This story is an unofficial story based, without permission, on the Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property owned by Games Workshop Ltd.
Lucius stepped nervously through the blasted streets of the abandoned town. Ahead of him, Rahvin stalked onwards, his massive bolt pistol held in one gauntleted fist. Khul trailed behind, ponderously dragging his massive weapon, along with its ammo, with him.
Lucius passed the husk of what he thought had once been a shop. The windows were blown out and the grey stone wall were pitted and gouged. A stray stone fell deep in the building, the tiny sound echoing through the silence that pervaded the once prosperous town.
Looters and cultists had done this, raided the town, overwhelmed the local arbites, raped and pillaged their way through the streets, burning what they could not steal, then vanishing before the PDF could respond. Lucius was just taking advantage of the situation.
Of course, Rahvin had caused the destruction, that went without saying. He had worked up the tensions and violence within the local gangs, promoting conflict whilst appearing to quell it. The hate and aggression had built up and up until it reached breaking point.
When it had broken, it was as if all the fears of a lifetime of nightmares had come to life and were walking the streets. Cultists openly displaying the marks of the Chaos Gods had risen up from the gutters, murdering, raping, burning, torturing, overwhelming the hysterical populace with pure ferocity.
This was all that was left of most of the World's cities. Empty, barren streets and the age-old scent of dried blood, cloying in the stillness of the tomb-like town.
Movement.
Lucius span, bringing his lasgun to his shoulder and dropping to his knee. "Boss!"
"What?" Rahvin's reply was low and threatening, unwilling to accept distractions now.
"I I saw something," said Lucius. "Over there, behind that house. I swear it." He was nervous at incurring Rahvin's wrath.
"You better have"
"I swear, boss. I saw it."
Rahvin gestured with his free hand. "Show me."
Grath crouched behind the shattered wall, clutching his old, much-repaired autogun. They hadn't seen him. He was sure.
He flipped his comm down over his eye. The wavy image of his commander floated on the screen. "Sir."
"Yes?" The voice that emerged into his ear through the microbead speaker was hazy and indistinct, distorted by static and the distance between them.
"I have located the target. The magus is accompanied by two others, a cultist and a mutant, both armed from what I saw. Sector four-eighteen"
His voice trailed off as he heard the target's voice over the intervening terrain. Damn. They had spotted him. He shut off the comm, hoping the general would understand, and pressed his back up against the coarse brickwork of the building.
Thinking fast, he climbed over the lowest point in the wall, a section that had been knocked in, or exploded, as the other half was gone and all that remained was a jagged v shape. He slipped up to the roof of the building, trying not to make a sound. Slithering over the cold, battered steel of the roof.
He would have only one chance at this.
Lucius was almost to the side of the building when he glimpsed a dark shape fly off the roof. He whirled, just in time to see it slam into Khul, the muted thump of autogun slugs sounding from the tangle of limbs and flesh. He heard Khul screech in pain, then the assailant was thrown upwards, propelled into the air by Khul's mutant strength.
The attacker hit the ground with a slap, his weapon skittering across the paving slabs. Lucius whipped his lasgun around, aiming it at the gasping figure.
"No!"
The command was loud and harsh, echoing over the rubble as Rahvin strode forwards, pistol held towards the man. Their assailant struggled to rise, groaning with what Lucius thought was a broken rib or two.
"You are a brave little man. Three of us and only one of you? How good of you to waste your last hours of life trying to rid the galaxy of scum like me." Rahvin smiled. "Of course, there will be more of you. You wouldn't have attacked if you were the only one." He picked up the man's autogun. "And by the look of this, you're military. The General's finally found some guts, then. No matter." Rahvin looked down at the straining form of the man. "I will be gone from here in a matter of hours, and with me will go the Planet."
The man found strength to reply, his voice thick, filled with confusion. "Thethe planet? What d-do you mean?" He coughed, blood spraying from his lips.
"Ah-ah-ah. That would be telling," replied Rahvin, his voice mocking. "We can't have you knowing too much, can we now?"
Lucius watched as Rahvin bent to the man, picking the omm. from his ear. He raised it to his face, pressing the activation rune. A hazy image appeared before Rahvin, recognisable as the General of the PDF.
The General's voice was surprised and angry. "Grath? Who is this?"
"Hello, General." Rahvin smiled at the comm. "This is Rahvin. It's nice to see me without the hood, isn't it?"
"Rahv- Damn! You shall pay for your treachery, heretic!"
Rahvin pressed his pistol to the quivering man's forehead. "Don't despair about you man, General. His death will be much quicker than yours, I promise you." Rahvin squeezed the trigger.
The bolt blew out the back of the man's skull, detonating in the centre of his head. The man's face disappeared, obliterated by a cloud of shrapnel, smoke and blood. The deafening sound bounced around the surroundings, echoing off buildings and down streets.
"Good bye, General." Rahvin threw the comm to the floor, then crushed it beneath his armoured heel.
Turning to Lucius and Khul, who was just recovering, the gaping wounds in his belly sealing themselves with inhuman speed, Rahvin gestured with his smoking pistol. "Move out."
Hive World Terra