Forsaken 2027 Page 14

  Retracing his step back to the service tunnel, he fired a three-round burst, followed by ten single shots, then another three-round burst. Nearly as quiet as the professional suppressor for the MP5. His inventory-built suppressors only difference, little puffs of fur came out with each round fired.

  All set, let’s go finish the quest Col. Hope gave me. I should get another level or two from this quest, Cain said to himself.

  Chapter 13

  The first Boss

  Dismissing the system prompt, Cain retraced his steps to where he’d first heard the noise. Moving carefully down the tunnel Cain walked for nearly ten minutes before he came to the edge of a well-lit area. The area was more akin to a circular dome, yet underground, lit with several oil lamps around the walls a large cluster of lamps hanging from the ceiling on a chain. Positioning himself, still in the tunnel behind several empty iron ore storage crates, lying prone in the deepest shade, Cain took in the scene before him.

  There were several wooden cots, pushed up close together, around part of one side of the open space. Opposite them were several tumbled piles of fabric and animal pelts. Near the centre of the space, a large campfire with a large cauldron hanging from a tall tripod over the flames. About four or five paces back from the fire were a ring of different style seats, from wooden logs, benches and robust chairs.

  Behind them was a large trestle table where a Ratole cook of some description was making a meal. Cain noticed it was chopping up white roots and sickly yellow mushrooms with a large rusty cleaver. The game tags showed all the Ratoles were all at full health, they were a mixture of level threes and fours. Cain identified the game tag of the Ratole cooking as the cook for Pack 5.

  Cain counted eleven Ratoles game tags, either sleeping, resting or working within the lit area. A scream followed closely by a sobbing sound came from around a corner of another tunnel, opposite Cain’s position. The screaming and sobbing were getting closer to the lit area. Cain could hear a voice screaming out.

  "No, not me, take one woman. NO," then silence as Cain watched through the G3 optics, two Ratoles walked around the corner in the opposite tunnel, dragging the limp form of a partially clad human male towards the table where the Ratole cook was still preparing root vegetables. Zooming in with the G3 optics, Cain noticed the human male was bleeding out from several deep scratches and cuts across his upper chest. His game tag showed he was a trooper, and at level two, from the airfield, he only had a few points of health left, (47/205). As the Ratoles dragged him Cain watched as the man's health dropped by two every few seconds, (45/205).

  The male looked worse for wear; he was dirty having scabbed over identifiable bite marks on several areas of his body. The cook chittered to the two holding the man; they changed direction dragging him towards the fire, his health dropped again, (43/205). The smell, of the smoke or heat from the nearness of the fire or recalling the terror, roused the man.

  Cain watched as the man weakly tried to fight his way free, from the two who dragged him, but to no avail. His health dropped even faster as he struggled, blood flowing more from his chest wound, (37/205). With the Ratole cook being behind the man, they lifted the man off his feet and headed towards the flames. Woken by the lifting the man screamed for all he was worth, then all the Ratoles stopped as a loud chittering came from the opposite tunnel. Distracted by the chittering the two holding the trooper let him sag as he hung listless, his health was now below thirty points, (28/205).

  Cain looked at the opposite tunnel as a procession of six well-armed Ratoles turned the far corner and entered from the tunnel. They marched in in time, weapons slung over shoulders, pelts all brushed and shiny. The six Ratoles were level sevens, with a health of (732/732). They led the way for a huge Ratole, larger than any Cain had previously seen, dressed in high-quality human style clothes, walked into the circle from the tunnel.

  Its game tag identified it as a level 10, the male Boss of Pack 5, with the health of (1438/1438).

  The Boss had two very shapely Ratoles, compared to the others, hanging from its arms. I identified them as level six females, with (543/543) health. They were very feminine and inticing, the level three and four Ratoles males kept looking their way. Cain made a mental list of what weapons each Ratole was carrying. Focusing on the boss, he noticed a large knife more a machete for a human. It also had two ancient cylinder revolvers, fastened at its waist. The six guards had a mixture of visible weapons, one that caught Cain’s eye was the M249 light machine gun.

  Three of the guards held old AK47s and what appeared to be Glocks. While the last of the six wore two bandolas, full of hand grenades of a type Cain recognised. With the Ratoles already in the circular space which seemed not to be armed, Cain knew they would have a mixture of weapons in their inventories. Adding these level sevens and their level 10 boss, Cain had a plan to make to complete the Col’s quest.

  Movement brought Cain's thoughts back to what was happening. Standing in the circular area the Boss Ratole walked over to and standing in front of the trooper. With a single fluid movement and swing the Boss removed the knife and removed the troopers head with the large knife it carried, blood spurted from the troopers neck, his gamer tag showing he died, (0/205). Laughing as it turned to the cook, the Boss chittered at length; while the cook kept nodding.

  The two still holding the body tossed it onto the cook’s table once the blood stopped spurting out. The cook soon went to work, using the trooper’s body as their meal’s meat source. The two who held the trooper dropped pieces of meat, the cook chopped off the trooper, along with the root vegetables into the cauldron.

  They took and placed the troopers legs and arms at the side of the fire. The smell of cooking and burning human flesh pushed Cain to his limits. He wanted revenge for the trooper but had to plan carefully. As Cain planned his actions the Ratoles ate their meal of roots and trooper meat. With the food passed out the Ratole Boss took several bottles of drink out of his inventory, enough for each Ratole. It wasn’t long before each Ratole was showing signs of being drunk. Two of the six bodyguards hadn’t touched the bottles. The Boss called them over and chittered at them.

  "Damn I wish I could work out what they are saying it would make this easier. That high pitched noise goes through me, makes my teeth ache," Cain mumbled. Enoch replied,

  {I have just listened to their chattering. It is an easy language to understand, I will make instant translations for you; listen and I’ll tell you what they are saying.}. Cain listened to the Boss chitter at the two standing Ratoles.

  "Because you two don’t drink or eat human meat, doesn’t mean you can’t partake of the fun. Well, nothing to say for yourselves? You will do your fellow bodyguards and everybody here a favour, go see where the rest of our pack has gotten themselves to. The small group should have finished the starting of the new tunnel. I want us to be the first of the packs to reach that hidden bunker, the one with all that treasure in it. Now go while I have fun with my women," the Boss said.

  The two Ratoles clasped their right arms to their chests and went to get their equipment. One of them picked up the two bandolas of grenades, it also armed itself with an MP7. While the other Ratole armed itself with the M249. Cain watched as it deftly loaded it with a linked ammo belt, running from a plastic box now attached to its belt.

  Boss fight

  While they were arming themselves, their Boss was getting it on with the two females, laying back as the two females worked in front of him. Cain didn’t want to watch, but the grunting coming from where the Boss had sat made him focus on the two who were getting ready for the patrol. Hearing laughter coming from the Boss as one of his females refused the advances of the cook. Kicking him in the balls, depositing the cook on the floor, curled in a fetal pose gasping for breath.

  Feeling sick to his stomach Cain turned his head away from the scene. He noticed the remaining Ratoles were still drinking and eating the deceased trooper while a couple watched the action the Boss was providing while s
wigging from the bottles the Boss provided. Leaving their partying pack members, the two Ratoles went to find the remaining pack members. Without a care in the world, they passed Cain’s position.

  "Our Boss is an idiot. I mean why does he have to take my sister in that fashion? The previous Boss used to copulate in his rooms, not in front of the pack."

  "I know, but don’t forget the other female's brother complained, and the Boss killed him. His pelt adorns the bosses bedroom floor.”

  "If only I could conspire to kill him or leave the pack taking my sister with me, then we could start up a new pack," replied the other Ratole walking up the tunnel.

  Cain slipped out of his hiding place, following ten yards behind the two Ratoles going on patrol. They made so much noise, Cain could have been an elephant, and they wouldn’t have heard him. Seeing the red lights of the service tunnel ahead of the two Ratoles, deciding to act he set the G3 shot selector to one shot. Cain would easily kill the patrol, but they suddenly stopped. One of them complained stating he needed to do its business, it unslung the M249 before squatting in the shadows.

  His intuition stirred, he had the head of the defecating Ratole in his sights, his finger caressed the trigger. Going with his feelings, Cain would spare these two, his finger moved off the trigger. Moving quiet as a mouse, Cain approached the one in the shadow, using the butt of the G3 he smashed the Ratole, hard, just above its left ear. Out like for the count. A game notification tag floated over the collapsed Ratole,

  Stunning Blow: - 50 (682/732).

  Noticing a line under the hit-point bar, Cain realised that it must be how the game accounts for a character being stunned or unconscious. The remaining Ratole stood waiting, looking down the tunnel towards the new mining site, telling the other to hurry. It didn’t get to say it again as Cain repeated the process. The G3 sure makes a good Ratole pacifier, wonder if the rest will keep still while I clobber them. Nice damage and stunning blow too.

  Stunning Blow: - 54 (678/732).

  Dragging both Ratoles together before stripping them of their main weapons, the M249, MP 7 and the grenade bandolas, Cain gagged the unconscious Ratoles with handfuls of Ratole fur. Using the rawhide he made from the Ratole pelt, he fastened their hands and feet together. Cain tied their thumbs together so they could not use the long claws the thumbs had to cut the rawhide.

  With the pair safely bound Cain retraced his path back to the fornicating Ratole boss. Equipping the M249 after placing the MP7 (See table for stats) and MP5 on their slings around his neck. Cain checked the weapon stats and noticed it was reasonably high, M249.

  Wow, with my two boosts of marksman and weapons damage that equals just over, 8–12 per shot under three hundred yards. Cool, if I use this weapon keeping to short bursts, then I would burn through two hundred shots in less than twenty seconds. Good job I emptied the three spare boxes from that Ratole.

  Checking the layout of the Ratoles in the circular room, Cain realised he needed to split the bandolas, one for each side of the space. Creating a small bundle of his own explosives, using six sticks, ten pieces of iron ore and some twine, he felt as prepared as he could be. Most of the Ratoles seemed to be asleep, the Boss and two of his guards huddled near each other sleeping among the cots. They seated the other two guards near the flickering cook fire. He could not see the two females, which worried him a little. Somehow the other Ratoles settled among the piles of rags and pelts. Cain could not see any sign of the cook. He looked through the tags three times, but couldn’t find the cooks gamer tag.

  Ignoring that inconvenience Cain placed the bandolas and his improvised explosives on the top of a storage crate, next to the M249. Using another water flask, Cain rehydrated himself. Counting down from ten in his mind, Cain reached four and lit the fuse on the explosives, then he pulled three pins on each bandola.

  Throwing the dynamite first towards the fire, it was still in the air when one of the bandolas joined it heading towards the piles of rags. The final bandola Cain threw underarm towards the boss. It startled the two guards, as the explosives landed in the fire pit, throwing up a cloud of sparks, some of which landed on their pelts. Before they could even pat the sparks away, the dynamite exploded, riddling them with chunks of iron ore and the cauldron. Cain read the hit tags on the guards.

  Critical Hit: iron ore impacted chest on guard 1, 173 + 12.5% =-195 (537/732).

  Hit: iron ore impacted left leg on guard 1, 79 + 12.5% =- 89 (448/732),

  Hit: iron ore impacted right arm on guard 2, 83 + 12.5% =- 94 (638/732).

  Realising the game tags were a mess Cain asked Enoch to change the way they displayed, showing the damage after it had added the additional boost.

  Critical Hits: iron ore impacted head, - 311, twisted metal imbedded in the neck - 209, on guard 2, (118/732).

  Critical Hit: cauldron fragments hit on guard 1: - 428, (20/732), Scalding Hit: from boiling water to guard 1: - 10 damage per second (10/732),… (0/732).

  Fatal Hit: cauldron fragments hit to guard 2: - 428, (0/732).

  The second bandola Cain threw at the rags and pelts landed almost perfectly, a series of cascading explosions as first the three grenades exploded followed in succession by the other six. There were only fatal tags, no explanation of damage the Ratoles took, just their deaths, twelve tags all showing either (0/218) or (0/278).

  Cain missed seeing the cook’s tag, that appeared as he turned towards the boss. What Cain did not know was beneath the pile of rags and pelts, was a Ratole sized hole in the rocky cavern floor, where the cook had crawled to after being kicked in its balls.

  Critical stunning hit: from explosives, damage of, - 440, (103/543).

  While the other bandola landed on the cot next to the boss. As the bandola landed before the explosions began one guard, who witnessed to other explosions rolled over on top of his boss. Cain first read the damage that the two Ratole bodyguards took from the grenades.

  Critical Hit: from explosives, damage, the - 365, (367/732) Fatal Hit: from explosives, damage of, - 468, (0/732) to bodyguard 1.

  Critical Hit: explosive damage x2 - 702, (30/732) to bodyguard 2.

  With both the bodyguards either dead or unconscious Cain read the damage tags regarding the Boss Ratole as he fastened the M249 onto his battle harness, the plastic box containing the ammo he fastened to his own belt.

  Critical damage: to right leg - 313, (1125/1438) causing partial stunning and confusion, damage to Boss.

  "Oh, fuck. Why did that bodyguard die to protect its Boss? Let’s hope I have enough bullets to finish it," Cain said to nobody as he moved from the storage case towards where the Ratole Boss sat.

  Taking two steps towards the carnage Cain stopped as the Ratole Boss stood shaking, bits of his bodyguard dripping from his body. The Boss let out a loud but muted roar, firing his guards' guns. Cain flung himself sideways.

  Double balls, guess the Boss is no longer stunned. Cain’s previous training stopped him from emptying the M249 there and then. He waited until the Boss stopped roaring. He noticed the boss’s stance was unsteady, due to the large mangled mess of its right leg. It chittered angrily, pointing at Cain. Thanks to Enoch’s translation help, he understood everything the Boss said.

  "Human, you’re dead. We’ll kill you slow and painful, the cook will peel your skin from you like peeling a banana. You humans, with your look at us living above the ground, in your supposed superiority. Once we’ve killed you, then I’ll find the person you love the most. I’ll not kill them but use them as a slave, not feeding them but letting them die from starvation. Maybe I’ll let the cook torture them or cook them alive.”

  Enoch, can I speak back to it? Cain asked.

  {It should be possible, try to keep your words simple though,} Enoch replied. Cain chittered back loud towards the Boss. Stunned, not expecting a human to speak its language the Boss stopped its tirade. Cain repeated his short sentence.

  "You smelly baboon’s arse. Your people are dead or soon will be. I’ll have y
our head mounted for the Colonel, once I’ve killed you and wiped out all your pack."Cain pulled on the trigger, holding it down for a second before releasing and reacquiring the target again. The M249 fired twenty shots, only seventeen hit the Boss. Every shot that hit did the same damage,

  Minor Hit: damage to the lower area of the body, 9x17 = 153 (972/1125).

  The Boss pulled its own pistols as the guard’s gun had jammed, getting two wildly aimed shots off before Cain fired a burst for another second.

  Minor Hit: damage to middle of body, 9x14 = -126, Critical Hit: damage to right arm 2x36 = - 72, Disabling Hit: damage on right arm, plus buff 1x71 = - 71 (703/1125).

  The Boss’ right arm flopped uselessly to his side, the pistol dropping from nerveless fingers to the floor, bouncing twice before coming to a stop halfway between Cain and the Boss. Restricted in fighting back and using its left arm, the Boss fired three quick shots, two going wide, the third nicking Cain on his upper left arm.