"One to ten is deadly, but manageable. Some aren't even that bad. Body-eating worms are hard to kill, but they'll just sit there and make you cry over them, and there are watchbirds, those that look Birds like damn doves? They make for good target practice.
Are there some? Oh my god, they are nightmares incarnate. ”——Excerpted from "Memoirs of a Frontline Soldier" by Stephen Clancy
***
When I heard the first cry of "shit sh*t" coming from somewhere ahead, I started running.
My shoes still squeaked as I struggled to regain my footing and find my footing on the smooth floor.
I came around the corner and discovered something out of a horror movie.
A pair of monsters were clawing at a makeshift wall made of several tables stacked on top of each other, with a few office chairs stuffed into the cracks. Behind them stood a stocky monster, standing on six thick legs, its upper body covered with tentacles that lashed forward and grabbed at fragments of the wall.
A pistol emerged from a hole in the fence. I ducked around the corner as it opened fire. Seven shots. Eight o'clock...nine o'clock...then a long pause and someone swearing. Three more came soon after.
I looked around the corner and saw one of the big beasts bleeding, with a huge tentacle thing sliding to the side. But it's not dead, not yet.
I bit my lip and raised my trench machine, trying to steady my aim. My first round hit one of the smaller enemies in the side, just a small pinhole, and it soon started glowing from within as the incendiary round started working.
What's in this incendiary bomb? But there's something so cathartic about seeing something that's been shot begin to squirm, its insides flickering and burning. I turned around and fired three shots at the tentacle monster. The first hit its center of mass, the second hit the almost dead monster No. 3 next to it, and the third disappeared somewhere at the far end of the corridor.
close enough.
Target eliminated!
Reward... 35 points!
Current points: 227!
I know ammo is pretty cheap, but your aim still requires some effort.
"You're supposed to hold this with two hands, aren't you?" I asked.
There are ways to improve your muscle tissue. Or maybe we could replace my missing eye with a proper aiming system?
"Can you delay selling me something for an hour?" I asked.
as you wish! The timer is on.
Is the AI in my brain being sarcastic. What has my life become? Damn it!
I came around the corner, gun at my side, and jogged to the barricaded door, looking at the bodies strewn about. "Back off! Get out of here you fucking alien scum!"
I stopped and stared into the crazy eyes of some idiot as he brandished a gun at me through a hole in the barricade. "Hey hey hey, I'm human!" I shouted back immediately.
"That's what an alien would say!"
I blinked. "Are you a fool?" I asked.
"Come on, Jeff," the other voice said, a lower, calmer voice. I saw a hand fall on the arm holding the gun and push it down. "No alien is going to call you stupid. That's what humans are supposed to do. Ha."
"Maybe one of those seven!"
I gritted my teeth. "Are you Jeff... and Storm Thunder?" I asked.
The gun was raised again. "How do you know my name?"
I rolled my eyes. "Simmons sent me to save you jackasses."
A head appeared in the hole, and I saw a pair of eyes widen. "You are a samurai!"
"And you guys are idiots. Now are you going to talk or are we going to shoot each other and do nothing but make some jokes, mine is bigger." I waved my trench machine and saw its head disappear.
"We'll move things over so you can come in," Storm said.
"No, no," I said. "We're leaving. I'm here to get something and run, not get something and sit down and have a drink."
The scraping sound of moving things stopped. "We were hurt," Storm said. His voice was so low that only I could hear it. "If you want to leave them, go ahead. You won't be blamed."
I rolled my eyes. "Beautiful. Let me see. I might be able to do something. What kind of damage? Did any of you shoot yourself in the foot? Is that Jeff?"
"We had three girls from the accounting department across several offices who were trapped in this rough place by a dog alien. One was seriously injured," Storm said.
This put a hole in my flippant attitude.
"Damn it. Come on," I said.
The table wall moved to the side, leaving a hole big enough for me to squeeze through. I'm not the most flexible girl and maybe I blushed a little as I huffed and puffed through the barricades,
Their setup is rough. There was just a bunch of furniture leaning against the double-door-sized entryway, and some against the walls. The office outside was a mess. Papers were thrown everywhere, posters were torn down, and office trash was strewn all over the floor.
I confronted six people in the area, all from the office, wearing button-down shirts and looking confused.
"Over there," Storm said, pointing to the far ceiling, where signs for two restrooms hung. "We thought that was the safest place to be."
"More tentacled aliens are coming," Jeff said. By the time I squeezed past, he had quieted down, probably embarrassed, but more sobered by the arrival of more aliens.
"What else are you good at with your ammo?" I asked.
"You can use the gun, ma'am," Storm said. "Our bullets keep jamming."
I nodded. "Can any of them shoot?" I asked, pointing to the people in the office.
"I don't believe they would do that."
"Mialis, two fox-tooth guns," I said.
New Purchase: Foxteeth Model D x 2
Points reduced to... 217
Two boxes appeared at my feet, the same cheap plastic as last time. "Have fun. I'm going to check on the girls. Let's go then."
