The Reformation

Ryan was the last off the truck. The bright sunlight stared harshly, accentuating the humid weather of the land. The open fields provided no shelter from the sweltering heat, making the group of captives grouchy and less fearful of the Reptilians.
"All of you, start digging. I want it finished before sunset!" hissed the Reptilian commander.
Each man was untied, handed a shovel. Larry, the ever arrogant aristocrat officer challenged the order. "Why do we have to dig holes in the ground. My men and I refuse to be treated as labour."
A Reptilian solder sauntered up to Larry, without speaking raised his rifle and shot Larry in the feet. Larry fell and scream in agony. He looked up just in time to see the rifle aimed at his temple. He quickly closed his eyes and braced himself. Seconds pass, but nothing happened. He then opened his eyes to see the soldier walking away. Larry was merely badly shaken and quickly muttered a prayer of thanks. Now, none dared to refuse or even ask questions and silently set to work.

Sundown.
Suddenly shots rang out. Ryan dived and took a quick glance around. To his relief and surprise, the Reptilians were under attack from the remnants of the New Eropagnis Planetary Defense forces, a volunteer force made up of dedicated citizens. The attackers were making use of the dimming lights to facilitate the escape of the prisoners from the 3rd Heavy Horses. The Horses were captured when surprised from above before any warning was given. Reptilian soldiers dropped from above and landed directly on top of the staging base of the 3rd Heavy Horses who were still gathering their forces. The Heavy Horses fought with all they had, firing their pistols, some managing to fire a few shots from their tanks before being killed by Reptilians who had climbed up and into the tank turrets. The base commander Eric Lucker then decided to surrender the whole base to prevent his men from dying in a unequal battle.

Ryan shook the two other men beside him, shouted above the sound of battle and pointed to north, where the Timur forest blankets and protects. They nodded their heads and crawl on their bellies towards the forest. The Reptilian forces were pinned in their positions, under fire by mortar and sniper fire from the surrounding countryside. All the prisoners were making use of the opportunity to make good their escape although some of the Reptilians were quick to redirect their weapons at the escaping prisoners, felling a large number with their accurate shots.

As Ryan and company neared the forest, the first man decided to stand and run into the forest That attracted the attention of the Reptilians and fired their direction. Ryan then jumped up and ran in a zigzag manner towards the forest; figuring he was already seen by the enemy, ran for his freedom.