Chapter 92: To the South - II

Bastion One fired first.

A short autocannon burst tore through the remaining glass doors and struck the reception area.

The overturned desk split apart under the impact.

The Spitter recoiled from behind it, green fluid spilling from its mouth as its swollen throat compressed.

Zolyah fired.

The Barrett round passed through the broken window and struck the infected beneath the jaw.

Its head snapped backward.

Green acid burst across the wall and reception counter instead of leaving its mouth as a projectile.

"There you are," Zolyah said. "Spitter down."

The infected gathered inside the lobby charged toward the ruined entrance.

Bastion One shifted its autocannon slightly.

Another controlled burst struck the front of the group.

Bodies broke apart across the lobby floor. Two infected behind them continued forward, climbing over what remained.

Dobrev raised one hand.

His squad moved.

The first pair crossed through the entrance while Bastion One kept the opening covered. Dobrev followed with the next group as the rest secured the road behind them.

Once the soldiers entered its firing line, Bastion One lifted its autocannon toward the upper windows.

Rifle fire cracked inside the building.

One infected fell behind the information counter.

Another emerged from a side office and was dropped before it could reach the doorway.

The two remaining infected rushed from the lobby’s eastern side.

Dobrev’s soldiers shifted their fire.

The first folded near the reception area. The second reached the middle of the lobby before several rounds struck its head and upper chest.

"Front clear."

Dobrev moved farther inside.

Two soldiers secured the stairwell entrance. Another pair watched the eastern corridor while the rest checked the rooms nearest the road.

Footsteps scraped across the floors above them.

Several gathered near the stairwell landing, but none came down.

"Hold the stairs," Dobrev said. "Ground floor first."

The squad continued through the lobby.

One pair checked the western offices. Another moved around the damaged reception counter and covered the rear half of the building.

Ethan lowered the microdrone through the shattered entrance.

The feed passed over the dead Spitter and turned toward the eastern corridor.

"Movement near the rear exit."

Dobrev stopped beside the corridor entrance.

Nothing appeared ahead.

The hallway extended toward a dim emergency door at the back of the building. Several office entrances opened along its left side, while the right wall remained bare aside from faded signs.

"Eastern wall," Ethan added. "Something moved. No clear visual."

Dobrev signaled the pair nearest the corridor to withdraw.

The first soldier stepped back while the second kept his rifle trained down the hallway. They exchanged positions and repeated the movement until both reached the lobby.

Nothing followed them into sight.

"Echo One, Dobrev," he called. "Possible concealed infected in the eastern corridor. Bring Rex."

"Moving," Dmitri replied.

Dobrev spread the rest of his squad around the corridor entrance.

Two soldiers remained at the stairwell. The others covered the offices and rear hallway from separate angles.

Dmitri entered through the shattered lobby with the other three Scouts and both Attack Dogs behind him.

Rex moved past the remains of the reception counter. He stopped before reaching the eastern corridor.

His body lowered.

A growl escaped his throat.

Dmitri followed the dog’s attention toward the right-hand wall.

The corridor still appeared empty.

"Ethan, keep the drone on the rear exit."

"Copy."

The drone held position near the rear exit.

Rex took another step toward the corridor. His growl deepened.

Dmitri raised his MP7. "Right wall. Around twelve meters."

Dobrev signaled toward the corridor entrance.

One Guardian GI moved forward and unfolded his ballistic shield across part of the doorway. The squad’s Machine Gunner settled several steps behind him, leaving enough space to fire past the shield’s left side.

The other soldiers covered the offices and the open section of hallway.

Nothing appeared.

The hostile marker shifted again, closer this time.

Rex barked.

A faint ripple moved across the faded paint.

Dmitri fired.

The suppressed rounds struck the wall and something in front of it.

The camouflage broke for an instant.

A long arm appeared, followed by part of a narrow torso pressed against the concrete.

"Contact!"

The Stalker launched itself toward the doorway.

One of the Guardian GI pair locked his shield in place.

Claws struck the barrier.

The impact shoved him backward half a step, but the shield held.

The Machine Gunner opened fire through the gap.

Rounds struck the Stalker’s shoulder and chest. Its body twisted under the impacts, yet it remained against the shield, claws scraping for an opening.

Dobrev and two Army Soldiers fired into its exposed side.

The Stalker tore itself away.

Its skin blended with the corridor again before it landed.

Rex lunged after it.

"Rex!" Dmitri shouted.

The dog stopped before entering the hallway, but his head followed something moving along the right wall.

Dmitri tracked the same direction.

"Moving back. Rear office."

Dobrev shifted half his squad toward the lobby’s eastern side.

The shield-bearing Guardian GI pulled away from the doorway and moved with them. The Machine Gunner remained near the corridor entrance, keeping his weapon trained ahead.

The hostile marker stopped beside the last office.

Ethan lowered the drone.

"Still no visual. It’s beside the door."

The office door moved.

Only slightly.

Dobrev raised his hand.

Nobody fired.

The door opened another few centimeters, then the Stalker burst through it.

The first volley struck its upper body.

It crossed the corridor anyway.

The shield-bearing Guardian GI caught the first claw strike. The second came around the side and scraped across his shoulder armor.

He drove forward.

The shield struck the Stalker in the chest and forced it back into the lobby.

The camouflage flickered.

Dobrev’s soldiers fired from both sides.

The Stalker stumbled but did not fall.

It twisted toward the nearest Conscript.

Rex struck its leg before it could leap.

The infected dragged him across the floor and raised one claw.

Dmitri fired into its shoulder, forcing the arm to jerk aside.

Rex released the leg and rolled away.

The Stalker turned toward Dmitri and crossed the open line between the shattered entrance and the ruined reception counter.

Zolyah fired.

The Barrett round passed through the shattered entrance and struck the infected across the upper torso.

The impact lifted it from the floor.

Its body crashed into the remains of the reception counter and stopped moving.

The camouflage faded from its skin.

"You should’ve stayed invisible," Zolyah said.

Dmitri approached with his weapon raised.

Rex circled the body once, then backed away.

"Stalker down."

Dobrev checked the Guardian GI’s shoulder.

Several cuts marked the outer armor, but none had reached the uniform beneath it.

"Still operational," the Guardian GI reported.

Dobrev looked toward the stairwell.

The infected gathered above had begun moving again.

"Reform. We finish the ground floor."

The squad returned to its positions.

Two soldiers held the stairwell while the others cleared the remaining offices and the rear exit.

Echo One stayed near the lobby until the last room was checked.

"Ground floor secure," Dobrev reported. "Moving to the upper floors."