One of the raiders scouts had pursued me in silence all along, hiding behind the small cliffs at the time when I triggered the activation of the stairs.
"--some kind of trick!" The scout said.
I overheard the conversations of the raiders high above, apparently they were used to being obnoxiously loud. The scout had told the group everything he saw from the triggering of the staircase to the hole beside the slope.
"Silence you insignificant fool!" A deep voice said. "There's obviously a lever hidden around here, leading down to his little, comfy base."
"Why, he's probably even drinking hot cocoa right about now and getting soothing massages from his little mama. Suck that!" Clunks of metal and iron rumbled as they laughed along with the gang leader.
"Well, I think it's high time we do something about it! What do you say boys?"
The force of a hundred men bellowing their war cry shook the very Earth, the stalactites on the ceiling threatening to fall off any second and crushing us like roadkill.
I only hoped for the best they'd never find the lever, but things aren't always that easy when you live in an apocalyptic world run by aliens.
We prepared for the worst. The survivors took out the heavy duty machine guns stored in each one of the bunkers, dragging it along it's wheels and setting it up by the stoops of the bunks. Swarms and swarms of partially armed individuals bursted out of the tents, setting up small debris to shield themselves, although the tents weren't big enough to house that much of an army. That is, unless you could say they had a room underneath the tent. The other sorts planted landmines by the entrance of the cavern, strategically placed so that every mine would atleast blow off a couple of raiders into the cold ocean.
A total of around fifty of us. And I'm very proud to say that this is my family. A family of survivors clinging barely to life. Overcoming all odds, and covering for each others weaknesses and defects. This is us.
"Remember!" Jason shouted. "We are taking lives here! If any of you mates want to turn back, I don't blame you."
...
"Also," Jason added with a proud declaration. "If you die, you will die with pride! With honor! You'll die with significance! And most of all, you'll die knowing that you have saved your beloved family, us!"
The family cheered, and none of them dared to step away from the battle.
I wished I could be like Jason. A proud example of all men, an alpha male of the wolf pack, a man of great stature whom everybody looks up to. The type of man that gets every girl he damn wants. Well. . . MOST girls.
"I found it boss!" A raider said.
"Nicely done boy." The boss said. "Now, we plunder!"
As he pulled the switch, the gears, wires, and machinery roared to life, assembling a staircase leading to the entrance of our cave.
"On your guard!" Jason said, the command echoing all throughout the cave walls.
...
A standstill. No noise heard, no echo present nor a war cry heeded. It was unusually silent. The feeling of my blood rushing in and my convulsing heartbeat made me feel anxious. A sweat dripped off a side of my face, the uneasiness killing me even before I got a chance to actually get killed in battle.
A scraggy voice broke the tension of the atmosphere. "Maybe they retrea-"
"Hurrah!!!" A bellow so loud rang in our eardrums, making Godzilla's screech sound like a hyena wheezing in pain.
The raiders flooded in, throwing grenades at the wooden walls before they blew off to become shark food.
The others ravaged their way in, cutting in line with the other barbarians and headed straight for us, the landmines stopping them in there tracks, but I'm sure enough the mines won't last very long.
It was a full on battle. The machine guns by the bunkers roared to life, drilling holes in the bodies of the hostiles. The last planted bomb blew off, taking with it five of them straight to the cold water, bleeding and dismembered.
The survivors in the bunkers fired their guns in small hole slots in the walls, ripping apart the wave of raiders by the entrance.
For a brief moment, it looked like we were winning with no casualties, no injuries... it was looking good for us. Unfortunately that didn't last long enough for me to enjoy it.
A clutter of bombs were flung towards a bunker, the explosion ripping the exterior apart and killing off the survivors inside.
"No!" I shouted. Countering the raider who threw the explosives with bullets from my handgun.
The adversaries were starting to swarm in, being because the machine guns were on reload time. The mobile guns did their job, but they weren't swift enough. I knew have to think of something, fast.
They fired a hailstorm of bullets, sprouting holes within my brethren and blowing them off with grenades as a stray bullet zipped past my shaggy white hair, missing me by an inch.
The others ducked to avoid the wild bullets sprang by the raiders. Things weren't really looking too good right now.
Then, thankfully, the machine guns roared back to life, firing a dozen bullets per second towards the enemies that managed to went through the walled barricade.
As I glanced across the battlefield, a few of the oppressors remained, around fifteen at most. A portion of them broke through the gates, entering our side of the battlefield. More than half the squadrons of the barbarians stayed behind the walls of their side, providing assist with their rifles. And then... they stopped firing. An idea sprouted across my mind.
"Molotovs by the front lines!" I called.
A survivor quick enough to react tossed me one. It was Amir, holding his AK-47 rifle by the waist.
I gave him a quick gesture of thanks, and lighted the cocktail.
I threw the explosive at a clumped up group near the gate frames, setting them alight and at the same time burning the ground beneath the wrecked gate, the swirls of flames blocking off the route of the raiders.
"Now!" Giving a signal that meant something like Pull the lever to the troops at the far side of the cave.
The raiders trapped on our side of the walls were quickly subdued by nets coming from the ceiling. The nets being weighed down with tied rock bundles by the edges. Thankfully the guys by the other side got the message.
The aggressors on their side of the field didn't launch a single shot. They had ran out of ammunition, as I had thought. They didn't expect we could hold off that many of them for a long time.
"Tsk." The boss, surprisingly still alive, said, "We've had enough fun for now little cave dwellers. Retreat!"
Anger flushed all over me, and I ran after them, jumping right above barricades and debris and through the open fields. No way were they getting away after what they've done to my kin.
And I realized that was the gravest mistake I've ever made. And I was too late to respond to my common sense.
...
I got shot.