Lost in Magadan: Extraterrestrials on Earth

Snap ran up the stairs to his left. As he turned on the balcony, he saw a man holding an AK-47. He was too late. The man opened fire at point blank range. A barrage of 7.62x39 rounds slammed into Snap’s chest.

Shit. Am I going to die? This can’t be how it ends, in some shitty town in the middle of nowhere.

The kinetic force of the rounds pushed Snap down the stairs, but they did not penetrate his FALOS armor. Snap regained his balance and aimed the DE rifle at the masked man. The man knew it was over; he tried to back up and run, but it was too late. Snap pulled the trigger before his targeting system locked on to the man. It did not matter. At this range, Snap could not miss. The masked man was nearly cut in two by the laser.

“Target eliminated,” Snap said into his COM so that the rest of his team would know.

“Courtyard clear,” Jackson reported.

Snap turned right at the top of the stairs to see a long, dark hallway with several closed doors. The helmet’s built-in night vision allowed Snap to see in the dark. He kicked the first door on the right, and it swung open with the sound of splintering wood to reveal an empty room.

The next two rooms were empty, also. Williams and Johnson were at his back.

“Rear of compound, clear,” crackled over the COM system.

“First floor clear,” Neal West said.

“Rear entrance clear,” Ryan Taylor said.

Where are the hostages? There are more doors upstairs. They must be here.

Williams and Johnson were wearing the same exoskeleton armored suits that Snap was wearing. Williams pointed at the next door, indicating that he would kick it down and that Snap and Johnson should rush in. On his cue, Snap rushed into the dark room, Johnson directly behind him. Snap felt a crushing pain, as the terrorist’s huge fist slammed into his face. He tumbled back, and Johnson shot the terrorist with his laser gun. Snap, sitting on the floor, looked up and realized that the terrorist was nine feet tall and wearing advanced battle armor. Snap jumped to his feet, the FALOS suit easily lifting the hundreds of pounds of armor and laser gun.

Snap tried to raise his DE rifle up to the huge hostile, but he was once again knocked to his knees. Three more flashes of light. Three more direct hits. It seemed his laser was completely ineffective against this insurgent’s armor. Snap’s eyes focused on the giant’s face; it is not human. The tall creature had taunt grey skin. The rest of his features were shielded by his helmet.

The creature threw its hands up, as if to surrender, and three shards of light burst from a device on its chest. Williams, Johnson, and Taylor were violently thrown against the wall and slumped to the floor. Snap knew they were dead. The creature stood over him. He tried to raise his DE rifle, to no avail. The shard of light cut through Snap’s armor and flesh like a hot knife through butter. Everything faded to black as Snap lost consciousness.

Snap’s eyes popped open and he jolted out of bed. He was in a large hospital room with multiple beds. His chest was on fire, and his throat was dry and itchy. He looked around the large room to see the rest of his team lying in medical beds. None of them are wearing armor; rather they were wearing traditional hospital gowns, and hooked up to medical monitoring devices.

“Soldier, you got your ass whipped,” barked General Benjamin Paxton. The General was standing in a doorway, a few feet from Snap. “You are going to have to do a hell of a lot better than that if we are going to win the next war.”

“Yes Sir, what was that thing, Sir?” Snap asked.

“That was an Ondagra. He and his kind are from a planet called Botacoure. His name is Ater, and he is working with us to help get you boys ready for the next war.”

“What?” Snap asked, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“We have a lot to discuss, Major Slade. I want you and your squad in my office in one hour.” The General surveyed the hospital bay. “Make that two hours.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Hill Air Force Base, Utah

General Benjamin Paxton’s office was seven levels below the surface of Hill Air Force base. The structure was referred to as a Deep Underground Military Base, or DUMB for short. The General’s office had a large desk, conference table, and a dozen chairs. The only people present were, the General, his chief of staff, and Snap’s squad.

“Men, you just encountered your first extraterrestrial, or alien, if you will. His name is Ater Velens, and if you had met him anywhere but in a training exercise, all of you would be dead,” General Paxton said from behind his desk at the front of the room.