Reload

Staff Sergeant Jimenez took in his surroundings as he tightly gripped his M4 and exhaled. 

He was in a once state-of-the-art facility... now a disaster area. Bullet holes lined the walls, expensive computers were smashed and destroyed, two corpses lay on the floor in white lab coats...

...‘Brilliant minds’ that had tampered with something they shouldn’t have, Jimenez noted darkly as he made his way to the metal door that slowly slid open upon his approach. Red alarm lights flashed in the hall and sparks sputtered from the flickering light fixtures. The lone soldier started walking forward, his boots echoing off the reinforced walls, weapon at the ready.

“This is Bravo Four to any surviving operatives. Do you read me?” 

Only static replied.

“Probably no one left alive,” The sergeant grumbled.

The hall opened up into a large open hangar and instantly Jimenez plastered himself against a steel crate as bolts of energy flew overhead.

Gritting his teeth, the man went into a half crouch and fired a three round burst into the green, gangly creature that was firing energy from its hands. The rounds hit and the creature fell with a shriek.

The sergeant leapt out of his cover and sprinted across the bay when a ball of plasma flew right at him and detonated right on top of him. He heard himself make a small sound and then he was staring at the destroyed lab and dead scientists again. Once again, the soldier set out down the hall.

“This is Bravo Four to any surviving operatives. Do you read me?”

Only static replied.

“Probably no one left alive.” The sergeant grumbled.

Once again, the man entered the hangar and took cover behind the crate. Once again he fired on the alien and killed it. But instead of moving straight ahead, Jimenez made his way to the left, using what he could for concealment and cover.

The soldier spied a creature resembling an oversized lightning bug crouched by a destroyed helicopter. Snarling Jimenez fired into the glowing thorax of the bug. The creature exploded in a bright flash.

“Ahhh!” The sergeant cried out as the explosion engulfed him as well.

He found himself with the dead scientists once again. This time the man slung his rifle and drew his sidearm and stepped into the hall.

“This is Bravo Four to any surviving operatives. Do you read me?” 

Only static replied.

“Probably no one left alive,” The sergeant grumbled.

Instead of moving to the hangar, the man went to the right until he came to a small door that opened at his approach.

Something snarled in the dark and the soldier fired once, twice, three times, and he was rewarded with a death rattle.

Moving cautiously, Jimenez checked his surroundings. 

He stepped over the corpse of some… thing and moved towards a soft light source illuminating a door. As soon as he got to the door it slid open and an alien was facing him.

Jimenez fired once, hitting the offworlder in the shoulder - but the alien replied with a torrent of energy bolts and Jimenez fell dead after an extremely painful moment of shock.

The soldier again found himself in the computer room with the dead scientists. When he entered the hall he paused looking left to right, before going to the right. He made his usual radio check. When he reached the room again, the soldier fired his M4 and killed the thing in the dark before moving into the room.

Pausing, Jimenez grabbed a hand grenade from his harness, pulled the pin, and tossed it against the door he knew the alien to be behind. The explosive detonated shredding the door and killing the alien behind it.

“Hooah!” Jimenez shouted.

The lone human shoved his way through the ruined door and what remained of the alien. A sign with the words ‘Hangar A’ pointed the way down the hall.

As he rounded the corner he could hear a mechanical whirring noise. The soldier looked up to see an automated machinegun turret aiming at him.

“Ah, mierda!” The sergeant scowled as he fired at the turret hoping to hit an essential area as the gun opened fire on him.   

Moving back to the room while firing, Jimenez was riddled with bullets - more than his flak vest could take, and he fell over dead and twitching.

Once again, he found himself in the room with the computers and dead scientists. The soldier stayed still, sighting down his rifle at the door he had left through so many times. 

Jimenez didn’t move though, he stood there staring down the rifle. Eventually he inspected his M4, turning it one way and the other before looking straight ahead again. Some time passed and he idly checked to make sure his sidearm was secure.

Time passed and the soldier grew bored and sighed.

“Press the pause button idiot!” he finally shouted.

Again the time passed as Jimenez checked himself over and sang a little ditty.

“I don’t know but I’ve been told, something, something, how’s this go again?”

Finally the soldier started moving forward, made his radio check, and then went to the left towards the hangar. He moved to duck as he had before as the alien fired at him, but for some reason Jimenez froze in place and was cut down by the energy attack.

“Lag!” Jack cried out, almost throwing his controller to the floor as he watched his character's death for what felt like the hundredth time. Angrily the gamer quit the game and turned off his console.

He’d have to watch a few walkthrough videos and see what he was doing wrong.  He was just tired of constantly dying, and having to hear: 

“This is Bravo Four to any surviving operatives. Do you read me? Probably no one left alive.” 

Those lines had been repeated so much he’d probably be saying them in his sleep. 

Back in the destroyed facility Jimnez set his weapon down and stretched his arms. 

“I don’t know who’s got the controller but he’s a total noob.” 

The door opened and one of the gangly aliens entered.

“Oh, hey, Zarko.”