5. Collette: Tailored studies

Leaving the safety of the camp after the scream late in the afternoon Benedict, Valentine and myself set out with specialized gear to deal with the atrocity that had appeared in the area. Benedict led the three of us covered in ballistic armor with his FN FAL well suited to the open engagements of the area putting down any hostiles mutant or otherwise at range without hassle. Walking forward with confidence though alert he took a rather relaxed posture as we strolled through the long grass in the forest as sunlight became visible again through the remnants of the screams effect on the weather.

Valentine walked beside me in a camouflage overcoat reinforced with stab proof plates. A Barrett M98B slung over his back beside a pack laiden with hunting equipment. The .338 Lapua Magnum rounds his rifle fired were enough to reliably bring down most horrors. With a Model 444 Ultralite revolver as an emergency weapon at close range he stood ready to deal with most fauna in the zone. I Walked behind them fiddling with my surgery pack strapped over my stomach with a P90 jammed snuggly in the strap.

Wiping away a smudge on the visor of my closed respiratory environment suit the sun finally broke through the clouds shining over the expanse outside the barrier of trees. Shafts of light shone into the forest casting long shadows over the area as a small herd of mutilated sheep covered in irregular growths ran through the field. Their clear wool absorbed the the light to produce a scattering effect. The vague yet beautiful colours shifted as they continued running before settling near the center of the area to graze. Stopping with hands behind my back Valentine called ahead for Benedict to stop as he pulled out a notepad and pen breaking the silence taking the moment to practice our native French after a minute had passed.

“[Sooooo did you notice anything? Should I be writing something down?]” Continuing to stare at the sheep appreciating the silence for awhile longer I began rustling through my medical equipment again.

“[Just caught my eye that’s all. Nice to see something here that's not hell bent on killing everything.]” For a moment Valentine appreciated the sight beside me while Benedict kept up his guard. Finding my scalpel in the mess of equipment in the bag I turned to Valentine again.

“[You reckon it’d taste good?]”

“[Only one way to find out.]”

Readying his rifle on a branch that had decided to grow with a sense of absolute bedlam perfect for a crouching position I knelt beside him with a pair of binoculars ready to observe the effect the bullet had on the target in gruesome detail. Benedict in turn took up a position behind us protecting from any intrusions while our attention was diverted to the flock of sheep.

“[Two hundred meters, ready to fire.]” Focussing my binoculars as not to miss a single detail I got comfortable resting on the branch with Valentine with a hand holding a pen hovering over a notepad next to me.

“[Fire.]”

The round left the gun with a terrific crack as it flew through the air making it’s mark almost right away. The gunshot could be heard echoing throughout the hills amidst the creatures panicked bleating as the wool seemed to absorb the shot with no evidence of a wound being present through the rainbow cloud it appeared to be. Bolting another round Valentine prepared a follow up shot.

“[That was disapo-]”

A tremendous crash. The wounded mutant sheep exploded creating a bone crushing shock wave catching the rest of the fleeing herd within it’s radius. Now the air was filled with the panicked bleating of the survivors. Shocked Benedict threw himself to the ground as I ripped Valentine down. The bleats were replaced by a chain reaction of explosions vaporising what was left of the sheep.

Looking up at the devastation of craters specks of wool floated down from the site of the detonation. Distraught I watched the chromatic snow like wool float down from the sky as Valentine stood up shocked with surprise his face blank. Benedict unable to contain his snickering burst out laughing hunching over his knees. Looking back to him with our separate distraught and utterly surprised expressions he stood up wiping his eyes with his fingers as he brought his laughter down.

“[Oh shit… They just all started bleating then that explosion. That was fantastic.]” Staring at him unimpressed as Valentine still shocked looked back over to the new craters dumbfounded instilled we didn’t feel the same way about the situation.

“[You not think that was great? I mean c’mon, the bleating… then explosions… and… ugh fuck off.]”

Nodding slowly I returned to the notepad writing down our encounter with the sheep to update the encyclopedia of the zone. We had the luck of testing their response at range. No doubt pioneers had come across these creatures before but rather than picking them off they ambushed them with shotguns for a reliable kill. Looking back over to the craters it wasn’t surprising no one had reported these before. Sighing I closed the notebook to look at the scalpel I spent so long trying to find as Benedict noticed it glinting in the sun.

“[Really? You're disappointed you didn’t get to poke around in them? Did you SEE what they just did?]”

“[I doubt they’d explode if you're careful enough. Besides they seem to have a delay. Give it a slice, roll it down a hill and see what happens right?]” Shaking his head Benedict continued on point unwilling to continue the argument. Setting up in a glade we found ourselves waiting for our prey. It had been made aware to us that the atrocity that eluded us before had been spotted in the area.

As darkness began to fall preparing to admit today might not be the day to bring down the atrocity the deer with vantablack eyes strode into sight one hundred and fifty meters away from us. With a wild grin I reached into the surgeon's pack to pull out a FN303 less than lethal riot gun as Benedict loaded an M79 launcher with a sponge grenade.

“[You sure that this’ll be enough to bring it down?]” Benedict shared Valentine's concern with a grunt and a shrug. Confidently finishing my checks on the riot gun I loaded the magazine.

“[Well we know for sure bullets don’t do shit. I don’t think it’s a gravity field otherwise everything would be thrown away from it. Has to be magnetic so rubber rounds should hit it.]”

“[If they don’t?]”

“[Climb a tree and hope it gets bored enough to leave. Best of luck guys.]”

“[What kind of back up plan is that? Piss it off and hope it doesn’t kill you?]” Ignoring Valentine Benedict set off to position himself.

“[Be careful, don’t fuck up.]” With a nod I crept up to the edge of cover from where it grazed a hundred meters out as Valentine provided an overwatch from any other threats and Benedict waited to follow up my attack. With a go signal I walked out from cover waving my arms with riot gun in hand to get the deer's attention.

“[Hey little guy! How’s things? I see you’ve got some new trinkets on your antlers! Were you helping us out or tearing us apart I wonder?]”

The deer looked up furiously. Stomping the ground with one of its taloned legs it offered a moment of mercy so rare in the zone allowing a chance to escape. Though such abnormal behaviour was noted we didn’t come here to run. Walking forward towards the deer obnoxiously it went into a frenzy stomping both front taloned legs into the ground repetitively. Bringing my hands to my knees leaning forward slightly I provoked it further defying it.

“[Aww that’s awfully sweet of you giving us the choice leave. Sorry but you're an inconvenience for most idiots. Someone has to do this. That and your a scientific treasure trove I can’t WAIT to see what makes you tick!]”

Pushed to a point of deranged frustration with my refusal to leave the deer charged as I back peddled to the cover of a tree waiting for it to close in. The talons cut into the ground tearing it up as it continued it's blitz. The scythed antlers covered in the remnants of it’s aggressors drove home what failure would bring. Standing unshaken with the riot gun ready I waited for the right moment. As it closed in to around forty meters away I fired. The rubber pellets collided bouncing from the deer's leg throwing the muscles into a spasm bringing it crashing down into the dirt.

Benedict immediately broke cover charging forward with the M79 launcher. Sliding down to a knee as he found a position he fired into the creature's head as I kept the deer down with sustained fire. The first grenade bounced from the deer's skull sending it into a seizure where it’s head swung the scythed talons around wildly. Loading another round a second shot saw the deer finally subdued as it’s body went limp.

With a grunt of satisfaction Benedict threw the M79 to me for Valentine to collect as he went out to set up a perimeter. Valentine approached taking the M79 holding onto it while I procured a glass syringe and vial.

“[Pretty anti-climatic way to go. Shame we couldn’t just get a tranq rifle and save the trouble of knocking it out.]”

Valentine procured his notebook and hunting equipment as we prepared to perform an autopsy. Penetrating the vial with the syringe drawing the fluid with grave caution I found a suitable vein to begin injecting the serum.

“[A glass syringe would have probably just shattered on impact and I’m not collecting more void toxin.]”

“[Yeah, lets just hope it can kill it.]”

“[It’ll work. One of the most lethal neurotoxins known to man. See? It’s already stopped breathing.]” Throwing the syringe into a secure container Valentine checked the creatures pulse letting out an impressed whistle as he recorded the time of death shortly after.

“[The shit that can kill us in this place. So potent it’s almost inspiring.]”

Bringing the scalpel down the deer's belly as Valentine stood well away should it contain any life threatening surprises he readied himself to record everything I dictated. As the light faded he also provided a light source as benedict sat jittery on overwatch. The predators formed by this place welcomed the darkness as true nightmares and Benedict was rightfully skittish towards every noise emitted through the pitch black night. Cutting through the deer with haste I continued to converse with myself as Valentine recorded my findings.

“[Those same organs, note that down as well. The eyes are incredible. Even shining your light on them they seem to absorb the entire visible range and possibly beyond. Either it has incredibly sensitive eyes or it sees something else entirely outside of the material world. The brain has an extension of the organs over the occipital lobe so it may very well be modified detect other stimuli unknown to us. The talons and scythed antlers are warped to a lethal edge. Whether or not this is from initial mutation or during it’s growth I’m unsure however it’s so dense it blunted my bonesaw. The abdom-]”

“[Shutup.]”

Following Benedict's order we froze. Valentine quickly drew his revolver and I readied my P90 regardless of contaminated hands. Complete silence accompanied our sentry in the darkness which headlights did little to penetrate. To Benedict's front the grass was disturbed. Ripping his rifle round his eyes tracked the ground as I watched him clench the gun. A small patch of grass flattened out. Two shots from Benedict broke the silence. Resonating into the physical realm a greatly deformed and contorted humanoid figure went into ballistic shock as it’s fluid like body lost structure and sloshed to the ground with a spectral rasping.

The humanoid figure’s limbs of irregular length flopped about in protest about it’s demise. The largely offset eyes rolled around manically trying to assert some control over the situation as black leach like maw appendages flailed from its rasping now gargling mouth. The melted skin began to deflate as the humanoid mutant lost its strength and passed on.

“[Abyss jaegers are out to play. Wrap it up.]”

Quickly harvesting the eyes of the deer for further research we made our way back to Ilovniza village. Trying to cut through the darkness with our flashlights did little to provide any sense of security. After dispatching a few fallen who began to hunt during the night saw me wiping fresh gore from my visor to continue the assault. A beacon of hope could be seen in the distance as lights shone from floodlights shambled together from the village with a few pioneers out the front on watch for any threats that might try attack in the night.

Passing through the bulkhead after having my suit doused in dirty water to wash away all the contaminants I was covered in from the expeditions efforts Benedict and Valentine enjoyed a drink earned from the bounty and a well earned nights rest. I immediately entered a makeshift laboratory locked off to most of the other pioneers and began performing as many experiments on the eye’s that the rooms equipment allowed. Rummaging through rusty and defective salvaged equipment as well as old unreliable chemicals I found my quest for discovery to be highly limited.

Frustrated with the lack of results slumped over the bench on the rickety stool I let my helmet visor rest on the table with my forehead pressed against the cold protective screen. Rolling sideways looking at the eyes in their container I sat upright once more to hold one in each hand. Staring into them proved to have no effect for the first few minutes. Slowly I felt something though. Looking into the eyes from the void it started to feel as if there wasn’t a barrier between us. Gently prodding them with my thumb around my hand I felt the outside world disappear as my focus rested entirely on the eyes.

Sitting entirely still I gazed into the void in my hands. Something of a connection was felt. Something otherworldly. The eyes seemed to be detecting something I naturally couldn’t but now I was focussing on them it was there for me as well. It was as if some part of my body registered the organs presence after exposing myself to the eyes for so long. Closing my eyes deciding to throw caution to the wind I encouraged the connection in the promise of progress.

Immediately thrown into what could only be described as a network I felt everything. Exploring freely for only a moment I was cut off by the soul crushing scream tearing through my mind and body as I recoiled backwards on the stool. Breathing heavily the eyes rolled free from my grasp. Laughing unevenly slapping my hands against the bench Valentine opened the door to the laboratory. He began scolding me but none of his words registered. Ears ringing I looked through the window slit to stare at the shafts of light intensifying through the baricade until Valentine began shaking me by the shoulders for my attention.

“[Collette you in there?]”

Looking blankly at him exhausted I managed a stoned smile. Shaking his head he returned me to a bunk after cleaning my gloves with alcohol wipes. Lying on the mattress I couldn’t help but worry about the detrimental effects of the research I carried out so often. While not obvious something seemed more and more off after every autopsy performed. Those organs so similar to each specimen plagued my mind more and more as I turned over the risks in my head.