Gunfire exploded around him through the parking structure, as if drowning everything else but his heart hammering against the inside of his chest cavity. The mercenaries had them cornered-totally cornered and closing in fast with almost two dozen men in gunfire.
Adrian took a deep breath. His mind was racing, and the situation grew desperate. He couldn't afford to freeze up now of all times. He cast a sideways glance at Claire, who crouched behind a column, her eyes cold, calculating. Her fingers were laid across the trigger, but she waited. She waited for just the right moment.
He turned to Sofia, who was clutching the encrypted file as if it was her lifeline. This was not just a piece of data for them anymore, but their weapon to take down corrupt powers that had turned this world rotten. Without it, they were going to die here in this parking garage, and their sacrifice would go for nothing.
"We can't let them win," Adrian muttered under his breath-more reminder to himself than actually a plan. Adrian met Sofia's gaze, unsaid words hanging in heavy air between them. She was thinking about them: her team, her family; the ones she had in the fight against the aliens. All that were left behind.
"We need to push through," Claire called out from behind her cover. "We're not out yet. There's another exit down the hall, but we have to move now."
Adrian felt the weight of the decision pressing down on him. If they ran, they might make it. But they were exposed. They had no cover. The mercenaries would pick them off one by one.
"Move!" Adrian shouted, and the group surged into action.
They ran, adrenaline surging through their veins. Every step was a gamble, a split-second decision that could either save them or seal their fate. The first shots rang out, their high-pitched whine splitting the air. Sofia's heart skipped a beat as she sprinted forward, the weight of the file heavy in her arms. Claire was beside her, covering their six, her gun spitting fire in quick bursts as she provided them with a shield of suppressing fire.
Adrian was leading, his eyes locked on the end of the hall. The exit was in sight. All they needed to do was get to it.
"Stay close!" Adrian yelled as they pushed through the near-darkness of the garage. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the vast emptiness, the sound of pursuit relentless behind them.
They were almost there. But so were the mercenaries. A loud whooshing sound, then an explosion of a grenade rather near him was sufficient to send shrapnel pinging off the concrete. Adrian's body jerked in instinctive response, throwing himself to the side just as a piece of metal sliced through the air where he'd been standing.
The blast blinded him, but Adrian's mind kept clear. The exit wasn't far.
"Keep moving!" Emma shouted, her voice strained as she leaned against a pillar, offering cover fire. "I'll hold them back for as long as I can."
Adrian didn't look back; his eyes were fixed on the last stretch of open space in front. They couldn't afford to stop, not for a single second. The countdown was still on, with each second a drumbeat heralding the storm that would come-one far worse than bullets or bombs.
They reached the exit. As Adrian pushed the door open, a hail of bullets rained from behind them. Quick-thinking Claire slammed the door shut at their backs as the bullets ripped into the metal.
The cold air hit them immediately, fresh and biting. The streets outside were empty, save for a few abandoned cars and the faint glow of distant streetlights. The calm before the storm.
For a moment, they just stood there, catching their breath. They had made it—for now. But the war wasn't over. It had only just begun.
"We're not safe," Adrian said, his voice hoarse from exertion.
Claire nodded, her lips thin with resolution. "We have to get going, now."
Sofia looked at the file in her hands; her heart was still pounding. This wasn't over. What they had wasn't just ammunition-it was the detonator to a bomb that had been ticking away all this while, and they held it.
"Where's the nearest extraction point?" Emma asked, wiping the sweat from her brow. In her eyes was a reflection of the tension in the rest of the group.
"Right," Adrian said, looking down the street. "There's a safe house not far from here. It will give us the time we need to plan our next move."
And then, in silence, they started to run.
The street seemed to be quiet against its nature, and flickering lights painted the sidewalk with eerie shades. The wind howled around them, carrying scents of an oncoming storm. Much more than a thunderstorm was at stake-they all knew that. All the weight of their mission-the consequences of failing-the feeling with every step that they might very well walk right into confrontation, which no one wanted any part of.
Adrian did not even think about it. He couldn't afford to.
The group was just reaching the corner when a sharp crack of gunfire split the air and a bullet whizzed past his ear. Adrian dove to the ground instinctively, rolled onto his feet in one smooth motion.
"We are compromised!" Claire yelled, gun out and ready. "Take cover!"
They scattered, diving into an alleyway. Sofia, still clutching the file, was pressed against the cold brick wall, her breathing ragged as she struggled to regain control of her panicked thoughts. They couldn't stop. Not yet.
Adrian's mind was already calculating, running scenarios, looking for a way to outmaneuver the mercenaries. They had no backup. No cavalry coming. It was them against the world now.
"They're trying to flank us," Claire said, crouching low to the ground as she aimed her gun down the alley. "We need to find cover and regroup. There's a store nearby."
Adrian didn't hesitate but nodded and took the lead again. He gestured for the rest to follow, and they moved swiftly, zigzagging through the darkened streets to reach the store. The wind howled louder now, and the air pressure seemed to grow heavier with each passing moment, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
They came to the shop, a small corner store that had stood vacant for years. Adrian kicked open the door, herding everyone inside. It wasn't much, but it would do for the time being.
"Stay sharp," Adrian whispered as he crouched near the back of the store. The rest did similarly, weapons at the ready, all senses high. "We make our stand here or die trying."
Sofia's hand tightened on the file. She knew what was at stake.
The storm outside was nothing compared to the one they were about to face inside. And when it came, it would test them all-physically, mentally, and morally.
Sofia felt a flicker of dread deep in her chest. What if they failed?
But before she could dwell on it, Adrian's voice cut through the tension.
No more second chances," he said, his voice low but certain. "We win or we die."
Sofia clenched her jaw, her resolve hardening. They would survive this.
No matter what it took.