Frenzy & Torch

Chapter 39: Passion

Jacque's cousin, Alexandre, a fellow cockroach, wandered aimlessly through the obliterated landscape with a bindle over his shoulder. His modest dome-shaped house was annihilated in a random air strike. All he had was a blanket, a dead phone, and a charger that was now useless since virtually every building with an outlet had been obliterated.

"Man, this is some bullshit," he muttered to himself. "I just wanna watch my fuckin' show." He was watching the latest episode of his favorite anime, Vicky the Stripper Rhinoceros, when the attack happened. He was more dismayed about being ripped away from his show than a war starting.

He looked down at his phone and tried to turn it back on, knowing it was futile. "This is some bum-ass shit, it's the 60th mothafuckin' century and they still make phones that got batteries in 'em. Swear to God, I'm boutta—  aw, shit!"

An obliterated building's exposed wires were lighting up a puddle directly ahead. He stuck the end of his charger into the water and prayed for a miracle, then rejoiced when the phone company's partially-eaten banana icon appeared on the screen.

"Fuckin' finally!" he said. After a couple minutes, he sat down and relaxed as he waited for the phone to turn back on.

Overhead, four Japanese fighter ships merged with four Shriktan bandits and engaged in a dogfight. More ships joined the fray and it eventually turned into a massive battle.

"Damn, that's crazy," Alexandre commented while munching on a croissant. His phone finally came back to life and the missed call notifications buzzed his phone like a vibrator. He streamed the show again and picked up right where he left off: in the middle of a strip club scene.

A green, scaly Shriktan pilot parachuted to the ground and landed right next to him. "Fuckin' asshole got the drop on me— " He paused in the middle of removing his parachute when he saw Alexandre watching a rhino dance on a pole.

"Whatchu lookin at?" Alexandre asked.

The pilot turned and ran toward friendly lines.

"Motherfuckers can't mind their own business," Alexandre said while redirecting his attention to the show. He paused it a couple minutes later. "Shit, I guess I better call Jacque."

The phone rang and then Jacque responded over the sound of explosions and yelling. "Alexandre?? Thank God you're safe!"

"Everything good, cuz?"

"Yes, I'm just a little busy at the moment."

A squad of beasts, each seventy-five feet tall with brown, organic armor over their shoulders and chests, thundered by to join distant battle. Their yellow eyes made the conical protrusions on their faces look all the more alien and intimidating. Every step they took sent ripples in the ground like a 6.0 magnitude earthquake.

"Aye, you got some big motherfuckers coming your way, be careful." Alexandre said.

Meanwhile, Annabelle and Fang found a vantage point on a ridge overlooking the battle between the stone people and the troops. Annabelle telekinetically grabbed the entire opposition and slammed them repeatedly against the ground until they were near-microscopic pebbles.

"You could've done that earlier," Fang said.

Annabelle had no wise comeback. "I've been forgetting my spells lately, I don't know why. I need to do a quick refresher."

"Whatever you need to do, Annie Voodoo."

Annabelle looked at Fang with a deep blush that made her laugh. "Everybody's got a name for me, huh?"

"Think of it as a compliment! If the rest of my team had crazy magic shit under their sleeves, our lives would be so much easier. I think I'd want eye beams like Evelyn."