CHAPTER I
“About four clicks out,” NV-12 informs the small crew, as the geiger click becomes a solemn white noise.
“Alright team, now we’re nearing the mouth of the Tomb. Remember a breach to your suit is lethal in these conditions, and would be extremely fatal. Any sign of danger, turn tail, and haul your fuckin’ asses.” NV-1, the leader of this mission, preaches. “What lies ahead could change the fate of our country. This is the diamond in the rough President Pax always spoke of, let’s make it count. Six and Seven, begin charging your mining lasers, Four and Two you're with me, Twelve you take the rear, let us know if a single microbe crosses your sensor.”
Just as the six operatives fall into position, the ground quivers. NV-12 chirps up, “I’m getting no seismic activity readings, that is something alive most definitely.”
“Quick team, cloaking suits on now!” NV-1 commands, sternly.
The energy fields fire up, the crew assumes they’re safe. They start forward towards the mouth of the Tomb, the rumbling coming and going causing minor vibrations to massive rumblings. The sand is in a perpetual state of motion in the Out, without goggles or eye protection, one would surely be concerned about the future of eyesight. The sun has climbed behind the Valley’s peak, making visibility to those without a HUD-peice near impossible. The sunsetting light casts ominous rays through the air.
The rumbling starts to become consistent, it’s beginning to feel like it's following the team. Whispering through the coms, NV-1 suggests stealth. The crew lowers themselves down to a crouching level, attempting to make as little steps as possible. The rumbling stops, but another sound follows.
“Do you hear that,” NV-4 asks, always a keen one with audio perception. “Sounds like marching.”
12 peers off into the distance of the sound, “Uh yeah, holy shit!” He breaks his whisper and stands up. “I’ve got heat signatures on more than 15 bodies, about a click that way,” He points in the direction they came from.
“We were followed by someone, Bounty Hunters or worse Blisters,” Assures NV-1.
“No fucking way- - “ 4 is cut off at the terrifying realization as to what lies ahead by yet another terrifying realization. Under the feet of the imposing batch of oncoming forces, a giant rattlesnake bursts from the ground. “It’s the Republic.”
A loud and assertive shout comes from the dust cloud. Then primitive gunfire erupts, the muzzle flash lights up the scene as multiple pre-nuclear assault rifles empty into this volatile, tree-sized snake devouring men whole. Its glowing fangs sink into soldiers eviscerating the flesh on their bones. The entirety of the snake emits from the whole before the Free State’s operatives react sensibly. The snake's rattle, now free of its underground sheath, fills the valley with its spine jingling call.
“Any and every creature in this valley is headed this way now, we need to make it to that fucking shelter before we’re next on the menu,” NV-1 calls out.
The crew turns their backs to their human brethren. 1 feels a strong sense of remorse in turning her back, but at the end of the day, to her, The Republic is a repulsive, racist, decrepit organization, and that's exactly why she joined the Free States to begin with. Eventually the pulse of gunfire subsides along with the rattle filling the area.
The crew after barreling through rubble and rock, they stand face to face with the caved in, radiation ridden tunnel entering the Tomb. The geiger counters are flying off the charts, the clicking noise has grown almost as loud as the rattle.
1 looks back to see if the soldiers are on the crew's tail. They are, but gaining slowly, they’re definitely heavily injured and dwindled in numbers. At first there were over fifteen, readings now indicating around seven to eight soldiers trailing them.
“Seven, Seven, light up those damn lasers now. Two and Four on me with your explosives. Now, the second this hallway blows and is clear, I’ll need all the cover I can get so I can rewire those blast doors to open,” The crew nods in agreement, while calming the nerves of seeing their first Radlesnake.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Let's give the miners some cover, remember boys we need more than two feet of room to insert the sticks of destronyte,” 1 explains.
The operatives light up their mining lasers built into their gauntlets. The beam goes from a faint orange to a bright, searing, flaming beam of energy as the intensity is cranked up. It cuts through the cave in concrete like butter. After years of sweltering in radiation, you'd imagine the hardest of surfaces would elasticize, if not disintegrate completely. The miners cut deep into the rock, as the other operatives scan for the soldiers slowly approaching. They ready their laser rifles, which triumph the pre-nuclear firearm any day. A fast firing laser beam that will take down multiple targets and render them in significantly worse pain than a tiny little bullet. But they can't see a thing. No heat signature, a couple of dead bodies already dissipating from the heat signatures as they become one with the Out and its volatile conditions. The sun offers no rays, no lighting in the reflective sky, visibility is almost null and void. The anxiety is settling in, but before they know it, the miners call for the explosives. Eight deep holes line the rubble covering the entrance, each are filled promptly with a stick of destronyte. NV-1 holds the detonator in her hand, and orders her team to back away. As she does so she backs up keeping her eyes on the explosives. The geiger counter overpowers the sound of a Republic soldier nearing enough to make a visible shot at her. A set of shots rings out from the distance, striking NV-1 in the arm. The crew turns, all able to see the heat signature from the direction of the shots. NV-2 and NV-4 take aim again with their rifles, and within a moments notice annihilate his face, reducing it to radioactive ash. Two solid beams right to his head before he topples over.
“I'm blowing it now, keep that cover,” NV-1 orders, as she holds the gunshot wound, she slams down the detonation button.
Seven enormous booms echoe throughout the valley, and a heavy rumbling to follow. A hole the perfect size for a human to fit down unveils itself as the rubble settles.
“Just as expected,” 1 assures herself. She crawls into the deep opening, still clouded with dust and debris. She hears, from out of the hole, laser fire begin to erupt.
“We got company, try to hurry boss,” NV-2 calls into the hole.
NV-1 gets to the control panel and fires up her mining laser, with ease she cuts through and exposes a set of technology from another world, and old world. She starts inserting modern day slicing nanobots and within several seconds, she hears a set of blast doors begin hissing.
“Im almost in, start climbing i- -” She’s interrupted by the last stick of destronyte.
Just as it blows, the front and last set of blast doors crack open, and NV-1 is blasted in from the force of the explosion like a cannonball, and the entrance hole crumbles inward isolating her from her team. Even after landing in the spacious entry hall she can still hear the laser and gunfire outside the caved-in entrance. After a few minutes of recuperation, the sound subsides. Laser fire absolving first, then gunfire. She tries to reach her team via her coms, with no luck. She is overcome with grief already, and she doesn't even know what happened out there. She begins calling in to the crumbled settling concrete and rubble.
“Delta team, can you hear me? What is your status Delta team? Any indications of survival, Delta team?” No response.
A few moments of silence pass as NV-1 has to conclude that the Republic prevailed in the battle, and her team is dead. She cries, she’s now faced with the hard decision of really leaving her people behind and closing the several sets of blast doors, or leaving the rubble exposed in hope her crew will climb through. She ponders in the silence which is briefly interrupted with her sharp teary breaths. The silence is killed with a foul, raspy, monstrous voice coming over NV-1’s com,
“Well, well, Clara, can’t say I’ve missed your wretched crying. To be honest, I’d have never thought Pax would have been so bold as to send a team into the deathtrap you have found yourself in now. I imagine we will be seeing each other real soon, dearie.”
“Fuck you, Rapture. Find another channel to finger-fuck yourself to, you disgusting worm.” Clara removes her com and smashes it in. She then taps the control pad on her wrist and seals six sets of blast doors, each closing with increasing speed. After the final door seals tightly, a blue light illuminates in the darkened hallway.
“RADIATION CLEANSE INITIATING IN THREE, TWO, ONE,” A robotic voice announces as white gasses and fumes spray from the sealing. It seems to have no effect on Clara’s rad suit.
“RADIATION LEVELS MINIMIZED, AIR LOCK PRESSURIZED, OXYGEN LEVELS STABILIZED”
Clara removes her helmet as a set of automatic doors open up on the other side of the entrance hall, now lit with fluorescents. Where a large elevator awaits, along with five teenagers, all void of mutation, feral nature, and animosity. In fact, one of them smiles, and waves.