Free Marcus by Anna Hackett

another. Marcus lifted
his carbine and shot the third.
    More raptors stormed through the door from
the alley.
    “Shaw and Gabe, get Claudia and Cruz out.”
Marcus stepped between his team and the door. “I’ll hold them
off.”
    The sniper didn’t miss a beat. He leaped to
his feet and raced over to Claudia. Gabe followed, then gripped the
heavy bookcase with one hand and heaved. It should have been far
too heavy for one man to lift, but it moved.
    Marcus kept firing his carbine. The front
few raptors fell but he knew there were too many. All he had to do
was keep the majority of them off his team and give them a chance
to escape. Two aliens rushed him.
    He went down under the weight of them. As he
fell, he yanked out the two gladius combat knives he carried.
    God, the raptors were heavy bastards. They
were bigger than humans but they were also more dense. He stabbed
one up through the ribs, rolling to avoid the second raptor’s
jagged, black blade.
    They strained against each other. The
raptor’s red eyes were narrowed on Marcus. The alien managed to
force Marcus’ arms away from him and aim his blade for Marcus’
throat.
    Fuck . Marcus pushed upward, trying to
keep the wicked edge away from his skin.
    Suddenly, the rex crashed through the roof
again.
    Chunks of ceiling crashed on top of Marcus
and his opponent.
    While the raptor was startled, Marcus jammed
his elbow up, catching the creature’s chin. With his other hand, he
jammed his knife into the softer flesh under the raptor’s neck. The
skin there was still harder than a human’s and Marcus had to work
the knife in. Finally, blood spurted and the raptor made an
agonized noise.
    Marcus heaved the creature off him and
rolled away. He pushed to his feet. As he sprinted to his people,
he saw that Gabe had managed to get the bookcase off Claudia and
Shaw was helping her up.
    The rex roared, a sound so loud it made
Marcus’ ears ring. He glanced over his shoulder and almost lost his
footing.
    The rex was staring down through the hole in
the roof.
    Right at them.
    Its red eyes looked like the fires of
hell.
    “Go! Get her out,” Marcus yelled. But he
knew it was too late. The rex could kill them all with a single
swipe of its claws.
    “Hey! Ugly! Over here.”
    Marcus stumbled, his gut pulling tight. No. No. No.
    Elle yelled again. “Yeah, come on you
hideous thing. Come this way and leave them alone.”
    Marcus clenched his hands. He saw her on the
other side of the library, waving her arms in the air.
    He saw the rex tilt its head, watching
her.
    It had lost interest in the rest of
them.
    Zeke rushed in beside Marcus. “Sorry, boss.
She got away from me and refused to leave without you.”
    Jaw tight, Marcus moved to the others. “Up
and at it, soldier.”
    “Yes, sir.” Claudia grimaced. Shaw was
holding her upright. “I can make it.”
    The rex let out a horrible roar and Marcus
watched Elle lunge to the side.
    The rex swiped out with its claws.
    Marcus’ heart just stopped.
    Agile and nimble, Elle dropped flat on the
floor. The creature’s massive claw swiped through the air about a
meter above her head.
    She leaped back up in one lithe jump and
started running. Her gaze caught Marcus’s.
    Come on, baby . She was running
flat-out.
    The rex stamped its feet, managing to squash
the last few raptors heading Hell Squad’s way. Then it swiped at
Elle again.
    And this time he caught her.
    The creature raised its claw, Elle dangling
from it, her arms and legs thrashing.
    No . Marcus swung his carbine around
and ran toward her.
    ***
    Adrenaline stormed through Elle, leaving her
heart racing and her mind pumped.
    The rex’s claws had hooked into the back of
her armor. The creature was waving her, wildly trying to shake her
loose.
    She couldn’t see anything but a blur of
color, but she heard laser fire.
    Then she felt her armor tear a little,
dropping her down a few inches. She held her breath. Another shake
and her armor ripped on the sharp claw and