[Authors Note: I am dearly sorry this took so long. I had intended on this being the final chapter, but real life kept getting in the way, along with some other things, so I've finally reached a good length in this chapter and I've decided to release as is. There is more coming, rest assured, my comrades! (Note#2: I, like you, got tired of waiting to release it!)]The Harder They Fall: Chapter 11Note#3: This and the next chapter are based on the great map recently released, called Blackout. I've made a few changes, but I said BASED on, not a copy of 
“Better put some gloves on, son.” McNabb said to the soldier next to him. “You'll get some nasty rope burn otherwise.”
Turner picked up the coil of rope in the corner and hefted it over the side, watching it as it trailed down to the ground below. He gripped it in his hands, gave a salute to the crew, and slid down. Even with gloves his hands began to warm from the friction. He hit the ground with a soft thud, the grass and leaves muffling the sound. Mac dropped into a crouch, looked around the area to confirm that there were no enemies, and waved up to the chopper. One by one the soldiers came down.
McNabb took point, leading them through the trees and brush closer to the outpost. “Beta, go east about 40 feet, tell me what you see.”
Mac nodded and broke out into a low run, still moving quietly., spotting a soldier guarding a sewer entrance. He motioned with his hand and the sniper took the soldier out.
“Move up, Alpha, and get that grill off. Thats our back door.”
McNabb's team moved forward, the engineer procuring a drill from his pack. The tool whirred to life, the noise shockingly loud in the stillness of the night. He was done in seconds, though.
“We're in.”
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They moved through the mushy water and the thick stench that hung in the air. Turner wished they had nose filters, but they hadn't known how they'd be be coming in. He made a mental note to upgrade his equiptment when they got out. He heard DJ let out a disgusted moan.
“Man, I think a rat just swam past my feet...”
McNabb snorted. “Toughen up, DJ. In this business you'll see worse than that.”
“It was the size of a fucking poodle!”
The whole group burst into laughter. After a moment, DJ joined in. “I'm serious, man. That was the biggest rat I have ever seen.”
“Wait till you get married. The biggest rat you'll see then is the one in your bed.” someone said. Another round of laughter.
“Screw you, whoever said that!”
“Shhhh,” Mac said. “I see a light!”
“Who the hell opened the Pearly Gates for you? Hey Peter! You better let me in, too!”
“I'm serious, quiet!”
Mac trotted ahead, his boots sloshing in the muddy water. Up ahead, the small light grew in size till he could see the grate covering it. He pressed his face against the cool metal, trying to see down the hallway. No one in sight.
“Anything out there?” someone asked, right by his ear.
He jumped and hit his head on the top of the pipe. “For Gods sake, don't do that!”
“Sorry, boss,” the clone said, smirking.
Turner wiped at the grime that now coated his cheeks and stepped back so the engineer could get to work. “I'll have to use a saw for this. The screws are on the outside. Everyone, stay back.”
The saw came to life, throwing sparks as he cut through the metal. He crafted a large circle and pushed it out, wincing as it clattered to the floor. The soldiers moved out into the hall, gasping for fresh air.
“No more sewers for me.” DJ said.
“Where are we?” 13 asked.
Turner tapped a button on his wrist computer. “GPS says we're under the outpost. This must be the hidden facility, then.”
“Anyone even live in the outpost?”
“Maybe some of the soldiers. It's more for cover than anything.”
“I bet the tourists wonder what's up out here.”
“Somehow, 13, I don't think tourists come this way.”
“Hmm, you're probably right.”
Mac looked both ways, then frowned. “I think we're gonna have to split up.”
“Why? If there's aliens here we'll be murdered!”
Mac motioned to the walls. “See how narrow these halls are? If an alien comes and we're all together, we'll be murdered anyways.”
McNabb nodded. “Mac has a point. Close quarters, large aliens... we'd be shooting each other down before we even touched them.”
“Alright, I'll go east, then. Stay in constant radio contact?”
“Of course. Good luck, 13.”
The clone nodded and led his men away, vanishing down the stairs.
Mac sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “John, stay up front with me, men, stay spread out and behind me.”
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They ran up the stairs, two at a time, slamming through the door at the top. Their boots thudded on the linoleum covered floor, which had not been cleaned in a while. Dirt and grime covered the walls, and cobwebs hung in the corners. The lights swung from thin chains, casting wild shadows.
The hallway led into another room, bordered by doors on 3 sides. The 4th wall was filled with tech equipment. Monitors hung near the ceiling, reporting live feed from all around the base. A few screens were filled with static, and others were just plain dead. Weapon racks were built on the walls, but no one could remove the guns. They were locked in.
“John, look,” Turner said, pointing to a circle on the floor. Several bundles of wires led into pipes under the floor. They ended in three prong plugs. “We need some sort of power source,” he added.
McNabb nodded. “Where's the construction kit?”
“I have it !” The engineer said, pulling his pack off.
“Build a repeater right there.”
Once it was completed, Turner knelt and plugged in the cords. Without warning, force fields went up in the doorways, and the weapon racks lit up.
“Well, that problem is solved.”
The soldiers grabbed what few weapons there were, while Mac examined the force fields. He reached out and watched as his hand passed through the field. No shock, no nothing.
“What the hell is this?” he muttered under his breath.
One of the clones passed through the field and turned around in amazement. “What's the point of this if anything can just go through it?”
“WATCH OUT!” Mac yelled suddenly. The clone turned around and screamed as a goon ran down the hall. “Turn off the field!”
McNabb shook his head. “I don't know how!”
The clone backed into the field, but he couldn't pass through it again. Now they knew how they worked. Once you went out, you didn't come back in.
His screams tore through the air as the goon bit into him, spilling his guts on the floor. The unfortunate clone dropped to his knees, and the goon took his head into its jaws, squeezing. A moment later his brain popped out, splattering on the wall.
Someone threw up, and McNabb watched as the goon drug the body down the hall. Turner had looked away, struggling to hold his lunch down.
“Oh my fucking god!” Another clone exclaimed.
“Watch your mouth,” McNabb said. He was feeling queasy himself.
Turner won the battle with his stomach, although his skin was pale. He closed his eyes and leaned against the nearest wall, breathing slowly. Little by little his flesh resumed its color. After a few more moments he stepped forward and grabbed his gun. “Stay with me, men. Someone will need to stay here to let us back in.”
“I'll do it,” DJ said.
“Ok. The rest of you, follow me. We're gonna kill these bastards.”
He led them out of the small room through the door to the east. A long hallway extended before them, more rooms at the end.
“I wonder if there are any people left alive.”
“After what happened back there... I doubt it.”
They reached a large shaft that seemed to go down forever.
“The hell?”
Turner looked up and saw a plethora of machinery, turning its gears and emitting smoke. Platforms went up and down, carrying supplies from one floor to another.
“Exactly HOW are we supposed to get up there?” McNabb asked, pointing to a room up above them to the left.
Turner shook his head. “I have no idea.”
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Beta13 and his men found themselves in what appeared to be an office area. Desks were scattered around the room, computers and papers sitting on them. 13 pulled open one of the drawers and rummaged through the folders. Nothing interesting. He shut it and went to the next one.
“What the hell is all this?” he muttered to himself.
Base plans, financial reports, nothing about aliens, about experiments. He cursed again and slammed the drawer shut. Something dripped down on his uniform. He reached up and wiped his forehead, sure he was sweating, but it was dry.
He stepped back and looked up at the disemboweled corpse hanging from the ceiling like a grotesque decoration. The other soldiers noticed it and ran over. “Something tells me he's been dead for a while.” one of them said.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, he looks stiff as a board...” the soldier replied, grabbing a chair and sliding it across the floor in front of him. He stepped on the seat and reached up with his rifle, nudging the foot of the deceased. “Yep, this guy is so much wood.” Without warning, the leg came off, which had been nearly chewed through.
Another soldier offered his opinion. “I think something ate him after he was dead. Look, that stuff that dripped down was blood. If something had chewed him up and that led to his death, he wouldn't be bleeding, would he?”
13 thought about it. “No, probably not. Also, he wouldn't be hanging from a rope. Suicide, then. But why?”
“Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here, no pun intended, and say if this guy knew the aliens had gotten loose, he wouldn't stand a chance against them. Hanging is a heck of a lot better than being eaten piece by piece.”
“Word,” another clone said.
“Let's move on, folks. Showtime is over.”
The soldiers gathered their weapons and gear and left the room. The pipes above their heads rattled, as if something were in them. Or maybe it was just old pipes. “This place is in such disarray.”
“Tell me about it. When man gets into a frenzy, though, he tends to forget the world around him.”
“That's what happened here?”
“I think so. They got so devoted to their work here, these aliens, the place has fallen apart around them. It's a wonder it looks as good as it is, given the damage those aliens could have done while on the loose.” 13 said.
“I have a feeling they don't spend much time up here.”
13 stopped.
“What?”
“Thats it!”
The soldiers looked around uneasily.
“The labs and the experiment rooms would be downstairs of course... where Turner and the others went! Damn! Move, move, move! Downstairs!”
They rushed back to the offices, feet muffled by the carpeted floor. The computers and machinery continued to run, and somewhere a water cooler kept dripping. 13 was suddenly aware it was very quiet, very still. He thought you could hear a pin drop.
The door on one of the upper balconies burst open, expelling a swarm of dretches unlike any they'd seen before. Several of the soldiers opened fire, but 13 shouted at them not to.
“RUN! NOW!”
They fled the room, tearing down the stairs 3 at a time, the aliens close an their heels. They could hear them, the little feet pattering on the floor and walls. 13 was suddenly sure thats what you heard as you died, when Death reached out his hand for you, the whisper of bone against bone. It was like those feet, always running after you in hell. Dear God, he didn't want to die.
They slammed through the doors at the bottom of the stairs, racing against time to reach the others. And the dretches followed, intent on one thing:
Total eradication.
The End of Part 11Note #4: Part 12 coming soon!
