"Clear." Two buildings North. Again, checking the side alleyways.
"Clear. West three buildings. Go." Between the buildings was dark. All I could see was what was in front of me, with the occasional check behind me. Almost to the next intersection of alleyways. I heard large, heavy footsteps nearby. My voice lowered to a whisper, only audible to me.
"Hold. Enemy detected. Use extreme caution. Ready weapon." I slowly walked forward, absolutely ready to unload another ten rounds. When I got close to the intersection, I went prone. I looked at the building wall next to me, in the direction the steps were coming from. As soon as I was ready, I rolled into the intersection. Three rounds unloaded upon sight of a hostile enemy while still in rolling motion. The creature let out a loud cry, turning quickly to face me. It was approximately two yards from my position. When I righted myself, I was in the middle of the intersection. "Enemy has detected friendly. Commence suppressive fire." Another six rounds into the creature. The creature landed with a thud, two feet in front of me. I quickly turned around, to check my six o'clock.
"Clear. Enemy down. Commence to first rally point." I turned back towards the way my first mark on my "map" was. Arms and Munitions Building Charlie. My first need was ammunition, and more firearms. One rifle with only enough ammo for a few more creatures was not enough to get my way to second mark, let alone the exit. Another building to the West. I stopped at the edge of this building. Across the street in front of my was my first destination. Between it and me there were three creatures.
"Fourteen rounds used. Sixteen left. Average so far of seven rounds per target. Five rounds short. Extreme warning. High chance of fatality. Best option. Snipe at least one target with a minimum of two rounds. Will draw other two into a bottleneck in the alley. Chance of survival jumps to more than eighty percent. Chances to pull of snipe shot. Good. Take aim. Commencing plan." I aimed carefully at the nearest creature. By their appearance, their heads were lower than where their "shoulders" were. Three glowing orbs seemed to act as eyes. "Taking shot on first target. Prepare for combat." I waited until the creature had taken mid-step, and its "face" was clearly visible. Two rounds quickly expended.
"Direct hit. Target down. Incoming two targets. Retreat into alley for bottle-neck." I quickly dove backwards, and aimed at the next creature. One round into the creature. Ten yards away. Three rounds. Four yards. Seven rounds. Target down at two yards. I stood and started walking towards the next creature, only to watch it bound over it's fallen comrade.
"Unforeseen circumstance. Taking extreme measures." I ran under the creature, and slid onto my back, firing all of my last seven rounds into the creature in the air. The creature landed a yard behind me, exactly where I had been a moment before.
"Target not down. Commence with close-combat measures." I dashed in at the creature, which was still standing shakily, but had turned back to face me. I slammed the shoulder rest of my rifle into what the face of the creature should have been. Once. Twice. Still the creature hadn't gone down, but it was beginning to become shakier on its feet. I brought back my rifle with all of my might and slammed it into the face of the creature. I was rewarded with a loud, bone-breaking crunch, and my rifle going a full five inches into the skull of the creature. I let go of my weapon, and let the creature fall to the ground.
"Final target down. Proceed with extreme caution. Armless." I quickly scanned the street again, and sprinted towards the Munitions building. I made it to the doorway safely, and finding the keypad, I swiped Pamela's card. No result. I tried again. Still nothing. Then I remembered Pamela inputting some numbers into the keypad first. I replayed the moment in my mind, and with exact detail, mirrored the order of the keys, then swiped the card. Success. The green light came on, and I quickly went inside.
"First rally point reached. Refill on arms and munitions. Close quarters weapon is a must. Hand to hand with current enemy not an option." I rushed through the building to find the right room. It was on the first floor, near the back. I entered the room, and the sight before me comforted me to no end. All types of handguns, rifles, shotguns, automatics, and every other type of firearm imaginable, lay before me in this expansive room. There was also a customizing station in the corner, to modify the weapons for each user. I quickly went through the room, and found a double-barreled shotgun, another rifle like my old one, and two handguns. I brought the shotgun to the station, and began work on it. I soon had the last third of the barrels sawed off. A few other minor alterations, and it was ready.
"Accuracy range decreased by five yards. Recommended use at two to seven yards." I put it on a shoulder strap, and slung it on. The next piece were the two handguns. I checked the barrels, and the chambers. I polished them, and buffered them. I checked the sights, and modified them accordingly.
"Accuracy range increased by eight yards. Recommended use at five to twenty-five yards." I holstered those in the hip-holsters I had found. The last to check was the rifle. I didn't do anything with this except adjust the sight. Apparently, the last one to use this knew what they were doing. I slung it over my shoulder. As I was making my way to the munitions for my choice in weapons, something caught my eye. A glint of steel. I turned to look, and there before me was katana of high workmanship. The blade was easily a yard and a half in length. I picked it up off its mount on the wall, and tested the blade. Very sharp. I bent the blade using the floor and my shoe. Strength high. I grabbed the sheath off the wall, and strapped the katana to my back. I picked up as much ammunition for my weapons as I could carry, using all pockets I had, and continued onwards. On the trek to the Vehicle Depository, I encountered another six creatures. All were dealt with using the shotgun. The recoil was immense, but the firepower was even larger. One dual-shot per creature. I had brought twelve rounds for it with me, including the ones in the chamber. I tossed the shotgun outside the Vehicle Depository. Inside, I looked at the various choices of vehicles that lay before me.
"Four choices. Compact, fast, mobile, not armored, and difficult to see in all directions. SUV, slow, hard to control, heavily armored, no need to see. Single person vehicle, very fast, easily tips, zero armor, full 360 of vision. Pickup, relatively fast, easy to handle, hard to tip, slightly armored, sight in almost 360. Fourth choice. Move out." I quickly got in the pickup, and searched for the keys. They were on the visor above the driver's seat. I put the key in the ignition and started it up. I pulled out one of the handguns, and got on the road. I made short work of any creature to get in my path. Green and orange fluids covered my black vehicle of choice within a matter of minutes. The creatures that managed to survive the impact, and stay clinging onto the car, received four rounds in the face from my handgun. By the time I reached the elevator, a third of my handgun ammunition was gone. I decided to abandon the vehicle, and get on the elevator alone. I pressed the "Surface" button, and waited for the elevator to rise. But as soon as the elevator lurched into start, I quickly brought up my rifle. Rushing in on my position was hundreds of creatures. The sight frightened and amazed me. I quickly knelt on one knee, and began to open fire on the creatures.
Three creatures down, reload. Five clips left. Another four, four clips. Estimated distance from creatures, one hundred yards. Estimated distance to surface, one hundred yards. Another three, three clips. Eighty yards. I was high enough off the ground by now that it would be difficult for the creatures to get to me. But to my horror, they sprouted wings from their backs. Large, insect-like wings. I quickly re-opened fire. Four more, two clips. Sixty yards. Another five, one clip. I spent this last clip wisely, and was rewarded with another six creatures down. Forty yards. I threw my rifle down, stood up, and brought out my handguns. I emptied the clips many times, and took out twenty more creatures. Ranged ammo gone. I tossed aside my handguns, and brought out the katana. My last resort. Still another thirty yards to go. The creatures had picked up speed, and were now beginning to land on the elevator. I ran at the first to land, slashing it downwards across the face. It emitted a scream, and fell backwards off the platform. Twenty-five yards. The next two landed on my sides. I slashed horizontally at one, and diagonally up on the other. They fell as they raised their claws for their strike. Twenty yards. Another three. I ran at the middle one, and jumped into the air. I plunged my katana into this one, and brought it through the creature, cutting it cleanly in half. The other two had dashed at me, one of them swinging dangerously close to my neck. I slashed out, cutting off the attacker's arm, and brought my swing through into the other creature, cutting off its head. I turned around and plunged my katana into the face of the second creature before it could attack with its other claw. Ten yards. One last creature. I dashed at the last creature, and brought my katana up in a defensive position. As I swung out, the creature sidestepped, and slashed across my chest with its large claw. The pain was immense. It felt as if there was acid eating away at my flesh. As I quickly looked down at my wound, I was confirmed of my thoughts. There was a green liquid on my skin, bubbling away at my flesh, melting it. I decided to end this quickly, and dashed once again, going at a frenzy at the creature. All it could do was defend itself, which left it with no arms. I brought my katana down through the beast, slicing it in half. Freedom.
The elevator reached the top. I was back in the desert. There were five or six creatures that tried scrambling onto the platform before it closed, and their limbs and parts of their bodies were in a square around me. Then, I heard a clapping noise. I looked around, only to notice not the desert that should be there, but white nothingness. Then a voice reached my ears. I twisted around and saw Pamela, standing there smiling, applauding.
"Well done! Well done! There hasn't been someone to pass that for years! I guess it's time you woke up now, isn't it? See you on the other side!" She smiled again, then faded from my vision. I was about to scream after her, but I fell over, overcome with dizziness. My vision began to swim, and my head was reeling. The next thing I remember, I was falling again through the endless black nothingness.