Crimson Judgment

by Robert Lyons

  “The Red Tigers have no time to spend on a senseless battle. We lost the doctor, but we have her … and we have you!”

  “I’d rather die,” Zayde challenged, the muscles in his legs about to snap like a rubber band from the building tension.

  “That can be arranged,” Rignor snarled. “But not until we bring you in. We have use for you—!”

  SCHLINK!

  The human disappeared from Rignor’s eyesight. The injured Chroma’s stance suddenly shifted to be awkwardly rigid.

  From behind, just left of Rignor’s sternum, Zayde’s hand penetrated through the Chroma’s body like a knife. Positioned at a slight angle to avoid the spinal cord and shoulder blade, Zayde’s hand gouged through two walls of ribs, protruding all the way through. Zayde held the black heart of the monster as it insistently beat in the meat of his palm.

  The surrounding Chroma’s commentary fell mute. Every monster wore the same expression of utter disbelief.

  “I’m not going to be a part of some collection! I’m too dangerous to be kept alive!” Zayde snarled, the overwhelming power surging within him completely nullifying any logical thoughts in his mind. His primal instincts drove him to kill. He had to be too dangerous to be kept alive. Considering being captured alive, Zayde realized that death would surely be more merciful. “Not to mention, I can’t allow you to live! You are the Chroma who threatened my stepsister!”

  Bloodied fingers gently caressed the beating organ of the body Zayde stabbed through. Rignor was unable to maintain his balance. Rignor’s body slowly leaned backwards. Zayde’s free hand caught the Chroma by the throat, holding up the limp body.

  “Ack! Uhh!” Rignor’s body convulsed violently.

  Renga was beyond awestruck. “H-how?!”

  “You didn’t think I was paying attention when you killed one of your own earlier? Give me more credit than that—teacher.”

  “Release him. You don’t know what you’re doing!” Renga warned.

  “Cut the bullshit. What makes this asshole different than those Chroma that you all slaughtered earlier?”

  “He is different because of his lineage.” Renga’s voice was on edge. That could have meant two things; the giant Chroma was either bluffing or Zayde had scored a hell of a bargaining chip.

  “So, you’re saying he’s important?” Zayde raised one eyebrow suspiciously. “If he is what you are suggesting he is, then why the hell is he out here with the rest of you, doing bitch work, like chasing down old people?”

  “Rignor and I are the Red Tigers! Even the HAWK recognizes us for what we are capable of!”

  A full-blown cackle made its way out of Zayde. “Oh? You think you’re hot shit? I don’t give a damn what the HAWK thinks! You said I’m as good as dead, already! What is there to lose?!”

  Escaping his peripheral, Sydney’s parasite infected body dashed to the flank, ambushing the young man. Her fist slammed across his jaw, nearly knocking the bone out of socket.

  “AH!” Zayde screamed, biting down on the fist that was still close enough to his mouth while simultaneously ripping out Rignor’s heart out through the back before the body hit the floor. Zayde slammed his foot down, pulverizing Rignor’s head into black and white jelly while squeezing the black heart into oblivion.

  Now that both of his hands were free, Zayde reared his head back, pulling the female host closer to him. Slamming his two hands over her throat, Zayde unleashed a battle cry, taking her to the ground.

  “Fuck you, you monster!” Zayde screamed, staring into that red-colored eye that was leering at him. The female host smiled evilly.

  “C-can you do it? Can you kill me? My host’s memories of you suggest that you were her mate.”

  It’s not her! She’s not Sydney!

  The hesitation lasted too long.

  Renga came up from behind, grabbing a hold of Zayde by the back of the neck and slamming his body against the floor. Not a sound came out of the human; he kept his eyes pointed down. The Chroma were truly using every tactic at their disposal, going so far as to use psychological warfare.

  “That bastard that you killed—was my brother.” Renga’s voice was menacing. The other Chroma began to box Zayde in.

  A sensation of hundreds of tiny pinpricks began to swarm his body as the remaining red eyes focused their frightening leers at Zayde. He could physically sense their bloodlust.

  “You being able to kill him is proof that you’re a threat to our kind. On the flip side, we will need to take you in alive. You are far too valuable to kill.”

  Fighting so many opponents at the same time was far too much, even when Zayde considered his increased strength. Not to mention, with Sydney now in the mix, he was going to be fighting against something that he couldn’t kill in one go. The group of Chroma circling Zayde lunged one step forward, brandishing their animal-like teeth behind their wicked smiles.

  They won’t kill me? Fuck it. I’m not getting abducted alive!

  Zayde suddenly arose, picking up Rignor’s corpse and throwing it with all of his might directly at Renga. As the giant Chroma attempted to dodge the makeshift smokescreen Zayde created, the human bolted past the Chroma for the exit. The rest of the Chroma breathed down on Zayde’s neck in close pursuit.

  With the concert hall now emptied out, a silence overtook the once-loud theatre. The distance wails of police sirens echoed. A mutilated body lying near the entrance, with the torso slashed open, suddenly began to stir. When the berserk Chroma first attacked, this victim was unfortunate enough to be standing in the way.

  Taking a couple of deep breaths, the former human rolled over, getting back up onto one knee. The flesh circumnavigating the gaping hole of the chest cavity began to seal back up with an unnerving, slopping sound. Bones began to snap back into place as the humanoid form stood back up. Looking down at his hand, the figure realized where he was.

  “I’ve been waiting too long dormant in this body…” His voice was slightly different now that he was taken over. “I’m glad my host broke his own rules by taking the very drugs he was selling.”

  Joseph Jensen’s right eye glowed a bright red before he raced out of sight.

  PHASE 08

  Aerial Onslaught

  March 17th, 2037. Local Time; 20:30

  North American Continent, State of Montana.

  Outside of Intel Gathering Facility

  1.

  The ground below was a grassy landscape with a widespread clearance of the trees. It was the ideal spot for the helicopters to stop.

  “We have ter be fast wit gettin’ our people oyt! If we wait around, de poorpil can sneak up on us!” Jim yelled into his headset, broadcasting to the other helicopter that caught up with Night Hawk 2.

  “Understood!” the two pilots from Night Hawk 3 responded immediately.

  A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Jim’s face, catching in his thick, red beard. He turned his head toward the crates that were secured to the back wall of the aircraft. The four dark-green, heavy-duty containers had warning labels painted on them, reminding users of the danger the weapons presented if used incorrectly. Besides the warning, each crate was also labeled as “Heavy Ordnance” with large, yellow letters.

  These were the next-tier weapons that were capable of annihilating a purple eyed-class Chroma.

  Utilizing their inhuman agility, purple-eye Chroma maneuvered past most of their opponents, attacking from the sides or the flank. The Heavy Ordnance used “area-of-effect” types of attacks, providing a full 360-degree coverage to slow the enemy down, no matter what angle the attack from the enemy was coming from. Once a purple was immobilized, landing the fatal blow was simple task.

  It was this particular characteristic that made the Heavy Ordnance such a high risk to use for those who had not received proper training. Incidentally, this was the reason why each Force Captain assembled their specialized teams. With nine elite teams across the HAWK forces, there was an impressive assortment of individuals who could properly
handle and utilize the special weapons to combat purple-eyed threats.

  Just when the HAWK finally had an understanding of the Heavy Ordnance, an omen appeared one day.

  The Ninth Force received a Heavy Ordnance without any of the accompanying documentation that accompanied each weapon received. Its arrival and storage was kept on the down low. Only John, Jim, and Zoe knew of its existence when it first arrived. Testing and research were extremely limited, since the exceptionally destructive nature of the weapon put the user in severe danger.

  Why did we accept it if we can’t use it ‘ithout riskin’ our skin?

  McBride shook his head, frustrated.

  The small group was only able to perform a handful of unsuccessful tests, and there were two incidents that occurred where the weapon almost killed the user. An armament that procured such a vast amount of untamable power had to be locked away.

  Jim’s stomach sank when he struggled to recall if he really did see that it was taken out of its holding case in the armory. Was he just imagining things due to the stressful situation or did Zoe really have the nerve to take it with her?

  We shud’av gotten rid of it, John.

  “Commanding Officer McBride, we’re awaiting your orders!” one of the helicopter pilots shouted into the communications channels.

  “Night Hawk 3, drop your men! De chopper gunners ‘ill keep sights tight on de entrance. If ya see anything coming out of that hole that’s not HAWK, kill it! We’re at a disadvantage since der data link is down. Our numbers and firepower should be able ter make up for dat. ‘hatever ya do, never turn ya back on the Chroma. They’ll go for de easy kill! Always.” Jim clicked off the comm, switching back to the internal that only included Evan and himself.

  “We’re in one hell of a pickle, Jim.” Evan sighed. “With the data link that Smokey booted up no longer uploading readings from the sensors, we have no idea what’s going on below the ground. We’re going into this blind.”

  “Shuddap, Evan!” Jim sneered. “Der’s no need for ya to point out every fecking thing I’m thinkin’!”

  The M134 sights were zeroed on the metal door that granted access to the underground facility. Jim gently rested his fingers against the triggers. If the door opened and what came out had a colored eye, the barrage of hot lead would chew it up in matter of seconds. Yet, Jim knew that the Chroma would never be so senseless as to walk out carelessly. All the firepower in the world meant nothing if the bullets did not hit the intended target.

  The passengers of Night Hawk 3 evacuated. The team took positions surrounding the entrance of the bunker and gave some room for the gunners to work with.

  “Commanding Officer McBride, come in!” Hemlock’s voice came up.

  Speak of de devil, and he’ll appear. Jim sighed.

  “McBride ‘ere!”

  “Allow me to emphasize the priority of your orders, tasked by Commander Jones. You are to recover the data drive and transport it back to your base. Absolutely no tampering of the data is allowed! If you or the Ninth Force team disturbs the data, you will be buried in shit! Is your objective clear?”

  “Like mud on da windshield,” Jim retorted.

  “If you can mouth off, then I trust that you can complete the mission,” Hemlock growled.

  “Ya see, sir.” Jim smirked, still honed on the door though the gun sights. “I find it funny ‘ow ya ‘ave a plan for after we win. Here’s the problem, Hemlock. Dis is a poorpil-eye we are talking about. Dis is not gonna to be a walk in de park like ya and de higher ups seem ter think!”

  “That was accounted for when the recovery team was deployed, McBride! Quit acting high and mighty because you have kills on your record!” Hemlock snarled in response.

  “Damn ya, Hemlock!” Jim fired back. “Dis ain’t no pissing contest!”

  A brief barrage of interference invaded the communications channel as a user attempted to capture the frequency.

  “Come in, Night Hawk 2! I swear to God—Jim—if you can hear me and you are not answering!”

  The voice belonged to a person who exploited every opportunity to trample on Jim’s authority when she was presented the chance. That small, aggravating detail aside, Jim was more than happy to hear that she was still alive.

  “Zoe! Dis is Jim! Oi hear ya!” Jim announced loudly, muting Hemlock’s channel.

  “We finally got through!” Zoe’s voice was strained. “Jim, I’m not sure how much you are aware of, but we have a purple threat!”

  “Copy dat, Zoe. We’re aware of de threat level. Whatever information Smokey was able ter send us through de data link, we were able to see it for a short time. The Chroma destroyed de data link on de facilities side so we’ve been blind since. As far as we know, der should be one purple-eye Chroma left.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  Jim lowered his voice. “Also, we ‘ave company ‘ith us, Zoe.”

  There was a slight pause.

  “Who else showed up besides you?”

  “Military side. Dey sent dem in with red weapons.” Jim let out a sigh. “That’s beside de point! I brought de Heavy Ordnance, so once we regroup, we’ll be fine!”

  “We’ll only have two users, if you don’t include yourself, Jim.” Zoe’s voice lowered. “Roadblock and Smokey were killed in action. John is wounded. Gunnar and I are not too hot either, and we have an unconscious medical officer with us who was stationed at the base. She’s the only witness who survived, so far,” Zoe drilled off, taking a couple of breaths in between updates.

  “Gotcha. Are ya exitin’ from de main entrance?”

  “No! We’re going to make our breach via the ventilation ducts from the Intel rooms! It’s unlikely that we will have that Chroma tailing us from our route, so focus on the main entrance! The purple-eyed Chroma should make its appearance from there!” Zoe relayed the events.

  “When ya meet us, John’s getting’ on dis bird and I’m bringin’ the heavies with me! Steeljaws, you and me will take out the threat. We could wipe out the poorpil and lower de risk of any military casualties.” Jim gritted his teeth.

  “Will do! Last thing, Jim! That purple can command creatures that can punch through the Aeonian armor! That’s what took out Roadblock and Smokey!”

  “I’ll make sure ter make dese shots special for them! Get ya ass up ‘ere to the surface! Which duct are you coming out of?”

  “We’re going to be coming out of Room Two’s route! We already see whatever is left of the light from the sky!”

  “Evan, punch it ova’ ter number two air duct! We ‘ave ter move out immediately!”

  BROOOM!

  The muzzle flash coming from the mounted gun on the other chopper nearly blinded Jim’s unprotected eyes. He took a step back, trying to recover.

  “Multiple contacts!” one of the helicopter pilots yelled into the comm. “Engaging targets!”

  The helicopter under Jim’s feet began to sway as it was heading toward the coordinate where the second air duct was located.

  “Evan! Halt!”

  “Jim?” Evan let off the throttle, drifting only a couple feet away from where the craft was originally hovering. Jim opened fire on the M134 mini gun, spinning up and spitting out projectiles at a blazing two thousand rounds per minute.

  “We ‘ave ter hold de line ‘ere!” Jim shouted while his hands vibrated from firing the weapon. “Tell ‘em!”

  “Zoe! This is Evan! Do you read me?!” Evan shouted, sweat rolling down his face.

  “We’re about to breach the surface!”

  “The enemy beat you to it! We can’t abandon our current post! We are roughly three hundred yards away from you!”

  “We’re heading in your direction! We’ll holler when we’re under your belly!” Zoe confirmed.

  “Please, hurry!” Evan clicked off the comms.

  2.

  The barrage of lead from the human forces occupying the outside of the entrance quickly consumed the Bifol that were tied to Cora’s command. The combined for
ces of the military and HAWK were more than ready for the volley. Cora sighed, leaning up against the wall that led to the outside world.

  “That was fun,” Cora spoke up in the Chroma’s native tongue, his purple eye glowing in the darkness of the hallway. The only light sources were the helicopter searchlights coming through the opened bunker door. “I thought that my Bifol would’ve lasted longer.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. They were going to get cut down, but now we know what we have against us,” Lume replied.

  “Oh yeah?” Cora asked, his tone suggesting that he was impressed by Lume’s swiftness in assessing the situation. “What did you get out of all of that noise?”

  “Two helicopters and a small group of ground troops. The plan is to run. They can only shoot at what they see. I’ll direct my Bifol to dart out to the sides to draw their fire away from the door. We punch through the middle. Unless you both would like to take out the HAWK heavy weapon warriors?” Lume grinned, leaning against the wall.

  Cora’s forehead creased. “Is it worth picking a fight with them? We have what we came here for … If we die here, who is going to pick it up?”

  “I’m sure Kayto pulled back for a reason. Maybe he’s testing us. Either way, worst-case scenario, we get killed. Kayto can easily recover the artifact.”

  “That can work, although I’d rather plan and work to stay alive.” Cora shrugged. “What do you think, Focol?”

  “Bring it,” Focol said with determination. His purple eye was glowing much brighter than Lume or Cora’s eye.

  “Aren’t eager, Focol?”

  “How couldn’t I be? I’m going to take pleasure in feasting on the flesh of those humans while they are alive.”

  Focol was slammed into the floor with enough force to dent the steel-plate tiles. Cora stood over the downed Chroma, back arched like an enraged cat.

  “That reckless aspiration will get you killed,” Cora said in a small, calm voice.