Girls' Frontline Fanfiction: Tsar of the Mountain

We Meet Again on Blood Soaked Fields

Eurosky Low-Emission Infectious Disease only requires a relatively short amount of time to begin its infection process. Under acute exposure, the coughing of blood, pain in the head and stomach areas, fatigue, convulsions, and the sensation of one's bones piercing through the skin are all common symptoms that indicate initial infection. Most die from radiation sickness as these symptoms weaken the body. Healthy people, such as soldiers, can survive the initial symptoms and make it to advanced infection stages that include the symptoms of discolored skin, fast visible aging of the skin, difficulty breathing, weak and unstable vital signs, and the hardening of bones through calcification. During the later stages of infection, the mind also begins to slip away until only an aggressive killing impulse remains turning them into mindless ELID Infected. This process normally takes hours or even days to work through, but can be accelerated to mere minutes if under heavy enough radiation doses like those found in Collapse Bombs.

"GAH!" Zeldri fell to the dirt as his legs gave out from another coughing fit. He was gasping for air even though he'd only been walking for what he guessed was five minutes since the last fit. But, he couldn't trust himself with keeping track of time as he'd already caught himself blinking his eyes only to find himself further than he was before as if he'd walked a great distance in a mere instant. "...Periods of unconsciousness... Unconsciousness... Sixth coughing fit..." He talked to himself by going over his symptoms to get his mind to focus. Staying awake and coherent was key to warding off the mental degradation effects of ELID infection. Although his arms screamed at him for rest, Zeldri forced himself to his feet. "Have to... Have to get to the train!" Begrudgingly, his legs started to walk again as he continued his march. He prayed he was going in the right direction.

"Grr?"

"!!!" Zeldri's soldier training snapped his mind into alert as a gurgling growl came from a trench that was dug to his right. "...!" Drawn by the smell of the blood that stained Zeldri's shirt, and the sound of him desperately gasping for air, an ELID Infected started to pull itself out of the trench. Its eyes were glazed over and green tumors riddled its body as the infected shambled toward Zeldri. "...Damn!" He really wanted to escape, but he knew he couldn't outrun the ELID with his bad leg. Gritting his teeth, Zeldri drew his Makarov and put two bullets through the infected's head. The ELID collapsed to the ground as a lifeless husk.

"Grrr!" Angered growls came from the trench.

"...Exactly what I was afraid of!" The loud gunshots attracted the rest of the infected that were shambling in the trench. Going as fast as his bad leg would allow, Zeldri quickly started hobbling away from the trench. But, even though ELIDs weren't known for their speed they could still catch up to a crippled man without a vehicle. "Блядь (Fuck)!" Zeldri fired behind him at the encroaching horde. Three fell dead, but the rest just walked over the fallen to continue the chase. "Just gotta keep-!" A patch of uneven ground caught Zeldri's bad leg causing him to fall. Adrenaline surged through his body and his brain went into overdrive. His arms and legs were too weak to get up in time. He was down to his last magazine for his gun. "...Блядь..." Anger pulsed through his mind. This was unfair! "...Блядь!" The Makarov clicked and the slide stayed back as the gun went dry. The ELIDs approached the fallen soldier and one knelt down to bite at him. "БЛЯДЬ!" Using his forearm crutch, Zeldri impaled the end of the crutch through the ELID's mouth; piercing its head. The ELID slumped and Zeldri forced the body to fall aside with the crutch. They started grabbing at him and fear caused his heart rate to spike. Was this his end? Torn apart by ELIDs upon a battlefield of betrayal?

"A new possibility?" Zeldri heard a familiar woman's voice over the groans of the ELIDs. Then, a torrent of plasma washed over the ELIDs tearing them apart. Feeling the heat of the plasma rounds flying over him only continued to pump adrenaline through Zeldri's body to the point he didn't even realize when the firing stopped. He only continued to stare up into the gray sky as his heart raced in his chest. Until the one responsible moved over and hovered above him. "Greetings, Commander Zeldri of Griffin."