Chapter 13: Pure Terror
The sun was setting down in Johannesburg, South Africa. The sounds of gunfire filled the air at the city's central train terminus as Cell hosed suppressive fire through the railcar. The floaters hiding on the other side of the carriage were disregarding the XCOM operatives assaulting them, gunning down civilians mercilessly.
"We have to do something!" shouted Atlanton, the young Australian operative crossing to the other side of the railcar, pulling out a grenade ready to support an assault on the floaters.
A deep, blood-curdling howl emanated from the back of the train yard, freezing the engineer in place. From across the yard, she could see a horde of four monstrous creatures climbing over railcars, rushing towards the XCOM squad. With chitin of deep purple and tiny eyes glowing a faint orange, the insect-like creatures clattered forwards at incredible speed on four long, deadly claws.
"Oh my god what the fuck is this!?" screamed Atlanton in horror at the sight approaching them.
"Come on, form a line! We have to hold them off!" came the shout from Toothcake, the female assault getting out into the open to get a clear shot at the approaching chryssalids, Ballystix joining her side, shoulder to shoulder.
Atlanton took off, crossing over to the next railcar, pulling the pin from her AP grenade on the move. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the chryssalids get caught in the bright flash of a flashbang, sending them scampering in four different directions. The shotguns of Toothcake and Ballystix roared, and the front-runner dropped down to the ground in a heap of cracked chitin.
Hitting the corner of the next railway carriage, to her horror Atlanton saw one of the creatures run towards her position. Stopping at the corner on the other side of the carriage, the creature rose on its rear claws and impaled a hapless man with its front ones. The civilian let out a pitiful squeal as bloodied claws burst out of his back, the shock no doubt putting an end to his misery within seconds.
The chryssalid pulled the man close, spewing saliva into its victim's mouth. To make matters even worse, four more floaters barreled into sight from behind the railcars, howling in their muffled voices, plasma carbines sending a hail of energy towards the engineer. Tossing the grenade around the corner at the swarm of enemies, Atlanton pulled behind the corner and pressed herself against the carriage, covering herself from the blast.
To her left, she saw the squad desperately battle on. Toothcake and Cell were pulling back from the railway carriage and out into the open, shotgun blasting buckshot and SAW spewing bullets at the enemy. Ballystix was trying to cross over to support Atlanton, a barrage of plasma from between the railcars striking the man down to the ground. With a determined grimace on his face, the assault dragged himself towards a telephone pole with a large concrete base around it, taking cover from the plasma fire striking all around him, filling the air with gusts of soil and fine concrete dust. From farther down the line, Atlanton could hear the echoes of the battle Awo, Hypergeek and DSM were waging against the massive, overwhelming force of aliens. Atlanton turned towards Ballystix, ready to support her brother-in-arms.
Then the tide of the battle turned, from crashing waves into an insurmountable tsunami. From between the railcars, the man she had seen die just moments ago shuffled out into the open. Trails of blood ran down from his mouth, face frozen in a horrific mask of agony, dead eyes staring off into the distance. His overalls were soiled red from the two gaping holes in his chest, yet the man still moved, some unknown force driving him on.
Growling in a low voice, the man made his way towards Ballystix, still pinned down behind the telephone pole. Farther down the line, Atlanton could see multiple shuffling figures emerge from the other railway carriages, the rest of the XCOM operatives pulling back in the other direction, leaving her and Ballystix cut off.
Backing up, Atlanton fired her assault rifle at the zombie. The bullets sank into the dead man's shoulder, only causing him to sway a little, still shuffling towards the pinned Ballystix. Retreating towards the back of the carriage, Atlanton cupped a hand around her mouth, shouting at the assault, "Get over here, I'll cover you!" Rounding into the back of the railcar, Atlanton reached for a high explosive grenade in her rigging, pulling the pin off and stepping around the corner.
The three floaters holding Ballystix down were taking cover behind a forklift, firing their plasma carbines through the gap in-between the railcars. Tossing her HE grenade, Atlanton screamed for the assault to move. The grenade exploded, sending one of the floaters down to alien hell, and Ballystix darted out from behind the telephone pole.
Plasma flying in the air, the assault ducked and weaved his way through the open battlefield, dashing past the zombie, its arms flailing after the operative. Turning around mid-run, Ballystix fired his shotgun at the corpse, sending a spray of blood into the dusky air.
Turning back to cover against the floaters, Atlanton readied her rifle. A plasma barrage struck the corner of the railcar, causing her to jerk back. Turning her head, Atlanton saw Ballystix take cover next to her, the engineer raising her voice to be heard over the sounds of the battle filling the air.
"You kill that thing, I'll cove-"
The young operative was cut off as a floater barreled its way to the corner of the railcar. From point-blank range, the high-energy barrage from its carbine tore Atlanton's face apart, burning through her skull and sending the woman crashing into the ground.
With widening eyes, Ballystix turned around, trying to get away from the floater, muttering a repeated denial in a low, panicked voice. Rushing around the corner, the assault scrambled into the open embrace of the zombie, his muttered denials turning into shrieks of horror as the dead man sank its teeth into his flesh.
"NO! Jesus Christ - fuck, NO!" Awo shouted, a hard, cold knot twisting the back of his throat.
Ballystix was screaming at the end of the train yard, the dead man tearing into his artery, pushing the assault into the ground. Toothcake was lying on the ground next to Hypergeek, bleeding her life's blood into the dusty ground as the day's last rays of sunlight cast long shadows on the train yard.
The chryssalids were long gone, having disappeared into the shadows between the railway carriages, preferring the easy meat littered around the train yard that didn't fight back. The XCOM squad had been deployed to save lives, but right now, all Awo could think of was keeping the rest of his people safe.
"Fall back! We have to fall back goddammit!" the infantryman shouted, retreating to the back of the nearby railcar, reloading his shotgun frantically.
Cell was stuck behind a telephone pole, spraying suppressive fire at the floater that had taken Toothcake's life, covering for Hypergeek who was huddled next to her. The engineer was staring at Toothcake's body, his voice panicked as he muttered to himself in French.
Looking up towards the end of the yard, the Belgian screamed out, "We have to help Ballystix! He's still alive!"
Awo clenched his teeth together and raised his voice into a commanding roar, "He's as good as dead! God-fucking-dammit get your ass back in the fight Hypergeek! FALL BACK! NOW!"
Not waiting for an answer, Awo turned around, running towards the back of the line of railcars. Chryssalids were darting in-between the railway carriages farther into the train yard, moving from shadow to shadow. Their howls filled the air as darkness fell upon the train yard.
The sound of an explosion signaled Hypergeek's and Cell's retreat, covered by the engineer's last HE grenade. Turning back to his squad, Awo saw the two troopers running from telephone pole to telephone pole, dodging plasma fire from the floaters with a chryssalid on their heels, the creature steadily gaining ground on them.
"Over here!" the shout from DSM rang in the air, the woman signaling to Hypergeek and Cell from behind the last telephone pole on the line, scrambling to reload her shotgun.
The chryssalid was right on their heels, ready to pounce and wipe the squad off the face of the earth. A zombie was trailing behind it, and another one shambled into view from between the railcars close to Awo, headed towards DSM.
The former police officer took the shot, spraying the dead woman's brains out into the nightfall. "GET DOWN!" he shouted, Hypergeek and Cell hitting the deck as they came dashing past the telephone pole, scrambling for their lives.
Awo fired his shotgun, and the chryssalid reared from the impact. Wheeling over on the ground, Cell fired her SAW from an awkward angle, nailing the chryssalid with a short burst, sending the bug toppling over its rear claws, lifeless as the zombie behind it.
Moving from behind the telephone pole to make room for her squadmates, DSM dashed across the open ground to the railway carriage in front of Awo, firing at the remaining zombie with her shotgun, sending it stumbling backwards. Getting up to a kneeling position and readying his rifle, Hypergeek nailed the corpse in the back of its head, finally laying the dead man to his final rest.
From the shadows on his right Awo saw two chryssalids approach, the predators finally tired of playing around, clattering towards the railcar DSM was hiding behind. Shouting a warning to the scout Awo pulled over to the right, making room at the end of the flatbed railcar he was taking cover behind.
"To me! All of you, move your goddamn asses NOW!"
DSM took off, the chryssalids bursting through the railcar she had been hiding behind. One of the floaters sent out a salvo of plasma at the scout, but the woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other, side-stepping the lethal barrage. Hypergeek and Cell followed, a flurry of plasma striking the telephone pole, sparing the engineer's life.
The enemy kept on charging, a chryssalid coming in from the right followed closely by a floater swaying unstably in the air, propelled by its roaring jets. Awo stepped out from behind the railcar, striking the chryssalid from range with buckshot, slowing the creature's assault. Walking towards the approaching monster, Awo pumped his shotgun.
Meeting the horrifying thing head-on, Awo sent the bug flying into the crates on the open railcar with a resounding thump of his shotgun. Turning to his left, he was greeted by the second chryssalid, jumping to the top of the flatbed, its insect-like eyes glowing orange in the dark of the twilight.
Frantically, Awo started to pump his shotgun. Fuck me, the thought flashed across his mind as the creature pounced on him.
The night around him lit up as the muzzle of Hypergeek's assault rifle flared behind him, sending a burst of bullets into the creatures body, penetrating the chitin and sending ichor spilling all over Awo. A salvo of plasma flew past his head, causing Awo to duck into the midst of the chryssalid carcasses.
The loud chatter of Cell's SAW filled the air as she hosed down fire on the three floaters advancing from the left. Scrambling up and over the bodies of the chryssalids, Awo re-oriented himself behind a pile of logs to the left of the railcar.
Shouting into the night, Awo gathered his troops, "Dig in boys and girls! This is the end of the line, one way or the other!"
To his right, DSM let out a savage scream as a floater dropped down into the ground. Pulling his pistol, Awo dropped another on the left as Cell shouted for cover, reloading her machine gun.
With only two floaters left, the aliens exchanged a perplexed look with each other as the humans inexplicably continued to fight. Seeing the moment of victory come, Awo jumped forwards, screaming to his squad, "Screw that order! Push up, don't let these fuckers get away!"
Firing his shotgun, he rattled one of the floaters. A precise burst from Hypergeek's assault rifle dropped the other one and Cell hosed a massive stream of bullets into the night, laying the last enemy down.
And then the train yard was silent, draped in a blessed veil of darkness, concealing the horrors of the battle field.
The orange lights illuminated the corridors of the XCOM base, a low humming of the electrical systems within the walls giving the facility its own unique silence. Turned down for the night, the lights only provided some illumination, leaving regular intervals of dark shadows in the metallic hallways.
Renzol walked down the long corridor, her face emotionless, eyes staring off into the distance. She didn't know where she was. It could've been anywhere, though the rough, unpolished walls and lack of facilities pointed towards the new, unfinished levels deeper underground. Coming to a halt in-between the lights, Renzol leaned against the cold metal wall.
People had gathered in the break room to honor the memory of the fallen operatives. Awo had been leading the ceremony, drunk off his mind. Renzol had stayed for a while, hanging close to the door. But it had all been too much for the rocketeer, and she had quietly withdrawn into her room.
Even her own bunk hadn't given Renzol any respite as the dead kept on haunting her. Lying down in her bed, she'd kept seeing Atlanton's face, upside-down as her blonde hair hung towards the ground, leaning over from her bunk, grinning at Renzol. She had wept long and hard, her tiny frame shaken by violent sobs. After the tears had died down, she couldn't fall asleep, seeing Atlanton's face every time she closed her eyes.
And so here she was, wandering around the corridors of the underground complex, aimlessly. Seeing the lights go by, one after the other, Renzol drowned herself in the simple visuals. She didn't want to think. She couldn't think. Closing her eyes for longer than it took to blink wasn't an option. So she just walked, ever so slowly, seeing the lights go by, seeing the shadows go by. One always followed the other, but to Renzol, it was all the same; just something to fill her empty mind.
Coming to the cavernous opening in the middle of the level, Renzol regarded the access lift with distant curiosity. She had come to the lower levels after all, though she had no recollection of getting on the lift. Walking up to the huge construction, the intercom buzzed to life as a voice came through:
"You ready to go back up? Just make sure no one hears of this all right? I'm not supposed to let just anybody wander around here."
Renzol didn't respond, instead just staring up into the huge shaft drilling through the earth as the lift creaked loudly. The machinery below her hummed steadily as it came to life and the huge plateau began its slow ascent. The sides of the access lift were reinforced with huge metal bars, but the bedrock still showed through. Rows of steadily blinking lights filled each four sides of the shaft, and Renzol turned her eyes to the lights as the lift slowly made its way upwards.
The massive lift came to a halt at the top, and Renzol saw the silhouette of a figure stare at her quizzically through the window of a yellow shipping container-turned-construction office. Making her way towards the corridor on the left, the rocketeer noted indignantly that she was now keenly aware of where she was headed.
Walking down through the dimly lit corridor towards the sports halls, a new sound filled the quiet humming of the corridors. The steady sound of strikes landing on a punching bag, accompanied by the occasional grunt. Renzol arrived at the junction and turned to the slightly narrower corridor of the sports section.
Passing by the doors leading to the squash and tennis courts, passing by the gym and the showers, Renzol saw the door of the martial arts room wide open, bright light swarming into the corridor. Coming to a stop by the door, Renzol stared inside.
Foogleman was focused on the red punching bag, fists and knees striking at the hard material as the scout gave it her everything. Her fists and wrists were covered with layers of white tape. Her dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, strands of hair coming loose and sticking to her face, framing her sharp features. Sweat glimmered on her dark skin, brow furrowed in deep concentration. She was wearing navy blue sweatpants and a white tank top with the nickname LOCKDOWN embroidered across the front, courtesy of Kilroy and Drake. Her sneaker-clad feet bounced her lightly up and down as the woman released another flurry of strikes on the inanimate enemy.
Left, right, left. The strikes landed on the punching bag. Spinning around, Foogleman landed a vicious roundhouse kick on target, jumping to the side as the bag came in hard, swinging back at her. Wiping her brow with the back of her wrist, Foogleman turned towards Renzol. Something in the scout's eyes made the rocketeer come forwards, stepping into the brightly lit room.
Foogleman placed her hands on her hips, taking deep breaths as the rocketeer approached. Her face was a mask, not betraying any emotions. Renzol came to a halt in front of the sergeant, staring up at her face. For a moment, no one said anything.
Ponytail swinging, Foogleman turned her head towards the still-swaying bag. Grabbing onto the punching bag, the scout uttered, "You want to hold this for me?"
With a nod, Renzol went to the other side, taking a hold of the punching bag, putting her weight behind it. Foogleman took a step backwards and took her fighting stance. With a low voice, she spoke:
"I won't hold back."