Chapter 22: Death in the Family
Bravo Team
Dan and the others made it over the mound of fallen trees with little trouble, in spite of Alyssa's injury. They had travelled a fair distance since the earthquake, and there had been no incidents involving the undead or other creatures. However, just a few miles ahead of their current position, something unexpected had happened. A couple of Gen-Tech's "pets" had escaped the hidden lab, and were now on a collision course with the S.T.A.R.S Bravo Team. As the team continued to move north, they began to hear shrill, discomforting, screeches. They quickly armed themselves, and placed the untrained Taylor between them, to hopefully protect her from rear and frontal attacks.
"What in the hell was that?!" asked an obviously frightened Taylor.
"Something tells me I don't really want to find out!" replied Chrissy.
"Well, sis', something tells me we're about to find out anyway." Dan said, matter-of-factly.
At that moment, the noisemakers leaped into view. "Dammit! I hate being right!" Dan thought to himself, as he and the others prepared to fight a new enemy.
Alpha Team
As Rick led the team through the winding tunnel toward the sound of rushing water, he could only imagine what lay ahead of them, and whether the water would lead to a way out, or to another dead end. The group was unusually silent as they continued to try and make sense of all this. Why did Gen-Tech need these mines? What kind of experiment gone awry could've created these mind-numbing creatures? Joe kept trying to pinch himself, hoping that he would wake up, and that this was just one long bad nightmare. Liz's thoughts turned to her older brother, who was usually sure of himself in any situation, not in an arrogant way, but he usually had a quiet confidence that she had always admired, and looked up to him for, but now, for the first time she'd ever seen, he didn't seem as confident. Rick obviously had some doubts, or obvious to her anyway, as she knew him better than anyone, even their parents. Meanwhile, Hunter and Britney walked side by side, and Britney seemed extremely nervous. Liz was trying to figure out why, but then she quickly dismissed it as the combined trauma of Ken's death and the earthquake taking effect. But she would be wrong. Britney became more and more nervous as the group got closer to the sound. She was on the verge of a major panic attack, and Hunter was trying to keep her calm. Tiffanie soon joined her sister and their cousin, and the trio began to whisper among themselves.
"I don't like this. Not one bit," said Britney, trying to keep anyone else from hearing.
"Hey, take it easy cuz'," said Hunter, "You'll be fine."
"Yeah, you know we'll take care of ya', no matter what." It seemed surreal to Tiffanie that she would be taking the role of big sister, when Brit was actually the older sibling. But she knew how deep Brit's fear of drowning went. The poor girl couldn't get in water past her knees without trembling. And now there was a possibility of having to face that fear. And Brit went absolutely stiff and pale, when they came to a clearing that featured a swift-flowing river, and spanning the width of it, was a crumbling land bridge, and Brit just knew they had to get across it.
Bravo Team
The creatures they now faced seem relatively short in stature, but they were a scary sight nonetheless. They had brownish-green skin that had the appearance of a well-worn, weather-beaten leather jacket, and it was probably just as thick. They had small heads that seemed flat at the top, but they had reptilian eyes that could be seen just below a thick, bony crown, that looked almost like a helmet. They stood on short but powerful hind legs, and their arms looked like those of a pro wrestler. They seemed to be hunched over, and they had somewhat overdeveloped shoulderblades. Bits of their spines could be seen protruding through their skin, and their fully-exposed tailbones reminded one of a short stubby tail. They had small mouths, but their teeth were many, and were razor-sharp. They also had thick whip-like tongues that were similar to the "lickers" Alpha Team had met earlier. But their most prominent features were the 6-inch long single spikes that protruded from the backs of their clawed hands, and came down past their claws and ended in points.
Dan and the others opened fire, but the unusually agile creatures seemed to dodge every bullet. Upon closer inspection, though, one would see that they did have impact marks in the skin where bullets had hit, but did not fully enter. Jake took a shot at one of their heads, but although it had knocked the creature down, it did not penetrate the bony "armor". He couldn't believe it, but he fired once more, and the creature once again fell, but it wasn't dead. Jake was dumbfounded, his shock betrayed him, and the creature took a final leap, and jammed its "spike" into Jake's chest. As Tabby looked on in horror, her older brother stuck the barrel of his gun into the creature's mouth and fired, finally killing it. But Jake was done for, and he fell, the creature still attached to him.
"NOOO!! Jakob!" Tabby cried out, and the others who had been in battle with the other "Hunter: Prime" quickly looked and saw Jake's dead body lying in a pool of blood. In their shock, they hadn't seen the other one recover, and as quick as lightning, it's tongue was wrapped around Tabby's neck, and as it pulled her struggling form toward itself, it slashed with both of it's claws, separating her head from the rest of her body. Without wasting a moment, the creature leaped at Dan, who quickly took his combat knife, and pinned one of the creature's arms against it's own body. As it struggled to free it's arm, Tank took a grenade and jammed it in the creature's mouth. Living up to his nickname, he used his considerable strength and threw the 200-pound genetic atrocity off of him, and as he and the others ran away, the grenade went off, ending the monster's life. For several minutes, the remaining Bravos lay there shocked at what had just happened. They all felt as though they had lost members of their family. Though they were understandably grief-stricken over losing Jake and Tabby, they couldn't help but wonder which of them would be next.
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A/N
Well, I hope you all like it. If you like it, let me know, if not, still let me know. Let me know what I'm doing wrong, so I can improve. Anyway, if there are any lingering questions about the Hunter: Primes, I'll tell you that they are a genetic mix of the Hunter Alphas, and the A class Lickers. The "spikes" and "bony armor" are side effects of Perry's tampering. Please R&R.
Bravo Team
Dan and the others made it over the mound of fallen trees with little trouble, in spite of Alyssa's injury. They had travelled a fair distance since the earthquake, and there had been no incidents involving the undead or other creatures. However, just a few miles ahead of their current position, something unexpected had happened. A couple of Gen-Tech's "pets" had escaped the hidden lab, and were now on a collision course with the S.T.A.R.S Bravo Team. As the team continued to move north, they began to hear shrill, discomforting, screeches. They quickly armed themselves, and placed the untrained Taylor between them, to hopefully protect her from rear and frontal attacks.
"What in the hell was that?!" asked an obviously frightened Taylor.
"Something tells me I don't really want to find out!" replied Chrissy.
"Well, sis', something tells me we're about to find out anyway." Dan said, matter-of-factly.
At that moment, the noisemakers leaped into view. "Dammit! I hate being right!" Dan thought to himself, as he and the others prepared to fight a new enemy.
Alpha Team
As Rick led the team through the winding tunnel toward the sound of rushing water, he could only imagine what lay ahead of them, and whether the water would lead to a way out, or to another dead end. The group was unusually silent as they continued to try and make sense of all this. Why did Gen-Tech need these mines? What kind of experiment gone awry could've created these mind-numbing creatures? Joe kept trying to pinch himself, hoping that he would wake up, and that this was just one long bad nightmare. Liz's thoughts turned to her older brother, who was usually sure of himself in any situation, not in an arrogant way, but he usually had a quiet confidence that she had always admired, and looked up to him for, but now, for the first time she'd ever seen, he didn't seem as confident. Rick obviously had some doubts, or obvious to her anyway, as she knew him better than anyone, even their parents. Meanwhile, Hunter and Britney walked side by side, and Britney seemed extremely nervous. Liz was trying to figure out why, but then she quickly dismissed it as the combined trauma of Ken's death and the earthquake taking effect. But she would be wrong. Britney became more and more nervous as the group got closer to the sound. She was on the verge of a major panic attack, and Hunter was trying to keep her calm. Tiffanie soon joined her sister and their cousin, and the trio began to whisper among themselves.
"I don't like this. Not one bit," said Britney, trying to keep anyone else from hearing.
"Hey, take it easy cuz'," said Hunter, "You'll be fine."
"Yeah, you know we'll take care of ya', no matter what." It seemed surreal to Tiffanie that she would be taking the role of big sister, when Brit was actually the older sibling. But she knew how deep Brit's fear of drowning went. The poor girl couldn't get in water past her knees without trembling. And now there was a possibility of having to face that fear. And Brit went absolutely stiff and pale, when they came to a clearing that featured a swift-flowing river, and spanning the width of it, was a crumbling land bridge, and Brit just knew they had to get across it.
Bravo Team
The creatures they now faced seem relatively short in stature, but they were a scary sight nonetheless. They had brownish-green skin that had the appearance of a well-worn, weather-beaten leather jacket, and it was probably just as thick. They had small heads that seemed flat at the top, but they had reptilian eyes that could be seen just below a thick, bony crown, that looked almost like a helmet. They stood on short but powerful hind legs, and their arms looked like those of a pro wrestler. They seemed to be hunched over, and they had somewhat overdeveloped shoulderblades. Bits of their spines could be seen protruding through their skin, and their fully-exposed tailbones reminded one of a short stubby tail. They had small mouths, but their teeth were many, and were razor-sharp. They also had thick whip-like tongues that were similar to the "lickers" Alpha Team had met earlier. But their most prominent features were the 6-inch long single spikes that protruded from the backs of their clawed hands, and came down past their claws and ended in points.
Dan and the others opened fire, but the unusually agile creatures seemed to dodge every bullet. Upon closer inspection, though, one would see that they did have impact marks in the skin where bullets had hit, but did not fully enter. Jake took a shot at one of their heads, but although it had knocked the creature down, it did not penetrate the bony "armor". He couldn't believe it, but he fired once more, and the creature once again fell, but it wasn't dead. Jake was dumbfounded, his shock betrayed him, and the creature took a final leap, and jammed its "spike" into Jake's chest. As Tabby looked on in horror, her older brother stuck the barrel of his gun into the creature's mouth and fired, finally killing it. But Jake was done for, and he fell, the creature still attached to him.
"NOOO!! Jakob!" Tabby cried out, and the others who had been in battle with the other "Hunter: Prime" quickly looked and saw Jake's dead body lying in a pool of blood. In their shock, they hadn't seen the other one recover, and as quick as lightning, it's tongue was wrapped around Tabby's neck, and as it pulled her struggling form toward itself, it slashed with both of it's claws, separating her head from the rest of her body. Without wasting a moment, the creature leaped at Dan, who quickly took his combat knife, and pinned one of the creature's arms against it's own body. As it struggled to free it's arm, Tank took a grenade and jammed it in the creature's mouth. Living up to his nickname, he used his considerable strength and threw the 200-pound genetic atrocity off of him, and as he and the others ran away, the grenade went off, ending the monster's life. For several minutes, the remaining Bravos lay there shocked at what had just happened. They all felt as though they had lost members of their family. Though they were understandably grief-stricken over losing Jake and Tabby, they couldn't help but wonder which of them would be next.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N
Well, I hope you all like it. If you like it, let me know, if not, still let me know. Let me know what I'm doing wrong, so I can improve. Anyway, if there are any lingering questions about the Hunter: Primes, I'll tell you that they are a genetic mix of the Hunter Alphas, and the A class Lickers. The "spikes" and "bony armor" are side effects of Perry's tampering. Please R&R.