Borderlands: Apex Predator

Stretching out his body, Maxwell wakes up with a pained groan. His eyes were blurred as his mind remembered the previous events.

"D-did I die?"

"Ugh!" Maxwell groans as he feels his chest ache slightly, looking down to see his torso bandaged with bandages.

He tries to get up but a hand pushes him back onto the bed. Turning his face upwards, Maxwell sees a white-haired man standing next to him.

"Easy there, Pawn, that psycho beat the shit out of you." 

Maxwell hears the familiar soft voice, he looks intently at the man who looks no older than him.

"Bishop?"

"Yes?"

"..." 

"Can I have some water? It hurts to talk."

"Of course."

Bishop hands over his canteen of water, Maxwell eagerly sips the crystal-clear contents.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Feeling refreshed, Maxwell sits down with Bishop's help. 

"A few hours. Even though I injected you with MA, pretty impressive for someone who's had three broken ribs, I'd say."

'Looks like the nanites weren't idle.' Maxwell thinks as his hand returns to his chest. Although there was a slight pain, the worst was over.

"How are you feeling?" Bishop asks about Maxwell's actions.

"I'm ok, I guess"

"I mean, mentally"

"…"

"Traumatised"

"And how was it?"

"I could smell what that psycho had eaten for breakfast, simple as that."

"That's not it."

"So what?"

"What was it like to kill for the first time, that's what I mean."

"I don't know, I didn't have the luxury of whinging when neither side stopped shooting."

"Of course, you didn't even see who you were killing. But the psycho seems to have left his mark on your memory, doesn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"*Sigh*" Rising from his chair, Bishop hands the Data Knife and P2016 to Maxwell, along with his ECHO. "I wanted to give you more time to rest, but things are very hectic here in Old Haven. Some are repairing the gate, others are collecting the equipment and disposing of the corpses."

"Our squadron was requested by the lieutenant a few minutes ago, the information about our mission was given to King and he needs everyone together."

Maxwell lowers his head in defeat, there was no rest for the wicked, was there?

Grabbing his things, Maxwell gets dressed and meets King with Bishop. Maxwell looked from side to side on his short walk through Old Haven. He was trying to identify the places he was in the game, which was a difficult task because Old Haven in real life was several times larger than the one in the game.

Stopping in front of a tent, Bishop gestures for Maxwell to enter. The squadron was all gathered there, with King busy revising a holographic map.

Watching the movement, King took his eyes off the screen as he saw the arrival of the last members, Rook was reviewing the weapons and Knight seemed to be relaxing.

Maxwell took a look at everyone, as he was without his helmet. King looked the oldest of them all, his grey hair showed his age and there were several scars on his wrinkled face.

Rook had short blond hair, but the lack of a piece of his right ear caught Maxwell's eye, otherwise, he looked like a middle-aged man, probably older than Maxwell himself.

And surprising Maxwell, Knight was quite young, perhaps in his twenties, his messy red hair giving him a rather wild and youthful aura.

"*Ahem*" King makes a noise with his throat to get everyone's attention, he expands the holographic map so that everyone can see it. "I wanted to be drinking a cold beer right now, but something came up. Delta Squad has been sent to investigate the sewers for possible routes and hiding places that the bandits could be using, but it's been more than four hours since the last report was sent."

"The last report was made here." King pointed out the location on the map, Maxwell recognized it as the tunnels leading to an old corporate site, although he had never heard of such a place in the game. 

"Our mission is to find them and bring them back, so get ready, we'll be leaving soon."

After King's words, the squad quickly goes into action. They check their weapons and equipment, making sure they are in perfect working order. Rook takes a Scorpio Turret from the armory and Maxwell is fascinated to see the classic Borderlands turret for the first time. While admiring the ballistic machinery, Bishop changes his bandages for new ones.

In a few minutes, they are ready for the mission. King leads the way, followed by Maxwell and the other squad members. They head towards the entrance to the sewers, which causes Maxwell to have a feeling of Deja Vu, but the man can't say for sure what it is.

The sewers of Old Haven were a labyrinth of darkness and dampness. The air was heavy and damp, laden with the acrid smell of mold and rotting debris. The constant echo of dripping water echoed through the narrow passages, creating a sense of claustrophobia around the squad.

Maxwell holstered his rifle and pulled out his P2016 and a flashlight in his other left hand, placing his left hand under his right to support the pistol. The dim light cut through the darkness and revealed a few meters before them, a few rats scurrying in fright at the sudden illumination. Every step they took resounded on the damp stone floor, creating a sound that echoed throughout the tunnels.

King led the way cautiously, his gun in hand as he scanned every corner for any sign of danger. He checked the map on his ECHO again and realized that they were already close to the location. Putting his ECHO away, King looked ahead to see a large iron gate wrapped with several yellow bands signaling danger.

Carefully, the squad approaches the large iron gate. Maxwell notices a small gap left in the gate, just big enough for them to pass through. With a silent gesture, King signals for the squadron to move on.

One by one, the squad members cross the gap. However, with his imposing stature, Rook struggles to get through the narrow opening, while the other squad members try to help him.

King, realizing that time is of the essence, orders everyone to pull together to try to lift the gate. With a joint effort, they push and pull with all their might, but the gate remains immovable, resisting their efforts.

"Damn this shit is rusty, did anyone bring a sledgehammer?" Knight complains breathlessly.

"Let's face it Knight, who would bring a sledgehammer?"

"I bet Rook takes one with him. Pawn, you don't know what crazy weapons he's already taken from that ECHO."

Rook shakes his head in exasperation.

"You can move on, I'll stay here and see if there's an alternative passage."

Bishop seemed worried about leaving his friend behind, he looked at King, with Knight and Pawn doing the same. King seemed unperturbed by the situation, even with so many eyes on him. After a few seconds of silence, with only the muffled breaths of their helmets echoing through the tunnel, King speaks up.

"We can't afford to waste any more time. Rook, do what you can to find another way in, install the Scorpio Turret so you can have cover to escape. The rest of us will continue ahead. Keep in touch via ECHO," orders King, his voice authoritative but calm.

Bishop seemed reluctant but didn't argue and followed orders. As they ventured into the tunnels, Maxwell's concern grew as he saw the walls covered in blood, at first just a few drops, but then it looked as if someone had decided to give the walls a new coat of paint.

Suddenly, Maxwell shone a little light ahead and came across the lifeless body. Maxwell's face wrinkled in disgust as he sees the state of the body, but he resists the lump in his stomach and inspects the corpse. It was difficult to notice because of the torn uniform, but Maxwell realized it was a member of Delta Squad.

"Give me some space Pawn, let me see some things," Bishop gently pushes Maxwell away, the man turns his body over and inspects the wounds, he freezes midway at the strangeness of the injuries. "What the..."

"Why did you stop? Did you find anything?" Knight can't bear the sudden silence and asks anxiously.

"Bites... Was he eaten alive? Look, several parts are missing." Bishop tears off and removes the rest of the uniform, allowing everyone to see clearly.

"Damn, was that Skags' work? Psycho are insane but they know how to use weapons." The sight sent shivers down Maxwell's spine.

Bishop shakes his head in denial.

"No, those aren't Skag bites, it was a human being who-" Bishop didn't finish his sentence when he was interrupted by the distant sound of gunfire, followed by an anguished cry that echoed through the tunnels. Maxwell's heart skipped a beat as he exchanged glances with the others, who seemed just as shocked as he was.

Without hesitation, King orders the group back to check the source of the sounds. As they approach, Maxwell raises his flashlight to light the way ahead, only to be greeted with a sight that would bring him many sleepless nights.

On the ground, someone was standing over Rook's body, which was thrashing and writhing, his voice muffled as if he were drowning.

"Hey, you motherfucker, get off my soldier!" King bellows angrily upon witnessing his comrade under attack.

His scream seemed to have attracted the attention of the person.

"What… the… fuck" Knight mutters, his finger trembling on the trigger as he takes in the creature's grotesque visage.

The perpetrator raises its head from Rook's neck, a chunk of flesh clenched between its teeth. Its appearance was ghastly—green, swollen skin oozing with pus, empty eyes fixated on them in a silly but virulent way, proving his point with a grotesque crunch, it gnaws on the torn flesh, creating a sinister noise, blood splattering onto the floor in a macabre display.

The shock and horror paralyze Maxwell, Knight, and Bishop for a moment, but King, being the most experienced, reacts quickly. He draws his gun and fires at the monster, the damn thing had managed to lift the gate a little and was already trying to catch up with them in the meantime.

*Bang *bang *bang

The abomination falls to the ground dead with three shots to its head, brain matter, and blood slowly seeping out of the bullet holes.

A distant howl echoes through the sewers, followed by the sound of rapidly approaching scratches and groans. The sound of gunfire seemed to have attracted attention.

"ROOK!" Bishop screams and runs towards the fallen Rook, but is stopped by King, who grabs his arm as he hears more enemies approaching. Bishop could only see Rook stretching out his trembling hands towards them, like a silent cry for help.

Maxwell seemed to have frozen in time; he felt his heart go cold at the sight of one of the things he least expected to see in the Borderlands universe.

'A ZOMBIE? NO WAY, DON'T TELL ME THAT'S CANON!' Maxwell screams in his mind, remembering a certain DLC from the first Borderlands game.

"Pawn move!" Maxwell is brought back to reality with a slap from King, he shakes his head and realizes that a horde of zombies has closed the passage out of the sewers.

Bishop seizes the opportunity as he is released from King's grip and rushes over to Rook, he grabs both his arms and starts dragging the man's heavy body back.

"Bishop, you idiot, you want to kill yourself?!" King shouts, feeling the situation getting out of control.

"Soldiers, cover fire, be careful not to shoot Bishop." King punctuates his words by cocking his assault rifle, unleashing controlled bursts.

Maxwell pulls his rifle from his back and does the same, he doesn't worry about aiming as the place is closed and the targets are piled up, his shots will hit someone. He only concentrated on not hitting Bishop, who had already managed to get Rook's body through the gate.

[Trigger Discipline lv.9>10]

[Trigger Discipline lv.10>11]

[Trigger Discipline lv.11>12]

[...]

The dark tunnel erupted with the deafening barrage of gunfire, each shot dropping zombies like flies, only for more to take their place. Maxwell silently praised Bishop's resilience, marveling at how the man managed to maintain his composure amidst the hail of bullets whizzing dangerously close to his head.

*Click* *click* *click*

"DAMMIT!" Maxwell cursed under his breath as he realized his gun was empty. He swiftly reached for another magazine, only to find that he had emptied them all. Without missing a beat, he pulls out his P2016 and continues firing, his finger madly squeezing the trigger.

"BACK OFF!" Seeing that Bishop had managed to bring Rook back, King pulls out a grenade and throws it at the gate. The explosion causes the fragile structure to collapse along with the gate, preventing the zombies from reaching them and closing the only passage they knew back to Old Haven.

"*Huff* *huff* *huff*" Maxwell slumps against the nearest wall, after firing non-stop, his hands aching like a bitch. He struggles to catch his breath, the taste of cold sweat hanging from his lips. He wasn't tired, but he ended up hyperventilating, making his head dizzy with the absurd amounts of oxygen breathed in a short space of time.

"Rook, don't close your eyes, stay with me." Bishop took off Rook's helmet and kept one hand firmly pressed against Rook's neck to prevent further bleeding, while the other hand grabbed some metabolism accelerators to close the wound.

"..."

Rook didn't answer anything, his body had stopped moving from the moment he began to be dragged.

"He's dead, Bishop"

"I know. He doesn't have a pulse anymore." Bishop stands up, he steps back a little, his hands holding his head in disbelief. The man was so shocked that he didn't even realize he was only a few meters away from falling into a tunnel that seemed to have no floor.

Maxwell looks at the lifeless body of Rook, who only a few minutes ago was alive and moving. His head falls, thinking of a way to escape this nightmare.

*Groaaan*

"Hmm?!" Maxwell thought he heard a low grumble.

"Rook? How are you alive? Did the Insta-Health work?!"

Maxwell's eyes widen and he jumps up to see Rook standing there, slowly walking towards Bishop.

"Bishop stay away, he's become one of them!" 

King and Knight didn't understand the situation, but Maxwell understood the gravity of the situation and advanced against the zombified Rook, lunging at him with his Data Knife.

Realizing that he wouldn't make it in time, Maxwell quickly throws his Data Knife at the zombified Rook, aiming for the creature's head.

*Puk*

Rook's body falls on top of Bishop, causing the man to crawl into the tunnel behind him. Maxwell runs to try and catch him but ends up falling along with him because of the slippery floor.

The fall is disorientating, the wind rushing past Maxwell's ears as he falls into the darkness. He tries to grab onto something, anything, to stop the descent, but the walls of the tunnel are slippery and smooth, offering no grip. He then pulls a kunai from his ECHO, slamming it into the wall and slowing his descent.

The last thing Maxwell heard was a loud thud, feeling the cold of the water before he lost consciousness and sank, leaving him at the mercy of the darkness.