My Writings

[Hunter_Killer]

For now the bell tolls, and all fall silent for those that stalk the streets are loose. Be warry of your surrounds, should the Hunter Killers find you. It will not be your life that passes in your eyes but your death, as it slowly eats away at your inner being. Uncountless ages will pass as it consumes you, and all the pain that was never thought possible will call out to the safest reaches of your mind... and destroy them.

While the new moon watches from its cursed throne, ruling over all who stubble in it realm, those that follow its law feast. The Hunter Killers are no longer man nor beast, they are free thinkers. The perfect executioner to the lifless empire. Others with untainted flesh and thoughts are the prey, a glowing beacon of hope that must be silenced. All Hunter Killers die when they have slaughtered, but three are reborn from their remains. Controlled by fear and the subconcious of their prey, they hunt on. Everything has a weakness..... even the bravest of men will fall.

The ruins of a once prosperous civilization are the only memorial to things of the past. Wreckage litters the blood soaked streets as devices from an untold time lay lifless and with little use. There are those amoung the Hunter Killers that still have memories of the past. Within them is the keys to salvation, but their instincts cloud their sanity. They are labeled as the Cursed, those of pure blood who have lost their way. Unlike the other Hunter Killers that will be forgotten, the Cused contnue to roam, following who ever comands them. Life has a price.... and they are the ones that determine exactlly how much.

When day breaks the old of the night, everything begins to change. The once dead and destroyed are rebuilt by some cosmic force. Those locked in eturnal slumber awaken to their lives. The Hunter Killers fade out of exhistence, all except the Cursed. The Cursed pass between mankind in a dream like state, thier subconcious awakened to the reality of their lives. Knowledge unbounding flows into them without pause, drowning out their evils. Every beginning has an end.... yet every ending is just a dream to others that have yet to awaken.
**********************************************
Thurstan wrapped his arms around him. Despite the heavy thermal suit he wore to protect against the freeze, he still felt its chilling fingers wrapped around his heart. Pulling away his life's heat. Behind him was his soldiers, blind to the cold and the darkness. Each one held their weapons at ready as the negotiator stepped forwards. In both hands was a suitcase with the goods. From the convoy emerged six good squads of soldiers, their leader and their negotiator as well.

Both sides watched the other as the night passed by without words or sounds. Thurstan thought back on the message he had recieved before the meeting by his hgher ups. Two mercenaries had ben sent to make everything in the deal run smoothly. However, there was little trust in how they would do it. Strings had been pulled behind their backs and they were to be exterminated. Far away, another chamber was being opened as one of their experimental fighters was being launched to terminate the threat.

"Their just standing there." The first finger made another unneeded comment while he watched with his binoculars. "Looks like they are haveing a shouting match, or their waiting for someting..." That thought had passed through his partner's mind and he began to switch ammo clips. He loaded it into a second clip feed and pressed a button that shifted the track loader over the new clip's ammunition. "Hey why dont you do something useful and look for any other movement. Instead of wasting what little air is left up here." The first figure shrugged and began to scan the opening expanses of the desert for anything out of place.

"Got it, loading information now. Hmmm.... Looks like our client decieded a new action behind us, sounds familiar." The second only barked back, " why dont you shut it and give me the damn info!" The other shrugged and read off the data his binoculars picked up. "Lets see... Its a prototype, brand new. Place my guess around 30 million crones. Very nice, pure black covering with a sonic-weapons system. Id say those 2 barrels are from some cannons pulled from an old fighter... with modifications of course. Its headed our way and threat level is very high. Sould you get it or should I?" The second figure stood slowly, making sure none of his armor got locked with his cammo. "This little birdy is mine. Its been too long since i hit something moving." The other figure mearly shrugged and wen back to his turret platform. "Yea, why not. If you miss 10 shots its mine."

Thurstan slowly counted to 30, that would be all the time it would take for the fighter to reach the mercs and "fix" the situation. He had radioed ahead to their business parners and told them their would be a weapons test on a nest of the Forgotten. They took the cover up with no questions asked. He slowly reached 25 when and explosion of light caught his eyes and he turned.

The figure with the rifle crouched low on one knee and took aim. He lined the sights up with the cockpit and fired three rounds without hesitation. All three hit and deflected off, as expected. "Well.. they ain't stupid. Cockpit is armored. Nothing is ever easy, oh and you got seven sots left buddy." His partner chattered behind him and he ignored it. He reallined the sghts with the lower portion of the jet and fired twice. This time he smiled before they hit the target. What use is praying when he knew they'ld make it. "Hey! don't stand up yet you moron! Look the things stil-" The sentence was cut off as the rounds hit the sonic-weapons and detonated. Their miniature explosion detonated the missiles themselves and the fighter instently was engulfed in fire. Every Forgotten within a 4 mile radius died instantly from the force of the sonic wave.

Thurstan switched his attention to his commander and gave the signal. Plans had backfired. Everything was wrong. Exterminate them and get me those cases. "Well," he called out to the convoy, " I guess things just hit the fan. So sorry to do this!" Thurstan turned his back to them and the negotiator followed. All around him weapons opened fire as both sides went headlong into a fire-fight.

The second figure stored his rifle in the buggy and climbed into the driver's seat. " Hey, stop gazing at nothing and strap in. I hope to god you warmed the engines cause if this thing gets destroyed, im gunna rip off the rest of your fingers." The first figure shook himself out of his stuppor and reached for his safty harness. His thee fingers of his right hand wrapped around th belt and he pulled it to the fastener. He closed both hands around the grips for the turret and his third arm reached up and activated the controle panel. " Looks like our new client's gunna learn why we cant get no word of confirmation from our old clients."

[Wavobabies]

Wowsa!That's... amazing writing. I need to tell my freinds about this.

Oh, and by the way, aren't hunter killers from SC?

[Hunter_Killer]

Yea, they are the hero form of the hydralisks. But this is the new COD4 name im coming up with since im sick of using the_shadow for a while..... now that i think about it i was making a interactive story about Starcraft before i went here... i was doing the zerg and protoss sections.

[Hunter_Killer]

For now the bell tolls, and all fall silent for those that stalk the streets are loose. Be warry of your surrounds, should the Hunter Killers find you. It will not be your life that passes in your eyes but your death, as it slowly eats away at your inner being. Uncountless ages will pass as it consumes you, and all the pain that was never thought possible will call out to the safest reaches of your mind... and destroy them.

While the new moon watches from its cursed throne, ruling over all who stubble in it realm, those that follow its law feast. The Hunter Killers are no longer man nor beast, they are free thinkers. The perfect executioner to the lifless empire. Others with untainted flesh and thoughts are the prey, a glowing beacon of hope that must be silenced. All Hunter Killers die when they have slaughtered, but three are reborn from their remains. Controlled by fear and the subconcious of their prey, they hunt on. Everything has a weakness..... even the bravest of men will fall.

The ruins of a once prosperous civilization are the only memorial to things of the past. Wreckage litters the blood soaked streets as devices from an untold time lay lifless and with little use. There are those amoung the Hunter Killers that still have memories of the past. Within them is the keys to salvation, but their instincts cloud their sanity. They are labeled as the Cursed, those of pure blood who have lost their way. Unlike the other Hunter Killers that will be forgotten, the Cused contnue to roam, following who ever comands them. Life has a price.... and they are the ones that determine exactlly how much.

When day breaks the old of the night, everything begins to change. The once dead and destroyed are rebuilt by some cosmic force. Those locked in eturnal slumber awaken to their lives. The Hunter Killers fade out of exhistence, all except the Cursed. The Cursed pass between mankind in a dream like state, thier subconcious awakened to the reality of their lives. Knowledge unbounding flows into them without pause, drowning out their evils. Every beginning has an end.... yet every ending is just a dream to others that have yet to awaken.

As the day passes all the truths, once shrouded by the shadows of night, are illuminated for all those to see. But those that wander across this realm are blind to the truth as the echos of warning whisper in silent ears. The Reborn travel the land with facination of what secrets were once hidden to them. But night falls again, like a never ending cycle and instinct resumes. The once clear past falls back into the destroyed chaos of the future. The Hunter Killers awaken and hunt their prey... yet some awaken to a new form.
*********************************************
The buggy rumbled to life as the engine began to consume more of the fuel that was slowly fed into its glowing maw. The Second figure placed all four of his hands on the wheel and hit the accelerator. The buggy lurched forwards and charged towords the plateau's edge. Just as it flew into the air, nothing below it for more then half a mile, the firgure flipped a switch and the buggy groaned in responce. Massive spikes emerged from its metal wheels as it fell vertically down to the floor. As soon as the wheels came into contact with the ock face, the spikes dug deep into the earth and used the gravity to gain speed. Half-way down was a natural ramp that slowly curved out to meet the floor below and the figure guided the buggy down this streatch. His partner used hes free arm to hold his bnoculars steady against his faceplate.

"Looks like they're fighting each other. We didn't even get a chance to start the fun." The figure behind the wheel scowled and watched the path ahead, " Yeah but it looks like we get to finish it." The first figure tucked to binoculars away and corrected the turret's sights. " Man, you have a way of seeing the positives in everything." Both stopped talking as the buggy reached the bottom and soon drove across the waste land floor. Slowly the spikes withdrew back into the wheels and the buggy picked up speed, right to the heart of the battle.

Thurstan hid behind a metalic create, a few yards off to the side of the hangar elevator. Both cases of the goods lay next to him, spots of blood frozen to their metalic surface. One of the convoy men managed to blow his negotiator to high heaven with a rocket ment for him. He withdrew his own weapon he had concealed under his armor and fired back. Flashes from muzzle fire come from everywhere, but his visor ID'd the targets for him. In the distance he caught sight of a small slame that slowly plumeted down from a plateau somewhere far off. "This just got even worse. Why did we ire the Cursed? I dont care how good of mercenaries hey are, no recomendations no trust."

[Hunter_Killer]

For now the bell tolls, and all fall silent for those that stalk the streets are loose. Be warry of your surrounds, should the Hunter Killers find you. It will not be your life that passes in your eyes but your death, as it slowly eats away at your inner being. Uncountless ages will pass as it consumes you, and all the pain that was never thought possible will call out to the safest reaches of your mind... and destroy them.

While the new moon watches from its cursed throne, ruling over all who stubble in it realm, those that follow its law feast. The Hunter Killers are no longer man nor beast, they are free thinkers. The perfect executioner to the lifless empire. Others with untainted flesh and thoughts are the prey, a glowing beacon of hope that must be silenced. All Hunter Killers die when they have slaughtered, but three are reborn from their remains. Controlled by fear and the subconcious of their prey, they hunt on. Everything has a weakness..... even the bravest of men will fall.

The ruins of a once prosperous civilization are the only memorial to things of the past. Wreckage litters the blood soaked streets as devices from an untold time lay lifless and with little use. There are those amoung the Hunter Killers that still have memories of the past. Within them is the keys to salvation, but their instincts cloud their sanity. They are labeled as the Cursed, those of pure blood who have lost their way. Unlike the other Hunter Killers that will be forgotten, the Cused contnue to roam, following who ever comands them. Life has a price.... and they are the ones that determine exactlly how much.

When day breaks the old of the night, everything begins to change. The once dead and destroyed are rebuilt by some cosmic force. Those locked in eturnal slumber awaken to their lives. The Hunter Killers fade out of exhistence, all except the Cursed. The Cursed pass between mankind in a dream like state, thier subconcious awakened to the reality of their lives. Knowledge unbounding flows into them without pause, drowning out their evils. Every beginning has an end.... yet every ending is just a dream to others that have yet to awaken.

As the day passes all the truths, once shrouded by the shadows of night, are illuminated for all those to see. But those that wander across this realm are blind to the truth as the echos of warning whisper in silent ears. The Reborn travel the land with facination of what secrets were once hidden to them. But night falls again, like a never ending cycle and instinct resumes. The once clear past falls back into the destroyed chaos of the future. The Hunter Killers awaken and hunt their prey... yet some awaken to a new form.
*************************************************

Thurstan pulled the oin with little hesitation and threw the grenade over the crates he hid behind. It sailed through the air, hissing, as its timer slowly counted to detonation. The grenade bounced harmlessly off the side of one of the APCs and rolled a little ways off. It soon stopped against the wheele of another vehicle. The buggy was parked nearby and both of its heavy turrets fired against his own men. The grenade went off right under the main engine. The resulting explosion sent the buggy up and over, crashing onto its roof and crushing the turrets and their operators. The explosion was strong enough to push the APC next to it onto its side two wheels and it rolled over.

This happened so suddenly that both sides had little time to take cover before loose shrapnel from the vehicles rained down on them. One soldier, who seemed to have the worst luck, was hit in the right shoulder with a particularly large chunck of metal. The force of the impact pitched him forwards just as he fired his RPG. If it werent for the desperate stuggle between sides, his vaporization as the smoking remains of his armor and weapon shot into the air with its trailing smoke would have been a comical sight.

Thurstan shaded his visor so the light would create no glare and blind him. He called out to the closes squad and ordered them to aim for the vulnerable APC. Just as another soldier raised to take a shot his head exploded into huge chunks of flesh, bone and brains. The body fell liflessly to the ground and the grenade rolled out from his hands. Thurstan watched it fall and saw the spoon release as the seconds dragged on. As he watched, to frozen to move or react, a heavy force caught him hin his midsection and carried him away from the grenade. Before his back collided with the ground and his eyes closed, he saw one of the other soldiers kicking his foot out sending the grenade away.

It exploded right when his foot made contact.

Pain. Pain was good. Thurstan opened his eyes and his second in command was ontop of him. His lifeless eyes stared deep into his own. Thurstan forced the body off of him and quickly switched to his grenade launcher and arked two two grenades into the underside of the APC. The blasts ripped apart his fuel line and ignited. The other APC had managed to move away from the potential bomb and was firing its turrets and cannon into one of his other squads. Another soldier on the other side slowly stood to take aim at him as he lay, unprotected in the battlefield.

Just like one of his soldiers, this one's head exploded and the lifeless body fell sideways, carried by the round. The patrole tanks had focused on the glowing dot in the horizen and began to fire artillery rounds at it. Explosions dotted the horrizen infront and behind it, casting the gleaming light of their explosions off the metal of the vehicle. This time Thurstan saw a small flash from the vehicle and suddenly one of the tanks detonated. Its turret rocketed into the air as the explosion was inturnal. Some... thing had fired a weapon from atleast 2 miles away now... But it had only been at least 2 minutes since the explosion.

The secondary figure had left two of his hands on the wheel and used his other two to grab his sniper. Even with the shaky ground and his less stable controle, he managed to pick off two soldiers, one on either side. After their deal had been crossed, it didn't matter who he killed. The tanks were a problem and had been raining artillery shells around them. " It's gettin hot up here! Why dont you do something?" His partner grunted back, " You know this thing cant reach that far. Why not shoot some lizards again? Would you hurry up?! I felt that one pass over my face plate!"

Without thinking about their safty he swerved to the far left as an explosion rocked them onto their front two wheels. His good half of his face grinned as he felt the heat from the blast and he fired two rounds before the kick from the first altered his aim. The first was a AP round and the fourth was one of the concusive rounds. They went down the massive cannon on one of the lead tanks and it blew sky high. "Almost in range, get the thing warmed up!"

With steady hands, he placed his rifle back in its compartment by the seat and grabbed another weapon from the back seat. " Oh, you're not usin that yet are yea?" His partner yelled to him in surprise as he lifted a massive weapon onto his shoulder. It was designed by him but the ammunition was given to him by his clients. It was a missle pod he had scrapped of some old helicopter. He alligned the targeting systems on the remaining three tanks. "We're going so fast the flames might hit us!" He hit the breakes and pulled the wheel right and the buggy swung out till it faced sideways to the tanks and kept slidding to them. " Good point!" He shouted it back as he pulled the trigger and three missiles deployed and shot high into the air.

Thurstan watched as the buggy drew closer and suddenly swerved. Out of nowhere three trails of smoke snaked into to air. He watched them go high into the black sky till the darkness engulfed them. The buggy slid a few more feet and one of the artillery shells hit right behind them. The buggy was launched, spinning high into the air, just as three rockets fell, almost perfectly strait, from the sky and hit each tank right in the center of the turret. Just as the Buggy passed through the smoking wreckege of the tanks a loud whine came from its back as a massive turret unleashed its fire upon both sides of the battlefield.

Both his soldiers and the those with the enemy were ripped apart where they stood as blood splattered everywhere. A continuous rattle of empty caseings could be heard behind the raor of the turret. The remaining APC, the only functional vehicle left, backed up to get a clear shot at the buggy. Just as it fired one of its shells another trail of smoke disappeared into the sky... how did he miss that the first time?

The figure who drove the vehicle watched with perfectly stable vision at the ground below him slowly rolled to be the sky then the ground. His neck joints alowed him to rotate his head at a constant spead, so it seemed as though he was just watching a normal battle. His partner on the turret wasn't as lucky. Atleast the turret could auto lock onto the next target and change its targeting hairs to the next threat. He watched as almost all the soldiers blew apart into tiny pieces. He caught sight of the APC that hid behind the skeleton of its sister transport. He lifted the final rocket and didn't even wait to hear the auto-lock confirm before fireing.

Thurstan pushed himself to his feet and ran and hid behind another section of crates. The buggy hit the desert ground on the other side of the hangar, just as the rocket hit the APC. The blast forced Thurstan from his feet and he fell to the ground once more. This time he hit his head and blacked out. His visor detached from his helmet and slid across the metalic floor. When he opened his eyes and rolled over to look around he could only see darkness. He put his hands ho his eyes and felt the ice that covered his eyes. When his visor detached, the thermal heating that kept the liquids in his eyes from freezing had vanished suddenly and the liquid had flash frozen.

Beside him he could hear the crunch of boots on rocks and became vagly aware he couldn't feet his legs. has he reached down below his waist, a thick hand, bigger then his two hands cleanched in fists, grabbed both his wrists together and lifted him up off the ground. A thick series of silibles and barks reached his ears and he tried to identify them. " Nah, looks like his eyes got the big freeze. Seems like he's missing his legs as well." The second voice had a heavy accent that almost sounded like clicks and barks, but Thurstan managed to translate it in his mind. "Wh-who are you?" "Eh? Looks like this sucker can talk still, and by telling from that accent hes from the side that hired us." The mercenaries! The thought echoed in his mind.

When their buggy had hit solid ground, both figures had drawn their weapons and erradicated anyone left who was dumb enough to turn a weapin on them. The bullets had deflected off their armor and face plates. The figure who used the turret leveled his weapon and held the trigger down. A small disk flew from the weapon and sharp spikes sprung from its edges. They dug into the flesh of one of the soldiers that still stood.

The soldier struggled desperatly to claw it off his face and just as he managed to overcome pain and dig his fingers under it. A small little whistle sang its note into his ear. The blast vaporized the wreched soldier where he stood and the shrapnel flew out and killed almost all the others. What little of the metal that reached the figures only rattled off their armor. After all threats had been silenced they went around and surveyed the bodies. They found four suitcases, their target, and a variety of mortaly wounded soldiers. They had interrigated each one they found but few could eve speak. One had the stupidity to spit at the destroyed half of the second figure's face. He proptly gripped the man's face with all four hands and ripped it apart in four directions.... slowly. After that they noticed the legless body of one particular man.

"Seems like another batch of clients tried to kill us." There was a sharp pain in Thurstan's eyes and everything went from black to blurred. Slowly his eyes cleared and he realized they had injected something into him. "Don't worry, the medicine will help you. It ain't poisonous... to some." Thurstan struggled in his captor's hand but he could do nothing. When his vision finally cleared he got a good view of the onse that had caught him.

Both of them stood at a good 10 feet 7 inches tall, with four arms and 2 legs. Their arms looked massive and able to probably pick up a buggy without struggle. They wore shreaded cloth that looked like the color of the desert around them and underneath glimmered some sort of armor. It covered their chest, neck, and portions of their arms and legs. One of them had a full fac plate, obscuring his face so it could not be identified. He slowly turned and looked at the one that held him. Half of the face was covered by the faceplate but the other was sickenly detailed. It looked like the other half had melted and fused with the flesh and bone below. Where the eye should have been, there was only a depressed socket, as the lower portion where the nose and mouth would be located came out like a snout almost. The thing turned and he saw that the breathing apperatus was connected to a canister on its hunched back. He noticed that both seemed to have some sort of device around their ears.

"Well, looks like the idiots figured out that we ain't human... well what they percieve and wish to believe is human." Thurstan drew his eyes to the other again. " You are the Cursed, your kind died out two years ago." The figure holding him grunted and through his broken body across the field and into one of the crates that still remained intact. As he hit, he felt his spine shatter and he caughed blood. "A little to hard. Yes.. are race is dead... or so you believe. We have gone into hiding. But with each job we complete, more of them are convinced to resurface.

At the edge of the sonic field Thurstan saw more creatures unburrow from the ground. Each one arose to the height of the other two, each one had that same armor and physical appearence. They barked and clicked to the other two that approached him. One of them barked back as the other lifted him and spoke slowly to his face. "When the great cataclysm occured, it was you who caused it and fled. The forgotten and our people accepted that survival would only occur to those that embraced it. We are the new race and the new face of God's people and you are the animals. Soon, you will die out and we will take back the lands you stole from us. But for now... we have to tear apart your rule from the inside, with wars and lies and death."

Thurstan tried to scream in anger as the figures left and the rest of the cursed followed them. He was left to lie as the timers on the sonic field died out and the Forgotten approached the killing ground to inspect the remains. Thurstan screamed to the heavens for mercy but the gods were deaf and blind to his prayers. For the Gods had died with the cataclysm and only those that accepted the opening of hell could survive in hell. This was now their paradise.

And as night held its throne over the ruins, the Hunter Killers emerged to do its bidding. While the Pure ran from the truth, the Forgotten hunted them. As the Cursed waited in the shadows to reforge the fallen greatness of the human race.

[{CLR} Naillik]

Brilliant!

[Hunter_Killer]

I almost didn't connect the signature at the top to the story. I also decieded that i will make 2 more shorts for this back ground, one about before the cataclysm and one baout during the cataclysm

[Hunter_Killer]

Two figures approached the edge of the city limits and stared at the massive crator before them. Near the heart of the massive blast area, was a solitary building that streatched its metallic body to the heaven. " ***, why the hell are we doing this again?" One of the figures turned to his partner and stard at the rising sun on the horrizen. "These fools sa they can pay goodcrones for our services." The second one didn't bother to turn and continued to watch the sunlight reflect from the distant windows. "Hell, its been two years since the cataclysm and you want to make contact now?" The first figure lifted his weapon and slung it on his back. "It's as good as time as any to start life over isn't it?" "Hell, i dont know. But i still dont trust the Pure. What the heck. Come on lets get in the buggy and get down there asap... As long as they have food and beds I wont give a damn." The first figure turned back and walked towords their vehicle while the second stood a little longer and watched the building a little longer. "Damn animals," was all he whispered before he turned and entered the driver's seat. The buggy lurched in the direction of the pooly formed road that lead down into the canyon.
**************************************
You've seen them in thier final mission. Now join the mercenaries once more in thier lives as they wander through the years during the Cataclysm. The mercenaries are back and now more of their history will be revealed...

Cooming Soon

[Hunter_Killer]

The sun was reaching high noon as the buggy advanced in the direction of the tower. At the bottom of the cliff when the road connected to the barren floor, a dusty road snaked this way and that to the structure. Every 10 feet or so was a tall platform with some sort of dish rellay on it. Close by was a turret. As the buggy passed the supposed range of the turret, it slowly began to track its path until it left that rang. In some places, the twisted remains of a tower or a turret lay, rusting, on the earth.

As the figures drew closer, the turrets and towers grew even more numerous. At several locations an armored patrol stopped them to find out their purpose. For several minutes to a few hours they would wait. Both figures grew impatient with every unneeded delay, as time waits no one ans the sun began to set. It was almost dusk when they finally reached the tower. An officer, of some rank that neither carred for, directed them to the garage and a crew of mechanics went to modify and refuel the buggy. The two figures kept their weapons close at hand and entered the tower.

[Hunter_Killer]

Four days later, the two figures meet each other in the garage. The first was right, they had at least been given food and rest before being given their assignment. They examined their new vehicle and equipment that had been given to them, as part of the payment for their services. The first figure was examining his particularly large weapon. " What did they do to that old assult gun you had?" The second one watched as his partner grinned behind his faceplate. They had been fighting with each other for so long, they knew what the other would be doing under their faceplates. "This puppy," the first figure said with a smirk, "is something they call a M-I-N-E thrower." He slowly went over the syllibles of the word so he said it right. "Apperently it launches these small high explosive disks with these spiked edges. The mine can attachitself to anything. It can detonate one of three ways..." The figure raised his bad had and counted off with his three fingers. "One, it has a proximaty fuse that goes off if the sensor is tripped within its radius. Two, it counts down to zero. And three... I like this one the most.... it has a preasure detonation. If one of these minds somehow manages to latch onto some poor man. If he tries to pull it off, and i bet he will, The pressure from him trying to get it off him will make the mine detonate."

The second figure waited for his partner to finish his laughing, his mouth was turned down in a partial frown. "So what did these Pures do to your weapon? Improve the sights?" Before he could finish laughing, the second figure lifted his weapon so fast that the barrel was pressed into his neck and he gasped for air. "Hey, its loaded to. So shut your mouth before i ask ya next time." The second figure drew his gun away and the other took a deep breath of air. "They say its a modified version of some old weapon, even back before the cataclysm. They call it a B-A-R-R-E-T-T. They added a secondary clip feeding system with a reloading track that can change with a push of a button. Range can hit something up to 3 miles without drift. They say that ain't far but what it makes up for in range it does back in power. So, now that that is established, what did they do to our buggy?"

They both turned and looked it over up and down. It had been reinforced greatly, armor plating and a stronger cage and a bigger platform fixed to the top. Their old turret had been switched out with one of those massive ones they saw on the platforms outside. The engine and fuel was modified so it could go faster and farther. The wheels had been switched out from their old rubber tires to some sort of metal ones. The rides would be a little rougher but the systems built in made the axcess to terrain wider. When activated, metal spikes, desined like the ones on the mines, would stick out from the tires and enable them to scale vertical walls up or down. The reinforcements made it also able to handle their weight and weapons. Ammunition was stored in the back seat along with their weapon cases.

The two figures walked over and stored their weapons in the cases. The first figure climbed into the turret seat and checked the turning and aiming programs of the gun. The second figure climbed into the drivers seat and turned on the buggy. It roared and came to life underhim as he drove it, testing its limits, out of the garage and towords the canyon's walls in the direction of their objective. He pushed it to go a little fasted and activated the spikes, they emerged from the tires and gripped tight into the rocks. Soon the buggy climbed the cliff at a rapid pace, before they reached the edge and raced into the horizon.

From the highest window of the tower, the Pure leader watched the mercenaries leave with a frown of regrett. "Call the outpost... Tell them the mercenaries are not friendly. I've decieded that they can't be trusted. Kill them with any means necessary." He slowly walked back to his chair and watched the monitors of his controled realm.

[Hunter_Killer]

Hey its just me saying, look around the sight at about 1 o clock pm pacific. I will be posting more of the short then. ALSO: Reviews and comments are appreciated, since that varifies if you like it or not. It also helps tell me what i can improve on.

[Hunter_Killer]

Thurstan sat back lazily in his chair with his feet resting against the panel of his control board and watched the usless figures scroll across the screen. It was 15.30 hours, the sun still blazed brightly down the ravine, it was a low 125 degrees Fahrenheit and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There has never been a cloud in the sky. Nothing moved, land or air, nothing even lived out there. The array towers, a prototype that was recently beeing tested for the sonic-weapons array system, posted updates on their status every 15 minutes. The huge turret defences rotated back and forth on their tracking patterns.

He thought back to times before the cataclysm. Back when humanity was still struggling to survive. Birth-rates had dropped severly and death-rates climbed to unbelievable heights. Cloning was incorperated in larger countries, to maintain a healthy population. Each clone was a blank slate, apart from their name and natural functions. Thurstan knew, that somewhere out there on this dead planet, there was atleast one other clone of himself. He knew, because he was the origonal Thurstan. He outlived the cataclysm, as well as many other clones of himself. Many of those clones had been caught out side when the cataclysm hit, others were lucky enough to be "born" in the shelter of the bunkers but had wandered out to the surface like many other foolish people, the cursed.

The cursed were strange beings. While their population during the end years of the cataclysm was vastly numbered. Now, only a few pockets of their race exhisted, and even those were begining to shrink. After the first encounters, the cursed just seemed to disappear without a trace from the realms. Thurstan, personally, didn't trust any of them. He had just recieved a message from the HQ that two cursed mercs had been hired and were headed this way. Strings had been pulled after they had left, and now they were to be killed on sight. They were headed in this direction. One sensor indicated an incoming vehicle on the horizon. There was only 4 hours of sunlight left until nightfall. Thurstan switched all systems from standby to exterminate.
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It took slightly longer then i planned but me and gimmie argued over details for the story and i had a waterpolo game at the time i was going to post.

here it is.. mor of the second story

[Hunter_Killer]

As the buggy drew closer to the outpost, the figure driving pulled it to a stop and climbed out. "What is it now?" His partner called from the gunner seat. "Shut up and let me just check this." He pulled out his sniper and used his scope to examine the outpost. Something about that array tower and the turrets made him pause. He slowly set his rifle by the side of the buggy and he reached up with one hand and depressurized his right ear guard. Almost instintaniously he felt sick as a horrible, splitting headache caused his head to spin. He hurridly repressurized the guard and grasped the side of the vehicle for support. He stayed still as he waited for his vision to clear and the headache to subside. He still felt slightly dizzy and disoriented as he used the sniper to examine the outpost again. "They got all systems online and it aint even sun down yet." The first figure fidgited in his chair and messed with the controles on the turret. "Looks like our 'trusted' clients had a change of heart."

The two figures surveyed the outpost that blocked their path. "Could climb the sides of the ridge. But that turret'll get us." The second figure grabbed two clips and opened a few ammo cases. He checked the sights once more. "What do you think the range is for that... thing you got?" His partner tapped his faceplate and gave a sideways glance to his weapon. "I'ld put my estimate at about 300 yards for the gun." The second figure continued to load both clips, five AP rounds in a small clip, which he loaded into the first clip feed, and 20 rounds, every 4th being a special round, into the larger clip. He loaded that one into the secondary clip feed and looked down his sights again. "Want to make a bet?" The second figure continued to aim at the bunker. "Wait, what was that?" His partner looked at him in surprise, but he paid no attention. "You heard me. 1500 crones says I can hit that array tower from here. It's about 4 miles away, and thats before i even consider the wind." The first figure just sat there, tapping his faceplate as he did the math in his head. "I'll raise ya another 1000 crones and you've got a deal. I like the odds on my side."

[Hunter_Killer]

Thurstan watched the screens intently as he tried to figure out exactly what they were doing. For the past 30 minutes, they had done nothing except sit out there in the distance. He tapped his fingers across the panel, impatiently waiting for them to get cut apart by the turret. Suddenly. There was a flash or two, out where the buggy was. Bells and sirens wailed and hey drew his eyes back to the screen. Reports from the array tower flashed back in, two of the support legs had been blasted apart. Another two flashes blinked in his peripheral vision and he looked up at the array tower to his right. Another set of sparks danced from the legs as the array tower began to collapse. Without warning, another brightflash came from the top of the tower as he relay antennae was shattered into tiny pices and the signal went dead.

The tower fell backwards and bent and broke on the scattered rocks behind it. A warning came up from the turret that the scanner/weapon array system was offline. Judging by how he just saw it get taken out by some mercenary who was a little over four miles away. A cloud of dust appeared on the horizon as the vehicle raced forwards once more. Thurstan grit his teeth together and punched in a few codes into the computer. The weapons system was switched from auto-targeting to manual aim. A box and a small set of crosshairs appeared on the screen as he grabbed the controles that emerged from the panel. He fixed the secondary aiming reticle to his eye and he focused on the target. Now he would take care of them, and no damn computer error would get in his way.

The secondary figure floored it and the buggy leaped to life as it rushed the bunker ahead. Over the wind that rushed past, he could hear his partner complaining that he had been tricked and the bet was unfair. Withought notice, he kept one hand on the wheel and reached over to pickup an old RPG he had been carrying around since the cataclysm. He aimed at the bunker's tiny exposed window and fired. The rocket spiraled away from the buggy and smashed into the bunker's side. Just below the window.

Thurstan saw a large flash then a trail of smoke leaving the bugg on screen. He looked up out of his view window and saw the rocket before it curved down and impascted against the side of the bunker, below the window. He threw himself from his seat as the explosion took out the part of the control panel where he had ben sitting. As he climbed to his knees, coughing and cursing the mercs, a siren wen off that the primar systems and power supply had gone unstable. He jumped to his feet, fighting his extreme sense of disorientation and grabbed his weapon. He rushed over to the escape door and just as he threw it open to the outside air... the bunker detonated in a massive fire ball and tossed him out into the desert like a rag doll.

The first figure watched from the gunner seat of the bggy as the bunker went up in a massive ball of flame and the turret that guarded the pass also detonated. Chunks of the complex, both lare and small, rained down from the sky and littered the ravine. The secondary figure put on an extra burst of speed and the buggy shot through the ravine with no trouble at all. By the time it had passed the ravine safle and disapeared in the horizon, it was only 30 minutes until sunset. Thrustan shakily climbed to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. He swore as he sa he sun begining to fall and the light began to die out. He quickly grabbed at his weapon and slung it on his back and dsperatly started to climb for higher ground. After all, no one wanted to be on low ground when it was night time, not while th forgotten still roamed the realms...

[Hunter_Killer]

The sun was quickly setting in the distance as the buggy raced to their destination. Its massive form loomed in the distance. Just as the figures believed everything was in the clear, a strange creature unburried itself from the ground. The second figure swurved to avoid it, but the back half of the vehicle smashed into the creature's side and he lost control. The creature, unfaised by the incedent, lept into the air and its claws reached for the nearest target. Just as it was about to reach the second figure, he drew a large pistol and shot it between the eye sockets. It fell to a crumpled heep, dead, right at the edge of a buggy. The figure jammed his foot down on the accelerator and the vehicle's wheels spun before gaining traction. As they charged forwards, pushing the limits of the vehicle to try and out run this new threat, more of the forgotten emerged from their slumber. Hungrey for new food.

Thurstan slipped between two rocks, half-way up the ridge, and drew his weapon. He checked the sights and set the view to inferred. He had three settings on his weapon: Single, Burst, or Mine-thrower. It wasn't the same as the mercenary's mine-thrower, that was a prototype, but it still was extremely destructive. He switched it to the mine-thrower and set the detonation means to a timed charge. Holding his weapon steady in one hand, he reached up and slowly pressurized his thermal visor and secured it to his helmet. In the distence, he could point out the tiny dots of the emerging forgotten as they unburried themsleves from the floor. The shapes slowly gre larger as the creatures began to advance on the recently destroyed outpost. With the array tower down and the turret disabled, nothing would be able to prevent them from entering this controled realm. Thurstan knew he could stall them for a few more nights, but eventually they would get through. Finally, some of the creatures had entered his field of fire and he discharged the mines down onto them. Many of the minds latched onto the thick crapace of the beasts as a few others attached to stray rocks of the ground itself.

After he had launched both cartriges of mines across his firing field, he turned his head away from the opening and closed his eyes. The timers reached 0.00; Explosions ripped apart the god forsaken creatures in the small area that he fired upon. The shrapnel from the mines killed even more, if not seriously wounding them. Thurstan turned and saw that they continued to advance, some even lined up on the ridge below his hidding spot, trying to reach with their claws and pull his down to thier awaiting maws. Thurstan gritted his teeth and drew out a flare from his gear. He lit the fuse and tossed it as far and as hard as he could. Just as it hit the floor, it detonated. The sonic device encased inside went off and killed every forgotten within range. Those that managed to survive the blast fled far away, while others lingered only long enough to drag away their dead bretheren, for some sort of food this night.

Thurstan sighed in relief and exhaustion and switched his rifle to burst fire. He closed his eyes and went into a light sleep, clutching his gun close to his chest. Exhaustion would kill him faster then the forgotten, but he had to pray his luck would hold up for the night.