“Let’s do this at the entrance.” he starts, picking up the meat and walking out of the cave, toward the fading daylight. “That way they’ll pass it when they come out, chew on it, and get the full effect before leaving the cave completely.”
“What if they don’t all eat it?” Carina asks, and I nod my head because I was just wondering the same thing.
“That’s why we’ll do it at the cave entrance.” he says. “If we’re all standing out there, we can make sure they all get some, and if one happens to bypass it, we can shoot them with a dart. It’ll just mean they’re particularly fond of us,” he glances toward Dirk and Carina, “but since we’re all going to the same place, it should be fine.”
The bugs are starting to move in earnest now, so we all hotfoot it out of the cave, stopping about 30 feet in, where Adrian stoops and places the torso back on the ground. Using both hands, he grips the dart cartridge between his fingers, holds it over the gaping hole, and snaps it in half. Clear liquid pours out of the small vial, quickly slowing to a trickle, then just a few drips.
Once it’s pretty much done dripping, he tosses it off to the side and beckons us closer. “Let’s all do this at once, okay, so we’re sure they won’t be trying to get to just one person.” We all move closer, except Dirk. He hangs back a little, holding on to Carina’s arm. “How awful for you,” he says, as he pats her hand, “I want you to know that if I could save you from this, I would.” She just stares down at his hand on hers. “Uh….okay….thanks?”
We stand in a circle around the torso, then place our hands on top of one another, like we’re about to yell “Gooooooo TEAM!” and throw them up above our heads.
If only.
Instead, Adrian places his hand on top of the pile and pushes all of us toward the serum covered guts.
Go.Team.
“It’s just jello. It’s just jello. It’s just jello.” Carina chants, swishing her hand around the torso and yanking it out as quickly as possible.
“If it’s jello, sign me up for not wanting to eat any.” Julia says, much less phased by this whole thing. She pulls her hand out, wipes it on her pants, and then holds it away from her body.
“Though I would let Dirk be in love with me for 20 minutes if someone would give me a washcloth right now.
“How dare you!” Dirk says, looking up at Carina as if judging her expression to make sure she knows his love is hers and hers alone. “Don’t listen to her. She can’t hold a candle to you.
“I wish someone would hold a candle to my brain right now,” Thomas says, “cause that’s the only way I’m ever going to get over the trauma of this whole thing.”
RainbowCreeper doesn’t seem all that phased, but then I guess he was probably already scarred from spending who knows how many days under a pile of digital dead bodies.
Adrian doesn’t say anything, his hand was all covered in guts already, so nothing has changed in his world. Of course, us rubbing our hands in a corpse (digital or not) isn’t bad enough. He has to make it worse by digging around in there, pulling out loose pieces of entrail and flinging them all over the cave.
“Nasty, Adrian, knock it off!” Carina yells.
“Listen, I need to make sure these bugs eat the meat. If there’s only one place they can do it, there’s a much better chance they’ll skip over it. We’ve all seen how they have no problem crawling all over each other. I’ll put it all over the cave, and then a little ways outside the cave, and hopefully we won’t have to dart any of them, or at least a lot less of them.”
He’s got a point.
Adrian makes his gruesome breadcrumb trail to the front of the cave, like a horror form of Hansel and Gretel. Well, bad comparison, I guess that was a horror story in itself.
We all follow him out, then stand just outside the cave entrance, at the edges, hidden behind the outcropping of rock, and we wait. It doesn’t take long, not more than 2 minutes passes before we start hearing the first “chud a dud, chud a dud”.
“They’re coming.” Julia says, conjuring a gun in her hand, and handing it to Carina. “Pass it down until everyone has one.”
I stand there with my gun, holding it in front of me like I’m ready to shoot the first thing that comes out of the hole.
“How are we going to know if they’re friendly or not?” I ask.
It occurs to me that we might think they’ve eaten the serum when really they haven’t, and then they get close to us only because they want to bite off a leg.
“Chud a dud, chud a dud, chud a dud” the noise inside the cave is getting louder now.
“Julia, how will we know!?” I ask again, more urgently.
“I don’t know! I didn’t think about that part! I’ve never done this before!” she yells back, throwing her hands in the air.
“Hey, careful with the gun there, Annie Oakley.” Thomas says.
Julia immediately puts her hands down. No one wants a repeat of Dirk.
“Chud, chud, chud, ch, ch, ch, ch, ……”
The noise in the cave starts to taper off, then falls completely silent.
“What if they only make that noise really loud when they’re feeling aggressive?” I ask. “I mean I’ve only heard them do it when they’re about to kill people, so maybe it’s like a dog when it growls?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” she says, “but just in case, let’s back up a little more, so we have room to run if they come out looking mean.”
We all back away from the entrance, so we’re standing on flat ground about 100 feet away. The first antennae start to poke out, and we all suck in a collective breath, muscles tensing, adrenaline flooding our systems, getting ready for fight or flight.
They come out slowly, cocking their flat, ugly heads from side to side, and I think they must be looking at us, waiting for us to do something.
“Let’s start heading toward town,” Thomas says, “if they follow us, we know it’s working if they try to eat us, we know it’s not.”
“Some of us should go ahead, let one or two hang back so they can shoot any bugs that look sketchy.” Adrian says.
“Carina and I will be in front!” Dirk yells, placing his hand on the center of her back and shoving her forward. She turns her head to look at us, leaning back against his hand and dragging her shoes along the grass to try and slow him down.
“I guess we’re going first then!” she says, staring daggers at us as she gets further and further away.
That guy sure is strong for being a good six inches shorter than her.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Julia yells after them, and the rest of us laugh.
Poor Carina.
The bugs file after us in a surprisingly orderly fashion. There are only one or two close calls where they get too close for comfort, and guns get pulled. Ultimately, we decide they’re trying to nudge us, like a dog, instead of eat us, like a…..killer roach.
For all their chittering earlier, they’re almost soundless now. Once in awhile, they do emit a soft chuff, but mostly it’s just the rustle of spindly legs pulling through the grass.
They’re completely focused on us, and they get bolder the longer we walk. Starting out well behind us, they’ve now pulled forward, flanking us on either side, a sea of bugs parting in our wake.
Every once in awhile one veers very close to us, sliding an antenna along our arms or over our heads. We startled them the first few times they did this because we would jump forward, or scream.
Not me, I didn’t scream, I meant the others.
After we’ve been walking for 10 minutes or so, the town comes into view. By this time, as odd as it may sound, I realize I’ve grown sort of fond of the ugly beasts, and I wonder how I’m going to kill them.
I look around at the others and see them glancing at the bugs occasionally, thoughtful looks on their faces. I wonder if they’re thinking what I’m thinking.
No matter what, the next few minutes are going to suck.
“How are we
going to do it?” I ask. “How are we going to kill them?”
Thomas is the one who answers first. “They’re not friendly, Jed. I know what you’re thinking, I know how your mind works. These things are not friendly. They’re not pets. When Kat brought them out of that hole, it was horrible. I had to stick my hand in to stop the flow, and they bit me. Even when they were tiny, and I was huge, they took a huge chunk of flesh off my thumb. It bled all over the place.”
“I’m not saying that we should keep them.” I reply, getting defensive almost right away. “I’m just saying that they belong somewhere, someone made them for a game, so why can’t we just put them back where they came from?”
I look at Thomas, stopping in the middle of the street. We’re very close to the pizza place now. “You said Kat opened the hole, you said you saw her open the door, and you for sure know where the building is, so why can’t we just put them back?”
One of the bugs comes up behind me, resting it’s antenna on my shoulder, rubbing softly against my cheek.
“Yes, they’re bad, they’re awful, and they don’t belong here, but it’s not their fault!”
I feel terrible about this all of the sudden. These bugs are pixels, not real to anyone else but those of us in this game right now, but still, it’s not their fault they’re carrying out their programming.
“Jed, I know you’re upset, and I really want to make you happy here, but how am I supposed to do that?”
Thomas walks up to me, putting his arm on my free shoulder and looking over my head at the bug standing behind me.
“Why can’t we just bring them back to the building?” I hear the pleading tone in my voice, and it grates on me, making me feel like a child, even more of a child than I really am.
“You’ve been gone for more than an hour now, Jed. Did you even think about that?” I didn’t think about it. I never considered what he must be dealing with at home right now.
“Mom’s already come looking for you. First I told her you were in the tent in my room, then I told her we were playing hide and seek. She’s making cookies now, but I don’t think I can hold her off much longer.”
“You’re right, I know you’re right, I just wish there were another way.” I say, feeling pitiful and weak.
“Listen, let’s just get to the pizza place and get the beacon.” He tells me, looking at me as though he’s trying to make sure I’m not going to run away with all the bugs. “Once you’re safely back at home, we can talk about it, but right now, we’ve got to get you out of the game.”
“Jed,” Adrian says, coming up to join Thomas, “you need to listen to your brother. If you’re not going to, I’ll send you back right now. I swear I will.” He reaches his hand out, placing it on my shoulder.
“No!” I shrug out of his reach, knowing that with Carina here, he can send me back even if I don’t want him to. At least I’m not making it any easier for him. “No, I’m fine, I’ll be fine. Let’s just get the beacon and then I’ll go.”
RainbowCreeper just looks between us, probably wondering if we’re all nuts, and planning appropriate action should that prove to be the case.
We continue up the street, our motley crew of bugs, people, and one lovestruck fool. When we’re in sight of the pizza place, the bugs behind us start to act differently. The ones surrounding the restaurant are loud with their chittering and “chud a dud”-ing, but the ones behind us have started to emit a high pitched buzzing noise. I can only assume it warns off the other bugs because the closer we get, the further they go away from us.
With this happening, we’re able to easily get to the restaurant, open the door, and go inside, though we have a terrible time trying to keep “our” bugs from following us. The one closest to me manages to slip through the door, squeezing through it as only cockroaches can. The people inside immediately start screaming and piling toward the kitchen area in the back.
“It’s okay! It’s okay!” I yell over the terrified crowd. “They’re friendly, at least for the next few minutes. Just line up against the wall, stay away from the bug, and everything will be back to normal in no time at all.”
The people eye me warily, but they don’t say anything as they push themselves against the windows and into corners, creating a wide open space in the middle of the room. I don’t see Jake anywhere, so I walk toward the kitchen, scattering the people back there as the bug follows behind me.
MyNameIsJed - Jake, I’m here, where are you?
AnonymousJake - I’m in the freezer, please hurry.
“Where’s the freezer?!” I ask the person nearest me. He points toward a large metal door at the back of the kitchen. I run over to it, yanking the metal handle and pulling hard against the suction that the temperature difference has created.
It’s cool in here, even though everything has been messed up for days. I’m not sure how long the power was able to stay on, but apparently long enough for this room to not yet make it back to the overall temperature of the rest of the game.
Jake is leaning against a wall, looking pale and sickly with hollowed eye sockets and a faint blue line around his mouth, as though his body isn’t giving him enough oxygen.
“Jake, where’s the beacon? Tell me where it is and I’ll get Adrian to port me out of here with it so you can go home.”
I walk over and kneel down on the floor beside him, placing my hand on his arm. He looks awful, and I feel even worse for the knowledge that Thomas and I wasted five days being grounded.
“I’m so sorry, man.” I tell him. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, you didn’t know.” he opens his eyes and looks at me, then opens one of his hands that was fisted on the floor.
“Take the beacon and go, but keep it safe. Kat said you'd need one for everyone.”
I want to ask him again what that means, but I don’t. We can figure it out later. The most important thing right now is getting out of here so he can get back home.
“I’ve got it. I’ll go get Adrian to send me home right now.”
I turn to walk out of the freezer, but think better of it and turn back around.
“Will you message me once you get home, once you’re able, let me know you’re okay?”
He stares up at me, eyes vacant, body wasting away.
“I will, Jed, I promise.” He sighs heavily. Then he closes his eyes once more.
I leave the freezer and head toward the dining area, where my friends and “my” bug are waiting. I hold out my hand, showing them the beacon.
“I have it. You can send me home now.”
They lean in to look at it, interested despite the urgency.
“Is that a pepperoni?” Carina asks.
I look down at it, not having really checked it out when Jake handed it to me. It does appear to be a pepperoni. I lift it to my nose and sniff. It smells like a pepperoni, too.
“Chud A Dud”
We all turn quickly at the noise, coming face to….”face” with my bug.
“Chud A Dud, Chud A Dud.”
He advances on us, and we all back up, moving in the direction of the kitchen I just came from.
“Adrian, send him home now.” Thomas says, his voice showing restrained panic.
I feel my vision start to blur, the edges going black as things lose focus around me, then I’m hit with an almighty crash.
The beacon flies from my hand as the bug knocks me down. I see it sail through the air, a small, glowing circle that seems to move in slow motion until it disappears between the bug’s mandibles. A snack before the meal it wants to make of us.
From my position on the floor, I somehow have an excellent view of the chaos that happens next. One of the customers in the restaurant starts screaming, losing their grip on whatever calm was holding them in place with the cockroach in here with them. They bolt toward the front door.
“No, stop her!” Julia yells!
Adrian runs after the terrified customer, but he’s too late. She reaches the front
door, slams it open, and darts outside, not even seeming to realize that while there might be one roach in here, there are a hundred beyond the glass and concrete.
At first, the bugs leave her alone, and I think she might make it, but once she clears the ring of “drugged bugs” that came with us, all bets are off. The bugs which were not drugged dart in, she’s picked up, and I turn my head away as they start to tear her limb from limb.
“CHUD A DUD, CHUD A DUD!”
The noise gets louder, not just from my bug, but from the ones gathered outside as well. The open door is invitation enough, and another roach flattens its way into the building. This is bad, really bad. We might have been able to handle one, or at least I might have been able to get far enough away from it that Adrian could port me home, but against two….I might not get out of here.
“Send him home, Adrian!” Thomas yells over the crush of terrified players.
Adrian is across the room from me, but he immediately begins plowing through the crowd, trying to reach my side.
Suddenly, the 2nd bug in the restaurant whirls back toward the entrance, making an awful screeching noise with the barbed hairs on its legs. I lean further up, trying to see what’s going on, and can hardly believe my eyes.
The barbed dart that RainbowCreeper took from the cave is lodged in the roach’s side, jammed up between the plate covered segments of its abdomen. The bug is lurching forward, but not making any headway, as though it’s being pulled backward by some unseen force.
Following the rope with my eyes, it becomes evident what’s happening. RC shot the bug with the barb, then ran outside, into the ring of roaches that came with us. He’s jumping, dodging and sprinting through the tangle of wings and legs, and I realize that he’s heading for the pizza van Thomas left in the parking lot!
“He’s going to make it!” Thomas yells, and we collectively hold our breath as RC lunges inside the van, pulls the end of the rope in with him, and slams the door. He makes quick work of wrapping the rope around the steering wheel a few times, then guns the engine and shoots off down the street, dragging the struggling roach behind him.
The World Keepers 7 Page 10