After the End

Chapter 2

*Warning for young and/or sensitive readers, this chapter contains depictions of mild blood*


The Past - Levi's Perspective
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"Alpha 2, this is Helo-1 inbound on drop point. Are we clear for drop?"

Kzztch "Helo-1! Landing zone-kzzzt-need assistance."

The helicopter shakes and rattles, tossing me and the other soldiers around the cabin.

The co-pilot turns to face us, his face covered by a darkly tinted pilots helmet.

"Landing area hasn't been confirmed clear, standby," he says into his headset, his voice projected into each of our earpieces.

"What the-...INCOMING!" The other pilot screams.

He grabs the control stick and slams it to the side, sending the helicopter into a sharp left bank. In the back we're all throw to the right side, a few of the guys end up on top of each other. One slams into the door and falls to the floor with a thud, he doesn't get up.

All at once an ear bursting explosion and a flash of orange light appear, shaking the helicopter violently.  I'm thrown across the aircraft, slamming into the back corner. Pain bursts through my body.

Chaos erupts around me, soldiers rush to secure their equipment and the pilots try to regain control of the aircraft. It's useless though, we continue to spin at a left angle. A trajectory that will eventually lead to a crash.

I push myself off the floor, grunting when I feel pain radiating from my mid section. A soldier beside me grabs my hand and pulls me up into a seat. I buckle myself in, trying to ignore the pain that radiates through me like a fire.

Seconds later the co-pilot looks back again, his helmet shield is removed now, allowing a full view of his face. It doesn't inspire confidence.

"Brace for impact!"

I glance out the window just in time to see a lot of land a lot closer than I'd like to.

The helicopter slams into the ground with a violent thrash, sending all of us bashing into our seats. Loud metal on metal screeching fills the enclosed cabin and torments my ears, I cover them,  but the terrible sound bleeds right through. 

We continue to bounce around the cabin as the helicopter rolls down a steep hill. Finally, we slam into something hard and come to an abrupt stop. The co-pilot smashes through the front glass, disappearing into the darkness with a scream. I feel my head hit something hard, then my vision dims.

I wake to the sound of screaming and gunfire. Beside me on the ground is a soldier lying motionless, but she isn't dead. Her breathing is erratic, she's terrified, of what?

Behind me I hear a noise I've only heard a handful of times.

A Nightmare.

A bio-engineered war-fighting creature designed to use human terror in its advantage. The sound I hear doesn't actually belong to the creature at all.

No, I hear the terrified screams of soldiers, screams that are only produced by people pushed to the edge of sanity. 

And we're next.

The woman holds a finger over her lips, her eyes locked onto mine. I notice tears rolling down her eyes and splashing onto the now warm helicopter flooring.

Behind me only one or two soldiers remain living, but they haven't given up. They spray the creature with dozens of bullets desperately trying to put it down. The only response they receive is a snarl and a swipe of its curved dagger length claws.