Fall of the Fallen

Again, the building shook with a violent tremor, its walls rattling and sending clouds of dust swirling through the air. Jake's pulse went up in rhythm with the rumbling, his breathing coming faster as the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end. He glanced upwards, eyes wide with incredulity. The ceiling above them cracked and groaned under some unseen weight. He barely had time to react before the final crack split the air, and a figure fell from the darkness above.

It was like something out of a nightmare.

A mass of muscle and darkness in blood-stained armor came crashing down onto the floor, impact deafening, the debris and shockwave propelling Jake from his feet as his body thudded to the floor. Wind knocked from him, he crashed to the floor with his head smacking onto the floor.

The room was silent for a beat, with no gunshots or shouts, only the heavy breathing of a few survivors in the room as they tried to process the new horror that had just entered the battlefield.

The enormous figure slowly rose from the wreckage, its movements deliberate, almost casual. Its black armor glinted in the dim light, streaked with blood and grime. A dark hood covered its face, but Jake could feel the weight of its gaze. The air grew heavier, and the temperature seemed to drop.

"Well, shit…." Jake grunted, forcing himself to rise. His leg threatened to betray him, wanting to give in and collapse beneath him. He barely kept upright as his vision started to blur due to blood loss.

The woman with the knife, who had just been taunting him moments before, slowly backed away, her eyes wide with shock as she took in the new arrival. "What the hell is that thing?" she spat, her voice full of venom and fear.

"I don't know," the masked man growled, his voice laced with a rare hint of unease. He was still clutching his side, the wound from Jake's earlier blow leaving him unsteady on his feet. "But I sure as hell don't want to find out."

The gloved hand of the giant reached up, tugging the hood back. A grotesque mask of scars, twisted into a permanent grin of sadistic pleasure, was the face revealed beneath. Its eyes burned with an unholy light, and its lips parted in a sickening grin.

"Is that supposed to intimidate us?" the masked man snarled, but Jake could hear the unease in his voice. This wasn't some ordinary thug. This was something. different.

The figure's voice was low, guttural, and it reverberated through the room like a growl from the depths of hell.

"I'm not here to intimidate. I'm here to kill."

Jake didn't waste a single second. Adrenaline flooded his veins and numbed the pain, but before he had time to think, his gun was raised and his finger was pulling the trigger. The first shot rang out, but the giant's hand moved so fast that it seemed never to have existed. The bullet ricocheted off the armor, bouncing harmlessly to the side.

The giant grinned wider.

Jake cursed and leapt sideways to avoid the onslaught of bullets. He shot back, but this creature was a liquid creature he was moving too fast, too powerful.

Each time he pulled the trigger on his weapon, the thing kept coming, getting closer and closer, and that laugh sounded more like taunts now howling mockery, ice in voice.

Then the woman with the knife advanced on him, taking advantage of Jake's distraction. Lunging forward, the blade aimed for the giant's throat, but the woman was sent flying back by a flick of his armored hand. She crashed into the wall, cracking the stone with her impact, as she slumped to the ground unconscious. Barely.

Jake's breath caught in his throat as he watched her fall. He didn't have time to feel sorry for her. Not now.

The masked man continued shooting several more rounds, but that was just as useless as Jake's shots. There was no reaction from the giant. The masked man's gun clicked empty, and in perfect rhythm with all of this, the figure caught him by the throat, lifting him up into the air by sheer effort.

The man kicked helplessly in the air as his windpipe was crushed by the giant's iron grip.

No…!"Jake yelled, rising to his feet on shaky legs, as if threatening to fold out from beneath him. This time, he leveled his pistol and fired it right at the creature's head. But it was too fast and slammed the masked man onto the floor with a sickening crack.

The giant turned its attention to Jake, its grin widening as it saw him struggling to reload. "You're next," it hissed, its voice like gravel scraping across metal.

Jake didn't wait. He dove toward the discarded knife the woman had dropped earlier, his heart racing as he grabbed it by the handle, the cold steel burning against his palm. The giant's steps were heavy and thunderous, each one shaking the ground beneath him as it advanced.

But Jake wasn't done. Not yet.

With a roar, he charged forward, the knife in hand. He swung upward with all his might, aiming for the giant's exposed throat, but the creature's armored arm shot up, easily deflecting the blow.

The force sent Jake stumbling back, pain shooting through his arm as the blade slipped from his grip.

"Pathetic," said the giant, its voice low, full of venom. It raised its hand, and the claws on its fingers glistened like knives in the dim light.

Jake's stomach churned, but his mind was sharp. He had one shot. One last chance. He reached again for his gun, but the giant was already there, its claws swiping through the air toward him.

In the time it took the giant to swing one heavy arm, Shadow flashed through the smoke-filled room, swift as death. There was a blur of motion and then an earsplitting screech of agony from the giant as it reeled backward, clutching its chest, where a knife no, a spear was sunk into its armor.

Jake blinked, his mind reeling to catch up. A new figure emerged from the smoke. A woman, lean and deadly, with eyes as cold as ice. She was wearing black tactical gear, her long hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her movements were fluid, controlled unlike anything Jake had ever seen.

She didn't hesitate. Without a word, she pulled a second knife from her belt and threw it with deadly precision. The giant roared as the blade struck it in the leg, and it staggered back, its knees buckling under the impact.

"Who the hell are you?" Jake gasped, his voice hoarse from the effort.

"Someone you should've asked sooner," she said with a smirk, her eyes never leaving the giant.

The masked man, alive but barely conscious, struggled to his feet. "You're not going to kill him, are you?" he rasped, clutching his side, blood oozing from the wound. "This thing's. unstoppable."

"Oh, it's not about killing him," the woman replied with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It's about keeping him busy long enough for you to make a choice, Renzo.

Jake's mind ran wild again as the room started spinning once more. He was tired and broken, but the look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

It was his move to choose between life and death. And time was running out.