Venom
The radscorpion moved horrifyingly fast. One second it stood near the rocks, the next it was charging directly toward them in a storm of claws and dust.
Adrian’s brain locked up instantly. Too big, it was too fucking big. Every videogame instinct he’d ever had failed completely against the reality of eight feet of armored nightmare sprinting toward him across open desert.
“MOVE!” Cassandra shouted. Adrian reacted half a second later.
The radscorpion slammed into the ground where he’d been standing, claws tearing through dirt and stone with enough force to send debris exploding outward… Jesus Christ.
Tandi fired first.
CRACK.
Her rifle round struck the creature’s side with a sharp metallic sound that the radscorpion barely seemed to notice.
“That’s not encouraging!” Adrian yelled.
Cassandra’s shotgun roared.
BOOM.
The blast shattered part of one claw, spraying dark blood across nearby rocks. The creature screeched again then turned directly toward her.
Adrian’s pulse spiked. Nope, absolutely not, he raised the shotgun and fired.
BOOM.
The blast struck the creature’s side hard enough to stagger it briefly, not much. But enough.
“Eyes!” Cassandra shouted while dodging sideways from another snapping claw. “The armor’s too thick!”
Right, weak points. Just like games. Except now the monster trying to kill him smelled like rotting meat and venom. Adrian pumped the shotgun frantically.
CHK-CHAK.
The radscorpion lunged again straight toward him this time.
“Oh come ON!” Adrian barely dove aside before the stinger slammed into the ground beside him hard enough to crack stone. Dust exploded across his vision as he hit the dirt hard, rolling painfully across the rocks while the shotgun nearly flew from his hands. Pain shot through his bruised shoulder.
The radscorpion turned immediately. Fast, too fast. Its claws scraped toward him with terrifying speed while venom dripped from the raised tail overhead.
Adrian’s brain suddenly became crystal clear, not calm. Focused. Pure survival instinct stripped down to its rawest form.
The creature’s eye tracked him. Small, soft target. Adrian shoved the shotgun upward and pulled the trigger.
BOOM.
The blast hit the radscorpion directly in the eye. The creature shrieked violently, black blood sprayed across Adrian’s vault suit while the monster thrashed blindly against the rocks.
“NOW!” Cassandra shouted. Gunfire erupted instantly, Tandi’s rifle cracked twice in rapid succession while Cassandra closed distance aggressively with the shotgun.
Not retreating… advancing. Absolute psychopath behavior. Adrian scrambled backward across the rocks while reloading shells with shaking hands. The radscorpion slammed one claw into the ground hard enough to nearly catch Cassandra’s leg.
She moved like water. Smooth, fast and controlled. The shotgun roared again point-blank into the creature’s damaged face.
BOOM.
The radscorpion screamed, then suddenly charged directly toward Tandi. Shit…
Tandi fired once more before the creature slammed into her position, the rifle flew from her hands. “TANDI!” Aradesh was going to have an aneurysm. The radscorpion’s tail whipped downward.
Fast, too fast. Adrian didn’t think… he moved. The shotgun slipped from his hands as he lunged across the rocks and slammed into Tandi hard enough to throw both of them sideways.
The stinger crashed into the ground where she’d been standing less than a second earlier. Stone shattered and venom hissed across the dirt.
Adrian and Tandi rolled violently down the rocky slope together before crashing into a cluster of broken concrete near the base. Pain exploded through Adrian’s ribs.
Tandi groaned beside him. “You good?”
“That depends!” Adrian wheezed.
Above them the radscorpion turned again toward Cassandra. Its damaged face dripped black blood while one ruined claw dragged against the rocks. Still moving, still angry somehow more horrifying.
Cassandra stood alone only a few yards away reloading calmly, too calmly in Adrian’s opinion… the radscorpion charged. Adrian saw the timing, too close and moving too fast. She wasn’t going to finish reloading in time, something cold surged through Adrian’s chest.
Fear… not for himself, for her. Without thinking he grabbed Tandi’s dropped rifle beside the rocks and fired wildly.
CRACK.
The shot missed completely, the radscorpion ignored him. Cassandra chambered the final shell, too slow. The creature lunged. Adrian fired again.
CRACK.
This time the bullet struck the damaged eye socket, the radscorpion jerked sideways instinctively. Only slightly, but enough. Cassandra’s shotgun roared.
BOOM.
The blast tore straight through the creature’s exposed face at point-blank range, for one terrible second the radscorpion remained standing. Then its legs collapsed violently beneath it. The massive body crashed into the rocks with enough force to shake the ground.
Silence and dust drifting slowly through the afternoon sunlight. Nobody moved for a few minutes, then Adrian realized he was breathing like he’d just sprinted through hell. Which honestly felt accurate.
Tandi sat beside him staring at the dead creature wide-eyed, “…holy shit.”
“Yeah,” Adrian wheezed. “That feels correct.”
Above them Cassandra slowly lowered the shotgun, her breathing remained controlled. But Adrian noticed her hands shook slightly.
Even she felt fear.
☢ ☢ ☢
Tandi climbed shakily back to her feet. “You tackled me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“That was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“You still did it.”
Adrian blinked at her, “…I feel like we already established I’m bad at survival instincts.”
Tandi laughed suddenly. Sharp nervous laughter, adrenaline crashing. Then she looked toward the dead radscorpion again, “…that thing almost killed us.”
“Pretty sure it definitely tried.”
Cassandra approached them slowly while reloading fresh shells into the shotgun. Always reloading, always preparing. “You moved before thinking.”
Adrian looked up at her. “That sounds bad.”
“It usually is.” Then after a pause, “this time it wasn’t.”
That might honestly have been the closest thing to praise Cassandra Hale had ever given another human being. Adrian smiled despite the exhaustion flooding his body. “I’ll frame the moment emotionally.”
Cassandra looked down at him for a long second, then unexpectedly held out a hand. Adrian accepted it automatically. Strong grip but warm soft skin. She pulled him easily back to his feet, for a brief moment neither let go immediately.
Dust swirled softly through the desert around them while the massive dead radscorpion lay sprawled across the rocks nearby. Adrian became suddenly aware of how close she stood, the smell of gunpowder lingering between them and he could feel her pulse surging as he held her wrist… Cassandra noticed him noticing, of course she did. “You’re staring again.”
“Near-death experiences make you more attractive somehow.”
“That’s medically concerning.”
“Probably.”
Tandi made a dramatic gagging noise nearby. “Oh my God.”
Both ignored her completely, then Adrian noticed something. Movement and tracks… more tracks. Leading deeper toward the eastern caves.
His smile faded slowly, “…uh.”
Cassandra followed his gaze. The expression on her face hardened. “There are more.”
And somewhere deeper beneath the rocks something screeched back.