TheZombieKing
Jan 19, 2008, 10:01 PM
Author's Note: That's right, I'm back again with a new tale from the PSUniverse! This is an example of a story that just kind of got away from me from beginning to end. It was originally meant to be an Alamo-esque tale of heroism and sacrifice (I thought it would make a good counterpoint to Radio Free Parum's more sinister view of the AMF), however, the story became something much darker and, in my opinion, a better tale overall. Another thing I wanted to concentrate on this story was combat, something that, for the most part, is one of my weaker points. I hope you'll find them satisfactory scenes.
This story also took an insane amount of rewrites during the second draft. In most cases, the difference between the first and second drafts (in my case), are little more than a bit of rewording here and there. In the case of LSaOG, I had to rewrite conversations (Graves evolved from a stotic, grim leader to being much more light hearted and amusing, so I had to change a LOT of his dialogue), and added entire scenes to better flesh out the story.
One last thing (because if I talk much longer this note will be as long as the bloody story!): I actually had two endings written out for this story, but the one you find is a bit more abrupt and ambigious, and yes, its suppose to be that way. Anyways, I'll let you be the judge of this newest tale, and, as always, thanks for reading and enjoy!
Last Stand at Outpost Gamma
1
"So we're really suppose to hold off the SEED here?"
Captain Graves gave me a sour look, "Yes." He was a tall, dark haired CAST with a scarred up face and pale skin. He wore black armor, as opposed to the regulation AMF dark green. Despite this fearsome visage, he was always relaxed and in good humored.
We were standing inside the are AMF Command had dubbed "Gamma". It was a village from the era when newmans first landed on Neudaiz. The houses were simple yet elegantly crafted, constructed from stained kubara wood and used sliding doors covered in treated paper. Nature had re-taken the village since its creation, however, with vines and tall weeds growing throughout the village and inside most of the houses. Some paper doors were intact, but most had moulded away into nothingness, with only telltale scrapes remaining. Cherry blossom trees were in full bloom here, and we were constantly working to keep the light pink pedals out of everything. Packs, plates, weapons, it seems like they fell and got into everything. They were a pain in the ass, despite their beauty.
The most important aspect of the this village--and the main reason it was elected to be used as an outpost--was the high wall surrounding the entire location. While the houses had been constructed from wood and, over time, worn down, the massive black wall had remained sturdy and vigilant, created out of some metal. It seemed dark and sinister compared to the rest of the village. A shelf had been constructed along the inside of the wall, and allowed our troops to stave off any attacks without even having to get close to the enemy. The only entrance through the wall was a single massive gate. We left it close.
I followed the Captain up the ladder and weaved through the soldiers, carrying boxes of ammo, first aid kits, and other supplies. When Graves stopped, I caught up with him and gazed out towards the west. A lone ageeta wandered out of the brush, hissed at us, then fled.
"Funny to think we'll be fighting here," I commented.
"'O, we soldiers fight where ever evil goes'" said Graves, half-singing the words from the AMF anthem. I cracked a smile.
Four days ago, an AMF sky patrol spotted a scywal roaming north through the Mizuraki Conservation District. The massive floating beasts spread a kind of spore wherever they go, that cause an increased aggressive response in SEED-infected creatures, plus "softening" the area for pure SEED forms to come in. Its a nightmare trying to take one down, and it left its mark on an area for months.
Looking to control the problem before it became a bigger problem, the AMF Command ordered the 121st Neudaiz Rifles--along with 325th Mechanized Tank Battalion--into the infected area to flush out the SEED threat after the scywal was taken down. The idea was to launch a pre-emptive strike against the SEED before they could cause civilian casualties. Of course, it was also no secret that the AMF wanted to get there before the Guardians, to show the public that the Guardians weren't the only ones doing something about the SEED threat.
The bulk of the Neudaiz Rifles would be at the front, moving north in a staggered line formation to eliminate the SEED as they came across them. However, they would be making a lot of noise, so the AMF Command set up seven outposts in a semi-circular area about twenty miles from the scywal's final resting place. AMF sappers destroyed roads and pathways, until there were only the seven choke points left for the SEED. Now, Fifth company had been deployed to outpost Gamma, and now all we had to do was wait for the SEED to come to us.
We really weren't expecting anything more than a few ageeta, maybe gohmon here and there.
***
"Lieutenant Hidden, sir? LT?"
I turned at the sound of my name, raising an artificial eyebrow. Corporal Gladius was walking towards me, one hand raised in greeting. He was a massive CAST, standing almost eight feet tall. I raised my hand in return.
He saluted in afterthought, and said, "Sir, we were running a house-to-house sweep when we found something like a cellar door."
This was nothing unusual. "What's the problem, corporal?" I asked.
He hesitated. "We found some... unusual markings on the door. We thought you'd might want to take a look at it."
I nodded, knowing Sergeant Hanner wouldn't be calling without good reason. "Fair enough. Lead the way, trooper."
Gladius lead me to one of the less dilapidated houses in the outpost, and my eyes had to adjust to the gloom before we continued. He shoved open a door and we made out way to the back of the house. Thankfully, the squad had thrown down portable lamp units around the back room, so it was a bit easier to see. I found the squad hunkered down around a massive stone trap door. They stood as I approached.
"Bloody odd thing, sir," said Hanner, waving to the cellar door with the tip of his rifle, "Haven't seen anything like it. Kinda creepy."
I knelt down and stared at the markings, running my fingertips across their rough edges. They looked to be letters, yet a quick scan through my language database turned up no matches.
"Hmph, definitely something I haven't seen. Get some pictures of this to Command. I don't want you blowing it to hell before their egg heads get a chance to glance it over. We're probably just being paranoid, anyways."
"Yes, sir!" Hanner saluted.
I turned and left, contemplating this mystery language.
2
I watched the morning sunrise with a troubled mind. All throughout the night we saw the flashes from the war going on in the southwest. They grew closer with each passing house, and the entire company knew we would be getting the first trickles of infected by noon.
This was not what troubled me. At some point during the night, two of our men had gone AWOL. Desertion was almost unheard of in the AMF. I kept running it over in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more I was troubled. I voiced this worry to Captain Graves.
"Don't worry about it," he said.
"CASTs don't desert, sir," I said glumly, "that's something the meat bags do."
"Not necessarily," said Graves, "I've known several a trooper to go AWOL in my time. CASTs are like any other life form, Hidden." Then his face broke out into a grin, "Except better."
I smiled slightly, but my mood was still sour.
"Come on," said Graves, "let's go check on the troops."
***
As it turned out, the SEED showed up just after the morning shift rotation. Which was lucky, now we'd have fresh troopers on the line.
"Alright, check those rifles, get your guns sighted! You there, stay in line!" I yelled, moving up and down the line, shoving soldiers back into place and examining their equipment.
Like good troopers, they obeyed. A few exchanged nods with each other, or spoke a few hushed words, but for the most part, it was quiet, except for the rustle of brush and the carried words from the Captain, giving a rousing speech to his troops.
There was nothing, and then a pack of ageeta crashed their way out of the bushes and charged the wall, hissing and firing ice bursts. The company seemed disappointed, lowering their rifles with a chorus of sighs and grunts.
"Sharpshooters, let's take them out!" I commanded. There was a discharge of ozone, and single bursts of photons took out the creatures with surgical precision.
This would set the stage for the hours to come. Groups of two or three would come out of the forest valley, approach, and get cut down. Most of the troopers had nothing to do, and they began spreading out into little groups, taking turns popping the infected when they appeared.
I found myself general unneeded, as the squads managed to act autonomously. I left my men in position and wandered down the line, finding the Captain watching a sharpshooter pick off a tengohg that was too slow to take flight. He looked bored.
"Sir." I said.
"Hmm, do you think fifth company is being punished, Lieutenant?" asked Graves, contemplating the sparse bodies in the kill zone.
I shrugged, "Someone's gotta do it, sir."
He sighed. The sniper sniggered and said, "they ought to have brought in some fleshies to do this."
I opened my mouth to respond, when my communicator beeped. "Lieutenant, sir, you have a call. Shall I patch you through?"
"Yes."
A middle-aged, newman with thick black-rimmed glasses regarded me with a grin, "Lieutenant! This is Gregory Winchester, AMF Research and Exploration Division."
I suppressed a groan. The guys at R&E were a bunch of nut jobs, running around going on about alien artifacts and the Ancients and whatever else for years. Graves once commented that all the R&E guys must have gotten great stiffies when the SEED attacked. Suppressing a snicker from the thought, I said, "My pleasure, Mister Winchester. What can we do for you?"
"Well, I was reviewing the data your man sent us--"
Ugh, damn you, Hanner.
"--and we've never seen anything like it before. We'd like to do some on-site research, I--"
I interrupted, "Mister Winchester, you realize we're in the middle of a hostile zone, right?"
"I-uh-yes!" Winchester stuttered out, which pretty much told me he had no idea, "Still, if we could just--"
"You'll have to get approval for the operation from Command, otherwise we can't guarantee your safety, sir."
Winchester looked pleased with himself, "I already have. I'm in transit now and should be there by the evening."
I muttered a guttural curse.
"What was that, Lieutenant?"
"I said uh... 'Good luck'. Enjoy your trip." I cut the line.
The Captain raised an eyebrow as I turned back from my conversation, "Oh boy, I know I'm not going to like this."
***
We had a landing zone set up when the transporter arrived, with green smoke rising through the air like dancing snakes, so the pilot would know where to set down. The transport came in fast and low, settling down on whining engines. Graves and I held ours hands to our faces to block out the kicked-up dust and grit.
Winchester came down the ramp with a female assistant, a newman like him. Between them, they carried enough supplies to build their own laboratory: Note pads, laptops, printers, cameras, PDAs, inks, carbon-dating kits, and an assortment of gizmos which had functions I couldn't begin to figure out.
The Captain took some of their equipment with a reassuring smile.
I made some hand signals. Need help? With the transporters engines still running, it was impossible to have a conversation more than a few inches from each other. He shook his head and nodded to the co-pilot, who had escorted his guests off the ramps.
Get info, Graves signed back.
I jogged up to the co-pilot, "Not staying?" I asked, having to shout.
"No, we got a couple of pallets of ammo we need to deliver onto the main lines."
"Is it getting that bad?"
The co-pilot shrugged, "Apparently the battle group is facing more opposition than Command anticipated. He looked around, "Seriously, be careful out here. Anyways, we gotta go, get clear." He waved me back, and I went to catch up with Graves and out new guests, as the transporter took off into the evening sky.
3
"Alright, now I'm worried," admitted Graves. We were sitting in the house he had taken up as his personal quarters. It was early in the morning, just before shift rotation.
Another eight troopers had gone missing during the last three days. I spent each morning asking about their whereabouts, only to get the same general response: X trooper went to do Y activity and never came back. On top of that, communications had all but been cut off about a day after Winchester showed up. The last reports we got from the front were that of more heavy fighting, even an unconfirmed report of an onmagoug in the area. If that was the case, we'd be stuck here for several more days.
I nodded, "Its not normal, and the troops are spooked."
"Spooked?" asked Graves.
"Yeah, there's a general rumor that the place is somehow cursed."
"You're joking!"
"No, sir." I frowned, "Ten troopers go missing without a trace, we can't reach anybody, not to mention all the weird lettering they've found all over the village.
It turned out that the stone tablet wasn't the only place where curious symbols were written. Troopers found other indications of the mysterious language on walls, under beds, one trooper even reported finding some of the letters written on some old rags. Winchester had moved from place to place, studying the writings and indicated that he was starting to decipher the language.
Graves sighed and leaned back in his chair, "CASTs don't get spooked, Lieutenant. Especially the AMF. I want these rumors squashed."
"Yes sir." I shifted on my feet, "honestly, Captain, I'm a bit spooked too."
Graves groaned, "Not you too!"
I shrugged, "It's just a bad vibe I get. Ever since we've gotten here things have been... off. Private Artis lost his arms and most of his face when his gun overloaded, Sergeant Bennis broke a leg when he reportly slipped on some wayward grease, and yet no one could find the place--"
"Maybe the sarge is just clumsy." Graves grumbled.
I stared at him. He knew as well as I that Bennis was one of the most careful CASTs in the company, to a fault.
Graves slammed his fist against the table top, "Dammit! I won't believe this place is cursed! That's superstitious nonsense!"
"Sir," I began, "I think you should--"
There was shouting coming from outside, and the sound of rifles discharging. The Captain and I exchanged looks, then we barreled outside together.
Graves pointed, "Look!"
It was a mess out here. A swarm of tengohg had flown over the wall and began attacking the troopers. At the same time, a horde of land-bound creatures charged the wall, smashing their bodies up against it hard enough to crush bone and reform flesh. Smaller, more nimble SEED-infected used the dead bodies as a stepping stool, hopping over the dark wall and snapping at the CASTs there.
"Hidden, get the reserves up on the wall, and rouse some sharpshooters to knock out those tengohg," said the Captain. He drew a machine gun and a claw, then ran off into the thick of things.
Some of the CASTs were coming out of their makeshift barracks--an old schoolhouse--to see what the commotion was about.
"Come on, you brain-dead scraps of metal!" I yelled as I approached, "There's a war going on and you're standing around like a bunch of gawking fleshies at an amusement park! Get those weapons out! Go go go!"
They snapped out of their milling and drew rifles, shifting into squads. A few groups were already moving out, searching for targets of opportunity.
"Alright, that's what I like to see! You cannon fodder, get on the walls and do some good. Snipers, find some cover and lets see if we can't clear the air. The last thing I need is some tengohg giving me a pat on the shoulder."
"Yes sir!" They replied as one, then running off into different directions. Now, with my orders out of the way, I drew my saber and pistol, and went to work.
I climbed up onto the shelf and slashed my energy blade through an ageeta's skull, splitting it down the middle. A glance over the wall told me that the bodies were only getting more piled up, soon the SEED could simply wander up a ramp of the dead, I tapped my communicator.
"Get some grenades over the wall! Clear those bodies!"
Dozens of glowing balls of photon went sailing over the wall, followed by a series of eruptions that sent burnt flesh and body parts sailing into the sky. I grimaced as a chunk of gohmon smacked my face, then motioned the troopers to the walls. They stepped up and began firing down on the SEED stranded at the bottom of the barricade.
I turned, looking for the Captain, when something slammed and knocked me from my feet. A tengohg screeched and clawed at my face, as I fired off wild shots to get it away. A bolt skimmed the inside of its leg, and it screeched again, trying to take flight. Its claw foot clutched my shoulder guard though, and next thing I knew, I was being dragged up into the sky with it.
I was about twenty feet up when a sniper decided to punch a photon bolt through the creature's head, and next thing I knew I was in free fall. The ground came up fast, too fast, and I hit it into a roll, then came to rest on my back, my legs screaming in pain.
I stared up at the sky for several moments, tentatively testing to make sure my lower extremities still worked, and was relieved to find nothing broken. Gladius decided to show up then, and held out a hand.
"You okay, LT?"
"Ugh, I'll live, trooper," I growled, rising back to my feet. "Though now I remember why I don't do HALO jumps anymore."
***
When it was over, the air reeked of burnt flesh and the husky smell of synthetic fluids. The last of the infected were being put down, and dead bodies were being tossed over the wall and torched. Six troopers were KIA, with twelve wounded, three critically so. It was a surprisingly nasty attack, considering what we were expecting.
Graves appeared next to me, his face matching his namesake. He had seen the worst of it, and his black armor was scratched, dented, and splashed with dark crimson. "Command never said it would get that bad," he said, sitting down,
"So much for an easy job, huh?"
"Are they ever easy?"
"If they are, I'd hate to see what the hard jobs are like."
We shared a laugh, as we came off our battle high. After a moment, Graves looked around.
"Hm, have you seen our scientist duo?"
"Not since this morning, no."
"Let's go find him," said Graves, rising to his feet, "I want to find out how much longer he plans on being. As soon as this mission is done we're bugging out."
"Starting to get a little spooked too, sir?" I asked, grinning.
"Just being practical, LT."
"Yes sir."
***
We found Winchester at the stone door with his assistant. He was muttering incoherently to himself, and didn't even acknowledge our presence when we entered, so his assistant came up to us.
"I heard shooting. Is everything alright?"
Graves and I exchanged a look, then he said, "the SEED decided to get frisky with us for awhile, but its under control now."
"What's with him?" I asked, motioning to Winchester.
"Oh, him," she said, giving the scientist a pointed look, "he gets like this periodically, usually when he thinks he's on to something big. Its pretty normal, though he's acting a little more obsessed than usual." She turned back to us and shrugged.
"Huh," said Graves, "I just wanted to know how much longer until he's done. When the withdrawal order is given we're going to go fast."
The assistant nodded, "I'll let him know."
"Thanks," Graves smiled, and we left.
"Nice girl," I commented.
"Yeah, too bad she's hanging out with a creep like that."
4
"How the hell do ten soldiers disappear and no one notices?!" Graves roared, slamming his palms flat against the desktop. I waited, letting him burn out his rage.
"This better be some kind of joke," he went on, "or prank! Soldiers don't just disappear, Lieutenant, not unless there's a good reason!"
I shifted uncomfortably.
"And communications are still down. Everyone could be at home playing bloody poker and none of us would never know!" He let out a long sigh and put his face into his hands.
"Maybe there's some kind of teleporter system hidden in the village," I thought out loud.
Graves looked up sharply, a kind of desperate hope in his eyes I didn't like, "You think so, Hidden? Like in RELICS?"
"I don't know, sir, but its the best theory I have," besides Gamma being cursed, I silently added. "Do you remember Sergeant Cannon?"
The Captain chuckled. The sergeant had accidentally stepped into a teleporter during a force recon of a RELICS site. He spent the entire mission in a laser cage waiting for someone to come by and let him out. We found him several hours later, cursing and fuming mad.
"Yes, I remember him, Lieutenant." Graves paused, then said, "Alright. Fair enough. Go talk to Winchester and see what he has for us, and don't take 'nothing' for an answer."
"Yes, sir."
Graves rose to his feet, "If you need me, I'll be in the communication house. Maybe we can finally get someone on the horn. Dismissed."
I saluted and left.
***
As I wandered through the village, nodding to the some of the soldiers as they saluted, I couldn't help but notice a kind of energy in the air. At first, I thought a storm was brewing, until I realized that pent up energy was both coming from myself and those around me. It was a kind of nervous anticipation, and I could tell the others felt it. Something was going to happen soon, we just didn't know what. If CASTs hate anything, its not knowing.
I came to the house and walked in. It was oddly dark, the newmans had put up several lights since I'd been here, but now they were snuffed out. Something was very, very wrong.
I drew my sidearm and flipped on my shoulder lamp, wishing I had brought my helmet with its night vision array. It was still sitting uselessly on my bunk.
A quick look around turned up nothing unusual. Pieces of equipment were still lying about, some with lights blinking like vacant eyes. I picked up the table lantern and examined it, noticing its light core was busted, blackened against the inside of the bulb. The other lamps told the same story.
Leaving the busted lights behind, I made my way to the rear doorway, stacking up against the frame, steeling my nerves, then threw the sliding door aside and stepped inside, swinging my pistol about.
"Damn," I mumbled, lowering my weapon.
Blood was everywhere. Splashed against the walls, pooling on the floor, dripping from the ceiling. Symbols I had laid eyes on for the first time only a few days ago were painted against the wall in dark red wherever I looked. I swung the light around to reveal the source of the blood: Winchester's assistant.
She laid spread eagle against the stone cellar door, her face frozen in a state of heavenly awe, as if she had died in a state of ecstasy. Her mid section was completely mauled up, as if some massive animal had gored her. A bloody knife still stuck up from the mess, and her rib cage crowded around it like diseased teeth. As a final, surreal touch, her hands and feet were missing, torn from their appendages.
The assistant was not the only occupant in the room. I swung the light around at a creak, and started. Winchester had hung himself by his own belt. His face was blue and purples, eyes bulged. His tongue poked out at me like a miniature blimp. His lap coat, usually pristine white, was stained red and pink. There was a piece of paper attached to his body, flopped over like a mourner.
With a trembling hand, I picked the note off him. He swayed, and his belt creaked in protest. I flipped the paper up, and gazed it.
It was a simple message: DON'T OPEN IT.
I consider myself a brave CAST. I wouldn't have been with the AMF for fifty years if I wasn't. However, standing in that room with two dead bodies covered in blood, and a note in my hand, I wanted nothing more then to scream and run away, until I was out of this Light-forsaken town and maybe until I was off Neudaiz.
A voice in my mind, however, began to sooth my nerves, Shh, worry not, Hidden. Soon it'll all be over, and you'll feel so much better.
I began to relax, until I realized that voice wasn't my own. It was then my resolve broke, and I fled.
***
I ran towards the communication hut, looking for the Captain, realizing I had to tell someone about what I'd found, for the company's protection as much as my own sanity. I hopped onto the porch and threw open the door in one fluid motion.
I found the Captain struggled for his life. His hands gripped around Private Rez's wrists. The communication officer held a photon knife in his hand, attempting to plunge it into Graves's neck. Without hesitation, I drew my sidearm and fired several shot into Rez. When he didn't go down, I steadied my aim, and fired a bolt through his head. The CAST collapsed without a sound. Graves studied the body for several silent moments.
"Thanks," He muttered, then blinked at me, "Holy Light, Hidden, what's happening?"
"I don't know," I said, approaching the comm set. It was a large boxy device about the size of a backpack. The LCD screen glowed as it cycled through channels, looking for a signal. I picked up the headset, moving to set it against my ear, before Graves stopped me.
"Don't." he said, "Rez was listening in just before he... went Section Eight."
I nodded and set the headset back down, but not before I heard something whisper, Hidden, come baaaack....
I turned back to Graves, "I found Winchester and his assistant dead."
"Damn! Murdered?" he asked.
"No sir, I don't think so, though Winchester might have killed his assistant before committing suicide."
The Captain ran his fingers through artificial hair, "Rez just up and attacked me, mid-sentence, like an animal. Where the hell has Command dropped us?"
"Sir, I think there's something else here besides us." I said, trying to choose my words carefully.
Graves narrowed his eyes, "A SEED form?"
"No, like, something... I don't know, but it tried to communicate with me."
"What did it say?"
"It wanted me to relax, and said it'd all be over soon."
As if to make a point of my statement, something exploded outside.
"Son of a--Let's go, Lieutenant." Graves launched into action, drawing his weapons. I followed after him, drawing my saber and pistol. "Of all the times for a SEED attack...." he growled.
"That thing, whatever it is," I said, "I think its old. Really old, maybe since the newmans landed. Maybe even before, since the days of the Ancients."
"You said it talked to you, whats it trying to persuade you to do something?" Graves hit the ladder and scrambled up it.
"Maybe it was trying to. I think it may want someone to let it out, whatever it is." I mused, following him up.
"Then we'll have to deny it, eh?"
"Yes sir!"
Thee were already troopers firing down onto the kill zone, and the air was hot and stank of burnt ozone. I looked over the shelf and froze. There were hundreds of SEED now, moving like an unforgiving wave towards the black wall, crushing each other and climbing with a suicidal fever. Ageeta, gohmon, and ollaka fell with every shot, only to be replaced. Like their first attack, the SEED-infected were using a ramp of bodies to get up.
I grabbed a nearby soldier, "What was that explosion?"
"Suicide bomber. One... one of our own sir. Private Tekker, it was, sir. We didn't fire 'cause we thought she was coming back in, then she hit the gate and... boom."
I nodded and let him get back to work. Private Tekker was one of the twenty troopers that had disappeared. If they were all loaded and ready to bust.... All I had to do was look at the swollen mass of SEED to know what would happen.
I was about to pass the order to shoot on sight when I spotted them. They were dark green in a mass of colors, running with the swarm towards the gate. I counted nineteen, evenly spread out, and couldn't hold back the curse that escaped me.
"Get the order down the line," I said to the same trooper, "I want those CASTs taken out."
He hesitated, knowing that to do so would spell a death sentence to the troopers down there, "but, sir--"
"Do it!" I roared, "those aren't ours anymore, and if they get anymore hits against the gate--well, would you rather shoot from the safety of the wall or face them down there?"
He straightened up, "Sir! Yes sir!"
I listened as the order was relayed. Too few confirmed, many said nothing, and most--those that hadn't seen the CAST suicide bomber--outright refused the order. They were all good synthetics and better soldiers, but they were not willing to fire on their comrades.
"Useless scrapes of junk!" I screamed in frustration, and exchanged my close quarter weapons for a sniper rifle. I noticed that the Captain had as well. I sighted into the scope. If I was firing indiscriminately, I wouldn't have had to aim, but I found the CAST wading through a sea of infected, and fired. Admittedly, my long-range skills were out of practice, and the shot went high, cutting down a wayward Gohmon.
"Dammit!" I snarled, and took aim again. I squeezed the trigger, and the shot hit home, punching the CAST through his torso. He stumbled, then kept moving.
"You have to go for head shots," said Graves, "You found that out yourself, remember?"
I grunted, thinking about Rez, and settled my crosshairs again. The synthetic's head popped into a shower of parts and fluids.
"One down."
"Got one here, too," said Graves.
Two snipers down the line shot the same CAST, before a third scored another head shot, and I followed up one another one, after a few tries. Another sniper scored a head shot, but even when I realized with horror that the CASTs were closing in too fast.
"This isn't working! They're going to blow the gate!" I yelled.
"Crap, you're right," said Graves, lowering his rifle, "Get to cover!" He, and several others near him hopped off the shelf and landed hard. I followed after.
Too many reacted too late. Thirteen explosive bodies hit the reinforced door at the same time. It didn't just cave in or blow open. With a scream of tortured metal it fired off its hinges, and swept through the village like massive flyswatters. One door took Private Durell off his feet--literally--leaving only two synthetic boots standing in the grass, torn off at the ankles. The doors crashed through several houses, and came to rest with massive thuds.
Those standing near the gate flew in the air like great metal birds until they scumbled to gravity and fell to the earth with sickening crunches. Shrapnel whizzed through the air like scything blades, killing and decapitating several more troopers. Smoke hung in the air in a lazy haze, and I thought everything had gone silent until I realized the explosions had damaged my hearing. All I heard now was a slight ringing.
I watched in a kind of disconnected daze as Sergeant Hanner stumbled out of the smoke and fell to his knees. He pulled off his helmet, his mouth open in a silent scream. Half his face was crushed in. However, his discomfort would be over when a kamatoze galloped from smoke, and took his head from his shoulders.
It was then, as I watched Hanner's head bounce from a faraway place, that my axillary sensory node kicked in and everything came back into a focus. I saw the kamatoze barreling towards me, and fired at it in vain. I could only hope my death would be quick.
Then Graves stepped out in front of me and took the creature's blade arm with his. The kamatoze squealed and veered away from us. The Captain turned to me.
"This is all going to hell quick, Hidden. We have to rally the trooper and counterattack before we're overrun."
I nodded, knowing it was a futile gesture of defiance. We were already overrun, and we could only stave off the inevitable at this point. However, the AMF never gives up, and I sure as hell wasn't going to either. I drew my saber again, and threw myself into the fray.
The village was quickly filling up with the infected, but we hacked and slashed and shot our way through. I saw a handful of shooters firing down from the remains of the shelf, doing their best to support us until a flight of screeching tengohg fell into their midst. With no room to maneuver, they fell into the waiting jaws of death below.
I fired my pistol as an ageeta leapt at me. The bolt went into the creature's mouth and out the back of its head. An ollaka caught sight of me and lowered its head before charging. I shot it several times, then spun out of its way and disboweled it with a slash on its flank. One of the massive worms rumbled up from the ground beneath my feet, and I rolled under its vicious lunge, and severed its neck from its head.
A gohmon loomed over the prone form of Corporal Gladius, and I hacked into its back before it could do any damage to the soldier. The gohmon twitched and died, and I helped Gladius to his feet.
"Thanks LT, I thought I was done."
"Happy to help," I said, with a grim smile.
He smiled back, then his face gained a quizzical expression. Gladius looked down. Something had shot him with a blast of ice. There was a massive shard sticking out of the corporal's chest.
He blinked at me, then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed. Another gohmon stood behind his corpse, regarding me with its single eye. I screamed in rage and plugged the glowing blade right into the socket. It screech and reeled away from me, clawing at its as it died.
We fought and died and still got no closer to driving off the SEED. I couldn't believe that this many infected had simply fled in the face of the battle group. The idea of that... thing calling them here seemed disturbingly plausible. But why?
I caught Captain Graves out of the corner of my eyes. He fought harder than anyone, with dual claws in hand, he spun, slashed, countered, killed, and maimed like a one-man tornado. For every three or four we killed, he took out ten. His death dance was beautiful and terrifying to watch.
I turned from my systematic killing at a resounding cry from organic and synthetic alike. I shuddered as the beast approached, but I couldn't drag my eyes away.
A kagajibari. It rose over the village like an ancient god, and it ducked under the blown out gateway into the area. It burned with an inner light, and its scale-plates glowed in a rainbow of colors. Massive arms swung and knocked CASTs and infected aside. Feet strode unweilding through village, crushing houses, blossom trees, synthetics, and animals indiscriminately. It leaned over, plucked up Private Naal, and examined him before casually tossing the trooper aside. It was looking for something.
Graves broke off from his fighting as the beast approached, and our eyes met for a moment. We both were sure we knew what it was here for. The captain nodded, and ran towards the kagajibari. When the massive creature saw it, his growled and lunged, shaking the ground like a portable earthquake. I moved forward to help Graves, but a kamatoze cut me off, roaring into my face and swinging its blade arms.
I snarled and swung my saber, striking it off its blade before ducking under a follow-up swing and slicing a wound across it's hide. The kamatoze bellowed and came down with both its arms. I rolled forward and cut through one of its legs. It wavered but didn't stop. The beast lunged forward, and knocked me onto my back, slamming its uninjured leg against my arm. There was a snap, and I screamed as the arm was torn from its sockets.
If I had passed out--and I almost did--it would have been over there. Instead, I gritted my teeth and ran an override program, killing the pain instantly. Relieved, I reversed the saber in my hand, and stabbed it into the kamatoze's soft underbelly, again and again into vital organs, ignoring the blood that splattered my face and chest.
It squirmed and scratched, then stumbled to the side and collapsed, releasing me. I scrambled to my feet, cutting an ageeta that wandered too close, and looked for the Captain. My gut knotted at the sight that reached me.
Graves rolled and dodged the furious swipes of the kagajibari, until the great beast grew tired of the game and snatched up the nimble CAST. Graves struggled, slashing his claws into the kagajibari's armored hide. It sank its massive nails into the Captain, and began to pull him apart. He squirmed, but it was futile. Seeing his fate, his claws glowed super bright.
"Graves--!"
There were no final words. No dramatic death-speech. Captain Graves plunged his twin weapons into the kagajibari's chest, and exploded.
***
"Fall back!" I yelled, stumbling away from the smoke, purple after images dancing in my eyes, "Retreat!"
It was a futile gesture. Of the 250 soldiers that made up the fifth company, less than two dozen remained, and all the while, the SEED came on.
5
It was no surprise I ended up back in the house with the thing in it. It's subtle voice had cooed in the back of my head throughout the battle, and half-blind, I had stumbled my way here.
I threw the door closed and locked it, then scrambled into the back room, and locked it as well. I slumped against the wall and sat down, only vaguely aware that the two bodies were gone.
Its all over now, dear Hidden. You're the last.
"I... I won't release you. I'll die first." I muttered.
Oh no, Hidden, you misunderstand, not freedom... hunger...
"What?" I breathed.
Yes, you brought me food, you and your brethren. I have not fed in so long, and I had not tasted newmans for twice that.
I thought the two scientists, the missing CASTS, all the SEED outside, "You had this all planned from the beginning, didn't you? From... when we first landed."
Yesss... it whispered. I started as the stone cellar cover shifted minutely, It was so hard, until you brought me the girl. Delightful. Now the animal-flesh of Neudaiz will feed me, just as soon as you're gone. I have no more use for you.
All the while the lid moved, inch by inch.
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
The SEED-infected moved outside, banging against the walls of the house. I drew my sidearm and leveled it with the stone tablet, my remain hand shaking. Something outside cracked and gave away. All the while, the lid scrapped.
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
And then there was me, caught in between.
END
This story also took an insane amount of rewrites during the second draft. In most cases, the difference between the first and second drafts (in my case), are little more than a bit of rewording here and there. In the case of LSaOG, I had to rewrite conversations (Graves evolved from a stotic, grim leader to being much more light hearted and amusing, so I had to change a LOT of his dialogue), and added entire scenes to better flesh out the story.
One last thing (because if I talk much longer this note will be as long as the bloody story!): I actually had two endings written out for this story, but the one you find is a bit more abrupt and ambigious, and yes, its suppose to be that way. Anyways, I'll let you be the judge of this newest tale, and, as always, thanks for reading and enjoy!
Last Stand at Outpost Gamma
1
"So we're really suppose to hold off the SEED here?"
Captain Graves gave me a sour look, "Yes." He was a tall, dark haired CAST with a scarred up face and pale skin. He wore black armor, as opposed to the regulation AMF dark green. Despite this fearsome visage, he was always relaxed and in good humored.
We were standing inside the are AMF Command had dubbed "Gamma". It was a village from the era when newmans first landed on Neudaiz. The houses were simple yet elegantly crafted, constructed from stained kubara wood and used sliding doors covered in treated paper. Nature had re-taken the village since its creation, however, with vines and tall weeds growing throughout the village and inside most of the houses. Some paper doors were intact, but most had moulded away into nothingness, with only telltale scrapes remaining. Cherry blossom trees were in full bloom here, and we were constantly working to keep the light pink pedals out of everything. Packs, plates, weapons, it seems like they fell and got into everything. They were a pain in the ass, despite their beauty.
The most important aspect of the this village--and the main reason it was elected to be used as an outpost--was the high wall surrounding the entire location. While the houses had been constructed from wood and, over time, worn down, the massive black wall had remained sturdy and vigilant, created out of some metal. It seemed dark and sinister compared to the rest of the village. A shelf had been constructed along the inside of the wall, and allowed our troops to stave off any attacks without even having to get close to the enemy. The only entrance through the wall was a single massive gate. We left it close.
I followed the Captain up the ladder and weaved through the soldiers, carrying boxes of ammo, first aid kits, and other supplies. When Graves stopped, I caught up with him and gazed out towards the west. A lone ageeta wandered out of the brush, hissed at us, then fled.
"Funny to think we'll be fighting here," I commented.
"'O, we soldiers fight where ever evil goes'" said Graves, half-singing the words from the AMF anthem. I cracked a smile.
Four days ago, an AMF sky patrol spotted a scywal roaming north through the Mizuraki Conservation District. The massive floating beasts spread a kind of spore wherever they go, that cause an increased aggressive response in SEED-infected creatures, plus "softening" the area for pure SEED forms to come in. Its a nightmare trying to take one down, and it left its mark on an area for months.
Looking to control the problem before it became a bigger problem, the AMF Command ordered the 121st Neudaiz Rifles--along with 325th Mechanized Tank Battalion--into the infected area to flush out the SEED threat after the scywal was taken down. The idea was to launch a pre-emptive strike against the SEED before they could cause civilian casualties. Of course, it was also no secret that the AMF wanted to get there before the Guardians, to show the public that the Guardians weren't the only ones doing something about the SEED threat.
The bulk of the Neudaiz Rifles would be at the front, moving north in a staggered line formation to eliminate the SEED as they came across them. However, they would be making a lot of noise, so the AMF Command set up seven outposts in a semi-circular area about twenty miles from the scywal's final resting place. AMF sappers destroyed roads and pathways, until there were only the seven choke points left for the SEED. Now, Fifth company had been deployed to outpost Gamma, and now all we had to do was wait for the SEED to come to us.
We really weren't expecting anything more than a few ageeta, maybe gohmon here and there.
***
"Lieutenant Hidden, sir? LT?"
I turned at the sound of my name, raising an artificial eyebrow. Corporal Gladius was walking towards me, one hand raised in greeting. He was a massive CAST, standing almost eight feet tall. I raised my hand in return.
He saluted in afterthought, and said, "Sir, we were running a house-to-house sweep when we found something like a cellar door."
This was nothing unusual. "What's the problem, corporal?" I asked.
He hesitated. "We found some... unusual markings on the door. We thought you'd might want to take a look at it."
I nodded, knowing Sergeant Hanner wouldn't be calling without good reason. "Fair enough. Lead the way, trooper."
Gladius lead me to one of the less dilapidated houses in the outpost, and my eyes had to adjust to the gloom before we continued. He shoved open a door and we made out way to the back of the house. Thankfully, the squad had thrown down portable lamp units around the back room, so it was a bit easier to see. I found the squad hunkered down around a massive stone trap door. They stood as I approached.
"Bloody odd thing, sir," said Hanner, waving to the cellar door with the tip of his rifle, "Haven't seen anything like it. Kinda creepy."
I knelt down and stared at the markings, running my fingertips across their rough edges. They looked to be letters, yet a quick scan through my language database turned up no matches.
"Hmph, definitely something I haven't seen. Get some pictures of this to Command. I don't want you blowing it to hell before their egg heads get a chance to glance it over. We're probably just being paranoid, anyways."
"Yes, sir!" Hanner saluted.
I turned and left, contemplating this mystery language.
2
I watched the morning sunrise with a troubled mind. All throughout the night we saw the flashes from the war going on in the southwest. They grew closer with each passing house, and the entire company knew we would be getting the first trickles of infected by noon.
This was not what troubled me. At some point during the night, two of our men had gone AWOL. Desertion was almost unheard of in the AMF. I kept running it over in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more I was troubled. I voiced this worry to Captain Graves.
"Don't worry about it," he said.
"CASTs don't desert, sir," I said glumly, "that's something the meat bags do."
"Not necessarily," said Graves, "I've known several a trooper to go AWOL in my time. CASTs are like any other life form, Hidden." Then his face broke out into a grin, "Except better."
I smiled slightly, but my mood was still sour.
"Come on," said Graves, "let's go check on the troops."
***
As it turned out, the SEED showed up just after the morning shift rotation. Which was lucky, now we'd have fresh troopers on the line.
"Alright, check those rifles, get your guns sighted! You there, stay in line!" I yelled, moving up and down the line, shoving soldiers back into place and examining their equipment.
Like good troopers, they obeyed. A few exchanged nods with each other, or spoke a few hushed words, but for the most part, it was quiet, except for the rustle of brush and the carried words from the Captain, giving a rousing speech to his troops.
There was nothing, and then a pack of ageeta crashed their way out of the bushes and charged the wall, hissing and firing ice bursts. The company seemed disappointed, lowering their rifles with a chorus of sighs and grunts.
"Sharpshooters, let's take them out!" I commanded. There was a discharge of ozone, and single bursts of photons took out the creatures with surgical precision.
This would set the stage for the hours to come. Groups of two or three would come out of the forest valley, approach, and get cut down. Most of the troopers had nothing to do, and they began spreading out into little groups, taking turns popping the infected when they appeared.
I found myself general unneeded, as the squads managed to act autonomously. I left my men in position and wandered down the line, finding the Captain watching a sharpshooter pick off a tengohg that was too slow to take flight. He looked bored.
"Sir." I said.
"Hmm, do you think fifth company is being punished, Lieutenant?" asked Graves, contemplating the sparse bodies in the kill zone.
I shrugged, "Someone's gotta do it, sir."
He sighed. The sniper sniggered and said, "they ought to have brought in some fleshies to do this."
I opened my mouth to respond, when my communicator beeped. "Lieutenant, sir, you have a call. Shall I patch you through?"
"Yes."
A middle-aged, newman with thick black-rimmed glasses regarded me with a grin, "Lieutenant! This is Gregory Winchester, AMF Research and Exploration Division."
I suppressed a groan. The guys at R&E were a bunch of nut jobs, running around going on about alien artifacts and the Ancients and whatever else for years. Graves once commented that all the R&E guys must have gotten great stiffies when the SEED attacked. Suppressing a snicker from the thought, I said, "My pleasure, Mister Winchester. What can we do for you?"
"Well, I was reviewing the data your man sent us--"
Ugh, damn you, Hanner.
"--and we've never seen anything like it before. We'd like to do some on-site research, I--"
I interrupted, "Mister Winchester, you realize we're in the middle of a hostile zone, right?"
"I-uh-yes!" Winchester stuttered out, which pretty much told me he had no idea, "Still, if we could just--"
"You'll have to get approval for the operation from Command, otherwise we can't guarantee your safety, sir."
Winchester looked pleased with himself, "I already have. I'm in transit now and should be there by the evening."
I muttered a guttural curse.
"What was that, Lieutenant?"
"I said uh... 'Good luck'. Enjoy your trip." I cut the line.
The Captain raised an eyebrow as I turned back from my conversation, "Oh boy, I know I'm not going to like this."
***
We had a landing zone set up when the transporter arrived, with green smoke rising through the air like dancing snakes, so the pilot would know where to set down. The transport came in fast and low, settling down on whining engines. Graves and I held ours hands to our faces to block out the kicked-up dust and grit.
Winchester came down the ramp with a female assistant, a newman like him. Between them, they carried enough supplies to build their own laboratory: Note pads, laptops, printers, cameras, PDAs, inks, carbon-dating kits, and an assortment of gizmos which had functions I couldn't begin to figure out.
The Captain took some of their equipment with a reassuring smile.
I made some hand signals. Need help? With the transporters engines still running, it was impossible to have a conversation more than a few inches from each other. He shook his head and nodded to the co-pilot, who had escorted his guests off the ramps.
Get info, Graves signed back.
I jogged up to the co-pilot, "Not staying?" I asked, having to shout.
"No, we got a couple of pallets of ammo we need to deliver onto the main lines."
"Is it getting that bad?"
The co-pilot shrugged, "Apparently the battle group is facing more opposition than Command anticipated. He looked around, "Seriously, be careful out here. Anyways, we gotta go, get clear." He waved me back, and I went to catch up with Graves and out new guests, as the transporter took off into the evening sky.
3
"Alright, now I'm worried," admitted Graves. We were sitting in the house he had taken up as his personal quarters. It was early in the morning, just before shift rotation.
Another eight troopers had gone missing during the last three days. I spent each morning asking about their whereabouts, only to get the same general response: X trooper went to do Y activity and never came back. On top of that, communications had all but been cut off about a day after Winchester showed up. The last reports we got from the front were that of more heavy fighting, even an unconfirmed report of an onmagoug in the area. If that was the case, we'd be stuck here for several more days.
I nodded, "Its not normal, and the troops are spooked."
"Spooked?" asked Graves.
"Yeah, there's a general rumor that the place is somehow cursed."
"You're joking!"
"No, sir." I frowned, "Ten troopers go missing without a trace, we can't reach anybody, not to mention all the weird lettering they've found all over the village.
It turned out that the stone tablet wasn't the only place where curious symbols were written. Troopers found other indications of the mysterious language on walls, under beds, one trooper even reported finding some of the letters written on some old rags. Winchester had moved from place to place, studying the writings and indicated that he was starting to decipher the language.
Graves sighed and leaned back in his chair, "CASTs don't get spooked, Lieutenant. Especially the AMF. I want these rumors squashed."
"Yes sir." I shifted on my feet, "honestly, Captain, I'm a bit spooked too."
Graves groaned, "Not you too!"
I shrugged, "It's just a bad vibe I get. Ever since we've gotten here things have been... off. Private Artis lost his arms and most of his face when his gun overloaded, Sergeant Bennis broke a leg when he reportly slipped on some wayward grease, and yet no one could find the place--"
"Maybe the sarge is just clumsy." Graves grumbled.
I stared at him. He knew as well as I that Bennis was one of the most careful CASTs in the company, to a fault.
Graves slammed his fist against the table top, "Dammit! I won't believe this place is cursed! That's superstitious nonsense!"
"Sir," I began, "I think you should--"
There was shouting coming from outside, and the sound of rifles discharging. The Captain and I exchanged looks, then we barreled outside together.
Graves pointed, "Look!"
It was a mess out here. A swarm of tengohg had flown over the wall and began attacking the troopers. At the same time, a horde of land-bound creatures charged the wall, smashing their bodies up against it hard enough to crush bone and reform flesh. Smaller, more nimble SEED-infected used the dead bodies as a stepping stool, hopping over the dark wall and snapping at the CASTs there.
"Hidden, get the reserves up on the wall, and rouse some sharpshooters to knock out those tengohg," said the Captain. He drew a machine gun and a claw, then ran off into the thick of things.
Some of the CASTs were coming out of their makeshift barracks--an old schoolhouse--to see what the commotion was about.
"Come on, you brain-dead scraps of metal!" I yelled as I approached, "There's a war going on and you're standing around like a bunch of gawking fleshies at an amusement park! Get those weapons out! Go go go!"
They snapped out of their milling and drew rifles, shifting into squads. A few groups were already moving out, searching for targets of opportunity.
"Alright, that's what I like to see! You cannon fodder, get on the walls and do some good. Snipers, find some cover and lets see if we can't clear the air. The last thing I need is some tengohg giving me a pat on the shoulder."
"Yes sir!" They replied as one, then running off into different directions. Now, with my orders out of the way, I drew my saber and pistol, and went to work.
I climbed up onto the shelf and slashed my energy blade through an ageeta's skull, splitting it down the middle. A glance over the wall told me that the bodies were only getting more piled up, soon the SEED could simply wander up a ramp of the dead, I tapped my communicator.
"Get some grenades over the wall! Clear those bodies!"
Dozens of glowing balls of photon went sailing over the wall, followed by a series of eruptions that sent burnt flesh and body parts sailing into the sky. I grimaced as a chunk of gohmon smacked my face, then motioned the troopers to the walls. They stepped up and began firing down on the SEED stranded at the bottom of the barricade.
I turned, looking for the Captain, when something slammed and knocked me from my feet. A tengohg screeched and clawed at my face, as I fired off wild shots to get it away. A bolt skimmed the inside of its leg, and it screeched again, trying to take flight. Its claw foot clutched my shoulder guard though, and next thing I knew, I was being dragged up into the sky with it.
I was about twenty feet up when a sniper decided to punch a photon bolt through the creature's head, and next thing I knew I was in free fall. The ground came up fast, too fast, and I hit it into a roll, then came to rest on my back, my legs screaming in pain.
I stared up at the sky for several moments, tentatively testing to make sure my lower extremities still worked, and was relieved to find nothing broken. Gladius decided to show up then, and held out a hand.
"You okay, LT?"
"Ugh, I'll live, trooper," I growled, rising back to my feet. "Though now I remember why I don't do HALO jumps anymore."
***
When it was over, the air reeked of burnt flesh and the husky smell of synthetic fluids. The last of the infected were being put down, and dead bodies were being tossed over the wall and torched. Six troopers were KIA, with twelve wounded, three critically so. It was a surprisingly nasty attack, considering what we were expecting.
Graves appeared next to me, his face matching his namesake. He had seen the worst of it, and his black armor was scratched, dented, and splashed with dark crimson. "Command never said it would get that bad," he said, sitting down,
"So much for an easy job, huh?"
"Are they ever easy?"
"If they are, I'd hate to see what the hard jobs are like."
We shared a laugh, as we came off our battle high. After a moment, Graves looked around.
"Hm, have you seen our scientist duo?"
"Not since this morning, no."
"Let's go find him," said Graves, rising to his feet, "I want to find out how much longer he plans on being. As soon as this mission is done we're bugging out."
"Starting to get a little spooked too, sir?" I asked, grinning.
"Just being practical, LT."
"Yes sir."
***
We found Winchester at the stone door with his assistant. He was muttering incoherently to himself, and didn't even acknowledge our presence when we entered, so his assistant came up to us.
"I heard shooting. Is everything alright?"
Graves and I exchanged a look, then he said, "the SEED decided to get frisky with us for awhile, but its under control now."
"What's with him?" I asked, motioning to Winchester.
"Oh, him," she said, giving the scientist a pointed look, "he gets like this periodically, usually when he thinks he's on to something big. Its pretty normal, though he's acting a little more obsessed than usual." She turned back to us and shrugged.
"Huh," said Graves, "I just wanted to know how much longer until he's done. When the withdrawal order is given we're going to go fast."
The assistant nodded, "I'll let him know."
"Thanks," Graves smiled, and we left.
"Nice girl," I commented.
"Yeah, too bad she's hanging out with a creep like that."
4
"How the hell do ten soldiers disappear and no one notices?!" Graves roared, slamming his palms flat against the desktop. I waited, letting him burn out his rage.
"This better be some kind of joke," he went on, "or prank! Soldiers don't just disappear, Lieutenant, not unless there's a good reason!"
I shifted uncomfortably.
"And communications are still down. Everyone could be at home playing bloody poker and none of us would never know!" He let out a long sigh and put his face into his hands.
"Maybe there's some kind of teleporter system hidden in the village," I thought out loud.
Graves looked up sharply, a kind of desperate hope in his eyes I didn't like, "You think so, Hidden? Like in RELICS?"
"I don't know, sir, but its the best theory I have," besides Gamma being cursed, I silently added. "Do you remember Sergeant Cannon?"
The Captain chuckled. The sergeant had accidentally stepped into a teleporter during a force recon of a RELICS site. He spent the entire mission in a laser cage waiting for someone to come by and let him out. We found him several hours later, cursing and fuming mad.
"Yes, I remember him, Lieutenant." Graves paused, then said, "Alright. Fair enough. Go talk to Winchester and see what he has for us, and don't take 'nothing' for an answer."
"Yes, sir."
Graves rose to his feet, "If you need me, I'll be in the communication house. Maybe we can finally get someone on the horn. Dismissed."
I saluted and left.
***
As I wandered through the village, nodding to the some of the soldiers as they saluted, I couldn't help but notice a kind of energy in the air. At first, I thought a storm was brewing, until I realized that pent up energy was both coming from myself and those around me. It was a kind of nervous anticipation, and I could tell the others felt it. Something was going to happen soon, we just didn't know what. If CASTs hate anything, its not knowing.
I came to the house and walked in. It was oddly dark, the newmans had put up several lights since I'd been here, but now they were snuffed out. Something was very, very wrong.
I drew my sidearm and flipped on my shoulder lamp, wishing I had brought my helmet with its night vision array. It was still sitting uselessly on my bunk.
A quick look around turned up nothing unusual. Pieces of equipment were still lying about, some with lights blinking like vacant eyes. I picked up the table lantern and examined it, noticing its light core was busted, blackened against the inside of the bulb. The other lamps told the same story.
Leaving the busted lights behind, I made my way to the rear doorway, stacking up against the frame, steeling my nerves, then threw the sliding door aside and stepped inside, swinging my pistol about.
"Damn," I mumbled, lowering my weapon.
Blood was everywhere. Splashed against the walls, pooling on the floor, dripping from the ceiling. Symbols I had laid eyes on for the first time only a few days ago were painted against the wall in dark red wherever I looked. I swung the light around to reveal the source of the blood: Winchester's assistant.
She laid spread eagle against the stone cellar door, her face frozen in a state of heavenly awe, as if she had died in a state of ecstasy. Her mid section was completely mauled up, as if some massive animal had gored her. A bloody knife still stuck up from the mess, and her rib cage crowded around it like diseased teeth. As a final, surreal touch, her hands and feet were missing, torn from their appendages.
The assistant was not the only occupant in the room. I swung the light around at a creak, and started. Winchester had hung himself by his own belt. His face was blue and purples, eyes bulged. His tongue poked out at me like a miniature blimp. His lap coat, usually pristine white, was stained red and pink. There was a piece of paper attached to his body, flopped over like a mourner.
With a trembling hand, I picked the note off him. He swayed, and his belt creaked in protest. I flipped the paper up, and gazed it.
It was a simple message: DON'T OPEN IT.
I consider myself a brave CAST. I wouldn't have been with the AMF for fifty years if I wasn't. However, standing in that room with two dead bodies covered in blood, and a note in my hand, I wanted nothing more then to scream and run away, until I was out of this Light-forsaken town and maybe until I was off Neudaiz.
A voice in my mind, however, began to sooth my nerves, Shh, worry not, Hidden. Soon it'll all be over, and you'll feel so much better.
I began to relax, until I realized that voice wasn't my own. It was then my resolve broke, and I fled.
***
I ran towards the communication hut, looking for the Captain, realizing I had to tell someone about what I'd found, for the company's protection as much as my own sanity. I hopped onto the porch and threw open the door in one fluid motion.
I found the Captain struggled for his life. His hands gripped around Private Rez's wrists. The communication officer held a photon knife in his hand, attempting to plunge it into Graves's neck. Without hesitation, I drew my sidearm and fired several shot into Rez. When he didn't go down, I steadied my aim, and fired a bolt through his head. The CAST collapsed without a sound. Graves studied the body for several silent moments.
"Thanks," He muttered, then blinked at me, "Holy Light, Hidden, what's happening?"
"I don't know," I said, approaching the comm set. It was a large boxy device about the size of a backpack. The LCD screen glowed as it cycled through channels, looking for a signal. I picked up the headset, moving to set it against my ear, before Graves stopped me.
"Don't." he said, "Rez was listening in just before he... went Section Eight."
I nodded and set the headset back down, but not before I heard something whisper, Hidden, come baaaack....
I turned back to Graves, "I found Winchester and his assistant dead."
"Damn! Murdered?" he asked.
"No sir, I don't think so, though Winchester might have killed his assistant before committing suicide."
The Captain ran his fingers through artificial hair, "Rez just up and attacked me, mid-sentence, like an animal. Where the hell has Command dropped us?"
"Sir, I think there's something else here besides us." I said, trying to choose my words carefully.
Graves narrowed his eyes, "A SEED form?"
"No, like, something... I don't know, but it tried to communicate with me."
"What did it say?"
"It wanted me to relax, and said it'd all be over soon."
As if to make a point of my statement, something exploded outside.
"Son of a--Let's go, Lieutenant." Graves launched into action, drawing his weapons. I followed after him, drawing my saber and pistol. "Of all the times for a SEED attack...." he growled.
"That thing, whatever it is," I said, "I think its old. Really old, maybe since the newmans landed. Maybe even before, since the days of the Ancients."
"You said it talked to you, whats it trying to persuade you to do something?" Graves hit the ladder and scrambled up it.
"Maybe it was trying to. I think it may want someone to let it out, whatever it is." I mused, following him up.
"Then we'll have to deny it, eh?"
"Yes sir!"
Thee were already troopers firing down onto the kill zone, and the air was hot and stank of burnt ozone. I looked over the shelf and froze. There were hundreds of SEED now, moving like an unforgiving wave towards the black wall, crushing each other and climbing with a suicidal fever. Ageeta, gohmon, and ollaka fell with every shot, only to be replaced. Like their first attack, the SEED-infected were using a ramp of bodies to get up.
I grabbed a nearby soldier, "What was that explosion?"
"Suicide bomber. One... one of our own sir. Private Tekker, it was, sir. We didn't fire 'cause we thought she was coming back in, then she hit the gate and... boom."
I nodded and let him get back to work. Private Tekker was one of the twenty troopers that had disappeared. If they were all loaded and ready to bust.... All I had to do was look at the swollen mass of SEED to know what would happen.
I was about to pass the order to shoot on sight when I spotted them. They were dark green in a mass of colors, running with the swarm towards the gate. I counted nineteen, evenly spread out, and couldn't hold back the curse that escaped me.
"Get the order down the line," I said to the same trooper, "I want those CASTs taken out."
He hesitated, knowing that to do so would spell a death sentence to the troopers down there, "but, sir--"
"Do it!" I roared, "those aren't ours anymore, and if they get anymore hits against the gate--well, would you rather shoot from the safety of the wall or face them down there?"
He straightened up, "Sir! Yes sir!"
I listened as the order was relayed. Too few confirmed, many said nothing, and most--those that hadn't seen the CAST suicide bomber--outright refused the order. They were all good synthetics and better soldiers, but they were not willing to fire on their comrades.
"Useless scrapes of junk!" I screamed in frustration, and exchanged my close quarter weapons for a sniper rifle. I noticed that the Captain had as well. I sighted into the scope. If I was firing indiscriminately, I wouldn't have had to aim, but I found the CAST wading through a sea of infected, and fired. Admittedly, my long-range skills were out of practice, and the shot went high, cutting down a wayward Gohmon.
"Dammit!" I snarled, and took aim again. I squeezed the trigger, and the shot hit home, punching the CAST through his torso. He stumbled, then kept moving.
"You have to go for head shots," said Graves, "You found that out yourself, remember?"
I grunted, thinking about Rez, and settled my crosshairs again. The synthetic's head popped into a shower of parts and fluids.
"One down."
"Got one here, too," said Graves.
Two snipers down the line shot the same CAST, before a third scored another head shot, and I followed up one another one, after a few tries. Another sniper scored a head shot, but even when I realized with horror that the CASTs were closing in too fast.
"This isn't working! They're going to blow the gate!" I yelled.
"Crap, you're right," said Graves, lowering his rifle, "Get to cover!" He, and several others near him hopped off the shelf and landed hard. I followed after.
Too many reacted too late. Thirteen explosive bodies hit the reinforced door at the same time. It didn't just cave in or blow open. With a scream of tortured metal it fired off its hinges, and swept through the village like massive flyswatters. One door took Private Durell off his feet--literally--leaving only two synthetic boots standing in the grass, torn off at the ankles. The doors crashed through several houses, and came to rest with massive thuds.
Those standing near the gate flew in the air like great metal birds until they scumbled to gravity and fell to the earth with sickening crunches. Shrapnel whizzed through the air like scything blades, killing and decapitating several more troopers. Smoke hung in the air in a lazy haze, and I thought everything had gone silent until I realized the explosions had damaged my hearing. All I heard now was a slight ringing.
I watched in a kind of disconnected daze as Sergeant Hanner stumbled out of the smoke and fell to his knees. He pulled off his helmet, his mouth open in a silent scream. Half his face was crushed in. However, his discomfort would be over when a kamatoze galloped from smoke, and took his head from his shoulders.
It was then, as I watched Hanner's head bounce from a faraway place, that my axillary sensory node kicked in and everything came back into a focus. I saw the kamatoze barreling towards me, and fired at it in vain. I could only hope my death would be quick.
Then Graves stepped out in front of me and took the creature's blade arm with his. The kamatoze squealed and veered away from us. The Captain turned to me.
"This is all going to hell quick, Hidden. We have to rally the trooper and counterattack before we're overrun."
I nodded, knowing it was a futile gesture of defiance. We were already overrun, and we could only stave off the inevitable at this point. However, the AMF never gives up, and I sure as hell wasn't going to either. I drew my saber again, and threw myself into the fray.
The village was quickly filling up with the infected, but we hacked and slashed and shot our way through. I saw a handful of shooters firing down from the remains of the shelf, doing their best to support us until a flight of screeching tengohg fell into their midst. With no room to maneuver, they fell into the waiting jaws of death below.
I fired my pistol as an ageeta leapt at me. The bolt went into the creature's mouth and out the back of its head. An ollaka caught sight of me and lowered its head before charging. I shot it several times, then spun out of its way and disboweled it with a slash on its flank. One of the massive worms rumbled up from the ground beneath my feet, and I rolled under its vicious lunge, and severed its neck from its head.
A gohmon loomed over the prone form of Corporal Gladius, and I hacked into its back before it could do any damage to the soldier. The gohmon twitched and died, and I helped Gladius to his feet.
"Thanks LT, I thought I was done."
"Happy to help," I said, with a grim smile.
He smiled back, then his face gained a quizzical expression. Gladius looked down. Something had shot him with a blast of ice. There was a massive shard sticking out of the corporal's chest.
He blinked at me, then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed. Another gohmon stood behind his corpse, regarding me with its single eye. I screamed in rage and plugged the glowing blade right into the socket. It screech and reeled away from me, clawing at its as it died.
We fought and died and still got no closer to driving off the SEED. I couldn't believe that this many infected had simply fled in the face of the battle group. The idea of that... thing calling them here seemed disturbingly plausible. But why?
I caught Captain Graves out of the corner of my eyes. He fought harder than anyone, with dual claws in hand, he spun, slashed, countered, killed, and maimed like a one-man tornado. For every three or four we killed, he took out ten. His death dance was beautiful and terrifying to watch.
I turned from my systematic killing at a resounding cry from organic and synthetic alike. I shuddered as the beast approached, but I couldn't drag my eyes away.
A kagajibari. It rose over the village like an ancient god, and it ducked under the blown out gateway into the area. It burned with an inner light, and its scale-plates glowed in a rainbow of colors. Massive arms swung and knocked CASTs and infected aside. Feet strode unweilding through village, crushing houses, blossom trees, synthetics, and animals indiscriminately. It leaned over, plucked up Private Naal, and examined him before casually tossing the trooper aside. It was looking for something.
Graves broke off from his fighting as the beast approached, and our eyes met for a moment. We both were sure we knew what it was here for. The captain nodded, and ran towards the kagajibari. When the massive creature saw it, his growled and lunged, shaking the ground like a portable earthquake. I moved forward to help Graves, but a kamatoze cut me off, roaring into my face and swinging its blade arms.
I snarled and swung my saber, striking it off its blade before ducking under a follow-up swing and slicing a wound across it's hide. The kamatoze bellowed and came down with both its arms. I rolled forward and cut through one of its legs. It wavered but didn't stop. The beast lunged forward, and knocked me onto my back, slamming its uninjured leg against my arm. There was a snap, and I screamed as the arm was torn from its sockets.
If I had passed out--and I almost did--it would have been over there. Instead, I gritted my teeth and ran an override program, killing the pain instantly. Relieved, I reversed the saber in my hand, and stabbed it into the kamatoze's soft underbelly, again and again into vital organs, ignoring the blood that splattered my face and chest.
It squirmed and scratched, then stumbled to the side and collapsed, releasing me. I scrambled to my feet, cutting an ageeta that wandered too close, and looked for the Captain. My gut knotted at the sight that reached me.
Graves rolled and dodged the furious swipes of the kagajibari, until the great beast grew tired of the game and snatched up the nimble CAST. Graves struggled, slashing his claws into the kagajibari's armored hide. It sank its massive nails into the Captain, and began to pull him apart. He squirmed, but it was futile. Seeing his fate, his claws glowed super bright.
"Graves--!"
There were no final words. No dramatic death-speech. Captain Graves plunged his twin weapons into the kagajibari's chest, and exploded.
***
"Fall back!" I yelled, stumbling away from the smoke, purple after images dancing in my eyes, "Retreat!"
It was a futile gesture. Of the 250 soldiers that made up the fifth company, less than two dozen remained, and all the while, the SEED came on.
5
It was no surprise I ended up back in the house with the thing in it. It's subtle voice had cooed in the back of my head throughout the battle, and half-blind, I had stumbled my way here.
I threw the door closed and locked it, then scrambled into the back room, and locked it as well. I slumped against the wall and sat down, only vaguely aware that the two bodies were gone.
Its all over now, dear Hidden. You're the last.
"I... I won't release you. I'll die first." I muttered.
Oh no, Hidden, you misunderstand, not freedom... hunger...
"What?" I breathed.
Yes, you brought me food, you and your brethren. I have not fed in so long, and I had not tasted newmans for twice that.
I thought the two scientists, the missing CASTS, all the SEED outside, "You had this all planned from the beginning, didn't you? From... when we first landed."
Yesss... it whispered. I started as the stone cellar cover shifted minutely, It was so hard, until you brought me the girl. Delightful. Now the animal-flesh of Neudaiz will feed me, just as soon as you're gone. I have no more use for you.
All the while the lid moved, inch by inch.
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
The SEED-infected moved outside, banging against the walls of the house. I drew my sidearm and leveled it with the stone tablet, my remain hand shaking. Something outside cracked and gave away. All the while, the lid scrapped.
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
skriiiiit
And then there was me, caught in between.
END