Husk

Chapter 3

The noiseless combat officers dropped down from the rafters behind Husk and prepared to launch their attack. Husk spotted them just in time to catch the fist that was flung at him. He twisted it and brought the arm down hard on his raised knee. -CRUNCH!- The assailant let out a cry of pain which was shortly cut off by Husk swiftly punching him in the throat, crushing the windpipe and leaving him to suffocate.

There's three of them. Throwing the injured one at the officer to his left, Husk focused on the officer to his right. He blocked a kick aimed at his side with his forearm, retaliating with a powerful kick to the chest which sent the officer tumbling to the floor, heaving.

The one on Husk's left had dropped the impaired man and crash tackled Husk to the floor with a thud. He began to repeatedly punch Husk in the face, and Husk tried to aim for the man's jaw as he punched back. A sickening -CRACK!- resounded as the officer's jaw was shattered, and he screamed and started to roll on the floor in pain.

Husk got up and wiped at the blood that was gushing from his nose. One sharp kick to the screaming man's head was enough to silence him.

Husk turned to the one he had kicked in the chest, only to be met with the barrel of a pistol pointed between his eyes. He looked up to the man wielding the gun. The officer sneered as he cocked the lever and his finger wrapped around the trigger, ready to -

-DING!-

The officer's head snapped to the side, and Husk took his chance. He quickly grabbed the snub of the pistol and wrenched it sideways, no longer pointing at him. Husk forcefully punched the soldier's elbow, causing the arm to bend the wrong way and the hand that held the pistol to open and drop the weapon.

Faster than a cobra, he grabbed his knife and struck the officer in the chest, slicing through the flesh, bone and heart easily. The man hadn't even gotten the chance to whimper as he dropped to the ground, dead. All was silent again. Husk remained tense and ready for combat should anyone appear through the doorway, but none came.

That was too close. If it weren't for that damned computer, I'd probably be dead. He thought bitterly.

He walked over the computer he had stuck the USB drive in and flipped the monitor back on. 'DOWNLOAD COMPLETE' was on the screen in thick, white letters. Husk grabbed the disk drive and yanked it out, securing it in a pocket on his belt.

His hand flitted over to another pocket at his side and opened it, taking out a small metal box, around the size of a mint tin. Husk grinned as he set the time on the little digital display. 3:00 glowed red on the screen, and pushing another button, Husk placed it under a desk.

He placed his ear on the door, and he could hear soft footsteps. Only one guy. Husk steeled himself as the footsteps slowly approached the space in front of his door. When they were directly in front of him, Husk barged through the door. A surprised soldier could only gasp as he was stabbed in the neck with Husk's wickedly-sharp knife, any shouts or curses turned into gurgles and splutters as he began to drown in his own blood, throat filling with his own life force.

Husk dashed for the storage room. He crashed into the room, only to find another three soldiers at his 2 o'clock, around 6 metres away. It happened in slow motion. Husk ripped the pin from a grenade and tossed it to the group of men before diving for cover himself.

The soldiers had only just started to react, mouths in 'o' shapes as they desperately tried to turn and run the other way, feet slipping on the smooth concrete as they tried to get grip.

They were too slow.

-BOOM!-

The room shook from the force of the explosion, sending cascades of dust and splinters of wood, bone and flesh flying. Husk's ears were ringing as he scrambled up a stack of crates, jumping to grasp the steel strut above him. The lights were still swinging wildly, some no longer operational from the explosion.

Husk grunted as he pulled himself up, a trickle of red coming from his right ear. He searched for the vent that had brought him down in the first place. He checked his watch. Only one minute left! He thought as he desperately ran across the beam to the square hole in the wall. A series of running feet were heard thundering into the room, followed by lots of shouting from below.

Husk was already in the vent as he frantically began to make his way up the vertical shaft, arms and feet on opposite walls as he made his way up. Beads of sweat fell from his chin, and he could feel his hands were slipping from being so sweaty.

Shit shit shit shit!

He burst from the vent, clambering over the edge of the top-side ventilation hole. He managed to get his feet under him and began to race away from the vent, barely noticing the thick, humid air of the jungle. There were distant shouts as the sentries spotted him, but it was too late.

Just as Husk dived for the cover of the thick brush, a colossal explosion sounded from deep underground, the ground trembling violently. The reverberation shook to very air around him, and a massive sound wave hit Husk from behind, throwing him further than he had intended to jump and sending him crashing head first into a tree trunk.

-CLUNK!-

The screams of the men from the base were lost to the thick jungle, and Husk tried to stand on unsteady legs. His forehead was bleeding profusely and hurt beyond belief, yet he managed to stumble a few metres away from the disaster behind him. He could barely see anything in front of him; his vision was fuzzy, like a television with bad reception.

He had just enough sense left in him to wrench a small device from his breast pocket. Clicking it, no sound emanated, but he was happy with his accomplishment. Bring me home. He gave a lopsided grin, small laugh, and then he fell heavily to the jungle floor, unmoving.