This place is a labyrinth. Right about now, I wish I had Margaret with me. In life, she would sometimes have premonitions, and always seemed to be mildly clairvoyant. I don't know that she has retained any of that in her afterlife, but having a ghost helping you navigate a series of corridors and halls that all look the same would be very helpful.
It's not like I'm not paying attention to what turns I've taken. Even in combat, keeping track of directions has always been something I've excelled at. Yet, I seem to be lost. I can't find my way back to the rooms Amy and Malcolm were being held in, much less the staircase out of here.
Leaving shouldn't be a priority anyway. Although, I am running low on ammo. But I don't want to leave without Margaret, or without clearing this place and setting it ablaze.
Moving slowly through the corridors, I hear footsteps heading in my direction. I'm in the middle of a hall with a room to my right. The door is already open, and it's extremely dark, just like the rest of this place. My NVG are barely doing anything to help.
I clear the corners and scan the room. Empty, from what I can tell. I'll duck in here, and wait for the guard to get within arms reach. I wait and wait, until finally the goon steps in front of the entrance.
I stick my arm out and wrap it around their neck, dragging them into the room and placing my knife to their ear.
"Move, and I'll pinhole you." My now hostage struggles only for a split second before I stick the blade in the ear, stopping short of the ear drum. They seem to behave quickly afterwards.
"Where's your boss." It's a demand more than a question.
"John McClane over here. Or maybe I should compare you to Jack Reacher, given your military background. I can see why she likes you."
"She? You mean Valeria? Dark hair, black eyes?"
"You know the Mistress?"
"So that's a yes. Are there any other prisoners here?
"Not here. Further in. You freed the playthings meant for you. The ones that were meant to be your first meal."
"What are you on about?"
"The mistress has marked you, Cillian. She wants you to serve her. Be her childe." What the fuck is she talking about?
"Start making sense." I remove the blade from her ear and place it against her eye. I feel throat muscles tense against my arm, working to swallow down her fear. Good. Maybe I can get some real answers.
"She is beyond humans. We are maggots compared to her and her kind. You came here seeking to kill her. It won't work. You will be the one to die. Just like your sister." What?
Pulling the knife away I stab the woman in the stomach, and twist the blade. She grunts and I drag the blade across her stomach.
"Why did you target her. To get to me? Why?!" She laughs. The bitch is laughing at me.
"Wasn't just her." Icy claws run up my spine as I think of my recently deceased parents.
"My whole family." She laughs again but spits up blood this time.
"That's right. Kill your mother, make it impossible to trace how, and frame your father. Neighbourhood begins to suspect him, driving him up the wall trying to find who did it." My father spent weeks trying to prove his innocence and track the people responsible. I was just coming back home from my last mission with the JTF when he shot himself in the head. I couldn't believe it. The bastard was always extremely stubborn. The fact that he only spent a few weeks trying before giving up didn't sound like him at all. He didn't even leave a note or anything. I'm starting to wonder if he actually killed himself, or if it was staged.
"Why?!" My rage is boiling over. I pull the knife from her stomach and stab her multiple times in the kidneys.
"Be-cause... we could... Your sister was the most fun... Catholic girls are so depraaAAA!" A quiet fury now envelopes my form as I rip the blade from her back and place it somewhere she does not appreciate. Throwing her to the ground, I proceed to stomp on her head over and over until it no longer exists, and all that's left are fragments of her skull, and plenty of gore splattered all over the floor.
They targeted us. They killed my family. According to her it was just a game. A game... I can't breathe. I need to get out of here. Need more ammo. A C7 or M4 carbine. Several pounds of C4.
"Messy." Spinning on my heel I draw my P226 and fire two rounds at the door. To my surprise, nobody is there. I look around the room. There's no way that came from inside.
I double, triple, and quadruple check. Nothing. No more words are said. Am I losing my mind? Am I finally cracking? This is the worst time to have that happen. No. Focus Doyle! This isn't the time to lose yourself. Pick up your knife, and ready your weapons. It's time to rip and tear.
Pulling the knife out of the woman's lower body, I march out of the room. Wiping the blood on my vest vest I slide the blade back in it's holster and ready my shotgun once more. I lost my cool there. Thinking about it now, I couldn't even hear the crunching or squelching sounds made by my boot on impact while stomping her to death. That isn't good. I could have been taken by surprise, especially since my back was turned to the door.
"Wrong way." I spin to my left as I cross a dimly lit junction. I don't see anybody, but I can't be sure if that's because the halls appear to be getting darker, or if I'm just hearing things. There appears to be less and less light sources as I continue on and my night-vision is becoming less and less effective. I can only see about five to ten feet in front of me. I should be able to see further. So realistically it can be either or.
I wait a few moments, looking around, making sure I'm not being ambushed. It appears that the coast is clear, and no more words are spoken. Maybe I should just get out of here.
Just as I have that thought I hear the cracking of knuckles and low whine. It sounds almost human. Something about it though seems... wrong. I just don't know what. It's almost like something you'd expect some monster in a movie or video game to make. One that was made from a person. Like a mutated zombie or some alien human hybrid.
I can hear some quick scurrying, before it stops. Something is very wrong about this place. Normally, I'm the last guy to get spooked and run for the hills, but this is beyond normal. Beyond even my normal. The already cold halls seem to get chillier all of the sudden as I'm looking down the hall to my right, where I heard the cracking sound. Then I feel a presence behind me, and I spin around, only to see my sister, staring at the ceiling in terror. The look on her face is something I've never seen before. Terror doesn't really properly describe her twisted horror. I've seen her scared before. Hell, the girl could barely handle scary movies, despite being a tough chick. This is different.
"Marga-?" She begins frantically pointing to the sealing and waving her hands to move. I look up above me and I see a massive fist with too many fingers floating above me. I freeze, wondering if I'm seeing the thing I thought I saw in Afghanistan. My last mission before leaving the army. There, it was only a shadow in the night. A lanky body with a hand for a head. That can't be real though... can it?
As I stare at the fist, fingers begin to slowly unfurl, revealing that their seems to be two sets folding in on each other, like teeth. When they open, there is a massive hole in the middle where the palm should be, and a human scream blares through the halls.
Just as I raise my shotgun to blast the thing, it lunges at me, faster than I could fire. I attempt to move as I squeeze the trigger, but the monster knocks me off balance with a swipe of it's actual hand, scratching the front of my vest, and catching my gun, ripping it out of my hands. I hit the wall behind me hard. Now that it's in the one source of dim light in the hall, I can see it's lanky emaciated body, four long, slender limbs, and what looks like a high collar, reminding me a bit of Spawn from Image Comics, except it's made of it's flesh, ascending a an inch or two above the fingers.
My shotgun hits the ground and goes off, pulling me from my frozen terror and has me clambering for my P226. I get the pistol up just as it screams at me again and I fire. I catch the thing in it's shoulder but it barely reacts. I pull my knife with my other hand. I would run, but this thing definitely moves faster than me. I need to stand my ground and get my shotgun at the next opportunity.
The creature lunges as I fire another round. I miss this time, and it reaches for my throat, ignoring my weapons. I allow myself to fall backwards, ramming my knife into it's chest and simultaneously lifting my legs so I can kick the thing over my head and down the opposite side of where the 870 is. Luckily it works, and the thing whinges when the knife sinks into it's chest.
As it scrambles to the floor behind me I quickly holster my pistol and knife and pick up my shotgun. I spin around and try to fire, but forget that I haven't re-racked it yet. The creature is already up and moving towards me as I do so, giving me no time to pull the weapon up, forcing me to fire from the hip.
First shot hits, the force actually slows the creature, making it stagger, but doesn't blow it off it's feet like I was hoping, and the damage doesn't seem to be significant. Shit! It's gaining speed again and I'm backing up down the hall as I fire. Re-rack, fire again. I hit the target, mostly in the shoulder and arm, which forces it to use only three of it's limbs to run at me. Re-rack, fire. It ducks this time, causing me to panic. I re-rack just as it jumps at me again. I lift the shot gun across my body to block it's attempt to collide with me but the force is enough that I need to shift my weight or else I'll topple over. I can not fall down with this thing. That is a death sentence!
"FUCK! YOU!" Twisting my hip, lifting my right arm to bring up the butt of the shot gun under this things arm works in my favour to keeps it's momentum going over me. However, the arm I thought was made useless is used to swipe at my side. The creature catches the flesh of my torso that is unprotected by my vest and plate, as I follow through with the judo-esque throw. I don't get it as far as I want given my injury, but it gives me time to readjust my aim.
The thing hits the ground and scrambles to face me and as it does, it opens it's finger-teeth to scream at me again. I jam the barrel of the shotgun into it's maw and it still produces the enraged scream as if it wasn't swallowing a good quarter of a Remington 870.
"DIE!" I squeeze the trigger, causing the creature to recoil and go stiff. Not taking any chances I unload the rest of my ammo into it's mouth, causing the top part of it's head to turn to mush, before the body dissolves into a black inky residue before dispersing into the shadows.
My body is sweating and I'm breathing heavy. I reload my shotgun with the last five shells I have and begin to inspect my surroundings with frantic paranoia.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I'm in full blown panic swearing under my breath. What was that?! Am I hallucinating? I... I... what am I doing here? I'm going to get killed. I've never been afraid of death, but that thing... would it have eaten me? The thought makes my stomach churn. I've had a close encounter with a grizzly once. Even some wolves, but that was... was... fuck I don't know what that was!
"Margaret!" I turn to look where I last saw her and she comes out of the shadows.
"(Christ, Cillian. I haven't seen you this scared since... well I don't think I've ever seen you like this.)"
"Do you remember if any of them mentioned bio-weapons programs or experimentation with mutating agents?"
"(You already know everything that I experienced down here. I'm sorry I don't have any more info for you.)" Margaret gives me an apologetic look.
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. I'm going to get out of here. I'm almost out of ammo and I need to get the army involved."
"(Oh thank God. I didn't find any other survivors anyway. Even if I had, I'd rather you just get out of here. God will handle the rest.)"
"I'm not leaving this up to God, make no mistake. I just need back up. Do you know the way out?"
"(No. I'm just as lost as you. I don't know if you know this but the Shadowlands are a warped... uh... in between place. It's like... how do I say this. The world you see, is twisted, gloomy, and there are weird storms. So I can get lost or cut off here if I'm not careful. Besides, you've been making a lot of wraiths while going through here, so I need to hide.)"
"Oh shit. I'm sorry, Margaret, I should h-."
"RAAAAAEIEAAAA!" A scream comes from down the hall. It belongs to those creatures.
"(It's alright! Just get out of here! We'll meet up again when- oh shit. I have to go! I love you!)"
"I love you too!" I watch as Margaret runs through a wall and I look around briefly trying to see if there are any ghosts that are going to run by me. I quickly abandon that at the sound of another scream and begin running back the way I came. There's nothing I can do for Margaret anyway. No time to perform a ritual, and frankly I don't have the implements for it. She's a smart girl. I know she'll be okay. I don't want to think what will happen to her soul if she...
Another sound informs me that these things are gaining on me. It isn't a scream, but a repulsive, almost, belching noise, and a chirping, but it sounds almost... moist, and as if something much larger than your average bird is making it.
I'm running as fast as I can but I didn't take the time to inspect my wound. Putting my hand to my side and pulling away, I become painfully aware of how much I'm bleeding. My hand is coated in crimson and I'm suddenly processing the damp feeling running down my side, and how my clothes are sticking to my body. I'm starting to slow. This isn't good.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" They are going to jump me at any second. When I was staring that thing in what I guess I have to call it's face, I didn't notice any eyes, nor did I see any ears or a nose. How it was able to navigate I have no idea, but I don't think my stun grenade will do any good. A smoke grenade definitely won't hinder it's vision considering the darkness that enshrouds this place.
"Fine! Only one option!" I slide to my knees as I put let go of my shotgun and pull my bag off my back as quickly as possible. I pull out two Molotovs and light both, placing them down I put the bag back on, pick up my shotgun, and tuck it under my arm, now that the sling is broken from the earlier attack, before picking up both bottles.
I turn in time to see three of those things running at me. One is on the ceiling, on on the wall and one on the floor. This is nightmare. One I intend on surviving.
"Burn." I throw the first bottle at an angle towards the ceiling that will have it spread on both the wall and ceiling upon impact. I hit the mark and the flames spread, nearly blinding me due to my goggles. I almost forgot I was wearing them, considering how dark it is down here. Throwing the second, I manage to catch the creature on the ground while it's distracted by the fire above. When the bottle shatters on the monster, the fire it produced is brighter and more intense than I initially thought it would be. I had to take off my goggles to see what was happening.
The thing must have been in extreme pain, because it was crying in agony. It sounds so human, with a minor undertone of animalistic desperation. I don't think I'll ever forget this sound. On the plus side, the hallway is pretty well lit now. The shadows seem to be actively retreating from the flames. Given the better lighting I can see that there were actually only two creatures... chasing... oh my god.
The things I saw on the ceiling and wall weren't two separate entities of those creatures with hands for a mouth. No... it's a whip-thin entity that has no torso or head... Instead bearing a trunk made of tangled shadows and a flailing array of arms and digits from stumps all around its body. It seems to be dragging elongated writhing fingers and toes across the surface of the walls, ceiling, and floor as it moves. It's form... looks to be coming from where the light doesn't reach. How long is it? It makes a frustrated chirping sound that turns into a belch, like when you get gassy and a burp sneaks up on you mid sentence. I don't know how it's making these noises. I don't see any orifices... oh what the fuck am I saying? The last thing didn't have eyes, ears, or a mouth to speak of, yet it was able to track me no problem. Hell, for all I know what I'm seeing is the tongue of some larger monster.
Fuck it. I pull out another Molotov, but as I do, the creature disappears into the shadows. The monster that is burning on the ground dissipates faster than the one I killed with the shotgun. My instincts tell me that fire is their weakness. Good to know. Unfortunate I didn't bring any incendiary shells with me, or make more Molotovs. I only have three left.
Turning around, I holster my shotgun and pull out my sidearm, wielding my lit molly in my left hand. The fire is a better light source, almost cleansing the shadows from the area around me, giving me slightly better vision than the NVG.
For the next several minutes whenever I pass a hall and hear a scream or other ungodly noise coming from a hall, I'll keep my pace until it sounds like the creatures are getting to close. I then will throw a Molotov at an angle like last time, to scare the creatures, before pulling out another bottle, lighting it, and continuing forward. I go through two more Molotovs in this manner, and have only one remaining. Luckily, I find a door, one I wasn't expecting. I definitely got turned around down here at some point before encountering those monsters, and I don't have any clue where I am. The lucky part of it though is that there is clearly a light shining through the cracks. Maybe this leads outside, or to a better lit area at least. I feel as if though that will be safer, but there is a comfort in knowing my surrounding and how to handle these monsters now. I have but one flammable weapon at my disposal now, however, and so it's best I take this route to leave.
I try the door, but find that it's locked. Great. I considering how low I am on ammo, it's probably best I pick the lock instead of blasting the hinges off with the shotgun. Strange though. This door is made of steel. Almost like an exterior door. Most of the doors so far have been wood.
Placing the bottle down next to me, I pull out my lock pick and begin working on the lock. It's been a hot minute since I've done this, so it might take me a little while. Luckily, I haven't heard anything for the past three or so minutes, so I'm hoping I can-
"Burrrraagr." Though I can hear the burp from far off, it was relatively quiet. Those weird limb-tree creatures seem to get louder the closer they get to me. While the other thing is loud all the time. I need to hurry this up before I hear a scream or get caught out by whatever I've been hearing making the skittering and scratching noises.
"BuuUUR-" The thing is getting louder. Damn it might actually move faster than the Hand That Feeds. Yeah, I suppose that how I can identify it. HTF. And Limb-Tree. Works for me.
"RAAAAAAIIIIEEGH!"
"Uuuuuungh!" Do not tell me there are zombies down here.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" What is that?! Come on come on! Almost got it!
"BUUURRRAA!" That thing is basically on my-
CLICK
"Thank fucking Christ!" The lock is open, I turn the handle as I pick up my Molotov and rush through the door. I turn in time to see the monsters heading towards me, illuminated by the light coming from the new area I have just entered. They seem to hesitate in their approach. The HTF moving it's "head" up and down while it's finger-teeth open and close, making whining sounds. The Limb-Tree is rapidly chirping in annoyance while wiggling around and whatever that panther looking thing with red eyes and tentacles is, is pacing back and forth. Almost like it's trying to decide if it's worth pouncing at me.
"Fuck you all to death." I slam the door shut, not interested in wasting my Molotov. If I hear them try to get through the door I'll light it up, but other than that, I'll save it. After all, I have no idea where I just ended up.
When I turn around, I see what looks to be a sewer that is no longer in use. Which makes me wonder why there is electricity being supplied to this area. The lights are working, and the place is so well lit that I decide to put my goggles in my bag. Keeping my sidearm and Molotov in my hands I continue my search for an exit out of this shithole. I'm hoping the worst is behind me, but something tells me I'm still in immediate danger. That's annoying, because my instinct for danger doesn't tend to be wrong. Then again, I didn't sense that HTF on the ceiling when Margaret showed up, so maybe my senses are getting jammed up by something.
All that to say, I'm definitely trying to avoid thinking about what exactly I just experienced. What are those things? Were they... people once? That panther thing definitely wasn't, but who knows what these people have been up to. I thought they were all just a crime syndicate. For all I know, with everything I've just seen, they are some clandestine group, government funded or otherwise, in charge of some top of the line messed up secret research. Or something. I have no idea. That thing with the hand for a face. The HTF. I saw one of those in the sand-box. What was it doing there? Are there more people involved in this on a global scale?
That doesn't matter right now. I need to focus on getting out of here, and calling the cavalry to handle this fucking place. I mean I have to be real. My official contacts probably won't budge on this. Especially since I don't have any real evidence. God damn it. What am I going to do? I can't let this go on. People are getting hurt, and I'm going to put money on the likelihood that the missing persons cases are generally people being turned into those monsters back there.
Let's not forget, these people targeted my family. They wanted me here. Instead of conducting the same experiments on Margaret, they tortured, and... then they killed her and dumped her to be found in a park by some joggers. Was the Police Chief in on it? His description of what happened to Margaret was unnecessarily graphic. Yet there he was, telling me every gory detail when I came to collect her body for burial. Definitely believable now that he was trying to rile me up enough to go hunting for these guys. Though it's likely I would have anyway. Mother fuckers. They did all of that to her, just to get to me? Why? Who are they? What did I do to them to get on their radar? That woman from earlier mentioned that Valeria had a special interest in me. That she wanted me to be her "child". I mean I'd chalk this up to some sick cult fantasy shit, but that doesn't necessarily fit. I mean, maybe something supernatural that I've never encountered before, but what?
And why didn't they target Sam? Or... or were they trying to isolate me this whole time, and they... no. No, Sam and I... that was on me. And it happened before Afghanistan.
For now, I'll just focus on trying to find an map of the sewer system, if there is still an eligible one around, and get the hell out of here. So far, nothing. Which I don't like. Because it's too quiet. Especially after what I just went through. Suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth though. Could be worse. Of course, as I say that, I come across two paths, on of them with an "EXIT" sign and the other just an unmarked path. The Exit is blocked by rubble however, and so I have no choice other than to go down the unmarked tunnel. I have my reservations however, considering I can clearly see blood streaking the walls and floors. Because of course I am stuck in a hellish pit with monsters and lunatics. Well, now's as good a time as any to take a moment to patch myself up.
Seriously, I should have done this sooner, but I didn't want to risk getting caught out by an unseen enemy. Especially since I can't shake the feeling that I'm still being watched, or followed by something. Pulling off my bag, I pull out my medical supplies, and remove my vest. I haven't come across anybody with a gun for awhile now, and the plate has been shot to hell. Not to mention the vest is barely hanging on by a thread after the first attack from the HTF. I may as well abandon it for now.
Looking at my shirt in this lighting I can see that it is soaked in blood. The wound shouldn't be fatal, but I need to dress it now or I'll bleed out eventually. The thing left three deep gashes on my upper ribs. I'm lucky it didn't go any deeper, otherwise it may have slashed my lungs, and any higher and it may have taken my arm or opened up an artery that would have killed me in seconds. I start by cleaning the wound, before packing it. After that, I take off my shirt, and wrap my body in bandages. I can't stitch the wound due to the angle, making it extremely difficult to use both my hands. Which means I'd need to one hand it while holding the string with my mouth, but I don't have time for that.
When I'm done, I move to put my shirt back on, but I'm hearing movement from where I had just come from. Picking up my sidearm I level it at my would be attacker and freeze.
"Malcolm?" He shouldn't be here. The man is actually dressed in a long, brown, overcoat. So long that I can't see his feet.
"Sir, you need some help. Let me help you." Malcolm looks wrong. His face is... crooked. His eyes aren't aligned they way they were before and his nose is smaller. His mouth... there's a line that starts on each corner of his mouth and goes on until... well I actually don't see an end. It looks like if he smiles, his head will split in half. And that's the eerie thing about his words. He said it in a friendly manner but his face is stone cold, and his mouth barely moved. I also can't see his hands. His sleeves seem longer than his arms.
"Sir is for useless people." I start.
"You work for a living!" His yell is ear piercing and almost strained. I don't know if this is the Malcolm I sent off with Amy, and he was just captured and turned into this, which seems impossible considering how long that would have had to take... How long have I been down here anyway? Well, it's either that, or this isn't really him. It's something pretending to be him. Either way. I'm killing it.
I squeeze the trigger without hesitation, hitting the thing between the eyes. It stumbles backwards, and nearly falls over, but it's hand shoots out and grabs the wall. It's fingers are bony and sharp, digging into the surface, chipping it, and indicating to me that whatever the fuck it is, I should blast it with a bigger gun.
Pulling out the 870 from my bag on the ground, I hear Malcolm speak once more.
"That wasn't nice Warrant!" His voice sounds doubled now. One part is raspy and panicked while the other is calm and smooth. When I point my shotgun at him, he leans his head forward and smiles. I was right. His mouth doesn't stop with his lips. Instead, his hole head opens up like a clam shell, revealing razor sharp teeth much larger than they should be in order to be contained in that head. They line the entire edge of the seem where the head separates, and an elongated prehensile tongue slithers out of his throat. It reaches down and unties his overcoat, letting it open up and drop... Jesus Christ.
The thing roars at me. It sounds pained. The battle cry of agony, as the coat falls to the floor it reveals the Malcolm Entity's body. It looks like Malcolm has grown thick lines of dead skin in a random pattern across his now nude body. When I shoot him, the blast barely does any damage, but his body reacts to my attack by opening up like a flower. Jesus I can't believe what I'm seeing. The calloused lines on his torso are like seems, just like the one on his head. They split, and he unfolded in front of me, to reveal a series of calcified spikes and claws on the inside. I don't see any vital organs or anything like that. He looks like an iron maiden made of flesh, bone and sinew. His legs too, open up, and become more than just a set of two legs, multiplying to 8 spider like legs with small hands, three fingers each, for feet.
They dig into the hard floor of the sewer, as if to grip it to stay up right as he begins scurrying towards me at an alarming rate. I fire again, this time doing more damage, causing him to cry in pain.
"You're hurting me, Warrant! Why? We're brothers in arms!" This is getting to be too much. His voice is coming from somewhere, but his head is split in half. He isn't using his lips to form words and his tongue definitely isn't being used for that either. I honestly don't know what's worse. What I faced in the halls of the basement, or this.
He doesn't stop his advance, but he does close up his body, leaving only his legs in their transformed state. I fire at his torso and it barely does anything and I realize that he is vulnerable when he's body is open in the flower state. Great. Gotta get in close so he's comfortable with attacking me before I can kill him. Wait. He has eyes and ears still. Worth a shot.
I pull out a stun grenade and pull the pin, just as he opens his body again, I throw it in, and shoot him to make him close up. When he does, the stun grenade goes off. It's still loud, but the flash can only be seen to come out of his mouth. He whines and collapses from... well honestly I'm not sure. It's probably the sound, but who knows if he can just see with his flesh now. I mean how else does he know where to attack when his head is like that.
His flower like state opens up shortly after he falls. The creature seems to be stunned and unable to maintain it's form in any specific manner for a brief time, so I'm going to take that opportunity, and burn the fuck out of this thing. Picking up the Molotov, I walk right up to the fucker and jam it down it's now wide open throat. It grabs me with one of it's hands, but I pull out my gun, and turn away from the bottle as I fire a 9mm round into the Molly. It bursts open, and flames douse the creature inside and out. Just like the last beasts, he lit up like a bonfire doused in gasoline. I don't know why these guys are so flammable, but I'm glad there's something I can exploit to my advantage.
"IT BURNS! HELP ME PLEASE! MERCY! MERCY!"
"Sorry. I'm all out."
Honestly, there wouldn't be much I can do anyway. I don't know that destroying his brain is actually going to do anything. Besides. He'll be dead soon enough. I have basically no ammo left after this. My P226 is on it's last clip, and I have two rounds left in my shotgun.
I decide to watch him burn to death to make sure he actually dies. Strangely enough, it takes much longer than the previous creatures. When he stops yelling for mercy and becomes still, he does not dissipate into the shadows like the last two I burned to death. Instead, he just smoulders. The smell of burning flesh is potent, and given we're underground, it's not airing out any time soon. I shake my head, knowing full well that I'm fucked now if I have to fight any more of these things. I pick up my bag, shouldering it once more, abandoning my torn shirt and Kevlar. Lifting my shotgun, I head down the dark tunnel, fully expecting to die down here. It's not like I'm giving up. I just have to be realistic with myself of how likely it is I'm going to make it out now that I don't have a fire source.
Walking down the tunnel, the light begins to dim again. I contemplate pulling out my NVG, but I feel it's pointless. I can see the shadows moving. Clearly this isn't real, or it's magic or something. I don't know that I believe in that shit, but... what other explanation is there? Maybe this was just a small reprieve from the shadows, and now I'm fated to enter them once more.
Heh. Fate. What a shit hand it dealt me. What kind of path is this? Raised my whole life on base. Trained. Fought. Killed. A soldier. A warrior. A violent life ending violently. Fine. I've always been okay with that. But this? This isn't acceptable. What they did to my famly, what they've done to all these people... They've created Hell on Earth. That can't stand. As I submerge myself into the shadow, I yell out to any and all that can hear me in this foul place.
I feel my feet become wet as I begin to splash through some kind of liquid. It smells like a butcher shop, only if the butcher involved human meat. I can smell the coppery scent of blood in the air and I feel like I am probably walking in copious amounts of said fluid. I mean why wouldn't I be at this point? Moving shadows and hellish monsters? Why wouldn't there be a blood pit down here? Fitting really. A warrior, fighting and dying in a gladiator style blood pit. Honestly, there's no honour here. But I have to make them fear me. So far, none of them seem to have expected me to show up the way I did. So no matter how this goes down, I have to make it so in their quiet moments alone, they think of the man that almost took them down by himself.
"To those of you behind these monstrosities! To those responsible for murdering my family! I will kill you all! I will fight and wage war until I'm done ripping you apart! I will die on my feet! I won't stop until I've spent my last round! Breathed my last breath! Spilled my last drop of blood!"
"You don't say?" That voice again. The Shadows pull back and I find myself in an open junction with a high ceiling in that unused Sewer system. I was right. I am splashing through knee deep blood. Though I suspect water is mixed in. Don't want to think about how many people had to be sacrificed to make a pit like this. Looking around, I see a mixture of 'people' and monsters. All kinds. Spiked arms, chitinous bodies, but among them is Valeria.
I'm standing in the centre, and looking up and around me, the darkened ceiling of this place definitely has more creatures crawling along it's surface. I hear the blood disturbed by something moving and I see Valeria is stepping forward. No longer is she wearing her power suit. Instead, she is wearing a red leather body suit. Her dark hair is tied up, and my earlier assumption about her eyes were correct. They are black pools. If eyes are windows to the soul, than her soul is damned, or consumed by the Abyss. Either way. I'm sending her there.
"Wel-" Levelling the 870 at her chest I fire and she moves just in time to take it in the shoulder. Great. She's also inhumanly fast. That bitch from earlier stated she was something more than human. I'd argue she's something less, but her physical capabilities are definitely above my own. I have no doubt she's going to be able to throw me around if she gets her hands on me. Something about this whole thing just seems... off.
"That was ru-" I fire again, catching her in the stomach. The damage I do seems to be negligible, probably due to distance mostly, but who knows. Maybe she's bullet proof. "-Whore-son."
"She was the furthest thing from a whore. If you weren't such a stupid cunt, maybe you wouldn't have made the mistake of making me your enemy." I drop the shotgun now that it's spent, and pull my knife and sidearm. My right holding the tac knife, and my left holding the P226. "Before I kill you, I want to know one thing."
She smiles at me. I don't know what she is smiling about and I don't care. I only care that she seems to be enjoying herself, and it is making me think that killing her is going to be a lot harder than I had hoped.
"You came here looking for trouble. You messed up some of our plans, whether you realize it or not, and now you have faced just a fraction of our forces. Remarkable that you still have the spirit, determination, and rage, to destroy us. Remarkable." Maybe it is a fetish cult thing. She seems to be aroused at the moment. If her pupils dilating are any indication of that. Pretty sure that pupils dilating when looking at a potential mate is also a sign of a desire to reproduce. Or something like that. Disgusting.
"Why did you target my family the way you did. Why did you want me here?"
"Oh? You are clever. Or maybe one of my subordinates spilled their guts while you were spilling their guts." She giggles to herself at this before taking a serious look and tone. "Simple really. While in Haiti last February, you entered our radar when you killed a Voodoo Priestess with that international Task Force you were being considered for."
"The Minutemen?"
"Correct. The governments of the world aren't fully aware of the supernatural, but they, like all superstitious types, have a sinking suspicion that there is more to the world than what is known. They wish to control it, like they always do, and they can't. Not until you showed up." She pauses as she begins to circle me, staring at me with that longing in her eyes. I keep my gun trained on her.
"The mission in Haiti. And the last mission the JTF did with the Minutemen in Afghanistan." She snaps her fingers at my words.
"Bien, chico. Muey Bien. Your mission in Haiti was separate from the one involved with the rebellion. You and your small group of hunters, tracked down and killed a Voodoo Priestess. A necromancer specifically. How did you manage that?"
"Ghosts." She stops in her tracks as she holds my gaze and scrutinizes my answer. Before she laughs and begins to circle me again.
"Por Supuesto! (Of Course!) You're a medium. That's how you found us so quickly. I thought it would take you much, much, longer. And you used a necromancy ritual to free the Wraiths from her enslavement. Allowing you to reach her unimpeded and kill her."
"How do you know all this?"
"I have my sources. She was an ally of mine. A mentor in some regards, at least when it came to commanding the dead."
"So you wanted revenge?" Another laugh escapes her left.
"Nothing so pedestrian I assure you." Her velvety voice has the faintest of European Spanish accents. Her posture is relaxed, despite my earlier assault. She's too comfortable. Hopefully I can make her drop her guard even further.
"Can you just spit it out so we can get on with this? I've got places to be, people to kill."
"The cave in Afghanistan. How did you find it?" I don't understand why she cares about this so much.
"That was a pure coincidence. My squad in the JTF had taken heavy casualties, due to shoddy intelligence, so we were looking for cover."
"And you just stumbled up on that cave?"
"That's about right." The pallid woman sighs as she stops in her tracks again.
"What happened in Afghanistan?" She knows too much for how secretive the JTF and the Minutemen are. I have no intention of telling her anything... but... I should. I feel... weird.
"I had gotten separated from my squad in a bombing run. My instincts pulled me away from the battlefield, which was good considering what happened. I ended up running into a team of ten marines that were lost and had no communication with Command. We grouped up and carried on when a female insurgent had been picking off our men with a sniper from the cliff hanging over that cave. She killed five of them before we eventually reached her, dragged her to the cave, and interrogated her for info. She claimed to have nothing to do with the insurgents, and didn't know where the target was that the Marines were looking for. It became clear that somebody, possibly her, was living in that cave. She kept saying there were monsters there, and that she was the one that kept watch for them. We didn't believe her, but I had this sinking feeling about the place the whole time. It was ramshackle but there were support beams, beds, rooms, and a room of corpses. We chalked her up for being crazy, and I suggested burning the place. Sgt. Masters and SPC. Bloom from the Marine Corps I was working with, took it upon themselves after the interrogation to strip her naked and attempt sexually assaulting her. With what we found, and the lack of her willingness to talk, I decided she was of no use and put her out of her misery before the assault could start. The two bastards didn't take kindly to that, but the rest of the group didn't seem to have open hostility towards me with the decision I made. The Masters being the highest ranking officer their, they seemed to just go along with everything he said." The compulsion to just spill my guts is overwhelming. Holding on to the events of that night, keeping it to myself is crushing me. I had to leave the army because of it. A source of frustration that bothers me even now.
"Why did you kill them?" I think back to that night, and remember Masters and Bloom, their twisted faces and eyes of madness.
"They seemed almost possessed. I don't know. Maybe they were just mad at me for taking their fun away. They tried to kill me that night. When I started fighting back, they called for help. Everybody woke up, and we fought. It's a blur from there, but all I saw was red, and I killed all of them. Save the rookie. Private Montauk. He... I don't know. I came to when I was about to kill him. He was begging for his life, and I dropped the kid. He told me he didn't want any trouble and when I was trying to ask him what happened, we were found by the surviving members of my JTF squad. Montauk blurted out everything that happened there and then, and once we got back to home base, I was court marshalled and discharged from the army."
"You don't remember the exact events?"
"No. I get glimpses when I dream some times. Bashing one of their heads in with a rock, stabbing another in the throat, breaking limbs, but it's all just pieces... Hell even before blacking out, I don't really recall Montauk." At this, Valeria focuses on me.
"Oh? That's intriguing. What do you remember about him?" I've done this exercise before. Closing my eyes and trying to remember him clearly. I normally have a good memory, but it's not as if he was just unremarkable. I don't really remember him at all. There's a blank spot there. We had 10 guys, and I was the 11th. But when I came to, Montauk was there, making it 12 total. So who is he? Where did he come from?
"My clearest memory of him is when I came to. Even though he was the one who outed me, there's no report of him in any official records. I can't locate him anywhere either. Maybe he was a covert op posing as a rookie? I don't know." Valeria starts to approach me now as the secrets are spilled and my compulsion to speak passes... Did she do something to me?
"Interesting. Let's see if I can't dig up the missing memory."
BANG
I plugged her between the eyes. She stumbles backwards but does not fall. I knew this was likely to be the case. It makes me wonder if shooting her in the eye would have been better. Either way, my knife needs to go through her ear. Maybe I'll be able to puncture her that way, and destroy her brain. Hopefully that will kill this monster.
"I don't know what you just did to me, but I'm done talking. You need to pay for what you've done." Valeria laughs in response as she rights her self and looks at me in amusement. I look in horror as I realize there is a clear hole in the middle of her head, and she is still standing.
"You have a corazon ardiente, (Fiery Heart) childe. It is one of many qualities that has convinced me that you are worthy of becoming one of the Shadow Clan."
"What is that? Some kind of Ninja Organization?" Another laugh.
"We don't just operate in the shadows, we master them. Something, I am willing to bet, you will excel at. A mortal, surviving an Oubliette the way you did, and even killing one of Andrei's pets afterwards, I am very pleased with my prize. Though there is one problem. Your arrogance." Without warning the woman moves at a speed even faster than the creature in the halls.
I try to fire at her before she reaches me but she manages to grab the gun from my hands throws it to the side. I move to stab her in the ear like I had intended but she hits me in the solar plexus. The air is ripped from my body and I fall to my knees, but before I hit the bloody ground she grabs me by my neck and lifts me off my feet. She's shorter than me by a few inches and definitely weighs way less, but is stronger than anyone I've faced. Perhaps even stronger than that Russian Bear Piotr.
"You've fought many battles, and many wars. It has made you overzealous in your approach." As she blathers on about how overconfident I am, I quietly pull my last stun grenade from my bag, and pull the pin. "You came here trying to be an avenger, under the guise of a hero. Expecting victory. Yet victory, has defeated you."
"You're wrong. I'm a reminder." She grins at me and squeezes my neck a little tighter.
"A reminder of what exactly?" I need her to open her mouth again so I can jam the grenade into her mouth. I contemplate hitting her in the throat, but I don't know that I can generate enough force to do so now that I'm nearly out of air. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I reach out and grab her breasts with my free hand. She clearly was not expecting that, her jaw falling open, and a look of unrequited anger in her eyes. I shove the grenade into her mouth and she becomes surprised.
"All things die." I close my eyes and cover my ears. Even still, I am slightly disoriented by the grenade going off. She however is stunned to the point that she dropped me on my ass.
I don't have a lot of time, so quickly I pull out all my smoke grenades and my bolt cutters. I can't throw the grenades for the crimson substance will make them useless, so instead, I take off my bag and let it float in the water, placing one grenade on top, and pushing it away from me. I quickly take off my boots and stick my grenades in them and put them down. By the time Valeria regains her composure, I lower myself down into the blood, but before my ears submerge I hear her speak.
"Resourceful. That will come in handy in unlife." Unlife? The hell does that mean? Whatever. Taking a deep breath, I submerge myself under water, or I guess blood, in a military crawl, before she sees me. I roughly know where she is, and I'm waiting for her to get close so I can take her by surprise. I'm also feeling around for my knife, but I'm having no luck. Will have to rely on the tool as a weapon.
I lift my head every few seconds as I slowly make my way around, to see if I can manage to catch a glimpse of her through the smoke. Raise. Check. Lower. Move. Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
I'm also counting the seconds, making sure I know when the smoke will dissipate. Almost a whole minute passes, smoke grenades normally lasting 90 means I have half a minute to capitalize on the obscured vision. Then I feel a shift in the blood next to me. Raising my head, I see the back of Valeria's legs, moving slowly away from me. Perfect.
I stand up so painfully slow I feel my bones ache. I've been at this awhile, and even though I'm used to prolonged physical exertion, I've never faced monsters like this before. No matter. Focus. I stand up, and pull the bolt cutters up with me. I need to clock her in the temple. Hopefully I can concuss her. The disorientation will work in my favour. What good is strength and power if you can't actively direct it?
Gripping the cutters in my hands, I raise the weapon to my right, an swing for the fences in a horizontal arc with all the strength I can muster. The sickening crack of metal and bone colliding on impact brings a surge of adrenaline to capitalize. Her head recoils from the blow, and raise the weapon above my head this time, bringing it down to meet with the back of her skull. A dense thud is herd this time, as Valeria seems to fall forward in the blood. Perfect. I move forward quickly, and find that she fell forward out of the smoke. Fine by me. I see her ponytail floating in the blood, and decide to kill her by drowning. I lift up my foot and plant it on the back of her head, forcing her to the floor. She seems to flail a bit in panic. When she tries to grab for my legs, I place the bolt cutters around her index finger and squeeze. Cleaving the digit off her hand causes her to thrash more violently. My foot is pressing her head against the floor pretty well, but I'm going to have to readjust my position and put more weight on top of her so she doesn't roll out. But just as I'm about to do this, she slows. Maybe because this isn't just water she's drowning a lot faster. I'm not sure how that would work. Either way, I can't take a break yet. Once she's dead, I'm probably going to have to contend with the monsters in this room.
She struggles for another five seconds before becoming still. I keep my foot where it is, just to make sure, and ultimately accept the fact that I'm not making it out of this place alive. I hear some groaning and howling. Screams and jeers. I turn to look around me, the smoke now cleared, and there are people here now, among the monsters.
"Damn! He's tough!"
"He didn't win though."
"Well of course not."
"Can the Mistress drown?"
"Ha! New girl hasn't seen anything yet." There are only about five to six people standing around the room. Oddly enough they are all dressed in business casual clothing. Two of them are the guys that were walking Valeria out of the Church earlier tonight. The rest are faces I don't recognize. Luckily, I don't see Amy anywhere, so maybe that means she escaped, and Malcolm got himself capture to let her have a chance to get free.
"Who's next!" My challenge is met with a few laughs and some screeching.
"There's that arrogance I was talking about?" I spin around, swinging my bolt cutters, but I don't hit anything. I blink, and my arms are broken, my cutters falling into the pool of blood. I want to scream in pain but I stifle the noise, not wanting to give them the satisfaction. Valeria is circling me now. I didn't even see her get up.
"How?" I can't bring myself to look at her. Tears are pricking the edges of my eyes. I failed my sister. God, I hope she isn't watching. All that I killed here, was for nothing. They were just fodder. This evil bitch, whatever she is, is the real threat. I don't know what she's planning with the others, or with these creatures, but I don't want to become one of them.
"I'm no longer human, soldier-boy. I'm something more than that now. Have been for centuries." Her delight in this situation tells me she was never in doubt about winning. Even with what I managed, she likely knew that I didn't have the means to kill her.
"How is that possible?"
"I'm immortal, you little man." She leans down, wrapping her blood soaked hand around my neck. My arms aren't bending right and I no longer have the energy to fight. I'm losing a lot of blood. She forces me to meet her eyes and lifts me off the ground.
"Nobody, is immortal." She giggles at me as she leans in to whisper in my ear.
"That's right. 'All things die.' You said you were the reminder of that. But it appears, I'm about to show you what death truly is."
"Fu-" She cuts off the air flow and I can no longer speak.
"You managed very well. Exceeded my expectations. Clever use of your boots and bag. Even got the drop on me by hiding under the blood. I didn't consider you'd use such a tactic. You nearly made me drink that foul Tzimisce's refuse, and I for one do not wish to be infected with his diseased Discipline." Her hand tightens around my throat, threatening to crush it's internal workings by simply squeezing. That shouldn't be possible with her slender hands. "It is remarkable how savage you can be. The way you mutilated Nicole before splattering her like a pumpkin. The frigidly methodical dismantling of all my guards as you carefully moved through the labyrinth. How you handled yourself against it's more, remarkable, denizens. I haven't met somebody like you in a long time. You are deserving of the Embrace."
Raising her free hand, she begins to wipe away at my neck, before dragging me to the other side of the room. I'm starting to feel light headed, so I don't really process her orders given to the goons gathered. All I know is the room begins to disperse, monster and henchmen alike, before she walks me towards an ever growing shadow in the corner. I must be hallucinating. I must... are we walking into it? It's... no...
Jesus it's cold... Where... I can't see... I can barely breathe... Where am...
Just as suddenly as we entered the darkness we came out into a dimly lit room. I think I've been here before.
Valeria let's go of me and I fall on the bed, my broken arms unprotected as I bounce on the springs. The pain is dulled as my senses are muted from the exhaustion and blood loss. Suddenly I feel something damp, warm, and coarse, against my face and neck. I can't bring myself to contemplate any further what's happening. I feel a slimy sensation glide against my ear before a set of lips rests on me.
"I'm going to enjoy making you squirm and moan in pleasure as I drink your blood." Oh... so that's what she is... wait. That's not... no that can't be real.
"I... st-" she hesitates no longer, as I feel to sharp sensations in my neck. I want to fight her off but I don't have the strength to even speak much less scream and kick. I feel my blood flowing out of my body, and darkness creeping at the corner of my vision.
I think of my mother, and how she taught me to be a good man. My father, and how he taught me the opposite. I loved them both. My sister, took after mother more than I did. She's... fuck I wish I could have helped her. Sam and Patrick. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should never have left... I'm probably going to be a ghost. Tied to Sam, or this place and it's horrors. Maybe both. I don't know. I just want to sleep.
The darkness reaches the centre of my vision, and just as I'm about to fall into oblivion, I feel, just barely, Valeria pull back, and place something cold against my lips. I feel this unexplained urge to drink, and something oozes out of whatever I'm sucking on. It glides down my throat, and that's the last thing I feel before I die.