Bobby's interface flashed with new information as the creature emerged into the compound's artificial lighting.
Augmented Ursine Guardian - Level 12
The beast dwarfed any natural bear Bobby had ever seen. Its shoulders alone stood fifteen feet high, rippling with a grotesque combination of hypertrophied muscle and metal plating. Surgical scars crisscrossed its exposed flesh where chrome implants burst through skin and fur. Neural control nodes pulsed with sickly green light along its spine. The warehouse lights cast harsh shadows across the creature's bulk, making the joins between flesh and metal look like dark chasms. The air filled with the whir of servos and cooling systems as the beast adjusted its stance, its augmented mass leaving shallow impressions on the concrete floor. Bobby raised the neutron blaster and fired three rapid shots. Energy bolts struck the creature's flank, but barely scorched its armoured hide.
The bear's head snapped toward him with mechanical precision. Its movements were too controlled, too calculated for a mere animal. As it turned, Bobby glimpsed an elaborate control apparatus grafted to its skull and neck - a mass of blinking lights and metal framework that disappeared into the creature's brain stem.
"Remote controlled," Bobby muttered. "Because a regular bear wasn't bloody terrifying enough."
The augmented bear's yellow eyes locked onto Bobby's position. Its massive jaw opened in a roar that shook dust from the warehouse walls. Bobby could see the metal reinforcements in its mouth, each fang now tipped with gleaming steel.
Bobby didn't need any special skills to know he was in deep trouble. He squeezed off another shot, aiming for one of the neural nodes. The energy bolt struck true but simply dissipated across the bear's armoured plating. Though the shot left little more than a scorch mark on the metal, it was enough to infuriate the beast. The bear shook its massive head, neural cables whipping through the air like angry serpents. A deep growl rumbled from its throat, more machine than animal. Its pupils contracted to pinpoints. It’s targeting systems marking Bobby as a threat that needed elimination.
The bear moved with unnatural fluidity, each step precise and measured despite its enormous bulk.
Whatever sick bastard has created this thing had turned it into a perfectly controlled weapon.
Bobby backpedalled from the augmented bear. Nothing in his military or police training had prepared him for this kind of threat. The neutron blaster felt pathetically inadequate against the beast's armoured hide.
"Time for a tactical retreat," he muttered, turning to sprint away from the mechanical monstrosity.
The bear's thunderous footfalls shook the ground behind him. Each impact sent vibrations through Bobby's legs as he ran, the creature's precision-engineered muscles allowing it to close the distance with terrifying efficiency.
Bobby rounded the corner of the warehouse, only to spot three raiders emerging from a doorway thirty yards ahead. Their augmented forms gleamed under the compound's floodlights, a mix of scavenged military hardware and crude cybernetic enhancements. Purple energy crackled along their weapon barrels - modified neural disruptors, far more powerful than Bobby's neutron blaster.
"Shit."
Bobby's finger squeezed the neutron blaster's trigger, holding it down. The weapon hummed, its pitch rising as energy built up in the chamber. Warning indicators flashed across his vision - the weapon wasn't designed for sustained charging.
The raiders opened fire. Bullets whizzed past Bobby's head as he zigzagged toward the corrugated metal wall of an adjacent building. Behind him, the bear's roar mixed with the gunfire in a cacophony of death.
The neutron blaster's whine reached a fever pitch, its casing hot against Bobby's palm. He swung the weapon toward the wall, releasing the trigger. A massive bolt of purple energy erupted from the barrel, striking the metal sheeting. The wall exploded inward, leaving a ragged, molten-edged hole.
Bobby dove through the opening, feeling the heat of the super-heated metal as he tucked and rolled. The bear's massive paw swiped through the space he'd occupied moments before, metal claws shrieking against the building's exterior.
Bobby scrambled to his feet inside the darkened building, the neutron blaster's casing still hot against his palm. The weapon's charge indicator pulsed an angry red - that last shot had drained most of its remaining power. He'd have to make any remaining shots count.
Emergency lights cast blood-red streaks across abandoned assembly lines and robotic arms frozen mid-task. The warehouse stretched away into darkness, its high ceiling lost in shadow except where moonlight pierced through broken skylights. Oil and ozone mingled with the metallic tang of the bear’s hydraulic systems, creating a thick, pungent smell. The bear's impact shook the building's foundation. Bobby dove behind a rack of sealed weapon crates. His eyes caught weapon designations on the crates: "Project Guardian" and "Neural Disruptors."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Great insight, terrible timing!" Bobby vaulted over a conveyor belt as the bear's claws shredded the weapon crates he'd just left. A shower of prototype components scattered across the floor, some sparking with active power cells.
Each impact from the bear compromised another support beam. Bobby's interface flashed structural warnings as he weaved through the warehouse. His stamina dropped, the bear's enhanced speed forcing him to push harder than he could sustain.
Bobby snatched up a sparking neural disruptor component as he ran. His lungs burned - he couldn't keep this pace much longer. The bear's movements had become more precise with each passing minute, its programming adapting to his evasion patterns. He needed an edge.
The prototype device hummed in his hand, its exposed circuitry matching the neural nodes he'd spotted on the bear. With more luck than knowledge, Bobby triggered the component's power cell and hurled it behind him. The device skittered across the floor, sparking erratically.
The bear's heavy footfalls closed in on the device. A sharp crack split the air as the component detonated. Not a huge explosion, but enough - the beast's movements stuttered, its neural cables spasming as the electromagnetic pulse played havoc with its control systems. More importantly, the blast took out one of the already-compromised support columns.
Bobby spotted the ventilation shaft above as chunks of ceiling fell. He scaled a stack of crates as the bear thrashed below, its movements jerky and uncoordinated. The grate came free with a single pull, the rusty screws crumbled at his touch. Bobby hauled himself into the shaft, grimacing at the tight squeeze. The metal groaned under his weight but held firm.
He crawled through the dusty vent, each movement careful and measured to minimise noise. The shaft branched in multiple directions, forming a maze within the building's infrastructure. Bobby paused at an intersection, considering his options.
"Left or right, Rem?"
Bobby closed his eyes, trying to get a feel of which way to go. A subtle pull drew him toward the right passage. He followed the feeling, navigating through the cramped space.
The ventilation system carried sounds from throughout the complex. Bobby caught fragments of conversations - raiders discussing patrol routes, status reports about their defences. A distant crash suggested the bear was still searching the warehouse, but its heavy footsteps grew fainter as Bobby worked his way deeper into the building.
Sweat trickled down Bobby's face as he squeezed through a narrow section, his armour catching on rough metal rivets where the metal plates of the vent overlapped. The shaft widened into a junction box, giving him enough room to catch his breath.
A strange warmth radiated from one of the connecting vents. A draft from one of them carried the now familiar scent of machine oil and electronics. With nothing distinct to go on, he turned down that passage.
The ventilation shaft led him past several grates overlooking various rooms. In one lab, holographic displays flickered with anatomical diagrams - human and animal alike - while surgical tools lay scattered across blood-stained tables. Another room housed rows of stasis pods, their contents hidden behind frosted glass. The medical bay seemed more torture chamber than hospital, with restraint chairs fitted with neural interfaces and crystalline tanks bubbling with bioluminescent fluid.
The bear's roars had faded to distant echoes, but Bobby maintained his cautious pace, aware that safety was likely an illusion.
His NeuroBridge crackled with static, Mic's voice barely audible through the interference. Bobby took it as a good sign - he must be getting closer to whatever was blocking their communications.
Bobby froze as voices drifted up through a grate beneath him.
"... another one snooping around." A gruff voice echoed from below.
"Third this month. Getting real tired of these rescue attempts." Another voice responded, closer to the grate.
"At least the bear's keeping him busy. Heard him tearing up the warehouse."
Bobby's breath caught in his throat as footsteps passed under his position. He could see the shadows of the raiders through the metal grating, their augmented forms casting strange silhouettes in the room's harsh lighting.
"Check the upper levels. Boss wants this one alive if possible."
The footsteps moved away, voices fading. Bobby released his breath, counting to ten before moving again. The metal of the vent creaked under his weight.
A burst of purple energy ripped through the ventilation shaft beneath him. The metal disintegrated in a shower of molten fragments. Bobby's stomach lurched as he plummeted through the opening, arms windmilling uselessly. The climate-controlled air of the command centre rushed past him, carrying the sharp ozone tang of active electronics and the metallic smell of recycled air.
He crashed into what felt like a desk, electronics shattering under his weight. Pain shot through his shoulder as he tumbled to the floor, landing hard among scattered equipment and broken monitors.
The room was a command centre of sorts, with wall-mounted screens displaying security feeds from across the compound. Holographic projections showed wireframe models of what looked like more augmented creatures, their specifications scrolling past in alien script. Banks of servers hummed along the walls, their status lights blinking in rhythmic patterns.
Before he could recover, the distinctive sound of multiple weapons being cocked filled the air. Bobby looked up to find himself surrounded by six raiders, their augmented forms towering over him. Energy weapons and conventional firearms pointed at his head from every angle.
A figure stepped forward from the group, chrome implants gleaming along his jaw and temples. His augmented eye whirred as it focused on Bobby, mechanical iris contracting.
"You honestly think you weren't gonna get caught?" The leader's voice carried a mechanical undertone. "We've been tracking you since you entered the compound."
Bobby opened his mouth to respond, but purple energy fired from one raider's weapon. The blast struck him square in the chest. Every muscle in his body seized as electricity coursed through him. His vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges as consciousness slipped away.