This lumbering monstrosity was one of the last things you could have done with right now, yet you knew that you had to deal with it as soon as possible, that you had to ensure that it came for you, that it remained distanced from the civilians that you were saving. The problem was, that you were uncertain that your revolver alone was going to be enough to take this thing down, that it being bigger and stronger than the other tainted humans here, it was without a doubt tougher, too. You knew that you had left one shotgun behind, yet you were uncertain if that would be enough either. You couldn't load it while dealing with this thing, though there was always Anne.
You knew that if she was sent to retrieve it, that she could load it ready for you with one of the more destructive ammunition types you had brought with you. Assuming that was, that she was able to tell what one was what. It was your best option at this moment, the choice that you believed presented the most viable means of stopping this thing. Tainted as it was, it would recover slowly from any injury dealt to it, though lacking immortality like the Enlightened, a single good hit, or enough physical damage would still kill it.
"I'm going to need you to go fetch the shotgun we left behind, load it with ammunition and bring it back to me. Do you know the difference between the different types of rounds?"
"No, they all look the same to me."
"Load a little of each of them into it, then. I'll distract this thing so you can get there safely."
Anne nodded, while you gripped your revolver, watching as the thing continued to lumber towards you, almost casual in its approach. Limited as you suspected its intellect to be, this thing was toying with you, viewing you as prey that it could toy with before it struck. You were watching it however, taking note of how awkwardly it moved, of how its heavily corrupted form didn't move with any kind of grace. Its legs were awkward, slightly different in size and shape, too small to support this things bulk. It was powerful enough to fling a train carriage, yet it clearly wasn't stable enough to run properly due to the manner in what its legs were formed.
You took a few steps towards the creature, taking careful aim as you did so, both hands gripping the revolver, three shots fired off in rapid succession as you hit two of its eyes on its torso and the knee on the larger of its legs. The thing howled in agony, its weight shifting to the smaller leg as it started to limp towards you, as Anne made a run for where your backpack had been left. Two clicks followed as you continued to pull the trigger, reminding you that you hadn't reloaded your weapon yet, prompting you to flick the cylinder out and tip the spent casings from it.
You could see the wounds you had dealt were knitting slowly, fast enough that this thing would be completely fine again within half an hour, but slow enough that it wouldn't be alive long enough to see that come about. The problem was, it didn't seem too affected by the wounds you had dealt other than being slowed. You didn't know where its thought center was, as it had no visible head, while two more eyes seemed to open as its skin split to replace the ones that you had damaged.
You flicked the cylinder back into place as you finished reloading it, putting three bullets in each leg quickly as you did so, repeating the process of reloading as you started to jog away from it. It was still limping after you, babbling and howling as ichor ran from the wounds that you had dealt to its legs. You didn't feel as if you were in any immediate danger howeve, as this thing was signifigantly slowed down by those wounds.
That was, until its skin started to split once more, as bone plates started coming to the surface, as the thing leaned to the side and flipped over onto what had formerly been its hands. The wounded legs split at the feet, those feet reforming into pincers, pincers that had eyes on the outer side of each of them.
Then, it started to charge.
Bullets cracked against the armoured carapace that had formed over the creature as you opened fire on it once more, then again against its back as you ducked past it as that initial charge had it rush by you both rapidly and clumbsily. You had underestimated what this corrupted creature was capable of, though you still believed you had it under control.
You had two more shots, and you could see gaps in its carapace where it had eyes peering out, eyes that seemed to bulge as it turned to face you agian. Eyes that slowly extended as they started to protrude from the creature on stalks. Those eyes swayed unevenly as they defied you, denying you the ability to target them accurately, presenting you with a small target that moved too unsteadily for you to fire at confidently.
So you didn't fire at them.
Two bullets hit the base of the stalks that swayed before you, severing them from the creature as it roared, as it dropped down on all fours and charged at you again. This time you barely managed to roll aside as it hurtled past you, this time it span about, hurtling back towards you again as it denied you the chance to reload your weapon. This time it came so close to hitting you that you could feel your clothing catch on one of the corners of its carapace, tearing as it sent you off balance.
The creature stood, letting out a bellowing, laughing roar as it paced towards you once more, before it let out a resonant sound, a sound like a horn, a sound that reverberated off the walls of the gorge as it dropped down onto all fours again.
You too advantage of this moment to reload your revolver, though you were uncertain where you were going to aim for that would affect this thing, praying that Anne had found the shotgun, that it hadn't been lost too. You shifted slightly, wondering if it was wise to try and make a run for the bridge, to try and dance around the supports given that this thing had likely destroyed many of them initially. It was adapting to everything you did, regrowing eyes in different configurations while you attempted to blind it, bone plates protecting its body and limbs, falling low so you couldn't aim for its maw.
It was strong, it was fast, it was predatory.
You didn't need a shotgun, you needed a miracle.
You were on an endorphine and adrenaline high, your injuries and your determination to fight all you had to fuel you, you were armed with a weapon that was ineffective, you were in an area with scenry that presented little more than short term barriers to this thing. You needed to think, you needed to show some of that brilliance that you possessed at one time, you needed to show this thing that there was something no amount of mutagenic adaption could prepare it for.
You needed to create that miracle.
You started to run towards this thing, watching as it charged for you, sliding at the last moment as you dropped to the ground, raised your revolver and fired upwards. Ichor sprayed over you as you fired up into its unprotected maw, causing the creature to howl in agony as it hurtled overhead. Yet you found yourself frowning as you could see it turning about to face you, feet scraping against the ground as ichor oozed from it, as it spread its legs to allow for a lower center of gravity. It was't going to allow you to do that again, it seemed.
"This just isn't my day," you muttered as you heard the sound of shotgun fire from behind one of the fallen carriages, telling you that Anne had gotten herself into trouble. You couldn't go to help her, you couldn't risk leading this thing towards her, knowing that it would likely injure her horribly the first time it charged at her.
Inspiration hit as you took note of one of the broken coupling rods from the train's wheels, of the indentation in the ground where the earlier carriage had been flicked at you. You didn't need to shoot it, not when you could try and impale it. You ducked past the creature as it charged at you once more, running over to the coupling rod, grabbing it as you hauled it towards the dip in the ground, before you lay it flat, turning to face the creature as it sized you up once more.
As it started its charge once again you breathed deeply, edging back so that you were ready to drop into that furrow, ready to act out your plan. If this failed, you had no backup plan. If this failed, you were going to start running, very fast, in the direction it wasn't. The thing gained on you, hurtling towards you as the thundering sound of its feet pounding the earth filled the air, while you braced yourself.
Rod in hand, you ducked down into the furrow of earth as the creature charged overhead, one of its bulky feet slamming into your chest as you felt it wind you, as you felt more of your ribs crack from the impact of this thing atop you. The injury it dealt you, was nothing compared to the injury you dealt it, however. The rod as it was raised, jagged end first, tore through the creatures maw, catching on a stone buried deep in the earth and held in place by you.
Jagged metal tore through the creature as it rushed overhead, letting out a gurgling howl as it tore through it, as it ripped free of it as the creature passed over you. The thing staggered as its innards spilled from the gaping exit wound left by your improvised weapon before it collapsed, twitching, spasming in the throes of death.
Then finally, it was still.
You staggered to your feet as you held your chest, as Anne hurried to your side flecked with ichor, hissing as you felt her pull your one arm over her shoulder to help support you. The rest of the creatures upon seeing the death of their leader figure started to flee, wailing, mournful howls echoing through the gorge as they fled the scene of the train crash.
You had won, yet it didn't feel like a victory.
Something was wrong here, very wrong.
You knew that these people would have to have come from a village or a town, that there was likely one near the railway tracks, though now they had fled, you could see what you could salvage from this site, you could see if you had missed any survivors. Well, not you, personally. You'd be quite content with delegating duties to others at the moment, as the less you had to move, the better.
It was time to decide what your course of action was, time to take control of the situation. What was your plan of action to be?
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Topic: They told me I could be anything... (Read 78953 times)