ARMAGEDDON

9: Giza

I walked towards the city of Giza, the sun seemingly sinking into the sand as the moon rises. There would be a contact here. A literal walking and talking mummy. As if my life couldn't get strange enough.

As I walked on the ever shifting sands, my thoughts drifted back to my dead family, I never got the time to mourn my losses. It's a wonder how distracting the world being close to Armageddon can be at any given time.

Anyway, it was stark nighttime when I reached the city of Giza, and started to look for my contact. I was startled when I felt a hand grasp my shoulder, and I turned around to see a man in a tan suit, wearing a fedora of the same color. He also wore mirror shades, which reflected the pale glow of the moon. I noticed something else about his skin. 

It looked prunish, dark, as if he were, well, a mummy. He was a ghastly thing to see. He spoke in a curious mix of a British and African accent.

He said "What's wrong, never seen a mummy? My name is Ahken, and I'm your point of contact for information that you need to know. Come, come, take off your helmet, Hell Walker. No need to look like a knight quite yet.

I removed the helmet, thank God, because it was starting to get stuffy. Ahken walked me over to a humble abode, and we both sat down.

Ahken said "It's come to my attention that Lucian himself has asked for my knowledge. He wants me to fill you in on the Black Pyramid."

I sat silently, waiting for him to continue.

"Many people do not know this, but the Black Pyramid is a fourth pyramid built, but was then buried on purpose when it was used for inter-dimensional travel to Hell. The creators vowed never to use it again, and hide it from all of mankind. However, they made the mistake in assuming that something like Baphomet would try to find it. Rumor has it that he will use the Black Pyramid as a stable gateway for his army, which is bad for all of us since he can branch his allies out into Africa and Europe, leading to world domination, and then the Angels start blowing their trumpets."

"How can he find this pyramid?" I asked.

As if on cue, the ground started to rumble. 

Ahken said "Well, it appears he's using some sort of ritual to erect it from the sand."

I looked into the distance, near the pyramids. I saw a huge blast of sand in the night sky, and it soon turned into a sandstorm. I put on my helmet, and as the visor activated and gave me a clear view, the sandstorm got worse.

Ahken said "Come, follow me. I'll show you the way. Then I'll relocate myself and my black market empire in case if you fail."

Ahken and I walked towards the Black Pyramid. Sure enough, when we broke through the howling winds and the sand, we saw the Black Pyramid. It was made of smooth black stone which reflected the moonlight like a premonition of Death and his pale horse.

At the top of the pyramid was a cap made of pure silver. It was glowing with a powerful energy. Ahead, I saw the Pyramid open and saw Baphomet walk into the opening, dragging his hellish sword behind him through the sand.

I thanked Ahken, and got my rifle ready. I was using a Steyr AUG, with a nice reflex sight on it. The barrel length was equivalent to an MP5, which would be perfect depending on how tight it got fighting off Demons. I walked into the Black Pyramid, and saw ancient Egyptian machinery pulsating, feeding energy in the pyramid. I never knew they built something like this.

An Imp hissed at me, and I narrowly dodged the incoming fireball. The roar of the AUG drowned out the hum of arcane machinery, and the Imp's head exploded like a grape. I quickly made my way towards Baphomet.

I was suddenly caught off guard by a Reaper. It hissed at me, then let out an earsplitting screech. It kicked me into a obsidian pillar, knocking the wind out of me. I still felt the blow, even through the Crusader suit. I managed to gather myself, before getting tackled by the Reaper. It scratched at my visor, but couldn't get through me. The Reaper then closed it's clawed fists, and slammed both fists down on my chest, slightly cracking the armor. My AUG was out of reach.

I felt around in desperation, and smiled when my hands felt a long shard of obsidian glass. I gripped it, and jammed it into the jugular vein of the Reaper. Black oily blood showered me, but I shoved the 10 inch shard in further, until a massive gash was made. I then reached in with my left hand, into the Reaper's chest cavity.

It's screams were cut short when I ripped out it's massive black heart, and then punched the heart with my fist. It exploded in a tiny black shower, and the Reaper's eight glowing red eyes were suddenly dull and black.

I picked up my AUG, and made it onto a massive platform surrounded by machinery. Baphomet was at the center, trying to open a massive portal. What caught me off guard was that malice was at his feet, a shackle around her neck. To the shackle, a long black chain was wrapped around Baphomet's arm. Malice looked pitiful and ashamed.

Her eyes brightened when she saw me. Baphomet turned around, his eyes of fire staring through my soul. The demonic goat skull that acted as his head was expressionless, but once he saw me, his fiery eyes intensified and burned brighter. 

Baphomet yelled out "You. I remember YOU! You were in Tokyo, AND THIS WORTHLESS WHORE KEPT ME FROM MAKING YOUR TEETH INTO A NEW NECKLACE!"

He yanked on Malice's chain, causing her to jerk forward. She looked pitiful somehow. Baphomet then kicked her in the jaw with one of his hooved feet. She fell limp, unconscious. Baphomet then dropped the chains onto the ground, and started towards me, dragging his sword behind him, causing small grinding sparks to arc across the floor.

Baphomet said "I will tear you asunder. I WILL MAKE A CAPE OUT OF YOUR SKIN, AND USE YOUR BONES AS A NEW SET OF DINING CUTLERY! DIE YOU INSIGNIFICANT WORM, LET ENTRPOPY CONSUME YOU, CREATURE OF THE DIRT!"

He swing his sword at me, and I almost dodged except for when the tip of his blade caught me right in the helmet. The helmet shattered into pieces of Kevlar and fiberglass. Baphomet backhanded me with a clenched fist, and my vision blurred. The world was spinning.

Baphomet then kicked me in the gut, then grabbed me by the arm and threw me into an obsidian pillar, causing me to bounce off of it like a heavy rubber ball. When I impacted with the floor, I was barely conscious. I could smell the stench of sulfur coming from Baphomet. He grabbed me by the neck, and I was barely able to stare into his fiery eyes. I could feel his hand slowly crushing my windpipe, but I could barely resist him. I lacked the strength.

I thought this was it, I thought I would die. Suddenly though, I heard a loud noise, and a slug suddenly bounced off of Baphomet's skull. Baphomet dropped me, and yelled out "WHO DARES?!" 

I weakly looked behind me to see a tall man in a Crusader suit, but he wasn't wearing a helmet. Instead, he was wearing a pair of ballistic shades, which were so polarized that it reflected the lighting of the room. He had a pump action shotgun, which cast a sinister red laser sight, pointed directly at Baphomet. The man slightly smiled and said "I dare, you goat headed son of a bitch."

Baphomet roared out "I WILL USE YOUR SPLEEN AS A TOOTHPICK WHEN I FINISH FEASTING ON YOUR HEART!" 

The man cycled the pump on his shotgun and aimed straight at Baphomet. He unleashed a barrage of slugs that knocked Baphomet back towards the massive portal behind him, but he grabbed Malice as well.

The man said "Back to Tokyo, Chuck." and then shot a slug into Baphomet's chest, causing him to fall through the portal. The portal violently closed when he and Malice went through it.

The man walked over towards me, and picked me up into a fireman's carry. Before I passed out, he said "Hiya Chuck, it's Frank. You're coming home."

I felt my consciousness fade away as I went into a coma.