Fighting With Faith- Forty-Third Entry

Benlian lay on his stomach as he snake-crawled his way through the musky and dark interiors of the conduit. Queer, alien smelling ichor dripped its way through unseen vents and holes on the surrounding walls, giving off uneasy splashing sounds as it landed into puddles on the base.

The conduits had shrunk from standing height, to doubling over, to crawling level as they progressed through the network of bizarre tunnels. Tiny organisms scuttled past every few steps, along with mild reverberations of the ongoing battle beyond the tunnel.

No one had spoken since they begun crawling. They were concentrating on their arduous trek and the surroundings. Sweat trickled down Benlian’s face as he turned to acknowledge a tug on his sleeve from Arthelp. The torch on the barrel of Benlian’s lasgun illuminated Arthelp’s similarly strained face. Black ichor and grime shone off his face as he said spoke.

“Ben, one of the scouts of Kennil’s voicing his concern over the rising heat signatures detected on his…uh, detector.”

Wiping the sweat and slime off his sweat slicked face, Benlian said, “Is it coming from up ahead?”

Benlian thought as he waited for Arthelp to pass the message down the line of crouched soldiers. These tunnels they were in were abandoned maintenance tunnels; the route they’re on now being servitor-accessible passages. Aside from the tiny, harmless organisms scuttling about them, what else could have been emitting heat?

“Ben,” Arthelp’s voice snapped him out of his pondering. “He says… it’s coming from beyond these walls.” he said, he himself also surprised at the answer.

Benlian’s mind raced. What monstrous entity must be around them now to emit that much heat, even detectable through the thick walls of the conduits?

Suddenly, before being able to give an answer, a section several metres in front of Benlian was ripped open. Bright, blinding light poured into the gloom of the tunnel. Gasps of astonishment and surprises came from the soldiers as they sought to shield their eyes from the dazzling light.

A mighty, bestial roar ensued the screeching of metal as the hole was tore wider. Several similar roars followed the first as soon as the tunnel was tipped forward, sending the soldiers of Bel Company spiraling down and out of the tunnel, into a sea of snapping claws and whipping tails.

Benlian landed on his back on his backpack, glad that training instincts had taken a hold on him as he fell through the air flailing. Several others fell similarly, with minimal injury from the short fall. Stratile landed beside him, gasping from shock.

Benlian got up and looked wildly at his surroundings. It was nothing he had seen before. The stench, the sight and the aura that pervaded the chamber they were in was repulsive in the most extreme.

Carcasses of an assortment of human, animal and even Tyranid lay strewn about the gore splattered circular chamber. Several still writhed and pulsed, unwilling to face death.

A soldier behind Benlian vomited as he witnessed the scene.

Large shadows loomed over Benlian and his splayed squad, causing them to look up.

On first sight, the things appeared apologetic, tilting its head to a side and sniffing the new visitors through its thin and slimy nose slits. They was huge, nearly three metres tall and heavily muscled and plated with chitin armour. Long and deadly looking blades grew from their limbs, coated thick with blood. They then turned away and faced each other, as though communicating in an unseen manner before raising their heads to roar in unison, shaking the very bones of the soldiers.

Yes, the monsters were communicating, but they were not going to kill in unison. They were hungry.

“GET COVER!” Benlian yelled as the monsters began charging at them, head- butting each other to get to their prey first. He managed to jump out of the way of one as it barreled past him, mouth wide open.

Benlian was running for his life to notice the slightest stench of the horrible smell that came from its mouth.

Screams, shrieks and roars ensued the monsters’ charge as it smashed into the ragged line of Asat Guardsmen. Several had fired upon the monsters, with little effect. Small chunks of flesh tore off from the thick hides of the monsters.

“BENLIAN! OVER HERE!” Kennil bellowed as Benlian leapt away just in time to avoid being smashed to pulp by another Carnifex.

Benlian turned, seeing Kennil and several other soldiers huddled against a wall. Kennil was looking at Benlian earnestly, beckoning him over.

Benlian began to sprint; jumping over corpses and carcasses, there was no difference. A Carnifex shrieked past him, a limb sliced neatly off as blood pooled out of it. The ragged sound of lasguns firing had increased in volume as the soldiers had taken up defensive positions, forming a firebase behind two massive pillars where Kennil was.

“Ben, take a look at this.” Kennil said as Benlian came close enough to hear.

Benlian leaned forward, studying a panel. It was caked in dried blood. Upon closer inspection, Benlian could make out several words above the panel, along with obscured lights beneath the veil of dried blood. It was a control panel.

“What’s it say?” Kennil asked urgently.

“Gen...Gene...Generatorium. Generatorium!” Benlian exclaimed as he immediately began prying the layer of dried blood off, to Kennil’s extreme distaste as he himself helped.

A rune glowed, which Benlian absent mindedly punched. A klaxon rang throughout the chamber, causing even the Carnifexes to pause and glare around in fury.

A door along the wall to the right of the panel grinded open, rising from the floor to reveal an even larger chamber, its ends unseen, beyond. Large, hydraulic pistons and machinery clanked and toiled around the chamber, with an eerie hue of green cast over it.

“MEN- GET THROUGH THAT!” Benlian bellowed as the Carnifexes regained their composure and charged straight to their fleeing prey.