Chapter 1
FEAR
It was almost too dark to see anything, at least for anything not wearing a Military grade BioMechanical suit. Though that wasn't many, my team and I were the only ones with that kind of equipment and seeing in the dark was as simple as thinking about it, which was all you had to do to activate it. The suits were capable of a lot of impressive things. It greatly increased the wearer's speed and strength, Hearing and sight were amplified, the wearer could see up to 300 meters as if it were right in front of his face. Could hear a pin drop over the sound of a fully automatic G45. Sounds special right? Your damn right, these were standard issue for soldiers of my caliber and the rest of my squad, which were a class above all else.
We had been sent on this mission to check a disturbance in a small mining community, the community had been found deserted, though there was evidence of some sort of struggle, as they told us in the debreifing, the town was trashed, there were signs of houses being broken into and automobiles crushed. They were able to get one more thing out of the Regulars they dropped off into the town before their Radios went dead and they flatlined, The town was almost painted in blood.
We didn't get any feedback on the Visual equipment built into their helmets so we couldn't possibly know how bad it looked, so I wasn't exactly swayed to ask questions then, though I did find it kind of strange that each of their signatures flatlined instantaneously and all at the same exact time. Every single one of them are considered KIA, all twelve members that were split into two teams. We were dropped in low and quick, about Twelve klicks north of the community, on a D-19, Light airborne infantry transport, Prowler class, at approximately 22:00. From there we made the march to the establishment in the dead of night so as to avoid any sort of detection from any type of hostile force.
We reached a bluff overlooking our destination at 02:00, from there we surveyed the town for several minutes through our HUD that provides an optic 5x zoom.
We were composed of a team of four. That was the suspected number of members nessecary for a stealth mission. Meant to infiltrate and eliminate the enemy force. Thats how high we were held in regard by our superiours, we always went in quickly and quietly and we were always deadly efficient.
Chimera team leader gives the order to move into town, so we go. It takes us 15 minutes to reach the outskirts of town, there are no vehicles traveling out of the community and there were none entering due to the military road block, some 40 klicks back. the streets were deserted as we make our move, sticking close to cover and the buildings on the sides of the street, we were nearly invisible in the darkness that surrounds us. street lights flicker and illunimate the sidewalk and roads and large, puddles of blood but never did a single member of chimera spot a body.
Its not long befor we reach the center of the town, the speakers in my helmet crackle to life with the sound of Chimera team leader's voice. "this town is dead." He said with an obvious tone of disappointment in his voice. "Hold position." Ill radio into base and tell them that whoever raided this town is long gone." My radio shuts off with a click and silence joins me once again in my helmet.
Chimera team had taken up position at each point in the intersection. On my HUD (Heads Up Display) I got a few blips informing me that Chimera 2 and Chimera 4 had gone into their own personal chat and I wondered if I would join them when suddenly the speakers crackle and Chimera 1's (team leader) voice spoke over it with some urgencey." Look alive chimera team, I caught something on my sensors."
I glanced up to see the acknowledgement lights of the team blink on and off, so I responded with my own acknowledgement, merely thinking it and the suit responds. "Its just one... Its moving pretty fast... It'll be in the middle of the intersection in ab..." He grew silent suddenly, and remained that way for several seconds. Finally the speakers sounded again and his voice was uneasy. "Its gone... It just vanished... Maybe it was an equipment malfunct..." Thats when whatever "It" was darted from out of the darkness and slammed into Chamira 1 with the force of a train.
That knocked him back, into and through the corner of a building on the street, sending debris out over the road, along with him. He rolls to a stop in the middle of the steet and only has enough time to look up before the thing is on him again. Now that it had stopped I could get a better look at it. I saw that it was slightly humanoid, with a skull that fanned out and then spiked behind it, a long, bonelike blade that attatched to each arm, extended all the way down its long, bony forearm, and even further past its hands.
Its back was covered in a metallic looking skin, that continued down, protecting all of its vital points. It was several heads taller than me, and I was the tallest member on my team at a height of 6' 7". Though the most distingiushing characteristic that I noticed was the high pitched cry that it sounded as it attacked Chimera 1. It was high pitched and most of all... Disorienting. "GOOOOOO!" It cried out as it set to ripping our squad leader to sheds.
It was like watching an orange being peeled, only it sounded much softer and grotesque. He flatlined on my HUD before we could even react. Chimera 4 was the first to react, his voice blared out of the speakers and into my ears over the sound of the constant cutting and lacerating noises as it's claws cut clean through the Bio-Mechanical suit. "Chimera team! Engage!" Snapped from the strange mezmerizing effect of complete shock, we lifted our Supressed G.45s up and fired on the creature's back, each of us holding the trigger to unleash as many rounds as possible into the thing.
Our bullets hit their mark, but stop dead as soon as they do, it seemed to be some sort of armored plating on its back. We all emptied our clips into the creature's back, all 25 rounds each and recieved no results. It didn't even so much as glance back at us, it only continued skinning our team leader with swift yet brutal strokes.
"Damn it!" Exclaimed Chimera 2. "Maybe it has a weak point!" With that he takes a step forward, towards it. He never even set his foot down before another one darted out from nowhere, deadly silent, and snatches Chimera 2 up by the throat. His voice, strangulated due to the being's powerful grip was faint as he raised his rifle and pointed it at the creature's face. "Piss o.." In that moment, faster than my eyes could track, the thing cut upward and through Chimera 2's elbow. It was severed cleanly, as if it were paper and Chimera 2 cried out in pain before it pulled him back and then hurls him through a shop window.
In that moment, I and Chimera 4 had a clear shot, we took it, opening up and firing as many rounds as the weapons could possily produce. It moved too quickly though, vaulting forward, through the shop window, undoubtedly, after Chimera 2, I heard him scream harshly one last time over the radio before he flatlined on my HUD. Noises of rapid cutting and slashing sound from inside the shop.
"SH... SHIT!" Chimera 4 yelled out as he turned and started to sprint away from the slaughter. I turned and accompanied him, there was no way we were going to win against these things with our present numbers.
We sprinted as fast as we possibly could down the street, moving with an intense speed towards the town's nearest exit. Thats when i heard it. "Goooooooooooooo!" It sounded from above and i knew that there was at least a fifty-fifty chance that I was its target, so I focused on the road and don't look back, which is the exact same thing Chimera 4 does.
Chimera 4 goes down beside me, knocked to the ground from the weight of the falling creature onto his back, the being, on the other hand, merely stops and tunrs around, putting its back to me as it raised its blade arms and prepared to do major surgery on Chimera 4's face, neck, and chest.
Adrenaline Rush. Implicated by the armor it causes me to make a really stupid decision. I turn to the creatures back and then start running. Its about to evicerate Chimera 4, who was holding his hands up in front of his face as he braced for death and thats when I jumped. I leaped up onto the creature's back, my empty hand flying up and latching onto the small handhold just behind it's skull, at the base of it's neck. Then I lift my weapon up, around then the being seems to notice me and glances over it's shoulder and makes that strange noise again before it stresses and four long spikes shoot out of its back. it looks like they are formed out of the metallic substance that protected it.
Each of the spikes seem to aim for each one of his limbs, two for his arms and then for his legs. I react as fast as i can and thankfully move most of my body so that they miss him... mostly. One spike is able to make contact, cutting into and completely through the backside of his shoulder. My adrenaline drowns out most of the pain, so I only feel a sharp twinge and that is not enough to distract him from his goal. I lift the weapon as high as I can and pess it to the bare skin of the creature, in between its protective plating and its head, around its shoulder.
It jumps slightly as it realizes the danger its in, but that isn't enough to save him now, I pull the trigger on the weapon and let out a lengthy burst of ammunition into the creatures vulnerable spot. It's blood sprays out of its new wounds as the bullets tear through it's skin, it also tears through the creatures throat and it chokes on it's blood as it emits that cry for the last time. I grind my teeth as I pull downwards, with my entire body, causing the spike to tear through the top of my shoulder, but I keep pulling down, my hold on the creature tight as it comes down with me. Then I swing out of the way and throw it down onto the street with as much force as possible.
My hand hangs loosely at my side, blood had already started to run profusely down it, but I couldn't worry about that now, I turned to Chimera 4 and threw my rifle aside, then reached out to him. He hesitated for a second, then his hand shot out and latched onto mine and I pulled him onto his feet. "Come on!" He yelled as I was pulling him up, no doubt his intention was to run as soon as he regained his footing though that was too bad, because as he came up, so did another creature's blade, straight up through the middle of his Diaghram and it continued to push through. Chimera 4's hands clutch at the blade, kicking his feet as he coughed up blood onto his Microphone, muffling his voice.
I had to jerk away, my eyes wide with surprise as the blade had not only speared through my teamate, but it had almost run through me as well. The being lifts Chimera 4 up off the ground, and swipes at me with its other blade, almost daring me to come after it and save my teamate. My hand drifts to my belt, the pistol there was beckoning me to use it, but then a click catches my attention, a glance upward at Chimera 4's hand showed me what it was. Chimera 4 was clutching a pinless grenade in his blood stained hand, his other hand shakily lowers down to his belt, for his combat knife.
He grasps it and pulls it out slowly, then my speakers crackle to life again. "Chimer... Jacob... Run..." My eyes narrow and then I give him a curt nod, like a salute out of respect and then I turn and do as I was told, as fast as I could too because that wasn't just any grenade, it was an advanced Fuel Air grenade. That would totally decimate more than half of this town. I sprint with no restrictions, my boots pounding against the pavement as I bounded towards the town's exit. Back behind me a scene was unfolding, Chimera 4 was still hanging in the air, holding both his knife and the Grenade.
The being lifts it's head and sniffs at Chimera 4 and thats when he decides to act, holding the knife, blade down he brings it around, as far as possible behind him. He gets lucky, and the blade sinks into the soft spot. The creature makes that sound, but it sounds anguished this time, it's pain distracts it long enough for Chimera 4 to pull itself around using the Knife holding and then tightens his fist on the grenade with his last bit of strength. "Damn your ugly!" He yells at it as he pulls his fist back and punches it in the face as hard as possible.
Though, all I hear over my Mic is "Damn your ugly!" then my entire visor goes white with the explosion and I feel my feet lift up off the ground as the force of the explosion picks me up and tosses me the rest of the way out of the town and into the forest nearby. I slam against a tree, having the wind totally knocked out of me, then I land and roll a bit. I want to take a nap, just go to sleep, but the thought of missing Chimera teams grand fireworks display in honor of their deaths keeps me awake. So I stand up, staggering back against the tree and look at the greenish red cloud as it rises up.
I breathe heavily, staring in admiration of the cloud when suddenly... I spot movement out of the corner of my eye, from around the sides of the town, hundreds more of the creatures and they were moving quickly towards my position. Damn.
I turn and start to run, through the forest, moving in and about through the tree and over downed logs, my boots were more muffled in the forest, but I had no idea what these things were capable of, they were already catching up to me, I could see them on my Sensors. I pull up a the radio line to base, and I get a female's voice, it was loud and tense. "Chimera actual! What the hell is going on down the.." I interrupt her, I didn't have the time to be bitched at. "This is Chimera 3! Requesting immediate evac!" I yell at her, stressing my words. Shes silent for several seconds and then finally her voice breaks through again. "Acknowledged Chimera 3, keep moving in your current direction for 15 Klicks, estimated time to evac... " A pause. "Ten Minutes." My eyes narrow and my teeth grind together. "Well, I need a boost then!" I focus and then my suit releases its adrenaline reserves and the only thing I can hear is my heart pounding inside my chest at an incredibly fast rate, my exhaustion and pain seem to just disappear and I will my legs to move faster.
I bound through the forest towards the evac site, dodging trees here and there, when suddenly, my sensors flash on and off, I had three contacts moving up behind me at twice my speed, but it was only 6 Klicks now, it felt like it had only been several seconds but really it had been several minutes instead. Those blips on my sensors were now slowing down, all except for one, it instead moved in front of me, then vanished at least forty feet ahead of my current position.
My eyes narrowed on the area ahead, then I tensed, and readied myself, my hands untightening from fists so that I could go into open handed combat if I had to. It wasn't long at all before I reached the area that the contact disappeared at, then as I made my way through it, It jumped out at me from behind a tree and I reacted with full force, I tensed my legs and then launched myself over the creature drawing the combat knife from my belt and then as I began a forward flip over the creature I held the Knife over my head, Clearing the creature's bladed arms that I hadn't even noticed were coming at me. Then as I began to fall behind it I loosed the knife at the target, and it flew straight, luckily, into the base at the back of the creatures skull, severing the Spinal cord.
I completed my flip and landed in a crouch, sort of roughly on the ground behind the being. I don't even pause for a second there, i'm off before the body can hit the ground. The female's voice sounds muffled in my ears but I hear it all the same. "Chimera 3, Four Klicks to go and Thirty-Seven seconds to dust off." I grind my teeth in annoyance, sweat was running down my forehead in droves, getting into my eyes and blurring my vision. My breathing is too heavy to respond to her, the adrenaline starts to wear off and I feel so tired, but for my life I convince myself to quicken my pace, though its really straining me. "One point five klicks to go and the Prowler is already preparing to lift off, where are you Chimera 3?" I notice that the two blips that had vanished were back again, and they were moving reeeaaaally fast, not to mention that they had brought friends.
I burst out of the forest and into the clearing, near a cliffside, where the Prowler was lifting off. I push myself for these last hundred or so feet, my hand dropping to my grenade belt. I pull from it two fragmentation grenades, by hooking my fingers into the rings and then pulling upwards, so as to not arm them. Then I give them another one, only this time it was outwards so that the pins were pulled free. They fly out to his sides and thud to the ground as soon as I hear several of those strange creatures tear out of the forest behind me.
Now i'm almost there and I think, now this is just a guess, that I have about half a second to jump onto that Prowler before i'm engulfed in flames, which is even harder than it sounds. So I do it.
I leap from the edge of the cliff just as the grenades go off, and the force of the explosion causes me to sail through the air, once again, very luckily, towards the Prowler, in fact right towards the hollow part in the middle for transporting troops... wait... Thats bad, cause at my rate i'd sail right through. Thats when it cathces my eye for about a second, a blip on my sensors, almost directly behind me. One of the creatures was jumping after me! my eyes dart to the Prowler, this was the bigger problem at the moment, then, my eyes snap to the Heavy rotary gun attached to the side, next to the loading area. Hoping for the best I reach out and grab for the handles over it as I sail past it.
I must be the luckiest guy in the world.
My hand finds and latches onto the handle and it causes me to swing around, into the loading area, thats when I press my thumb down on the rotating barrel control, causing the multiple barrels to start spinning and quickly. I thought that I might as well kill two birds with one stone. I swing about and thats when I see him, the creature is almost close enough to latch onto the prowler, so as I spin around, I grab onto the trigger handle and then aim appropriately, and open up, fully automatic, Three thousand rounds a minute, straight into the chest of that creature.
The force of the spray of ammunition causes the creature to stop, and continued application causes it to fly back, its chest was protected by a metallic coat as well, but the Rotary gun let out enough rounds and in a wide enough spray, that it hit most of the creatures weak points. Though still it wasn't enough to kill the beast, but the fall more than likely would. It plemmeted to meet the earth below, or so I suspected, I was too busy falling back against the hull and grabbing ahold of a safety brace as we flew to a safe distance.
