Chapter Four - A boy??? (1)
The tracks of the three reclaimers chiseled clean lines into the ashy soil as they marched in a straight line. The terrain was dead silent, only interrupted by faint sounds of breathing. The haulers were used to this though, they called it the breath of the world.
Overhead, the sky was dark as it usually was, even inside the sanctuary. The smell of decay and rot seeped into the surroundings and vision was slightly impeded by the particles of floating ashes in the sky.
It was the early hours of the clearphase, so there were no traces of the fog. Up in the cabin of the first reclaimer, Ray sat in a passenger seat observing the screens on the dashboard. They were halfway through their journey and everything was going perfectly fine this far.
Per routine, Ray grabbed his intercom and issued an order for periodic check-ins from the other cabins.
Silence!
"Sengfield,.." Ray barked, calling out the name of the squad leader of truck two, "…check in"
The other line was dead silent. A feeling of dread begun enveloping Ray.
Before he could issue another order, his tablet buzzed. The scout drones ahead were warning him of an immobile object in the path of their route ahead.
Ray zoomed in on the drone's camera feed and discovered that this unknown object was a wrecked vehicle with claw marks that run along it's sides.
"Come in mother reclaimer…" Sengfield's voice came in just in time.
"Instructions…"
"Vehicle ahead, could be an ambush", Ray warned. "Ready the turrets and stay alert."
As the trucks approached the vehicle, they slowed down, causing a long dramatic metal scraping sound. The turrets roared to live, pointing at the blind spots of all the trucks.
Inside the cabins, the crew waited with baited breath. Ray monitored his screen, looking for any signs of life.
The drone feed captured no movement and Ray's scanners showed no movement either. Probably this vehicle belonged to one of the hunting companies, he thought.
Then, right when their tense nerves begun to relax, disaster struck. A loud screech tore through the dead of the night as two pincers as large as the crane arm of the trucks burst out from the ashy soil and slammed into the first cabin, causing the truck to almost topple over. A deep small crater sized dent was etched into the cabin, a testament of the strength of the abomination.
In the cabin, three of Ray's six men were immediately knocked out, pools of blood forming inside the cabin.
"This son of a bitch was hiding underground", Ray cursed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Grabbing his intercom, he yelled,
"Open fire"
And the turrets sparked with life.
Bursts of bullets rained down on the abomination, causing it to flee back in panic. Dark blood poured out from one of it's arms as one of its pincers was blown to bits. The abomination screeched loudly in pain, a furious wrath filled screech.
Ray finally got the chance to see the creature for the first time, and looking at it, he cursed loudly.
What the fuck was a Feral abomination doing in a green zone.
Ray's anger was absolutely justified, as the creature they faced was a beast even hunting companies tried to avoid.
The Shellborn abomination, Type-IV variant, code named the Carapex. It was a hulking abomination encased in a dense shell that glistened like blackened stone. Its form was vaguely crustacean yet disturbingly humanoid, standing on four backward jointed legs that ended in talon like spurs.
The four pairs of pincers at its sides waved furiously as the abomination screeched from pain. Only its pincers had been damaged as they were the only parts of its body, outside its dense shell, along with its backward jointed legs.
Staring at the creature that was frantically waving away bullets, Ray sighed. He knew he had to step in to end this early because once those turrets paused to reload, they were doomed.
The malicious glint in the abominations eyes was more than enough to tell Ray what kind of havoc it would cause when it was no longer suppressed.
Gritting his teeth, Ray took off his jacket, revealing a bulky combat armor underneath. Then he reached out to the back of his cabin and grabbed the massive war hammer that quietly sat there. Then, opening a latch on the roof of the cabin, he leapt out.
Standing on the roof, Ray waited for the turrets to die down, fire burning in his eyes.
Badump! Badump!
His heart pounded furiously, not from fear, but from excitement. His adrenaline surged as his eyes scanned the abomination in front of him, looking for its strongest spot.
You see, ever since Ray Bob was born, he had never ducked a fade. He also didn't believe in utilizing cowardly and underhanded practices. He preferred to grab the bull by the horn to stop it, rather than evade.
As the turrets sputtered their last, the mad feral eyes of the Carapex, inside its head that hid comfortably within its shell, locked onto Ray at the top of the truck.
For a long minute, the two stared quietly at each other, then, the Carapex charged leaving a cloud of ash in its wake.
Ray met it halfway. His hammer slammed into its shell with a dull boom that rolled through the ground. The shock run up his arms like lightening. The creature barely flinched. It turned, one pincer snapping through the air, missing him by inches.
He rolled, the hammer dragging a groove through the mud. He took a deep breath. The Carapex's defense was top notch, that was highlighted by the fact that it tanked a blow of his hammer without so much as flinching.
"Time to get serious", he spat out.
Clutching the handle of his war hammer tightly, he ignited his force and sent droves of it into his hammer. Ray was a Force order mutant who had awakened the heaviness force.
The heaviness force allowed him to imbue any force equipment with heaviness, making them much denser and deliver mountainous strikes.
As his hammer filled up with force, Rays confidence was reignited and he boisterously yelled at the Carapex.
"Come!"
The Carapex screeched, its second pincer came down like a guillotine. He ducked and swung upward. The hammer caught the joint, smashing the entire pincer arm off.
The Carapex shrieked in pain, its voice metallic and animal all at once.
"Got you", Ray hissed.
He struck again, this time at the chest of the abomination. The creature was thrown off, a sickening loud crack echoing on the battlefield. It crashed into the ground, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Ray walked towards the creature, his hammer dragging a groove in the ash. Steadily, his speed increased and he soon broke into a run. Nearing the fallen creature, he leapt up and swung the hammer, only for a pincer to slam him from the side, sending him crashing down.
Ray impossibly landed on his feet, his hand clutching his ribs. He desperately needed to recover, but he was offered no chance to. The Carapex reared up, slamming its pincers into the ground. The shock wave threw him off his feet, his hammer flying from his hands.