The Carnage Trilogy (Book 1): The Carnage [Unbending, Unyielding, Unforgiving]

by Birch, Matthew

  The end

  Short Story add-on - The Place I Called Home

  "Are we the last ones?"

  "I think so"

  "What about-"

  "No, all dead"

  "There's no way..."

  "We can't grieve now. Let's finish the mission"

  My soldiers whisper among themselves, unsure of the task at hand. Some of the most battle-hardened people I could find are sitting right beside me, yet I doubt it'll be enough. The other teams are dead. Some vanished without a trace. The drop zone was hell. Trying to get our soldiers back onto the streets was nothing more than a fool's errand. Most of the military force died trying to take back the mall which is ways back from here. That super mall was supposed to be the foundations for the task force who would be assigned the incredibly ridiculous mission of stopping the Carnage. Unbeknownst to the soldiers here, they will never know what we're up against. The horrors we're about to face. I've seen them. What they're capable of. Considering I was the only one who escaped the Organisation base anyway...

  "Captain Lewis!" My rank and name are called by the man steering us towards our destination. Sighing, I heave myself up, slowly pushing my way through the crowd of about sixteen elite soldiers who've been armed with the best possible gear we can get our hands on. Once in the cockpit of the vehicle, I stand beside the driver. It's difficult to maintain balance as we shake around, giving me a slight motion sickness - of course; I suck it up and fight through it. The driver taps the small radar beside him.

  "Whatever was out there is gone?" The driver says, bringing my attention to the fact we are now completely and utterly alone.

  "Good, the easier our mission will be" I lie. I know the Carnage is planning a trap. We are going to die.

  The artificial intelligence in my technologically advanced helmet springs to life, telling me I am getting closer to my destination. Reaching up, I press a button on the side of my helm, bringing the visor in front of my eyes to life. Through the visor, I see everything, including the names and conditions of all the soldiers with me. In the corner of the visor, a small list of those who are about to die is made. Each of them with a skull being placed beside them, the skull is white and if it turns red, it means they are dead.

  "One mile remaining" The AI sings into my ears as the visor springs to life, allowing me to see past the confines of this armoured transport unit. The outside world shows nothing. It's cold, lifeless and empty. Completely devoid of life, the ruinous city holds a secret that is best forgotten at this point. I know the real reason nothing is appearing on my radar. The Carnage has released a fine, dense mist. It covers the city, making it impossible to track anything through it. It's impenetrable, and when you walk through it - it feels like there is a weight crushing down on your chest.

  The driver comes to a screeching halt, forcing my reflexes to act quickly and hold onto some handles that are suspending from the ceiling. Gripping on tight, I stop myself from flying forward. Finally, we are here, my home...

  The Organisation building is a shadow of its former self. Crumbling away, the desolate, but humungous building still stands tall as a beacon of death. It's the reason I have suffered. Yet, here I am again, back for more...

  The radar suddenly springs to life? Raising an eyebrow, my AI tells me the mist has evaporated in this area specifically. It's nothing more than a false sense of hope. The soldiers in the back see the same through their own visors. But the reality strikes quick in my mind - it's nothing more than a trap.

  We are going to die. But my mission is different from theirs. I am here to find him.

  Giving the driver a pat on the back, I give him a nod. He gulps, reaching out and grabbing a single lever before tugging it downwards. The heavy-duty door opens bit by bit. A rough buzzing sound rattles through the ground, vibrating the whole unit. All the Elite soldiers stand up; ready to fight to the last breath. "Alright Shannon, give the signal" I whisper to my AI who accepts the order and willingly sending out a message to every single soldier who grabs their weapon and heaves themselves out two at a time.

  I watch them make their march... Poor sods are gonna die.

  Once all the soldiers are gone, I look back at the driver and a thought crosses my mind. Will I be agile enough to escape? Is it worth telling him to stay here?

  "Sir, what are my orders?" He asks me calmly. The driver isn't a soldier. Nor was he trained to be one. He is nothing more than our driver. He got us here amazingly enough. I can't ask any more from the man who is about to die. A part of me wants to apologise because I had lied to get him this far. He's innocent and doesn't deserve this. We-

  We didn't have enough manpower left.

  I... I had no choice. I am responsible for every person who is about to die. All seventeen of them, including the driver, are going to be lost to the biological mass of the very thing we hope to destroy. I want to give him the best chance we have through. "Stay here and keep your head low..." I say lowly, my voice booming through the armoured transport, echoing off the empty reinforced steel-plated walls. Turning, I go to leave. According to my radar, all the soldiers outside are in position and have formed a circle around the transport. The Organisation building is ahead of us. Before I leave, I simply look over my shoulder. I have to keep my humanity here. The soldiers with me signed up to die, the boy didn't. "Close the door and law low" I order more sternly this time. Before he can protest, I leap out into the ghost city. There really is nothing left. The destruction the Carnage caused is everywhere. Shaking my head, I push all the thoughts of the people I've lost to the back of my mind. Why is it now they would have to pop up?

  Circling the unit, I come face to face with the very place I had escaped from. All I wanted was to see the surface. To experience life and all it had to offer. I finally got that chance.

  Then they took it away...

  "Shannon, remove the list of soldiers"

  "Removing list of soldiers... *bing* List of soldiers removed"

  "Good, highlight objective"

  "Highlighting objective"

  A faint orange circle appears on my visor, showing me where I need to go. It's down quite far into the ground, whether I can make it in time or not is up for debate. Given enough time, I could probably make it.

  There are two objectives. The soldier's mission is to find the kill switch and blow this place sky high. That is the secondary objective to me and the primary objective to them. My mission is to find him. They do not know of my mission, but it is my primary mission. I can't fail. Not after all the intel, he has given us. How he survived getting through the head quarters, I'll never know.

  "Team, form a perimeter around the entrance to the building" I order, sending out the message to everyone else with me. Keeping myself focused, I come face to face with my home. On the surface, it's nothing more than the normal CDC building, a smart way to hide the miles and miles of underground territory below. Moving swiftly, I jump the barricades, ignore the death and remains of those who once fought here and head straight for the entrance.

  Then I see her body...

  Torn apart, consumed and eaten. The Carnage's minions made a mess of her. Her head is the only part that is left intact. I never even got the chance to-

  "Sir, we've secured the perimeter but-"

  I faze out, my eyes on her body. Millions of thoughts rush through my mind. My heart is broken into hundreds of pieces. My gut makes me want to throw up. Did the Carnage truly leave her like this just for me? Does it know?

  "Sir, the mist, it's-!"

  Within seconds, my radar shoots to life as everything outside the confines of the mist is covered in huge blobs of red. My jaw drops. Nevertheless, I should have expected this. No time to be shocked. I knew we were all going to die from the start. Nothing more than a simple trap for us fools. If we don't follow orders, we die anyway. I'd hate to fall into the hands of the Organisations genetically super superior Assassin twats. Mindless, brainwashed, and most of all, inhumane... Plus a waste of human
s, nothing more than soldiers to do their bidding! Ugh, what am I saying? The Organisation is a good thing. I have to keep telling myself that. Up until a week ago, they had kept the world safe. Protected it; sheltered it from the horrors below.

  "Sir, the mist is closing in!"

  "All soldiers form a defensive line, fire at will with extreme prejudice!" I roar into my helmets built-in microphone. Within a mere second, round after round was being fired away pointlessly into the mist that quickly envelopes us. Not wasting any more time, I make one last wild sprint into the CDC building, moving past the smashed open glass doors and into the reception. The orange blob is still deep underground. I need to find him as fast as I can! But I know I won't even make it past the reception.

  Glass snaps behind me. Sweat flows down my forehead. Raising my weapon and spinning around, I come face to face with the Carnage in its prime. The monstrous, destructive creation of everything evil slowly works its way towards me. I gulp. I try not to shake. If I mess this up I will be torn into pieces. It won't hesitate. Then again, I should be dead by now. Why is it letting me live this long? It's smart, I know this much. It didn't waste any time last time we met. I was lucky to have escaped with my life. Maybe it remembers me. Surely it doesn't. Observing me curiously, it walks towards me. It's once gentle footsteps becoming heavy stomps as it edges its way through the entrance and once inside the lobby, it stands back at full length. Towering above me, my nerves are tested. I begin to shake, my body breaking under immense pressure. My eyes go wide. My heart rate quickens. My blood runs cold. Everything about me almost comes to a standstill right there and then as I tense up so hard I cramp everywhere. My muscles freezing up to the point where I can't even find it in myself to pull the trigger one last time before I die. The Carnage's eyes narrow at me. As if testing me, it stares eerily...

  The gray gloomy fog outside proceeds to completely envelop the soldiers who fight on. The mist is now obstructing my view of them. The last thing I saw was the line being broken, each person for themselves as they flee for their lives. One by one, they are taken in the mist. Their lives ended with the heartbreaking screams and the gut-wrenching sounds that are limbs being torn from their sockets as if it was just a piece of grass being plucked from the ground. The shouting and the yells are accompanied by death. My distraction leaves me off guard-

  Grimy hands wrap around my neck in an instant, I went to yell but I find that is impossible.

  My gun hits the floor with a thump. The creature growls, its anger rising. I feel the dizziness start. My vision’s growing blurry. Then, the harsh grip lets go-

  I fall to the floor with a smack!

  I feel a breath on my neck followed by the words, "I am giving you the choice. As you, are the only man to have escaped me, I will let you take the honours of taking your own life" the chillingly sadistic, almost giggly voice sends shivers down my spine.

  When I had recovered from my daze, I look up and the Carnage is gone? Almost like it has gone and vanished into thin air! The mist takes me in now, covering all my senses. Still, I see them out of the corner of my eye. All of the monsters of different sizes and colours, each one is disgusting and horrible in its own fashion.

  Little by little, I get off the ground. My lips tremble and my eyes fill with water. My heart pounds in my chest. Is this really happening? The mist whispers around me, the Carnage's minions obviously watching me eagerly. An explosion rings out, followed by one last shrill scream.

  Whispering becomes full on talking in snarls and growls. They grow restless as I waste their time. Watching me like I am some lion in a circus for their entertainment, now, I am about to be put down. My legs wobble, feeling like jelly now. Bit by bit, helmets roll my way. Inside each one is the face of each person who died for nothing...

  Seconds later, bodies are being tossed at me. Some are limb by limb...

  The Carnage is testing my will, taunting me, breaking me. My heart pounds even harder now, I swear it's going to rip itself out from my chest! Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to escape the sprawled body parts that form a mess of red around me.

  My jelly legs give out-

  I fall to my knees-

  I can't take it anymore-

  Unclipping my helmet, I spare no goodbyes for my AI who tells me my objective is in danger. I'm sorry but I can't get to him. A mix of green and yellow erupts from my mouth. A disgusting burning rests in my throat. Sick litters my legs and the floor. Saliva drips from my lips and my eyes burn as tears fall. Seconds later, the head of the young boy who drove us here thumps against me. Resting at the top of my knees, his fear stricken face watches me. His eyes are looking right at me.

  Grabbing my pistol, I take it from its holster on my side and shakily lift it up and aim it at the mist in front of me. The growls, snarls and whispers become snorts and huffs. The minions don't believe I'd be foolish enough to take one last shot. To be brave one last time would be the worst decision I’ve ever made. I've been brave long enough. I've suffered enough. Taking this last shot into the mist is a BIG screw you to the Carnage. Suffering, torture, and pain. All the things it'll do to me if I don't follow the demands. 'Put a bullet in your brain, save us the mess' I can imagine it saying.

  I wrap a finger around the trigger and grate my teeth together as a burst of anger flows through me. A part of me doesn't care anymore. I know it won't even faze him. A single bullet is nothing to the Carnage. Do I care?

  A hand slices the mist, something soars through the air and her head lands in my lap. Well, I suppose that is it then, isn't it?

  Twisting the pistol back, I slide the nozzle past my lips, aim upwards at the roof of my mouth and pull the trigger.