Private Woods poked his head around from the corner and slipped out a low whistle at the sight of the apartment building. From head to toe, the brick building crawled with giant dragonfly-looking Helix. Woods looked onward with curiosity noting how sluggish they moved in the frigid snowstorm.

  Normally Helix chirps and buzzes to communicate with the others when humans are nearby. I’ve seen it many times, but these Helix look almost asleep. No wonder Gabe got out of his apartment without getting killed.

  He crept behind a postbox and examined the building for a way in. Shattered glass scattered across the ground of the front entrance. However couches and tables blocked the doorway.

  With a long drawn breath, Woods sprinted across the street and slid underneath a window. He arched his neck to peek into an empty bedroom.

  This might be a way in if…

  Woods tried the window, but it didn’t budge. He cursed under his breath and dashed to the neighboring window. Again he found disappointment in a locked window, but tried a third to find the glass squeak with another attempt. Wood’s face lit up.

  Looks like my luck is turning around.

  He motioned for his squad to make their way over to him.

  Tomlinson adjusted his rifle in his arms. “This snow is piling fast, Captain.”

  “We need to make this fast,” said Diaz. She looked at Gabe. “Which apartment?”

  “Third floor, apartment F.”

  “Foxtrot, got it<” she said. “You stay here.”

  Gabe’s face soured. “My family needs to know that I’m safe.”

  “And you will be if you listen to the Captain,” Burns explained in a calm voice.

  Gabe raised his voice. “No, I am going with you!”

  Woods put his index finger against his lips. “Lower your voice, Gabe.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Not until you let me go with you!”

  Burns let out a snarl and tugged Gabe by the collar. “You want us all to die!”

  Gabe gave Burns a pleading look.

  Diaz let out a long huff. “Kekipi, keep an eye on him.”

  Burns shook his head. “I don’t like this ma’am.”

  “I know, Gunny, but we can’t stay in this storm arguing.” She pulled out a gas mask from a pouch. “Masks on. Gabe…”

  His eyes widened.

  “Don’t breathe in any spores, or we’ll be forced to put a bullet between your eyes.”

  “Is it a good time to request leave, Gunny?” Woods asked with a dry chuckle..

  Burns ignored the joke and slid open the window. Diaz grabbed him by his arm.

  “Wait, Gunny. I’ll take point.”

  He raised his brow, but gestured to the window.

  Diaz climbed through the window, Burns followed, with Woods tailing him and Tomlinson, Kekipi, and Gabe picking up the rear.

  Woods navigated through the bedroom, clearing the kitchen, living room, and bathroom for any dangers. Once satisfied that they were safe, Diaz pushed open the front door and quickly made her way down the corridor and up a set of stairs.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Woods licked his lips and shifted his eyes up the stairwell. His legs burned from each floor that they reached and his arms grew heavy under the weight of the fully loaded rifle. Finally they made it to the third floor.

  Woods hung his head off the bannister and looked at the long way down.

  “Woods,” Diaz hissed. Her voice muffled under the pro mask. “Check the hallway.”

  “Ma’am,” he responded with an acknowledgement. Woods creaked open the door and listened closely to any sounds.

  Buzzzzzz

  Damn.

  Woods crouched down and peered out the door. Helix scurried back and forth down the hallway like their own version of a patrol.

  “What do you see?” Diaz whispered.

  “Helix. Maybe eight or ten,” Woods answered.

  “How close to Foxtrot?”

  Woods counted each door. “Alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo…”

  “Well?”

  Woods paused, as if measuring calculations in his head before just replying with a simple answer. “Close.”

  Diaz turned to Gabe. “I’m guessing that door is locked. I don’t want to kick it down.”

  Gabe handed her a small, silver key.

  Diaz pushed open the stairwell exit further.

  Burns pulled on her shoulder. “Captain, let us handle this.”

  Diaz shrugged off his hand.

  “Captain,” Burns tried again. “You have nothing to prove to us.”

  Diaz glanced at Burns.

  Woods looked at his commander. “We have this, Captain.”

  This oorah shit is going to get us all killed. I was all for it during boot camp and my first three years in the corps, but the longer I serve in this war, the more I just want to stay safe. Does that make me a wuss? Maybe, but I don’t really care. Guess I’m just jaded.

  Diaz sighed. “Woods, take lead and open fire.”

  Of course, I still enjoy shooting stuff.

  Woods gave her a smirk. “Roger that, Captain.”

  Woods flipped his rifle from safety to full auto and with a pull of his trigger, let off a blaze of firepower. Ratatatatatat.

  The Helix screeched and exploded in a plume of deadly spores as their fluorescent blue guts squirted across the walls.

  Woods held his position and knelt down with Tomlinson next to him, both continuing an oppression of fire.

  Diaz, Burns, Kekipi, and Gabe sprinted down the hallway to apartment F. The wailing calls of the aliens rounded the corner and rushed Woods and Tomlinson.

  Woods grit his teeth until his rifle clicked empty. “Reloading!”

  He fumbled with his hand pulling out another magazine. With a clunk, it slid across the ground

  Shit!

  Woods reached forward and grabbed the magazine, but a heavy slam shoved him to his back. Woods frantically wrestled with the thirty-eight inch alien insect. He pawed for his ka-bar knife, prying Helix's acid-covered mandibles off his left shoulder. In a swift motion, he jammed the blade into the cranium of the bug. Turquoise fluid spattered across Wood’s face.

  “Everyone in!” Diaz shouted. “Tommy, grab Woods inside and get inside!”

  Diaz waited for her corporal to drag Woods into the apartment before smashing the door shut and securing the deadbolt.

  Kekipi ripped Wood’s sleeve open and examined the wound. The flesh already melted past the muscle and down to the bone.

  Woods screamed and flailed his head back and forth. Spittle bubbled through his lips while his eyes clouded in and out of consciousness.

  This is the worst imaginable pain I’ve ever been put through. Worse than that time i stuck my finger in that fire ant hill when I was a kid. Even more than that time I broke my leg during that snowboarding accident. Hell, those kidney stones are looking real cozy right now.

  “D-Doc, got s-something for the p-pain?” Woods stuttered through bouts of his agony.

  Kekipi took a small needle from his medic pouch and slapped it into Wood’s leg. The sensation of peace rushed through Wood’s bloodstream like the white rapids of the Colorado River.

  Kekipi finished dressing the wound before turning to Diaz. “He needs a rest and a med tent, Captain.”

  Diaz glanced at Gabe and his family huddling in the corner before turning back to Woods. “This is the price for becoming like the Dead Man Division. Sacrifice before glory.”

  Burns stepped close to Diaz, his wrinkly, scarred face nearly grazed hers. “With all due respect, Diaz, are you out of your goddamn mind?”

  Diaz pushed Burns away. “Stand down, Gunny.”

  Tomlinson took a knee before two younger children. He pulled out a candy bar, opened it and broke it in half. He waited for each child to take a piece before standing up. “Captain, these kids are too young to make the trek back to the base in this weather.”

  “Just call Captain Rand,” urged Burns.

  Diaz bit her lip.

  Burns placed a calming hand on Diaz’s shoulder. We aren’t the Dead Man Division”

  Diaz looked up and met Burns’s chestnut eyes.

  “We're just a couple of Jarheads stuck in Boston.”

  “T-that’s g-good enough f-for me, Cap,” Woods said. He struggled to let out a laugh, but groaned instead.

  “Let the army have their win, Captain,” said Tomlinson. “They’ll never be as good as the marines.”

  Diaz placed her hands on her his and let out a sigh. She then reached for her radio.

  Well, we may never be the Dead Man Division, but at least aren’t the Chairforce.