"Man, I already hate this place," Hollenshead said as he studied the room they had come to.
"Yeah...I'm not getting great vibes," Cortez muttered. "I mean, I haven't since I saw my first demon, just…"
"I get it," Jack agreed. "Just stay sharp and we'll get through this."
Jack studied the room they'd arrived in, their first stop in the Abandoned Mines. The room the teleport let out into was roughly oval shaped, the floor made of strangely generic wooden planks, the walls of that dark green, bolt-studded plate iron they seemed so fond of in Hell lately, and up above was just rough dark tan rock. The walls behind and to either side of them were solid plates, but directly ahead was one of those switch-buttons, a silver plate embedded in the wall with two squares next to it. One dark and dead, the other lit up red.
To either side of this button were iron cage walls that gave them a view of what was to come. Lighting the way were a pair of brass candle-holders, the bases of which were piles of tiny skulls, and the flames were curiously bright emerald.
Each view through the iron bars let out onto larger rooms, the floors of which were bubbling acid pits, and from the ceiling hung several torsos, some of them upside-down, some right side up. At a glance they appeared to be a random selection of civilians and technicians and a few Marines, based on what they were wearing.
The nearest and most obvious was a man wearing a leather black jacket, hung upside down by his entrails, blood dripping occasionally down into the bubbling toxic acid below.
There were other iron bars in the walls below, and he saw shadowy figures moving around, and heard the strange gurgle-clicking of Imps, as well as some kind of heavy breathing. He could see why the place was called a mine. Somehow, in some way that he wasn't able to articulate, it gave the impression of a mineshaft. Or, at the very least, it certainly gave the impression of being deep underground.
"Now what?" Hollenshead asked.
"Weapons check," Jack replied, backing away from the bars and looking over his own arsenal. "I want to make sure we're all double ready for action. There's bad guys around and I feel like we've had it easy so far. Call me paranoid, but I think we're in for some heavier fighting."
"Probably," Jennifer agreed as she looked over her shotgun. She sighed. "I definitely need something sturdier than this."
"Hopefully there's some heavier firepower laying around somewhere," Cortez said.
A moment later they were all ready. Jack stepped up to the switch. "We good? Anything can happen."
They all responded with sharp affirmations, ready, hopefully, for whatever Hell was prepared to throw their way.
Jack hit the switch. The top red square went dark and the bottom one flared green. At almost the same instant, everyone let out sounds of shock as the entire floor dropped sharply down. It stopped after about ten feet and they stumbled, regaining their footing. Jack now found himself facing an open hallway, the walls of which showed more iron bars, and a Chaingunner stood not four feet in front of him. It roared and began spooling up its weapon.
He didn't give it a chance, blowing its domed head clean off its broad shoulders with a double-barrel blast. Cracking open his shotgun, he hastily reloaded as a cacophony of roars and groans went up. The hallway continued on for maybe ten feet before dropping down. Something was coming, stomping towards him.
A moment later, another bald head with monstrous red eyes embedded in a hideous face began appearing as another Chaingunner stomped up the steps to greet them. Jack switched to his assault rifle and split its skull open with a well-placed burst of gunfire. They waited, but nothing else showed up. Jack sighed heavily.
"Dammit, I wish we could get the chainguns off these bastards," he muttered, kicking the nearest one as the others joined him.
"If we had more time, maybe we could," Cortez replied.
"It may come to that, I don't have that much ammo left to play with," Jennifer said.
"Same," Hollenshead said.
Jack led them down the stairs and came to a crossroads. The hallway continued ahead of them and broke off into two more to the left and right. He checked their options. To the right was what appeared to be a larger room with a narrow path. Given the narrow paths he'd had to put up with recently, he chose to ignore it for now. Dead ahead seemed the most inviting, leading to a door that appeared to let out into a room he could mostly make out through the iron bar walls. Unfortunately, though, it looked basically like a strip of walkway tucked up against the walls, and ninety percent of the floor was missing, replaced by more acid ten feet down.
Perhaps inviting was the wrong word.
The left path just terminated in a door with red trim.
"All right, looks like-" Jack began, but was cut off by a muffled shout and the roar of gunfire. Another survivor! Jack cursed himself for not trying his radio again immediately, he really was starting to lose it, and activated his radio. "This is Ward, can anyone hear me!?"
"Ward!? Oh shit, I need help!" It was Sergeant Abrash. "I'm in a room with a fucking goat demon bastard! Shit! He's coming for me! I'm running out of ammo!"
"We're coming!" Jack looked around. "Find that fucking red key!" he said.
"Hurry!" Abrash pleaded. Something roared and more gunfire sounded.
"There!" Cortez shouted, pointing through the bars that looked onto the room with most of its floor missing. Jack looked again and saw it: in the corner was a red skull-key, laying on the floor.
"Hollenshead, Jennifer, get down there and get ready! Cortez, watch my six!" Jack said, and then took off. Time, suddenly there was no time.
He raced down the short corridor and hesitated briefly as he became aware of another alcove, this one mostly in shadows, to his immediate left, just before the entrance to the next room. An Imp roared and appeared as it tried to throw a fireball his way. He cut it down with gunfire, and did the same with another Imp behind it, then raced into the room. The path was narrow but not terribly so. He hurried down it, keeping an eye out for hostiles, but the place seemed otherwise clear. As he got to the corner and snatched up the key, he heard a shriek from nearby. An Imp had appeared at the other on the ledge he was on.
Cortez opened fire through the bars, killing it.
Abrash yelled over the radio. "Hurry! I'm out of ammo! It's coming for me!"
He sounded panicked in a way Jack hadn't yet heard from the man.
"We're coming! I've got the key!" Jack shouted as he raced back and rejoined Cortez. Another Imp suddenly leaped from the shadows as he tried to pass the darkened alcove and grabbed him. Jack screamed in fury. "Fuck off!" he roared as he grabbed the Imp and smashed its head into the nearby wall. He repeated the action twice more in rapid succession and something cracked wetly as its skull caved in. "Let's go!" he snapped, dropping it.
The two Marines raced off, joining Hollenshead and Jennifer, who were anxious and ready to rush in and help.
"Clear the way!" Jack yelled as he ran full tilt down the passageway. He got to the door and skidded to a halt, looking around frantically. Abrash was still screaming. "Where's the fucking slot!?" he cried.
"There!" Jennifer replied, pointing.
Jack saw it and shoved the keycard in. The door began opening.
"Fuck, come on!" he yelled as it rose up.
Abrash was screaming continually now. Jack dropped to his knees and forced himself under the too-slow door.
Just in time to see a Baron of Hell pick Abrash up and, in a mighty burst of blood that went everywhere, tear the man in two. Foamy guts and a gallon of blood fell across the huge demonic beast as it roared in triumph.
"ABRASH!" Jack screamed as he scrambled under and to his feet.
Seeing red, he surged forward, going for the Baron. The beast dropped both halves of the dead Marine, still wearing his gutted entrails almost like a victory sash, and began preparing to throw one of its deadly balls of green energy.
Jack shoved the barrels of his shotgun right up against its neck and squeezed the trigger.
The resulting blast tore its head completely off its body, decapitating it. The beast's snarling face became frozen in an awful grimace as its head came away from its body, which began twitching spasmodically, collapsing to the floor. Jack snatched the head out of the air by one of its horns, still screaming in rage, and then spun around in a circle and launched it into one of the nearby walls. Turning back to the body, he dropped to his knees and began punching its chest. He could hear himself screaming inarticulately, barely coherent as he tore into its flesh.
"Jack!" Jennifer yelled.
He ignored her, ripping open its flesh and, using his suit-enhanced strength, breaking through its ribcage in a series of snaps. Digging around in its chest, he found what he was looking for and wrapped his hands around the thing's huge heart.
Ripping it out, Jack raised it over his head, yelling at the top of his lungs in blind fury, and then crushed it to a pulp in both hands.
The anger seemed to leave him after that, as suddenly as if someone had flipped a switch. Panting, he dropped his hands to his sides, staring at the remains of the creature. For a long moment, nobody spoke, and all he could hear was the thundering of his own heart in his ears. It didn't even seem like anything was happening in his brain, like everything had shut down but the bare basics to keep him breathing and blinking.
Finally, Jennifer spoke up. "Jack...are you all right?"
He sighed softly, fully coming back to himself. Slowly, he grabbed his shotgun. "Yeah, I'm fine," he grunted, getting back to his feet as he grabbed the double-barrel. Reloading, he turned around and found all three of them staring at him.
"Man, that was sickest, most savage shit I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen some shit," Hollenshead said. "Are you sure you're good?"
"Yeah, sorry," Jack replied, trying to control the shaking in his hands. And his voice. He cleared his throat. "I'm all here. I know I went off the deep end for a minute there but I'm good." He looked around at Abrash's corpse. "Fuck, we could've saved him. If we'd just been three seconds faster...fuck," he repeated.
"I know," Jennifer said quietly.
"Hollenshead, watch the door. Jennifer, Cortez, search the area for supplies, ammo, anything," Jack said, his voice flatter now. "We need to keep moving."
He could tell they were still worried. Hell, he was still worried. He hadn't fully been in control there and he wasn't actually sure why he'd done that, only that it felt somehow absolutely necessary. But they all responded affirmatively and got back to work. They were Marines, they'd been in the shit before, and it would get worse before it got better, but that was the nature of being a Marine. Especially when you were tasked with kicking in Hell's door and blasting demons. They couldn't afford the luxury of doubt or emotions.
The room Abrash had died in wasn't particularly interesting. Jack couldn't stop thinking about the man as he searched his remains. This is where his life had led him to. Everything he had ever done, the path he had walked from birth, it terminated here. In some random, meaningless room in another dimension, killed because of stupid luck. Brutally murdered by a mindless demon monster in an absolute nightmare of a scenario.
How many people had died now due to these horrid things?
In the end, he found that Abrash was right: he was totally out of ammo. And in all the chaos, his weapon had been rendered useless, almost certainly stomped on by the Baron. They didn't find anything hidden around and as they left, Jack paused to cast one final glance at the demon he'd desecrated.
It had deserved it.
They all deserved it.
Leaving it behind, Jack silently led the squad back the way they'd come. They took a moment to check out the area some more, hunting around for ammo and keys. But, in the end, they found nothing, and ended up at the only way left to them.
The huge room with the curvy path.
It was a strange place, huge and cave-like. The walls were tan and brown rock that seemed somehow, impossibly, caught halfway between looking manufactured and natural. The ceiling was nothing special, some twenty feet up, but the floor, which was some twenty feet down, was lava. Bubbling, bright orange lava.
The path was made of white cobblestone and it twisted back on itself several times, ultimately leading over to a platform with a blue-trimmed door.
There didn't appear to be any demons around, but that could change in an instant.
"Man, this place sucks," Hollenshead muttered.
Jack could tell he was trying to lighten the mood, but his remark seemed to fall flat. He wanted through these Abandoned Mines. And this was the way forward, it seemed.
He heaved a sigh. "All right, Hollenshead, watch our six. Jennifer, Cortez, with me. Don't group up, stay sharp, take it slow."
"We didn't find a blue keycard," Cortez replied.
"I know, but maybe we can get the door open anyway or there's more to this room we can't see from here," Jack replied.
They set out. It was slow going, although the path wasn't that dangerous. If anything, he found himself grateful for it. That last area, the paths had been absurdly narrow. His junk still ached from that fall he'd taken. He led the way, making it to the first point in the path where it swerved back around, almost like a switchback. Why not just have a path that led directly to the door across the room? Why have lava?
Why anything?
Jack kept his eyes out for anything lurking down below or up above. With as many flying demons as there were, it was always possible. Or hidden alcoves or compartments in the walls. Or, shit, just being wary of teleporting bastards. They could literally teleport in. Was anywhere going to be safe? Even if they managed to kill this big bad demon, would that actually work? Based on all he knew, the answer was no.
This was not going to end the war.
It would, at best, give them time.
That was big, and killing a really powerful demon was a good thing no matter what, but he did find himself wondering exactly what in the fuck they were going to do for a long term solution. He supposed that, high enough up the food chain there must be a demon pulling all the strings, and assassinating it would finally end things. Or maybe there was some way of blocking teleportation? If they could permanently close off this realm, it'd be basically the same as winning the war. But that wasn't the consideration right now.
Right now he had a big demon to assassinate, and a hell dimension to navigate.
They reached the door and platform.
"Huh," Jack muttered as he spied something that was really convenient. A blue skull-key, held in someone's ripped-off hand.
"God, I hope that wasn't Diaz," Jennifer muttered as he pried the key from the dead hand. "She's the only one left we haven't found."
"No, this wasn't her," Jack replied after studying the hand briefly. He tossed it over the edge, into the lava.
"How can you tell?"
"Her hands were smaller, and the skin tone is off." He activated his radio. "Hollenshead, come on over, we found a skull-key."
"Roger that."
They watched over him while the big guy navigated the path, and a moment later he stood with them. The four of them prepared themselves for whatever came next. Jack stepped up to the door, briefly studying the pair of brass candle-holders. These flames burned a blue that closely matched the trim of the door. He slotted the keycard and the door opened up. As it did, a powerful red light beamed in from the other side.
"Whoa…" Hollenshead muttered.
"What the actual fuck?" Jennifer whispered, staring up.
Jack was at a loss for words. The door led to another large room with a white stone path running around the edges of its periphery. On the other side of the room, it ultimately led to an island in the center of, yet again, a pool of lava at the bottom of a twenty foot drop. But what so captivated them was that this room had no ceiling.
It let out onto a sky that seemed utterly impossible.
It was violently red, glowering red. But what made it impossible was the texture of the sky. It was almost like…
Like someone had collected up a bunch of bodies, bones and meat, put it all into a pile, and then run over it with a steamroller, smooshing it all into a flat patchwork of gore and gristle. He thought he could see skulls and ribcages in there.
"I don't even understand what we're seeing," Jennifer whispered. "How is this even possible? Is that the sky or…"
"It could be some kind of projection," Jack said, finally finding his voice. "We should focus, though." He looked back at the island, his mind nagging at him. He'd seen something on it, something important…
A teleport.
It looked important, somehow. The design fancier.
The way out?
It was a dead-end, anyway. They had to take it.
"Come on," he said a little more forcefully, getting their attention, "we have to move."
They followed after him, one by one, carefully navigating the path. It was slow going, made all the more slow by the fact that Jack felt a growing sense of dread and tension. Like something was coming, though he didn't hear or see anything. Finally, when they were about halfway to the path that led out to the island, he paused.
"Does anyone else feel that?" he asked.
"Feel what?" Cortez replied.
"I do, something's coming," Jennifer said.
"You two are freaking me out," Hollenshead replied.
"I think something-" Jack said, but was cut off as, in a flash of light, an immense demon snapped into existence on the island.
It was one of those fucking Mancubi!
Where had he heard that name? Or had he thought it up? Jack could honestly not remember, but it wasn't like it mattered now. The thing let out a deep, guttural, gurgling roar and aimed its two huge, rusty cannon-arms at them.
"Shit! Move! Move!" he snapped, switching to his assault rifle and opening fire. The others did the same, spreading out, trying not to get in each others' way as it began loosing balls of fire like there was no tomorrow. Jack emptied the magazine into it as he kept going along the periphery path, hitting more often than not, but not doing enough damage. The damned thing was just so big, it could absorb a hell of a lot.
He reloaded and then tripped over something. A fireball sailed over his head as he slammed onto the path and very nearly went into the lava. Heart hammering in his chest, he rolled onto his side, took aim, and opened up full-auto. The combined streams of gunfire from the others joined his as he hosed the massive demon down, which now seemed to be having trouble deciding which of them to murder. Blood was pumping from its various wounds, which numbered in the dozens now. It seemed to be slowing down.
Finally, it let out a deep moan, stumbled a bit, tried to take aim once more, then fell right over the edge and down into the lava.
Jack let out a deep sigh of relief and got to his feet. He took a quick headcount as he reloaded with his last magazine. Everyone seemed fine.
"We good?" he asked.
Everyone responded that they were undamaged. Or mostly. A few had taken hits a little too close for comfort from the rain of fireballs.
But they could keep fighting.
Okay, this was it. He wasn't sure where this teleport would take him, but intuition or maybe something else told him it had to be close to the HQ.
He prayed he was right and made for it.