We sprinted to the outer wall, where Missy and her group of archers made way for us.My gaze snapped to the horizon, narrowing on the small boats skimming the water.
“What’s inside those boats besides soldiers?”I demanded, straining to make out the shapes.
“Field glasses,” King said in a clipped voice.Someone beside him handed him a pair, and he raised them to his eyes.“LCVPs.Each holds a twelve-man squad and a vehicle.Looks like tarped Jeeps.Judging by the height of the tarp, they’ve got mounted artillery on hardtops.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, an explosion shook the ground beneath our feet.I whipped my head toward the blast, spotting a plume of smoke rising about a mile north.LCVPs were Landing Craft Vehicles.My mind scrambled for what the “P” stood for, but there wasn’t time.
“They’re firing from the ships,” I growled.“That means our planes didn’t do enough damage.How many boats or LCVPs do you count?”I yelled, just as another explosion thundered south of us.
“Fifty,” King answered grimly.
I did the math in seconds.That was six hundred men and fifty vehicles equipped with advanced firepower.
The battle was coming, and we were outnumbered.But we weren’t outmatched.
Nokita approached us.“When do you want the hellhounds in the bay released?”
King handed me the field glasses, and I lifted them to my eyes.“The boats are moving in fast,” I said, scanning the water.“We need the hounds ahead of them.Release them now.”
Nokita nodded and raised a small device that had once been one of our radios.He smiled faintly as he pressed the button.Lifting his own field glasses, he joined us in watching the water.
It took a few minutes before the surface began to ripple and churn.The hellhounds found their footing beneath the waves and started moving.Fifty yards from shore stood a block wall, designed to hold back storm tides.The Warriors stationed behind the wall began signaling the hounds with their whistles as soon as the first beasts reached land.The hellhounds turned and waded back into the water just as the boats advanced.
Anyone watching from the Federation ships would be questioning where the hellhounds had come from.Pandemonium would ripple through their command as they scrambled to figure out what had gone wrong.The more confusion we sowed, the better our chances.This wasn’t just about winning; it was about making a statement.This was our island, and the Federation would never take it from us.
I turned to Missy, who stood nearby in battle-worn fatigues.“Are the archers ready?”
She pressed the radio to her lips.“Archers, standby,” she said.Her voice was calm, but her pupils were tiny pinpoints of hate.Missy had fought the Federation and hellhounds in the U.S.before mating with Beck and coming here.She’d learned the hard way to never back down in a fight.
“They’re ready,” she confirmed, lowering the radio.
“Tell them to fire at will as soon as the first boat hits shore,” I instructed
The boats were closing in, now only fifty yards out.King stepped behind me, hooking his fingers into the leather straps of my gear.He tightened the buckles with practiced efficiency, his body brushing against mine as he worked.The motion was subtle, casual, but the comfort it gave was profound.To those around us, it probably looked like nothing more than him adjusting my straps, but I felt the silent reassurance he offered his mate.
I was terrified that we weren’t ready, that something critical had been overlooked.Yet, alongside the fear, anticipation burned so hot I was surprised my eyes didn’t shoot fire.
This was the fight that mattered most.
When the boats were twenty yards from shore, they crashed into the hellhounds heading toward them.It quickly became clear that at least one Federation soldier on each boat was equipped with a whistle.They used the mildly irritating noise to hold the hounds back until our whistles joined in, releasing a shriller sound than the original whistles controlling them from alternating directions.
The hellhounds, never known for their discipline, lost all control at the conflicting sounds.We had tested this tactic, knowing it was the best way to disrupt the limited organization the Federation tried to impose on the monsters.A free-for-all erupted as the hounds turned on the Federation soldiers.Their fighters were pulled over the sides of the boats as hellhounds scrambled aboard.The haunting human screams carried over the waves.
Through my field glasses, I could see the horror etched on their faces.The red stripes, the Federation’s expendable cannon fodder, were doing exactly what they were intended to do.They were non-skilled humans, sent to die.My stomach churned at the thought that any one of those young men or women could have been me.
Despite the seeming disorder, the soldiers fought off the hellhounds, slowly gaining ground and pushing closer to shore.Minutes later, the first boats hit the beach, and soldiers began pulling the tarps off their vehicles.
“Fire!”Missy’s command rang out, and the archers unleashed a barrage of arrows.For sixty relentless seconds, the arrows rained down, striking hellhounds and soldiers alike.The assault slowed them, stopping them from fully unloading the vehicles.
At Missy’s signal, the archers fell back, and the Shadow Warriors stepped up from behind concrete barriers.They opened fire with Kalashnikov machine guns, the rapid bursts of 600 rounds per minute ripping into the enemy.The 7.62×54mmR ammunition served a dual purpose, fitting both the Kalashnikovs and our sniper rifles.A single well-placed shot could take off half a head.
The Federation soldiers returned fire, but they were disorganized, forced to dodge both bullets and the frenzied hellhounds.With little cover and the rising sun now behind us, we held the advantage.
My radio crackled to life.“The Federation sub changed course,” Cabel’s voice spat through the static.“More soldiers are disembarking a mile south of the citadel.”
I clicked the mic.“What’s the ETA?”
“The soldiers will hit shore in under ten minutes.If they head to you after that, they’ll be on you in twenty minutes max,” he replied.
