Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:04 am
The Cave Rats, Part 1 of 2
Crowley wiped the massive beads of sweat from his brow. He felt like he was melting in the heat surrounding him. In front of him, two marines were setting up C-12 charges.
He whistled to the taller one, Sergeant Helen Morado. “What’s the status on those charges sergeant?” More sweat rolled down his face.
Helen finished fiddling with the explosive. “Last charge set up. All I need to do is hook up the detonator.” She pulled a small device from her pocket and began working with it.
Crowley looked up at the massive stalactites all around him. He knew they had come down into this sewer to demolish a massive hive of Drones, but he was still stunned by the sheer size of the thing. It was nearly the size of an apartment complex, at least the parts he could see.
“Sergeant, are you sure this is going to work?” Crowley remembered what several other soldiers had told him, about the depth of these hives. He was also remembered what they said about the heat they gave off. He wiped more sweat off of his face.
Helen shrugged. “I mean, I’ve rigged enough C-12 down here to level a city block. Maybe even two. Even if we don’t fully destroy it, the swarm is gonna take a massive hit from this.”
Just then, another soldier ran up to Crowley, quickly saluting. “Lance Corporal Mikeal Wekenski returning from scouting assessment, sir!”
Crowley nodded. “And how are we doing? Any signs of trouble?”
Wekenski shook his head. “Negative sir. I did spot a few bugs, but I stayed out of sight.”
Crowley was satisfied by the report. “Good work lance corporal. Tell Barry and Wilford that we’re clearing out. The charges are in place and we don’t want to be around when they go off.”
Wekenski ran past Crowley with an “Aye sir!” and disappeared around a piece of the hive.
Crowley took one last look at the massive structure. “I’ll be happy once we destroy this thing. No more swarms tearing us up on the surface.” He shuddered as he thought about the last two fights he had been in. All he could remember was the buzzing of wings, gunfire, and the screaming. The shrieks of terrified soldiers as they were dragged into the sky echoed in his mind. “This is payback you winged freaks.” His voice was low, almost a growl.
Wekenski walked into the dark tunnel Barry and Wilford were standing guard in. “Hey guys, we’re clearing out! Get your gear and let’s go!” He waited for a response.
No response. His echo returned his “let’s go!” several times.
He stepped further into the tunnel, and repeated himself. “Come on guys! Charges are in place, we need to leave!”
Again he got no response. His echo shouted back at him.
“Maybe they decided to take a nap.” He chuckled to himself. “Barry is a pretty laid-back fellow.”
It got extremely dark. Wekenski struggled to see anything, so he took his flashlight off his belt and switched it on. He shined the bright beam down the tunnel, looking at the holes the Drones had dug through the walls. He gagged for a second, remembering what Crowley had told him about what these hives were made of. Quickly, he wiped the memory from his mind. “Come on guys! I’m serious! Where are you?”
He went for another few minutes. Fear was slowly rising in his mind. He moved his other hand to the pistol at his hip, and he pulled it out of the holster. He aimed the gun wherever the flashlight was pointed.
Finally he found something, but it did nothing to settle his fear. A single helmet laid before him. “Oh no… Barry? Wilford? Please answer…” He swallowed the lump of fear that had built up into his throat.
He kneeled down, picking up the helmet. He turned it over in his hands. Finding the data chip in the back, he pulled it out. It was a small thing, but he was terrified of it now. Slowly, he put it into his helmet. On the small heads-up display over his left eye, the recording began. The footage was grainy, so all he could make out were faint shapes. “The footage must have been damaged…” He thought to himself. The familiar British accent of Wilford spoke first.
“I don’t get it Barry. Why do we need to cover this tunnel? We haven’t seen any of those bugs since we’ve been down here.” He sounded irritated.
Barry spoke in his deep voice, with a faint hint of a Midwestern accent. “At least we ain’t rigging those bombs. I get real nervous around that C-12 stuff.”
Wilford laughed. “Well, I have no clue why you chose to join up with the Cave Rats then. Our main job is going into dark places and rigging explosives.”
Barry sighed deeply. “I don’t know why I joined either. I’d be much happier running ground ops, but something about this unit seemed to appeal to me. Probably Helen.”
“Hey, back off pal. Me and Helen have a thing going already.” Wilford snapped at him.
“Ease off pal. Don’t get after me that she might find a guy from Harvest more attractive than a guy from… uh…”
“I’m from Tribute. And don’t call me pal.” Wilford huffed. “I’ll have you know, Helen and I ha- wait, did you hear that?” Wilford seemed to calm down.
Barry laughed. “ If I can’t call you pal, I guess I’ll call you Will. What’s the matter Will? Can’t come up with a good comeback?”
Wilford shushed him. “No, I’m serious. Do you hear that?” The recording went silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, the fluttering of wings started and Wilford began screaming. “NO! GET OFF! GET OFF! NO! NO! GET THEM OFF OF ME!” There were loud shrieks, and a gun went off several times. Wekenski was shocked by the sudden shift, his blood turned to ice as he listened to Wilford’s screams.
Barry seemed to be unfazed by the panic. “Very convincing Will. But you still need to accept that Helen just likes me more. You know that it’s true. In fact, I-” He stopped. In this moment, the footage cleared up. Wekenski saw what had shut Barry up. He looked at the body of Wilford, torn up and bent in places it shouldn’t be. “No… no no no…” Barry’s voice changed from confident to shaky and weak. “Wilford?”
Something skittered to Barry’s right, and he spun in that direction. “Who’s there!? Corporal? Come in Crowley! Wilford is dead! I think we- no… no! NO! GET AWAY!” The shrieks started again, along with the buzzing of wings. Barry screamed almost as loud as Wilford, and more gunshots boomed as the recording got more distorted. Finally, the recording became static and Barry’s screams drowned in the noise.
Wekenski tore the chip out of his helmet, panic wrapping around him like a snake. He stood up to run away. He stopped when he heard the skittering, just like before Wilford and Barry had been killed. It was above him. His heart began pounding like a drum, and he shakily lifted his flashlight to look at the ceiling. Before he could see it, several pairs of legs lunged out at him. Wekenski screamed in terror and pain as sharp claws found their place in his arms. He dropped the gun from the pain and felt his feet leave the ground. He struggled to free himself, but all he did was caused the limbs to tighten their grip. The fluorescent markings on their shells was the last thing he saw before one of them grabbed his head and it all went dark.
