clutching their ears in pain, before silence abruptly took hold. It was an eerie silence. The silence of nothing.
General Hobbs had been the first to his feet, punching numbers into his satellite phone. The team had watched with dismay as their leader had thrown it to the ground in frustration.
As the word of total communications failure had filtered through the allies, the attack had come.
Wave after wave of brilliant blue light shot out from the undercarriages of the alien vessels. Anything the light touched had disintegrated before their eyes.
By the time they’d reached the tunnel, only Hobbs, Reilly and Connor were left.
‘I can’t breathe,’ he gasped, ‘I gotta get outta here, Sarge!’
‘Hang tight, soldier,’ Hobbs was saying.
Connor wasn’t listening. His chest felt tight, like a boa constrictor had wound itself around him. Coloured lights dazzled his eyes and the air grew heavy and liquid.
All he could think of was fresh air. He forgot about the danger that awaited him. He forgot that he was not alone.
Hobbs’ and Reilly’s shouts were drowned out by the need for the air that Connor felt was being crushed from his lungs.
Emerging into the dust, Connor took one deep breath before a wave of blue light engulfed him.

© Alison Pearce 2009