The Outpost

A group of mercenaries must fight their way through humanoid insect monsters to reach an outpost.

THE OUTPOST

 

It’s funny how fast things can turn to s**t. But here we were running for lives. Retreating and looking for any semblance of solace. And that was when I spotted it, a dilapidated structure. It was very likely unsafe and just as likely to fall on our heads the moment we crawled inside, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose.

 

We gingerly climbed through any openings we could find. Propping ourselves up against walls and leaning on any available debris, as we were far too weak to do so under our own power. At the very least this crumbling building would provide relief from the scorching sun.  Once all of us finally made our way inside I decided to get a head count. Christ, was this really all of us?

 

We were in very bad shape. We lost Riley, our leader, as soon as the attack began. Ox was already gone, his eyes glassy and mouth slightly agape. Smithy and Beck weren’t much better off and it was hard to say how much longer they would hold on. Brick seemed to be in the best shape out of all of us, as his wounds were mostly superficial.

 

I glanced over at Shrike who was trying her best to conceal the pain she was in. She looked up at me and I gave her a wink. Her response? She flipped me the bird. But make no mistake Shrike was the real deal. Despite her age she was capable of taking down many formidable men, including yours truly.

 

And then we heard it. That unmistakable shrill cry. Those fuckers had found us already, but how? I happened to glance back over at Ox. I hadn’t noticed it before but there was a cigarette in his mouth. It had burned down to the butt. Still an almost indiscernible trail of smoke drifted into the air. But that was enough for them to find us. God damn you Ox.

 

We readied ourselves the best we could. Loading our weapons as we braced for the next onslaught. It was hard to tell how many there were, maybe just a few. But with the shape we were in it may as well be a few hundred. I froze as I saw one of those b******s walk past my position through a crack in the foundation. I held my breath as my finger ever so delicately cradled the trigger. As I patiently waited for the right moment to attack my mind tried to make sense of how this all came about.

 

No one really knows for sure where they things came from, or so they say. But on a day that seemed no different than any other they began their senseless attack. They started emerging from underground. Any place that gave way to any kind of hole, tunnel, or mine they sprung up from it. They slaughtered anyone they came across.

 

Sure, you could kill them. But there were just so God damn many of them. They overwhelmed us with their numbers. These things resembled insects but were bipedal with large heads. Their bodies were hard, like an exoskeleton. And their limbs long and angular.  The worst thing about them was that they had these razor-sharp blades under their forearms. They just cut people to ribbons and they were so damn fast too.

 

Everyone had their theories about where they came from. You had kooks saying they were planted here by aliens as a means of wiping out humanity. Bible thumping religious zealots claiming they were the wrath of God.  Some said they were the result of biological weapons that had gotten out of control, with each major power pointing the finger at the other. And some said they had just always been here lying in wait. As for me? Well, I sure as hell was no scientist. But I think a fair explanation could be derived from any combination of those speculations.

 

Suddenly that right moment was now as one of those things spotted me. I aimed at its head, an easy target. Its noggin exploded like a melon. But my stomach sank as I heard their shrill cry, there were a lot of them. They started coming in all around us, and it was plain to see we would soon be surrounded. I signaled to Shrike and Brick to retreat out of the far side of the structure. But the noise from the gunfire and screams were deafening, adding to the confusion. The building began to waver as the battle waged on intensifying the chaos. I found my way out, with Shrike right behind me. We set up a position and fired into the building aiming at those monsters the best we could to give our compatriots a fighting chance.

 

Brick was trying to back out. But he was dragging a mortally wounded Smithy with one hand and firing into the fray with another. Then one of those things pounced on Smithy and with one quick swipe of its forearm severed his head clean off. Brick screamed a torrid of unintelligible profanities as he reached for and pulled the pin on a blast grenade.

 

I tried to yell at him to stop, but it was too late. The blast threw myself and Shrike back. We covered our heads as debris rained down on us and that whole damn building came down in a smoldering heap of rubble and steel.  We slowly rose to our feet and cautiously approached the ruins with our weapons ready. It was eerily quiet as the dust began to settle and that was when we heard Brick coughing.

 

He was in a bad way. It took all I had in me to keep my composure. His lower body was crushed and trapped under rubble with his guts spilled out to one side. I gingerly walked up to him and took a knee. Brick struggled to speak as he coughed up blood. “Did I get’em?” He asked. I looked up at the collapsed structure. “Every last one of them.” I answer confidently. “Good, m***********s.” He answered sharply. Brick struggled to maintain his equanimity. “But...I don’t think I am doing...too good.”  I wasn’t going to bullshit him. “No, you're not.” I responded dryly.

 

Brick nodded his head through gritted teeth. “Can you do one last thing for me?” He asked. There was no reason to let him carry on this way I thought to myself. “I can. You know, you always were a little overzealous” I said with a smirk. Brick nodded his head and let out a pained guffaw. “And you were always a bit of goody two shoes.” He added. I pulled out my sidearm and we both went silent. I held it a few inches from his temple. “Do it.” He said under his breath. I pulled the trigger a second later.

 

I stood and looked over Brick for a moment, it was down to just me and Shrike now, and she didn’t look so hot either. “You alright? You look a little pale.” I asked. But Shrike didn’t answer me. Instead, she simply pointed. “Look, there is the outpost.” My jaw dropped, were we really that close?

 

I helped Shrike up and she tried her best to stifle a groan. The outpost was just klicks away, we could make it on foot so we wasted no time on the well-traveled path. The dry earth crunched under our boots as the sun beat down relentlessly on our fatigued sweat-soaked bodies. I went for my canteen and pressed the warm metal to my dry cracked lips. I could only spare a few gulps to alleviate my parched throat.

 

I ever so discreetly lessened my pace as I felt Shrike slowly fall behind. Her breathing was labored, her gait was pained.  I keep my eyes forward trying my best to play a convincing ruse that everything was alright. “What’s the first thing you are going do when we get there? Shower I hope” I said with an amused tone. Shrike’s response was delayed. “Is there a reason you feel the need to patronize me? I heard her struggle to quicken her pace. She was one stubborn a*s b***h that was for sure.

 

But as we drew close to the outpost it became clear something was wrong. It was far too quiet. There was no sign of activity, no sign of anything. At this point we both slowed down and readied our weapons making sure we were locked and loaded.

 

We reached the entrance and we were greeted by the stench of decay. Cautiously we stepped inside. It was total decimation like I had never before seen. The outpost was in complete fubar. As we carefully explored the base we were meet with death at every turn. Those things had been here and it was a real bloodbath. The remains of both soldiers and those monsters were everywhere, nothing was alive.

 

It was hard to say how long ago this battle took place, maybe a couple of weeks? Stunned and despondent Shrike and I ambled towards the center of the base and plopped down on the remains of a J8. We pondered what to do next as we took in the immense scale of desolation.

 

Something caught my eye in the jeep. Under the seat I discovered a can of beer. Amused I picked up the warm dented can and smirked at Shrike. But what I saw next caused me to freeze. Shrike’s face was deathly pallid. She seemed to stare right through me, her gaze completely lifeless. I slowly turned away as the smirk faded from my face. I only stared ahead, refusing to look back at her.

 

Her breathing soon turned to gasping and choking. I cracked open the beer, anything to distract from Shrike’s suffering. Her hand trembled as it found mine. She squeezed it hard and through her grasp I felt the agony she was in. I defiantly chugged down the warm beer as Shrike’s body convulsed, but she never let go of me.

 

Finally with the last gulp of warm ale burning down my throat Shrike’s pain mercifully ended. Her hand went limp and she fell silent. I crushed the can into a jagged metal ball and threw it away as far as I could. Shrike’s body gently slumped over to the side.

 

I sat alone on the jeep as the temperature started to drop. In my deeply morose state of mind I began to cogitate what to do next.  Lost in my thoughts I discovered a beautiful indigo shroud had enveloped the outpost as the night crept in. Leaving a man alone with his thoughts can lead to him realizing there isn’t much left to think about, and not much left to do.

 

The outpost had fallen into a total empty darkness. Suddenly a loud bang accompanied by a brilliant flash of light pierced the night sky. It was over in an instant.

 

THE OUTPOST