V

The soldiers ran, and the Hybrid followed. Landers knew that this was not a race they could win, and as he clutched the lancer, he doubted if it was a fight they could win. Hazarding a glance over his shoulder, Landers looked for their pursuer and his blood ran cold. About a hundred yards back, the Hybrid stood, glaring at him with its little red camera lenses, its gun's trained on them. The trench, running perpendicular to the previous one, offered no protection from an enemy directly behind. Landers broke into a sprint, there was a turn in the trench up ahead, and if only he and the others could reach it, they would be safe. As he rounded the turn, the world was deafened by the sound of the Hybrids guns firing. He threw himself to the ground.

Seconds passed, and landers looked up. Only two others had made the turn. Starks an Wilks sat stareing back at him. Grabbing the lancer he peered around the bend in the trench. The hybrid, resembling a primate more than a man, crawled on all fours over to where the bodies of the others lay. Sticking its head into the trench it checked to see if there was any movement, of which there was none. The gleaming red lenses looked up just in time to see Landers, staring down the the barrel of the lancer.

The explosion threw Landers against the trench wall behind him, bits of metal scything around him. The world faded to black.

Landers knees hurt, he forced his eyes open. He was being dragged, and looking up he saw that Wilks and Starks supported him.

"Lemme down, I want to rest," he murmmered softly, as he let his head fall down.

"No sarge. Look, we're almost there."

Raising his head once more, Lander saw the base, or what had been the base. The tents and make shift buildings were gone, and all that remained were a few air transports, their jets impatiently reving. Wilk, Stark, and the now limping Landars made their way towards them, and as they got on, one of the co pilots said,

"Welcome aboard the last plane from earth."

Shortly after the planes lifted off. Lander looked out the back port of the plane, watching as below him the burnt earth gradually turned into mountains.

"Why are we flying to the mountains?" Wilks asked one of the pilots.

"We're leaving this planet," the pilot replied, "and we're flying out on Graveyard 1."