Soul Hunt

Animal Atraction

The hellknight stood in a huge domed room at the edge of a huge ovular pit. The pit was full of what hells denzins had nicknamed "Pinkies" for as long as the hellknight could remember.

The pinkies were huge, muscular beats. Their taught skin having the same hue and texture as that of a plucked chicken, their dull, deep roars were nethertheless substantialy fear inspiring.

Currently, the sightless creatues were making a good show of displaying their formidable rows of huge maulers. A pinkie didnt have any sharp teeth, nearly all its skull was devoted to adding more crushing power to its terrible set of grinding utencils.

This consequently made them very stupid. But they could, however, be given a mental imprint of something and then be made to hunt it, or as in this case, fetch it.

The pinkies roared and barked at each other, and the smell of blood and rotting flesh drifted up to the hellnight as the creatures fought over mates and food. The spectacle was truly disgusting.

The hellknight stalked away from the pit and towards the revenants that were currently in charge of this particular pack and proceeded to give them some very specific instrucions.

Soon afterward, the pinkies were loosed into the facility, roaring and howling they beggan sniffing intently.

----------------------------------

Sometime later, somewhere else in the UAC, five men were hiding under a desk. They were not hiding in fear, but sprawling comfortably and generaly keeping an eye on what was going on outside their room. At the moment, nothing very much.

After leaving the vents, Corporal and Maintenece had shot and dodged their way around to mars citys medical bay, or at leist, Corporal had shot and doged. Maintenece had fumbled, screamed, and in some cases, fired wildly in the general direction of his attackers.

Maintenece was, as Corporal had discovered, very highly strung.

Near the medical bay, they had discovered Technical, who had been hiding in a cubard and a pool of his own urine. Technical, it apeared, had locked himself in and stayed compleitly silent during the whole thing, Corporal had doubts about the mans ability to survive.

Technical was currently sprawled on his right, next to Maintenence. Between them, the sentry bot that they had discovered in mars citys entrance area. The two were having a whispered conversation. Judging by the way his scalp prickled every now and then, it was about him.

Corporal rubbed his forhead, he could feel a headache coming on, and the buzzing wasnt helping either.

It had started when he had met Maintenence, although at the time it had been faint and he had ignored it. It had become louder when they had found Technical, and more persistant with each new group member since. Sometimes Corporal thought he could make out words from the noise.

He had not told the others about the noise, he wasnt shure, but it seemed to be coming from his fellow survivors themeselves. At the moment, now that he had nothing to distract him, the noise had been growing particularly persistent.

"Cheeseroll?"

Corporal jumped as the man on his left held out the foresaid food item. Corporal acepted the pastry and went back to trying to figure out what the noise was. The man on his left, Security, had been picked up meir meteres from the marine HQ.

After they had received their orders from Kelly, the group had raided the medical bay, the armoury, and on their way out, the kitchen. Needless to say, Maintenece and Technical had found themselves carrying the bulk of the stolen items while the two marines had scouted ahead.

Currently they were in the administrative offices, spread out under the safety of the darkness under a desk set into the wall. They had not been going long but Maintenece and Technical were tired already, and while the fifth man in their group had as much stamina as either of the marines, he was not in a good condition.

Bravo, having been injured, had been left behind by his team and consequently, picked up by Corporals. After begging that he would be a liablility, and having it explained to him why this wouldnt matter, he had voiced the opinion that they were all going to die.

Corporal had tried to convince the others that it wasnt as bad as all that but they had remained unconvinced. If nothing else, it had increased the suspicius glances his fellow survivors kept throwing at him.

"When the fuck are we getting out of here?"

Bravo's horse, tired voice sounded from Corporals left.

"When you and the the other two are rested enough not to get us all killed" Security replyed.

"Im good, what the hell are the tweedles doing?"

Corporal turned to Bravo, who was glaring suspiciusly, then in the direction of the two civilians, who had stood up.

"Im trying to override the security for this area to get all the doors open" said Technical from the computer on top of the desk.

"Hopefuly once we can access the entire area wel be able to find a PDA with the right clearence to get us into the Alpha Labs"

"Hn"

Corporal closed his eyes and tried to strain his hearing passed the irritating buzzing that his comrads were emitting. Computers wirring five feet away, pipes hissing ten feet away, rats scurrying, building parts creaking and in the distance, a rythmic thudding.

Corporals eyes snapped open.

"Somethings comming"

His team members looked at him. Corporal had stood up abruptly.

"How do you know?" Demanded Bravo grumpily.

"Listen"

They fell silent. Corporal listened intently as the thudding drew nearer.

"Corporal, what the hell are you playing at?, I cant hear anything!"

Security's angry whisper came from behind him. The dead man whipped round.

"Listen, you fools! Cant you hear it?" Looking round, Corporal knew the answear.

----------------------------------

Three corridors and 40 metres away, a pinkie had caught onto the scent of living humans. It sniffed curiusly in the direction of the tasty smell of fresh flesh, then it caught another scent. The scent exited the pinkie, causing it to toss its blunt head. With a beastial roar, it began to hurtle towards the source.

----------------------------------

"Holy shit!" snarled Bravo. "What the fuck was that?"

The whole team was now on their feet, the thudding had abruptly become a thundering rumble. It was coming their way. Another roar sounded from the open coridor across the room as the pinkie leaped down from the upper floor.

With a thuderus crash, the beast landed in the middle of the room outside, it stalked to the glass seperating the area from the one the men were in.

"Oh shit!" sqealed Technical. "How the hell are we gonna dodge that thing?!"

"Its gone round to the door!" Security yelped as with a terrible thud, the entire door became a dent in the wall.

"Its gone round to the fucking door!"

For several tense moments, they stared, parylized as the door became an increasingly large dent as the pinkie threw itself at it in its frenzy. Then it stopped. The five men continued to watch the door, for a moment, Corporal actualy thought the beast had given up.

Then there was a scream from Maintenece.

"Its come back!"

There was a crash of breaking glass and a deafening roar, then something smashed into him. He hit the ground hard and the breath burst from his lungs in a painful gasp. Stars danced across his vision and he tried desperatley not to gag as a blast of hot, fetid breath hit him squarely in the face.

The pinkie ignored the other men. It could kill and eat them later, for now the scent coming from the man under it made him much more important. The pinkie did not have the brain power to realize that the thing under it was not another pinkie, all it knew was that the other *pinkie* was covered in odd bits of skin that that was getting in its way.

Corporal suddenly felt the crushing weight on top of him move move back, quickly sucking some much needed air, the dead man stared wildly around for his gun.

He could see Bravo and Security closing in in the background, hear yells of anxiety from his comrads. The beast gave an agitated roar, as, with a sound like a hammer being driven into play-dough, a stream of bullets embedded themselves in its thick back.

Corporal felt the huge, weirdly human paw on his chest suddenly clentch then pull away. The loud tearing sound that followed caused Corporal to look down at his chest, and consequently, from his prone position, between the pinkies back legs.

The huge saphire ovals bulged as he realized what the pinkie was actualy trying to do.

"Nooooooooooo!" He wailed, struggling desperatly.

The clawed paw was gripping his pants now, he gripped the huge apendage, franticaly trying to loosen its grip.

"Corporal!" he heard someone shout. "Hold its head!"

Looking up, the dead man found himself staring up into the eyes of Security. He grabbed hold of the pinkies boulbus head as it sniffed the air, growling. Distracted, the pinkie moved closer and licked the dead marines face. Looking disgusted, Security aimed his pistol at the pinkie's brain and fired.

The hulking body jerked then slumped forward. Corporal tried not to gag as he felt something thick and rigid bump againsed his inner thigh. A moment later there was the sound of puffing and the gruesome corpse slid off him.

Shakily, he stood up, everyone was staring at him.

"What?!" He snarled, suddenly self-concius.

"That things bonner" said a voice from under the desk "Was a foot long"

Corporal turned, Maintenence gazed back guiltily from his hiding place. Corporal tried not to cry, he could practicaly feel Bravo and Security behind him, grinning.

Slowly, and with as much dignity as he could muster, Corporal turned, leaned over a waste paper basket and puked.

----------------------------------