Chapter 4: Respite

'Brother Dene?' Bilius barked into the vox-caster. 'Brother Dene, respond!' When no reply came, the sergeant ordered his troops back along the path. The headless corpse was lying face down, blood pumping from its severed neck. The head lay several feet away.

'By the Emperor, another good brother lost,' Paulos growled. 'Those Hormagaunts must be around here still.'

'Agreed,' Bilius spat. 'Brothers, fan out and scan the walls. Be wary, the xenos scum is upon us.'

Bilius continued to the far side of the basin; Paulos stayed around the middle section and Eric headed back towards the entrance.

Minutes turned into an hour as the marines trudged back and forth, sweeping the darkened walls. Then Eric heard a faint clanking. It was coming up along the steel-mesh walkway, towards him.

'Brothers, I hear something. It's coming from the bulkhead we entered through.'

'Acknowledged, Brother Eric,' Bilius reported. 'Stay put brother; we're coming to aid. Prepare to purge the xenos!'

Eric gritted his teeth and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He braced himself and aimed his bolter, his finger curled around the trigger. The clanking grew louder and louder, gradually, as something walked up the walkway, it's pace slow and casual, almost arrogant in its nonchalance. Then, as he expected, the flickering lamplight illuminated the slimy, black form of a Tyranid Hormagaunt. It seemed to be grinning, its mouth revealing a long row of needle-like teeth. Black eyes burned with an alien coldness, and Eric could see the slime glistening on its dark, scaly hide. It stood on four, brutally taloned appendages, but it was the other two that attracted Eric's attention. They rose up above the beast like mantis claws, elongated and edged in serrated chitin. It was time to purge the xenos.

'The Emperor orders you to die!' Eric pulled the trigger and sent a burst of explosive bolts screaming towards the alien. With unbelievable speed, the creature dodged the missiles and sprang into a gallop. The next burst of shots tore into the beast as it closed on him, causing it to rear up in pain, alien blood spurting all over the walkway in great gouts. Shrieking tore the air.

'Take that Tyranid scum!' Eric was enjoying himself. He pumped round after round into the Hormagaunt, punctuating each blast with another warcry in the name of the Emperor. The corpse soon became little more than a pile of goo and chitin armour plates as it was blown into oblivion. Finally, Eric raised his smoking bolter.

'Hold your positions, brothers,' Eric shouted into the vox, 'area secure. Aid is no longer required.'

Suddenly a curved claw scythed down from behind him, impaling Eric's helmet like a melon. He struggled to speak but couldn't as his body was lifted up into the air. His limbs dangled, agony surging through his body until another chitin-bladed appendage sliced cleanly through his neck. The body collapsed to the steel-mesh with a crunch, and a victorious screech echoed around the chamber, the severed head still transfixed to the end of the Hormagaunt's talon. The marines' respite from killing one of their foes had been short lived.