The Final War

John readied his Uzi and patted his rocket launchers he was ready. Sarah told Lee to cover the man on his guns, he already had for after their brush with the war vets, no chances would be taken, not at all. Sarah pulled up thirty yards before the man, she turned on the loud speaker to speak in a no shit voice: “Hey numb nuts, are you ill? What the fuck are you doing? Move it or we’ll open fire!”

   The man slowly walked forward covered by the 30-calibre machine gun. He spoke in an emotionless voice, “No one passes here. Turn around and return the way you came. You and your kind are not welcome. This is our land given to us by Satan Almighty Dark Lord of Death, Worshipper of the Nuclear Mushroom Cloud.”

   “Well you fuckin’ ugly cunt you’re going to move, be run down or shot. Your choice!” He nodded and his six men emerged from the ruins, only then did Sarah and Lee see the symbols the group wore around their necks – upside down crosses and inverted pentagrams. Satanists! Lee fired warning shots over the Leaders head, he ducked and joined his men in trying to encircle the armoured car and the six each carried grenades and pistols. Trouble! Sarah screamed, “Lee pop some smoke! Now, do it now!”

   “I’m on it!”

   Sarah, followed by Lee one second later popped smoke grenades from the forward hull and turret sides. Thick black smoke coiled up, around and over the armoured vehicle hiding it from view from the group, which was in the smoke too.

   “I’ll get you, you cunts!” Lee shouted in anger, firing blind with his machine gun in quick five round bursts. Sarah gunned the engine and floored the accelerator to get them out of danger, two men leaped out of the way emerging through the smoke coughing and swearing. One was the leader who reached into his leather jacket, to get a large riot shot gun. He let off one round at the car, hitting it through the smoke with a loud clang!, it didn’t have enough energy to penetrate. The smoke drifted and the car emerged from it, Lee still firing blind to keep the enemy’s heads down, two grenades exploded yards away adding to the din and confusion. Pistol shots fired, equally ineffectively. What was effective was Lee traversing the turret, switching to infrared and firing at the glowing dots of the men through the smoke and at the chapel. Machine gun fire killed two men, wounded a third, 30mm shells exploded and butchered the leader and wounded a fifth man. Part of the front ruined wall collapsed in a cloud of brick dust as shells hit it.