The 99th Platoon – Escape from Batula's Castle
(A/N Kudos for the cool chapter title goes to Silicon Knights and their
greatest psychological thriller video game ever: Eternal Darkness – Sanity's Requiem.
Introducing some more beasties that the house has to offer, besides the usual
Zombies of course, comes a chapter about the Beast Within…about the Horror we
all hide and what happens if it's let out from inside of us. Read &
Review!)
Chapter 8: The Lurking Horror
The Platoon could hear Dark's battle cries as they charged down an ominously
decorated corridor. Every so often there would be a stone pillar on which the
grim reaper was carved, his hood drawn down to his eyes, his scythe drawn over
his shoulder, ready to strike. On one of the designs the long, bony fingers
flexed and gripped the scythe tighter. It lay still as the Platoon passed below
it. Shrieking suddenly it lashed out and grabbed Sarge by the scruff of his
neck.
"Sarge!" yelled Deja. The design stepped off of the pillar, still holding Sarge
in its grip.
"Get Dark! I'll catch up in a minute!"
"But…"
"GO!"
The Platoon dashed off, occasionally sending fleeting glances down the
dwindling, primeval hallway until they were out of sight.
Sarge nodded and lifted his shotgun high into the air before ramming it into
the creature's gut. The creature let out a yelp of pain and gasped, winded.
Sarge freed himself from the creature's grasp and leapt beyond striking
distance. He paused momentarily to fully absorb this peculiar assailant. He
shook his head and fired the buckshot squarely at the creature's chest.
The reaction was instantaneous. The beast made a peculiar noise, halfway
between a growl and a yelp. It stood back and shook itself, much like a dog
does after it's wet. Pieces of plaster rained down, along with little chips of
cement. The instant these chippings hit the ground however they became almost transparent,
slightly warping the area around them, before blending into the background.
"Camouflage…" Sarge whispered.
The beast was wolf-like in appearance. It stood almost as tall as Sarge and was
roughly the same build. Its snout was flat and seemed to be plastered against
its muzzle. The teeth that lined its large jaw seemed to be made from a metal
similar to mercury, with the same reflective quality the liquid metal is known
to have. Its paws, as big as frying pans, ended in three menacing claws. The
blue coloured fur that sprouted all over its body grew out horizontally, giving
the fiend a 'swept' appearance. Its glowing green eyes shone like beacons.
It opened its mouth slowly, baring its fangs. A strange, saliva like liquid
dripped off its teeth and hit the floor as drool. A fetid odour rose from the
puddle of spit.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you to brush your teeth?"
The monster slashed at Sarge. Sarge rolled to the left and fired his second
shot at it. The wolf leapt onto the wall and sprung at Sarge, the potency of
its bound suddenly far more deadly. Sarge ducked instinctively, narrowly
missing this latest attack. The wolf smashed its paw through the cement.
Growling it turned to look at Sarge.
Its growl turned more guttural, more sinister upon seeing Sarge's shotgun in
need of reload.
It leapt at Sarge, its jaws outstretched. In one swift, broad and powerful
motion the steel jaws of the beast collided with the butt of Sarge's shotgun.
The beast lashed out with its claws aiming to shred Sarge's face to mince.
Reacting instantly Sarge caught them both in his paws. He swung his head in a
fierce arc and slammed the wolf in the 'face', sending it stunned backwards,
blood gushing from its nose.
Sarge put away his shotgun and flipped out his hunting knife. He charged the
stunned entity and shoved the blade deep into the right shoulder muscle,
slicing sinew and reaching bone, blood gushing all the way.
As the creature flailed along the wall, helpless, Sarge armed himself once more
with his shotgun. He brought it up over his shoulder and swung it down,
screaming in rage, effectively crushing the wolf's skull.
Bone fragments flew in all directions and Sarge's suit was smeared with its
reeking blood. Sarge stared at the fell beast, panting. Slowly he turned
around.
Suddenly Sarge swore in pain. His entire leg suddenly felt as though it was on
fire. Turning he saw the wolf slashing out desperately behind him, one of its
claws now a dark red colour.
"You don't know when to quit do you!?" Sarge yelled. He loaded his shotgun and
fired two rounds, point blank, into the wolf's skull. He spat on the creature
and, limping slightly, turned to meet his Platoon.
Without warning, Sarge suddenly swooned. He grabbed onto the nearest wall to
prevent himself from falling down. He shook his head, feeling his strength
returning to him.
"It's just a flesh wound…" he reassured himself.
He was unaware of the fact that his 'flesh wound' had turned an electric
blue…throbbing…pulsing…
It wasn't looking good for Dark. He was inside a noose and the noose was being
pulled tight. The zombies shrieked at him in unusual unison. Dark roared back,
his deep, booming roar echoing down the corridor he was trapped in. The zombies
suddenly stopped. Dark looked around warily.
"Dark! JUMP!"
It was Pyst. Dark recognised him from the whirring sound that followed his
warning. He leapt up and jammed his body between the two walls. The whirring
stopped.
*TraTATraTATraTATraTATraTATraTaTraTATraTATraTATraTATraTATraTA!*
Dark dropped to the ground, his muscles aching. The Platoon caught up
with him.
"Nice to see you're still in one piece," said Dark, a hint of a smile across
his face.
"Speak for yourself," said Oreos, his brow raised in amusement.
*thud*
ILZ turned to look behind him.
"Serge! Hey fellas! Help me a biddah he!"
Stealth ran to lift Sarge to his feet. The large Squirrel had hit the deck like
a sack of potatoes.
"Sarge? Damn man you look like you've had better," said Chael.
"I'm okay. He was a pushover real-...-really"
"Sarge? What's wrong with you're eyes?" Deja asked worried.
"What about 'em?" he snapped. Deja stepped back, offended.
"Sarge you look like shit…" said Twisted.
He offered Sarge a canteen of water, "Have a sip."
"Yeah thank-thanks I um...yeah thanks"
"Has he ever been like this before?" RedStorm whispered to Stealth. Stealth
shook his head, his face one of deep reflection.
"Let's get out of this hallway before they surround us again…"
The Platoon walked into one of the corner rooms. Sarge gratefully sat down on a
bench under the window. He looked at the moon as it sent its silver beams into
the room, lighting up his face.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
When he reopened them Sarge's pupils had gone from round…to oval. An electric
green mist seemed to collect around the edges and creep slowly towards the
centre of his eyes.
Electric blue hairs started to outgrow the grey ones on his knuckles. Sarge's
ears grew pointier and slid to the top of his head.
Dark looked at Sarge and Sarge smiled back, revealing rows of steel,
razor-sharp teeth.
The Panther flung himself at Sarge and the two of them rolled away down the
corridor.
"RUN!" Dark yelled.
"What!? Why?!" Chael asked, his hand moving to his rifle
"He's been bitten!"
"What?!" Pyst yelled, taking a step back.
"WereSquirrel!"
"You got a problem with that sonny?"
Where Sarge stood a 6'9" beast towered over Dark. Rippling muscles with pulsing
veins ran down his legs and arms. Sarge's army jacket hung loosely off its
shoulders. A shaggy electric blue mane protected its neck. Its electric green
eyes turned into slits at the sight of Dark. Sarge raised his paws. Slowly
metal claws slid out. "Sarge" grinned a metallic toothy grin.
"Boys...you better run. Now."
"Sarge" charged at the Platoon, chasing them down a carpeted hallway. He roared
as he stamped along, his giant strides matching their running speed. "Sarge"
tore out chunks of the wall and ceiling as he chased after the Platoon.
Swearing Dark leapt at Sarge from behind and tackled him to the ground. Sarge
took a wild bite, almost ripping into Dark's flesh. Dark punched Sarge in the
gut, but the WereSquirrel threw the panther off. Landing on his feet, Dark
blocked off the path to the Platoon.
The Panther stared at the oncoming 6'9" monster. They both jumped into the air.
Dark thrust his leg into Sarge's jaw, knocking him down. The Panther fell.
Sarge swung a giant paw, smacking Dark sideways in the ribs and sent him
soaring into the wall.
The Panther yelled in pain, and fell to the ground.
Sarge set off to chase after the Platoon, but stopped as he felt a sharp pain
in his neck. Dark's feline fangs bit down on Sarge's neck, buried in the
ethereal mane. Blood filled Dark's mouth and he suddenly felt an overwhelming
wave of nausea. It was an act of desperation to try and weaken the Squirrel.
Sarge's mind clouded over and so did his vision…
Dark kneed Sarge in the back, sending him to the ground. Still the WereSquirrel
would not give up. He turned and thrust out with his paws, six daggers aimed at
Dark with enough force to punch through stone.
"GaaAAhHh!" Dark yelped as the surprise blow nailed him squarely in the gut.
Sarge lifted Dark up and the Panther groaned weakly as the blades tore through
his stomach. Roaring Sarge smashed Dark through the nearest door and went on to
continue the hunt…
