Reality Wave - The Darkness of Death

“They’re coming Dog!” Meyers looking back.
With my thermal imaging, I can see some heat signatures coming up behind them as they make their way back. I yell into my headset, “We got hostiles just behind you! Keep moving!” I signal the squad to form a fire line. My heart begins to pound as my night vision reveals figures leaping towards us.

Colby and Meyers manage to get Armstrong past the fire line and sit him down in the rear, then joins us on the fire line. Armstrong holds his leg in sheer pain gritting his teeth as he cradles his assault rifle. He grabs a spare ammo belt and wraps it around his leg to stabilize it. Just then, reptilians come into our view on our left flank with lightning fast leaps across large boulders.

I notice they’re not armored, maybe just tunnel engineers, this is good! Without armor they’re particularly vulnerable, but they’re still very dangerous. That may put the odds in our favor I ready my squad, “Here they come, they’re closing distance amazingly fast, okay fire at will!”

My squad lays down a barrage of fire, several Reptilians fall from the boulders as rounds rip through their bodies. One suddenly appears out from the darkness on my left flank “Look out!” Taylor yells as several monsters crumble before her in a blaze of rifle fire, Taylor nails it only a few feet from me. It was so close that its blood covers my boots. She saved my ass! I guess this makes us even.

Taylor tries to hold her ground, but is forced to fall back from the onslaught, she continues to fan her weapon, dropping several more Reptilians at close quarters. Suddenly I catch something in my peripheral vision diving in, a blur flashes over Taylor.

My breath is drawn as Taylor’s severed head tumbles near my feet! Her body is still standing firing her weapon! Blood spurts from her neck, which is nothing more than a gory stump! Ironically she hits a few more targets before her body finally tips over onto it’s side, ferocious Reptilians pile on, tearing her body to bits.

Armstrong witnessing her death, "You mutha humper! He nails the Draconian flying overhead, it comes down crashing near us. He sprays it with the flame thrower we picked up from the armory, the carcase smolders in a fleshy soup.

I know Armstrong must of seen many grisly things before, but this horrific sight of Taylor's instant decapitation was probably beyond anything he could have ever imagined. He’s known her for over 4 years and more than likely had formed a special bond with her. Something combat will do to you.

Boyer is a bit ahead of us and is picking off his targets with great accuracy, “Come on - Come on! That’s right you too!”

He’s doing a bang-up job, he’s a hell of a soldier, but then from out of nowhere, a large Reptilian pounces on him. He blocks its dangerous bit with the butt of his rifle but rips the rifle from his grip. Its jaws clamp down on his neck, shape dagger-like teeth sink instantly into his flesh – his screams are quickly silenced as swarms of reptilians rip him apart without mercy!

Garcia sprays the rocks with a burst of rounds, shell casings spiral away from him, scaly bodies fall from the boulders. Colby throws a grenade into a bunch of Reptilians coming at him, some are thrown into the air by the explosion, he steps over a pile dead, but one is still alive and Colby finishes it off by splitting the head in half with a shot between the eyes with his shot gun he had slung over his shoulder.

I keep firing at charging attackers, but their numbers are too overwhelming, things are becoming hopeless rather quickly. We’re easily being overrun. Just a squad against what seems to be hundreds of Reptilians, this has become a suicide mission. In my mind, I’ve already accepted death. I know God will be here for me soon.

Tarver quickly grabs Armstrong’s collar and drags him back several feet, “Colonel, we can’t hold them, You and the Lieutenant gotta fall back!” Armstrong blows a 12-inch hole through an attacker attempting to snap up the Colonel. It collapses near them, its long pointed tongue flicks out several times before dying.

We hear Garcia scream as a Reptilian has him by the leg and drags him away. Sheer horror is in his eyes, as he realizes his arms are missing, just bloody stumps. Time seems to slow down and everything becomes surreal. Tarver can only helplessly watch two Reptilians devour Meyers dying body, chunks of flesh dangle from their mouths. Their heads tilt back to gobble the meat, Colby pumps microwave beams into them as he screams, “You fucking bastards!”

Tarver's head jerks to his right because he can hear Loo's last horrific screams, as several of them pull her limbs off like you would a drum stick off a chicken. Colby runs out in rage to kill her diners, their Reptilian bodies split open from his direct hits in full auto with his grenade launcher.

Their flesh sizzles from his weapon. But others quickly leap on to him and begin shredding his body open like a fish, his scream echoes across the cavern. Armstrong and Tarver witness his horrible death, they peel his attackers back with their fire. What’s left of Colby is his head and partial torso. He’s already dead, just neurons still firing off.

Armstrong somehow gets to his feet and snarls, “This is it Colonel, you two need to get to the repelling hoist! I’ll hold them, I’m a sitting duck anyway with my jacked up leg!”

Tarver turns to me, “Lieutenant, let’s move!” As the Reptilians close in on Armstrong, he charges toward the alien attackers with an animal growl, "Come on you “Mutha humpin bastards!” he’s blasting scores of them as he becomes almost a one-man army.

As we fall back Tarver fires trying to give support, he nails two who almost leap on to Armstrong who fights with the bravery of a true hero. He keeps fighting until he is soon overwhelmed. I can only see a pile of Reptilians where the big man once stood.

My heart races as I fan my assault rifle in full auto moving quickly backwards. What’s left of my squad are being torn apart and eaten. Fear overtakes me, as the long dagger-like teeth of these Reptilians strips the bones of Armstrong. Meyers is nothing more but a bloody torso now.

I quickly strap on the repelling harness and use the motorized hoist to zip my way up the jagged cliff. I continue firing as I reach the top. Tarver is right behind me. I can see him pulling himself over the edge of the cliff. We run into this maze of tunnels, we are completely disoriented. We can hear their hisses coming from almost every direction. They’re coming closer and closer! They’re everywhere!

We’re completely surrounded, that’s when Tarver grabs me and kisses me then pulls a pin from a grenade and runs past me drawing the Reptilians away from me. They chase after him and quickly catch up with him, he looks back at me one final time as he is completely covered in Reptilians, then there is an explosion. Just a smoldering pile of dead are piled up where I last saw Tarver, he took many as he could with him. I loved him with all my heart. No he’s gone like the others!

Oh God, everyone has been torn to pieces, I’m the last one standing as they close in on me. I scream in anger as I fire my last rounds at them. My rifle suddenly clicks as I’m out of ammo! I start screaming in sheer terror, knowing I’m about to die a horrifying death! Large flapping wings sound over me as I turn around and go into a full all out run for my life! Running through twisting pathways I can hear them on my heels! It’s like almost as though they’re toying with me! Feeding off my fear, waiting to tear me to shreds like the others.

Suddenly a sharp pain runs through my shoulder, blood spurts from where my arm once was! My leg is yanked with tremendous force taking me to the ground. I try to regain my footing but realize there’s blood squirting from the ragged end of my pants! My foot and calf are gone! Agonizing pain rips through my entire body as they swarm over me digging their six-inch teeth into my flesh.

From the swirling darkness, a giant claw punctures my chest splattering blood across my face. My screams turn into only gurgles as I’m separated from my body. I can see them feeding on my body as everything begins to blur out!

The last thing I feel is sharp teeth biting down on my head, the pain is excruciating as I can hear my skull cracking, every neuron firing off sending agonizing pain through my entire body! I begin chocking on the blood that gushes up my throat and out my mouth, my mind is reeling, my thoughts begin to scramble, not making any sense, thoughts popping in and out, then the darkness closes in.

Reality Wave - The Darkness of Death - Chapter 64