The rangers had taken their positions outside, ready for whatever was to come. A shrill tension filled the air as they stood, unsure of what to expect from the shadows lurking beneath the thundering storm of abyssal miasma that stretched violently across the sky. It thundered violently as the abyssal condensation reacted to the frustrations of the unknown. They watched the skies nervously, waiting—until something stirred.
“Hey! Look at the sky over here!” One of the rangers on the southeast tower shouted, pointing toward the sky above the Cau mountain range.
A blazing light shot across the sky; its ardor burned so bright it cleared the night sky from the sinister aurora. The light trailed like a comet high into the sky, revealing the crimson-shattered expanse above. The rangers watched in confusion as the blaze slowly faded, its presence momentarily quieting the tantrum of the forest below.
Ranger Moro’s radio crackled to life as Radomir’s voice came through clearly: “ We’re being tailed; be ready to engage!”
The rangers all assumed their positions as the lights of lowglider blazed in the distance. The lowlgider blitzed through the chain gates of Trant station as the 2 squads dismounted, all visibly shaken.
“CB Esoteric Protocol X 1-1-23!” Carmela shouted as they shut the gates behind them.
Radomir carried the unconscious Rimma to the main entrance, handing her over to Denver. “She’s fainted from shock!”
“Right,” Denver responded as he carried her deeper into the building.
As the rangers gathered and prepared themselves for the new protocol, Radomir stepped out to explain, “We’re dealing with infected Rak’da; they’re being puppeted around by an intelligent anomaly. We have missing personnel and there’s a chance they might be under the entity's control. I can only confirm four hostiles but that number may have changed. We were being pursued by two Rak'da—the remaining Rak’da and the anomaly are unaccounted for so all sides of the perimeter must be monitored!”
As Radomir finished his explanation, Ranger Sherman interrupted. “ Motion detected from the northeast tower!”
Ranger Serfet quickly added, “Motion from the southern wall!”
“How many anomalous threats?” Carmella demanded.
Sherman answered first, “ There’s two anomalous signatures off the northeastern tower!”
Serfet then added, “Three more on the southern front!”
“To positions!” Carmella and Radomir shouted in unison.
The air was thick with tension, excitement mixing with the dread of what was to come. Trant Station was a roughly rectangle facility surrounded by chain-link fences made of steel. Standing tall on every corner were lookout towers equipped with automatic turrets that had never been fired. The main building of Trant Station featured a large tower in its southern quadrant, outfitted with anti-air weaponry and instruments designed to detect abyssal fluctuations.
Outside of the main facility lay a grid of special Kyyr sensors that lined the forest’s edge from south to north. These Kyyr sensors were tied to bladed traps that were set to rip anything apart that dared to approach the facility from the forest.
Wow, if Gira popped out in the wrong spot, he would’ve been turned to paste.
The main entrance faced west and was guarded by sentries and bladed traps, which had to be manually activated after a previous incident with the sensor versions. The Northeast Tower was also of note as it was connected to a garage where their vehicles were kept, as well as where Lucas had taken Shredder, the Pelamüs, for safekeeping.
There were now 21 active rangers on site—15 stationed outside and the remaining few inside the main facility. Along with them were Maurice the Hollow, Gira, Lucas, and Shredder.
The rangers split into groups as they waited, tense with anticipation. Their beams of light cut through the night, searching for any sign of the Rak’da or the anomaly, but there was only darkness taunting them. A heavy dread hung in the cool night air. Illuminated under the crimson night sky, the petals of the abyssal blossom fluttered down, decorating the ground in a reddish-pink patchwork that in any other scenario would be nothing more than beautiful.
The blade traps at the edge of the forest near the north end of the station went off, and the horrid, pained screams of the creature caught in them echoed through the night. The rangers stood with their rifles ready.
Shan, a ranger in her early 20s, sat rifle at the ready, charging Kyyr mass around the magazine. She was anxious but had managed to control her fear. Her tower partner, Sherman—a skinny young man—was not as composed. Shaken by the agonizing screams from the forest, his eyes darted wildly, searching for any sign of movement in the shadows. He trembled as he charged his Kyyr ability.
“Calm down Sherman!” Shan hissed at the trembling man.
“Right, uh sorry.” He replied quickly, his breath rugged and uneven.
Shan shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Sherman, you better calm the fuck down or you're going to end up doing something stupid!” She let out an exasperated breath. “Listen, just breathe in and brea—”
In a flash, metallic shrapnel flew from the darkness of the forest, striking Sherman on the side of the head. The impact alone sent him flying off the edge as Shan barely caught him, desperately trying to keep him from falling off. The roar of the Rak’da was immediately drowned out by machine gun fire from the autosentries.
“SHERMAN!” She screamed, “Are you okay—?” The tower shook as something slammed into it violently. “FUCK!” She roared as Carmella and Zoya, positioned below, began unloading their guns into a Rak’da that was missing its right arm.
The commotion caught the attention of other squads but—
“ATTENTION!” Radomir bellowed at the southern team. “Let them fight their fight! Stay focused!”
The southern team refocused, their eyes fixed on the dark hills that were marked with signs of motion. The Rak’da appeared to be pacing their attacks, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The Rak’da at the northeast tower began its ascent, unfettered by the hail of bullets pelting its body. Its twirling tongues stretched upward, searching for victims. Shan was caught between helping the assumedly unconscious Sherman and the encroaching vile extremities.
“Someone catch this idiots for me!” Shan roared at anyone that could hear her.
Popping out of the building that connected to the northeast tower, Morotov used his Kyyr to scale up the side, positioning himself beneath Sherman and Shan.
“Drop ‘em lass!” Morotov shouted at the strained Shan. Without any hesitation, she trusted him and let Sherman fall into his waiting arms before turning to face the tendrils and the looming maw of the Rak’da.
Realizing her bad positioning, Shan coated her hands in Kyyr and slid down the side of the tower just as the Rak’da reached the top. Against the crimson glow of the sky, the bloodsoaken Rak’da ravished by gunfire looked truly ghoulish as it tanked through the gunfire, jumping down to meet Zoya and Carmela. It’s slammed down, almost smashing into Zoya, as from the broken mess of its talons, spiraling tendrils lashed out at the two rangers who narrowly dodged the strike.
Morotov, who had failed to resuscitate Sherman, shifted from tending to the young man to engaging the Rak’da. Using his Kyyr ability, he doused the hellish thing in a flammable liquid he could produce in bursts from his hands. Carmela noticed his plan and quickly signaled to Zoya to back away. She pulled out a flare gun from her side pocket, firing at the monster and setting it on fire. The Kyyr-based catalyst for the flame intensified as Morotov poured more of it from his perch on the roof.
Meanwhile, Shan slipped past the blazing monster, carrying Sherman in her arms as she rushed him to the central building.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
As the Rak’da roared in agony, Maurice struck the Rak’da with its mechanical tail, sending the Rak’da flying into the electrified fence. It convulsed violently somehow holding onto dear life, its screeches seemingly triggering the Rak’da on the southern front to finally make a move.
The autoturrets of all the remaining towers roared alive as they seemed to blast the darkness simultaneously as two Rak’da rushed the southern front. These Rak’da, already covered in deep burn marks, were further disfigured by the continuous barrage of bullets pummeling into their hides. Their bodies slammed into the lower end of the towers, slipping into the tower’s blind spots. Using their claws, they tore apart the visible barrel from below as Radomir and Will split up, trying to get a good line of sight on the Rak’da.
The northwest tower was in a similar predicament, with Rowan and Calli struggling to stop the Rak’da from climbing the tower. Meanwhile, Sey, another ranger, descended their tower, using their Kyyr ability to stab the Rak’da through the side of the fence. She hurled blades, guiding them with her Kyyr, aiming for the creature’s eyes. But it didn’t seem to matter as the thing grabbed the blades with its spiraling tendrils.
The Rak’da on the southwest tower seemed to get irritated by the constant pelting of Kyyr projectiles raining down from above. It leaped back to gain some distance, then charged at the tower with incredible speed, launching itself upward, clearing the fence, before latching onto the side of the structure. With a swift motion, its tail whipped into the tower’s coop, the ends of its tail grotesquely splitting open like a mouth as tendrils snaked inside, grabbing ranger Sorduce.
“HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!” Sorduce shouted into the night as the Rak’da’s tendrils coiled around his limbs one by one. Its tail grotesquely split further, revealing its sharp serrated tailbone beneath. Sorduce’s screams filled the air as he was lowered onto the jagged bone below as he was skewered from his ass up. The serrulated bone, sawing him in half as he screamed in pain, somehow still pleading for help. Before the Rak’da slammed its jaws on its gruesome human kebab. Surprisingly, before it could swallow, something seemed to compel the Rak’da to let go of its treat.
The Rak’da clearly shaken jumped into the perimeter as it slammed its tail, sending bits of Sorduce flying in every direction, his blood reaching some of the nearby rangers who swallowed their puke. Shaking its head, the Rak’da refocused its gaze, setting its sights on the nearest victim—Will.
Will was an EX-ORPA Crimson ranger; even with the low Kyyr yield, he was experienced enough to tell there was something afoot with how the Rak’da had just reacted. But before he could process the event in more detail, the Rak’da lunged at him. In a split second, Will slipped under its beastly form and, with his palm outstretched, pulsed pure Kyyr through the Rak’da’s body. It recoiled in pain, slamming into the main building, cracking the wall as it turned back to face Will.
"Shit,” Will muttered before charging in again, slamming the Rak’da hard against the building.
Moros emerged from the tower with a quiet rage burning within him as he spotted the Rak’da that had killed Sorduce. Will motioned for him to calm down as he slammed the Rak’da into the ground again with more Kyyr, its screech echoing in the night. The creature tried to rise, but Will kept slamming with his Kyyr, keeping it pinned.
Unsatisfied, Moros began charging his Kyyr, but before he could act, a thunderous boom erupted from the darkness behind him. In an instant, he was gone—only his legs remained, stumbling forward a few aimless steps before collapsing, spilling his guts across the gravel.
The third Rak’da of the southern front made its thundering entrance; larger than the others, its face was scarred with burns. Its horrific visage glowed dimly in the sinister blue afterglow. Will's stomach sank as the blue lightning crackled, flickering into fading sparks around the monstrous Rak’da.
You see, Rak’da are not naturally Kyyr efficient. This inefficiency was the main reason that their species had become nothing more than petty space pirates that were too afraid to dare venture into the translates. But occasionally, a Rak’da would be born with a gift—a special type of Kyyr categorized as semi-pure Kyyr or more coloquially well known as Draconic Kyyr. These Rak’da would be known as Prime Rak’da, and they were all branded with a special mark, the Primer/R/ mark and their birth number.
Unlucky for the rangers, one of the infected Rak’da was Primer/R/77—a Rak’da blessed by the true dragons. This monster was now in tune with Abyssal Kyyr and could unleash his draconic might on those that dare defy its hunt.
With a crack of lightning, Primer/R/77 lunged at Will, unleashing a blast of deep blue lightning from its mouth as it crashed into the stunned Rak’da behind him as Will narrowly dodged the fury of the Fulgurjaw-77.
"RADOMIR, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” Will shouted as he dodged the Fulgurjaw’s flurry of slashes, barely avoiding the force of its powerful blows as the Fulgurjaw ripped into both the downed Rak’da and Trant Station.
Inside, everyone who was conscious jolted as the building shifted violently, the Fulgurjaw continuing its relentless pursuit of Will. Will was forced to use his own Kyyr pulses to bounce away from the beast’s thunderous slashes. Radomir emerged from behind, augmenting his body with Kyyr as he drove his knee into the monster’s maw, shattering its skull with the impact of his strike.
As its skull reformed, the Fulgurjaw’s eye caught sight of a trembling ranger that had fallen to her knees. Ranger Sam watched in horror as the creature snapped its head back into place. It’s seemingly dead and overgrown eyes struggling to fit in its skull as it forced everything back into place with a sickening crunch.“Sam! Get the hell out of there!” Will shouted.
The Fulgurjaw leaped onto the roof of the station, using it as a platform as Radomir and Will raced toward Sam, desperate to reach her before the lightning beast. Paralyzed by terror, Sam sat there frozen as the Fulgurjaw swooped down, its still-misshapen jaw igniting in blue lightning.
Radomir and Will weren’t even close as the Fulgurjaw lifted Sam into the air. Her only response was her tears as the creature’s jaw ignited in a fervent glow. Sam’s body convulsed violently, her limbs getting caught on its razor-sharp teeth as her garbled screams permeated through the night. Fried alive by the blue lighting, her body was set ablaze as the Fulgurjaw didn’t even bother to eat her.
Radomir roared in anger, slidding into a strange fighting stance that mirrored the Fulgurjaw’s monstrous posture.
The Fulgujaw prodded at Radomir with its tail, inching closer as it moved in closer and closer. The two locked eyes focused solely on each other, while the other Rak’da began breaching from each other as the other Rak’da began to breach the perimeter from the southeast tower. Yet Radomir stood firm, steeling his resolve.
“Serfet’s got that one covered. I’m going to support the northern front.” Will shouted.
“Suit yourself, but don’t worry too much over Calli—” Radomir replied, dodging a tail strike infused with an electrifying aura.
Behind them, Serfet and Ribbon faced yet another Rak’da. Unlike the others, this one had once relied heavily on its augments, but after becoming infected, those enhancements had been discarded. What remained was a more serpentine creature, slithering and weaving in with calculated strikes. Its jaws snapped at the two, but Serfet swiftly cut the lower jaw off with a clean strike.
Much like how the Rak’da had the Fulgurjaw, the rangers had their own powerhouse within their ranks—Serfet, a Vileblood with a Kyyr ability perfectly suited for blade control. His technique, known as Vile Rive, allowed him to augment his vision and blades, enabling him to calculate precise ways to force a cut to happen on almost anything. From steel to dragon bone. Matched with his quick thinking and speed, Serfet was a rising star of the ranger corps.
In a flash, Serfet deconstructed the Rak’da, leaving poor Ribbon, shocked and honestly more horrified by the guts that were flying in her direction. Despite being cut to pieces, the Rak’da’s bits still twitched and writhed. Its spiraling tendrils lashed out, attempting to reform its broken form. Serfet and Ribbon, using Kyyr, retreated from the corpse as Radomir tried to guide the Fulgurjaw into smashing into the remains of the other creature. Yet the Fulgurjaw seemed to keep its distance, wary of the dismembered Rak’da.
On the north end of the conflict, Will arrived to find Rowan, Calli, Sey, and Maurice pelting a Rak’da that had been set on fire by Morotov and Carmella. Unlike the first Rak’da that had been set on fire, this one fought desperately, determined to kill at least one ranger. But suddenly the Rak’da seemed to panic, rushing away from the scene and tearing through the electrified fence.
The North Tower squads regrouped, relieved to have avoided casualties, though Sherman’s condition was dubiously bad.
Will called out to them, “What’s the status?”
“We managed somehow, but they just won’t die!” Rowan responded as he pointed over at the burning Rak’da. The creature was still slowly moving around, trying to move even though it no longer had the muscle capacity to support its huge body.
“H-how about your side?” Calli asked as she peered around him to see flashes of blue and the sounds of roaring in the distance.
“We’ve lost Moro, Sorduce, and Sam,” Will replied grimly. “They’re dealing with an infected Primer/R/ ; I came here to bring some support and check up on your situation.” Will added.
“Why didn’t you radio?” Carmela asked, staring at Will through her helmet.
“Because the boy’s heart is set on this one.” Morotov interrupted, pointing at Calli.
“NO! It’s not like that—I-I just.” Will stammered, clearly flustered.
“Learn sine tact, Morotov!” Zoya interjected.
“Let’s focus!” Shan cut in, “First off, Will, you’re a dumbass; second, let’s go help!”
“Right.” Carmela responded, shaking her head, “ Zoya and I will go support them. You guys keep an eye out for any signs of the Anomaly. Also, Maurice warn the city about the current situation. With the storm nothing is getting through to them.”
Maurice slithered in closer, “Mmm, yes, ma’am, but if I may humbly re-Ku-est somethin’ from you.”
“A request? uhh, go ahead.” Carmela replied.
“Please save my buddy—Gaolbird ain’t kicked the bucket yet.” Maurice’s ear attachments drooped as he made his request.
“We’ll get Gaolbird back!” Carmela answered as she walked over and put her hand on Maurice’s snout. “I promise.”
“I’ll be. Thanks ma’am! —Then I’ll be off!” Maurice then slithered off into the darkness.
"Alright, let’s get to work!” Carmela shouted.
As the groups began to disperse, Will turned to say something to Calli, but she didn’t even seem to register he existed. He hung his head low before Carmela tapped his helmet.
“Beat it, lovebird!” Carmela hissed with a smirk.
Unbeknownst to the splitting squads. Using the dark shadows cast by the Rak’da’s burning corpse, something had slithered its way into the garage. Finding its way to the panicked Pelamüs. The pale figure stretched out its hands, revealing its massive claws, their tips hollow like needles, with tendrils stretching out from within the appendages. With one slash. The night would take a turn for the worst.