Soldier Dream

Lights, Camera, Action!

Note: This story is all a first draft. The content will not be perfect and things will not sync up or make sense in some places because my ideas are changing and shifting as I go, and things will be changed towards the end. This is my way of keeping my developing work open to suggestion.

She crouched behind a counter, breathing hard. Her chest heaved, and she felt vomit rising in her stomach, the result of being violently smacked into a gurney with concrete foundations. She could feel the bruises forming even as she panted, panicked gasps of breath rasping painfully from somewhere deep inside her lungs. It was scuttling to her as quickly as she could hide to reload, and already it was too late. She swung her arm, pointing the gun up, and with a deep breath that burned, she pulled the trigger. A spray of bullets. A small spray of blood spurted, spattering her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut.

God knows what they had done to make this creature, but it was a far cry from the Abdima it seemed to have been made from. It was a truly ugly creature, less human, grotesquely deformed. It's fingers were small stubs that ended in long claws, like a badger, but tougher, harder. It looked like it's nose was sunken in, and it's face looked milky white, like an albino. There was already crusted blood on them. Its face was disturbing. Its eyes were small pinpricks in the front of its face, with strangely shaped pupils. In the pulsing light, it seemed blind.

It's hearing with its true advantage. The environment they were in? It certainly wasn't to Cereza's. So many metal gurneys, three all firmly stuck deep into the foundations with a circular table in the the center, counters covered with files and scattered paperwork separating the gurney section from the results section. And a body. Of the four biologists she'd been ordered to find, two had been secured and escorted out to the coded door, and one was somewhere in the compound. And one, of course, was dead.

His face had been split open, as though those deadly claws had raked across his face and violently torn ridges into his skin. She desperately wanted to scream at those cameras, but that would be a dangerous move in this current position. Even if that bastard Doctor deserved to be screamed at and beat the fuck up for bringing her down here, knowing that this thing was too much for one person. She was suspicious that he had deliberately brought her down to face this thing alone.

She rolled out from under its lanky body, scrambling back. She held her ribs and swallowed down a howl of pain as she threw a clipboard from one of the counters near her. The distraction proved successful as it gave a strange kind of howl and pounced, crashing into a gurneys. It shook its head, dizzy, and growled. It was less careful than the Abdima. It didn't seem to care when it got injured, and a result, many dark purple bruises bloomed across it's white skin. It's flesh seemed more impervious to bullets than throwing itself into dense objects. But those delicate bruised sections? That's where she should be shooting. She took careful aim this time, focusing rather than just spraying bullets.

It tore through flesh with a wet explosion. It howled with pain, body flopping and spasming. It's mouth opened, revealing sharp teeth.

"Don't kill it, subdue it!"

She jerked in surprise at the interruption.

"Shut up!" She shouted, re-aiming. It was getting up. It was getting up far too fast. Another spurt of well aimed bullets had it sinking down momentarily. Its legs were shaky. Around seven bullets had found a bruise in its knee.

"Why can't I kill it? It would kill us!"

"It was made to save us, it must stay alive until we are done with it!"

She gritted her teeth, eyes glinting with dark lack of remorse. "Funny, I'd rather kill it."

"You have your orders!"

In her temper, she had failed to remember to keep quiet. It was on her before she could even shout. It was weak now, weaker now that the bullets had taken a toll. She struggled to find purchase on its body, pushing her feet up to shove back at it. Its legs fell out beneath it. With a strong kick, she grabbed her knife's handle from her thigh and ripped it free from the sheath. She flipped it in her palm and drove it into its shoulder, both hands on the handle to impale it deeper, she worked it into the skin as hard as she could, ignoring the arterial spray.

"Cereza!"

"No!"

Enraged, she broke the knife free from it, staggering back on her own shaky legs. Everything was shaking. Everything felt weak and exhausted, but the adrenaline was a pumping rush of energy that propelled her.

It was whimpering as it withdrew back, hands trying to shield its face. Its eyesight was poor- of course it would try retain what it could of it.

"That's enough," he barked, "Reinforcement is outside with the tranquilizer!"

She gave a distressed laugh as she watched the door open, revealing the other soldiers, one holding a a thick needled syringe. They began to bellow orders at each other as they swarmed into the room. She staggered through the door, leaving them to it. Her ribs were in agony.

"Where's the last one? Is he still alive?"

"Yes, but the situation is now under control. He is no longer in danger. Return to your post, and report directly to me tomorrow morning before your patrol."

"You have a low of explaining to do."

"Indeed. And you have a lot to keep quiet."

Her cracked lips curled into a smile. "Understood."