//------------------------------// // III - Facility // Story: Black Forest: Coverup // by Alfoals Trottenbauer //------------------------------// Adrian woke up with a scientist peering over him. He looked excited. "Hey, this one is alive!" He called out. A few more galloped to him. They helped him back on his hooves. "We saw you get shocked by that fence." One of the scientists explained. Adrian looked over to the right. A scientist was attempting to revive another soldier. The soldier had something pulsating on his head. It got up and swung at the stallion. Adrian galloped to the scientist. He punched the crab off it's head. The body fell. He crushed the creature under his hoof. "Thank you, You've saved me. That crustacean-like creature's capabilities seem strange. I must explore this further." The science team member said as he pulled a scalpel and cut the alien's body. "Help! Somepony please!" A voice rang from down the hall. Adrian dashed down the hall. A zombie had been slashing at this scientist's body. He was still alive, barely. A dead security guard had a gun in his holster. The guard's right hoof seemed to have been reaching it. Adrian levitated the gun from his holster. He fired at the zombie's head. It shook and fell after a few shots. "Thank you..." He managed to get out. Another scientist trotted their way. "What happened here? We heard gunshots." He asked just before seeing the dying science team member. "Walter! This stallion needs medical attention!" The scientist shouted back the other way. What Adrian assumed to be Walter galloped into the room. "Yes, Dr. Hauer?" Dr. Hauer indicated his hoof to the dying scientist. "O-oh my word." He gasped as he trotted to him. After attempting to perform CPR, he placed a hoof over his throat latch. "He died, probably from his wounds. I didn't get here in time." He stated. "I told Dr. Hunt not to go out there, but he just wouldn't listen." Dr. Hauer lamented. "You should go elsewhere, Mr. Sheepherd, you've helped all you can. " He said as he looked at his dogtag which showed his last name. Adrian trotted through the door, the scientists watched him go out with their eyes full of hope. The room was decimated, walls had been broken, there were corpses strewn about. Adrian cantered to a reception desk behind a shattered window. A security guard lay on the ground. Shards of glass, stuck in his body, legs splayed out from him. Blood dripped from the wall behind him. A burst of some kind of energy must have hit the area. Maybe it was the same thing that destroyed Goose 7. He opened a door to a lab. A gun was pointed at him. "Freeze!" Adrian threw his hooves in the air. "Aw, hay. Sorry about that, friendo." The overweight security guard said, lowering his firearm. "Name's Otis. Yours?" He waited for an introduction. "Not much of a talker I see." A zombie slammed it's hooves through the door behind Otis, It seized his throat latch. This took him by surprise, causing him to drop his pistol. The zombie lifted Otis into the air by his neck. "Quick... Do something!" Otis gasped. Adrian quickly took the gun and shot the parasite on the zombie's head. It tightened it's grip, and suddenly fell. Otis started to breathe heavily. "Thank you, Mr... Sheepherd." He said, looking at Adrian's dogtag. Otis unlocked the broken door and opened it. On the other side was a large hallway with a high ceiling. A scientist galloped across the dark corridor Adrian just entered. He started to slam his hooves on a steel door. "For Celestia's sake, open the door!!" He shouted. A colossal, bipedal alien with glowing red eyes ran toward him. "Oh Celestia, we're doomed!" It stomped it's foot onto him. Parts of the scientist flew onto the walls. Adrian galloped past the monster and crawled into a vent. The monster ran in his direction, crouching at the vent. It reached a clawed hand in, trying to retrieve the tiny soldier. It snarled and shot fire through the vent. It singed Adrian's tail. He continued through the vent, eventually getting to the other side of the wall. He trotted a few steps when he heard a loud crash behind him. Drywall fell from the ceiling. The whole wall behind him buckled before the monster he tried to get away from. A dead soldier was near Adrian with a knife on his belt. He levitated the knife off the marine as the gigantic alien picked him up. He jammed the knife into the monster's glowing, red eye. It let out a bellowing roar and threw him against the wall. Adrian got back up almost instantly and galloped away. It started running after him. A squad of marines trotted by. "What the hay is that thing!" One shouted. They fired at it with their assault rifles, but it was no use, it was beyond bullets, not even a missile could be nearly enough power. It stomped on one, grabbed the commander, and bit his head off, cigarette and all. Blood, like a fountain spurted out. The last five galloped for their lives, One was crushed underfoot, the other tripped, turning to face the monstrosity. "No! Stay away from me, you beast!" The marine shouted, backing away with his back hooves. The titanic alien seized the bite-sized soldier and crushed him, blood dripping from it's giant talons. The last three galloped past Adrian. it sprinted toward Adrian, A booming growl in it's throat. Adrian ducked between its feet, the monster turned back to face him. One eye still shut with a gaping wound. Sickly yellow blood oozed from the opening. Adrian skidded on his hooves for the assault rifle the marine dropped, picking it up with his magic. He aimed the automatic rifle at it's face, firing into it's other of three eyes, ten bullets hit their mark, five in each eye. The beast howled, the noise reverberating off the cold steel walls and ceiling. It strode about, disoriented from blindness. Adrian galloped past it again, bursting through a door. The three marines were missing, twelve hooves and legs were strewn about the floor, blood still gushing. Multiple blue beams illuminated the otherwise pitch-black corridor. Adrian lowered his night-vision visor over his gas mask. His vision turned bright green as he turned them on. Three silhouettes flipped over the lasers, not one touched them. His improved vision revealed that the room was an open space before the corridor, a large hole in the floor was in the corner. His weapon was ripped from his grasp, the shadow then proceeded to kick his snout with it's back hoof, in a three-hundred sixty degree turn, cracking the lens on his gas mask. Adrian punched the shadow, it recoiled with the hit, clutching at it's snout. It lifted a pistol and fired at Adrian's head, the helmet protected him. He punched it again. It backed into a laser, an explosion lit up the room. It sent both Adrian and the silhouette flying at the wall, except the shadow was in pieces. Another shot at his vest, the bullets were caught in the protective combat vest. Adrian bucked the shadow back into the large abyss in the ground. A shotgun lay in the other corner, probably from a dead marine. He levitated the firearm and shot both barrels into the last shadow. They were all dead, he only needed to get past the tripmines. He trotted carefully, minding each step. When he came to the mines, he ducked low. Once past, he trotted out the door. As soon as the door shut, Adrian heard the mines detonate, followed by blood spilling. He was outside in the Everfree at night, a group of seven fellow soldiers stood outside. A 50 caliber bullet wedged itself in the head of one. "Squad, we've got hostiles!" One with a red beret shouted. There was a silhouette with a sniper rifle on top of a tree. Adrian fired his assault rifle with the team of six, the figure eventually fell. "Sheepherd, you're a sight for sore eyes." the red beret said, "We thought everypony died in Goose 7."