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Morpheus
“We’re approaching our destination,” Julie called back from the front of the helicopter. “Please put your seats and tray tables in an upright position as we will begin our descent in just a few minutes.”
I stared out the helicopter and the smoke coming from the smoldering ruins of what had once been the town of Deacon Falls. Of course, the town had since been overrun by demons, bombed by the military, was overrun by demons again, and now had been bombed for a second time.
Aerial reconnaissance had confirmed that several demons could be seen from the air, so the Air Force had dropped some kind Fuel-Air Bomb which would not only kill the demons but create enough heat to sterilize the environment afterwards. There was very little left of the town which had once been known as Deacon Falls but which still held the name of Hell Town. That would make our mission both easier and more difficult.
The one downside of destroying all the demons with a massive bomb was that there wouldn’t be enough left for us locate the demon queen and confirm she’d been destroyed. Still, our mission was to do just that, along with making sure that all the demons really were dead this time.
“I do NOT want to EVER have to come here again,” Colonel Roberts had told us before sending us on our way.
I looked at my sisters who were even more grim than usual. “Are you guys okay?” I asked cautiously.
Rebecca nodded and told me, “I just never thought I’d be coming back here.”
“This is where the old Dan died,” Dani said with a serious expression. “Even if I didn’t realize it at the time.”
Our helicopter came in and landed in a cleared area and we all began climbing out of the chopper. Our backup team was with us as usual, but this time all four of them were wearing biohazard gear similar to what our cleanup crew normally wore. This would protect them from infection, but it would also make them slower and more awkward in a fight.
“Let’s get this done and over with,” Nicole said.
“Agreed,” Rebecca responded.
“I’ll see you guys in a bit,” Julie called out to us.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling from the ground that felt like a small earthquake. I looked around but didn’t see any sign of what could have been causing it. My sisters and our backup soldiers were looking everywhere for signs of a demon. So far, the only sign of anything strange was the ground shaking.
“I don’t like this,” Dani muttered.
A moment later, the ground seemed to erupt and a huge figure began pulling itself up from the ground. Dirt and stone fell aside as the enormous demon came to the surface.
“Oh shit,” I blurted out as I stared at the monster.
The demon looked something like a giant mole, though it was at least twice the size of an elephant. It had no hair and its skin was armored, resembling an armadillo shell a little.
Without hesitation, everyone began opening fire on the creature, though it merely roared and slashed out with its clawed front paw. One of our backup soldiers was hit and sent flying…in two pieces. Then the demon got up on its hind legs, making it stand even higher from the ground.
“Holy fucking Christ,” Dani exclaimed, firing shot after shot at its chest and only making it mad.
“They’re still here,” Rebecca called out over the radio. “We’ve run into a monster of a demon here…”
With a loud roar, the demon lunged forward and smashed into the back of the helicopter, tearing off the tail. It roared and then leapt at us again, though my sisters and I dove to get out of the way.
“I’ll get Julie,” Nicole yelled, rushing for the front of the helicopter where our friend was still located.
“You guys back up,” I ordered our backup soldiers, who tried doing just that. However, they were slowed down by their bulky biohazard gear.
One of the backup fell down and the demon actually stepped on him with a sickening crunch. I grimaced and continued shooting the demon, hoping that I could distract it from our two remaining backup soldiers.
“Aim for its mouth,” Rebecca yelled.
We all ran back, taking cover behind rubble while simultaneously trying to target the demon. It snarled and smashed through the ruins of the helicopter, making me thankful that Nicole had gotten Julie out of there already.
“Look at the size of that bastard,” Dani spat out angrily. “I bet he’s been here ever since the last time we blew this place up.”
“He certainly isn’t a newbie,” Rebecca agreed with a scowl.
“I can’t believe this,” Julie exclaimed from where she was crouched down behind a burned out car with Nicole. “I’m supposed to be safe up in the air…”
“Welcome to our world,” Nicole told her with a forced grin.
Nicole jumped out from behind her cover and shot at the demon’s head even as she ran, keeping it from Julie. Rebecca and I jumped out to help while the two remaining backup soldiers covered us from a distance.
The demon roared and lunged at Nicole, though my sister jumped out of the way. At the same time, Julie ran to one of the dead soldiers and picked up his weapon, then began shooting at the demon as well.
“You destroyed my ride,” Julie yelled angrily. “You’re going down for that Molezilla.”
“Keep back,” Rebecca snapped at Julie. “We don’t want you getting hurt…”
“Or worse,” Dani added, rushing forward to grab Julie and pull her further back. “Infected.”
I watched the demon for a moment, cursing at the fact that its armor really did seem impenetrable. It was even tougher than that stone skinned demon that had been part of that big pack. I was pretty sure that Rebecca was right and that its mouth was its most vulnerable spot, but unfortunately, it was hard to actually do anything about it.
Rebecca stood back and took careful aim, getting a shot right in the demon’s mouth. It screamed in pain, then smashed the ground, sending shards of stone everywhere. We all had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. The demon smashed the ground and began flinging debris everywhere.
“Look out,” I called out to Rebecca as the demon made another lunge towards her.
Rebecca managed to avoid the attack, but then the demon flung more debris at her. She was hit with what was almost a shotgun blast of rubble, being caught in several places. Dani and I both jumped forward and opened fire at the demon’s head, though it jumped towards Dani, sending her flying back at least a dozen feet.
“Oh no you don’t,” Julie exclaimed, shooting at the demon as it approached Dani, obviously trying to protect my sister.
Then as the demon stood back up on his hind legs again and let out a loud roar, I suddenly had an idea. It was a bad idea. A VERY bad idea. However, it was the only thing I could think of.
“I need some grenades,” I yelled to Dani, remembering that she’d slipped a couple onto her belt before leaving.
Dani started getting back to her feet then dropped back to her knees with a loud curse. “I’m hurt,” she told me with a snarl.
My first impulse was to grab Dani and drag her back out of the fight so I could patch her up, but I knew that would be pointless as long as this demon was still here. We couldn’t afford to pull both of us out of this fight yet.
I rushed to Dani’s side and told her, “I need your grenades…”
She gave me a curious look but handed them over without question. I took a deep breath, then made my move towards the demon’s back side.
“Keep him distracted,” I called out, hoping that Nicole could do that without being hurt herself.
The demon crouched down and I saw that as the perfect opportunity. I jumped up onto his tail and then onto his back, grabbing hold of the ridges in his armor to stay on. Then I quickly made my way up towards his head, pulling the pins on the grenades and letting out a silent prayer.
From the demon’s head, I waited until it let out another roar, then I bent forward and threw both grenades into his mouth. With another prayer to whatever god or saint looked over the insane, I jumped as far as I could.
“Holy shit,” Dani exclaimed as the grenades exploded in the demon’s mouth.
“Are you insane?” Rebecca called out.
Looked back at the demon, who collapsed to the ground, no longer moving. I stared at it for a moment and said, “It was the only thing I could think of.”
“Good thinking,” Rebecca told me. “But you really had me worried…”
“Yeah,” I responded, looking at Rebecca who was bleeding in several placed. “You have me worried to. Now sit down so I can get you and Dani patched up.”
“Yes ma’am,” Rebecca responded with a chuckle. “I’m certainly not about to argue with someone who can bring down a demon like that.”
“That was incredible,” Julie said, staring at me and then the now dead monstrosity.
“That isn’t good,” Nicole commented with a grimace.
Dani snorted at that and said, “As far as I’m concerned, a dead demon is always a good thing.”
“What I mean,” Nicole explained as she looked around with a worried expression. “If one demon survived the bombing…others may have too.”
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Comments
They really do need...
Some some bigger guns. Maybe a attack helicopter or three?
Laser designators
They need laser designator's so that laser-guided bombs and missiles can hit the target without exposing the friendlies to the Demons.
Get to the choppa? Couldn't
Get to the choppa?
Couldn't resist :D
Bigger Guns
would have already been given out, Apache Attack Helicopters would be involved in every mission but as it always comes down in every major batter it comes down to the grunt in boots..Morpheus has given us a very good story but it is time for the angels to be properly equipped. Grenade launchers have been around since Viet Nam and so has the 60mm gun that now weighs less than 15 pounds that at least one of each of the backup crews would be carrying. Also a flame thrower would be nice...
By the way Morph I like how when everything is out and danger is eniment someone does what has to be done and doesnt consider themselves a hero. They do what they do without weighing the risk to themselves because they only think about saving their comrades in arms.
Great story and a great chapter Morpheus
SDom
Men should be Men and the rest should be as feminine as they can be
A LAW rocket would not hurt either
For that matter, in this far flung future, a good high power laser should not be out of the question.
Kim
a list
They could use:
MBT's, Attack Choppers, Grenade launchers, rocket launchers, missile launchers, conventional/rocket/missile artillery, the airforce in general, naval launched ordinance, tactical nukes, neutron bombs, railguns, thermobaric ordnance, smart weapons (like smart bombs and missiles launched from stratosphere UAVs like the Global Hawk), UAV's in general, energy weapons, gatling guns (with their strength they could carry the shortened and lightened 25kg version and a few thousands rounds of 7.62mm NATO Armour piercing high explosive ammo) and a whole lot more.
Assasult rifles and hand thrown nades wont cut it, not anymore.
And their only support being not even a full combat squads worth of soldiers and an unarmed transport chopper is not enough either. At least 1 wing of attack choppers, at least 1 wing of CAS jets (maybe a wing of A10 Warthogs?) and at least 1 mechanised batallion, especially if they are going into somewhere as hostile as this.
good way to take out a demon
grenade in the mouth, works pretty good, I guess.
reminds me of Starship troopers
Where Dizzy throws the grenade in the tanker bugs mouth, but there is all the similarity ends as there was more bugs than there are demons. Plus the Angeles are under armed need to get better guns and a few antitank weapons as more of the demons are armored.
Randi
Randi
Dare I say it?
so far...
I'm not Sure this TACTICAL strike ...
... idea will have the desired effect!!
Something was bothering me while I was re-reading the last few chapters and then chapther 30, and the comments after, It hit me, Thermobaric strike was mentioned and while I agree something serious needs to be done these devices need to be positioned a strategic points in the sewer and storm drain system.
I say this because although the weapons are more decisive than NaPalm, they still have the same drawback detonated on the surface they might only take care of the surface, however if both are used I think this would carry a greater rate of success. It may be a little overkill I know but as Thermobaric explosives rely on oxygen from the surrounding air, the demons that don't incinerate, suffocate.
Another great chapter Morpheus, and a nail biting cliff hanger.
Increased
Fire power is in order, Time to take off the soft gloves and arm these Angles with something you can fire once then forget the target. existed. It may cause some collateral damage but that would be a lot less than using s Daisy Cutter fuel air bomb.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Time for the big one.
I am thinking ground penetrating nuclear weapon. Or they could figure out how to make male and female angels.
This sounds like a homo sapiens ending event here. I think the only way to survive is to help all of humanity take the next evolutionary step.
Gwendolyn
Hmm...
Personally, I'm more concerned with Julie. She's on the ground in a extremely infected area, and almost certainly is not properly geared for it.
I'm thinking that after this little excursion, the number of incidents of Angel Strain infections may have increased.
Although ... that wouldn't necessarily mean there are actually going to be more Angels ... there might actually be less :(
Demonology
It appears that they don't know as much about demons as they thought. The mutations continue with age, but not all of them weaken as they once thought. Given the size of this creature, mutations may not have much in the way of limits. On the positive side, cooperation and planning doesn't appear to be a widespread trait, as this encounter would have been an ideal spot for it. Not to say this couldn't have been an ambush, but if so it wasn't nearly as effective as it could have been with some additional support.
I expect we're heading for the revelation of the queen's identity, but she should of course escape from this first encounter. The obvious candidates are Lisa or Rebecca's mother, but it could easily be a surprise or simple unidentified demon. Looking forward to learning more,
Titania
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
I'm wondering
if it could be hybrid of both viruses. Ouch!
I'm probably going to go for
I'm probably going to go for a sentient, queen like new demon breed.
At this point...
...the sound tactical choice is to call for evac immediately. Half the backup team is dead, two Angels are injured and they have Julie to worry about. I'm sure they must have another chopper orbiting the area, so it's time to bug out and rethink this whole operation.
I also think that it is rapidly becoming clear that creating new Angels is the only viable option. Researching both strains is certainly something that needs to begin immediately, but that's going to take time, perhaps years, and that just won't do. Sending in men and women who are vulnerable to the Harkon virus is worse than stupid at this point, it's criminal. Intentionally infecting people with the Angel strain isn't a good option, even using volunteers, but at this point it's the best of a slew of bad options. The key, as Rebecca has already stated, is that the Angels must maintain control of who becomes one of them, and I suspect that is going to be very, very difficult to accomplish.
Bree
The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph
General
I believe from earlier actions that the general and his contacts, may be able to help with that. I think the only two groups who have to be taken out of the equation is congress except in oversight, the second is their on site doctor. If those two items can be changed the situation will become easier due to UN oversite and involvement.