The large, heavy door pulled open while the eight inhabitants of the bunker watched, panic on their faces. The only ones truly ready to fight were the twins and Joe, the oldest of the Montoya brothers.
Zack, Carrie, and Joe stood in the point position, aiming blasters toward the door. Just after it opened, a canister rolled it. Polished to a shine, a small red light blinked on the side, a warning. Seeing what it was, Zack shot forward, kicking it back out like a football. They surged forward, grabbed the heavy door, gripped it tightly, and pulled, closing it firmly. Out in the tunnel, the canaster hit the side of the tunnel, making it explode early. A hissing sound could be heard through the door, like a whistling tea kettle spraying its steam.
Joe and Zack grabbed a long bar and stuck it in the large wheel, positioning it to hold the wheel in position. They stepped back, weapons ready, and watched. The wheel suddenly moved, first slowly, then rattling back and forth, the bar still holding it in place. Whoever was currently outside the bunker couldn't get in.
Zack, Carrie, and Joe returned to point position, the others holding shotguns, except Neil, who was still hiding behind the hall, trembling in fear; he didn't have a weapon.
The large wheel on the door suddenly stopped, and silence followed. Zack gestured for everyone to move back slowly. He wasn't sure if the door would go flying, exploding off the large iron hinges. On the other hand, it was too quiet, and the silence made him nervous.
Blaster aimed, ready to shoot, shotguns racked and ready, they waited for what would soon come. They knew the door would eventually open; they just didn't know if it would just open or fly off the hinges. Fear permeated through the small area—a soft whimper from behind the hall, Neil trying not to sob.
They waited in silence. After several minutes, Carrie looked over at her twin. "I think we should open it and save the door. Have Neil pull it open, keeping behind it so the rest of us can shoot."
They all knew that was a tough call; anything could be behind the door. As long as everyone was ready, they had a good chance that they would be fine.
Zack scanned his friends, sweat dripping off of his chin. Everyone nodded slightly in agreement. They wanted to get this over with too. "Neil, get out here," Zack whispered.
Neil shuffled out, tears streaking his skin, fear in his brown eyes. He moved up to the front, looking fearfully up at Zack. "I'm going to pull the bar out quietly. You pull it open but stay behind it. The rest of us will shoot as soon as you open it." Zack looked into Neil's fearful eyes, receiving a slight nod. He moved slowly to the door, waiting for Zack to take the steel bar out.
Everyone else moved into the hall on both sides and behind the entry of the base control. Their weapons were poised to shoot as soon as the doors opened. No one was directly in the tiny walkway of the bunker's entrance.
Zack moved to the large, heavy door, sliding the long bar out of the metal wheel and setting it quietly on the floor next to Neil. He looked around at his friends, making sure they were all ready.
They all nodded, gripping tighter to their weapons, then waited for the chaos that was about to take place.
Moving back into place, hidden in a base control, behind the doorway, Zack raised his blaster, ready to shoot, giving Neil a nod to open the door.
Neil spun the large wheel, quickly pulling the heavy door open to not give their attackers time to prepare. He, pressed against the wall, and held firm to the door, trying to stay out of the line of fire.
Zack didn't have to tell everyone to aim for the head; since Nick's death, they had discussed the alien's body armor and the effects on their blasters if they got shot.
Shots rang out, the ping of blaster fire with the short light beams coming out of the weapon, hitting their target. Shotguns racked, firing in succession, giving the other shooters time to reload. A small group of tall green tinted skinned aliens, not having anything to take shelter behind, fell quickly; only one was female.
Zack and his friends used the hall or the inside side doors of rooms for shelter against the alien's blasters, saving them from getting hit. Neil was still tucked between the wall and the big heavy door, trying not to be seen.
Shotguns kept firing; their shots didn't do much to the alien's body armor, but the wide spray hit their horned faces, causing green blood to seep from their wounds. Only face shots did much good, taking off their entire heads with the wide spay of the shotgun shells.
Zack and his friends kept shooting, waiting for their attackers to stop. When the shootout finally ended, Joe and Zack went out into the tunnel, examining the large, green-tinted bodies.
Only one remained alive; it was the female. She was about seven feet, two inches tall, with tiny temple horns with shining gold caps affixed on the ends.
Zack looked over at Joe, a silent conversation. "I think we have a prisoner," Joe noted, Zack nodding in agreement. After discreetly disposing of the other green bodies away from the shelter, re-hiding the opening to the tunnel to the bunker, they pulled the female into the bunker, first removing her armor and weapons.
That shootout gave them seven more blasters; now they had one for each of them, plus two extras. First, making sure the female alien didn't have any com units or weapons; they put her in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxers; they weren't barbarians, and they couldn't let her be chained up naked.
Putting her in Nick's room, they still hadn't put anything back after they had cleaned it. So, they chained her to the bed, arms and legs pulled wide, a large green-tinted 'X,' and placed a chain around her abdomen and neck, ensuring she couldn't get up. They let her keep only the breather attached to her wide nostrils.
Zack, Joe, and Carrie stood over the large female, pointing blasters and glaring daggers. A virus from one of her kind's blasters killed Nick; this alien female would not get sympathy from any of them.
The sizable female alien looked up at them, fear in her black eyes. She knew no one would help her, not in this place.
"Shall we begin?" Zack sneered, a deadly grin on his pale face. Neither Joe nor Carrie said anything; they just stood over the alien, blasters ready and still glaring.