Swarm

by Devon C Ford

  Five hours and thirty minutes after the last of us fell asleep, the lights raised and a low bleeping that increased gently in volume woke us all up one by one. Disorientated by waking up on a soft sofa, my head resting on a luxuriously expensive cushion, my first thought was I was back in Texas waking after a long night working in my lab. It took a few moments for reality to kick in and the memories of the last twenty-four hours, not of ones from a thousand years ago, to wake me up completely.

  Geiger had already retrieved more supplies from the warehouse and the smell of freshly brewed coffee was irresistibly emanating from the kitchen and drawing us all toward it. Annoyingly, he was whistling happily to himself and looked as fresh as if he’d had twelve hours’ sleep following a relaxing day on a beach in the Bahamas.

  Harrison and Tori, still looking bemused by their surroundings, cautiously took a mug each of steaming coffee Geiger handed to them.

  “What is this?” Harrison asked as he sniffed it.

  “Grade-A mud,” he replied with complete seriousness. They both looked shocked and stared at the black liquid in distrust.

  “It’s coffee,” I explained smiling at them. “Try it. It’s what we use to kick start the day.” I took a sip to prove it wasn’t hazardous and man was it good.

  Once they had a first sip both their eyes went wide with mixed reactions. They finished their mugs and let Geiger refill them as Weatherby emerged from a bedroom he’d claimed for himself as we’d all looked for a place to sleep. He joined us and meekly but gratefully took a mug of the proffered coffee before getting down to business. He had been quiet ever since emerging from the tunnel, knowing as well as we did that he was the only one not to help when the Dragons were trying to eat us all.

  He turned to Hendricks, knowing after his miserable performance that he needed to reinforce his position in the group once more.

  “Shall I lead the process of bringing them back from cryo? I’ve overseen it dozens of times and am fully conversant with any problems that may occur.” Hendricks just stared at him, not fully trusting himself to speak without venting his anger at him once more. Weatherby couldn’t fail to interpret his look so changed his poise to a humbler one.

  “Look, I know what you think. I’m all talk and no action when it matters, and you’re probably right. It’s why I got people like you to believe and trust in me, to work with me to make the vision I hatched a reality all those centuries ago. I knew without others with different skills I wouldn’t stand a chance and there was no point even starting the project. Yes, I had the money and resources to make it possible, but I know my strengths.” He laughed briefly and looked at us all. “And I know my weaknesses. Around a boardroom table I was invincible, but in a real fight I just freeze. Maybe I am a coward, I’m sure you all have opinions on that, and I can do nothing to change those opinions but prove to you all my courage lies in other directions. We can all win fights, but the fights I can win are just not the physical type that’s all.”

  Harrison looked at him before speaking. “In my world, leaders need to be strong. They lead from the front and do not shy away from danger. Your words would not go far in my community.” He stopped and waved around the room they stood in. “But you built this place, the place that sheltered our forefathers from the great darkness. To do that you must have commanded thousands of men who followed you, and for that I now understand we all owe you our lives.”

  He looked sad as he continued. “I have never known peace, only a barely held together truce between the two tribes. Both tribes know that to fight each other would cost both too dearly to be able to ensure our own survival. Maybe when we eventually find peace there will be a place for you amongst the leaders but until then I will treat you as one of the tribal Elders: someone you respect and get council from, but who is too old or weak to fight.”

  He saw the anger rising in Weatherby’s face and held his hands up in a placatory manner.

  “Please do not be offended, I’m only giving you my view on how we have lived since our memories began. The strong do the fighting and the Elders guide us using their wisdom. They are held in the highest of respect and have great standing in the community, without them we would have no one to turn to for a balanced council.”

  He looked around as he struggled to find more words to say until Hendricks said, “Mr. Weatherby, I believe he was trying to pay you a complement. I still hold to the agreement we made. I will look after our security and safety whilst you look after everything else. I know fighting isn’t your forte, but management is.” He then extended yet another olive branch. I couldn’t help but think the tree must be getting pretty bare. “To be honest, you did well yesterday. You fought at the barricade when needed and no one could have led us through the complex as quickly as you did. We managed to get the door closed at the cave and you did your part in the tunnel.”

  I could see his anger abating as he listened to the complements being paid.

  “And yes, I agree,” Hendricks continued, “you should take the lead on bringing the men out of cryo, just tell us what you need.”

  Weatherby looked at Harrison and held out his hand for him to shake smiling his best boardroom smile. “I’m not sure about the Elder title just yet, maybe in a few years when we’ve all aged, we can become the Elders and keep the next generation of youngsters in line.”

  Releasing his hand, Amir spoke to the room. “Annie, begin waking them please.”

  “Yes, Mister Weatherby, beginning process now. I will bring them out one at a time with a thirty-minute spacing.”

  “Shall we?” Weatherby said as he indicated to the doors that led to the warehouse and the pods. I noticed as I followed him a spring had returned to his step and his whole demeanor seemed more confident. As he walked, he continued talking. “I think it’s best if we get them all awake first and comfortable in the bunker before we tell them the whole story. It’ll save a lot of repetition and Annie can use the television screens to display help.”

  “Yes, Mister Weatherby,” replied Annie. “Good idea. I will create a file of relevant information. I have also collated all the known information about The Swarm and how it began. I need to brief whoever you deem relevant on what I have discovered about The Swarm from Charlie Annie’s memory.”

  “Will it help us kill the bastards?” Hendricks asked with more acidity than was customary for him, making me think the injury to his leg was hurting him.

  Annie sounded excited. “Yes, and more, but I don’t think killing them will be a good idea; we may need them to help protect us.”

  Hendricks stopped walking. “Annie, are we in danger from others?”

  “Not for the foreseeable future. But their creation was for a purpose, shall I explain now?”

  “No, not if it’s not pertinent and can wait. Our priority is to the ones waking up and I don’t need a head full of bug theory when I’m concentrating.”

  I wanted Annie to explain right now. I needed to know why someone would create a species of wirelessly controlled organic hybrid super bug things. Annie, as though she read my mind, whispered in my ear.

  “Don’t worry, it can wait.”

  I wanted to argue with her but as we approached the cryopods I could see the lid on the first one beginning to open as the waking-up process began. Putting it to the back of my mind I gathered around it with the others to offer my help.

  Chapter 21

  Strength in Numbers

  I teamed up with Hendricks to help get the first guy out of the freezer.

  Everyone, with the obvious exception of Harrison and Tori, knew what it felt like to wake up from cryostasis and therefore had great sympathy for the men as they all came around and numbly accepted the offered help. Before each one woke, Annie gave a brief resume of who they were which mainly consisted of their name, rank, age and unit details.

  Knowing the best cure was time, they were helped to the bunker and sat down in one of the comfortable chairs. Geiger stayed with them; he was military so
spoke their curious language better than any of the others. As their numbers grew, he maintained a dialogue, carefully avoiding any direct questions by saying they would be briefed in full when they had all come out of cryo. Being military men, this was not an unusual occurrence, so they hurried up and waited.

  In only four hours, fifteen men were all in different stages of recovery in the luxury of the bunker. We all gathered in the room, offering drinks or food as required until Amir decided that the newly awakened arrivals were ready to be briefed.

  Most stared at Harrison and Tori out of natural curiosity. They had both refused to change clothes, not wanting to lose the protection of the cured hide and leather armor they wore. They stood silently away from the main group, still with their weapons secured in sheaths on their backs watching the soldiers with barely masked wonder as they recovered. Not unsurprisingly both stood out in a room of people wearing fatigues and sidearms.

  When he deemed them ready, Amir got their attention and began the briefing. He first introduced the rest of us in the room and added our roles. They took the news of the length of time of their sleep stoically, with only a couple of exceptions, but the loss of their friends and colleagues who didn’t make it must’ve weighed heavy on them. Like Geiger dealing with the death of Stevens, I guessed they’d deal with things in their own way and their own time.

  Annie showed them a condensed time-lapse of the society that had developed on Earth in their absence from the images she had taken from space. Harrison and Tori had never seen a television before and watched with more fascination than the men as the history of the last almost thousand years of their civilization was played out before them from a god-like perspective. They gasped in wonder and called out like excited children when they recognized places and buildings.

  Amir asked Harrison to explain the recent history they had with the latest Tanaka and how they lived in a world devoid of machinery and technology. The soldiers listened with rapt attention as they described how they lived and survived their entire lives, maintaining the fragile peace that had held for centuries between the two communities whilst also defending themselves from the monthly ravages of The Swarm. The footage of the wave of bugs was replayed as well as a rundown on the dissection of the captured creatures. Annie explained she had more information on The Swarm which she would update everyone with when the immediate danger was over and they were back at the compound, before Amir finished the briefing with the most recent events and why they had entered the site and woken them up.

  The room fell silent as they all digested what they had heard over the last half hour. They’d kept quiet as they had been asked to leave all questions until the end, until the most senior soldier amongst them, a heavy-set man wearing a T-shirt with ARMY emblazoned across the slab of meat that was his chest, spoke up. He was a hulk of a man, a similar size to the mighty Weber and he spoke with a soft Texas drawl.

  “Williamson,” he said by way of very brief introduction, “Captain, US Army.” His melodic southern accent made him sound either bored, or so confident that he didn’t need to speak fast or rush in any way ever. The other soldiers watched him intently, hanging on his words with a respect that spoke of a much deeper root than simply rank or size.

  “So ya’ll telling us we’ve been asleep for nine hundred years too long, and now you need our help to get out of here and kick some wannabe dictator’s ass to boot? I think me and my boys can pick the rest up as we go along the same as you boys…” He turned and gave a small shrug of apology toward Tori completely ignoring the fact that she’d never personally been in stasis, “and girls, seem to have done since y’all woke up.” He looked at Hendricks. “I take it you’re in charge of things around here? What do you need us to do?”

  Hendricks nodded his thanks to Amir as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and limped to the center of the room.

  “I’m sure you’re right about picking it up as you go along, Captain. We’ve certainly had something of a sharp learning curve ourselves the past days. I know you’ll all feel ready for some action but trust me we have been where you are now, and the effects of the cryo will differ but will definitely mess you up a little. I recommend at least another twelve hours’ rest before we even attempt to clear the complex and deal with Tanaka and his people on the surface.”

  He explained as he looked at them. “Trained soldiers such as yourselves are irreplaceable now, so you all need to be as sharp as possible. We can’t afford any mistakes.” His head dropped a fraction as his eyes vacated and he muttered, “God knows we’ve been hurt badly enough...” He snapped his head back up the fraction it had dipped, his eyes now clear and focused.

  “We need to let Annie gather intel about the barricade on the surface, and we’re waiting for news on a mission one of my men is undertaking to the community at the Three Hills.”

  ~

  Hendricks addressed the soldiers formally, in the way only he could. “As we haven’t worked together before we need to establish unit strategies and procedures. So, if you first want to draw your weapons from the stores in the warehouse, we can begin.”

  The soldiers perked up at the talk of getting weapons in their hands, as with all elite soldiers they felt naked without them. Hendricks looked at Weatherby. “I’ve flicked through the weapons and equipment manifests stored in the warehouse.”

  “Do you like what I put in here?” Weatherby smiled as he responded.

  “Honestly, yes,” Hendricks said. “Though I’m surprised at some of it. Is there really a pair of helicopters in here?”

  “Yes. Initially we decided against anything like that as their incumbent fuel and maintenance issues would be detrimental to the peaceful rebuilding mission we’d all planned. My suspicions about potential hostilities, although granted I didn’t expect that to come from within, made me change my mind. We were developing a small military scout helicopter that could operate in remote regions for extended periods,” he said rapidly, his voice speeding up with the evident excitement of one of his research projects.

  “The first two working prototypes are in the warehouse. They’re designed to be airdropped packed in crates and built with ease using basic mechanical skills. My co—”

  “Ha! So, some jarhead can take a break from eating his crayons and build them.” Williamson barked a laugh from the other side of the room without looking up, neither expecting nor receiving a response.

  Weatherby smiled politely at the captain, he could have been annoyed at the interruption but realized that if they were up for jokes then they were ready to leave. “My companies were also investing heavily in new research into sustainable fuels, and this generation of aircraft uses biofuels that can be manufactured on site using the latest generation of manufacturing plant.” He held up a hand to ward off the expected question. “Yes, they’re in the warehouse too. The helicopters are a truly revolutionary design. They are low maintenance as all parts are designed to either last the life of the airframe or be manufactured using 3D printers.”

  “Weapons capabilities?” Hendricks asked.

  “They are a multi-platform, multi-role design so yes. If we have it, they can carry it.”

  Hendricks gave a low whistle. “So, we have an air force now. Things appear to be looking up. What’s in the warehouse will negate any superiority in numbers Tanaka thinks he may have. All we need to do is get the hell out of here.”

  ~

  Weber silently tracked through the dense undergrowth and foliage, his ability to move stealthily at odds with his size. The pack and equipment he carried, although heavy, didn’t trouble him as he made progress. Annie saved the necessity of taking compass bearings and reading the terrain as she used one of the overhead drones to keep him up-to-date on his position and the course they had agreed on earlier. Barely out of breath, he arrived at the edge of the tree line that had been cleared away from the high, timber walls.

  Crouching down to reach for his binoculars, he studied the walls. He was impr
essed by what he saw; the sentries all seemed alert and looking outwards and not slumped bored as undertrained and unmotivated ones might be. Knowing time was short he muttered to himself, “Hier geht gar nichts, as the Americans would say.”

  He was surprised when Annie answered back, “Ja, mein Freund. Tschaka!”

  Chuckling to himself he stood to his full height slowly, not wanting to surprise them as he wasn’t certain how they would react, to emerge from the tree line and wait.

  In seconds a horn sounded which brought a rush of activity to the walls as more heads appeared all looking in his direction. Holding his arms out in the universal ‘I come in peace’ gesture he began slowly walking toward the gate. His nerves on edge, ready to react to a barrage of arrows or spears he half expected to come at him at any moment, he slowly approached.

  “Are you from the stars? Are you one of the newcomers?” a voice shouted down to him.

  He stopped walking, searching around to identify who had called to him. “Yes, I bring news of your Harrison and Tori. They are okay but are not able to come back here to you now. If you let me in, I can explain everything. I have brought a radio so you can speak to them.”

  He waited, listening as the ones on the walls passed on what he had said to others out of sight.

  “What’s…” came the hesitant reply. “What’s a radio?”

  He smiled at his mistake. He lifted the pack from his back and held it in up. “It is in here.” Then trying not to sound condescending he explained the technology which ran the risk of getting him burned at the stake. “My radio allows me to communicate with others over a great distance. I want to give it to you. It is a gift from us so we can talk easily in the future and come to your aid if Tanaka attacks again.”