Into the Abyss

[Bjorn]

Leif moved carefully trough the rubble, searching for anything of use, going always forward, towards sounds of battle. Most rooms looked empty or already raided, pieces of burned paper and fabric covered the floor. However, his nose told him something is wrong... very wrong. He sensed smell of searing flesh... perhaps something more at home in kitchen than in middle of abandoned building.

"I'l be damned... better check that out..." - young man whispered to himself.

Few corridors away, following his nose, his ears started to catch glimpses of discussion. Not in language he understood, but he pinned it to same group like one old Abdul was part of.

"Hmm, people. I wonder, maybe they are lost patrol.. or rebels. Will see soon enough." - he thought for himself.

Few more cautious steps, and he was leaning his backs against a wall, just next to an doorway into the room. He heard voices of at least three, and smell of searing meat was overpowering.

Leif took off Militsiya badge from his uniform and turned it around to shiny metal side, that he polished to mirror like finish, and carefully used it to peek around the corner, noticing five people. Old uniforms, mostly torn and blackened from fire... skin on all five soldiers was flaked off at points, on others it resembled goo more than flesh.

Muties... he can stomach that... or so he thought until he noticed what's cooking. An carcass of another man, was put on a spit and hung over the open fire. Few hours ago by looks of it...

"Oh, by Lenin, I will never see stakes in same way again." - He muttered to himself taking grenade from his belt, and checking with the mirror once more before silently cursing.

There was an old terminal behind the mutants, and throwing an grenade might damage what little data it had on. With frown he returned the frag onto the belt, and prepared his rifle, replacing the badge.

"Alright Leif, this is just like dad showed you.." - he leaned in, and fired two short bursts taking down two of the mutants with ease, before boldly sweeping inside gunning down another.

Mutants shouted ear piercing "Yalalalalalala!" and charged like men with nothing to loose.

"Blast it didnt expect that!" - setting his feet wide apart, Leif opened fire from the hip, spraying the two remaining mutants, one of them in middle of lunge to get him... and then for few seconds, world become black again... as something squarely connected with left side of his jaw, sending searing pain of bandaged wound flaring again.

Diving into roll, he came up kneeling few meters away, looking back at another mutant that was standing by the same wall Leif leaned on, but inside of the room.

Mutant took out large curved combat knife that crackled with electrical charge, and slowly moved in.

Leif raised his rifle, but there was only disappointing "click" of empty magazine. Quickly he fumbled with another clip trying to reload, but mutant was faster and he lunged at crouching man, swinging wildly with the blade. Young man deflected few blows with his rifle, all but one that ended up with energy curved dagger lodged deeply in the rifle itself.

"You destroyed my rifle you ugly bastard!" - grasping his rifle by the barrel, Leif swung it around like the club, lodging its stock into mutant's temple.

"Ugly bastard..." - he checked over his weapon, deciding it is rather useless now. Dagger looked well however, and it took Leif few moments to dislodge it from the rifle.

"Well battery on this has juice for another two decades. Good! Now to see about this baby..." - walking over he started to fiddle with the terminal, trying to get access.

In several moments that passed, he managed to retrieve the map of an underground complex and an password for something. Door perhaps, or another terminal. Further search of the room left him with an old Daumann design pistol and twenty charges for it, and what seemed like personal shield belt without juice, but with new coalition sigil on it.

"Well now I am set, time to rejoin the team." - he started to move towards the exit once more, with more haste this time, pain in his wound, and now a bruise too telling him that he wont survive alone for long.

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ISS-Zapotec