When I finally walked over to Natalie, I saw there was nothing left of her opponent other than a mushy pile of blood, brains, and skull fragments.
“You think he’s dead?” I joked.
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Don’t get too cocky yet. I’m sure that wasn’t all of them. In fact… ”
The blonde woman nodded downward just as more footsteps began to ascend metal stairs and platforms.
Natalie and I moved as quickly as we could, and we got down to level eleven before our progress was impeded once more.
This time, it was a much more… aggressive stop.
Sparks flew as a hailstorm of bullets shot up from underneath the ground, and Natalie was just able to hop back and avoid being torn to shreds by the deadly metal hornets.
“Back!” the Scavenger hissed as she threw her arm out against my chest and then pushed us both back against the wall.
The Rubberfaces’ bullets tore through the thin metal of the floor in a line that followed the curve of the structure, only a few inches in front of our bodies.
Had we been a foot or so out from the wall, our bodies would have been turned into bloody chunks of swiss cheese.
Suddenly, the hailstorm stopped, and we heard the clomp of boots headed up the stairs.
So, Natalie jumped forward, held her AK-47 out in front of her, and took aim.
“Our turn,” she growled.
The Scavenger squeezed the trigger on her rifle just as the first few Rubberfaces came up the stairs. They weren’t ready for the attack, and the ugly mutant bastards were torn to shreds by her swarm of bullets. Chunks of their guts were splattered onto their comrades behind them as they went down, and then their bodies went limp.
The remaining Rubberfaces ducked back to safety, and Natalie motioned for me to make a move.
I holstered my pistol, slid the shotgun off my shoulder, and ran over to the ledge. The second the barrel was in position, I squeezed the trigger and held on tight as a muzzle flare burst forth from my shotgun.
One of the mutants down below screamed as the buckshot separated his arm from his torso at the shoulder, and a spray of crimson blood arced into the air. The blast didn’t completely take the limb off, however, so the Rubberface was left with an appendage that was hanging by only a mangled string of muscle and skin.
I pumped the action and went to load another round, but I wasn’t quick enough. One of the ugly bastards grabbed the barrel of my shotgun and gave it a good yank, and I felt myself pulled off my feet.
“Hunter!” Natalie gasped as I fell down the stairs and felt the shotgun leave my hands.
Bursts of pain shot through my body with each jagged metal step I slammed into, and in just a second or two, I was laying prone on the ground.
Right at the center of three more Rubberfaces. All of whom had guns.
I instinctively threw up my feet and kangaroo-kicked the mutant standing at my lower half.
He grunted as his eyes went wide, and he stumbled backward. Then, he lost his footing and flailed helplessly as he slipped over the edge of the metal platform.
The other two Rubberfaces didn’t even try to help him. They just watched him, with confusion plastered on their faces.
Maybe they weren’t as bright as Natalie had feared.
So, I quickly unfolded my E-Tool and lashed out at the mutant on my right.
His shins were sliced open as he turned back to face me, and then he fell down onto his knees. As he did so, I thrust my spade straight up into the soft spot of his mandible and skewered him straight through his brain from below.
The third Rubberface raised his rifle up to my head, but I was too quick with my E-Tool for the fucker. I ducked down, lashed out with the pointed end of the spade, and slashed it across his tunic-covered stomach.
The Rubberface let out a gurgled cry as his guts spilled out onto the metal floor with a steaming hiss, and then he fell over on top of them. His body twitched for a moment before I stabbed my weapon through his brain and put him out of his misery.
“You okay?” Natalie called out as she made her way down the stairs.
“Still aching all over,” I chuckled as she helped me back to my feet. “And covered in blood and guts. Otherwise, I’m peachy.”
“Now, you’re starting to sound like a true Scavenger,” the blonde woman noted.
I picked up my shotgun from one of the dead mutants, slung it over my shoulder, and then reloaded as we ascended the next set of stairs. The journey from our current level to the ground was uneventful, but that still didn’t stop my heart from palpitating in my chest. Finally, when we reached the bottom, I let out a sigh of relief.
I should have known that it would be premature.
Suddenly, the door on the far side of the structure burst open, and three more Rubberfaces dashed in with their guns at the ready.
Thankfully, Natalie was a quick thinker.
The Scavenger aimed her rifle down at the metal meshed floor beneath our feet.
“Haktra!” she hissed at the mutants. “Haktra dakrtrata!”
All three of the mutants stopped in their tracks, and their eyes were wide in horror.
“Iktunar!” they hissed, but none of them seemed to dare to make a move.
“I just threatened to shoot the core,” Natalie explained without glancing at me. “If I do that, there goes any chance they have at a mid-morning snack.”
We stood in this tense Mexican standoff for what seemed like hours, though it was probably only a few minutes. Both parties had their fingers on their triggers, and it was only a matter of who could get their shots off first.
Think, Hunter… There were three of them, and two of us. There had to be a way to even up the odds.
That’s when it hit me.
I had to give myself up.
If these creatures really were as sentient as we thought, that would at least give Natalie a chance to catch them off guard.
“Can those things understand us?” I questioned, and Natalie just shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Why? What are you about to do?”
“Something really stupid,” I warned. “You’ll know what to do when it happens.”
Before the blonde could ask any questions, I slowly laid my shotgun down onto the ground and then kicked it away with my foot. Next, I held my hands in the air and took a step forward.
“You really weren’t kidding,” Natalie growled.
“I give up,” I lied as I faced the mutants. “See? Look. No weapons.”
I took another step, and the mutants pointed all of their rifles at me.
That’s right… Just keep them away from Natalie.
“Iktuna!” the mutant on the far right hissed. “Slak Iktuna!”
My heart was now hammering like a war drum as I approached the deadly creatures, beings who could tear me apart with their bare hands if they wanted to.
Then again, with their high-powered rifles, they really didn’t have to.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Natalie hissed behind me, but I ignored her.
“Let her go, and take me,” I offered my opponents. “We’re sorry we crashed your party, but nobody else has to die. Just let the girl go.”
“Are you fucking serious?” the Scavenger hissed. “Don’t go soft on me now, Hunter.”
I hadn’t done any acting since my second-grade play, but apparently I was a natural. Even if I knew I was lying, and the Rubberfaces might not have understood what I was saying, everyone was falling for it.
Two of the Rubberfaces looked at each other, and then the one at the center nodded. The mutant on the left lowered his weapon, took a step forward, and reached out to grab me.
But I quickly sidestepped his grip, pulled my E-Tool from my belt, and took off his arm at the elbow.
The Rubberface screamed as the stump on his arm erupted in a geyser of blood, but I didn’t have time to revel in my victory.