beastie.
He lost power.
Then he felt it – the intense heat. Then he saw it – the warm reddish glow of an enormous claw. Now, it was in his cockpit with him. It had just missed penetrating his heart. And as it withdrew it left a stream of light in its place – a stream of light quickly blocked by what he could only guess was the actual face of a bug.
Seeing him, the creature turned its head sideways one way then the other as it appeared to examine him with a trio of motionless, glistening black eyes. Satisfied it then reared back – two claws forcing their way in where one was before.
The bug’s ripping, and wrenching of that final, annoying layer of reinforced armor began - the pitiful groans emanated by twisted steel playing accompaniment to the sickening crunch the filled his cabin.
Collier turned around and crawled quickly to the rear of the cockpit, then defecated. He felt the warmth spreading on his waist and legs as his bladder emptied before – desperately - he himself began clawing at the rear of his beastie in an attempt to get away, open the hatch…
Something…
But the beast had come through - that same, red-hot claw that pierced his cockpit now impaling his abdomen as it painfully cauterized the wound. Quietly, he gave up the ghost.
Yanked brutally through the bug’s opening Collier’s body was flung aside like so much garbage – striking Rand’s beast with force enough to crush spine and skull before bouncing limply to the ground – his limbs lying at odd angles.
-=+=-
And so there came a thunderous roar and their eyes all at once cast skyward. Something had slammed into the arena roof. Quietly, anxiously, the people sat in wait.
Then came the sound again, and once more. People leapt from their skin as something unknown slammed into the arena’s walls. The sounds began coming more quickly now, accompanied by a grinding, and tearing. The arena was assaulted by a hailstorm of enemy armors – the incessant pounding filling the shelter with a sense of ghastly horror. Many of its occupants lost hope.
And there were no military reports. There were no sounds of weapons fire in counterattack. Attempts to reach Cencom all failed.
They were without defense, and on their own.
The bugs quickly tore their way through the roof – flying down into the panicked throngs of people as they scattered, and ran desperately for their lives. The bugs flew in wild patterns overhead, observing them, occasionally snatching them up, or ripping through them with their claws still glowing from heat. And as the people ran in terror, blood rained.
Jensen picked up his daughter and ran only to be struck down by remains cast aside by the invaders. His daughter – frightened – kept running as Miho coached her – directing her to an archway as a portion of the roof collapsed.
They were trapped.
The world became darkness as a backdrop to the sounds of explosions, to the sounds of the arena as it continued to crumble under the assault, and to the sound of the earth shattering all around her. More and more distant, and muffled became the screams as people fled the arena to find the aliens waiting – ruthlessly shredding them to bits as they ran.
There was no escape, no harbor. Human to them was as an infestation of rats to humans – a disgusting pest to be exterminated without prejudice. The air grew thick with the combined scents of urine, and feces.
And blood.
And as the sounds went away – exhausted – she slept.
Hours passed, and then a day before she rose – light pouring in from an opening dug just large enough for her to crawl through. And as she emerged into the city, it lay quiet.
“Miho!” the girl ran to the doll, and shook it vigorously. The light that once emanated from its bracelet, and the charm around its neck had gone out. She got nothing. Falling to her knees she began crying, but stopped as she took in the carnage which surrounded her.
The exterior of the arena was a mess of disembodied and entangled limbs and torsos. A man’s head lay staring at her with lifeless eyes – its chin torn away from it with the rest of its body. There was more – much more.
She wished she couldn’t see.
Sniffling – she wiped her tears and for the first time saw her hands. Staring at her hands a moment her eyes then moved to her dress – covered in blood. Tiny, crimson puddles collected around the soles of her shoes.
She called out for her parents, and shook Miho.
Silence.
She screamed.
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