Genesis: World Gone Mad

Dead Man Walking Part 2

Even in this world gone mad, the old lessons still guide our current war now more than ever. During the ravages of the New Dark Ages, I trained both my body and mind from leaders of the past. And I think that there is one quote from Sun Tzu that sums up this oncoming battle perfectly.

"You must be swift as the wind, dense as the forest, rapacious as fire and steadfast like the mountain."

The enemies we face tonight are unlike any the world has ever seen. And to combat, I realize now more than ever I need to be a force of nature myself, to let go of everything that held me back finally; because Thomas' pesky emotions will not hold down Tactic's decisions any longer. In 3 teams of 18, we all drove through the ruined streets of Philly, noticing the extent of all the work we've had to do after all this over. From Ellen's research, we think that the House got based in a church on the outskirts of the city, which meant that the next hour was nothing more than tightening suspense and itchy trigger fingers. The entire time my mind went through hundreds of scenarios, mainly of the monsters we would face and how best Victoria's new weapon would work on its trial run. When we were only 5 minutes from our destination at our separate locations, I activated our comms for some final solace.

"Once I give the signal, I want all of us to be tight and attack in unison. Lead in with the flashbangs and knockout gas. Shoot first ask questions later. They may look like people, but they aren't, so treat them accordingly; we have no idea when they-."

At the very instant, the entire truck got completely blindsided, veering out of control in a violent whirlwind that sends us skitting to the side! Even with the seatbelt, my body ends up as nothing more than a ragdoll, bouncing and jeering until the truck thankfully stopped. When I finally awoke, my head rang as a jackhammer hit it, but when my eyes readjusted, I realized that I was far better than my driver. It took a bit to dislodge myself from the seat and the fresh course finally, but once I did, I was greeted with much better. My HUD scanners showed very carefully that I was the only one that was still conscious of the crash. Worse yet, even though the flipped truck, I saw eight enemy heat signatures out of the outside, trying to dent through the steel doors like cheap plastic.

The odds were completely not in my favor, but with no timely back upcoming soon, there truly was only one tactical option: fight back. I wasn't going to let these bastards gain another inch, not when there was still breath in my body. Taking advantage of their self-confidence, I took one of the automatics from my fallen comrades, and when the steel door finally reached its limit, I burst out of them and opened fire! My bullets may be rubber, but I still shot as if they were real, hitting half of my opponents in a surge of surgical strikes! My assault, however, was cut short, as one of the House members amongst my hellfire turned into a bulky light brown sasquatch-looking creature that swung a fist to my side! In a nanosecond of pure calculation, I met the punch head-on with my rifle as the buffer! Still, the punch was so inhumanly strong that my rifle snaps in half as I'm sent flying across the empty parking lot. Hardy kevlar meets cold pavement as I land hard into a controlled roll. Which gave me just enough time to execute a timely yet tight life-saving jump before another Helix came crashing down with arms resembling a closed scissor.

I was about to gain even more distance, but some unseen force had other plans as I get suddenly knocked straight back to my current foe! However, I instantly adapted as I veered away just in time, only to get a knick on my armor before unleashing a torrent of piercing elbows to its head! At the same time, my earlier monster was already making her way towards me at a frightening speed. But I already know what's about to come, throwing my inhuman shield straight away and closing in. By the time the beast swept the helix out of the way, it was already too late. Because in that split second, I unfurled my new weapon: the Agonizer. And it was only in its diest use where I saw it work more beautifully than I ever thought possible. Once it made contact, the long sliver baton had its trident-like tip light up with red electricity. At that moment, the volts ravaged the beast like a viper, lighting up every pain receptor like a firework. At the presence of such power, the beast was nothing more than a victim, unfurling a howl that cut through the night like a hot knife.

After what seemed like an instant eternity, I pushed the beast back, finishing it off with a small series of rubber bullets that sent it down hard. However, before I could see the full extent of my work, a murky enemy blitzed me from the side! The next thing I know, I see the streets blur past me as a younger Helix holds me with a ghostly white tail for legs. In response, I tried firing at his head, but the bullets seemed to only bounce off amid a grey cone that enveloped us. Worse yet, the Helix seemed to only go faster in response, with the wall of a nearby building getting too close for comfort. This meant that once again, I had to take control, noticing my surroundings. I quickly saw an out, aiming my grapple straight at a nearby lamppost. Seconds later, the line goes taut, swinging us in the opposite direction. Using that speed, I struggled like a mad dog until I saw that his right arm had a bruise. All it took was a hard punch to the bruise to not only dislodge me but keep my assailant on a one-way course into the truck!

As I took another hard fall, my oncoming wounds echoed, causing me to huff in fatigue. But that moment of fatigue proved costly as the same unseen force raised me by the neck! The tentacle-shaped pressure behind it almost made me blackout immediately, keyword being almost as I find the strength to attempt a quickdraw. The action proved to be punished, as I'm forced to the cold floor once again. However, the throw did give me the opening I needed to pull out the Agonizer once more! Pragmatically the figure intervened again, taking the baton and swinging it right back at me!

But this was all according to plan because, in that same instance, the agonizer lit up my assailant in a rampage of Crismon volts. And as I had the now visible chameleon-like helix lying motionless on the asphalt, I thank Victoria for adding user recognition. However, that victory seemed to be very short-lived and almost meaningless with the arrival of the main force. It turns out Ellen's research was off by quite a bit, as I came face to face with over a dozen helixes ready to fight. And amid such overwhelming odds, I showed no weakness and fought to the end.

In nauseating nostalgia, I once again had my senses sluggishly return. At that time, I realized that I was still fully armed but still too tired to move as I got dragged to an altar. When we got to said altar, I was placed on my knees with my head down. Along the way, I heard nonchalant chatter.

"Careful master, the man is still armed."

"Do not worry, child, have faith. Lift him," the man said in gentle confidence.

At his behest, I felt a hand pick my head from the back, so I can see a sight that can only come from a world gone mad. The man revealed himself to have slicked-back black hair with growing facial hair and almost shining light grey eyes.

"Aw, so this is the infamous Tactic I've heard so much about. Frankly, I'm not impressed," he said in an elaborate coldness.

"Frankly freak, I can say the same for you. A smart man would've killed me."

"No, a cruel man would. Be thankful I'm not; I'm simply a visionary Tactic, a man who sees the freedom this world brings as Chelsea Danvers intended."

"If you call terrorism and mind control freedom, then you can't be an anymore wrong monster. Your freedom is a plague, your existence is a mistake, and you and the rest of your filthy kind's philosophy is a lie!" I say with wrath.

In anger, the Prophet's face soon turned pink-red as he walked over in calm anger.

"You know nothing, neanderthal. You're nothing but an impure radical. But don't worry, child, I'll save you soon enough."

With Prophet in range, I summoned what power I had left to break through my opponent's grips, having Prophet in a chokehold with a knife to his throat. The House soon reacted, focusing 20 different powers all on my person. In desperate rage-filled haste, Prophet's hands reflexively grabbed my arm, digging into it with his fingers glowing a bright white light.

"Listen here, freaks; we're walking out of here right the hell-"

I never could finish the sentence because my mind suddenly got attacked with a mind-splitting headache! The pain itself was so powerful that I got left a screaming mess on the floor as Prophet recollected himself.

"I almost didn't think that would work, but it seems even fate itself favors the prophet," he said as my entire surroundings faded into white.