Crimson Rain

by Tex Leiko

  After getting all of his weapons, he met back in the living room. There, Crimson was standing with a wakizashi sword sheathed on her back and toting two gauss sub machine guns in each hand. They were compact and held fifty rounds each. She was ready to rain down death and destruction on all who opposed her and she looked more excited than concerned.

  The black and pink combat suit she wore fit like a glove and appeared to be the same model Max was wearing. It could stop a few bullets and even had a hood and mask attachment she could pull over her head to protect it. She gave him a vicious smile and did just that, zipping it closed over her head so he could no longer see her face.

  Luther was standing next to her, towering over both Max and Crimson. He noticed that the four tonfas were tucked away in his mechanical rib cage and secure. He, too, was holding the same machine guns Crimson chose, but he had four of them. Despite being a robot, Max could see his human emotion bleeding through by the way his skeletal face seemed to be trying to grin.

  “Crimson Rain and her shadowy reaper Luther… How do you like the sound of that?” Max questioned jokingly. It would be his first fight and he was nervous, not eager the way Crimson and Luther were.

  “I like it fine, Deadeye Max, now here is the plan. There is an elevator at the end of that hallway. It will take you up to the roof into a secured shed. Count to twenty when you arrive and then come out. On the building dead ahead of us there are two snipers on the roof, take them out first then take cover. To the east there is a single sniper on another roof top and to the west there is again another sniper on a rooftop. You take those out after you kill the first two and take cover. Don’t die on me, Max, and go earn your title of ‘Deadeye’ if you want me to keep calling you that. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Luther, you’re with me on the ground. We’ve got seventeen guys that are going to pile out with guns blazing, I’ll bet. I want you to kill without regard for their lives. Gun them down to the last. We aren’t interested in survivors or prisoners. This is war.”

  “Understood, mistress,” Luther said, calm and asserted. “I fear no death, for even if my body is crushed into a million pieces, you have the power to make me anew. I fear for you. Allow me to be the first to step out.”

  “Agreed, Luther. Now break, I want no losses on our side. I don’t care if they outnumber us. They’ve lost the element of surprise thanks to Zarfa.”

  After Crimson was done speaking, they put their hands over the top of one another. Even Luther not having a mortal shell appreciated this human touch. This could be the last time they saw one another, but none of them planned for that to be true. They then broke, and took their positions. It was time for war in the streets.

  * * * *

  Surge began strumming out a heavy metal riff and his amplifier began glowing with a yellow aura. His guitar pickups began glowing a bright red, and shortly, a soft red glow enveloped his whole guitar. He pointed the neck of his guitar at the sea of enemies swarming at them.

  A nearly invisible beam that looked like a heat wave was shot from the head stock toward an Ilithid. Zarfa could barely see it, but it made contact. The Ilithid’s skin began to bubble and blister. First, its eyes burst like a balloon that too much air had been blown into, and then its whole body followed suit.

  A rain of gunfire descended toward them. The handlers were each equipped with a standard AL-105 semi-automatic gauss rifle. Surge stepped back and strummed out a few minor chords as hard, fast, and as loud as he could. A similar-looking wave emanated out of the speaker.

  This time, it wasn’t concentrated in a beam, however. It looked almost like a translucent tidal wave crashing toward the Faraza. The bullets streaking toward them were all stopped mid-air and came crashing to the ground.

  “I’m going to have to keep this up to keep their gunfire at bay, Zarfa. I am controlling these two guards with my psychic powers, but they will assist you. Time to show me what you’ve got!”

  What the hell is that guy’s instrument? Is that his weapon? I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Whatever it is, he has created a barrier to stop the bullets. I guess now isn’t the time to question it.

  “Oh, one last thing. This barrier is three-hundred-sixty degrees and about forty-five feet in diameter. Don’t step outside of it.”

  “Got it, will you be able to provide offense?”

  “Not until they run out of bullets. And it won’t harm any of those monsters passing through. Looks like you’ve got twenty-nine left to slay. Give ‘em your best, tiger!”

  “Right, and it’s more like rhino if you want to be accurate,” Zarfa spat out sarcastically.

  The first Ilithids passed through the barrier. Some were running faster than others. There were four that had broken free from the pack and made it inside the barrier before the others. Surge’s two bodyguards proceeded firing their pistols with incredible accuracy. Each Ilithid was dropped in a single shot that entered an eye and lodged a bullet in their brain. Blood, cartilage, and brain matter spattered out the other side as they fell flat.

  It was dark inside the train station and the four of them were having trouble seeing. The fight had started well, but they had yet to begin. Zarfa had come out of cover and was waiting for his prey to come to him. He noticed one of the Ilithids that had just been dropped had been wielding a plasma powered saber.

  Zarfa sprinted to the corpse as fast as he could. He was trying to reach the weapon before the next group of monsters managed to make their way within the barrier. Zarfa was kneeling when seven more entered into the barrier and were within range of attacking him. An assault of attacks from tentacles and plasma weapons rained down upon Zarfa.

  He rolled backward, avoiding every attack in his burst of agility. He stood to his feet and took stance to defend himself. Two of the mutant beasts assaulted him. One swung a bladed weapon; another flailed a tentacle at him. He sliced the tentacle off in one clean blow. A puff of vaporized tissue filled the air, blowing into the Ilithid’s eyes.

  The other blow he quickly parried and followed with a slash toward the Ilithid’s chest. The blow sliced through the creature’s rib cage, flaying it wide open. Its lungs slipped down out of the wound. The creature screamed in pain, still alive.

  Two more mutants sought to join in the battle with Zarfa when suddenly, he heard shots fired. The two monsters dropped to the ground. He didn’t bother to look; he knew it was the support of Surge’s henchmen. The Ilithid missing its tentacle shot ink from under its eyes toward Zarfa’s face. He was narrowly able to side step it, almost tripping on the corpse of an Ilithid he didn’t see lying near him.

  He quickly recovered, but now had a third enemy directly behind him. He pivoted and threw a roundhouse. It caught the Ilithid in one of its eyes, bursting the globe and sending blood and ocular fluid running down its face as it hit the ground. He quickly spun back to meet the severely injured monster’s blade. He deflected it once again then pierced one of its exposed lungs, followed by a deep slash across the top of its head and down its face. The monster dropped to the ground. It wasn’t dead yet, but would be soon.

  The maimed monster launched an attack again while Zarfa was distracted. The beast was rather agile. With its one good tentacle, it grabbed hold of Zarfa’s left arm, the one not wielding the saber. He pulled Zarfa into his body with tremendous force and before Zarfa could respond, the monster’s large beak was rending the flesh on his left shoulder.

  In a moment of horrific pain and terror, Zarfa stabbed the saber into the monster’s stomach. He then raised the blade upward with all the force he could muster. The plasma vaporized through tissue like a hot knife through butter. He could feel the hot steam blowing out from the wound he was creating. He pulled the blade all the way straight through the monster, splitting him down the middle from his belly to the top of his head.

  A portion of the squid beak stuck in Zarfa’s shoulder as the monster fell to the ground. He was hurting badly and bleeding worse. The monster he had
kicked had recovered and was now standing behind him, ready to charge. He had two more Ilithids standing right in front of him dual wielding bladed plasma weapons as well.

  He heard a shot fire; the bullet passed through the back of the monster’s head and whizzed right by Zarfa’s ear. The monster behind him would be of no trouble now. Zarfa rushed in toward the two beasts charging him. They swung high; he dropped to his knees and slid toward them, slashing at their legs. All four were separated just above the knee and they came tumbling to the ground in a heartbeat.

  Zarfa sprang atop the mutant on his left and sunk his blade into its head, ending its life. He quickly snatched the plasma blade out of its now limply-wrapped tentacle hand by the hilt. He then launched another assault with both of his blades into the head of the next monster that lay writhing on the ground from the pain of losing its legs.

  Before he could celebrate, ten more of these grotesque beasts were upon him. Half of them shot ink; one of them hit its mark, blinding Zarfa. He flipped backward, pivoted, and ran toward where he thought Surge and the guards were standing.

  “Duck!” screamed Surge.

  Zarfa flung himself down to the ground and slid in the direction of the voice. He felt himself make contact with the legs of someone. He almost struck them hard enough to knock him over, but luckily didn’t. He heard a volley of shots fired. Too many to count. He could only assume this meant ten more mutants were added to the pile of the dead.

  Zarfa let go of his weapons and began rubbing his eyes. The ink was thick and oily. It smelled awful and it burned in his eyes. He was tearing profusely and within a short bit of time, his eyes had flushed the darkness out and he could see again, even if it wasn’t well. He took hold of his weapons again and leapt to his feet. He couldn’t help but notice the guards had dropped their gauss weapons and were now holding blades.

  They must have run out of ammo. I’m losing blood fast. We need to end this fight.

  “How long until they’re out of ammo?” Zarfa questioned. He hadn’t been paying attention to the shots fired because he knew he was safe inside the barrier.

  “I know you haven’t been paying attention, but they’ve reloaded three times already. They didn’t come to play, Zarfa; they came to kill. Prepare yourself, the last of those mutants are closing in. I know you can’t see well. Bear with me.”

  The two guards charged in to the swarm of eight Ilithids. They swung their weapons wildly, even managed to kill one. They were quickly overwhelmed, however. The beasts took hold of them and they couldn’t break free or defend themselves the way Zarfa had.

  Right before his eyes, the two guards were devoured like food. In a matter of about ten seconds, they were chewed to bits by the seven remaining monsters. Zarfa began to tremble; he had no support, no help. Surge had to maintain the barrier. He had just killed seven of them, but he’d had someone watching his back.

  Luckily, the guards had bought him a few moments of time for the tears to flush his eyes further. His eyesight was still hindered, but not too badly. He could at least defend himself.

  I can’t let them reach Surge or else it is all over. Their volley of bullets will tear me to shreds if I let him die.

  Zarfa was hurt, enraged, and desperate. He charged forward into the final seven with all of the strength he could muster. Two monsters were standing in front. He quickly dispatched them by running between them and cutting them in half from their waistlines.

  He stood in the middle of the remaining five, tentacles and swords flying at him from every direction. He jumped into the air and split-kicked two of them in the head. The blow was enough to send the two monsters stumbling backward and falling onto the ground. As he came down, he felt a tentacle grasp his leg and pull him in for another bite.

  Before the monster could take a bite of his flesh, he had severed its tentacle from its body. He landed on his back hard. It knocked the wind out of him, but this was no time to nurse injuries. Stunned and unable to breathe well, Zarfa leapt to his feet. He followed, severing the beast’s tentacle with taking its head in a scissor attack aimed at its neck.

  As the squid-like head rolled across the ground, Zarfa felt the burn of plasma blade slash across his back. It hurt, but it wasn’t deep enough to kill. Zarfa dropped down and spun, performing a side kick to the monster’s ankle and dropping it to the ground. He shoved both blades between its eyes into its forehead and pulled apart, severing its head in half and revealing its brain.

  Zarfa jumped to his feet and took a few steps away from the remaining three. The two he had kicked had recovered and he could tell they were sizing him up. The flesh on his back still smoldered. The three shot ink in his direction again. He quickly slashed at it with both of his blades, sending it up in a cloud of black vapor.

  The three rushed him. He threw one sword at the beast on his right, one at the beast to his left. His swords sank deep in their chests as they ran toward him. They stumbled a few feet then fell dead. The Ilithid in the middle proceeded to charge, tentacles preparing to grab Zarfa.

  He jumped into the air at the last second, plowing both of his knees into the Ilithid’s chest. He landed on top of the creature with a loud popping noise. He could feel the cartilage on its ribcage popping and crushing ‘neath the force of the blow. The monster’s lungs and heart were being crushed, but it still flailed with strength and ferocity. The tendrils on its face grabbed hold of Zarfa’s chest and it proceeded to sink its beak into his pectoral muscle on his left.

  The pain was excruciating and Zarfa couldn’t leap back if he wanted to. He was trapped by the tendrils as well as the bifurcated tentacles that the monster used as hands. Zarfa began pummeling the beast’s head with both of his fists as furiously as he could. He felt its soft skull caving from the force. In moments, the creature was limp and lifeless beneath his body.

  The grip of the nightmare slowly released Zarfa. Injured, bleeding, and in more pain than anyone should ever experience, Zarfa stood triumphantly. All he could hear was Surge’s guitar. He was still holding the barrier, but the gunfire had slowed; it was coming to a halt. He stumbled back to where Surge was standing, covered in his own blood, as well as that of the Ilithids.

  “Good job. I guess it is you that is the real monster. Those creatures didn’t stand a chance.”

  “Tell that to my body. I nearly went down the way your guards did.”

  “Yeah… A grisly sight, wasn’t it?”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “So, what now?”

  “We wait until they’re done firing. We have another thirty to kill after they run out of ammunition. Don’t worry; they appear to be simple humans, not spliced up or anything fancy like that.”

  “I doubt it. Almost every member of the Faraza is spliced. Even their insignificant raiders. These guys must be important if they were escorting that company of beasts.”

  “Well, you’ve had more dealings with them than I have so I will take your word on that one. Think you can do your share in taking some of them down with me?”

  “Ha, I think you owe me, what? Twenty-nine?”

  “Some of those kills were my men, ya know? I think I owe you more like twenty-five,” Surge said with a smile.

  “We can talk when I see you killing super-charged squid beasts. How ‘bout that?”

  Surge bellowed laughter. He knew Zarfa was joking on some level. Even at a time like this, Zarfa was still sarcastic and calm. If the element of ice could manifest itself an avatar, Zarfa would be it. When he fought, however, he was a tempest of rage and fire. Surge knew he was a mere man, perhaps one spliced with a rare DNA, but a man nonetheless.

  The handlers had run out of ammo and were drawing their melee weapons. They were ready for some combat and were determined to not accept defeat. They began filing down the stairs toward the two of them. Surge changed rhythms again and was once again strumming chords. It sounded like a heavy metal ballad the way he was progressing the chords.

  Zarfa could see the beam emanati
ng again. This time, it was flowing out of the pickups and creating what looked like a wire stretched out in front of them. It was faint, hard to see. The wire was about fifteen feet ahead of them, floating in the air. It stretched out in an arch about forty feet long, making a half circle around Zarfa and Surge.

  Surge began strumming faster and heavier. The tones were magnificent; if Zarfa weren’t in the middle of a battle, he would be inclined to head bang. The mystical wire began moving like a wave, but stayed fixed in its location. The soldiers were closing in on them rapidly. Zarfa once again took a fighting stance with his fists out in front of his body.

  I wish I would have retrieved those blades. I really could have used them right about now… What the hell is Surge doing? I sure do wish he would explode a couple of them before they got to us!

  Zarfa was getting nervous. Before he knew it, twenty-three of them had crossed over the wire. Zarfa assumed they didn’t see it. They must not have, or they didn’t think it could do anything. All that had run through it blatantly were cut in half and fell apart mid-run. Blood and guts were everywhere in a sea of visceral remains.

  Zarfa’s morale perked up at this sudden turn of events. The seven that hadn’t crossed over yet came to a screeching halt. One threw a sword at Surge. Surge quickly changed to a riff and directed the headstock at the sword. The plasma sword exploded into thousands of pieces. He then directed another beam at the one who had thrown it. He too boiled, bubbled, and then burst the same as the monster had.

  Surge changed it to a solo; it was fast, wild, and screeching electric. Zarfa wasn’t sure if he could hear it because of the Psyker bots he had injected or not. He only knew when he heard Surge change things up; it meant death for who he was directing it at.

  The last six began trembling and clutching their heads. Surge stepped toward them, pressing them with a sonic attack. He was now only five feet from the six seemingly paralyzed by whatever it was they heard. Surge leaned back and strummed out three more chords as hard and as fast as he could.