Fortunate Son
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I wrote this three years ago, just before I graduated from college. Originally, it wasn't too long and didn't have any sci-fi elements in there, but I edited it to be the prequel of a manga i'm working on (slowly, i have a life). Since i was sick today and got off work, I just felt like posting this.If this is TL,DR for you, then don't read it. But don't complain that its too long. Constructive criticism is awesome, but don't bitch about stuff for the sake of bitching about stuff. Enjoy.
Chapter 1: I'm No Hippie
Denang, Vietnam, 1969. The radio was blasting the Creedance Clearwater Revival song, Fortunate Son. Soldiers all over were talking about the big news, the moon landing. Nearby, a long haired bespectacled man lay on the ground, staring at the sky. A soldier called out to him.
"Hey, uh... you, the reporter! Get your hippie ass over here and take a picture of this". The soldier was holding the head of a Vietcong sniper, like a fisherman who caught a trophy fish.
"The name's Kyle Flynn, I'm a war photographer, not a reporter or a hippie, as I keep telling you, and no, I ain't takin' a picture of that. come on David, That guy's... well he used to be a human being, ya fucked up bastard", the 25 year old New Yorker replied. He wasn't a soldier, no gut of steel. He was just a war photographer who said fuck you to his dad and went halfway across the world to escape his life. He looked back up at the sky, seeing a helicopter fly overhead.
The soldier named David walked over. "What's up? You're acting like you never seen a chopper before".
Kyle replied, "Nothin's wrong. It's just... I dunno. You see a chopper, you know someone's gonna die.", as he walked towards the mess hall.
"KYLE!!! GODDAMMIT KYLE, GET THE FUCK UP BRO!!!".
Kyle's vision started to come back. His ears were ringing, dulling the sound of his friend screaming. He stood up weakly and looked around. Corpses all over. A one armed American soldier was beating a Vietcong to death with a rock with the last of his strength. A barely conscious Vietcong was fumbling around on his back, trying to keep his intestines inside his body. Kyle vomited, his puke mixing with a pool of blood on the ground. His left arm started to hurt. Reaching over to hold it, he touched something mushy. He looked over. Nothing. His arm wasn't there, just a mushy bleeding stump. "N-no way. Where is it... WHERE THE FUCK IS MY GODDAMN ARM!!!". He started to shiver and he passed out. Only a week before, he was staring at the sky. Now his arm was missing because of an American bombing raid, the American soldiers as "Acceptable casualties".
Chapter 2: Dream On
Brooklyn, New York, 1960. A bruised Kyle Flynn waits at the Hospital to get fixed up from a fistfight with his dad. As he goes in to see the doctor, his dad can be heard screaming racist slurs to the black man standing next to him. He's a cancer patient, one month to live, and one of the last things he hears in his life is an alcoholic racist screaming obscenities. Kyle goes up and apologizes to the dying man, who replies "Kid, that your dad? Shit, you got the patience of a damn saint. Listen, this may not mean much comin' from a guy like me, but you don't you dare give up. I see that look in your eye. Killin' yourself ain't gonna solve anything. Keep your head up and live. Do what I can't. There ain't such a thing as failure unless you give up. So go with your gut, kid. Trust your instincts, cuz they're always right. If your instincts tell you to get the fuck out, then do it". One month later, the man died peacefully in his sleep.
From that day on, Kyle lived by those words. Four years later, Kyle gave a final fuck you to his dad in the form of a punch to the gut and a bottle to the head and disappeared, surfacing again in Vietnam a year later.
Chapter 3: Lost
Kyle heard David talking in his memories. It was just a dream about his past. Waking up, he saw David sitting in a corner, mumbling to himself. Kyle couldn't make out much, but what he heard put him on edge. "Fucking impossible... nightmare... how could he... he... no pulse... dead... how did his heart... without a defibrillator...".
"David....? What the hell... What happened? What are ya talkin' about?"
"KYLE! You're.... awake? How?". David was shocked for some reason.
"What the hell are you talkin' about? I just woke up after... I passed out...".
Kyle's head started to hurt. It was a pain he'd never felt before, like his head was going to explode. Visions flowed into his head like a torrent. Things that he'd never seen before. "OH GOD! AHHH!!! IT... HURTS SO BAD... WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING... WHAT IS THIS SHIT... DAVID..." Kyle was interrupted by bloody vomiting. He collapsed to his knees in incredible pain. He started to cry. "D-d-david... help me... HELP ME!!!"
"It's OK bro. The pain'll pass. I know what's going on. I'm... Just not sure if you wanna know..."
"Just... tell me..."
"Kyle... you didn't pass out. When I was carrying you here, you... umm... you bled out. You DIED Kyle. Your heart stopped. For five fucking minutes. When I put you in that bed, you started breathing again.".
Kyle stood there for a second, his heart skipping a beat. "Wha-? You're joking.... you've gotta be kidding me... I lose my arm in a bombing raid, bleed to death and come back. Now I'm seeing these... visions or whatever you wanna call it".
Kyle started to see another vision, as clear as day. A man, standing next to what looked like a bomb. "David... I'm seeing something... this guy. He's standing next to some kinda bomb".
"Weird... Who?"
"I dunno. He's... blind in one eye, a scar over it, the other one's green. He's about six feet tall, got black hair, missing two fingers. He's wearing... an American uniform. Colonel rank. And he's got a tatoo. A black dog"
"Can't be... Kyle... what I'm about to tell you is classified information, so don't go tellin' people. That guy's Col. Richard Jackson. About three years ago, he lost his mind and was about to be discharged and put in a nuthouse. But he disappeared. Kept sayin' shit about dead people coming back to life and all that. He mentioned this guy, Dante Reid. British guy, nicknamed the Black Dog. Used to be friends, apparently. But Jackson lost it and they had a falling out. Apparently, Jackson wanted Reid's help to steal this experimental... nuke..."
Kyle and David looked at each other in shock. Kyle was somehow seeing Richard Jackson. He stole the nuke. And he was right. Dead people DID come back to life. "Shit... I dunno what's going on. How you came back, how you're seeing this shit, or anything like that. But if we're right, Jackson's planning to use that thing. It's a longshot, but that vision you had might be real. Not like we can ignore it".
"Yeah. I don't know if any of this is real. But when I was a kid, this guy told me once that I need to go with my instincts and trust nothin' else, and my instincts are tellin' me to find this guy and stop whatever he's doing. But first... where the hell are we, and how do we get out of her- SHIT! SNIIIPEEEERR!!!!".
CHAPTER 4: Monster
The only sound heard was a single gunshot. David cowered in fear in the corner of the building. "I'm gonna be OK...I'm gonna be OK...I'm gonna be OK...", he told himself. He heard another gunshot. Then screaming. But it wasn't Kyle who was screaming.
The door was kicked open to reveal Kyle, holding the half-dead sniper by the throat. David was speechless. The sniper was half a mile away and it had only been 30 seconds since the first shot was fired. Kyle threw the sniper to the floor and pinned him down with scalpels to the hands.
David started to speak, but Kyle started interrogating the sniper. Apparently he was fluent in Vietnamese.
"Ok. First question: Where are we?"
"FUCK YOU, AMERICAN"
Kyle punched straight through the concrete wall next to him, shocking the sniper and David.
"Now you know I don't fuck around. Your hands are pinned to the floor with scalpels, and I apparently can punch through 2 inches of concrete. So tell me."
"O-ok... I was attacked by you Americans three days ago, 100 miles south of Denang. A bombing raid. I saw your friend carrying you, so I followed you. We are 300 miles southeast of Denang. But you'll never escape. There are more snipers than me. All over".
Kyle started to speak, but the sniper finally tore the scalpel out of the ground and out of his hand. "You won't be asking me any more questions, American scum". The sniper took the scalpel and stabbed Kyle in the throat before he could defend himself. Kyle looked him in the eye with a vicious look. His voice was sickening. Gravely, with a wet sound. "Heh. That all ya got?"
"M-M-M-MONSTER!!! ST-STAY AWAY FROM M-".
All that was heard was a crunchy splatter. David looked up and saw that the sniper's head was in pieces, crushed on a wall. Kyle's wound was gone. His voice was normal again. "You OK David?"
"Kyle... what the hell are you? You moved half a mile, grabbed that guy, and came back with him in less than 30 seconds. Then you punched straight through 2 inches of concrete. You... aren't human. I thought you just turned psychic or something, but those abilities... they're beyond anything a human could do".
"I guess so. But since I'm not human... what am I?", Kyle said, looking at the stump that used to be his arm. "Dave. Give me your gun."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it"
David handed his pistol to Kyle. "Here. Don't call me Dave".
Kyle looked out the window and took careful aim. He fired three shots. In the distance, David saw three Vietcong snipers fall out of trees.
"Huh... I guess I'm not human after all...". As those words came out of his mouth, he started to cry. "David. What the hell am I?"
"Sorry bro... but I have no fucking idea"
Chapter 5: Cursed
"Shit David. Can't believe we've been wandering around for two weeks and haven't found anything. Not even any Vietcong soldiers."
"Yeah. I heard a story once from one of our translators. He said that the Vietnamese believe this whole area is cursed. According to him, a kid got lost here about 30 years ago. His parents went in to find him. A week later they came back. They did find him... what was left of him anyway. When they were asked what happened, they just said that it was a monster. They said that no animal killed him, it was some sort of humanoid demon. Since then, people have gone in to find the thing and nobody's ever come back alive."
"Creepy. So these people actually believe that it's here, and everyone's too scared to come into this area? Even the Americans?"
"Yep."
"So... tell me again why we haven't called for help yet."
"Because we have no idea where we are, haven't had human contact since you killed that sniper, and the radio's broken. Dipshit."
"Fuck you."
SPLAT.
"Kyle. Uhh... buddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Did I just step in cherry cobbler?"
"No. That's a dead... guy..."
"OH GOD! I STEPPED IN A DEAD GUY. DEAR GOD, HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE. KYLE, HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE"
"Heh. It's just a dead guy's brain. We all have brains, don't be a pussy."
Scraping the brain off his shoe, David vomited. As he looked up, he saw another pile of what used to be a human. "Kyle. Look. More."
Dozens of the piles of meat that used to be called humans were scattered across a clearing. "David. Is it wrong that this is making me hungry?"
"Yes. Very."
As they wandered into the clearing, the two started hearing strange noises. Growling. Crunching. Splattering. "We'd better get the hell out of here Kyle. Seriously... this is fucking creepy..."
"Yeah... let's go. Whatever's going on here, I don't wanna be any part of it."
The two started walking away but something jumped down, blocking their path. It looked human. It had huge fangs where its teeth should be, and had long, bony claws instead of fingers. But what truly made it inhuman were its eyes. The eyes of a beast. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT. LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!"
"YEAH, I SECOND THAT ONE DAVE"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING CALL ME DAVE"
"SHIT! LOOK OUT!"
The creature jumped at David, mouth wide open. He jumped out of the way just in time, but the claws of the creature sliced his chest. He pulled his gun and shot it. It reeled from the blast to the chest, but instantly recovered and hungrily stared at him. Just as it was about to attack again, it's head popped wide open and the creature fell to the ground, dead.
Chapter 6: Hades
"You gotta aim for the head, kid". A man walked out of the bushes holding a pistol. "Dante Reid, pleased to meet you two". The Englishman looked over at the shocked Kyle, who was just staring into blank space. "Goddammit. When someone introduces themselves, you have to introduce yourself too. It's called courtesy".
"Sorry English, but he hasn't... fuck, who am I kidding... Neither of us have been right in the head for awhile..."
Kyle came to his senses and stared at the corpse of the creature. "What the hell was that thing?"
"I'll tell you when we get to a safer place. Looks like your friend here got nailed pretty hard by that thing."
Back in a hut about 10 miles east of that creature's feeding grounds, David was lying on the bed, his chest bandaged, full of morphine. After an awkward silence, Kyle started talking. "So, uhh... Dante, right? Time for some answers. You knew Richard Jackson, right?"
"Rich... yeah. Been looking for 'im for awhile. He's planning to-"
"Yeah. Use a nuke for something."
"How the fuck did you know?"
"I had some kinda vision."
"Vision? Wait... Kyle, right? Were you exposed to a weapon called Agent Orange at any time?"
"No, I don't think so. Wait... Operation Ranch Hand, right? About a year ago, I was stranded in the middle of the country. Had to eat some of the food in a small town down south. People kept dying, but I didn't think... what the hell..."
"So you were... well, since you're hunting down Rich, I doubt that you care if this is classified info or not. Agent Orange isn't what you think it is. It's not biological. It's a nanovirus. The chemical weapon of the future."
"What's a nanovirus?"
"A virus made with nanomachi-.... Fuck, you won't understand. Basically, it's like this. It's a man-made flu. Get it? That thing that sliced your friend is a victim of it. It acts on the DNA of a human. Usually, they die or just get fucked up, but it has a certain effect. Something that the American military has been using this virus to test. The HADES effect. It changes people. Into monsters. Gives 'em power beyond comprehension. Speed, strength, etc. These people are called Prometheus. And you're one of 'em."
"You're saying... that I'm infected with a man-made virus, and that the entire Vietnam War..."
Dante looked down and lit up a cigarette. "Yeah. A cover up. This whole thing's just a sick experiment to them."
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!! ALL THIS TIME... ALL THESE PEOPLE... ARE DYING...BECAUSE THE US WANTS TO BE MORE POWERFUL?!?!?" Kyle screamed, flipping the table over. He pulled David's gun and pointed it at Dante. "A-and how the hell do you know all this? You're in on it, aren't you? I GET IT. YOU'RE IN LEAGUE WITH JACKSON. YOU WANT TO GET REVENGE ON THE US FOR ALL THIS, SO YOU WANNA NUKE THE COUNTRY, IS THAT IT? FUCKING ANSWER ME!!!"
"Nope. I know all this because I'm just like you. I'm a Prometheus, just like you."
"Dante... Just... just one question... I'm infected with this virus... a-am I gonna turn into... something like that thing?"
Still smoking his cigarette, a somber Dante looked at the sweating Kyle.
"Yes... I'm gonna suffer the same fate. Not necessarily physical mutations, but your mind... OUR minds are gonna go, sometime or another. Hey. What do you think you're doing? Kyle? KYLE!"
David opened his eyes. He saw a gun in someone's hand. It raised up, slowly. His best friend was shaking and crying. A gun to his head. With his own hand. Kyle remembered the words that the dying man in the hospital told him so many years ago. All that could be heard was a single gunshot.
Here we go. the continuation of the original short story I wrote. This is completely original now, no more copypasta from my hard drive. Enjoy the rest.
Chapter 7: English
1959, Sussex, England. A 20 year old dirty blond man is kneeling in front of the Queen herself. He is being knighted for saving his squad from certain death in a secret operation in Korea. He's got bandages on his chest from three bullets that penetrated his right lung. He walks out of the palace as Sir Dante Reid, captain of the SAS. Six years later he and the rest of the SAS are in a helicopter in Vietnam, ready to test the effects of an herbicidal virus called HADES, or Agent Orange to the public. A Vietcong soldier fires an RPG at the helicopter, taking it down. The only one who walks out of those hellish flames is Dante Reid. The next year, he escapes from a POW camp using a stolen M1911AI, taken from a dead American. He is shot in the head on the way out, but survives, prying the bullet out of his skull with a pair of pliers. This incident is witnessed by Col. Richard Jackson, who calls him the Black Dog, after a ghostly apparition said to exist in England. Dante and Jackson form a short lived friendship. Jackson pulls a gun on an American child, ranting about how he will come back to life. Dante throws him to the ground and medics strap him into a straitjacket. Three days later, Jackson disappears. Dante is interrogated. He says that Jackson asked him to help steal an experimental nuclear bomb to end the war and get some sort of revenge. Dante is sentenced to execution. The next day, he fights his way out and goes missing. He meets two men three years later, Kyle Flynn and David Crane. Kyle shoots himself after learning the truth about HADES. All that's heard is a single gunshot.
Chapter 8: Undead
1970, Southern Vietnam. Three men were sitting at a bar. One was missing an arm and had bandages across his forehead, like a headband. "What happened to you? Are you alright"? A curious bartender couldn't stop staring at the man with the hole in his head.
"I'm fine. Just a little scratch, that's all. Kyle Flynn, photographer". Kyle shook the man's hand and took a picture out. "I'm lookin' for this guy. Name's Richard Jackson. Used to be a Colonel in the US Army, but went missing after he lost his mind. You seen him"?
The bartender looked intently at the photograph. "Hmm... Actually, yes. I have seen him. About... two months ago, he came to this bar. Real suspicious. He kept look9ing back and forth, like he was afraid of something. Another man came to see him. He had this briefcase with him, and gave it to the man named Jackson. Then they both left, without ordering a damn thing".
"Thanks. Any idea where Jackson went"?
"Not really. He did mention something about the Mekong Delta. It's about 300 miles south of here. See? You're in Saigon right now. Go south and stop... right here". The bartender marked the Mekong Delta on a map with a knife and gave it to Kyle.
"Thanks buddy. We owe ya. Hey, guys. Dante, David. Let's go". The two were blind drunk. "DRUNKEN ASSHOLES"!
"Yeah? Wait... K...Kyle? Is there two o ya"? The two drunken assholes turned their heads weakly, seeing triple.
"We're leaving. Mekong Delta".
"Alright. I-I ummm.... think we better find a... a... goddammit, what's the word...", Said the drunk Dante.
"Uh... Car? Is't a car? It's a MOTHER...FUCKIN CAR! HAHAHAHA!!! I's sooo smart". David was barely conscious.
Kyle didn't know, but what he was doing will be called facepalm.jpg 40 years later. "Jesus... Yes. It's called a car. Are you two like... three years old? Let's go". He dragged the two away. The bartender yelled.
"Wait! You guys need a car? Here". He said as he threw a car key to Kyle.
"Huh? Why are you giving me a car key"?
"Take mine. It's a piece of shit, but it should work. There's some gas in the back, too, so you should be able to get all the way down to Mekong".
"Why are you being so nice"?
"That American never ordered a drink".
Chapter 9: Robot Revolution
1969, 300 miles southeast of Denang, in a wet, rainy hut.
"Yes... I'm gonna suffer the same fate. Not necessarily physical mutations, but your mind... OUR minds are gonna go, sometime or another. Hey. What do you think you're doing? Kyle? KYLE"!!!
David opened his eyes. He saw a gun in someone's hand. It raised up, slowly. His best friend was shaking and crying. A gun to his head. With his own hand. Kyle remembered the words that the dying man in the hospital told him so many years ago. "There ain't such a thing as failure unless you give up". All that could be heard was a single gunshot.
Kyle fell to the floor with a loud thud. His blood and brain matter was splattered on the wall. David nearly collapsed from pain as he stumbled toward the corpse of his friend. "SHIT! English, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM"?!?!?
"I didn't do shit. I just told 'im the truth". Dante was surprisingly calm for a man who just saw someone shoot himself.
David was sweating. The morphine wasn't enough to keep him from going into shock. He collapsed onto his knees, crying. He quickly got up, grabbing Dante by the shirt. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! YOU WERE RIGHT FUCKING THERE! YOU COULDA STOPPED HIM! GRAB HIS ARM OR SOMETHING! BUT NO, YOU JUST STOOD THERE"! He collapsed again, but not before punching Dante in the face.
"He needs to see for himself what he's become", the Englishman said, counting on his fingers.
David heard breathing. Kyle was sitting on the floor, fully conscious. "What the fuck... I'm... ALIVE?!? HOW?!? I-I-I-I DIED. I shot myself in the head... but... how...". Kyle looked at the gun, and then the wall. He saw his own blood and brains splattered on the wall. He puked from shock.
"Kyle, lemme explain. We can't die from a simple gunshot to the head. The Prometheus have the ability to revive themselves after something that would kill a human, willing or not. You came back, whether you wanted to or not. It's completely involuntary, like a sneeze. We can take roughly ten times more damage than a human. Of course, we'll die if our head's removed, but that's tough...". Dante pointed at the skull fragments on the wall.
Kyle looked over, picking up a piece of his own skull. He started to sweat. "This... it's not bone... It's... steel"?
"Exactly. Upon death, an infected human is decomposed by the virus. It's metal. It consumes your natural cells and replaces them. These metal cells are machines called nanocells. They replicate every single cell with 100% accuracy, from the smallest cell in your brain, to every sperm cell you have in your sack. You're far from a robot or anything like that, but you're a non-organic being".
"I'm a machine"? Kyle was stunned, as anyone would be.
"Yep. A fully functional artificial human. THAT, my photojournalist friend, is the HADES effect. There's something I probably should've mentioned BEFORE you shot yourself... Ya know how I said that you'd lose your mind? Jackson found a cure for that. More like a treatment. These shots. Shoot 'em into your neck and your brain stops degenerating. I dunno if it just delays the effects or takes care of them completely, but he's got it, nonetheless. And with our powers combined, we can take him down and save ourselves".
Kyle stood up with a twisted smile on his face. "Then... What the hell are we waiting for? Let's kill this little fuck"!
Chapter 10: Jack the Ripper
"Hey, Dante". Kyle sat in the back of the bartender's car, smoking a cigarette.
"Yeah"? Dante sat in the passenger seat, polishing his gun, as David drove the piece of shit car.
"I've been thinking... Jackson has this nuke, what do you think he's planning to do with it? I mean, there's gotta be some big plan he's got. He wouldn't go so far out of his way to steal it from a hardened military lab just to have it around. Besides, how'd he even know it existed in the first place? He was only Colonel class. Somebody must've told him, right"?
"Maybe this is bigger than Jackson". David stopped the car to take a piss. "Kyle, you said that someone must a told him, so someone who's got clearance for that kinda classified intelligence might be helping him. I've also been wondering about this nuke itself. It's not a normal nuke, so what's so special about it? I don't think it's just power. There's gotta be somethin' else...", he said as he started driving.
Dante suddenly stopped polishing his gun. "Stop the car".
"Huh"?
"Stop. STOP THE FUCKING CAR!!! NOW"!!!. Dante was in a panic. The car screeched to a stop.
"The fuck's wrong with y-". Kyle was interrupted by his heart skipping a beat. He couldn't speak. David looked up the street and saw what looked like a man standing in the middle of the road. Dante jumped out, pistol drawn, and started shooting, running at the man. Kyle did the same.
"DAVID! STAY IN THE CAR! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T MOVE FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT"! Kyle screamed in a panic, the sound of gunshots echoing through the air, nearly blocking his voice.
Dante was less than ten feet away from the man when he was thrown back onto the hood of the car by some sort of invisible force. David blinked. Less than a second. The man was standing in front of him. "'ello govn'a. Name's Jack Ingalls. I'll be the one send'n ya ta hell today".
The man, Jack Ingalls, was an infamous murderer from England. The cockney London man was nicknamed "Jack the Ripper" for his brutal killings. He drew a meat cleaver, and before Dante could dodge, he was cut open, guts strewn about on the hood of the car.
"DAAAAAAAANNNNNTTEEEEEEEEE"!!!! Kyle ran towards him, putting three bullets in Jack's neck.
"Ya gotta do betta than that, boy", Jack said, completely unfazed. He hit Kyle straight in the chest with the handle of his cleaver, knocking him through a nearby tree.
David ran. Piss dripped down his pants. Kyle and Dante were both getting slaughtered by this man. David stood no chance. He looked back and saw Dante, fully recovered, shooting at the killer, dodging his cuts with inhuman speed.
"Just FUCKIN' DIE ALREADY YOU DICK"!. Jack was getting angrier by the second as Dante taunted him. "YER ORGANS ARE HANGIN OUT OF YA, JUS' GIVE UP AND I' MAKE IT QUICK"!
"No thanks, ya cockney fuck, I'd rather not die, thank you very much".
"JUST... DIIIIIIIEEEE"!!!!!! Ingalls went in to cut his head off, but was interrupted by a sudden pain in his hand, and a gunshot. He looked down. His hand was gone. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! Who... Who the fuck...". Kyle stood there, his gun smoking from the blast.
"Dante's right. We don't have time to die". Jack was holding the stump that used to be his hand. "You see, Mr. Cockney, we're in a war. I've had to defend myself against the Vietcong for four years. So has he", Kyle said, pointing at David, who was holding a shotgun.
"Yeah. I'm a former Army Ranger. I may not be so tough like you guys, but I can sure as hell fight if I get the balls". He was shaking, the stain on his pants obviously showing his fear. "So... how about you go ahead and die for us".
Just as Ingalls took his cleaver in his left hand and attacked, David shot him in the chest, leaving a grapefruit sized hole in him. As he fell to the ground, gushing blood, he threw his cleaver right into David's throat.
"You son of a bitch... Shotguns aren't fucking fair against a guy wit a cleaver". He hit the ground hard. "Heh... ya little fucks may've beaten me, but here's a final warnin': ya won't survive. This's bigger than you, me, even Richard... I'll... be watchin' from hell. Put on a good show fo' me".
Chapter 11: Heavy Rain
David tore the cleaver out of his neck. He couldn't speak. He was bleeding to death. As his vision went dark, he started to cry. He hit the ground. Fumbled for his wallet. Took out a picture. He had to see his girlfriend one last time. But before he could see her, his vision went completely black. His arm fell to the ground. And then, nothing.
Kyle took the picture out of his friend's hand and looked at it. In the picture, he was happy. Kyle had never seen him smile like that. And then he understood. This picture, with David holding a girl in his arms, was the last time he was truly alive. Although his heart stopped only seconds before, David was dead long before. Kyle looked up at the now rainy sky. His tears mixed with the rain. He saw a helicopter fly overhead.
"Kyle... you gonna be alright"?
"He didn't even get to see her in a goddamn picture".
Chapter 12: Davy Crockett
The M-28/M-29 "Davy Crockett" tactical recoilless nuclear rifle was developed in the 1950's in the beginning of the Cold War. It was never deployed in actual combat due to severe issues found with the weapon's range and accuracy. It was created to take down large amounts of enemy soldiers using the smallest nuclear warhead ever built, attached to a rocket launcher similar to an RPG. It fired the M-388 sub-kiloton fission device, the effects of the blast equivalent to 20 tons of TNT exploding within a one mile radius.
Unknown to but the highest echelons of the American military, a smaller variant of the Davy Crockett was in fact created. More accurate with a range of up to 3 miles, it was an extremely destructive weapon. Only 10 were created, and it was used only once in a covert operation in the Korean war. Although the M-100 round fired from it was much smaller than the M-388 round developed, it was extremely powerful, the equivalent of launching 10 metric tons of TNT out of an RPG launcher. After seeing the devastating effects of the launcher, it was cleared for mass production by the President himself.
In 1966, one man named Richard Jackson, stole this compact Davy Crockett along with a highly experimental nuclear bomb, nicknamed "Pandora's Box".
Jackson disappeared in the uncharted forests of southern Vietnam. He surfaced again in 1969. Multiple operations were conducted in order to capture or kill Jackson, but only one man came back alive. The man died of unknown causes shortly after. The CIA was able to obtain information from him 14 hours before his death. Richard Jackson was leading a group of Vietcong defectors turned revolutionaries, along with two infamous killers, Jack "The Ripper" Ingalls, and Chinese-Korean terrorist Lao Xing Pak. They were in possession of the Pandora's Box and the experimental Davy Crockett. Their plans were unknown.
Chapter 13: The Doom Train
1970, the Mekong Delta. The riverbank was completely silent. Kyle had hardly spoken since the death of his best friend one month before. He had dark circles and bags under his eyes. His eyes were like those of a corpse. He took his friend's picture out and looked at it. He felt like crying, but he had no more tears left in him. Dante walked up to him. "Oi. You can't keep this up. He was my friend too, but still, you have got to move on. He's gone, there's nothing you can do about it".
"I know. Not like I can bring him back to life. He wasn't infected, so he's dead for good. Hey. Can you do me a favor"?
"Yeah. What'd ya want me to do"?
"Take this picture... and burn it. I need to let go".
Dante was about to burn the picture he had in his hand, but was interrupted by what seemed to be an earthquake. The two looked around. It wasn't an earthquake. It was a train. Bigger than anything either had seen before. The tracks were 20 yards away, but one of the cars almost clipped them. And then they saw it. Hundreds of Vietnamese mercenaries armed to the teeth with AK-47s, grenades, and RPGs. And standing on the top of the giant train car was none other than Richard Jackson, holding a strange rocket launcher. Before Dante or Kyle could do anything, the train sped away. Kyle was shocked at the sheer size of the train. "Dante. What the fuck is that"?
"No idea. A train, but... that huge car... what the hell... but there's no doubt. That was Richard standing there".
"Did you notice something sticking out the top of that huge car"?
"Yeah. It almost looked like some kinda missile... Wait... it can't be... Kyle! We've got to follow it"!
"How? You saw how fast that thing was. There's no gas left in the truck".
"Then we run. I think I know what's going on now".
"What"?
Dante was sweating. He didn't want to answer Kyle. He didn't want to face what was going on, but he had no choice. "Don't you get it Kyle? That WAS a missile. Jackson took the bomb and turned it into an ICBM! If he launches it, then it's all over".
"What'd you mean by that"?
"All out nuclear war you fucking idiot!!! He's gonna launch it into the US! They'll think that the Vietnamese allies did it, both Russia AND China and nuke all three countries. Then they'll launch back. It'll be the end. We don't have any choice. We have to stop them, even if it means dying in the process".
Chapter 14: The Terminators
The duo ran after the train. They ran for miles until they finally caught up. The train was already at a stop. Dante started to hear branches in the forest crack. Someone was running towards them. "Hello, friends. Welcome to party. You must forgive, as I not so good with English language".
Dante and Kyle both turned around to see an asian man standing behind them with a sword in his right hand, an AK-47 in his left. Dante was the first to open his mouth. "I'm guessing that you're the one they call the Terminator, right"?
"You correct. I am Lao Xing Pak. You kill the Englishman, Jack Ingalls, yes"?
"No. My best friend put a hole in the bastard. He died taking him out". Kyle was already pointing his pistol at Pak, pure hatred in his eyes.
"Yes... that is what I like to see. Man who think he can kill me. But you see, I not alone". Pak put his hands in the air. "COME OUT, MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS"!!!
Multiple shadows appeared, running straight at Kyle and Dante. Kyle recognized the hideous sounds that they made. The mutated humans who fell victim to HADES. "Shit... those things again"?
"Yes, American. They are my friends. And they seem to be hungry...", Pak said with a vicious smile on his face. He put his arm to his side, signaling them to stop.
"Kyle... this isn't good. It looks like this guy can control these things...". Dante drew a shotgun, ready to take them all on.
Pak smiled viciously, and lowered his arm, laughing maniacally. "I think it time for your deaths. I have waited a long time for this. So... GO, MY FRIENDS!!! KILL THEM BOTH!!! AND MAKE IT PAINFUL"!!!
The creatures started running toward them, mouths open. Dante and Kyle ran forward, unloading everything they had. Kyle killed three, and was reloading when an incredible pain shot through his chest. He turned his head to look at his chest. One of the creatures had run him through with its clawed hand. Blood came out of his mouth like a fountain.
"SHIT! KYLE! COME ON, DON'T DIE NOW, WE'VE GOTTA SURVIVE THIS! WE HAVE TO KILL JACKSON AND GET THAT TREATMENT SO WE DON'T LOSE OUR MINDS! YOU CAN'T GIVE UP NOW"! Dante took aim at the creature and nearly pulled the trigger. He felt an impact in his back and almost fell to the ground. Pak was now fighting alongside the creatures. "Son of a bitch...".
Kyle didn't know what to do. He knew that if he didn't do something, he'd die. Then, his mind went blank. Dante and Pak went pale, like they'd seen a ghost.
Kyle had the eyes of a beast. He didn't fall to the ground. He wasn't bleeding anymore. He was ripping the creatures apart with his bare hands. Running and jumping around, tearing them to bits.
Chapter 15: Demon
Before either Dante or Pak could process what was happening, every single one of the creatures was dead. Kyle turned and started walking toward Pak, who started shooting, screaming in fear. Every bullet hit him, but Kyle didn't flinch.
Click. Click. Pak was out of ammo. "SHIT"! Kyle was suddenly in front of him. "S-S-STAY BACK!!! GET AWAY YOU FUCKING MONSTER"!!!, Pak screamed, swinging his sword. Then he felt his hand being crushed by Kyle. His arm snapped, the forearm bone shot through his elbow. He yelled out in pain. He felt a tearing on his left arm, and then heard a snap. Kyle ripped his arm off. Pak was in too much pain to yell. And everything went dark.
Dante watched, pale as a ghost. Kyle snapped Pak's arm backwards, still attached, his hand still gripping the sword, which stuck straight through the back of his head, the tip of the blade pushing his left eyeball out of the socket. There was a ripping noise. Dante vomited. Pak's head was now detached from his body, held by his own sword. The veins and tissue and spine were swinging, blown by the wind. Blood turned the grass red. Kyle opened his mouth and bit straight through Pak's shoulder, tearing his arm off. He swallowed the bloody, bony mess and licked his lips. As a final gesture, he threw the dismembered head onto the ground and crushed it.
Kyle fell to the ground and passed out, waking up a few seconds later, fully conscious. He looked around at the corpse of the man who used to be the Terminator. He stood up and laughed maniacally, tears dripping down his face.
Chapter 16: Apocalypse Please
The taste of blood filled Kyle's mouth. It tasted delicious. He yelled and punched straight through Pak's stomach, tearing out his intestines. He started eating. As he felt the salty taste of human entrails fill his mouth, he heard a gun cock. He looked behind him. Dante was standing there, pointing his shotgun at Kyle's head. "Kyle... I'm so sorry it has to end like this. But you've become one of them". Kyle positioned himself to jump straight at Dante.
"Like hell I'm just gonna let you blow my head off. I didn't want it to end this way either, but I gotta live. Nothing personal, It's just my survival instincts kickin' in".
Just as Dante was about to pull the trigger, someone started clapping. "Good. VERY good. Beautiful scene, isn't it boys? Two friends who used to be allies are now about to kill each other. Dante, you already know who I am, but I should probably introduce myself to you, Kyle Flynn. I am Colonel Richard Jackson".
Jackson was sitting atop the gigantic train car. "Impressive, isn't it?", he said, opening his arms in a proud gesture. "A while ago, me and my boys hijacked an American Navy destroyer. Converted it into what you see here, a fully mobile missile platform. So it's time to carry out my final mission".
"And what exactly would be"?
"Well there's not really any simple answer to that, Mr. Photographer. But here's the gist of it. We're in the middle of not only the Vietnam War, but a Cold War. Nuclear Deterrence is the name of the game. But it's just a theory. Using fear to keep your enemy in check, in order to keep peace. It's a beautiful sentiment, but idealism will only get you so far. The HADES virus was created for the very purpose of deterrence. They wanted to create a perfect soldier using the HADES effect. They wanted to make a person the equivalent of a nuke, in terms of deterrence. That's how you Prometheus were created. Didn't exactly end up with the desired effects though. Those creatures are proof enough of that. Same with you, Flynn. You suddenly have a taste for flesh. That sure as shit isn't what they wanted".
"So what the fuck are ya planning to do with that nuke"?
"I want to save the world. Mankind is fickle. Like I said, idealism will only get you so far. The Deterrence theory will break down sooner or later. And that will be the end. But through chaos, there will be peace. There's a saying in the orient. 'The only ones who truly know peace are the ones who know true suffering'. And they're right. If the politicians are the ones who press that red button, everything goes to hell. But if someone's controlling it, that's a different matter. You got it wrong. I'm not trying to start a nuclear holocaust. Once I launch this nuke, America's gonna retaliate against the ones with nuclear capabilities. Russia and China. In the chaos, the world will be in complete anarchy. And that's where they come in. They'll lead mankind into a new age of peace. So, Mr. Photographer, take a picture. Take a picture of the weapon that will save the world. START THE LAUNCH SEQUENCE"!
Dante dropped his gun and punched the ground in hopeless anger. "We're too late... huh? Kyle, what the hell are you doing"?
Kyle was climbing up the ladder on the side of the missile platform. "WE AREN'T TOO LATE! UNTIL HE LAUNCHES THE NUKE, IT'S NOT OVER"!
"Heh. Might as well try, I guess".
Chapter 17: 60 Seconds to Midnight
"Huh... You're trying to stop me? Can't you hear it over the PA? The countdown's already started".
Kyle finally got to the top. "Sure. But there's 60 seconds left. Plenty of time".
"NO YOU FUCKING DON'T YOU SON OF A BITCH"!!! Jackson drew a machine gun and started firing, Kyle dodging every shot.
"Stop dodging, dammit"!
"No".
Dante was climbing up the ladder when the Vietnamese mercenaries noticed him and started firing. Just as he got up, a sniper fired and hit him in the leg. Another shot. Missed, hit the other leg. Dante drew his pistol and fired, killing him. He couldn't do a thing. His legs were heavily injured. He couldn't walk. He only watched helplessly as the countdown hit 30 seconds.
30 seconds to the end of the world. Kyle started to panic. He only had 30 more seconds until the missile launched. He started to black out again. Barely holding onto what was left of his mind, he went in for a final strike to Jackson.
Jackson raised his gun and pulled the trigger, firing his last shot straight through Kyle's chest, as Kyle threw a punch. Before he knew it, his arm was straight through Jackson's chest. He pulled his arm out, Jackson's ribcage shredding his arm.
The entire train started to shake. The countdown was over. The missile was firing. As Kyle watched in horror, the Vietnamese mercenaries surrounded him. It was all over.
Chapter 18: Hero
Dante struggled to stand up. His injuries were healing, but not fast enough. In a last ditch effort to save his friend, he pulled his gun and started shooting the soldiers surrounding Kyle. After three shots, he ran out of ammo. He looked at the missile and noticed something strange about the warhead. That's when he realized. As David said almost a year ago, there had to be something special about the Pandora's Box. There was. It was a specialized cluster nuke.
Kyle had an idea. He ran up and snapped a soldier's neck, grabbing the RPG out of his hands. Charging through the soldiers, he took aim and fired the RPG. It flew through the air and grazed the fuel tank, but it did nothing.
The nuke was about to be airborne but it became caught in an i-beam that came loose when the train shook.
"You son of a bitch...". Kyle looked behind him and saw Jackson, barely conscious, holding a strange looking RPG. "You know what this is? It's a compact Davy Crockett recoilless nuclear rifle. When the Pandora's Box goes airborne, I'm gonna fire this thing. It's gonna kill every one of us".
Kyle knew he was going to die. So he thought he might as well save the world in the process. He ran over to Dante. "Heh... Guess this is it for us, huh"?
"No. This is it for me. Not you".
"What are you saying..."
"I'm saying, you're gonna live. I'm barely holding on to my mind. If we both survived, you'd have to kill me, or I'd rip you to bits. So this is goodbye, Dante".
"Wha-" Dante grunted in pain as Kyle kicked him off the edge of the missile pad, falling 200 feet to the ground.
"How valiant of you. Saving your friend while you go off to hell. Won't matter anyway, you'll both die in the blast... wait. H-H-HOW'D YOU GET THAT"?!? Kyle was holding a small box of syringes the size of a cigarette case in his hand. It was the treatment for mental degeneration of the Prometheus.
"HEY DANTE! CATCH"! Kyle threw the case to Dante, who started running as far as he could from the blast. He caught the case. He knew his friend was going to die, and he wanted to save him. After waving goodbye, Dante started running as fast as he could, saving himself, for Kyle's dying wish.
Kyle was face to face with the crazed Jackson. It was going to end with one last attack. He charged at Jackson, taking hundreds of bullets fired by Jackson's soldiers. As he was about to bleed out, he tackled Jackson with the last of his strength. Jackson, while falling, pulled the trigger on the Davy Crockett, launching it directly into the Pandora's Box nuke.
It ended with a blinding light. Kyle didn't mind dying.
Dante watched from 30km away as his friend was vaporized in the light of hell itself. Dante saw each cell of the Pandora's Box explode one by one, like a giant firework. And then he turned his back and walked away.
1971, London, England. Dante Reid was back home. Settling into his new, piece of shit flat, he turned on the radio. Creedance Clearwater Revival's song, Fortunate Son was playing. He went outside and looked up to the sky.
Rob Nakahara
Chapter 1: I'm No Hippie
Denang, Vietnam, 1969. The radio was blasting the Creedance Clearwater Revival song, Fortunate Son. Soldiers all over were talking about the big news, the moon landing. Nearby, a long haired bespectacled man lay on the ground, staring at the sky. A soldier called out to him.
"Hey, uh... you, the reporter! Get your hippie ass over here and take a picture of this". The soldier was holding the head of a Vietcong sniper, like a fisherman who caught a trophy fish.
"The name's Kyle Flynn, I'm a war photographer, not a reporter or a hippie, as I keep telling you, and no, I ain't takin' a picture of that. come on David, That guy's... well he used to be a human being, ya fucked up bastard", the 25 year old New Yorker replied. He wasn't a soldier, no gut of steel. He was just a war photographer who said fuck you to his dad and went halfway across the world to escape his life. He looked back up at the sky, seeing a helicopter fly overhead.
The soldier named David walked over. "What's up? You're acting like you never seen a chopper before".
Kyle replied, "Nothin's wrong. It's just... I dunno. You see a chopper, you know someone's gonna die.", as he walked towards the mess hall.
"KYLE!!! GODDAMMIT KYLE, GET THE FUCK UP BRO!!!".
Kyle's vision started to come back. His ears were ringing, dulling the sound of his friend screaming. He stood up weakly and looked around. Corpses all over. A one armed American soldier was beating a Vietcong to death with a rock with the last of his strength. A barely conscious Vietcong was fumbling around on his back, trying to keep his intestines inside his body. Kyle vomited, his puke mixing with a pool of blood on the ground. His left arm started to hurt. Reaching over to hold it, he touched something mushy. He looked over. Nothing. His arm wasn't there, just a mushy bleeding stump. "N-no way. Where is it... WHERE THE FUCK IS MY GODDAMN ARM!!!". He started to shiver and he passed out. Only a week before, he was staring at the sky. Now his arm was missing because of an American bombing raid, the American soldiers as "Acceptable casualties".
Chapter 2: Dream On
Brooklyn, New York, 1960. A bruised Kyle Flynn waits at the Hospital to get fixed up from a fistfight with his dad. As he goes in to see the doctor, his dad can be heard screaming racist slurs to the black man standing next to him. He's a cancer patient, one month to live, and one of the last things he hears in his life is an alcoholic racist screaming obscenities. Kyle goes up and apologizes to the dying man, who replies "Kid, that your dad? Shit, you got the patience of a damn saint. Listen, this may not mean much comin' from a guy like me, but you don't you dare give up. I see that look in your eye. Killin' yourself ain't gonna solve anything. Keep your head up and live. Do what I can't. There ain't such a thing as failure unless you give up. So go with your gut, kid. Trust your instincts, cuz they're always right. If your instincts tell you to get the fuck out, then do it". One month later, the man died peacefully in his sleep.
From that day on, Kyle lived by those words. Four years later, Kyle gave a final fuck you to his dad in the form of a punch to the gut and a bottle to the head and disappeared, surfacing again in Vietnam a year later.
Chapter 3: Lost
Kyle heard David talking in his memories. It was just a dream about his past. Waking up, he saw David sitting in a corner, mumbling to himself. Kyle couldn't make out much, but what he heard put him on edge. "Fucking impossible... nightmare... how could he... he... no pulse... dead... how did his heart... without a defibrillator...".
"David....? What the hell... What happened? What are ya talkin' about?"
"KYLE! You're.... awake? How?". David was shocked for some reason.
"What the hell are you talkin' about? I just woke up after... I passed out...".
Kyle's head started to hurt. It was a pain he'd never felt before, like his head was going to explode. Visions flowed into his head like a torrent. Things that he'd never seen before. "OH GOD! AHHH!!! IT... HURTS SO BAD... WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING... WHAT IS THIS SHIT... DAVID..." Kyle was interrupted by bloody vomiting. He collapsed to his knees in incredible pain. He started to cry. "D-d-david... help me... HELP ME!!!"
"It's OK bro. The pain'll pass. I know what's going on. I'm... Just not sure if you wanna know..."
"Just... tell me..."
"Kyle... you didn't pass out. When I was carrying you here, you... umm... you bled out. You DIED Kyle. Your heart stopped. For five fucking minutes. When I put you in that bed, you started breathing again.".
Kyle stood there for a second, his heart skipping a beat. "Wha-? You're joking.... you've gotta be kidding me... I lose my arm in a bombing raid, bleed to death and come back. Now I'm seeing these... visions or whatever you wanna call it".
Kyle started to see another vision, as clear as day. A man, standing next to what looked like a bomb. "David... I'm seeing something... this guy. He's standing next to some kinda bomb".
"Weird... Who?"
"I dunno. He's... blind in one eye, a scar over it, the other one's green. He's about six feet tall, got black hair, missing two fingers. He's wearing... an American uniform. Colonel rank. And he's got a tatoo. A black dog"
"Can't be... Kyle... what I'm about to tell you is classified information, so don't go tellin' people. That guy's Col. Richard Jackson. About three years ago, he lost his mind and was about to be discharged and put in a nuthouse. But he disappeared. Kept sayin' shit about dead people coming back to life and all that. He mentioned this guy, Dante Reid. British guy, nicknamed the Black Dog. Used to be friends, apparently. But Jackson lost it and they had a falling out. Apparently, Jackson wanted Reid's help to steal this experimental... nuke..."
Kyle and David looked at each other in shock. Kyle was somehow seeing Richard Jackson. He stole the nuke. And he was right. Dead people DID come back to life. "Shit... I dunno what's going on. How you came back, how you're seeing this shit, or anything like that. But if we're right, Jackson's planning to use that thing. It's a longshot, but that vision you had might be real. Not like we can ignore it".
"Yeah. I don't know if any of this is real. But when I was a kid, this guy told me once that I need to go with my instincts and trust nothin' else, and my instincts are tellin' me to find this guy and stop whatever he's doing. But first... where the hell are we, and how do we get out of her- SHIT! SNIIIPEEEERR!!!!".
CHAPTER 4: Monster
The only sound heard was a single gunshot. David cowered in fear in the corner of the building. "I'm gonna be OK...I'm gonna be OK...I'm gonna be OK...", he told himself. He heard another gunshot. Then screaming. But it wasn't Kyle who was screaming.
The door was kicked open to reveal Kyle, holding the half-dead sniper by the throat. David was speechless. The sniper was half a mile away and it had only been 30 seconds since the first shot was fired. Kyle threw the sniper to the floor and pinned him down with scalpels to the hands.
David started to speak, but Kyle started interrogating the sniper. Apparently he was fluent in Vietnamese.
"Ok. First question: Where are we?"
"FUCK YOU, AMERICAN"
Kyle punched straight through the concrete wall next to him, shocking the sniper and David.
"Now you know I don't fuck around. Your hands are pinned to the floor with scalpels, and I apparently can punch through 2 inches of concrete. So tell me."
"O-ok... I was attacked by you Americans three days ago, 100 miles south of Denang. A bombing raid. I saw your friend carrying you, so I followed you. We are 300 miles southeast of Denang. But you'll never escape. There are more snipers than me. All over".
Kyle started to speak, but the sniper finally tore the scalpel out of the ground and out of his hand. "You won't be asking me any more questions, American scum". The sniper took the scalpel and stabbed Kyle in the throat before he could defend himself. Kyle looked him in the eye with a vicious look. His voice was sickening. Gravely, with a wet sound. "Heh. That all ya got?"
"M-M-M-MONSTER!!! ST-STAY AWAY FROM M-".
All that was heard was a crunchy splatter. David looked up and saw that the sniper's head was in pieces, crushed on a wall. Kyle's wound was gone. His voice was normal again. "You OK David?"
"Kyle... what the hell are you? You moved half a mile, grabbed that guy, and came back with him in less than 30 seconds. Then you punched straight through 2 inches of concrete. You... aren't human. I thought you just turned psychic or something, but those abilities... they're beyond anything a human could do".
"I guess so. But since I'm not human... what am I?", Kyle said, looking at the stump that used to be his arm. "Dave. Give me your gun."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it"
David handed his pistol to Kyle. "Here. Don't call me Dave".
Kyle looked out the window and took careful aim. He fired three shots. In the distance, David saw three Vietcong snipers fall out of trees.
"Huh... I guess I'm not human after all...". As those words came out of his mouth, he started to cry. "David. What the hell am I?"
"Sorry bro... but I have no fucking idea"
Chapter 5: Cursed
"Shit David. Can't believe we've been wandering around for two weeks and haven't found anything. Not even any Vietcong soldiers."
"Yeah. I heard a story once from one of our translators. He said that the Vietnamese believe this whole area is cursed. According to him, a kid got lost here about 30 years ago. His parents went in to find him. A week later they came back. They did find him... what was left of him anyway. When they were asked what happened, they just said that it was a monster. They said that no animal killed him, it was some sort of humanoid demon. Since then, people have gone in to find the thing and nobody's ever come back alive."
"Creepy. So these people actually believe that it's here, and everyone's too scared to come into this area? Even the Americans?"
"Yep."
"So... tell me again why we haven't called for help yet."
"Because we have no idea where we are, haven't had human contact since you killed that sniper, and the radio's broken. Dipshit."
"Fuck you."
SPLAT.
"Kyle. Uhh... buddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Did I just step in cherry cobbler?"
"No. That's a dead... guy..."
"OH GOD! I STEPPED IN A DEAD GUY. DEAR GOD, HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE. KYLE, HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE HIS BRAIN IS STUCK TO MY SHOE"
"Heh. It's just a dead guy's brain. We all have brains, don't be a pussy."
Scraping the brain off his shoe, David vomited. As he looked up, he saw another pile of what used to be a human. "Kyle. Look. More."
Dozens of the piles of meat that used to be called humans were scattered across a clearing. "David. Is it wrong that this is making me hungry?"
"Yes. Very."
As they wandered into the clearing, the two started hearing strange noises. Growling. Crunching. Splattering. "We'd better get the hell out of here Kyle. Seriously... this is fucking creepy..."
"Yeah... let's go. Whatever's going on here, I don't wanna be any part of it."
The two started walking away but something jumped down, blocking their path. It looked human. It had huge fangs where its teeth should be, and had long, bony claws instead of fingers. But what truly made it inhuman were its eyes. The eyes of a beast. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT. LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!"
"YEAH, I SECOND THAT ONE DAVE"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING CALL ME DAVE"
"SHIT! LOOK OUT!"
The creature jumped at David, mouth wide open. He jumped out of the way just in time, but the claws of the creature sliced his chest. He pulled his gun and shot it. It reeled from the blast to the chest, but instantly recovered and hungrily stared at him. Just as it was about to attack again, it's head popped wide open and the creature fell to the ground, dead.
Chapter 6: Hades
"You gotta aim for the head, kid". A man walked out of the bushes holding a pistol. "Dante Reid, pleased to meet you two". The Englishman looked over at the shocked Kyle, who was just staring into blank space. "Goddammit. When someone introduces themselves, you have to introduce yourself too. It's called courtesy".
"Sorry English, but he hasn't... fuck, who am I kidding... Neither of us have been right in the head for awhile..."
Kyle came to his senses and stared at the corpse of the creature. "What the hell was that thing?"
"I'll tell you when we get to a safer place. Looks like your friend here got nailed pretty hard by that thing."
Back in a hut about 10 miles east of that creature's feeding grounds, David was lying on the bed, his chest bandaged, full of morphine. After an awkward silence, Kyle started talking. "So, uhh... Dante, right? Time for some answers. You knew Richard Jackson, right?"
"Rich... yeah. Been looking for 'im for awhile. He's planning to-"
"Yeah. Use a nuke for something."
"How the fuck did you know?"
"I had some kinda vision."
"Vision? Wait... Kyle, right? Were you exposed to a weapon called Agent Orange at any time?"
"No, I don't think so. Wait... Operation Ranch Hand, right? About a year ago, I was stranded in the middle of the country. Had to eat some of the food in a small town down south. People kept dying, but I didn't think... what the hell..."
"So you were... well, since you're hunting down Rich, I doubt that you care if this is classified info or not. Agent Orange isn't what you think it is. It's not biological. It's a nanovirus. The chemical weapon of the future."
"What's a nanovirus?"
"A virus made with nanomachi-.... Fuck, you won't understand. Basically, it's like this. It's a man-made flu. Get it? That thing that sliced your friend is a victim of it. It acts on the DNA of a human. Usually, they die or just get fucked up, but it has a certain effect. Something that the American military has been using this virus to test. The HADES effect. It changes people. Into monsters. Gives 'em power beyond comprehension. Speed, strength, etc. These people are called Prometheus. And you're one of 'em."
"You're saying... that I'm infected with a man-made virus, and that the entire Vietnam War..."
Dante looked down and lit up a cigarette. "Yeah. A cover up. This whole thing's just a sick experiment to them."
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!! ALL THIS TIME... ALL THESE PEOPLE... ARE DYING...BECAUSE THE US WANTS TO BE MORE POWERFUL?!?!?" Kyle screamed, flipping the table over. He pulled David's gun and pointed it at Dante. "A-and how the hell do you know all this? You're in on it, aren't you? I GET IT. YOU'RE IN LEAGUE WITH JACKSON. YOU WANT TO GET REVENGE ON THE US FOR ALL THIS, SO YOU WANNA NUKE THE COUNTRY, IS THAT IT? FUCKING ANSWER ME!!!"
"Nope. I know all this because I'm just like you. I'm a Prometheus, just like you."
"Dante... Just... just one question... I'm infected with this virus... a-am I gonna turn into... something like that thing?"
Still smoking his cigarette, a somber Dante looked at the sweating Kyle.
"Yes... I'm gonna suffer the same fate. Not necessarily physical mutations, but your mind... OUR minds are gonna go, sometime or another. Hey. What do you think you're doing? Kyle? KYLE!"
David opened his eyes. He saw a gun in someone's hand. It raised up, slowly. His best friend was shaking and crying. A gun to his head. With his own hand. Kyle remembered the words that the dying man in the hospital told him so many years ago. All that could be heard was a single gunshot.
Here we go. the continuation of the original short story I wrote. This is completely original now, no more copypasta from my hard drive. Enjoy the rest.
Chapter 7: English
1959, Sussex, England. A 20 year old dirty blond man is kneeling in front of the Queen herself. He is being knighted for saving his squad from certain death in a secret operation in Korea. He's got bandages on his chest from three bullets that penetrated his right lung. He walks out of the palace as Sir Dante Reid, captain of the SAS. Six years later he and the rest of the SAS are in a helicopter in Vietnam, ready to test the effects of an herbicidal virus called HADES, or Agent Orange to the public. A Vietcong soldier fires an RPG at the helicopter, taking it down. The only one who walks out of those hellish flames is Dante Reid. The next year, he escapes from a POW camp using a stolen M1911AI, taken from a dead American. He is shot in the head on the way out, but survives, prying the bullet out of his skull with a pair of pliers. This incident is witnessed by Col. Richard Jackson, who calls him the Black Dog, after a ghostly apparition said to exist in England. Dante and Jackson form a short lived friendship. Jackson pulls a gun on an American child, ranting about how he will come back to life. Dante throws him to the ground and medics strap him into a straitjacket. Three days later, Jackson disappears. Dante is interrogated. He says that Jackson asked him to help steal an experimental nuclear bomb to end the war and get some sort of revenge. Dante is sentenced to execution. The next day, he fights his way out and goes missing. He meets two men three years later, Kyle Flynn and David Crane. Kyle shoots himself after learning the truth about HADES. All that's heard is a single gunshot.
Chapter 8: Undead
1970, Southern Vietnam. Three men were sitting at a bar. One was missing an arm and had bandages across his forehead, like a headband. "What happened to you? Are you alright"? A curious bartender couldn't stop staring at the man with the hole in his head.
"I'm fine. Just a little scratch, that's all. Kyle Flynn, photographer". Kyle shook the man's hand and took a picture out. "I'm lookin' for this guy. Name's Richard Jackson. Used to be a Colonel in the US Army, but went missing after he lost his mind. You seen him"?
The bartender looked intently at the photograph. "Hmm... Actually, yes. I have seen him. About... two months ago, he came to this bar. Real suspicious. He kept look9ing back and forth, like he was afraid of something. Another man came to see him. He had this briefcase with him, and gave it to the man named Jackson. Then they both left, without ordering a damn thing".
"Thanks. Any idea where Jackson went"?
"Not really. He did mention something about the Mekong Delta. It's about 300 miles south of here. See? You're in Saigon right now. Go south and stop... right here". The bartender marked the Mekong Delta on a map with a knife and gave it to Kyle.
"Thanks buddy. We owe ya. Hey, guys. Dante, David. Let's go". The two were blind drunk. "DRUNKEN ASSHOLES"!
"Yeah? Wait... K...Kyle? Is there two o ya"? The two drunken assholes turned their heads weakly, seeing triple.
"We're leaving. Mekong Delta".
"Alright. I-I ummm.... think we better find a... a... goddammit, what's the word...", Said the drunk Dante.
"Uh... Car? Is't a car? It's a MOTHER...FUCKIN CAR! HAHAHAHA!!! I's sooo smart". David was barely conscious.
Kyle didn't know, but what he was doing will be called facepalm.jpg 40 years later. "Jesus... Yes. It's called a car. Are you two like... three years old? Let's go". He dragged the two away. The bartender yelled.
"Wait! You guys need a car? Here". He said as he threw a car key to Kyle.
"Huh? Why are you giving me a car key"?
"Take mine. It's a piece of shit, but it should work. There's some gas in the back, too, so you should be able to get all the way down to Mekong".
"Why are you being so nice"?
"That American never ordered a drink".
Chapter 9: Robot Revolution
1969, 300 miles southeast of Denang, in a wet, rainy hut.
"Yes... I'm gonna suffer the same fate. Not necessarily physical mutations, but your mind... OUR minds are gonna go, sometime or another. Hey. What do you think you're doing? Kyle? KYLE"!!!
David opened his eyes. He saw a gun in someone's hand. It raised up, slowly. His best friend was shaking and crying. A gun to his head. With his own hand. Kyle remembered the words that the dying man in the hospital told him so many years ago. "There ain't such a thing as failure unless you give up". All that could be heard was a single gunshot.
Kyle fell to the floor with a loud thud. His blood and brain matter was splattered on the wall. David nearly collapsed from pain as he stumbled toward the corpse of his friend. "SHIT! English, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM"?!?!?
"I didn't do shit. I just told 'im the truth". Dante was surprisingly calm for a man who just saw someone shoot himself.
David was sweating. The morphine wasn't enough to keep him from going into shock. He collapsed onto his knees, crying. He quickly got up, grabbing Dante by the shirt. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! YOU WERE RIGHT FUCKING THERE! YOU COULDA STOPPED HIM! GRAB HIS ARM OR SOMETHING! BUT NO, YOU JUST STOOD THERE"! He collapsed again, but not before punching Dante in the face.
"He needs to see for himself what he's become", the Englishman said, counting on his fingers.
David heard breathing. Kyle was sitting on the floor, fully conscious. "What the fuck... I'm... ALIVE?!? HOW?!? I-I-I-I DIED. I shot myself in the head... but... how...". Kyle looked at the gun, and then the wall. He saw his own blood and brains splattered on the wall. He puked from shock.
"Kyle, lemme explain. We can't die from a simple gunshot to the head. The Prometheus have the ability to revive themselves after something that would kill a human, willing or not. You came back, whether you wanted to or not. It's completely involuntary, like a sneeze. We can take roughly ten times more damage than a human. Of course, we'll die if our head's removed, but that's tough...". Dante pointed at the skull fragments on the wall.
Kyle looked over, picking up a piece of his own skull. He started to sweat. "This... it's not bone... It's... steel"?
"Exactly. Upon death, an infected human is decomposed by the virus. It's metal. It consumes your natural cells and replaces them. These metal cells are machines called nanocells. They replicate every single cell with 100% accuracy, from the smallest cell in your brain, to every sperm cell you have in your sack. You're far from a robot or anything like that, but you're a non-organic being".
"I'm a machine"? Kyle was stunned, as anyone would be.
"Yep. A fully functional artificial human. THAT, my photojournalist friend, is the HADES effect. There's something I probably should've mentioned BEFORE you shot yourself... Ya know how I said that you'd lose your mind? Jackson found a cure for that. More like a treatment. These shots. Shoot 'em into your neck and your brain stops degenerating. I dunno if it just delays the effects or takes care of them completely, but he's got it, nonetheless. And with our powers combined, we can take him down and save ourselves".
Kyle stood up with a twisted smile on his face. "Then... What the hell are we waiting for? Let's kill this little fuck"!
Chapter 10: Jack the Ripper
"Hey, Dante". Kyle sat in the back of the bartender's car, smoking a cigarette.
"Yeah"? Dante sat in the passenger seat, polishing his gun, as David drove the piece of shit car.
"I've been thinking... Jackson has this nuke, what do you think he's planning to do with it? I mean, there's gotta be some big plan he's got. He wouldn't go so far out of his way to steal it from a hardened military lab just to have it around. Besides, how'd he even know it existed in the first place? He was only Colonel class. Somebody must've told him, right"?
"Maybe this is bigger than Jackson". David stopped the car to take a piss. "Kyle, you said that someone must a told him, so someone who's got clearance for that kinda classified intelligence might be helping him. I've also been wondering about this nuke itself. It's not a normal nuke, so what's so special about it? I don't think it's just power. There's gotta be somethin' else...", he said as he started driving.
Dante suddenly stopped polishing his gun. "Stop the car".
"Huh"?
"Stop. STOP THE FUCKING CAR!!! NOW"!!!. Dante was in a panic. The car screeched to a stop.
"The fuck's wrong with y-". Kyle was interrupted by his heart skipping a beat. He couldn't speak. David looked up the street and saw what looked like a man standing in the middle of the road. Dante jumped out, pistol drawn, and started shooting, running at the man. Kyle did the same.
"DAVID! STAY IN THE CAR! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T MOVE FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT"! Kyle screamed in a panic, the sound of gunshots echoing through the air, nearly blocking his voice.
Dante was less than ten feet away from the man when he was thrown back onto the hood of the car by some sort of invisible force. David blinked. Less than a second. The man was standing in front of him. "'ello govn'a. Name's Jack Ingalls. I'll be the one send'n ya ta hell today".
The man, Jack Ingalls, was an infamous murderer from England. The cockney London man was nicknamed "Jack the Ripper" for his brutal killings. He drew a meat cleaver, and before Dante could dodge, he was cut open, guts strewn about on the hood of the car.
"DAAAAAAAANNNNNTTEEEEEEEEE"!!!! Kyle ran towards him, putting three bullets in Jack's neck.
"Ya gotta do betta than that, boy", Jack said, completely unfazed. He hit Kyle straight in the chest with the handle of his cleaver, knocking him through a nearby tree.
David ran. Piss dripped down his pants. Kyle and Dante were both getting slaughtered by this man. David stood no chance. He looked back and saw Dante, fully recovered, shooting at the killer, dodging his cuts with inhuman speed.
"Just FUCKIN' DIE ALREADY YOU DICK"!. Jack was getting angrier by the second as Dante taunted him. "YER ORGANS ARE HANGIN OUT OF YA, JUS' GIVE UP AND I' MAKE IT QUICK"!
"No thanks, ya cockney fuck, I'd rather not die, thank you very much".
"JUST... DIIIIIIIEEEE"!!!!!! Ingalls went in to cut his head off, but was interrupted by a sudden pain in his hand, and a gunshot. He looked down. His hand was gone. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! Who... Who the fuck...". Kyle stood there, his gun smoking from the blast.
"Dante's right. We don't have time to die". Jack was holding the stump that used to be his hand. "You see, Mr. Cockney, we're in a war. I've had to defend myself against the Vietcong for four years. So has he", Kyle said, pointing at David, who was holding a shotgun.
"Yeah. I'm a former Army Ranger. I may not be so tough like you guys, but I can sure as hell fight if I get the balls". He was shaking, the stain on his pants obviously showing his fear. "So... how about you go ahead and die for us".
Just as Ingalls took his cleaver in his left hand and attacked, David shot him in the chest, leaving a grapefruit sized hole in him. As he fell to the ground, gushing blood, he threw his cleaver right into David's throat.
"You son of a bitch... Shotguns aren't fucking fair against a guy wit a cleaver". He hit the ground hard. "Heh... ya little fucks may've beaten me, but here's a final warnin': ya won't survive. This's bigger than you, me, even Richard... I'll... be watchin' from hell. Put on a good show fo' me".
Chapter 11: Heavy Rain
David tore the cleaver out of his neck. He couldn't speak. He was bleeding to death. As his vision went dark, he started to cry. He hit the ground. Fumbled for his wallet. Took out a picture. He had to see his girlfriend one last time. But before he could see her, his vision went completely black. His arm fell to the ground. And then, nothing.
Kyle took the picture out of his friend's hand and looked at it. In the picture, he was happy. Kyle had never seen him smile like that. And then he understood. This picture, with David holding a girl in his arms, was the last time he was truly alive. Although his heart stopped only seconds before, David was dead long before. Kyle looked up at the now rainy sky. His tears mixed with the rain. He saw a helicopter fly overhead.
"Kyle... you gonna be alright"?
"He didn't even get to see her in a goddamn picture".
Chapter 12: Davy Crockett
The M-28/M-29 "Davy Crockett" tactical recoilless nuclear rifle was developed in the 1950's in the beginning of the Cold War. It was never deployed in actual combat due to severe issues found with the weapon's range and accuracy. It was created to take down large amounts of enemy soldiers using the smallest nuclear warhead ever built, attached to a rocket launcher similar to an RPG. It fired the M-388 sub-kiloton fission device, the effects of the blast equivalent to 20 tons of TNT exploding within a one mile radius.
Unknown to but the highest echelons of the American military, a smaller variant of the Davy Crockett was in fact created. More accurate with a range of up to 3 miles, it was an extremely destructive weapon. Only 10 were created, and it was used only once in a covert operation in the Korean war. Although the M-100 round fired from it was much smaller than the M-388 round developed, it was extremely powerful, the equivalent of launching 10 metric tons of TNT out of an RPG launcher. After seeing the devastating effects of the launcher, it was cleared for mass production by the President himself.
In 1966, one man named Richard Jackson, stole this compact Davy Crockett along with a highly experimental nuclear bomb, nicknamed "Pandora's Box".
Jackson disappeared in the uncharted forests of southern Vietnam. He surfaced again in 1969. Multiple operations were conducted in order to capture or kill Jackson, but only one man came back alive. The man died of unknown causes shortly after. The CIA was able to obtain information from him 14 hours before his death. Richard Jackson was leading a group of Vietcong defectors turned revolutionaries, along with two infamous killers, Jack "The Ripper" Ingalls, and Chinese-Korean terrorist Lao Xing Pak. They were in possession of the Pandora's Box and the experimental Davy Crockett. Their plans were unknown.
Chapter 13: The Doom Train
1970, the Mekong Delta. The riverbank was completely silent. Kyle had hardly spoken since the death of his best friend one month before. He had dark circles and bags under his eyes. His eyes were like those of a corpse. He took his friend's picture out and looked at it. He felt like crying, but he had no more tears left in him. Dante walked up to him. "Oi. You can't keep this up. He was my friend too, but still, you have got to move on. He's gone, there's nothing you can do about it".
"I know. Not like I can bring him back to life. He wasn't infected, so he's dead for good. Hey. Can you do me a favor"?
"Yeah. What'd ya want me to do"?
"Take this picture... and burn it. I need to let go".
Dante was about to burn the picture he had in his hand, but was interrupted by what seemed to be an earthquake. The two looked around. It wasn't an earthquake. It was a train. Bigger than anything either had seen before. The tracks were 20 yards away, but one of the cars almost clipped them. And then they saw it. Hundreds of Vietnamese mercenaries armed to the teeth with AK-47s, grenades, and RPGs. And standing on the top of the giant train car was none other than Richard Jackson, holding a strange rocket launcher. Before Dante or Kyle could do anything, the train sped away. Kyle was shocked at the sheer size of the train. "Dante. What the fuck is that"?
"No idea. A train, but... that huge car... what the hell... but there's no doubt. That was Richard standing there".
"Did you notice something sticking out the top of that huge car"?
"Yeah. It almost looked like some kinda missile... Wait... it can't be... Kyle! We've got to follow it"!
"How? You saw how fast that thing was. There's no gas left in the truck".
"Then we run. I think I know what's going on now".
"What"?
Dante was sweating. He didn't want to answer Kyle. He didn't want to face what was going on, but he had no choice. "Don't you get it Kyle? That WAS a missile. Jackson took the bomb and turned it into an ICBM! If he launches it, then it's all over".
"What'd you mean by that"?
"All out nuclear war you fucking idiot!!! He's gonna launch it into the US! They'll think that the Vietnamese allies did it, both Russia AND China and nuke all three countries. Then they'll launch back. It'll be the end. We don't have any choice. We have to stop them, even if it means dying in the process".
Chapter 14: The Terminators
The duo ran after the train. They ran for miles until they finally caught up. The train was already at a stop. Dante started to hear branches in the forest crack. Someone was running towards them. "Hello, friends. Welcome to party. You must forgive, as I not so good with English language".
Dante and Kyle both turned around to see an asian man standing behind them with a sword in his right hand, an AK-47 in his left. Dante was the first to open his mouth. "I'm guessing that you're the one they call the Terminator, right"?
"You correct. I am Lao Xing Pak. You kill the Englishman, Jack Ingalls, yes"?
"No. My best friend put a hole in the bastard. He died taking him out". Kyle was already pointing his pistol at Pak, pure hatred in his eyes.
"Yes... that is what I like to see. Man who think he can kill me. But you see, I not alone". Pak put his hands in the air. "COME OUT, MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS"!!!
Multiple shadows appeared, running straight at Kyle and Dante. Kyle recognized the hideous sounds that they made. The mutated humans who fell victim to HADES. "Shit... those things again"?
"Yes, American. They are my friends. And they seem to be hungry...", Pak said with a vicious smile on his face. He put his arm to his side, signaling them to stop.
"Kyle... this isn't good. It looks like this guy can control these things...". Dante drew a shotgun, ready to take them all on.
Pak smiled viciously, and lowered his arm, laughing maniacally. "I think it time for your deaths. I have waited a long time for this. So... GO, MY FRIENDS!!! KILL THEM BOTH!!! AND MAKE IT PAINFUL"!!!
The creatures started running toward them, mouths open. Dante and Kyle ran forward, unloading everything they had. Kyle killed three, and was reloading when an incredible pain shot through his chest. He turned his head to look at his chest. One of the creatures had run him through with its clawed hand. Blood came out of his mouth like a fountain.
"SHIT! KYLE! COME ON, DON'T DIE NOW, WE'VE GOTTA SURVIVE THIS! WE HAVE TO KILL JACKSON AND GET THAT TREATMENT SO WE DON'T LOSE OUR MINDS! YOU CAN'T GIVE UP NOW"! Dante took aim at the creature and nearly pulled the trigger. He felt an impact in his back and almost fell to the ground. Pak was now fighting alongside the creatures. "Son of a bitch...".
Kyle didn't know what to do. He knew that if he didn't do something, he'd die. Then, his mind went blank. Dante and Pak went pale, like they'd seen a ghost.
Kyle had the eyes of a beast. He didn't fall to the ground. He wasn't bleeding anymore. He was ripping the creatures apart with his bare hands. Running and jumping around, tearing them to bits.
Chapter 15: Demon
Before either Dante or Pak could process what was happening, every single one of the creatures was dead. Kyle turned and started walking toward Pak, who started shooting, screaming in fear. Every bullet hit him, but Kyle didn't flinch.
Click. Click. Pak was out of ammo. "SHIT"! Kyle was suddenly in front of him. "S-S-STAY BACK!!! GET AWAY YOU FUCKING MONSTER"!!!, Pak screamed, swinging his sword. Then he felt his hand being crushed by Kyle. His arm snapped, the forearm bone shot through his elbow. He yelled out in pain. He felt a tearing on his left arm, and then heard a snap. Kyle ripped his arm off. Pak was in too much pain to yell. And everything went dark.
Dante watched, pale as a ghost. Kyle snapped Pak's arm backwards, still attached, his hand still gripping the sword, which stuck straight through the back of his head, the tip of the blade pushing his left eyeball out of the socket. There was a ripping noise. Dante vomited. Pak's head was now detached from his body, held by his own sword. The veins and tissue and spine were swinging, blown by the wind. Blood turned the grass red. Kyle opened his mouth and bit straight through Pak's shoulder, tearing his arm off. He swallowed the bloody, bony mess and licked his lips. As a final gesture, he threw the dismembered head onto the ground and crushed it.
Kyle fell to the ground and passed out, waking up a few seconds later, fully conscious. He looked around at the corpse of the man who used to be the Terminator. He stood up and laughed maniacally, tears dripping down his face.
Chapter 16: Apocalypse Please
The taste of blood filled Kyle's mouth. It tasted delicious. He yelled and punched straight through Pak's stomach, tearing out his intestines. He started eating. As he felt the salty taste of human entrails fill his mouth, he heard a gun cock. He looked behind him. Dante was standing there, pointing his shotgun at Kyle's head. "Kyle... I'm so sorry it has to end like this. But you've become one of them". Kyle positioned himself to jump straight at Dante.
"Like hell I'm just gonna let you blow my head off. I didn't want it to end this way either, but I gotta live. Nothing personal, It's just my survival instincts kickin' in".
Just as Dante was about to pull the trigger, someone started clapping. "Good. VERY good. Beautiful scene, isn't it boys? Two friends who used to be allies are now about to kill each other. Dante, you already know who I am, but I should probably introduce myself to you, Kyle Flynn. I am Colonel Richard Jackson".
Jackson was sitting atop the gigantic train car. "Impressive, isn't it?", he said, opening his arms in a proud gesture. "A while ago, me and my boys hijacked an American Navy destroyer. Converted it into what you see here, a fully mobile missile platform. So it's time to carry out my final mission".
"And what exactly would be"?
"Well there's not really any simple answer to that, Mr. Photographer. But here's the gist of it. We're in the middle of not only the Vietnam War, but a Cold War. Nuclear Deterrence is the name of the game. But it's just a theory. Using fear to keep your enemy in check, in order to keep peace. It's a beautiful sentiment, but idealism will only get you so far. The HADES virus was created for the very purpose of deterrence. They wanted to create a perfect soldier using the HADES effect. They wanted to make a person the equivalent of a nuke, in terms of deterrence. That's how you Prometheus were created. Didn't exactly end up with the desired effects though. Those creatures are proof enough of that. Same with you, Flynn. You suddenly have a taste for flesh. That sure as shit isn't what they wanted".
"So what the fuck are ya planning to do with that nuke"?
"I want to save the world. Mankind is fickle. Like I said, idealism will only get you so far. The Deterrence theory will break down sooner or later. And that will be the end. But through chaos, there will be peace. There's a saying in the orient. 'The only ones who truly know peace are the ones who know true suffering'. And they're right. If the politicians are the ones who press that red button, everything goes to hell. But if someone's controlling it, that's a different matter. You got it wrong. I'm not trying to start a nuclear holocaust. Once I launch this nuke, America's gonna retaliate against the ones with nuclear capabilities. Russia and China. In the chaos, the world will be in complete anarchy. And that's where they come in. They'll lead mankind into a new age of peace. So, Mr. Photographer, take a picture. Take a picture of the weapon that will save the world. START THE LAUNCH SEQUENCE"!
Dante dropped his gun and punched the ground in hopeless anger. "We're too late... huh? Kyle, what the hell are you doing"?
Kyle was climbing up the ladder on the side of the missile platform. "WE AREN'T TOO LATE! UNTIL HE LAUNCHES THE NUKE, IT'S NOT OVER"!
"Heh. Might as well try, I guess".
Chapter 17: 60 Seconds to Midnight
"Huh... You're trying to stop me? Can't you hear it over the PA? The countdown's already started".
Kyle finally got to the top. "Sure. But there's 60 seconds left. Plenty of time".
"NO YOU FUCKING DON'T YOU SON OF A BITCH"!!! Jackson drew a machine gun and started firing, Kyle dodging every shot.
"Stop dodging, dammit"!
"No".
Dante was climbing up the ladder when the Vietnamese mercenaries noticed him and started firing. Just as he got up, a sniper fired and hit him in the leg. Another shot. Missed, hit the other leg. Dante drew his pistol and fired, killing him. He couldn't do a thing. His legs were heavily injured. He couldn't walk. He only watched helplessly as the countdown hit 30 seconds.
30 seconds to the end of the world. Kyle started to panic. He only had 30 more seconds until the missile launched. He started to black out again. Barely holding onto what was left of his mind, he went in for a final strike to Jackson.
Jackson raised his gun and pulled the trigger, firing his last shot straight through Kyle's chest, as Kyle threw a punch. Before he knew it, his arm was straight through Jackson's chest. He pulled his arm out, Jackson's ribcage shredding his arm.
The entire train started to shake. The countdown was over. The missile was firing. As Kyle watched in horror, the Vietnamese mercenaries surrounded him. It was all over.
Chapter 18: Hero
Dante struggled to stand up. His injuries were healing, but not fast enough. In a last ditch effort to save his friend, he pulled his gun and started shooting the soldiers surrounding Kyle. After three shots, he ran out of ammo. He looked at the missile and noticed something strange about the warhead. That's when he realized. As David said almost a year ago, there had to be something special about the Pandora's Box. There was. It was a specialized cluster nuke.
Kyle had an idea. He ran up and snapped a soldier's neck, grabbing the RPG out of his hands. Charging through the soldiers, he took aim and fired the RPG. It flew through the air and grazed the fuel tank, but it did nothing.
The nuke was about to be airborne but it became caught in an i-beam that came loose when the train shook.
"You son of a bitch...". Kyle looked behind him and saw Jackson, barely conscious, holding a strange looking RPG. "You know what this is? It's a compact Davy Crockett recoilless nuclear rifle. When the Pandora's Box goes airborne, I'm gonna fire this thing. It's gonna kill every one of us".
Kyle knew he was going to die. So he thought he might as well save the world in the process. He ran over to Dante. "Heh... Guess this is it for us, huh"?
"No. This is it for me. Not you".
"What are you saying..."
"I'm saying, you're gonna live. I'm barely holding on to my mind. If we both survived, you'd have to kill me, or I'd rip you to bits. So this is goodbye, Dante".
"Wha-" Dante grunted in pain as Kyle kicked him off the edge of the missile pad, falling 200 feet to the ground.
"How valiant of you. Saving your friend while you go off to hell. Won't matter anyway, you'll both die in the blast... wait. H-H-HOW'D YOU GET THAT"?!? Kyle was holding a small box of syringes the size of a cigarette case in his hand. It was the treatment for mental degeneration of the Prometheus.
"HEY DANTE! CATCH"! Kyle threw the case to Dante, who started running as far as he could from the blast. He caught the case. He knew his friend was going to die, and he wanted to save him. After waving goodbye, Dante started running as fast as he could, saving himself, for Kyle's dying wish.
Kyle was face to face with the crazed Jackson. It was going to end with one last attack. He charged at Jackson, taking hundreds of bullets fired by Jackson's soldiers. As he was about to bleed out, he tackled Jackson with the last of his strength. Jackson, while falling, pulled the trigger on the Davy Crockett, launching it directly into the Pandora's Box nuke.
It ended with a blinding light. Kyle didn't mind dying.
Dante watched from 30km away as his friend was vaporized in the light of hell itself. Dante saw each cell of the Pandora's Box explode one by one, like a giant firework. And then he turned his back and walked away.
1971, London, England. Dante Reid was back home. Settling into his new, piece of shit flat, he turned on the radio. Creedance Clearwater Revival's song, Fortunate Son was playing. He went outside and looked up to the sky.
Rob Nakahara
0
Dear god, it's tough to believe i wrote this piece of crap. Still decent enough to keep up here, but barely. Guess when you're horribly sick, stuck in your apartment for a week, helping your pregnant wife get through being pregnant, and suffering from severe insomnia, you suck at writing. I wrote better stuff in the fourth grade. Anyway, hope someone liked this, and feel free to insult me for this mess, lol.