The black vehicle made its way through the line, traveling onward toward what looked like a semi-circular hanger door, illuminated by yet more red light. The truck turned around and then backed up toward the opening, allowing plenty of space for the Legion soldiers to pass by.
Seeing that the kresnik was now in position, the soldiers from 1st Company emerged from their vehicles, a flurry of doors opening and then slamming shut as they made for the circular door.
“1st Company, form up!” A single soldier, obviously their captain, stood in front of the others, fist raised the air to signal them. Upon hearing the order, the company hastily arranged themselves into a four-person wide column.
Ito veered their SUV off to the side now, filing behind an already parked transport truck. “Let’s do this!” she commanded.
The whoosh of released seat belts answered her enthusiastic order.
Ito closed her door and trotted toward the end of the tunnel. Asher, Aaron, and Milo followed close behind, joined by a second mass of black-clad soldiers.
Asher felt his heart rate increasing as excitement and a heavy dose of fear flowed through his veins.
“My company!” Captain Kilgore appeared in front of them, weapon at his side, hand raised to be recognized. “Form up! And prepare for entry!”
The company scrambled into position, forming a column four soldiers across.
“No sign of the enemy!” roared a captain from District X into their headsets. The news conveyed a bit of relief to all, the looming battle yet to begin.
“Proceed to stage two!” Commander Griffin shouted. “The kresnik will remain in reserve. Spread out and retain your position until District V is there to support.”
“You heard him,” Greaves responded to Commander Griffin’s orders. “It’s go time!”
“Proceed!” Kilgore commanded through his helmet. His soldiers responded by marching forward, continuing toward the opening, past the CyberGen truck.
Asher passed through the entryway, cold sweat forming on his hands as he followed Ito to the left. They entered into a vast, red-lit room, immediately met by a multitude of stacked cages and crates lined up near the jagged, stone walls. The containers extended into multiple columns and filled most of the space.
A massive wall was visible at the other side of the giant room, this one smooth, made of concrete. A metal mesh bridge, approximately ten feet above the ground, spanned the length of the wall. Its multiple tributaries jutted out from it and hung above the soldiers' heads, allowing onlookers from above an aerial view. Asher saw a single door on that side, which gave the only suggestion that anything else was buried under the mountain.
“Keep close to those walls!” Kilgore wasn’t intimidated by the vastness of the cargo bay. “We don’t want any surprises.”
Asher’s group followed the captain’s orders, continuing to walk along the wall until Ito raised a fist for them to stop.
Asher clinched his weapon in an iron grasp, ready for the enemy to rush forth at any moment. Their force could spread no further. They stood in front of a pile of crates, no longer able to see the far wall.
Asher peered into the crate nearest him, certain he heard breathing. He found a hairless, deathly pale monkey-like creature with rage-filled, ghostly blue eyes resting within.
The creature shrieked and launched itself at him, bearing a surprisingly large set of fangs.
Asher jumped away while the monkey thing reached for him with its claws, unable to touch him confined to the crate as it was.
“Stay calm, man,” Aaron waved him back toward the wall.
The area was never quiet after their entry. The plethora of animal-containing crates inside prevented it. However, the cargo bay was more tranquil than it should be, with still no sign of the enemy.
Asher turned toward a noise, finding it came from within the green-lined vehicle. The vehicle shook like a washing machine. Jagged slash marks appeared in the back doors. The beast inside screamed, exploding into a blood-lusting rage.
“Commander!” roared Kilgore. “The kresnik is losing it!”
The words barely left the captain’s mouth when a blaring alarm sounded. The far wall detached itself from the bridge, sliding upward toward the ceiling as it opened.
Another of The Surgeon’s giant wolf-beasts bellowed in rage, pulling itself out from under the door.
“We got company!” Kilgore’s voice rang in Asher’s head. “We can’t face that thing as a line! Find cover!”
The door slid up further, revealing an onslaught of black-armored, heavily armed vampiric soldiers, the enemy over 500 hundred strong.
“Release the kresnik!” Witchburn howled.
Chapter XXX
The Nature of the Beast
Cyrus shrieked, tearing at the truck doors with his claws. His humanity had entirely vanished from his mind.
Blood! I want their blood! I will have it! He screamed inside his head, his ability to speak overridden by relentless hunger and rage. Cyrus slashed and clawed at the doors in a bloodlust-fueled frenzy, shredding jagged holes into the metal.
“Let him out!” Cyrus heard a voice cry out, his comprehension of human vocalizations limited. “We need him now! They’re tearing into us!”
Cyrus halted, his ears perking up as the door latch screeched open.
A deep red line appeared between the opening doors.
Cyrus pushed through, springing out of the opening, the light embracing his dark form. He bounded across the floor, his bloodlust driving him down the lanes between the crate piles. The kresnik’s prey was everywhere. Black-clad figures rushed around the vast room. Their smells called to him. The air was so saturated with the scent that it was impossible to determine who was most vulnerable.
Cyrus stopped, scratching the concrete floor as he skidded to a halt. He turned his nose skyward, taking another whiff of air into his nostrils, deciding whom he might attack first. One of the savory smelling creatures had a stronger, more pungent scent.
The giant wolf beast stood on its hind legs and roared, drawing Cyrus’s attention. The monster dropped back down on all fours, charging headlong through a pile of crates and into a group of Legion soldiers, sending wood and debris flying. It tore into the soldiers with deadly claws and monstrous jaws, dispatching them one after the other, the blood pooling thick.
“2nd Company! Grenades!” Someone yelled from a distance away.
The explosives careened through the air, each erupting into a devastating fireball when they struck the beast. Wood flew everywhere as the containers exploded. Some of the luckier lab animals survived the blasts, breaking free from their crates. They ran around the cargo bay in a frenzied panic as they searched for the exit.
The beast howled in pain, though it wasn’t significantly injured, protected by its heavy armor. It charged toward another line of soldiers, attacking with even greater ferocity.
Seeking a better vantage point, Cyrus jumped up onto a pile of crates.
“Hit it again!” The same voice screamed once more.
Another onslaught of grenades hit the creature, fire and shrapnel sent flying. It continued its blood-drenched rampage, not at all hindered by the explosion, ripping apart Legion soldiers in a storm of blood, severed limbs, and heads.
Cyrus had little time to view the second grenade blast before an enemy sniper shot him off the crate pile. He careened toward the ground, landing safely on his feet.
Cyrus glanced back at the attacking beast, his mind still in a frenzied state, his instincts pulling him toward it. Though enthralled by bloodlust, he knew his choices were limited, an aerial attack made impossible.
Still, Cyrus moved toward the monster, not running but stealthily creeping toward it. He approached from behind, the beast crushing a Legion soldier’s head between its jaws, oblivious to the imminent threat.
Quickly within a few feet of its hindquarters, Cyrus poised to pounce. The kresnik screamed, leaping onto the beast’s back. He dealt it a savage bite to
the back of its exposed neck, digging and tearing through flesh, biting and clawing at its spine.
The monster howled one last time, charging through crate pile after crate pile, finally dropping dead right before it reached the left wall.
Cyrus sprang from the wretched monster’s back, its black blood flowing from his mouth, his bloodlust only beginning to be satiated. He wouldn’t rest until all his prey lay dead, leaving him an insurmountable feast.
The kresnik raced toward the nearest group of vampire soldiers, the need for caution no longer necessary. He flung himself into them as they turned to fire on him, their bullets rendered near useless by his rapid speed and superior armor. Though they were swift and strong in their own right, Cyrus was always faster and more brutal.
A relentless Cyrus dispatched all in a mad, bloody slaughter, ripping through throats, slashing through abdomens, tearing off limbs, crushing vertebrae in his powerful jaws. He feasted while he fought, the kresnik tearing off chunks of flesh, swallowing between victims.
More and more of the enemy zigzagged between crate piles as they advanced on the Legion soldiers. The enemy force was considerable now, much larger than that of the Legion’s, and threatened to overrun them. Cyrus’s devastating rampage served as the only thing keeping them from it. Despite his speed and power, even he would eventually grow tired of killing them.
“We need all outside companies!” The voice from earlier sounded once more. “There’s too many!”
“You will not take my lab!” A white-coated man roared.
Cyrus looked up as he choked down the ragged trachea of his latest victim.
The man stood at the other side of the vast space underneath the bridge, holding a strange, sword-like object against his shoulder. Three leather-clad individuals stood behind him, one man and two women, all carrying short, cylindrical, metal devices in their hands.
“You will all die here!” The white-coated vampire ranted. “Make them suffer!” He raised his sword and pointed it toward the concentration of Legion soldiers hiding behind the crates at the other side of the room.
Cyrus saw several flashes of light as the three charged past their master, laser knife blades exploding from the metal devices as they raced toward the soldiers. He was immediately enthralled. Their mesmerizing laser lights called to him through a haze of thick but desensitizing vampire stench. Cyrus turned away from the group of vampire soldiers and slowly crept around the piles of stacked crates toward them.
A barrage of flying daggers met the three, catching them off guard, the vampires barely dodging the blades before they hit their targets. Two black-cloaked figures followed the storm of daggers, both with a long-bladed knife in each hand. They ran at the three, intent on quickly cutting them to pieces before they had a chance to reach the Legion soldiers.
The male vampire made for the figure to his left, not at all intimidated by the knives. The females took his lead, one joining him in his attack and the other rushing to the right to confront the remaining figure, both intent on deadly assault.
Plasma laser struck metal blade when the combatants met, joining in a furious dance of death, a flurry of stabbing and slashing intermixed with the dodging of incoming attacks. None of the strikes hit their mark despite the battle’s intensity. The skill of the fighters and the deadliness of their weapons was so great that any wound would be lethal.
Cyrus continued toward them, taking no notice of the combatants, still taken by the red lasers. He had lost his lust for the kill, intent on his new desire, the lights simply too alluring to ignore.
One black cloak fought against two, its movements both intricate and elegant, its strikes relentless and brutal. The two vampires had taken on more than they could handle, barely moving out of the way before the cloaked figure’s blades found flesh.
One of the female vampires snarled as the figure sprang at her, driving a metal blade beneath her ribs. The figure followed up with a brutal slash to its victim’s neck with its second blade.
Blood flowed like a fountain onto the ground. The head fell from the body as the dead vampire slumped to the floor.
“Mara!” yelled the male vampire, rushing toward the black cloak. Seizing the opportunity, he jammed his laser knife into his foe’s chest.
The black-cloaked figure moaned with a male voice. He looked down to find the vampire’s blade burning through his ribcage, running him through.
The figure collapsed, faltering down onto the floor in a heap.
“Viddur!” The remaining black cloak screamed with a woman’s voice. She was unable to reach him, still occupied by her quick-paced fight with the remaining female vampire.
She sounds so familiar, Cyrus thought. A little bit of forgotten humanity slipped in while his attention remained on the laser knives.
The male vampire was upon his victim now, taking a knee as he drove his weapon right through the man’s skull. Satisfied, he rose back to his feet, rushing over to his remaining comrade to help her dispatch the remaining cloaked woman.
“I will not have you make a mess of my lab!” a man shouted, catching Cyrus by surprise.
Cyrus screamed, receiving a booted kick to the back, turning to see the white-coated vampire upon him. He lunged to attack, skidding to a stop when the man flipped the switch on the handle of his blunt sword.
The blade’s whole edge became an intense light, bright even in the red-lit room. Cyrus’s eyes widened, taken in by it, the largest, most beautiful laser light of all.
“Oh, I see.” the white-coated vampire smirked.
He looked at Cyrus and then back at his plasma blade.
The vampire turned and then viciously spun back around, raising his weapon in the air to bring it back down on Cyrus’s right arm.
Cyrus let out a very human scream, his primal urges instantly gone. He staggered backward to collapse onto his knees, overcome by the mind-numbingly searing pain, grasping at the cauterized stub below his elbow. The severed limb lay some feet in front of him, the end of his forearm blackened and steaming.
“Cyrus!” Elysia screamed, still in a furious fight with the remaining two vampires, unable to reach him.
“This is it, wretch!” The white-coated vampire raised his sword high, ready to bring it down on Cyrus’s neck.
Cyrus heard the distant sound of another wolf-bear beast, forgetting his pain, the call coming from the far left wall. There was something different about this howl. It sounded somehow… Mechanical.
The ground shook as the thing ran toward them, causing the white-coated vampire to turn away from Cyrus, his face intense with fear.
The thing burst through the stony left wall, sending rocks and debris flying everywhere. Once through, the creature stood as the dust cleared, a strange green light emitted by one of its eyes.
Cyrus gazed upward, amazed by the new creature.
It was tall but not as massive as the wolf monsters, spindly where they were bulky, its limbs long and disproportionate to its body. It wasn’t entirely biological, machine parts implanted at various areas of its body, especially at the joints. It was covered in a layer of white hair where it had skin, its ears pointy, the one biological eye yellow, slit down the middle by the pupil.
All soldiers, both Legion and vampire, ceased to fire their weapons, all eyes on the creature.
The beast continued to stand there, looking around the loading area, scanning the room with its single cybernetic eye, the green field it projected passing over Cyrus before finally resting on the white-coated vampire.
It walked toward the white coat, gaining speed as it went, the ground shaking with its surprisingly heavy steps. It charged through the body of vampiric forces near the wall, tearing through their line, bodies flying everywhere as it made for the white coat.
“No! No! No!” screamed the vampire, dropping his weapon as he turned to run.
The creature bounded after him with considerable speed, murder in both eyes. It rushed past Cyrus, causing him to wince as it stepped do
wn upon his severed arm, crushing it, the bones cracking under its weight.
Cyrus kept a firm hold on his still steaming stump, only able to stare at the creature as it moved past, catching a brief glimpse of the beast’s wristband. He went slack with disbelief as he read it, the name TALON BLACKTHORN glaring back at him in big black letters.
The white coat screamed as the machine creature yanked him off the ground, taking him up in its massive paws, raising him high above its head.
The vampire let out one last blood-curdling howl, the creature stretching his spine and tearing him in half, a torrent of blood rushing forth, the white coat's intestines exposed and tattered.
The creature slammed the two halves of the broken body onto the ground, the vampire’s face twisted in terror, the calm eyes now lifeless.
The vampire leader dead, the firefight began anew. The Legion soldiers took the opportunity to weave between the crate piles, advancing toward the enemy.
The cybernetic beast roared, turning to face the two vampires engaged in combat with Elysia. It charged for them, Elysia barely weaving past it as it made for its prey.
The female vampire screamed as the beast brutally slung her into the nearest wall, where she landed in a heap. The raging machine creature grabbed the male off the ground, making him scream when it threw him down, crushing his skull under its foot.
“Cyrus!” Elysia screamed. She rushed toward him, watchful of the beast as she tried to pull him behind the nearest pile of crates.
The creature turned toward them.
Cyrus’s heart beat rapidly as he regained his senses, fearful the beast would attack.
The machine creature regarded them for a moment more before raising its nose in the air, catching a whiff of something. It stomped away from them, heading toward the nearest gathering of vampire soldiers.
“Get to the walls!” ordered one of the Legion’s commanders. “That thing will take care of the enemy for us so long as we stay out of the way!”
Fall Prey: The Hunt Page 43