slash maraud
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Preview of Up From the Depth Book 2: The Journey Home
Title: UP FROM THE DEPTHS BOOK 2: The Journey Home Sneak Preview
Author: SLASH MARAUD
Rating: 18+
Disclaimer: Purely a concept derived from my demented imagination and too many Romero films
Summary: This story is written for mature readers given the content, violence and language issues therein contained. This story does contain some harsh adult language not just for the sake of typing it but to get the reader into the perspective of how tense the situation is as well as add credibility to the character. Hardened soldiers, especially Special Forces or Naval Special Operators or soldiers in general sure don’t use words like ’golly’, ‘gosh darn it’ or ‘dag nabbit’. There are some depictions of graphic violence and gore. Again this was not done in any attempt to gross out the reader but merely as a plot device to show how deadly the infected humans had become or how severe the situation is from the character’s perspective. There is no sexual content, although it might be hinted at. This is only a sneak preview of Book 2.
FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE, THE FINAL ACTS OF UP FROM THE DEPTHS
The first wave of missiles struck the broadside frigate. Six missiles impacted it, blowing it in half, more would have hit but the CIWS system shot down two others before impact. It sank beneath the waves with not one sailor getting out. The LHA took four hits from amidships to stern; essentially blowing the aft end off. The still intact bow skipped forward from the impact, like a stone skipping across a pond, before settling down and finally sinking. The LPD had moved at flank speed towards the mouth of the harbor, its CIWS engaging the incoming targets, detonating several before it faulted when confronted with multiple targets all within range. No less than ten missiles struck the LPD, utterly destroying it, leaving only a burning patch of fuel and debris on the surface to mark its passing.
The LPH faired a bit better. Its CIWS system stopped several missiles from impact but they still detonated close enough to damage the ship with shrapnel. One cruise missile flew into the open hanger bay door and detonated inside, blowing flames out the bay doors and up through the flight deck. Alarms sounded onboard as damage control crews ran to the affected areas. Another missile tore through the upper part of the island, destroying the ships radar, radio and air traffic control capability. This missile, strangely a dud, lost its aerodynamics and tumbled end over end until impacting the ocean and cartwheeling across the bay. The remaining missiles were ‘spoofed’ by the thick smoke, chaff rockets and flying debris of explosions. Several splashed down in the harbor harmlessly. Two made it through to strike the last supply ship, damaging its engine room spaces and rudder. It’s aft end skidding like a car on an icy road, the rudder jammed as it drifted into a slow turn to starboard.
The refinery took the worst of it. Those missiles targeted for it, locked onto the large metal tanks, a perfect radar image. Burgess and his Marines had scrambled into their vehicles and were almost out the gates when the first missile struck. The resulting explosion masked the other impacts as the main fuel storage tanks went up in a tremendous fireball that shook the ground, knocked out windows in buildings across the harbor, flattened warehouses at the freight port and blistered paint off the freighters moored there. Burgess was in the middle of his little convoy when the explosion occurred. He watched as the vehicles behind him were incinerated by the blast, barely ducking inside the top hatch as the heat wave rushed over his vehicle instantly turning it into an oven inside.
“Go! Go!” he yelled to the driver. The Ranger vehicle started to move as the lance corporal put his foot down. The heat was so intense that the asphalt was starting to melt. The heavy vehicle only made it a few yards before a secondary explosion picked it up and tossed it four hundred yards like a small child’s toy, before smashing it against the ground, pulping the passengers inside.
Across the harbor, Colonel Richardson watched the carnage as the ships were hit and the refinery destroyed. He had ordered his men out of the port when he had received the radio call from Greerson. Richardson had used what little time he had to get his recon teams off the rooftops and move his unit out of the city towards the small airport a few miles away. One Pathfinder unit had been dropped there to secure it and had met no resistance or sign of infected. If he pulled his men to that location, they would have fuel and reasonable shelter. Richardson looked at the refinery go up, great jets of fuel shooting skyward, he could feel the heat on his face where he stood, good mile and half away. He turned and climbed onboard his command configured LAV 25. Standing up through the commander’s hatch he whirled his arm above his head in the universal military signal for move out. The steady offshore breeze pushed the flames from the refinery to consume nearby industrial buildings. Soon the fire grew to a firestorm and the winds pushed it to the city of Dupont. By the time the flames reached the port, Richardson and his unit were outside the city limits, making good time to the airport.
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Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats... -H.L. Mencken
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Aug/9/2008, 10:46 pm
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