While Richard and Blake led the rattled Cassefin and the wounded George towards the exit, the rest of the team warily watched on as the quahhg across the snowy drifts made slow movements, strafing to the side with long, careful steps. George grunted in discomfort with each step, causing Cassefin to nervously watch him from the corner of her eye. It wasn't long before they neared the open bulkhead, the red-haired Head Administrator turning her head around to look at the others.
Then, there was an abrupt, thunderous thud. Across the room, the quahhg shook off a heavy layer of snow with a single leaping bound forward, quickly beginning to close the distance gap between itself and Squad 35. Without the white frost clinging to its fur, it looks much smaller. It was not this smaller monstrosity that made the very floor shake, however; it was a much more familiar face.
The adult quahhg had fallen down from the ceiling to almost directly over Blake, Richard, Cassefin and George, the massive amount of white fur and stealthy capabilities allowing it to cautiously approach as the others watch the smaller quahhg from afar. The beast had nearly crushed the four of them, but had landed a few feet away, sending a blanket of snow surging upward as it planted its massive limbs onto the ground as it released a piercing shrill. Before the others could react, the quahhg reared its head to the side, its mouth slightly agape revealing the several rows of menacing teeth.
Cassefin had seen the blow coming. The adult quahhg swung its head in a wide arc, its snout colliding with Richard, Blake and George in short succession while Cassefin deftly ducked underneath the swing by sheer instinct. The force of the strike cause the three men to fly several yards in opposing directions, leaving Cassefin alone in front of the quahhg, squatting with her hands over her head in a protective fashion, oblivious to what had happened.
---
The smaller quahhg had begun bounding towards the closest one it could find. At that moment, it had been Tweak, who was crossing the snowy frontier towards the crate of miniature missile warhead. In a few seconds, the beast would be on top of her, the animal baring its teeth and releasing a bellowing roar.
---
After a short moment, Cassefin slowly began to rise, looking around as she did. She caught sight of Richard, tossed over to her left while Blake and George struggled in a short bank of snow. It took her a second to realize her current position; the adult quahhg behind her had its head turned, the two sets of jet-black eyes peering down at her, a low grumbling grow vibrating outward from the giant's throat. Cassefin quickly turned to face the quahhg, the alarm evident across her face. The two stood that way for what seemed like an eternity. The enormous quahhg breathed in and out heavily, its black eyes occasionally twitching to focus on the other entities in the room, but would always return to Cassefin. The Head Administrator seemed positively dwarfed by the enormous beast, her entire body motionless for those quick, tense moments.
Cassefin's expression had changed part way through their stand off. Before, as she was turning towards the quahhg, her face revealed unrestrained fear, nervousness, annoyance, aggravation... a plethora of harrowing emotions that marred her face and pulled at her features. Now, however, the tone of her expression had changed dramatically. Cassefin stared, speechless and frozen in place, her face contorted in debilitating terror that permeated through her body. The quahhg slowly curled its lip, displaying its fangs at the Head Administrator and the small team of people behind her.
This waning moment between the two only lasted for so long. As quickly as it had come, their wordless stand-off was abruptly broken as the giant quahhg stretched its neck back once more, tilting its pointed snout downward and swinging it again, the set of menacing horns on the tip of its face at the front of its blow. Cassefin was too far gone to do much in retaliation. The administrator's shoulders tensed and her body turned slightly as the quahhg's head approached her, instinctively anticipating the strike... but it did her little good.
There came a wet, soft shunk as the large, curved horn sunk into the front of Cassefin's body, the woman only able to release a pitiful exhale of breath as her body was pierced. The force of the blow easily carried her light frame forward along with it, her limbs following loosely behind her body as she was gored. When the quahhgs head stopped, Cassefin's body flung in that direction, colliding against the wall several yards to the left of the bulkhead exit. Her collision with the wall jostled an amount of snow that had been accumulating further upwards along the wall; when her body slammed against the flat surface and came to rest on the ground, the snow fell atop her, blanketing her body with a foot or so of fresh, white powder.
Seemingly satisfied, the giant quahhg wasted no time. After it had completed its violent act, the beast began to stampede its way towards where Richard had landed, its gaping maw stretching open as it surged forward, legs thundering beneath it.
