Entrenched Part One (Tank Hunter)

 War had always been hell but this time you couldn’t help but notice that this time it was much more literal. The war had been going on for longer then anyone on the front had been alive for and lines hadn’t changed much since its conception, weaponry and armour evolving but the front was still  the same bloody battlefield that you had to fight on. You had got used to the sound of artillery shells falling and cascades of gunfire that it almost felt empty for you not to hear them as was the feeling of not having any ammunition to hold within your arms. You were an ammo monk which meant that it was your purpose to deliver ammo to the front, the bullets themselves being of god’s holy creations for the sole purpose of killing the forces of hell’s armada . This was due to the fact that they were bathed within the blood of the meta Christ before they were given to you to handle with the insurance being that you would be able to handle the ammo without issue as it did have a tendency to be highly volatile and exploding wildly. 

You were one of the main suppliers for the tank hunters that had been sent to the front line, the once human beings now being made to destroy tanks and nothing more. You had heard they were experiments from the chemical commission, made from fusing the flesh and blood of the meta Christ into any human that could be considered a viable candidate for it. They were successful but short in number which meant that furious bidding wars occurred across the entire front to get them to certain areas with your command eventually winning one of these beasts and deploying them. You remember the shock when you first saw the lanky being emerge from the shadows, it’s long legs striding around as it held its gun firmly in her hands to the point you wondered if they couldn’t be pried off.

She was, at first, cold and you could hardly blame her for being so, especially since she was sent to the front right away from her conception. Interactions between her, at first, were short and practical to the missions you had at hand which was giving her the ammo needed to kill her targets and then watching as she would kill the targets, to often explosive effects. That cycle would repeat over and over again, the woman slipping bullets from the ammo box and pushing them into her gun, only relenting when the enemy returned fire and both of you had to dodge out of the way. Meanwhile the only time that you left her side was to get more ammo for her which you would often receive quickly enough so that she wasn’t even taking cover by the time that you had come back.

These processes would repeat over the course of the months with you watching the explosive flash of her rifle whenever she shot at the enemy. You would also watch as the vehicles that she would hit exploded, savouring the second between the bullet hitting the armour and everything inside of the tank promptly exploding with you finding the explosions rather beautiful, being unable to stop yourself from staring at them. She would seem to notice this, the woman seemingly staring at you through the bottom of her helmet a couple times when she blew up a tank which was when she started to do something curious. Instead of just shooting at the tanks and demanding a reload she would, instead pointing over to the tank she was firing at to direct you to watch her blow it up.

From that moment forward you and her would have more interactions then just given her ammo and her shooting at a tank halfway across a field. She would give to you her name, Amelia, and told you to refer to her as that from now on instead of referring to her as the tank hunter, something that you accepted before she’d shoot at an enemy stronghold. From there she would discuss with you about the war, talking of strategies and ways to kill even more of the demon filth that were on the battlefield, your eyes staring into her metal helmet and wondering what expressions she was making with her face. It was at that moment you would actually start looking properly at her body, not simply just taking in her height or the anti tank rifle that she carried around with her.

The first place that you looked was her head, her face completely obscured by the armor that was wrapped around her skull, her eyes being unable to be seen through the metal visor. Your eyes then moved past her long neck and the metal plating that covered the back of it before you moved to her chest, the woman’s perky breasts hanging out in the air for all to see. Your eyes then started to dart around the chest, the woman’s greyed skin stretched across her body in such a way that you could see her ribs underneath her skin. Her skin was also covered in words of the holy words, made to make sure that she would be blessed by the gods, the occasional eye poking out from her skin and drifting across the world around her. The rest of the woman was better armoured with her legs and crotch being covered in ash black steel,the woman’s belt being made out of discarded bullets that were of no use to anyone now you were providing the holy bullets. You’d see the markings of the order all over her armor as well as one pushed into her chest, the woman looking down at you and noticing as you stared at her.

“Reading the scripture, Monk?” She asked as she briefly looked over the flaming battlefield, seeing the melted husks of demonic machinery over the horizon. This startled you somewhat,a slightly shocked sounding sigh escaping your mouth before you’d speak.

“Of course!” You responded, the woman moving her head to the side slightly as if she didn’t believe you. From there the ambient noises and artillery and gunfire echoed out across the air as you felt a question drive itself into your tongue like a nail, the feeling of your tongue grinding against your teeth eventually causing you to spill your words. “So, if you do not mind me asking, how does it feel? Being what you are?” You asked, the woman looking down at you and shrugging somewhat.

“It feels right, it feels holy.” She said as she would see something out of the corner of her eye, turning to face it as she did so. “Tank coming north east, pass me a bullet.” She said as you opened your box and grasped a hold of one, passing it to her of which she would unload her gun. “It was hard at first though, walking and the works. I was like the horses of old, falling around, stumbling away.” She Said as she would place the bullet inside the chamber of her rifle, lining up the shot. “But now I know that this is what the meta Christ wanted me to be. I was given his flesh and blood and I will give him the death of this plague. Now, watch this shot.” She explained as she would pull the trigger, the sound of metal grinding against metal echoing out across the air.

A flash escaped the muzzle and a bullet pushed from its barrel, travelling across the battlefield and right into the front of the tank, a slight clunk escaping into the air. A moment later a massive burst of flames escaped the tank, the hull being ripped apart and the turret shooting out into the air before ramming into the ground, nothing but ash and slight bits of blood being left of the pilots of the vehicle. “There we go! Now that was a shot, huh?” She Said, looking down at you of which you responded with a nod. “So, does that answer your question?” She asked, letting her rifle rest in her hand for a moment.

“Yes, it does. But what were you before all of this? Who was the Amelia that came before?” You said as she would think for a moment, seemingly not finding the words. 

“Human, I suppose. Who were you before the monkhood?” She asked as you peered out from underneath your cloak at her.

“Anon, that was my name.” You said, the woman was going to speak before you interrupted her. “I was named after the anonymous battlefields, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’ve got the question more times then I can count.” You said as you noticed something coming over the horizon. “Reload, something coming.” You explained, the woman’s nodding as she grabbed a bullet out of the box. 

“At least you’re honest. Tell me, do you feel anything? Regret, anger, disgust?” She would ask, the words dancing in the air as she lined up her rifle before shooting at another machine. The machine exploded into scrap metal, shards flying both towards and away from your trench line as you’d answer her question.

“Yes, yes I do. Do you feel those things?” You said as she thought for a moment, shaking her head as she did so.

“Not anymore. I have no need for such things after having the blood of the meta Christ in my veins.” She explained, the woman looking at her wrists and bending them to look at the veins as if to confirm they were still there. “Besides, it’s easier this way, I at least get to do my duty now.” She explained as she would look over the battlefield again as you would respond.

“I find my emotions make it easier for me to get ammo. If I didn’t feel fear, I’d probably just walk instead of running like I do now.” You stated as she would look down at you, twisting her head in confusion somewhat as she did so.

“Interesting. I have to admit I have never thought of it that way.” She said as she suddenly saw something coming across the front, raising her hand out so you could place another bullet inside of it, which you soon did. “I remember the first battle we had together. A furious assault of demonic tanks, you were passing me like ammo like there was no tomorrow. I remember you running away, fleeing towards the depot to get another box.” She recalled as she would shoot another tank, a torrent of flames pushing out across the air as metal would ram into the ground around it. “Did your emotions help you then?” She asked as she checked to see if the tank was still moving or not.

“Yes, I would say so. We wouldn’t have been able to keep the tanks out of firing range otherwise, that’s for sure.” You said as she would tap her gun for a moment before you’d speak again. “I can understand where you’re coming from though. I suppose you wouldn’t be able to aim your shot if you were nervous, could you?” You asked, the woman nodding in response as she would place her rifle by her side.

“Correct. Sometimes I don’t even feel my heartbeat until I fire.” She Said as she would look down at you, playing with the barrel of the gun with your fingers. “You’re a good monk. You’ve never left me out of ammo.” She said as she  would place her gun back into her hands again, weighing it against her body somewhat.

“Thank you. You’re a bloody good sharpshooter.” You said as you stared down at the box to see that it was almost completely empty, a couple of golden bullets pushing into the corners. “Seems like we’re out of Ammo. Want me to go and get some more?” You asked as she glanced down at the box you were holding. 

“Yes, go and get some more. Pass me the bullets, I’ll load them up when you’re gone, Anon.” She said with the woman briefly recoiling back as she realized that she had said your name, the woman seeming almost amused at herself for saying it. 

“As you command, Amelia.” She Said, the woman taking a moment or so to react before she would nod although you could tell that ,under that helmet, she was making some kind of facial expression. You passed her the bullets before you went to run off to behind the front line, getting ready to haul another box of ammo to the front line as your thoughts kept moving back to Amelia and about how everything about her just fascinated you. From the way she moved to how she spoke about her last life to the lack of emotion that she had, there was something about her that you couldn’t just twist your thoughts away from her. You wondered if that Amelia was in there somewhere, that the hunter part of her hadn’t completely taken over her mind until you were knocked out of your train of thought by an artillery shell hitting the ground nearby. With that you ran to get the ammo, knowing that the war was not won just yet but you knew, despite the bloody battles and constant artillery, there was one thing you were excited for.

And that was knowing more about Amelia.