Something Strange

Sorry some people who requested to join won't actually appear until the end of this "saga". I have everything planned out... maybe you will come in about Chapter 5? Maybe.

So far Headshot is Squad Leader, Dargon is Rifleman 1, Master (from the Master and Chief team) is Rifleman 2, Kesenai is Sniper 1, sYn is Sniper 2, and Meatwad is the Machine Gunner.

All filled up. Nicely.

This chapter is all about the hardware that the team uses... you can skip it, but there are a few important terms that you need to know. Which are, undoubtedly, in this chapter.

Chapter 3: Bringing out the Big Guns

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"What equipment are you guys using, anyway?" Headshot asked, as the rest flipped open various compartments behind him.

"Kevlar vest and helmet, M-16A1 assault rifle with six magazines apiece, and SOCOM Mark-23 sidearms with four magazines of .45 ACP slugs," one said, raising his eyebrow. "It's enough, isn't it?"

"It's your funeral," Headshot shrugged, turning away. "You want absolute protection against those things we're up against, you need one of these."

Dargon produced a huge suit of what looked like full plate armor, except that it was black and seemed to absorb light. It looked rather like an armored spacesuit, but it had an angular helmet, most likely from the amount of armor plating on it. Its faceplate was a reflective green.

(Dang it... just take the MJOLNIR armor from Halo and change the colors. I drew a funny-looking sketch of this and realised that it looked almost exactly like it.)

The officers were speechless.

"Damn, that is overkill," one muttered after several moments' silence. "But how do you fit into that thing? It's seven feet tall."

"Shrinks to fit your size. Ingenious, eh? Anyway, presenting the FLAMBERGE armor, modelled after the MJOLNIR from the game Halo. Now... with that kind of popularity, I suppose you've played it," Headshot said proudly, patting its chest plate. "Parts scrounged up by Meatwad, designed by Kesenai, and made by sYn."

"Kid, we don't play video games. And what kinda name is Meatwad?"

"Well... never mind about that. Don't underestimate Meatwad... and the same goes for the rest of my team. I'd get him to show you his skills, just that he and Master are off on a holiday right now," the team leader said, shrugging again, and shooting both men a look that said quite plainly, Don't ask about the name.

"We're moving in as soon as possible, but before that we'll have a briefing. All shopping malls have basically the same layout, so we don't really need to go over that. What's important, however, are the functions of the FLAMBERGE and the things you're up against, which will be a minimal threat compared to what we usually do," he continued.

The rest of the team got out their own armor, but they didn't put it on. They all sat in a semi-circle in front of a projector screen that Headshot pulled down. sYn adjusted a mini-projector.

"How do you fit all this stuff into a little van like this?" a SWAT operator asked.

"Dunno; ask sYn. She does to this van whatever I request, and it comes out fine, if a little cramped. There's a Dune Buggy in the trunk that we assemble sometimes, you know," Headshot said, enjoying the looks of awe on the two seniors' faces. He took out a telescopic pointer and extended it to its full length.

"Now, we need to know your names," Headshot said, whipping the pointer back and forth.

"John," one said.

"Stewart," said the other.

Headshot nodded, and turned his attention to the projection.

A picture of what looked like a yellow blob on red spindly legs appeared on the screen, and at the side was a video clip of the little yellow blob in action. It leaped high into the air, emitting a high-pitched screech from a hole (presumably its mouth) in its bottom, then it was promptly sliced into three pieces by a Nautilus combat knife.

"Courtesy of Kesenai," Headshot told them. "This, is what we call a headcrab," he said, pointing at the yellow blob. "True to the name, they fit their fanged mouths over human heads, and turn them into zombies," he continued, gesturing to sYn, who clicked something on the projector.

"Mine," Headshot said.

The image changed to a bloody, deformed human body with a headcrab replacing its head. Long, serrated claws replaced its hands. The video clip showed an MP7 being drawn, then fired at its head. Green liquid spurted out of its head every time the stream of bullets made contact. It let out an unearthly moan, then sliced at its attacker, who jumped backwards, then fired a burst from the Heckler and Koch into the zombie's chest. The zombie let out another scream, fell backwards onto the floor, and the strangest thing happened.

The mutilated headcrab slithered off its host's head with a squelchy pop, revealing a slimy and blood-covered head. The headcrab hissed, leaped, and was blown apart by the submachinegun's fire.

Headshot's face was grim. "You can't save them. A headcrab can't be removed without severe bodily harm-- trying will either result in the fangs tearing through some arteries and nerves, or worse yet, the head will be removed from the neck.

"When a headcrab leaps onto a person's head, it uses a sort of glue that only it can dissolve. Then it injects a poison that renders the person unconscious and paralysed, and fills the cavities of the body with a natural embalming fluid. The hands harden, fuse together, and sharpen into claws as a result of the fluid. When the victim regains consciousness, it will no longer be in control of its body. That realisation will only last for a split-second, for after that the victim will only have a desire to kill.

"In the event that the headcrab leaves the body, the mind will regain control of the body. The fluid will still remain, leaving the victim somewhat paralysed (the effect having been neutralised somewhat by the headcrab's disengaging) but the victim will realise that death is imminent. For the next few remaining seconds of the host's life, the human body's impulse is to scream.

"Also, the host's survival depends on the headcrab as well. If the headcrab dies, the human does as well. But kill the human, and the headcrab lives to fight-- at least for the next few seconds. Really, you need a cold heart to do this kind of thing. It may seem morbid, but if you really must kill a zombie, aim for the head. End the host's suffering."

(A/N: Dang, but I think I did a good job on that explanation. Not to be egoistical.)

Ignoring the two operators' shocked expressions, Headshot motioned with his hand, and sYn clicked another button. This time, two different kinds of headcrabs appeared on screen. One looked like a normal headcrab, just thinner and had longer legs. The other had a more crab-like body and was a sickly green speckled with white spots, with orange legs.

"The leaper and poison headcrabs. Leaper headcrabs act the same way, but they turn their victims into fast, or leaper zombies. The embalming fluid doesn't stiffen the body as much, but it dissolves the skin by threading little tunnels to the pores, then letting the fluid spill from the pores all over the skin. What is left, is an agile, monkey-like zombie.

"Poison headcrabs, however, are a different matter. The poison and fluid take almost the same effect as the leaper headcrab, but the poison is more concentrated, and causes the body to swell into a burly figure. The embalming fluid, in this case, after dissolving the skin, it has a certain type of pheromone that attracts other poison headcrabs.

"Poison headcrabs have several poison glands. Four around their legs, and two around their mouths, making a total of six poison glands on a headcrab. A slash or bite to even the armor will bring you to a dangerous condition of internal bleeding. The FLAMBERGE will administer an antivenin to counteract the poison and stop the bleeding, but during this time, you are prone to enemy attack as you are very weak."

sYn clicked the projector again, and this time it showed a Sig Sauer P228 emptying its .357 slugs into a gangly zombie. It had no skin, only muscles and bones. Each time a slug hit, the unprotected zombie would jerk backwards, screaming horrifically. Once seven slugs had shattered its ribcage and tore horrific holes in its remaining flesh and muscles, the zombie slumped to the floor, and an armored boot crushed the attempting-to-escape leaper headcrab underfoot.

"sYn did that one," Headshot said. "The next one is Dargon's."

At another click, a CAR-15 blasted 12-gauge shells from the shotgun underneath its primary barrel, the pellets ramming into another skinless, slime-dripping zombie. The zombie promptly reached behind its back, and hurled a poison headcrab at its attacker. The headcrab was shredded by a stream of 5.56 bullets, and another shotgun blast to the head dropped the zombie with a heavy thud. An armored hand picked up the other poison headcrab which had scampered off the zombie when it died, and smashed it against the wall. The headcrab dropped to the floor, lifeless. A kick from Dargon sent it flying for good measure.

The last click brought up a black screen. sYn shut off the projector, and Kesenai yanked on the string, folding the screen up.

"That's it," Headshot said, rubbing his hands. "That should be all you need to know. I won't explain the suit functions since we're running out of time. John, you'll stand in for Meatwad today as Machine Gunner, and Stewart will be our secondary Rifleman, to replace Master for today. Stewart, you're going with Kesenai, and John will be with me. Dargon, go with sYn. We'll draw out the zombies and headcrabs, and the two snipers will pick them off. But exterminate all those on your level first.

"John and I will be Team Alpha, sYn and Dargon will be team Gamma, and Kesenai and Stewart will be Team Beta. Let's outfit you with your weapons and whatnot..."

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Team Alpha

"Ok, John, let's get cracking. This is your weapon," Headshot said, producing a light machine gun. "The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or Squad Assault Weapon. SAW for short." He also gave John four box-like bullet containers. "It's pretty heavy, but it can lay waste in a matter of seconds. 100 rounds per magazine, if you call it that."

Headshot then hefted the FLAMBERGE, which promptly came apart for convenience. There was the helmet, the chest, the two arms, and the two legs.

"Lose the vest and helmet," Headshot advised. "Otherwise it's gonna be pretty tight, and it's gonna be hot as Hades."

John did as he was told, then put the legs on first.

"It's still darned loose," he complained.

"Gotta put it all on first," Headshot said, helping John put the chest part on, followed by the arms, and finally the helmet. "Now--"

John felt as though the armor had flowed across his skin as Headshot uttered that one word. It was very comfortable the next moment, if a bit hot.

"Sorry," Headshot said, shrugging. "There is a coolant in the suit, but hang on-- the suit's analysing you first. There will be a moment of discomfort..."

The SWAT operator yelped as several tiny needles from the suit's rubber-like interior pierced straight through his clothes and into his skin, firmly bonding him to the suit. It wasn't painful since the needles were so small-- but he felt like his whole body had just gone numb. A moment later, the numbness subsided, but John felt like he was walking in a big swimming suit.

"'S not that bad once you get used to it," Headshot said, putting his own armor on. "Here's the rest of your arsenal. Keep the SOCOM, it's a good weapon. Take this, though... it's a Heckler and Koch MP5SD. Silenced, yet powerful submachinegun. There's a built-in holster for it, don't worry."

The team leader picked up his own Heckler and Koch MP7, Clarion FAMAS and Israeli Magnum Industries Desert Eagle .50.

"Let's meet up with the rest," he suggested, and both walked to the other side of the van, where the other four were.

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Team Beta

"Look, don't give me any crap and I won't give you any crap either. Just follow my orders and we won't fight, ok?"

Those were the first words Kesenai spoke to Stewart, who naturally was irked about getting that from a kid, but he nodded.

"Stick with your weapons-- cancel that, gimme that M-16," the sniper said to his partner, who handed his weapon over.

"Keep the SOCOM and the SEAL knife, they're decent. But take this Steyr AUG. More knockdown power than that old M-16. Six magazines, and 30 rounds per clip, plus a sight combined with the carrying handle. Now, put on the armor."

They pretty much went through the same process as Headshot and John, just with a lot more cursing from Kesenai.

But they got ready pretty much on time.

---

The three teams met up at the front of the van.

"Guys... don't bring shame to this team. We don't wanna make a bad impression. This is a milk run. Run in, shoot the baddies, bring out the jackpot, which is in this case, their fallen comrades," Headshot said, jabbing a finger at the two now decked-out SWAT operators.

"I... I just don't want anyone to get into trouble. You're the best that I have, and the best that I'll ever have, most likely. If any one of us dies, remember that you'll be remembered eternally as a good person," Headshot said, looking at the members of his team-- at least the original members.

He looked up, and everyone knew that he was grinning, even though they couldn't see it. "All right, lady and gentlemen, that's enough, let's go kick some alien ass."

And so they set off towards the mall.

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I love that line, seriously. I'm talking about the one Headshot said just now. Anyway, read and review please! Reviews make me happy-- even those that flame. Still, don't flame. I beg you. They give me a significantly less degree of happiness.