Bug Hunting

JP between Omni and A.Patient.Man

8.3.5 SW
19:48/21 SW-CP-Local Time
Crowning Point > Reactor Fuel Storage

"OK, I'm no engineer, but I'm gonna guess those industrial storage tanks were built to withstand a fair amount of heat in case of fire. I say this to mean please let me try to fry the critter before you start shooting. Once we're in, watch your field of fire and stay close. We're not splitting up. Carson, here's the motion detector. You take point." Saygin stuck the device in Carson's hand and motioned with his rifle toward the entrance.

"Fuck..." sighed Carson. "Yeah, alright." he said as he affixed the motion detector to his RMC Automatic Rifle. The motion detector pipped as he re-calibrated and it fell silent for a moment before starting again. "Looks like it's on the right side around the corner from the maintenance room... Get the door on three..."

Hargreaves grabbed the handle of the long corrugated garage-like door and the other three moved into position.

"Carson, I want you in first in case it starts moving. I'll be right on your ass. We come straight in and head east towards the ladder. As soon as we see it duck and break left so I can light it up. Hargreaves, stay tight in formation and follow us in, but I want you sweeping north then west. Gramma always said, 'where there's one bug there's many'." Saygin waited as Carson moved into position, then nodded at Hargreaves to open the door.

Hargreaves lifted the door and as the others moved in he brought the door right back down to the floor, sealing them in. Carson did as directed and headed straight toward the ladder to the east. When his shaky high beam came to rest near the metal rungs, he saw nothing and slowly moved it up and over.

Hargreaves slowly fanned northward, waiting for another order or an attack and Gonzales followed closely behind Saygin's flamer. The motion detector pipped and the dot seemed to move closer westward and northward. The hackles of the group were raising as they knew it was headed their way but saw no immediate sign on the ground ahead.

From above, a tiny pale four-legged thing pounced onto Carson, squealing a high-pitched shriek as it went for the throat.

It found just the right nook in the officer's armor and found his jugular. Carson's attempt to scream was muffled by guttural gurgling as he tried to reach for the critter with his off-hand.

Saygin saw this unfold with horror, as the creature seemed to move faster than physics should allow. He moved to grab it and pull it off Carson before it could do any more damage.

It didn’t do any good, the nimble little thing was strong and digging into Carson’s neck so Saygin tried to hit it with the butt of his rifle to no avail. The spray of blood made Saygin think back on the larger creature and he began to tremble in panic.

With a snarl the 'bambiburster' recoiled from the blunt force of Saygin’s rifle and it dropped to the floor, skittering off into the darkness of the warehouse to the northwest…. As the creature fled from the other officers, Hargreaves fired his Armat Pump-Action Shotgun at it. He was a good shot, but the thing was too quick.

"Fuck!" Gonzalez, did you see where it went!?"

The alien headed in for an attack on Hargreaves and Gonzales spun his light to catch the thing in the cross of two flashlight beams and as it leapt for Hargreaves' throat from a considerable distance, Gonzales gave the trigger one quick squeeze. A burst of muzzle flash lit up the area and the creature exploded into the darkness northward, away from tanks and human flesh.

“Got it!” he shouted.

"Good shot! Now who's got the medkit for Carson!?" Saygin yelled as he knelt and tried to stop the bleeding with his hands.

Every cough Carson made sent spatters of blood out onto the ground and onto Saygin’s uniform.

While the others were quick to be attentive to Carson’s injury it was too severe and the man was dead before they could stifle the bleeding.

Saygin hung his head. "Shit..."

He pulled the motion tracker off of Carson's rifle and attached it to his own. "You two carry Carson back to the bird. I'll cover your exit and lock the door on our way out. Once he's loaded in we'll circle up and wait for Baird's team. Any questions?"

The silence was staggering. None of them had been prepared for this. “Yes sir.” Hargreaves replied quietly before taking another glance around with his flashlight and stowing his rifle on its strap.

Together they quickly picked up Carson’s body and headed back out the way they came, the closing of the corrugated door punctuated the end of the strange encounter.