The blood slowly turned the dead grass red as David tightly wrapped the bleeding wounds. Without proper medical supplies, all he could do was use the long and sturdy grass as makeshift gauze. A determined and focused mask covered his face as he worked. Using his knowledge from his previous attempts he knew that he had around 20 - 30 minutes left before a massive horde of hundreds of possessed would converge on the field and eventually exhaust and kill the two of them.
Ephrien stared at his bloody face as he worked to slow the bleeding. Her entire life she had been taught that their lives were for the emperor and that they should give their lives for him. This was the first time she had ever been told that the emperor wanted her to flee and not fight.
"What is your name?"
The question confused her but she answered quickly. "My name is Ephrien. Sister hospitaller novitiate, under the tutelage of sister hospitaller Natisha."
She gritted her teeth as the holy warrior before her began to pack dirt into her wounds to stop the bleeding. She heard him mutter about how it would probably cause infection, but she wouldn't bleed to death as he worked. She was a hospitaller, she didn't understand why he was telling her this, she already knew.
The rough texture of the dead grass grated and stinged as it was tightly wrapped around her wounds. She refused to cry or make a sound. She would not dare to show pain and weakness. A holy warrior had saved her. A holy warrior had stopped her from throwing her life away. A holy warrior had told her that she was an instrument of his divine will. And now a holy warrior was bandaging her. She would not dare interfere, complain or make a sound. It would be a blasphemy if she did.
"We need to move. Can you walk?" the holy warrior asked. Ephrien dared not even ask his name. But he had asked her if she could walk. This was not a question to her this was a holy order. She would rise, she would walk, she would fight.
With gritted teeth and extreme effort, Ephrien rose from the ground. Seeing her struggle to rise David gave her his hand and helped pull her up from the blood-soaked dirt. He wrapped one of his arms under her arm and helped carry some of her weight so she could walk.
Without a word, the two began to make their way through the field. The further they went, the more weight David had to carry so Ephrien could still walk. After about 1000 yards from their starting position David was forced to set Ephrien down. In the distance a possessed twitched and convulsed. Its limbs were bent at odd angles and jagged spikes of bone protruded from the skin in hundreds of places on its body. It looked like a porcupine of jagged bone as it convulsed and spasmed.
David gently helped Ephrien sit in the grass, before he lowered himself onto a knee and shouldered his hell-gun. His breath became slow, hand steady as he aimed for the perfect shot. He timed his shot to fit perfectly with his slowed heartbeat and breathing. His finger gently pressed the trigger.
The Laz-bolt exited the barrel and tore through one of the deformed and crumpled legs of the possessed. The loss of its leg caused it to collapse into the grass. As it fell two more Laz-bolts tore through its body. The shots hit the heart and the head. The possessed head detonated like a grenade. Splattering the grass and dirt with blood, bone and brain matter.
David quietly rose to his feet and scanned their surroundings. His instincts told him there was more than one possessed. His eyes quickly locked onto a trail of rustling and swaying grass. The movement in the grass was headed in a straight line towards him. He shouldered his weapon and fired a shot a foot in front of the deformed grass trail.
The shot connected with something, and blood painted the grass. A roar filled the air as a mutated human/lizard like possessed rose from the grass. It had the head and torso of a human, the arms of a bear and from the waist down it was a massive lizard. Dozens of farming tools were embedded into the body of the mutant. The arms of a man had fused to the monster's back and were holding the head of a wolf.
The beast rose from the grass, snarling and making sounds that should be impossible for a human to make. Its bruised and ruptured skin seemed to ripple as the beast's muscles flexed and bulged. Spittle flew from its ruined face as its once human vocal cords shredded themselves to produce the inhuman sounds.
Chunks of flesh, fur, and scales were blown from its body as David immediately began firing shot after shot into the monstrosity. Barbed spines flew from gaps in the scales of the beast's back and tail towards David. David tried to avoid the spines but two connected with his armor. His body spun like a top as the force knocked him from his feet.
Blood flowed freely from the puncture in the armor covering his abdomen. His vision swam as he desperately tried to refill his lungs with air. His hand frantically searched around him for his hell-gun. It had been flung from his hands when he was hit.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Where did it go! How did I lose my rifle? It should be easy to find!' David's mind scrambled and panicked. The sounds of the creature rushing towards him grew louder and louder. Unable to find his rifle he drew his emergency pistol and knife.
A massive fur and claw covered paw swept down towards him like an avalanche. Barely having enough time to leap out of the way, the displaced air alone was strong enough to push him an extra foot. When the paw connected with the ground, a shockwave ruptured the ground, flung dirt and torn grass, and sent a dust cloud rising into the stormy sky.
Using all his knowledge and skills he had learned from the months of near constant fighting, David used the dust, and tall grass to distract, confuse and disrupt his opponent as he began fighting a guerilla war against the creature.
The beast let out a guttural, teeth clenching shriek as bullets tore into its hind leg and tail. It thrashed its tail, shot spines and lashed out with its paws. Grass flew, dirt was ruptured, dust and debris filled the air like a fog.
Rising once more from the ground after diving to avoid being splattered by the monstrosity's attacks, David fired off another short burst into the unprotected underside of the leg joints.
Just as before, the creature lashed out. Unable to fully avoid the attack, David was thrown into the grass and knocked into a daze. A concussion clouded his focus and actions. He moved as if drunk and fell as he tried to rise from the dirt.
His eyes fluttered as his vision remained burred and unfocused. His body swayed and stumbled as he tried to steady himself with his hands while rising to a knee. His head lolled from side to side as he saw the blurred shape of the beast charging towards him.
Red flashes stunned his vision and left him in confusion. 'What? But she shouldn't have the strength to hold the weapon, let alone stand. She was on the brink of death. This shouldn't be possible.' The thoughts and visions of Ephrien's near lifeless form only left him more confused.
David's vision slowly began to clear as he watched the arm and shoulder of the beast implode in a shower of gore. Blood and skin splattered against David's face and armor as he sat on one knee in a daze.
The beast fell onto its side as its balance shattered. A dozen more flashes lit up the surroundings in quick succession as more chunks of the beast were torn and blown from its body. But the damage wasn't enough, as its tail lashed out towards where Ephrien must have been making a defiant final resistance.
The beast thrashed its body and began to constrict its tail. The sound of the spines meeting flesh and bone being pulverized filled the air followed by a mind-numbing silence.
"No. No. NO! NO! NO! What The FUCK!!! I HATE THIS PLACE!!! ODESSIAN! YOU BASTARD! WHAT KIND OF TORTURE RELM HAVE YOU SENT ME TO!" David screamed towards the sky as his head and neck were ripped from his body by the monstrosity.
*********
David spent his next 45 attempts trying to save other civilians besides Ephrien. Every single attempt ended in failure. They either died before he could save them, died in his arms, or died a few minutes after from their injuries or being killed by the possessed monstrosities. David never even got to learn any other their names.
After 70 attempts David gave up on trying to save others besides Ephrien. She was the only one he could consistently save and was semi reliable once he reigned in her suicidal zealotry. He had scouted the different directions in which to try and escape the field. The only direction that hadn't resulted in his swift or drawn-out death was northeast from where Ephrien would die if he didn't intervene.
********
'All right lets do this. I am going to escape this stupid field this time.' David thought to himself as he lead a moderately wounded Ephrien through the dead grass.
"Get down. In 14 seconds, crawl 245 feet to the south then get as still and silent as possible." David whispered to Ephrien as he gave her instructions.
David lay in a prone position with his rifle pointed a small clearing made from torn up dirt and flattened grass. He began to count the seconds in his mind as he watched a deformed possessed human slowly stumble and shuffle into the clearing. At 14 seconds, he fired a shot into its head, followed by two shots into its chest and a shot into its right leg.
As he fired, Ephrien crawled as fast as she could through the grass in the direction David told her. She glanced back to see the man she thought was a holy warrior, roll to the side as a spike the size of her forearm embedded itself into the ground where he had once laid.
Her eyes widened in a mix of fear and excitement as she reached her destination. She flattened her body as much as possible and tried to slow her breathing, but she struggled. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and the sounds of screeching and Laz fire filled the air. She felt the rumble of the ground and the dirt being thrown around over her hunkered body.
'The holy warrior, he is fighting. He is fighting to save this world. He is bringing our lord's wrath onto the enemies of man. I must obey his commands and prove my loyalty. He told me he was sent here so that I may serve the Emperor's will. I will not fail my duty.'
David dodged to the side as a massive claw struck the ground next to him as he spun his body out of the way. He let the force of the attack add to his momentum as his rifle barrel swung to face the monstrosity once more. Two quick shots followed by a dive to the side. One shot then a shoulder roll to his left.
'That's right, get angry. Let your rage cause stupid mistakes.' David thought as he harnessed his inner Dark Soul's gamer. 'I really wish I frames existed in this world. It would make things so much easier.'
'All right that should be enough.' David thought as he watched the monstrosities leg finally give way under the near constant battering, he and the creature were both inflicting upon it. A snap and the sound of flesh being ripped apart filled the air as the leg dislocated and crumpled in on itself. Snapped bone broke through skin and ripped into the flank of the beast as it collapsed onto its own broken leg.
Now a crippled creature, it became an easy kill for David as it struggled to free itself from its own leg. Two dozen shots into the wolf head and back spine of the creature finally put the monstrosity out of its misery.
David's breath came out ragged and hurried as he tried his best to control his breathing and slow his heart rate. Adrenaline still pumped through his veins and his mind continuously scanned the area searching for an ambush or rushing threat.
With a sigh he began to walk over to where he had instructed Ephrien to lay hidden and still. "The threat is neutralized, and the area is cleared. You are good to get up."
Ephrien quickly got up. "Are you injured at all?"
"No, I should be fine. I don't feel any pain beside the bruises I'm probably going to have from all the diving and rolling."
"I know I'm only a novitiate hospitaller, but if you would allow holy warrior, I can quickly check for any serious wounds that you might not be knowledgeable of."
Hearing her words a small smile flashed across David's face for a mere moment. The woman before him was covered in over three dozen cuts and bruises. She had a partially broken arm and a pair of dislocated fingers, but she was more concerned with his health than her own.
He let the woman carefully look over his body before she packed some dirt and wrapped some grass around a few of his injuries.
"The dirt will act as a sort of gauze to slow the bleeding. Try not to loosen the grass or strain the wounds too much. If the bleeding worsens, your life could become endangered." Ephrien said with a stern tone as she looked at David with a serious expression.
David's blood turned the dead grass red as it slowly seeped from the makeshift bandage, but the bleeding had been slowed.
"Thank you, Ephrien" David said to her with sincerity as he looked over the makeshift bandage she had made for him.
"It is my honor to serve, holy warrior." Ephrien replied with a shaky bow.
"Rise, you never have to bow to me. You are human, we are equals. We are both just fighting for survival."
The two rested for another minute before they continued their journey to leave the massive field of grass. As the two of them once more began to move through the grass, the sounds of possessed began to grow louder and louder.
"I need you to run towards that large patch of barren dirt. That should be a semi safe place for now. I will do my best to keep the possessed off of you." David said as he looked at Ephrien with a extremely serious and concerned face.
"I understand holy warrior. I will hold that ground and let no abomination desecrate it."
Ephrien's grip on her makeshift weapon tightened as she sprinted towards the clearing in the distance. Meanwhile, David began firing into the field behind them with almost supernatural accuracy. Each shot hit their target in joints or vital locations. Bodies of possessed crumpled or collapsed into the grass and dirt as they were cut down by David.
Even as a dozen possessed fell, another four kept rushing towards him without a care. As they drew close, David swung his hell-gun onto his back and pulled out his pistol and combat blade. Two shots left his pistol in quick succession, hammering into a possessed as it lunged at him. He drove his combat blade into its neck and used his body weight and momentum to sever its spine and nearly decapitate it. He heard a roar of defiance in the distance and knew Ephrien was fighting her own battle.
Three more possessed rushed him together. They had no recognition of their own claws tearing into each other as they tried to swarm David. Claws tore gouges into David's armor and bit into the clothing of David as he shot and stabbed the possessed. He gritted his teeth as he felt a cold pain shoot through his calf. With a grunt of rage, he fired a shot into one of the possessed's heads. The possessed had bitten his calf. Bone fragments, brain matter and blood exploded outwards as the possessed's head detonated from the point-blank shot.
David turned to look at where he had sent Ephrien. She stood defiant in a clearing as she fought against a possessed. The possessed jaws snapped shut inches away from Ephrien's head as she used her arm to keep it at bay. With a cry of rage, she used her makeshift metal club to shatter the possessed's jaw and crack its skull.
Using the leverage she had, she kicked as hard as possible into the knee of the possessed. A crack and a wet tearing sound rose from the knee as Ephrien used the club to cave in the skull of the possessed.
Even after destroying its skull, the possessed body continued to try to attack Ephrien. Its claws cut and tore at her skin. The pain made her grit her teeth as she set to work bashing the possessed with her club till the possessed human finally stopped moving and died.
Ephrien raised her head as ragged breaths escaped her cracked and bloody lips. A large cut ran along her face and from it hug a flap of her on bloody skin. A few of her teeth were missing and she was bleeding from a cut on the side of her head, causing her hair to be dyed red. Dozens of large gashes covered her arms and torso.
The sound of David jogging towards her, finally registered in her mind after standing in a daze for nearly 30 seconds.
"Are you ok? You are bleeding, we need to try and slow the bleeding."
Ephrien listened to David's words with jubilation. In all the sermons and preaching she had attended, she never thought a holy warrior would be so kind and caring. The Emperor protects was always spoken and chanted but few ever talked about the Emperor's compassion and care. She was now seeing it firsthand. The holy warrior, a being embodying the emperors will, truly was worried about her.
'He cares. The holy warrior actually cares about me. I am so blessed. Oh, holy Emperor I am eternally grateful. I will fulfill my mission. I with make this world a beacon of faith. This world will worship you for eternity.'
As her thoughts ragged David began to work on Ephrien's wounds. She had a large chuck of the skin on her left forearm missing and David could clearly tell that the bones were fractured. He could see her teeth due to the hanging flap of skin that was once her cheek. Blood was slowly dripping from her hair and three of her fingers were now missing.
"You are a tough woman aren't you" David said while trying to lighten the mood. He quickly pushed something into Ephrien's mouth, so she had something to bite down on as he began to pack dirt into her wounds to try and slow the bleeding.
Ephrien clenched her teeth and did her best to hold back her tears and screams of pain. Her nails bit into her palms as she clenched her hands till the skin turned white. It took everything in her power to not scream and collapse in agony.
"I know it hurts but I need to stop the bleeding as best as I can." David said as he used his fingers to push more dirt into a large gash in Ephrien's side. The dirt quickly turned wet as it absorbed the blood. He grabbed another clump of dirt and packed it into the wound.
The minutes passed agonizingly slow as the pain made Ephrien's vision blur. David was letting a limping Ephrien lean on him as the two continued to walk towards the edge of the field. In the distance the field of grass just seemed to end, and a vast horizon of mountains and valleys loomed.
"Hahaha we finally made it!" David said in joy as he and Ephrien looked out from the massive plateau they were on. They stood before a extremely steep hill, with a massive forest spread out below them. A large river wound through valleys and mountain into the distance. Large misshapen objects loomed in the distance, their jagged and unnatural appearance had David worried.
"Holy warrior look!" Eprien said as she pointed towards a large area of burnt forest in the distance. In the middle of the burnt area a large object seemed to have crashed into the planet. Even at this extreme distance the object was large enough for David to tell it was a ship of some sort. Its massive engines rose from the wreckage like towering beacons above the woodland.
"Did you hear anything about a ship crashing in this area before these possessed started attacking?"
"No holy warrior. I never heard anything about a ship crashing. But I did hear about another village suddenly disappearing."
"Strange. We should investigate it. But first we need to escape this plateau." David said as he began to scan the area for a way down that wasn't as steep.