INTERSTELLAR NIGHTMARES - THE DESCENT

Chapter 19

When we got to the Minehead, Kurt and Morris greeted us. "Hey! There you two numb nuts are," Kurt teased, "Too much rubber to tug?" I shrugged, answering "It wasn't too bad." Fredrick stifled a laugh, and Morris looked over and pursed his lips. "That's what she said," Fredrick chuckled softly. "Shut up," Morris cracked a bit.

I took a look around, then looked at the group. I was thinking that with the bugs on the way... why not start refining so we won't need to face more bugs in another wave? This one was big as we've heard, yes, but what makes it different with more bugs?

I snapped my fingers. "I have a plan," I simply stated. "We start the refinery now and get the oil as the bugs come in." Kurt puffed out his lower lip for a moment, then his eyes pointed up. "Ehhh, alright, why not?" he answered.

"What if that lures more?" Morris asked, looking worried even through the dead eyes of his helmet. "Then more will die," Kurt answered with grim excitement, "ain't that right, fellas?" Fredrick laughed a bit in joy. "Rock and Stone to that, brother!" he shouted in response.

I walked to the button and our earpieces sparked to life. "They're here. Brace yourselves!" Mission Control warned then faded. We stood there to listen as I pushed and held the button. Silence. No rumbling, no digging, not even breathing. It was dead silence. I got anxious from it as I was looking around, and then I looked at the others.

Suddenly, a flame shot from a chimney up above us, causing us all to jump in response. The platform started to vibrate as the liquid morkite started to be refined... but then came the digging.

The screeches of the glyphids began, and Morris panicked, forgetting to build his sentry gun. He began to build it as Kurt pointed towards the hole in Hoxxes above us. "Up there!" he roared, "They're coming from up there!" The whirl started and then the deafening roar of the machine he carried.

I looked around, grabbing my CRSPR up to use at a moment's notice until I saw it. It looked like a fortress of chitin. It towered over the crystals around it. Its tusks -- yes, tusks -- were the size of the metal pipes on the refinery. "What in the hell is that!?" I shouted in panic, and it responded with an echoing roar. Not a screech, a roar! It caused Kurt to even stop firing and I could feel we all looked to it. "Ohh shit!" Kurt yelled, and the whirl began as he ran in front of us.

He ripped the belt towards the titan of a bug, but it seemed to have no effect. I panicked and looked back to see a group of glyphids running towards us on the ramps. I doused them in the gelatinous flame, causing them to skitter off in panic or continue forward like a twisted circus act.

"It's not working!" Kurt shouted after cursing at the gun overheating. "Do you think it has a fat ass to unload mags into?" Fredrick yelled as he fired his Deepcore at another horde of glyphids. "Move!" Morris shouted, pushing Kurt to the side and yanking up his grenade launcher.

A dull plunk and a loud boom shook the air itself, yet the titan seemed unphased. Morris kept loading and firing at the thing, but its armor didn't even crack.

"That's a thick ass skull you got, bug!" Kurt said, getting out his pickaxe, "But can it withstand a pickaxe and dwarven might!?" He dove off in what looked like a movie of a medieval war and slammed the pickaxe into its head. Surprisingly, the pickaxe dug in, but a deafening crack followed, and Kurt backed up a bit.

"Shit... it broke!" he said, looking at the pickaxe, then the monstrosity. The fortress let out a roar and raised its massive arms. Before we had time to process what happened, Kurt flew into the air, smacked off Fredrick, and hit into a crystal, causing it to collapse.