IXI
For a long, tense moment, human and creature faced each other. Even in the dimness of this room Adele could see the blood that seeped from the bullet wound she'd inflicted; the vivid green liquid had an eerie luminescence as it dripped in rivulets down the strange skin to splatter against the ground. Suddenly the creature was lunging for her, roaring, and she danced back out of reach, raising the Smith and Wesson and firing again. Her first shot went wide, and as she tried to compensate for the next one the creature hurled its spear. She twisted to the side; the weapon grazed her arm, shearing through all her clothing and slicing her skin, and she cried out as the resulting wave of pain sent her stumbling back into the wall.
With a swiftness that belied its bulk the creature came for her again; Adele managed to pull the trigger as she dodged to the side and the shot brushed its side with a slight spray of neon blood. Too late she attempted to evade its grasp; it caught her by the arm and swung her around with such force her feet left the ground. It released her at the crucial moment as it pivoted, and the force with which it did so sent her hurtling through the air. She twisted in flight, knowing that to strike the other wall the wrong way would be a crippling factor she couldn't afford.
She hit the stone hard on her side and plummeted the few feet to the ground, crying out as she landed, the Smith and Wesson falling from her grasp. Struggling to ignore the agony thundering throughout her body, she staggered to her feet as the creature began to approach with slow, confident strides. She fumbled frantically for her semiautomatics, and as the creature drew within striking distance there was the sound of sharp metal being unsheathed. From its gauntleted wrists two wickedly curved blades protruded; its arm came up in preparation for the killing blow. Guns forgotten, Adele dropped to a crouch and then lashed out roundhouse with one long leg. It was a powerful blow, enough to knock a human man off his feet, but it only served to stagger the creature, and as Adele got her feet beneath her and bolted to the side she could feel the wind of the blades as they narrowly missed her head.
The creature bellowed its rage, and the sound echoed loudly throughout the confines of the chamber. Facing it, breathing hard, Adele strove to maintain some distance. Both Brownings were in hand now, and aimed somewhat shakily at her opponent. One direct shot hadn't killed it, and she wondered with some trepidation what exactly would. It charged then, and Adele had no time to think as her fingers flexed over the triggers. She emptied four shots into the creature's torso before it was in front of her, and the blood from the wounds sprayed her skin and clothing. With one sweep of its arm it knocked her off her feet, and she was sent sprawling to the floor.
One of the semiautomatics flew from her hand to skitter across the stone floor; as the creature sliced downwards with its blades she rolled quickly to the side, narrowly avoiding being eviscerated. Looming over her, the beast roared, and Adele knew she didn't have time to get away. Dropping the other gun, she placed her hands flat on the ground and used them to support her weight as she swung both legs out in a wide arc to connect with the creature's right knee. With all of her body behind the blow, she was satisfied to hear an audible cracking noise fill the air; the creature screamed and dropped heavily to one knee.
It was by no means rendered helpless, however; as Adele grabbed the Browning again and got her feet beneath her it lunged and caught her by the neck with one hand, hoisting her into the air. Even kneeling as it was, it was taller than she, and it lifted her until her feet dangled above ground. Choking, she clawed with her free hand at its grip, the other hand still clutching the gun. The creature raised its other arm, wrist blades glinting even in the dull light, and it was a gesture meant to frighten, meant to intimidate. It was going to slice her open here and now and enjoy her screams, enjoy the sight of her innards spilling out to garishly decorate the floor …
Adele writhed and bucked, and with a grunt the creature was forced to drop her back to the ground, unable to support her struggling mass. As her feet touched stone she surged forwards, startling the beast, jamming the muzzle of her pistol directly into the side of its neck. She pulled the trigger even as it swatted at her with its blades; it was unable to take a decent swipe because she was too close. She fired four times, and with each shot the massive body jerked and the massive fingers still at her neck flexed tightly. She ripped herself free of its grasp as vivid, glowing blood spewed forth from the wounds, coating her arms and the creature's chest. As she back-pedalled, one hand at her throat, the creature swayed on its knees, making a terrible gargling roar. Finally it toppled over backwards, twitching; Adele remained where she was for several moments after it became still, hardly daring to believe she'd managed to bring it down …
She approached cautiously, scooping up the other Browning as she did so and training both guns on the limp body. Crouching carefully beside the obscenely muscled outstretched arm, she prodded the vibrantly green chest with one gun. Nothing happened, and after another moment Adele set about examining her kill. Running one finger along the arm before her, she noted that the creature's flesh felt almost reptilian but was lacking scales; the coloring was a mottled yellowish brown. Its entire body was covered in some type of mesh body suit, and as she touched it with one fingertip she found the mesh was warm. Some type of heating mechanism, perhaps?
Next she studied the armor that covered its shoulders, upper chest, and lower body. Where her bullets had struck the metal earlier there wasn't even a dent, indicating an impossible density; she tried prying one of the pieces off the body but found she couldn't. Her eyes moved then to the metal faceplate the creature wore, an eerily impassive mask with a dark, reflective visor for the eyes. It was shaped into a blank visage, covering the entire face; above it, a ridge of skin protruded. Splayed out on the ground above its head was what seemed to be its hair; feeling it tentatively, Adele found that the large black tubes were solid, with a slick surface. Metal rings adorned each of the long strands, and the ends were metal tipped.
The skulls and bones which had been tied across the creature's chest next drew her attention, and she peered at each one of them in curiosity. Were they trophies, or some type of charms worn for luck? These creatures didn't really strike her as the superstitious sort, so she was banking on the fact that they were tokens taken from kills and were displayed in pride. Acutely aware that her own bones could have been strung alongside these, she rocked back on her heels and let her eyes scan the rest of the corpse.
Spying a knife strapped to the thick trunk of the creature's calf, she leaned forwards and withdrew it. Like the wrist blades, it was a gleaming piece of metal with sharp, jagged edges and what seemed to be a perfect counterbalance. With a low, admiring whistle Adele tucked it carefully through her belt and stood. She scrutinized her surroundings, looking for the spear that had struck her arm, and found it embedded in the wall to her right. It took some effort for her to free it, but when it came loose she studied it carefully. Like the knife it seemed to be made of some sort of sophisticated metal; lightly pressing a small indent on the side of its grip, Adele was suitably startled when it collapsed on itself swiftly, becoming compact. She made the instantaneous decision to take it with her, for it was a weapon unlike any she'd ever seen.
Now that the battle was over, she set about checking her wounds. The slice on her upper arm was shallow and had already stopped bleeding, and other than that her body ached mostly from bruises. Not bad, considering the fact that she could very easily have wound up dead. It was only then she noticed her hands were shaking slightly, and a very small smile curved her lips. She had survived against something from a nightmare, had triumphed against all odds …
She was alive.
And trapped, she remembered then as her smile faded, scanning the room. No exits had opened since the last had closed, and for a moment she wondered if she would be stuck here indefinitely. Shaking such thoughts from her head, her eyes fell again on the trophies the dead creature wore, and with another smile, savage this time, Adele decided to take a trophy of her own.
Kneeling beside the body once again, using the creature's own knife, she picked up a length of its hair and sliced clean through it only an inch from the head. It separated easily, and once the length was free she held it up before her. It was several inches long, with three metal bands spaced evenly along it, and it wasn't hollow as she'd originally suspected. Standing, she threaded the length through her belt loop and secured it with a clip, and as she finished doing so a great trembling shook the room.
The pyramid was moving again.
Adele watched as a portion of the wall opposite her slid down, revealing a new room, and she waited for a moment with guns withdrawn to see if anything unwelcome would come lumbering through. When nothing did she holstered both guns and walked carefully to the new entry, picking up her Smith and Wesson as she did so. She paused on the threshold of the new chamber and took a deep breath before stepping over.
It was time to continue on.
IXI
