Lando stared intently at the cannibal who had a rifle trained on him, a malicious grin slowly spreading across the cannibal's face. "When she comes, you're all fucked!" the cannibal spat venomously.
Lando couldn't help but laugh, a mocking sound that filled the tense air. "Who? I killed fifty of you fools all by myself. Learn some combat skills, will you?" he retorted, stepping confidently towards the cannibal. In response, the cannibal tightened their grip on the trigger.
"I complimented you earlier, and you still haven't had the brains to put a bullet between my eyes," Lando continued, his grin widening, an uncanny calmness enveloping him.
The cannibal fired, the bullet grazing Lando's cheek, causing a thin line of blood to trickle down. Yet, he didn't flinch. "I was told to keep you alive. The others are straight lunatics and don't care about objectives, but I care about this one. You killed my brother; you bit his fucking neck!" the cannibal seethed.
Lando's grin transformed into a toothy smirk as he moved closer. "I treated your brother just like you treat survivors. What about that woman you all boasted about?" he taunted.
From a nearby tower, Jaxon had his sights set on the cannibal and Lando. "Come on, do what you need to do," Jaxon whispered to himself, his finger poised on the trigger, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Hana, crouched behind metal debris, anxiously watched the scene unfold. "What is he doing!" she hissed to herself, her protective instincts kicking in as she peered out at Lando and the cannibal.
"Step closer and I'll shoot you in the leg," the cannibal warned, his voice shaky yet determined. Lando tilted his head upwards defiantly. "Oh?" he mocked. Suddenly, his robotic eye glowed red, and a focused beam shot out, severing the cannibal's leg completely. Blood splattered everywhere as the cannibal let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The cannibal stumbled and fell to the ground, clutching at the stump of his leg. "Y-YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, his voice trembling with pain and rage. Desperately, he reached into his pocket and produced a grenade, biting down on the pin.
Lando acted swiftly. As soon as the cannibal pulled the pin, Lando kicked the grenade, his boot connecting with the cannibal's face with a sickening crack. The grenade lodged in the cannibal's mouth, his jaw dislocated grotesquely.
In an instant, the grenade exploded. Blood and brain matter splattered across the sand, and where the cannibal's head had been, there was now only a gruesome, bloody void.
Lando, who was close enough to be thrown by the impact, let out a small grunt. The scene seemed to unfold in slow motion as shrapnel hurtled towards him. A cannibal standing on top of a crate aimed his gun at Lando. The first piece of shrapnel sliced into Lando's arm, but before the cannibal could fire, a loud gunshot echoed. The cannibal stumbled and fell from the crate, landing in front of Lando and taking the brunt of the shrapnel and the heat from the explosion.
Lando hit the ground hard, letting out another grunt. He quickly scrambled to his feet, glancing up to see Jaxon cocking his sniper rifle with a grin. "Too close," Jaxon whispered. Thanks to Jaxon's quick reaction, Lando's injuries weren't severe. He had a mild burn on his left hand from the explosion.
Hana rushed over, her gun at the ready. "Are you okay?!" she exclaimed, kneeling down to check his wounds.
Lando simply nodded. "Where's the rest? We need to meet up in the middle." He stood up, and Hana nodded, pulling out her walkie-talkie.
"It's time to meet up in the middle!" Hana ordered. Suddenly, without warning, a barrage of gray bombs was thrown in their direction. Within seconds, they erupted, releasing thick clouds of gas.
Azia's voice boomed through Lando's eye. "GET OUT NOW!" she buzzed urgently. Lando grabbed Hana and started to run, but another gray bomb exploded in front of them, releasing more gas. They both began coughing uncontrollably.
"Damn it," Lando muttered, looking at Hana, who was stumbling and coughing violently. His heart raced as he saw her collapse to the ground. He knelt beside her, trying to lift her up, but his own vision was blurring, and he was struggling to breathe.
Footsteps approached from behind. Lando turned to see a woman wearing a gas mask, holding a machete. She stared at Lando for a moment before kicking him in the face, sending him spiralling into darkness.
Lando slowly opened his eyes, weak and disoriented. He found himself in a metallic hallway with flickering lights, the sounds of screams echoing from a nearby room and the horrific noise of machines cutting into flesh. He felt a rough grip on his arms as he was dragged forward, then forced to his knees and bound tightly with barbed wire.
Looking around, he saw Hana beside him, also restrained, along with Liora, Draken, Elara, Soren, and Finnian, all bound in the same cruel manner. He tried to free himself, but the barbed wire dug painfully into his skin, forcing him to stop. As his vision cleared, he noticed the same woman who had captured him. She removed her gas mask, revealing long red hair and striking red eyes with star-shaped pupils, eerily similar to Aqua's.
"I didn't expect this to happen so quickly, you know," she began, grinning as she looked at Lando and the others.
Lando glanced around, wondering about the rest of their group. Had they managed to avoid capture? Questions swirled in his mind as Hana cast him a worried look.
"WHEN WE GET OUT, YOU'RE ALL AS GOOD AS DEAD!" Finnian screamed, struggling against the barbed wire. The woman glanced at him with a smirk.
"Be nice to the people who have you restrained. You're lucky we didn't kill you all yet," she spat. "The name's Selene, and you better respect me," she added, kneeling in front of Finnian. "Sounds good, eh?"
Finnian grinned defiantly. "Go fuck yourself," he said before headbutting her, sending her reeling back with blood dripping from her nose.
Selene touched her nose and then laughed, grabbing Finnian and dragging him roughly to the front. "You see, this is what happens when no one listens to my orders," she said, pulling out her gun and aiming it at Finnian's hip before pulling the trigger.
Finnian let out a pained scream, blood pooling beneath him as he fell to the ground. Lando's eyes widened in panic. "STOP!" he screamed.
Finnian, writhing in pain, tried to move away with his feet. Selene fired again, this time at his legs, rendering him immobile. Finnian let out another agonized scream.
"FUCKING STOP!" Lando yelled, tears mixing with rage, veins bulging in his eyes.
"You're right. I'll stop," Selene said with a twisted smile, aiming her gun at Finnian's gut and firing twice, causing him to cough up blood. "I'M GOING TO RIP YOU TO SHREDS!" Lando bellowed, struggling against his bonds.
His eye glowed red, and a beam shot forth, but Selene dodged. "You fucker!" she screamed, rushing over and kicking Lando in the head before he could fire again. He heard a metallic crack and felt a sharp electrical pain. "LAND-" Azia's voice glitched out, cutting off abruptly.
Blood trickled from the area around his robotic eye, a small crack in its center. He winced, feeling the blood roll down his face. "GET OU-" Azia's voice attempted to speak but then faded entirely as the light in his eye dimmed.
Lando gritted his teeth, the veins in his eyes bulging, about to burst. "YOU PIECE OF CANNIBAL GARBAGE! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL MAKE SURE YOUR CULT HAS NO PIECE LEFT TO BURY! YOU WILL DIE IN A THOUSAND PIECES, YOU FUCK!" Lando writhed in pain, desperately trying to free himself.
Selene laughed and then aimed her gun at Finnian, shooting him in the head. Lando began to tear up, seeing Finnian's lifeless body, his eyes staring blankly at Lando, tears mingling with blood.
"This is karma, for the shit you've done," Selene said, aiming her gun at Lando's head. "NO! NO!" Hana screamed. "KILL ME, NOT HIM!" she yelled.
Lando looked at Hana, his eyes wide, blood trickling down his face. Selene glanced between them. "Oh? A couple?" She grinned and aimed her gun at Hana. "Will do, but he will die too. He will know true suffering until the day he dies." She chuckled.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, a loud gunshot rang out, nicking her ear. She let out a pained gasp. A cannibal turned around, and another gunshot echoed, blood splattering as Jaxon ran over to Selene, body-checking her to the floor.
He then aimed his gun and fired at another cannibal. "FINNIAN!" Jaxon yelled, seeing his friend's body. Selene got up and wrestled with Jaxon, pushing him against the wall and using her gun to choke him.
Jaxon gritted his teeth and kneed her multiple times before pulling out his knife and swinging at her. Selene kicked Jaxon's knees, sending him to the ground before pressing her pistol against his head and pulling the trigger.
"NO! NO!" Elara screamed as Jaxon fell to the ground in a pool of blood. In a fit of uncontrollable rage, Lando pushed against the barbed wire, the sounds of flesh ripping as he winced in pain. Blood dribbled down his hands as he got free.
All Lando saw was red, lunging at Selene.