Appearance: 
  
 
Page:   
 Share It:
https://fiction.homepageofthedead.com/forum.pl?readfiction=1100H

Escape From Baghdad
(© Luke Duffy)

Page 2

A series of loud cracks, like the snapping of a whip, rang out as incoming rounds flew overhead, causing the men to duck in their seats as they recognised the distinct snap of enemy fire.

"Contact right!" Someone screamed over the radio.

Marcus spun his head around to try to identify the threat. From his position in the commander’s seat, in the second vehicle of the convoy, he heard the heavy 7.62mm machine guns begin to fire from the turrets on top of their vehicles. Their distinct rapid thump as they unleashed their deadly, heavy rain of fire at their targets was almost comforting. Sini, the gunner in Marcus’ own vehicle, was firing in three to five round bursts, never letting up the pressure on their attackers. His body was juddering as the recoil shook the weapon in his hands.

Green tracer rounds started to pass over the front of the vehicle a second later, after the shooter had adjusted his position, and were smashing into the side. Up and down the whole length of the SUV, Marcus could hear the thwack as the rounds pierced the outer shell of the vehicle and thumped into the hard armour plating beneath.

The driver, a burly guy from New Zealand named Eddie, began to try to push forward to get them out of the line of fire.

"All vehicles push through, push through!" Marcus commanded.

The turret gunners increased the rate of fire, and all the drivers accelerated to clear the immediate killing area. The fire coming in from the right had doubled. It was now more concentrated and accurate, the insurgents becoming more determined not to allow the team to get away from them.

"Man down, Nick is down!" Marcus heard through his earpiece. He looked back over his shoulder to see that the machine gun in the third vehicle was no longer firing as Nick was pulled back inside. By now, all four vehicles were taking heavy fire and with nowhere else to go, the driver of the lead vehicle began trying to push his way through the static traffic ahead of them.

Civilian drivers had either raced off, or abandoned their cars to seek cover from the bullets whizzing through the air all around them. The Police had fled and the junction was now a mass of vehicles blocking all three lanes. It was impossible to push through and Marcus had to think fast.

"Reverse back. We’re gonna have to try and push back the way we came." He gave over the radio. All four vehicles came to a sudden stop, and almost instantly began to back up, building up speed by the second.

Rounds continued to zip over them and into them. The gunners were screaming target indications to each other over the radios, trying to guide each other to the enemy positions, but for every enemy neutralized, another position took up the firing. The incoming fire never let up and soon the vehicles were beginning to smoke from heavy damage. Tyres and windows, even though armoured, were blown out. Everyone in the vehicles was being hit with shrapnel from the doors as they buckled under the continuous impacts and splinters of glass as the integrity of the armour was pushed to its limits.

The noise was beyond deafening, the continuous thunder of the machine guns above in the turrets, and the high-pitched cracks and snaps as the vehicles took round after round. The smell of cordite was thick in the air as the guns discharged their ammunition and the spent brass casings fell on to the floor of the vehicle. Marcus’ eyes began to sting and water.

Marcus watched over his shoulder as his driver did his best to reverse at speed. The third vehicle was swaying as it tried to avoid debris in the road. A sudden ball of flame and a large puff of pale grey smoke erupted from the right hand side of the road between two buildings. It streaked across the open ground and smashed into the fourth vehicle with a heavy thud, quickly followed by a huge bang and flash of light. The SUV rocked from the impact and almost toppled onto its side. The vehicle was torn wide open, and debris flew in all directions. It exploded instantly and the three remaining vehicles slammed on their brakes.

For a short moment, Marcus watched in horror as a second rocket snaked in their direction. "RPG right," he screamed and instinctively crouched in his seat. The rocket was high, and passed over his vehicle. A third missile came at them, this time aimed at the front vehicle; the insurgents were trying to block them off by disabling the front and rear vehicles, causing them to be trapped in the killing area. It punched its way through the rear of the lead SUV, passing through without detonating but damaging the rear axle and drive capability in the process.

[ Continue to page 3 ]

Donate
Help keep this site online by donating and helping to cover its costs.

Information
Genre:Living Dead
Type:Long story
Rating:8.13 / 10
Rated By:63 users
Comments: 9 users
Total Hits:12515

Follow Us
 Join us on Facebook to be notified of updates
 Follow us on Twitter to be notified of updates

Forum Discussion
 TWD: Dead City teaser... »
 Had Rhodes and the boys been inside th... »
 Fallout (Amazon Prime series) - Based ... »
 TWD: "The Ones Who Live" (Rick/Michonn... »
 Shogun (TV series) »
 Dead Matter (video game) - Oh dear! »
 MZ's Movie Review Thread »
 Dune: Part 2 (film) »
 SRS Cinema (Merged Threads) »
 For those who have visited the Monroev... »
 Masters of the Air (Apple TV+ series)... »
 the Walking Dead Empires. PC/MAC MMO S... »
 Boy Kills World (film) trailer... »
 Dawn Of The Dead (1978) - On-Set Home ... »
 Twisted Metal (TV Series) trailer... »
 Reacher (Amazon series) »
 Deadpool & Wolverine (film) - Deadpool 3 »
 Pittsburgh Comicon 2003 - 25th Anniver... »
 Why Modern Movies Suck (Critical Drink... »
 War of the Worlds (Spielberg universe ... »