The howls echoing in the distance, paired with the multitude of eyes reflecting the flashlight back, was enough to turn a primal switch within Marcus’ brain and turn his guts into liquid. His instincts screamed for him to run away, but Marcus quelled his fears and rose above the initial panic. He raised his rifle, aiming center at the closest set of bobbing eyes shining back at him. With the caliber and the range, Marcus needed little holdover. Pulling the trigger, the target dropped face first, skidding a few feet before grinding to a halt.

Still, there were too many of them for Marcus to take on alone. He got a quick count of at least a dozen pairs of eyes and when he aimed at the second closest pair and sent a flurry of rounds in its direction until it too dropped.

But there was no time for celebration. Marcus shifted his aim as two more shadows ran past the downed creature, unperturbed by the state of their fallen. Closer, within the reach of the light, Marcus could see tufts of silver fur covering patches of thick, dark skin. Their faces settled into an ever-present snarl as drool trailed down their mouths, eager to take a chunk of flesh from their bodies.

Marcus took one more down when he felt his trigger slacken. His finger reaching forward, he pressed the mag release while his left hand reached to his vest for a fresh magazine. He chanced a glance to the side to find Columbus busily fiddling with the terminal. He looked back at the charging creatures in front as he slammed the magazine home and sent the bolt forward and into battery.

The opening door slowed and stopped midway, leaving a gap half the size of the tunnel and creating a choke point. Marcus finished another creature as it managed past the bulkhead, peppering its body full of holes. He then noticed Columbus next to him, offering a grenade. Marcus grabbed it without a word and pulled the pin, tossing it to the other side. The grenade arced perfectly, landing past the bulkhead and bounced further inside, exploding with a sharp crack and a flurry of shrapnel.

Pained howls echoed behind the door. Marcus raised his rifle at the opening as a creature stumbled into view, wounded and bleeding from the grenade. Without thought, Marcus shot the creature in the head, the round entering on one side of its temple and out the other, spraying bits of brain and bone over the gravel.

He waited, his aim unwavering from the opening. None came. Marcus peeked around and saw the figures had turned back and were retreating. Thinking it was bait, Marcus walked calmly to the side and pied the corners. It was clear. Behind the bulkhead were four more of the creatures caught within the grenade’s blast. Blood splattered on the walls, and chunks of meat scattered along the rails. Unwilling to be caught off guard, Marcus sent shots to the downed creatures’ heads, making sure that none of them were simply playing dead.

“Looks clear,” Marcus muttered, reaching to his vest for a fresh mag. He then completed a tactical reload without taking his eyes off the direction the creatures came. “These aren’t the one you said we’re going to find here.” He said.

“They weren’t here the last time I came through. The door was not closed either, something must have been triggered.” Columbus replied, pulling out a flare and striking the end to light it. With a sizzling sound, the flare ignited, bathing the both of them with a dull red light. Throwing it as far as he could within the darkened portion of the tunnel, casting shadows. They saw no further movement.

Monster information:

Adolescent Malif

Lvl. 4

A native creature of Terminus. Evolved to burrow into the ground to protect itself from predators, its numbers quickly dwindled after the arrival of humans on the planet as their burrows interfered with building foundations and infrastructure projects. They have been systematically hunted since but experienced a boom in their numbers after the war when all the efforts were shifted somewhere else.

“Game doesn’t say anything useful about these, you know anything I should know about?” Marcus said, nudging one of the corpses to get a better look. The creature had a flat snout, jaws filled with jagged teeth, and a muscular jaw looking that could deliver a terrifying bite. On the ends of its paws were sharp claws and powerful arms that could easily disembowel a man if allowed to close. Marcus backed off. The smell emanating from the creature threatened to make him gag. Adjusting his shemagh to better cover his nose, he looked over to Columbus, who just struck another flare and threw it into the darkness.

The flare landed further, illuminating holes dug into the concrete. “I suggest using hollow points against them. Kill them using the least ammo possible since they are of little value except for experience points. They rarely attack head-on. Instead, they prefer sticking into the shadows and blind spots to ambush anyone caught unaware.”

“Got it,” Marcus replied, changing his magazines to the right ammunition. “Keep your head in a swivel and watch your shots.”

Columbus nodded. “We should be clear now. Let’s keep moving.”

Alert!

You have now entered an unexplored facility. Consider all enemies encountered to be hostile.

The stench of rot and decay was much stronger past the door. Marcus had to fight his gag reflex for every breath, and he had to remind him he is not in the real world. Unless poisonous, the smell does not pose any danger, so is irrelevant. Soon, the stench lessened itself. His senses gotten used to the scent.

Marcus kept his muzzle sweeping the holes dug into the concrete walls. Claw marks scored the surface of the concrete, trailing up to the overhead fixtures, which explained the lack of illumination. Marcus trailed his light on the walls. Holes punched through the concrete at intervals. ‘Their sharp claws must’ve been made of much harder material if it could dig into feet thick concrete and allow them to scale the walls’, Marcus thought. Double tapping the first corpse he killed, Marcus stepped on the creature’s arm and looked down at its digits, wondering if it could be used in bullets and how effective it would be against steel.

“Shit!” Columbus swore. He was looking ahead.

Marcus followed his gaze to find a cave in blocking their passage further. Large chunks of concrete and twisted rebar reached up to the ceiling. With the explosives they brought, they could try blasting through the rubble, but nothing ensured that there wouldn’t be tons of earth behind it. “What now, chief?” Marcus asked.

“Cover me,” Columbus said. He then unslung his pack and laid it on the floor. He dug into it while Marcus lit another flare and threw it behind them, giving them an early warning for any Malif that tries to sneak towards them.

Columbus pulled out a rod and pushed it to the gravel substrate. Once deep enough, he plugged in a length of wire and connected it to a datapad. Booting the device, he punched the needed codes and looked up. “I’m going to set off an explosive charge.”

“That’s a little small if we’re going to have a chance blowing through that, don’t you think?”

“This is a survey charge.” Columbus answered, “With this, I’ll be able to clearly map out the ground up to a hundred meters away. Any further would still yield results but less clear.”

“Fire in the hole, then.”

“Firing,” Columbus said, moving away from the sunken rod, followed by a muffled thump. Dust erupted from the rod, jetting up to the ceiling, followed by thousands of lines scrolling through Columbus’ pad. Howls echoed in the distance, and Marcus threw another flare further. Dozens of glowing eyes looking at them from the edge of the light.

“No sudden moves. We got company.” Marcus warned. Slowly, he thumbed off the safety and loosened the grenade in his pouch. He unhooked the safety clip and raised the grenade to his mouth. Biting down at the ring, the grenade hung in the corner of his mouth as he slowly raised his rifle. If lucky, Marcus could mow down a significant number of the creatures growling at the distance, but the next step after was a conundrum. He wondered whether it would be better to throw the grenade next or just reload the rifle. “How are we doing?” He asked, the grenade hanging between his teeth giving him a lisp.

“Still processing,” Columbus answered, chancing a glance up. “Don’t aggro them if you can help it.”

“Can you make it go faster?” Marcus asked, watching as the group slowly crept forward. The red glow of the flare reflecting off the creature’s white fur made it seem look as if covered in blood. Fearing that shooting would only cause them to charge, Marcus held his fire. “Things are about to go down real soon and I don’t think we’ll be the ones coming out on top.”

“I got it.” Columbus declared, pointing ahead and at a particular hole in the wall, big enough for a crouched person to fit. “That one leads around the cave in and to some sort of complex.”

“Lead the way. I’ll cover you,” Marcus replied, flicking his selector into full auto. He had decided, if they charge, then he would dump the magazine and take as much as he could before throwing the grenade and jumping into the hole. Hopefully, the blast would discourage the beasts from pursuing them further.

Luckily for the both of them, the pack simply stayed back, growling and snarling as if to warn them not to go any further. Marcus was eager to follow as he watched Columbus disappear into the hole. A couple of seconds later, he ducked into it backward, still keeping his eye on the pack. Still growling, they stayed by the edge of the light until Marcus backed into the hole, deep enough to not see them anymore.

Deeper, the dull red light of flares faded into darkness. Concrete walls of the tunnel gave way into packed soil, crumbling and falling into Marcus as his gear scraped against the earth. For a while, they moved in deep darkness. Marcus would pulse his light to make sure none of the creatures pursued them when a soft green glow radiated behind him, Marcus craned his neck to look over and saw Columbus had broken open a vial of Chemlight, dropping it to the ground. In the tunnels, the light was bright enough to cast shadows even in the distance, allowing Marcus a much easier time to watch for anyone trailing them.

“There’s a drop ahead. I’m going to go first.” Columbus said, followed by the dull thud of his pack hitting solid ground, then a pair of boots.

The width of the tunnel forced Marcus to only go forward or back. He cannot turn around unless he took off his pack. Finding their rear clear, he unclipped his bag and let it fall to the ground. He grabbed the grenade hanging between his teeth, securing it on his vest, and turned around just as Columbus was reaching his arm inside to take the pack. Marcus followed, dropping from an armpit height into solid concrete.

They were in a small storage room. Shelves bolted to the wall lay empty, the single overhead socket holding a broken light bulb. A single chemlight illuminated the space. The green glow showed four bare concrete walls, making a square room with a steel door leading out.

The door was ajar. Marcus led the way, slowly pushing the door open and peeking around the corners for anything hiding. There was nothing. The door led to a long empty hall. Doors recessed into the wall at intervals and large pipes laid out overhead. If Marcus wasn’t wrong about the color-coded pipes, then it would be mainly air, electricity, network lines, and an automatic sprinkler system. In the far corner of the hall, he could see the dull glow of a flickering firelight.

“This is a facility alright,” Marcus whispered, doing a quick diagnostic check of his weapon.

“I still can’t help you with the fighting,” Columbus replied, looking through his screens. “The quest hasn’t been updated yet.”

“No problem,” Marcus answered. “You got anything else in there that could help with scouting out hostiles?”

“I got a thermal scope. And no, I won’t hand it to you and you can’t put it on your rifle.” Columbus said, reaching over to his pack, and pulling what looked to be a handle of a shield, without the shield itself. “This one, I brought exactly for the occasion.”

Item Information:

Assault Energy Shield

Favored by Earth military for use in ship boarding actions due to its light weight and high output. The size of the field can be modified according to user specifications.

2000 SU (100%)

Accepts fusion cells

Does not recharge

“Okay, we’ll use that when shit goes south. For now, I’ll lead and you keep watch on our asses.” Marcus said, leading the way out of the side room and down the hallway. Watching his steps, he crept towards the light and stopped just short of the corner. Peeking around, Marcus saw two small figures gathered around a small campfire, looking into the firelight.

Monster Infromation:

Goblin

A native creature of Terminus. Considered as a primitive sapient species from their societal structures and low level thinking. Advocates pursue integration to the humanity but their inherent barbarism makes their case a difficult subject to argue for.

Marcus pulled his head back around the corner and flashed two fingers at Columbus. For being sentries, they were doing a piss poor of a job. For a second, he wondered what the hell goblins were doing in the game but supposed that they were a permanent fixture in any game now, that along with zombies.

Columbus nodded, tracing a line on his neck. Marcus nodded, flicking his rifle out of safety and into semi-automatic mode.

Marcus took a deep breath and turned around the corner, his rifle held against his shoulder, and aimed at the two oblivious sentries. They were unarmored, and so he didn’t need to swap cartridges from the hollow points already loaded. He centered the dot on the nearer creature’s head and pulled the trigger. Even with the attached suppressor, the report was loud within the confines of the concrete hallway.

Marcus saw his target’s head snap away from him. Blood and brains sprayed out of the exit wound, coating the other sentry and startling it. It let out a surprised shriek, only to be silenced as Marcus took another shot, hitting it in the base of its skull, killing it instantly. Its head snapping back as hit the ground without another sound.

The hall was empty. Marcus approached the bodies and kicked the first goblin’s arm away from the fire as started burning, sizzling, and popping, letting out the smell of charred meat. He didn’t need something like a game to cause him to hate his favorite meal, even if it was artificial.

Monster Infromation:

Goblin Sentry

Lvl. 6

Unmotivated, undisciplined, despite these characteristics, the goblin sentry still retains a respectable position in the goblin hierarchy due to its keen senses.

Looking around, Marcus noted the smoke trailing from the fire and the burnt hand of the corpse rise and be sucked into the vents overhead. The partial vacuum pressure in the vents meant that air circulation is still working, albeit weakly.

“This is promising,” Columbus muttered, kneeling over the two corpses. He cut the satchel hanging from the goblin’s belt and fished out a shotgun shell, its plastic casing scratched and the brass base marred and pitted. The guns were simple slamfire pipe shotguns made of rough pipes and cut wood. “We are weapons-free from now on. Don’t expect them to be defensive like the Malifs we passed. They will trample over each other just to get to your loot.”

“Got it. Kill them all.” Marcus replied, looking further down the hall. It provided no cover, which meant that anyone walking down it would easily see them silhouetted against the firelight behind them. “We need to keep moving down the hall.” He said.

Columbus nodded, dropping the satchel to the ground, and followed Marcus as he led the way further down. Ahead of them, a metal door was recessed to the side. Marcus paused, pulsing his light to the door and alerting Columbus. Hugging the walls, Marcus kept to the side of the door and approached it as quietly as he could without compromising speed.

They reached it. The to paused by the side and Columbus crossed to the other side to open it while Marcus covered. With a nod, Columbus reached for the handle, only for it to open inward by itself. Marcus pressed the light on, illuminating a pair of surprised goblins, their eyes wide and pupils constricted into slits from the bright light. In their hands were more of the makeshift guns, short barrels and wooden stocks held together by bits of wire and held in one hand like pistols.

Marcus didn’t wait for an invitation nor an order from his boss, shooting the first goblin in between the eyes, flicking his aim up to the second goblin, and hitting two rounds center mass, killing the two instantly. The first goblin dropped into the ground, its legs no longer bearing the weight of its body. The second fell back, its body hitting the ground, its last spasms causing its fingers to clamp up around its weapon, pulling the trigger.

A loud bang echoed through the halls, followed by panicked chattering echoing from further down the hall.

“Stealth mission failed,” Marcus muttered, surging into the room to find it empty, save for clumps of bedding scattered on the floor. Likely their sleeping quarters. He then changed mags after clearing it. He looked over to Columbus, who nodded. Pulling out his assault shield, he turned on the device.

The shield emitted a translucent field the size of a man’s torso. Columbus took the lead and Marcus trailed behind, rifle raised.

Thinking about it, Marcus didn’t know what to feel about making his employer his own piece of cover but in the end, decided that his opinion was moot.