AiE: Swarm [Chapter II]

“I don’t mean to be rude but ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GOD DAMN MIND?!”

 

>She’s taken aback some by your outburst.

>That’s the truth; she has to be out of her goddamn mind if she thinks you can just suddenly love them.

>Work for them?

>No problem.

>Love them?

>Not happening.

>”Very well. It would seem you need time to… adjust. Come; I will show you to your workplace.”

>You follow warily.

>As you walk she points out a passage to your left.

>”That is the spring we have here; it’s where you’ll be getting water from now on.”

>Good to know.

>”Feel free to go get a drink now if you wish.”

>Good.

>You head down the passage and freeze when you reach the end.

>A group of those bugs… changelings… whatever… are surrounding it

>You slowly make your way down to the small pool of water.

>They notice you and give you a berth.

>You eye them warily but approach the water’s edge.

>You use your hands to scoop up some of the quenching liquid and drink it.

>Oh God they’re staring at you.

>You assume it’s curiosity.

>Or hunger.

>You hope it’s the former and take another sip.

>Water’s never tasted this good.

>After you manage to quench your thirst, you get up and return to what you assume is the “main” passage.

>Without a word the larger bug-horse begins walking and you fall in behind her.

>You travel for a while, the smaller bugs going in and out of appropriately sized tunnels that you assume lead to the surface and other areas of the hive… nest… whatever.

>Finally you reach a dead end with some tools on the ground in front of it.

>There’s a pickaxe, a shovel, and some kind of lantern.

>There had been an eerie green glow to the caverns you’d passed through so far that lit the way.

>Here it was dark.

>Thankfully the lantern had fuel in it.

>Odd, these tools don’t look like they could be used by any of these creatures.

 

“So where’d you get the tools? They don’t look too useful for you and your… subjects.”

 

>”Oh those? We killed off a pack of Diamond Dogs that were here. They were digging for something, and not just average gems. I want you to find out what they were after.”

 

“I see. What exactly is a Diamond Dog?”

 

>”Big dogs that walk around on two legs and dig for gemstones. This wasn’t just a normal dig site however. They were on to something. Enough talk! Get to work, ape!”

 

“Yes ma’am Cheeselegs.”

 

>”What did you call me?”

 

“Cheeselegs! You know, because of the holes and… forget it!”

 

>You let out a frustrated sigh and grab the pickaxe.

>Lifting it over your head, you bring it down and strike the rock.

>Your watch beeps several times as you dig.

>Hours pass by.

>Eventually something falls out of a hole in the dirt.

>You get a better look and find yourself presented with a mole.

>Meat.

>FOOD.

>You use the pickaxe to sever its head.

>Well now what?

>You don’t have any fire short of breaking the lantern, but then you’d have no light.

>You aren’t too keen on eating it raw.

>Living in a modern, civilized society had spoiled you somewhat.

>Not to mention you’d have to skin it, and you didn’t have any knives on you.

>So much for a meal.

>”Having some trouble are we?”

>It’s bughorse again.

>”Let me handle it.”

>Her tone is an annoyed one; this is a hassle for her.

>Probably thinking how incompetent and how much trouble you are.

>More than your worth though?

>Not to her, that much is obvious.

>She’s dead set on finding out what those… Diamond Dogs… were up to.

>God everything here has some weird names.

>But hey, this is a weird place.

>To you anyway.

>She snatches the mole away with some kind of telekinesis and the skin separates on its own, no mess and no knives.

>A green flame engulfs it and voilà; it’s cooked.

>She shoves it back to you and gets a good look at the cavern.

>”Impressive, ape. You’ve done your part for today. You may enjoy your meal and return to your chambers. Be ready to work again tomorrow! I must know what’s down here!”

>She turns and begins to walk off.

 

“I have a name, you know. It’s Anonymous. Anon for short.”

 

>”I do not care for your name, ape. You are not of that much significance to me.”

>Once she’s gone you finally bite into the meat.

>Fine, be that way you ungrateful bitch.

>You finish your small meal and start your trek back to the watering hole.

>Good first stop before you get to relax some.

>Your body aches, mostly your arms.

>You reach the hole and one more you’re given a wide berth.

>Seems they’re just as freaked out about you as you are of them.

>Well, not likely as much.

>You take a drink.

>As you go for another one of them dares to approach you.

>The others watch apprehensively.

>You fall back onto your ass and the creature is engulfed in green flame.

>When the flame dissipates it’s….

>You.

>With a puzzled look on your face.

>It’s face.

>Whatever.

>God fucking dammit this is creepy.

 

“How the hell are you doing that?!

 

>”How the hell are you doing that?”

>It just mimicked you.

>OH HELL NO.

 

“Stop copying me!”

 

>”Stop copying me!”

>You growl.

>It growls.

>However it seems that you’re too different for it to copy very long, and it turns back.

>Thank God.

 

“Don’t ever do that again, got it?”

 

>You take another drink from the spring and head back to your room.

>Well, if you could call it that.

>It’s more like a hollowed out portion of the passages.

>No furniture, no bed sheets, no nothing.

>Not even a BED?

>What the hell?!

>Sigh.

>Guess you’ll have to deal with it.

>There’s a stone slab that RESEMBLES something like a bed.

 

“Seriously?”

 

>You’re ACTUALLY going to have to fucking sleep on a STONE SLAB.

>Doesn’t matter for now; you aren’t sleepy.

>At least not yet.

>You take out your phone.

>Full charge.

>But you know it won’t last.

>Same for you watch; once it’s gone, it’s gone.

>Not only that, but you don’t even have the internet.

>Why God WHY?!

>You sit on your slab and sigh again, putting your face in your hands, your elbows resting on your knees.

>This is hell.

>Trapped with a bunch of bug-horses, no internet, no cable, no video games, no NOTHING.

>This is about rock bottom.

>You decide to get up and do some exploring.

>You’re going to be here for a while it seems; might as well get used to your surroundings.

>You stand up crouch under the door.

>While the main tunnels had high ceilings by the standards of these creatures, the doors were not as such.

>You picked a random path and headed that way.

>These tunnels were extensive.

>God, how long had they been here?

>Some time yes, but not too long.

>The tunnels were still expanding from what you could gather.

>You eventually come across a tunnel with a faint green glow at the other end, around a corner.

>You’re curious, but not in the mood for any unpleasant surprises.

>About an hour of walking later you find yourself lost.

>You manage your way back to the watering hole and work your way to your room from there.

>You yawn; after that work you’re tired.

>You curl up on the stone slab and go to sleep.

 

>You wake up with a start and upside down.

>Funny, you don’t remember going to sleep like this.

>You look in front of you.

>Four black legs covered in armor plating.

>Oh.

>”Get up, lazy ape! You have work to be doing!”

>Well you bitch it would help if you didn’t yell at me and throw me around like a rag doll.

>That’s what you wanted to say anyway, but you valued your life.

>Even if your life was very shitty right now.

>You manage to right yourself and rise.

>Disgruntled, you head down to the mine.

>You notice that some kind of crude yet stable support beams had been erected during your absence.

>Good; you didn’t want a cave-in.

>That’s a shitty way to die.

>You sigh and pick up the pickaxe again.

>The task at hand is a monotonous one.

>Back, forth, back, forth.

>Over and over.

>Once more time passes.

>However, this time you come across something very interesting.

>Your pickaxe hits something and bounces off with a flash of white.

>You fall over on our ass, dropping the pickaxe.

>You get up and begin clearing away the rest of the rock.

>Sure enough, you find a large wooden door with metal bars reinforcing it.

>You reach for the handle and get put on your ass again.

>Well fuck.

>Guess this is what those dogs were hunting for.

>You drop the pickaxe and head back the way you came.

>When you reach the top of your little mineshaft you run into Queen Cheeselegs herself.

>”Where do you think you were going?”

 

“To find you. I think I found what they were looking for. The dogs I mean.”

 

>”Oh? Show me.”

>You lead her back down the mineshaft and to the door.

>She inspects it before giving you a look.

 

“What?”

 

>”Well don’t just stand there, open it!”

>What a cunt!

>What a lazy, bitchy cunt!

 

“I tried that already but some kind of FORCE FIELD LANDED ME ON MY ASS!”

 

>Once again she’s shaken by your rage-filled outburst.

>She’s still scared of you.

>That’s with good reason; you’re a giant, easily 2 feet taller than she is.

>You could win in a physical fight with her.

>Well, if it wasn’t for that damn magic.

>”Try again anyway!”

>She barks this at you.

>You growl and reach for the handle and get launched backward.

>That bitch definitely regrets her choice to command you to open the door.

>You land on top of her, the two of you in a heap of human and bughorse.

>You’re thrown aside and hit the wall, knocking the wind out of you.

>”Get off of me, ape!”

>She stands up again.

 

“Hey, it’s your own damn fault! I warned you about that door! Did you listen? NOOOO! You just barked orders again!”

 

>”Do not blame me for your clumsiness! It’s obviously a magical barrier.”

>You’re about to voice a response as you get up again but she merely walks past you.

>She uses her power to toss a good sized rock at the barrier.

>It promptly shoots off and hits you in the head.

 

“God FUCKING DAMMIT! That’s it! I’m done!”

 

>You turn and start walking away.

>”Where are you going?!”

 

“Anywhere that isn’t here in this PEST INFESTED HELLHOLE!”

 

>You storm off through the caves, your fury scaring off the smaller bugs.

>They don’t like rage.

>You find an exit and make your way to the surface.

>No longer are you in the valley, but standing on the ground that made up one side of it.

>Good.

>You start walking along, the fury burning in your mind.

>You’d had enough.

>Yes you’d gotten shelter, food, and water but you were nobody’s fool.

>Finally common sense starts to settle in again.

>That had been your ONLY source of food, water, and shelter.

>You slow your march to a stop.

>You count backwards from ten and take some deep breaths.

>You weren’t normally one to get worked up, but when you did you had a tendency to do and say some stupid things.

>This was one of those stupid things.

>Now calmed you just lie down on the ground and look up at the sun.

>The blazing sun.

>Suddenly, a shadow is cast over you.

>You look over and up to your right.

>A white horse, short in stature.

>Wearing some kind of golden armor.

>You sit up and it takes a few steps back, entering a hostile stance.

>You stand up but take a buck to the stomach.

 

“What the hell was that for?!”

 

>”Silence changeling scum! I’m taking you in for questioning!”

 

“Right, of course you are.”

 

>Another buck, knocking the wind out of you.

 

“Okay, stop that. It’s getting on my nerves.”

 

>Yes they were painful, but the fact he had to stretch more to even hit your stomach weakened the force behind the blows.

>He does it again.

>That’s it.

>He just asked you for a beating.

 

“So you like bucking people huh? Well then, how’s THIS!?”

 

>You pull your leg back and kick him a good distance away.

 

“That was a warning.”

 

>Then you notice something.

>This horse has wings.

>It flares them and charges you.

>A quick sidestep and you doge the attack.

 

“Don’t make me really hurt you.”

 

>The horse comes back at you again.

>You catch it as it tries to tackle you, stumbling a bit to keep your balance.

>You deliver a knee to its stomach before punching it in the face a few times for good measure.

>You didn’t want to get too violent with it; you were merely defending yourself after all.

>Still, he looks rather important.

>Some kind of guard.

>If he goes back he could return with allies.

>Not happening.

>You really didn’t want to do this, but you had no choice.

>You grab his right wing.

>He realizes what’s about to happen.

>”N-no! P-please-!”

>He screams as a sharp “SNAP” is heard when you break the wing.

>He’s not going back to home base any time soon.

>Suddenly a familiar black figure appears and lands next to you.

>She notices the wounded soldier in your arms.

>”You did all this?”

>The tone of her voice is a bit too pleased for your liking.

 

“I did what I had to do. He attacked me saying I was one of you. I couldn’t let him go back, so I broke his wing.”

 

>You felt the regret ripping at your chest.

>You really didn’t want to do it, but at this point you had no choice.

>”Bring him back. There is much that needs explaining… Anon.”

>She used your name.

>This can’t be good.

>She begins her own return and you gather the winged horse up in your arms (he’s surprisingly small).

>From what you can gather, the two are of enemy factions.

 

“Sorry about this. I’ve found questioning her is a bad idea. I won’t let her kill you. That isn’t my style.”

 

>He eyes you warily as you follow the insect queen back to the hive.