CHAPTER 42: MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER
Trevor cast his gaze out of the open fortified door he had stepped in from. His face warped into abject horror the moment he witnessed the source of the blast.
"Impossible…"
On the left side of the merchant caravan, three large foul beasts descended from the heavens above. Their colossal figures dwarfed even the hover trucks within the convoy. As Trevor gazed at the fearsome creatures in horror, their characteristics became more apparent.
With two large, bloodshot eyes featuring vertical irises and a mouth dripping with saliva, the three Mutant Devil Beasts eyed the prey before them. Unlike the one seen on Hermes' first day of arriving at Mars, the three present before the soldiers were much larger.
The three Mutant Devil Wolves, amalgamations of biology and technology, were adorned with mechanical wings on their backs. However, each had a distinct design that was different from the other two. The one positioned in the center had wings made from small robotic tentacles that intertwined with each other to form themselves into the shape of wings. Sparks could be seen as they continuously ground against each other. The closer one looked at its mechanical makeup, the more filled with dread they became.
The one on the left was garnished in metallic sheets, complete with rivets, gears, and pressure pistons, allowing these augmented body parts to flap. Sparks and electrical currents snaked across its plating, giving it an ominous look. Every ounce of its mechanical body was stitched haphazardly together, as if a lab experiment had gone wrong. Bruises and cuts lined its body, allowing for blood to seep out of its pores; completely oblivious to its state, the monstrosity was only hell-bent on consuming the flesh lined up in front of it.
Arguably, the most advanced one out of the trio had to be the one on the right. Just like its siblings, its canine teeth grinned at the prospect of a meal, as saliva drooled endlessly from its lips like a waterfall. In place of its wings, however, two metallic frames stuck out of its spine and onto each side, armed with vertical rocket engines that seem to be responsible for its flight system. Rivets could be seen attached to the jet propellers, allowing them to rotate them to any axis, making vertical take-offs and landings possible.
The fear it exudes, however, does not come from the flight technology it garnished, but from the heavy machine guns mounted on those same propeller frames. One look at the barrel would tell you that a single shot from them would cut a human's body in half. In place of its eyes were mechanical lenses that seemed to be scanning for available life forms to consume. There was not even a hint of mercy in any of their expressions; to them, the soldiers and merchants are nothing more than a 5-star meal.
Fighting on the front lines against the hordes of mutants, the soldiers turned to look for the commotion, their eyes fixed on the mechanical monstrosities before them. Even the mutants they were combatting, large bears adorned in flames, human-shaped monsters with a flower as their heads, and an assortment of other creatures looked for what caused the blast to occur. Dread ran marathons across their bodies. Even those who lacked sensory organs could feel the shift in cosmic force.
All fighting ceased as their vision was locked against the technological horror that descended upon them. The once frenzied Stage 1 Mutants all left the battlefield in a hurry. None of them had an ounce of courage when faced with a predator far stronger than them.
The soldiers, mostly bloodied and tired from the constant fighting, looked onwards in horror. Some of them buckled under the immense pressure. One of the soldiers closest to the beasts looked up at the titanic monstrosities before him; his knees dropped to the ground from the fear weighing on his heart. Staring at death, the soldier laughed hysterically.
"Hahaha! We are dead! We are so de–"
Before he could complete his last words, the foul beast lunged, its powerful jaws clamping onto his upper torso with lethal precision. In an instant, a gruesome spectacle unfolded as blood and entrails erupted, scattering across the sand in a ghastly display akin to fireworks. His lower half remained grotesquely upright, propped on his knees, as a torrent of intestines spilled from its savagely torn cavity of his body.
The abomination of science and horror chewed comfortably, the poor wretch's blood slipping from its bottom lip. Its eyes were filled with ecstasy at the meat exploding in flavor within its mouth. Looking down at the rest of his body, the monster went for seconds, consuming the rest of what was left of him; the taste of clothing and armor only added to the texture.
As it continued to chew slowly, its two siblings began to sniff the fragrance of blood; their appetites ignited as they began rushing for the scattered gourmet food.
-Roar!
Seeing the chaos unfolding, Trevor cursed out loud and began ordering the soldiers.
"Fuck! All of you, aim the plasma cannons! Focus all fire on the Mutant Devil Wolf!"
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Hearing the command, the soldiers on the upper decks of the hover tanks transferred the orders to the gunners, who shifted the colossal turrets and aimed at the abhorrent biological creations. Charging their shot, the gunners pulled the lever, and sparks of electricity snaked across the tank barrels.
-Zzzap-Whoom!
A sharp, electrical discharge of plasma blasted out of the barrels at Mach speeds, hurdling toward the Mutant Devil Wolf that was taking pleasure with every bite. The beams of light radiated heat, turning all the sand beneath them into glass.
Within half a second, the dreadful beast noticed the incoming attacks, and dodged to the side; the beams of ionized energy rapidly went past it, striking into a sand dune and melting it all entirely.
Swallowing its food, the abjectly horrific monstrosity gazed at the source of the attack; the hover tanks were arming their next shots slowly as the soldiers frantically maneuvered into defensive positions. Its eyes turned bloodshot red as anger coursed through its body. Lifting its two metallic wings, it unfurled the tentacles that were woven into their shapes as hundreds of strands of robotic limbs colored the sky black. A bellowing voice resounded from its throat, adorned with all its fury.
-Roar!
With its countless metallic tentacles, it began encroaching on the randomly scattered soldiers across the sandy battlefield. Trying their best to shoot with the SV weapons they were armed with, the soldiers frantically tried to defend themselves. It was no use, however, as more and more soldiers were captured by the robotic limbs; their bodies wrapped up tightly within the grasp of the colossal feelers.
"Ahhh! No, please no!" The soldiers, one by one, panicked as they began banging on the long objects, grasping their bodies, desperately flinging their limbs around to free themselves, but it was no use. The Mutant Devil Wolf lifted the hundreds of soldiers into the sky and primed its mechanical tentacles back before swinging them swiftly toward the hover tanks.
Within moments, hundreds of bodies hurdled toward the tanks, as they spattered into pools of blood and flesh against their metallic plating. The soldiers on the deck watched in horror as death rained upon them gloriously; however, that was only the start of their problems.
The hundreds of tentacles began opening up their ends like flowers blossoming, the smells that emanated from within did not resemble morning dew, but a ghastly combination of oil and death. Aiming the 'flowers' at the convoy, energy began pulsating at their 'buds' as they combined to form orbs of plasma. The biological horror began to grin as its canine teeth were dyed crimson from the previous meal it had.
Trever, who was standing at the entrance of the fortified carriage that housed Eleanor and Elara, watched in horror; In a single swift action, he closed the door of the carriage and walked in a frenzy toward a lever located to the right of the sealed entrance. Without an ounce of hesitation, he pulled it.
Noticing his actions, Eleanor asked in confusion. "What are you doing?!"
"I am activating the emergency shields. We have to ready ourselves!"
"What?!" Eleanor was shocked. "Those shields are a onetime use!"
"I know that! But we have no choice. There are three Mutant Devil Wolves outside and one of them is about to unleash a plasma attack on our caravan!"
"..." Eleanor tightened her grip on her sister as they both lowered their heads for cover.
At the battlefield, the tentacled Mutant Devil Wolf continued to charge its shots slowly, its grin becoming more and more apparent as time went on. The soldiers can almost imagine its sadistic thoughts.
It did not take long for them to meet their fate, the tentacles had all fully charged their energy. Overflowing with power, they released it into beams that hurdled toward the convoy of tanks and trucks at random.
-Boom, Boom Boom!
Explosions rang out across the battlefield. The tanks, some being as large as an entire basketball court, were broken into pieces as shrapnel rained from the sky. Mangled corpses, some under large amounts of metallic rubble, painted the sand in red. Ash and flames sprinkled the war zone, spreading despair with it.
In the surrounding ash and dust, a single vehicle was left standing, the carriage that housed the two sisters and Trevor. Its once menacing exterior was now reduced to rubble and broken into pieces, but standing nonetheless.
Noticing its sibling's actions, the other two Mutant Devil Wolves began scouring the field for any leftovers to munch on. Contrary to their beliefs, there were still soldiers alive as the convoy of hauling vehicles and tanks was quite long. With the other mutants running in a different direction in fear, they were all left to focus on the three beasts.
-Boom!
A beam of energy similar to the one shot out of the tank hurdled toward the winged beast's direction. In an attempt to avoid, the monstrosity flapped its wings upon noticing, but it was too slow. The energy beam encapsulated its front hind legs, completely eviscerating them from existence. It began to roar in pain and agony. What was left of its lower body sizzled from the immense heat as burned piles of pus began to coalesce into small pools.
Its beastly sibling noticed its crying and began to howl in fury. Its bellowing voice resounded in all the hearts of the remaining soldiers. It shifted its eyes in the direction of the attack. Off in the distance, a hover tank scoured across the shifting sands as it drove closer and closer to the monstrous trio.
On the deck, a man in his 40s with a cigarette in his mouth stood proudly, with one foot lodged onto the top of the fence. Donning a black trench coat with plated armor underneath, his long-winded vest fluttered in the wind as the hover tank marched onwards. An armpit holster could be seen hidden from view as he gazed at the beasts slowly encroaching on his vision.
Stroking his black beard, the man sighed to himself. 'Damn those bastards. Has the empire fallen so low that even Mutant Devil Wolves can cross our borders this easily?!' His thoughts danced in anger at the state of affairs the country he was born and raised in was in.
Tilting his head backward, the man shouted to the gunner of the tank. "Arm the next shot and hold it. Listen to my instructions closely. When I tell you to drive differently, do not hesitate!"
The gunner and tank controller both replied fervently. "Yes, sir!"
Noticing their approach, the Mutant Devil Wolf, with jet engines for wings, adjusted the axis of its rocket thrusters toward the sand below, propelling itself into the heavens. It began to fly in rotations around the convoy and the approaching hover tank. With its mouth open, a large gun barrel emerged. To the man standing stoically on the deck, its following actions were obvious.
Sighing, the man spoke to himself in a deep voice. "Why won't these bastards let me retire already?!"
End of Chapter