Chapter 47
Marching Orders
“Shit,” was all Captain Paul Camello could say before a wall of large insects came to life and began surging towards him.
What they had been doing moments before that was unknown. As far as Paul could understand, they were just mindlessly staring off into the distance.
It wasn’t until he inadvertently spoke out loud, a testament to just how tired he was at being down here for so long that the large, mutated monsters came to life and began staring at him.
To make matters worse, he saw SERE candidate Frank Fotos staring off in the in the distance, seeming to be at peace with the monster.
FWOOSH!
An eruption of flame shot out and forward, instantly igniting against the hardened carapaces of the overgrown insects. Flames shot out and danced over their bodies, instantly burning away the protective outer layers and frying the tender insides of the first row of attackers in an immolating attack.
For the previous tunnels and monsters, this had been enough.
The monsters who had been proven to be both semi-sentient and possessing minor self-preservation characteristics would normally turn and flee at this point.
However this group was different, this group seemed to be possessed.
Despite the first row of monsters getting burned down, the second row merely grabbed the bodies of their fallen brethren in their mandibles and began pushing forward through the immolating flames.
Seeing this change in tactics, Paul could only look on in horror.
In a moment, he realized his only option was to fall back at this point.
That said, he had found it, the fifth pillar, the last one that Paul needed for his advancement. While he would not need to go beyond this one, as finding two more pillars after this one in his exhausted state would be too much, Paul realized that if he got this one he could prove to both himself and his father that their generation was no less capable than each other.
With this, Paul could gain some of the vaunted recognition that his generation was lacking.
All he needed was that pillar.
Now that he had his goal in mind, Paul decided to leave the area, at which point he would circle back and claim the pillar from SERE Candidate Fotos.
The fact that the boy was just sitting there, staring off vacantly showed that he was either a fool, or worse.
Huff, huff.
Paul’s lungs burned as he took in deep burning breaths of corrosion inducing oxygen. Just inhaling the caustic fumes caused pain to burn deeply in his chest.
Still this was all for the common good.
Through his exploring, Paul had managed to create a mental map of the area.
In his mind he knew the layout of the monster-controlled labyrinth before them.
Chitter, chitter.
As he moved, he felt the echoing of multiple sets of feet landing on the ground and striking the walls and other surfaces around.
There was a smidge of ambient light, but not much. Not enough.
According to the tales of his father and grandfather, there was more than enough light to see and move about freely down here.
That said, the dark corrosive coating that the monsters used to cover every inch of the area with corrosion dimmed that lighting ever so.
Realizing this, Paul began to notice more discrepancies in the walls.
While he had found the newly constructed walls, ones designed to block off potential kills. That’s what they were, killing chambers, the dead hand of a fellow soldier all but confirmed this theory.
At that thought, Paul paused.
Realizing that there might be two sets of these false walls.
Ones that were newer and meant to cause immediate confusion, and the older ones that had been coated with the same layer of caustic substance that would serve as a permanent barrier.
This was just a thought, but one that seemed to make sense as the map within his mind showed him that he had been to both ends of this very tunnel.
Also it was clear that the lustrous sheen from this section right ahead was not visible.
The change was minor, but after hours of being down here, it was enough for Paul to realize it was a trap.
FWABOOSH!
Firing a burning jet of flames forward, Paul tried to burn the ancient walls. A feat he was told was impossible due to the technology of the ancients.
Yet, as he could see before him, the flames were immediately burning through a section of the wall.
Seeing this, Paul increased his speed, lowered his shoulder, and slammed into the rest of the wall.
Shattering obsidian.
Paul was used to many substances, part of his training was breaking through dark obsidian as a method to temper both his mind and body about the pain that would come.
Still, dark obsidian was a feature of earthen walls constructed by the corrupted beings.
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A few more audacious theories posed that the corrupted beings could do a mockery of every form of elemental attack that humans could. Of course, such talks were often ridiculed, but seeing the direct effects of what clearly appeared to be corrupted earth energy made Paul question his understanding of the situation.
That said, Paul continued to move about, using the new tunnel to give him even more options and ease of movement.
With this process, he felt he could eventually find all seven pillars.
He had already found the fifth, and with time he could easily traverse the area and find the sections of wall that don’t appear to light up the same way that the other sections of wall do.
It’s tough, as often the opposite side of a closed off tunnel would have a lighted barrier that would be reflected at the other opposite end. Meaning it wouldn’t be until he got closer that he would be able to notice the discrepancy.
But this was it, this was the nuance he needed to find all seven pillars and draw their bonuses.
Pausing for a moment, Paul gathered himself, and then turning down a particularly tight corner that ultimately fed back to where he came from. Paul waited.
The reason why he waited was two-fold.
First, he had to make sure that the monsters that had been chasing him, all too the looping side tunnel. This way, when he doubled back, the pathway should be clear. The last thing he wanted to do was to make his move too early and be surrounded by monsters on both ends.
If there were a few stragglers remaining, he felt fairly confident that he could take those on.
That said, if they expected such an ambush, then he would be dead.
The second main reason why he waited here, was to both catch his breath, and to cut down the advancing surge of corrupted creatures.
Tremble.
The walls and floor shook with the weight and coordinated force of creatures coming his way.
Closing his eyes, Paul drew in a deep breath, paused and focused on a distant spot well at the other end of the long hallway he had gone down.
The hallways was one of the few straight shots and easily over a hundred and fifty meters long.
This was perfect for Paul, as his maximum range was listed as 300 meters, but he felt far more comfortable with shorter distances like the 150 meters that were before him.
With that fundamental understanding of himself and his limitations, Paul once again remembered Tallia and how she was a far better soldier than he could ever hope to be. Tallia always had to work for every advantage she got, which meant she practiced all ranges, not just close, but constantly pushed her limits.
Had Tallia been here with him now, Paul realized that he wouldn’t even be considering running away. Or this delaying tactic. Rather, he would have held firm with her, creating an inferno that would not only cover the entire hallway, but would burn down any monster that came near him.
Unfortunately, Tallia had been given the same incentive that everyone in his unit had. The free meal card that was a blessing from the General for killing Fotos.
Thinking back, when he saw Fotos, Paul realized the truth. That just as the one soldier lay dead below the mound of motionless monsters. Fotos never moved. With his body facing away, and no sign of breathing or other activity, it was very likely that Fotos had already been killed.
Logically that was the only answer that made sense.
A squad member found Fotos, killed him, not realizing that monsters were sneaking up behind him. Then they were struck down by a horde of beasts before they could even register the real threat.
FWOOSH!
Realizing that, Paul felt the approaching taps of creatures crawling forward and struck.
Dancing, melting horrors.
The monsters were relentless in their approach and willing disregard for their own safety.
Mindlessly they charged forward, again using the burning bodies of those that died as shields, only to then be burned down themselves. Then as they dropped, the next row would pick up what remained of their corpse and push the line ever so slowly forward.
For a moment, Paul wondered if these monsters knew of his plan, to circle back around and go back to the pillar.
At that thought, part of his mind wondered to the horror of seeing these monsters circle back to him, cutting off his own retreat in a well-coordinated pincer maneuver, just as they had for the fallen squad member.
Fortunately, the feeling of unease that had been filling Paul never came to fruition. He never heard nor felt the tell-tale approach of monstrous insects coming from behind him and striking him down from two fronts.
Instead, Paul used the cultivation methods that had been taught to him since his first awakening.
Reach out, create a flame, burn the target. Find the target’s freely burning parts, that is new fire that can be used to recycle back and replenish your reserves. Find those new flame energy sources, grab them and pull them in. Recycle the new flame energy with your old, then release more flames to then create more energy. Pull in the new energy and repeat ad nauseum.
Air was much the same, except you drew in the non-converted breaths. The mains source of free air in this case was from the dying breaths of enemies. Enemies that would breathe out and be used to pull in along with the stolen energy of freely created flames.
Still despite being able to replenish his energy reserves in this way, the entire process was taxing. Though at this rate, he was easily able to keep pace with his rate of consumption, if barely.
The major strain of using so much energy so quickly, was the toll that such activity had on both his mind and body.
That said, this was why the SERE training was as intense as it was. If he held back at all, even slightly, this would not be possible.
Rumble.
The ceiling. These monsters were crawling on the walls, and even on the ceiling, trying to get closer to him.
Worse, Paul knew why they were crawling on the ceiling. The answer was obvious, up there, Paul could not create a pillar of flames hot enough to be of any true danger.
Also, the air that he cycled back, as miniscule as it was, would help break apart the dark smoke that billowed upward and tried to suffocate anyone.
That said, Paul was pretty certain that these insects didn’t need to breathe. Or rather they did, but not at the same intervals as humans did. That was why they had condense intricate air sacs. Sacs that were perfect for renewing his supply of freely charged air energy, but also why they were able to charge forward through the flames, while climbing along the ceiling.
Seeing the hulking beasts, that first clung with five pairs of appendages to the ceiling, then after getting through the flames either hurled the remnants of their burning monster shield parts towards Paul. Or came through just grabbing the ceiling with as many sets of arms as possible, then reached down trying to pick up Paul from his stationary position.
Dodging to the side, Paul managed to avoid the outstretched arms, and even the falling body of the one crazy monster that managed to climb the ceiling to get to him.
This did not mean that the monster landed gracefully, far from it actually.
The beast landed on its back, and instantly cut off the advancement of its fellow brethren, subsequently giving Paul the chance he needed to escape.
At this point, Paul had two options.
First, he could go out, take the win for what it was. He could leave now, and no one from this generation would comment on his outing. Four pillars was a feat to be marveled at.
Of course, Paul would know that he gave up on Pillar number five. It was right there, all he needed to do was turn back now and go to what had to be a straight shot to the pillar.
Which was why Paul chose option two.
Circling around, Paul went to the bend in the road, and went right, circling back round to the parallel hallway that ran past the long tunnel that even now monsters were crawling their way through burning flames.
Being this close, Paul could still feel the flames, but with a wall between him and the flames he could not keep the flames going. Or rather he could, but he would not be able to continually refresh his energy reserves the way he had been earlier. The wall would both increase his use of energy consumption, and all but prevent him from recycling the energy he used.
That said, it was good to still know that flames were there, and moving. Better still, the flames he could feel were moving in the direction he originally went.
This was good, as it meant that his plan should be working.
With the burning flames still traversing down the path he went, it meant that the insects seemingly bought his deception, that despite showing some signs of a higher intelligence, they still charged blindly forward.
Such actions were perfect, as it meant that he still had a chance.
Not just with accessing the fifth pillar, but hopefully being able to find all seven.
Wheezing.
His lungs burned as he ran forward.
Pain was minor.
Pain was a way of life for the Camellos.
Each and every member of the main branch was taught to withstand pain at an early age.
This was why having goals, and tangible benchmarks were important.
With goals and benchmarks Paul could break this down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
He could break down that his immediate benchmark was to double back, find the pillar and gain the fifth blessing.
Then he could hopefully find the dog tags, or other identifying markers for both the squad member who passed away and was eaten by the ravenous insects and the body of Fotos. By providing the two, Paul could at least reward the family of the slain squad member. By his providing both evidence of the sacrifice, and of Fotos, he could reward the fallen soldier’s family. Or rather the General would, and he would be able to keep his record of never taking a slight to the family name.
That was the goal, but as he got closer something strange happened.
Vrrr…
First, what sounded like a giant factory suddenly losing power happened all around him.
The hallways and lighted walls that he had been following and using to guide his path suddenly went dark.
Flicker.
Up ahead, there was but one form of light, but it seemed to bounce and refract around corners.
Seeing the one source of light Paul charged forward, trying to understand what was happening.
Scrape.
Stumble.
The more Paul chased the light, the more he found his center of balance subtly shift as he found himself running into walls and tripping over dead monster parts that were underfoot.
Finally, out of necessity, Paul created a minor flame and lit up the hallway around him.
As he did, Paul found that he was where he roughly wanted to be. Under him, he saw the pile of dead monsters, and the one boney arm of a dead human. A human that had all of its meat stripped from the bones.
For a moment Paul thought about getting the dog tags of the fallen soldier first, but then looking around he saw two things that didn’t make sense.
First, the body of the boy Fotos was gone.
No sign of bones, or even blood remained in roughly the area that he expected.
Then the other oddity was the fact that the pillar now glowed with an almost eerie brownish light.
A light that seemed to be connected to a series of symbols that denoted something. Then after a long pause, he realized that it was some type of counter, as the symbols kept rolling over time and time again, slowly winding down.
But what was it winding down for?
These thoughts filled Paul’s mind and for a moment he almost felt his entire mind crack under the strain of what he was now seeing and experiencing.
Then to make matters worse, he felt it.
Rumble.
The horde of giant ravenous insects had arrived. Insects capable of completely stripping the meat off of the bones of a fallen soldier.
Turning Paul looked on in horror as the seemingly endless swarm of monsters had appeared for what had to be round two.
Exhaling, Paul focused his mind as he mentally prepared himself for yet another prolonged drawn out battle. This time, he didn’t have any advantages like knowledge of the terrain. The only path Paul knew was the one he had just come from.
There was a second path, one that led off into the darkness, but something told Paul that a far more dangerous monster lurked in that direction.
Heeding the warning of his instincts, Paul turned to face the surging horde, before he began what he mentally felt to be his last stand.
FWOOSH!
An eruption of flame shot out from his palms as he began creating a steady stream of flames out to his maximum distance, before any monsters got close.
“Looks like I’ll be joining you soon, brother.” Was the prayer Paul whispered out, as he dropped all external thoughts and prepared for the fight of his life.