Devoured World: Volume One

by Fleet, Ricky

  “See what I mean?” Luke whispered, feeling foolish. It was absurd to think that the pointed ears could actually hear them at such a distance.

  “I don’t like it.” The thing was like a statue, immobile and fixated on their section of wall. It was impossible to tell if the solid red orbs were staring at them, but it certainly felt that way. A chill traced its way down his spine. “Control, are you seeing this?”

  Their earpieces came to life with the voice of Major Adrianna. “We see it and are transmitting your feed directly to Command. Terminate the target immediately.”

  “Understood.”

  Centring the crosshair on the monster’s left eye, Luke moved his finger from the trigger guard. A red dot on the bottom of the scope display changed to green at the contact and the subtle whine indicated the weapon was charged. Squeezing the trigger, the bolt of energy blazed across the arid wastes. A glowing, circular wound was all that remained of its eye, vapour steaming from the borehole created by the incredible temperatures.

  “Good shot,” said Cody. His disappointment at losing the holo-time was negated by the death of the mutant and its bizarre behaviour.

  “I’ve never seen one do that before.”

  “Nor have I,” Cody replied, nervously.

  “Do you think it was just fucked up?”

  “I hope so,” Cody remarked. The alternatives did not bear thinking about.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞

  Wind whipped at Sergeant Gibb’s face from the open aircraft door. The soldiers and anti-air batteries below tracked their progress as the silent machine passed over the heavily fortified perimeter wall into the desolate wasteland beyond. The craft only emitted an almost imperceptible hum as it sped towards its destination. Trent turned in the pilot’s seat and held up a single finger.

  Gibb nodded in the darkness. “One minute!”

  The team checked their weapons and lined up at either side, ready to disembark. Hard men with hard attitudes, they were trained to fight from the moment they left the birthing tube.

  The ground rushed up to meet them, illuminated only by the night display of their combat helmet visors. Outside the thin screen shielding their faces, everything was darkness. Stones shimmied on the hard-packed earth, disturbed by the invisible magnetic waves passing between the Earth’s core and the cell receptors in the belly of the craft. Leaping out, the first four took up position at each corner, watchful of the still night. One mutant invariably meant more. A lot more.

  “Load it up and get it in the back!”

  Franklin joined Gibb, guarding the men who wrestled the corpse onto the stretcher. Humping it around the sleek, black fuselage, they ran up the ramp and strapped it into place.

  “This is Echo Team leader. The package is secure.”

  “Good work, Sergeant. The Genesis Initiative want to examine the body. We’re arranging for transportation to take you to Poseidon within the hour. Return to base and await further instruction.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied Gibb. Addressing the men, he shouted, “Mount up!”

  Dull vibrations beneath their feet increased in intensity, causing the tiny stones to dance. Twenty feet away, the ground shifted, clods of dried mud and dust exploding as hidden creatures emerged from a dozen tunnels.

  “It’s a trap!”

  The night lit up as the soldiers opened fire on the bounding monsters. Concentrated energy from the Devastator’s plasma cannons blazed through the bodies, cutting them down before disappearing into the distance. Incandescent trails strobed against pitch-black surroundings, revealing a massive horde sprinting and leaping over each other in desperation to get at the warm meat.

  “We need to fall back! Everyone aboard!”

  A scream from the front of the aircraft was cut off with an agonised gurgle. Seth dodged a snarling maw, withdrawing his knife and driving it into the neck in one fluid motion. Spewing blood, it hit the dirt hard, writhing and clawing its own throat to ribbons in the frenzy. A single shot tore through its chest, turning the ground beneath into bubbling fire and igniting the flailing body. Rounding the aircraft, Seth came to a halt. Pearson’s legs kicked weakly at the ground as he was eaten. Two infected were devouring him alive, one tearing at the soft parts of his face while the other hollowed him out having torn through his armour. Plasma rounds seared through flesh and bone with ease, leaving the charred, smoking corpses twitching in the dirt.

  “Gibb, we have to go!”

  “They got through his fucking armour! How’s that possible?”

  Pearson’s eyeless, skinless face turned towards them, bloodied teeth chattering in shock as the last traces of life fled his body. If left out in the dirt, he would be consumed fully, or worse, mutate. Even now, the parasitic enzymes in the saliva would be navigating his central nervous system, beginning the first steps of reanimation. In a short while, his vastly altered body would be moving around, as eager to feed as the mutants which spawned from their hives.

  “Sorry, brother,” Gibb whispered, blowing the top of his skull off. The remains of his head sunk into the shallow lava pit created by the plasma discharge.

  Slamming the door shut, he slapped the pilot’s helmet. Needing no further instruction, Trent diverted all power to lift and pulled on the stick hard enough to risk tearing it out of the floor. Vertigo twisted their stomachs as the craft rose and lurched in a full one-eighty-degree turn. Heavy crumps shook the chassis in quick succession.

  “They’re on the roof!” Trent yelled. “Hold on to your nuts!”

  He banked hard in a desperate attempt to shake them loose. Rocking port and starboard, the soldiers were tossed around like rag dolls. A scrabbling thud preceded a rending squeal of claws ripping away from the outer shell. The shriek of fury dwindled as the creature plummeted to the ground.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞

  “How the fuck can they jump so high?” Luke gasped as the creatures pounced on the rapidly ascending craft. “That must’ve been nearly twenty feet!”

  “Over twenty,” whispered Cody with dread.

  “That means they can nearly clear the electrical countermeasures on the wall.”

  A red light started to flash on the turret as it rose menacingly back to life. In the town itself, a siren began to wail, warning people to get into the shelters. Not that they would ever hold out against the monsters if they should breach the defences. The bunker facilities were a placebo to get the technicians and personnel away from the more heavily protected cities. Boots thundered on the roads leading to the walls from the remaining D-Class operators as they raced to protect the outpost. The turret scanners were reporting a number close to fifty thousand sprinting full tilt at the walls from the north. Lights blinked out in the town as the vast energy requirements of the plasma cannons and electrical shield were diverted. It had been two months since any kind of assault, decades since anything of this scale. The decision to pull away sixty percent of their forces to go after a new host now looked like it could be their downfall.

  We could’ve sure used them right about now, Luke thought.

  Major Adrianna came over the comms. “All snipers on the Magjet. Anti-air assets will shoot it down if any infected are still clinging on. Fire at will.”

  The steady hum of the vessel had become a deep drone that set their teeth on edge as it pulled every ounce of power it could from the Earth’s core. Whine after whine of fingers on triggers raced down the perimeter as the monsters were targeted. Tracers of heat peppered the night as the operatives opened fire. Monsters were shredded by the snipers, flaming scraps of flesh raining to the ground. On the hull, a couple of glowing yellow furrows flared where gunfire had clipped the nanofiber shell. Freed from the threat of imminent destruction, the pilot accelerated and rose over the wall to relieved cheers from below.

  Targets inbound. Range… three kilometres and closing. Speed… sixty-two kilometres an hour. Firing.

  The huge barrels started to glow as the Catyminum was vaporised and ignited. With a crack
, the turret belched out the sun-bright sphere of energy. Pneumatics and the suspension rings absorbed the recoil caused by the tremendous discharge, resetting the position for the next salvo. Further down, the next APT began bombarding the incoming waves of mutants. Then the next, until a row of the machines spat their hellfire at the enemy. Incandescent orbs arced in the sky, before crashing down among the creatures. Bursting apart, the superheated matter liquified stone, soil, and flesh, mixing them all into a roiling pit of magma. Each impact consumed anything within eighty feet. One hundred feet further from the killing zone saw the monsters screaming as their skin ignited, rolling in the superheated dirt in a futile attempt to quench the flames.

  Targets still inbound. Range… one and a half kilometres and closing. Proximity warning. Ceasing fire.

  Falling silent, the turret barrels rose to a vertical position to be rapid cooled by the injection of carbon dioxide. Chilled mist rushed from the tubes, dissipating on the air around them. Motion scanners revealed that over two thirds of the swarm had fallen in the barrage. Sentries placed their sniper rifles down and unslung their assault rifles. Stepping to the low wall, they prepared for the attack.The ground vibrated with the stampeding abominations, backlit by the roaring fires of the plasma artillery.

  “You ready?” Luke asked.

  “Always!” Cody grinned.

  “Fire at will,” ordered Major Adrianna.

  Taking up the final ounces of pressure on the triggers, the guns buzzed, spitting out their lethal projectiles at the gibbering swarm. The fragmenting bullets kicked up a spray of dust and blood as they cut a swathe through the nearest mutants. Drenched in the raining blood of their advanced guard, thousands more poured through, adding their own fluids to the saturating, black mist. Despite the awesome firepower being unleashed, a sizeable force reached the wall. Screaming with rage and hunger, they launched themselves at the smooth, vertical face. The strongest slammed into the shield, inches below the insulation which ran around the entire perimeter to protect the soldiers. A blinding flash of electricity sent the creature flying, eyes bursting and skin cracking as the residual current fried it from the inside. More and more attempted the suicidal leap, sticking to the metal and sizzling as the electricity coursed through their bodies.

  “They’re holding back!” yelled Cody.

  “They’re learning!” Luke replied, aghast.

  Milling around, some of the creatures were trying to use the fallen as a springboard to clear the deadly barrier. One hit the unprotected section of wall with a triumphant scream, scrabbling for purchase. Defeated by the smooth surface, its claws scraped deep gouges in the metal until it touched the electrified cladding. An explosive crack of arcing voltage sent the crisp body pinwheeling onto those below.

  “Niagara protocol engaged,” said Major Adrianna.

  A dull rumble transmitted through their feet, a portent of what was coming. From countless apertures in the wall, a torrent of water flowed forth, driven from the depths by massive pumps. The liquid coated the infected, pooling at their feet and running back towards the electrified shield. As soon as the first trickle made contact, all hell was let loose. The horde thrashed in death throes, lightning dancing between their bodies. Dead, but animated by the surging current which stiffened their muscles, they started to steam. Blood boiling, skin spewed with bursting gouts of gore before they erupted into flame. Melting like tallow, the creatures collapsed into a sticky puddle of charred bone and bubbling fats.

  The turrets hissed, barrels dropping, and returning to their vigilant standby. Scanner reports indicated no threat in the near vicinity.

  Holding his nose against the stench, Cody looked down as the water ceased. “Control, request upload of neural feed. These were unlike any we’ve fought before.”

  Their headsets transmitted the voice of their commander. It had an edge that no one had heard before. “The behavioural anomaly has been reported to the Initiative. This isn’t the only peculiarities tonight. All relevant information has already been sent to Tempest City for analysis. We’ll begin clean up at first light. Stay on guard for any more infected. Good work, everyone. Adrianna, out.”

  The soldiers congratulated each other, clapping backs, and bumping chests. A hefty chunk of R and R was forecast for their immediate futures.

  “I’m going to use that holo-suite time tomorrow. I feel like a nice calming climb up Mount Everest,” Luke declared.

  “I have no fucking clue how you do it, brother. I hate the cold with a passion.”

  “It’s not really cold, though. They’re just electrical impulses tricking us into thinking it’s a snowy peak. As soon as you can counter the fake signals, it becomes a lot more enjoyable. You should come with…” Luke fell silent.

  The metal platform beneath their feet started to rattle, tiny pebbles and other debris jumping around.

  “Can you feel that?” Cody whispered.

  Every APT came to life around the whole circumference of the outpost, red beacons flashing.

  Two million, four hundred and twenty thousand targets. All directions. Threat level maximum. Preparing to fire.

  “We need to call the others back!” shouted one of the soldiers.

  “They’d never make it in time,” Luke replied, resigned to his fate.

  “Then let’s give the bastards a fight they’ll never forget!” Cody growled, reclaiming the rifle.

  ∞∞∞∞∞∞

  “What do we do?” asked Major Brock from the observation room three thousand miles away.

  “Shall we despatch reinforcements from the closest colonies, General?” suggested Captain Elliyana.

  A floating holographic image showed the aerial view of the small township. To the north, a sizeable expanse of the area was ablaze. The infected streamed around the bubbling craters, moving faster than anyone had seen before.

  “General Ashdown?”

  Shaking her head, she replied, “They’d take twenty minutes to arrive, and by then it’ll all be over one way or the other. I’m not even sure what our ground forces could do against a number that enormous.”

  “Why attack Joanton? What does it achieve?”

  “It accounts for eight percent of our mineral output,” she stated, calculating how catastrophic it was going to be to their defensive capability.

  Major Brock looked at the other advisers, completely lost. “Shall I order the Dreadhulks to leave the nearest cities? We need to do something!”

  “It’s already out of our hands.”

  Falling silent, the group watched the millions of ant sized dots converge on the facility. Tiny balls fired from the artillery around the perimeter, incinerating countless numbers of the monsters. The plasma ringed the outpost with a pocked inferno, but still they came, finding any available route though the heat. Charging the wall, they hit it as one from all directions. The screen flashed in the command room, temporarily blinding the observers. When the image faded from their shocked retinas, the town was in darkness.

  “They overwhelmed the grid…”

  No longer held at bay by the perimeter defences, the miniscule creatures streamed up and over the walls. The brave operators were overpowered in seconds.

  “I’ll send a drone to carry out a seismic cleanse. We’ll bury the bastards in the ruins of their destruction.”

  “No. We need the facility intact. If we trigger a cleanse, years of work will be wasted.”

  “Do you think it’ll ever be safe to reclaim it?”

  “Regardless, we need to retake it. They won’t stay there for long after the food is gone. We need to find out how the hell they managed to get an army of that size past our sensors. This wasn’t some blind luck attack, it was planned and executed with pinpoint timing. While we were chasing the rabbit down the hole at the power plant, they fucked us.”

  “Do you think it’s an aberration? A one off?”

  Ashdown turned to him. “I hope so. Professor Ennis will have some answers for us once she can analyse the bro
od mother sample. In the meantime, dispatch Dreadhulks and Paladin divisions to all facilities in close proximity to Joanton just in case. Once they get bored, they’ll be looking for somewhere to go. I’ll be damned if they’re going to hurt us anymore tonight!”

  “General?” called out one of the communications operators, distress straining his voice.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “Kirby Township is under attack as well.”

  “Number of infected?”

  “One million seven hundred thousand plus,” he replied, holding the earpiece close. “They’re… gone.”

  “God help us,” said Elliyana, genuflecting.

  “God can’t help us. We’ve lost.”

  Chapter 36

  “I knew something was amiss,” Empress Verena sighed, pacing by the window, staring at her capital city. Not for much longer, she thought, devoid of anger. They’d given it their best shot, it just wasn’t enough. A peace had settled upon her as the news was delivered, as if she could finally rest after the most frightful journey ever undertaken.

  “We can always evacuate from the southern outposts. Try and tighten things up until we can get back on our feet.”

  Verena smiled warmly at her friend. How she loved the fearsome soldier and her single-minded pursuit of victory. “Will that really make any difference?”

  “It’s unlikely. The blow to our production leaves us wide open.”