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Try to reach, but you may fall

Inspired by the Brigador Audiobook

By CynicalPepperPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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The sound of metal churning, the sounds of cannon fire echoed across the city streets wherein only corpses and rubble could be seen, large casings laid across concrete ground sitting next to bodies, covered in pink and red pulp. Pieces of the asphalt were cracked due to the casings weight, buildings torn asunder by tank rounds coming from large machines, metal cylinders chambering more rounds into machine guns as steam emitted from its chassis.

Remnants of one now dead remained buried under rocks and debris, parts of its exterior melted through, the stench of copper and sulfur permeating the air around it, rot surrounding it due to the bodies turned into clouds of pink mist previously by machine-gun fire and rocketry. A young man and a woman remained seated, hidden by a small piece of rock within a building. The young man stares intently at the machine, "It's definitely not possible to melt through a Geymir with a Molotov..." He paused for a moment, scratching lightly at his scabbed knuckles. "They must've used thermal grenades... how the hell did they get that?"

"Illegal weaponry right?" The young woman chimed in, hand on the young man's shoulder.

The young man nodded, looking back at the melted exterior of the Geymir's cadaver. "I'll look at it real quick since there isn't a crowd, they'll see me when I raise my hands." The young man motioned his hands raising as the young woman nodded in affirmation.

The young man crossed to the Geymir's carcass, looking inside its mechanized interior, legs twitching slightly due to faulty machinery. The stench of burnt hair and iron came from inside, a lot stronger than before. The young man quickly used his shirt as a mask quickly, holding back the bile sitting in the back of his throat from coming out, the person inside was unidentifiable, just the melted through remains of a human that used to be alive.

The young man shook his head before quickly making his way back to the young woman who was still crouched behind rubble. "No way he made it out of that..." The young woman's face suddenly becomes sour as he approached.

"Don't come too close, you smell now..."

The young man pressed his lips together, making an uncomfortable expression. He let out an exasperated sigh before looking down the city block, "For now, let's head towards the barricade so we could evacuate."

The young woman nodded.

They quickly made their way across ruined streets, shrapnel and debris spread across the ground like confetti along with piles of gore and flames that could melt through concrete. The sky had lit up with streaks of light that were coming from Geymir gunfire machine guns, you could almost hear the sound of oversized bullet casings cracking the ground as they exited the chamber.

Both the man and the woman paused inside a building, looking up to the sky through a window as a brief whistling is heard, an explosion following it as it collided into an array of buildings, the same instant causing them to collapse, leaving but a large cloud of smoke to be thrown into the air.

After an hour of walking, they had finally reached the barricade. A crowd of people sat in front of it, a group of military personnel escorting people one at a time while to Geymirs stood beside them, machine guns trailing across every one of the civilians as if one false move would turn them all into shredded cadavers, not before blowing up into a pink cloud.

The couple had decided to keep their distance for the time, opting to sit near to the barricade on the side of the street, waiting for the crowd to thin out before they could enter. Two more military personnel come out from within the camp - two Skulkers, their masks clacking to the beat of their own voices as they spoke to the others, guns in hand whilst clad in black.

Someone new had reached the barricade, quickly squeezing themselves with the rut that surrounded it, the military escorting another group inside before the man had gotten close enough to talk to them himself. The words he had spoken could not be heard, but they were loud enough to be able to tell that he was saying something before he quickly threw open a jacket he had on. A quick explosion proceeded, some of the crowd was thrown away from the explosion, while those closest to it were shredded to bits, heads, and limbs being thrown in all directions, blood splattering against the ground.

The young man had shrapnel stuck in his leg as the young woman held him close, attempting to drag him away from the source of the explosion, stifling vomit from exiting her throat. Those within the military managed to survive, though one of their arms was blown off due to it, Geymirs remained completely unaffected.

While the couple managed to make it behind cover, those who were still alive and were out in the open were disposed of quickly by the Geymirs, pink clouds came from their bodies as they popped like balloons against the cannon fire coming from both of the mechs, pieces of the concrete that they once had stood on flying into the air within contact to each individual bullet.

The Skulkers, who had quickly left the air as soon as the explosion happened, immediately moved in. The couple could hear their radios... "Leave no survivors...", It was loud, not subtle in the slightest. In a panic, the young woman began dragging the young man once again, who protested time and time again until finally, the Skulkers had found them.

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