stories

LAST MAN STANDING

He stood atop a pile of bodies, his mark 6 body armor was damaged, his blood spilling out the joints and painting it red with his blood. His eyes looking through the glass visor of his cracked helmet, standing before him was a horde. The corpse crawlers were all shouting and clawing at each other, their bodies were nothing but skin and bones, their nails were like claws, teeth like fangs and hollow sunken eyes of pale white. Their attention immediately drawn to him as he held his ionic pulse rifle in his left hand. He looks to the ground seeing his best friends sword, the seven foot and five hundred eighty six pounds oh raw steel and iron. He gripped the hand as the servos in his suits right arm held most of the weight. Turning to the horde, he was still out of breathe as these creatures weren't known for this level of coordination. As he looked over the horde he could see his comrade was fighting a large beast, looking down he was surprised that they haven't swarmed him yet. They were jumping and clearly craving his warm flesh, it was as if they were being guided and controlled until the final strike. He had no time to wait, he charged the horde as his rifle charged up, the horde charged him jumping and crawling over the corpses that littered the field. He swung and ripped them. Holding up his rifle he pulled the trigger as the energy built up was let loose several bolts of energy that tore through the corpse crawlers bodies. Even though it's not enough to stop them it does slow them down, what his rifle misses, the sword tears it in two. His mission is to hold the corpse crawlers off unto the city evacuates, but being the last man alive that's going to be tough. Tearing through the horde isn't easy as they number in the tens of thousands but he has to.

Suddenly a display appears on HUD alerting him that he has twelve minutes of power left in the suit, he didn't want to use it but he has no choice now. He releases his suites limiter allowing him to go from a forty percent to a one hundred percent ratio though it halves his time it'll give home a better edge. Running through the horde shooting and tearing his way through it soon became an ease until he was struck. Being sent flying by the twelve foot corpse devoured and surviving are two separate things. His limiter release took most of the damage but getting up was now impossible as crawlers were trying desperately to peel off his armor eat his living flesh. Struggling was difficult with little room but the fail safe kicked in automatically. A timer appears at the top right of his HUD showing him that he only has two minutes left to live, his struggle grew as felt teeth in left arm and his right leg. He knew now it was all over, nobody survives a bite. Looking up he saw it, the last evac ship leaving the planet. Helt his flesh being torn as they ripped into the breast-plates. His eyelids growing heavy as he looked at the timer, ten seconds left. He smiled weakly as his eyes closed for the final time and watched as his memories flew past him.

Now his body glew white hot, the atomic batter cells in the back completed the over charge cycle and now he whispers his final goodbye. His body exploding and becoming something similar to a star being born. The shockwave ripped through the horde as the atomic fires burned them into ash. Twenty miles of solid rock was either vaporized or turned to dust, as the beast atop the mountain looked over in defeat knowing it couldn't flee from the coming explosion. He held the soldier in hand out so he was the first to go, allowing it to taste some small victory in this defeat as he grinned knowing his hive mind brothers could see his defeat. The war wasn't over but they had all life on the run now, even unified they didn't stand a chance against them or their virus. For them, this was only a lost planet, their are more out their, filled with their favorite prey. The brothers laughed and proceeded to the next planet all was to their plan and they would have all.