Parker got to her feet and had to keep telling herself to go forward and towards the light of the open doors ahead. A trail of bodies, both alien and human, trailed all the way to the entrance and outside. As she reached the end of the corridor, she could hear a hive of activity outside and leapt to the sidewall, ready to fire at whatever came through.
Her heart almost stopped, and the lack of oxygen as she held her breath made her feel a little dizzy. A shadow appeared at the door, and a body followed it soon after. She lifted her rifle to fire, realising just as she was about to pull the trigger that it was Jones. She nearly fell over, quickly pulled her rifle back, and took a deep breath.
"Parker, you okay?" Jones asked, seemingly not bothered at all by the gun in his face. He looked more concerned for her safety than his own.
"Where is Taylor?" he asked more sternly.
She pointed to where she had come from.
"Getting fixed up."
"Lead the way."
She did as ordered but could not go on without asking questions.
"How is it out there?"
"Rough, but we're holding fast."
"So what's the plan?"
He shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't even know who is in charge here."
They reached the wounded ranger, who was still waiting with his rifle at the ready. Jones did not even break stride but clearly recognised the man.
"You keep doing what you're doing, Corporal," he said to Vidal as he passed.
"Yes, Sir," he replied confidently.
It seemed cold and uncompassionate at first, but Parker could see the rise in Vidal's eyes, being addressed as a soldier and not a casualty. It impressed her. Her natural reaction was to ask after his wellbeing, when he clearly was able and willing to fight. They carried on past the body of the Mech she had killed and those of many more humans who had been killed by the aerial bombardments. Eli led them to Taylor's room, but as they went into it, she stopped and gasped. The bed was empty, and only the device Mitch that had been connected to his arm remained.
"Where is the Colonel?" Jones asked.
She was at a loss for words.
"Where the hell is he?"
She turned; realising Jones wasn't addressing her but merely venting his frustration.
"Captain Jones!"
They turned and rushed towards the sound of the call to a blown out window around the corner. They were two floors up, and rubble was dropping past their window from where the roof was being bombarded. Troops were still battling Mechs in the divide between them and the tall perimeter fence. It took a few seconds for either of them to spot Taylor until the messenger pointed him out. Mitch was climbing a gun tower where they could see the two crewmembers atop it lying dead, and a large hole in the three-metre wide shield of the weapon system.
"What the hell are you doing, Mitch?" Jones hollered.
They looked up to see more enemy ships roaring overhead and continuing to bombard the base, with little fire opposing them.
"He's gonna get himself killed!" screamed Parker.
Without another word, she leapt out of the window and descended as quickly as she safely could to the ground below. As she came to a stop, she saw Mitch climbing into the firing seat of the gun emplacement. She could see the remotely controlled towers were knocked out and pouring with smoke. Taylor's position was the only anti-aircraft emplacement still operational in their vicinity.
"Mitch!" she called out to him.
She tapped her communicator, calling for him once again, but there was no response. She began to run towards the tower. She could see the turret rotate and begin to target an enemy craft. It was large, spanning more than thirty metres in length and looked like a gunship transport of some kind.
The twin-barrelled guns Taylor controlled opened fire, and a missile launched a few seconds later. The enemy ship was first raked with fire, and she could see more than a dozen Mechs bailing out the side. Finally, the missile struck, and an explosion ripped through the hull. A smoke trail span out from the ship as it began to lose control and bank towards the tower. Parker watched in horror. She could already see it was heading for Taylor.
"Mitch!"
There was no chance he could hear her, but it was all she could do, and she felt helpless to save the one she loved more than any other in the world. Taylor kept his finger on the trigger, and gunfire continued to rip through the burning craft, but he could see there was nothing he could do to stop it. The wreck was soaring towards his position. He leapt out from the seat and ran to the edge of the tower with all the strength and speed he could muster.
Taylor leapt from the edge and could feel the heat of the craft as it impacted and ignited on striking the tower. The blast propelled him further forward than he had expected, and he felt a heavy impact in the back plate of his armour. He was thrown onto the rooftop of a parked truck and slid off to the ground the other side. He tumbled several times, coming to a halt on his side.
Parker had seen the whole thing and still stood in shock. She had not even sheltered herself from the blast, and debris lay everywhere around her. She stepped forward to go where she had seen Mitch land, but two Mechs landed before her. There was no fear now left in her, for the only thing she cared about was Mitch. She rushed at the two Mechs, knowing it was overly ambitious. Her finger had already found the trigger as she took her first step and fired on the move.
As she rushed at the first creature, she caught a glimmer of movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Jafar descend on the other Mech like a pile driver and smash it down to the ground. He smashed the stock of his rifle through the faceplate, and blue blood burst out across the ground. By the time she had reached the other creature, she had emptied what was left in her magazine, and it was dead on its feet, but that did not stop her. She rushed into the Mech and knocked it stone cold dead into the blood soaked asphalt.
The impact with the creature knocked her a little off balance and spun her around, but she got her footing and kept running on towards Taylor. "Mitch!" Gunfire sounded around her, but she paid it no attention. She reached the truck he had landed on and could see a sizeable dent in the roof, but she kept going. She finally saw him, but he wasn't moving. He lay on his side, almost in a recovery position.
"Mitch! Mitch! No!"
She knelt down and shook him.
"Easy!" he suddenly croaked.
She took a sigh in relief and dropped her head down onto him, finding her helmet crashing into his armour. It was as close as she would get to affection in the heat of battle. She looked up and into his eyes.
"Are you okay? Can you move?"
He groaned.
"I don't know," he whispered quietly.
She looked terrified.
"Move, goddamn it!"
Jones arrived at the scene and rushed up beside them.
"You're still alive then, you silly bastard?"
Taylor nodded with a smile.
"Oh, come on, get up," Jones continued.
He reached up and grabbed Jones' armour around the neck, hauling himself up onto his feet. Taylor felt several bones in his body creek as he was forced to stand on his own feet and staggered a little. Only Jones' hold stopped him from toppling over.
"See, still standing," said Jones.
He let go, and Taylor's legs wobbled a little until he just about managed to stabilise himself. He could instantly see the worry in Parker's eyes.
"I'm fine, just a little shook up."
In fact, although his arm had been fixed, it still hurt like hell, but it was now just one in a long list of pains he could feel.
"What's the deal?" he asked, as if expecting Jones and Parker to have more information than him.
They all looked up; the enemy vessels in the air had been thinned out. Although fighting was still going on throughout the base, it seemed they were now in control. Taylor looked around to see more of his unit now surrounding him. They were all looking to him for answers, but he knew he had no good ones.