“Hahahaha Kate I should have plugged you into this thing sooner you make it far easier to control.”
“...”
“You know it was really daunting to fly at first but the shuttle comes with a full simulator instead of a flight manual.”
“...”
“I can even use the surround display in here as an immersive cinema.”
“Preparing to land.”
“Not much of a talker I see. Well I already know that.”
The displays around Fay made it seem like there was no separation from the outside environment and the cockpit. Currently the shuttle was silently slipping into a gap in a building.
“Alright Kate turn it off and save what power we have left.”
The shuttle whirred as it shut down.
Fay jumped from the shuttle and took in his surroundings as he stretched. He was currently in what was probably once a penthouse suit though not much of its previous luxury was left.
He retrieved the shell he had found the previous day from the back of the shuttle and carried it over to a large gun that sat on a stand pointing out of the building. The gun was camouflaged and obscured from the outside by a curtain.
Fay was practically skipping while he hummed happily. The gun was designed to be held by a mech so pushing the round into the chamber took some effort.
After the round was in place he hooked an electronic device to the gun and winced as he pressed a button sending a signal to the weapon.
*Clack Ching*
The weapon’s bolt slammed forward loudly however Fay sighed in relief that the gun didn't go off. He then pressed another button on the device and a light came on and scratched next to it was the word armed.
Fay gave a smug smile feeling satisfied.
“Hehe your times up now Greg.”
Fay checked all his gear once more.
“Grenade launcher, check”
“Pistol, check”
“Mobility pack, check”
“Everything secured and loaded, check”
“Boom boom poles?”
He slapped his head and ran to the shuttle and grabbed two short poles that had large explosives on the end of them. Fay secured them over his shoulder where they sat ready to be drawn.
“And the remote for the gun, check ready to go”
Fay walked to the edge of the floor where a large vine spanned down to a lower building adjacent to his current one. He looked outside and stayed still while using all his senses. Nothing stood out to him as dangerous so he jumped and ran down the vine using his mobility pack to control his descent. Soon he disappeared silently into the tangled ruins.
***
“You know I was so close to getting that fuel but bloody Greg had to come along and fuck everything up.”
A whisper could be heard from the tree top of a tall tree in what was once most likely a park long ago, however now it was more akin to a forest.
“But all is good you know what comes around goes around.”
Sitting in the tree Fay was talking to a large rat he had found. Currently it was trying to bite him however Fay held it up by the tail seemingly ignoring its antics.
“Well it's good to see a familiar face round here most of the wildlife around here are far too hideous”
The rat upped its ferocity trying to get away.
“Ok ok Greg should be getting thirsty now anyway so I'm sorry we’ll have to cut our chat short.”
Fay flicked his wrist and the rat flew down into a pond of water where it flailed around in terror.
Below the rat a large shape emerged and with a pop the rat was gone.
“Ah the circle of life”
Fay watched the ripples in the water settle with a grin. Soon however the surface began to slightly tremble along with rhythmic thuds of foot steps. Fay’s grin widened however this time it held deep malice. He had fought the hatred that had been festering deep within for days and in the depths of his brown eyes small streaks of a red hue could barely be seen flickering.
A large shape could soon be seen entering the park from the overgrown streets. It was bulky and covered with spiked plates of chitin. It had four thick legs and a nimble tail. Its head hung low by the weight of the lump on the back of its neck which glowed with energy.
Fay grabbed the orb from his shoulder and threw it Infront of him. He smiled through the mask and waved at it.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Oh Greg, you don’t know how many times I'm going to watch this.”
Just as he finished speaking he jumped. No sooner a spike tore through his previous position decimating the large branch.
A fair distance away the nimble tail of the lumbering creature cocked back as another spike grew at its end.
The creature saw Fay as he jumped to a different tree. It had encountered this hateful pest before in its territory. The first time it had almost killed the pest which was taking some good food from its territory. The last time the pest had collapsed a building onto it, that had taken quite the effort to escape from while fending off the pest and now the pest is back again challenging its sovereignty over this area.
The creature huffed with great power that blew away loose debris. It twisted its large body putting as much force as possible into its tail. A sonic boom was heard as the tail swung like a whip flinging the spike at the creature’s hateful enemy.
Fay suddenly stopped using his feet against a tree trunk leaving him almost parallel to the ground while feeling a great strain in his bones. A loud boom was heard as a spike cut his previous trajectory.
“Fuck my knees, that was way quicker than last time.”
Fay quickly leapt from the trunk and fired a round from his grenade launcher at the monster.
The hump on the creature’s bulky neck glowed and an energy field shimmered around the monster in response to the incoming projectile. The grenade detonated against the field however both the monster and the field were unharmed.
While Fay danced through the trees picking back up momentum. He observed the effects of his weapon.
“Ah fuck its even less effective than before.”
Suddenly he changed the tempo of his movement and another spike roared through where he should have been. Fay continued navigating the park in an ever changing dance through its various obstacles.
Fay had learnt from these ruins that patterns were the death of beings. When being hunted, routine leads to demise. Patterns are predictable and anything predictable can be used against you.
The monster grew irritated at its inability to hit the pest if only it were closer the pest would not have time to dodge no matter how it moved. So as another spike grew from its tail it walked closer.
Fay grinned as he continued to dodge the spikes. Patterns in behavior lead to demise, this creature has a lot of faith in its defenses and would always react aggressively when challenged.
He shouldered the grenade launcher as he flew between trees shooting at the beast.
The grenade detonated harmlessly against the shield making the creature more confident in its advance.
***
Between the sound of thunder from the stormy skies, loud explosions could be heard. Wood splintered and old structures shattered under a barrage of spikes. The battle had made its way to a clearing where the large monster flung spikes into the vegetation all around.
The battle was way closer than before Fay had little time to react to the oncoming projectiles as the monster needed little lead on its shots now.
Fay’s mind right now was in overdrive, his every sense feeding it an immense amount of information. He had to start to dodge the projectiles before they launched as while his brain may be able to perceive them his physical body lagged behind.
By now his whole body ached and without the supply of adrenalin and his deep hatred he may be shuddering from the depth of pain the senses this body brought. By now he had run out of ammo for his grenade launcher and his mobility gear was acting up making him have to account for a stuck thruster in his movements.
The monster however seemed just as energetic as when the fight started albeit annoyed by its inability to strike down the pest.
The battle had been going on for a while now and the monster could tell that its opponent was tiring. It had always preferred battles of endurance as most creatures of the ruins preferred speed and stealth over defense and endurance. It had long realized it was never hitting the pest so it was currently waiting for a mistake to capitalize on.
The monster stepped to build momentum for its projectile however it aborted its throw half way. It has done this a few times now with the hope of messing up its opponents' dodge, however the move has produced limited results until now. At that moment Fay seemed to have clipped his toe on a branch trying to correct his footing for the delayed dodge.
The monster didn’t miss its chance and slammed its foot down to twist its body attempting to flick its tail with its full strength.
Fay grinned.
The ground under the monster's front legs collapsed. Fay had also been holding a remote in his hand at that moment and he was pressing the button like an impatient child as he grabbed one of the boom boom sticks from his back.
The monster now with its front legs jammed into a long forgotten passage underground struggled to stand as its shield flared protecting it. However soon it heard a high pitch whine and its instincts screamed.
BOOOOOOM
There was a flash against the shield then the glowing hump on its neck exploded.
The creature roared in pain as it rolled pulling its legs free from the ground however as it stood Fay was above it the boom boom stick’s pole now extended. Fay threw it like a spear hitting the top armor of the creature's head.
Booom
The sticks end exploded cracking apart the armor and slamming the monster's chin against the ground. Fay slowly falling already had the second boom boom stick in his hand throwing it.
Booom
This time a lance of molten metal created by a shaped charge penetrated the hard skull of the beast driving into its brain.
The monster rolled to its side and Fay landed on its head. Fay looked down at the creature's eye with a manic expression.
“Hahaha Greg couldn’t swallow that one could you. Good to see my fuel served you well you didn't look any bit tired at the end there.”
Greg’s eye that Fay now squat looking into slowly lost focus.
“Heheheh Fuck you Greg you wont believe how many times ill watch you die and I'm going to dig around in your corpse for whatever's left of that fuel that you fucking loved so much and take a fucking memento to hang on my wall as a reminder of how fucking stupid YOU ARE!”
Fay screamed at the eye that had long lost focus unsatisfied at the lack of reaction.
The pain from his body made it hard for him to control himself and his rationality was slipping away.
Fay grabbed an injector from his pocket and injected it into his neck. His manic state subsided and he dropped onto his knees.
Breathing deeply he organized his thoughts as he began to feel numb.
The clearing was now quiet, only the sky's rumblings disturbing the peace. Fay sighed lethargic and lacking energy.
Still he had a job to do so grabbing a knife he got to work on the corpse as the orb floated around still recording.
After hours of digging through the large corpse Fay found a metal object buried deep within. It was the fuel he had been looking for. The fuel came in a container which currently has an organ enveloping it harvesting energies that were leaking from the damaged container.
Luckily it is not radioactive however the ruins inhabitants seemed to like it.
After hours of work cutting the container away the sedative seemed to be wearing off so Fay’s senses started coming back as did the pain, emotions and exhaustion. He was ready to quickly leave before he had to deal with the other monsters in his current state.
As Fay went to leave he stopped and grabbed a shiny metallic lump from where the hump used to be as his reminder of Greg. Now content he ran as distant howls of wind began to run through the ruins.
