FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Tall Grass

by delta dynamics

November Update:

This experiment is still work in progress.

Sorry for bad grammar. I still have no proofreader and English is just my second language. If you have some notes for me, just send me a message. I always want to improve my work.

New pages: 14-19

Current version of the story from 25. November 2020

I would recommend you to read the PDF File, which includes small illustrations in info. The formating isn't also that bad as here on this site. I'm not that good as a writer and won't put that much effort in in. My focus is drawing.

Link to PDF:

~Delta.Dynamics

Links:

Character Development Sheet - Alani Redum -

Character Development Sheet - Bunny [FTHR] -

Landung

Black Rock MSC Drop ship,

APPROACH TO Isu,

Charly GROUP

The status light bathes the cramped pressure chamber in red light. Fans humming. Muffled static noise and indefinable radio messages penetrating the thick air. Bored and excited faces staring straight ahead. Chewing bubblegum, hands on chest straps, weapons or small com devices. Some men are sleeping. The on-board intercom beeps and calls for attention. "Entering atmosphere in ten mike. Get ready for landing." it sounds monotonous from the loudspeaker.

"Gear check", I tell the men. I don't have to scream. Space is silent. Nobody is speaking. Hands grope for equipment, weapons, magazines. Everything must be firmly attached to the body and stowed away in the right place. The on-board intercom beeps again.

"Helmets on. Switch to personal life support. Confirm when done."

Everyone reaches for their helmets. Faces and emotions disappear behind mirrored visors. Men check each other's sealing of the suits and tighten the belts. I'll wait for all seven of them till they're signaling with their thumbs up an O. K.

"Looks like we're ready." I open the voice channel to the cockpit. "Charly ready."

Stroboscopic lights on the ceiling flash, soaking the red light flooded the pressure chamber for a brief moment in white-blue glow. It beeps again.

"Brake initiated. Braking in 5 . . 4 . . 3 . . 2 . . 1...."

A hard jolt goes through the body. The drop-ship ship turns. G-forces tear at my consciousness.

. . .

The silence of space has given way to noise. An atmospheric flight is always loud and shaky.

"We're almost there," the D.O. tells me as he moves steadily towards me through the aisle. Without radio, it, would not be heard.

"The storm front we just flew through will probably reach the facility in about three hours. High wind speed and rain. But shouldn't last too long."

"What does it mean -too long-?"

"Maybe two hours. You should be in the laboratory complex then."

"Well. When does the rest of us arrive? "

"Alpha and Bravo are a little way behind us and will do their job as planned as soon as boots on the ground. Echo and Delta are right behind us. The transporters and air lifters will not arrive with the material for five to six hours. The management doesn't want them to fly through the storm. They take the long way and follow the planets' rotation."

"Intel?" I ask.

"Intel says all outer walls and fences are still intact. So there shouldn't be any surprises in our landing zone."

"Should?"

"As soon as we have ground under our feet, we will disengage the big boys. I don't open the door until the drones have secured the perimeter. Then you have a free path to the main gate. The outside area up to the laboratory is monitored by aerial reconnaissance. Inside, you're on your own. Make sure your IFF is on. If the transmitter fails, set IR flash code to condition 1. We have readjusted the AI so that the

Boys won't shoot at targets with IR-indicators. I can only remote control one manually at a time. The others are on automatic. Within a 500 meter radius of the landing zone, they shoot anything that moves on two or four legs without warning."

"What's up with the pilots?" "They fly the drones. Don't think we're just sitting around." The landing craft jerked. Pretty soft landing this time. I hear several loud knocks through the outer shell. Metal on metal. Muffled hum of heavy servos and steps that are quickly moving away from the drop-ship. The droneswere released. I take off my EVA helmet in exchange for the combat helmet. The men do the same. The D.O. also takes off his helmet and comes closer.

"Listen! Contrary to the briefing, two drones are circling above the outside area of the facility. The second one does not have any effectors mounted, but in an emergency you can transport up to two wounded with it. Delta is just landing in the central main compound with heavy equipment. You can also call them for support, but it will significantly take longer till they reach you. They only take care of the huge attractions. If you have to evacuate through the main gate on foot, I will command a Big Boy there to protect your evacuation."

I nod as I load my weapons. Another beep.

"Drones out. Site is monitored", reports the drone operator over the intercom.

"Have fun out there! And don't go into the tall grass!", the D.O. replies with a crooked grin while he pushes the button to open the airlock.

"Thanks!"

The airlock opens slowly. Beams of light and hot air push into the small compartment. The sun is blinding. I see dark clouds on the horizon pushing in our direction. The wind cools down the hot, oppressive humidity of the tropical climate. Outside the paved landing area, the Big Boys roam through the tall grass. Strange machines. Their agility and fluid movements contradict their clunky appearance. I would love to have one of them with us in the facility.

"Take formation, guys!"

My eyes follow the dead straight road. Directly ahead, not quite a kilometer away, framed by dark tropical trees swaying in the wind, a massive reinforced concrete wall extends endlessly from left to right of the gate. Above the gate in bold letters written "MAIN GATE". Next to it the distinctive company logo. Red leaf. The corporation that has taken over, blinded by greed and arrogance. Bringing back creatures that were long extinct. To control them. To "modify" them. To sell them. For entertainment. As weapon systems or who knows what kind of sick shit. Now we're supposed to collect what they couldn't anymore.

. . .

Asphaltgespräche

Isu,

Red Leaf Research facility,

Mainroad

The thunderstorm is approaching. I feel the electrically charged air. White-gray clouds shield the sun. The wind drives away the humid air. To the right and in the middle of the wide main street, the BlackRock soldiers move on the wide street. Nervous glances wander through the waist-high grass of the vast plans, searching for what could lurk between the leafs of grass.

"Hey Redum!"

Berg calls out from the foremost position as he turns around while continues walking backwards. Without the radio he couldn't be heard.

"Are you sure that the eyes have not missed a hole in the fence? I would prefer to lock the door behind me when shit hits the fan."

"Na, I don't think so, and if they do, the Big Boys will running wild."

"For sure, but they just don't care what is between them and their target."

"The fun only starts inside and you already have your pants full!" Smiley calls out to him.

"Delta takes care of the big teeth. We go to the petting zoo."

"Did you slept in the meeting, Smiley?! Delta sits in damn tanks! But hey! What's going to happen with some mutant, murderous chickens in dark corridors? Fuck man! My ex-girlfriend had some kind of attack dog. The damned bastard chewed out a piece of meat the size of my fist out of my calf!" Shouts Berg as he presents his clenched fist. "These petting zoo residents bite your fucking head off and eat your dick for dessert".

"Looks like they have big plans!" Laughs Smiley. "I heard these critters don't last long without special nutrition. Maybe we're lucky, and they're already dead. The facility has been left to its own for over a year now. They can't hunt each other down and eat corpses till the end of time. I can't understand why we're setting up this show? Can't they just flood the inner complex with some kind of nerve agent and collect their damn toys?"

"No, it's not that simple. These animals represent an incredibly high share value and don't forget the genetic research. They much more valuable when alive. Therefore, we should avoid fights wherever possible. Get in, secure data, mark the carcasses for counting and report when we find living specimens. In case of active contact, open fire. Remember, were not here for hunting. We aren't equipped for big game. I think that's clear to everyone?"

Just a rhetorical question, of course. None of the men are amateurs. Each of them has had their own experience of death and wounding. The fragile peace between the factions was bought with a lot of blood. It's just a cold phase and nobody knows when it will get hot again.

"We better think about the extraction and our way back home. The Union wanted the whole facility and planet on their own. After all, they're one of the largest shareholders of Red Leaf and wasn't pleased when they found out that someone else was grabbing their stuff, especially when it's an MCDF contractor like us, but the Mars government sees this as some kind of reparation payment, and we're close, so ..."

"Even if they want to come here, don't they have to go through the blockade first?" Asks Boxer. "Yes, but who knows if they haven't hired someone who is already here. According to the management, the MCDF intelligence reported there's no enemy vessels our troops around Isu, but they don't see everything either."

My gaze wanders over the grass swaying in the wind. The main gate slowly approaching.

"Yo man, that's all bullshit! Isn't it dangerous enough to walk into a fucking lizard cage. Even the extraction isn't secured! I cannot believe that shit!" I suppress my own worries and feel the all-too-familiar excitement slowly creeping into my nerves.

"Calm down, Berg. We're almost there. The big boys won't secure us for the last three to four hundred meters. Boxer, keep an eye on the drone video feed."

Berg turns around, shaking his head in annoyance. Boxer just signed an O.K. Business as usual.

. . .

EInbruch

Charly group,

Red Leaf Research facility,

entrance

The men now moving slowly and concentrated towards the big metal gate in an octagonal formation. No one speaking, no one complain about the mission now.

"Side entrance", I radioed. The men break the formation, take new position besides a smaller, garage size sliding door left of the main gate. Three of them securing the door from each side, while Smiley starts to wire the electronic lock. The others securing the of the area, pointing their guns alongside the endless walls and their upper edge.

"Surveillance?", I radioed.

"No contacts visible. No heat signature on the upper level." Boxer radioed back. He can see the live drone footage in his HUD.

"Smiley?" I ask.

Smiley crouched between the wall behind Heavy. Both pointing their weapons on invisible targets behind the sliding door. A wire connected smiley with a small security console beside the door.

"Encrypting ongoing. Done. We have access, but no power. The lock won't open." Smiley said.

"I bet the complete area has no power. I wouldn't go for the next gate two kilometers north."

I look at the sky. The storm now slowly unfolds his strong winds. The sky is dark gray, thunder is roaring in near distance. The first raindrops begin to fall.

"Drop-ship, there's Charly, can you read me?" I radioed on the second channel.

"Drop-ship" the D. O. answered.

"The door is locked. No power. We force our way in. Keep an eye at the hole. Make sure only humans coming out".

"Copy. You have clearance."

"O. K. guys, we make our own entrance. Prepare the charges" When we breached into the cargo handling, secure the area. Let's see if we can go further.

Switch to NV-A. It will be dark inside." I said to the men.

The soldiers changing their positions. Smiley stands up, goes behind Heavy and pulling out a folded frame from his rucksack. He unfolds the frame, forming a C-shaped cutting charge. Sig comes from the right position with a similar frame. He and Smiley stacking it together to a square shape, gluing it to the door.

It is raining now. A thunder strike illuminates the area in bright light. Smiley and Sig moving to their former positions.

"Charges ready. Take cover." Smiley radioed. "3.. 2.. 1.. "

The cutting charge detonates in a white flash. I feel the shock wave. The loud,

sharp bang echoing alongside the endless walls and over the plains. The men, weapons in high ready, diving trough the square shaped hole in the big sliding door. One after another disappears in the pitch black cargo handling. My vision is clear. Although the cargo handling is, as I expected, in total darkness.

I still could see everything. The color is a bit dull, but the NV-A sensors doing a great job helping me to see in total darkness. The processor of the sensor pack even draws object outlines. It shows hidden objects and persons. Unfortunately, highlighting them only works in more or less dense woods, not in an urban environment like this, but the HUD tells me the position of my comrades and a back view camera gives me a near 360° view. Processing all the blended in data, especially during a fire fight, is for sure another story. BlackRock MSC spares no costs to give their personnel the cutting-edge gear. Back in the days, the MCDF were also trying to give their soldiers high end gear. Compared to other factions, there were very well-equipped, but like all big green machines, a bit slow in the procurement process. The cargo handling is silent. The big hall stretching around two hundred meters in length and seventy to one hundred in depth, with six big separated loading bays on the opposite wall. The area is littered with various equipment. Huge and small cargo cages and boxes lying around everywhere. Only one truck and two smaller 4x4 vehicles standing in front of the big inner gate. The ReadLeaf guys must abandoned them when they evacuate the facility.

The men had taken positions again, forming a small security circle, while waiting for new orders and readjusting their sensor packs.

"Smiley, take the first half group, secure the right side of the hall, then check the doors.

Maybe we can bring the power back. We check the left side and the vehicles. They could be useful."

"Copy."

"Go."

Smiley and the three others begin to move in silence through the large, pitch-black hall. Always two moving, two monitoring the area, from behind one of the large freight boxes.

"Berg, stay with me. Boxer, Heavy, go."

Both move forward to the next cargo cage.

"Save," Boxer said.

"Go." Berg and I moving towards the vehicles, stopping fifty meters in front of them, behind a bunch of torn open cargo boxes, panning our rifles from side to side, searching for possibles dangers.

"Boxer, check the vehicles".

Boxer and Heavy passing our position, slowly approaching the big truck. Heavy kneels down, panning his rifle under the truck. Boxer is searching around the smaller 4x4's. "Save" he said.

"Area secured" Smiley radioed in. "Checking doors now."

"Copy. Area is clear on our side. Checking vehicles now."

"Berg, Heavy, check the vehicles for functionality. Boxer, we keep an eye on the doors."

Berg and Heavy now walking closer around the vehicles, inspecting them.

"Oh shit!" Berg said, while he moves around the truck. "These stripes on the doors ain't camo. Looks like claw marks." Berg tries to open the drivers' door. "Naa, its stucked." He said. "I'll try the other side."

"Redum" Heavy radioed, while he's open up the door of one of 4x4's. "There's blood and used bandages everywhere. The other 4x4 is flat-footed. Chassis is heavy damaged. I could still smell the oil and old smoke. Seems like they rolled in on the rims." the tall man explained with a stern voice.

"Something has ripped out the right door of the truck" Berg said, climbing up the truck. "Ooooh..., not good."

"What's up?" I ask. "Aah... somebody had forgotten his lower left arm in here." Berg answered. "Doesn't look fresh. Already rotten to the bone."

"Search for the keys and check the engine." I said to him. I could see Smiley approaching from behind with the rest of the team, stopping by every loading bay, plugging in his cables on the console by the last cargo bay, trying to unlock the door.

"Smiley, how's it going?"

"Still no electricity. If we can't find a working door, we won't get far today and I don't want to waste another charge."

"Any other options?" I ask. Smiley unplugged his connection cable from the control panel and said, "We can try wiring the roller shutter motor directly to a vehicle battery."

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

Fifteen minutes later the roller-door motor hummed. Dimmed light floods the dark hall, water and rain hits the men.

. . .

Rain covering my body. The wind pushes hard against me. I can see the raindrops rolling over my display. It irritates the view, but without the helmet it would be much harder to shout over the storm and see trough the heavy rain. The other seven operators had chosen their positions. I watch over the clearing. An asphalted road snakes trough high grass and bushes, where must have had been a manicured lawn a few months ago. Fifty to seventy meters on each side, the clearing ended in a mix of tropical plants and dense forest. Fifty meters ahead, I can see a small building with barred windows and yellow signs. Must be a kind of transformer house. Another fifty meters away, the road splits up into a t-corner. There it is. The western branch of the administration building. No lights.

"A few windows seems shattered. Entrance is closed. No lights." Nergal noticed.

"Oh, Bad news guys. There's a big animal carcass lying in on the left side of the building." He said.

"Oh fuck me! That means we have a breach! Nergal, can you identify the asset?" I asked.

"Cant say for sure, but the skull have a bunch of big fangs."

"The drone couldn't see it. It's just a pile of bones under a tree. That's aren't a striking signature." Boxer said.

I open the channel to the drop-ship. My HUD informs me over an unstable radio connection. "Drop-ship, this is Charly, can you read me?"

The radio beeped, tells me that the message was sent. No response.

"Drop-ship, this is Charly, can you read me?" I repeated the call. Six seconds later, the D. O. answered.

"Drop-ship"

"There's Charly. We have a breach. We had found a Carni carcass in front of the administration building. There must be at least one big hole in the inner security walls or the buildings. Tell the other teams that they have to expect contacts outside the enclosure."

"Copy. I send a big boy to the main gate to make sure that no big game walks out your self-made entrance."

"Our drone didn't show any contacts. How's yours?"

"Nothing. Everything's cold. We also can't see any damages at the fences and walls. The carni must have entered the area from somewhere inside one of the buildings."

"The administration is way too small. The beast would never be able to walk trough the narrow corridors."

"Yes, but not the Lab-Complex. Maybe we could discover the breach at the labs front gardens. We have to adjust the flight altitude and course of the drones anyway. The Storm is too strong. If we discover something, I will contact you. Good luck!"

"Thanks. Charly out." I close channel.

"Guys, listen! We knew that we might meet some nasty beasts in here. What is now certain is, that we have no retreat anywhere in the facility. These critters can be anywhere and in the worst case, not only Delta meets the big ones."

"I should have brought my hunting rifle." Fifty mentioned more to himself, while locking at his assault rifle.

"Based on the size of that monster there, an RPG would be the better option" Sig answered, pointing in the direction of the huge carcass.

"Fast in, fast out, get the payment, be happy. The storm gets stronger and stronger. We have to enter the building now. Boxer, Heavy, Berg, we go first. Smiley, secure us. Take formation. Move!"

. . .

Vorgärten

Charly group,

Red Leaf Research facility,

Westside

I'm nervous. I'm gripping my rifle tighter, panning it from left to right, searching for movement and dangers in the heavy rain. I stop at the transformer house and kneel down. My three buddies are there, watching the trees and high bushes around the building. I can't see their faces trough the helmets, but I bet they just as strained as me. This isn't a known scenario. Even when you fight against insurgents, you can always predict a little of what they will doing next. They have specific goals and based on that, they lay out traps and ambushes. Not here. This is new. This isn't hunting. When I roamed around the forests of my home planet, the game didn't hunt me. I was the hunter. I was in control. During the Terra campaign, I was confronted with a bunch of nasty enemies. They were well-trained, deadly soldiers. Being confronted with gunfire and explosions is very different to the prospect of being mangled by a wild animal. And these aren't normal animals. They are unpredictable, insane from growing up in isolation without parent animals that show them social behavior, teaching them hunting and dangers.

Command had briefed us about a variety of the known assets that RedLeaf had resurrected from death. From chicken sized scavengers, donkey sized pack hunters, ambush predators the size of a big van, to gigantic monsters that can swallow you in one bite. They had shown us leaked footage of accidents were RedLeaf personnel was mauled to death, stampeded by harmless looking herbivores and so on. Some of their assets had shown incredible intelligence and problem-solving capabilities. A few could blend in perfectly in their environment, using a kind of cloaking. What exactly RedLeaf has mixed in their creatures is unclear. However, what is clear is that it is of great value. That's why everyone wants a piece of the cake.

How the company was able to keep the collapse of the plant a secret for so long is a mystery. Obviously they have had to give up one area at a time after not getting it under control. Help from outside wasn't possible. This would have damaged the reputation and the investors would have jumped out in rows. So they probably tried to get the situation under control by themselves. Didn't turn out how they expected. At least it's a very profitable job for us. BR Ground Branch members get well paid and able to obtain a small percentage of the company'srevenue as a kind of motivation for high risk mandates and risk surcharge. A bunch of mandates like this the next five years and I can settle down lavishly on a nice piece of property without caring about money anymore.

. . .

I move forward. Boxer is at the door. The others following us and prepare to enter. "It's open. Let's go." Boxer said. We enter the building. Smiley groans as he closes the door. The thunderstorm immediately stopped. What remains is the sound of heavy rain pounding on the windows. We walk through the numerous corridors to reach the other end of the eerie silent building. "Next corner right, then we should be at the entrance to the east side." Boxer said. The panoramic windows on the left gave us a great view of the laboratory front yard as we walked into the lobby. The strong wind made the windows vibrate in their frames. We enter the lobby. Some front windows were cracked. Traces of old dark blood covers the floor.

"Charly, there is a Drop-Ship, come in."

"Charly". I answered.

"The drone found a few breaches. The next gap is at the loading bay in the basement which connects the laboratories with the administration building you currently in. Stay away from the basement!" the D. O. said.

"We won't go down there if it can be avoided. We're almost on the front yard to enter the labs. Any other sightings?"

"Nothing that should concern you directly. Delta has already tranquilized two large Carnis and is now trying to hunt a large herd of herbs, but one vehicle is stuck in the mud. Echo has reached Main System Administration and is currently trying to restore power. I hope we get power again soon. I would consider you go straight to the local emergency power plant."

"I already had this in mind. Maybe we can start up the security system to monitor the area with the cameras."

"That would be great. The drone's surveillance capabilities are still limited. When you are in the lab, Radio-Com will be difficult. Keep an eye out."

"We will."

"Drop-Ship out."

We're walking through the lobby. Berg peeks through the windows, trying to see any signs of threads in the overgrown garden and woods around the laboratory building. "I have a bad feeling about this. Can't see shit out there." he said.

"Me neither." Smiley aknowledged, now standing behind him.

"Boxer, could you see anything at the breach on the drone feed?" I asked. "No. No heat signatures or movement. The foliage is too dense to catch anything and the storm does the rest to hide our precious little assets." We're stepping out into the rain again and walking cautiously to the lab entrance. As I reached the first steps of the large entrance, Boxer stops, pointing his rifle to the north at the near woods.

"Guys, we have five contacts, closing in from the north and four from south-east. Fife hundred meters left. They are fast."

"Carnis?" I ask Boxer.

"I bet. They move in formation. I mirror the feed for you."

The drone feet pop's up in my HUD. I can see the nine heat signatures closing in a pincer movement towards us. Based on the size and moving pattern, these are the special ones. "Raptors! South-east and north! Take positions! Smiley, Berg, open the door! Hurry up!"

Berg sprints to Heavy. Smiley shouts at him.

"No, idiot! No explosives! When we blew up the fucking door, we can't close it anymore when the Raptors arrive! I need you here!"

"Since when have animals been hunting during a damn storm?" Ask Nergal. "They might have been get curious when we blew up the wall." Sig answered.

"Fourhundredfifty meters." Boxer informs us. Smiley and Berg began to unscrew the security panel at the double door, plugging in cables and connect them to their Tac-Computers.

"Threehundredeighty!" Boxer shout, panning his rifle over the forest edge. I could hear Fifty commanding Sig and Nergal at the south-east side, assigning them new positions. I watch over the clearing towards the north, near the edge of the wood. The tall grass is swinging in the strong wind. "Seems like they on the war path. They're fast motherfuckers. Shoot them when they break through the foliage. We can't react fast enough once they reached the tall grass." "Threehundred!"

"Smiley?"

"No power. We can't reach the cables from here!"

"You better get some ideas right now." I said. Berg draws out his machete, shove it into the small slit between the control panel and the cable duct beneath. "God damn it! Smiley I need your support." Both now grabbing the machete hilt, pulling and levering against the duct cover.

"Twohundredfity!" Berg and Smiley moaning and pulling at the hilt. The duct cover slowly bents out of the frame. Too slow. "Fuuuuck! Get. Off. Now!" Berg shouts between clenched teeth. Smiley puts his boot against the wall to enforce the pulling. "Onehundredfity!"

I'm panning my rifle to the expected target at the forest edge. "Boxer, Heavy. Targeting from each side of yours to the center. I take the center first and after that what you have left. Boxer?"

"They're getting slower. Onehundred." I focus on the trees. The ground at the forest is a bit higher as the clearing. I have to hit them before they dive in the tall grass. If the raptors can reach the grass, it will be much more difficult to track them in time when they swarm out or regroup. "Ninety!" Boxer shout. Slowly, their heat signature overlay appears on my HUD.

"I can see them. Fifty?"

"We can see them on our side too." He answered. "Come on you damn motherfucker!" Smiley and Berg trowing curses at the door. "Everybody ready?" I ask. "Ready" Boxer and Heavy said. "Ready." Fifty confirms. "Open fire on my first shot. Counting down. Three . . ." I'm aiming at the middle of the five slowly moving targets. I can see Boxer's and Fifty's live feed. They already had picked their own targets. "Two . . . " I could hear a loud noise. Metal falling to the ground. "Yeah! Got you!" Berg shout. Finally they cracked open the cable duct. "One . . . "I slowly pull the trigger.

The noise of a fast burst of four rounds breaking through the sound of the raging storm, followed immediately by the fire of the other soldiers, delivering hot metal trough vegetation into barely visible predators, muscle and bone. The raptors reacting instantly, breaking their formation and bursting out left and right. I could see my target falling to the ground while I aimed at the next one left of it. Heavy also got one instant kill. We fire after the other fast moving Raptors. Boxers first target collapses during the run. Two targets left on our side. As expected, they dive into the tall grass.

"One target left on our side! Closing in!" Fifty shouts. "Two targets left here! Also closing in!" I inform him. "Smiley?!"

"We're on it! Give us a second!" Smiley shouts, while giving Berg annoyed instructions. "Two new contacts, north-west!" Boxer shouts.

"They brought more friends!" I shout back, wile changing my magazine. Heavy firing a burst into the tall grass. I could hear a few shots from Fifty's side. The wind has slowed down. I could hear the rain again. I try to catch a glimpse of the fleeing raptors. "Our target heading back to the forest." Fifty said. I focus on my HUD, watching the live feed from the drone. Seems like the Raptors leaving the area. The others had turned back too, leaving the area towards north-east, leaving a trail of heat signatures from footsteps and blood behind them. I hope it's over now.

"Our newcomers didn't retreat. Oh! Bad news!" Boxer said while aiming at the forest. "What?" I ask. "I have the bad feeling the raptors didn't leave because of us." Boxer said. I look at Boxer, who's pointing in the direction of the new targets. "These two are bigger ones."

"How big?" I asked. "Three or four times bigger" he answered. I watch at the Top-Down view in my HUD. The two contacts are clearly bigger than the raptors. Not a Rex but big enough to be a serious problem. They're also moving slower, like as they were curious about what's going on. "Smiley, what's up with the door?" I ask him. "We're hacking the security lock. We almostfinished."

"You better hurry up. These two won't get down so easy and I don't want to waste more ammunition. We're here for data, not big game."

"They near the treeline, but I can't see them. Only the heat signature." Boxer said. I look at the direction of the targets. They had stopped. They must be visible in normal view. I switch between the View modes. Visible. Invisible. Now I remember one of the briefings about a special kind of ambush predator. "Fuck! Taurus! They have camouflage! Everyone to the entrance!" I shout. At the same moment, the two big predators breaking through the treeline, srpinting in a straight line to our position. Boxer and I fire two quick bursts at them with no effect besides an angry growl. We both running to the entrance. Smiley still hasn't opened the door. "The door is stuck!" Berg shouts in panic. Heavy goes back a few steps while shouting at us. "Stay back!" He shouldered his rifle, fires a long burst at the lock, then takes a run and throws himself against the door with his whole body weight. The door slams open, glass shattering. I could now hear the fast steps of the two large dinosaurs behind us. "Get in! Get in!" I shout while the man runs through the small entrance. I fire again at the large, perfectly camouflaged beasts only around 30 meters away, definitely more annoyed by the small arms fire than hurt, losing not a bit of their pace. Nergal is the last one passing the door. I turn around and run the last meters towards the entrance as fast as I can. I jump through the door as I hear a snap behind my neck and fall to the ground. The man inside fires over me. I hear loud growling, bending metal and shattering glass. Nergal grabs me, pulling me deeper inside the building to the other guys. While now sitting on my ass, I grab my neck, touching around my body nervously in search for any blood and wounds. I hear shots again. Berg shoots at the two dinosaurs that angrily trying to force themselves through the small, smashed door. "On your feet, Soldier! All down the hallway!" Boxer shout. "Man, Redum! That was close. That motherfucker had almost bitten your head off!" Smiley said, strangely amused. "Shut up Smiley! Down the hallway, now!" Boxer shouts at him.

What a trip... I say to myself, jogging behind the others, while looking over my shoulder. The two beast's outside now standing still. Watching us silently through the big reinforced glass walls.

. . .

FTHR

FTHR-0001 Prototype,

Red Leaf Research facility,

Main-padock

Hunger. The hunger is always present. It hurts. Foot is rare. Hunting. She remembers hunting as fun. A distant memory in the darkness. A memory in a large dark void, packed with lose memories and feelings. Pain, loneliness, stress, fear, exhaustion, rage. The taste and smell of blood and flesh. The feeling of blades and needles in her body. Confusing pictures. Since she awakes from the darkness. It isn't fun. It has become necessary and it's getting harder and harder to find something to hunt. The smaller animals are fast and hide them well in the thicket. The bigger ones are no game. It is impossible to bring them down alone and the young are well protected by the adults. Fresh meat is becoming increasingly rare. Feeding on corpses isn't a stable solution. It makes sick. It is dangerous, because it attracts bigger carnivores and large groups of small scavengers that lurking nearby to attack possible victims that try to catch a few bites. She has to be very carefully when approaching some leftovers. The last time she barely escaped from the small scavengers, rescued herself while jumping in the nearby river, which also harbors its own dangers. Pack hunting was also no solution. She tried to get in contact with the other ones and nearly get killed. Scars and bite marks all over her body are proof of this and the wounds won't heal. It hurts the whole time. It turns here insane. The pain clouds her mind and vision, makes her slower from day to day. The other ones were similar to her in some way. She knows that. She knows a lot of things about the other animals, their behavior and social structure. About her own environment and how to use it for her benefit. She can't remember were she learned all of it. The other Raptors didn't accept her. No, they now try to hunt her down. Maybe because she looks or smell different. Not like their kind. She was something other.

She looks down the ground. Watching her own distorted picture in a puddle of water with one functioning eye. Compared to the wild Raptors, her head was smaller with a bunch of bigger feathers. The upper torso and hip was a bit wider. Her arms were larger and stronger, with shorter fingers and she could grab things like humans. She could do a lot of things which all the other feral predators cannot do, like locking herself in rooms, pushing buttons and knowing what the signs all over the Facility means. She can also read the lined up small signs, but didn'tknow the meaning of them at all. All is lying deep in the dark void, out of reach. Reaching into the dark void hurts. It hurts in her head, in her neck and spine. Something is there. Someone had put something into her head, behind her eyes, unto her skin, into her flesh and bones. Thunder pulls her from her thoughts. Sounds strange. The thunder didn't come from the sky. It was damped and repeats in rapid series. Gunfire. Something from the dark void. Danger. Or an opportunity. A way out of the facility. There's a whole world out there. Endless space and freedom. Roaming free without being caged with wicked, starving carnivores, death and decease. She had tried to escape, but the walls were too high and the area is so large, that it would take much more time to discover then she had left without treatment. When someone with guns get in, he must get out again. This could be her chance. There's only one problem. The laboratory. A place she had avoided till now. It feels wrong. It feels bad. Something happened there. Something she didn't want to discover or experience (again?). Anyway, it couldn't get worst. She carefully turned in direction to the laboratory complex. Her legs hurting. The hip joint seems dislocated and the other leg is badly wounded from the Raptor bites. She had to move through the underbrush. At least she could avoid the bigger beasts this way or maybe hide herself. It's not possible to outrun any other predator. Gun shots again. In her physical state, she could reach her destination in 30 minutes, hide in the nearby woods, look out for possible dangers, prey and breaches in the fences. There's also a possibility to move through the buildings. Since the lights goes out countless nights and days before, every door she found was locked, and she couldn't use the larger buildings anymore for shelter or shortcuts to move between areas. If someone is out there, he may have unlocked the doors. Time to move.

. . . to continue