A lone sergeant wandered through the fight, distant screams and crunches alerting him all around. His name was Ito, he had just made Sergeant. Stepping over a torn up body, he felt as though something was watching him.
The steam pressed in from all sides, hot and wet, curling around Ito's helmet and dripping from his chin as he squinted into the white nothing. The only sounds were the hiss of vents, the soft slap of water under boots, and the too-loud pounding of his own heartbeat.
A shape moved to his left. Ito swung his rifle toward it, finger tight on the trigger.
'Don't—! It's me—!'
The muzzle flash lit the fog for a split second as the soldier fell, chest punched through with hot rounds, blood misting into the steam. Ito's breath caught as he lowered the rifle, eyes wide, the fog swallowing the body almost instantly.
A shriek split the air, high and jagged, followed by a splash - then another, closer, faster. Heavy claws skittered across metal beneath the water.
'Get back—!'
The private's scream was cut short as a dark, spined shape erupted from the fog, jaws clamping around his leg and dragging him screaming into the white. His rifle flared wildly, rounds slicing through the mist - one catching another soldier in the throat. The man collapsed, gurgling, hands clawing at the wound, eyes rolling.
The last they saw of the private was the flicker of his rifle muzzle in the fog as he was dragged further away, screams fading into the hiss of the beasts.
Ito stumbled backward, colliding with another Private, Mura, who was clutching his shotgun with trembling hands. They ducked behind a cluster of jagged rocks jutting from the water, pressing themselves low, barely daring to breathe.
Across the rocks, a soldier's scream cut through the fog - wet, desperate. A Yatzul loomed over him, pinning him down as it tore into his abdomen, the soldier's legs kicking wildly before falling still. The cracking of bone and tearing of flesh was loud in the heavy steam.
Mura clamped a hand over his own mouth, eyes wide, tears leaking down his dirt-streaked face as he tried to stay silent, each ragged breath a betrayal in the thick, oppressive air.
Ito kept his rifle ready, peering through a crack in the rocks, sweat dripping into his eyes. Another shriek echoed nearby, then a splash, then silence. The soldier's legs on the other side of the rocks twitched once before going limp, water rippling outward with a crimson bloom.
Mura's teeth chattered as he whispered, 'We're dead, we're dead—'
Ito pressed a hand to his shoulder, whispering, 'Shut up—listen—'
Something moved in the steam, slow, sniffing, claws dragging through the water, circling the rocks. The Yatzul's crimson skin glowed faintly, it was searching.
Mura's breath caught. A single drop of sweat fell from his chin into the water with a tiny splash.
The Yatzul's head snapped toward them.
Ito didn't have time to lift his rifle before the creature lunged, claws hooking over the rocks, jaws gaping as it crashed down on them, teeth finding flesh.
Mura screamed as he was dragged backward, shotgun going off into the air, the flash lighting the steam for a moment before the fog swallowed it whole.
The last thing Ito saw before he was knocked under the water was Mura's outstretched hand disappearing into the steam, the water around them turning dark with blood.
Ito's eyes snapped open, the sting of steam and blood filling his nose as he gasped, pushing himself upright from the shallow water. His rifle was gone, water rippling with a thin sheen of red as he coughed and looked around, ears ringing.
A hand grabbed his vest, hauling him up.
'Ito! On your feet, sergeant!'
He blinked up, vision clearing just enough to see Horuichi's scarred face, steam curling around him like a phantom's breath. Behind him, the shapes of other soldiers moved cautiously, weapons up, scanning the shifting white nothing.
Horuichi shoved Ito against the blood-stained rock, forcing him to focus. 'You good?'
Ito nodded shakily, dragging in a breath. 'Mura—he—'
'Forget it. Listen.'
Horuichi's hand clapped over Ito's shoulder, grounding him. The squad of ten gathered close, forming a tight perimeter in the swirling fog. The occasional drip of condensation was the only sound, broken by distant, echoing shrieks in the mist.
'Yatzuls are pack hunting,' Horuichi said, low and clear, eyes flicking between the men.
'Sound and movement draw them in. If we keep moving like idiots, we're dead. We need cover and high ground - then we can take them down when they come.'
A soldier behind him - sergeant Hase, clutching a heavy machine gun, swallowed hard. 'If they come, sir.'
'They will,' Horuichi said, scanning the fog. 'They're too dumb to leave prey alone.'
He gestured sharply, and the squad began moving, boots carefully breaking the shallow water with muffled splashes. Weapons swept side to side as they maneuvered through bloodied rocks, corpses and the smell of blood, the fog curling around them in endless, clinging white.
Every now and then, a distant screech tore through the fog, closer each time, followed by splashes and heavy claw drags that made the soldiers tighten their grips on their weapons.
They found it - a cluster of large rocks, forming an uneven circle, allowing for solid protection and a good view of whatever came through the fog. Horuichi motioned them in, silently assigning sectors of fire.
'Set up here. MG on that upper rock, rifles cover the gaps. Quiet until you see them, then light them up.'
Ito took position beside Hase, shakily slotting a fresh magazine into a borrowed rifle. His breath fogged in front of him as he took a slow inhale, eyes darting to the white mist ahead.
The world narrowed to the rasp of boots shifting, the creak of metal, and the slow, steady drip of water. The squad's eyes flicked to every shadow, every swirl of fog that seemed too dense, every splash that might have been a clawed foot.
Then, a low growl echoed, closer than before.
Something moved in the fog - big, heavy, careful.
The men tensed, fingers tightening on triggers, hearts pounding in the silence.
Another growl, then a shriek as a Yatzul charged from the mist, jaws open, steam whipping around its spines.
'NOW!' Horuichi roared.
Muzzle flashes burst in the fog, stuttering light that flickered over the beast's pale scales as rounds tore into its shoulders and chest. Blood sprayed across the steam as it staggered, another Yatzul lunging in from the side.
Hase's machine gun roared, bullets lighting up the fog as the second creature shrieked, stumbling into the water. Bullets kept tearing into it, spines snapping, until it fell still.
Another scream, this one behind them. Ito turned, firing at the shadow lunging toward Private Sudo. The rounds hit, blood spraying as the Yatzul twisted, biting down on Sudo's arm even as it died.
Sudo screamed, pulling back, blood pouring from the shredded limb.
'Pull him back! Reload!' Horuichi shouted, dragging Sudo behind the metal barricade as more shadows moved in the fog.
Ito's breath came hard, the barrel of his rifle steaming as he swapped magazines, eyes scanning for the next shape in the mist.
Chapter 44 - end