Hunting hostile 19...From a_slayers_world
This time, we didn't need briefing. I couldn't understand how we had let two hostiles escape in the course of a week. Hostile-nineteen, also named Drusilla, had escaped, and while doing so, she had killed one of our soldiers. I knew that Professor Walsh had great plans for her, but just a capture seemed a bit trite to me at this point. She killed one of our own and even though Maggie told us on the way out that this was another capture only and not a kill, rage filled me.
I assembled five men, including Graham and Forrest and we went out after her, leaving underground, in full body gear and armor. This was another time for discretion, like any of our other hunts, but this one, Drusilla, she of the porcelain skin and penetrating eyes, had killed one of ours, knew of our secrets and locations, and somehow, I didn't sense that she would make it easy for us to bring her back in.
Two escaped hostiles, and though this one wasn't my fault, I could feel the court martial coming if we didn't get either her or hostile-seventeen back in and soon. I blocked it out of my mind, as we moved quickly through the woods. I had sent Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley on a circumvent pattern, flanking us to the right, fully knowing that Drusilla couldn't have gotten terribly far, and that if one of our teams ran into her, that all six of us would be close enough to get to each other and keep each other alive.
"I can't believe that we can't kill her, Finn. She killed Roberts. She's a monster and we do experiments, yeah...I get that, but she killed one of our team. Why are we listening to Walsh on this one?"
"Keep your voice down, soldier. It's not your job to make policy. This is a capture only, and if you don't keep your voice down, you'll be giving our location away to her and could compromise our mission, our lives and even the iniative..."
I whispered this and Graham, usually loyal to me, seemed conflicted, but kept quiet and followed me as I stopped, turning a corner near a swath of woods in a cemetary, where there was a crypt. I wondered where Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley were, because if our target was capturing hostile-nineteen, then it had just changed.
"A rising HST. We need to put him down and do it yesterday, boys. Professor Walsh is counting on this. Circular flank pattern, stake through the heart. This is a kill, not a capture and then we are back in hunting for hostile-nineteen."
The vampire rose and wiped dirt off of himself, and then Forrest attacked. Forrest tried to stake the male HST, but he was thrown to the ground. Graham went in next. He was tossed to the ground, and the vampire attempted to bite him, but Forrest jumped back in and tried to get into a tug of war, not even thinking about using his tazer or his gun, and certainly not his stake. That was Forrest for you. Impulsive, dangerous to missions, even if he was talented. Before either of them could be killed, I hit the vampire with a shot in the leg from my tranq gun, tazered him and as he hit the ground, shaking, I drilled the stake through his heart.
I didn't have authorization to kill this HST, but it didn't have to be reported. Drusilla was our mission, hostile-nineteen was why we were out here. We rushed forward on my orders and circled around to meet up with Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley and none of them had seen hostile-nineteen, much less any other HST. We continued to flank much of the city, secretly, using our camouflage and the trees and cemetaries, but we had lost a beed on hostile-nineteen and couldn't track her.
Tails between our legs, we returned to base for what was sure to be an ass-whipping. I chided myself for not hitting hostile-nineteen with a tracking device before she had gotten out, and when I had seen her fleeing, and had seen her back, because now, she could be out harming innocents and more then that, she jeopardized, along with hostile-seventeen, our entire operation.
We formed a circle around Professor Walsh and told her the bad news. She was not happy.
I assembled five men, including Graham and Forrest and we went out after her, leaving underground, in full body gear and armor. This was another time for discretion, like any of our other hunts, but this one, Drusilla, she of the porcelain skin and penetrating eyes, had killed one of ours, knew of our secrets and locations, and somehow, I didn't sense that she would make it easy for us to bring her back in.
Two escaped hostiles, and though this one wasn't my fault, I could feel the court martial coming if we didn't get either her or hostile-seventeen back in and soon. I blocked it out of my mind, as we moved quickly through the woods. I had sent Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley on a circumvent pattern, flanking us to the right, fully knowing that Drusilla couldn't have gotten terribly far, and that if one of our teams ran into her, that all six of us would be close enough to get to each other and keep each other alive.
"I can't believe that we can't kill her, Finn. She killed Roberts. She's a monster and we do experiments, yeah...I get that, but she killed one of our team. Why are we listening to Walsh on this one?"
"Keep your voice down, soldier. It's not your job to make policy. This is a capture only, and if you don't keep your voice down, you'll be giving our location away to her and could compromise our mission, our lives and even the iniative..."
I whispered this and Graham, usually loyal to me, seemed conflicted, but kept quiet and followed me as I stopped, turning a corner near a swath of woods in a cemetary, where there was a crypt. I wondered where Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley were, because if our target was capturing hostile-nineteen, then it had just changed.
"A rising HST. We need to put him down and do it yesterday, boys. Professor Walsh is counting on this. Circular flank pattern, stake through the heart. This is a kill, not a capture and then we are back in hunting for hostile-nineteen."
The vampire rose and wiped dirt off of himself, and then Forrest attacked. Forrest tried to stake the male HST, but he was thrown to the ground. Graham went in next. He was tossed to the ground, and the vampire attempted to bite him, but Forrest jumped back in and tried to get into a tug of war, not even thinking about using his tazer or his gun, and certainly not his stake. That was Forrest for you. Impulsive, dangerous to missions, even if he was talented. Before either of them could be killed, I hit the vampire with a shot in the leg from my tranq gun, tazered him and as he hit the ground, shaking, I drilled the stake through his heart.
I didn't have authorization to kill this HST, but it didn't have to be reported. Drusilla was our mission, hostile-nineteen was why we were out here. We rushed forward on my orders and circled around to meet up with Barnes, Gomez and Wrigley and none of them had seen hostile-nineteen, much less any other HST. We continued to flank much of the city, secretly, using our camouflage and the trees and cemetaries, but we had lost a beed on hostile-nineteen and couldn't track her.
Tails between our legs, we returned to base for what was sure to be an ass-whipping. I chided myself for not hitting hostile-nineteen with a tracking device before she had gotten out, and when I had seen her fleeing, and had seen her back, because now, she could be out harming innocents and more then that, she jeopardized, along with hostile-seventeen, our entire operation.
We formed a circle around Professor Walsh and told her the bad news. She was not happy.