He was woken by his phone ringing. Cleevus opened his eyes and saw the bright sun shining through the window. Dreyus sat up in his bed in the corner. He leaned over and grabbed the phone off the nightstand. It was from Andras; Satan's middleman. He picked it up.
"Hello?" he said, cracking his stiff neck.
"Cleevus; the Lord of Wrath wishes to speak with you," Andras Said.
Cleevus sat up and rolled his shoulders. "He's got a phone, hasn't he?"
"In person," Andras replied. "And he doesn't like to be kept waiting either."
"Yeah I know. Where does he want to meet then?" Cleevus asked.
"At his stronghold in the underworld, he'll be in the grand hall. Come soon." Andras hung up.
Satan was the kind of high and mighty ruler who would only speak to his servants and soldiers in person, never over-the-phone.
After changing into some gray cargo pants, eating a ham and egg sandwich, and feeding Dreyus, he put on his boots and walked outside in front of his house. He looked back at Dreyus, who was sitting on the porch.
"I'll be back later, Dreyus."
Dreyus pricked up his ears at hearing his name. He laid down when he realized his master was leaving. He was intelligent for a dog. Cleevus turned away from the house and pulled out a small, glossy, black and orange stone. It had a pentagram etched on it, with text around the symbol.
He held it out in front of him and spoke. "The prince's stronghold, underworld of Wrath."
Blue flames began circling around his feet on the dirt. They rose up high into the air, creating a blazing vortex around him. It surrounded him for about 10 seconds, then began to dissipate. When the flames burned off, he was no longer in the desert plains.
He was standing on a plateau of lava rock overlooking a churning, chaotic lake of magma. There were vast expanses of gnarled black and gray rocky plains surrounding him. They were covered with magma rivers, jagged rock formations, and volcanoes. More enormous lakes of magma could be seen in the distance. The sky above him was dark and smoky, the land was illuminated mainly by the boiling magma. A tall black volcanic animal, that was akin to a horse and a goat, was feeding on a patch of minerals nearby.
He put the stone back in his pocket and walked over the plateau to a stone bridge connecting to the rocky face of a volcanic mountain behind it. There were huge castle-like fortifications built into the side of the mountain. Several towers of massive gray volcanic stones had red and black flags with crests on them flying high in the wind above them. Near the peak of the mountain was what appeared to be a large stone balcony overlooking the lake of magma. He walked up to the tall timber double doors reinforced with steel in a tunnel carved out of the rock at the base of the mountain. Two large torches burning near the door showed the crest of Wrath above the door. It was forged from titanium, and consisted of a demon skull with long horns that had a serpent weaving through its eye sockets, with 2 battle axes crossed behind it.
He pounded on the door several times, and after a few seconds, the heavy doors unlatched and slowly swung open. They revealed a long arched hallway built into the mountain. Large torches along the walls lit the hall. Crossed ancient hell weapons and long tapestries much like the flags flying on the towers outside were hung on the wall. Tall praetorian guards in polished black armor stood at every section of the wall holding glaves with fiery blades. They had spartan style helmets, and long horns that curved in sticking out of the top of the helmet. They wore dark red capes draped around their shoulders reaching down to their knees. On their belts hung swords much like Satan's own. Their eyes glowed yellow inside their dark helmets. They stood completely still as Cleevus walked down the long hallway.
The end of the hall branched off to the left and right, leading to other parts of the stronghold. In the middle of the intersection was a circular stone pedestal with a pentagram crest carved into it. He stepped onto it and pressed his palm against a human skull on a column next to the pedestal, and it retracted down with its eyes glowing green just like the one at the gate to Carvinoff. The pedestal scraped the stone floor as it began to rise up into the air like an elevator, up out of the entrance hall into a dark circular tunnel going straight up into the top of the mountain. After a minute of waiting it rose up into the hall to the throne room and stopped.
This hall was built of brown and red stone and had large chandeliers of bones with fires burning on them hung from the ceiling. Skulls of demon overlords that rebelled against Satan, and were defeated, were hung on the walls as trophies. The two guards at the doors to the throne room both gave him stiff salutes as he approached. They put down their arms, then both turned and pulled the doors open at the same time. Cleevus walked into the throne room and the guards shut the doors behind him. It was a long, cave-like space, lit by streams of magma flowing down through veins in the ceiling and into openings in the floor on either side of the room. At the far end of the hall was Satan's throne of stone on its pedestal, which had tall spikes sticking out of the backrest, and a red silk battle flag draped over the arms and seat. Behind the throne was a large arched opening out to the balcony, which overlooked the lake of magma. And there stood Satan, in his demonic form.
The towering black figure turned to face him as he walked in, looking at him with glowing red eyes inside the empty sockets of a bull skull that acted as its face. It had a tall and strong looking physique, its body was wrapped in a long black cape, and had a black smoky aura around it, with flames licking its shoulders. It had many sets of horns on its head, with wider ones farther on the sides, creating a crown of sorts. It had large claws on its hands and feet, and had to be at least 10 feet tall. The creature began taking steps towards Cleevus, and as it did the smoke began dissipating off its body, the figure growing smaller, the cape burning off of its back. It stopped about 7 feet from him. When the smoke cleared off his body, Satan was in his humanoid form.
His humanoid form was exactly like the statue in Carvinoff. He was wearing his black military-dictator uniform, with gold insignia on it, red shoulder boards, a red tie with a gray shirt under the jacket, a black leather belt with a cross strap and gold buckle with Wrath's crest on it, along with his sword hanging in its sheath, tall shined black boots, and black leather gloves. He had a lean and strong build. The bones on his face jutted out, and he had 2 sets of brownish-red horns, a shorter set on his forehead and wide horns on the sides. His skin was pale gray like Cleevus's. His jet black hair was neatly combed back, and his eyes were the same shade of red as his demonic form. Cleevus was 6'2"; not short by any human standard, but even in his human form, Satan stood almost a foot above him.
"Cleevus… it's been some time hasn't it?" Satan asked, looking at him with a neutral expression.
"It has sir," Cleevus said, looking up at him.
"I'm guessing you took care of that scum Nickar?" he asked.
Cleevus nodded. "I did, sir."
"Hm, good. These people need to know their place. There's only so much I can do to keep them in line." He turned and began walking towards the balcony, and Cleevus followed. "I need my subjects aligned with me when I start the revolt, and the time has come. Lucifer has become a weak ruler. The sooner he's gone, the better." He looked out at the burning lands of the underworld and crossed his arms. "There was a time when he wanted to take heaven for ourselves, but now he just wants us to stay here and rot in the realms of Hell, while those in heaven stand in eternal glory. I won't settle for it." He turned and looked down at Cleevus. "I'm at a serious disadvantage with Lucifer still being in possession of Solomon's key. You've been the most useful enforcer I've had, Cleevus. You're going to kill its keeper, then take the key. The keeper will be at the coliseum tournament happening in 9 days, which will give the opportunity to take them out."
"Who has the key?" Cleevus asked.
Satan looked back out at the plains. "I don't know yet. My servant in Pride is working to find that out right now. The key is no doubt in the hands of one in Lucifer's circle, and all of them will be in attendance at the tournament. That's when you'll strike. Until that key is destroyed, I can't attempt to kill Lucifer. Until then, you're going to help Abbadon crush a rebellion in the Greed realm."
Cleevus was a little confused. "What are we doing fighting in Greed?"
"I need Mammon in my alliance for his resources, and he has called on me to help maintain control in Greed," Satan said. "Otherwise I would have no interest in helping that avaricious idiot. A nuclear power plant was taken by a rebellion, and his police couldn’t handle it. You and Abbadon will take it back."
"I'll get it done, sir," Cleevus said.
Satan was silent for a moment before speaking. "You can take contracts with whoever you want Cleevus, but remember…" He looked down at Cleevus with his piercing red eyes. "You are my slayer," he said, pointing at his chest.
Cleevus nodded before turning and walking away, leaving Satan gazing out at the hellscape.
Cleevus's truck was rumbling down a highway in Wrath, with Black Sabbath on the radio, and Dreyus riding in the bed. Taking the plant was going to be a running and gunning operation by the looks of it, so he brought Dreyus along to assist. He pulled the transit stone out and held it up.
"Krystan nuclear plant, the Greed realm."
Blue flames began to lick the body of the truck, and grew to the point that they were covering the entire truck, blocking the view out the windows. Unsurprisingly, Dreyus wasn't bothered by the flames. After a few seconds they dissipated, showing he was now on a road through a land of dark gray rock formations with tan soil around them. Peaks of bronze pierced through the rock, forming small mountains. The sky had a gold tint to it, and the sun was much less intense than in Wrath. He could see the cooling towers of the plant to the northwest, and a glittering city to the north at the horizon.
The cities in Greed used excessive amounts of electricity, with all of their casinos and digital billboards, so nuclear power was essential. If the plants were taken out of commission, the economy would crumble. Which is why the rebellion had taken it to use as leverage for their demands.
He continued down the highway and came to a dirt turnoff that led to the plant. He drove until he reached the outside walls of the massive plant, where Abbadon's battalion was. There was a decent crowd of military trucks and 4x4's, with groups of contracted soldiers and mercenaries standing beside them, gearing up for battle. He parked his pickup next to some trucks and got out, grabbing his pistol-grip shotgun off the passenger seat. He was wearing a shotshell bandolier, and had spare mags for his automag on his belt, along with his knife. He patted the side of the bed and Dreyus jumped out.
He walked through the crowd of parked military vehicles and mercenaries with Dreyus walking by his side. Next to the outside wall of the plant was a circle of soldiers, mostly sinners, and in the middle was Abbadon speaking.
Abbadon was a bulky man with light red skin, and had tall spiny horns on his shaved head, 1 of which was broken off at the tip. He was wearing a rough brown trench coat with steel gauntlets strapped on his forearms, and had a kevlar vest with mag pouches on under the coat. A large revolver was holstered on his leg, and he was wearing brown combat boots with steel-capped toes. The lower part of his face was broken up by deep scars that crossed through his lips. He was holding a tan ak-47. You would be hard-pressed to find a tougher soldier in Hell. Cleevus walked up to the circle as he was speaking and motioning with his hands.
"...B force will then clear the North generators. Mine will advance from this entrance to the control center." He turned to look at Cleevus as he walked up. "Well look who it is, Wrath's own slayer." The circle of soldiers turned and looked at Cleevus. Abbadon stepped forward and shook his hand. "Come join the fun Cleevus," he said, smiling a little. "You brought your hound I see." He held out his hand, and Dreyus sniffed it. Abbadon then rubbed Dreyus's neck.
Cleevus nodded. "So what are we up against?"
"A group of roughly 100 repentant have taken the plant. They're threatening to overload the reactors if Mammon doesn't meet their demands. We've got snipers on the peaks around the plant, but they haven't seen any hostiles. They're holed up inside, so we're gonna clean 'em out. You'll help us push to the control center, where their leader probably is. Killing him is second priority after taking the plant. Once we've secured it and the reactors, we can lock this place down. You clear the waste and turbine buildings there first." He pointed to two large brick buildings inside the walls. "Then meet up with us at the reactor complex in the center. The control room is at the top of it." He handed him an earpiece. "We'll stay in touch with these."
"Will do," Cleevus said, putting it in his ear.
Abbadon turned back to his soldiers. "Give these bible lovers hell, take no prisoners. Move out!" The circle broke up and lower commanders began giving orders. The crowd of soldiers separated into 3 different strike forces and Cleevus followed behind Abbadon as he and his group jogged around the wall and into the security checkpoint. They were covered from the containment and turbine buildings where they were by parked cargo trucks.
Abbadon pressed the button on his earpiece. "A and B forces are you clear?"
Two commanders spoke over the comms.
"A is standing by to assault."
"B is standing by to assault."
"Marksmen stay sharp, move in!" Abbadon ordered.
Abbadon's force of about 50 moved into the parking lot, staying covered behind the trucks. Cleevus could hear charges exploding in two different places across the plant. Abbadon turned to Cleevus.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"Go spill some blood, slayer."
Cleevus racked a shell into his shotgun. "See you at the finish," he said.
Abbadon gave him a nod before turning and running after his soldiers.
Cleevus looked down at Dreyus. "Dreyus-'' His dog's head snapped up to him with his ears perked. "-slaughter time."
Upon hearing the phrase, flames grew on Dreyus's fur to the point that he was covered in them, and he grew until he was almost twice his normal size. His fangs extended and he hung his mouth open, looking bloodthirsty and showing his many long, sharp teeth. His eyes were glowing much brighter than usual.
Cleevus jogged through the parking lot of trucks to the entrance to the large brown structure that housed the radioactive waste, with Dreyus running at his side. He could already hear gunfire across the plant. The main entrance looked to be sealed tight with a steel lock down door. There were stairs for a fire exit to the side of the building. Cleevus jogged over to them and jumped up, grabbing the ladder and climbing up onto the platform. Dreyus jumped up onto a dumpster nearby and then made a powerful leap onto the platform.
The two ran up the metal stairs to nearly the top of the building where the fire exit was. As Cleevus had hoped, the door had a standard duty lock on it. He loaded a slug shell into the chamber of the shotgun, and aimed it at the lock. He fired, and the slug blew apart the lock. Cleevus kicked the door hard, and after 3 kicks the door broke open.
It revealed a huge interior, lit by bright industrial lights, laying out a series of catwalks leading around huge yellow containers with hazard signs on them. The floor was about 50 feet below him. He ran in as he heard yelling across the warehouse, a second later bullets ricocheted around him. He took cover behind a container while Dreyus bounded toward the gunfire. He turned around the container and saw several hostiles with assault rifles, Dreyus pounced on one and pinned him to the ground. The other two were behind covered sections of the railing and were distracted by Dreyus attacking. Cleavus dispatched both with his shotgun, the shots booming inside the structure. He ran across the catwalk while Dreyus snapped the neck of the soldier he had in his jaws. One of the fallen soldiers pulled out a handgun as he ran up and shot at him while lying on the ground. Cleevus blasted him with the shotgun, the buckshot decimating the sinner's face at close range.
He had been hit in the shoulder by the soldier, but the bullet hadn't pierced the stronger plate. The dead soldiers were wearing old gray heavy combat armor, which explained why one of them hadn't been killed by the first load of buckshot. The red cross of the repentant was sewed onto their vests and shoulder armor, and they had M4 carbines.
He ran to a stairwell while sliding shells off his bandolier into the shotgun's tube. Him and Dreyus ran down 3 flights of stairs to the middle level. Cleevus was about to go through a set of doors leading to a walkway outside when a grenade was tossed through the doorway. He kicked it away from him and dove to the ground in the other direction. The grenade exploded, and he felt some shrapnel bite into his leg. He pushed past the pain and rolled over onto his back. A soldier entered through the doors and Dreyus pounced on him, biting him viciously. Two more followed and Cleevus dropped them with his shotgun, firing from the ground.
Dreyus finished off the soldier and turned to Cleevus, panting, waiting for him. Cleevus got up, and leaned around the doorway from behind the corner. Bullets flew past his head and he ducked back. He could hear more gunfire from the battle in the near distance outside. He noticed 2 more frag grenades on the vest of one of the soldier's bodies. He grabbed them off the body, pulled the pins out of both with his teeth, then tossed them outside onto the walkway. Someone yelled 'grenade!' then they exploded.
Cleevus swung around the corner and blasted a hostile trying to recover from the blast. There were 2 soldiers dead on the walkway from the grenades, 2 were wounded and being drug back, with 4 remaining. Dreyus quickly ran and attacked one while Cleevus dropped another. He blasted the other soldier who was shooting at Dreyus, but the bullets were only knocking bits of coal dust off of Dreyus's fiery body. The last soldier turned his attention to Cleevus and sprayed him with their rifle, with most of the shots hitting his jacket plates. Cleevus staggered from the shots. When the soldier's mag was empty, and he saw that Cleevus was still standing, he pulled out a combat knife and ran at him.
The soldier swung his knife at Cleevus's neck, which he blocked with his forearm. The soldier then grabbed him by his jacket and stabbed the knife into his shoulder. Cleevus threw him against the railing and punched him in the face in response, breaking through his face shield and his nose by the sound of it. The soldier winced and Cleevus pulled out his own knife and stabbed the soldier in his side where the vest didn't cover, and lifted him up with the knife. The soldier's skin became pale and his blood veins turned black as the cursed knife drained his soul. He held the soldier up in the air while he took his last breaths. There was a metallic noise and Cleevus looked down to see that the soldier had pulled out the pins on all three of the grenades on his vest.
The repentant soldier stared at him with a spiteful gaze and gritted teeth, with blood running out of his broken nose.
"Burn in the abyss, sinner," the soldier said.
Cleevus quickly pulled his knife out and threw the soldier over the walkway railing. The soldier hit the lines of steam pipes below, then the grenades exploded. The walkway shook, and shrapnel ringed on the metal grates under his feet.
Dreyus finished off the last wounded soldier, and Cleevus took a knee. He pulled the knife out of his shoulder, then dropped it on the walkway. A bullet had passed through his side where the plates didn't protect him, and another was in his upper chest, along with one in his left arm. He felt some blood trickling down his forehead. He touched the side of his head and felt bone where a bullet had torn through his skin and then skipped off his skull, which like the rest of his skeleton was too strong to be broken by bullets.
He heard more intense gunfire and battle explosions in the near distance. He stood up and looked over the railing. He could see Abbadon's soldiers advancing towards the center of the plant and exchanging fire with the repentant soldiers defending the reactor complex. He and Dreyus ran over the catwalk into the turbine building.
He rounded a corner into a large space housing 6 turbines, and saw a line of at least 10 soldiers behind a covered railing on the higher level on the opposite side of the room. They were mainly facing the other entrance, but one spotted him and fired at him. Cleevus ran to cover behind a turbine. He moved to the other side of the turbine and moved out to shoot, until machine-gun fire peppered his cover.
He turned to Dreyus. "Stay."
A grainy voice then spoke in his earpiece. "Cleevus, how's it coming?" Abbadon said, with gunfire in the background.
Cleevus pushed the button on the earpiece. "I'm pinned down in one of the turbine rooms, the waste building is clear."
"Hold tight, I've got a squad close to your position."
He waited behind the cover while he heard the soldiers giving orders to move in on him. He then heard some doors bust open on the other side of the room, accompanied with gunfire and yelling. He turned around the cover and saw that the soldiers had all turned to face the enemy behind them. He pulled out his automag and shot the soldier behind the machine gun posted on the railing.
"Go Dreyus!" He yelled, and Dreyus ran out of the cover towards the upper level, gnashing his teeth.
Two other soldiers behind the railing turned to face him and he quickly dropped them both with the automag. He holstered the handgun and moved forward to the stairs leading onto the upper level. He walked up the stairs and blasted a soldier with his shotgun, who was facing away from him and firing at Abbadon's men from behind a turbine. He racked another shell and dropped another soldier as he turned to face him. He heard more yelling coming from the far side of the room where he came from, and saw more repentant soldiers coming in through a set of doors. He ran to the M249 machine gun mounted on the railing and aimed it at the soldiers moving in, then sent a storm of bullets their way. The squad of soldiers dropped like flies.
He unexpectedly felt a powerful blow against his back make him slump into the railing. He turned around and faced a soldier with a tactical shotgun. The soldier fired another into his chest, making him fall back against the railing. The soldier was then pounced on by Dreyus, who sank his teeth into the soldier's neck. The soldier yelled in pain and then was silent. Cleevus got up, and someone appeared from around a turbine. Cleevus drew his automag and the soldier pointed his handgun at him. Cleevus lowered his gun when he realized that the soldier was one of Abbadon's commanders, and the commander did the same. He was wearing a black tactical vest with some ranks and brown fatigues.
He gave Cleevus a nod. "Good work Slayer." Several more mercenaries moved in from behind him and ran past Cleevus.
Abbadon spoke over his earpiece again. "Archhold, have you cleared the turbine building?"
The commander pressed his earpiece and spoke. "Yeah we're looking good in here, no more known hostiles."
"Good, sweep the entire structure."
The commander walked past him down the stairs.
"Cleevus, we're facing heavy resistance at the reactor complex, I need you here now."
Cleevus pressed his earpiece. "Be right there." He turned to Dreyus. "Come on bud, we're not done yet."
He moved through the grid of transformers with Dreyus by his side, and emerged into the open battlefield around the massive reactor complex, which was a huge complex of concrete cylinders, steel pipes, catwalks, and large rectangular buildings.
A soldier on the complex fired a few rounds near him, so he ran to cover behind a barricade. A sniper shot rung out and a soldier on the complex fell over the railing, while the others took cover.
He looked over the barricade and saw Abbadon across the field firing his AK from behind cover with his men. He pulled out his automag and returned fire to some soldiers on the complex, then moved through the barricades and sandbags while staying low. He passed by some mercs behind barricades and made his way to Abbadon.
Abbadon looked at him with an intense face while reloading his rifle.
"We're gonna make a push into the complex, get ready," he said.
Cleevus nodded and Abbadon turned to his men.
"Put out some smoke!"
Two mercs with grenade launchers stood and launched some grenades out in front of them, and smoke began to fill the area.
Abbadon stood up and threw his arm in the air. "Forward! Forward!" He yelled.
About 50 soldiers rose up from behind the rows of barricades and began vaulting over them and firing at the repentant soldiers on the complex. The outnumbered repentant on the complex mostly were taking cover, some were trying to return fire. Abbadon and Cleevus both vaulted over the barricades and ran forward into the smoke. Dreyus ran ahead of them to attack the soldiers at the entrance. They ran through the smoke and emerged in front of the ground-level entrance where 12 soldiers were behind sandbags. Abbadon sprayed them with his rifle while walking forward, and Cleevus blasted one with his shotgun.
The two moved inside the sanbags around the entrance and began dropping soldiers one by one. Cleevus pulled out his knife when his shotgun was empty and began stabbing soldiers in their necks and sides. When Abbadon's rifle was empty, he dropped it and began knocking the soldiers down with powerful punches. The soldiers closest to the bulkhead door began to retreat inside. The heavy door locked just as abbadon finished the last soldier by headlocking him and breaking his neck with one arm. He dropped the dead soldier and picked his AK back up, then turned to his men behind him.
"Get charges on that door!" He ordered.
Some engineers with backpacks came forward and planted some explosives on the door. They all took cover outside the entrance, then they detonated the charges. The explosions shook the ground, with debris and dust flying out of the doorway. The swinging latch was destroyed. Cleevus, Abbadon, and several others pulled the heavy door open.
They moved inside with Abbadon and Cleevus at the head of the group. They moved up a ramp leading to a higher level and stopped when an alarm sounded.
An automated voice spoke over the loudspeakers. "Warning! Reactors 1 through 6 overheating. Failsafes not functioning, evacuate immediately!"
Abbadon clenched his teeth. "Damn it! They know they've lost the plant, they're starting a meltdown. We need to get to that control room now!"
They moved up the ramp with their guns raised. When they reached the top of the ramp, they were at the lower level of the warehouse housing the reactors. As they came over the top, machine-gun fire peppered them. Abbadon was hit several times in the chest, but he only staggered a little. A merc by his side fell, and the group scattered, running to cover. Cleevus and Dreyus both ran behind a storage container. There were soldiers firing at them from the upper levels leading around the concrete reactor housings.
The mercs returned fire from behind cover, and Abbadon turned to Cleevus while covered behind a waste cart. "Get to the control room Cleevus, we'll be right behind you."
Cleevus nodded and looked at Dreyus, who was by his side. "Go fight Dreyus."
Dreyus ran forward towards the gunfire. Cleevus ran out of his cover towards the stairs to the upper levels, with bullets ricocheting around him.
Cleevus cautiously walked up the stairs to the control room with his shotgun raised. He peaked over the top and was in a large and tall space, with steam pipes stretching to the roof all around the room. There were large industrial windows around him lighting the space, and at the far end were the control panels covered with hundreds of switches, buttons, and gauges. The room was empty and all he heard was the alarm and muffled gunfire from below. It was too easy.
He walked slowly towards the controls while scanning the room. He saw a figure come around a generator out of the corner of his eye and he turned and fired at it. The female soldier staggered a little, but her armor took the hit. She fired a burst at Cleevus and he responded by shooting her in the face. The soldier fell, and Cleevus felt some shots hit his back from behind, pushing him forward. He turned around and a soldier behind him near the stairs emptied his mag into Cleevus's chest. Cleevus blasted the soldier and he fell.
He felt a pair of arms tightly wrap around his neck behind him, trying to choke him. He dropped his shotgun and grabbed the arms around his neck, when the soldier he had just shot got up and ran at him with a knife. Cleevus kicked the soldier away from him and threw his body forward, throwing the soldier choking him over his shoulders. He put his boot down on the neck of the soldier now on the ground in front of him, drew his automag, and shot the soldier with the knife. The soldier under his boot was struggling to breath while clutching onto it. Cleevus shot him in the face, the bullet breaking through the face shield and killing him instantly. Cleevus took his boot off the dead soldier's neck, and holstered his automag. He picked his shotgun back up while panting. He saw another soldier come around a row of pipes near the windows with a handgun raised. He snapped up his shotgun and fired at the soldier across the room. The soldier fell on his back and groaned in pain.
Cleevus walked up to the dying soldier who was reaching for the handgun nearby on the floor. He kicked away the handgun and the soldier looked up at him. He had been hit in the side of the neck and was bleeding badly. The soldier wasn't wearing a helmet, and had red stripes sewn onto his armor that the other soldiers didn't have. He looked at Cleevus as if he recognized him.
"Doing the devil's work sinner?" He spat.
Cleevus saw a set of keys on the soldier's belt and he pulled them off. He walked over to the control panels and looked them over. There was a set of 6 dials adjusting the control rods in the reactors, which had flashing red lights next to them indicating the reactors were overheating. He inserted one of the keys into the failsafe override and switched it off. The reactor temp gauges began to move to the safe zone.
"Reactor core temperatures stabilizing," the loudspeaker said.
"None of us are beyond salvation," the wounded repentant leader said. "Not even you, slayer."
Cleevus looked over at him. He was trying to sit up while holding the wound on his neck.
"Do you want to be trapped here for eternity?" He said as Cleevus walked back over to him. "Or do you just not fucking care!"
Cleevus picked him up by his vest and pushed him up against the windows behind them. He stared into the leader's eyes with a cold gaze.
"Dream you fool. God let us be sent here, he's turned his back on us."
The leader paused while breathing heavily.
"Because we… turned ours on him. Can't you see? You're fighting for those who keep us imprisoned here." The look on his face was sincere. "We can ret-"
The leader was cut off by a bullet piercing his forehead. Drops of blood splattered onto Cleevus's face and the repenter's head hung down lifelessly. Cleevus looked behind him surprised and saw Abbadon standing, holding his smoking revolver.
"That's enough of that," he said, holstering his gun.
Cleevus looked back at the leader's corpse and dropped it. Abbadon walked around looking at the control panels. He turned back to Cleevus.
"Another job well done Cleevus, you don't disappoint," he said, nodding. He pressed his earpiece. "Plant is secure men."
"Copy," someone responded.
Abbadon stretched his arms and looked at Cleevus, who was wiping the blood off his face.
"I dunno about you, but I could use a drink," Abbadon said.