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Posts: 432
Join Date: Oct 2008
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BIG BLUE and ‘The Hunt’ chapter 4..
Character Created by Neo Gonzales Story by Wayne Clayton
Despite his age the General was first on his feet and on the radio to the Helicopter barking instructions. Within moments the Black Hawk was in the air and all the weapons were on line. It roared into position over head and began to spit a volley of cannon fire into the warped and twisted leathery hide of the White Cloven beast.
Each shell shattered on contact with the skin which had resisted the passing of a thousand years.
The salvo of the cannons was soon joined by the whirl of the chain guns. Its shafts of hot lead streaking above the heads of the three figures below.
“Fall back Doctor and take Blue with you. We’ll try and buy him some time to recharge”
Sam grabbed Blue under his arms and began to heave the stricken man back through the dirt. He didn’t believe for one second Blue was going to be helping anybody soon. And he was even less certain that the General armed only with a revolver was going to keep this monster at bay. His only comfort lay in the machine which hovered above them releasing its fury into the Cloven giant.
But his hope did not last for long as he heard the sound of spent cartridges and bullets ricocheting of the walls of rock surrounding them. The beast began to stretch himself regardless of the fiery rain which lashed against him. Its domed swayed as it sort its bearings. It had been in darkness too long. The drone of the chain gun fell silent as the last of its anger spat from its glowing barrels. But the assault was still not over. From its steel belly now flew deadly arrows of death. Tank killers tried and tested.
As Sam turned to look on he saw the first wave plough into the torso of the white beast. The flaming ball of fire tore across the surface of the pale flesh shrouding it momentarily from his view, but with the desert breeze came the realisation that the skin was not breached. In its stead the beast had coiled back and like a hair on a trigger suddenly snapped into life, launching itself over the General into the air towards the Black Hawk.
The next seconds burned into Sam memory as he followed the arch of the beast above him. Its claws dug into the cockpit even as the blades of the aircraft ripped and splintered against them. With one easy movement it wrought the steel and glass in two, splitting the Black Hawk down the middle, sending a fierce hail storm of torn and twisted metal down upon all below.
Sam felt the slice of sharpened steel slide across his leg and the thunk of shrapnel impacting into his flack jacket, followed swiftly by the victorious cry of the white demon as it landed and spun back towards its surviving prey. It seemed to reach out and pluck the tattered remains of the pilot and crew before crying out once more, Savouring the sweet feeling of its first fresh souls in so many, many years beginning to run through its veins, but even before its gleeful wail had faded something began stirred unseen within the rock face. As if triggered by the Cloven cry the eyes of the rock figures began to shimmer and glow with a faint red light.
Down below the General was oblivious to the subtle change of atmosphere within the Valley of Fire, his only attention was on the beast before him. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a grenade, even after all these years he still felt some comfort in knowing he at least one at hand ‘just in case’. Call it a habit of youth.
He launched it towards the feet of the monster in hope of catching its attention from Blue and the wounded Doctor. Seconds later it detonated into a cloud of fine slithers of metal at the base of the towering fiend. And as hoped it quickly turned towards the General pin pointing the new threat. It sprang forward making up the ground between them seem all too short. But the General quickly tossed his final grenade high up into the air. It exploded at almost head height so briefly blinding the senses of the beast, giving him precious moments to find cover. But it was all too late, within seconds the beast was back on the hunt.
Now running forward it dug its claws into the earth and ploughed a deep furrow of rock and soil which it in turn hurled before it, showering the General with fresh boulders of desert rock. He ducked and weaved as best he could but age was no longer on his side. Turning he saw the great white ball of the monsters fist slam into the earth behind him, knocking him head over heels into the ground, opening up the wound on in his shoulder. Looking up he saw the other fist bearing down on him.
Vinnie closed his eyes and waited for the end.
A minute later he realised he was still alive. Opening up his eyes he saw the reason for the delay. Stood over him was Blue his arms outstretched as he pushed against the massive hand. His feet forced into the earth as it fought to crush both he and Vinnie.
Blue groaned as the pressure built, his body burning with agony as the power within him still was left wanting. Deep down he knew it was only a matter of time before his body would fail him. The last time he had performed the Big Blue it had taken a week before his body had recharged back to normal, but he owed it to Vinnie to still keep fighting.
Then suddenly just as Blue began to feel his legs begin to give the air was suddenly torn apart by a beam of red light which carved into muscles of the white beasts arm, scorching the flesh and making the creature reel back screaming in pain.
Searching for the source of this light Blue turned to see the walls of the valley now bathed in a deep red glow as if the valley itself was on fire, and at its head stood a tall lone figure that looked to be honed from the rock itself, save for a bright disc of red fiery light which shone from a single red eye.
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