Here be monsters

"If you're going through hell, keep going"

-Winston Churchill

The thick morning fog mixed with the ever constant drizzle of rain brought with it a damp coldness that one could almost feel deep in their bones. It wasn't cold enough to make your teeth chatter, but it was enough to make you miserable and question why in the hell you got out of bed that morning. Of course, a bed for Master Chief Matthew Winters had been the cold hard ground under a leaking tarp the night before. It had been raining for god knew how long and Matt was feeling every bit as miserable as he looked. His body and clothes were caked in mud and dirt as he laid, leaned up against a fallen tree on the forest floor. His eye was behind the 3-15x scope mounted on the rails of the VSASS sniper rifle platform he held his gloved hands. Chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, the tan painted VSASS sat perched up on the fallen tree that was covered in moss and over growth. Matt remained low behind the sights as he watched the small clearing in the forest before him. The fog and rain made it difficult to accurately use the sight without the sunshade cover over the bell end of the scope as he carefully scanned the rifle over the clearing. Somewhere in the distance a flash of lightning was followed shortly by a loud clap of thunder that momentarily deafened the sound of the falling rain.

Matt had been sitting in his position for hours before the sun had even begun to rise behind the dark clouds that seemed ever present overhead. It was getting to be late in the morning judging by the time on his watch and Matt was beginning to think he'd missed his mark. Taking the chance to look away from his scope, he reached down to the canteen bottle he had laid against the tree and opened it up before taking a swig of his ice cold contents inside. The water almost tasted sweet as it rolled over his tongue and in a few short chugs he felt immediately re-energized and ready for the long trip back. Placing the bottle back against the tree, Matt took one last look through the scope before he wanted to start packing up his hide. He was suddenly glad he did, as he brought the butt of the rifle up more into his shoulder and took aim at the sudden appearance of something big standing in the clearing.

The being was tall, even bigger than Matt who stood at a monstrous height of seven foot eight. Its fat, curved beak hung slightly open as it stepped cautiously around the other edge of the clearing. Colorful feathers of reds, blues, and greens covered its body as Matt compared it to what he imagined a prehistoric Dodo bird would look like. Its long talons on its feet snapped and clicked together with each step it took and more then once Matt swore the big beast looked at him as it searched around the clearing with its big circular eyes. Barely moving, he followed the beast's movement with the suppressed tip of his rifle and waited patiently as the beast continued to move around the clearing. Apparently believing that its surroundings were safe, the large bird-like creature began digging away at the muddy ground with its powerful legs, kicking up chunks of mud and dirt as it flung it into the nearby brush. Matt's finger moved slowly over the trigger as he aimed the sight just above and to the right to the center of the creature's chest. He slowly let out his breath and just as his lungs felt like they were about to bottom out, he squeezed the trigger. The report of the 6.5 Creedmoor round was only slightly muffled by the suppressor as the rifle bucked back against Matt's shoulder. He quickly began lining himself up for a follow up shot but realized it wouldn't be necessary as bloody chunks of feathers still floated down through the air. The beast had collapsed to the ground, dead with just a single shot. Its long taloned feet twitching as the last bit of its life drained from the corpse. A small smile grew from the corner of Matt's lips under his long ginger beard. Picking up the rifle, he began to slowly make his way into the clearing with his weapon held at the low and ready.

Quiet step after step, Matt made his way from his hunting position in the woods and slowly made his way out to the edge of the clearing. There weren't many shadows to conceal himself in, but he knelt down with his knee in the mud just inside the tree line. The rifle in hand, his eyes scanned around the clearing, carefully, scanning each shrub and bush his eyes met. Though the VSASS was suppressed it was far from silent. Even in the rain he was sure the shot would have been heard by anyone, or anything within earshot range. The wind picked up a bit, blowing the rain sideways for a moment into Matt's eyes and forcing him to squint a little. It was then, he saw it. The pair of tree trunk-like masses amongst the shrubs, leading up into the tree branches above where he could just make out the darkened shadow that made a chill run down his spine for a moment. It must have seen him at the same time, as the lumbering beast stepped out into the clearing from its own hiding spot as if it hadn't a care in the world.

This massive new being was taller than both Matt and the bird combined. Its thick muscular legs would make any gym rat envious as it stepped forward causing the ground to tremble. At first glance, it was almost easy to mistake the massive beast for some sort of prehistoric predator closely related to a T-Rex. It had a large head with rows of razor sharp teeth, each the size of a kitchen knife. Its large yellow eyes seemed to glow in the lightning strike nearby as they locked onto Matt. However, unlike the T-Rex, this monster had longer arms that had a long thin membrane that connected to its upper body. The monster let out a long chirping noise as it stopped just over the body of the fallen Dodo bird and lowered itself over the corpse slightly, its eyes still locked onto Matt's spot in the tree line.

With an unexpected determination, Matt stood up from his spot and stepped forward into the clearing towards the beast. Though he already knew the beast's skin was as thick as a tank's armor, he still held onto the rifle in his hands as he made his presence more known. The beast lowered itself further over the dead bird and its chirp turned more into an angry growl as Matt swore that he saw its gaze narrow on him.

"No. Not yours" Matt said, scolding the beast as if it was just some sort of common house pet.

The beast replied by showing more of its many large teeth as it brought itself lower to the ground, looking as if it was getting ready to tear Matt to shreds.

"Hey! Cut the shit. I killed it so it's mine. So fuck-off!"

Matt's voice was deep and bellowing as he continued to speak to the monster in such a manner. The beast didn't seem to like his tone as its neck extended out towards Matt. But instead of using its jaw filled with teeth to take a bite out of him, it used the weight and size of its head to try and bat Matt away from where he stood. Matt took a few steps back to avoid the creatures swinging head but immediately stepped back forward afterwards and raised a balled fist up in its direction.

"Hey! That's too far! Knock it off!"

His voice rose with anger and the large beast actually seemed to recoil a bit from Matt's angry tone with it.

"I killed this one. It's mine. You stole my last one too you gluttonous fuck. Go hunt your own damned food, or else"

Matt's voice dropped to a threatening tone and the large beast actually began to step back and away from the corpse underneath it. Matt began moving forward and with each step he took the large reptilian beast took a step back until Matt was the one standing over the bird he had shot. The beast stood by the spot in the trees where it had emerged from before and stood like a disciplined dog in the corner after getting yelled at for tearing apart the trash. Matt shook his head slightly as he clipped his rifle into the sling around his neck before he reached behind him and drew a large single sided blade from its sheath. Kneeling down, his eyes left the monster for a few moments as he inspected his kill and began getting to work on cutting it up. While he was cutting up his kill he suddenly began to notice a strong, pungent smell in the air. Matt looked up to see the monster standing nearby the tree line and urinating over a tree as it looked at Matt almost spitefully.

"Fucking classy" Matt muttered under his breath.

He continued to cut up the Dodo bird, quartering it off and wrapping the pieces of meat up in extra cloth before placing it in his bag. There was still some meat on the bird left when he finished filling up his bag. The beast hadn't moved from its spot at the edge of the clearing when Matt checked to see where it was. It still watched him but Matt could tell its attention was more on the cut up remains of the bird. With his bag secured away on his back, Matt began to slowly back away from the remains. This time, the beast took a step forward with each step Matt took back until he reached an area near the tree line where he had emerged from. The monster was drooling as it hovered over the corpse, but its eyes remained locked on Matt. It acted like a giant dog but Matt knew better than to let his guard down around the giant beast as he took a step back into the woods. As he did so, the monstrous reptilian beast opened up its maw and snapped up the remains in its teeth. Bones crunched in its mouth as it chumped down on the body. Matt continued to back away into the woods until he reached the fallen tree where he had left his canteen. He stood there a moment, watching the huge form of the beast devour the remains for a few more moments before he retrieved his canteen and began heading back to camp.

It took Matt several hours to get back to camp. He had to navigate his way through the forest until he came to a large field filled with what looked to be corn but with purple stocks. The field exposed him even more to the elements as he cut through what he gathered was only a mere corner of an utterly massive field that seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. Matt had made the journey several times before, cutting through the same field each time but he never saw any sign of any farmers or that the field was even being tended to. He had tried to cross the field one time going in another direction but it was almost dark out before he realized that the field just kept going on for what seemed like forever. It took two more days of backtracking to find his way back to camp and since then he didn't stray from the small make-shift path through the stocks that he had made.

It was nearly sundown by the time he made it back to camp. The rain had lightened up a little and he could see the flickering of flames through the trees as he grew closer. Matt paused at the edge of the flames light into the forest and let out a low whistle with his lips of three notes in an ascending order. He waited a moment before he heard three notes completing the melody return to him in another whistle. He then stepped forward into the light until he rounded a large Oak tree into the camp.

The hulking form of the C-17 Globemaster still laid half buried into the earth and tilted off to one side. Its rear cargo bay door was wide open and Matt could see the glow of the plane's internal lights illuminating the cargo that was still laid inside. A figure, shorter than Matt with brown hair, stood with their hands on their wide hips as Matt grew nearer to the light. As he did he was able to make out more of Sergeant Holly Remmy's facial features as she watched him. Her blue eyes watched him as her red tank top and multicam pants were covered in a dark black grease. Her brown hair was tied up into a messy bun on the back of her head, loose strands hanging down in her face. Behind her sat… the problem child.

The sleek tan beauty sat exactly where Matt had left her earlier that morning. She stubbornly hadn't moved an inch much to both Sergeant Remmy's and Matt's great dismay. They both had spent the past several days trying to convince her to finally get her big ass out of the C-17 but she just wouldn't budge. Matt was a big guy, but there was no way he could move nearly a ton and a half of solid steel.

"Any luck with Bessy?" Matt asked the Sergeant covered in grease.

"Got her to turn over for a few seconds today. But she immediately shit the bed again the moment I tried to put her in gear." she replied "I think I finally know what's wrong with her but I'm gonna need your help moving some stuff around in the back to get to the parts."

"Tomorrow. I've had a long day. I was able to get us some food but I ran into a certain someone"

"Oh? You ran into Rexxy today?" the sergeant asked with a slight smirk on her lips.

"Please don't tell me you gave it a name" Matt groaned as he sat the bag down at his side

"Too late, already did" she replied with a mock hair flicking gesture as she descended the ramp off the C-17 and walked past Matt towards the fire.

Sergeant Remmy, or just Remmy as she had made it clear to him to call her by, was a five foot eleven ball of spite, piss, hate, and vinegar. Matt often found himself wondering sometimes if she was some God's punishment to him for something awful he'd done. The sergeant had always had always made it her mission to cause Matt the utmost stress as possible. Naming the giant reptilian beast that had almost killed them both on multiple occasions, was just the newest of her schemes. Matt swore that he wouldn't let her get to him this time as he let out a pained sigh while shaking his head before he turned to follow her down the ramp. She may have been a complete and utter pain in his side, but at the same time he was thankful he had her around.

Once upon a time, Remmy had been a member of the United States Air Force's Special Warfare group. She still wore the square black patch on her chest rig that had only two white letters sewn into it. PJ. As a former pararescueman, Remmy had been one of Matt's first picks when he drafted in the members of Bravo Team. Her extensive combat record and impressive background in medical training had almost made her a no brainer. Being the only woman on the team hadn't been much of a problem for her either. The other members of Bravo would give her shit as the day was long but she'd always been able to return it tenfold. She had been a good fit for Bravo and for all the shit she put him through, he was still glad to have her be the one he was stranded with.

Matt paused for a moment on the ramp as he looked up at the growing night sky. In the fading light of the day's sun he could just make out not just one, but two moons starting their course through the night time sky. The larger of the two moons looked more normal as compared to the one back on Earth. The only thing that separated them was the smaller dwarven moon in its orbit that glowed a dark crimson red. Chunks of the smaller moon were almost visible to the naked eye as it looked like something big had once struck the moon causing it to break off. The moons were just another close reminder to Matt that where they were, wherever they were, sure wasn't on Earth anymore.

It had been almost three weeks since the C-17 crash landed into the forest, and it had been since day one that they had the run in with the prehistoric looking beast that Remmy had so affectionately named. Thankfully, Matt and Remmy had been the only two members of Bravo aboard the flight when it went down. The cargo plane had been full of weapons and gear that they were taking to the rest of the team as well as the M-ATV that had become the bane of both their existences. The massive desert tan vehicle named Bessy by none other than Remmy, still sat in the back of the C-17. No longer chained down to the floor of the cargo bay but refusing to budge, the M-ATV had become broken at some point during the crash. During the past several weeks and after the rest of the cargo in front of the M-ATV had been removed, Remmy had gone to work trying to repair the stubborn behemoth. The fact that she thought she had finally diagnosed the problem finally meant they might be able to finally travel away from the crash site and away from Rexxy.

Matt cursed himself for giving in and using the name that the sergeant had given the beast. The temper mental primadonna of a monster had been a thorn in their side since day one. It had attacked the wrecked aircraft probably thinking it was some sort of dead carcass at the time as it bit its teeth into the metal frame. What a surprise it must have been when two comparatively smaller beings came rushing out of it firing hot steel up into its face. The 5.56 x 45 rounds from Matt's HK416 and the 4.6 x 30 from Remmy's MP7 did jack all against the tank armor thickness of the beasts hide. However, whether it was the constant barrage of small bee stings or the loud thunder the two weapons combined, the beast didn't seem to care much for what was happening and took off into the woods. Several times since then the beast had reappeared, stocking them mostly but it had also attacked them on a few occasions as well. Once Matt had gotten his hands on the VSASS that had been tucked away in one of the pelican cases onboard the aircraft, the ball game changed. The beast didn't really seem to like the 6.5 Creedmoor rounds that much and Matt had definitely pissed it off when a few of the larger rounds went through the beast's tough hide. What Matt wouldn't have given to give the fifty strapped to the top of Bessy a try against the beast's armor. Another reason he was glad that soon the truck might be operational and ready to roll.

"Hey, I also did some digging in the cockpit today, managed to salvage a few things but… I didn't wanna spend to much time up there"

Remmy's usual demeanor had fallen away and been replaced with a much more somber tone. The topic of the cockpit and the fate of the plane's crew had been a subject of taboo amongst the two for some time. They had both seen their fair share of bodies before, but the inside of the cockpit looked like a scene out of a horror movie. Both pilots along with the loadmaster had been in the cockpit at the time of the crash. Matt had been the first to check up on them and to find the scene. Wires and metal instrument panels hung from the ceiling and walls and looked like an odd, abstract and fucked up piece of art you saw in a museum but never really got what it was. Everything was covered in a thin layer of red mist and other such horrific depictions that was enough to make even the strongest of stomachs like Matt's queasy. There were a few items up there that Remmy had thought might be useful to them but after she saw the gruesome display, she too agreed that it was best to let the crew be in their final resting place. The fact that Remmy even entertained the fact of going back up there to try and gather together anything spoke volumes to her determined character. Matt looked over at her as she stood by the edge of the roaring fire, looking into the flames as if trying to burn the memories of what she saw out of her eyes. Matt wouldn't say anything, there was nothing for him to say. The crew's number was up and they met their bitter and unfortunate end. At the end of the day, that was all there was to it. Matt knew Remmy knew that too as she shook her head and pried her eyes away from the flames before she turned back towards Matt with her hands on her wide hips.

"Anyways, I wasn't able to actually salvage as much as I would have liked to. Managed to grab the crew's medical kit, but that was about the only thing of any real value left up there anyways. What did you get for dinner?" Remmy said finishing her brief of her venture into the cabin and quickly changing the subject.

Matt understood why the sudden change in subject. The former PJ relayed only the important details that were needed and moved on to the next pressing matter. Moving on, Matt placed the bag down by his feet as he sat on a stump placed by the fire and opened it up, revealing its contents wrapped in plastic inside.

"Managed to hunt down one of those dodo bird looking creatures. Followed it across the corn field and into the valley. Took only one shot from the Project Joy to bring it down. That's when the asshole showed up and nearly stole our food."

"Hmm, well there looks to be at least enough there to last us a while before it starts to go bad. We can try to dry some of the meat out if we get a chance, prolong our previsions for as long as we can. Man, what I wouldn't give for a bag of salt right now. Anyways with the meat and the supplies we already have, we still should be set for a while on food now. Good call on going hunting."

Remmy was standing on the other side of the fire, her arms crossed over her chest in a thinking pose as Matt could see her running countless calculations and possibilities in her head.

"If we are able to get the truck up and running by tomorrow, we can load her up with at least a quarter of the supplies we have. Maybe we can push that number a bit more if we tie some stuff off to the side of the vehicle as well. Gas is going to be an issue though. We got enough to fill up the tank a few times but carrying all that gas is the biggest problem."

Remmy continued to mutter to herself as Matt began unwrapping the meat cuts from the plastic. Matt found it best to let the sergeant be whenever she got to think like this. She'd undoubtedly figure out their supply problems, and in the meantime Matt would begin preparing their dinner for the night as the sun finally set and the last rays of light vanished over the treetops.