Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Bunker Buster

A father put his hands over his young son's ears, "Zombies, might as well call them that, are void infected human. They are also rather uncommon, depending on the void vaccination rate of your town there may be more or less zombies. They are fast, and they are intelligent, and they have been known to set up ambushes. They may appear human from a distance, but they are easily spotted by the way they move. The last classification of a void creature is very rare, and results in an average of one in every five thousand human infection specifically in the child bearing population between the ages of 12 to 45. The Void mother will not attack, though its primary responsibility is to produce other void creatures at an accelerated rate. It is unlikely the average person will ever see one and remain uninfected, but if at all possible, destroy them on sight."

The radio went to static again.

Above their heads a sudden rolled across the ceiling as more dust rained down. The group flinched raising their weapons.

The pastor leaned towards a town council woman, "They're in the building. They must have broken through the barrier."

Somewhere someone began to cry, but they were shushed softly by someone else.

Distant rumbling was growing louder. The floor shook and rattled.

More dust rained down on their heads.

"What is going on?" Someone whispered.

"Soemthing is going on out there." Someone else said

And indeed that did seem to be the case. Outside they could hear the distant rumble of what seemed to be explosions. They continued to listen as the lightbulb above them swung and flickered.

And then.

Soemthing in the building above them screeched, its long, low call echoing through the building and turning their blood to ice.

More of the calls followed.

They held their breaths in anticipation.

And then a low croak came from the other side of the door, a sound that could only have been made by a human voice box.

"Architect." Someone pleaded

Children began to cry.

The pastor held up his gun. The croaking continued and then something heavy and meaty slammed itself against the door which rattled in its frame.

More pleading rose from the group of waiting townsfolk

Praying to god, to the architect, to any deity that might hear them. One young man even whimpered for his mother.

"The UNSC has to come...." Someone said

It slammed itself against the door again, this time heavier than before.

Creatures called from the other side of the door.

"We're going to die" Someone wailed though they were shut up quickly by their companions.

Still it was enough, the rest of the room broke into panicked sobs. A group of brave men and women took a last futile stand, lining themselves up before the door. The rattling continued as the door was battered and wailed upon. It seemed for the longest time that maybe they would survive. The door was not giving in.

At least until the frame began to buckle.

The point where the metal met concrete was beginning to crumble.

Dust filled the air.

The slamming against the door grew more frantic. Explosions and screaming began to fill the air from outside as the creatures became more frantic. They could hear the sound of houses and rubble beginning to cave inward.

And then the door burst open, falling inwards as the frame was torn from the concrete, steel bolts breaking through the metal and falling onto the floor.

Dust plumed up around the door edges.

The front row of defenders opened fire.

The first line of roaches died where they stood and a zombie keeled over backwards. But then a shadow appeared I the doorway smashing a hand into one of the roaches and tossing it bodily into the wall where it exploded.

The tireless passed through the smoke and roared, its amplified Drev voice box filling the room with a sound so loud it felt as if their ears were going to bleed . Its carapace was stained with blood, and its hands were open wide with exposed tendons and warped flesh. Bullets bounced off its carapace and tore into its flesh but it did not relent.

It rushed inward, and batted the pastor to the side.

He took the hit full force on the right side of his body. His arm snapped and a few of his ribs cracked as he went skidding across the floor, but still he held onto his weapon. A woman shouted, and leapt from behind onto the creature's backstabbing at it with a butcher knife. The Tireless yowled and threw her off separating woman from knife as she hit the floor and lost her grip.

She did not move, knocked unconscious. It grabbed a city councilman by the throat and broke his neck with a sharp crack.

The room was full of screaming.

The creature roared, took another step forward.

Until the leaf point of a blazing white spear burst from the center of its chest. The tireless flailed its arms and hands grasping at the wound with both sets of arms, The spear was drawn back with a burst of orange icor and the Drev spilled onto the ground falling lifeless to the floor. Behind it, stood a man in armor which emitted light from every surface in a soft halo glow I the dusty room. The white of his armor was spattered in blood and gore. He held a spear in one hand which shimmered with the newly deceased's blood.

As he stood a sudden wave of cam washed through the room rolling over them like a wave, filling their minds as if being filled by cool water.

"Don't worry, I will protect you. Stay at my back and find those like me. They will help you."

The man, creature, whatever it was turned towards the door and walked up the stairs. The room hesitated for only a second before racing up the stairs after him. Charred bodies lay on the landing, all of them cut with the horrific wounds left by a leaf bladed spear.

Despite the air filled with dust and red mist, the group was able to follow him by the glowing armor.

At the top of the stairs they met resistance as a hoard of roaches headed towards them, swarming the man from head to foot in a great wall of flesh and skittering limbs. For a moment it seemed as if he would be overwhelmed and then, a discharge of golden light, and more than three dozen of the creatures fell to the ground crispy and lifeless.

At the far wall a creature leered at them through the smoke.

Her body had melted into the wall and her long dark hair fell before her face in a ragged tangle leaving only one glowering orange eye to look out on them. Behind her, her body seemed to stretch out and upward as if she was being liquified into he building. The children's eyes were closed but even the adults wished they couldn't see.

The man drew back his spear, and skewered her through the head.

All around her the strange fleshy material covering the floors and walls seemed to shrivel and die before their eyes.