Deadman

I had a split second to decide what to do. My first thought was to dive back into the ruins and do my best to take potshots until I was the only one left. I decided on risking the quick death rather than the slow one. Before all the weapons could fully turn their attentions to me I started running toward the pitfall Graves had fallen into. I fired as I ran, activating my Freeze ability to keep at least one of my opponents immobilized at all times. I managed to drop several before shots started firing in my direction. A mix of laser rifle beams and bullets tore up the ground in front of me and I started running in a serpentine pattern, trying to avoid as much of it as I could, but taking several direct hits in spite of that. I managed to grab one of the bombs Mercy had given me, and I threw it with my full strength toward the enemy’s lines. It sailed over a wide swathe of waste, and I heard an impact followed by a series of screams. Just before I could reach Graves, the drone opened fire.

Its guns roared as it fired on me. I took several pot shots at it to no avail and I got hit on my left side, spinning me as I tumbled to the edge of the pit, my face dragging along the ground until it reached the opening in the ground. I could see Graves, struggling to leap up to the edge of the pit and failing. It was just out of his reach. I could hear the drones' guns beginning to whir as they swiveled toward me again.

“Graves! Grab on!” I held out my still functional right hand and used my remaining limbs to anchor myself in any way I could. He looked in my direction, and leapt toward my hand with no hesitation. I grabbed his gauntlet and let out a wheeze of pain as his full weight settled into my grip. I gritted my teeth and pulled him up in front of me just as the drone resumed its fire. Grave’s armor absorbed it like it was nothing. Bullets ricochet off of him as if he was made of steel.

I could tell he was hesitant to move, so I slung my rifle over my back and drew my pistol, throwing my arm around his neck.

“Let’s kill these fucks.” I yelled.

He stood, me hanging off his back, and we started back in the straightforward trajectory this battle had begun with. I downed several Blue Devils with my pistol as we closed in, and Graves drew the bomb from his armor as we reached the drone.

“Sorry.” He said to me, throwing me toward cover as we closed in. I landed, rolling behind some metal that had been put up as a barrier, and he slammed the explosive onto the drone. When it didn’t go off immediately, he took his hammer and slammed it down onto the machine. The resulting explosion was massive. If I’d had eyebrows, they’d have been evaporated by the sheer heat of it. When the smoke cleared I saw only a crater, and in the middle of that knelt Graves in his armor.

I did a quick count of what mercs were left and started to pick them off. Their forms were highlighted by my ‘you’re under arrest’ ability, so keeping track of them wasn’t difficult, and after I killed four more of them, the remainder ran inside their facility.

I moved over to Graves. His armor was giving off scalding heat and glowing from it, but I pushed to get right up next to him. The remains of the drone were all around, with bits and pieces scattered all the way up to the facility doors themselves. I pulled a shard of metal from my own leg.

“Graves. You alive?”

A voice came out of the armor, sounding wispy and weak as opposed to staticky as it had come through before. “Yes. Armor is recharging. Just keep going. Will join when I can.” The words sounded pained, and I complied with them.

I made my way toward the massive doors to the facility. I could see the mercs who’d run taking position, or talking to people I hadn’t marked yet that were deeper inside. I reloaded all my weapons, and pulled out my shotgun and sword. The inside of the facility was relatively close quarters, and they seemed the best tools for the job.

Aside from the ammo inventory I took brief stock of my own condition. My left side was shredded, but already starting to knit back together. My hands and arms were still usable, and that was the most important thing. Aside from that I was hungry. Ravenously so. My teeth were on edge and my vision seemed as if it was tinted red. I wanted to get in close.

In spite of that instinct, before I reached the door I hesitated. I didn’t want to give them too much time to recover, but there was an advantage I was overlooking. I walked over to the nearest cluster of Blue Devil corpses. Among them I found just what I wanted. I holstered my shotgun, and leveled the laser rifle in one hand. It was even lighter than I remembered, and no magazine to worry about. With that in one hand and my sword in the other I made for the main doors.

Before I entered them I unleashed a hail of laser fire, focusing first on the highlighted figures in my vision, and from there any area I thought may have ambushers based on my knowledge of the facility's layout. After that I ran in, rolling through the door and taking note of where the gun and laser fire were coming from as I did. I started downing them one by one. Cutting through them with beams of red light if they were far away, or steel if they were foolish enough to get close. Activating my abilities all throughout to cover any blindspots and keep them off balance.

In one narrow hallway several of them came at me at once, wielding their rifles like clubs, and swinging machetes at me. I blocked one with the body of my rifle as I ran through another with my sword. As their blood flowed I realized something. The men in front of me were heavily radded, and their blood was thick with the sweet smell of it. I drew the one I ran through closer to myself and tore out his throat with my teeth. The meat was sweet, and as I chewed and swallowed the red tint to my vision darkened.

For just a few moments, I lost all control of myself. All I remember of the next several minutes was screaming, blood, radiation, and death. When I regained my senses I was surrounded by corpses, and covered in blood. It was just like what had happened before the Undertakers had found me. I felt a flood of satisfaction and shame all at once, but I pushed it all down. This wasn’t the time to think about it. I’d killed everyone in my way for now, but that didn’t mean the facility was empty.

I started moving deeper in, and as I did so my geiger counter started trilling louder and louder. The outside area I’d entered was mainly a place for gear to be loaded or unloaded, but deeper in I was reaching a series of conveyors above which sat metal arms, next to which were consoles that seemed to have been manned recently. All of it was giving off a kind of radioactive warmth. That explained why V’s men were radded to the extent they were. They’d been taking shifts to maintain the equipment.

The facility rocked, and I took a moment to steady myself. Mercy’s bombs were starting to go off. That meant Leah should be in the facility. Graves and I were never really meant to make it as far as I had, but I decided to continue toward the center, toward where Leah had believed she’d find V.

The rads continued to grow and my geiger counter screamed in protest as they did. I eventually flipped it off. I could feel it in the air as well as I could hear the device. I’d kept it as part of my kit to better mark off where deadzones stopped and started, but that wasn’t necessary here.

I reached a section of the facility that appeared to be active. I could see machine parts moving back and forth along conveyors and pieces of rifles, guns, and other things all moving along at a quick pace. This area seemed to be at least partially automated. Behind all of that was a metal door that sat just slightly open. To the left of it was darkened glass hiding whatever was inside. I gently pushed the door open.

Inside I saw a man, he was wearing the same full-body anti-rad suit I’d first met Leah in back in the mosquito deadzone. He was holding a pistol the size of my forearm pointed in my direction.

“Hmmm,” his voice came out amused and curious. “I was expecting Leah.”