Not a duel, just a practice scene as well

Forward: This was inspired by Darkstorm Zero's writing, and I highly recommend you check his out here

https://recorporatebattles.forumotion.com/t309-not-a-duel-just-a-practice-scene

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"Shit... c'mon buddy, stay with me." Damian grunted, shouldering Ben who had been thrown back from the explosion. If not for his helmet, he'd be suffering worse than dizzy spells and a bruised head. The SWAT Lieutenant's own wounds, grazes from friendly fire that ultimately took out Captain Cahill as the line fell apart. The rain was coming down hard now, the moans of the living dead filling the stormy air like a ghastly chorus, as he dragged his partner from the scene. They somehow managed to end up getting cut off by the zombies, and heading back to the RPD was no longer an option. "Dammit... c'mon man, snap out of it!" He shook Ben vigorously. It was hard to breathe with the black balaclava around his mouth and nose, but the Lieutenant could see his own breath through the soggy fabric as it continued pissing rain around them.

He tapped his radio. "HQ. HQ. Lieutenant Handy... this is Damian, please respond-oh shit!" He called into the radio, before a pair of shambling zombies pushed a wire fence barricade over beside them! He drew the M9 from his drop leg holster and raised it at the offending zombies. "Fucking, die!" he spat, pulling the trigger several times. His aim was off due to the visibility, cold and injuries, but he managed to dispatch them with one hand, while he continued to drag Ben's semi-conscious form with his other hand. "Dammit... we had working radios... what the hell is going on at the station?!" He spat, avoiding the twitching bodies as they were heading down an alley towards Fox Street... or at least, he thought it was? The town's layout became a mess in the days since the outbreak started, he would be lucky to find his way back to the station. He stopped, realizing if it was Fox... he'd be dragging them into the hot zone again. He looked over to his left. He could see Raven's Gate Bridge, and behind them was the clock tower... near the hospital. "Shit... he could use the meds." He thought, glancing at Ben. Cahill's sacrifice bought them time... but now he was getting dark thoughts... those primal thoughts that skirted the line.

I could... leave Ben... he's not getting better... One train of thought occurred, while the other: No, he's gonna be fine. We need to keep as many allies we can. He's unconscious, you're not a whimp, drag his ass you can do it!

He could hear thunder in the sky, the moaning of zombies didn't let up either, nor did the tapping of rain on roofing and pavement. It reminded him of those tongue fuckers, and the dogs... he got scared. "No... c'mon Sargent, get your ass up..." he grunted, dragging the man as he turned towards the direction of the hospital and clock tower now. With the rain, their SWAT uniforms weighed 110 pounds heavier, or it felt like it anyway. He was low on ammo, freezing to death, and radios out again meant he couldn't get in touch with Ed or the others! Ed... where the hell you go? Jack took you somewhere before we headed out... keep your promise, dammit... don't make her come out into this shit storm looking for us...! Marv... God, I hope you've got everyone out of the RPD, Rita had that plan to use the shafts... maybe she got them out. Heh... thats why we cant raise anyone. Yeah. He tried telling himself. His thoughts then turned to Cat... and he felt a little stronger. "Okay Ben, we're gonn... gonna... gonna take y-you... to hospital, heh. Then... we're g-g-gonna... get ya better. T-t-then, the S-s-stop freezing Handy...! The STARS copter, is... isn't too far from there. In Huntington Acres. We can use it to find... more survivors. Then get the f--fuck out of this fucking town!" He shouted, despite drawing in the zombies. He grabbed Ben's harness, pulled the man against him, and with a few of the zipties linked his unconscious companion to his belt. "Remember what Cahill said buddy? You fall, I fall. So don't fucking fall. Thats... thats a goddamn order!" He grunted, pushing himself to carry Ben with him into the series of alley ways. He knew there were barricades they'd have to cross... thankfully he had some grenades left.

"To think, Jack's explosives would be helpful... who would have thought, huh?" He chuckled, dragging his partner through the alley, while a group of zombies gave slow chase! "Damn, you're fuckin' heavy..." he grunted. "No more doughnuts... shit, you better fuckin'... do this for me, if we switch roles... ya heavy bastard..." He pissed and moaned, his mp5 slung around his shoulder kept bouncing against his leg. He didn't remember how many bullets were in his Beretta suddenly... the slide wasn't locked back, so he still had at least one in the chamber; it felt decent in his grip as well. "Damn it... please, no fucking frogs... centipede things... earwigs... lickers... dogs... just... just a fuckin' walk in the park... all we need now is a giant dinosaur to top it-"

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!"

Damian mistook the roar for thunder at first, as lightning struck. He turned his head, across the Circular River, towards the University... where he saw a giant, red and black... creature with large... bright orange eyes.



"What... the fuck...." Damian simply gasped.

The creature yawned its jaws impossibly wide... bright, infectious red light seemed to glow from its exposed muscle and fleshy neck, the maw becoming an intense inferno! "OH FUCK! C'mon WINTERS! C'MON!!" He began to hobble, running, dragging Ben who was being dragged across the ground as they ducked into an alley, heading as quickly as they could as the air sounded like it was 'popping', the sound of power lines exploding as the energy radiating from the monster's body caused them to sizzle and blow out. "C'mon, C'MON!!" He screamed, the air felt like it was vibrating, the wind and rain for a moment seemed to pause as the air cracked with an intense heat!

Like a search light, Handy saw the red beam sweep across the sky ahead of him, somewhere off behind him, perhaps 100 or so feet up. There was a sizzle, a sharp crack... followed by a thunderous explosion which rocked the Lieutenant off his feet, the zipties snapping as Ben tumbled down a set of stairs to his left, while Handy tumbled down on the other side!

He woke up, maybe a half second later. Water in his eyes, wiping furiously with his cold hands as the air got hot and a wave of energy seemed to flow through the gaps of the buildings- a distant explosion from his left forced him to look... to the red mushroom cloud. "SHIT!" he huddled himself into a tight ball as flaming wreckage of an Umbrella helicopter fell across the buildings, and a large sign- for the St. Michael's Stadium, stabbed into the asphalt ahead of him, nearly hitting the Sargent who lay on his back. "Shit, Ben!" He rushed over to the man, and picked his soaking, heavy ass back up. He turned to the flaming sign, and then the dissipating mushroom cloud that sparked with fire and electricity... then to the demon dinosaur, the Giganotosaurus Gigas... It... seemed to sneer, scales peeling back, showing off its sharp teeth. He felt fear for everyone's lives upon the sight of it smiling... Ed... Cat... please, be out of the damn city... he thought with a shattered mind, as the creature began to make its strides towards the carnage. To it, the stadium was a big doggie dish, with likely the cooked remains of any poor bastard still inside ready to be consumed by the Gigas. "Shit, we ain't stayin', c'mon... we need a fucking tank to take that thing on..." he spat, pulling Ben into another alley, kinda glad his subordinate was unconscious. "Me and my big mouth... that's what you'd say Ben. Heh... same with you Ed. Damn... I hope they got out." He repeated, and thankfully the quaking ground and prior disturbances distracted most of the potential threats... he hoped.

"Japan'll have a heart attack if they saw this... damn it... we need to get the fuck out of here." He groaned, dragging Winters further into the city, the Clock Tower in the distance nagging him... despite how quickly he tried to move them on foot, it never felt like he was getting any closer to it. "...You are Ben... right?" He paused. Glancing down at the man beside him's vest, only to realize... the carnage... the gore... CAHILL on the shoulder. Damian's eyes widened. His vision crawled up to the sunken in face, shrapnel from the grenade exposing bone and sinew as his former captain turned to him with lifeless, white eyes only made visible between the thunder strikes...!

"...BeN." it gurgled, exposing its bloody teeth as it lunged for Damian's neck!