A creature akin to a wolf stood atop the smoking remains of the battle mech, its white fur bathed in the glow of the flames. Its club-like tail swayed idly as if to show just how nonchalant it was. Its eyes were seemingly closed or narrow enough to give the illusion of them being closed but Larnos knew better than to leave things to fate.
Multi barreled guns spun to life with a mechanical whirl before unleashing a salvo at the creature. As the first flash of light from a barrel appeared it gripped a hefty piece of the mech it had just destroyed and used it as a makeshift shield. The electric netting around the titanium alloy chassis nullified most of the barrage but a few managed to slip past its defense and hit their mark.
The sound Larnos was expecting to hear was the squelching of flesh and the snapping of bones but reality proved to be completely different. The bullets that managed to get through struck with a heavy thud as though it had just hit a densely packed bag of dirt.
" For fuck's sake! " Dimitri, a refugee who joined the program because they gave free food and a place to sleep as he put it, charged at the creature, his shoulder mounted turrets sending a wave of lead as he closed the gap, his burst claws primed and ready.
The creature seemed to realize his intentions and hurled a piece of wreckage at him at a breakneck pace. It struck his mech's torso which gave the creature the opening it needed. It hurled the piece of debris it had in its maw at Dimitri's feet, knocking him off balance and open to an attack.
Larnos took aim at its legs as it made a mad dash for the downed but quickly recovering mech.
The bullets had little effect on it but he was not about to give up. He freed his blade from its scabbard and got in between the creature and Dimitri.
The remaining members of his group, Faust, a reclusive fighter and Emielle, a lieutenant from an army whose name he could not recall, began encircling the creature while firing at it from a distance.
Tufts of white fur shot up from where the bullets landed but that did little damage as it began to adapt to the gun fire by either evading or swatting at the bullets mid-air with its tail. Both pilots also adapted by firing simultaneously but aimed for different spots which seemed to be working at keeping it a bay for the time being.
Larnos opened his comm channel and established a line with Dimitri but kept his eyes on the creature as it tried to swipe at the mechs but they easily evaded its attacks.
" Can you still fight? " He asked as he provided fire support at random intervals to throw the target off.
" Of course I can fight bossman, " Dimitri replied as he brought his mech to its feet and attempted to charge in once again. " This became personal when this 'thing' killed Jacob. "
" Wait." He put out an arm and watched the battle. Dimitri was right to seek recompense for the sudden death of the medic and counselor of the group. Not to mention the disrespect of using his corpse as a shield then a weapon but Dimitri was letting his emotions get the best of him and against a foe like this that meant inevitable death. " We need to think this through before anyone else dies. "
Dimitri gave a grunt in response. " We can still contact command right? " He asked Larnos who had been trying to establish a link between his unit and the command site ever since he saw that thing descend from the sky but something was interfering and he had an inkling as to what the cause might be.
" Something's blocking the signal, " he commented after the third failed attempt.
" I think I know the source, " Dimitri said with disdain in his voice as he watched the creature once again begin to adapt. The ground beneath it was covered in white fur with thick, black, viscous fluids leaking out of its body and onto the ground.
The creature let out a roar which created a shock-wave which caught everyone by surprise before putting as much distance between it and Larnos's squad. It's maw parted slightly, releasing more of that black fluid. Bone-like protrusions shot out of its back as a guttural growl came out of it.
" Ideas anyone? " Larnos asked his squad.
" This is its playing field, " Faust responded. " We need to either level the playing field or put it at a disadvantage. "
Before anyone could ask how that could be done the creature lunged at the group and seemed to focus its attention on Faust. It evaded most of his strikes with renewed vigor and ferocity.
" Keep it off him! " Larnos barked as he fired his rifle, aiming for its head but it somehow avoided it by snapping its neck at an absurd angle.
" I'm trying but the fucker just keeps bouncing around like a rabid maniac! " Dimitri responded as his auto cannons spat out round after round of high end armor piercing bullets.
Unfortunately things quickly went south as the creature became much faster than before and began to force the team into a more defensive position as its attacks became more and more unpredictable.
Larnos knew this battle was lost but he would be damned if he threw in the towel. He directed Faust and Emielle to run past it and get to a higher location as Faust was the marksman of the group and Emielle would provide protection for him.
The two battle mechs dashed past the creature, drawing its attention long enough for Larnos to impale it through the skull, earning a shriek of pain from the creature but he didn't stop there. Gears spun in a frenzy as he placed a hand underneath its belly and propped it high enough for Dimitri's auto-cannons to tear through its flesh. It was much heavier than he had initially expected but the on board computer took care of the weight distribution and all he had to do was keep it high enough.
More of the black fluid gushed down from the hundred of wounds inflicted by gunfire. It thrashed around and tried to use its tail to strike Larnos from underneath it but a shot rang out before the club like tail was intercepted.
It roared even louder in pain and frustration as Dimitri continued to unload everything he had at it. The beast suddenly went quiet but everyone knew better than to stop firing because it went limp.
With a grunt Larnos twisted the still embedded blade and tore of the head. He dropped the body and put as much distance as he could between him and the now still body of the creature which was still being fired upon by Dimitri who let out a war cry as he kept firing until a clicking sound was all that be heard.
" Dimitri, " Larnos called as the man continued to press down on the trigger which simply clicked in response. " Dimitri enough. "
" This fucker killed Jacob and you're telling me filling it with lead is 'enough'? " Dimitri barked in response.
Larnos slowly pried off the head of the creature from his blade. Looking at it closely it did look like an extremely large wolf. Its eyes were still closed which surprised him considering all that just transpired.
" What kind of rapture do you think this is? " He asked the still fuming man. " Never seen anything like this. "
" I don't really give a damn bossman, " Dimitri answered after he had seemingly calmed down. " As long it's dead I'm fine with that and it seems comms are back online. "
Dimitri was right and Larnos established contact with the command base and informed them about the encounter with the strange beast and they prepared a transport to retrieve the remains.
" Bring in extra firepower, " he told the person on the other end of the line to which they questioned why he made that request.
" A hunch, " he responded simply.
His team regrouped and they waited for the transport. The silence felt wrong, as though something or someone was lying in wait for something to happen. Running his scans Larnos detected nothing out of the blue.
" Stay sharp, " he informed the group. " Something isn't right. "
The transport arrived a while later. With it was an armored escort consisting of both land and air vehicles. A brief glance at the decapitated head sent a chill down his spine. Its eyes had opened.
There was nothing but the inky black void and even though there was no pupils or iris he knew it was looking at him. A single sound caught the attention of the rest of his squadron. The bullet ridden corpse moved.
In a single moment the silence was replaced with a cacophony of chaos as the headless body went on a rampage, ignoring the firepower of both his squadron and the assault force. The black ichor began to bubble before lashing out at whatever it could find, including Larnos as some of the ichor had gotten onto both his blade and mech and the aircrafts were brought down by the ichor that managed to land on them, killing the crew of every single one.
Alarms blared as the viscous fluid began seeping into the joints of his mech and wrestling control away from him. The others weren't doing much better as the body had now began to target Dimitri out of anyone else as though it sought revenge for what he had done to it.
Faust tried to deliver a shot with his high powered rifle but the body deflected right back at him and the mech's armor unfortunately could not handle the kinetic force. It pierced the cockpit with utter ease, killing the reclusive marksman instantly.
Emielle let out a shriek as her emotions took over and she charged at the body. It hugged the ground to avoid an incoming swipe from the two blades protruding from the arms of her mech. It then twists its body, swinging its tail with such ferocity it cleaved her in two and swat the top half right at Dimitri.
This time he was able to avoid it and as Larnos was struggling with his mech he heard the choking sounds of his comrade as her lungs began to filled with blood, suffocating her to death. Dimitri, out of ammunition opted to enter close quarter combat and held his ground for a while.
Larnos was forced to eject out of his mech as the ichor had now rendered it completely immobile. The head had now changed positions but made no attempt to attack him, instead it simply observed the scene unfold.
Bringing up his rifle he shot at it but did not have any effect whatsoever. Dimitri was now losing the fight as whatever attack he managed to land on the thing, it ignored and used that moment to deliver a strike of its own.
It was a fight of attrition and he was losing. Larnos opened fire on the battered body and drew its attention for a moment giving his ally some breathing room. It charged at him only to be grabbed by the tail and tossed around like a rag doll as Dimitri roared in defiance. Larnos joined in on the assault and took precise as he can be shots at where the joints of the limb were.
Dimitri picked up on his intent and began to expose the areas his captain was targeting while continuing to pummel the beast into the ground. The head of the creature let out a piercing shriek causing Larnos's ears to bleed.
The remaining forces of the assault team began to open fire into the trees and he quickly found out why. A hoard of raptures poured from the tree-line but the concentrated fire from the others kept them at bay.
He turned towards the head and threw an explosive charge at it which did not damage it but silenced it which was more than enough considering the current situation.
" Bossman behind you! " Dimitri's speakers blared as the body charged at him at blinding speeds. He evaded a strike from above but that left him open to a side swipe from the body which sent him flying.
He skidded across the ground, his suit protecting him from the friction that would have easily torn off his skin, and landed next to an overturned car where a few infantrymen were. One glanced at him and quickly helped him up before continuing to fire upon the hoard. Another infantryman was yelling over the gunfire into a comms device.
His rifle was nearby and he joined his fellow men in keeping off the hoard. Some of the raptures tried to branch off in order to avoid the line of fire but were unsuccessful and were immediately cut down.
Dimitri was somehow holding his own against the body but each was now worse for wear and he could only go on for so long. Larnos was conflicted, he wanted to help Dimitri but the infantrymen were slowly but surely being pushed back by the incoming hoard.
" Hey, " a nearby infantryman called out to him. " Go help him. You pilots ain't the only ones who can square up against raptures. "
He looked at the infantryman, his face hidden behind his multi-purpose gas mask which was covered in soothe.
" Guess I owe you all a drink then, " Larnos commented which earned a chuckle from the infantryman and those next to him.
" That you do. "
He charged at the battling duo, his combat suit working overtime to compensate for the lack of a mech. Sliding underneath Dimitri's mech he opened fire into left forelimb of the body and managed to blow it off, causing it to tumble forward right into a lethal strike from Dimitri that sent it tumbling back.
Dimitri did not ease up on the attack and charged after the quickly recovering body of mass. Larnos was close behind, providing some amount of suppressive fire for Dimitri to get close enough to use his custom rigged shotgun which held an absurd of explosives in each pellet and it proved to have an extreme effect on the creature as part of its body was ripped to shreds as an orange glow engulfed the spread area.
It staggered to the side from the blast but tried to swing its tail at him only to miss. Larnos came in from the side, opening fire into the wound created by the blast from Dimitri. The ichor acted like a pseudo-barrier, considerably slowing down the bullets and ultimately reducing how much damage they could do but not fully nullifying it.
" Why won't you just die?! " Dimitri roared in frustration as he kept firing into the creature.
A guttural sound engulfed the entire battlefield, momentarily halting the on going fight. It came from the decapitated head. Larnos immediately opened fire on it, watching the holographic ammo counter on the left railing of the gun quickly drop to zero. Once it did, he switched to his side arm and took aim.
Before he could fire he heard the telltale signs of reinforcement coming in. A second squadron of aircrafts came flying, releasing their explosive payloads which took out most of the hoard and the remnants were disposed off by the heavy ordinance from the reinforcement.
The surviving infantry let out a cry of triumph as medics from the reinforcement attended to the injured. The heavy ordinance targeted the creature and opened fire on it, making sure not to hit Dimitri in the process. Larnos was knocked by the shock-wave of the explosions.
The head went silent and the body stopped moving. Larnos ordered Dimitri to move away from the creature and he did so reluctantly. Once he did the heavy ordinance group bombarded the creature with everything they had, decimating the nearby landscape.
" You are quite resilient, " a new voice called out.
The voice came from the head. It had some how turned itself to face him. Its maw parted and the voice continued, " This isn't over though. "
Larnos, tired and battered and now confused could only watch this 'thing' in silence. He was too exhausted to engage in any form of mental banter with this thing. As the bombardment continued, the land began to shake. Many assumed it was from the ordinance bombardment but it grew in intensity and soon everyone knew something was not quite right.
The body emerged from the smoke and charged at the bombardment line. Smaller arms fire and the mounted machine guns opened fire, firing streaks of light into the mass which made little difference as it crashed into the nearest tank and struck it with its tail, crushing it and destroying it in one blow and sent the flaming wreck into the infantrymen.
Their screams of anguish filled the air as they were engulfed by flames and subsequently burnt alive. Spikes of black ichor shot out of its body, impaling those that were close by and piercing the thick armor of the order tanks and the quick but haunting screams of the crew managed to reach Larnos.
Dimitri tried to charge at at the body but a thick strand of ichor pierced the left leg of the mech and crippled him. Larnos tried to charge in as well but a spike impaled him through the torso with such precision that it avoided any major organs.
" Hey Dimitri, " Larnos croaked as he began to feel light headed. " Think you can chuck me at that piece of shit? "
Dimitri gave a remark in his native language which Larnos didn't understand. Perhaps he should gone for the language seminar when it was available. The creature laid waste to the reinforcements with complete ease and once again downed the aircrafts that were coming in for another bombing run.
His vision began to blur but he was certain the head still had its attention trained on him and he saw the maw open and close but couldn't hear what it was saying due to the destruction it released upon his comrades.
He felt something lift him up and it turned out to be Dimitri's mech. It slowly hobbled towards his mech was still covered in ichor. Using the last of his fuel reserves of a a flamethrower Larnos didn't know he had he burnt away the ichor and placed Larnos inside the cockpit.
" That is against regulation Dimitri, " Larnos slurred. " We will have to be hush hush about this."
The mech closed its cockpit and began to move away from the chaos much to Larnos's displeasure. He tried to wrestle control from his mech but that did not work. The on board camera showed a quickly shrinking Dimitri engaging in combat once more with the creature.
" You'll live bossman, " Larnos heard Dimitri say as he was carried away from the battlefield.