The Code of Chivalry
                            Chapter 4


    Blinding light.  Searing pain.  He felt as though his body were being
torn in two.  He heard a wooshing noise, and the screams of his horse.
The pain was everywhere, ripping his very soul out.  He could not stop the
pain.
    He opened his eyes.  As his vision returned, he saw he was in a
strange world.  The sky was a blend of blood red and purple, with four
moons high above all else.  He was in the middle of a clearing, surrounded
by lush rainforest.  Behind him, the great rift shimmered.  In front of
him stood a huge creature of such repulsiveness that he almost retched.
The mouth moved upward in a malicious grin, and the huge muscled arms
holding on to him squeezed painfully.  His mount screamed in fear and
pain.  And the demon laughed, a horrible, gurgling noise that placed
icy fear in one's heart.
    Malrick struggled, trying to break the hold of the monster.  He
tried to reach a weapon, but his arms were pinned to his sides.  He tried
to form his psi-sword, but the pain was so intense that he couldn't
concentrate.  As he was about to pass out with anguish, he calmed his
mind and used his psionics to deaden the pain.  Instantly all of the
torture was gone.  He looked into the demon's eyes, and concentrated
deeply.  A sudden bolt of mental energy blasted into the creature's head,
knocking it back.  Malrick and his mount fell to the ground.  He jumped
up, swinging his Wilk's 457 Laser Pulse Rifle off of his back, and
quickly aimed.  As the demon shook its head to clear it, he fired a
multiple burst, blasting holes into the creature's chest.  The demon
roared in pain and fury, and fired bolts of fire out of its eyes.  The
bolts blasted into Malrick's body armor, knocking him ten feet back.  His
rifle sailed across the clearing.  In desperation he grabbed his TX-5
Pump Pistol, and fired a grenade into the creature.  The explosive stuck
into the side of the creature's head, but it did not explode.
    "Damn!  Another dud!" swore Malrick.  He grabbed his laser pistol and
fired a blast into the thing's thigh, slowing it down.  The demon,
however, did not stop.  It charged at him, and leaped into the air.
Malrick tried to roll out of the way, but the thing landed on top of him.
He found he could not breathe, as he heard his ribs snapping.  The
creature rose up and grabbed him, pulling him towards its gaping maw.
Malrick smelled the sickening breath, that of rotting flesh and blood.
He tried to break the hold, but his strength was no match for this
supernatural creature.  As his head was about to be bitten off, the
creature's head suddenly exploded.  Malrick's helmet was splattered
with dark blood, and he was dropped heavily to the ground.  The body
fell next to him, the great arm slamming on top of him.  He tried to push
the arm off, but it was too heavy.  He summoned his psi-sword, and began
hacking at the limb that was slowly crushing him.  After a few minutes he
had sliced the arm and half.  He stood, his body bathed in blood, his
chest on fire from the broken ribs.  He staggered back to his mount,
retrieving his rifle along the way.  As he leaned against his horse, he
heard howling screams all around him.
    He saw dozens of small fury demons crawling out of the rainforest,
their twisted forms were covered with fur, slime, and tenticles.  They
inched forward, crying "You killed the Boss!  He killed the Master."
With fury evident upon their faces, they began closing in on him.
Malrick grabbed a plasma grenade, and chucked it at the lead group.
As it landed, the demons flew into the air, burning plasma exploding
and sticking to whoever it touched.  They screamed in pain as they
slowly burned to death.  But more took their places.  He began firing
bursts from his rifle, cutting down the lines of creatures, but he
soon ran out of ammo.  With desperation he backed away, trying to find
an escape route.  But there were none in sight.  He finally summoned
up his psi-sword and prepared himself for his final battle.

Creeping Death [CHAOS CT] '93