Machines of the Gods

by William B Lyons

  They both slowly pulled the massive door open and gazed into a new version of hell. The entire rear wall was completely matted with dozens of giant bee-like creatures. All of the chairs and tables were covered under a living hive of these things too. They immediately started to swarm.

  “Good God!” Steve blurted.

  “Close the door now!” Neil yelled, already pushing back on the steel door’s handle.

  Steve and Neil slammed the door shut; however, these creatures were pushing hard from the other side with considerable force.

  A deafening buzzing suddenly erupted as a dozen more of these creatures quickly became airborne and slammed into the closed door. Neil and Steve pushed hard to keep these things from powering through. In fact, these creatures were hitting the door so hard that they sounded like bullets bouncing off of a wall at a shooting gallery. The larger creatures on the floor pushed forward with increasingly greater force as well.

  “Lock the door!” Steve yelled, pushing hard against the steel barrier.

  Neil, pushing hard too, gritted his teeth and said, “Give the central computer a few seconds to calibrate the key code.”

  “We can’t hold the door shut much longer,” Steve gasped. “These things are as strong as hell!”

  Neil leaned into the door with all of his strength, muscles trembling and straining. “We have to keep it closed. Those things will kill us if they get loose!”

  “God, help us!” Steve yelled, aware that the door was slowly being forced open.

  The steel latch finally clicked, locking the door. However, from the other side, the noise of the creatures slamming into the door and walls steadily grew louder. The deafening buzzing noise continued to raise as well.

  Steve leaned over for a few seconds and drew in more air. “What are we going to do now?”

  Neil stood fully erect and drew in more air too. “We’ll have to take the long way around. There is a side hallway just down this corridor. Just follow me around the block house.”

  “Block house, what’s that?”

  The sudden sound of movement came from above. They both looked up to see large ventilation pipes vibrating.

  “Oh hell,” Neil whispered. “Those things are in the duct system. From there, they can come out almost anywhere. We’ll have to get to the central control room before those things work their way to the surface. We can close off the vents from there, at least until they eat through the aluminum grids in the individual offices.”

  “Maybe closing off the vents will buy us time!” Steve yelled.

  A three-foot wide section of aluminum grid fell from the ceiling above and hit the floor just behind them. There was then the high-pitched hum of fast beating wings. Both men turned to see one of those creatures coming out and heading toward them.

  “Look out!” Neil yelled, hitting the floor and rolling under another ventilation pipe. He then withdrew his pistol.

  Steve pivoted around, lifted his automatic pistol, and fired three shots. The creature zipped by and hid behind a ceiling compressor unit. He fired two more shots into the unit’s side in an unsuccessful attempt to drive the thing back out into the open. “I can’t believe that I missed at such close range.”

  Neil quickly climbed to his feet. “I told you they were fast, like dragonflies. Come on, we have to get out of here before it attacks again.”

  “Too late!” Steve screamed, noticing that the thing had emerged from its hiding place and was headed straight for them. He tackled Neil as the creature flew overhead. The sound of fast-beating wings fluttered his hair. He rolled off Neil and fired a full clip at the illusive creature.

  Neil quickly climbed off the floor. “Where did it go?”

  “It’s somewhere behind those ceiling pipes.”

  With guns raised high, they both eased forward. The creature was probably about to charge at any moment. Behind them, the buzzing of the other creatures got even louder. An army was on the march.

  Suddenly, the creature shot down from above and slammed into Steve before he had time to fire. The thing pinned him to the ground. In response, he grabbed its black mane and held on tightly to keep its sharp teeth from slicing into his face. The creature’s tail thrashed about rapidly, as the stinger dug into his bullet proof vest again and again.

  “I could use some help!” Steve yelled.

  Neil carefully took aim and fired six times. “Die, you ungodly thing!”

  The creature hissed and let out a loud scream before falling to the side. Steve pushed it away and stood up. The hideous thing wiggled and jerked a few times before stopping completely.

  Steve took a deep breath and swallowed. “Those things are unbelievably strong and fast.”

  “And don’t forget tough. Their shells are as thick as a turtle’s. It took three shots at point-blank range to stop this creature. Now, that’s two you owe me.”

  More buzzing suddenly pierced the tunnel. Two more of the creatures emerged from the same hole as the first one had. Neil opened fire. Those two creatures fell to the floor, but three more quickly came out of the same hole.

  Steve started firing too. Two more aluminum grids fell from the ceiling and more of those creatures appeared. A ten-foot section of the sheetrock ceiling collapsed and a dozen more of the creatures landed on the floor and started advancing. Still, three more appeared and were instantly airborne and headed their way.

  “Forget it!” Neil yelled and fired wildly at the advancing creatures. “Follow me to the blockhouse. Fall back!” He turned and dashed down the hallway at full speed. “The chamber is solid concrete with a steel-reinforced door.”

  “I’m right behind you!” Steve yelled, backing swiftly down the hall with his gun blazing.

  More of the creatures came out of the gaping hole in the sheetrock ceiling. Many of them were airborne now and circling around in an eerie dance. Steve kept firing as the gun’s bullet counter approached zero. However, the more of these creatures he blasted, the more came out to replace the original ones. This was beginning to look hopeless because he’d soon be out of ammunition.

  Just ahead, in the middle of a large enclosure, was a concrete structure that looked like an underground bomb shelter. It had three large glass windows and one iron door out front.

  “We’re here!” Neil yelled and turned around to insert his control key in the door’s time lock. “It will take about ten seconds for the door to open. Just give me some cover.”

  “I can’t!” Steve yelled in fear, backing against the door. “I’m out of bullets!”

  Neil turned and again started firing his own weapon. Bullets tore into more of these creatures, but they kept coming at full force. Suddenly, with his free hand, he reached into his vest and pulled a grenade from a clip of five. After pulling out the pin with his teeth, he tossed it at the growing mass of things headed his way. “Take this!”

  Seconds later, there was a flash-blast. The force of the explosion slammed both men into the door. Behind them, a wall of fire engulfed the opening of the tunnel. Plaster chunks and burning debris showered down along with body parts of the giant bugs.

  However, more of the creatures flew over the dead ones and still came at them with a vengeance. In fact, they were now swarming like an angry hive of bees.

  “Good God, don’t they ever give up!” Steve roared, frantically looking around for something to fight with. “I thought you said that they feared fire!”

  “They usually do. I don’t know what’s going on with them now.”

  The door latch finally clicked.

  Neil pulled it open and dashed inside. “Come on, get in before they kill you!” He then removed the entire clip of grenades and tossed it out at the creatures. “Get in here fast and close the door.”

  Steve rushed into the chamber and slammed the hatch behind him. Suddenly, several explosions rocked the outside of the cham
ber as more fire roared against the side of the blockhouse.

  Neil looked out of the window. Straight ahead, dozens of the things were dead on the floor. Still, however, several of the creatures that had survived the blasts were airborne again and flying into the glass. Then, hundreds of others clustered on the block- house—covering into completely.

  Steve, still breathing hard, walked over and gazed through the window at the hive of giant insects clustered over the entire enclosure. He turned to face Neil again. He was still recovering from the shock of what was happening to even think clearly. All that was left was pure rage. Finally, he did speak. “Whose stupid idea was it to bring living weapons of mass destruction this close to a major metropolitan area?”

  Neil sighed. “I don’t know, but we have an even greater problem.”

  “Like what!”

  “Those things multiply fast, but not this fast. There are thousands of them in this facility already. That can only mean that there is a queen hidden somewhere in the lower chambers. And if that is the case, she has had time to reproduce exponentially. Once the vent seals are eaten away, those things will be released upon the world by the thousands.”

  “Good God!” Steve yelled.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  From within the basement control room, Diamond Jack gazed into the large computer screen directly ahead. The image showed a huge mound of those creatures clustered over the complex’s interior blockhouse. In fact, the small structure could not even be seen anymore under the small hill of their many bodies. Soon, he’d set his little monsters loose upon the world too. He also knew that both Neil and Steve were trapped inside and they were no threat to him at the moment. Things were indeed looking good, and he had yet another weapon to unleash upon the Earth. The time had come to have his final revenge. However, he also had to deal with the present threat—the army and its Termicide. Oh yes, he’d kill two birds with one stone.

  He’d read Neil’s mind earlier and now knew the man’s plan. Yes, Termicide could possibly kill his creatures before they could spread across the world. If that happened, soldiers could raid this facility and ruin everything. No, it was time to eliminate the problem before continuing his rampage. The truck carrying the bomb would not be allowed to reach its target.

  His fingers suddenly raced across the keyboard. Just down the road, several satellite dishes pivoted thirty degrees to the left. Digital information shot up from them toward an object in space. Oh yes, he was in control of it all.

  Hovering above the world was the ultimate weapon of destruction, and now was the time to use it. The huge sphere—still cloaked—moved into a position over the United States. The thing’s metallic lens locked in on Texas.

  He smiled and switched the screen to another image. A view of the entire Earth came into focus. With a click of the mouse, he then sharpened the new image. The time to take action was now. “Lock in on Target 1001. I want maximum magnification on the vehicle’s GPS signal.”

  “ACTIVATING FORWARD VIEW AND LOCKING IN ON THE GPS SIGNAL.”

  The screen showed a bird’s eye view of the entire State of Texas. The image quickly kept enlarging at rapid speed until the northern part of the state filled the entire screen. The night lights of Dallas/ Fort Worth and the mid-city areas were highlighted against the black overview of the vast country. The moving screen image kept enlarging until the City of Grand Prairie filled the screen. Next, a schematic blueprint of the highways became crystal clear. Soon, the tiny headlights of hundreds of vehicles coasting down the freeways became visible too. The computer zeroed in on the GPS signal of the targeted truck. The image kept enlarging until the cars and trucks appeared to be the size of small toys.

  Diamond Jack leaned back in the chair. “Hit the truck with full power.”

  “LOCKING IN ON TARGET 1001.”

  One of the vehicles cruising down the freeway kept enlarging until it took the form of an eighteen-wheeler. A schematic diagram of a bull’s eye appeared around the image of the truck. Targeting numbers scrolled down the side of the video display.

  The sphere started powering up. At first, its cloak disappeared to reveal a huge silver ball. The thing quickly turned a bright orange—like that of an isle on an electric stove. Over the next few seconds as the device got even hotter, it glowed bright red and finally a blinding white. In fact, from the ground, this thing looked like a miniature sun that had suddenly appeared in the heavens.

  Diamond Jack grinned, showing all of his steel teeth. “Blast the target to pieces.”

  “ACTIVATING PULSE CANNON.”

  The screen’s digital bull’s eye suddenly turned from blue to red as a set of targeting numbers scrolled down the display.

  High above, the glowing sphere shot a blinding white ray down toward the Earth. The giant beam hit the eighteen-wheeler and it exploded in a huge fireball. Debris and flaming machine parts were blown hundreds of feet into the air before falling back to the ground.

  Diamond Jack started chuckling to himself. He then leaned forward and rubbed his hands together with excitement. Now, the whole world was at his disposal. The time had come to really have some fun. “Computer, lock on to grid targets C-408, A-224, and P-759.”

  “LOCKING ON TO TARGETS.”

  The computer screen now showed a schematic blueprint of the entire city of Grand Prairie. Three individual pictorial grids pulsed bright yellow. Next, a long string of targeting numbers scrolled down the display beside each of the three grids.

  Diamond Jack smiled again and leaned forward. “Erase the targets completely.”

  The sphere started glowing brightly again. Its orange halo quickly became a blinding white inferno. However, instead of just one beam of energy hitting the ground, three pulsing rays shot down at the same time from the hellish device. Instantly, a secret missile silo on the opposite end of the city exploded. A wall of fire and a giant shockwave engulfed everything around for miles. A fleet of jet fighters met the same fate on the north end of the city as well. The third beam hit the city’s main power plant, blasting it to pieces and leaving Grand Prairie in darkness.

  Diamond Jack’s wide smile erupted into a demented chuckle. Those fools thought that they could attack me with their jets and missiles. Those devices are like toys . Now I’ll erase the men too. “Computer, lock on to the GPS systems of the armored vehicles that are headed this way.”

  “TARGETS ARE LOCKED IN.”

  “Erase the targets.”

  The giant sphere powered up a third time and fired down upon the armored vehicles that were cruising down I-20. The vehicles exploded in earthshattering fireballs. Debris and flaming chunks of metal went flying in all directions. All that remained were giant potholes in the highway.

  Terrified drivers in other vehicles wildly swerved about in order to keep from crashing into the sudden ditches in the middle of the road. Many of them collided with each other to form a giant traffic jam that extended for miles in both directions.

  ***

  Jenny paced back and forth in the small room. Above in the building’s loft as well as in the walls, she could hear the sounds of movement and that awful buzzing. Those things from Signus IV were everywhere. Although the creatures could not get into this steel bunker, she was trapped as well. When the army used the Termicide bomb, she’d be doomed. Maybe, just maybe, there was one thing that she could try.

  She lifted the phone and dialed up to Neil’s office. Perhaps he had some news about what was going on now.

  The phone had buzzed four times before it was answered.

  “Hello?” Eddie frantically answered, still busy tapping away on the computer keys.

  Jenny paused, unfamiliar with the voice on the other end. “Who is this?”

  “Ms. White?”

  Jenny paused, remembering that Eddie had been assigned to hack into the computer system from Neil’s office. “Where is Neil? I ha
ve important information for him that needs to be attended to right now.”

  “He’s not here.” Eddie continued tapping away at the computer keys. “He and Steve are headed your way. They are trying to get into the basement control room. Diamond Jack is down there and has taken control of the entire base. That maniac has also activated somekind of weapon in space, and it is blasting targets on the ground. News reports are coming in now about a missile silo and an airbase being destroyed. An eighteen-wheeler has also been blasted. The power station is gone too. The city is in total darkness. We’re the only ones with power.”

  “Good God!” she blurted, turning on the television set. Fires were burning in a dozen different places. “I’m glad that we have our own power source. Oh hell, it’s horrible up there.”

  “I’m trying to cross-link the data stream with a special program that I have,” Eddie whispered. “If successful, I’ll be able to shut off that damn e-bomb. Then, I’ll be able to start undoing the damage that animal has already done.”

  She looked down at the floor and gazed at an air vent. Suddenly, a thought came into her mind. “Do the best that you can.”

  “I will,” he replied. A small light started flashing on top of the cell phone. He looked on the view screen and recognized the number. “Hold on, Neil is calling on the other line now. I’ll put the phone on three-way. It will save a lot of time.”

  Jenny nodded to herself. “Okay, let’s do it.”

  Suddenly, there was a loud boom and all of the lights went off, leaving her chamber as dark as a tomb.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “What happened to the power?” Steve asked, noticing that both the lights and the internal air conditioning system had suddenly shut off. He then carefully moved around the console and felt for the flashlight he’d seen there earlier. “Neil, what going on? I thought that this complex had backup power.”

  “It does,” Neil replied. “The emergency power will kick on in a few minutes. I think that those things have cut the power. They’ve been known to chew through power cables before. They did it on the island too.”