The Black Cube : Survival System

Ch.2 Blood Scent

Sixty seconds. That was all the mysterious voice in his head had promised him. Kael did not wait to verify the threat. He scrambled frantically up the steep, sandy wall of the crater, his duct-taped boots finding purchase with unnatural ease. Every muscle in his legs fired with explosive, newly acquired power. A climb that would normally leave him gasping for breath and burning with fatigue took mere seconds. He vaulted over the rusted tank track at the rim and hit the solid ground running at a full sprint.

He tore away from the military escape pod, heading deeper into the tangled labyrinth of the Sector Seven Wasteland. The dry, hot wind whipped violently past his face, stinging his cheeks with sharp grains of sand. Kael had spent his entire life running away from danger, but he had never moved this fast. His heavy boots pounded against the hard earth, carrying him across the treacherous terrain with the shocking speed of a fleeing gazelle. The heavy iron crowbar tightly gripped in his right hand swung rhythmically, perfectly balanced by his newly enhanced strength. The dull, constant ache that normally plagued his joints was completely gone, entirely replaced by a thrumming vitality that made him feel practically invincible. For the first time in his desperate life, he felt like a predator, rather than just surviving as prey.

He needed to see exactly what was coming. Kael altered his course slightly, aiming his sprint toward a towering mountain of crushed, rusted vehicles that were tightly compacted into a jagged hill. Without breaking his incredible stride, he leaped toward the first ledge. He expected to grab the rusted bumper and pull his body weight up, but his new physical strength propelled him much higher than anticipated. He landed squarely on the caved-in roof of a crushed sedan, his knees bending smoothly to absorb the heavy impact. He quickly scaled the rest of the dangerous scrap pile, reaching the unstable summit in a matter of quick heartbeats.

From his high vantage point, Kael looked back toward the edge of the Dead Zone. A massive, churning cloud of thick yellow dust was rising ominously into the sky. Beneath that choking dust, a chaotic, writhing mass of dark shapes poured over the highest sand dune. It was not just one type of mutant out there. He saw dozens of pale, skinny Ravagers running frantically on all fours. Behind those agile scouts lumbered several massive, hulking creatures with thick, rock-like armor plating and disproportionately large, muscular arms. The sickening chorus of their hungry screeches and deep roars echoed terrifyingly across the otherwise quiet wasteland. The sheer volume of the hunting pack was staggering. If he foolishly tried to stand his ground out here in the open, they would overwhelm him and rip his newly empowered body to shreds in seconds.

They were following the heavy, metallic scent of the dead Ravager's spilled blood, and they were moving fast. Kael swallowed hard, his throat feeling dry and tight with fear. Hiding inside a hollowed-out car chassis or a buried concrete pipe would absolutely not work today. This swarm would tear through standard hiding spots like wet paper to get to the source of the fresh blood. He desperately needed a tactical location where their massive numbers could not surround him all at once. He needed a tight choke point to survive.

Kael rapidly scanned the chaotic terrain of the surrounding scrap yard. About half a mile to the north, the towering mountains of trash miraculously formed a narrow, vertical canyon known to the local scavengers as the Iron Gullet. It was a highly dangerous, unstable path, but its walls were incredibly steep, dangerously tall, and slick with ancient, dried machine grease. Those towering metal walls formed a perfect bottleneck. Only a few mutants would ever be able to fit through the tightest section at a single time. It was his only realistic chance to heavily leverage his new superhuman strength without getting completely flanked and consumed.

Kael leaped down from the towering pile of crushed cars, hitting the dusty ground in a dead run. He pushed his legs to their absolute physical limit. His heart pounded like a steady war drum inside his chest, pumping energy-rich blood to his eager muscles. He practically flew over rusted fences and shattered concrete barriers.

Suddenly, a loud, heavy thud sounded directly to his left side. A lone, exceptionally fast Ravager had broken away from the main swarm and successfully flanked his position. The hideous beast lunged aggressively from the dark shadows of a fallen, rusted shipping container, its drooling jaws snapping wildly at the air.

Kael did not even stop his forward momentum. He pivoted sharply on his right heel, bringing the heavy iron crowbar around in a vicious, horizontal arc. Guided flawlessly by his enhanced reflexes, the solid iron bar struck the lunging beast perfectly in the side of its exposed ribs. The sickening sound of shattering bones was incredibly loud in the quiet air. The intense force of Kael's brutal swing sent the Ravager flying backward into the rusted side of the metal container. It crumpled instantly to the ground, a broken, lifeless mess. Kael did not even pause to look at his handy work; he just kept running.

The main swarm was right behind him now. He could literally hear the thundering vibrations of their heavy footsteps shaking the loose debris on the ground beneath his feet. The surrounding air grew incredibly thick with their foul, rotting stench. Kael sprinted desperately toward the towering, rusted entrance of the Iron Gullet. The narrow gap between the massive, unstable piles of scrap was only ten feet wide at its absolute widest point. He darted inside, immediately enveloped by the cool, dark shadows deliberately cast by the towering metal walls.

He ran about fifty yards deep into the narrow canyon before finally sliding to a halt in the dirt. He spun around, gripping his trusty iron crowbar tightly with both of his hands, and faced the entrance. He did not have to wait very long for the nightmare to begin.

A chaotic, shrieking flood of pale Ravagers poured blindly into the narrow opening of the Iron Gullet. They tripped and fell heavily over each other in their mindless frenzy to reach the human. The narrow walls of the canyon worked exactly as Kael had desperately hoped, severely limiting their forward movement and heavily forcing them to attack him directly from the front.

The very first two beasts leaped at him simultaneously. Kael stepped forward, his facial expression hard and deeply determined. He thrust the flat end of the crowbar directly into the open, snapping mouth of the first Ravager, cleverly using its own forward momentum to drive the heavy iron deep into its throat. Before the beast even hit the ground, Kael ripped the weapon free and brought it down heavily, crushing the fragile skull of the second attacker.

Kael quickly fell into a brutal, rhythmic trance of violence. Step, swing, crush, step back. His empowered arms moved exactly like tireless industrial pistons, fueled entirely by the mysterious blue energy constantly coursing through his veins. Every single strike he made was incredibly precise and devastatingly lethal. Mangled bodies quickly began to pile up at his feet, unintentionally creating a fleshy, bloody barricade that slowed the advancing swarm even further. He was actually holding them back. He was actually surviving the impossible odds.

But his heavy iron crowbar was never designed for this level of extreme, continuous stress. With a particularly brutal, overhead strike against the thick skull of an overgrown mutant hound, the sturdy iron bar finally bent dramatically near the center. Kael cursed loudly under his heavy breath. The weapon was severely compromised, its perfect balance completely thrown off. He quickly tested its weight, feeling the awkward, useless sway of the bent metal. It would absolutely not hold up against another direct, heavy block.

Before he could even attempt to adjust his grip on the ruined weapon, the frantic shrieks of the smaller mutants suddenly died down into a terrified silence. The frantic horde of Ravagers instantly stopped attacking and began to part, pressing their skinny, trembling bodies tightly against the rusted walls of the canyon. They were making way for something else.

The ground directly beneath Kael's feet trembled violently with heavy, methodical footsteps. A massive, terrifying shadow fell over the entrance of the Iron Gullet, completely blocking out the remaining afternoon sun. One of the hulking, armored brutes he had seen from the hill stepped slowly into the narrow canyon. It was easily eight feet tall, its broad shoulders entirely covered in thick, jagged plates of hardened bone that looked exactly like heavy armor. Its empty eyes glowed with a dull, angry red light, and it dragged a massive, club-like fist slowly along the ground.

Kael looked down at his bent, nearly useless crowbar, and then looked back up at the towering, impossible monster blocking his only exit. The canyon walls were far too steep to climb here, and the massive swarm completely blocked the path forward. He calmly wiped a streak of mutant blood from his cheek, tightening his grip on the ruined iron. Running was simply no longer an option. He took a deep, steadying breath, feeling the warm blue energy pulse hotly in his chest, and prepared himself to fight for his life.