QRT

QRT agents are sent on a training mission...but the training soon becomes deadly.

The gray evening’s sky grew darker with the approach of dusk. A musky scent of rain traveled with the breeze as the twelve trainees stood lined up outside of the office building. All with their weapons at arm.

“Today will be your first highly advanced mission. Therefore, this will determine a strong percentage of your ranking. You are prompt to only do as you are advised.” This was the voice of Commanding Chief Bennett. He was not present, however he could be heard through individual headphones worn by each trainee.

“Anyone disregarding any orders given by agents Q �" 1, 2, 3 or 4 will be suspended or automatically expelled and dismissed. And so begins examination three of your three part evaluation.”

Silently but swiftly the trainees separated into four groups of threes.Daniel himself was under the commands of agent Q �" 2. His other two group members were Michael Stubbs and Raymond Vasquez. They were both unclassified agents like him, all students of the academy.

They met agent Q �" 2 at one of the back entrances of the building as there were six entrances altogether.

“Depressurize your helmets,” said the voice of agent Q �" 2.

“We seem to be getting readings of extremely low air density within the boundaries of this building. The results of exposure could be fatal.”

The trainees quickly did as told and agent Q �" 2 forcefully opened the door. Immediately they felt a difference in the atmosphere upon entering the building.They all switched on the lights attached to their weaponry sending beams of light into the menacing darkness. Agent Q �" 2 walked ahead as the trainees covered him at specific angles.Within the first two rooms they found nothing unusual. However, it was not long before strange movements began to occur within dark corners. Soon, they noticed large dents in the walls and long cracks running along the ceilings. There was no doubt that this building was about to collapse. The pressure was too strong.

They finally got to a large office room, which contained about eighty cubicles at least. Going down the line they searched each cubicle.

“We don’t have much time,” said agent Q �" 2.

“Pair up so we can cover more ground. Keep an eye out for any civilians.”

Daniel and Raymond paired up while Q �" 2 and Michael did the same.

Q �" 2 and Michael searched the cubicles on the left. Daniel and Raymond began checking those on the right. Now they were moving much faster than before. By now they were not expecting to come across anyone. They knew their adversary could possibly still be in the building. However, they felt their only main concern was getting out of the building before it collapsed. Raymond stopped at one of the cubicles unexpectedly and summoned Daniel who was close behind.

At first they both stared down at the corpse. It looked like one of the office clerks. They figured it was a female by her apparel. However, her head and body seemed to have been completely swollen up. This lifeless body was soaking in its own blood. Daniel knelt down and observed the body much more closely. Although, there were no signs of assault, her body seemed to be swelling even more. The skin was beginning to tear revealing massive chunks of open flesh. Blood oozed from the cracks. As Raymond stood close behind Daniel, he sensed a shadow looming over him. He quickly aimed up. A large creature twice his size was hovering above him from the ceiling. It’s claws remained gripping deep into the roof like hooks. All over its head there were bubbly pores that looked like mini suction cups. They moved in and out simultaneously. It did not have a mouth, instead, a long trunk like structure wriggled from its face. Raymond began walking back slowly; his light and gun still aiming at the creature.

“Come in Q �" 2,” Raymond said calmly into his headset.

However, instead of a response, all Daniel received was static.

“Damn Ray, dey leave us for dead!” Daniel eased up aiming at the creature, which seemed to be watching Raymond like a playful dog.

“No s**t,” exclaimed Raymond.

Meanwhile, three more of the creatures had caught up with Q �" 2 and Michael. Two of them overwhelmed Q - 2 as Michael fought the other one breathlessly. Their weapons seemed to be useless against them. Every time Michael pulled the trigger it felt as if the bullets were sucking back into the barrel like clamps.

Too bad Q �" 2 only had a brief second to figure this out. By now, one of the creatures was attaching the opening part of its trunk onto Q �" 2’s helmet. Once attached, the creature’s cheeks began to suck in causing its pores to get bigger. They looked like tiny balloons getting larger. Soon, the vision portion of Q �" 2’s helmet began to crack until air was able to get in. Finally, Q �" 2’s helmet began to suck in. Even as he suffocated, his skull was sucking in causing his cranium and jaw to squeeze everything in between. Q-2’s face peaked from behind the cracked and crushed glass, his eyes bulged and his mouth was completely crushed.

Back in the cubical filled office, Daniel and Raymond scattered. Daniel reached for the Qt special only to realize he had left it on the ground by the swollen dead chic, “s**t!”

Meanwhile, Raymond with a delightfully creepy crooked smile on his face squeezed the trigger. Three rounds got out before the creature was upon him; he slammed into the ground with a thud. Something was off, he had gotten slammed into things much harder than that, and even though the creature was grand in stature it hadn’t applied much force. Yet, Raymond felt completely out of breath almost as if it were sucked out of him. Raymond squeezed the trigger again and the Qt special freaked out almost as if it were jammed. Daniel already assessing the situation, ran to a desk leaped and pushed off of it with his left foot then brought his right foot around to connect with the creatures head. The creature slid a few feet across the floor and leaped back to its feet, and then darted into the shadows.

“DAMN cuz what the frock was that!”

“I thought that a*s wipe Bennett, said this s**t was gern be like training….” “shhh!” Daniel whispered "shut up" and followed the movements of the creature about the room listening to every nudge and scratch.

As he did this Raymond continued his mindless chatter, which wouldn’t bother Daniel so much if only the kid made sense when he did it. Daniel would never admit it openly but Ray sort of gave him the creeps. Still, Ray always helped him out when he was in a jam, so what’s a little weirdness to deal with? Although, he had been acting weirder than usual.

At this point, Daniel leaped back from a swift but powerful swipe of the creature’s talon...so swift that Daniel almost didn’t spot it. If it were not for his keen ears he might be dead. Too bad he wasn’t fast enough to dodge the next one which came in the form of  a back hand that sent him crashing into what seemed to be a lunch room.

Raymond shouted for him “Danny, you ok cuzzo?”

“Yeah I’m cool. I think I’m in the lunch room, there’s a strong smell of coffee and I think this is a microwave my back is bent over on…”

“Yeah yeah frock dat where da wibe gone?”

“Trust me duddy if I knew where dat ting was u was gurn hear it.”

“Hey cuzzo ya Qt jamming too, cause I een know if it’s just me but mine freakin out.”

“Bey to be honest my piece over dere on da floor by the solid chic, I think sumthin’s going on with the air pressure in and around this joint, cause my breathing has been off ever since we entered this place, it’s like HA(high altitude) training.”

“Or it could be that monkey s**t you always jumpin bout da place practicing.”

They are both interrupted; Raymond by slashing claws to his chest and Daniel by the attachment of the creature’s trunk to his helmet. The creature landed on the ground and pulled Daniel to the floor, he slamed down violently and couldn't breathe seeming confused and relieved at the same time. Relieved because his theories may have just been proven right, confused because Raymond had disappeared.

As Daniel scanned for him he struggled and kicked about like a fish freshly caught and brought on land. Realizing this slowed his breathing and heart rate, he expanded his lungs and took in as much oxygen as possible before he was cut off completely. He struck the helmet once with his right index finger and once with the left. Then he pressed upward with the palm of his hand and cracked it in two. Daniel slipped out and pushed off the ground with his hands so that his feet could get a firm standing for him to jump up right. When he did so, he sprung forward using the door frame as support. Then he pushed off and turned to strike the creature. However, before he had a chance to land a blow, Ray emerged from the shadows in frenzy with a mad look in his eyes. Well at least the one that he could see. Ray had kicked a table leg out and begun bashing the creature about the body. He swung around to the right and jabbed the creature with the leg, he leaped up and ran along side the wall with his right hand still holding the table leg, as his feet approached the other side of the door frame he pushed off and against the creature. The table leg sank into the creature tearing the rubbery like flesh, Ray continued his course in an upward motion he reached in his gear for a trench knife and jabbed the creature in what he thought was it’s face. Grasping it firmly he used it as an anchor and pulled the creature to the ground from the back. Ray then flipped forward so that he was standing over the creature, at this point it made a horrible blood curdling noise, this didn't seem to phase Ray in the slightest he stood cutting and slashing like a butcher deep in his craft. Raymond like a mad man grabbed the creature’s trunk like snout and squeezed and wrapped it around his arm pulling and pushing its head repeatedly into his fist and trench knife. In a sadistic move Ray jabbed the knife into its head puncturing one of the weird bubble things on its head, Ray and Daniel’s ears pop as if on an airplane on a slow ascent, the creature gave out another unearthly noise and ray smiled.

“That’s right you son of a b***h, huh, you like that…nasty lookin piece of s**t? And here’s another…” Ray continued on this way stabbing knives and random pieces into the now pathetic looking creature, as it whimpered and squeaked, as a wounded animal would.

The creature’s cries died slowly until it stopped moving completely. Daniel watched for a moment as Raymond continued to brutalize the lifeless creature. He finally spoke after he realized that Raymond had no intentions of stopping.

“Ray, come on! We have to find Q �" 2 and Michael before this place caves in on us.”

Raymond stopped and looked as if he was awakened out of a deep trance for a brief moment. Daniel ran off and he followed close behind.

Michael knocked the creature’s snout with the butt of his gun. The creature swung it’s snout again like a boomerang. Suddenly, his headphones began to static as if it were coming back to life.

“Come in Michael!” Daniels voice was almost comforting and Michael wasted no time answering back.

“Where the hell dudes at?”

“Meet us at corridor B, A-sap.”

“I kind of got my hands full here.”

All he hears is static.

“Jeez, piece of s**t.”

He continued to beat the creature with the butt of his gun until it finally started backing up. When the creature backed up enough, he pulled a dagger from one of his belt pockets. Then with a final full forced swing, he hit the creature’s snout to the ground. Immediately he brought down the dagger as well, nailing the trunk into the ground. It made a blood curdling sound. This caused the other two creatures to switch their focus off of Q-2 onto him.

“Oh s**t!” He turned around and ran as fast as he could.

The creatures didn't have any problems catching up with him. Their long, spider like legs caused them to move even faster as they climbed along the walls and ceiling.

Just as one is about to leap onto Michael, Daniel threw a fire capsule, which knocked the creature back a few inches a second before it exploded. When Daniel was about to do the same to the other, Raymond suddenly stopped him.

“Man, what the hell?” Daniel dodged as the creature crawled along the ceiling past him.

“Don’t kill it!” Raymond looked at the creature as if observing it.

“Bey, you freaking out aye?” Daniel was now looking at

Raymond realizing that he can only possibly be nuts.

“We might need the body at least, to know what this thing is.”

The creature continued to creep across the ceiling towards Michael who is slowly pulling out another dagger. It stopped just above Michael for a moment and then let go, landing on him. Michael stabbed at the creature’s pores as the creature attached its trunk onto his helmet. They are both screaming.

“Look, while I tying this thing up, I want you to tease it to keep it …”

“Bey, I ain no lion tamer!”

Raymond only ignored him and lassoed the creature retaining it as Daniel teased it causing it to loosen off of Michael. When it finally detached its trunk Michael jumped up and helped Raymond tie the creature securely.

When it was secure they ran towards the exit dragging the creature behind them. A few agents were waiting at the opened door ahead.

Once outside, the agents inspect them without saying a word. The rain was now pouring on their helmets and suits as the moonlight shined on them.

“Where is Q �"2?” One of agents asked this as the rest stared down at the creature squirming to get loose.

Author's Note

This story is in need of so much editing...will tend to that as soon as possible. But I wrote this a very very long time ago.