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=== [CHAPTER 6: MEGALOPHOBIA] ===
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A beast of steel emerged from the jungle. Its mass held up by four long and spindly legs, piercing the ground like knives stabbing into cloth. Each time it took a step forward, it sluggishly lifted one of the legs and slammed it back into the ground, shaking the earth for what could’ve been miles around. From the head of the metal quadruped, several parts emerged from its surface. Guns, engine bits, gears, pipes. Three massive spotlights sat on its face – like eyes of titanic proportions – and it stared down at the Phantoms on the line – blinding them with bright light. The machine stood at what must’ve been sixty feet above the ground. And even with that measure, Eli felt that its size was uncountable. Fully insurmountable. Imposing in every way.
The legs of the machine were made of plated steel, connected to joints that allowed for locomotion. Each of the four legs ended with sharp metal claws that stabbed and grabbed the ground like the talons of a hawk. Each time it lifted a leg, a tree would be knocked down. Uprooted as if they were playthings for a baby’s hands. Three red spotlights on the face shone down on the Coalition lines. Three false suns. Casting enough light to illuminate the shadows within their minds. The threatening roar of the foghorn inside of the machine shook their bones. With ease it clambered over the obstacles in its path. Dense jungle, the slope of the hill, the rough dirt terrain, all of it made insignificant by the sheer size of the beast.
Nobody moved. All eyes had become enraptured by the significance of the titan. An unstoppable force that one could not pull away from. Eli wasn’t sure of what his first instinct was. To run? Surely he could not outrun it. To hide? Those three red eyes saw all. It was otherworldly, like the dragons. Not possible. How could he react, when all options seemed alien in comparison?
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SHOOT THE GODDAMN THING!" A voice screamed out. Eli saw that it was Captain Juma yelling through the gas masks’ transponder. She pointed a finger at the machine which marched closer with every passing second. A scared Phantom obeyed her command, and with a shaky grip on their gun, opened fire at the giant. Other gunners joined in, opening a barrage of bullets. Tracers in the rounds illuminated the bullets as they flew across the skies. But they did nothing. In fact, if Eli squinted hard enough, he could see that they didn't even reach the surface. There was something blocking them. The bullets weren't strong enough.
A blast sounded from behind them. A powerful gun in the Nexus fired a round capable of penetrating even through the toughest of armor. It pierced through the sky, tracing its way through the air like lightning through dark clouds. And when it just nearly about to hit the machine, it suddenly changed course. Deflected straight away. A red glow emerged, illuminating a portion of the mechanical beast right where the shell hit. But slowly the glow faded away. It didn’t make any sense. How could a shell so powerful be stopped so effortlessly? It was like rain bouncing off the exterior of a umbrella. And then it struck him.
"A shield," Eli whispered. Confused phantoms whispered to each other, coming to the same conclusion. A shield? What kind of vehicle was this? When did the POA get access to this sort of technology? And was there any way at all to pierce through it?
One of the machine gunners continued to open fire on the quadruped, trying his best to slow down the walker by any and all means necessary. One of the contraptions on the surface of the machine twisted around, contorting itself like a arm aiming right at the gunner.
It was over it in the blink of an eye.
A blue pulse of light whipped through the air at speeds faster than any human eye could keep track of, barreling right into his chest..
The Phantoms watched in pure horror for only a moment. In that second, they shattered. Broken. They yelled, screaming, terrified. Fleeing backwards to whatever safe shelter they could find that would protect them from this seemingly invincible titan. The other guns and turrets on the giant opened fire on the Coalition lines, explosive rounds made impact with the ground and erupted into a ball of flames blew anyone in its path to pieces. Bullets were unleashed on the phantoms. Another threatening roar emerged from the monster, the foghorn blaring its battle cry across the skies.
Waves of prisoners rushed to flee. Eli watched as helpless prisoners were vaporized, a ray of red light cracking across the orange sky – making contact with flesh, disassembling them at the molecular level until flesh and uniform was no more. The only traces of the prisoner being whatever equipment they carried, and a memory of what was once there.
Their screaming had floored Eli. Forcing him to stand still in the waves of prisoners rushing past him. His eyes trembled as he gazed up towards the giant, whose red eyes bathed him in their ruby light. The hairs on his limbs stood on end. Every breath he took failed to fill his desperate lungs. The air in his mask warmed with moist air. He was suffocating and burning inside. His mind begged him to rip of the mask for air. But he couldn’t.
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Lost in the red eyes, the world around him swirled. Spinning shapes and objects surrounded him. Sounds blending into each other to become nothing more than noise in the background. But the titan stood still. It was the only thing that mattered.
It was a type of fear that Eli had only felt twice in his life. A feeling of being totally overmatched. Like staring death in the eyes while he lay on his dying bed. Only a few short breaths away from being made into a memory. There was nothing he could do. Complete and absolute terror had dominated his mind and body, and the worst part was the helplessness of it all. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, he could do to even hope to beat the giant.
He managed to spot Omar. The teenager was on the floor, his back to the walls of the trench. Although Eli couldn’t see his face through the mask, he knew that the boy was also staring at the machine. Horrified. His hands were shaking with terror, and he had been paralyzed just as Eli was. He was unable to escape on his own.
Seeing Omar look like that, just a teenager – even if he refused to admit it – scared and helpless. It triggered something in the parts of Eli’s mind he’d wanted to forget. Back when he too was little more than a kid, ripped from his home, and thrust into a dangerous unknown. It was like looking into a mirror, and seeing how helpless he was in the face of the world ending struck something within.
He bolted into action as if he were being possessed to move forward. Reaching Omar, he placed his hands over the boy. He took his arm and grabbed his body to pull. The boy was lighter than he expected, but it didn't matter. He picked up Omar and carried him further back, "AARGH! AAARGH! NO!" Omar screamed in delusion, "NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE! I WANT TO GO HOME! PLEASE! I WANT TO GO HOME!"
The chords in Omar's throat strained, he was practically frothing at the mouth in terror. But it only kept Eli going even further to drag him back.
He saw as the guns within the Nexus opened fire. A barrage of rockets and tank shells were unleashed onto the titan. Most of the fire was blocked of course by the shield, but several of them made their way not towards the head – but the legs. But even then, the ones that managed to hit the legs of the beast had collided with what looked like armor plating, exploding only to cause minimal damage. Except for one. A rocket pierced through the skies like a falling star and collided with the upper left leg of the machine. The following explosion rocked the titan, creating a cloud of black smoke first. Red flames spewed from an open wound in the leg, revealing molten steel and charred parts. Yet, the leg remained intact. They needed more firepower.
Eli dragged Omar further back into the trench line as the machine gained ground on them. Sweat poured down his forehead, stinging his eyes and blinding him somewhat. Phantoms in their terrified retreat ran past both he and Omar to a safer position. Eli turned to look back, and his heart sunk when he saw the machine practically towering right over them. The injured leg was still intact though smoking and on fire. But it hadn't been slowed down. The guns on the machine tore apart Phantoms in the trenches and killed those who weren't behind cover. Their screams and pleads for help going silent when they too were vaporized into thin air by the death ray. Eli was terrified himself, but he put all of his effort into trying to get Omar out. Something urged him to ensure Omar's safety, and the kid's screams of terror only motivated Eli in his goal to get him to safe shelter.
The machine took one step after another, each foot shook the ground and alerted Eli to the fact that it was only closing the distance. Eventually, the spotlights would find the duo. And then what? He had to get Omar someplace safe. Somewhere hidden.
His eyes zeroed in on a wooden plank that acted at as a makeshift bridge over the trench. If Omar was hidden from the machines, he would be safe enough. Dragging him back to base was out of the option, so for now stowing him away in the barely protected area was his best option. He mustered the strength to move even faster than before, but Omar's flailing limbs made the task difficult. But slowly he managed to turn the corner and get him under the bridge.
"Omar! Omar! You have to be quiet, Omar!" Eli told him, forcing him into the dirt wall in a vain attempt to get the teenager to calm down. Omar, however, was hysterical. Screaming and kicking Eli. The monster marched closer. Eli didn't know how they found targets, but Omar's screaming would be a dead giveaway of their hidden position.
"THEY'RE GONNA KILL US! I WANNA GO HOME! NO!" Omar tried to push Eli away with a hand pressed against Eli's mask. Threatening to loosen the seal which acted as a barrier between his living or death. Omar’s eyes were wild and he was trembling like a cornered animal.
"Omar! Please! Please, Shut up! Come on!" Eli begged him, but the kid either could not hear him, or outright refused. Frustrated, Eli stood back up trying to gain sight of the machine.
He hardly needed to search.
He stopped when his eyes saw it. He felt ice run through his veins. Speechless.
It towered right in front of them. The size of the monster alone gave Eli vertigo looking up at it. Seeing it made him feel like an ant looking up at a skyscraper. Miniscule. Pathetically helpless. The guns of the machine continued to open fire, decimating the Coalition’s lines.
His heart skipped a beat when one of the guns stopped firing. The spotlights that served as the eyes of the monster rotated. The gun turned, looking for a new target. Eli felt a sense of relief wash over him. The main gun on the machine stopped, giving him a window to deal with Omar.
But the relief vanished when the red eyes – and soon the gun – pointed directly at him.
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