Chapter 9: Walkürenritt

"Join the EDF", they'd said.

Melanie returned fire over the roof of the Jeep she was hunkering behind.

"Just go for the five years. The pay is great, and after five years of obstacle courses and boredom, you have a great monetary basis to start the rest of your life. And the aliens won't be coming back, so there's basically no risk at all".

A hot load of plasma missed Melanie's head by less than 30cm and burned a smoldering hole in the concrete wall behind her. 'Scheiße. Yeah, no risk at all, you smartasses'. The streets of Los Angeles, brimming with life and diversity not even a day ago, were a desolation of chaos, fire and death. The fancy sports cars that had been cruising the streets were now burning wrecks blocking the way. Melanie had been into fast cars what seemed a lifetime ago. A few hours ago. Now, she was all into the big, bulky, ugly cars, busses and trucks. Those were wrecks too, but these wrecks offered cover. Another shot hit the Jeep she was leaning against and echoed through the empty streets. Between the wreckage, corpses were strewn across the ground. All of them were either elderly people, children or men. Just as with the first invasion, there was no sign of females of Melanie's age. During that first invasion, Melanie had been only seven, but she had never seen her big sister again, who had been abroad in the US at the time. Just like she was now. Best not dwell on it. 'Focus'. This was combat. This was what she was here for.

To her left, Sergeant Sebab gave the sign she was waiting for, the command to move into a flanking position. It was a shit job, but someone had to do it. And in this particular case, that someone was Corporal Melanie Höltens. 'Come on, Melanie, you've trained for this'. Though they say you that can train all you want, that you'll never see if you're up to snuff before you've seen real combat. This was her finding out. Covering fire came and Melanie sprinted to the next cover, a hastily abandoned delivery truck. From there, she continued on, her helmeted head down, as another load of hot plasma shot over it. Out of the corner of her eye Melanie witnessed the assault commander that had sent it her way drop from a direct hit by her squad's covering fire. A feeling of triumph, further fueled by adrenaline, swept over her as she lept behind another large Jeep and unleashed hell upon the alien commander's two remaining, now flanked companions. Her Ripper gun got one cleanly in the head and, true to its name, ripped through the lower torso of the other one, cutting a bloody gash through it, dropping that alien fuck instantly. And then, as quickly as the fire exchange had erupted, it was silent gain. The cracks of her gunfire echoed away, fading into the soft sounds of turmoil in the distance.

So this was it. Her first two kills. The heat of battle. They say you that can train all you want, that you'll never see if you're up to snuff before you've seen real combat. Now she knew, knew with striking certainty. Melanie Höltens, despite her delicate appearance, did have the heart of a warrior, which was now beating fast in anticipation of, no, longing for, more combat to come. She had never felt so alive in all her 19 years. Recklessly, perhaps even foolishly, she removed her helmet and freed both her red mane and a triumphant warcry. The assault commander and his two soldiers she had killed lay almost atop each other. Further behind them were two more dead aliens, at least one of them killed in action by Corporal Chang, the other female member of their small EDF squad. 'Go girls, I suppose'. It only seemed appropriate that it was the women who were doing the killing out here, because in there, from all they had been told in the briefing, it was the women who were doing the suffering. But that would soon end. One way or another.

Sergeant Sebab and the rest of the squad were catching up now. "Good job, soldier!", he exclaimed, "Very proud, Holtens." He always pronounced her name this way. Most Americans did, but Melanie didn't mind. Especially not now. "Very good job, everyone", he continued, addressing his cheering squad, "with people like you, these bastards won't stand a chance". And he was right, of course.

The hive was still about 2km away, but Melanie could see it from here already. A dark growth erupted from the building that had been the Duke Dome and wrapped itself around a tower, as if threatening to devour it whole. If recon was to be trusted, most of the hive was hidden underground, though. Nobody knew how the aliens had been able to set foot here so quickly after their initial attack. But at this moment, Melanie wasn't afraid. She would show those alien fucks what happens if you attack earth. She was going to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and she had never brought gum along in the first place.