descent into fire
Pain. Searing, blinding pain.
Ethan barely had time to react before a massive force struck him square in the chest. It felt like getting hit by a truck. His body was sent flying through the air, tumbling uncontrollably as the battlefield became a blur of fire, flesh, and darkness.
Then—impact.
His back slammed into something hard, metal giving way beneath his weight. His ears rang as he crashed through layers of rusted steel and debris, spiraling downward into the abyss below. The world became a chaotic mess of sound and sensation—scraping metal, the distant roars of mutants, and the sharp, unmistakable scent of gunpowder.
Ethan's fall ended with a brutal slam against a concrete floor. He coughed violently, tasting copper. Every bone in his body screamed in protest, but he was alive. Barely.
He groaned, rolling onto his side, his vision swimming. His ribs were definitely cracked—maybe broken. His left arm throbbed, his shoulder dislocated from the fall. Blood trickled down his forehead, mixing with the dirt and sweat on his face.
And then he saw it.
Weapons.
Rows upon rows of firearms, explosives, and military-grade ammunition lined the underground facility he had crashed into. He had fallen into an old army supply depot. Stacks of RPGs, crates of grenades, heavy machine guns—enough firepower to level a city block.
A savage grin split Ethan's face.
"Well… this just got interesting."
The Runner Mutant
Above, the ceiling trembled. The level 3 mutant—the one that had struck him down—was coming.
Unlike the lumbering brutes he had faced before, this one was different. It wasn't a tank. It was a predator. A runner.
Faster than any normal human, it moved in rapid bursts, its elongated limbs built for speed and agility. Its flesh, though twisted and mutated, wasn't impervious to bullets—but it was damn good at avoiding them. Its body was lean, muscles coiled like steel cables beneath its sickly gray skin. Its eyes burned with an unnatural hunger, locking onto Ethan's position even through the layers of debris.
Ethan had no time to waste.
With gritted teeth, he popped his shoulder back into place, the pain nearly making him blackout. He forced himself onto his feet, staggering toward the nearest weapon rack. His fingers found the grip of an M4 carbine, the familiar weight comforting in his hands. He slung an ammo vest over his chest, loading magazines into every available pocket. Then his eyes landed on something better—
An RPG-7.
"Oh, you are gonna love this," he muttered.
The ceiling above him exploded inward.
The runner mutant dropped into the depot, landing in a crouch. Its head snapped toward him, lips peeling back in a hideous grin. It moved, blurring toward him with terrifying speed.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He dove behind a stack of metal crates as the mutant's claws tore through the air where he had stood. A split second later, he swung his M4 around the corner and fired in short, controlled bursts.
Bullets struck its flesh, slowing it down but not stopping it. The creature twisted its body unnaturally, dodging a few rounds before lunging again.
Ethan rolled to the side, grabbing a frag grenade from a crate and yanking the pin with his teeth. He counted one second—two—before hurling it directly into the mutant's path.
Boom!
The explosion sent the creature flying back, crashing through a row of lockers. Smoke and debris filled the room. Ethan didn't stop—he sprinted toward the RPG, grabbing it off the rack and slamming a round into the launcher.
The mutant snarled, rising from the wreckage. It wasn't unscathed—shrapnel had torn through its body, slowing it down.
Ethan smirked. "You're not so fast when you're bleeding, huh?"
He aimed the RPG and pulled the trigger.
A deafening roar filled the depot as the rocket spiraled forward. The mutant had no time to dodge.
The explosion engulfed it, flames roaring outward as the shockwave rattled the entire facility. Chunks of concrete and steel rained down from above. Ethan ducked behind cover as the blast wave nearly knocked him off his feet.
When the dust settled, he peeked over the wreckage.
The mutant was still moving. Barely.
Its body was shredded, limbs barely hanging on, its speed reduced to a sluggish crawl. But its eyes—those hateful, hungry eyes—still burned.
Ethan grabbed his shotgun, loading incendiary shells.
"You don't know when to quit, do you?" he growled.
The mutant hissed, dragging itself forward, one clawed hand reaching for him.
Boom.
A shell to the chest.
Boom.
Another to the head.
The mutant convulsed, twitching violently before finally falling still.
Ethan exhaled, his hands shaking from adrenaline. He wiped the sweat and blood from his brow and looked around at the arsenal surrounding him.
He had weapons. He had ammo. And now, he had a plan.
The fight wasn't over.
It was just getting started.
---
End of Chapter 16.
This chapter keeps things intense while making the fight with the Level 3 mutant plausible—giving it insane speed but also a realistic weakness. Ethan now has a whole military depot at his disposal, which means it's time for some serious firepower. Let me know how you want to proceed in Chapter 17!