Week 2

Words - Lurk, Robert, Laser, Kneecap, Chase, Wool, Sweater, Hardware and Heartbeat.

Song - Demons by Imagine Dragons

The demons were relentless, never attacking outright, choosing instead to lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike. Robert checked his laser rifle for damage, taking note of the charge light blinking as it made its way towards the low end. Since moving the fight into the jungle, they had suffered greater losses and were now running low on charge. The leafy canopy shielded them from the sun, keeping the guns from charging, while constant hit and run tactics of their enemy kept their nerves on edge.

A sudden commotion behind him caused Robert to turn, too late as a lesser demon tore the kneecap from a soldier standing only meters away. Immediately the creature was a scorched mess of death, as multiple beams cut through its flesh. The damage was done however as the screaming man would now have to be carried. The teams moral had taken a serious dive lately and there was a muttering throughout, that the planet should be left for the beasts.

Who would have thought that somewhere out in space would be an entire planet of demons, exactly as described in religious texts. Monsters with gnashing teeth, red eyes and leather wings. Of course the churches of the day were fast to claim that this was in fact hell. However the first manned vessel found them to be very much of flesh and blood, not at all like the imaginary dragons thought to exist on planet Pern.

It didn't take long for the war to start, it was inevitable, with the religious wanting to vanquish demons and the non religious wanting to capitalize on the wealth of an untouched planet. To start with it went well, but no one suspected that the demon kind were going to raise such resistance. As the war waged they grew more cunning, stealth attacks became common and rather than meet the soldiers in open battle they fled into the jungle. The first of the platoons to give chase were slaughtered mercilessly, their body parts left as a warning for others. And then the suicide attacks came, lesser demons sacrificing themselves to take out single men.

Robert helped make the broken man comfortable wrapping his wool sweater around his shoulders, trying not to look at his leg hanging free on its hinge. Taking the mans hardware he left to setup a guard post, cutting branches and clearing a view. After mounting the fallen soldiers gun to a fairly solid branch he began to pick through the days collection of large insect looking creatures. Standard rations had run out months ago, leaving the deployed men to forage for their food. The meat from demons was said to contain traces of toxins, one of the reasons the creatures had moved to the top of the food chain. The other was how well equipped they were as killing machines, with claws long and sharp enough to run a man through. Either way it meant insects were a large part of every meal. After eating a couple of the large larvae raw, not wanting to draw attention with a fire, Robert settled back to keep watch. The night was long and dark with the jungle blocking so much of the starlight. Around him men slept, uneasy with nightmare filled dreams, some whimpering as they slumbered.

Robert didn't see the demon till it was right before him, its large frame creating a dark patch in his field of vision. Bringing the gun up, he let the illuminator light the monster as he took aim. It was well within striking distance, had it chose at that very moment it could have quite easily have dispatched him. Instead it towered over him watching his every move as he took aim at its grotesque head. Something deep inside made Robert pause. Why hadn't it attacked? Demon attacks were as relentless as they were deadly. He took in its features trying to understand why this thing stood before him non violent but unyielding all the same. Its red eyes locked onto his own and for the first time he seen intelligence behind them, instead of the pure rage he was used to. For a long time he could hear nothing but his own heartbeat as he stood facing off, before eventually his eyes caught sight of something in his enemy's arms. Cradled in the crook of it's arm was the torn corpse of the lesser demon, its barely recognizable form hanging as limp as their own companions leg.

Robert lowered his gun, watching as the powerful and mighty demon silently disappeared back into the darkness from whence it came.