Desperation

C bolted out from his hiding spot behind the tree, alerting the creatures into pursuing him. C had no choice but to fire his rifle, using what little was left of his ammunition. Firing in small bursts towards their legs, he was able to stagger the creatures and slow their advance just enough to gain distance from them. He turned sharply through the trees using the dense area to forestry to slow his pursuers, and eventually arrived on a path of crushed brush and grass - flattened in a double-line pattern that indicated a vehicle. He followed the trail, using sprays of fire from his rifle to maintain distance with the creatures, until he noticed a large object from far away. C quickly identified it: it was a run-down APC, which gave C a last-ditch plan.

C sprinted towards the APC, but was intercepted and knocked down by one of the creatures. The creature sent him flying a few feet forwards, allowing him to turn and shoot at its eye as it approached him. It flinched slightly from the impact, giving C time to scramble up from the ground. He continued his advance towards the APC, hearing another creature tear through the dirt behind him.

C turned and fired at the creature closing distance behind him. Firing in quick bursts, he was able to daze the creature and give himself the chance to reach the APC. He jumped up onto the APC's side, and climbed to the top of it. He located the entrance hatch, and tried to pull it open. The severe rust on it prevented him from fully rotating it, forcing him to jump away as one of the creatures' blades was shot at him. The blade flew past, cutting his arm in the process.

C scurried under the APC, causing the creatures to try to slash at him with their comparatively shot arms. Realizing that they could not fit underneath, C fired at them from the center of the cover, making them retreat a fair distance at the cost of the last bits of his ammunition. C quickly observed their positions: two were at the right of the APC, one was at the back, and another one was heard, but not visible from his position. He had to risk the possibility of the last one being near the APC, and ran out from the left side. The left side was clear, allowing him to get a grip on the APC's hull. He climbed up the APC and pried open the hatch with all his might. He quickly made his way inside, barely evading the two creatures that jumped in from his flanks and a blade that flew past his torso, slicing a part of his suit.

It did not take long before all the creatures started to slam at the rusted APC, using their entire body weight to attempt to break in through the metal armor. C noticed the APC shaking, and had to find something to drive the creatures away. His only choice was to find a heavy firearm, but his only option then was to use the APC's turret, which was not only worn possibly even more than the APC itself, but was also located on the outside of the vehicle. He decided to go for it against all odds, and went up into the turret bed. C was forced to slouch down and put his face behind the turret's guards, to keep his upper body completely covered.

Barely peeking above the barrel, he aimed at one of the creatures and fired at it with the turret. Looking away from the muzzle, C felt a powerful rumble from the turret, followed by the almost deafening sound of gunfire. In the next moment, C saw the creature tumble and fall over from the corner of his eye. The other creatures attempted to retaliate by firing their blades at him, an attempt thwarted by the guards on the turret's sides. C fired at the other creatures, hearing the impacts on their armor as he held down the turret fire on them. The creatures attempted to jump away from the spray of bullets, but were hit repeatedly by the turret's volley, with C steering its barrel towards the pack. C did not know how much ammunition the turret had left, and had to fire the moment he took aim.

The creatures split up from each other, giving C more difficulty in keeping all of them at bay. Rushing in at full speed, one of the creatures was able to jump on the APC, immediately slashed at C, hitting the wound on his arm. C was forced back into the APC, with his arm now heavily injured. The creature blocked his way out of the turret bed, forcing him to rush to the entrance hatch. He attempted to open it, but it was slammed shut on top of him. The creatures resumed assaulting the APC, slamming its sides and creating slight dents in its armor. C prepared for the creatures to break through the APC's side, and attempted to find anything within the vehicle's hull. C located another rifle and reached for it. C grabbed the rifle and laid low, in the process noticing that the APC was left motionless. After a moment he realized that the creatures had seemingly disappeared. He peeked out from the turret bed, and saw that they had left the area. Perplexed, C got up properly onto the turret to get a better view of the clearing.

An intense sound came from above the trees, as if a massive gale of wind blew from just above the treetops. C paused and look upwards. After a brief period of silence, a powerful force fell from the tree-line and landed in front of the turret, with the shockwave forcing C to cover his eyes. Once the dust settled, C was able to look up, and identify the sudden intruder. C found himself staring eye to eye at the being that he saw back in the city: K.

C froze at the sight of it, knocked into a reaction when it jumped back from the APC. C dropped the rifle and started to fire at it with the turret. Unlike the creatures, the being appeared to be completely unaffected by the hail of bullets that now tore apart the ground around it. In almost an instant, K appeared in front of the turret, bending its barrel upwards and rendering it unusable. In the moment the barrel snapped off, C leapt down from the turret bed and scrambled back into the APC, grabbing his rifle on the way in and closing the hatch from the inside.

Staying next to the side of the APC, C jumped back towards the center when the wall next to him dented inwards, almost hitting him upon doing so. The wall behind him then bent inwards, the force of the impact almost reaching him again. A sharp noise circled around the APC, forcing the hull inwards from where it was heard. C was forced to the middle of the APC, as its walls closed in on him. He was only able to look in disbelief as the walls of solid metal were crushed inwards towards him.

C was frozen in the center of the APC, unable to move at all. His head started to ring violently, and his vision started to become unsteady. C slowed down his breathing, it took him a while to realize that the walls were no longer closing in on him. The noise started to grow faint, eventually relocating to right above the APC. After the noise had vanished, C crawled towards the entrance of the vehicle, making as little noise as possible on the metal floor. As he crawled forwards, he realized that the wound on his arm had healed to just a scar. Looking past it, he arrived at the hatch and listened carefully, putting his ear right under it. At first, there was only silence, but he eventually heard footsteps on the ground outside. He only had one chance to survey the situation. He threw open the hatch and pointed his rifle forwards - right at a soldier.