"Cleanse."

The deep, baritone voice reverberated amidst the packed cafeteria of Forks High School, causing confused looks of amusement among the room's occupants. Probably a senior who was having way too much fun with a megaphone. After all, pranks were commonplace in any high school setting full of young adolescents.

"Purge."

Nervous laughter erupted from the assembled students. Principle Greene was going to have a fit over this.

"Kill."

The last word was punctuated by the unmistakable boom of a gun.

The student closest to the hallway disappeared suddenly in a mad welter of blood.

The shocked silence that followed was interrupted by the appearance of a metal giant, his immense form crouching slightly under the doorway to enter. Black armor, terrible and malignant, covered his massive frame, adorned with strips of aged parchment. A sneering white helm sat on his head, evil red slits for visors glaring balefully towards the stunned crowd. An arm ending with an oversized fist clenched tightly. The other arm held an enormous smoking pistol.

Two more of his kind emerged from the school's hallway, bearing the same form of weapon, albeit larger in size.

The screams that followed were only drowned out by the repeated roars of gunfire.


Veteran Sergeant Darkur aimed for the panicked figure of a heretic, her casually clothed frame trembling with fright. His bolt pistol jerked in his plated hands, belching forth a diamantine tipped shell towards his target. The traitor's body ruptured from the exploding round, spraying the immediate area with a shower of gore. Turning, the astartes sergeant lashed out with his power fist, catching a whimpering turncoat in the chest. The cackling power fields around the weapon vaporized the boy's torso before the momentum of his blow propelled the remnants of the corpse sideways into a wall.

Brothers Varken and Ichsan stood stoically beside him, their bolters flaring with repeated muzzle flashes. The storm of detonating metal slices through the pack of traitors, carving bloody swathes through their unprotected ranks.

The veteran marine nodded grimly with satisfaction. Such was the fate of the heretic, the mutant, and the xeno.

Darkur loosed another volley from his own weapon, cutting down a trio of sobbing lowlifes. Ignoring the eruption of viscera that resulted, the astartes sergeant activated his power armor's vox link.

"Brother Natios, Brother Usuar. Report."

A hiss of distorted static sounded in his helm before he was met with the calm tone of his men.

"The eastern hallways are secure. We met opposition in the forms of a flabby man with an autopistol. He is now dead."

Darkur smiled thinly at Natios's comment. Knowing his battle brother, Natios was more likely to slam the heretic through several walls before shooting him. The astartes veteran clubbed a wailing adolescent in the head with his bolt pistol, splattering brain matter on his black armor.

"Brother Tanrek, Brother Falkius. Report."

"Southern hallways are secure Brother Sergeant. No opposition. A few heretics were found loitering. We have ended their miserable existence."

Ichsan pulped a traitor's face with a powerful punch, sending the ruined boy's corpse flying back into the terrified crowd.

"Brother Meteron. Brother Halstis. Report."

"Western hallways are secure. Halstis's flamer was most effective. We bring the cleansing fire of the Emperor to these foul aberrations."

Varken kicked a scrambling heretic back, his victim giving a sharp cry of pain as she met the unyielding floor. Varken casually placed an armored boot on the turncoat's neck, and stomped down.

"Brother Avarian. Report."

A second of silence reigned before voice of the near two century experienced warrior replied.

"Upper levels are cleared. I have located the chief traitor in his dwelling. He is now being subjected to my interrogation."

Darkur grunted.

"Keep at it brother. Squeeze any information out of him before delivering the Emperor's Mercy."

"As you will it Brother Sergeant."

The veteran marine growled as he swiveled his gaze back to the running lowlifes. He squeezed the trigger of his bolt pistol a few more times, enjoying the look of horror these heretics gave him before they died.

"This is Darkur to all battle brothers. Secondary objective has been achieved. Primary objective is still in progress. Find the sparkling mutants and eliminate them with extreme prejudice. Forward Death Spectres! Forward to glorious victory! For the Emperor and Corax!"

A chorus of shouted assents assailed his ears.