INTERSTELLAR NIGHTMARES - DISTANT TERROR

Chapter 4

   We all ran along the safe line, surrounded by annoying green glue to step in on either side of us. Fredrick was yanked forward by his grappling hook after taking aim, followed with us making it out of the slime zone at the base of the small cliff.

   "Going down!" Fredrick shouted as he dropped the leg down to us. It gained enough momentum to bounce off one of the bumps of the small cliff, and it skipped from the ground and landed straight into the goop.

   "You dingle dipshit!" Kurt shouted to Fredrick, "If ya needed to drop it, tell us!" Fredrick stared at the leg in the goo and sighed, answering with a comedic "Whoops!" He grappled down to us, and we all began to try to form a plan to get the leg back and even clean it.

   "How many platforms do you got, nerd?" Kurt asked Morris, who in turn checked his plastcrete launcher's HUD screen. "I got plenty," he replied, "should I use them?" Kurt turned and looked down at Fredrick. "You're lucky I don't force you to get it," he growled. Fredrick smiles widely back as a joke, his mouth almost reaching the edges of his face. "Get the platforms ready," Kurt commanded as he wiped sweat from his thick, almost eye-covering eyebrows.

   Morris began to cover the slime with patches of the yellow foam structure. Kurt followed behind, along with Fredrick, then me. I volunteered to stay in the back to protect us in case any bugs tried to sneak up on us. After a few seconds, we managed to reach the leg. Kurt reached over and grabbed it, then gave it a good tug. It budged, but didn't come out. He pursed his lips and he gave it a harder tug, which pulled it free.

   "Alright, let's get this leg cleaned up, don't need it to be all gummy for our Mini-M.U.L.E.," Kurt announced as we walked back towards safe soil. Kurt sat down with the leg with a big thud, and looked to Morris. "Y'got anything?" he asked Morris. Morris returned with a shrug and began to pat himself down.

   "Aye, wait," he thought aloud, "use your pick." Kurt looked confused for a moment, but then realized it could work. "Good idea," he commented before pulling his pickaxe out and chipping the slime from the crevasses as best he could.

   He sat there for a few minutes as Morris joined to help him. Fredrick and I stood guard as we waited for them to get all the slime out.

    Fredrick cringed up at every chip at the metal. "What's wrong, Freddy?" I asked. He turned to me, looked back, and jerked his head towards them as he looked back. "Metal on metal. Hurts my teeth," he explained as another chip caused him to suck his lips to his teeth. I nodded and looked around for a moment before we got the warning.

   "Alright team, time to get down and dirty. Swarm on direct course," Mission Control announced before the air went dead again.

   Morris tested the leg's bending, and it seemed gummy, but not slow like it was a few minutes ago. "Should be good! Let's get the fuck back to the island! The sludge will give us an advantage!" Kurt boomed, getting up despite the massive amount of weight he carried from his suit and gun.

   We all took off towards the island, single-filed along the path of chewed up sludge-dirt. Upon reaching the island, we got the warning "Here they come team! Brace!" Silence. All was quiet besides the natural sounds of the area. We all stood staring out into the cavern, waiting for any sight on the bugs coming through the sludge or climbing on the walls.

   Upon sight of a small swarm of glyphids, we all kickstarted our brains into action mode. Kurt held his fire for the larger groups and targets, but Morris had just realized he forgot to build, so he opened fire first. "After this chip, cover me!" he commanded, tugging back the pump then jamming it back forward to clear yet another jam.

   Fredrick was suddenly struck with a white ball traveling at an alarming speed. He yelped a bit, but realized he's fine. "Web! Something's got web out here!" he shouted. "It's a web spitter, keep your eyes on the ceiling!" I shouted at him over the gunfire. He shot his gaze up as I looked back.

   The glyphid group had multiplied about three times as much. "Kurt!" I shouted then pointed, "Do your magic, man!" Kurt heaved a laughed, pointed the barrels at an angle that seemed right, and the whirl began once more.

   The air split from the mighty warcry of the machine as it ripped a belt at the bugs ahead. The bugs' armor shattered, getting pulverized by the rounds flying through the crowd. It even broke some of the couple praetorian's armor! "The big bugs are tasting the pain!" Kurt laughed as the barrels turned red.

   I waited until they were midway through the sludge before I opened fire myself. "Get that sentry up!" Kurt boomed before he was hit by webs then an overheated gun. Morris withdrew away from the patch and began to build.

   I held out the best I could, seeing ash fly through the intensely heated air. Gunshots rang from behind me, then down came the web spitter from the ceiling with a loud thud. "Got it!" Fredrick cheered before joining in the defense. The sentry started as well, but the bugs made it onto land by the time it started to fire.

   "Get back, boys!" Kurt shouted to us as the barrels spun again. Fredrick and I retreated back and out of the way of the metal beast before it tore into the group again.

   A praetorion charged forward, puffed up, then vomited poison our direction despite the Leadstorm tearing off a mandible. "Shit!" Kurt exclaimed before tossing down his shield generator. The generator summoned a shield around the group of us near each other, then Morris ran in for safety too. The shield was soon surrounded by bugs.

   "This ain't looking so good!" Fredrick shouted before Kurt chuckled. "Grenade!" Kurt announced as he chucked a sticky grenade onto a glyphid. The glyphid panicked and skittered off before it exploded, but bugs around it also panicked and fled. We continued our fire against the bugs until the shield came down. We ran for the new notch Kurt had made as an escape, most of us making it out unscathed.

   Morris had a glyphid bite into his calf, which tore straight through the leather and sank into his muscle. He let out a pained cry as he stumbled and fell into Fredrick, causing him to fall too. "Morris! Freddy!" Kurt shouted as he began firing again to protect the two.

   I thought about it only for a second, but it felt like several minutes. Should I use my satchel charge? I thought to myself. I quickly made the decision as I pulled it from my hip along with the detonator.

   "Get down!" I shouted as I threw the explosive as hard as I could. Kurt got low, but still kept firing. The bugs were inches away from the two that were downed, though Fredrick had gotten up at started dragging Morris away. That was when I pressed the button.

   A deafening boom sent Fredrick stumbling and tumbling onto his back, sat Kurt down and tossed Morris a slight bit. The bugs turned into mangled green muscle and mist, throwing many violently into the air. As the gore rained down from above, the smell of praetorion death filled the air. Kurt coughed as he walked away from a gas cloud. "You stink, asswipe!" he shouted at the dead praetorion before continuing a belt of fire against what was left.

   Fredrick weakly stumbled to Morris, almost fell onto him, then continued dragging him towards the Mini-M.U.L.E. while shouting indistinguishable words. I joined Kurt in the vanquishing of the rest of the glyphids, looking back at the two before going off to do so. "There! That one! Get the guard!" he shouted as he pointed to a heavily armored glyphid grunt. I followed the order, shooting napalm right into its face for half a second before the tank ran empty.

   "Best back up a bit, I'm reloading!" I shouted as I pressed the button to eject the canister. We both backed up as I loaded in a new canister, all the while Kurt kept firing away at the group. As I twisted the canister into the locking position, Kurt's Leadstorm overheated. I provided defense with flame to burn the last of the wave away.

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