Nicholas's heart pounded fast in his chest from excitement… But something else was there too.
Hidden deep within… A feeling he couldn't quite name.
He frowned.
He didn't understand it, but he was certain he had felt it a long time ago… so long that he had forgotten what it was.
Before he could dive deeper into the memory…
[Warning... 1st layer of D-Grade Ablative Shells has been lost]
[Warning... 2nd layer of D-Grade Ablative Shells losing durability]
Nicholas's eyes widened.
It might not sound like much since the main defence—the D-Grade Structural Carapace—hadn't been damaged yet but he still had more than twenty-seven hours of journey ahead of him.
Not to mention the hunt itself and then the thirty hours back.
This was bad.
He glanced at the video on the interface.
The machine gun was still firing, but although it was an inconvenience to the creature, it was slowly learning to ignore it with the bullets bouncing off its hide like rain off stone.
He had to do something quick.
If the creature closed the rest of the distance, he would die… There was no escape from that.
He reached up, feeling around until his fingers found the sniper then he felt for the magazine, pulled it out, and quickly reloaded.
Immediately after he jumped up unto the chair, raising himself high enough and aimed at the creature.
It wasn't very far now so he didn't have to spend time aiming. The creature was so close its face filling his vision the moment he looked through the scope.
He lowered the sniper to its body and squeezed the trigger.
*Bang*
Hit.
A louder screech erupted from the creature as the incendiary bullet slammed into it however it did not erupt in flame like he expected.
*SCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHHH!*
This time, it stalled for far longer, its recovery to full speed was slower allowing the gap between them to widened.
He reloaded, adjusted the rifle till the crosshair returned to the creature's chest before he fired.
*Bang*
The incendiary bullet struck the lips of the second mouth… the one in its chest and exploded.
*BOOOOM!*
Fire erupted from the creature's torso and the flames licked at its skin. The creature let lose a louder screech than before.
*SCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHHH!*
But before the fire could cause more damage, the corrosive slime pouring out from its pores extinguished the flame.
'Fuck. I hoped the slime was flammable.' Nicholas watched the fire die through his scope.
Thankfully, even that bought enough time and the gap between them widened again. It was now wide enough that the ridiculously long arm could no longer reach the truck.
But Nicholas did not calm down.
He rebalanced himself and took aim again, taking the opportunity while the beast was still recovering from the first two shots.
*Bang*
This time, the creature tried to avoid the shot. It twisted it many joints jerking to the side… It failed.
The bullet made its mark and ignited again.
*SCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHHH!*
Again, the corrosive slime extinguished the flame.
'The minor burns seem to be causing more damage than I expected, and the creature is trying to avoid the bullet now.'
Nicholas observed the creature's reaction… It was afraid of the fire or at least fire did more damage to it than regular bullet.
Whichever one it was. Good.
He reloaded and aimed again.
*Bang*
This time, the creature managed to avoid the bullet. It dodged left, and the shot went wide.
But he still achieved his objective as he watched the creature slow down… Again, the gap widened again.
*Bang*
Miss.
Slowed.
*Bang*
Miss.
Less slow.
*Bang*
Miss.
Even less speed loss.
By the eighth shot, he was no longer slowing the creature down and it was closing the distance again.
Its eyes burned with fury from the pain of the burns.
'This isn't working.' Nicholas thought as he decided not to shoot this time. Instead, he waited.
He watched the creature through his scope. It was getting closer and closer and its long arm had begun to stretch out, reaching for the truck.
He waited until it was close enough—close enough that he could see the slime dripping from its pores, close enough that he could hear its wet breathing—but not close enough that the arm could hit the truck.
Then he squeezed the trigger.
*Bang*
Because of the closer range, the creature couldn't avoid the bullet quick enough as it slammed into its chest with full force.
*SCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHHH!*
The creature stalled but the slime quickly killed the fire.
'This won't last long. I have to think of something else.' But nothing came to mind, so he simply continued.
He reloaded, fired, reloaded and fired.
The pattern continued for a while. Him shooting, then waiting for it to get closer before shooting again but the creature was learning.
And finally, it got tired of the damage the fire was causing so It slowed its pace and fell back keeping a steady distance from the truck. Just enough for it to dodge any follow up shot Nicholas fired at it.
Nicholas could feel its eyes completely focused on him and he could immediately tell the moment the creature reached a conclusion.
The conclusion that it had to remove him… Somehow.
He watched as its chest began heaving violently as the second mouth on its chest began to unfold, revealing rows of sharp teeth and the air around it seemed to vibrate.
Nicholas didn't have to be told what was about to happen.
The creature was about to release its terrifying roar. The same roar that had made the truck shudder from more than a hundred and fifty metres away.
If it released that roar so close to the truck, it might directly flip the vehicle.
Nicholas could not allow that.
He jumped down from where he was standing and was about to start rummaging through his military bag when his eyes landed on the second item he had brought from the back storage.
A grenade.
Specifically, a White Phosphorus or as it was commonly called Willie Pete.
Nicholas glanced at the interface. The creature's chest was swelling as the second mouth was drawing in air while its pace remained steady.
He knew that was his chance.
He climbed back up and once in position, he pulled the pin.
The spoon flew off and the fuse ignited.
He threw it.
Thankfully, all he had to do was throw it in the creature's direction. The pulling air current from its mouth did the rest.
The grenade flew through the air, and the creature didn't bother avoiding it… the same way it didn't avoid the leaves and stones flying into its mouth.
It was too focused on inhaling and chasing the truck at the same time.
The grenade disappeared into the second mouth, past the teeth and made contact with the other debris flying in.
And then…
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!*
The explosion was magnificent.
White phosphorus erupted from the creature's chest and the resulting fire was so bright it seared Nicholas's eyes even through the scope.
He pulled back from the scope and focused on the creature with his bare eyes trying to see the result.
Unfortunately, he couldn't make out much except the flames pouring out of its second mouth.
The creature stumbled, fell and rolled on the ground, trying to put out the fire.
But white phosphorus doesn't go out that easily… it burns and burns and burns.
Nicholas didn't wait to see if it got up.
"Full speed," he ordered and the truck surged forward, leaving the burning mutant behind.