Insurgency by Alex Shaw Read Free Book Online

Now please let us enter in order to help your man.”
    Miller lowered his fist and the three operatives followed Vaha into the man-made chamber. They saw Dratshev, back towards them leaning over a body. Miller moved forwards. Suddenly there was a rushing which seemed to be at once all around him. A dark figure picked him up and flung him against the wall. Miller hit hard, the air was knocked from his lungs and slid to the floor. Eaton swung his HK-416 in an arc and in the eerie green light fired at another figure. The target twisted and fell. Flagon too managed to fire a few rounds before he was violently pushed to the floor. Sharp teeth snapped at him and cut into his neck like razors. Before he had the chance to move, the chance to defend, his jugular vein was pierced and his life greedily drained. As Eaton tried to retreat two dark shapes blocked his path. Their eyes glowed brightly and if he had not been wearing NVGs he would have seen that they were blood red. He fired directly at them; they twitched as rounds penetrated their flesh but did not fall. The HK stopped, magazine empty. The two vampires then came at him with fists like claws; their blows fractured bones and sent him to the ground. A second later Eaton’s neck too had been pierced. Miller lay on his stomach, dazed. His HK had been knocked from his grip. He got to his haunches and frantically reached for his secondary weapon but as he drew it a thunderous impact from behind sent him face first into the dirt. He tried to turn, to pick himself up but was lifted him like a rag doll. Dazed but not out of the fight he threw his head back and felt his helmet collide with flesh, he imagined rather than heard the cartilage in the nose explode. The hands momentarily loosened their grip enough for him to throw his attacker over his shoulder and onto the floor.
    “Stop.” Dratshev commanded.
    Miller turned, pulled his Glock back by its lanyard and quickly fired a double tap at the Russian’s head. Like a blur Dratshev stepped aside and the rounds hit the rock-face before ricocheting off at acute angles. Miller fired again but this time Dratshev lunged forward and grabbed both the American’s wrist and elbow joint. In one sharp move he broke Miller’s arm. The Glock fell to the ground and Miller dropped to his knees holding his arm. It was folded the wrong way. As a shot of cold surged through his body Miller saw the horror around him. Eaton and Flagon were dead; both had the jaws of Soviet Red Army soldiers clamped to their necks. Apart from the sound of blood being swallowed the cave was disconcertingly silent. Through a wave of pain Miller tried to understand what was happening but all he could think about was his favourite film as a kid ‘The Lost Boys’.
    “You have displayed impressive survival skills. Because of this I am now going to give you a choice. Would you like to live forever or die?”
    Miller grabbed his forearm with his left hand and attempted to yank it back into place. The pain was like no other he had ever experienced. As the edges of his vision greyed out he said the first words that came into his head. “Bite me!”
    Dratshev watched the Delta operative collapse into unconsciousness.
     
    Black shielded his eyes and looked up. Overhead a Chinook on its way from Firebase Python passed by, its rotors spinning like the wings of a giant dragon fly. The base was now in sight. Black slowed the Toyota to a halt and stepped out. He knew that continuing on in the vehicle would increase the risk of at any moment being mistaken for a Talib. It had taken almost two days but he had made it back to Firebase Python. He sensed rather than knew when the watchtower first saw him. Black removed his webbing, and raised his arms aloft. He waited motionless for a minute or so before cautiously walking forwards.
     
    Gonzalez stepped out of the stockade, swigged his coke and looked at the heavens. The mid-morning sky was once again an unnaturally beautiful shade