I realized when I went back to do some rework that that I did pull a "Gee I need to give EVERYONE some face time."
The premonitions/dreams etc are too fun to write.
Thanks for the feedback.
10-30 Chap 1 redux Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-18 Chap 19 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
This chapter did seem to "flow" differently.
I realized when I went back to do some rework that that I did pull a "Gee I need to give EVERYONE some face time."
The premonitions/dreams etc are too fun to write.
Thanks for the feedback.
I realized when I went back to do some rework that that I did pull a "Gee I need to give EVERYONE some face time."
The premonitions/dreams etc are too fun to write.
Thanks for the feedback.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-18 Chap 19 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Update. Hope you like it. I decided to make a U Turn.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 20
Whiteout
I awoke with a start. Kat moved a bit but didn’t wake up. The raging snowstorm had slowed to a light flurry.
Sarge cleared his throat. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“Very funny Steve.” I said shivering, “What time is it?”
He glanced at his watch as he hit a button, “Nine twelve PM.”
“Is that it? When do you suppose Jerry is going to…” I didn’t have time to finish, the roof of our shelter violently crushed inward. I snatched my pistol and our flashlights lit up the darkness.
We sat in the strange light that reflected off of the grey seats and headliner. My heart pounded in my ears and I waited for something, anything.
Kat whispered, “Guys, what the hell hit us?”
Sarge replied, “Unknown.”
I radioed over to the other vehicle, “Guys something hit our truck, did you see anything?”
“Negative.” Stan said.
Silence prevailed for the next several moments. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something move. I craned my neck to look and it was gone. “Did you see that?” I asked. One side of the vehicle was completely plastered with snow while the other was fairly clear. We had cracked one window slightly to let in some fresh air.
Brett yawned, “Guys I think we should hop out and take the fight to them.”
“Them?” My teeth chattered, “We don’t even know if anything is out there. A rock could have rolled down the mountain and hit the truck for all we know.”
We sat and waited for over an hour. The storm outside had passed, and the wind seemed to have died down.
I really had to relieve myself. “Guys, I umm have to go.”
Kat slugged me in the arm, “Well hold it.”
“I can’t. Just cover me OK?” I said as I opened the door. The stale moist air inside the vehicle compartment was brushed aside by the frigid winter night air. I pulled my stocking cap down lower and stepped down into the thigh deep snow. The wind had slowed but not stopped. Instantly I felt the cold trying to penetrate every seam in my clothing.
I shut the door and scanned the surroundings. The other vehicle was parked about ten feet away; its roof was covered in at least six inches of fresh snow.
I shivered and illuminated the area with my weapon light. As I swung past the other car I made sure that I pointed my light at the ground so as not to cover the occupants with the muzzle of my pistol. They wouldn’t appreciate it, even if they were behind bullet proof glass.
An annoying spot buried somewhere deep in my brain kept telling me that I was about to be savagely eaten by a vicious monster. Shut up! I told myself, there was nothing out here; even monsters sought shelter when the weather was bad.
I took a few heavy steps in the snow and found a nearby tree. Urinating in sub zero temperatures is always an interesting experience, but doing it when something in the shadows might be salivating over your hide like a teenage boy at Thanksgiving dinner, was something else entirely.
I zipped everything back up and turned around. My stomach tried to lodge itself in my throat when I saw it! I shined my hand held flashlight at the top of our vehicle to be sure. The top of our rig hadn’t been hit by a rock, but a half eaten human corpse!
My earpiece squawked, “Marty, what are you looking at?”
“I’ve got some good news; I think I found our missing snowmobiler.”
I scanned up the mountainside and saw a small ledge about fifty feet up the steep hill. Something moved I fired a couple of rounds at the furry beast while it scampered away over the icy boulders.
Both teams of hunters piled out of their vehicles and the next few minutes were spent looking for the snow beasts to no avail. With four hunters on watch, Steve and I ended up with the lucky job of pulling the victim off the top of our truck. Stan laid out a body bag in the snow and we placed the mutilated body in it.
“Damn what a horrible way to go.” I told the victim as we zipped up the bag. Why did they do it? Throwing a half eaten corps at us? I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
I gathered some wood for a fire; low hanging dead branches were usually dry. In a few minutes I had a nice roaring fire; an acetylene bottle can get a fire going in a hurry. We all took turns standing guard with our backs to the fire, wearing night vision goggles and peering into the forest and warming ourselves over the fire. Thankfully I had insisted we throw in a small bundle of split firewood in the back of our vehicles so we would have enough fuel for the remainder of the night without too much additional scavenging.
The rest of the night was uneventful; thankfully the beasts hiding in the snowy landscape want to tangle with a group of heavily armed hunters after all.
As dawn approached Jerry arrived with the local tow truck operator. He hopped down from the truck and said, “Jerry to the rescue as usual.”
A few hours later we made it back to our rented cabin. The logs in the wood stove burned brightly. We stood in our socks around the fireplace clutching cups of hot chocolate, and coffee. I felt like I was melting.
The Custer county coroner arrived after I had sufficiently thawed out and hauled the victim away. I wondered what the cause of death would be determined as. The Feds in the Monster Control Bureau kept tight watch on coroners all over the country.
The nearest GM dealership was in Hailey over seventy miles away. We had the rigs towed down there at considerable expense and had them worked on. When they finally got back to our HQ, it was too late to mount another expedition into the back country. The Fish and Game guys showed up at the cabin and were disappointed, but understood that we didn’t want to spend another night freezing to death out in the woods.
Wednesday morning we were ready to mount up and return to the hunt when we received a call from MHI headquarters.
Stan picked up the phone. “Hello… yes… no… you’re kidding me?” he rubbed his forehead. “Alright we should be able to make it to Nevada by nightfall.”
We all stood waiting for Stan to explain his one sided phone call. “We’re headed to Rachel Nevada.”
“Rachel, the tiny town outside Area-51?” I asked.
Stan nodded, “That’s right, but it isn’t alien spacecraft that the government has been hiding out there.”
“So… what are they hiding?”
Stan shrugged, “Two things, advanced aircraft, like the U2, F-117, SR-71, B2, and more recently the F-22 and X-89.”
“What’s the X-89 and what does this have to do with monsters?” I asked slightly annoyed.
“It’s some fancy new airplane that doesn’t officially exist.” He paused. “Oh and monsters, well the whole area around there is full of Ley lines, and nexus points.”
“Like Stone Henge?” I replied.
He grunted in approval, “Hey I’m surprised you know about that. Yes like the ones in stone henge. Anyway Area-51 also known as Dreamland, or Groom Lake was rebuilt to study Ley lines, and kill anything that comes out of the periodic portals that open up located on the lake.”
“So why are we going there?” I asked.
“A large portal opened up and the Feds were unable to kill everything that came out of it. Every hunter healthy enough to sling a rifle is on their way right now. So let’s get moving.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 20
Whiteout
I awoke with a start. Kat moved a bit but didn’t wake up. The raging snowstorm had slowed to a light flurry.
Sarge cleared his throat. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“Very funny Steve.” I said shivering, “What time is it?”
He glanced at his watch as he hit a button, “Nine twelve PM.”
“Is that it? When do you suppose Jerry is going to…” I didn’t have time to finish, the roof of our shelter violently crushed inward. I snatched my pistol and our flashlights lit up the darkness.
We sat in the strange light that reflected off of the grey seats and headliner. My heart pounded in my ears and I waited for something, anything.
Kat whispered, “Guys, what the hell hit us?”
Sarge replied, “Unknown.”
I radioed over to the other vehicle, “Guys something hit our truck, did you see anything?”
“Negative.” Stan said.
Silence prevailed for the next several moments. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something move. I craned my neck to look and it was gone. “Did you see that?” I asked. One side of the vehicle was completely plastered with snow while the other was fairly clear. We had cracked one window slightly to let in some fresh air.
Brett yawned, “Guys I think we should hop out and take the fight to them.”
“Them?” My teeth chattered, “We don’t even know if anything is out there. A rock could have rolled down the mountain and hit the truck for all we know.”
We sat and waited for over an hour. The storm outside had passed, and the wind seemed to have died down.
I really had to relieve myself. “Guys, I umm have to go.”
Kat slugged me in the arm, “Well hold it.”
“I can’t. Just cover me OK?” I said as I opened the door. The stale moist air inside the vehicle compartment was brushed aside by the frigid winter night air. I pulled my stocking cap down lower and stepped down into the thigh deep snow. The wind had slowed but not stopped. Instantly I felt the cold trying to penetrate every seam in my clothing.
I shut the door and scanned the surroundings. The other vehicle was parked about ten feet away; its roof was covered in at least six inches of fresh snow.
I shivered and illuminated the area with my weapon light. As I swung past the other car I made sure that I pointed my light at the ground so as not to cover the occupants with the muzzle of my pistol. They wouldn’t appreciate it, even if they were behind bullet proof glass.
An annoying spot buried somewhere deep in my brain kept telling me that I was about to be savagely eaten by a vicious monster. Shut up! I told myself, there was nothing out here; even monsters sought shelter when the weather was bad.
I took a few heavy steps in the snow and found a nearby tree. Urinating in sub zero temperatures is always an interesting experience, but doing it when something in the shadows might be salivating over your hide like a teenage boy at Thanksgiving dinner, was something else entirely.
I zipped everything back up and turned around. My stomach tried to lodge itself in my throat when I saw it! I shined my hand held flashlight at the top of our vehicle to be sure. The top of our rig hadn’t been hit by a rock, but a half eaten human corpse!
My earpiece squawked, “Marty, what are you looking at?”
“I’ve got some good news; I think I found our missing snowmobiler.”
I scanned up the mountainside and saw a small ledge about fifty feet up the steep hill. Something moved I fired a couple of rounds at the furry beast while it scampered away over the icy boulders.
Both teams of hunters piled out of their vehicles and the next few minutes were spent looking for the snow beasts to no avail. With four hunters on watch, Steve and I ended up with the lucky job of pulling the victim off the top of our truck. Stan laid out a body bag in the snow and we placed the mutilated body in it.
“Damn what a horrible way to go.” I told the victim as we zipped up the bag. Why did they do it? Throwing a half eaten corps at us? I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
I gathered some wood for a fire; low hanging dead branches were usually dry. In a few minutes I had a nice roaring fire; an acetylene bottle can get a fire going in a hurry. We all took turns standing guard with our backs to the fire, wearing night vision goggles and peering into the forest and warming ourselves over the fire. Thankfully I had insisted we throw in a small bundle of split firewood in the back of our vehicles so we would have enough fuel for the remainder of the night without too much additional scavenging.
The rest of the night was uneventful; thankfully the beasts hiding in the snowy landscape want to tangle with a group of heavily armed hunters after all.
As dawn approached Jerry arrived with the local tow truck operator. He hopped down from the truck and said, “Jerry to the rescue as usual.”
A few hours later we made it back to our rented cabin. The logs in the wood stove burned brightly. We stood in our socks around the fireplace clutching cups of hot chocolate, and coffee. I felt like I was melting.
The Custer county coroner arrived after I had sufficiently thawed out and hauled the victim away. I wondered what the cause of death would be determined as. The Feds in the Monster Control Bureau kept tight watch on coroners all over the country.
The nearest GM dealership was in Hailey over seventy miles away. We had the rigs towed down there at considerable expense and had them worked on. When they finally got back to our HQ, it was too late to mount another expedition into the back country. The Fish and Game guys showed up at the cabin and were disappointed, but understood that we didn’t want to spend another night freezing to death out in the woods.
Wednesday morning we were ready to mount up and return to the hunt when we received a call from MHI headquarters.
Stan picked up the phone. “Hello… yes… no… you’re kidding me?” he rubbed his forehead. “Alright we should be able to make it to Nevada by nightfall.”
We all stood waiting for Stan to explain his one sided phone call. “We’re headed to Rachel Nevada.”
“Rachel, the tiny town outside Area-51?” I asked.
Stan nodded, “That’s right, but it isn’t alien spacecraft that the government has been hiding out there.”
“So… what are they hiding?”
Stan shrugged, “Two things, advanced aircraft, like the U2, F-117, SR-71, B2, and more recently the F-22 and X-89.”
“What’s the X-89 and what does this have to do with monsters?” I asked slightly annoyed.
“It’s some fancy new airplane that doesn’t officially exist.” He paused. “Oh and monsters, well the whole area around there is full of Ley lines, and nexus points.”
“Like Stone Henge?” I replied.
He grunted in approval, “Hey I’m surprised you know about that. Yes like the ones in stone henge. Anyway Area-51 also known as Dreamland, or Groom Lake was rebuilt to study Ley lines, and kill anything that comes out of the periodic portals that open up located on the lake.”
“So why are we going there?” I asked.
“A large portal opened up and the Feds were unable to kill everything that came out of it. Every hunter healthy enough to sling a rifle is on their way right now. So let’s get moving.”
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-21 Chap 20 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Here you go guys. Some suspense building before WHAMMO BLAMMO time!
I'm off to the woods again tonight for the whole weekend so please be patient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 21
Dreamland
We arrived at the Groom Lake Air Base later that evening, as the sun was going down. We chartered a private plane and the MCB guys had given us permission to land on the restricted airfield. Nobody ever landed at this facility who wasn’t strictly “invited.” Whatever had happened got the Feds running scared.
When our airplane came in sight of the airfield I looked out the window and saw several structures on the base were burning. What had happened down there?
When the plane landed and taxied to the parking area we were met on the tarmac by security forces in two and a half ton trucks, with roof mounted fifty caliber machineguns.
Agents Grant and Pierce who had “visited” me in the hospital were waiting for us to disembark. “Welcome to Hell.” Grant yelled over the aircraft and truck engines. “Toss your gear in the back of the truck here and we’ll take you to the hangar for...”
A pair of A-10 Warthogs, a few Apache helicopters and an AC-130 flew overhead, drowning out everything.
I handed my duffle bag and rifle case up to the soldiers sitting in the back of the army truck, and was about to hop up when the staccato of heavy automatic fire sounded across the valley. I turned and looked out across Groom Lake, a large gathering of armored vehicles were clustered around a glowing blue light far off in the distance.
“That’s the problem were dealing with alright.” A young black soldier in full battle gear said as he stretched out his hand, “Hop on up, I’m sure they will tell you about it soon enough.”
I climbed into the back of the truck with the soldiers help and in moments we were rolling down the airfield. I glanced at his armor; he was wearing the latest military armor, that our boys were using in Iraq and Afghanistan. I glanced at his rank and nametag, “So specialist Johnson, do you work here at Dreamland?”
“No Sir, I am an Eleven-Mike.” He replied.
I was a bit confused, “Eleven M? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Of course you haven’t Mr…”
“Miller.”
“Miller, that’s because my job in the Army doesn’t officially exist. Anti-Monster infantry. We go to hot spots in the world, blend in with the regular troops. But we kill monsters not insurgents.”
I nodded and looked out the back of the truck as we passed a burning building, “So why are you allowed to tell me?”
He shrugged, “The MCB guys think you’re good enough to trust landing on the runway at ‘Area-51’ and they told us to treat you guys like we would our own troops.”
A short while later the truck stopped and we dismounted and hauled our gear into an open hangar. A young female Airman directed us where to drop our gear and told us to wait with the others who were milling about in the hangar chatting. There were Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors, Hunters, Feds, and some others I didn’t recognize hanging around taking amongst themselves.
Steve, Kat and I started wandering over to the group of Hunters from MHI when Sarge stopped and grabbed a Marine on the shoulder, “Hey Thompson! Long time you old leatherneck!”
When the Marine turned around, I saw the vicious scar he wore that ran from the corner of his mouth up past his ear and into his receding hairline. His eyes widened when he recognized Sarge, “No way…Brewer? How in the hell did they let you re-enlist…” he suddenly noticed the Monster Hunter uniform, “Oh so you’re a Monster Merc now ‘eh? Good for you. I always said the Corp was stupid to discharge you.”
“I didn’t know you were in the DAMNED?” Sarge said.
I must have looked puzzled, “Defense Anti Monster Nautical Expeditionary Detachment.” He rattled off the name of his unit. “We’re a bunch of Marines and Navy Seals who kill monsters, aquatic and terrestrial.” Gunnery Sergeant Thompson explained. “Hey aren’t you going to introduce your friends?”
Steve turned back to us, “How rude of me, this young guy is Martin Miller, great shot and excellent Monster Hunter.” He pointed at me as the scarred Marine shook my hand. “And this lovely young woman is Katrina Kennedy, she’s as tough as nails and has put quite a few beasts back in the ground where they belong.” She smiled that cute feminine smile that always made me melt and shook the crusty old warrior’s hand.
“Ma’am, welcome to Dreamland, right where you belong. Isn’t that right Martin?” He said while giving me a wink.
I blushed and nodded, “Umm yes.”
Kat rolled her eyes, “Men.”
Most of the Monster Hunters from MHI were here, Harbinger, Owen, Julie, Trip, Sam, Milo, and plenty of others I didn’t know. They had also brought along a few Orc’s including my good old drinking buddy Tommy. Even though he was completely covered up I knew it was him, he was still wearing the Monkeys fist I had made him around his neck. I pulled out the Warg tooth and let it hang freely over the top of my armor.
Tommy ran over to me and grabbed me in a big bear hug, “Brother… Mar Tea! Good… see… you!”
I smacked him on the shoulder, “Thanks Tommy, I’m glad we have you on our side.” He was wearing a couple of wicked looking scimitars in shoulder scabbards and a Taurus Raging Bull on his belt.
We exchanged greetings for a few minutes until the lights were turned down low and a projector shot up a satellite image of the base.
“Greetings, to all you warriors assembled here today.” An old man wearing a white shirt and ugly brown tie stood behind a podium at the far end of the hangar. The crowd quieted down and he continued, “As you all are well aware this facility is the most well know secret facility in the United States. It has many names, Groom Lake, Area-51, Dreamland, Homey Airport, The Box, and so on and so forth.” Despite his grey hair and withered frame he carried himself with dignity and authority. “You can call me ‘The Director’.”
“First order of business, to those of you at your first visit here is to let me assure you that there are no little green men with spaceships hiding somewhere around the base. So don’t go looking for them, because you will get shot.” He coughed violently into the back of his hand, “Second, yes this is where the US government tests out all sorts of secret new technology, stealth planes, energy weapons and so forth.”
He paused for a moment, “Lastly, this facility is built upon the intersection of three of the most powerful Ley lines in the world, and some multiple weaker ones. Where these Ley lines intersect there is a massive Nexus point.” He pulled an expensive green laser pointer out of his shirt pocket and shot it up on the screen. “Right here.” He illuminated a spot to the north of the base where the two unpaved runways and the paved runway would intersect if they continued on just few more feet.
A loud blast from a cannon split the air followed by a muffled explosion as the round hit the ground. “It sounds like our AC-130 is busy blasting the hell out of some of our unwelcome guests.” The Director grinned for a moment.
A soldier off to one side of the room raised his hand, and the director called on him. “So who or what are these unwanted guests?”
The director signaled the Airman running the presentation and the picture changed from the aerial view of the base to a picture of a hideous beast. Tentacles and claws, dark green and black scaly skin, compound eyes and a blood covered beak combined to create a creature from the darkest corner of the most insane mans deepest nightmare. The beast was rushing the holder of the camera, I could only imagine what his fate must have been. The room was filled with a cacophony rapid murmurs, battle hardened warriors, monster hunters, all rough men who come face to face with the foul hidden evils our world had to offer were uneasy.
I had fought hand to hand with zombies, been bitten by vampires, attacked by a horrible underwater monster, and chased by snow demons. But nothing prepared me for a creature so misshapen and horrible; I didn’t want to look at it anymore. I turned and saw Julie and Kat talking to each other, I slowly wandered closer.
“…killers from the Christmas party?” I heard Kat ask.
Julie shook her head, “No I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I was about to say something when someone yelled “How do you kill ‘em?”
The director nodded and the scene behind him changed to a video of a horde of guests charging out of a ragged pulsating blue portal. Machineguns opened up on the beasts tearing open their shells, spilling blackish green goo staining the white salt lake. After a few moments the guns stopped and the soldiers started cheering! The enemy had been mowed down, one soldier off camera said, “Hey these things aren’t that tough.”
Seconds later the portal erupted with a second horde, much larger and faster guests appeared and charged the defenders positions. Green spores were launched by a bulbous guest and the soldier holding the camera was hit. The camera shook and fell to the ground where it continued recording on its side. More of the unwelcome guests swarmed out of the portal and began to overrun the defenders positions.
A soldier carrying an M249 staggered into view as a green spore struck him in the chest. He screamed and it burst into flame. The soldier fell futilely clawing at the flaming goo. In seconds two of the vicious beasts leapt on him and began fighting over his flaming body. With great pincers the still struggling soldier was cut into ragged pieces. The video thankfully vanished and returned to the overhead picture of the installation.
I covered my mouth with my hand and closed my eyes. This was not going to be a good night. Someone recited a psalm, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” Shadow of death indeed, there was an evil beyond that portal salivating for our blood.
Sergeant Thompson asked, “Are there other locations like this one in the world and are there any portals opening there?”
“Stonehenge in the UK, The Woomera Prohibited Area in Austrailia, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Pyramids of Giza, and Easter Island in the pacific.” He paused to clear his throat. “As far as we know this is the only open portal. But…” He paused, “it gets worse their portal is growing exponentially larger every hour. If it continues at its current rate our eggheads project that it will be large enough to fit a Nimitz class aircraft carrier through within thirty six hours.”
The display changed to a slide show of an alien landscape with a blood red sky, and legions of the guests milling about in the background. “In between waves of guests we were able to send in a few robots. They were able to send back a few pictures before being smashed to pieces.” The next shot showed a blurry picture of a massive wall of black scales, surrounded by hundreds of the smaller guests. “We’re not sure what that thing is, but it is alive, and estimated at anywhere from one hundred to three hundred tons. With the bio weaponry we have already encountered I don’t want to find out about what nasty surprises the big ones have in store for us.”
Harbinger raised his hand, “So cut to the chase what are we here for?”
The director was silent for a long time. “We need volunteers to go into the portal and close it from the other side.”
I whispered to Sarge, “Sounds like a one way trip.”
I had no idea how the director could have heard me, “You’re right, going through that portal is probably a death sentence but so is waiting out here for the behemoths to come rolling on through.”
I knew he was right, if we didn’t stop them in this valley they wouldn’t stop at wiping this base off the map, if it was on any maps, they would continue and destroy everything and everyone on the planet.
Another soldier asked, “Why don’t we nuke the bastards?”
“That option is still on the table.” The room became deathly quiet. “All volunteers for this mission please take one step forward.”
Kat and I looked at each other, we both nodded. It was time to do or die. After what seemed like an hour, but couldn’t have been more than a second or two everyone in the room stepped forward.
I'm off to the woods again tonight for the whole weekend so please be patient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 21
Dreamland
We arrived at the Groom Lake Air Base later that evening, as the sun was going down. We chartered a private plane and the MCB guys had given us permission to land on the restricted airfield. Nobody ever landed at this facility who wasn’t strictly “invited.” Whatever had happened got the Feds running scared.
When our airplane came in sight of the airfield I looked out the window and saw several structures on the base were burning. What had happened down there?
When the plane landed and taxied to the parking area we were met on the tarmac by security forces in two and a half ton trucks, with roof mounted fifty caliber machineguns.
Agents Grant and Pierce who had “visited” me in the hospital were waiting for us to disembark. “Welcome to Hell.” Grant yelled over the aircraft and truck engines. “Toss your gear in the back of the truck here and we’ll take you to the hangar for...”
A pair of A-10 Warthogs, a few Apache helicopters and an AC-130 flew overhead, drowning out everything.
I handed my duffle bag and rifle case up to the soldiers sitting in the back of the army truck, and was about to hop up when the staccato of heavy automatic fire sounded across the valley. I turned and looked out across Groom Lake, a large gathering of armored vehicles were clustered around a glowing blue light far off in the distance.
“That’s the problem were dealing with alright.” A young black soldier in full battle gear said as he stretched out his hand, “Hop on up, I’m sure they will tell you about it soon enough.”
I climbed into the back of the truck with the soldiers help and in moments we were rolling down the airfield. I glanced at his armor; he was wearing the latest military armor, that our boys were using in Iraq and Afghanistan. I glanced at his rank and nametag, “So specialist Johnson, do you work here at Dreamland?”
“No Sir, I am an Eleven-Mike.” He replied.
I was a bit confused, “Eleven M? I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Of course you haven’t Mr…”
“Miller.”
“Miller, that’s because my job in the Army doesn’t officially exist. Anti-Monster infantry. We go to hot spots in the world, blend in with the regular troops. But we kill monsters not insurgents.”
I nodded and looked out the back of the truck as we passed a burning building, “So why are you allowed to tell me?”
He shrugged, “The MCB guys think you’re good enough to trust landing on the runway at ‘Area-51’ and they told us to treat you guys like we would our own troops.”
A short while later the truck stopped and we dismounted and hauled our gear into an open hangar. A young female Airman directed us where to drop our gear and told us to wait with the others who were milling about in the hangar chatting. There were Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Sailors, Hunters, Feds, and some others I didn’t recognize hanging around taking amongst themselves.
Steve, Kat and I started wandering over to the group of Hunters from MHI when Sarge stopped and grabbed a Marine on the shoulder, “Hey Thompson! Long time you old leatherneck!”
When the Marine turned around, I saw the vicious scar he wore that ran from the corner of his mouth up past his ear and into his receding hairline. His eyes widened when he recognized Sarge, “No way…Brewer? How in the hell did they let you re-enlist…” he suddenly noticed the Monster Hunter uniform, “Oh so you’re a Monster Merc now ‘eh? Good for you. I always said the Corp was stupid to discharge you.”
“I didn’t know you were in the DAMNED?” Sarge said.
I must have looked puzzled, “Defense Anti Monster Nautical Expeditionary Detachment.” He rattled off the name of his unit. “We’re a bunch of Marines and Navy Seals who kill monsters, aquatic and terrestrial.” Gunnery Sergeant Thompson explained. “Hey aren’t you going to introduce your friends?”
Steve turned back to us, “How rude of me, this young guy is Martin Miller, great shot and excellent Monster Hunter.” He pointed at me as the scarred Marine shook my hand. “And this lovely young woman is Katrina Kennedy, she’s as tough as nails and has put quite a few beasts back in the ground where they belong.” She smiled that cute feminine smile that always made me melt and shook the crusty old warrior’s hand.
“Ma’am, welcome to Dreamland, right where you belong. Isn’t that right Martin?” He said while giving me a wink.
I blushed and nodded, “Umm yes.”
Kat rolled her eyes, “Men.”
Most of the Monster Hunters from MHI were here, Harbinger, Owen, Julie, Trip, Sam, Milo, and plenty of others I didn’t know. They had also brought along a few Orc’s including my good old drinking buddy Tommy. Even though he was completely covered up I knew it was him, he was still wearing the Monkeys fist I had made him around his neck. I pulled out the Warg tooth and let it hang freely over the top of my armor.
Tommy ran over to me and grabbed me in a big bear hug, “Brother… Mar Tea! Good… see… you!”
I smacked him on the shoulder, “Thanks Tommy, I’m glad we have you on our side.” He was wearing a couple of wicked looking scimitars in shoulder scabbards and a Taurus Raging Bull on his belt.
We exchanged greetings for a few minutes until the lights were turned down low and a projector shot up a satellite image of the base.
“Greetings, to all you warriors assembled here today.” An old man wearing a white shirt and ugly brown tie stood behind a podium at the far end of the hangar. The crowd quieted down and he continued, “As you all are well aware this facility is the most well know secret facility in the United States. It has many names, Groom Lake, Area-51, Dreamland, Homey Airport, The Box, and so on and so forth.” Despite his grey hair and withered frame he carried himself with dignity and authority. “You can call me ‘The Director’.”
“First order of business, to those of you at your first visit here is to let me assure you that there are no little green men with spaceships hiding somewhere around the base. So don’t go looking for them, because you will get shot.” He coughed violently into the back of his hand, “Second, yes this is where the US government tests out all sorts of secret new technology, stealth planes, energy weapons and so forth.”
He paused for a moment, “Lastly, this facility is built upon the intersection of three of the most powerful Ley lines in the world, and some multiple weaker ones. Where these Ley lines intersect there is a massive Nexus point.” He pulled an expensive green laser pointer out of his shirt pocket and shot it up on the screen. “Right here.” He illuminated a spot to the north of the base where the two unpaved runways and the paved runway would intersect if they continued on just few more feet.
A loud blast from a cannon split the air followed by a muffled explosion as the round hit the ground. “It sounds like our AC-130 is busy blasting the hell out of some of our unwelcome guests.” The Director grinned for a moment.
A soldier off to one side of the room raised his hand, and the director called on him. “So who or what are these unwanted guests?”
The director signaled the Airman running the presentation and the picture changed from the aerial view of the base to a picture of a hideous beast. Tentacles and claws, dark green and black scaly skin, compound eyes and a blood covered beak combined to create a creature from the darkest corner of the most insane mans deepest nightmare. The beast was rushing the holder of the camera, I could only imagine what his fate must have been. The room was filled with a cacophony rapid murmurs, battle hardened warriors, monster hunters, all rough men who come face to face with the foul hidden evils our world had to offer were uneasy.
I had fought hand to hand with zombies, been bitten by vampires, attacked by a horrible underwater monster, and chased by snow demons. But nothing prepared me for a creature so misshapen and horrible; I didn’t want to look at it anymore. I turned and saw Julie and Kat talking to each other, I slowly wandered closer.
“…killers from the Christmas party?” I heard Kat ask.
Julie shook her head, “No I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I was about to say something when someone yelled “How do you kill ‘em?”
The director nodded and the scene behind him changed to a video of a horde of guests charging out of a ragged pulsating blue portal. Machineguns opened up on the beasts tearing open their shells, spilling blackish green goo staining the white salt lake. After a few moments the guns stopped and the soldiers started cheering! The enemy had been mowed down, one soldier off camera said, “Hey these things aren’t that tough.”
Seconds later the portal erupted with a second horde, much larger and faster guests appeared and charged the defenders positions. Green spores were launched by a bulbous guest and the soldier holding the camera was hit. The camera shook and fell to the ground where it continued recording on its side. More of the unwelcome guests swarmed out of the portal and began to overrun the defenders positions.
A soldier carrying an M249 staggered into view as a green spore struck him in the chest. He screamed and it burst into flame. The soldier fell futilely clawing at the flaming goo. In seconds two of the vicious beasts leapt on him and began fighting over his flaming body. With great pincers the still struggling soldier was cut into ragged pieces. The video thankfully vanished and returned to the overhead picture of the installation.
I covered my mouth with my hand and closed my eyes. This was not going to be a good night. Someone recited a psalm, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” Shadow of death indeed, there was an evil beyond that portal salivating for our blood.
Sergeant Thompson asked, “Are there other locations like this one in the world and are there any portals opening there?”
“Stonehenge in the UK, The Woomera Prohibited Area in Austrailia, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Pyramids of Giza, and Easter Island in the pacific.” He paused to clear his throat. “As far as we know this is the only open portal. But…” He paused, “it gets worse their portal is growing exponentially larger every hour. If it continues at its current rate our eggheads project that it will be large enough to fit a Nimitz class aircraft carrier through within thirty six hours.”
The display changed to a slide show of an alien landscape with a blood red sky, and legions of the guests milling about in the background. “In between waves of guests we were able to send in a few robots. They were able to send back a few pictures before being smashed to pieces.” The next shot showed a blurry picture of a massive wall of black scales, surrounded by hundreds of the smaller guests. “We’re not sure what that thing is, but it is alive, and estimated at anywhere from one hundred to three hundred tons. With the bio weaponry we have already encountered I don’t want to find out about what nasty surprises the big ones have in store for us.”
Harbinger raised his hand, “So cut to the chase what are we here for?”
The director was silent for a long time. “We need volunteers to go into the portal and close it from the other side.”
I whispered to Sarge, “Sounds like a one way trip.”
I had no idea how the director could have heard me, “You’re right, going through that portal is probably a death sentence but so is waiting out here for the behemoths to come rolling on through.”
I knew he was right, if we didn’t stop them in this valley they wouldn’t stop at wiping this base off the map, if it was on any maps, they would continue and destroy everything and everyone on the planet.
Another soldier asked, “Why don’t we nuke the bastards?”
“That option is still on the table.” The room became deathly quiet. “All volunteers for this mission please take one step forward.”
Kat and I looked at each other, we both nodded. It was time to do or die. After what seemed like an hour, but couldn’t have been more than a second or two everyone in the room stepped forward.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-23 Chap 21 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Hi guys I just got back from my excursion in the woods. ;D Much good dutch oven food was consumed.
I am planning on reattaching the current storyline to modified versions of the previous material at some point.
As always thanks for reading.
I am planning on reattaching the current storyline to modified versions of the previous material at some point.
As always thanks for reading.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-23 Chap 21 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Here is the first half of 22 to tide you guys over. Featuring some sweet WHAMMO BLAMMO! M1 Abrams, Apaches and Daisy Cutters! 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 22
Beyond the Portal
The plan was simple get in, find the source of the portal, destroy it, and get out. And not die. Simple and easy, right?
The director told us that these portals weren’t uncommon, but that they usually stayed open for only seconds or minutes and then collapsed in on themselves. I didn’t know exactly what that meant; maybe it just happened to be the only Wednesday where the moons of Jupiter were aligned with Uranus, or some other such astrological nonsense.
We were given some additional photos taken on the wrong side of the portal that showed some kind of tower in the distance pulsating with a massive blue aura. If anything was keeping the portal open that would be it.
A BLU-82 bomb better known as a Daisy Cutter, infamous for its use in Vietnam was loaded into the back of a 5-ton truck. Its massive leaf springs were maxed out under the load, but it wouldn’t matter as this was the last trip the truck would ever take. It was fitted with a remote control system; some lucky solder got the opportunity to drive the world’s largest remote controlled vehicle, if only for a little while.
We sat in the back of an old army Deuce and watched as the truck lumbered toward the portal. Specialist Johnson passed me a set of binoculars and I peered over the side of the truck, out across the barren lake. The truck closed with the portal, we were off to the side and could only see a small sliver of unnatural light spilling out onto the salt flat. The sun had set and the eerie glow lit up one side of the valley.
The portal had been quiet for the last hour; no unwelcome guests had breached the portal. They had been coming in regular intervals of twenty-three minutes.
I leaned over to Kat, “Hey do you have any idea why they were coming every twenty-three minutes?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know, it is the ninth prime number, but do they really use our sixty second time system on the wrong side?”
I hadn’t thought about it that way, “Hmm, well maybe they use Telnet to ‘log-in’ to our world?” I joked.
“Marty what the hell are you talking about?” Katrina looked annoyed.
I frowned, “Telnet uses port 23 to connect to… never mind,” the truck was about to crest the event horizon. “There goes the package.”
A massive guest crested the portal blocking the trucks advance. The beasts were waiting for us to attack! They weren’t some mindless insect like creatures, they were planning a trap. The remote control operator mashed the gas and the trucks diesel engine roared, black smoke spewed out of the exhaust pipes. The hideous black shape, half in our world and half in its own grabbed the trucks front bumper and stopped the overgrown pickup in its tracks. For a few seconds the two combatants were locked in a stale mate, the tires spun kicking up great plumes of dirt and sand. The blackish beast stumbled forward inching the truck back.
We sat there helpless in the back of the truck a mile away from the confrontation. As the truck moved back again and the massive beast cleared the portal the two apache helicopters passed overhead and fired their thirty millimeter cannons. The massive beasts carapace split in two spilling green goo everywhere. The truck lurched forward crashing into the fallen guest and it rolled and crashed onto its side just short of the portal.
“Oh shit.” Everyone in the truck said at once. The bomb had to be detonated on the other side of the portal, or we might as well call off the attack. Two M1 Abrams tanks rushed to the crashed truck as a small horde of guests poured out of the portal and swarmed the downed vehicle. The lead tank turned its turret to the side and rammed the back of the doomed truck.
Sliding on the sand the truck and tank disappeared into the other world. Moments later the Abrams backed out covered in evil green shapes. The two armored fighting vehicles turned and headed toward our position. We would be in this fight soon enough.
The director’s voice buzzed in our ears. “Fire in the hole!”
A moment later a muffled explosion echoed off the mountains and a massive plume of red dust shot out of the portal and across the valley. It was strange to see it appear from nowhere, one side of the valley was choked with clouds of dust, the other was strangely unaffected.
“Miller look out!” specialist Johnson yelled, as he fired a burst from his squad automatic weapon. The Abrams with its uninvited passengers stopped a couple hundred yards away from our position. The tank was on fire, and its barrel had been cut off, some of the guests hopped off and were running for our position.
I shouldered my MK14 and put a bead on one of the deformed beasts, it was game time. I squeezed the trigger and my rifle barked. The beast leapt into the air, my round kicked up a plume of dust beneath it. Some of these bastards had wings! I reacquired the guest in my sights and squeezed the trigger three times. I was showered with black goo as it tumbled over our rig and crashed behind us.
We quickly dispatched the remaining guests and attacked the Abrams fire with hand held fire extinguishers.
It was time to take the fight to them. The plume of dust from the portal had died down for us to send troops in. The Monster troops would enter the portal supported by Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles. The DAMNED forces would follow in trucks and seek to destroy the source of the portal.
The Monster Hunters, or Mercs as they called us were to stay outside and mop up any guest that made it out of the portal. With so many friendly units in and out of the portal our air support was ordered to hold fire.
Our Deuce pulled up near the portal and we dismounted with a clear view of the blasted thing. I looked into the void and could see into the alien world. The bomb had blasted a small crater on the other side of the portal and carcasses of guests were strewn around. I swapped magazines and inserted a fresh one into my weapon.
The first tank breached the gap and continued on into the field unmolested. The whole column of troops entered the valley with no issues. Sargeant Thompson of the DAMNED unit called over the radio, “Director, we can see the tower and are approaching it now.” The radio crackled with static, sounding weaker by the minute. “No sign of any guests, all the ones in this area are dead.” A few moments later he continued, “It’s strange command, I don’t know how to describe it, but other than the blood red sky and strange light… on everything it’s li… e haven’t… the valley.” He started breaking up.
Tommy moved over to my side of the firing line, “Hey… Mar Tea… why… wait?” he asked.
I looked over at him then back to the portal, “The bosses say we have to wait.”
He grunted and fingered the Monkey’s Fist necklace I had made for him months ago. “I… ate… wait.”
I nodded, “Me too. It sucks.” Right when I said it the portal started collapsing. “Command this is Miller, Monster Merc, the portal appears to be closing!”
“Portal team evacuate now!” The director yelled. It was too late I could hear the gunfire erupt on the other side of the portal. The damn guests had created a trap.
A round flew out of the portal and kicked up some dirt in front of our position. “What do we do?” I yelled to Sarge.
“We stick to the plan and keep the bastards from coming out of the portal.” He replied.
Tommy unsheathed a scimitar and with his massive revolver in the other ran toward the portal. “We… kill ‘em NOW!”
I looked at Sarge, Kat, and Johnson. We all knew that it was time to do or die.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 22
Beyond the Portal
The plan was simple get in, find the source of the portal, destroy it, and get out. And not die. Simple and easy, right?
The director told us that these portals weren’t uncommon, but that they usually stayed open for only seconds or minutes and then collapsed in on themselves. I didn’t know exactly what that meant; maybe it just happened to be the only Wednesday where the moons of Jupiter were aligned with Uranus, or some other such astrological nonsense.
We were given some additional photos taken on the wrong side of the portal that showed some kind of tower in the distance pulsating with a massive blue aura. If anything was keeping the portal open that would be it.
A BLU-82 bomb better known as a Daisy Cutter, infamous for its use in Vietnam was loaded into the back of a 5-ton truck. Its massive leaf springs were maxed out under the load, but it wouldn’t matter as this was the last trip the truck would ever take. It was fitted with a remote control system; some lucky solder got the opportunity to drive the world’s largest remote controlled vehicle, if only for a little while.
We sat in the back of an old army Deuce and watched as the truck lumbered toward the portal. Specialist Johnson passed me a set of binoculars and I peered over the side of the truck, out across the barren lake. The truck closed with the portal, we were off to the side and could only see a small sliver of unnatural light spilling out onto the salt flat. The sun had set and the eerie glow lit up one side of the valley.
The portal had been quiet for the last hour; no unwelcome guests had breached the portal. They had been coming in regular intervals of twenty-three minutes.
I leaned over to Kat, “Hey do you have any idea why they were coming every twenty-three minutes?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know, it is the ninth prime number, but do they really use our sixty second time system on the wrong side?”
I hadn’t thought about it that way, “Hmm, well maybe they use Telnet to ‘log-in’ to our world?” I joked.
“Marty what the hell are you talking about?” Katrina looked annoyed.
I frowned, “Telnet uses port 23 to connect to… never mind,” the truck was about to crest the event horizon. “There goes the package.”
A massive guest crested the portal blocking the trucks advance. The beasts were waiting for us to attack! They weren’t some mindless insect like creatures, they were planning a trap. The remote control operator mashed the gas and the trucks diesel engine roared, black smoke spewed out of the exhaust pipes. The hideous black shape, half in our world and half in its own grabbed the trucks front bumper and stopped the overgrown pickup in its tracks. For a few seconds the two combatants were locked in a stale mate, the tires spun kicking up great plumes of dirt and sand. The blackish beast stumbled forward inching the truck back.
We sat there helpless in the back of the truck a mile away from the confrontation. As the truck moved back again and the massive beast cleared the portal the two apache helicopters passed overhead and fired their thirty millimeter cannons. The massive beasts carapace split in two spilling green goo everywhere. The truck lurched forward crashing into the fallen guest and it rolled and crashed onto its side just short of the portal.
“Oh shit.” Everyone in the truck said at once. The bomb had to be detonated on the other side of the portal, or we might as well call off the attack. Two M1 Abrams tanks rushed to the crashed truck as a small horde of guests poured out of the portal and swarmed the downed vehicle. The lead tank turned its turret to the side and rammed the back of the doomed truck.
Sliding on the sand the truck and tank disappeared into the other world. Moments later the Abrams backed out covered in evil green shapes. The two armored fighting vehicles turned and headed toward our position. We would be in this fight soon enough.
The director’s voice buzzed in our ears. “Fire in the hole!”
A moment later a muffled explosion echoed off the mountains and a massive plume of red dust shot out of the portal and across the valley. It was strange to see it appear from nowhere, one side of the valley was choked with clouds of dust, the other was strangely unaffected.
“Miller look out!” specialist Johnson yelled, as he fired a burst from his squad automatic weapon. The Abrams with its uninvited passengers stopped a couple hundred yards away from our position. The tank was on fire, and its barrel had been cut off, some of the guests hopped off and were running for our position.
I shouldered my MK14 and put a bead on one of the deformed beasts, it was game time. I squeezed the trigger and my rifle barked. The beast leapt into the air, my round kicked up a plume of dust beneath it. Some of these bastards had wings! I reacquired the guest in my sights and squeezed the trigger three times. I was showered with black goo as it tumbled over our rig and crashed behind us.
We quickly dispatched the remaining guests and attacked the Abrams fire with hand held fire extinguishers.
It was time to take the fight to them. The plume of dust from the portal had died down for us to send troops in. The Monster troops would enter the portal supported by Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles. The DAMNED forces would follow in trucks and seek to destroy the source of the portal.
The Monster Hunters, or Mercs as they called us were to stay outside and mop up any guest that made it out of the portal. With so many friendly units in and out of the portal our air support was ordered to hold fire.
Our Deuce pulled up near the portal and we dismounted with a clear view of the blasted thing. I looked into the void and could see into the alien world. The bomb had blasted a small crater on the other side of the portal and carcasses of guests were strewn around. I swapped magazines and inserted a fresh one into my weapon.
The first tank breached the gap and continued on into the field unmolested. The whole column of troops entered the valley with no issues. Sargeant Thompson of the DAMNED unit called over the radio, “Director, we can see the tower and are approaching it now.” The radio crackled with static, sounding weaker by the minute. “No sign of any guests, all the ones in this area are dead.” A few moments later he continued, “It’s strange command, I don’t know how to describe it, but other than the blood red sky and strange light… on everything it’s li… e haven’t… the valley.” He started breaking up.
Tommy moved over to my side of the firing line, “Hey… Mar Tea… why… wait?” he asked.
I looked over at him then back to the portal, “The bosses say we have to wait.”
He grunted and fingered the Monkey’s Fist necklace I had made for him months ago. “I… ate… wait.”
I nodded, “Me too. It sucks.” Right when I said it the portal started collapsing. “Command this is Miller, Monster Merc, the portal appears to be closing!”
“Portal team evacuate now!” The director yelled. It was too late I could hear the gunfire erupt on the other side of the portal. The damn guests had created a trap.
A round flew out of the portal and kicked up some dirt in front of our position. “What do we do?” I yelled to Sarge.
“We stick to the plan and keep the bastards from coming out of the portal.” He replied.
Tommy unsheathed a scimitar and with his massive revolver in the other ran toward the portal. “We… kill ‘em NOW!”
I looked at Sarge, Kat, and Johnson. We all knew that it was time to do or die.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-28 Chap 22-A Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Chapter 22
Part 2
I looked at Sarge, Kat, and Johnson. We all knew that it was time to do or die. Tommy plunged headlong into it and we followed.
What was it like plunging headlong into a firefight on the other side of a rift in the fabric of space? Pure insanity and chaos. Tanks and trucks were on fire, soldiers and guests lay in the dirt their red and green blood staining the ground. Heavy machineguns, and small arms spat lead in all directions. A Bradley launched rounds into a mob of the black beasts, shattering carapaces and sending their corpses flying.
A soldier in front of me was sitting on the ground his legs had been severed below the knee but he was still firing his M4 Carbine into the fray. I grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him toward the portal. “Hey! I can still fight!” he yelled.
“Well then cover me while I haul your butt outta here!” I yelled over the gunfire. I dragged him out through the portal and we were jumped by a small dog like guest, it slammed into my chest and knocked me down. The soldier opened up on it with his carbine and I scrambled to my feet. Somehow I managed to get us both out of the fray and back into our world.
“Medic!” I yelled as we crossed the threshold. Another guest followed us out of the portal its massive claws slashed at the air as it charged. The wounded soldier emptied the remaining rounds into its beak and it collapsed.
His life blood shot out with every heartbeat as I dragged him toward the closest truck. His head fell back and he lost his grip on his rifle, dragging in the dirt by the sling. I glanced at his chest, “Hey, PFC Stevenson stay with me!”
He looked at me for a moment, grabbed a grenade off his chest, and handed it to me. “Give ‘em hell merc!” he said as he spat up blood.
“Will do soldier!” I snatched the grenade from him; and turned to face the portal again. I took a deep breath and charged on through.
A bullet zipped past my head as I crossed the threshold again. Damn it felt like I was standing at the wrong end of a shooting range. Kat, Sarge, and Johnson had their backs up against a flaming truck and were mowing down dozens of the misshapen beasts. A winged guest landed on top of the truck its sacks of green slime were poised to light them on fire. My crew wouldn’t even know what hit them. I didn’t even have time to aim, on pure instinct I fired nailing it in the chest sending it falling back into the bed of the burning truck.
I ran over to their position, “Where have you been?” Kat yelled as she reloaded her carbine. Sarge was shooting with his sidearm, and Johnson lobbed a grenade from his under slung M203 launcher.
“No time! We have to get to that tower!” I answered as I pointed to the glowing edifice in the distance. A massive three hundred foot tall structure looked like it had been grown right out of the ground; its wicked black spires reached for the blood red sky.
Johnson slid a new grenade into his launcher, “We ain’t even supposed to be in here! The DAMNED guys are supposed to take that thing out.”
I fired two rounds into a charging dog sized guest, and it collapsed rolling into the ground. “Nothing is going like it was planned!”
Tommy jumped over a pile of dead guests his sword coated in blackish green slime. “We… In… BAD… way!” He pointed at a massive guest that would dwarf the largest African Rhino, its massive beak and horns made it look like a nightmarish Triceratops. We scattered and it smashed into the side of the burning deuce, knocking it on its side. A nearby Bradley turned its turret and fired a short burst into the beast, from its chain gun splitting it in two.
The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground looking up at the hellish sky. Tracer rounds from a machinegun zipped above me off to deliver death on the other end. Kat and Johnson appeared above me, “Can you get up?” the soldier yelled but I could hardly hear him, it felt like I was at the bottom of a swimming pool.
I wasn’t sure if I could stand or not, I had a splitting headache but I lifted up my hands for them to grab. Somehow I ended up on my feet and Kat yelled in my ear, “You caught a piece of that Rhino on the side of your head, you ok?”
I nodded weakly and held onto her armor to keep from falling. Sergeant Thompson pulled up in a truck, running over a couple smaller guests. “Get in the truck!” We scrambled into the rig and a small convoy of vehicles raced toward the tower. One Bradley, an M1 Abrams, and two Deuce’s full of soldiers. With the M1 in the lead it crushed its way through a mob of the beasts.
“Grease those tracks with their blood!” Sarge hollered.
My head hurt and I pulled off my helmet. “What are you doing?” Sarge said as he slapped in another magazine into his rifle.
I tossed the half crushed helmet over the side of the truck, I reached a hand up into my hair and looked at my glove, and it was soaked in blood. Kat wrapped a pressure bandage around my head to staunch the bleeding.
“I probably look like a wreck don’t I?” I told no one in particular.
Sarge turned to me and said, “You are still in this fight, aren’t you?” I nodded, “We all are. What other choice do we have? Lay down and be slaughtered? If we surrender they will just as soon turn us into a tasty snack. We are Americans damn it! We don’t quit when we get a bloody nose we kill the son of a bitch that punched us.”
Sarge didn’t have time to continue his encouragement; a small flock of the winged guests was headed straight for our position. They were carrying bulbous sacks of green flammable fluid in their claws.
Sarge raised his rifle and fired, his heavy round pierced the sack, turning one of the flying nightmares into a flaming wreck. The others in the truck followed suit, and all but one of the beasts were nailed. “Look out!” Johnson cried as the last enemy let go of its ball of goo. It nailed the middle of the truck, splattering Johnson, Sarge, and a couple of other soldiers with its slime. Moments later it spontaneously combusted, one unlucky soldier’s entire face became engulfed in fire.
Kat had saved her fire extinguisher from earlier and shot a burst over the victims. Thankfully the fire was put out in a blast or two but not until the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
We pulled up in front of the tower, the massive organic spire loomed above us, its inky black tendrils reached for the stars scratching at the scarlet sky. The very tip of the tower glowed blue, in stark contrast to the rest of the landscape.
The tower had what appeared to be a massive clamshell at its base. “Looks like a door to me.” Sergeant Thompson said into the radio, “How about we put a few sabot rounds into that door!”
The shockwave from the 120 millimeter cannon slapped me in the face as the round penetrated the door. Sabot rounds are made of depleted uranium and were designed to pop Russian tanks like light bulbs. They punched right through the massive organic door with ease. After a few more penetrator rounds the tank fired a high explosive round that opened up a hole big enough for us to climb through.
We dismounted and approached the tower, it was time to shut down this infernal portal.
Part 2
I looked at Sarge, Kat, and Johnson. We all knew that it was time to do or die. Tommy plunged headlong into it and we followed.
What was it like plunging headlong into a firefight on the other side of a rift in the fabric of space? Pure insanity and chaos. Tanks and trucks were on fire, soldiers and guests lay in the dirt their red and green blood staining the ground. Heavy machineguns, and small arms spat lead in all directions. A Bradley launched rounds into a mob of the black beasts, shattering carapaces and sending their corpses flying.
A soldier in front of me was sitting on the ground his legs had been severed below the knee but he was still firing his M4 Carbine into the fray. I grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him toward the portal. “Hey! I can still fight!” he yelled.
“Well then cover me while I haul your butt outta here!” I yelled over the gunfire. I dragged him out through the portal and we were jumped by a small dog like guest, it slammed into my chest and knocked me down. The soldier opened up on it with his carbine and I scrambled to my feet. Somehow I managed to get us both out of the fray and back into our world.
“Medic!” I yelled as we crossed the threshold. Another guest followed us out of the portal its massive claws slashed at the air as it charged. The wounded soldier emptied the remaining rounds into its beak and it collapsed.
His life blood shot out with every heartbeat as I dragged him toward the closest truck. His head fell back and he lost his grip on his rifle, dragging in the dirt by the sling. I glanced at his chest, “Hey, PFC Stevenson stay with me!”
He looked at me for a moment, grabbed a grenade off his chest, and handed it to me. “Give ‘em hell merc!” he said as he spat up blood.
“Will do soldier!” I snatched the grenade from him; and turned to face the portal again. I took a deep breath and charged on through.
A bullet zipped past my head as I crossed the threshold again. Damn it felt like I was standing at the wrong end of a shooting range. Kat, Sarge, and Johnson had their backs up against a flaming truck and were mowing down dozens of the misshapen beasts. A winged guest landed on top of the truck its sacks of green slime were poised to light them on fire. My crew wouldn’t even know what hit them. I didn’t even have time to aim, on pure instinct I fired nailing it in the chest sending it falling back into the bed of the burning truck.
I ran over to their position, “Where have you been?” Kat yelled as she reloaded her carbine. Sarge was shooting with his sidearm, and Johnson lobbed a grenade from his under slung M203 launcher.
“No time! We have to get to that tower!” I answered as I pointed to the glowing edifice in the distance. A massive three hundred foot tall structure looked like it had been grown right out of the ground; its wicked black spires reached for the blood red sky.
Johnson slid a new grenade into his launcher, “We ain’t even supposed to be in here! The DAMNED guys are supposed to take that thing out.”
I fired two rounds into a charging dog sized guest, and it collapsed rolling into the ground. “Nothing is going like it was planned!”
Tommy jumped over a pile of dead guests his sword coated in blackish green slime. “We… In… BAD… way!” He pointed at a massive guest that would dwarf the largest African Rhino, its massive beak and horns made it look like a nightmarish Triceratops. We scattered and it smashed into the side of the burning deuce, knocking it on its side. A nearby Bradley turned its turret and fired a short burst into the beast, from its chain gun splitting it in two.
The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground looking up at the hellish sky. Tracer rounds from a machinegun zipped above me off to deliver death on the other end. Kat and Johnson appeared above me, “Can you get up?” the soldier yelled but I could hardly hear him, it felt like I was at the bottom of a swimming pool.
I wasn’t sure if I could stand or not, I had a splitting headache but I lifted up my hands for them to grab. Somehow I ended up on my feet and Kat yelled in my ear, “You caught a piece of that Rhino on the side of your head, you ok?”
I nodded weakly and held onto her armor to keep from falling. Sergeant Thompson pulled up in a truck, running over a couple smaller guests. “Get in the truck!” We scrambled into the rig and a small convoy of vehicles raced toward the tower. One Bradley, an M1 Abrams, and two Deuce’s full of soldiers. With the M1 in the lead it crushed its way through a mob of the beasts.
“Grease those tracks with their blood!” Sarge hollered.
My head hurt and I pulled off my helmet. “What are you doing?” Sarge said as he slapped in another magazine into his rifle.
I tossed the half crushed helmet over the side of the truck, I reached a hand up into my hair and looked at my glove, and it was soaked in blood. Kat wrapped a pressure bandage around my head to staunch the bleeding.
“I probably look like a wreck don’t I?” I told no one in particular.
Sarge turned to me and said, “You are still in this fight, aren’t you?” I nodded, “We all are. What other choice do we have? Lay down and be slaughtered? If we surrender they will just as soon turn us into a tasty snack. We are Americans damn it! We don’t quit when we get a bloody nose we kill the son of a bitch that punched us.”
Sarge didn’t have time to continue his encouragement; a small flock of the winged guests was headed straight for our position. They were carrying bulbous sacks of green flammable fluid in their claws.
Sarge raised his rifle and fired, his heavy round pierced the sack, turning one of the flying nightmares into a flaming wreck. The others in the truck followed suit, and all but one of the beasts were nailed. “Look out!” Johnson cried as the last enemy let go of its ball of goo. It nailed the middle of the truck, splattering Johnson, Sarge, and a couple of other soldiers with its slime. Moments later it spontaneously combusted, one unlucky soldier’s entire face became engulfed in fire.
Kat had saved her fire extinguisher from earlier and shot a burst over the victims. Thankfully the fire was put out in a blast or two but not until the smell of burning flesh filled the air.
We pulled up in front of the tower, the massive organic spire loomed above us, its inky black tendrils reached for the stars scratching at the scarlet sky. The very tip of the tower glowed blue, in stark contrast to the rest of the landscape.
The tower had what appeared to be a massive clamshell at its base. “Looks like a door to me.” Sergeant Thompson said into the radio, “How about we put a few sabot rounds into that door!”
The shockwave from the 120 millimeter cannon slapped me in the face as the round penetrated the door. Sabot rounds are made of depleted uranium and were designed to pop Russian tanks like light bulbs. They punched right through the massive organic door with ease. After a few more penetrator rounds the tank fired a high explosive round that opened up a hole big enough for us to climb through.
We dismounted and approached the tower, it was time to shut down this infernal portal.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-30 Chap 23 Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Alright guys let me know what you think. I had fun writing this chapter. It is different but I think something here is more frightening that the scaly guests lobbing organic napalm.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 23
Inside
We crawled through the opening one by one. The interior smelt of burned shellfish and rotting flesh. I took one breath and had to choke back the urge to lose my lunch. I pulled out a handheld flashlight and flipped it on. It illuminated the back of Johnson’s helmet, the Kevlar cover had been charred as well as some of his neck, and back.
Sergeant Thompson and a group of his elite DAMNED troopers lead the way into the interior of the tower. “No Guests in sight.” He called over the radio.
I passed through an antechamber, and into some sort of great hall. It seemed massive enough to hold a small sports arena inside. In the center of the room a pool of blue glowing liquid shot a beam of flickering light up into a hole in the roof of the chamber. I gazed up at the ceiling hundreds of feet above us in the air. Black shapes glided around the column of artificial lightning.
Kat elbowed me, “Marty wake up.” I turned and looked right into her helmet light.
I squinted, “Hey.”
“Oh sorry,” she looked down moving the blast of light away from my now seared retinas. “Anyone know where the off button is?”
“Well if this was my organic tower of doom I would bet something at the pinnacle focuses the energy.”
“Hey quiet down, they might hear us.” Thompson said.
Kat rolled her eyes, “Umm Thompson don’t you think they would have heard us blowing the door in? 120 millimeter cannons aren’t what I would call stealthy. They probably have something nasty waiting for us.”
The walls behind us shuddered and the doorway to the antechamber slammed shut, narrowly missing Tommy who leapt aside at the last moment. The walls across from our position twisted open revealing a large mob of Guests wielding their sacks of deadly napalm like goo.
“I think we found something nasty.” I said as I raised my rifle to my shoulder. For a brief moment we stood there with our backs to the wall, a vast mob of hideous nightmares in front of us. Why didn’t they attack?
“Orders Sir?” Johnson asked.
Thompson exhaled, “Hold.”
The mob parted and a man wearing an expensive suit came forward, what the hell? “Bravo. It is truly remarkable that you feeble humans with your pitiful slug throwers could have gotten this far.” His voice sounded cultured and dignified, the kind of voice fit for an anchorman.
“Who the hell are you?” Sarge challenged leveling his rifle at the suit.
The ‘man’ cracked a creepy smile, “Oh you want me to explain everything so your feeble ape brains can comprehend what is going on before you die. How quaint, how simple and oh so predictable.”
I slipped my finger into the trigger guard and took up the slack on the trigger, “Unfortunately you monkey boys, will die confused, tired, and uninformed.” He waved two fingers forward and the mob advanced.
“Open fire!” Thompson bellowed.
The man in the suit disappeared behind a massive hunk of carapace as I fired at him, my round bounced off harmlessly. The thing in a man’s suit had escaped. We dropped the first wave of Guests before they passed the azure pool. But their march was relentless. Balls of goo were hurled and spat at us, dropping soldiers in our line as they burst into flame.
Tommy fired his massive revolver into the horde. The .454 Casull rounds sliced through the guests shells like a hot knife through butter. When his pistol ran dry he engaged with his twin scimitars, slicing off antenna, limbs and heads.
I emptied a magazine into the mob and reached for a fresh one when a glob of goo hit my right hand. It smoldered for a brief moment and spouted a gout of flame as I struggled to remove my glove. I tossed my glove to the floor and grabbed my hand. The flesh had turned white where it had burned, I would have trouble gripping my rifle damn it!
I clumsily drew my pistol with my left hand and flicked off the safety. I hadn’t practiced much with my weak hand, but there was no time like the present. I fired twice in the face of a running man-sized Guest and it slumped to the ground the heavy .45 caliber bullets smashing through its compound eyes.
Kat took a glob of goo on her helmet. “Marty help!” she screamed as it burst into flame, I holstered my pistol and grabbed the chin strap and yanked it free. I gripped the helmet by the facemask and hurled it into the advancing horde. “Thanks.” She said. I noticed some of her hair had been scorched as I turned back to face the mob.
“What about the Tank and Bradley?” Sarge yelled at Thompson.
“If they fire...” He dropped a running dog sized guest “…we will be turned into hamburger.” He continued.
I fired at a charging guest with a wicked spike on one arm; it finally stopped moving when the slide locked back on my pistol. I fumbled for a full one with my burned hand. It probably would have hurt were the adrenaline not pumping.
I moved over to Thompson, “Sir, see if you can get them to drive to the side of the tower, and fire a few Sabot rounds through the walls.”
“Good idea Miller!” he said as he fired another burst into the beasts.
The orders were radioed to the tank commander and moments later the walls were pierced with the tank rounds. A rhino sized Guest split in two as a round penetrated the wall, and hit it in the side. A few moments later the cannon fell silent. We mopped up our remaining enemies and took stock of our situation. We had three KIA’s and six wounded including myself. Tommy had a severed spike thrust through his forearm.
“Who was the guy in the suit?” I asked no one in particular.
Sarge chuckled as he wrapped a pressure bandage over Tommy’s wound. “He’s probably a senator, or journalist. Where did he go anyway?”
I shook my head, “He disappeared during the fire fight.”
With the enemies lying in pools of blackish green fluid we began searching the chamber. A few minutes later we located a side passage with stairs leading upwards. Sarge and Tommy remained behind with the dead and more seriously wounded while the rest of us made our way up the stairs.
The dark twisted passageways of organic carapaces were oppressively claustrophobic. I hated riding in elevators because of the boxed in feeling they gave me. This was much worse, I began hyperventilating. “Miller, pull yourself together man.” Specialist Johnson said as he looked around the stairwell. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry,” I wheezed, “I just get a little claustrophobic in strange alien buildings residing in another dimension.”
We continued up the spire until I was dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. Maybe an elevator wouldn’t be so bad. I could see it now, third floor, appliances, spikes, slime and fire goo.
The narrow staircase opened up to the inside of the spire. Another thirty feet above us a platform jutted out into the middle of the beam of light.
Thompson in the lead climbed the steps, whatever these creatures were they didn’t believe in handrails. I tried to stay as far from the edge as possible. Heights weren’t exactly high on my priority list either. At the top of the platform a faceted crystal roughly the size of a bowling ball focused the energy from below out the top of the tower.
“That’s got to be what is keeping the portal open.” I said to the team.
Thompson grunted, “So how do we stop it and get back on our side of the portal?”
Johnson pulled out a claymore mine, “We make a remote detonator, and blow it up on our side of the portal.”
“How exactly are we gonna do that?” Thompson asked.
Johnson reached into a pocket of his ACU, “Well I took the liberty of making one before we came.” He pulled out a strange amalgamation of wire, a cell phone and duct tape. “I took some lessons from an Iraqi army explosives expert over in the sandbox.” He rigged up the claymore and positioned it two feet away from the crystal.
As we were about to descend the stairs a hole opened up in the ceiling and the man in the Armani suit dropped through. “Not so fast boys!” he yelled as his forearm changed into a nasty spike and pierced Sergeant Thompson through the chest. He withdrew the spike and reared back to strike the Specialist in the head. The crusty old sergeant with his dying breath grabbed his killer by the collar of his suit and they both tumbled over the side of the platform. Three hundred feet below they crashed into the floor. Nobody could have survived that fall.
Sarge radioed, “Damn it Thompson.” He paused for a bit, I could tell he was getting choked up. “Marines don’t die; they just go to hell to regroup.”
We carried the bodies out to the waiting trucks, and headed to the portal. What was left of the assault team had cleared out the area around the portal, for some strange reason there were no more guests waiting to burn and devour us. With the amount of burning vehicles I knew the losses had been high. The portal had been dialed down by the guests to man sized, we had no way of getting the vehicles out so the commanders of each rig followed their procedures to abandon war equipment. Thermite grenades were used to destroy the cannons, computers and ammo in each armored vehicle.
After all the bodies and equipment were on our side Johnson dialed a phone number on the phone and detonated the claymore.
The pulsating blue portal disappeared without any fanfare. One moment the blood red sky was visible the next nothing but salt flats. Lit up by the headlights of a mismatch of vehicles. The monsters had been defeated once again. We were lucky to escape alive, well not all of us did.
I hung my head and said a silent prayer for all the brave men and women who gave their lives this night and many nights before to keep the world safe.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 23
Inside
We crawled through the opening one by one. The interior smelt of burned shellfish and rotting flesh. I took one breath and had to choke back the urge to lose my lunch. I pulled out a handheld flashlight and flipped it on. It illuminated the back of Johnson’s helmet, the Kevlar cover had been charred as well as some of his neck, and back.
Sergeant Thompson and a group of his elite DAMNED troopers lead the way into the interior of the tower. “No Guests in sight.” He called over the radio.
I passed through an antechamber, and into some sort of great hall. It seemed massive enough to hold a small sports arena inside. In the center of the room a pool of blue glowing liquid shot a beam of flickering light up into a hole in the roof of the chamber. I gazed up at the ceiling hundreds of feet above us in the air. Black shapes glided around the column of artificial lightning.
Kat elbowed me, “Marty wake up.” I turned and looked right into her helmet light.
I squinted, “Hey.”
“Oh sorry,” she looked down moving the blast of light away from my now seared retinas. “Anyone know where the off button is?”
“Well if this was my organic tower of doom I would bet something at the pinnacle focuses the energy.”
“Hey quiet down, they might hear us.” Thompson said.
Kat rolled her eyes, “Umm Thompson don’t you think they would have heard us blowing the door in? 120 millimeter cannons aren’t what I would call stealthy. They probably have something nasty waiting for us.”
The walls behind us shuddered and the doorway to the antechamber slammed shut, narrowly missing Tommy who leapt aside at the last moment. The walls across from our position twisted open revealing a large mob of Guests wielding their sacks of deadly napalm like goo.
“I think we found something nasty.” I said as I raised my rifle to my shoulder. For a brief moment we stood there with our backs to the wall, a vast mob of hideous nightmares in front of us. Why didn’t they attack?
“Orders Sir?” Johnson asked.
Thompson exhaled, “Hold.”
The mob parted and a man wearing an expensive suit came forward, what the hell? “Bravo. It is truly remarkable that you feeble humans with your pitiful slug throwers could have gotten this far.” His voice sounded cultured and dignified, the kind of voice fit for an anchorman.
“Who the hell are you?” Sarge challenged leveling his rifle at the suit.
The ‘man’ cracked a creepy smile, “Oh you want me to explain everything so your feeble ape brains can comprehend what is going on before you die. How quaint, how simple and oh so predictable.”
I slipped my finger into the trigger guard and took up the slack on the trigger, “Unfortunately you monkey boys, will die confused, tired, and uninformed.” He waved two fingers forward and the mob advanced.
“Open fire!” Thompson bellowed.
The man in the suit disappeared behind a massive hunk of carapace as I fired at him, my round bounced off harmlessly. The thing in a man’s suit had escaped. We dropped the first wave of Guests before they passed the azure pool. But their march was relentless. Balls of goo were hurled and spat at us, dropping soldiers in our line as they burst into flame.
Tommy fired his massive revolver into the horde. The .454 Casull rounds sliced through the guests shells like a hot knife through butter. When his pistol ran dry he engaged with his twin scimitars, slicing off antenna, limbs and heads.
I emptied a magazine into the mob and reached for a fresh one when a glob of goo hit my right hand. It smoldered for a brief moment and spouted a gout of flame as I struggled to remove my glove. I tossed my glove to the floor and grabbed my hand. The flesh had turned white where it had burned, I would have trouble gripping my rifle damn it!
I clumsily drew my pistol with my left hand and flicked off the safety. I hadn’t practiced much with my weak hand, but there was no time like the present. I fired twice in the face of a running man-sized Guest and it slumped to the ground the heavy .45 caliber bullets smashing through its compound eyes.
Kat took a glob of goo on her helmet. “Marty help!” she screamed as it burst into flame, I holstered my pistol and grabbed the chin strap and yanked it free. I gripped the helmet by the facemask and hurled it into the advancing horde. “Thanks.” She said. I noticed some of her hair had been scorched as I turned back to face the mob.
“What about the Tank and Bradley?” Sarge yelled at Thompson.
“If they fire...” He dropped a running dog sized guest “…we will be turned into hamburger.” He continued.
I fired at a charging guest with a wicked spike on one arm; it finally stopped moving when the slide locked back on my pistol. I fumbled for a full one with my burned hand. It probably would have hurt were the adrenaline not pumping.
I moved over to Thompson, “Sir, see if you can get them to drive to the side of the tower, and fire a few Sabot rounds through the walls.”
“Good idea Miller!” he said as he fired another burst into the beasts.
The orders were radioed to the tank commander and moments later the walls were pierced with the tank rounds. A rhino sized Guest split in two as a round penetrated the wall, and hit it in the side. A few moments later the cannon fell silent. We mopped up our remaining enemies and took stock of our situation. We had three KIA’s and six wounded including myself. Tommy had a severed spike thrust through his forearm.
“Who was the guy in the suit?” I asked no one in particular.
Sarge chuckled as he wrapped a pressure bandage over Tommy’s wound. “He’s probably a senator, or journalist. Where did he go anyway?”
I shook my head, “He disappeared during the fire fight.”
With the enemies lying in pools of blackish green fluid we began searching the chamber. A few minutes later we located a side passage with stairs leading upwards. Sarge and Tommy remained behind with the dead and more seriously wounded while the rest of us made our way up the stairs.
The dark twisted passageways of organic carapaces were oppressively claustrophobic. I hated riding in elevators because of the boxed in feeling they gave me. This was much worse, I began hyperventilating. “Miller, pull yourself together man.” Specialist Johnson said as he looked around the stairwell. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry,” I wheezed, “I just get a little claustrophobic in strange alien buildings residing in another dimension.”
We continued up the spire until I was dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. Maybe an elevator wouldn’t be so bad. I could see it now, third floor, appliances, spikes, slime and fire goo.
The narrow staircase opened up to the inside of the spire. Another thirty feet above us a platform jutted out into the middle of the beam of light.
Thompson in the lead climbed the steps, whatever these creatures were they didn’t believe in handrails. I tried to stay as far from the edge as possible. Heights weren’t exactly high on my priority list either. At the top of the platform a faceted crystal roughly the size of a bowling ball focused the energy from below out the top of the tower.
“That’s got to be what is keeping the portal open.” I said to the team.
Thompson grunted, “So how do we stop it and get back on our side of the portal?”
Johnson pulled out a claymore mine, “We make a remote detonator, and blow it up on our side of the portal.”
“How exactly are we gonna do that?” Thompson asked.
Johnson reached into a pocket of his ACU, “Well I took the liberty of making one before we came.” He pulled out a strange amalgamation of wire, a cell phone and duct tape. “I took some lessons from an Iraqi army explosives expert over in the sandbox.” He rigged up the claymore and positioned it two feet away from the crystal.
As we were about to descend the stairs a hole opened up in the ceiling and the man in the Armani suit dropped through. “Not so fast boys!” he yelled as his forearm changed into a nasty spike and pierced Sergeant Thompson through the chest. He withdrew the spike and reared back to strike the Specialist in the head. The crusty old sergeant with his dying breath grabbed his killer by the collar of his suit and they both tumbled over the side of the platform. Three hundred feet below they crashed into the floor. Nobody could have survived that fall.
Sarge radioed, “Damn it Thompson.” He paused for a bit, I could tell he was getting choked up. “Marines don’t die; they just go to hell to regroup.”
We carried the bodies out to the waiting trucks, and headed to the portal. What was left of the assault team had cleared out the area around the portal, for some strange reason there were no more guests waiting to burn and devour us. With the amount of burning vehicles I knew the losses had been high. The portal had been dialed down by the guests to man sized, we had no way of getting the vehicles out so the commanders of each rig followed their procedures to abandon war equipment. Thermite grenades were used to destroy the cannons, computers and ammo in each armored vehicle.
After all the bodies and equipment were on our side Johnson dialed a phone number on the phone and detonated the claymore.
The pulsating blue portal disappeared without any fanfare. One moment the blood red sky was visible the next nothing but salt flats. Lit up by the headlights of a mismatch of vehicles. The monsters had been defeated once again. We were lucky to escape alive, well not all of us did.
I hung my head and said a silent prayer for all the brave men and women who gave their lives this night and many nights before to keep the world safe.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-29 Chap 22-B Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
So what do all of my 3 readers 
think about the "suit" on the other side?
I had trouble fitting that in because I wanted the Guests to be so hideous and alien that we couldn't relate to them. They I have one of the "controllers" looking like a human.
Well I couldn't resist slapping the "bad guy tells all" cliche on its ear.
think about the "suit" on the other side? I had trouble fitting that in because I wanted the Guests to be so hideous and alien that we couldn't relate to them. They I have one of the "controllers" looking like a human.
Well I couldn't resist slapping the "bad guy tells all" cliche on its ear.
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
moose42
- Posts: 2004
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm
Re: 9-29 Chap 22-B Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
Getting patched up and discussing the events of the night. Enjoy. More to come when I feel like it.
[hr]
Chapter 24
Pandora’s Box
We were driven to the hangar where we had been briefed. The lightly wounded, such as myself were and setup in a triage. The dead and seriously wounded had been whisked away. The reality of what we had just been through hit me like a Mack truck when I saw how few warriors were in the hangar.
I looked at my watch, somehow it was still working despite being scratched up so bad that I could hardly read the time. It was 4:42am. My eyes rebelled; they didn't want to work anymore. My head pounded like a miniature road crew was building a new overpass somewhere in my frontal lobe. I needed to sit down.
I picked a section of wall and sat leaning against it. Kat came over and sat next to me. We didn’t say anything for a while.
“Kat, do you know how close we came to...” I couldn’t finish, I looked at my burned hand. The skin was turning white where the flaming goo had burned through my gloves.
She sighed rubbing her singed hair. “I needed a haircut anyway.” She looked at my hands, “You should really have the medics look at that.”
“You’re probably right but I’ll live. They need to work on the guys missing arms and legs.” I thought about dragging the private without legs. I shuddered; I wouldn't ever be able to forget seeing that.
Kat put a hand on my cheek, “Hey Marty, are you ok?”
I turned, our lips mere inches apart, “Sorry, I was just thinking about the poor guy who I pulled out of the portal, his legs…”
“Shhh, don’t talk about that now.” She said as her lips pressed on mine. All the fear, anger, and adrenaline I had been clutching to melted away. I hoped that this moment wouldn’t end but alas we had to come up for air.
Sarge walked by, It was hard to tell how he was taking the loss of his old friend. He looked over at us, nodded and disappeared into a group of DAMNED soldiers. I tried to get up but couldn’t seem to get my legs to cooperate.
“Hey Moose, don't kill yourself, if he wanted to talk to us he would have.”
I sighed, “I know but one of his best friends died today. I should go talk...”
“Hey bonehead, I don't think he wants to talk to you right now. You're not his girlfriend.” She chuckled.
I rolled my eyes, “Well that's a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this.” I kissed her again. She was startled for a moment I must have caught her off guard. Moments later she melted and returned my kisses. Life was good.
“AHEM! Merc Miller, you're up.” I turned and looked at the intruder, it was a young female medical assistant standing over us carrying a clipboard.
“I'm sure he is.” Kat quipped.
I blushed, “Thanks umm, where do I need to go?”
The medical assistant shook her head, “Right this way.” I struggled to my feet and heard her mutter something about mercs getting away with murder.
***
The medics worked on my hand and head injuries. Unfortunately they had to shave the area around my head wound to be able to stitch it closed. I looked really odd with half of my head shaved. The rest of my hair would have to come off.
My glove had fortunately saved my hands from third degree burns, the doc said that I probably had what he would call a 2nd plus. I wouldn't need skin grafts but I would have to live with a patch of scar tissue on the back of my palm for the rest of my life. I didn't care, it's not like I was planning on retiring and becoming a hand model.
Sarge was sitting on a chair next to me, getting a burn on his arm looked at. “Hey Steve...”
He grunted, “Look Miller I don't want to talk about it.”
“No wait you don't understand. That's...”
“I don't understand! I don't?” He turned and looked at me his eyes burned with hatred, “Miller you're still wet behind the damn ears!” His nurse was trying to take his blood pressure she struggled to keep the stethoscope under the cuff. “Have you had to bury people that you have fought and shed blood with? Huh?”
“Umm no.” The hangar became deathly quiet.
“Then don't tell me I don't understand, you whelp! I've lost more friends and brothers than your will ever have. All you've been worrying about is how to suck face with your girl.” He turned away nearly yanking out the poor nurse's stethoscope.
The nurse somehow finished the blood pressure reading, “One sixty over ninety-five, maybe I should try again later.”
We sat in silence for a while until the rest of the people in the hangar decided to return to business as usual.
“I'm sorry Sarge. I... I wanted to ask you about the suit on the other side of the gate.”
He turned back around, his nurse struggled to wipe the burn on his arm. “No Miller, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.”
“That guy in the suit scares me more than those large rhino Guests.” I swallowed hard, “This means that anyone could be a Guest in hiding.”
Sarge nodded, “Hmm, I wonder if any of them are in positions of power, in our Government and or military.”
“They seemed to know exactly when we were staging our assault on the portal. Is someone on this base a Guest?”
“If they are, they really know how to blend in.” Sarge sighed. “Look kid we can't really go around accusing people of being an alien.”
“Trans-dimensional being.” I corrected.
Sarge raised an eyebrow. “Trans-what?”
“Trans-dimensional, when we stepped through the portal we didn't 'go' anywhere. We were still in Nevada. This spot on Groom lake must be a weak point in the barrier between us and them. You know where those ley lines intersect.”
“Ok so lets call 'em TD's”
“Touchdowns!” I joked.
We got up to make room for the next victims. Tommy sat down in Sarge's former chair. He was still covered from head to toe. The nurse looked at us and back at Tommy, “Hey I need to check out your pupils I'll need you to take off your headgear.”
“Umm... no.” he replied.
“No? Merc, take it off.” the Nurse a Hispanic gal in her late forties was starting to get annoyed.
Tommy looked at me and shrugged, “Go ahead Tommy, it will be OK.”
He removed his sunglasses and head covering revealing dark green skin and sharp yellow teeth. The nurse took a deep breath and shrugged, “Well you look much better than those awful Guests.”
She began working her medical magic. After taking the blood pressure reading she shook her head. “One sixty over fifty? What the... how is that possible?”
Tommy pounded his chest, “Me... heart... is... strong!”
I tapped the nurse on the shoulder, “Look Tommy here is an Orc, they aren't exactly built the same as us pinkies.”
“But how am I supposed...” she looked flustered.
“I don't know I'm not the medic here, I would probably just bandage up the wound on his arm and call it good. When we get back to his people their witchdoctors will take care of it.”
“Witchdoctors?”
“Nevermind.” I said as I tried to find a cot to crash on.
***
[hr]
Chapter 24
Pandora’s Box
We were driven to the hangar where we had been briefed. The lightly wounded, such as myself were and setup in a triage. The dead and seriously wounded had been whisked away. The reality of what we had just been through hit me like a Mack truck when I saw how few warriors were in the hangar.
I looked at my watch, somehow it was still working despite being scratched up so bad that I could hardly read the time. It was 4:42am. My eyes rebelled; they didn't want to work anymore. My head pounded like a miniature road crew was building a new overpass somewhere in my frontal lobe. I needed to sit down.
I picked a section of wall and sat leaning against it. Kat came over and sat next to me. We didn’t say anything for a while.
“Kat, do you know how close we came to...” I couldn’t finish, I looked at my burned hand. The skin was turning white where the flaming goo had burned through my gloves.
She sighed rubbing her singed hair. “I needed a haircut anyway.” She looked at my hands, “You should really have the medics look at that.”
“You’re probably right but I’ll live. They need to work on the guys missing arms and legs.” I thought about dragging the private without legs. I shuddered; I wouldn't ever be able to forget seeing that.
Kat put a hand on my cheek, “Hey Marty, are you ok?”
I turned, our lips mere inches apart, “Sorry, I was just thinking about the poor guy who I pulled out of the portal, his legs…”
“Shhh, don’t talk about that now.” She said as her lips pressed on mine. All the fear, anger, and adrenaline I had been clutching to melted away. I hoped that this moment wouldn’t end but alas we had to come up for air.
Sarge walked by, It was hard to tell how he was taking the loss of his old friend. He looked over at us, nodded and disappeared into a group of DAMNED soldiers. I tried to get up but couldn’t seem to get my legs to cooperate.
“Hey Moose, don't kill yourself, if he wanted to talk to us he would have.”
I sighed, “I know but one of his best friends died today. I should go talk...”
“Hey bonehead, I don't think he wants to talk to you right now. You're not his girlfriend.” She chuckled.
I rolled my eyes, “Well that's a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this.” I kissed her again. She was startled for a moment I must have caught her off guard. Moments later she melted and returned my kisses. Life was good.
“AHEM! Merc Miller, you're up.” I turned and looked at the intruder, it was a young female medical assistant standing over us carrying a clipboard.
“I'm sure he is.” Kat quipped.
I blushed, “Thanks umm, where do I need to go?”
The medical assistant shook her head, “Right this way.” I struggled to my feet and heard her mutter something about mercs getting away with murder.
***
The medics worked on my hand and head injuries. Unfortunately they had to shave the area around my head wound to be able to stitch it closed. I looked really odd with half of my head shaved. The rest of my hair would have to come off.
My glove had fortunately saved my hands from third degree burns, the doc said that I probably had what he would call a 2nd plus. I wouldn't need skin grafts but I would have to live with a patch of scar tissue on the back of my palm for the rest of my life. I didn't care, it's not like I was planning on retiring and becoming a hand model.
Sarge was sitting on a chair next to me, getting a burn on his arm looked at. “Hey Steve...”
He grunted, “Look Miller I don't want to talk about it.”
“No wait you don't understand. That's...”
“I don't understand! I don't?” He turned and looked at me his eyes burned with hatred, “Miller you're still wet behind the damn ears!” His nurse was trying to take his blood pressure she struggled to keep the stethoscope under the cuff. “Have you had to bury people that you have fought and shed blood with? Huh?”
“Umm no.” The hangar became deathly quiet.
“Then don't tell me I don't understand, you whelp! I've lost more friends and brothers than your will ever have. All you've been worrying about is how to suck face with your girl.” He turned away nearly yanking out the poor nurse's stethoscope.
The nurse somehow finished the blood pressure reading, “One sixty over ninety-five, maybe I should try again later.”
We sat in silence for a while until the rest of the people in the hangar decided to return to business as usual.
“I'm sorry Sarge. I... I wanted to ask you about the suit on the other side of the gate.”
He turned back around, his nurse struggled to wipe the burn on his arm. “No Miller, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that.”
“That guy in the suit scares me more than those large rhino Guests.” I swallowed hard, “This means that anyone could be a Guest in hiding.”
Sarge nodded, “Hmm, I wonder if any of them are in positions of power, in our Government and or military.”
“They seemed to know exactly when we were staging our assault on the portal. Is someone on this base a Guest?”
“If they are, they really know how to blend in.” Sarge sighed. “Look kid we can't really go around accusing people of being an alien.”
“Trans-dimensional being.” I corrected.
Sarge raised an eyebrow. “Trans-what?”
“Trans-dimensional, when we stepped through the portal we didn't 'go' anywhere. We were still in Nevada. This spot on Groom lake must be a weak point in the barrier between us and them. You know where those ley lines intersect.”
“Ok so lets call 'em TD's”
“Touchdowns!” I joked.
We got up to make room for the next victims. Tommy sat down in Sarge's former chair. He was still covered from head to toe. The nurse looked at us and back at Tommy, “Hey I need to check out your pupils I'll need you to take off your headgear.”
“Umm... no.” he replied.
“No? Merc, take it off.” the Nurse a Hispanic gal in her late forties was starting to get annoyed.
Tommy looked at me and shrugged, “Go ahead Tommy, it will be OK.”
He removed his sunglasses and head covering revealing dark green skin and sharp yellow teeth. The nurse took a deep breath and shrugged, “Well you look much better than those awful Guests.”
She began working her medical magic. After taking the blood pressure reading she shook her head. “One sixty over fifty? What the... how is that possible?”
Tommy pounded his chest, “Me... heart... is... strong!”
I tapped the nurse on the shoulder, “Look Tommy here is an Orc, they aren't exactly built the same as us pinkies.”
“But how am I supposed...” she looked flustered.
“I don't know I'm not the medic here, I would probably just bandage up the wound on his arm and call it good. When we get back to his people their witchdoctors will take care of it.”
“Witchdoctors?”
“Nevermind.” I said as I tried to find a cot to crash on.
***
Years from now our children and grandchildren living in a 3rd world America will ask "What were you doing on March 21st 2010 and why didn't you stop it?"
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
--Me
Come check out my blog where I share my crazy sci-fi and fantasy fiction.
Alone: King of One
-
Jake
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:55 pm
Re: 10-2 Chap 24-B Moose42's MHI Fan Fiction *Spoiler Alert*
You've got more than three readers! Haha I've been lurking reading since I finsished the novel and I have to say well done! It's spurred me towards perhaps attempting a fanfic of my own but who knows. I really like the concept that Larry Correia has set up with monsters being real and all, it creates a ton of story possibilities.
Anyway keep up the good work I just wanted to stop by and post to let you know that I'm here and enjoying, I'll try and think up some constructive criticism but I'm not all that good with doing that sort of thing.
Anyway keep up the good work I just wanted to stop by and post to let you know that I'm here and enjoying, I'll try and think up some constructive criticism but I'm not all that good with doing that sort of thing.