A Web Serial by M.C.A. Hogarth
| 103. Flood Tide. | 105. Revelation. |
|---|
104. Glimmer
The Warren, near the holes. Avril and his team are investigating. The halls are empty; one almost expects dust and cobwebs.
[ Base ] Control : Lieutenant, this is Control. Team Kitty needs back-up.
Avril gestures; the two PYEO members start heading back. He follows.
[ Base ] Avril : Control, this is Avril. Sitrep, please.
[ Base ] Control : Hall 4 is overrun at spokes 12, 13 and 14. Hall 5 looks bad too.
[ Base ] Avril : ****!
He glances back at the holes.
Avril, to himself. Where are they coming from?
Zoom in over a carpet of dead bodies, over which giant crabs are pouring in a glistening tide toward the five members of Team Kitty. The bugs pack the corridors, squeezing past one another at the edges, clogging the hall like a sick artery and then abruptly spurting a wall of flailing knife-edged limbs.
Fang2. This is a little... more... "fun"... than I was hoping for when I came back.
Fang. ****ing shut up, this is all just more ****ing target practice.
The team is retreating behind Scythe's new shield, which has a ruby edge. The droplets of light running the edge look uncomfortably like fresh blood.
Hairball. Is it target practice when they pack together like that?
Fang. Point. Wouldn't dignify it with the name. More like...
Whiskers. Broad side of a barn practice?
Scythe. Keep an eye on the rear.
Whiskers. Nothing so far, boss.
[ Squad ] Avril : Kitty, this is Avril. Status.
[ Squad ] Scythe : Inconvenienced, sir.
Fang2, muttering. No kidding.
[ Squad ] Scythe : Could use someone closing up the rear, sir. Bit nervous about how clear it is back there.
[ Squad ] Avril : We'll be coming up spoke 15—no, better make it 16.
[ Squad ] Scythe : Understood.
Fang. What's the shield running at now?
Scythe. Looking good at 72%. The improvements seem to be paying off.
Fang2. ****! What's that?
They have backed successfully to spoke 14, where some glimmer in the dark has caught Fang2's eye. Fang glances that way, still shooting.
Fang, frowning. Don't see anything. What was it?
Fang2. ****! I don't know, but it was ****ing fast! ****!
Scythe. I don't like the sound of that. Hairball, Whiskers, shields hot.
As the two bring up shields, green and aquamarine...
Fang. I don't get it. This is all the same **** we've been shooting before. Why the flood?
Scythe. Ours not to question why—
Whiskers. —ours just to watch them die.
Fang2. Wow, that was totally hot. Like a line from a ****ing movie. I can totally see that. Some bad-*** guy in armor with a gun—oh wait.
Whiskers snickers.
Avril's team, jogging up the hall...
Gull. Did you see something?
His squad-mate starts to turn.
| 103. Flood Tide. | 105. Revelation. |
|---|
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