The flamer comes out next and begins its beautiful cleansing flame on two right in front of you. While they catch alight and begin howling in pain, one comes from behind and knocks the wind out of you. The flamer tanks catch the worst of it and save you from damage, but you can smell the napalm mix leaking all over the jungle floor.

The heavy weapon is shrugged off and you quickdraw the plasma pistol. Superheated plasma literally melts the head of another brawler, leaving you with the one-armed carrier. Instead of further attack, it sprints off into the jungle before you can grab the Gobi rifle and give them a parting gift.

The two that caught fire are still writing in pain at the edge of the small clearing. You take your time to catch your breath and consume another drug cocktail. The days are beginning to catch up with you but the end is close.

What little weaponry you have left is gathered up and you continue your way to the top of the hill.

The research base sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the jungle. While there is overgrowth just like everywhere else in Zion, you can tell effort was made to keep the madness at bay through controlled burnings.

A couple of tents are set up around the vertibirds with assorted crates and boxes scattered around the site. Their contents have been spilled and broken. It’s barely visible through the jungle floor but it looks much more like a curious animal than any effort to evacuate the camp.

The Vertibird is in the early stages of being claimed by the blight. Vines are working their way up the sides of the metal beast and the side door is ajar just slightly. You ready the rifle and move slowly forward.

A green tinge is present halfway up the aircraft door. It looks like blood and you hesitate for just a second. A second is all it takes for the one-armed brawler to fling it open and pounce.

You shoot but the round goes wide and ricochets off the Vertibird. The carrier lands right on top of you and drives your head into the ground with a sickening crunch. The right eye piece of the helmet cracks and sends glass splintering into your eye. The arm of the carrier is pulsing with unnatural strength which allows it to pick your skull up and smash it into the dirt again.

Its powerful haunches keep you pinned to the ground but the lack of its other arm means you can just get to the last fragmentation grenade on your belt. You pull the pin and punch as hard as you can right in the center of the sternum. If they’re mutated humans…

Your right hand turns into a ball of searing pain as multiple bones are broken but you feel the chest give way to a slimy pulp. The chest cavity tries to pull your arm in but you give it the grenade instead.

The concussive force of the grenade is kept inside of the brawler, mostly. You feel the wave push you further into the ground and shrapnel ping off of the armor which only further degrades it.