Chapter 07 Annihilation Protocol

Dune emptied her Desert Eagle with quick, precise shots, the massive handgun’s shots echoing like thunder in the confined space. Each bullet struck the Abominator with sharp, metallic pings, ricocheting harmlessly off its rusted, reinforced body. Sparks danced in the dim light as the projectiles proved useless against the mechanical beast.

But then, one of her shots struck home, slamming into the Abominator’s oversized rifle. The impact caught an empty shell mid-ejection, jamming the weapon with a loud metallic click.

The Abominator stopped in its tracks. Slowly, it raised its rifle to its face, inspecting it with a disturbingly human-like tilt of the head. The glowing red eyes flickered as if processing the malfunction. Then, without warning, it let out a deep, guttural snarl and slammed the weapon to the ground with a deafening crash, shattering the floor tiles beneath it.

“Nice one, Dune!” Reed shouted, but his enthusiasm quickly waned as the Abominator turned its attention toward them, eyes glowing brighter in the dark hallway.

Mia didn’t waste the opportunity. Dropping prone to stabilize her aim, she lined up her shot. 

“Got you now, tin can!” she shouted, squeezing the trigger of her anti-tank sniper rifle.

The shot thundered through the bunker, the muzzle flash illuminating the room in a brief but blinding burst of light. The massive .50 caliber round hit the Abominator dead-center in its head. Rotten flesh and synthetic skin exploded outward, revealing gleaming, bloodied metal beneath. The bullet ricocheted off its reinforced skull with a ringing clang before burying itself in the wall behind it, leaving a fist-sized crater.

The Abominator’s head jittered from the impact, twisting unnaturally on its shoulders. For a moment, it froze, its red eyes flickering like a failing lightbulb. Then, with a crunch, its head snapped back into alignment, locking its glowing gaze directly on Mia.

The creature reached behind its back. In one hand, it drew a massive steel shield, its surface etched with scars from countless battles. In the other, it pulled out a colossal chainsaw sword, the blade revving to life with a spine-chilling roar. Sparks flew from the jagged teeth as it swung the weapon through the air, its size dwarfing even Reed’s oversized wrench.

“Annihilate,” the Abominator growled, its voice a distorted, broken blend of mechanical tones and guttural rage.

 “Annihilate. Annihilate!”

Mia worked the bolt of her rifle, ejecting the spent shell. She loaded a black-tipped round, the tungsten core designed to punch through the thickest of armors.

“Let’s see you block this!” she shouted, aiming for the exposed metal skull under the Abominator’s rotting flesh.

She fired again. The shot hit the steel shield dead-on, blasting a hole through it with the force of a cannon. The bullet’s tungsten core continued on its path, slamming into the Abominator’s skull with a sharp ping.

The creature staggered but didn’t fall. Its head jerked to the side, red eyes flickering wildly before snapping back toward Mia. It let out a distorted roar, louder than the grinding chainsaw in its hand.

“Annihilate!” it bellowed, its voice growing louder, more frenzied, as it charged forward with thunderous steps, swinging its chainsaw sword in a wide, murderous arc.

“Uh, guys? This might be a bad time, but I think I’m in trouble, help?!” Mia shouted.

Before the blade could strike, Reed leapt into the fray. He threw himself between Mia and the monstrosity, his oversized monkey wrench gripped in both hands like a shield. The chainsaw sword collided with the wrench with a bone-rattling CLANG, sparks exploding like fireworks as steel ground against steel. Reed gritted his teeth, his muscles straining under the Abominator’s sheer brute force.

“Yeah, no problem, Mia! I got this!” Reed’s voice cracked as the weight of the attack forced him to his knee, the screech of grinding metal ringing in his ears.

The Abominator’s strength was inhuman. It pressed down harder, the chainsaw teeth chewing into the edge of Reed’s wrench, sparks flew in all directions. The ground beneath him cracked, and his legs began to buckle.

“Reed, move!” 

Reed barely managed to roll aside as Dune stormed into the fight, her steel beam gripped like a war hammer. With a powerful, two-handed swing, she brought the beam crashing into the Abominator’s extended arm, a sickening CRUNCH echoing through the hallway. The brute’s reinforced joint buckled under the force, sparks and shattered plating spraying outward. The massive steel shield tumbled from its grasp, clattering across the floor.

The Abominator reeled back, its attack disrupted. Its head snapped toward Dune, red eyes glowing brighter with rage.

“Let’s see you chew on this!” Dune growled through gritted teeth.

She spun around, her steel beam a blur in the dim light. It struck the Abominator square in the face with a crushing blow, shattering its rusted jaw in a burst of mechanical screeches and flying fragments. The beast staggered, taking a step back as its head jittered. Sparks spat from its exposed wiring, and with a crunch, the severed pieces of its jaw realigned grotesquely, locking back into place as if mocking the damage.

“Really?! That did nothing?!” Dune barked, backing up slightly as the Abominator tilted its head, the red glow never wavering.

Mia didn’t waste the opening. She chambered another round, her sniper rifle roaring as she fired a tungsten-tipped black round at the Abominator’s head. The shot hit home, but the mechanical beast raised its chainsaw sword just in time. The bullet struck the blade, leaving a molten hole through the steel but failing to slow the monster’s advance.

“Keep it busy!” 

Dune reached for her belt and unclipped a thermite grenade—a compact but deadly piece of pre-war tech designed to melt through even the toughest armor.

The Abominator’s gaze locked onto her, its mechanical voice louder.

 “Annihilate! Annihilate!” it roared as it began advancing once more.

“Hey, ugly!” Dune shouted, charging toward it. She pulled the pin from the grenade, the fuse igniting with a hiss.

She ducked beneath the Abominator’s wild swing, weaving into its guard. With perfect timing, she tossed the grenade upward. For a moment, it hung in the air, spinning just in front of the beast’s gaping, half-shattered jaw.

“Chew on this!” Dune roared, driving her fist into the grenade mid-air, punching it straight into the Abominator’s mouth.

The grenade lodged itself deep into the beast’s jaw cavity. Dune kicked off its chest with all her strength, launching herself backward and sliding across the floor to safety.

The Abominator’s red eyes flared in confusion. It stumbled for a moment, clawing at its face, trying to dislodge the device. Then the thermite grenade detonated.

A blinding white-hot light erupted from the Abominator’s mouth as the thermite ignited. The chemical reaction produced molten iron, reaching temperatures upwards of 2,500 degrees Celsius. A torrent of liquid metal poured down the Abominator’s throat, melting through its internal systems like acid through paper. Sparks exploded outward, and the beast’s body convulsed as its circuits overloaded.

The Abominator staggered backward, its hands clawing at its head, but the molten thermite had already melted through its cranial casing, eating through its reinforced skull and boiling away the rotting flesh. Steam and smoke hissed from every gap in its armor as its joints seized up.

“Annihilate…” its voice sputtered, broken and glitching.

 “Ani…hila—”

With a final, guttural screech, the Abominator collapsed to its knees. Its red eyes flickered wildly before dimming to black. Its massive, ruined body slammed into the ground with a resounding THUD, sending dust flying into the air.

Dune pulled herself to her feet, brushing the dust off her battle suit. 

“Well, that’s one way to shut him up.”