Chapter 21 The Sound of Raw Fury

Henry stepped out of the wrecked vehicle, his hands clapping slowly, the sound echoing in the eerie stillness of the desert. He tilted his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his eyes cold.

“Well, well, aren’t you a persistent bunch? Like cockroaches, huh? Not even a nuclear explosion would eradicate you.”

Henry seemed unbothered, almost smug. He took a few leisurely steps toward them, the wind kicking up dust as he adjusted his jacket.

 “I’ve got to hand it to you, though,” he continued, his voice smooth and taunting. 

“You’ve really made a name for yourselves. Not many people manage to keep me on my toes this long. The rest of the scum out here? They drop like flies. But you?” He gave a mock bow, “You keep coming back. The world’s already gone to hell, and all of you are just dragging it down further. But hey, before I go,” he said, voice taking on a more sinister edge, “I’ll leave you with a final reminder of who you’re really up against. Try not to disappoint me, because I’m done holding back.”

Before Henry could even finish his smug monologue, Dune's hand snapped up, and with a sharp crack, the shot rang out. The Desert Eagle's heavy bullet tore through the air and blasted Henry's chest, shredding the pristine Skytech uniform.

"Yeah, yeah! You talk too much!" Dune said.

 But to everyone's shock, Henry didn’t fall. Instead, his eyes narrowed, and the smirk on his face twisted into something more sinister.

“Oh, you think that’s enough to take me down?”

Before she could react, his hand shot out, pulling a hidden trigger on his wristband. Dune's suit suddenly sparked violently, and she froze, her limbs locking in place, her muscles seizing as electricity coursed through her. The suit’s power grid short-circuited, and her combat suit were rendered useless.

“HAH! Did you really think you could take me so easily?” Henry laughed, “You’re not the only one with toys, Vega. Skytech’s been sitting on pre-war tech for decades. We know exactly how these suits work. A little EMP charge, and guess what? You can’t move.”

 He tore off his ruined uniform, revealing an identical combat suit underneath. Dune’s eyes burned with frustration, her mouth pulling into a snarl, but she was paralyzed, her suit a useless.

Henry continued with his triumphant cackling, walking toward Dune as if she were a helpless ragdoll. He reached her and kicked her hard in the face, sending her sprawling to the ground. She hit the sand with a painful thud, struggling against her immobilized limbs, but she couldn't move.

“Pathetic,” Henry sneered.

 “I thought you’d be more of a challenge. But look at you now.”

Just then, a shot rang out. Mia had taken aim, firing from a distance. But Henry was quick—too quick. He ducked, dodging the bullet with almost supernatural precision, then dashed forward. Before Mia could pull the trigger again, he closed the distance between them in a flash, grabbing the barrel of her rifle and wrenching it from her hands with a sickening crack.

“Oh, don’t think I forgot about you, Hawk,” he taunted, twisting the rifle in his grip until the barrel was bent and useless. With one swift motion, he kicked Mia in the chest, sending her crashing to the ground. She gasped for air as the impact knocked the wind out of her. Henry’s boot pressed down on her chest, a vicious grin stretching across his face.

Reed, not having any of it, charged forward with an enraged roar, swinging his massive monkey wrench toward Henry’s skull. He was fast, driven by fury, but Henry was quicker. In one fluid motion, Henry grabbed Reed’s wrench mid-swing and stopped it dead in its tracks. The power in Henry’s suit made him nearly unstoppable.

“You bastard! Get your dirty boots off my friend!” Reed shouted, his voice raw with rage. 

 “You think you can stop me with that?” he mocked. He twisted the wrench out of Reed’s grip effortlessly, slamming it into his gut, sending him to the ground.

Dune struggled, her rage burning through the paralysis, but the suit’s malfunction kept her trapped. She watched as her team was battered, helpless against Henry’s overwhelming power.

Before Henry could deliver the final blow to Reed, Mia pulled her sidearm from its holster, pointing it at Henry. Her hand was steady despite the beat she took, and she pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out, but Henry reacted, snapping his head down and shielding himself with one arm. The bullet ricocheted off his combat suit with a loud metallic clang, leaving Henry unfazed. Without skipping a beat, he took a step toward Mia.

Mia’s breath quickened, but before she could react, Henry’s hand shot out and snatched the pistol from her grip, crushing it effortlessly. He tossed the ruined weapon aside and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground like she was nothing more than a doll.

Mia gasped for air, her feet dangling helplessly. She clawed at his hand, her fingers futilely trying to pry him off.

"So, you want to die first!" Henry sneered, a sadistic grin spreading across his face as he delivered a brutal punch to Mia’s gut, savoring every second of her struggling. She gagged, choking on the air that she couldn’t breathe. Her body went limp for a moment as her vision began to blur, but the pain of his grip and the gut punch kept her hanging on by the thinnest thread of consciousness.

But then, from behind Henry, came a deep, primal growl that shook the air—a sound of raw fury. It was Reed.

His muscles bulging, his body radiating with pure rage, Reed surged forward like a freight train, his face contorted in a snarl. He let out a battle cry so loud it could’ve rattled the very foundation of the bunker. With the strength of a wild rhino, Reed’s fist crashed into Henry’s midsection with a bone-jarring force.

Henry stumbled back, the wind knocked out of him as he was forced to release Mia. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, her throat burning, her hands instinctively clutching her bruised neck.

But Reed wasn’t done. Fueled by pure anger and adrenaline, he charged Henry again, his fists swinging like hammers. With every punch, he rattled Henry’s combat suit, each blow landing with a sickening thud. Henry tried to block, but Reed’s ferocity was overwhelming. The smaller man was on the defensive now, barely managing to fend off Reed’s barrage of blows.

Reed’s fists came down one after the other—left hook, right jab, uppercut. Each strike landed with bone-crushing force, and Henry was forced to take step after step backward, reeling under the barrage. Even with his combat suit, he couldn’t help but stagger, his breath coming in sharp gasps.

“You bastard!” Reed roared, his eyes wild with fury. 

“I will not let you hurt my Mia!" 

Reed, still seething with rage, took one more swing at Henry. But in a split second, Henry dodged, and with a sharp twist, delivered a crushing hit to Reed’s jaw. The force of the punch sent Reed reeling back, and he dropped to his knees, stunned.

“Enough, big boy!” Henry taunted with a smirk, glancing down at Reed.

 “That was some beating, uff, gonna leave a bruise tomorrow. Chill down a bit, geez!” He chuckled, clearly enjoying as he struggled to catch his breath.

But while Henry was busy mocking Reed, Dune seized the opportunity. Her combat suit had been nearly incapacitated by the EMP, but she managed to shake off the last vestiges of its paralysis. Her movements were stiff, but she could move again—just in time.

With a growl, she pulled a pin on one of the grenades she had in her belt, the safety releasing with a sharp click. She launched herself forward, charging at Henry from behind.

“Hey, ugly! Think fast!”

Henry whipped around just as the grenade flew through the air. Reflexively, he reached up and caught it in midair.

 “You damn whore, who you—” His words cut off as he looked at the grenade and then his eyes widened.

 “Oh shit!”

Before he could react, the grenade exploded with a blast. A cloud of smoke and sand filled the air, obscuring the view. But as the dust settled, Henry was still standing. His combat suit was charred and cracked, the damage visible, but the man himself was far from defeated. His breath came in heavy pants, but his expression was a mix of rage and disbelief. The suit had taken a significant blow, but it wasn’t enough to finish him off.

“You’ll pay for this, Dune!” Henry growled. He was pissed, and there was no doubt about it.

Dune tried to move back, but Henry was already on the attack. His combat suit, though damaged, was still far superior to hers in strength, speed, and agility. With a sudden burst of speed, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground with one hand.

Dune gasped, struggling against his grip, but Henry only tightened his hold. The power of the combat suit was too much, and she could feel herself weakening under his assault.

“I’ve had enough of you, Dune. Time to end this.”