Chương 149: Chapter 148 – Big Wood

With the creature's attention fixed firmly forward, Cole pushed off from his concealment and gave chase. In addition to its appearance that blended with the forest, Big Wood also made surprisingly little noise traversing the Curahee terrain, little enough that Cole struggled to keep up without making enough noise to attract the monster's attention. It was no wonder mid-level Kickers came in and culled creatures like this.

If Big Wood had been stalking this area during Cole's tryout, he never even would have seen the massive wood ogre coming. It would be on him in a flash, four arms pulling him apart while multiple mouths chewed him in half. Cole tracked it for nearly a kilometer before a charcoal-grey blur zig-zagged through the forest. Ketchup swept behind Big Wood, raising a trail of dirt and debris in his passing. He narrowly avoided those long, grasping claws.

Cole didn't have to wait long to know what had happened as Big Wood turned just in time for him to see the thermite grenade lodged between two wooden plates. It ignited on the creature's back." Keep up, if you can," said Ketchup. The munition, designed to melt through the engine block of a tank, immediately set the monster aflame—which deterred it less than Cole would have hoped.

No longer concerned with stalking quietly, Big Wood dropped to all six limbs like a hideous, flaming insect and tore through the forest almost as fast as Bessie had run. It used its four arms to pull itself through the trees, at times not even touching the ground in its pursuit. Cole launched after it, following the trail of molten metal in the forest. The creature hooked north by swinging around a tree. Cole slid across the ground trying to scramble in the new direction.

He measured his breathing, making sure he kept pace without exhausting himself as Ketchup led Big Wood on a merry chase. Ketchup could probably outrun the both of them. The ginger Kicker's primary enhancement was speed. If it boosted his innate abilities the way Acuity boosted Cole's, the guy could probably run a sub-hour marathon without burning a charge or breaking a sweat." Ketchup, what's the play?" Cole huffed between breaths.

When the other proctor's call came next, Cole could barely hear it over the rush of air from the speedster's frenetic pace." Why, you gettin' tired already? That grenade will burn a hole in his armor. It won't be big, but if you're a crack shot like Morgan said you were, it should be all you need." No sweat. Cole's eyes went wide as the burning ball of thermite dropped away onto the damp peat, kicking up a wall of smoke and sparks in his path. He pushed to the side, nearly colliding with a tree, and recovered.

Well, here was hoping that would be enough.

"No promises. Need a clearing where he can't swing off trees for a few seconds."" You got it, champ." Cole saw the grey streak break left, and Big Wood scrabbled, churning up wads of peat and dirt as the monster clawed for purchase. Cole vaulted a fallen tree, willing his rifle into its DMR configuration. If that thermite had only weakened the gnarled armor instead of exposing a true gap, he was going to need reliable penetration. The carbine hissed in his hands as it extended.

Up ahead, Cole spotted a gap in the trees beyond Big Wood. The creature emerged from the tree line and splashed through a knee-deep pond. Ketchup was already on the opposite bank, giving the double middle finger to the wood ogre. Not that the water was any huge deterrent, but it did keep Big Wood moving straight and level, and that had to be enough. But there was no way Cole could make the shot while running at a dead sprint. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Cole burned his ability and launched himself almost directly horizontally, also activating his arm cuffs to level out his flight. He skimmed the ground, coasting a foot or so above the peat bog, and then above the water as he drew his sights over the burned, smoking ring on Big Wood's back. He squeezed his trigger several times. More than half of the shots chipped away at the thick armor on Big Wood's shoulders and lower back.

But a blessed few sunk into the weakened armor, causing a spray of sludge and filth to erupt from the wound as the rounds rattled around inside the creature. It stumbled and roared, spinning on Cole and tearing back across the lake toward him. Cole burned another charge of his ability to redirect himself in the complete opposite direction, firing at the creature's thorny mouths as Meteoric Leap yanked him backwards. Wood chips and bark-like flesh sprayed into the air, but the creature kept on.

Cole felt the charge of an ability being burnt, and fresh green plant-matter erupted from the wounds on Big Wood's heads, replacing the damage.

"Shit, Ketchup, he's regenerating!"" On it!" From the other side of the bank, Ketchup blurred forward too fast for even Cole to track. Two walls of water erupted from where he'd stood on the bank all the way to the oversized wood ogre, and suddenly the speedster was clinging to the creature's back with one hand like a bronco buster. The other hand held another of the thermal grenades, which he shoved deep inside the wound caused by the first one before blurring away again.

Big Wood spun, swiping at him with two-meter arms. Smoke started to gout from the wound on its back. The creature reared back and howled, arms reaching behind itself to claw at the wound. It spun, frantic. Flames began to boil out of its mouths and its belly started to glow like coals in a fire pit. Cole's back hit a tree, though his Meteoric Leap nullified the impact. He slid to the ground, watching as Big Wood dropped to its knees and burned from within.

Even the water offered no reprieve, since the grenade burned so hot it couldn't be quenched. There was probably some sciency bullshit behind it, but in the here and now it turned the massive monster into a pile of soggy firewood. Cole wasn't sure when the creature started to ablate with all the ash and embers its burning body already expelled, but Ketchup appeared beside Cole, fair face flushed tomato-red from running. He looked over.

"What?" Asked Ketchup.

"Nothing. It's just…" Cole gestured to his own face.

"Your callsign. I thought it was a play on catch-up. Cause of your speed." Ketchup grinned.

"Ah, yeah. Nope, that's actually my nickname from track."

"What events?"

"Hundred meter and hurdle." Cole nodded and tapped his chest.

"Long jump and javelin."

"Go figure." Cole looked at the hissing and crackling body.

"You didn't really need me for that, did you?" asked Cole.

"Ah, well, you were a good distraction. It would have been tricky to get the second thermal on there if he was still chasing me, you know?" He shrugged.

"Come on, let's get him out of the water before all the loot ends up buried in the mud." Cole followed Ketchup into the pond, coughing as he rooted around for one of the wood ogre's massive arms. Together, they pulled the heavy-ass carcass up on the bank and waited for it to finish burning.

"Wish I had some marshmallows," said Cole.

"Wish I had some fuckin' beer," said Ketchup. He held out his fist, which Cole bumped in agreement.

"How's this compare to your first trip here?"

"It's an improvement. But you'd have to dig to find the bar. What was yours like?" Ketchup considered for a minute.

"Spent the first night alone. Woke up to scale hounds tearing my pack apart. I had a chili-mac MRE in there. Still salty about it. Picky fuckers didn't even touch the veggie omelette."

"That tracks."

"Yeah. Almost would have rather gone hungry. Traded my poncho for some soup at Last Fall." Ketchup barked a laugh.

"It was almost as bad as the omelette. But man, I was fuckin' hungry."

"Wouldn't mind dropping back in, see how they're doing," said Cole. Ketchup nodded.

"We'll swing by once we're done at the castle. I brought a few cans of peaches from the DFAC and some logs of dip. Mean Mamma Morganstern always brings chocolate and anti-fungal cream. Got some other med supplies courtesy of the Department." Cole looked over.

"I thought DOR didn't support offworld relief." Ketchup tapped the side of his nose.

"Not officially. But a few things always get marked surplus around the time of each new Curahee push. Come on, man. Bricker spent years here. You think he isn't at all attached to these people?" That was something to consider. How long did it take? Months? Years? How long before you started thinking of an otherworld as a home instead of a prison? It wasn't long enough for Bricker, apparently, since his reward from the God of Curahee was to be sent home. But what if he'd been here half his life?