| Twilight of the Apocalypse | ||||||||
| Chapter 3: The Attack | ||||||||
| Free Haven- Trimoire Island 0650 hours, 15 June 2016 | ||||||||
| I took out a small device from one of the many pockets on my combat suit, | ||||||||
| then flung it into the air. The device transformed into a robot probe which flew around | ||||||||
| for a short moment before falling to the ground and breaking into tiny fragments | ||||||||
| On my visor's heads-up-display, a small map appeared. It showed our location and | ||||||||
| the structures around us. Then, I noticed small red dots moving toward us. There were | ||||||||
| at least ten of them. | ||||||||
| "We've incoming! Do not fire! I repeat, hold your fire. They may be civilians," I ordered. | ||||||||
| "Sir, I've got a bad feeling about this. They're moving fast. I'm gonna shoot," Adrian gritted | ||||||||
| his teeth and reached for the trigger. | ||||||||
| "No, private! I order you to-" That was as far as I got before something slammed into me. | ||||||||
| My exo-skeletal combat suit expanded and reduced much of the impact caused by the | ||||||||
| thing. I was safe, but terribly dizzy. My vision blurred but I managed to keep from falling. | ||||||||
| A loud, inhuman shriek came from the dark passageway we just passed. | ||||||||
| Another scream pierced the chill silence of the early morning. I couldn't see what it was, | ||||||||
| until it was too late. | ||||||||
| The 'thing' slammed into me again, but this time with such force I stumbled backwards. | ||||||||
| A hideous, deformed face suddenly appeared in my visor. Blood-stained and dirty, | ||||||||
| the face had eyes that glowed. | ||||||||
| "Captain, there's…heck I don't got any clue what it is! But try not to move, sir! | ||||||||
| I cant..can't see. I'm coming nearer. Ahhhh!" Ryan's terrified voice louder than the | ||||||||
| thing's shrieks. | ||||||||
| "It's an abominable monstrosity, captain. Permission to open fire, sir?" Adrian asked. | ||||||||
| "Permission granted! Just get this thing off me, now!" I yelled. | ||||||||
| The creature opened its black, foul-smelling maw and attempted to chew through | ||||||||
| my helmet. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Adrian raising his assault | ||||||||
| rifle and taking aim. | ||||||||
| I instinctively ducked as a hail of bullets smashed into the creature's side. The projectiles | ||||||||
| tore into the thin, fragile-looking body and burst out the other side. | ||||||||
| But the thing was neither dead, nor did it look wounded. | ||||||||
| It shambled towards me, its unsteady legs trying very hard to support its body. | ||||||||
| When it came close enough, I knocked it off its feet with the butt of my rifle. | ||||||||
| I squeezed the trigger once and the creature exploded. Blood and brain tissue erupted | ||||||||
| in a fountain from the shattered skull of the nightmarish being. | ||||||||
| "There're more approaching us, sir," Blake warned. | ||||||||
| "We can't stay here, gotta move, and hurry," Ryan said, his voice trembling. | ||||||||
| "Sensor sweep," I ordered. | ||||||||
| Another robot probe scanned the area, before dropping to the ground and breaking up. | ||||||||
| "There!" I pointed and gestured toward a small window up ahead. | ||||||||
| A metal ladder was positioned to lie against the wall. | ||||||||
| "Let's go, let's go!" I yelled through clenched teeth, and took point. | ||||||||
| As we sprinted across the now dark street, for the streetlamps were not working | ||||||||
| anymore, we caught glimpses of the creatures stalking us. | ||||||||
| Ryan paused to fire at one of them, but there were too many. The rounds slammed | ||||||||
| into the creature he was targeting, and it collapsed in a crumpled heap to the blood-soaked | ||||||||
| ground. | ||||||||
| Blake unholstered his sidearm and fired a couple of rounds into the side of a creature's | ||||||||
| head, then hurried to catch up with us. | ||||||||
| Adrian reported, "20, 15, 10 metres now. Go, go, go!" | ||||||||
| I leapt onto the ladder and frantically climbed up, with my rifle strapped to my back. | ||||||||
| The others were slower. They fired and fired at the oncoming creatures, but more kept | ||||||||
| coming. | ||||||||
| Finally, the rest of the team caught up and reached the ladder before the monsters | ||||||||
| did. | ||||||||
| We entered a small room through the window, and came to a wooden | ||||||||
| door. There were holes in the door, as if something or someone had | ||||||||
| tried to break it down. Ryan looked through one of the holes into the room beyond | ||||||||
| and gasped. | ||||||||
