Wake up, mortal’ a voice said. The rank stench of decaying flesh and gases of the most disgusting awoke Gustov. He was upside down and surrounded. A giant figure stood in front of him and held his damaged leg. The armor-clad warrior squeezed the leg and bones snapped and splintered like shrapnel. Blood dripped down and formed pools in the ash; bringing color to pale world. An alabaster gauntlet held his leg firm. The color reminded him of skin of a fresh corpse; pale and cold. The shifting of armor and the stench of death overwhelmed his senses. The pain even though there, he didn’t feel it anymore. He gave up and accepted his fate: he was about to die by the hands of a once loyal Marine. Better to be killed by a once proud warrior than some foul beast from the Warp. ‘I smell the fear of death wafting from your body. I can offer you the release of fear of death, just accept Father Nurgle as your master and most benevolent reliever’ the Marine said. ‘I will not. Your – false God will never have me as a blind servant. Kill me now, fool’ Gustov replied in a dry and rough voice. The Marine looked at him with contempt and hatred and said ‘Ubi pus, ibi evacua.’
The powered gauntlet completely removed his leg in a single thrust. Blood poured out like a waterfall of crimson liquid. Gustovs skin began turning pale and lifeless. He began fading in and out of consciousness. His head turned to the beast and witnessed a missile impacting the breastplate of the Marine. The explosion was blinding and he turned away and felt the hot concussive wave roll over him like a breeze on a hot summer day. Smoke billowed from the punctured breastplate. The unambiguous sound of lasgun fire crackled behind him. A battle raged around his dying body and he did not know if he will ever see the end and know the victor. His minded faded away like a ship upon the sea and closed his eyes.
‘Stay with me, alright?’ said the voice through the blackness. The sound of muffled voices came through the grim haze. ‘Sir, I’m going to need you to pinch off the femoral artery right here and now’ another voice said. He felt a wet slap against his cheek and heard ‘stay with me – can you open your eyes?’ the same voice from before said as a bright light lit up the darkness. ‘What… what happened… where am I…’ he trailed off in a slurred voice. ‘Get that tourniquet on him, now dammit!’ the voiced yelled. The medic and an aid tightly wrap a piece of torn cloth around the stump. Blood gushed from the wound as the team tried to stem the bleeding. Tying thin trip-wire wire around the blood vessels but to no avail. The wound was too horrible. ‘Damn! Damn! Clean the wound. We’re gonna cauterize it. Hefton, still have the plasma torch?’ the medic said. Hefton nodded and handed it to the medic. He went through his bag and pulled out a metal pan and began heating it. ‘Keep pinching it, sir. We’re not gonna lose him. As soon as the pan hits the meat, we’ll need to dress it and keep it clean. And we’ll need to treat anymore loss of blood.’
The pan glowed red; hot and ready to save a life. The medic placed the burning metal on the cold wet wound and the hiss was sickening. The smell of cooking flesh was disgusting, but necessary. ‘Alright. Hefton, apply the bacitracin and tightly wrap another piece of cloth. And don’t worry; it will stop anymore bleeding if tightened right.’
‘Princeps, ready to fire. On your mark’ Gustov said in slurred voice. The medic looks at him and then his officer. ‘Titan crew member? Looks like we have a big shot here. I think he’ll live, just give him some salty liquids and pain meds. Hefton, that’s your job and when we get back to base, elevate his stump. Now, I need a drink.’
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