Free The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) by Nicholas Smith Page B

his back. As the humming got louder the pair broke into a sprint, grimacing when the intermittent wind stung their bare skin with sand, dirt and rocks. Obi raised his right hand and pointed to a slab of concrete bunker. “There!” he yelled. Ajax stopped, panting heavily, and squinting into his goggles to make out what appeared to be the basement of an old gas station.
    As Obi neared the structure he saw it was about eight feet deep, a perfect foxhole for someone Ajax’s size. It was also three feet above grade and would provide the perfect sniping point.
    “Ajax, this is going to be your position. I’m going to take cover in…” Obi paused as he scanned his surroundings for the perfect spot. His eyes came to rest on a fully intact minivan not 100 yards away.
    Out of all of these cars, the one to survive was a freaking minivan.
    “Your grenades ,” Obi said, holding out his gloved hand.
    Ajax reached into his side pockets and pulled out a handful of the explosives. For a second their eyes locked through their goggle lenses, and a look of uncertainty passed between both men. It wasn’t fear, or nerves, just the feeling they might not see each other again. The feeling lingered momentarily before they nodded and parted ways to take up their positions. They were soldiers and were trained not to have emotions in combat situations, and the sharp buzz from the Scorpions was growing louder by the second.
    Luck was on Obi’s side today. The Scorpions were headed right for their location, blind to the danger ahead. By the time Obi detonated the first grenade the lead Scorpion was already in the air, the explosion lifting its front end off the dusty road and turning it into a spinning ball of flames. As the Scorpion smashed back onto the pavement, the collision caused the soldier manning the rocket launcher to fire prematurely into the blacktop, the explosion instantly enveloping the entire vehicle.
    The other three S corpions zipped away in different directions, one of them only narrowly missing the burning hull of the first destroyed Scorpion. Clouds of dark smoke erupted from the belly of the vehicle, now nothing more than a crater in the ground.
    Obi peeked through one of the van windows, trying to keep track of the Scorpions as they raced away from the ambush. He pulled the mask down from his face and wiped the sweat from his scorched forehead. A piece of shrapnel from the first Scorpion had torn through the thin metal of the minivan door, narrowly missing his scalp and leaving a black streak of grease across his forehead. He wiped it clean and nodded to Ajax across the road, ready for the next phase.
    Quickly , Obi opened the van door and took off in a sprint down the remnants of the old highway, his head down and tucked into his chest. Ajax followed closely behind, his rifle at the ready. They found the perfect refuge under the belly of an old semi-trailer on its side. The trailer looked like the skeleton of a large whale, with metal ribs poking out from the torn canvas.
    He took a knee at the edge of the trailer where the twisted metal created a cage for them to set up position. The canvas clung to the metal columns like skin and provided the perfect camouflage.
    “This gives us little prot ection if the Scorpions find us,” Ajax whispered, taking a knee next to Obi.
    “Don’t worry, their heat sensors won’t be able to pick us up in this storm. And besides, I’m not going to give them that opportunity.”
    “What do you have in mind?” Ajax asked , with a strained look of concern.
    “I just need some bait, ” Obi said, surveying the stark landscape.
     
    Time : 8:24 a.m. January 28, 2071
    Location : The Wastelands
     
    A mile away the three remaining Scorpions regrouped, their gunners anxious to start a search and destroy mission. Their engines humming, they sat paused in the dry gray ash.
    In the middle of the unit Captain McNeil l stood on the hood of his tan Scorpion. He was covered from neck to toe in