CHAPTER 11: NAME OF THE BEAST (II)
Edmund and Aaron trod through the dry underground severs of New Earth, their boots making distinct noises in the dark and quiet gloom of tunnel. The two spotlights attached to the front of his armor gave Edmund a lighted pathway to follow. The armor they both wore was their tournament armor, fully articulated Juggernaut class. The massive armor increased the duo's stature, and enhanced their strength by two hundred percent. Thick ferro fibrous plating meant that it would take a very powerful weapon to pierce through it.
The Magnum handgun Edmund had strapped against his thighs would provide his with extra firepower in a pitch. Edmund raised his M32 Duster assault rifle, using the flashlight slung underneath it to have a look around. Same scenery, a dark empty tunnel with the sound of dripping water always ahead.
Edmund shook his head. The electronic map shown by his helmet's HUD fizzed a little.
"I don't understand Aaron. How on earth did you get these weapons? These magnums and M32 Duster and even that slug shotgun you're holding, they're all standard marine issue. A marine caught without these is a dead one."
Aaron chuckled. "Let's just say that a certain marine owed me for pulling his butt out of the fire once. This way."
Aaron turned left and walked down a new flight of stairs Edmund had not seen before. Edmund sighed, but resigned to follow.
Edmund lost track of the number of turns they had taken already. Left right left, down the stairs, right left again, down yet even more stairs. Its been what? An hour? Still no sign of their destination. Edmund's legs were sore from walking. And he was bored.
"Where the hell are we anyway?"
"In the sewers Edmund."
"Oh really? You don't say. Most observant of you Aaron. Make another acute observation."
"You're noisy."
Edmund laughed out loud. He scanned the walls of the tunnel. "So tell me more about your little brother. Tell me about Marx."
Aaron trudged ahead. "What is there to say? He was hot headed. He was proud. He was good with his aim and could move faster than you could blink."
Edmund nodded. "Yeah? Sounds a lot like Malcolm."
Aaron seemed to stop for a moment. "Yeah...It does. Doesn't it?"
They both walked down another flight of stairs. Aaron spoke up again. "No. He's not like Malcolm. Malcolm is... indifferent. Abstract. My brother was the best thing that happened in my life. We were raised by our father, our mother died in a Skaarj campaign. My father was a captain of the marines."
"He thought us to shoot when we were nine. Marx and I grew up in the world of guns and honor. The moment we were allowed to, we joined the marines together."
"Those were the days, we talked together, we shared everything. We even had the same first crush!"
Edmund smiled.
"We took part in the military campaigns together. We both were promoted to platoon leaders at the same time. Although he was younger than me, I was never jealous with him. I would cover his back, and he mine. We blasted Skaarj together. We smashed Izarians skulls together...When dad died, we joined the tournaments together."
Edmund nodded to the dark. He thought he heard a sniff from his friend.
"I...I loved my brother Edmund. I miss Marx. I would do anything to have him back. When I get to this...so unreal fellow or whatever his real name is, he's going to get a piece of my mind."
They took a turn. Edmund frowned. Was it just him, or did the place seem to becoming brighter a little. Edmund consulted the map.
"When Marx and I reunite, we'll quit the tournaments maybe. We'll go star faring. Travel to new worlds or maybe visit old ones. We'd go fishing. We'll go sailing even maybe, or perhaps-"
"Something isn't right."
They both stopped in their tracks. They found themselves in a huge circular room. Above them was a ventilator fan, and it was spinning, meaning they were probably close to the underground facility where the core was hidden. Edmund frowned. Aaron was the one who spoke what worried Edmund.
"This...circular chamber. It isn't supposed to be here."
Edmund scanned the ceiling with his assault rifle, the flashlight illuminating the huge fan. "How old is this map Aaron?"
"I-I don't know. Years? Decades perhaps."
Edmund shook his head. "Looks like this place isn't so abandoned and unknown as we had thought. There's been some renovations it would seem."
"A wrong turning?" Aaron's voice came out ringing.
"No. I am sure we are where we want to be. We cannot have possibly taken a wrong step. I was highlighting our path."
"So...we have two choices. Take that tunnel ahead of us, or back the way we came..." Aaron continued to scan the ceiling.
"No...we've come too far to..." Edmund stopped. He shifted his lights to the floor. The beam of his flashlight illuminated the moss overgrown armor. There was a man in it. Or at least that's what he thought. He could not tell the sex of the person just by looking at his bones. Edmund shifted the light around.
"Shit..."
"Huh? What"
"Aaron, shift your lights to the floor. By the walls of this circular chamber, look! We are surrounded by..."
"Bones!"
Edmund continued to scan the walls. That was not entirely true. Some had still a little meat on them. Others look freshly killed, some maybe a few weeks old and rotting. His helmet must have had an inbuilt filter, or they both would have smelt the stench a long time ago.
"It's...it's like a burial chamber."
Edmund shook his head. "This is no burial chamber. This is a slaughter house..."
There was a loud clang, which echoed from above. Edmund backed into Aaron, and there they stood in the middle of the large chamber back to back, weapons searching for a target. They were both silent, ears pricked to listen for anymore noises.
Aaron shifted uneasily. He whispered to Edmund. "Sir? Why not make a run for it."
"No. Later, whatever did might return to pick us off. We deal with it here, now that we are ready."
"Ready? Are we?"
Silence resumed. Edmund scanned the walls with the flashlight for any signs of movement. Aaron checked the canister for his shotgun. There was almost a doglike snarl, again from above. Swiftly, the two armor clad men shifted their aim upwards.
"In the ventilator shafts?"
"Shhh..."
They waited. In that moment, all time seemed to slow down. A second seemed like a minute. A minute seemed like an hour. Whump, whump, whump...went the fan. Further off, there was a sound of dripping water that assailed their ears. Edmund strained to listen again for the snarl.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Perhaps it has left?"
"No, I don't think..."
There was a roar, and something huge and almost catlike smashed into them. Something powerful struck him, and Edmund was thrown backwards and struck the wall of the chamber. His armor saved his life. Edmund looked up, and gasped.
It was creature he had never seen before. It was tall, and had two legs and even longer arms. Its face was that of a dog's, and its eyes were bloodshot. It was an animal. Not an alien.
Aaron had also been thrown aside, directly opposite Edmund. They both raised their weapons and sighted their enemy which was between them.
Edmund shouted the warning. "Stop! Crossfire!" With the creature between them, there was a chance that the two warriors might accidentally shoot each other.
Edmund got up and straightened up, his crosshairs never leaving the beast. The creature looked from Edmund, to Aaron, then Edmund again. It pounced. Edmund's M32 Duster roared. Halfway in mid leap, the creature was thrown back by the hail of slugs. Its scream was shrill and high pitched.
It jumped to the right. Edmund shifted his aim. He heard the loud reports of a shotgun. Aaron was also shooting now. The creature scaled the wall, turned, and once again leaped downwards at Edmund.
"SCREEEEEE..."
Aaron's shot gun shell caught the creature in the ribs, throwing it against the wall and away from Edmund. The creature landed in a heap. Edmund bounded over, crushing bones underfoot. He aimed the rifle at the creature.
The doglike face seemed to smile. "It isn't over yet...human."
Edmund started. The creature took the chance. Its fist flew out upwards and struck Edmund in the stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of Edmund and threw him high up into the air. The creature's jaw opened, it was intent on tearing Edmund apart with it.
Another shot gun slug slammed into it, pushed the creature again into the wall. Edmund fell down unto ground. Again the armor saved him from probably breaking a few bones. Edmund had lost his assault rifle, so drew his magnum. Together, Edmund and Aaron pumped shots into the creature.
Blood splattered the wall behind the beast. Edmund continued shooting, the semi automatic pistol heating up threatening to jam. The beast flailed and kicked. Then finally stopped. Aaron and Edmund held their fire. The creature was down, and dying. It could no longer move. But it could speak.
With its last breath, it spoke softly to Edmund. "I'll...see...you...in hell....Edmund..."
And the creature died.
Edmund and Aaron trod through the dry underground severs of New Earth, their boots making distinct noises in the dark and quiet gloom of tunnel. The two spotlights attached to the front of his armor gave Edmund a lighted pathway to follow. The armor they both wore was their tournament armor, fully articulated Juggernaut class. The massive armor increased the duo's stature, and enhanced their strength by two hundred percent. Thick ferro fibrous plating meant that it would take a very powerful weapon to pierce through it.
The Magnum handgun Edmund had strapped against his thighs would provide his with extra firepower in a pitch. Edmund raised his M32 Duster assault rifle, using the flashlight slung underneath it to have a look around. Same scenery, a dark empty tunnel with the sound of dripping water always ahead.
Edmund shook his head. The electronic map shown by his helmet's HUD fizzed a little.
"I don't understand Aaron. How on earth did you get these weapons? These magnums and M32 Duster and even that slug shotgun you're holding, they're all standard marine issue. A marine caught without these is a dead one."
Aaron chuckled. "Let's just say that a certain marine owed me for pulling his butt out of the fire once. This way."
Aaron turned left and walked down a new flight of stairs Edmund had not seen before. Edmund sighed, but resigned to follow.
Edmund lost track of the number of turns they had taken already. Left right left, down the stairs, right left again, down yet even more stairs. Its been what? An hour? Still no sign of their destination. Edmund's legs were sore from walking. And he was bored.
"Where the hell are we anyway?"
"In the sewers Edmund."
"Oh really? You don't say. Most observant of you Aaron. Make another acute observation."
"You're noisy."
Edmund laughed out loud. He scanned the walls of the tunnel. "So tell me more about your little brother. Tell me about Marx."
Aaron trudged ahead. "What is there to say? He was hot headed. He was proud. He was good with his aim and could move faster than you could blink."
Edmund nodded. "Yeah? Sounds a lot like Malcolm."
Aaron seemed to stop for a moment. "Yeah...It does. Doesn't it?"
They both walked down another flight of stairs. Aaron spoke up again. "No. He's not like Malcolm. Malcolm is... indifferent. Abstract. My brother was the best thing that happened in my life. We were raised by our father, our mother died in a Skaarj campaign. My father was a captain of the marines."
"He thought us to shoot when we were nine. Marx and I grew up in the world of guns and honor. The moment we were allowed to, we joined the marines together."
"Those were the days, we talked together, we shared everything. We even had the same first crush!"
Edmund smiled.
"We took part in the military campaigns together. We both were promoted to platoon leaders at the same time. Although he was younger than me, I was never jealous with him. I would cover his back, and he mine. We blasted Skaarj together. We smashed Izarians skulls together...When dad died, we joined the tournaments together."
Edmund nodded to the dark. He thought he heard a sniff from his friend.
"I...I loved my brother Edmund. I miss Marx. I would do anything to have him back. When I get to this...so unreal fellow or whatever his real name is, he's going to get a piece of my mind."
They took a turn. Edmund frowned. Was it just him, or did the place seem to becoming brighter a little. Edmund consulted the map.
"When Marx and I reunite, we'll quit the tournaments maybe. We'll go star faring. Travel to new worlds or maybe visit old ones. We'd go fishing. We'll go sailing even maybe, or perhaps-"
"Something isn't right."
They both stopped in their tracks. They found themselves in a huge circular room. Above them was a ventilator fan, and it was spinning, meaning they were probably close to the underground facility where the core was hidden. Edmund frowned. Aaron was the one who spoke what worried Edmund.
"This...circular chamber. It isn't supposed to be here."
Edmund scanned the ceiling with his assault rifle, the flashlight illuminating the huge fan. "How old is this map Aaron?"
"I-I don't know. Years? Decades perhaps."
Edmund shook his head. "Looks like this place isn't so abandoned and unknown as we had thought. There's been some renovations it would seem."
"A wrong turning?" Aaron's voice came out ringing.
"No. I am sure we are where we want to be. We cannot have possibly taken a wrong step. I was highlighting our path."
"So...we have two choices. Take that tunnel ahead of us, or back the way we came..." Aaron continued to scan the ceiling.
"No...we've come too far to..." Edmund stopped. He shifted his lights to the floor. The beam of his flashlight illuminated the moss overgrown armor. There was a man in it. Or at least that's what he thought. He could not tell the sex of the person just by looking at his bones. Edmund shifted the light around.
"Shit..."
"Huh? What"
"Aaron, shift your lights to the floor. By the walls of this circular chamber, look! We are surrounded by..."
"Bones!"
Edmund continued to scan the walls. That was not entirely true. Some had still a little meat on them. Others look freshly killed, some maybe a few weeks old and rotting. His helmet must have had an inbuilt filter, or they both would have smelt the stench a long time ago.
"It's...it's like a burial chamber."
Edmund shook his head. "This is no burial chamber. This is a slaughter house..."
There was a loud clang, which echoed from above. Edmund backed into Aaron, and there they stood in the middle of the large chamber back to back, weapons searching for a target. They were both silent, ears pricked to listen for anymore noises.
Aaron shifted uneasily. He whispered to Edmund. "Sir? Why not make a run for it."
"No. Later, whatever did might return to pick us off. We deal with it here, now that we are ready."
"Ready? Are we?"
Silence resumed. Edmund scanned the walls with the flashlight for any signs of movement. Aaron checked the canister for his shotgun. There was almost a doglike snarl, again from above. Swiftly, the two armor clad men shifted their aim upwards.
"In the ventilator shafts?"
"Shhh..."
They waited. In that moment, all time seemed to slow down. A second seemed like a minute. A minute seemed like an hour. Whump, whump, whump...went the fan. Further off, there was a sound of dripping water that assailed their ears. Edmund strained to listen again for the snarl.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Perhaps it has left?"
"No, I don't think..."
There was a roar, and something huge and almost catlike smashed into them. Something powerful struck him, and Edmund was thrown backwards and struck the wall of the chamber. His armor saved his life. Edmund looked up, and gasped.
It was creature he had never seen before. It was tall, and had two legs and even longer arms. Its face was that of a dog's, and its eyes were bloodshot. It was an animal. Not an alien.
Aaron had also been thrown aside, directly opposite Edmund. They both raised their weapons and sighted their enemy which was between them.
Edmund shouted the warning. "Stop! Crossfire!" With the creature between them, there was a chance that the two warriors might accidentally shoot each other.
Edmund got up and straightened up, his crosshairs never leaving the beast. The creature looked from Edmund, to Aaron, then Edmund again. It pounced. Edmund's M32 Duster roared. Halfway in mid leap, the creature was thrown back by the hail of slugs. Its scream was shrill and high pitched.
It jumped to the right. Edmund shifted his aim. He heard the loud reports of a shotgun. Aaron was also shooting now. The creature scaled the wall, turned, and once again leaped downwards at Edmund.
"SCREEEEEE..."
Aaron's shot gun shell caught the creature in the ribs, throwing it against the wall and away from Edmund. The creature landed in a heap. Edmund bounded over, crushing bones underfoot. He aimed the rifle at the creature.
The doglike face seemed to smile. "It isn't over yet...human."
Edmund started. The creature took the chance. Its fist flew out upwards and struck Edmund in the stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of Edmund and threw him high up into the air. The creature's jaw opened, it was intent on tearing Edmund apart with it.
Another shot gun slug slammed into it, pushed the creature again into the wall. Edmund fell down unto ground. Again the armor saved him from probably breaking a few bones. Edmund had lost his assault rifle, so drew his magnum. Together, Edmund and Aaron pumped shots into the creature.
Blood splattered the wall behind the beast. Edmund continued shooting, the semi automatic pistol heating up threatening to jam. The beast flailed and kicked. Then finally stopped. Aaron and Edmund held their fire. The creature was down, and dying. It could no longer move. But it could speak.
With its last breath, it spoke softly to Edmund. "I'll...see...you...in hell....Edmund..."
And the creature died.
