I Made A Bad Call

Posted on Sat Sep 18th, 2021 @ 8:06am by Alden Loxley & Cooper O'Reilly & Jonas Bailey & Whit

Mission: I Ain't Fraid of No Ghost...
Location: Gaishan Settlement
Timeline: November 1st - 3.5hrs on surface

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

Cooper's words were matter of fact, functional and direct as he briefly paused to address the small gathering of bloody bodies in the corridor aiming to take their little group back through Gaishan. He stood up, awkwardly, having acquired a shotgun from somewhere, and slowly caught up with the others, dragging his badly battered left leg behind him.

At the door they had originally entered this particular area by, Alden paused to listen. Wherever the gunfire had previously been coming from, neither the PA system or his own ears could discern any now, nor any sound beyond their own party of four. Everyone they'd passed in the last half hour of walking had been extremely dead.

"They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow, " Cooper helpfully noted, back to the Echo crew, his words quietly murmured at those fallen behind them.

Alden looked to Jonas, made a face, and then pushed the keypad to access the next area. At that point a screeching wail of static flooded all three men's comms, picking up a moment later through the town's speakers too.

".... buried in the black.... skin to skin...." said an unseen voice, one rattled by age or injury.

Beyond them, the next section to cross was pitch dark.

Jonas cringed at the screeching static and smacked the side of his helmet. "What the holy hell kinda place is this?" He looked into the dark section. "At least the black has stars. And no kinda creepy voice readin' creepy poems..."

"Boys, I think it's best time we leave," Whit said. "No good work to be found down yonder."

"No argument here," muttered Alden as he adjusted the suit helmet, clipped at his waist and then waggled a finger in his right ear. "Y'all got what we came for, while we're still breathing, seems like a great time to be sauntering casually to the exit."

A shotgun shell bounced off the floor behind them both in the aftermath of the preceding explosion and Cooper reloaded with an uncannily fast motion. Beside him someone's skull coated the floor in teeny tiny pieces.

Cursing loudly in Chinese, Alden failed to cover his full body flinch in response to that unexpected noise. He turned to regard the scene, shot Whit a pointed look that successfully mixed concern with exasperation and then strode into the darkness, trusty Model B aimed ahead of him.

"Veritas Aequitas," said Cooper, dark brown eyes staring deeply into Whit's own. He ratcheted the shotgun meaningfully and scowled. "Supply storage up ahead. They didn't touch it. Too hungry."

Jonas took a tighter grip on the sword he picked up earlier. After a moment of coming to himself, "Too hungry? What was too hungry? I ain't about to be nobody or nothin's supper."

"There's supplies a'plenty back on the ship," Whit said. "You got somethin' stowed away, Coop?"

"Yeh could say that," muttered the other Shepherd. "We gotta make a pit-stop." He led them to the crossroads in the build-a-block metal container town they'd been pretty much right through now with no sign of anything living but their own selves. A flexible combination lock was wrapped about the two metal handles of a door that now faced them, stencilled letters on dark grey marked it as 'Food Storage'. Cooper leant heavily against said door and ratcheted the dials to the numbers he needed, then looked to Jonas.

"Yeh, a big fella," said the tall, rough-looking man. "I reckon I what I done probably killed it, but if yeh see summat move, shoot to kill."

Then he opened the door, to darkness, a whole bunch of shelving units and a blood trail caught in their torchlight. Something in the shadows moved across that line of bright inbound light and shrieked an unholy scream. Cooper fired without further warning.

In that confined, metallic space, sound intensified. In the aftermath of both the unidentified scream and the dissipation of the wounded shepherd's shot, they all heard it. A female voice, ratchety and ragged. "Hungry..."

Alden panned his torch into the store-room, even as he took a cautious step backwards. Out of the far corner - sounds of motion. Something on the ceiling? "Don't go in there!" He warned, then winced in pain as Cooper fired again in close proximity to them all. Loud echoey noise battered everyone's eardrums, leaving a second or two of dull hiss in its wake.

This time, the motion was more focused - round to the far left, then up across the top of the wide shelves.

"What the hell did you conjure up this time?" Whit asked as he took a step back behind the line of fire.

"Nuthin' good," muttered Cooper. Something dully metallic fell to the floor at his feet and he kicked it back towards Alden, Whit and Jonas, unwilling to let his own attention shift from the store-room and its occupant. The wounded shepherd's solidity felt extra present, despite his current head-to-toe bloody, battered to Hell theme.

Alden picked up said fallen item, held it in his free hand while maintaining his Model B's covering stance toward Cooper's left side. "Tah ma Duh..." He muttered, and handed the thing to Whit. It was a metal Alliance badge, such as a uniformed member of such would carry in order to visually present their authority, and it was slick with blood.

"A river flows forth unto thee..." muttered Whit.

"Guess the big fella didn't make it," Cooper stated, holding fire until he could get a clear shot.

"Guess not," said Jonas. He left the sword across his back and raised his weapon, pointing it into the darkness. "But this big fella sure as hell plans to." There was a sound of movement in the area opposite from where the badge had come. Jonas fired a couple of shots in the general direction. "Maybe the damn thing will come into view if we don't give it quarter in the darker parts."

"Here," muttered Cooper, sidling down between left-hand wall and nearest shelving unit. His boot toed a body, one that didn't move in response to the shepherd's nudging. His tone was grim with the simply put resignation. "He's gone." A blessing followed, muttered through dry lips but spoken with feeling nevertheless.

Above Cooper, poised on the top run of the heavy storage unit racking, the other inhabitant of the room raised silently up - out of Cooper's line of sight - and unwittingly or uncaring, she presented her entire left side to Jonas. Arms in the air like some kinda of human attack spider, face blood, clothing ripped to shreds, the once-woman looked like something dug up from a lawnmower accident.

"Lucky him," said Jonas. He turned his attention up to where he'd been firing, but caught movement. "What the..." The sight of the... whatever she was... startled him. Jonas opened fire and sprayed the entire left side of the creature. When she fell from the top of the racking to the floor, Jonas emptied the last of his rounds into the body and threw the gun to the floor. He removed the sword he'd picked up earlier from the scabbard and effectively removed her head from her shoulders. Turning to the others, "If that's what hatched from that egg-thing, I ain't takin' any chances." He kicked the head away from the body. "Not a damn one."

"This is turnin' into one hell of a pitstop, Coop," Whit said from behind the three men. "Reckon we're about done here, shiny?"

Features pale, Alden remained in the doorway, his attention focused outward as if he'd caught advance warning of another incoming danger. There was nothing visible, nothing obvious, but his heart-rate and anxiety spike warned his brain that this might only be a temporary reprieve.

"Shiny," Cooper said, voice gruff but certain. His gaze scanned the rear of the storage unit, caught the torn hole in the far wall and then panned back around to take in Jonas' kill and Whit's position. "Jus' one more thing to do," Coop noted, and he grabbed packets of dry food from the walls, drawn by the pretty colours of random brands, then shoved them into every spare pocket space he owned.

"About done now," Whit's lost sheep noted, his voice dull as he dutifully followed his partner back into the corridor.

Alden's gaze caught on that severed head way longer than the others' did. He felt the shiver of primal warning ripple through his form and prickle his brain, but he neither complained nor spoke up for or against Jonas' actions. They'd done what needed to be done. Now, he knew without a shadow of a doubt, it was time to leave.

"Ali. Ali, come in," Alden spoke into his helmet comm as he suited up and jogged after Whit and Jonah in the direction of their initial entrance. "Fire her up. We'll be on the mule. Gonna need a hot pick-up."

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