Broken World

Broken World

Jraden felt a tremor course through his spine as he heard the shouting behind them. It was impossible to know how close they were, as the tunnels played tricks on the sounds. Still, he would not risk it.

"Run. Keep quiet, but run. I want to clear these tunnels now." he spat. The men looked back at the darkness of the tunnel and then at one another. They didn't move to obey, and instead blocked his path. Jraden eyed them for a moment, wondering if they would rebel so soon. He drowned out the shouting, the thundering steps, and ignored the steady glow increasing as the light of torches and flashlights shone somewhere behind them. The world shrank down until it was populated only by the men looking at him with weapons in their hands, his own arm and the pistol he carried, and the dire need to complete his task.

All four of them stood in the tunnel without moving, as the bandits bellowed for their blood somewhere behind them. Jraden's hand had reached the grip of his pistol, when an inhuman scream pierced the tension.

"What in the..?" Neslo muttered, eyes wide as he took a step back and the walls rumbled causing dust to fall around them. The scream came again after a few seconds, definitely louder. Soon enough the sound of it was everywhere, and nothing else could be heard.

Jraden smiled at them. It was a humorless, tired smile filled with frustration and a deep desire to put a bullet through each of their heads. He wished to blame them, he truly wanted to, but he knew it was just fate's final insult to him. One last way of telling the man how much his life was worth in Hell.

The fingers of the creature coiled around the bend in the tunnel behind them— large as a man's arm. Each one was covered in pus and long, deep gashes that bled a yellow mucus and gave off stench. From the thing's knuckles, four pairs of eyes fixed on them, and all three men finally obeyed Jraden's order.

They ran.

***

Martian cursed under his breath. He knew he couldn't blame Dingu for not wanting to stay and help, but it still made him angry. Between the three of them they stood a better chance of gunning down Jraden before he could do anything about it. In any case, he knew it would be useless to ponder on it. They had better focus on the task at hand. At least Grayson had stuck around, he thought.

"Scissors." Grayson muttered.

Martian sighed.

"I don't think now's the best time for that." he whispered back. They'd been in the darkness longer than they thought they'd be, and it had started to gnaw at Martian's mind. What if Jraden had slipped away before they'd taken position? Xiaowen was where they had left him still, though they were not sure if he was still alive, but Dingu could have been right. Maybe Jraden was enough of a monster to abandon his own in the depths of the mines. Then again, he could be dead, and they'd left nothing but his corpse behind.

"It's better than sitting in silence." Grayson said, and Martian smiled.

"Rock." he said. Grayson tutted and shook his head.

"No fair. It has to be-"

A scream tore through the quiet. Both men jumped slightly, but immediately readied their weapons. Martian was lying on the floor of the small tunnel where they had left a while ago, and Grayson had to aim single-handedly and sitting up on account of his arm. They had a clear view of the entirety of the tunnel as far back as three meters, where the darkness grew too thick for them to distinguish anything. They had dropped a small flashlight right beside Xiaowen to make certain that Jraden saw the man, but they'd taken care to cover the light with some cloth for it to be impossible to determine if he was dead or alive. He would have to stop right before them if he wanted to know.

They held their breath, even if they were not aware of it. Their thumping hearts seemed to echo across the darkness of the mines. In it they waited, until the sounds of hurried steps against the ground filled their ears.

"They ain't slowin' down." Martian muttered. Grayson swallowed slowly— sweat building on his forehead. They both had one shot. Their breech-loading rifles would not give them time to reload, and Grayson couldn't anyway, because of his arm.

In the darkness they waited. Nothing but the sound of what would soon be upon them was in their minds, and the anticipation of battle flooded their bodies with adrenaline. Somewhere in the shadows, Martian saw him.

Jraden's face was illuminated faintly by a light-source he couldn't quite place. His features were creased into an expression of fury, desperation, and exertion. Still, Martian had hoped he could see fear in him before the end. Perhaps regret for the lives lost, even if he knew how unlikely that was. For a moment, he wondered if perhaps he could see him there in the darkness of the tunnel. The thought that the anger in his face was caused by the sight of the barrel of his gun trained on him caused a smile to appear on Martian's face.

"Imma tap dance on your grave, boy." he muttered, more to himself than anything, but Grayson chuckled. For a brief moment he thought of telling him to be quiet, but with his finger on the trigger and Jraden's face so close... Fuck it, he thought, and fired.

The entire tunnel's entrance was illuminated as the two rifles discharged.

***

"I'm sorry, Valerian. But I've been mind-controlled before, and I won't let anyone do so again, much less with othrio." Alex said and twisted the blade. A trickle of blood oozed out of the wound and the man's breathing grew slow, but he didn't cry out and there was not nearly as much as there should have been. Alex's smile slowly faded as his arm was gripped strongly and the masked man drew closer.

"You fool." Valerian said, and raised his pistol above their heads. Before Alex could move away, Valerian brought it down with all the strength he could muster. Alex felt the gas-mask he wore cave in as the force of the blow impacted. Then he felt the warm trickle of blood as it coated his face. He grunted and fell back, but Valerian did not let go. He raised his pistol once more and brought it back down, time and again. Alex swung his blade as best as he could, but Valerian had his arm tightly held.

In the shadows they seemed to dance. A bloody, merciless dance of pain and rage, as Valerian used all the force in his arm to pummel Alex's face until the cartilage of his nose was deformed beyond recognition. His breathing was jagged and he could hear his heartbeat in his his ears by the time he was too tired to continue. At a sudden contraction of his stomach, he peeled off his mask and retched violently against the wall. Alex had long lost consciousness, and was now splayed on the floor, still breathing, if barely.

Valerian stared at the man for a moment. His anger was subsiding slowly, and now that he looked at what he had done, he felt ill. He reached back to undo the belts of the body armor he wore and inspected the wound. Alex's blade had thrust true and without fault—managing to hit the spot where a previous blow had weakened the armor, but despite his luck, Valerian would live. He would need a medic soon enough, but the adrenaline rushing through him should keep him going for a while longer.

Othrio, he thought to himself— remembering what Alex had said. The war drug that makes men into beasts. He knew of its use by bandits and slave traders— how it made men docile when refined and used in a certain quantity, but was it possible he had received a different dose? He felt nauseous, but despite it all, he slowly came back to his senses.

He walked over to Alex's unconscious body and took the battered mask off. He clenched his jaw and breathed out heavily at the sight. Offering a quick prayer for forgiveness, Valerian lifted the wounded man and slung him over his shoulder, careful to keep him face-down so he would not drown with his own blood. Slowly, he began to make his way back.

Russell was waiting for him when he returned. The man was holding his weapon tightly, ready to strike. Valerian stopped a few steps away.

"What happened?" Russell asked, suspicion thick in his voice. He didn't drop his stance or lower his weapon. Valerian didn't care.

"I have committed a great mistake, Russell." he said, and moved sideways, so that Alex's body was visible.

Russell swallowed hard and took a step back.

"What have you done?" he whispered, and Valerian lowered his head slightly.

"I will give no excuses for myself. Julius is not with you, so I assume you both know of the othrio, and you just cared more for the rest of us than him. If so, know that I am no longer under its influence. I do not believe that exempts me from the responsibility of my acts, but you can be assured, I will not harm you." he said.

"Put Alex on the ground and back away. Julius knew you had been free of the othrio's influence long before we parted ways." Russell said.

"I was not-"

"On the ground and back away!" he shouted. Valerian stopped. He did not know what to do anymore. The goal, so clear before, was no longer visible. Shame, confusion, anger... they all battled away inside him. He had believed in doing what had to be done. To fight for humanity. To do the right thing, not for an individual, but for the greater well-being of everyone.

But what was the greater good? What did he have to do, and just who was he fighting for? Men were dead, and he had almost killed one himself. This would not faze him at times were the mission was clear, but now it was so uncertain. Jraden had manipulated them all. So to whom did he do good? To a single man, or to the majority of men around him?

He put Alex on the ground, and at Russell's behest, he slid away into the darkness of a different tunnel.

***

Saint Kelly remembered Ida. Beautiful, crazy, crazy woman. She must have been. How else would she ignore the beauty of the world around her? It was a mad, mad world, and one had to be crazy not to enjoy it. Still, there she was. Shy and timid as a singing bird. So quick to dart away at the slightest show of danger. He was not like that. No, no. He was a little smarter, a little better. So when he saw those fools playing heroes in the darkness of such a small, tiny tunnel, he knew he had to act.

Jraden was the bigger fool. He was, yes, but he also knew the way out. If those men were stupid enough to kill his only way back to Ida, that beautiful, shy, lovely, crazy woman, they'd first have to outdo him. And of course they couldn't. He was he, and they were they.

He threw himself at the fool, the biggest fool of them all, because, even as his worthless life was saved by him, he had the nerve to try and shoot his savior. Kelly was smarter than that, of course. He made sure to push the pistol to the side. The shot flew off somewhere ahead of them, toward the darkness of the tunnel ahead of them. The two shots fired by the idiots-playing-heroes hit the beast behind them, and what a song it sang. A scream of pure, blind, rage, the likes which Kelly grew to admire men by. Only the maddest roared like that.

He did not waste time. Noremac Neslo and Adam Smith darted ahead blindly, the fools. Kelly made sure to get his way-out-man back on his feet and running again. Jraden was bewildered, and what a funny look he had on his face. Kelly was laughing inside, but only there. Outside he looked concerned, as he should.

"Are you alright?" he screamed over the roaring of the beast. Jraden stared, like the idiot he was.

"I am." he finally replied, and they both ran ahead. As they passed the tunnel where the shots had come from, he noticed that no one was there. Kelly smiled as he remembered the direction in which Jraden's shot had gone. There was blood on the floor.

"Wait." Jraden called out, and Kelly almost groaned when he saw why he'd stopped. "Help me." Jraden said, and Kelly had to make such an effort not to run ahead.

"You take his legs." Jraden said, and Kelly did so. Xiaowen wasn't very heavy, but he knew they did not have time.

"We can't outrun that thing like this, sir." Kelly reminded the fool, fool, fool. He was fighting the urge to rip his throat out himself for being such an idiot.

"The exit is almost upon us. Xiaowen will recover, and we need his help." Jraden said and they ran once more, as fast as that useless, worthless, pestersome dead weight would allow. Kelly was grinding his teeth together in a rage. He wondered if he'd have been better off letting those two shoot Jraden full of holes.

Still, the man was full of surprises.

The beast bellowed again and leapt, for its massive steps could not be heard for a few seconds, and Jraden pulled something out of his coat. Two black, round, and deadly spheres that shone with a green light the moment the pins were pulled from them. Kelly smiled. Jraden dropped them, and they hurried away.

An inferno was produced.

The monster screeched as it landed on top of the combusting grenades. The dark-green flames exploded outwards into a massive column of fire that engulfed it in a matter of seconds. Its screams soon turned into agonized shrieks, and it stopped pursuing as it died. Kelly had felt the flames lick at his heels, but Jraden had timed them perfectly, that much he would grant the moron. A second earlier and he'd be crisped.

Together they raced further into the darkness, as the sounds of a dozen angry men echoed behind them.

***

Noremac Neslo and Adam Smith were rushing through the tunnels without knowing where they went. Still, anyplace was better than what they had left behind.

"Where the fuck are we?!" Smith roared as the sounds of an explosion reached their ears.

"I don't know." Noremac said. They ran for a while longer, until they saw movement up ahead.

"Wait." Smith said and pointed the light of his flashlight ahead. It was one of theirs. Both men sighed at the sight and walked on further.

"Where's Valerian?" Noremac asked, and Russell shook his head. He was struggling to carry the body of another man, Alex, he thought he was called.

"Son of a... What happened to his face?" Smith asked, and Noremac glanced down only to realize that there actually wasn't much of a face left. He grimaced and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Russell said. "You have to help me carry him."

Noremac turned slightly and looked back at Russell. He shook his head.

"You're on your own, little man." he said, and ran ahead. He didn't look back to see if Smith had followed. He didn't really care.

The tunnel stretched on for what seemed like an eternity, but finally he found an exit to it. With a sigh of relief, Noremac shouldered his way through a fragile wooden door and entered a massive chamber, only to curse himself and wish he hadn't.

"What 'ave we got 'ere?" a man said. He was a fat, greasy one, the bandit. A thick mustache adorned his face, and he had rough stubble growing out of his chin and neck. He leveled a rifle at Noremac's forehead.

"Fuck off." Noremac said after a moment. The bandit chuckled. A hundred or so many more did as well. The chamber was full of them.

"Oh, we're going to 'ave a blast with you, kid. We just 'ave to get the dogs here. They'll tear meat from bone real good." the man chuckled and several others moved forward, all training rifles, pistols, and even a flamethrower at him. "Now, were's the others?"

Noremac spat. The men chuckled, and the greasy man smiled.

"Kill him. Search the tunnels, and-"

A shot went through his head.

Noremac fell back with a scream as he felt a searing heat going through his right shoulder. The pain was agonizing, and with a startled epiphany, Noremac realized it had been a laser bolt.

"What the fu-?!" a man to the right shouted and another shot went through his eye. His body was pierced five more times before it hit the floor. The room was a light show.

Shots rang out. Bullets rushed through the air as the bandits tried to retaliate, but they did not seem to hit anything. Noremac could see little and less, but what he could see was mesmerizing. A massive hole in the roof of the chamber that had not been patched properly was now the entrance point for dozens of Assault Troopers. A chuckle escaped Noremac as he saw the bandits falling around him with horror in their eyes. The Assault Troopers were not in the prisoner-taking business.

One of them landed before him. Noremac kept quiet as the Trooper shrugged off the propulsion pack. He smiled. He considered whistling or calling out to her, but she swatted the thought from his mind the moment she put three shots through a man's neck.

She muttered something into an earpiece she wore inside the helmet and moved on, shooting down anyone that appeared in her path. Coordinated, effective, and deadly— the Assault Troopers used their propulsion packs to dart in and out of the action and disrupt the bandit's attempts to retreat into the tunnels or form a resistance in the chamber, while the ground troopers advanced steadily and without mercy upon the exposed and terrified bandits.

Noremac considered joining in, but he decided against it. The troopers seemed to have it under control. He contented himself with watching and wincing as his shoulder screamed whenever he accidentally moved it.

The troopers seemed to have the bandits contained, and Noremac considered calling their attention, when two massive doors opposite of the chamber burst open. The Assault Troopers rapidly moved away and repositioned themselves, but the ground troopers were not as lucky.

Something crawled out of the darkness of the doors, being urged on by a band of bandits clad in heavy armor. The woman Noremac had seen before was in their path, and the beast locked dozens of its eyes on her.

"Oh shit." Noremac said, and rushed to his feet despite the pain. The trooper fired away even as the beast advanced on her. She ran and fired, as the thing wobbled on unsteady, horribly deformed legs towards her. Behind it, the bandits spilled out into the room and fired the massive 'bull-breaker' guns they carried. Ammunition packs the size of a pig hung from their backs, and the sound and light of the guns was blinding as it was deafening. The troopers were forced to retreat on all sides as the beast opened its fanged maw and brought it down on the woman. The gunfire never ceased.

Noremac screamed in anger and agony but did not slow down. He ran. Weapon raised. Heart thumping fiercely, and adrenaline rushing. He threw himself forward with all the strength his legs had. But he would be too late. The woman had turned to fire one last time before death. The monster's jaws closed down together, and a scream echoed throughout the chamber.

Noremac bellowed as he felt bone crack and flesh break, blood gushing out. He felt the beast raise its head and shake it violently. He caught a glimpse of its eyes and saw nothing but terror in them. Then he was flying. Like some form of bird, he flew until he crashed against a wall and his vision darkened, but he did not pass out.

As he looked down at himself, he wished he had. Blood was pooling around the stumps where his knees should have been.

***

Jraden screamed in anger. He had been so close. So very damn close.

The Army's Assault Troopers had ruined it all. They dashed in and out of combat, raining down laser fire and death unto all that they saw. The bandit, the mutant, and the convict. Jraden lay against a wall, glaring at the troopers as they closed in on him. His hand was pressed tightly against the wound in his stomach where he'd been shot. A low-intensity laser bolt had hit him, so the wound was not a harbinger of death, but it still hurt enough to immobilize a demon.

The troopers had swarmed him and put a shot through him and the rest of the men the moment they saw them. They were all the same. No dead men would come from their group. The same could not be said of the bandits.

The massive beast was shrieking in terror. Not anger, but absolute fright. The others may not have been able to see it, but Jraden had fought mutants in the past. The bigger they were, the dumber, and the dumber they were, the more innocent as well. Past the brutish exterior, should one know where to look, a small glint of intelligence shone in their eyes. The mutated beast would be begging for its life and in tears if it had ever been born with the ability to speak or think clearly. All it could do was shriek in agony as laser fire tore through its arms, its legs, its eyes. Burn marks that went as deep as a man's forearm dotted its body, and all it could do was lash out in absolute confusion as it died.

"It doesn't understand..." Jraden found himself muttering as the darkness commenced to envelop him. "It doesn't understand what is happening..."

The bandits had fled the moment the troopers had switched from regular shot to the highest intensity they could muster. Heavy armor would not let the lasers through, but with concentrated fire the metal would heat to the point of fusing with the skin beneath. It would be a matter of time now, Jraden knew. The bandits would be sought out and murdered.

He had failed. If he didn't die, he'd be questioned. He would never speak. He would never be released... He only hoped that the army would not find the fuel. All his faith rested in the Old Bugger sending someone else. Anyone. The mission could not fail...

"No one understands..." he muttered one last time, and the darkness took him.

***

"We've found something." Pat'lestia said into the earpiece within her helmet. She was kneeling down next to the man who'd saved her. He was almost dead. "We need a medical team and transport for several prisoners. Over."

"Negative. No prisoners. Execute... and... to the base. Over."

"You'll be interested in these ones, sir." she said, looking over to the rest of the men they'd found deep within the mines. Many were bandits, she was certain, but a number of them most likely belonged to the unconscious man by the wall. "It's the Bastard of Lin. Over."

A silence befell the other end of the line. Pat'lestia wondered, but not for long. Soon the silence was broken.

"Understood. Sending... now. Ove-..."

"Yes, sir. Over and out." Pat'lestia smiled sadly at the man who'd saved her. The anesthetics they had given him had worked wonders, lest he would still be screaming in pain. They'd had to sear the wounds with laser shots.

Her gaze eventually wandered and fell on him. The Bastard of Lin. She wondered too about him. Whether they'd hang him, or leave him to the people of Lin. Either way it seemed too light a punishment. As far as she, or anyone who'd been to the former region of Lin was concerned, the man deserved nothing but Hell.

And Hell would be given. Of that she was certain.