Breach-15
Riana Brians
“Is that all of ’em?”
An operative, wearing a similar combat uniform as her, spoke up. She replied: “Seems like it. I don't recall seeing any of them scurrying down the smaller tunnels, and plus, they did seem pretty eager to kill us, so……”
Keith interrupted: “Don't let your guard down. There’s still a possibility.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, Mr. Perfectionist. I don't think anybody here's dumb enough to make that mistake. Not after seeing all……”
She motioned her hand towards their surroundings.
“...this.”
It was a scene of carnage. The corpses of those abominations were all over the place, mangled, disfigured, and very gory. But that wasn't the worst part. She'd been on this job for seven years, she’d seen some shit. She could take a couple or so monster corpses. No, the worst part was the emotional gore surrounding her. Dead bodies of their fallen comrades were strewn everywhere. Most were mutilated and disfigured. She gagged just by the sight of them. Closer to the Crack, she saw the bodies of those security Origins in all-black. Just from the state of their bodies, she could tell they’d taken the brunt of the assault. None of them would have still been here without those guys. A pang or remorse shot through her heart. If only she- no, calm down. Please.
Taking her attention off the gruesome sight, she looked back towards their little group of survivors. Out of the several dozen or so personnel that had been in the site, only four of them, herself and Keith included, had made it out alive.
Four.
It was a depressingly low number, but it was better than zero. At least some of them had made it out alive. At leas- no, stop. She knew she was just trying to comfort herself. Many people had died because of her own inaction in the beginning. Because she had been too stupid to act and think straight. Just the thought of all the deaths she could have prevented made a lump of bile rise up her throat. Damn it all. This was why she always preferred solo-ops.
No, focus!
Standing besides her, Keith seemed to also be digesting the weight of the situation. Now that the situation had finally cleared up a bit, Riana took a good look at him for the first time since this battle had begun. The man in question had short, brown hair, borderline blonde, now messy from combat, coupled with black eyes. He wore the same combat uniform as her, with grey protection pads on his joints and vitals, as well as weapon slots of varying sizes. His features were well……as you'd expect from someone British. As Riana was appraising him, the man seemed to have finished organising his thoughts, before clearing his throat and continuing:
“Well then, now that that Crack over there finally seems to be done spewing out monsters, we should probably start heading back up. It seemed most of the Origins and equipment had been taken down to this site, so I don't think anyone left up there has any real way of getting down here yet. Still, we need to get out asap. There’s no telling whether or not that was the last wave of monst-
Before he could finish his sentence, their surroundings started to tremble. The air started shaking, and the walls and floor of the cave began rumbling ominously. It was coming from the Crack.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
Everyone tensed up. Nobody here was stupid enough to not know what this rumbling meant. It happened before, not too long before the first wave of monsters rushed out and slaughtered everyone. Now?
She looked back towards their little group. Four people. There was no way they could survive this, was this the end of the road? No. There was a way. She had a way. She wasn't going to let anyone else die. Not this time.
Turning back to her group, she said: “Alright, I know everyone here’s pretty traumatised, yeah? We’re all going to need some heavy therapy after this. But putting that aside, listen up, cause I’ve got a plan.”
She was their senior. It was time to act like it. She continued on:
“I’ll enter through the Crack.”
Already, she could see the stares of disbelief. Keith was one thing, but the other operative, as well as the fourth personnel, probably a lucky technician or something judging from his attire, all gave her criticising gazes. As if saying: Seriously? You’re running towards the monster-spawn?
She didn't blame them. She continued on: “Listen, those things came through that Crack, right? So wherever those guys came from obviously has to be beyond there. Since that thing’s getting ready to spew them out again, chances are, we might be able to enter through as well, provided it's not a one-way street. I’ll enter before those things start coming out.”
Keith cut her off: “And how does you going off to attempt suicide help our situation? Are you telling us to just handle things without you?”
She gave him a pointed stare. Damn, they didn't have much time. The trembling was starting to pick up. She hurried on: “My Ability allows me to materialise weapons, provided they can be used by a single person. I’ll use that to make the strongest explosive I can. Even if I die within the Crack, it should go off, killing everything within it. It wont be just suicide. It’ll be a suicide mission.”
The technician-looking guy looked sceptical at her words. He interjected, pointing out:
“There’s no telling whether or not the explosion would remain confined. Worst case, it could travel through the Crack and into where we are, killing us as well. Granted, I’m not saying that alone makes it a bad plan, considering we’re all going to die anyways, but even then, I seriously doubt you’ll have a bomb capable of completely wiping them out.”
She grinned. Time to unveil her trump card. Holding up both hands, she focused on her Ability. A few seconds later, a large item, shaped like an oversized backpack with strange contraptions attached, rapidly materialised between her two hands.
Its sudden weight made her temporarily lose balance, causing her to tilt forward, and she was forced to heave herself back upright. Catching herself, she turned to look at her three now-bewildered audience members. A hint of glee dyed her next words:
“This right here, is a suitcase nuke.”
Breach-15
Riana Brians
“Is that all of ’em?”
An operative, wearing a similar combat uniform as her, spoke up. She replied: “Seems like it. I don't recall seeing any of them scurrying down the smaller tunnels, and plus, they did seem pretty eager to kill us, so……”
Keith interrupted: “Don't let your guard down. There’s still a possibility.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, Mr. Perfectionist. I don't think anybody here's dumb enough to make that mistake. Not after seeing all……”
She motioned her hand towards their surroundings.
“...this.”
It was a scene of carnage. The corpses of those abominations were all over the place, mangled, disfigured, and very gory. But that wasn't the worst part. She'd been on this job for seven years, she’d seen some shit. She could take a couple or so monster corpses. No, the worst part was the emotional gore surrounding her. Dead bodies of their fallen comrades were strewn everywhere. Most were mutilated and disfigured. She gagged just by the sight of them. Closer to the Crack, she saw the bodies of those security Origins in all-black. Just from the state of their bodies, she could tell they’d taken the brunt of the assault. None of them would have still been here without those guys. A pang or remorse shot through her heart. If only she- no, calm down. Please.
Taking her attention off the gruesome sight, she looked back towards their little group of survivors. Out of the several dozen or so personnel that had been in the site, only four of them, herself and Keith included, had made it out alive.
Four.
It was a depressingly low number, but it was better than zero. At least some of them had made it out alive. At leas- no, stop. She knew she was just trying to comfort herself. Many people had died because of her own inaction in the beginning. Because she had been too stupid to act and think straight. Just the thought of all the deaths she could have prevented made a lump of bile rise up her throat. Damn it all. This was why she always preferred solo-ops.
No, focus!
Standing besides her, Keith seemed to also be digesting the weight of the situation. Now that the situation had finally cleared up a bit, Riana took a good look at him for the first time since this battle had begun. The man in question had short, brown hair, borderline blonde, now messy from combat, coupled with black eyes. He wore the same combat uniform as her, with grey protection pads on his joints and vitals, as well as weapon slots of varying sizes. His features were well……as you'd expect from someone British. As Riana was appraising him, the man seemed to have finished organising his thoughts, before clearing his throat and continuing:
“Well then, now that that Crack over there finally seems to be done spewing out monsters, we should probably start heading back up. It seemed most of the Origins and equipment had been taken down to this site, so I don't think anyone left up there has any real way of getting down here yet. Still, we need to get out asap. There’s no telling whether or not that was the last wave of monst-
Before he could finish his sentence, their surroundings started to tremble. The air started shaking, and the walls and floor of the cave began rumbling ominously. It was coming from the Crack.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
Everyone tensed up. Nobody here was stupid enough to not know what this rumbling meant. It happened before, not too long before the first wave of monsters rushed out and slaughtered everyone. Now?
She looked back towards their little group. Four people. There was no way they could survive this, was this the end of the road? No. There was a way. She had a way. She wasn't going to let anyone else die. Not this time.
Turning back to her group, she said: “Alright, I know everyone here’s pretty traumatised, yeah? We’re all going to need some heavy therapy after this. But putting that aside, listen up, cause I’ve got a plan.”
She was their senior. It was time to act like it. She continued on:
“I’ll enter through the Crack.”
Already, she could see the stares of disbelief. Keith was one thing, but the other operative, as well as the fourth personnel, probably a lucky technician or something judging from his attire, all gave her criticising gazes. As if saying: Seriously? You’re running towards the monster-spawn?
She didn't blame them. She continued on: “Listen, those things came through that Crack, right? So wherever those guys came from obviously has to be beyond there. Since that thing’s getting ready to spew them out again, chances are, we might be able to enter through as well, provided it's not a one-way street. I’ll enter before those things start coming out.”
Keith cut her off: “And how does you going off to attempt suicide help our situation? Are you telling us to just handle things without you?”
She gave him a pointed stare. Damn, they didn't have much time. The trembling was starting to pick up. She hurried on: “My Ability allows me to materialise weapons, provided they can be used by a single person. I’ll use that to make the strongest explosive I can. Even if I die within the Crack, it should go off, killing everything within it. It wont be just suicide. It’ll be a suicide mission.”
The technician-looking guy looked sceptical at her words. He interjected, pointing out:
“There’s no telling whether or not the explosion would remain confined. Worst case, it could travel through the Crack and into where we are, killing us as well. Granted, I’m not saying that alone makes it a bad plan, considering we’re all going to die anyways, but even then, I seriously doubt you’ll have a bomb capable of completely wiping them out.”
She grinned. Time to unveil her trump card. Holding up both hands, she focused on her Ability. A few seconds later, a large item, shaped like an oversized backpack with strange contraptions attached, rapidly materialised between her two hands.
Its sudden weight made her temporarily lose balance, causing her to tilt forward, and she was forced to heave herself back upright. Catching herself, she turned to look at her three now-bewildered audience members. A hint of glee dyed her next words:
“This right here, is a suitcase nuke.”
