Plague

The stomping of heavy boots wasn't enough to signify that one of them had arrived. Anyone could wear boots and walk noisily. No, what signified they had arrived was their breathing.

Boots crash to a halt before the door. A hissing whine of breath in. The sound of howling wolves on the exhale out. The plaguekin scatter as the door shatters inwards, and the HUD illuminates the forms of their filth as they try to flee.

The apartment was small and laid out exactly the same as the other several thousand in this block. The apartments this one connected to via vents and pipes were each also being hit at the same time. Hopefully not all of them were as badly infected as this one.

Needles hiss as chemical compositions are analyzed and projected across the HUD. The snarling mask whips across the room, following the sight of plaguekin, and the muzzle of the Rapid Pharmaceutical Mixture Device follows, spraying a customized mixture of agents designed to counteract the plaguekin's unique biotype.

The scream of the plaguekin was alien, full of as much malice as pain or fear. It had tried to hide behind the counter, but the cloyingly thick spray of medicines had caught it's leg and was quickly eating away 'flesh' made of living rot.

It spit a glob of literally glowing vilruent mucus, catching the invading purifier in the shoulder. It hisses and spits for a moment as it clings, before sliding harmlessly off the sleek black cloak and to the floor. Another burst from the RPMD catches it in the chest, and finishes it.

Another piercing scream from the bathroom marks one of the possible escape routes having been cut off from another apartment. From there, it became a simple matter. Sweep in, eliminate the panicked plaguekin, set a cleanout bomb with the remaining mixture of that chemical signal. Try not to think of the inhabitants. Return back to base. Don't think. Refill the RPMD. The second bedroom had been made for a child.

Go out and do the next mission. Plaguekin infestations were worse in the summer. The heat let them reproduce faster, so they were all pulling doubles to keep up.

The work made it easier to forget.