{"This is war.....survival's your responsibility" - Hunk from Resident Evil 2... This is an indie post focusing in on a character that I have included amongst my monoverse, multigalaxy setting. Of course this is a semi-self-consistent-yet-connected story that links up to others and helps flesh out the other stories as they to this. But let's keep hush on that... Today's music-aide: Hunk's Theme in Resident Evil 2 Remake OST.}

Imperial Guard of the Steel Legion by anon

- Shot Down -

Descent came rough, as the nerves fire away from the impact source. A hand overlaps a metal rebar, pushing down and the flood water rang out a body. Despite the body singing the pain choir with the neurons, the arms-n-legs, as instructed by the brain, drag the entire system away. Night Vision goggles singing its flaring on, the now aided eyes scan around the body for equipment integrity.

The urban camo, bullet-resistant with ammo pouches, gas-mask-n-helmet and combat boots seemed fine. Yet the bruises sang out louder with the legs erecting the body to the position of attention, but the brain ignored and commanded the body to press on. Turning back, the survivor’s hand reached into the sunken helicopter and yanked out a spare radio.

The radio jumping a bit, began singing the fuzz of waves floating all around it. A finger clicking on the "transmit" button, the survivor’s legs marched forth to the only door in the now exposed room. The eyes taking one last glance at the hole made before hearing the boots squeak when the feet moved under the water.

"I’m at Sector K8, time unknown, building yet to be identified, seeking immediate extraction from ex-human territory."

"Roger that, we thought we lost you with F-3 Team."

"Target my radial, I got mission-criticals and climbing up a ladderwell with no hostiles yet."

"CAT-DOS, target Agent Hunk... there’s no rest for the Grim Reaper, huh?-"

"My extraction point!"

"Relax, time’s loose. Head up to the roof, fifty flights but elevators work still. Over and out."

"Roger, understood. Over and out."

Holstering the radio, the Grim Reaper’s arms unholstered what weapons still latched on tight. Hunk’s eyes inspecting what to declutter, the disfigured Makarov flew in the air before the water snatched it. Checking the two AKSs, Krinkovs to Hunk, carefully, it soon moaned with a magazine lodged into it and having the rack cocked. Finally pulling out the ol’ Vepr, Hunk caressed it as the legs-n-arms worked double-time to the roof.

"This is Ilyich, your helipilot. Status report, Ol’ Death."

"Working my way up the stairs, no sign of either MPs nor ex-humans. How many stories ‘til I reach main lobby?"

"Negative, avoid lobby. No lifts and area’s contaminated with Military Police hunkering down. But seems the MPs will be not secure, ex-humans en masse approaching your spot. Look for a red light and bust through that. Will keep you updated for Subject Xs."

"How many in Sector K8, estimated?"

"Ten total, two currently approaching the high-rise you’re exfiltrating right now. Over and out."

"Roger, understood. Over and out."

The legs becoming sore from an exhaustive night, they pushed ever more on as the ears picked up on the lower levels bursting sounds travelling upwards. The eyes seeing the red light lead to the wall yelping in pain as the shotgun butt bashed into it and stumbled upon an old-yet-working lift sealed away. Stepping in and the arms forcing a switch down, the lift groaned before the engine carried Ol’ Death up.

Finally with a break, the Grim Reaper relaxed on the lift and the fingers began counting the remaining ammunition. The mind freed began replaying the memory theatre which relapsed the night’s event with F-3 team: successful infiltration and extraction of mission-critical items, flying away unscathed, gunning down many MP helicopters with ATAC weaponry and yet one Subject X managed to figure a rocket launcher to spin the ATAC outta control.

Spinning and spinning, the building screamed as the ATAC bursted into the building’s basement levels. Hunk’s eyes woke up to the bloodied comrades moaning-n-groaning, all equipped and pointing at every entrance yet breathes so wary they rather be their own ends. Hunk’s body crawled to the storage sector, hands soon viciously pounding on the storage hatch and the ATAC screaming all the same. Body slipping into storage, Hunk’s hand forced themself down transport-storage gear on his back as his body crawled to the transport part of the ATAC.

Yet Ol’ Death’s eyes snapped back and saw them all float up for one last word, all giving thanks and encouraging to finish the mission at all costs. That’s what they all would’ve said, even if they asked not to be shot and killed cleanly. Yet radio static flooding his ears, they the lone survivor felt a ghostly wave seeping into their own mind. They finally sensed the meaning and understood they spared the entire crew from the drowning or worse from a MP team recovering their still live bodies for torture. Though Hunk knew no MP bastard would venture down, this Grim Reaper saw their corpses and guts sprayed about in the basement. Only knowing that the ex-humans were efficient enough while decent to at least protect the wounded from harm’s way.

"Hunk, an ex-human horde bursted through the main lobby and were led by subject Xs. Didn’t help the entire lobby became flooded when they crashed-on-in, so they’re all heading where you are now. One spillage of the horde is approaching in T-minus 3 mikes."

Snapping the last magazine into the ammo pouch, a dead moan echoed in the shaft for the ears to bleed all the same. Yet only one set of bastards, to Hunk’s mind, can only replicate that noise perfectly: subject Xs. Hearing metal chinking below, the arms already readied the rifle to spray the escalation of subject Zs and their subject X leader alike. There was fun to be had but the old lift had other plans for the dying hours of the night, deciding to wail a bit as the engine began squeaking out.

"Piece of shit lift, squeak out a few more meters!"

Seeing another set of doors almost out of their own reach, Hunk's arms took pride in spraying down Heck to the fast approaching subject X. But something caught their eye which forced a smile into their face, the subject X was the only one eager to make the leaps while the rest slow crawled as they got more distant from the living bio-organic weapon scaling up. Spotting the pattern, Hunk punished the subject X's loyalty and discipline to rhythmic patterns and let the lines of lead convince the peckneck to leave Ol' Death alone. Landing shot after shot, the stubbornness only fueled a mental ecstasy raging in their head as the hands acquainted themselves with the Vepr. Taking only one magazine's worth of shotgun shells to load and fly out once expanded, the Subject X was a mere skeletal frame upon desperately clinging unto the lift.

Holstering the Vepr to the left arm, the right foot's boot proudly sang the skull-crushing experienced by the subject X. The bursting of bone and bloodied brain giblets confetti'd around as the corpse whistled its long, long descent to the pitiless darkness below. Once again the detail shook not Hunk, but the smile had gotten wider.

"Ilyich, confirmed death of one subject X; subject Zs are now dormant and meandering about, only a few ex-humans approach me. Suggestions?"

"Interesting info, relaying that to CAT-DOS. Otherwise, you know the general guidelines- ah, I get it; there's another one in the vicinity. Attempt comms dialog and convince them to route the subject Zs elsewhere. Otherwise, fast approaching to the roof and the other subject X seems to be screwing things ten flights of stairs below you."

"Roger that, over... Give me your limbs here, so I assume you wish to speak?"

"In-indeed, we shan't be l-long for we do sm-smell that putrid controlling sense again. Pl-please do blow away that damned dæmon t-that you humans call Xs, beware that this one is more freak than the generic X."

Hunk's right arm saluting, the ex-humans leaped their faith to the depths below. Sparks soon singing from and lighting the chasm below as the other freed ex-humans rallied on them. Popping-n-swapping a mag out, the gun racketed and holstered on the shoulder, the lift cranked it's last pull and the floor's elevator door squeaked open. Parsing looks both ways before crossing the intersection, they made the trek through the office complex mostly singing a quiet tune with the whistling winds breaching through shattered glass. Hunk's eyes didn't care to even remark on the corpses of peppered MPs strewn about, other than to confirm that the horde lead by the supposed freak didn't came through yet.

Then the stair-way doors screamed of their bursting by shrapnel, MPs making thunder on the floor - Hunk well still and ready to play. Steadying the hand, Hunk's finger clicked through the radio-comms to Illyich and soon the mass humming of ATAC roared through the air. Soon the bullets finding new homes in the MPs unlucky to be on their floor, the floor of the Grim Reaper. Hearing soon the reaction, the humming went flying high; they popping out of the nook-n-cranny, fresh red rum decorated the office complex and their two eyes felt safe in knowing a previous ATAC was here. Yet the eyes bursted to flames as their two ears picked up and relayed to the mind all the grudges of new dead moan that bounced every wall of the complex.

"Well, I shall meet the famed X figure and give it to them. Hopefully the last of their kind as I tear through them~"

Going up one flight of stairs with each step pounding as quick as the constant clicks from below, a shock-wave parses through their ears and Hunk's body makes the stair-way door scream as their body makes the floor yelp upon contact. Interlocking lines of fire entrap Hunk from any normal mobility, much less pressure them to low-crawl towards a better spot of action as the MPs and any death-defying subject Z comes by. Positioned behind a wall of cubicles and out of the periphery of MPs and, future-wise, the now re-energized horde of subject Zs below, their legs took careful steps to circumnavigate the MP trench and fortress.

Peaking a sight at the stair-way entrance, only some sparse metal frames and a filling miasma of smoke came pouring out as fires race down to the bottom. Another dead moan bursting the air, enough to distract the MPs towards the stair-way entrance as the butt of the Vepr makes mush of the MP machine-gunner. However, radio-comms buzz barking orders to hail lead thunder unto the subject Zs and soon the flashes of a million fires from the circus of guns plague the air. Seizing the opportunity, Hunk acquainted their hands onto the handlebars of the MG in the nest only to furiously rage at the eye's recording of the infamous subject X. Pouring hot lead into it, the Grim Reaper steered the MG and aimed for the limbs - ripping them first. Yet only making smoke and tiny bruises on the now hampered subject X, Hunk wasted no time and proceeded for the head - making real advance as the body stumbled back and fell down the flight of stairs.

Seeing the freak-out of subject Zs as they soon snap from the control of the subject X, Hunk bolted and pumped fresh lead into MPs ready to make a mounted of the ex-humans. Being thanked by the ex-humans, they continued to swarm the remaining MPs, but all ran for the exits in anywhere except where the subject X was. Busting open the elevator door, the building shook and continued vibrating as distinctive concrete yelps echoed about the building. Seeing an elevator singing, calmly, a rising up, Hunk slid on the elevator tether and planted their feet softly on the elevator's roof. Feet now tied and interlocked with the rising tether, Hunk's left arm aimed the Vepr down as the right arm held tight. Shotgun shell expanded, Vepr roaring, tether quaking and an elevator screeching its descent, Hunk flew like an angel and reached the top in no time.

However, the ears heard that subject X peckneck once again and Hunk's left hand waited to give the command to fire to the shooting finger. The eyes seeing that its ascent was decelerating, Hunk thought nicely to slow it even further as it neared closer to the effective kill range. Hands jerking the command, the shooting finger let loose as lead pellets began traversing down the elevator shaft. Pellets scrapping the surface of the subject X's head and incrementally slowing the ascent, Hunk prepared the last shot to force the descent to happen on the last shell's expenditure. Getting into the death range, Ol' Death readily pumped the last shell into it as their left boot raised and stomped the face. A dying scream roared up the shafts profusely, despite Hunk at terminal velocity in a rising ascent. A thud that soon made the building quiver, Hunk's left arm shouldered the Vepr as they soon landed on the top floor the shaft was willing to go.

Hands prying the metal elevator doors, the elevator doors rolled away as their legs began triple-timing to the landing pad. The ATAC soon landing, the ATAC pilot glass slid open and they climbed into the secondary cock pit available for them to be in. Helping to close the glass that slid and irked a loud locking noise, the ATAC hummed lift-off and Hunk saw on their screen a transmission coming through which pulled the AUX cord and plugged into the transmission unit. Keeping sharp eye on the elevator shaft doors, puffs of smoke came out and Hunk assumed controls as Ilyich readied the gattling guns.

"Spooky here, Hunk you have the mission-criticals?"

"Affirmative, request to take down a mutant subject X."

"Anything for my Ol' Death, rain HECK on that BOW."

"We get to kill a Bio-Organic Weapon today? Well woo-hee! The Government won't be loving us for removing their experiment unit this early in the game."

"Steady the gattling guns, this is war... survival's our responsibility."

Seeing a zooming flash of the subject X, the ATAC barrel-rolled away and soon tailed it as it crashed towards the concrete floor of the roof. Getting all the beeps, the ATAC rained a real lead thunder upon the subject X and hadn't stop until the weapons force-cooled themselves from a massive overheating. The smoke clearing up, only a skeleton with giblets hanging out and a fractured skull still clinging unto the spine remained. Hunk pressing the electro-shock buttons, bolts of lightning pierced the subject X and rendered it ashen in mere seconds. Wiping away the threat of the Earth, the building began quivering and the ATAC exfiltrated outta the area.

"So why'd you wait?"

"I wanted to meet the Grim Reaper~"

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Two things: Yay, a hunk story and also an indie story! But yah know what's even cooler? That I am a moderator for this week's Finish the Story 47th week edition hosted by the @bananafish with the prompt done by @f3nix!!!!~

Other parts of Spooky-n-Carrion:

@theironfelix - Carrion

@theironfelix - A spooky World

- Where this story would fit with the current entries laid out here -