Chapter 29: Down
"He'll be fine." Kull said in his usual monotonic voice, we watched as stretcher bearers came and took away Lance. Currently with a field suture on his bullet wound and his pants pulled past his buttocks.
"You sure." I asked the medic who nodded and gestured at my wounded mate.
"Yeah, he probably won't be sitting for a few weeks but there should be no long term damage. It's all just muscle down there." He continued to explain with disinterest. For a man who has to help people, Kull didn't show much compassion or empathy. In fact I've heard stories he was particularly violent in combat.
"Ready up." Piper ordered, we turned and gathered with the squad as we waited outside the doorway to the building. A second assault was about to occur.
"PRESENT, make sure your angles are correct." A Tallarn captain shouted to the line of guardsmen. A group of both Tallarn and Aralan guardsmen were ready with grenade launchers. Hoping to hit the enemy in the entrenched positions. Liam was one of those guardsmen. The officer raised his sword.
"FIRE!" The captain swung his sword as the guardsmen rained grenades down the tunnel. It was followed by explosions and wailing as shrapnel found homes in heretic flesh. When the sixth grenade was expelled from its cylinder the next order was given.
"ADVANCE!" The grenade team fell back and gave way as the entrance team reentered the construct. We raised our lamps, illuminating the destruction caused by roughly thirty frag grenades. The majority of cultist corpses held the barest outline of the human body. Shrapnel has been shown to cause rather shocking make-overs. I still remember the mangled body and arm of Adriano.
Stretcher bearers carried up Imperial bodies from the last assault as we stepped over the corpses, finishing any cultists still alive with bayonets. We illuminated the area with our lamps, seeing how this was only a single room. Winding and strangely shaped tunnels continued down with our lamps shining on reflective patterns in the metal architecture. One main staircase kept going down. The officers talked amongst themselves leaving us in the dark. Quite literally, they were using lamps to look at a bloodstained map. Our squad was positioned to aim down the main tunnel, I laid on my belly with my lasgun aimed into the darkness. A small pain reminded me my stomach wound.
"I don't like this." Looker said, I was quite shaken as well. Maybe it was because for most of my nearly three year service I had been standing in the open. It's a bit of a shock when suddenly Shamal's sun is a distant glow. Hardwood responded to Looker's comment.
"Calm down mate, don't want us getting jumpy." That didn't help, I the time at the tavern proved I was very jumpy. My arms regressed back to the shaking as they had done before.
"You ok mate?" I looked and saw Liam crawling next to me and raising his grenade launcher to aim into the darkness.
"Yeah, how far do you think it goes down?" I asked, Liam seemed to be the most keen eyed of the squad but I don't think even he could see through the deep blackness, he shrugged and responded.
"You think if you fire a lasround we'll wait and then hear a distant 'ow' as a heretic gets shot?" At least we hadn't lost our sense of humour, we both let out subtle chuckles as we focused on the blackness. I answered.
"Maybe." It was a brief respite from the thoughts of what the darkness might hold, the creatures that stalked in the blackness. Was that creature that looks like a woman still stalking me? Was that her back at the pub?
"Everyone up!" The officers ordered, we stood up and were led down the stairs by the officers. Meanwhile some guardsmen entered the branching tunnels.
The sides of the tunnel changed, becoming more circular and elaborate. Everything was blanketed in a layer of dust with footprints leading further into the abyss. Shelves aligned the walls holding rounded sarcophagus'. The contents of which I tried not to focus on. Many defiled and ripped open, with graffiti, names and phrases crudely etched into the metal. Each box was surrounded with delicate idols and xenos faced boxes. Many broken on the dusty floor with multi-coloured dust pouring out. The smell of the place was indescribable. A dense mixture of stale air and a chemical concoction of salt and burning. As our lamps shone on the air became thick floating dust. Sparkling in the air as it emerged from the decorated boxes and vases. Orders were given.
"I don't trust this, masks on." We swiftly strapped on gasmasks, mine still with long dried blood across the canvas. I felt slightly weary when I breathed in the fumes of decay, I didn't want to know what the fumes of long dead xenos would do to the mind.
As we continued down we reached a large doorway, when illuminated by the lamps showed an expansive interior. We stopped and knelt before entering, as we waited some of the officers exchange sign language, before our lieutenant turned to us. He quickly pointed at Sergeant Piper followed by wave with an open palm, meaning column formation. She nodded and waved us behind her, as we stacked up behind her. She raised her powerfisted hand and held up three fingers. She dropped them one by one. The last one she pointed at the door. We stormed the place.
The room looked like it had been recently used with glowing lamps and discarded gear. When I heard the clatter of metal I looked down to see I had knocked over an empty tin of food. Next to a dirty bowl and child like drawing made with the dust witnessed earlier. The smell was rancid with spoiled food and body odour and lack of ventilation. The stench given off by one sarcophagus indicated the cult was using it as a dunny, further assaulted the senses. These masks were meant to filter out the smell.
"Set up a defensive perimeter and hold the large entrance. Lieutenant, take your platoon and clear out that tunnel." The Tallarn captain pointed down one tunnel entrance before he went back to ordering the other officers and NCO's.
"Come on mates we have heretics to kills." The lieutenant said enthusiastically waving us over with his chainsword before leading us down a cramped corridor. Of course making sure one of his command squad was in front of him. The tunnel was small and lined with metal rectangular prisms. The boxes being either sealed without welding marks or solid. The fact they hadn't been moved meant they must be secured to the wall. Apart from that some of the taller guardsmen had to duck slightly to not hit their helmets on the metal crossbeams. I wasn't prepared to stop, leading to me straight into the back of Barry Cohen. Liam must of felt the same as he walked into the back of me.
"Piper take your squad in that direction, rest of you with me." The platoon split up, we went into a branching tunnel, the roof now barely scraping our helmets even when we were crouching.
"Is it wise to split up?" Hardwood asked to no response. When we reached the first door Piper entered as we stood guard. I took a glance inside, the room was messy with padding and rags on the floor with scattered loose gear.
"You four go into that room, the rest with me." Piper pointed at Hardwood, Looker, Kull and I and gestured to another room. We followed without question and looked around as the lamps lit up the room. The cavern was similar to earlier rooms with litter, however there was also several containers. We began turning over the place with bayonets then I heard a metal tapping on the ground.
We turned to see Kull tapping his bayonet on the ground near some fresh blood, then pointing at one of the cupboards. One that seemed to have fresh blood on the handle. Hardwood nodded and pointed gestured Kull to open it up while the rest of us took aim. He gently approached and placed his hand on the door. When he threw it open our lamp lights revealed a woman, wearing only dirty scraps with greasy hair going past her tormented face.
"NO PLEASE I'M A SLAVE! THEY FORCED THEMSELVES ON ME THEY…!" A sudden lasgun crack placed a smouldering hole in her chest. When that failed to silence her cries of pain a burst of fire put her down. She fell against the back of the cupboard, her flesh still sizzling as her body went limp. The shots came from Kull, he went ahead and kelt down to examine the corpse. The rest of us stood in silence as he lifted up a piece of her rags.
"Spongy skin, early sign of mutation." He lifted up his mask and spat on the corpse before he turned back to us.
"I think she was telling the truth." Hardwood stated, even with his mask I could tell Kull didn't dwell on his actions.
"Corporal she had a choice of lasrounds or flames, I made the decision for her." His muffled voice was cruel and succinct. We searched the rest of the room, uncovering grotesque charms and signs of past life. All with the smell of burnt flesh and hair joining the overall stench of human fluids. The gas masks didn't keep out the smell. We left with the questioning action of ending another mutant's life. We rejoined the others.
"Must be their sleeping quarters, where are they all?" Corporal Fernard said, as he went back to where we came from. We headed back to the stair case, the rest of the guardsmen waiting for us. The officers planned while Barry put forward his theory. It was long, but his slightly slurred tone put us all at ease.
"They're probably just going deeper, like redrunts. You ever hunt redrunts before? Back on Barry and my dad's farm we would get this critters called redrunts. About the size of a rat that would bury into the ground and eat the roots of the trees in the orchards. Now you may think you just flush them out or send down little hounds but redrunts are crafty buggers. They will have backup tunnels and no matter how many you fill. They will find a way out. You need to lure them out, bit of pristine sugar right outside the hole. Then when they reveal their bloody whiskers and shiny eyes BANG. My dad used to take the shots but when his aim started to get unsteady Barry did it." When we went back down the stairs we began to hear voices over the sound of boots and gear. We slowed our advance, seeing a flat in the stairs with a corner. The lieutenant raised his fist, we all stopped.
"Sounds like a few of them, charging is suicidal. We're going to have to lure them out." The officer ordered. The voices were melded together in multiple conversations. We slowly crept up to the corner.
"Who wants to be the bait?" As we waited for a volunteer I could feel a slight itch in the back of my mind, and looking around I wasn't the only one. The others lightly shook their heads as they leant up against the wall.
"I will." I stepped forward, before I could reach the corner someone grabbed my arm.
"So will I." Barry said, we went to the front of the group and stood ready to round the corner. The noise in the air got louder and louder. We raised our weapons to our shoulders and swiftly turned to see a dull light up ahead.
It was a really loud chanting that echoed off the ancient walls, sounded like hundreds of voices all singing the same demonic tune. Barry and I shared a glance, wondering whether to hold our ground or scamper back up the stairs. It was overshadowed by a noise that I couldn't describe, like the loud winds of the deserts above. But it was warped and going from defeating to a small whisper.
"You see anything?" The lieutenant shouted over the new sounds, indicating that we weren't hallucinating. Barry beat me to an answer.
"We're just seeing more stairs, but there's some light further down." This contrasted with the earlier voices, sounding like they were just around the corner.
"EVERYONE AROUND THE CORNER AND FORM RANKS!" The lieutenant barked, the rest of the group followed around the corner and pointed guns over the edge into the abyss. All focusing on the light at the end of the dark, which looked like the swirling colours we witnessed on the landing under the Crescent moon. The noise got louder as sweaty palms tightly held their precious lasguns. Sweat pooled under the rubber of gasmasks.
"Not exactly my type of music, more of a country fan." Barry chuckled to me through his gasmask as he was lying down next to me. I gave a slight chuckle. The man had a guardsmen sense of humour. The ability to look at blood, horror and death, then to laugh in the face of it.
The various sounds would continue for a long time before suddenly stopping. We lay in silence, all guns trained on the light as it dimmed. We were on the move again, heading towards the dying light, with the last gusts of wind becoming lighter. As we shone our lamps to illuminate a lone figure stood in a large room. We kept our lasguns on the figure as we advanced. The lights revealed him to be only wearing tattered pants. On his back was a large spiky star, carved into his flesh with dry blood still on his mouldered flesh. We looked at the ground to see something had drenched the ground. It was a mixture of red, blue, green, purple and yellow, all swirling in a clear liquid. As we moved close to the figure, we could see more carvings on his body. His left calf had three circles cut out with three arrows. His right leg bore a flame like carving, with a circle in the middle of the flame and an eye cut into it. That's when the man turned, his right pectoral bore a symbol fully in red, rigid with more small skulls cut into it. The last was on his left pectoral, a circle with a protruding rectangle, with two crescents. He had a single horn on the left side of his head and a tattoo over his eye. That's when the man opened his eyes, even with the distance his eyes opened to a shining glow. A bright blue was emitted. It screamed of witchcraft. The response was simple.
"OPEN FIRE!" I raised my lasgun and joined the others in ridding the target of his unholy life. The creature shook about as lasguns riddled its flesh, shouting in pain as its glowing eyes flicked in the darkness. It then fell on its back, still twitching as we continued firing. I must have let off 30 rounds before a second order was given.
"CEASE FIRE, CEASE FIRE!" It took two shouts for the lasguns to silence, we lowered our lasguns. The witch was looked like a sponge with burns overtaking the flesh in terms of volume. The creature however let out a single desperate whisper.
"I'm sorry…I…f-f-failed you." That's when the body began twitching again, and without warning began expanding.
Its body bloated, appendages shot out of the heretics orifices with mouths ripping open in the stretching skin. The mouths began wailing in pain with bloodshot eyes popping from the stretching flesh. Bones cracked and scraped as spines penetrated the now rubbery skin with tentacles and crab claws growing. As we backed away in terror the Tallarn Captain gave another order.
"OPEN FIRE!" The room lit up again with flashing lasguns. The creature lunged at us, grabbing the nearest guardsman and ripping him apart before devouring him. The sound of his flak armour breaking beneath the teeth of the abomination with wailing cries of pain. It continued to lash about, flailing with claws, teeth, tentacles and all manner of mutations rolled into one heretical monstrosity. The creature grabbed guardsmen and threw them like a toddler having a tantrum. Others would be grabbed and pulled towards the monster. Liam got grabbed by his leg and was pulled off his feet.
"HELP!" I dropped my lasgun and grabbed hold of Liam's arm and dug my heels in. I was joined by Fernard as he held onto Liam's other arm.
We were losing the battle as the creature continued to pull him towards a chomping mouth. Even as Barry roasted the creature with his flamethrower it didn't flinch with the burning jet of promethium. We were slowly dragged on the hard floor until the creature slid towards Liam. We continued to pull with Liam struggling against the tentacle. Hardwood's autocannon bore into the monstrosity, ripping it apart to little effect. Liam placed his foot at the rim of the things mouth as he tried to keep his foot. It wasn't enough. With one hard tug he went forward and the creature bit down on his ankle. The sound of crunching bone was not new to me. Liam only gave a muffled yelp but continued to struggle, that's when the creature bit down again. Liam screamed through his gas mask filter as his skin was sliced to the bone, being hidden behind his blood stained trousers. With that his foot disappeared into the creatures mouth. Eventually the lieutenant joined us, bringing down his power sword and slicing the tendrils. Dismembering the creature, it released the private. Liam was no longer screaming, his eyes were glazed over behind the mask and went limp. Like the lights were on but no one was home. While I continued to drag Liam, Fernard turned her attention to the creature. She picked up liam's grenade launcher and took a grenade from her belt. Following this she tossed in both the unpinned grenade and launcher into one of the gaping mouths.
Kull was already trying to hold back the bleeding from the stump that was Liam's foot. Kull then looked back, ripping the flame thrower out of Barry's hands and turning it towards Liam's severed limb. He then ordered me.
"KEEP HIM STILL SO I CAN CAUTERISE THE WOUND!" I held him down, but the only thing moving was his eyes as they lazily drifted around. Liam released a puff of flame onto the wound and tossed it back to Barry. That's when he reached into a pocket on his webbing, taking out a syrret and ripping off the cap with his teeth.
"'Last one you better not die of shock." He stabbed the needle into the still sizzling limb and reached for a burn dressing. He looked up at me as he took out scissors.
"I've got this, you have a job to do." Taking his words I picked up my lasgun and continued firing on the monster, that's when Fernard's grenade went off.
A large chunk of the creature exploded as the grenade cooked off the ammo stored in the drum of the grenade launcher. Seven frag grenades just went off in it. It started to slow, movement getting more sluggish. We continued to fire on it, tentacles were going limp as the mouths stopped. A single metlagun round finished it as the molten beam went right through the moulding flesh. That's when it slumped to the floor.
"GRENADE IT!" At the sound of the captain's orders we all began hurling grenades at the sluggish monster as it continued to writhe about. We backed off as grenades hit the shifting flesh and exploded outside and within the creature. Shrapnel ripped it apart as it got flatter and flatter. That's when it stopped entirely.
"CEASE FIRE!" As it lay there, it suddenly bubbled and turned to a wet steam. The smell was horrific and moist as it disappeared before our eyes. By the end it, the room was barren.
"Grab the dead and wounded and get them on stretchers. Quick march up the stairs!" The Tallarn Captain ordered, we quickly followed those orders.
Some guardsmen had disappeared into the creature's bulk, the only remnant being their dropped lasguns and partial bodies. Liam was paced on a stretcher. Still not moving, I took one of the handles of said stretcher. We emerged into the sunlight after a long march up the stairs. Liam didn't move, Kull said he fainted from blood loss. He should be fine however, but he'll need a new leg. First thing the Tallarn captain did was go up to the nearest Leman Russ tank commander and pointed towards the xenos architecture.
"I want that entrance collapsed you hear me?" Quickly the commander nodded before picking up the vox receiver and relaying orders to his squadron. The sound of battle canons and lascannons cut through the silence as the metal entrance caved in. Meanwhile wounded were loaded into trucks and into chimeras. We were heading back to the capital in a few hours.
I don't know what I saw down there, I don't really want to know.
We're leaving Shamal in two days.
AN
I felt this chapter was more filler but I hoped you enjoyed it and sorry for the long wait. The next chapter I am quite proud of.
