The maintenance access panel opened into a narrow service corridor that ran parallel to the main third-floor hallway. The space was cramped and utilitarian—exposed pipes and electrical conduits ran along the walls and ceiling, and the air carried the stale scent of dust and abandoned machinery.
This ti, we moved with much more caution than before. Our fall through the wall and narrow escape from the reception area had nearly traumatised us
I led the way through the maintenance corridor. Behind , Rachel moved with equal care, her steel rod ready and her barrier abilities prid for instant activation. The recording equipnt was secure in my pack, but I kept Mark’s frequency analyzer in my hand, ready to resu data collection the mont we got close enough to the Screar device.
The service corridor had several access points that connected to the main third-floor hallway, each marked with small maintenance panels that could be opened for building repairs or ergency access. Through these panels, I could hear the sounds of movent in the main corridor—heavy footsteps that suggested sothing much larger than the standard infected we’d encountered.
I peered carefully through one of the access panels and imdiately felt my enhanced reflexes go into high alert. There, patrolling the hallway directly in front of the technical operations room, was the massive infected that had thrown us through the window earlier.
The creature was even more imposing in the confined space of the corridor than it had been in the larger technical operations room. Its tallic skin still pulsed with internal energy patterns, and its movents had the controlled precision of sothing under direct intelligent control rather than simple viral programming. It was positioned perfectly to guard the entrance to the room containing the Screar device, pacing back and forth.
I could kill it using my ti freeze ability—ten seconds would be more than enough to position myself for a killing strike before it could react once I got close. But what would happen after that? There were still other infected throughout the building, and using my most powerful ability now would leave without that option for another ten minutes. If we encountered sothing even more dangerous during our escape, I’d be helpless.
No, I needed to save my trump card for when we really needed it.
I studied the situation more carefully, noting the giant infected’s patrol pattern and the layout of the corridor. The creature moved in a predictable route between the technical operations room and a maintenance closet at the far end of the hallway, taking approximately thirty seconds for each circuit.
That’s when the plan began to form in my mind.
"Rachel," I whispered, turning back to her in the cramped maintenance corridor. "I need to fight that thing alone."
Rachel’s eyes widened with shock and imdiate objection. "Ryan, that’s insane! You saw what it did to us before—it threw us through a third-floor window like we were toys. You can’t face sothing that powerful by yourself!"
"We need to get rid of it to reach the Screar device," I replied, checking the frequency analyzer in my hand. The display showed that we still needed ninety seconds of recording ti to complete Mark’s minimum requirents. "And we just need to get a bit closer to resu the data collection. This thing is positioned exactly where we need to be."
"But Ryan, that infected is incredibly dangerous," Rachel protested, her voice tight with worry. "What if—"
"I know it’s dangerous," I interrupted gently. "That giant infected is definitely more powerful than the electrical one I encountered in that warehouse. But I have a plan, and it’s going to require your help to work."
I quickly outlined my strategy, keeping my voice low to avoid detection by the patrolling monster. Rachel’s expression showed growing surprise as I explained what I needed from her, but when I finished by saying that I trusted her completely to make it work, she nodded.
"I understand," she said, gripping her steel rod more tightly. "It’s risky, but it might be our only chance to do it..."
"Rember," I said, "you need to get within about ten ters of the Screar device to resu recording. The mont you have a clear signal, start the data collection. I’ll keep that monster busy while you work."
Rachel nodded. "Just... be careful, Ryan."
"Yeah."
I could hear the giant infected approaching the maintenance closet end of its patrol route, which ant I had about thirty seconds before it turned around and headed back toward the technical operations room.
I pushed open the access panel and stepped out into the main corridor, imdiately drawing the attention of the massive creature that had been guarding this area.
The infected was exactly as intimidating as I rembered—eight feet of enhanced muscle and tallic skin, with veins of energy pulsing beneath its translucent surface like living circuitry. When it spotted , its glowing eyes focused directly, and a low growl erged from its throat.
The creature snapped its head toward , its growl intensifying as it recognized the human who had previously invaded its territory and more important soone hosting a Symbiotic Entity. Then it began walking slowly in my direction, its pace gradually increasing as it built montum for what was clearly going to be a devastating charge.
I raised my shotgun and fired, aiming for center mass to test the creature’s durability. The buckshot struck its chest with explosive force, but instead of the expected penetration, the giant infected simply raised one massive hand to shield itself. The shot partially destroyed its fingers and palm, dark fluid spraying from the wounds, but it didn’t slow down or show any sign of pain.
I considered firing again, but the infected was moving faster now, and I knew that trying to reload would be suicidal if the creature could shield itself again. Instead, I dropped the shotgun and imdiately drew my steel spike in my right hand and hand axe in my left, rushing forward to et the monster in close combat.
When the infected reached out with its remaining undamaged hand—a massive appendage that could probably crush my skull like an egg—I dropped into a slide that took under its grasping fingers. The maneuver caught the creature’s attention and forced it to turn around to track my movent, which was exactly what I’d hoped for.
The mont the giant infected began turning to follow my position, Rachel burst from the maintenance corridor and sprinted toward the technical operations room. She moved with enhanced speed, covering the distance to the Screar device in seconds and imdiately beginning to set up the frequency recording equipnt.
The giant infected’s eyes narrowed as it realized maybe that it had been outmanoeuvred or maybe it was just annoyed, but before it could decide whether to pursue Rachel or continue attacking , I swung my hand axe in a powerful arc that caught it across the chest. The blade bit deep into its tallic skin, opening a gaping wound that leaked dark fluid and revealed the enhanced muscle tissue beneath.
The creature groaned—a sound like grinding tal—and imdiately retaliated with a lightning-fast punch that would have shattered my ribs if it had connected. But at that exact mont, Rachel summoned one of her protective barriers from inside the technical operations room, the energy field appearing between the infected’s fist and my body.
The giant’s punch collided with the barrier, creating visible shock waves through the energy matrix and causing cracks to appear across its surface, but it held long enough to absorb the impact and give ti to dodge away from the follow-up attack.
"Good, Rachel!" I shouted, grateful for her perfect timing.
The infected groaned again and began swinging both fists in rapid succession, trying to overwhelm Rachel’s defensive capabilities. But I was already moving, driving my steel spike forward in a thrust that pierced the creature’s throat before jumping backward and switching my hand axe to my dominant right hand.
With a powerful overhead swing, I brought the axe down toward the giant infected’s neck, aiming to decapitate it before it could recover from the spike wound. But the creature was faster than its size suggested, reaching up with its damaged hand to intercept my attack.
Acting with lightning reflexes, I drew my Glock with my left hand and fired three rapid shots into the infected’s reaching palm. The bullets exploded through the already damaged appendage, finally severing enough tissue to make the hand useless, but my aim had been thrown off by the defensive movent.
Instead of connecting with the creature’s neck, my axe struck its shoulder with all the enhanced strength I could muster. The blade cut completely through bone and muscle, severing the arm with the already exploded hand and sending the limb tumbling to the floor in a spray of dark fluid.
The giant infected groaned and imdiately raised its knee toward my stomach in a counterattack that would have driven the air from my lungs and probably cracked several ribs. But once again, Rachel’s barrier appeared at exactly the right mont, the energy field absorbing the impact and giving an unexpected opportunity.
I used the fractured barrier as a foothold, jumping up and over the infected’s head while bringing my hand axe down in a precision strike that should have split its skull completely. The blade sank deep into the creature’s cranium, penetrating what felt like several inches of enhanced bone and brain tissue.
But incredibly, it wasn’t enough to kill the monster. I landed behind the infected, staring in disbelief as it remained upright despite the axe embedded in its head. Dark fluid poured from the wound, but the creature’s glowing eyes remained focused.
"Erm... Ryan..."
Rachel’s voice made spin around quickly. Inside the technical operations room, the six infected that had been serving as biological amplifiers for the Screar device were no longer standing in their motionless positions around the alien technology. Instead, they were walking toward Rachel.
Unlike the giant infected I’d been fighting, these creatures projected an aura of lethal competence that made my Dullahan senses go into high alert.
"Is the recording finished?" I shouted, backing away from the still-standing giant infected while keeping my weapons ready.
Rachel held up the frequency analyzer, its display showing the completion indicator that ant we’d successfully captured the full three minutes of data Mark needed. "Yes! I have everything!"
"Good!" I replied, then smiled grimly as I turned back toward the giant infected that was still trying to function with my hand axe buried in its skull. "Follow !"
"Where?" Rachel asked, but I was already moving toward the massive creature that represented our ticket out of this impossible situation.
I grabbed my shotgun from where I’d dropped it and fired another blast directly into the infected’s face. The creature managed to turn its head at the last mont, avoiding a direct hit to its remaining functional features, but the impact was enough to throw it off balance.
That was exactly the opportunity I’d been waiting for. I activated my wind blade enhancent around my right arm, feeling the familiar sensation of compressed air currents wrapping around my limb like living weapons. Then I launched myself forward in a tackle that caught the massive infected around its midsection, using all my enhanced strength and the power of the wind blades to drive both of us through the corridor wall.
The impact was trendous—reinforced concrete and steel frawork gave way like cardboard as we crashed through the building’s exterior wall in an explosion of debris and dust. For a mont, we were flying through the air three stories above the ground, the giant infected serving as an unwilling cushion for my impact with whatever lay below.
We hit the ground with bone-jarring force, the infected taking the brunt of the collision while I rolled away and tried to assess the damage to my already battered body. Everything hurt, but nothing seed broken beyond my ability to function.
"Rachel!" I called up to the hole we’d created in the third-floor wall, where I could see her looking down in shock at what had just happened. "Jump! I’ll catch you!"
Rachel hesitated at the edge of the opening, clearly nervous about the three-story fall despite my assurance that I’d be able to catch her safely.
"Trust !" I said, reaching up toward her with both hands. "I won’t let you fall!"
After another mont’s hesitation, Rachel closed her eyes and jumped. I positioned myself carefully, using my enhanced reflexes to track her trajectory as she fell toward . At the last mont, I leaped up to et her, catching her in my arms while we were still in mid-air and then landing in a controlled tumble that absorbed most of the impact.
Rachel blushing gasped out but her first concern was for my wellbeing. "Are you okay? That was an incredibly dangerous stunt, even with your enhanced abilities."
"I’m fine," I replied, though I could feel new bruises forming on top of the injuries I’d already sustained during this mission. "Maybe a little sore, but nothing that won’t heal. You’re a bit heavier than you look, though," I added with a teasing smile.
Rachel blushed even deeper and glared at for the comnt about her weight, but then her expression shifted to horror as she looked at sothing behind .
"Ryan!" She scread.
I didn’t need to turn around to know what had alard her. My enhanced senses could feel the massive presence rising behind —the giant infected, sohow still functional despite everything I’d done to it. I could sense its huge hand reaching toward my head, probably intending to crush my skull before I could react.
But instead of turning to face the threat, I gently lowered Rachel to the ground and activated my ti freeze ability.
The world went completely silent and still. The giant infected was frozen mid-motion, its massive hand inches from my head.
I walked around to face the motionless creature, noting that my hand axe was still embedded in its skull but apparently hadn’t penetrated deeply enough to destroy whatever alien enhancents were keeping it functional. The wounds I’d inflicted were severe—one arm completely severed, massive trauma to its head and torso—but sohow it was still operating.
Ti to finish this properly.
I grasped the handle of my hand axe and worked it free from the infected’s skull with so effort, dark fluid flowing from the wound but not enough to indicate fatal brain damage. Then I raised the weapon above my head and smiled at the frozen monster.
"That’s 2-0 for ," I said, "after the electrical infected and now you."
With all my enhanced strength behind the blow, I brought the axe down in a perfect arc that split the creature’s skull completely in half. The blade cut through enhanced bone and brain tissue like it was soft wood, finally destroying whatever alien modifications had been keeping this monster alive.
User Comments
0 comments from readers