Secret War: The Annihilation Plague (Part 2)

Chapter 24

Kalakor and Dellenger emerged inside the Land Raider through the portal, and the split-second they did, bolter fire crashed and thrashed against Kalakor, sending him writhing and reeling onto his back with a crash that eclipsed the bolter blasts. Dellenger slid aside the crumpling Space Marine and opened fire with his lasgun, a full auto burst that sheered against the Chaos Marine's carapace. He knew it wouldn't do a thing, but he hoped it would draw its attention from the fallen Kalakor.

And it frigging worked as the Chaos Marine adjusted its aim, and Dellenger threw himself to the floor before being pulped by the first bolt, and he rolled to avoid the second; there was no way he would be able to get away from the third.

But by then, Kalakor had found himself, and his shots crashed into the Chaos Marine's bolter, exploding it into shrapnel.

The Chaos Marine reached for the rusty, bloody blade and bolt pistol at its hip, but Kalakor was up on his knees, and a full-auto barrage sent welts of slimy, green ichor flying everywhere. Dellenger barely managed to slide away from some spewing his way. But the Chaos Marine was undeterred as it threw itself at Kalakor, an incomprehensible gurgling curse bubbling from its helm. Kalakor sidestepped the clumsy Chaos Marine with ease and plunged his knife deep into the side of the Chaos Marine's neck, just in the gap between its helmet and gorget. The Chaos Marine gurgled out but kept blundering forward. It crashed against the tank's back wall and took Kalakor's knife with it.

Kalakor still had his bolter, though. He reloaded and blasted shot after shot point-blank into the Chaos Marine's face plate until the Chaos Marine's skull blew out the back of the helm, and it slumped forward.

Dellenger was about to compliment the Space Marine, but Kalakor poured several more shots into the corpse, making Dellenger flinch.

'Nice,' said Dellenger as Kalakor retrieved his knife, turned away and began to pierce the veil again. Dellenger sighed. After they escaped from the enemy, they'd got a psychic call from Karmen Kons informing them of their situation and rough location, and they were fighting a frigging Chaos Land Raider, and they needed their help. So Kalakor teleported them inside, and here they were, somehow. Dellenger had made frigging sure to put on his rebreather beforehand.

'Where to now?'

'Far away from here to meet with the rest later, the likes of the Interrogator cannot know of my power.'

'Of course. Makes sense.'

'Of course, it makes sense. I always make sense.'

Dellenger sighed again. 'Where do you think the other Chaos Marines are? Assuming that Torris didn't kill them all?'

'Where there is one Chaos Marine of the Plague God, there are many more. I am guessing that if it was not destroyed during the initial barrage, they are assaulting the Adepta Sororitas convent or preparing to, as we speak.'

'That...makes sense.'

'I need not repeat myself, do I, scout trooper?'

'No,' Dellenger sighed. 'No, you don't.'

Hospitaller Sister Sallias paused as a strange, slight gurgling sound caught her ear, and she turned. One of the patients lay in his cot a few metres away, but the peculiar brown and green bubbles emerging from his open maw were easy to see.

'What in-'

Before Sallias could finish her sentence, Hospitaller Sister Gossal rushed to the patient's side and checked his pulse rate.

'What is wrong, Gossal?' said Sallias as she began to approach.

'His pulse is not elevated,' said Gossal, blinking rapidly with the bursting bubbles. She slid a miniature illuminator from a pouch and shone it into the man's eyes while she tried to keep a safe distance from the foaming bubbles. 'Pupils are dilated and...'