Chapter 2: Fatal Error

Taking the fight against the humans to the streets, the Soulless storm the wasteland that is Earth...

Chapter 2: Fatal Error

Three hours earlier...

Five figures slid out of the shadows, charging forward with blinding speed.They charged through the sprawling wreck that had once been a proud city, weaving and ducking as bullets pinged and whizzed all around them, returning fire with the submachine guns and miniguns they carried. As several grenades exploded around them, they leaped up and over, riding the shockwaves up effortlessly and rolled deftly to their feet, in quick succession. 

The Soulless surveyed the wreckage around them. Once prisoners of General Blackdawn, the evil general who had captured Earth, they were now his cruel, heartless soldiers, primed to do his bidding without any questions.

They looked human, but they were cyborgs. The world had seen the development of an exoskeleton for soldiers, the X12-DFNDR. Compact, light and resilient, made of titanium alloy, the suit augmented the wearer’s abilities, as the user wore a wired bodysuit inside so to link the armour completely to the wearer. Blackdawn and his team, however, managed to incorporate the armour into the human body, creating a seamless fusion of flesh and metal, a macabre miracle of bioengineering. The metal endoskeleton gave them superhuman resilience and strength. 

Their minds had been suppressed by a drug called Numb, a cocktail of adrenaline, morphine and artificial hormones, which disrupted the frontal lobes of the brain but ignored the glands and cerebellum, crippling the mind. The adrenaline and hormones stimulated respiration, heightened senses and boosted strength, while the morphine masked pain and caused addiction, preventing Soulless from becoming self-aware. Without Numb, a Soulless would slip into a coma. An advanced neural computer took over a Soulless’s actions, moving limbs with superfast reflexes, in tandem with the metal implants in the body, giving a Soulless incredible speed

The modifications made Soulless superhuman, but simultaneously took away their humanity. After all, everything had a price to pay. 

The biggest, baddest Soulless in the squad walked to the front. He touched his finger to his forehead. “Command, this is Stalker Team Delta. We have reached their defences and await further orders,” it muttered. 

“Attack and breach them. Link up with Stalker Team Bravo after that. Blackdawn out.”

The Soulless turned to its team. A panel on its neck read SVX-47A. He snarled, “Prepare for assault!” Syringes of Numb were proffered among the cyborgs. The other Soulless leered and snarled hideously as they injected themselves, rejuvenated and bloodthirsty.

They moved in, unflinching as the pathetic humans fired in defense of their pathetic lives. Rolling for cover, the Soulless fired steadily. back. The screams of the wounded and dying filled the air, heart-wrenching screams of pain, that caused one's stomach to knot. 

One of the Soulless fired repeatedly, and its foe fell, screaming. It raised its gun high, ready to club the human to death. Suddenly, the Soulless clutched its head, screaming loudly, despite Numb’s pain-masking effects. The Soulless clawed at its head in disbelief, not understanding. The pain had occurred several times now, no matter how many syringes of Numb he took, and it always brought a strange picture to his mind. His head swam painfully as something flashed before his eyes...

He was in a park, watching the sunset, and a beautiful girl threw her arms around him. She smiled, brushing back her dark hair, her green eyes sparkling. He reached out, stroking her face...

Its victim, breathing shallowly, blood pouring out of his mouth, raised a bloodied fist, and something fell from his hand. The object hit the ground, and the Soulless was jolted back to the present. The Soulless realized what it was a second later, but even for its electronic reflexes it was too late. 

The blast ripped through the air, and the gallant soldier smiled grimly as the explosion ripped through his body. The Soulless was thrown backward violently, before crashing to the ground, unmoving. 

Reviews

[Drake]

nice

[Coyote Poetry]

The story is very good. The detail and battle scene was outstanding. I like the flow of the story. Kept my attention to the last word. A excellent story.

Coyote.

[The_Dreamer]

Reminds me of an old movie I recently watched on television...Universal Soldier...
A wonderful story! The writing makes me imagine as clearly as if I was watching the movie itself!

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

I swear. It feels like you wrote this story just for me. I love it man.
It would make a great video game as well as comic and movie. lol.

[Senseless whatever]

Very cool. Intriguing

[WriterSki7]

So far so good. I'm always captivated by a good sci-fi or fantasy story (and thank God there's a few worth reading here on Writerscafe). I like how the Soulless was crippled by past memories. Don't wait too long to write the next chapter*

[A.Lee]

Interesting. I like the way you described the technicalities of the Soulless in the beginning. Although this isn't normally my type of story, it didn't bore me (which is saying something). Well written.