Summers and the others left early the next morning, at the speed they were going, he was fairly confident their newfound stalkers would be left in the dust. Oddly, he’d noticed they hadn’t really tried to follow. Instead they seemed content to watch them leave.

Cortez rubbed at tired eyes from beside Summers. The whole group looked more than a little haggard. He hadn’t gotten much sleep either, which made him question the sight in front of him.

“Guys… tell me you’re seeing this too.” Nowak called out.

“Yeah…” Summers stood beside his horse, looking up.

“Is that a fucking tank?” Cortez asked.

It was, in fact, a fucking tank. Or half of one, at least. Its turret was pointed at an almost perfect 90-degree angle, with treads poking out from a small rocky outcropping. One that was very clearly not large enough to hold a tank.

“Did… it get buried or something?”

“I don’t think so…” Summers studied the rocky protrusion. Even from this angle he could see the rear treads poking out of the bottom of the formation. It looked like chunks of metal had rained down below it.

It was as though it were growing out of the stone.

Summers rode closer to the outcropping, struggling to balance on his “horse” for a moment before hopping down, looking at the odd metal pieces scattered around.

They were in chunks. Cleanly cut at odd, sharp angles.

They reminded him of what happened when they first got here, of how the creature that had wiped out the 63rd was left neatly cut into small, distinct cubes. That had happened after Summers destroyed the machine that got them here.

That was what stranded them here.

“Hey…” Cortez called over. “I think we got another problem.”

Summers followed Cortez’ gaze, there was a small, hunched man far in the distance. He looked bone thin, his skin an almost onyx black, behind him were a dozen men.

But the real problem was the large, white feathered creature towering over them.

It looked like a dragon.

A giant, white, mostly dead dragon.

“…Well, that’s not good.” Summers stared back at the group.

He hadn’t seen them approach. Summers was tired but that thing was massive. There was no way it should have been able to sneak up on all of them.

“Need a plan here, Sarge.” Cortez hopped down from her horse, eyeing the massive creature in the distance.

“I’ll get the right side. Summers, think can you take the guy in the center out? Go for the legs. We’ll run while they’re licking their wounds.”

“Not a problem, Sarge.” Summers shrugged the rifle on his shoulder, looking down the scope at the thin man in front of them.

He ignored the others as Nowak began to shout orders to the rest of the group. He sighted in on the man, then fired a short burst.

Almost immediately Summers saw the thin man’s hand move, just slightly, then something slammed into him.

“Fuck!” Summers rolled with the impact, feeling as if someone had hit him with a sledgehammer. “What the hell –“

Summers turned to see the others looking at him, weapons ready. There was nothing behind them.

“Where’re the shooters?!” Cortez moved to cover behind her horse.

“I can’t see where it came from.” Nowak called out.

Summers reached to the back of his vest, feeling three new holes below his shoulder. Exactly as many shots as he’d fired.

He’d been at the front of the group, there was no way someone could get an angle like that on them. Not unless they were in the sky and it was clear.

Then he felt it. The strange vibrating sensation he’d recognized from when they’d first arrived in this world. In the sky, about a dozen feet away from them was a small portal. He could see the thin man’s face smiling back at him.

He looked back just as Cortez was lining up her shot.

“Wait!”

Cortez fired, Summers darted forward, tackling the woman just as another stream of fire impacted the ground where she’d been standing.

“What-“ Cortez didn’t get a chance to finish as the dragon roared. Summers felt a rush of air wash over the group.

“Sarge, we need to start running, now!”

They didn’t have the tools to take anything near that big down. And if his theory on the thin man was right, they didn’t stand a chance to kill him like this.

Nowak hesitated a moment before yelling to the others.

“Head north, go!”

They ran.

“There was a tear in space?” Nowak leaned back against the cliff wall, trying to get his bearings.

“I don’t know. Maybe a wormhole or something, like the one that brought us here.” Summers explained. “We can’t hit it like that, not if it’s gonna throw our own fire back at us.” Summers dug out the now broken plate on his back. It had been shattered into a million pieces. The tough, gray skin beneath it had already started to bruise.

The fact he’d never gotten around to removing that skin had likely saved his life.

Summers leaned against the small alcove they’d taken refuge in.

For the last seven hours their group had been hounded by the beast-like men. They always kept a distance, but Summers was certain they’d come eventually.

Thankfully, the large forest and cliffs must have made it hard for the dragon to move, because it hadn’t caught up to them. Yet.

He’d guessed they’d wait for Summers’ group to fall asleep, or for enough of their own to show up and overwhelm them. To wear them down.

Judging by the state of their group, it was working.

“We can’t keep this up.” Cortez looked back at the road they’d come from.

They hadn’t seen anyone for the last hour, presumably, they’d lost them. Given what Summers suspected, it wasn’t going to last.

“I think they’re communicating somehow.” Summers looked up at the others. “Waiting for more to show up, just like we thought. If it can control the people it’s infected, it would explain that port town. All that happened at the same time, like it was coordinated.”

“Think there’s more to it than that.” Nowak countered. “If those things could just talk like you’re saying then they wouldn’t need to watch us, it’s inside you.”

“…Right.” Summers agreed.

“Whatever we decide to do the horses aren’t gonna hold out at this pace.” Cortez suggested. “Fridge is nearly dead, and I think Tank 3 is a special kind of fucked up, maybe got an infection.”

“…Did you name the horses? Did you name it fridge?”

“Fridge’s the one carrying the food.” Cortez sat in the dirt. “And I’m not kidding, I grew up around ranches and these things are gonna die if we keep this up.”

“Not sure what our options are here. I got some ideas, but we can’t fight that… dragon thing.” Nowak replied. “Not without explosives. And not in the open like this.”

“Then what about a city?” Summers suggested. “If these things are roaming around unchecked, I doubt they’ve got anyone left alive, but it would give us a better place to hide. And streets make for better cover than trees. Especially dealing with something that can shoot us in the back.”

“Are we close to anything like that?” Nowak looked to Synel.

She shook her head.

“Nothing close, and I don’t believe our beasts will last that long. And your base would be closer.”

“There’s no chance they let us get that far without trying to rush us.” Cortez responded.

Summers leaned against the hard rock wall, trying to think. After a few seconds he saw Nowak stand, heading to his pack and checking the radio. He’d done that a few times now, making sure the transmission was still broadcasting. Turning it on confirmed that, yes, the message was still coming through. It sounded just as crisp as it had when they’d first got there.

That struck Summers as a bit odd, actually. Radios could get some serious distance, even with home-made transmission towers, but the quality from California to what would be Nevada was still consistent. That wasn’t normal. Hell, it was only possible in their world because of bases like his.

Relay stations.

“…Maybe we don’t need a city.” Summers immediately stood, looking to the mountains around them. “Sarge, how close to the base are we?”

“Two, maybe three days off.”

“The armies’ been here for a while, follows that they created infrastructure, right?”

Summers pulled a high-powered scope from his pack and started looking.

“What are you doing?” Nowak looked at him in confusion.

“Hoping we’re real lucky.”

After a few moments, he found what was he’d been searching for.

“On that mountain, there’s an observation post.” Summers indicated the spot. “Looks solid. If we’re going to make a stand anywhere, I think it might be our best shot.”

“That’s definitely not normal, right?” Summers looked at a perfect sphere carved into the ground. It was one of many. The entire area was pockmarked with the strange formations.

“If I’m going to be honest, I don’t know what normal is anymore.” Nowak responded.

Pat stood beside him nodding in agreement. Both the twins and Orvar were on high alert, reacting to the slightest noise. It wasn’t a habit Summers was looking to correct right now. They should be paranoid.

They scaled the mountain road slowly. Almost as soon as they’d started, more of the beast-like men had shown up. They heard the snapping of trees in the distance, something massive breaking through the forest. He had a guess as to what that was, and he was not looking forward to that fight.

“We’re getting close.” Nowak announced. “Pat, you and yours good over there?”

Pat nodded in response.

“We are ready.”

Orvar and the twins nodded as well.

“That’s what I want to hear.” Nowak turned back.

Summers eyed the round, concrete bunker as they approached it. There was a small perimeter made from sandbags and netting. It wasn’t overly large, but it was better than nothing.

“Looks empty.” Cortez announced, hopping down from a sandbag. “Could toss a grenade in there if you wanna be safe though.”

“Wait.” Summers held up a hand.

Cortez turned to where Summers was looking.

On top of the bunker was a squat, but clearly noticeable antenna.

Summers moved to the front, peering through the small opening in the bunker. The inside was mostly barren, all except for one thing.

“Holy shit.” Summers stepped back, smiling at the others. “They got a radio.”

Summers waited as the others began to pile up sandbags behind the bunker’s entrance.

Cortez tossed their duffel bag full of grenades into his lap.

“All yours.”

“You sure this is safe?” Summers watched the bag warily.

“I’ve been up for about 30 hours now, so no. Just go outside before you start to fuck with it.”

Summers gripped the bag. Cortez had been working on a “surprise” for their new friends since they’d set camp. Seeing her sleep addled movements as she tried to sit was not in the least assuring. Neither was the shifting weight in his lap.

“…The horses secure?”

“Orvar’s got them tied behind the bunker. Assuming this problem gets solved, we might not need them any more anyway.”

Summers nodded at her reasoning. She turned towards the radio where Nowak worked.

“How’s it going over there Sarge?”

“Shit. I have no idea if this is transmitting.” Nowak tapped on the face of the radio, it was working, but they’d been waiting for nearly an hour with no response. “No one’s picking up either way.”

“Or they’re dead.” Cortez countered.

“Or that…”

“Hello?”

Summers turned as the radio buzzed to life.

“This is Oscar Zulu three, whoever in god’s name is operating on this channel respond immediately.” A woman’s voice spoke. “How in the fuck are you still alive?”

Nowak paused a moment before moving for the receiver.

“That is a long story ma’am, and I’d be happy to tell you, but we have some serious problems of our own here...”

“Contact!” Pat called from the other side of the room.

“…And I think they’ve just caught up to us.” Nowak finished.