Matthew yelled loudly, smoke filling the room. The building had turned into an inferno, so hot even metal was melting away. He ran through a hallway and into a small room, but cried out in dismay when he saw the window was blocked. He gave up then, not knowing what to do. He sat down in the corner, hoping for a miracle, that he would be saved by someone. It was then he realized that miracles do happen.
A slim figure in a skintight black suit appeared at the doorway after a few minutes, the green glowing eyes framed by the hoses around the stranger's mask. A thin mist came from the mask, a hissing noise filling the air. The stranger saw him and ran to grab him and sling him over his shoulder. The stranger said nothing as he ran through the building, coming to another window. He raised his weapon and fired, the solid slunk heralding a concussion that blew the wall clear apart. Matthew screamed as they both fell to the ground below.
The stranger stood, picking him up without saying a word as the building that had been his home collapsed. "Mommy!" Matthew cried. The stranger looked around quickly, ignoring his cries.
"Delta squad, come in." He said, looking at the inferno that had been Matthew's home. "Building destroyed, one survivor." He paused. "Delta?"
"Where's my mommy?" Matthew screamed, gripping the stranger's armored leg. The stranger didn't seem to notice, instead looking north to where an angry snarl came from beyond a hill. He looked down at Matthew.
"Hold this position." He ran off, and Matthew followed, not understanding what he wanted. As Matthew crested the hill with the black-suited stranger he screamed. A horrendous monster, the color of rust, was ripping at the corpses of several armored men, more monsters like it doing the same. The others were smaller and dog-like, while the first was large and snake-like, with twin scythes for limbs. It turned to the newcomers with a hiss.
Matthew watched in horror as they approached, noticing that the stranger had left. He screamed as on of the dog-creatures broke into a run, leaping at him…and then exploded with a sharp crack. It fell in a ruined pile at Matthew's feet as the rest were butchered by an unseen assailant. The last one, the snake-creature, hissed with rage, swinging wildly about. It roared as a hole appeared in its chest, and then it fell to the ground. The stranger appeared in the middle of the carnage and gore, watching Matthew as he dropped to the ground and screamed.
"Quiet!" The man said loudly. Matthew went silent, quaking in fear. For a moment he thought that he feared this man more than the monsters. "Delta five to Command. Squad down, I repeat, entire squad is down. The professor is dead, and so is his wife. One survivor, a boy, eight years-old, most likely their son." He paused. "Their home was completely burned. My squad has been ambushed by a group of Zerg." He paused again. "Understood."
"Where's mommy and daddy?" Matthew cried as the stranger pulled him to his feet. "Where are they? What happened?"
The stranger looked down at him, removing his mask to reveal a pale face with flaming-red hair.
He said the words that would stay with Matthew for the rest of his life, burned in his mind as if etched. The words that would drive him to his destiny, turning him into the man that all of the living beings in the universe would know by name.
"The Zerg. The Zerg took them from you, Matthew Hunter."
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------------ Twelve years later -------------
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Mathew 'Suicide' Hunter sat very still in the seat of the dropship, waiting for a chance to burn another Zerg. He ran his gloved hand through his brown hair, wondering what planet the creatures had decided to infest now. The others were Marines, armored monstrosities born for the bloody acts of the Terran people, born for war. But unlike these juggernauts, Matthew wasn't born to kill everything.
He was born to kill Zerg.
"Sixty seconds to touchdown, gentlemen!" The pilot yelled.
"Hey, what's with the lone wolf crap?" A Marine said, shifting his massive bulk to look down at his unarmored companion. Matthew said nothing, just like his temporary guardian had done. He was always a loner, ever since he had met the Ghost that had insisted on being called SG-7869, his designation number. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"
"When I rip out your throat, will you still be talking?" Matthew snapped. The man jerked back, banging his head on the side of the dropship's hull. "I thought not."
"Don't mess with him." The corporal in the squad said, checking his flame gear. "You never mess with Ghosts."
"He ain't a Ghost, Whiplash; he's just a civy that thinks he's up to fighting the Zerg!" Another Marine cried.
"Well, when he ends up killing you your family will owe me twenty bucks." Another said, chuckling.
"Cut the pillow talk, ladies!" Their sergeant yelled, bringing them to order. "Alright…" The dropship shuddered as it hit the dirt, the hatch opening to the blackened terrain of this unexplored planet. "Move, move, move!"
Matthew loaded a clip into his rifle, following the Marines onto the dark soil. The dropship lifting off. The squad would search this area for a good place for an outpost, then radio for the dropship.
If Matthew knew what would happen, he would have killed himself right then to avoid his fate.