Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

Hope and I set up further down the tunnel, behind a mound of rubble from a partially collapsed roof. Rather, Hope set up while I edged close to the monstrously large plant.

Unfortunately, I was the quickest between us. It was weird being the best at something for once, but I didn’t let it get too far into my head. Hope was wearing some fairly heavy armor. Course Dexterity helped my movement speed, but it was more mental than anything.

I eyed my path back to her, locking it into my mind as I pulled my last Molotov from my bag. I locked eyes with her through our masks, receiving a nod as she braced her gun on the rubble.

It was simple to light the Molotov, but that’s where simplicity ended. I don’t know if it was from the sudden fire or what, but as soon as the Molotov caught flame the giant plant on the ceiling shifted. The tentacle-like vines dropped, revealing their sheer girth as they hit the ground with a surprisingly meaty thunk as the stone chipped.

My hesitations vanished as Insight’s chills wracked my body. Being near this thing was a very bad idea. I let loose the Molotov, my other hand instantly snapping to my pistol. My feet were already pounding silently into the stone, catapulting me through the cave as the glass bottle shattered.

A thunderous crash of debris stung my ears as something heavy fell behind me, shortly followed by the cracks of several bullets whizzing past me. A beastly screech burst from what I could only assume was the plant creature. It was horrendous, digging into my eardrums with a promise of violence. Dexterity worked against me, elongating the screech far longer than it should’ve as a familiar headache started to pound in the back of my head.

I raced down the path, bullets going wide around me. My legs moved as fast as they could, and I flung myself over the mound of rubble Hope perched behind. Mid-roll, I grabbed my KS Squire braced against the rubble, and twisted back to face what Hope blasted away at.

I should’ve brought more Molotovs.

Just outside the door, momentarily frozen as fire licked up its disgusting body, sat a creature straight out of my nightmares. It looked like a mass of swirling green tentacles built around an unnatural maw. It screeched again, the maw’s lips pulling back to show bone-like fangs and serrated teeth. Fire flicked across it, but the warm glow was quickly quenched by the mass of tentacles smothering it. The plant simply tore out the charred bits, tossing them to the sides of the tunnel in a spray of sickly green ichor.

Flicking Aetherial Perception on, I was stunned to find its aura changed significantly. Its 'awake' aura looked entirely different than when it rested on the roof. A deep pitch of warped green mixed with bloody red swirled around it, radiating a malevolence faintly reminiscent of the creature from the Leper-Khan camp. It was heavier though, somehow more wicked than the mawed beast in the cave had been-

No, that wasn’t quite right. There was an underlying current to the plant beast, one which felt ancient and purely evil. The ancient evil didn't originate from the creature itself. Instead, it felt like a subtle undercurrent simply wearing the plant like a puppet. It was almost impossible to spot that underlying current through the rest of the plant, and Insight warned against looking too deeply at the dark green, nearly black shades hiding inside the creature.

My finger twitched to the trigger even as my brain struggled to process what I was looking at. In that moment as my first bullet fired out, the creature moved. Like a minotaur charging down its maze, it flung itself down the tunnel toward us using its vines like legs. Each movement shook the walls of the tunnel, hammering against the stone in a spray of chips and dust. My rifle kicked in bursts as I shot at its maw, the bullets tearing through its body like paper. Yet the thing continued, the holes visibly repairing themselves.

”Wh-at the he-ll is th-at?” I heard Hope ask beside me, her voice mostly muffled by the loud bangs of our rifles. Out of my peripherals, I watched her slowly swap mags, her movements smooth even through the warped time of Dexterity.

The creature approached a quarter of the way to us as my rifle kicked out the last of its shots. Insight tingled as it flung a loose rock at me with one of its vines. The thing didn’t travel extraordinarily fast, so it was easy enough to dodge out of its way. The rock flew past me as I swapped mags, Dexterity helping my actions to be mostly smooth even without the skill and training of a true Squire. At least, until I missed the charging handle.

About halfway to us, Hope shouted, “Get do-wn!”

Right, the plan. I didn't need her to tell me twice. I ducked behind the rubble, expectantly waiting. I didn’t have to wait long. The pounding of the thing’s vines against the stone walls of the tunnel beat at my ears, quickly followed by a world-devouring boom.

My ears ached as several more followed it in succession, tearing at my eardrums and turning my world into a noiseless mass of light behind my eyelids. The light cut off, leaving a constant ringing in my eardrums as I struggled to sit up. Nothing looked right. My brain struggled to figure out where and what I was as I flinched back against something hard.

A hand soundlessly patted me on the back as the world drowned in a high high-pitched ringing, destroying any sense of cohesion. I dropped my gun, allowing time to flow normally as the hand grabbed my arm and hauled me up to my feet. I nearly collapsed as I looked around, everything was covered in a thick veil of dust.

The ringing faded as a form moved around me, nothing but a shadow against the dust cloud. The dust settled slightly, and Hope appeared. She called out something to me, though it was lost in the endless ringing. A frown crossed my lips as I tried to understand what she was saying. The mask ruined any chance of me reading her lips though.

It started as a whisper, slowly getting louder with each passing second. Her words forced themselves over the insidious ringing. “Zuku! Zuku, can you hear me? C’mon, focus up.”

”M’ yeah. Chek.” I shook my head, dislodging a faint layer of rock dust that coated me. I took a deep breath, tasting plastic- right, I had a mask on.

“Good. Just- just take a seat for a few moments. I’ll go keep watch. We need to move on soon. They definitely know we're here now.” Hope patted my shoulder one more time, hefting her rifle up and moving down the tunnel.

I took her advice, slumping down against the wall as I closed my eyes against the brightness of her flashing light. I flicked Cold-Blooded on, feeling ice fill my veins as a cold headache beat at the inside of my head like it wanted to get out. It was merciless in its cool brutality. The Perk hurt worse than it helped for once, so I flicked it off.

I checked myself for injuries, rubbing around my head for anything obviously wrong. There were a few pebbles lodged in my hair here and there, one even pressing deep enough into my scalp to bleed, but nothing too bad. At least not on the surface. I felt like I had a concussion as my brain slugged along. Would Quick Healing take care of brain trauma? I sure hoped so.

As the moments ticked by, the world shifted more and more into focus. Once I was sure I could walk without tipping over, I hefted myself back onto my feet and looked around. Right, my rifle.

I picked it up, gazing back at the scene of destruction. All six modified mines had gone off, blowing apart the surface of the tunnel and causing a partial collapse. There was still room to maneuver around, but it was definitely tighter than it had been. There, half buried under piles of rock and with several dozen holes blasted through it by the land mines, lay the charred remains of the plant creature.

Its vines were curled in on itself, almost like a dead spider. From what I could see of its maw, it lay half open drooped onto the rocks. A massive rock crushed most of its ‘head’, with smaller bits of debris covering its entire body. Pale green ichor pooled under the rubble, seeping from the mass of monstrous greenery. It sizzled and smoked where it hit a rock.

Hope stood just past it behind a pillar of stone, using it as cover with her rifle aimed right at the door. Or rather, the doorway. As my vision returned to somewhat normalcy, though with a few bright spots here and there, I realized the door sat open. I didn’t open it, and the explosion was too far to open it…

I shook my head out, causing a shooting pain to course through it, and raised my rifle back to a firing stance as I stepped up behind Hope. “I’m good to go.”

She glanced back, her eyes searching mine for a moment, before nodding. “Nova. Someone’s down here with us… probably waiting to ambush as soon as we step in…”

I glanced towards the door, mentally ticking all the reasons I didn’t want to step through it. The list was long, mostly ending in me dying a horrible death. “Damn… think there’s another way in?”

”Do you?”

”No…” My finger tapped the side of the rifle in thought as my headache died down slightly. “Hmm… You have a plan?”

Hope sighed. ”Working on it.”

I quickly thought through the contents of my bag. “I’ve got a camera. Could toss a flashbang in, then the camera. Might distract whoever’s keeping watch enough for us to get a visual of the interior.”

”Better than going in blind.” Hope looked back towards the mound of rubble. “Think they’ll have another one of those… things?”

”I hope not.” I really don’t think we’d be able to take another one down anyway. At least, not without some serious danger. The thought of that tentacled menace getting up close and personal with me sent chills down my spine. If its 'blood' could melt stones, I didn't even want to imagine what it could do to my body.

I reached back for my bag, pulling out a Scouter as Hope prepped a flashbang. I clicked the power button on it, easily linking it up to my eye’s HUD. I got a look at myself as I adjusted to the alternate viewpoint, seeing my face mask absolutely coated in dust and grime. “3. 2. 1.”

I tossed the Scouter a second after the flash, quickly averting my eyes. A loud bang echoed past the door, followed by a flash bright enough to illuminate us far back in the tunnel.

As soon as the light faded, I looked through my Scouter, relaying everything I could to Hope. “It looks as though it's some kind of cistern.” An incredibly ornate one at that. The brickwork, although ancient, was masterfully crafted.

”Bunch of pillars for cover. Lots of potential threats hanging from the ceiling.” Massive arcs connected the pillars, each a hotbed for greenery. Could potentially be a threat, could just be nothing. Hard to say without getting in there.

Walls formed of vines and tree limbs twisted around each other made rooms surrounding the central area. ”Rooms all around the central space. Massive AE3 generator in the back.”

”Two contacts. Stunned.” I swirled the Scouter around, doing a quick pass for movement. “Probably more. Could flash and storm before they use any magic.”

”Chek.” Hope tapped on my shoulder. “I’m taking point. I’ll get the two in the middle, you watch our backs.”

I disconnected from my Scouter, taking a moment to readjust myself back to normal vision as the headache returned. I ignored it and raised my rifle, following closely behind Hope. Just as we reached the door, she pulled a flash out and primed it. “On three.”

I followed her motion, grabbing the flashbang she gave to me back on the surface and nodded to her. “1. 2. 3.”

We both tossed, pausing for a moment. As soon as they went off, Hope moved with the agility of a professional. The moment she passed the door, her rifle barked several times, followed quickly by two cut-short screams.

As soon as I entered the door, Insight screamed at me. Out of my peripherals, I spotted several vines flying toward us like spears. Before I could think too deeply, I flung myself at Hope’s back, knocking us both to the floor and past the first row of pillars.

The impact knocked the air out of me as I rolled off of her, catching sight of the vines lancing through the stonework as if it wasn’t even there. Off to the side of the room, hidden mostly by the vinework, I spotted a person waving a small green wand. Dexterity helped line up my shot before whatever the person was casting could go off, and then I took it.

The kick of my rifle was worse on the ground, ramming my shoulder into the stone hard enough to bruise as the burst of bullets hammered through the vines. The person dropped, though I couldn’t tell if they were dead or not.

Hope fired again off towards the back side of the massive cistern. As I pushed myself to my knees, I saw that she was already up and in cover behind one of the pillars. I followed her lead, half crawling behind a pillar before standing fully. I quickly reloaded, wincing as I saw half the mag still left over.

I flicked on Aetherial Perception, nearly going blind as the brightness of the Aether pounded into my eyes. The bright flashes of the Aether felt like they were attempting to strangle my bruised brain. I had to blink several times before I adjusted to it enough to distinguish the lights. Most of them were just plants giving off a dim light. I spotted a significantly brighter pulsing light in the far back corner of the room.

“Contact, back right! Looks like something heavy.” I called to Hope as I flicked off the Perk, shifting my gun’s angle.

Hope barely had enough time to adjust her position before the vine wall burst in a spray of wood splinters.