Young Southern Student Writer 2012

The Reapers He could feel himself slipping away into the darkness that slowly enveloped him. Slowly the world around him faded away. He was not afraid; he was at peace, calm. No longer would he be Private Jake Fox, he would be just another nameless soldier dying in the war for humanity. He would be another martyr. Jake lay motionless on his back.

His eyes were fixated on the sky. His breathing slowed. Maybe his death would be a blessing in disguise; he did not have to live to see the horror of what was to come. The Reapers had been amongst us all along, disguised as other humans. They were the most intelligent life forms in existence, on any planet. They functioned solely to wipe out any civilization that they deemed had been corrupted. It wasn't often that an entire planet had been deemed "corrupted", but when it had happened they left no trace of life behind. They had successfully infiltrated every major civilization on Earth and beyond. The Reapers were split on Earth, however. Many in their hierarchy desired nothing less than complete annihilation of the human race. Others believed there was still hope and that Earth deserved another chance at saving. As such there was a great war, as the Reapers revealed themselves and began to attack Earth. The Earth's many nations joined together and fought back. Each continent had its own military, and they combined to form the United Army. The rift throughout the ranks of the Reapers caused many to forsake their brethren in favor of humanity.

It was all out war.

Private Jake Fox enlisted when he lost his wife and kids in the beginning oft he onslaught. That was six months ago. Just a week ago, a global wide attack was launched at the flagships of the Reapers blockading Earth. The unit Jake was in was tasked with taking back New York, as there were multiple docks and airports that could be of value. Aiding his regiment would be the Canadian, British, and Rebel Reaper forces. It would be a practical suicide run. Jake's unit's Humvees were both hit by RPGs. Jake was the lone survivor. Jake escaped the burning car and was saved by a group of five Rebel Reapers. The six men made their way into New York on foot. Along the way they came across another rag tag group of three British soldiers, all of whom had been separated from their regiments. Jake's new unit had grown to nine. The nine began to form a bond, and as they spent their nights in the back alleys hiding and watching for the enemy, they told stories of their lives before the war. They talked about their families, their lives in the good, old days, and what they were doing when the initial attack occurred. By day, they advanced slowly toward the airports.

There were other small bands of soldiers, but there was not a single regiment that was left intact. This was mainly a distraction, a decoy for the attack in the New York flagship.

There was Jake, lying on his back motionless. He could see the JFK airport. He was so close to taking it back for the United Army. Unfortunately, a grenade landed too close and blasted him to the ground. The British men had been killed in the firefight. It was just him and three Rebel Reapers left. He stared at the sky, his eyes fixated on the clouds. His vision began to go grey, there was no more color. His hearing was muffled. He turned his head toward the firefight and noticed his Rebel Reaper friends pinned down taking fire from a mounted gun turret. His eyes began to close. He could hear his wife's voice, he could see into the next life. Was this at long last the end? His eyes reopened, and he could hear another soldier crying out in pain. He saw the soldier collapse and die. He knew what he had to do.

With all the strength he could muster, he forced himself off of the ground. He picked up his rifle and threw a grenade.

It detonated close enough to the gunner to knock him off the turret. Jake rushed forward, straining to keep his heart rearing. He stayed covered by the crumbled remains of what was once building. He could see a dozen enemies. The two Rebel Reapers had fought their way to him. Jake unleashed a mighty battle cry and began spraying down the enemies. He continued running forward, now he was a mere twenty yards or so away from the airport runway. The Reapers successfully pinned Jake and the Rebel Reapers down once more. Jake tossed another grenade and took out three more. This bought him enough time to exchange fire with the others, eliminating two more hostiles. Meanwhile, his Rebel Reaper allies flanked the remaining enemies. The three killed the remaining hostiles. Jake radioed into the 360