Chapter Sixty-One - Go Kill the Thing

Chapter Sixty-One - Go Kill the Thing

Chapter Sixty-One - Go Kill the Thing

All students at Bartholomew G. Wordstum Elementary school must follow the dress code. That includes:

Dress shirt/blouse (white, logo on breast)

Fitted slacks/a skirt no shorter than the knees (black)

Class 2 bulletproof vest (black)

Lounge jacket (school standard, winter or summer variant)

All students will be provided with new school software for their augmentations at the beginning of the semester.

--Letter to parents of students of Bartholomew G. Wordstum Elementary school, 2039

***

I had about a second to come up with an idea of what to do.

That second passed.

Cat! Gomorrah shouted. Go kill that thing.

Got it! I said. Then I ran.

The earth shifted and rent, and from the growing hole came a beast whose appearance alone was enough to clutch my heart.

I wasnt a coward or anything, and there were few things that made me nervous or that scared me, but that antithesis... fuck me if it wasnt terrifying.

The antithesis clambered out of the hole it had made, slabs of cement falling into the growing pit even as dozens of model threes came pouring out of the hole after it.

Its legs were tree trunks, its body was long and covered in thick bones with leathery segments between them. Four legs, and a face like a lamprey fucked chuthulu. As I ran, eyes on the monster, two long tusks ripped out of the sides of its head. They were bigger than I was, with serrated edges and sharp points.

One of the tanks nearby started to back up, turret turning towards the antithesis while the big beast was still pulling itself out of the ground.

The tank fired, and I slowed my run down. Was that it? Had I been freaking out for nothing?

The dust cleared, revealing the antithesis which was shaking its head to clear out the smoke left behind by the exploding shell. It was injured, a crack in the off-white bone over its sternum and skin ripped through, but it wasnt dead.

Myalis, what is that? I asked.

A model twenty-eight, though that is a small specimen of the model.

A small specimen? It was the size of a tanker! The PMCs and militia around the hole turned around. Some opened fire immediately. The smarter ones ran for cover first. I saw two of them get gunned down as a nasty cross-fire started near the backlines.

The tanks stationed at the back had turned their attention inwards. Fortunately, they werent firing desperately at the monster. Instead they were taking their time. When one of them fired, the others waited to line up their shot properly.

The model twenty-eight groaned as armour-piercing shells punched holes into its sides.

Coupled with the explosions I was setting off within it, it was only a matter of time before the alien collapsed onto its side. There was enough weight crashing down all at once that I felt it in the soles of my feet.

Well done. That was a difficult opponent.

Yeah, well it wasnt just me, I said. I glanced at the hole where the lasers had stopped and more model threes were starting to poke their heads out.

The hole was partially encircled by PMCs now, some of them dragging barricades over, others on overwatch to shoot anything that poked its head out.

Can I get a box-full of whatever grenade that was last time? I asked.

Certainly. Theyre area-denial explosives that fire lasers. Theyre called HAIRBALLS.

I shook my head, then grabbed a passing PMC. Myalis box of HAIRBALLS appeared by my feet, and I pointed to it. Bring this to the troops defending that hole. Toss one into the hole every minute.

The man nodded his head, grabbed the case, then ran off towards the hole.

Hed probably follow my instructions. There was the risk that he was greedy, but... well, running off with a boxfull of explosives was stupid when you didnt know if the person whod given them to you could detonate them from afar.

Cat! Gomorrah called back.

I spun around.

No one was paying attention to the front. At least, no one in our part of the defences.

The antithesis knew it. And they abused the fact.

Gomorrah was walking backwards across the no mans land. Her flamethrower was spitting fire over what was left of the wall before her.

The tide was pouring over the debris, hundreds of them pushing over each others flaming corpses to try and reach Gomorrah. When she lit up one group, another would slip into the gap. She was going to be overrun.

Fuck. Attention to the front! I shouted. A few people were paying enough attention that the fire heading ahead redoubled for a moment.

I didnt wait. I fired my new gun, hit some model five that was moving too slow, then discarded the gun a moment later. It was too slow.

Just as the tide reached Gomorrah, she bent her knees and jumped backwards. Fire bloomed out beneath her and she rocketed into the air on a plume of burning thrust.

I let out a relieved sigh. I wouldnt be seeing my friend chewed up just yet.

Still, I didnt think our troubles were over.

***