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My overcoat was a dirt mess and the only thing I could use to carry fruit. It wasn't that cold to where I needed the darn thing so I piled as much fruit as I felt I could then tied the sleeves to secure it the best I could for the trip.
I didn't know where that structure with the hybrids was at but the temple was on a fairly direct path from it. So I just commanded my Hormagaunt to take me there instead and hope it was able to recall where to go. Thankfully the Tyranid had a far better sense of direction than I ever could. It weaved throughout the foliage as it had before until we made it to the same brown clay covered by green from before.
Or at least I presumed I did.
The trees made it hard to tell so I got off my ride and moved closer to get a better look. I had never been to a jungle back on earth and was glad I never did as this place was filled with branches and plants that snagged on me. I started to regret ditching my overcoat as they kept scratching my bare skin. Not enough to pierce it but definitely to annoy.
"Yeah, that's the place alright." I said aloud, the sun best down over the courtyard and large temple. I was thankfully at the front of the place and not the back. Otherwise, it would have taken a bit longer to figure it out. Even from the distance, I was at it was fairly clear this was the place... The guardsmen were still there as well.
I could see the fleet of chimeras parked about and green-clad figures marching about to do whatever. Good thing the Hormagaunt had the sense to get me away from this place and not inside the structure. We would be dead then. They were here for the Tyranids, it didn't take a genius to figure that out, the cleanup or pacification of the hive fleet's troops was probably going on all over the region. It was kind of odd that we never encountered many signs of them before but perhaps this place was mostly taken care of than the rest?
My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp hiss from my Hormagaunt. "The heck are you on about?" I asked before a voice practically answered me.
"Did you hear that?" A male voice called out and I dropped belly down and was soon joined by my Hormagaunt. It didn't matter that much. The Tyranid was way too large and there wasn't enough foliage around to cover it. I could only think about how stupid I was to bring us this close to the temple when two guardsmen, wearing the same uniform from when I was here first stopped upon seeing the laying Hormagaunt.
I stood and raised my hand in the air, it was moronic to try and talk them down, I would only see that later though... The two guys were fairly buff and tall, likely Guardsmen and not PDF as there was always a clear distinction between the two physically in all the books I've read. Their uniforms and armor appeared sturdy and perfectly symmetrical except in places that slowed stains of dirt, blood, and cuts from combat. They looked momentarily surprised by the sight of a normal-looking human next to a Tyranid but snapped back into a combat stance with ease. I stood mere inches to one of their heights and anyone would call me skinny if you line all three of us up.
"Um..." It just then did the thought occur to me that there really wasn't anything I could say that could convince these guys to just walk away.
He raised the gun as my Hormagaunt also settled up on its haunches to shield me. I could feel intense hostility radiating off it as the two guardsmen made to prepare their lasguns. My fear of being shot overran all other thoughts within and I knew the Hormagaunt reacted to it. Lunging off its prone state and towards the closest man who was barely able to get off a startled cry as his back hit the dirt floor...
"Wait!" I called out and the beast stilled atop its prey. The remaining Guardsmen used that time to recover and lowered its gun to aim at the more obvious threat and fired. The point-blank lasround seared into the creatures back creating a nasty burn that glowed red hot. Then a jaw filled with teeth descended over the downed man's head and crushed his face tearing whatever flesh it could get off.
I tensed, someone just got killed, and not from afar or by something else. But by my own Hormagaunt acting in my defense, a defense that I will admit to not hating as much as I might profess. The lasround steadily lost its glow as the last man stepped back and let off yet another shot. The Hormagaunt wasted no time getting off of the bead and bringing its serrated blades into the chest of the second man. The flak vest proved just how useless it really was when both organic blades broke straight through it and definitely punctured both his lungs. All of this happened so fast I was barely able to process it all.
Immediately the man screamed in pain, the sound mixing with the flowing leaves and chirping and chittering of animals. It soon devolved into a gurgling sound as blood rose up from the ruptured lungs and flowed out from his mouth. His lasgun dropped to the flood and he desperately tried to push the blade piercing him out.
"Someone is going to hear this!" I thought panicked if he didn't stop soon more Guardsmen would show, and one Hormagaunt was definitely not going to be enough. "We need to get out of-"
Before the thought could finish manifesting the man's throat was torn out curiously by the sharp teeth of my companion. The blades were yanked out, blood fell off in thick drops and the creature got back down on all fours. I stared mouth hanging open at the scene, feeling just as sick as when I saw that woman being feasted upon but for a different reason.
"I did that didn't I...?" I wanted them not to threaten me and that man to stop screaming before others heard and the Tyranid I know is influenced by my thoughts... "I need to find that place, there is no reason to linger here any longer." I couldn't help but eye the gun on the ground and snatch it up for later use, thankful for the strap on it to sling over my body.
I didn't do that, no. They threatened me but the Hormagaunt listens to my feeling as well as my thought. I wanted them to not aim guns at me and the Tyranid interpreted it as kill them. I did not tell it to do that, so I am not responsible for their deaths. I had somewhere else to be and wracked my head for a moment to try and recall what direction I was to go from here.
I recalled the position of the sun and it made for the perfect reference. I ran on a straight line away from that place then a mostly straight line to that temple. So it stood to reason that all I needed to do was move in a straight line then climb a tree to check where it was at.
I was not looking forwards to that last part and put it off as much as I could...
"Why didn't I just try running?" I said aloud, my voice being carried then lost on the wind. "Jumped on its back then run away, there is a lot of stuff around here we could have..."
I tried pushing the thoughts out of my head, did my best to keep the screams of terror and dying away from me. It wasn't helping all that much. I kept replaying a scenario in my head and wondering if there was a better way it could have gone. Why did I have to get that close? Surely it would have suited things found from a distance... was climbing a tree to see really that bad compared to accidentally-
"I did not kill them. That is nonsense and it is probably time to check my position." All thoughts were pushed out of my mind as I tested the bark on a nearby tree, it held firm as I climbed.
"After this, I'll just find a city and get out of the subsector and never have to think about Tyranids again..." I refocused my attention to climbing and eventually got high enough to peer over the canopy.
The sun hung high in the sky by the time I actually found the place or at least assumed I did. I never got a look at the building and now that I was here it looked like a small plane hangar. There were a lot of tree stumps and log piled up all around, it was limber yards which made sense for this place. It did seem odd that the distance from the main structure to the tree line was so short. A closer look at the building and beside the signs of damage it looks fairly new so perhaps this place was recently built.
I took the time to eat some of the fruit I had, hunger had set in so a few wouldn't hurt for right now. I just needed to mull over my stomach and try and keep up my strength. Plus I wanted to use the time to look about for signs that people were still here. The distant star beat against the leaves that shielded me when I decided it was reality safe to approach. I never saw anyone here nor noticed any lights being turned on with the sun going down.
"That doesn't necessarily mean it is completely abandoned, there could be wild animals or Tyranids that still set up shop there."
Carefully I crept forwards with the Hormagaunt doing far better at keeping its steps silent than I was. I noted the large tracked vehicles with massive buzzsaws stuck on large poles out front of them. Likely used for sawing down whole swaths of trees and supported the idea that this place was relatively new. The lasgun was slung around my shoulder and in a pinch, I did not trust myself to be able to use it for defense. I had only ever fired a twenty-two-long rifle and this was similar only in principle. Still, it made me feel better knowing I had a gun in hand.
"With something like that there should be a lot more of this place cleared out."
There were also a lot of vehicle treads on the ground made and retained due to the wet ground that had mostly dried up by now. Signs that the imperial guard might have been here and further supported that I was in the right place.
I finally reached the metal structure and a doorway, it was likely a side entrance. One that hopefully wouldn't be locked or creak insanely loudly when opening it. Thankfully lady luck wasn't looking in my direction and the knob turned with ease and the door was pulled outwards smoothly. I let the Hormagaunt enter the room and scan the darkened area and to my relief it found nothing. The whole place was just a wide opened room with a concrete floor. I noted the shattered windows and glass scattered about as well as burn marks and bullet holes along the thin metallic walls and hard floor.
I looked at the sides of the doorway and noticed a set of switches at the side and flicked them both. Light-filled the room and I was glad that some things really don't change. That a generator was still producing power for this place also had me thanking whoever was giving me this reprieve.
It seemed to end there though as I didn't see the chair or any medical tools or a device that could sit on someone's head. What I did see was a large chared piled of burned bones and ashes.
"The Guardsmen must have won the fight then burned the corpses of the hybrids. They perhaps also ended up destroying the device used on my head..."
This trip wasn't made completely pointless yet. While on the ground the place was been purged a metal staircase led to an elevated room, likely an office for a foreman or something along those lines. My next destination and last hope for answers here. My bare footfalls made little sound going up although the same couldn't be said for my Hormagaunt companion as their steps echoed throughout the mainly empty building.
The office door was wide opened when I got to it... and unfortunately ransacked as well. A large window overlooking the room was there and I had to be careful not to sept on any glass from the shattered pane. There was a simple metal and glass desk with two small and one large drawer lined up on just one side. No other was near and all three were pulled out and papers strewed about as someone undoubtedly tried sifting through them in a hurry.
I tried taking a peek at them but most of the peppers were actually blank pages yet to be used. Others held orders for their lumber quota for the next few months and the crews that were to be sent here. Nothing really caught my eye for being a part of the genestealer's plans for someone to medically operate on...
I sighed disappointed. "I shouldn't be surprised, this was a long shot in any case, I should be focusing on finding a city then getting outta the subsector."
Today did not go as plan and I sincerely wondered if those guys back at the temple would have-
"Not my fault," I said aloud as plainly as I could and moved to exit the room.
The Hormagaunt chittered before I could do so and took up a combative stance. It saw something out the shattered window and imparted it on me. The how the part was a question for later as I stilled the sight. The same pressure on my head from the Tyranid warrior I saw yesterday was back.
Sitting prone on one of the beams crisscrossing the ceiling was a four-armed creature slouching hard. Same grey skin and purple hue to its armored plates, pointed fingers that spoke of powerful claws were seen. Its head was bulbed in the back as well. The jaw of the created open to reveal a long slick tongue surrounded by dozens of small pointed teeth. This Tyranid had a relative humanoid shape to it and I knew it was a genestealer but not a simple hybrid.
This was pure stained Genestealer peering right at me. I panicked and my Hormagaunt moved to stand between us, the Genestealer looked as if it was poised to jump through the shattered window. I was about to bring the lasgun to bear but I calmed because I knew it decided against attacking me...
"Wait how do I know that?" I stared quizzically at the Tyranid and it eyed me up. Trying to size up what I was. It felt odd to me that it had the independent thought to do such a thing until I recalled that Genestealer were by design independent from the Tyranid hivemind. Sure they worked with it closely but not under its direct control so unlike the Hormagaunt at my side or the synapse creature I saw in the village it wasn't 'connected' to whatever the hybrids did to me.
Which implied whatever was in my skull wasn't something Genestealer related. That certainly fits with what I knew about them, I didn't look at them as the next Jesus so I probably wasn't becoming or intended to just become another hybrid. What I was is connected to the overarching hivemind which was equally terrifying to think about...
I brought my thoughts back to the Genestealer, it had taken a more relaxed stance, or as relaxed as it could get, when my Hormagaunt did the same. It sensed no threat from me but was confused by me and trying to figure me out. Again I had no clue how I was knowing this but this thing was psychic so maybe it was using its telepathy.
"Well stop it now!" I said within my mind as 'loudly' as I could but that didn't cause the feelings I was getting off or to stop. Or the pressure on my head to go away. Still, it was better than being torn apart by the thing. The Genestealer's head snapped to its left and I knew what its advanced eardrums heard.
Voices outside, humans coming and they were likely armed as all were or at least all this Genestealer had seen recently.
"Time to go then...?" I asked still puzzled as to what was going on between us and the Genestealer simply leaped off the beam. As always I had more questions but they were for later...
Made one slight change, had him pick up a lasgun for later.
