A team of fore-colonizers crash landed on their way to the first confirmed earth-like planet. Running out of supplies and exposed to the perils of the planet, the team must use their wits when one of them becomes the pawn of hostile resident creatu...
One day, we realized the year cycle of this planet is almost complete when we encountered another peril, different from 'Tommy.'
On our regular trips away from our camp, Alice noticed from afar a large dark-brown to light brown cloud hovering several kilometers away. Lim noticed it too. It wasn't a normal cloud. It looks like it is moving at varying speeds toward the grasslands, a few kilometers away from the edge of the forest. The 'cloud' even changed direction. Since our camp is at the edge of the forest.
"What do you think is that?" Lim asked.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"It looks like a swarm of insects!" Minny shouted, as fear registered in her eyes.
"If that's a swarm, then they are probably billions of them, judging by the size of the cloud they formed!" I also said.
The swarm, probably originated from deep within the forest. It is almost above us and has started to darken the sky. It is producing a terrible buzzing noise. We couldn't run back to our 'houses.' Rodent like animals were running everywhere, each one with upright ears and bulging eyes, jumping and running in almost every direction. They all seem to be running in fear. We also saw some lizard like animals, moving at frantic speed from trees, they ran to the nearest water or pond they can see. When the swarm has reached the grassland, its almost cloud like appearance changed. The 'cloud' transformed into a funnel shape appearance of a twister. Almost as if it has a leader insect directing the motion of the entire swarm. In an instant, the swarm started spreading over the grassland, darkening the grassland. The appearance of the swarm looks terrifying. Like a mass of shiny and endlessly moving reddish brown objects, moving like a giant intelligent being. We don't know what to do, if this swarm keeps on spreading, we're going to be killed, if it reaches us. We didn't use our hovercraft, only our rusting rover buggy. The buggy is sealed but we do not know what this swarm can do to it. They might consider this moving vehicle either a threat or a feast. Either way, we decided to return to the edge of the forest, slowly.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Peter, bring us to the edge of the forest, they might be feasting on the grass grains." Lim said.
I drove slowly, turning around. We're supposed to have a 'picnic' in the grasslands, which is just a few kilometers away from the edge of the forest. The intermediate area between the forest and the grassland is a bushy area, with mingled tall grasses and short spike leaved trees. The grasses have grains that look like rice.
Our buggy is like a jeep with tracks. It is a fast-tracked vehicle with clumsy ability to turn around. Alice, carrying our baby girl and Minny, with my baby boy turned around and was almost frantic, when Minny said,
"Stop, they have changed direction. They're moving this way!"
"Why stop, now? Let's go faster!" I shouted. The rover moved faster, with accompanying cranking sounds.
My babies have started to cry. They must have felt our nervousness and fear. I drove the buggy faster. We're still in the tall grasslands. If we get back to the bushes, the bushes might protect us more, since they're a bit thick.
"We'll hide in the bushes."
"Can't you drive any faster?" Lim said. "They're going this way. They're attacking!"
The swarm indeed, seemed to be attacking. Initially, they were just spreading outward, then they look like gleaming copper and black waves of oil flowing to our direction. They're gaining.
The rover buggy, slowed down by rust, seemed to be having some problems. I started to telepathically control it, but to no avail. Then horror of horrors, it stopped and wouldn't move. The swarm's noise is getting louder.
"Let's use our powers to move this damned vehicle!" I exclaimed.
I raised my hand. Lim and the ladies took notice and did the same. But the vehicle wouldn't move!
"What's happening?" Minny asked.
"Nothing's happening!" Lim shouted.
"There is no hope now, we all we have to wait for them to attack the vehicle. Let's pray that they won't find an opening in this vehicle."
Alice then said something, "Remi's talking to me."
"What did he say?" I asked.
"Let's use our powers to repel them!"
The swarm's noise is almost deafening. They're probably a hundred meters away, and going fast. It'll be a few seconds before they cover us with swarming insects.
"They're so many!" Lim said. "We can only command one at a time!"
Then a thought came to me. "All swarms have a mother insect, just command the mother insect. Let's focus at the head of the swarm."
The swarm kept getting closer. Some of them have already reached the buggy.
We did focus, but they kept advancing. They have started to cover the buggy, covering all windows and portals with a wasp like insect.
Our focus continued, our eyes open, our hand stretched toward the incoming major group of insects. Then slowly the major portion of the swarm stopped and continued buzzing. The insects covering us started to thin out.
We're succeeding.
I decided to release my focus.
The insects started to advance again. But when I returned the focus, it stopped. In my mind I told the others to focus on pushing them away.
They did and together, we were able to push them back, until they returned to feasting the grains. At that time only when we feel safe to remove our mental focus. We didn't move until it's almost evening. When the Alpha Centauri started to set, the swarm gathered and returned to the forest, south of our camp.
My babies were already starving and crying when we decided to remove our focus. It was a tremendous effort and all of us were drained away with our mental effort. When we returned to the camp, we closed all windows except for some screens that we took from the Sophos spacecraft.
I marked the date of this event, nearly 120 days before the year cycle starting from the First day.
The swarm event was repeated almost every day, so we remained in our camp for almost three months. The devastation caused on the grasslands and the bushes was awful. Grasses almost disappeared and the leaves of the bushes were almost gone. Rabbit and mouse-like animals and lizards were almost decimated. Bodies of rodent-like animals littered the landscape. The swarm eat almost anything in its path or whatever moving object it sees. These insects were like giant red ants with large gray wings and large claws and mouth-pincers. Many of them also died as they swarmed around nearly everything. Alice was able to study their behavior and pattern. But the buzz they create instantly strike fear and worry among the four of us.
