Ed Yurek lies flat on the floor of an alien stucture, in sniper position. He looks through a scope attached to a heavy laser rifle. The barrel of the rifle extends through a hole in a plywood panel that covers a large window at the front of the building. Similar wood panels cover all other windows on the first floor. Yurek wears a very light space suit with a backpack that pumps air into his helmet. The suit is hard plastic except for the joints. A decal of the American flag rests on his shoulder. The space suit is smudged with bomb residue and is patched in several places.
From Yurek’s POV, his scope scans several nearby structures. He sees some movement, but can’t catch it. A dust storm scours the buildings, partially obscuring Yurek’s view.
All Yurek can really hear is a muffled, high-pitched whine. He’s the recent victim of a deafening explosion, though we don’t know that yet. Yurek sees one of THE ENEMY. The enemy are aliens, humanoid in shape, but about two-thirds the height of average humans. The enemy is completely covered in chitinous, insectoid armor. No skin is visible; everything’s covered.
Yurek pulls the trigger and fires a few shots that are close to hitting, but barely miss.
Behind Yurek are nearly two-dozen other AMERICANS hustling to secure their situation. Yurek can hear their muffled conversation, but can’t make out what they’re saying.
He keeps an eye out for the enemy. He spots one hurrying between buildings. He pulls the trigger.
The alien explodes. One of the Americans, wearing a decal on his breast that says Kurth, pats Yurek on the back in congratulations.
The building shakes visibly. Nelson falls to the floor. Kurth and the other men buzz about the room, helping the fallen and injured. Yurek keeps scanning the exterior through the scope.
The ground shakes again. Loose items fall from the buildings, including the plywood covering the window of a building further down the street. Something big is coming.
Yurek continues to look through the heavy gun’s scope. The shaking stops. Something blacks out his view. He moves the gun to try to get clear of whatever is blocking his line of sight to no avail. He tells Kurth something's blocking his line of sight. Kurth moves Yurek to the side and looks through the scope. Kurth tells him to shoot it. There's a problem with Yurek's hearing and Kurth has to mime the order. Yurek takes his position. He fires several rounds. Nothing happens. Yurek looks to Kurth, who tells keep shooting.
Yurek turns back to the gun and unloads his clip. He calls for another clip. He pulls a clip from the heavy rifle and holds it up. A soldier named Pilla brings him a new clip. Yurek loads the new clip.
A giant monster tears through the wall. It’s taller than the building and has black shell-like armor covering its body. Its giant claw smashes through broken glass and splinters the plywood covering the window. Yurek starts firing at the beast. The rest of the soldiers fire at it as well. The beast shakes off the rifle blasts and swats at the big gun, breaking it into pieces and knocking Yurek to the floor. The beast picks Yurek up. From Yurek’s POV, the beast bites his head off and we fade to black.
Earlier, a group of soldiers carefully steps outside: Blackburn, Ruiz, Maddox, and Othic with Yurek bringing up the rear. They fan out as they step outside, using walls and alien hedges for cover. Blackburn tells them to keep their eyes peeled. Ruiz notes that no one has seen the aliens without their armor.
Kurth says the transport is arriving and everyone to stand ready. He tells Yurek to man the door and get the next group ready.
An armored transport vehicle approaches. The men gather to board the transport.
Ruiz says if Maddox thinks the Mets will when the World Series, he should put his money where his mouth is. He wants to bet a week's pay.
Maddox sees the transport stop in front of them, its front wheel depresses a plate in the ground. He calls out a bomb. The bomb goes off. The transport has no armor on the floor and is completely destroyed. The only soldier who has time to duck is Yurek. The others are torn apart by the bomb’s shrapnel.
Yurek climbs to his feet. He has been deafened and can only hear a muffled, high-pitched whine. He looks towards the former transport and sees nothing but body parts and debris. He stumbles to the door and yanks it open. Several men help Yurek inside. Nelson runs outside to survey the situation. He sees nothing but body parts and vomits.
The soldiers are gathered inside, away from the windows and doors. They are engaged in deep, aggressive conversation, but Yurek can’t hear them. A doctor, Schmid, uses a scanner on Yurek. Grimes patches up Yurek’s space suit, stopping any potential leaks. Laser fire riddles the exterior of the building. Several soldiers man guns that are set up at various points along the plywood where holes have been cut. Yurek gets up and pushes Schmid and Grimes aside. Schmid tells Yurek to sit down because he's hurt. Yurek ignores him and takes his place at the heavy gun. He starts firing on the enemy. Kurth talks into a satphone, but Yurek can’t hear him. Yurek keeps firing at the enemy.
Earlier, Yurek lies in sniper position, looking through the heavy gun’s scope. Kurth hangs up the satphone. He says the first transport is 3 minutes out. Soldiers start gathering their things: guns, ammo, rucksacks.
Ruiz asks Maddox if he likes baseball. Maddox played in high school and college. Ruiz asks who's gonna win the World Series. Maddox says the Mets, obviously. Ruiz laughs. He catches Othic staring. He asks if Othic agrees. Othic says he doesn't watch baseball. Maddox says Ruiz betting against the Mets is un-American. He asks Yurek for confirmation, but Yurek wasn't listening. Everyone laughs. Yurek is wounded by the laughter. Maddox says Ruiz is a commie for rooting for the Tokyo Giants.
Yurek corrects Maddox, saying Japan isn't communist. Ruiz says the Giants best player IS an American, Jordan Strawberry Jr. And the Mets best player is Japanese, Sho Kiyomiya. Ruiz says the nationalism is pointless in context.
Kurth says the transport will be here any second. They need a team to secure the loading spot. He tells Blackburn to take Ruiz, Maddox, Othic and Yurek and get it done. The named men gather and head outside.
Earlier, Yurek, Waddell, and Twombly slowly make their way down the street towards the alien structure. The enemy fires on them, but the Americans are under cover, so the shots miss. Yurek fires back, but doesn’t hit anything. Yurek points out their destination. Waddell and Twombly run for the structure Yurek points at. Yurek fires a few more times and then follows them. The enemy keeps firing on them. Twombly opens the door. Waddell runs inside. Yurek follows. Twombly goes inside and slams the door behind him.