The Universe Of Tomorrow

The Infinite Loop of Corporal David Harris

The ground shakes with each blast, so much that I think the trench itself might collapse. These things, these otherworldly beings, are not like any enemy we've ever faced. Agile, nearly invincible, with biotech armor that makes our bullets look like toys. 

"We can't hold them off any longer!" Thompson screams, his voice almost drowned out by the chaos. Just then, one of the creatures leaps in, cutting down two of my friends in a blink. Rage surges through me. I lunge forward, thrusting my bayonet into its abdomen and twisting. It howls and collapses, its weirdly glowing orange blood splattering all over me.

I stomp my foot onto its lifeless body and scream at the rest of them, challenging these monsters to come at me. 

In a split second, they rush forward. Time slows. My adrenaline kicks in, and my training takes over. I dodge, parry, shoot—each movement a desperate dance of survival. They come at me from all sides, but I hold my ground, cutting them down one by one.

Finally, the last one falls, its glowing blood joining the rest on my uniform. I'm soaked in it, standing amidst a scene of utter carnage. A laughter wells up inside me, escaping into the air, filling the trench, filling the night.

For a moment, I feel my sanity teetering on the edge, my laughter a thin line between courage and madness. But I've survived, and for now, that's enough. 

I ready my rifle again, staring down the dark horizon. The war isn't over, not by a long shot. But they know now, as do I, that we won't go quietly. We won't go down without a fight.

Just when I think I've seen it all, something even more grotesque and terrifying emerges from the shadows. A new form of enemy, a hybrid between human and them, bursts into another part of the trench, roaring with a rage that chills my very soul. It starts tearing through my comrades like they're made of paper. 

Fueled by adrenaline and a newfound determination, I charge at it. In a split second, I'm airborne, flung through the air as if I weigh nothing. I crash into the mud, but I don't feel the pain. I scramble up and charge again, managing to stab it in the back. It roars and grabs my arm, snapping it like a twig. I scream in agony.

The hybrid creature pushes out blades from its body, piercing me. Slowly, it pulls me closer to its face and removes its helmet. "I'm going to enjoy drinking from your skull," it sneers.

On the brink of death, a manic laugh escapes my lips. "I'm not the idiot removing a helmet, giving the enemy the opportunity to kill me." I reach down with my good arm and pull my boot knife, jamming it up into the base of its skull. 

I lock eyes with it and grin. "Now let me see you die!" I twist the knife. Its eyes glaze over, its grip loosens, and it collapses onto the trench floor, finally dead.

I stumble back, my vision blurring, my body on the verge of giving out. But I've done it. I've killed this new horror, this abomination of nature and technology. And as I slump against the muddy wall of the trench, my laughter echoes once again, a mixture of triumph and madness. Humanity still has fight left. And so do I.

With what strength I have left, I take my knife and sever the head of the hybrid creature. It's a gruesome task, but in this hell, it's a message that needs to be sent. Grasping the severed head by its tangled hair, I climb out of the trench and step into the madness of no man's land.

Bullets whiz by, missing me by inches. Artillery shells explode, shaking the earth beneath my feet. My vision starts to darken at the edges, but I don't care. My laughter fills the air, mingling with the sounds of war.

Reaching the halfway point, I kick the head toward the enemy lines, like a grotesque football sailing through the smoky air. "Fear me, you ugly motherfuckers!" I roar.