N-23: The last days

Chapter 6 - The juggernaut

Following the G.P.S path which Titan has put on the device on his wrist, Mason headed to the point of the disturbance. He had a very wide grin on his face like a kid who had been promised candy. He was so going to enjoy this. Just then, he heard a very loud explosion and he didn’t need his equipment to tell him where it came from. There was smoke rising to the atmosphere some meters from him. He ran, going to the source of the smoke. After some seconds, he found himself near an explosion site, smoke filling the air and almost choking him.

“Looks like we have just hit jackpot” Mason said to Titan, grinning.

where he saw a group of people trying to escape from a horde of ragers. Amongst the ragers was a juggernaut rager, as Mason has named them. It was running at full speed towards the group, shaking the ground heavily as it ran.

“Titan, ready the drones” He had wider grin than before.

“Yes sir”

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The creature let out a guttural roar, a sound that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them. Its mouth was filled with jagged, broken teeth, each one stained with the blood of countless victims. Patches of its flesh were missing, revealing raw, pulsating muscle and sinew beneath. Its breathe came in ragged, rasping gasps, each exhale a cloud of rancid, foul-smelling air.

Jake felt a chill run down his spine as he locked eyes with the monstrosity. This was no ordinary Rager. This was something far more dangerous – a mutation that had taken the worst aspects of the virus and amplified them to nightmarish proportions.

The creature moved with terrifying speed, its massive limbs propelling forward in great, loping strides. It swatted aside other Ragers in its path as if they were mere insects, its strength evident in every bone crushing blow. Jake watched in horror as it picked up a car and hurled it aside with ease, clearing its path.

As it drew closer, Jake could see the details of its horrific visage. Its eyes were sunken deep into its skull, glowing with a sickly yellow light. Veins of dark, pulsating liquid crisscrossed its skin, giving it a mottled, almost necrotic appearance. The smell of rot and decay grew stronger, assaulting Jake’s team senses and making them almost gag.

It let out another earth-shaking roar, revealing the full extent of its maw. Saliva mixed with blood dripped from its jaws, each drop sizzling as it hit the ground. Its hands ended in long, razor-sharp claws, capable of slicing through flesh and bone with ease. It was a walking embodiment of terror, a nightmare brought to life by the twisted virus.

The huge rager lunged at them with a speed that bellied its massive size. The team barely had time to react, ducking under its swinging arm as it crashed into a building behind them, leaving a crater in the concrete.

“What the hell is that?” Alex asked, his voice shaking.

They had more pressing problems. The Ragers that came with the big creature were already circling around them. Plus, the monster was already on its feet.

There was silence for fraction of a second, followed by the sound of a machine charging up. It had a high-pitched hum. A drones flew towards them and shot a blast at the creature. It barely did anything than stop its movement for about two seconds. Jake’s team were still in shock to move. They couldn’t understand what was going on;

Why did the rager stop?

Who was the man who was wearing fancy equipment and was running towards them?

What was that deafening sound?

The group turned, their eyes with a mix of hope and fear.

“And that’s a juggernaut rager” Mason, said smiling.

He moved the gear on his equipment, ready for another blast. The other drone fired sonic blasts at the ragers that were circling them and they fell to the ground. Not dead, but dis-orientated. The connection between the virus and the body’s neurological pathways had been cut off for some time. The juggernaut growled and ran towards them, shaking the ground with every step. Mason focused all his cannons to the juggernaut and shot it, sending it to the ground.

“Okay, that would hold it down for some seconds. We need to move” Mason said. Jake’s team all had eyes on Mason. They hadn’t seen such an efficient tech since the outbreak. Then they looked at Liam with a bombastic eye. Liam was defensive

“I am limited by the gadgets I have to build. Anyone could build that”.

“Move! Now” Jake ordered, trying to lead his team away from the disoriented juggernaut. The hyper-ragers that was once distraught had stood up and now ran towards them. Before they could make a move for it, the juggernaut blew fists into the ground, standing up. The juggernaut-rager was no longer incapacitated. It growled loudly again and started to move, but this time it was slower. The same phenomenon affected the hyper-ragers. It seemed the virus hadn’t fully taken control of the neural pathways of the host.

“They are slower now, we have a chance” Jake said.

He turned to Mason. “Why don’t you focus all your canons on this big guy, while my team handles the smaller ones over there”

Mason didn’t need an invitation twice. That was exactly why he came into the city – to test the extent of his canons.

“Well, do you see me rejecting?” Mason grinned, powering the canon in his hands.

Jake nodded and signaled his team. They took a stance, taking a deep breathe before running towards the hyper-ragers.

“Titan, are you ready?” Mason asked, not much of a question though

“was programmed ready, sir” Titan voiced. The two drones still, facing the juggernaut.