David rose once more from the dirt and dead grass. His body had long become used to this and moved on an almost instinctual level. Phantom pain racked his body. While his body was fully restored, his mind still carried the memories and pain of each death he had suffered.
"Seriously what is wrong with this thing!" David yelled as he furiously shook the hell-gun in his hands. 'There has to be some way to kill those things. There is no way Odessian would call this a trial but give me no way to beat it.'
David had now died over 2000 times over the course of four months in this field of dead grass. Each time being killed in a gruesome manner. From being slowly torn apart - to bleeding out as he was eaten alive - to even being tortured to death. No matter how hard he tried or how many times he tried to adapt his tactics, the three behemoths always seemed to just shrug off his pitiful resistance before then toying with him as they ended his miserable existence.
At one point he had completely stopped trying but all that resulted in was him dying quicker and more painfully at the hands of the lowly possessed humans. 'At least those behemoths have the courtesy to let me fight and kill me quickly once I give up. Those possessed bastards just started torturing me when I didn't fight back.'
With a resigned sigh David once more started the trial as he had done thousands of times before. Each of his movements had become almost robotic. Performing the exact same actions, hundreds of times over and over had turned the beginning of the trial into an easy routine of running, dodging and shooting.
David's hell-gun barrel once more bellowed its wrath into the hoard, slaying some but mainly maiming. For a gun with the power to easily sever limbs, it had an extremely tough time killing the possessed. Multiple max power shots at several different vital areas were needed to fully kill just one possessed. David had learned quickly that it was easier to immobilize or severely hamper their combat effectiveness by removing their limbs.
With an almost bored expression on his face, David waited once more for the first behemoth to emerge from its warp portal. When it finally did, David set about fighting it like it was simply folding laundry or washing dishes rather than fighting for his life. He had fought and killed this abomination far too many times to feel nothing but boredom when facing the beast.
With a look of disgust and repulsion, David ended the once formidable Possessed monstrosity. The beast's blood and fragments of its skull peppered David's armor as a fine red mist of blood, brain matter and bone filled the air. With a resigned sigh David readied himself to face the three abominations that have continuously killed him.
The three aberrations stepped forward from their portals as they had done hundreds of times before. Their grotesque forms no longer bothered David. Before the one with a whip coming out of its neck even got fully out of the portal, six hell-gun shots blasted holes into the base of the whip. It let out a terrifying screech that caused David's ears to start to bleed. It wound up to lash out at David with the whip, only for the sinew and muscle in its neck to rip apart. The whip fell from the abomination's neck as its screech was cut short, turning into a gargle as it choked on its own blood.
Through the gargling and choking, the monster did not fall or die, instead it charged at David in a fury. Its' massive claws swiped down at David only to miss as the bull like abomination crashed into him. David had neutralized the whip causing the ranged abomination to fly into a rage. This interfered with the three's dynamic and caused them to lose their coordination. Using what he had learned from dying so many times to these three, David quickly positioned the armor on his shoulder.
'Ok - step one deal with the arranged attacks complete, now I need to focus on having these two continuously hurt each other while trying to kill me. The spider like bitch makes it really hard through.' David thought to himself as he dodged out of the hit and run attack the spider formed possessed had made.
Pain quickly lanced through his arm as one of the spider-like legs of the second abomination carved a deep gouge into the armor protecting his shoulder. The blow caused David to spin like a top. But he had planned on this and used the momentum to get his hell-gun on target. He pulled the trigger multiple times in rapid succession as he led his fleeing target, causing 'she' to run into his shots.
The smell of burn flesh quickly filled the air. The spider's abdomen had a large fist sized hole blown into its abdomen. The shots had not done enough damage to neutralize or disable the spider like possessed but they had caused it pain. A thick brown viscous liquid flowed out from the deep hole in the abdomen.
The spider-like creature spun and darted back towards David eager to kill him. David used this to his advantage, as he side-stepped the raging third abomination as it lashed out at him once more with its claws. He was able to avoid the claws, but not the blow from the first abomination as he was hurtled off his feet and flung into the dirt a dozen feet from his original position.
David felt the air leave his lungs as he slammed into the dirt. He could tell that at least one of his ribs was broken. He had learned with an unsettling expertise the feeling of his bones breaking and how much suffering his body could endure before dying. With a groan he rose from the dirt. His eyes quickly focused on the approaching monsters.
'I refuse to just keep dying to these f**kers! This is bullshit! I don't understand, how do I beat these three. I would need to put at least 30 shots into just the spider's abdomen, just to bring her down. Don't even get me started on the bull one. That mother f**ker has those stupid bone plates. Why couldn't I have those bone plates? Like seriously - This feels more like endless torture than some trial.'
David had long been vengeful towards these three, every time he faced them, not only did he have to physically fight with them but also fight a mental battle. Any sign of mental weakness, the possessed would exploit. On his 258th attempt against these three he had let his rage overtake him and he became a puppet to the bull-like possessed. It had made him duel the possessed using nothing but his fists. He had watched unable to control his body as he fought. Each blow had caused him pain, but he couldn't even scream out in agony.
As David was thinking about the past, the three possessed were not standing idle. The spider had flanked David and was preparing for a hit and run strike while the bull started another charge. The ranged possessed was still in a frenzy, swinging its claws in a frantic wild fury. David was using his immobility to lure the three into attacking.
The bull came charging at him, it steps making the ground shake as it sent chunks of dirt and mud flying. The spider leapt at him from its flanking position, preparing to skewer David with its reinforced spear-like legs. The ranged possessed in its berserker rage rushed David without a care.
'Just what I needed, good job you pissed off fucker!' David thought to himself as he rolled out of the way of the rampaging possessed. The bull could not stop itself in time and crashed into the berserk possessed, sending it flying in a broken mess. The bull was stunned for a split second, giving David enough time to fire two shots into one of its four eyes, while also slipping around its leg.
The spider had started her attack but had not accounted for the berserk possessed stunning the bull. Her body was rocketing down towards where David and the bull were. She positioned her legs to impale David but instead only struck the bull's leg. David had moved to avoid the spider and the sweep of the bull as it lashed out at him for shooting one of its eyes.
David fired a shot into the spider's abdomen as the bull roared in pain and rage. It dropped both of its fists down on the spider's abdomen. The blow caused the spider body to crash into the dirt and its abdomen to cave in slightly. With another roar of rage, the bull began to pummel the spider into the torn-up dirt. Half running half limping, David moved to create as much distance as he possible could between the two-fighting possessed monstrosities.
Not taking the beating without a fight, the spider began to stab out at the bull with its spear-like legs. The legs pierced through the tough bone like armor covering the upper half of the bull. Glowing red blood poured out from the wounds, casting the two combatants in a weird lighting effect. David kept moving to create distance but would stop and fire a shot into the knee of the bull in sink with the spider's legs piercing its body. He was able to get off five shots before a sickening crunch filled the air.
The bull's fist rose from the caved in remains of the spider's abdomen. From the fist a sickly purple blood dripped. The bull let out a roar of triumph as rose to its full height, before turning to face David.
It lowered itself towards the ground and prepared to charge. Seeing this, David immediately began to fire off shots into its knee. With another roar the bull charged towards David, shaking the ground and sending up clumps of grass and mud.
One shot...Two shots...Three shots, It's still not stopping!!! Four. Five. Six shots. David began to panic as his shots were not causing the bull's leg to give out like he wanted it to. His seventh shot went wide missing the knee and hitting the bull's thigh. The shaking of the ground and rapidly closing opponent made David lose focus and miss two more times.
'Shit! shit! shit! I keep missing! Why won't you fall already! It worked last time!' David screamed in his mind as he prepared to try and dodge.
The bull's charge tore apart the ground next to David as it charged past. David was not saved despite moving out of the bull's path. Its arm came up and snagged on his arm ripping it from his body in a wet tearing sound.
David screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground. Through the agony, he watched as the possessed bull like monstrosity turn to face him once more. Most of the flesh and muscle around its knee was missing but the joint still held firm.
Adrenaline coursed through David's veins as he desperately tried to get the barrel of his hell gun on target. Not waiting for David, the bull once more charged towards him, prepared to trample and crush the stubborn human.
With a crunch and the sound of tearing flesh, the bull's knee finally gave out. David watched in gruesome satisfaction as the sharp edges of bone bit into the few muscles holding it in place. The bull's thigh dropped - pushing the bones of its calf up into its thigh.
The bull let out a cry of pain as its glowing blood flowed from its ruined leg. Unable to walk it began to crawl towards David.
Before David could move, the large muscular deformed hand of the possessed bull creature swiped against the side of David's head.
David watched in slow motion as the visor of his helmet cracked and broke. His helmet was torn from his head in a ruined mess as his body was sent rolling across the torn up dirt.
The pain flooded David's body but he began pulling the trigger of his hell gun as fast as he could.
The bull refused to die without killing David. It reached out and swipped again, carving large gashes across David's body. It grabbed his head and dragged David towards itself.
The force of the possessed's grip was enough to cave in David's eye socket and turn his eye into a oozing jelly slowly seeping from his damaged skull.
With half his vision gone, David no longer knew where he was shooting but he refused to stop.
'I am so close! I can kill this fucker! I'll finally be able to kill all three!' David's thoughts were jubilation and excitement. Over the past few months, his mind had been broken from the pain and death. He no longer saw his body and existance as important. He would gladly die and restart again if it meant he was able to get closer to victory.
David began to cough violently. He was starting to choke on his blood and teeth.
The bull's movements had slowed significantly, and the extreme pressure David had felt seemed to fade and ease.
'Well, it looks like my nerves and cognitive function are shutting down. Well, I got pretty close; maybe I'll win next time. I can't wait to be able to dance on the corpses of these three.'
With a scream of triumph David rose from the dirt, bloody and missing an arm. His helmet lay ruined a dozen feet from where he was standing. Blood flowed from his broken nose and missing teeth. One of his eyes had been caved in and it's gooey gelatin like substance was slowly oozing from his destroyed eye socket. Next to where he rose from the dirt, the lifeless form of the third abomination lay crumpled in a heap. Multiple holes had been torn through its' body. Some of the holes were large enough that David could have fit his leg through.
David stood alone in a ruined field of dead grass. The corpses of dozens of possessed littered the area. Dirt had been torn away, and large gashes filled the space. In the distance a fog bank had rolled in and was blocking visibility. He began to survey his surroundings in triumph. The bodies of the possessed abominations, that had terrorized him and caused him death thousands of times, lay dead.
David could hear the faint sounds of distant crying and screams. Bloody and battered, David slowly made his way towards the noise. The fog bank got closer and closer as David dragged his wounded body towards the sounds of screams and frantic pleading. In the fog he could make out the figures of humans running for their lives as they were hunted by hideous mutated forms.
With a thud David's body collapsed. His footing had slipped on something in the grass. Looking down his eyes widened in horror. Below him was a small child no older than 6. She had her leg missing and her throat torn out. David must have slipped in the blood that had pooled around her body. A few feet away the body of a man, most likely her father, lay face down in the dirt with his body desperately reaching out towards the little girl. Massive gashes had torn through his skin and muscles exposing bone. Parts of his limbs were missing, and sections of his skin had been peeled from his muscles. His mouth hung open in a scream and his eyes full of panic stared hollow at the corpse of what seemed to have been his daughter.
David rose to his feet, his remaining hand shaking as it clenched his hell-gun with a death grip. His knuckles where white and blood flowed down the grip from the cuts on his hands. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as rage boiled within him.
'This is my first time seeing other people. Real people, not a space marine or my creation, but a real person. But these bastards killed them! I didn't even get to talk to them! I hate them, I want them to die!' David let out a scream of rage as he forced his body towards the fleeing figures in the fog.
******
Within the fog, over a dozen civilians desperately fled from monsters. They were battered and worn. For a week, they had been hunted and killed off one by one. Their small town had been attacked at the beginning of a lightning storm. Their town guards and abled bodied men had held them off for a while but were all killed. Eventually they had to flee from the ruins of the town or be consumed. What had once been over a hundred people fleeing into the woods and grass fields, had now been hunted down and reduced to a meager few.
A mother cried over the ruined remains of her child, as she was brutally torn apart by the possessed creature that had hunted her family. A man desperately fought to hold a possessed at bay while his son ran for his life. As the boy ran, he heard a scream and cry of rage. He turned to see a form rushing towards him through the fog.
The form had an elongated arm and was missing the other. It stumbled and often nearly lost its balance, but it kept rushing towards him. The young boy frantically tried to flee from the being charging towards him. From the side, a force threw him to the ground and pain shot through his tiny form. Blood poured into his eyes, but he was able to glimpse at the same possessed that his father had been fighting off. The possessed was covered in blood and had scraps of his father's body stuck to its limbs. His father's head dangled from a small chain imbedded in the flesh of the possessed.
The possessed began to attack the small boy. The child's flesh tore and bones broke as the possessed set to work killing its prey. Blood began to fill the boy's vision as he stared at the lifeless body of his father. In the distance he could still see the elongated form of the being rushing towards him. The child cried out a plea for his father to save him as his vision began to blur. multiple bright flashes of red filled the boy's eyes, but the darkness was over taking him. His final sight before his vision went black was the elongated figure still rushing towards him.