A Bloody Rose Story

{pictures} 

What does it take to make a primaris fall? What kind of unimaginable scenario could one find themselves in to consider joining the demons… I do wonder about these things… Tho it is rare, it's not like it has not happened before… but to break the chains we place on them… with all that power of theirs! 

The cybernetics weren't enough… the good old bullet of the commissar missed its intended target… for one to escape the 'approval' of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica it is just unbelievable… nay inconceivable! To escape the brainwashing and to lose all faith in the emperor…

Just why? Why serve the monsters that just want to burn the world… what do they give that our emperor can't? Just what did they offer you? Krage…. Why did you join the cult of the blood god? Why! You were one of the best of us… one of the best inquisitors! 

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→ last written words of a dying friend… Ps: note contains demonic energy… cause of suspect…. Abaddon the Despoiler! 

As Layla stood at the door, staring in with hazelnut eyes into the cold dark. Molly and Mary forcible opened the old rusty metal doors. And with the sound of the eerie noise the door made, the smell of rushing foul air hit Layla as she looked into the room filled with bones!

Bones with forgotten armor and weapons, bones that were human and mutant alike… But the most shocking of all, Were the bones of an Eldar! 

With rats and roaches scurrying away, Mary bent down to touch one of the corpses that wore the clothing of a civilian, when: 

{Mary! Be careful! What are you doing touching corpses!} said Layla 

[But these people… how did they die… it doesn't look like the Tyranids killed them…] said Mary in retort 

{thats because they won't killed by them…} replied Layla as she scanned the area with her flashlight. 

[then what did kill them?] asked Molly a little confused and she bent down to pick up an old rusty sword 

{we did…} replied Layla 

[We?] replied Molly confused, while Mary coughed to the side as she figured it out. 

{yes... we did… or better yet the imperium did! This checkpoint wasn't meant to check on the ore as we thought…. But rather the crew!] replied Layla with a pause, before pointing to a lone office room 

{Mary…Molly… there may not be any working footage from that time but there may still be old records… Let's see if my hunch is right…} continued Layla 

As the girls pulled open the old office doors, the spiders and snakes crawled from skull to skull, while old bullets lay scattered on the floor, Layla said in a tired voice: 

{crew member Jake… shows positive signs of mutation… crew member John shows positive signs of mutation… etc.…} continued Layal as she scattered hundreds of papers on the desk before her. 

[So many names! Just what does that mean?] asked Molly, while Mary closed her eyes 

{sigh… do you remember that old auto log we found on the train?} asked Layla 

[yes? But what about it?] replied Molly with a tilted head 

{you remember the imperium Strick rule regarding mutation and Xenos right…} asked Layla 

[yes… but I still don't see…] responded Molly with slow realization 

{experiments… and test} replied Layla 

[But that doesn't explain the Xeno body being here! I bet it was them! those vile Xenos are always getting in the way!] interrupted Mary with flaming eyes 

{sigh, Mary… sometimes it is not always the Xenos that are the monsters…} replied Layla while placing her hand on her shoulder 

[I know! It's just…] replied Mary 

{Ya! Mary you should know more than anyone just how mysterious the Eldar race is… I mean they have lived for countless years… and probably have psyker knowledge, that even goes beyond our imperium knowledge! Maybe they had a reason to be here…} interjected Molly trying to be supportive. 

[Oh! A reason! Like those fuckers, the Drukhari when they left….] yelled Mary in distress, as the sound of displaced bullet casings moved abhorrently on the other side of the office walls! 

With the sound of rolling bullets and the crunching of bones, their light never left the rotten wooden door, where Molly took charge with her bronze-colored shield with the symbol of the saints plastered on. Where she stood in the front waiting for the perfect moment. A moment that never came… confused the girls were about to relax. when they heard scratching along the walls while smelling a terrible order that seemed to come from nowhere. 

{Mary…} called out Layla as she grew increasingly uneasy. 

[yes?] replied Mary 

{Do you think there a way to restore power or at the very least a manifest where they store the cells in this room?} said Layla as the thin tin sheet metal above their heads began to bend and morph, with the sounds of something heavy running across it, then with a heavy thud, something landed in the adjacent room! With the only thing separating the rooms was a dark and thin one-way mirror! 

With squinted eyes, Layla yelled: {Mary!} 

[umm... Maybe I don't know!] She called back in a rush 

{well then you better start looking! And Molly!} demanded Layla while she positioned her new bolter gun at the mirror, while her hand flamer rested at her left thigh, and her sword on her back. 

[yes] replied Molly 

{prepare yourself!} said Layla as she could hear the low growls coming from within the mirror and around their tiny enclosure. 

Listening to her friend's words, Molly put away her small inferno pistol, and took out her hallowed mace! While Mary said in a surprised tone as she yelled: 

[I found it!] 

But the moment she yelled those words, the back mirror exploded in the beauty of shards, as a diseased creature burst its way through! Right into the hail of bolter rounds fired by Layla! For each heavy round, the creature took, a chuck of its flesh it would lose! Its sharp claws and steel wool-like fur did little to help it as it died with its charge! 

But its death did little comfort for the girls, for the door ruptured to pieces, as another bore its fangs at Molly's shield! As claws reach down from the thin ceiling above them aiming right for Mary's head! As Mary dodged to the left, she pointed her Flechette carbine and fired into the creature! While Molly tried her best to maul the one pouncing on her shield!

As the creature fell dead from a broken ceiling, Layla filled the other one with her bolter round as the creature overpowered Molly's shield! Pinning her under its foot! For this creature was far bigger than the rest! 

Not only was it bigger but the heavy bolter round couldn't penetrate as far deep as it had done to its companion! Seeing the creature about to claw at Molly's head, Layla quickly drew her Flame pistol and set it in a blaze! But as it burned, it ignored the pain and the stench of its flesh! As its claw was but an inch away from Molly's head, Layla took out her sword and stabbed it in the side as Mary continued to shoot at it! 

Feeling the sudden stab, the creatures kicked Layla in the chest before she could even pull her sword out! Seeing Layla thrown away like a rag doll, Molly let go of her mace and pointed her Inferno pistol at point blank at hand and blew it up! Feeling the sharp pain of its hand melting, the creature tilted its weight in just the right angle to allow Molly to push it off her! 

As the creature fell back, Layla quickly grabbed her sword and twisted and pulled it up in a slashing motion! Causing guts and colorful blood to rain from its abdomen! Though it felt its guts pouring out and its blood draining from him like an open door, the creature didn't quit! For as Layla pulled her sword out the monster, the monster willed its snout in an attempt to bite Layla in half! Luckily for Layla though, the second it reached to bite her, Molly tossed away her shield and with mace in hand, slammed its head as hard as she could! Before continuing to beat it senseless! 

{molly!} Yelled Layla 

[...] 

{Molly! That's enough!} cried Layla again as she placed her hand against Molly's mace hand. 

{that's enough… it's dead…} continued Layla softly as she stared into Molly's eyes to help calm her down. 

Breathing hard Molly stared at the disfigured creature for a moment, before reaching to pick up her shield. While not saying anything the whole time. Which concerned Layla but now wasn't the time to ask. So, she didn't and only calmly watched Molly back and Mary said: 

[this… these creatures… I think… yes, they kind of look like them!] said Mary in a ramble 

{Like what?} responded Layla 

[like the Cruorian warbeast… but that can't be… they shouldn't be in this sector… plus this one too big and different…] replied Mary 

{oh! How is it different other than its size?} replied Layla 

[I'm not sure but it's a hunch that maybe it underwent a mutation of some kind… see there if you look carefully, you can see what looks like the start of wings forming next to the shoulder blades, then you have the horns… and the fur color is slightly different] replied Mary until Layla interrupted 

{Ok! I get it! It wasn't normal!} 

[hey! You're the one who asked!] replied Mary twiddling he fingers childishly 

{Yes… Yes, I did, and we can continue talking about it later, once we get the power cell and get the hell out of here! This place gives me the creeps and we just barely walked through the front door!} replied Layla 

[oh! In that case then I know where to go!] replied Mary cheerfully with a piece of parchment in her hand 

{please for the love of the emperor! Please don't be stored in the basement!} thought Layla to herself. 

[let's see now, the manifest says… that the empower cells are stored…. Oh! that's not good!] said Mary 

{I don't like the sound of that! What's not good?} replied Layla 

[well, it says here, that were to be moved to level three but doesn't say why…] replied Mary 

{ok… but what's the bad news?} replied Layla 

[well…. In order to access level three, you need to power the doors… which…] replied Mary before Layla cut in. 

{which we don't have… right} 

[that right… the only solution I can think of as of right now is to either give up or…] said Mary 

{or take what little energy remains in the train power cell and use it.} said Layla 

[yes... unfortunately… it may still have enough power left to give us one shot, and that's only if we get to the main breaker on the 2nd level to make sure the cell only powers lvl3 otherwise were screwed. But all this isn't what I'm worried about.] said Mary 

{I know… it's not only the danger of monsters we may face going down, but our biggest enemy… time!} said Layla 

[That's right! The Canoness only gave us a week! And it's already been a day and a half! And we're still days away from the nearest city!] cried, Mary 

{umm...I know! Let's first continue looking around this level for anything useful and then let's head back…. Then will decide if we should abandon the train or try to save it. Agree?} asked Layla to which the girls agreed but as they left the office room, the girls didn't spot the paper that hung from the printing machine, in fancy words written in black, it said 

[Emergency! Emergency! Immediate disposal of all power cells in the facility! Are to be enacted immediately! Repeat! Disposal of all power cells is to be carried out in LEVEL THREE!]