Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, November 6th, Tuesday, 10:00 AM.
“Nothing yet?” Claire complained under her breath with gritted teeth.
She and her team were surrounded by concrete walls that served as the perimeter of a fairly large outpost, each member covering a different angle to keep an eye in their surroundings. The outpost consisted of a single two-story building in the middle, which functioned as a station to maintaining contact with the outside world, as well as medical rooms for the injured to be treated. Three watchtowers were built around the walls of the outpost, with two facing south towards the center of the Deadlands, and one keeping watch in the north.
Tori and Scott were placed in the southern towers, while Eric kept his eyes in the north from the third one. Claire climbed atop of the building through an escape ladder installed in the back, holding a pair of binoculars in front of her face to assist her team in their quick recon of the area. The minutes passed by as Bloodhound was met by nothing more than the crimson fog of the region however, accompanied by the eerie woosh of the winds.
“Lieutenant?” Scott’s voice entered through the earpiece in Claire’s ear.
“Did you spot something?” She replied.
“Sadly no…” sighed the young sniper as he continued to look at the distance through the scope of his rifle. “But isn’t there something strange about this mission?”
“Strange?”
“We were told a group of Hydra officers arrived here for a weaponry test,” Eric joined in the conversation himself. “Our job is to deliver a special package to them. This something any other team could’ve achieved, but they sent us.” The noble sounded displeased during his assessment, which all members noticed through his tone. “We’ve either been lied to, or not given all the details about this operation.”
“Th-there’s no way the boss would lie to us,” Tori offered a more positive insight to the noble’s cynic words. “He’s always been good to us, right? Lieutenant?”
Silence followed the redhead’s claims, one that Claire decided to break in not so surprising way to her team. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Our objective is to meet them here, and deliver the package.”
“I guess our first mission was to deliver a letter, so it might no be too crazy of a task…” Scott sighed, followed by the lieutenant’s last words before cutting communications.
“Stay focused.”
“Ma’am!”
The group disconnected from the call and continued with their dull activities, allowing time to pass more and more as they kept their undivided attention in the flowing crimson fog surrounding them. From the south side of the outpost Scott played around with the magnification of his scope, but the presence of faint movements in the distance quickly caught his attention—making him squint his eyes as he spotted a few shadows approaching their position.
He quickly led one finger towards the radio in his ear, wasting no time to inform the lieutenant about a group of three approaching figures from the south. “Lieutenant?”
“Again?”
“Well, I did spot some movement from the south.” He reported. “They are coming our way.”
“Is it Hydra?”
“Probably, can’t really see them too well yet.”
“Good work, Scott. Report to me if anything changes.”
“Ma’am!”
With the objective now nearing their position, Claire slid down the ladder from the building’s roof and proceed to quickly stride her way towards entrance of the outpost—a heavy open gate of steel that guarded its interior. Not long after the first report about the figures in the distance, a second message from Scott informed the lieutenant about a group of cobalt armored soldiers approaching—confirming the arrival of Hydra’s officers in the region, which Claire met personally at the gates.
“Second lieutenant Claire Lionheart,” she introduced herself to the small group.
Consisting of only three members, all officers in the team wore the cobalt colors of Hydra with black visored helmets that concealed their faces. Their combat armor displayed strange containers filled with a glowing green liquid inside, two small ones on each arm, and a large one behind their backs. Connected to the containers were small tubes that pumped the strange liquid into the officer’s bodies, reinforced with a sturdy yet flexible material.
Claire’s eyes scanned the odd getup of the group, taking a few glances at the liquid inside its containers—displayed through layers of toughened glass. “We’ve arrived to deliver a package from headquarters,” she informed them, speaking to the man at the center of the group. “If you are in need of food or water, then we brought you some suppl—”
She interrupted her own sentence with an abrupt jump backwards, spotting the moving arm of one of the soldiers from the corner of her eye. Claire felt as if time itself had stopped for a mere second, as her vision settled in the small firearm in the man’s hand. Incapable of avoiding a bullet at point blank range she could only raise her arm to protect her face, proceeding to engulf her hand with crimson flames as she called for the spectral gear.
“I won’t make it!” her mind screamed, but the flare of a blinding light forced her eyes shut as it erupted in front of her and Hydra’s officers.
A loud bang echoed across the region, prompting Eric to turn around in a hurry at the disruptive sounds of gunfire coming from the south. At the gates of the outpost, he spotted Claire with her back in the dirt, and a muscular demon of enormous height standing before her and the three cobalt soldiers. The specter completely enveloped one of the officer’s head inside its hand, and the pistol lying in the ground near his feet did not escape the noble’s eyes.
“I knew it…” he muttered before jumping off the tower, sliding down the ladder to rapidly sprint his way towards the lieutenant—keeping one hand on the sword hanging from his hips.
In a different tower from the south area of the outpost stood Tori with her taser gun in hand, already centered in the temples of one of Hydra’s soldiers. “Now, Scott!” she shouted before pressing the trigger in her weapon—releasing a long dart charged with sparking waves of electricity.
“You have to be kidding me!” Growled Scott before pulling the trigger himself, discharging a powerful projectile that caused him to recoil at the sudden flaming burst erupting from the barrel of his rifle.
Tori’s electrified dart carried enough strength to break through the layers of Kevlar from the helmet of her target, flinging his head sideways and bouncing back with violent a spring of his neck. The man plummeted like a freshly cut tree in the forest, convulsing on the ground with a deadly shock from the dart incrusted in his head.
Scott’s bullet arrived mere milliseconds earlier than Tori’s projectile, with its powerful momentum breaking through the shoulder of his target, continuing its path through his heart, and bursting back out through the man’s sides to end its course in the scorched earth. The lethal collision of the sniper’s bullet shattering his bones, and tearing his flesh with ease caused the soldier to flail around before collapsing on his face—which caused a small crack on his visor at impact with the ground.
“Ugh…” grunted Claire as she raised herself into a sitting position while holding her head in one hand. She noticed the two officers neutralized in the dirt, and the last one being held still by the specter with crimson armor.
The demon tightened its grip on the man’s head by pressing its fingers on his helmet, emitting a crunching sound the more they carved into it. A faint move from the corner of her eye quickly caught the lieutenant’s attention however, turning her head rapidly to spot one of the soldiers jump back on his feet—ignoring the deadly wounds in the upper area of his body.
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Claire engulfed her arm in crimson flames once again—to which the soldier responded by grabbing the pistol holstered on his hips, she extended her arm towards the man as Jupiter quickly materialized itself in her hand—ready to take the shot. Before she was able to pull the trigger however, a blonde head quickly jumped into action with a swift vertical slash of his sword, severing the officer’s hand from the wrist, and forcing him to stumble back in pain.
Now safe to take the shot—as her opponent’s pistol flew away in the air with its hand, the lieutenant lowered her arm slightly before pulling the trigger without hesitation. An eruption of crimson sparks ignited from the barrel of her firearm, releasing a powerful bullet that rapidly traveled through the air, and reached its target in less than a second.
One of the containers in the man’s arm burst on impact with Claire’s projectile, spilling out its liquid before evaporating into gas at contact with the air. Her foe recoiled to grab his injured arm with the other hand, twisting his body just enough to give Claire a clear view of the third container in his back. A chance she would not allow go to waste as her next shot shattered every layer of the container’s toughened glass, erupting quickly and covering the soldier with the green evaporated liquid.
“Destroy those containers!” Claire commanded with a roar before executing her foe with a brutal barrage of fast projectiles, each shot emitting an earsplitting bang, and bursting with crimson flames from the barrel of her pistol.
Two of her bullets forced the soldier down as they pierced through his knees, another well placed shot rid off the last container in his arm—crushing its protection on impact, while the last incrusted itself in between the man’s eyes, crushing through his helmet with ease and leaving behind its trail a small hole in the officer’s visor.
Through the commotion of the fight only a few feet away, Scott and Tori found themselves fighting off the second Hydra officer. The pair was sadly outmatched by the man’s strength, but the young sniper managed to get behind his foe thanks to his companion’s assistance. He jumped on the soldier’s back, and utilized his rifle to choke him from behind.
“Grraa!” roared Scott while pulling back with all of his strength—barely moving the man from his position. “H-he is tough!”
Responding with a headbutt against his captor—a powerful blow that drew out blood from Scott’s nose and mouth, the soldier broke free from his clutches before turning towards the knocked down man—who covered his mouth with eyes shut in pain. Protecting him from Hydra’s officer was Tori however, who did not hesitate in discharging another dart into the man’s back—paralyzing his body with a second electrifying shock.
“Destroy those containers!” The lieutenant’s voice reached the young medic’s ears, forcing a gasp from her lips as she settled her eyes in the stunned soldier’s back—gulping down at the sight of the glowing liquid inside its container.
Tori rapidly lunged at Scott’s rifle in the ground, taking the weapon into her hands with a set of painful groans—taken off guard by its hefty weight. Despite not holding the firearm properly the girl still pointed its long barrel directly at the officer’s back, inhaling deeply through her nose before pressing the trigger with trembling hands.
The loud and powerful ignition from Scott’s rifle propelled Tori backwards in an instant, forcing her to collapse against the dirt with her back. Her shot would be successful in destroying the container in her opponent’s back however, as the large bullet carved its path from the back until bursting out on the other side from the officer’s chest.
Scott bit down on the pain while lying on the dirt, his eyes noticing the staggered soldier covered in a strange cloud of green. He rapidly led one hand towards his hips to grab a side firearm from its holster, extending his arm forward, and shooting at both containers in his foe’s arms with deadly accuracy—shattering both of them in the process.
All sources of strength gone, and no more serum running through his veins. Hydra’s officer shuttered while stumbling sideways with a wobbly body, eventually flopping down face first against the ground—taking his last breath with a broken visor, and becoming a lifeless corpse in the dirt.
“Scott!” Tori shouted with worry as she ran towards the young sniper—who offered a smile with a thumbs up as blood flowed down his mouth. “Let me help you!” she slid on the ground to kneel next to him.
One soldier remained in the field, still held captive under the clutches of the crimson specter, who gave its victim no room of escape as its grip remained unmoved by the man’s attempts to pull his hand open. Despite being enhanced beyond human capabilities by the serum running through his veins, the natural power of such an enormous demon was simply too much for the officer to compare—feeling his head throb at the crushing sensation of his helmet slowly breaking into pieces.
“What is it doing?” Eric asked while pressing his fingers on the grip of his sword, quickly moving towards Claire to help the girl back on her feet.
“Ngh…” She took the noble’s hand and pulled herself back up from the dirt, staring with furrowed brows at the crimson specter.
“That thing is yours, right?” Eric asked with his face drenched in sweat, swallowing constantly with worry.
The demon turned its head to meet the lieutenant’s gaze, but remained still as it looked into her amber eyes—showing no signs of wanting to act on its own. It waited with devotion as it stared directly at Claire, who quickly came to realize the meaning behind its gaze.
“Ah…” her brows raised, but lowered them quickly while clenching her jaw. The lieutenant decided to end the conflict for everyone’s safety, replying to the specter’s stare by nodding her head.
With an immediate response to her command, and showing no hesitation behind its actions as it lifted the officer in the air. The specter slammed its opponent’s head against the dirt before ripping away the container on his back, tearing apart every tube connecting to his body and finishing the job with a deadly punch to the back of the man’s head—burying him in the ground, and ending his life in an instant.
“…!” Tori fell down on her butt at the creature’s brutal display, gulping down while keeping a tight hold of her taser.
“Hey!” Eric called out to Claire with urgency, who casually stared at the demon with half parted lips. “What do we do now!”
Claire glanced at the noble from the side, proceeding to shake her head slowly at him. She began to silently walk towards the specter, to which Eric and the rest of her team protested in response—only to be stopped by a quick motion of Claire’s hand, signaling them to remain in place as she stepped in front of the demon.
“I already knew she could do that, but…” Scott said under his breath, just loud enough for Tori to hear next to him.
“I’ve never seen that one before,” she finished the man’s sentence. “It looks way bigger than the others, and scarier...”
“I don’t even get paid for this…” muttered Eric with a fixed gaze on the situation, feeling the urge to lunge forward in order to protect Claire from such a demon.
The lieutenant stood firmly in front of the specter, who’s strong body rose above hers by a wide margin—a height matching that of a gladean knight. Its body had a muscular composition, exhibiting a crimson exoskeleton instead of black, and a bright amber color running inside its glowing veins through the fissures on its body. The pair of horns on its forehead bent backwards, displaying an intimidating size like that of a wild goat. Its glowing sunken eyes looked down at Claire with a terrifying gaze, their light displaying the same color as hers.
“You are the one I saw in Paradise…” the lieutenant said with a soft tone, a quick chuckle escaping her as she felt a strange sense of security from the tall demon. “The one who saved me from King.”
“What the hell are you doing!” Eric yelled at her from the back.
“It’s fine!” she replied, signaling the team with her hand to keep their attention on the surroundings instead.
“She is crazy,” claimed Scott as he picked his rifle from the ground—extending his hand to Tori to help her back up from the ground.
The redhead jiggled while accepting the man’s hand, pulling herself up with a smile. “I don’t know if I should be surprised by now…”
A smile with furrowed brows was plastered in the lieutenant’s face as she looked up at the specter from up close. She placed both hands on her hips before lowering her head with a contemplative look, and pressed her lips together while humming in deep thought. A gasp escaped her suddenly, and she slammed one fist in the palm of her hand—revealing her pearly whites with another smile.
“I know!” she said. “If you are going to show up now and then, then how about I give you a name. That could help me if I ever need you for something, right?”
Every member of Bloodhound recoiled after hearing her claim, turning their attention back towards the girl and the demon with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Claire rubbed her chin as she thought of an appropriate name, unaware of her team’s high concerns for her safety.
“How about…” she whispered. “Oh, I know!” she exclaimed before revealing the name of the demon with a confident pump of her fist. “Heretic!”
“Ugh, this can’t be happening…” Eric ran down one hand through his face.
Tori and Scott and glanced at each other with worried smiles, unable to shake their nerves off from the intimidating demon—just hanging out inside of their outpost. The lieutenant seemed happy about its presence however, looking up at the creature like a long-lost member of her family.
“Your name will be Heretic,” she told the specter. “I think it suits you, and the name kind of just popped into my head anyway. What do you think?”
Unceremoniously vanishing into particles of crimson light, leaving not a trail of itself behind as it disappeared from view. The crimson demon abandoned the field in silence after being named by the lieutenant, who was left behind scratching the back of her head. She took a deep breath before exhaling through her lips, signaling Bloodhound to return to her position.
“So…” Scott was the first to speak.
“While I know what you want to say, Foley…” Eric interrupted. “I think we have more pressing matter in our hands at the moment.”
Claire hummed with a nod, agreeing with the noble’s words. “There’s a lot we need to talk about it seems,” she told them. “First things first…” her eyes moved to the inert bodies of Hydra’s officers, narrowing them into a boiling glare. “The meaning behind this attack, and our mission.”
END OF CHAPTER