A/N: So, it's been a while everyone, life has been lifing hard, but now that things are calming down, I wanted to get back into this writing thing with a little short story inspired by Ink Tank's Ultimate Wildmutt.
My name is Thomas and I was at the helm of the Plumber ship. The navigation system led us to the planet Vulpin. A previous Plumber scout crew had been attacked and had to make an emergency landing on Vulpin, and now we were here to pick them up. It was a standard Plumber crew, there were four other members with me. There was Merida, a tracking specialist, who would take point once they made landfall. Then there was Carson the melee specialist, equipped with a pair of laser short swords.
Violet specialized in firearms and would be hanging at the back covering their six and finally Carl the medic. He would be stationed on the ship for the length of the operation. In the best-case scenario, he'd be superfluous staff. I was of course the pilot, but I was no slouch when it came to combat either. Each of us had a job and knew how to step back to let the person most suited to the task take the lead. "Alright everyone we're going to be making entry brace for it," I said as I flicked a few switches and gradually eased the nose of the ship down for their entry.
As we entered Vulpin's atmosphere the light slowly drained from around us as we plunged further and further into the pitch black of planet Vulpin. I switched on the lights on the front of the ship revealing the toxic cloud cover in front of us. Eventually, we broke through the poisoned clouds and the landscape of Vulpin revealed itself to us. Even out of the clouds, a thick green haze hung in the air. The rocky ground below them loomed closer and closer. "Making landfall in 3...2...1," I announced before the ship jostled heartily with our landing. "Welcome to planet Vulpin folks," I triumphantly said as I unbuckled and stood up
I gave a stretch looking around at the team. "Well let's go save some Plumbers." We all made our way to the loading dock to gear up as well as put our environment suits on. Merida keyed in the locater beacon for the downed plumber ship. "Looks like they're about a mile off you couldn't get us any closer Tom?" she asked with a teasing grin. I shrugged as I put my helmet on.
"Sorry, I figured you could use the exercise Merida you've been looking rather chunky as of late." I said, returning her grin. Merida gave a huff.
"Whatever you say, Ace Pilot." She sneered as the bay door opened letting in the thick noxious air of the planet wafted in.
"Ugh I can smell it through my helmet," Carson complained as the five walked out into the darkness of Planet Vulpin. The lights from our suits created tunnels of brightness in the oppressive dark.
"Yeah well, the place is a cesspool of course it has a shitty smell. Deal with it and form up everyone." Merida commanded as she took point Carson was on her left I was on her right and Violet was in the rear with her guns drawn. "Alright, Carl initiate Lockdown of the ship. We don't want any Vulpimancers getting in and tearing you to pieces now." The quartet heard a groan. "Thanks for that image, Merida." Carl retorted. Merida gave a wolfish grin.
"Anytime Carl." She said as we made their trek. Merida looked at her wrist display. "At this pace, we should make it to the downed ship in about thirty minutes barring any occurrences." She said as we struck a brisk pace through the greenish haze that wafted around us. "What could have done this to a planet?" Violet asked breaking the suffocating silence that persisted around them.
"What does it matter Violet? There's nothing to be done about it and for better or worse the creatures here have managed to thrive. What's that old saying "If it ain't broke, mind your business" or something like that." I said shaking my head. The planet was a cesspool now what did it matter how it got that way? I thought to myself. Violet shot me an irritated look but said nothing else. The silence invaded once more with it only being kept at bay by the crunching of our boots in the dry cracked earth. The landscape was mostly hidden from our view with us only being able to see about ten feet in front of us not that there was a lot to see. There was seemingly no vegetation in sight and the ground was mottled shades of brown with large splotches of maroon here or there. I chose to believe that was just a natural part of the environment and not old bloodstains.
The trek was going rather smoothly for the past twenty minutes the ship would be coming into view any moment now when it happened. There was a sound so inhuman my brain froze up. I've been a plumber for several years now I'd faced, dozens of hostile species from the Vicetopus of Encephalonus Five to the Panuncians of Hathor and he'd never heard a sound like this. It was an animal in nature and low so low in fact it felt like my organs were shifting due to its vibrations. It set my teeth rattling in my head and I instinctively reached to cover my ears for all the could it did. It was like a lion's roar but dialed up to the max. We all stopped in our tracks as the roar echoed around us before eventually fading. "What...the fuck was that?" Carson asked looking around as he flexed his hands lumbering them up as he formed them into fists. Merida gave her head a shake before radioing back to the ship.
"Carl I'm sending you a recording from my suit can you analyze it and see what the hell just made that sound?" I was shocked to hear such a question coming from Merida. She was the most well-traveled out of all of us. There were very few species that Merida couldn't identify by sound alone, so to hear her say that let me know to be on an even higher alert.
"I've got it I'll let you know in a moment." Carl's voice said over our communicators. I gripped my blaster tighter as the scuttling of rocks could be heard.
"Heads up everyone we've got company." I alerted the group as Violet pulled her pair of blasters, Carson flexed his fists twice as the armor on his forearms shifted down over his knuckles with the low hum of electricity flowing through them. Merida pulled out her Vibe Knife and blaster as the scuttling grew into a full-on rumble. Then we heard the barks and growls of Vulpimancers. They crested the hill above us there were five of them in all. Their tails lashed back and forth as they spread apart looking to encircle us.
"Steady on Plumbers," Merida said as the leader of the Vulpimancer pack stepped into their light. Its fur was a deep red the color of bloodstains with black stripes along its back and a long thin tail that ended in a hook-like protrusion. This was the oldest member of this pack. It gave a roar and charged. Merida stood still facing down the incoming threat. The Vulpimancer leapt into the air looking to pounce, but right before Impact Merida ducked and rolled underneath it leaving it open as Carson's fist slammed into its eyeless face. There was a crack as bone met gauntlet. The Vulpimancer seemingly crumpled into his fist before being thrown back. I turned quickly from the encounter in front of me locking eyes onto one of the other five Vulpimancers that was charging at me. It was younger than the red one its tail no more than a foot long. I dodged out of the way firing shots into its side and narrowly avoiding its whip-like tail lashing across my chest. I rolled across the ground to come up kneeling bracing my blaster as I moved to catch it in my sight again.
Thick gray blood oozed from the holes I'd put in its side while more was trickling out of its mouth. It gave a deep growl and shook its head spraying spittle and blood around it. It began striding across my field of vision no doubt keeping me in its "sights" as well. I dare not take my eyes off it even though I can hear the sound of battle continuing to go on around me. There were the thuds of Carson's fists striking flesh, the rapid staccato of Violet's blasters going off, and finally the whistle as Merida's knife cleaved through the air. The Vulpimancer in front of me seemed to make up its mind and ran for me once more. I stayed where I was kneeling on the ground as it charged me. I fired off a shot center mass, but the creature dodged to the side as a shower of rock and plasma erupted from the missed shot. The Vulpimancer changed direction again coming at me in a serpentine fashion. I fired off several more shots the closest being mere grazes across its fur before it got within striking range.
Its thick black claws raked the air where I had been moments before as I rolled out of the way only for its tail to crack me across the chest slamming me into the ground. My mask hit the ground and my head rattled inside it like my brain was doing in my skull. I heard the scrabbling of claws and turned onto my back as the Vulpimancers pounced. I pride myself on being a crack shot and keeping a cool head in combat, but at that moment I just fired blindly. I held down the trigger of my blaster as shot after shot erupted from the muzzle. The Vulpimancer was in midair there was no time to dodge. I watched in near slow motion as my plasma shots pierced its chest, and stomach before it landed on me. It's weight and momentum crashing down on me. The air erupted from my lungs as I was crushed under its dead weight. I lay there shuddering trying to get my lungs to work as my brain screamed for oxygen.
After what felt like minutes of shuddering on the ground I finally drew in a much-welcome breath followed by several more greedy lungfuls. I looked down into the eyeless face of the dead Vulpimancer. Gray blood was pooling on my chest as I slowly extricated myself from under it. I climbed to my feet and looked around the red Vulpimancer was lying on the ground in front of Carson who was holding his stomach. The other three Vulpimancers were nowhere in sight. "They must have fled when their leader died." I thought to myself as we all regrouped around Carson. "Nice going, Carson." I congratulated him before seeing what that battle had cost him. I thought Carson was holding his stomach due to some kind of abdominal injury. I now saw that wasn't the case. Carson's left arm was gone. Below the elbow was nothing but a ragged and bleeding stump. White spikes of bone protruded grisly from the ragged meat of his arm.
"Oh shit!" Violet said having seen the wound herself. "We should go back to the ship." She continued as Carson activated the emergency measures on his suit. Each Plumber suit had emergency medical measures that could be taken depending on the emergency. In Carson's case, the suit immediately sealed itself off at the shoulder allowing no poison inside, and deployed an antibiotic gel matrix around the stump to sanitize the area and deploy painkillers. I saw all this happen in a few moments before Carson's stump was completely covered in the opaque and hardened gel.
"No we should continue forward the downed Plumber ship is closer than ours," Merida said as I watched Violet grow angry.
"And then what, bring back that crew in whatever state they're in with one less fighter in the group? Carson needs medical attention now!" Violet said only for Merida to roughly grab her by the front of her suit.
"Listen goddammit! If we turn back now those Vulpimancers will harry us the entire way. Twenty minutes going back versus ten going forward. We're better off continuing to the downed ship at least then there's less of an opportunity for the Vulpimancers to attack. They'll need time to regroup and we should take every second of it." Merida said letting go of Violet. "We press on the faster we get to the ship the better off we'll be." Merida finished before facing forward and beginning to march.
"She has a point," I said getting beside Carson as he began to move. Carson was a soldier who knew to follow orders so if the order was forward all he could do was grit his teeth and walk. "We can't stand here arguing anyway." I continued eventually hearing Violet's footsteps trail after us. As we started moving a Vulpimancer howl ripped through the poisoned air.
"Fuck!" Carson shouted starting to jog while the rest of us followed suit. As we did so Carl came over our comms.
"That sound is unrecognized in our database." He said clinically.
"WHAT?!" Merida shouted between breaths. "That's impossible. The Plumber Database is extensive and planet Vulpin has been mapped thoroughly we know every piece of flora and fauna on this planet. Check it again!" She shouted. Merida was right Vulpin was a fully mapped planet there couldn't be anything here they didn't have a record of, but that was th least of our worries now. The Vulpimancers were getting closer. I could hear the scrabbling of claws on the stone as the ship came into view. It was one of the more grievous crash landings I'd seen. The ship had run across the rocky ground scraping itself to bits before slamming into a large outcropping of rock. I didn't have time to look closely as I was running like hell for the bay door. Merida pressed a few buttons on her wristpad to get the bay door open. It gave a low groan as it began to drop. We continued to run if I hadn't been in a state of panic I would have noticed that the sound of claws had stopped. I would have noticed that everything was silent but I didn't. We reached the bay door as it was halfway down and rather than waiting for it to lower fully we hurled ourselves through the opening. First Merida then me, Carson scrambled up with only one arm before turning back to help Violet.
I don't know what happened but all I heard was a scream and then a splash. Carson turned around his helmet and suit splashed with Violet's blood. We could all hear her screams as something in the fog tore her apart. It was only when the door was sealed shut did the screams stopped. "What the fuck was that!" Merida shouted as the three of us looked at one another. "Carson, what happened?" She asked as Carson just stood there his pupils dilated and his gaze far off somewhere else. He was the picture of a man in shock. "CARSON!" Merida shouted shaking his helmet and bringing him back to the present.
"Y-yeah Chief I'm here." He said shaking his head. I just looked at Carson as he cleared the blood from his helmet leaving red smears on his helmet. "I-I don't know what it was, but it wasn't a Vulpimancer I know that much. I couldn't see once the fog got thicker, but whatever it was ripped Violet out of here in an instant." He said. That was a pretty big clue I thought to myself. Plumber suits offered a slightly heightened strength when worn. It wasn't anything compared to most alien species' brute strength, but it did give them a fighting chance against something like a Vulpimancer. Merida shook her head.
"Well it was is out there and we're in here we need to find the survivors and see if their medical bay is working. If it is we can do some work on Carson's arm and get the fuck off this cesspool of a planet."
"Yes, Ma'am." Both me and Carson agreed as the three of us formed up once again and started deeper into the ship. The interior didn't seem to be as damaged as the exterior would imply. "We should head for the command deck and see what we can find. If they were going to hold up that would be the best place to start." I offered as Merida nodded in agreement. We began our trip to the deck as we did the oppressive silence invaded each step we made and seemed to echo for miles. My mind was taken back to the sound of Violet's screams. Death was a constant companion for a Plumber it came with the job. I've lost friends before in the line of duty, but this just felt different. I couldn't place why, but something about the way it happened just made it stick with me more. I looked over my shoulder at Carson. His eyes were far away again I could tell he was also thinking about the attack.
I would have liked to comfort him I wish I had, but it would have made no difference with what would happen over the next hour or so. We made it to the command center the doors were sealed, but with a well-placed shot and the combined strength of the three of us, we were able to pry the room open. We stepped inside seeing no one there. As we swept over the room Merida walked over to a blinking light on the ship array. After making sure the room was secure Merida pressed the glowing button and activated a hologram.
A man sat before us hunkered in this very room. His hair was streaked with gray, but it had once been brown and was a mess matted to his head by blood and sweat. His Plumber suit was ravaged with holes and claw marks. Blood was leaking from his mouth as well as his side which he clutched tightly. "My name is Josiah Plumber number 2937. My crew and I crash-landed on Planet Vulpin after being assailed by a cosmic storm. The following is a Hologram of my last hours. I wish I had been able to deactivate the ship's Distress Beacon before my death to avoid any more loss of life, but if you're watching this hopefully this video will help you survive what is out there because it is no mere Vulpimancer."
The hologram changed showing Josiah's view of his crew after the crash landing. "Is everyone ok?" He asked as the team sounded off. There was a cut and the team was outside the ship going over the damaged hull. "Well damn, we ruptured the hull pretty good sir. There's no way we're space-worthy now. We'll need to call in for a pickup." One of the females on Josiah's team said presumably she was the engineer of the ship. As she ran her hand along the massive gash in the hull there was that roar again even hearing it second hand through the video's audio it still shook me to my core. That was no Vulpimancer. There was another jump cut in the video. Josiah and his team were sitting around when there was a heavy thud against the side of the ship that jolted the crew into action.
"The hell was that?!" Josiah called out as they all armed themselves. A few more moments paused before another slam rocked the ship. The team immediately rushed to the source of the sound and arrived at the hangar door. A shearing sound could be heard by whatever was out there. "What should we do Captain?" One of Josiah's crew called out. "Whatever it is it can't get past the ship's shielding." Josiah nodded at that.
"We'll ignore it for now. When the rescue team arrives we'll let them know there might be a variant type of Vulpimancer out there." Josiah said. The feed cut once again. "How did it get in!?" Josiah shouted as he looked at the bloody remains of his crewmate. The remainder was horrifying I couldn't even tell it was a human if you told me so. The plumber suit had been reduced to shreds and the head was completely gone. The ribs had been pried open and the innards partially devoured. The entire room was a mess of blood and viscera. The next cut was of Josiah sitting in this very room panting heavily as he stared into the recorder.
"I don't know what that thing is but it hunted us down and killed all my crew. I'm the last one left and I'm not going to make it. The way Josiah was clutching his stomach it was clear that he was mortally wounded. "It clipped me as I was barricading myself in here. To whoever finds my body and this message. Get out of here as soon as you can. That thing is a monster and it won't stop until it kills you all." The video cut out just as slams were heard at the door.
"Fuck!" That was all I could say as the video ended. This mission was a failure before it even began.
"You heard the Captain we need to get the hell out of here," Carson said looking at the door we'd just pried open. "That thing whatever it is already killed Violet and every member of this ship's crew. Not to mention we're not safe in here anyway considering it has a way into this ship." Merida turned to face Carson.
"Hold it Carson we need a plan first. We are going to get out of here, but not without a plan." Carson whirled around to shout something I think, but whatever he had to say died on his lips. His eyes grew wide and his jaw shook as it slowly opened wide. That was the look of a man terrified for his life. I gripped my blaster and turned but it was too late. I finally got a good look at this thing. It was blood red not the maroon of the alpha Vulpimancer we'd faced outside. It was larger as well at least a foot taller than Carson from its back sprouted three tails. It was eyeless as all Vulpimancers were. The creature tightened its stance and launched itself through the ship's window at me. I watched it all happen in slow motion as the window shattered under the weight of the impact. I drew my blaster but even I could tell I wouldn't make it in time as those jaws got closer to my face, but rather than the impact of the creature slamming into me I was slammed from the side out of the way. I turned to see Carson shoving me out of the way as the alien slammed into him.
I saw blood burst from his mouth as his ribs punctured his lungs. The two slammed into the opposite wall the groan of deformed metal rang out. Carson did his best to fend off the beast slamming his fist into the side of its head until the creature caught it between its jaws. The was the harsh crunch of breaking bones and the tearing of flesh. Carson screamed as his arm was ripped off. "GET OUT OF HERE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. That dying scream jolted me into action as I started firing on that thing's back. My blaster tore off bits of fur but it hardly seemed fazed as it began to devour the screaming Carson. It pressed its claw into his chest snapping his sternum before raking its claws down and disemboweling him right on the command center floor. I pressed closer blasting over and over before I was yanked to the side by Merida.
"We are leaving!" She shouted shoving me through the doorway. The last thing I saw of Carson was his rapidly dimming eyes as he watched us leave. It was at that moment that I knew anyone who says no man left behind is crazy. Either crazy enough to fight to the end or crazy enough to pull it off either way me and Merida were neither. We rushed through the ship barreling down corridors to the cargo bay. I had tunnel vision like hell all that I could see was Merida in front of me as we reached the cargo bay and Merida hit the button to lower the door. I watched her back training my sidearm down the hall. Whatever this thing was it wasn't going to catch us off-guard again. I could hear its claws raking the metal as it came down the hall after us. It was stalking toward us not rushing down the hall like a ravenous beast. The sound of its steps was purposeful. From what I was hearing it was going to round the corner any second. I trained my blaster on where it would appear, but before it stuck its bloody maw around the corner a wall of thick smoke rushed down the hall.
It engulfed us in seconds I stepped back right as it surrounded us and reached out to grip Merida's shoulder. The smoke was cloying I could barely make out Merida's silhouette in it. "Where the hell did this smoke come from?" Merida hissed. I just shook my head. "No clue maybe that thing ruptured some piping or something. We don't have the luxury to stay and find out. We need to get back to the ship as quickly as possible." I couldn't be sure, but Merida's lack of response made me think she nodded in affirmation. There was a thud as the bay door made contact with the ground outside. I don't know what it was, maybe it was instinct or dumb luck, but something made me shove Merida to the side, and as I did a blur of deep red cut through the smoke nearly taking my arm off as it passed by. I fired off several shots after the thing before linking back up with Merida.
"Move, move, move!" She shouted as soon as we established visual contact. We began running down the ramp leaping the last few feet to solid ground. There was no wasted movement as we began to rush headlong back the path we'd made. There was no way we could keep up this dead sprint, but we needed to put as much distance between us and whatever that thing was. There's something about being hunted that just feels wrong. When you're in a fight and one side trying to kill the other that's one thing, but the act of being hunted knowing that there's something unseen ready to kill you. It just unlocks a whole new level of fear in the mind. We ran until our legs were sore and our lungs were burning for air. Sweat soaked every part of my body. I could feel it squish between my toes every time my feet hit the ground. We finally had to stop and take cover behind an outcropping.
Merida looked over the stone surveying the area behind us for any sign of the alien. There wasn't any because she collapsed next to me breathing hard and fast. "What even is that damn thing?!" She yelled slamming the side of her fist into the rock. "Nearly half the squad was wiped out by one fucking Vulpimancer. That doesn't make any sense." She said shaking her head.
"Are we sure that's what it is?" I asked. It bore a lot of similarities to a Vulpimancer, but that didn't mean it was one. Vuplin was a dark world there had to be any number of species here without eyes, but at the same time, many coincidences just didn't add up.
"What else could it be? quadrupedal, sightless, and the hook tails. All trademarks of a Vulpimancer, but I've never seen one that big or that color. Then there's its intelligence. Vulpimancers are pack predators by nature, but they're not persistent. There's no way a Vulpimancer would hang on for days waiting for prey when they could just move on. That thing was waiting for something to show up and the way it came after us it was there for us and nothing else." Before I could ask any questions another of those awful howls ripped through the air. "Break time's over Sam let's go!" Merida shouted as we started to run again.
We could see the ship in sight now. "Carl begin opening the bay door we're en route," Merida ordered.
"Right away Merida," Carl responded as there was a crash behind us. I didn't even have to look I knew it was that thing hunting down on the final stretch. A part of me makes me think it was there all along and only at the end did it decide to put in more effort to chase us down. I gave it everything I had rushing at full speed toward the ship. I could hear its claws tearing into the earth it was as if with every inch we gained it gained a foot on us. It was closing in on me I was the slower of the two. It was for the best Merida was the most learned when it came to hostile alien creatures she'd have more intel to give than me anyway. Is what I thought until she spun on her heel kicking me in the back into the ship as she fired her sidearm and clutched her dagger close. She used the console on her forearm to begin the emergency closure procedure on the bay door. It slammed shut with intense speed trapping her out there with that thing.
I slammed onto the floor before scrabbling to my feet to look out the window. "Carl open the bay door!" I shouted but he ignored me.
"I can't I was given orders to take off as soon as one of you made it onto the ship. Merida knew only one of you would make it." I felt the thrusters burst into life to take us off the planet. The last thing I saw was Merida dodging out of the way of that thing before we lost contact with her.
Thomas sat back in his chair as he looked at the two senior plumber officers set to debrief him. They each looked at one another and nodded.
"I know that couldn't have been easy son, but you did good work, and Merida made the best choice she could have. We now know there's some kind of mutant Vulpimancer species on Vulpin. This will raise the planet's lethality rating and warrants further study in the future. For now, get some rest. You made it home Plumber." Senior Plumber Mitchell placed a hand on my shoulder. I could barely feel it before they left the room. I haven't been able to sleep in the last few days plagued by nightmares of that thing and I don't think that'll change in the near future.