"We have lost contact with various settlements across Shiloh due to the random encounter of the bug-like monstrosities. Carsonville is under siege, and we don't know if it will last long. This may be the last, so this is DJ Arms signing off."
-Sixteenth of Maximum Messis
The dropships hung low as the blue sky fell flat to the dark horizon. Scattered gunshots rose from the surface as the screams of both civilians and soldiers were snuffed out from wherever they were. Shadows ran past the abandoned farms and buildings below. Death was nigh.
"Carsonville is under siege by these hideous creatures," Laiful said, "and we must help search and rescue the civilians that are being trapped." The KOTEGH marines raised their rifles high in the air.
"We are the Knights of Earth's Glorious Hand, not pansies that I would see back on Earth!"
"Hurrah!" The marines yelled. "Hurrah!"
Laiful turned to Kaitlyn.
"If you expect to get into KOTEGH at all, you better listen to everything I say until we get off this dust ball, or I will shoot you at a container let alone put you in one." Kaitlyn gulped, cowering slightly into her seat.
"Kaitlyn," Daniel said, leaning over and patting her on the back. "He's just a⎯"
"Just a what?" Laiful said, glaring into Daniel's very soul. "Please. Continue and see what will happen to you, cadet." He scowled at the last word: cadet. Daniel sank into his seat.
This guy's an asshole, Daniel thought to himself.
He looked out of the window of the dropship. It looked like more and more settlements he passed were doomed to destruction. Fires erupted all over the place as more human lives were snuffed out from wherever they were.
Whatever lives they had are now extinguished, Daniel thought to himself.
The dropship started to near the ground as the sights of wounded civilians and soldiers alike started to gain clarity. Barricades were torn asunder, leaving some fronts horribly defended. The pops of small arms fire and the booms of magneto-rifles echoed from the distance as screams pierced the air, signaling the considerable amount of human loss from the several hours of battle.
"Get off!" Laiful announced, kicking three marines off the dropship. They screamed as they splattered against the ground.
"Everyone is going to defend the spaceport... Except these cadets." Daniel stopped with the rest of the group.
"You will go help evacuate the rest of the civilians alone." Laiful started to laugh maniacally. "I hope you enjoy your suicide mission!"
Laiful walked away as the cadets gathered around the center of the dropship. Two marines went up to them and handed them all KOTEGH cadet uniforms, which were medieval-armor like in nature, but we're lighter and more flexible, but not as effective. Two more marines came up and handed them their corresponding weapons: a magneto-sniper for Jacobson, a flame plasma thrower for Nox, a magneto-launcher and grenade launcher for Rico, a defibrillator and medicinal supplies and a side arm for Tyler, and a magneto-rifle and a set of grenades for Daniel and Kaitlyn.
"You better get to it," Laiful sneered. "I would love to study the lacerations on your dead bodies!
The cadets gulped nervously, quickly putting on their armor and jumping out of the dropship.
They were in the middle of nowhere.
Bodies of desiccated creatures and humans alike were scattered about, either impaled or chunked. The smell of dead bodies wafted through the air. "Help" was written on the side of a building... in blood, and the person who wrote it sat under... dead.
"We aren't in Carsonville anymore," Rico said, fidgeting with his sling. Kaitlyn sighed.
The group went into the closest building.
"Form up behind me and protect our sixes," she said, crouching down and moving slowly away. Everyone in the group followed her, afraid of their own demise.
"What is that smell?" Tyler said, clenching his nose with his fingers. He fell to his knees and barfed up his lunch.
"I don't know," Jacobson said, eyeing through his scope, "But I would⎯"
Two large, spindly tentacles burst through the wall and through Jacobson's chest, pulling him into the wall and his guts through. He never stood a chance of surviving.
"We lost Jacobson!" Nox yelled, firing madly at the wall.
"I can't heal that," Tyler said. Daniel smiled stealthily, as Tyler didn't even gag at the sight.
"Everyone!" Kaitlyn yelled, waving her hand forward. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can and quietly before attracting more attention."
Kaitlyn darted out of the room while the group was forced to abandon Jacobson's body like inhuman beasts.
They turned the corner and stopped.
Ten humanoid figures were walking around blindly, eyes not even visible. They walked around, making large groans. Two flaps opened and closed on their sides, pushing air through their heads. Their color was orange-like, and it looked like all of them walked using their hearing. Claws protruded from their hands.
"They look almost... human," Daniel whispered.
"If they were once human, nothing can save them now," Nox replied, training his plasma thrower at one of them.
"I'll handle it," Rico said confidently, slinging his magneto-sling and training an area of effect-charged tungsten round at the ground.
He fired, blowing up all ten of the creatures.
Screeches hit everyone's ears. More of the creatures ran out from every direction.
"Run!" Rico yelled, taking out his grenade launcher. "I will take care of them! Save yourselves!"
"Follow me!" Nox yelled, jumping through one of the windows, scattering glass all over the place.
Everyone followed him out, but before Daniel jumped, he looked back at Rico, who was shooting grenades madly all over the place before one of the creatures jumped behind Rico and bit into his neck, ripping out his throat.
Daniel teared a little, jumping out of the window and stopping.
There the survivors were, in the corner between a dumpster and a large broken refrigerator.
"Are you our saviors?" one woman asked, looking up at Nox's bloodied face. He bent down and smiled, putting out his hand.
"We are your saviors, and we promise that we will do everything in our power to keep all of you safe."
The woman smiled, grabbing his hand and getting up off the ground.
"Thank you," she said, smiling.
"No problem," Nox said, shaking her hand. The woman's eyes started to change red.
"Shak'Kazak is ours again."
"Shak'Kazak?" Nox asked.
At that moment, the woman and the rest of the survivors' arms turned into tentacles, smashing through Nox and Tyler's chest, ripping out their organs.
Their bodies fell to the ground, motionless.
Daniel and Kaitlyn trained their rifles at the "survivors" and fired.
Kaitlyn fell on the ground, crying.
She finally broke.
