21. Tarasov: Heart of darkness

Marching through the darkness beside Robinc, another man who accepted the contract, we cautiously advanced to the rendezvous where Flux was rumored to be found. Overhearing he’d joined forces with a few pioneers to destroy a collective outpost I immediately took the job to get Noah’s plan back on track. I had no idea why the man wanted Flux so badly but if returning him meant we could go back to the task at hand there seemed to be no other objective for the moment.

Robinc remained silent for most of the hike only replying with basic confirmations or exhaling hushed alerts. His face seemed weathered by a lifetime of warfare but not once did he mention his experience along the way. Speaking of my experiences in the Chechen wars and disillusionment only seemed to irritate him as if I was truly ignorant to what I was talking about. Pushing the matter saw him go silent from there on even after we made contact with the rest of the men on the mission.

Scanning the group Flux was indeed apart of the men here to fight the threat though he didn’t notice me. Come to think of it he never knew who I was. He never saw me in my capture and I would’ve been just another face amongst the pioneers defending the compound. Concluding it was probably for the best not to reveal my intentions based on how he left the group I would have to bear him down after the job was done. With luck he’d see reason and come back to us. Taking our attention the lead began to quietly go through the plan.

“Alright boys, outpost is just ahead. Creepy fuckers have turned an old complex into an altar outside the ten kilometer exclusion zone. We move up, kill everyone and burn it down. Simple as that.”

Nodding we went over our assault tactics and made for the large concrete building. The sentries stood eerily still each looking out in separate directions with weapons in hand. Observing them for minutes they continued to stand unmoved even by the beastial screams coming from the forest beside them. Marching out the door a cultist wearing an ethereal tattered cape went to return into the center of the zone as our marksman lined up the shot. A gentle breeze brushed through the grass as he steadied his breathing while his finger went for the trigger.

The target ripped around as the gunshot broke our concealment, the round ripping through the fabric over his arm rather than planting itself in his chest. Like men possessed the cultists immediately reacted to our position bringing the marksman's head down under a flurry of fire.

Charging around through the zones flora Flux, Robinc and myself made steady ground as bullets pelted the trees around us. Pulling his knife with the rifle resting on the sling Flux did so as well without question. Confused with what they planned to do at a distance with the blades the vines whipped down from above.

Slashing wildly the armor did little to protect as the chest plate was torn off. The next vine dived for my chest which was only narrowly evaded as the swarm of carnivorous plants converged rapidly. Desperately maintaining my footing I charged through running from the swarm behind as Flux and Robinc cut a path through the madness.

The cultists continued to fire in unison ignoring the suppression from our initial position with a round finally made its mark across my leg. Being just enough to throw my footing I fell to see the darkness of the vines converging into a unified formation threatening to swallow me whole.

Overhead a grenade flew into the belly of the beast creating a tremendous fire leaving it recoiling from the damage falling apart as it tried to maintain its formation. Pulling me up without words Robinc continued on as Flux cut through to the edge of our flank to fire on the cultists who were now occupied by the rest of the assault team. Firing into them they fought through insurmountable wounds before their bodies finally gave in to the damage. With the outside threats dealt with the others threw molotovs into the building.

While burning well the fire’s failed to take hold inside. Without the promise of the flames consuming the building the men steeled themselves preparing for a breach. With rifles up watching the door waiting for someone to make a move some took the time to cross themselves, others doing a final check on their weapons stalling for time and a few trying to keep their breathing steady.

I stood amongst them with undying zeal to destroy the horrors of this place but even that was proving inefficient to resist the unsettling effect of the unholy communion inside the building. Behind the closed door the hum of a hymn came from the remaining collective inside locked in a battle trance. Undeterred Robinc walked forward forcing us all into action as he battered down the door with the butt of his rifle.

The hymn immediately turned demonic as our flashlights penetrated the darkness within. Fire erupted from both sides as the night air became filled with the sound of violence. Gunshots and screams fell into the symphony of the battle trance the collective fought under becoming apart of the hymn rather than disrupting it.

Rushing through the small ruined complex in the chaotic breach atrocities snatched away a few of us into the darkest corners of the building with no remnants of whoever was lost. Room by room our wounds mounted and resolve crumbled. The coordinated attack degraded to a pack of animals fighting desperately for survival as we split into three groups of three to cover the entire complex.

Ripping the next door open another man was thrown back into the wall with cry quickly silenced from the impact. Raising his semi automatic shotgun stunned he fired wildly into the abomination’s sickly muscular structure leaving it’s once human face horrifically elongated and fractured. Charging onto the man as he ran out of ammo it’s fists came down in an absolute rush of blows. Agonized screams filled the hallway as we fired into the beast crushing and tearing apart the pioneer alive with every strike.

Running our magazines empty the beast slumped to the side exposing the dying pioneer on the ground with only his torso left. Taking only a moment to put the man out of his misery it left only myself and Flux in our group. Gunfire still erupted from the compound so at least one other team was combat effective. Approaching the final door I remembered the importance of keeping Flux alive. Without him Noah might deem the operation doomed.

Why he was so important seemed nothing more than irrational obsession but after his display at fighting through this heart of darkness maybe he wanted him to carve through what waited for us at the pillar. Snapping back to the situation at hand regardless of the reason for wanting Flux for the attack on the pillar it would be delayed without him. This fight had to be concluded so the zone could be ended. Steeling myself with the zeal inspired by the only war I saw worth fighting I kicked in the door stumbling with exhaustion to see five more cultists.

Expecting to immediately be cut down the cultists ceased their hymn allowing for a moment silence devoid of screams or gunfire. Their eyes all tracked over to Flux which saw them clawing over the barricades swarming him with deranged incoherent screams as their unified movement fell to individual rampage.

Cutting one down charging Flux another tackled me to the side and another piled on top as they both began clawing my suit with their bare hands. Trying to push the madmen off saw them find an opportunity to tear sections of my suit away to expose flesh which they immediately began to rend. Teeth bared pushing through the blind pain the knife finally came loose in the collective cultists vest which I used to devastating effect quickly dispatching both.

Throwing the bodies off and dragging myself up to learn against the wall I saw Flux expertly cutting down each of the cultists that desperately attempted to capture him. Dealing lethal blows that not even the disrupted collective could fight through he wore down their numbers moving like a fluid until the last one fell.

Regardless of the lull in combat he immediately took his UMP to rip out the magazine sending it skittering over the floor. Letting my head fall as the adrenaline left me my feet revealed a trail of blood. Looking up patting my vest for a bandage and about to ask for Flux’s assistance he slid his hand over the bolt cocking the gun driving the UMP forward sighting the weapon with convulsing eyes.

Illuminating me with a muzzle flash the first round tore through my sternum burying itself in the back plate of armor. The second made it’s mark as blood began to flood my lungs. The third tore through just the same as the fourth and the fifth and the sixth while the gun rattled in his hands dispersing shots throughout my chest. Falling to a slouch unable to breath Flux ripped the magazine out again to jam in another sprinting back the way we came on the prowl for more victims.

As pain took my mind I felt the despair of failure. In that moment I saw how to destroy the zone and complete my objective. He halted his plan waiting on Flux. That poor deluded fool. The delay alone threatened to leave the world corrupted. My final thoughts rested with the hope Noah would find the true enemy as one of the mortal coils came to claim me. Sending my mind deep down into the depths along the glowing tendril towards the darkness from which nothing escaped.