It was not a slow wake-up. It was rather like a kick in the solar plexus. I momentarily opened my eyes. Pink sun blinded me for a fraction of a second.
Are you familiar with the nasty insects from Barbetus? That thing that was gliding towards me looked like them but was ten times bigger. The monster’s maw rotated 180 degrees. I think it only noticed me when I moved. I automatically lifted my hands.
„Hell yeah, snake-ass!” I yelled, when I saw that the motherfuckers, who threw me into this swamp, were nice enough to give me a piece. A real reinforced Big Quad Gun with four coupled barrels.
My instincts kicked in: safety off, aim assist on, viewfinder switched to zoom and detect weak spots in armor, stabilized legs and full volley. It was over in less than half a second. With the force of momentum dead carrion rolled under my feet.
I have this twitch - I smile only with the left side of my face - but believe me, there was a huge grin on my face.
I didn’t notice the second one. It took me by surprise from the left. One snap of its jaws almost tore off my arm. I barely managed to look away and the snake-face was already swallowing it.
I didn’t feel pain. Strange. It was more like numbness. And an impulse, as if I was electrocuted. Suddenly, I felt my arm again. The one I’ve just lost. I could feel a button pulsing under my thumb. It dawned on me. I knew exactly what I had to do.
I waited two seconds until the second snake-ass swallowed my left hand and I pressed the pulsating button with my left thumb. Even though I maintained a stable position, the blow from the explosion tearing apart the bulk threw me straight in the mud.
Image on the viewfinder flashed red. Short info. „Critical armor damage. Core auto-destruction and return of consciousness to biobody sequences initiated.”
Motherfuckers. They didn’t really want to kill me. They needed me in this war. “I’ll be back,” I thought before I blacked out.