He felt the heat before he saw the flames,
His world was a storm, shattered concrete that used to be walls, twisted rebar, and an inferno to his right. The sky above what was left of the military complex glowed a hellish tinge of orange, illuminated only by the fierce flames of what was left of the forward operating base. Through his blurred vision and ringing ears, he stumbled forward, his boots crunching over rubble and spent shell casing. As he struggled forward he saw a sight that made his chest tighten.
"Grimmline… Do you copy?" His voice raspy and trembling filled with disbelief, against the strange silence that took his head, his only reply was the sound of distant gunfire and wind.
He took a shaky step forward, his boots sinking into the damp soil as he saw the members of his team dead having made a final stand. He stared at them with an intensity in his gaze, one that promised unending pain.
The sound of his radio cackling startled him out of his thoughts
"Grimm-1, be advised enemy QRF sweeping your sector. Echo four grid is marked for denial CAS inbound with thermobarics splash in two mikes. Get the hell out of there."
"Negative. No time to move, I'm already painted red tell HQ… this FOB ain't theirs.
Light it up, Grimm-1 out"
He went over to his squad, collected their name tags and sat against what was left of the wall. He closed his eyes, whispering,
"Sorry I'm late, I'll see you guys soon."
The explosion that followed was deafening. Fire consumed everything, erasing Ash's world in a blinding flash of oblivion.
..
…
…?
He woke with a start, gasping sharply as his eyes snapped open, immediately flooded by confusion and agony. Pain laced through his body as he forced himself to sit up, clutching his chest. The familiar feeling of his gear scorched and torn, greeted him with a strange feeling of reassurance.
He observed his surroundings and saw a stretched dense unfamiliar forest, shrouded in darkness. Moonlight was seen weakly across the forest canopy as it swayed, casting an dim light across it's expanse. Ash staggered to his feet, his knees buckled screaming in protest.
His training ingrained in him told him to survive, and adapt; but his mind was muddled exhaustion creeping in.
"Grimmline do you copy?" His voice trembled, some hope blooming in his chest, his only response was a deep low growl from his left flank.
He took a shaky step forward, boots stinking into damp earth, as the growls turned into a fierce snarl. Ash's instincts screamed, muscle memory flared making his hand snap to his holster, drawing and pointing where the sound came from. His heart raced, as he saw what looked to be a wolf-like monster with bone plating on its face emerging from the darkness.
Grimm. Just like his callsign
He didn't know the name yet, but the creature's white bone mask and piercing red eyes, screamed danger. It lunged forward, fangs bared. Ash squeezed the trigger instinctively, the bark of gunfire shattering the silence of the forest. The grimm staggered back, black ichor spraying from it's wound, but more eyes appeared glowing with malice, emerging from the shadows.
Ash fell back, adrenaline surging through his veins with adrenaline with fatigue and blood loss still clinging to him. Every step back was another second alive, each shot fired was precise despite his shaking hands. His vision blurred with effort under the the unending horde
The grimm pressed closer, jaws open and snapping with every moment. Ash snarled, defiant against his fate, as he dropped an empty mag and reloaded with practiced desperation.
He pivoted sharply, firing at the Grimm encircling him, Yet his body screamed in protest, muscles burning each breath more rugged than the last. One creature lunged its claws, slashing his arm open, warm blood spilling freely down his sleeve. Ash gritted his teeth, suppressing a cry of pain, kicked the grimm away and fired repeatedly until his gun was left clicking.
But they were endless. With every grimm that fell it was replaced with two more. Ash retreated further, his breath shallow, heart hammering until a towering figure emerged from the darkness. An alpha beowulf, its mask was adorned with jagged bone protrusions, and it's eyes blazed with an intelligent malice.
It charged, immense claws cleaving the air. Ash had but a moment to react, diving to the side but not fast enough. The flaws ripped through his plate carrier, sending him sprawling backward. The breath was knocked out of his lungs, agony blossoming accord his chest.
Gasping and bleeding heavily, Ash lay on his back, staring upward at the alien sky. For the first time he saw clearly the shattered moon. Something deep within him stirred, a profound rage at the cruelty, the injustice, and the brutality fate has dealt him. To die and be given a second chance just to die once more, "what a joke" He thought.
With an uncontrolled fury, he forced himself upright, tearing at the remnants of his ruined armor from his chest. Blood flowed freely, his vision tinted crimson; as rage eclipsed all else. Taking out his combat knife, Ash charged directly at the alpha grimm, uncaring of whether he survived or not.
"For it is in sacrifice…" A mysterious, resonant voice whispered inside his mind.
Ash ignored it, his entire focus was on killing this monster before him. He swing the knife viciously, slashing and dodging, battling the monster's eclipsing strength with an unending tenacity.
"That one finds the strength to face the darkness," the voice continued solemnly.
"The alpha's jaws snapped shut, sinking deeply into ash's shoulder, teeth grinding against bone. He screamed a mixture of pain and fury, stabbing his knife repeatedly into the creature's abdomen, black blood splattering across his face.
"Fearing death with a knowing smile, we become unbound by death", The voice intoned further, powerful and unyielding.
Ash refused to die, stabbing relentlessly until the alpha released him, shrieking in agony; it stumbled back, mortally wounded, and collapsed on the forest floor.
Ash stood swaying, body trembling, knife dripping with black ichor. Blood ran freely from his wounds, pooling at his feet. His breathing was shallow vision swimming yet he remained standing, defiant event now.
He stumbled backward, falling heavily onto the cold earth once more, eyes transfixed skyward upon the fractured moon and brilliant stars the voice, now lear and resonant, filled his mind one last time.
" I release thy soul," it declared, " and by my power strengthen thee against the darkness."
Ash closed his eyes, feeling a profound warmth spread through his body, as if he was embraced scaring of the pain. As darkness enveloped him, he did not feel fear, but perhaps some regret, resolving himself to continue wherever he finds himself to be.