[b]The Cabal's Gift[/b] The gold sand seems to be in some ancient union with the city, an echo across ruins and rust, dust carried off by dull winds, like a cold breath that tastes of salt and rock. The hunter puts on her mask and looks down at the earth, and saw the disturbance in the sand, the large familiar tracks of the cabal headed in the direction inside the facility. Looking up, whispers of sand blot out the sun in mute transparency. The hunter sighs, takes the rifle from her back, and moves forward. At the entrance, the Cabal’s rumble echoes from the far reaches, lazily bubbling from the black corridors. The hunter takes each step cautiously, her ghost lighting the path forward. She hadn’t seen a patrol of Cabal on her way here. The dunes were empty. This one had to be a straggler, lost from the rest, and using this place for shelter for a time before moving on. But its call was weak, like a wounded animal on a cold verge of collapse. Even in her suit, she feels the partial cold trying to creep under her skin. She passes the broken windows that appear as jagged teeth, broken walls with patches of black and brown. The Cabal’s voice becomes louder and louder. And there it was. She saw the legionnaire stooping in an awkward position befitting its size, its armor partially covered with sand, red fluid seeping from under the chin of its helmet, and there was a large wound on its leg keeping it from moving. The hunter made herself visible, her rifle lowered, and behind the solid mute grey of her mask, her green eyes show pity, even concern, much to her surprise, that the legionnaire couldn’t see. The cabal growled sleepily, and the hunter understood its meaning. “Are you sure?” The hunter asked. A slight nod. It could understand her? Maybe not. The bulky creature dropped its weapon, a gift to end its pain. A rifle shot echoes across the facility and remains, and fades into nothing. The hunter accepted the Cabal’s gift gratefully. One last thankful look at the legionnaire, and then she turns away and explores deeper into the facility. There’s more to find inside.