The lost part of my brain

The Unleashing

Outside the burning contingent, he felt as though his clothes and skin cut open. The night air was freezing. He walks in front as Lena, Zoe and Marcus follow his lead away from the blaze everything they did was weighed down by a simple truth — they had succeeded but at what cost? The wasteland outside the enclave was a dark void, with light staining it by way of the glowing embers from one of those buildings in fire.

Lena had Zoe's hand, who stood at her side shivering. Every eye was ringed with red, their faces pale and there were imprints of horror written on every countenance; the thing they had just seen –the beast-Dr Cross's death scarred them for life. The destruction around them made Kane feel as though the world was slipping out from beneath his feet. Shelter, security and a plan were what they truly required but all he could think about at this moment was the fact that an aberration had been unleashed onto devastated earth.

'Gotta keep going,' Marcus said, tense with the sound of it. The father shook his head and said to me, rhetorically but more as a statement: “That thing won't stay in there forever.”

Kane answered in his hoarse voice, "We can’t simply wander around aimlessly." “Do we even know where to go?”

“Marcus, there is an old military outpost not too far from here,” Some folks ditched it at the start of all this, but there might be some stores and barricades still up.

Kane weighed their options. It was a long shot but the outpost had to be their best bet. “Lead the way,” he said.

We rode in tense silence to the outpost. Every sound, every leaf that rustled made them jumpy The only thing walking the landscape was now a shadowed vestige of its former self, and those shattered husks of buildings or mangled automobiles torn to rust were stark reminders that there was always something else.

The girl had followed Lena as they walked, wide eyes a mix of terror and confusion. He could read in Lena that she was doing all of this under strain but never lost sight of bringing Zoe back to the ship. ◊ Marcus appeared to have his grave thoughts from the day His usual, stoic expression was now one of concern as they walked through the dark shadows and ominous quiet aftermath of everything that happened.

“Do you think there could be more of those things out there? Will he, Lena whispered as they strolled along.

Kane shook his head. “I don’t know. Dr. Cross was fanatically devoted to her work, it is not out of the question. We need a safe place to lay low and assess.”But right now, we just need somewhere the f**k to hide.

The outpost appeared, a faded grey structure peeping from broken rocks and spattered with grass. But besides appearances, it remained standing They had to wriggle their way into the blockaded entrance.

It was dark and smelled old inside the building. Absolute silence was all that filled the space, echoes and whispers between single water drips escaping from a cracked pipe. Kane and Marcus led the search of the rooms, collecting supplies there may be an opening to exploit….

They discovered small stores of rations and outdated military supplies in what had been some kind of command room. It was small, but small would have to suffice. Kane did a quick perimeter check and was happy to see most of the base's old automatic turrets still in one piece, if a little rusty now.

Marcus stood looking at the old equipment, he rocked backwards on his heels and nodded to himself deciding “Looks like we can make this work.” “Then we must strengthen the access points and establish a guard.

Kane nodded. “Let’s get to it. We have no idea how much time we have before that *thing* comes after our scent.

Lena curled Zoe up in a corner and rubbed the back of her head, murmuring that she would be okay. The girl was shaking but held on to Lena for dear life. Lena whispered, "It's going to be all right." “We’ll keep you safe.”

Kane volunteered to take the first watch and stood outside by the door. It was a cold night, and the wind wailed through non-opening windows. Kane could not shake that creature from his mind the whole time, and silence hung in the air strangely. What was it? What had Dr. Cross created? He had witnessed much in his lifetime but this one was different.

A sudden noise from outside jolted Kane out of his thoughts. He frowned, eyes darting around the room. The monster was on the outside of it, and it happened to be near. He felt it, the monster that lurked just outside of light.

“Everyone, get ready!” Kane shouted into the radio. “It’s coming!”

The others rushed to grab weapons and reinforce the blockades. A guttural growl from the monster approached and got louder for Kane. The assault by the creature made it sound as if the outpost's defences were groaning. The door cried out in anguished protest as something on the other sidewrovehard against it, muscular shoulders flexing and forceful arms bashing what…[Read the short story]

“We need to reinforce this!” A drawer was pushed below the door, and Marcus screamed.

Kane took hold of another piece of furniture to help reinforce the doorway. The beast cracked against the door again and screamed through the cement structure. The metal gave and twisted, but the blockade remained—for now.

Lena and Zoe walked towards the control room, trying to boot off old equipment. Her small hands flew over the console, eyes locked as they moved through what was at this point a nearly ancient system.

'If we can bring the auto defences back online, maybe we could halt it,' Zoe replied as coolly and controlled as anyone surrounded by panic sounds is.

“Do it,” Kane ordered. You can feel free to use these, as long you remember not to have them.

Zoe typed away, her fingers virtually dancing over the keys. A map of the outpost appealed across my console and numerous defense systems flashed. Kane watched the re-enabled turrets and traps.

“Bring it on,” Zoe shut her eyes, focusing hard. “Just tell me when.”

Kane breathed out and re-entered the corridor. The creature was bashing against the door, its growls more desperate. It was his job to head it into the setup and coax it inside of a kill zone.

“Now!” Kane shouted into the radio. “Lure it in!”

Appearing to be unconcerned, he went through a side door and into the night. The beast immediately homed in on him, its frosty gaze fixing unerringly on his shape. Kane dashed into the wild, steering the beast clear of the outpost and toward a marked area farther along.

With each step it took the ground shook and its growling voice in deep echoing across that black night. Kane pounded his legs, drowning out the ability of pain to floor him and fear rapidity knocked him off his FEET. He had to make it. The trap had to work.

Kane turned around but as he approached the kill zone, Kane noticed that it was running for him at closing speed and a giant black mass against the night sky. A message echoed out over his radio: He screamed in the middle of the kill zone, “Now!”

The outpost was belted down. The turrets whirred and clicked into place as they manoeuvred to target the beast. The explosives blew up dazzling the sky and stunning every living thing. Kane dropped down to his knees and covered his head as the pressure waves shook the building.

The beast screamed in agony, its body writhing under the force of abuse. Kane could see it from his view sot sinon and his eyes pounded with the rhythm of explosions. The only illumination came from the ripples of fire and break.

When the dust and rubble was gone, Kane slowly looked up. It was an area in muzzle flash slickened ruins, full of red smoke. The Creature was nowhere to be seen. Either way, it was gone. Or down.

“Kane, are you okay?” Over the radio, in a worried voice that crackled with static; it was Lena.

"f**k yes," Kane replied, voice so rough that it sounded like sandpaper. “It’s over.”

Silence on the other end. Lena sighed with relief at that. “Come back inside. “we will come together and decide what happens next.

Kane trudged back to the outpost, his stride tired and heavy. And so the war was won, but not the struggle. While one Payne scourge was on the ground, others lurked outside and Dr. Cross' influence still cast a long shadow over Proceed.

After the doors closed, and Kane walked back inside, he was welcomed with tired yet glad faces from the rest of them. Survived, but not without a catch. 【Divine punishment】 This leg of their story was done, but the future.

They were only beginning to scratch the surface of what was in store for them as they gathered in the command centre. The creature was but a glimpse of the darkness that had taken over their world.

If they could hold on for one more night together, then someone else might join the fight. Whatever ((unknown)) was to come.