CHAPTER ONE
HIGHWAY TO HELL
Rayne walks through the ethereal layer of the Entity. Each step is slow and awkward, like walking through water. He opens his eyes making way forth; scintillating lights flashing in quick succession momentarily blind him. But he wants to see. He squints, barely able to catch a glimpse here and there. Thin, long rays of light ascend from the ground to the sky like bubbles of air released in the deep. His instinct tells him to turn back, but an unseen force draws him inside into the conflict of the obverse. The more he struggles, the harder it becomes. A thoughtless state of absolute focus overcomes him. He dives deeper. And as he goes deeper, he takes a moment to enjoy the tranquility of this new silent world. One moment. Brief and precious. And just like diving, when the oxygen in your lungs runs out, you turn to escape to the surface. Turn toward the circle of light reflecting on the surface above. And as you break the surface, you take a deep breath, open your eyes, and...
Fang Two unit enters. In front of them lies the aforementioned city of Odette. The desolation screams silence. Amid the silence, a faint fragrance of sulfur and iron travels through the air. Suffocating. The buildings appear scorched, yet no visible signs nor damage a fire would cause can be seen. Huge gargantuan thorny tendrils stand here and there amid the ruins. The five newcomers look up at the sky; in the eye of the anomaly, they see colors intertwining in a whirlwind of chroma.
“What the hell is this?” Davenport blurts out. A faint dim crimson interacts with the white as if gradually changing from one to another and back again.
“Maybe where in hell is the better question,” Big George adds as he steps forward.
“Enough chatter. We have a job to do. Move out Fang Two, rhombus formation,” Captain Rayne orders.
Big George heads to the vanguard as Rayne and Davenport stand behind him on the left and right, Akira at the rear; they stand exactly as the name suggests, in the shape of a rhombus.
“Rhombus?” Olivia blurts out.
“In the middle, Doctor,” Rayne says as he points her to the middle of the formation.
Fang Two moves carefully through the broken streets. The red-white light illuminates the surrounding rubble showing a clear picture of broken walls and streets. Footsteps echo loudly amid the silence. Each step is as loud as a drumbeat. It is hard to discern whether it is day or night inside the Entity. The surrounding dim darkness gives an impression of night yet everything is clearly visible as if it was daytime. It is as the giant whirlpool in the sky is sucking all the colors yet the chromatic force of nature shines brightly enough to radiate the entire area. Olivia takes out a Geiger counter from her backpack and uses it to get measure ionizing radiation around as they move.
“The area is clear, there is no radiation,” Olivia informs the team.
“That's one less thing to worry about,” Rayne adds as they continue.
“Weren't there supposed to be people in here?” Davenport asks.
“There were,” Akira says. Davenport looks around.
“Well, like where are they?” Davenport asks, confused.
While walking she suddenly drops the device. Fang Two unit turns to her.
"Doctor, is something the matter?" Rayne asks, staring at the stunned woman. Olivia points at something with a shaking hand. Rayne and the other members of Fang Two look at a small dark space between two buildings, the place where Olivia is pointing.
"What's wrong, Doc? Afraid of the dark?" Davenport jests as he looks and sees nothing part shadows. Then, from the shadows, two eyes shine in a bright azure. They hear hollow laughter echoing around them. It stops.
A humanoid creature steps out into the light. Black tattered rags cover the 2,5-meter tall humanoid looking like a skeleton covered by a thin layer of dried-up grey skin. Its mouth is sewn shut by stitches yet it laughs in the same hollow echoing laughter. Two eyes shining in an unbelievable blue light stare at the five new arrivals. Its long thin fingers erratically twitch and crunch sounding like broken bones.
The Shadow of Death looms over them. Cold sweat slides from their forehead as it drops to the ground; they tightly grip their weapons. The Shadow steps forward with raised hands as it goes to grab them.
"Captain?" Davenport murmurs less than bravely.
"Fire at will," Rayne issues the command.
Rayne and Davenport both fire a burst at the Shadow. The bullets hit but the creature but it remains unphased as if nothing happened. It looks at its body where the bullets hit and removes one of the bullets from its flesh; it tilts its head as it inspects the bullet covered in thick black liquid.
The nearby soldiers pause for a moment at the unexpected. Usually, when you shot something it goes down... usually. The Shadow turns to them as its eyes glow brighter.
"TAKE IT DOWN!" Rayne yells.
Akira aims at the creature's head and shoots but the bullet misses. The Shadow appears next to Davenport leaving a trail of afterimages; it raises its hand trying to grab the unfortunate soldier but his years of combat experience and a survival instinct kick in as he jumps and rolls to the side evading the deathly grasp. Big George, Rayne, and Akira turn to the Shadow as they fire. The Shadow evades their attack as it moves slightly left leaving the trail of afterimages. But the Fang Two unit quickly reacts and re-adjusts its aim; Davenport rolls in a crouching position and joins the shootout. The Shadow moves again, and again but as it is about to move for the fourth time Akira hits it in the gut. The powerful bullet from the Thunderbolt 7 sniper rifle pierces through the creature's chest, rupturing it and leaving a trail of black blood in its wake. A chance!
Big George yells loudly as he turns and unleashes a full auto on it while Davenport and Rayne move closer and offer support fire while shooting with the secondary shotgun mode; Akira steadily aims at its head and pulls the trigger. The creature falls to the ground as its azure eyes lose their shine.
"Is it dead?" Davenport asks as he carefully approaches the horrific monster.
He pokes it with his gun and as soon as the gun touches its corpse the corpse moves in a postmortem spasm.
"FUCK!" Davenport jumps back, “This is some Charlie Foxtrot shit,” he adds.
"What the hell is that thing?" Big George asks as he pulls out a Cuban cigar and lights it with shaking hands.
Captain Rayne glances at the creature, turns, and approaches Olivia who stands petrified with wide-open eyes.
"Doctor, mind explaining to us what is going on?" Rayne asks, less than stoic. Olivia doesn't answer. Fear tightly grips her. Her shaking body and cold sweat betray her feelings.
"DOCTOR!" Rayne yells as he shakes the Doctor.
"I... I... don't know," Olivia barely mutters.
"What do you mean you don't..." Davenport asks but stops as Rayne raises his hand. Rayne looks at the trembling Doctor, he can feel her tremble in his arms.
"It is alright, Doctor. Just breathe. Breathe," Rayne says. Olivia looks at him and follows his words. She takes deep breaths slowly calming down.
The spilled black blood around the Shadow converges back to its body. Its body moves producing that same crunching sound of bones cracking.
"Uhm... Captain?" Big George blurts out but the Captain does not register, "CAPTAIN!" he yells. Rayne and the others turn and see the Shadow's body regenerating before their eyes.
The black blood is returning as the wounds close.
Akira aims at its head and shoots putting it down to the ground again.
"Akuma," Akira says as he spits on the ground.
Rayne takes out his incendiary grenade and throws it on the corpse. The corpse bursts into flames. Big George, Davenport, and Akira approach the corpse to check it.
"Well, a BBQ is always a good way to calm the nerves," Davenport adds. Akira shakes his head. The five humans watch as the unnatural being burns.
"Captain, what now?" Big George asks.
"We have a mission to complete," Rayne says.
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"I was afraid he would say that," Davenport adds.
"For once I agree with you," Akira says.
Davenport stares at Akira in disbelief.
"What?" Akira asks.
Did he just agree with me, Davenport wonders if he perhaps misheard his comrade?
"These truly are the end times, man," Davenport adds. Akira glances up at the whirlwind of chroma as he grips his weapons.
They barely make a step forth as the ground underneath their feet violently shakes. Then just as abruptly it stops.
"Okay?" Big George blurts out, confused.
"It must have been those extra pounds you put on, Big George," Davenport adds. Big George turns to him with a sour expression.
The ground shakes again. In the distance, the cemented street shatters as a creature erupts from the ground; a giant fat worm-like monstrosity.
It opens its toothless mouth as it vomits something out. Two more worms erupt near it doing the same. The slime sips down revealing two androgynous humanoid creatures with no distinct features and skin as if melting. The worms vomit another clump.
"FRAG 'EM!" Rayne orders. The melted humanoids turn toward the five humans as they unleash a loud, sickly cry. Akira, Big George, and Davenport take out the pins and throw the frag grenades at the worms. The fragments propelled by the explosion cut through flesh as the pressure crushes it, leaving a giant hole in the worm's body as its intestines and thick yellow bile-like fluids seep out.
Again the ground erupts. More worm appears. Captain Rayne prepares to frag it as he takes the grenade but suddenly four more worms erupt from the ground.
"Akira!" Rayne yells.
Akira aims his sniper at the vomiting worms as he shoots one. The monstrosity recoils in pain but continues. Akira shoots it two more times but the worm is still alive. The melted flesh humanoids rush toward Fang Two. The other members of his unit turn toward the attacking humanoids as they open fire killing the creatures. But as the front row dies another appears to take its place and the worms in the distance continue supplying fresh horrors and so on seemingly endlessly. Rayne looks around; he notices a 2-floor structure.
"Fang Two, follow me," Rayne orders as he makes his way toward the building. The others follow while offering support fire.
They arrive at the structure as Rayne goes to open the door. The door is locked. Without hesitation, Rayne shoots the lock and kicks the door in.
"Inside!" Rayne yells as turns to shoot the incoming melted flesh humanoids while the others rush inside. Big George and Rayne enter last.
"George, firewall," Rayne yells.
Big George pulls out an incendiary grenade and drops it at the building's entrance.
Davenport rushes up the stairs. There is a hall with a few rooms.
The melted flesh humanoids rush through the fire without hesitation as they burst into flame. They erratically squirm slamming as they slam into walls. But they still come. The creatures jump inside breaking through the windows. Big George takes a vantage point at the entrance of the 2nd floor and shoots the horrors.
"CAPTAIN?" Davenport yells further in the hall with Akira and Olivia.
Rayne notices a collapsible ladder at the end of the hall most likely leading up to the roof.
"Go outside and take care of those worms," Rayne orders. They acknowledge the orders and climb up.
Outside, Akira sets up to snipe the worms but stops. There isn't enough time to count all of them but he sees at least two dozen. More erupt from the ground. The streets are filled with a swarm of melted flesh humanoids all converging at their location.
"I think we are screwed," Akira says as he lowers his sniper rifle.
"Well, at least this can't be worse," Davenport adds as he goes to the edge, chuckling. They hear a loud hollow echoing laugh in the distance. Amidst the melted flesh humanoids a Shadow covered in flames rises. They notice the horror that they took down two times. The infernal Shadow slowly moves towards them.
"I just can't catch a break," Davenport adds as he maniacally laughs.
Big George and Rayne climb up.
"Akira, burn the passage," Rayne says. Akira rolls the incendiary grenade at the hole. Big George takes the moment to reload the A-100 Typhoon. Olivia curls up in the corner, shivering.
"Doctor?" Rayne calls to her but she does not respond, "OLIVIA!" he yells, still to no avail.
"They'll kill us all. They'll kill us all," Olivia frantically repeats.
The members of the Fang Two unit pause for a moment to look at their current situation; they cannot disagree. They hear screams coming from the bottom floor as black smoke rises.
"Well, maybe they won't kill us," Davenport adds.
"Since when did you become an optimist?" Big George asks.
"I didn't," Davenport answers, "It's just that I think the fire will get us first," he adds. The flame alongside the dead creatures clogs the only entrance to the roof. But the creatures are relentless. They surround the structure as they jump on each other crushing the ones below as they make their way up. Their dead eyes shine with death. The burning 2-floor structure is surrounded like a piece of meat engulfed by an army of ants. No place to hide, no place to run.
"Okay, now it can't get any worse," Davenport says, stating the obvious.
Suddenly, the ground explodes. And from the ground, a titan rises.
The ten-meter tall four-armed one-eyed giant covered in bone spines takes a step forward. Its step crushes the paltry creatures below like ants as it advances.
"Well, this is just great," Davenport says as he dejectedly laughs.
"I'll see you boys in hell," Big George adds as he lights a Cuban.
"We are already in hell," Akira says.
A melted flesh creature climbs atop the stacked flesh near Olivia. Rayne shots it with the secondary shotgun blast; he rushes and grabs Olivia as he pulls her to the middle. Five more appear at all sides. The Fang Two unit turns and fires at them. More appear! They stack more and more as they swarm the rooftop. Fang Two keeps them contained with precise fire as much as possible but there is no doubt that this is a losing battle.
"RELOADING!" Rayne yells as he exhausts both the gauge shells and 5.56x45mm.
"Reloading," Davenport adds, doing the same.
"Fuck this," Big George yells as he maniacally shoots the incoming foes while screaming. Akira aims his sniper rifle at the titan's eye and shoots. The bullet ruptures it but the titan remains unhinged. A great shadow looms over them as the cyclopean giant's hand extends to them. All around them is a swarm of melted flesh humanoids. Then the skeletal creature, the Shadow, appears as parts of its grey skin still burn.
Rayne picks up a frag grenade as he raises it; he looks at his comrades. They quickly realize his intentions. They nod to each other.
Just as he is about to pull the pin out time slows. Amid the five humans under siege, a small child-like entity appears. It is hard to clearly see its visage from the bright white light. The being stands bare-skinned but with no distinguishable attributes. Not man, not woman, and most of all not human.
Only “something” masquerading as such.
"Do you want to live?" the Child asks as its voice echoes in an uncomfortably high pitch.
Rayne looks around, caught in a sleepy lingering world. He nods. Even his nod staggers.
"If you want to live you must fight for me. Will you fight for me?" the Child asks as it approaches. Rayne looks around at the almost still time as the surrounding horror approach.
"We will," Rayne says.
White light flashes across the battlefield.
And as it vanishes so too do the unfortunate souls who entered this hell.