Soul Hunt

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Authors Note: This is my first ever fic, so theres a good a chance il be getting alot of things wrong. Luckily, iv got all you lovley, honest people out there to tell me what needs improving. Constructive critisisim is welcomed and will be thanked for in following chapters. Peace :).
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Soul Hunt

Mars was hot. Hot and dry and compleitly devoid of breathable air of any kind, but it had a hell of a lot of wind, the marine decided. Quickly he jogged over a rusting metal bridge that stretched over a chasm he didnt dare look into beacause of the way the wind was pushing him. Instead, he doubled his pase towards the airlock of the abandoned facility he was heading for. Why did it have to be him who'd been chosen to investigate this godforsaken ball of shit? Oh yes, he recalled, he had been *picked*

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" As im shure youv heard as...barrack room gossip, odd things have been happening on mars...accidents" Senator Swan had begun as the marine had stood in front of his dest back on earth.

"Yes sir" He had replyed, one of the new guys had been a transfer from the place, the guy had been here only a few days and the rest of the guys had already decided the guy was a mild mannered nutcase.

"You have shown promise as a marine" The senator continued "And your higher-ups report that you continue to show potential to be more than that"

The marine had felt the senator surveying him for a reaction and therefore remained poker-faced.

"The situation on mars apears to have become so that...I have been forced to go there personaly and investigate" Swan paused "But I do not think that what im warrented for will give me the full picture"

The marine shuffled on his feet, he had a feeling that this was the point were he came in.

"Which is were you come in" Swan had turned and looked the marine squarly in the eye "You will be transferred to the UAC facility at the same time as I will go there to make my investigation. Your assignment will be to gather as much information on the workings of a part of the facility called the Delta Labs."

The marine knew he was taking a risk but he felt the need to speak "Permission to speak Sir"

The senator nodded.

"Sir, will I be gathering this information with the warrant of the UAC?" The marine held his breath, hoping he had not been to conspicuis in what he had been asking.

Swan meirly raised an eyebrow "You have been asinged this task beacasue of the anticipated lack of co-operation on the UAC's behalfe, marine, I doubt I have need to elaborate."

"Yes sir" It was as the marine had feared. He was going to have to spy in a top security facility were people were rumored to be prone to vanishing without a trace.

"Good, now I want you to head to Officer Campbell's quarters, he'l breif you on what exactly the objectives of yuor asingment are to be"

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A few moments later, the airlock clancked shut again and the marine gratefully pulled down his helmet and let it hang behind him like a hood. He decided imeadiatly that he liked the place, it was quiet, unlike the maintenence tunnel. The marine shuddered glumbly as he thought about having to go back through there, it had been easy to see, or rather, to feel why the workers had been on the edge. It was unprofesional to start pointing ones pistol at dark corners, he told himself as he stepped through the rooms only exit and into an elevator, but all the same, it had felt like something had been watching him from behind the ... noise.

The crackle of his headpeice jerked him out of his reverie and he remembered to push the button for the next level.

"Marine!"

Sergent Kelly's voice bit squarly into the side of said marines head.

"We need you back here so double time it down there and get your ass back up here!"

The marine rubbed the side of his suddenly sore head as the sergent tuned out and then realized the elavator had stopped moving. He pressed the button to open the elevator doors and stepped out into the fridgid air beyond. It was imeadiatly evident that the heating had been turned off in this part of the facility due to the lack of use. The marine made his way into the building, noting how some of the lights were on. Someone had evidently reconected the area to some kind of power supply.

A short walk up some stairs and onto a platform lead the marine to a door, a short passage, and another door. The marine paused a few feet from the second door. A light straining of his ears caused them to detect the sound of some kind of keyboard being used with frantic purpose, other noises were also coming from beyond the door. It apeared that the inhabitant of the room beyond was in some distress. Propelled forward by this, the marine stepped purposfully forward. The door slid open and the marine found himself face to face with the man he'd been asinged to find.

The scientist whipped around from the computer he'd been using as the marine strode purposfully into the room. The mans frantic face took on the wild look of a hunted animal as he gasped and put up his hands.

"No!...NO!...please!..."

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The gate was open, although the scientists that stood around it did not know this, Betruger had been very careful about what he told them. Yes, he thought as he marched back through the portal, he had needed to exercise great caution concerning who knew about the true nature of what he had managed to convince many of them was a *time/space anomaly*. Doubless some ignorant someone with too much morality would have tried to destroy the work he had sacrifyced many lives over had they know the whole story.

But all that didnt matter now, he decided as he strode up to one of his assistants and handed him the bag which had previusly contained his bargening tool. The man frowned at the empty bag he had just received, the man was a newly transferred replacment from the alpha labs and that was why he probably did what he did next.

"Dr Betruger!"

Betruger whipped around, those scientists standing nearest backed slightly away.
"Yes? Jason?"

The man seemed to sence he was in trouble but he forged on.

" Dr Betruger, where is the Soul Cube?"

A wicked smile spread itself across the older mans features and the assistant saw that he was looking past him to where the anomaly lay.

"Why jason, if your so curius, why dont you ask them?"

The assistant looked behind him, so did everyone else. It was a horrible sight.

Creatures, no, monsters, were swarming out of the portal in their hundreds. The assistant was barley aware that Betruger was laughing before a huge, four legged thing smashed into him and he lost concuisness. Betruger cast a disdainful eye over the swarms of creatures feasting on his former colleges and rushing past him without a second glance. He strode away towards his quarters, he would enjoy a celebratory whisky and then if Swan had been captured by them, he would go and torment him. A sinister smile spread across the doctors wrinkled visage, yes, Swan would pay for the pain in the rear he had been for the past few years, Betruger would see to it that he had a particularly...hellish expirience.

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"No!...NO!...please! you dont understand!"

The marine stood confused. The man before him seemed to be terrifyed beyond anything the marine had seen so far, the marine had seen mortal fear in the eyes of many men but none had comes close to the sheer terror in this mans eyes. The marine decided to try and calm him down.

"Calm down, Im not going to hurt you, iv been sent to find you for your well-being"

"So that I can be taken back to those acursed labs and once again be a prisoner!" spat the man before turning back to the large screens.

"Tell me about the Delta Labs"

The man spun back around and stared at him "What the hell would you know about it?"

The marine studied the man carefuly, he was not shure what this man may tell others once he got him back to the HQ but he decided that this opurtunity to talk to someone so connected with his mission was something he wouldnt get twice.

The marine took a step towards the man.

"I was transfered here to gather information about the workings of the Delta labs. My asingment was not beacause of the competetivness of other corporations, it was beacause of the unusualy high number of accidents in that area. I was assinged this task by a member of the UAC board."

The scientist looked at him stunned.

"Then you must help send this transmition as quickly as possible" he yelped once he had recovered.

The man whipped back round to once again franticaly work at the terminal as he continued talking hurridly.

"They dont know...they must be warned before it is too late!"

The marine was startled. Then he realized, the man must be stopped and taken back to HQ after he had questioned him. He must make this man out to be mentaly disturbed so that suspicions of his own true intentions would be redirected, at leist until he had done the work he was meant to. It was sad but nececary, the marine took another step forward.

"Im afraid I cant let you send that transmition"

The man gaped at him "But you said you here beacause of the acidents!"

"I am, and if you send that transmition, that will blow my cover sky high" He was now aiming his pistol at the man at the terminal.

"No!...you dont understand!" The scientist begged, his face wight with terror "You havent seen!" The marine could actualy see tears running down the mans face before it grew stiff with horror.

" The devil...is real....I know...I built his cage"

The final words were acompanied with self disgust that made the marine move back for a moment. For a moment a silence spread ominusly into the room and both men found themselves looking at the large screen of the terminal, which showed a huge stone arch covered with eeiry carvings that the marine couldnt quiet make out.

"What the hell is that?" Asked the marine suddenly, too absorbed by the weird substance aparently stretched across the arch to notice that the other nam shuddered at the word *hell*.

"That my friend...is hell"

A figure was now walking out of the arch. The scientist gasped and clutched the edge of the terminal convulsivly.

"No!...he cant have! my god!"

The man turned to the marine, and the marine shivered to see the hoplessness in his eyes.

"It is too late, they are coming"

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