Chapter Ten: The Black Demon
Morbose awoke with a start at hearing a hail of pulse bullets erupt from Angus's weapon. He had a headache more painful than he'd ever experienced – the beers Meatloaf smuggled aboard were always more potent than they let on. His mind took several seconds to comprehend the image before him. His vision was unrecognisably blurred as silhouettes of marines ran backwards and forwards. Bullets were all being fired at one direction – the plains. Unsteadily the leader of echo hauled himself to his feet. He stood there motionless for several seconds still trying to comprehend what was doing on. Everything was garbled and blurry.
A lone marine ran up to him and started yelling in what almost seemed a different language. Confusion spread over his face as he tried desperately to steady himself.
"Get your..." the beginning of his sentence was recognisable but the rest seemed some made up drunk language. "Fucksake... Get your wea..." Again it was almost recognisable until the very end. Slowly Morbose wandered to the line of marines firing their weapons relentlessly. On the plains he beheld numerous black blurs zooming towards him and further behind two very large black blurs trudging along.
"Its... fuck... Praeto..." He made out amongst the hail of gun fire. Suddenly something snapped inside his head and his eyes focussed miraculously and he beheld a coming battle of a wave of blackened creatures approaching.
Without hesitation or pause he whipped up his trusty pulse rifle from where he had fallen asleep. It sat graciously in his grip like a coddled baby.
"I'll never leave you again," he promised it. In a flash he was at the front line alongside the other marines who weren't badly comatose from the beers. Lokamatoka and Rhilian fired off accurate sniper rounds each hitting their targets in the dead centre of their round elongated heads. Both burst like water balloons holding sickly green goo. Angus retired his pulse rifle to also whip out a nearby sniper.
The pulse rifle bullets scoured the scene in front of them. Numerous aliens fall in the defensive firing. Several missing back limbs relentlessly pressed on as they dragged themselves using only their forelimbs. Meatloaf the most experienced with handling alcohol was letting off grenades left, right and centre. Several aliens were sent reeling into the air as a nearby grenade blast uplifted them. Several of the faster creatures near the front spat viciously at the marines. Large globules of sizzling green sprayed at the wall of marines. Acekid cried out as some of it splattered mercilessly on his arm. Without pause it sizzled away the top layer of flesh before Mudoken poured water on to wash it aside. The excruciation on Acekid's face was clear. A couple more layers of flesh burnt away and you'd have seen his radius and ulna. The pulse rifle he wielded collapsed uselessly to the ground whilst we withdrew a pistol.
"Eat this!" he cried out in pain and anger.
Freebe raised his flamethrower and sprayed the igniting agent on the ground several paces ahead of where the marines were holding out. As some of the nearer beasts came closer, he sprayed an arch of fire being careful not to hit his comrades.
Instantly the igniting agent erupted up into a fiery blaze. Startled, a few of the smaller beasts reared back unable to stop from their speed. As they slid into the fiery blaze they exploded outwards like a shrapnel bomb. Bits of xenomorph and boiling acid spewed out everywhere. Lokamatoka cried out as some splattered against his cheek. Meatloaf also cursed angrily at feeling his upper chest sizzling away. Both jabbed themselves quickly with stims and continued with their work. The stims battled fiercely with the acid as one tried to heal while the other burned away. The resulting small scar was distorted and ugly.
Slowly the flames on the igniting agent ate away at its fuel and died out to allow passage to the assaulting xenomorphs.
"I'm out!" Freebe cried out before throwing the flamer aside to withdraw a pulse on his back. Aussiekanga realised how close the assaulting creatures were and abandoned his post and pulse rifle to withdraw a more suitable shotgun. Many others followed suit.
"I'll note you!" Webcke suddenly said as he arose from his drunken torpor. Upon realising what was actually happening he jumped up with alacrity, withdrawing his shotgun at the same time. His eyes widened slightly upon seeing the xenomorphs assault.
The xenomorphs at last poured through the open gap to leap ferociously at the retreating marines. Taytay cried out as one slashed viciously at her face. The swipe marks had bored deeply into her. Before the creature could finish the job Punisher leapt forward and smacked the creature to the side with the butt of his gun. As it recovered it beheld the menacing point of a double barrelled shotgun. It didn't even have time to shriek as the top of his body was ripped away by a burst of shotgun shrapnel. Freon fall under the assault of two warriors as they relentlessly clawed at him. He cried out as he covered his face and body with bloodied arms. They leapt past him, as he grew still, to receive a solid shotgun spray from Tyranus's outstretched arm. Both were blown back from the single blast.
The fight turned into anarchy and chaos as more beasts joined the fray. One of which seemed to gleam slightly more so than the rest.
"The Black Demon!" Un4seen cried out upon spotting the creature. It was shaped like the others of its kind yet it was distinct as well. It seemed to glow with an unholy aura. If it were more possible it was slightly more blackened and empty looking than the rest. Without pause it leapt past the group of marines and screeching aliens to deliver a solid tail strike into an unsuspecting Malagbaal. He blurted out a mouthful of blood before falling limply to the ground. Tyranus roared angrily and let off several more shotgun rounds at the darker beast. The tops of the protrusions on the black demon's back were instantly splintered off. It let out a dissatisfied cry before leaping angrily out of sight and range.
Morbose, now with his composure back in check, let out a steady stream of pulse bullets at a leaping alien. It was ripped backwards spraying its greenish blood outwards. He turned just in time to witness another leaping directly at him. He held up his pulse rifle to block his body. The creature collided roughly with it sending jars up Morbose's body. In a quick flash he whipped his pulse rifle back and slammed it into the chest of the near-bipedal creature. It hissed angrily as he was sent reeling to the ground. Without mercy Morbose pumped three solid rounds into its skull before turning to deal with more streaming through. Nocturnal wielded a shotgun in one hand and a pulse in another. In a fierce Rambo style he shot both with deadly accuracy. Several aliens skulls burst open before him. Each shot from the shotgun jarred his arm mercilessly but he did not pause to wince. Crusty and Adrian stood side by side sending bullets off exceptionally accurately into nearby aliens. One alien leapt behind them to deliver a sound blow. In a flash Adrian whipped around to blow both its legs off in one blast. The creature shrieked horridly letting Adrian know his work was done. Quickly he whipped back round to deal with more that were nearing. The creature he had shot however was not finished. Unrelentingly it pulled itself forward and latched onto Crusty's exposed leg. In one swift motion it wrenched him down to the same level. Crusty cried out in horror as the creature crawled on top of him widening its mouth. A smaller jawed mouth within quivered in anticipation. Crusty covered his face in fear with his right arm. In less than a split second the smaller mouth lurched outwards and dug through his wrist stopping just short of his face. Adrian reeled in horror at his downed friend. Without even meaning to he kicked at the creature which attempted to cling to the downed marine. Crusty cried out more and more as the small tongue-like thing remained wedged in his arm. A final kick to the creatures head snapped off the mini-mouth leaving it implanted in his wrist.
The ground started shaking slightly as two of the much larger xenomorphs emerged from the darkness of the plains into the lighted area of the shuttlecraft. They hissed loudly and angrily at the glare of the floodlights. They were around three to four times larger than the rest of the creatures. They had small bullet holes all over their blackened skeletal torsos but they appeared not to have been driven in deep. One poised itself in such a way that it held out its tail like an elongated whip. In one swift motion it circled the battlefield knocking over friend and foe alike. Morbose was the first unlucky victim to be gazed and locked on. Slowly the creature marched forward even as bullets rebounded off its extended cranium. In a swift motion it pulled up the leader of Echo squad. Freebe watched in terror as Morbose tried in futile to break the crushing grip on him. The praetorian raised its other hand to grip Morbose's right leg. He cried out in pure agony as the giant beast pulled. He first heard his knee then femur dislocate, then the tearing of flesh and material. In several prolonged seconds his right leg was torn viciously from his body. Both him and his limb were thrown asunder for another smaller beast to deal with.
Rhilian and Tyranus were trying desperately to deal with the other praetorian as it took long powerful swipes at the marines in front of it. It opened its mouth threateningly at the two who dared oppose it. In a flash Rhilian pointed his sniper up at the mini-mouth inside. The inside mouth almost being as large as a body-builder's arm. The sniper bullet hit its designated target sending the large beast into a frenzy of anger and pain. It twisted around swinging its tail knocking over Mace and Mudoken with a solid whack. Tyranus rolled under it and found himself between the large monster's legs. He took a step back as he pushed the barrel of his shotgun up a small orifice which was likely used only for excreting. There was a brief pause in the battlefield as the creature winced at the bodily intrusion. It all commenced again as Tyranus pulled the trigger of his weapon. The sound was a mix of toast being crushed and a mince and cheese pie being stood on. Woozily the giant beast tried to gain its balance before tumbling to the ground in defeat. Tyranus was sent crashing to the ground and became pinned underneath its immense weight. A hungry looking warrior spotted the downed marine and leapt at him to take advantage of the situation. Before it could decapitate the man with its tail it was tackled to the ground by Exo. Fiercely he sent fist after fist into the surprised creature. It clawed back trying to dislodge the man. He did not relent, instead after releasing brewed up anger in the form of fists, he pulled out his pistol and stuck it into its hissing mouth. Angrily he pulled the trigger until an empty click was all that was heard. Tyranus nodded gratefully as he dislodged himself from the beast's body.
The remaining praetorian stared loathingly at its fallen partner with invisible eyes. Before it had time to attack the offenders of its partner a blast disorientated it. Meatloaf roared angrily as he launched a stream of grenades from his pulse rifle into the head of the creature. It cried out in pain as the top part of his extended cranium crumbled off revealing soft inner flesh. Webcke was standing by Meatloaf's side as he angrily sent out sprays of shotgun bullets at any drones or warriors foolish enough to come near him or Meatloaf. Slightly above the battlefield the black demon watched with unseen eyes. It hissed silently as if relaying a message back to its matriarch. After a brief second it leaped from its position to land squarely on Webcke. The full force of the impact send him straight to the ground with a loud thud. He moaned in annoyance and pain as the creature opened its mouth. Before it had time to do anything Webcke sent his enclosed fist up hitting the creature squarely in the front row of teeth. It grunted angrily as several of its perfectly aligned teeth fell from its mouth. It swiped fiercely at Webcke's face sinking its claws in fairly deep. He winced in agony but did not relent. Freeing the other arm he grabbed the offending limb and twisted it. At first nothing happened but eventually a snapped occurred. The black demon cried out in pain and anger. Its left arm dangled uselessly – its outer carapace cracked by the brute force the marine held. Suddenly as if retaining some human self within the creature head-butted Webcke knocking him out cold.
Falcon was nearby as he fended off two threateningly with his depleted pulse rifle. They took turns at skirmishing strikes at him. Each he defended against but still felt the force jarring his body.
"Damsel!" Freefall cried out from several paces away. He leapt forward with amazing alacrity to send a knife into ones head while pulling out his pistol to deliver a three-burst shot into the other's head. Both gave minor winces before toppling over.
"What did you call me?" Falcon queried above the sounds of battle. Freefall winked and carried on. Meatloaf had pried off the Black Demon from Webcke and aimed his shotgun directly at its face. He smirked and pulled the trigger. The subtle empty 'click' that sounded from his weapon made his face go red. In almost a mocking manner, it shrieked and leapt away from harm. The final praetorian was being taken care of by Stealth and Kaelax. Each ducked and spun around the creature as it clumsily delivered strikes in its disorientated state. Eventually Kaelax saw his chance to end the miserable creature by climbing onto its back. It cried out angrily and flailed to try dislodged the man. With a steady aim he sent a continuous stream of bullets in the soft exposed tissue Meatloaf's grenades had made. With that it let out a final cry before toppling to the ground.
The surviving marines watched puffing with looks of dismay and anger on their faces as the last of the aliens retreated from where they came. Several of which dragged those of the marines who had fallen in the assault. There was a dull anticlimactic pause as everyone watched the beasts disappear into the darkness. There was suddenly a feeling that they were a much smaller number than they had started off as. Rhilian and Tyranus looked at each of their troops and to see on the ground who were still there. Miraculously Tim was still here with dead xenomorph bodies littered around him. Eventually the toll of the battle became clear. They had lost eleven marines in the assault. They may not even be dead but they were dragged off into the night... they were: Taytay, Freon, Amberjinx, Malagbaal, Matt, Whitewolf, Acekid, Logic, Morbose, Mudoken and Akoel.
Behind the surviving marines and the shuttlecraft a glimmer of sunrise appeared filtered through the cliffy outcrop from above. What a start to the day.