2021

  ‘You were saying?’ smiled Tom as he helped him up off the ground.

  ‘Yes, I was, wasn’t I’ laughed Jack ‘me and my big mouth’ he smiled.

  Just then a wounded Migrator leapt over the defences and fell screaming in pain right there in front of them.

  ‘LOOK OUT!’ screamed Stuart as he only just managed to stop Alec running directly into its path!

  ‘KEEP CLEAR EVERYONE!’ shouted Jack as they now all gave the huge creature a wide birth as it screamed and kicked out its last dangerous death throws.

  The army had stationed a large battalion of soldiers to guard the airship, in case anyone tried to steal it and use it to escape the area and Jack now signalled to them that they were about to leave.

  The soldiers now untied the mooring ropes and after their experience of having the Migrators hanging off them, they were tied up safely out of harm’s way, so they couldn’t be shaken loose again.

  ‘COME ON, EVERYONE, GET INTO THE AIRSHIP!’ shouted Jack as they all climbed inside as the armed troops stood on guard all around them.

  Of course, the guard’s guns wouldn’t actually fire anymore, but most probably no one had given that a thought.

  Soon, Jack and Andre between them had the airship on its way as they began to fly at first going away from the battle.

  ‘You’re going the wrong way, surely?’ puzzled Tom in alarm.

  ‘No, I have to gain a good height before I can pass over these things, otherwise they can jump up at us, especially these new bigger red Migrators’ explained Jack.

  ‘Christ! Is there anything these things can’t do?’ asked Alec in alarm.

  ‘Not much!’ replied Jack as he made the airship quickly gain height.

  Then he looked a little worried.

  ‘What’s wrong, Jack?’’ asked Andre ‘are the gas pressure engines not working properly?’

  ‘No, they’re fine, Andre’ he replied ‘I was just thinking, I don’t want to fly too far away from the front line, as I don’t know where the end of the dead zone actually is anymore.’

  ‘But we fly over it normally?’ queried Joan.

  ‘Yes, but that was at a good height and where the dead zone was then’ explained Jack. ‘It’s now moved and we don’t know quite where it’s moved to do we?’

  ‘Oh, of course not’ nodded Joan ‘when the lights went out that signalled we’re now inside the dead zone already.’

  ‘Exactly’ nodded Stuart ‘so if we fly too far away we might end up just being disintegrated ourselves!’

  ‘Just circle round in as tight a circle as you can and keep doing that until we gain a good height’ suggested Andre as Jack just nodded his head.

  When Andre and Jack were both satisfied the airship was flying high enough, they then turned it around and began heading it straight over the battlefield.

  The sun was now rising and now they were higher up they could see quite well.

  Looking down it was a hellish sight though, as men were being impaled with sharp spikes fired out from the larger red Migrator’s bodies.

  This added to the nightmarish high pitched screams of the wounded Migrators themselves was as terrifying a thing as any of them had ever heard!

  Whilst even the Migrator’s final death throws once mortally wounded, seemed especially designed to strike the fear of God into anyone brave enough to challenge them. Their bodies writhed around on the ground and just screamed horrendous high pitched screams until they finally died.

  Such was the stuff of nightmares!

  Below them, they could now see the soldiers working flat out as they fired off their guns non-stop, as others then passed them a constant supply of ammunition to quickly reload their guns again.

  The dead bodies of Migrators were beginning to pile up in front of the human’s defence walls so quickly that they soon rendered the very bottom line of guns completely useless! So they could now see men rapidly moving the giant guns to new higher positions.

  Stuart now held his head in anguish.

  ‘Shit! I never gave a thought to how the Migrator’s dead bodies would pile up so high and actually block the bottom line of guns.’

  ‘Neither did anyone else’ added Jack as he stared over the side.

  ‘Look! Some of the soldiers are using grappling irons to pull the bodies out the way!’ noticed Andre.

  The sight of a million men and women now battling so hard along what looked like a quite thin line was truly incredible.

  Aboard the airship they all shook their heads in shock at the horrific nature of the scene itself, as the human race fought for its very survival!

  Suddenly a giant Migrator seemed to run up the bodies of its dead cousins to then leap clean over the human’s barrier!

  Finding itself on the human’s side it wasted no time by instantly shooting a sharp point from its upper chest as it skewered a man clean through!

  Stuart quickly pulled Jenny’s face away as he didn’t want her to witness such terrible sights.

  ‘DON’T LOOK!’ he shouted as he held her face close to his chest.

  Over a million Mexicans and well over a million civilians who had been trapped in the dead zone had all been advised to flee the area, but surprisingly, most had chosen an uneasy safety behind the defence walls to support the troops instead.

  Their sheer hatred for the Migrators was now such that they had refused to go and they had encamped just outside the front line itself, declaring they were ready to fight and sacrifice their lives to help destroy these monsters that had brutally killed many of their family and friends.

  From the airship, they just stared as they watched one giant Migrator as it leapt over the line as a mass of civilians came pouring in setting about the giant creature with just about anything they lay their hands on!

  Dozens of men and women were now just being killed in the brave struggle with the huge beast!

  Several though, had grabbed hold of the long pike that the creature shot from its chest and they were now struggling as they just held onto it!

  They discovered that beyond its sharp point lay a softer, fleshy area and one man cut the creature’s sharp pike clean off using a machete!

  The creature was left writhing in agony as the huge crowd then piled in to stab it to death through its chest using arrows they had taken from the ammunition pile!

  It was the first time a weak spot had been discovered on the Migrator’s otherwise impregnable armour and information about the successful civilian’s attack was soon passed all along the front line.

  As the light began to brighten, Andre touched Jack’s arm.

  ‘Look at mankind’s bravery, Monsieur’ he uttered as they looked down at the million or so soldiers now all standing firm as they worked tirelessly to keep the weapons firing non-stop, with the civilians just standing by with just about any weapon they could lay their hands on, to kill any Migrator that managed to cross the front line.

  They could just make out General Iram now as he stood addressing a large crowd from a high tower.

  ‘WE NEED HELP SUPPLYING AMMUNITION TO THE GUNS! CAN YOU HELP US?’ they just heard him shout using an old fashioned un-powered loud hailer.

  The crowd surged forwards now to grab hold of the large projectiles so they could all pass then along to the soldiers.

  Stuart noticed how several soldiers had either fainted, collapsed with exhaustion or been killed along the line, but they were quickly being carried out and replaced by others in order to keep the guns firing.

  Suddenly another giant red Migrator broke through the lines and the crowd all fell upon it with the reinforced tip arrows they were holding!

  Now armed with knowledge that the Migrator could be killed with a stab into its fleshy chest area, they were all trying to pull its sharp point out from its chest, whilst others tried to stab into it.

  Again, more than a dozen brave people fell de
ad upon the ground before the rest eventually overcame the giant red Migrator.

  ‘God, these things are hard to kill!’ uttered Stuart as he gazed down.

  ‘The people have real hatred in their eyes don’t they?’ commented Joan as she stared down at the scene.

  ‘Can you blame them?’ replied Stuart ‘these things have killed many of their family and friends and now they threaten our very existence!’

  ‘I’m not blaming them, Stuart, it’s just quite frightening to witness’ she nodded.

  Just as they flew over the upper most part of the ramparts though, a giant red Migrator leapt up and managed to loosen one of the mooring ropes!

  Then another smaller black Migrator immediately began climbing up it!

  ‘Oh, fuck! Here we go again’ uttered Jack in panic ‘QUICKLY SOMEONE, CUT THE DAMN ROPE!’ he screamed as the airship immediately listed over to one side.

  Instantly, of all people, it was Alec who was first to grab up one of the sharp knives stored on board, as he sprinted the full length of the cabin to smartly lean out and cut the rope, sending the Migrator plummeting to the ground!

  ‘Oh, well done, Alec’ smiled Stuart as he patted him on the back.

  ‘He always was good at sports’ smiled Tom ‘well done mate!’ he told him.

  Jack now put the airship into a steep climb.

  ‘Phew, that was a bit close!’ he uttered in relief.

  Tom now smiled at his old friend as he put an arm around him.

  ‘Well done, Alec, you saved our lives, mate’ he told him as Alec just stood there still panting away and looking very shocked.

  Joan though, was busy looking back at the battle.

  ‘Just look at it now!’ she uttered ‘our front line goes for as far as the eye can see!’

  ‘Do you think it will hold though?’ asked Alec, now looking very concerned.

  Suddenly Andre gasped as Jack finally levelled the airship out and he was then able to gaze forwards.

  ‘Oh, God save them, those poor souls!’ Andre uttered in shock ‘just look at how many more Migrators are still to reach them!’

  As they all began to turn around and gaze forwards, they now all just stared as they looked at the Migrators still to reach the human’s defences.

  The Migrators stretched for as far forwards as anyone could even see.

  ‘My God!’ uttered Stuart in complete shock ‘we don’t stand a chance!’

  ‘Oh, Dad!’ uttered Jenny as she began to cry.

  They were all completely shocked now as the sheer massive numbers of Migrators still to reach their defences meant they could see little way all the people fighting so valiantly down on the ground, could possibly win their battle against such impossible odds.

  ‘Those poor beggars, there’s simply no way they can defeat all these’ uttered Jack.

  ‘They may hold out until night time, but I don’t give them a hope in hells chance after that’ agreed Stuart as he just stared out over the mass of writhing, moving Migrators as they turned the whole landscape black and somewhat appropriately he thought, blood red.

  Stuart now held Jenny in his arms as she looked fearful.

  ‘They’re all going to die aren’t they?’ she uttered.

  ‘We don’t know that, Jenny, there may yet be a way to stop these creatures’ he told her quietly.

  ‘The defences are holding at the moment’ remarked Alec positively as he tried to lighten the mood of everyone on board.

  ‘This must be man’s finest hour’ commented Andre thoughtfully.

  ‘Why’s that?’ puzzled Joan.

  Andre pointed back towards the battle.

  ‘Because we have everyone all fighting side by side’ he concluded proudly.

  ‘We have black, white, Asian, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians, every colour, faith and walk of life and religious belief on Earth’ Andre commented soberly ‘and they’re all fighting side by side and bravely dying together.’

  ‘Shame it took something like this to make it happen though’ commented Jack thoughtfully.

  ‘We finally got it right just before we went extinct’ added Stuart with an ironic smile ‘our finest hour.’

  Looking back, they could still see the now only four heights of guns as they fired rapidly at the ever growing numbers of Migrators now in front of them. The Migrator bodies now piled high in front of the guns, but looking round the Migrator numbers still to be fought seem to now go on literally forever!

  Even at the airship’s tremendous height they could still see no end to the numbers of Migrators left still to charge at the guns.

  ‘They’re going to take over the world aren’t they?’ commented Andre.

  ‘Looking down there, I reckon they already have’ replied Jack despondently.

  ‘And they haven’t even started flying yet’ added Joan.

  ‘These things are just unstoppable. There’s no way we’ll ever win against these things. Just look at them, there must be millions and millions of them down there. Jack’s right, it looks to me like they’ve taken over the world already’ commented Alec solemnly, now sounding very depressed.

  ‘No, it’s not going to happen, Alec’ Tom smiled calmly as he looked down at the Migrators himself.

  ‘What’s that, Tom?’ asked Stuart.

  Tom looked at Jenny and he just turned to her.

  ‘It’s all right, Jenny, we can still win this battle’ he assured her confidently.

  ‘Yeah, you and who’s army?’ commented Jack sarcastically.

  ‘I just need to reach roughly the centre of all the Migrators’ Tom replied.

  ‘But we still don’t even know what it is you intend upon doing?’ puzzled Stuart.

  ‘You’d never understand it even if I told you’ answered Tom quietly.

  ‘Try us!’ commented Stuart ‘we’re here watching what could be the end of mankind’s existence on Earth at the hands of some alien monster. Do think anything you say now could surprise us?’

  Tom just looked at him and smiled.

  ‘I think unknowingly, you lot and your little airship will eventually save the world from these creatures’ Tom commented positively.

  ‘But how exactly are we going to do that?’ puzzled Joan. ‘Now I’m all for ‘positive thinking’ but you have to separate that from being completely delusional’ she commented. ‘Quite how is this ‘miracle’ about to come about then?’ she asked.

  ‘By getting me to where I have to go’ smiled Tom.

  ‘But you’re not making any sense, man’ commented Jack.

  ‘It’s like the entire purpose of my life, Jack, was to reach this point’ explained Tom as Jack just shook his head at him.

  ‘Just my luck to get lumbered with a complete nut job right at the end of the world’ he uttered despondently. ‘I could have been in a bar somewhere on a Caribbean island with a beautiful girl on my arm, now that would be the way to go!’ he smiled.

  ‘You’re here though aren’t you’ smiled Tom as they all now pondered on that reality.

  ‘Anywhere is better than being down there with them’ commented Jenny.

  They had now been flying in the airship for some time and the battle was now too far back for them to even see it anymore.

  All they could see now was a very overcast and dull sky and the Migrators all moving below them, covering what seemed to be every inch of ground and every part of every building for as far as they could see.

  Just then, something whistled through the air as it just smacked on the underside of the airship’s cabin!

  ‘WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?’ shouted Jack.

  Just then, something whistled through the air again and it grabbed onto Alec and pulled him towards the very edge of the passenger cabin and very nearly dragged him completely overboard!

  ‘CUT ME FREE!’ screamed Alec as he panicked as the airship also started being
dragged downwards!

  Several of them rushed to grab one of the large knives that Jack had ensured had been stashed on board and they all hacked at the hook like object that was still attached to the ground, until it eventually relinquished its grip and Alec fell to the floor just relieved to have been rescued.

  ‘I’M TAKING HER TO AN EVEN HIGHER ALTITUDE!’ shouted Andre as he rapidly took to the controls.

  ‘Are you all right, Alec?’ asked Tom as he checked on his friend.

  ‘Yes, I think so, but blimey, that was close. It almost dragged me overboard’ Alec commented as he blew a huge sigh of relief to still be onboard.

  ‘EVERYONE HOLD ON! IT’S GOING TO BE STEEP!’ shouted Andre.

  ‘EVERYONE KEEP AWAY FROM THE SIDES, IN CASE THEY SEND UP ANYMORE OF THOSE THINGS!’ shouted Stuart as everyone crawled quickly into the centre of the airship’s cabin as they all just lay on the floor and held on the best they could.

  After a few minutes Andre had the airship levelled up again.

  ‘Is everyone OK?’ he asked looking very concerned.

  ‘Yes’ they all gasped back in relief.

  ‘They’re evolving aren’t they?’ commented Joan quietly to Stuart as he just grimly nodded his head.

  ‘I reckon we’re all right to look over sides again now’ commented Andre ‘I doubt if they can reach up here.’

  Then as they gazed all around them they were even more shocked.

  ‘Is it me or does it look worse the higher we get?’ asked Joan as she looked all around her.

  ‘It looks like they cover every inch of ground now doesn’t it?’ nodded Stuart.

  ‘I wonder where they really came from?’ pondered Alec.

  ‘From outer space of course’ answered Stuart.

  ‘Really?’ queried Alec.

  ‘Their spaceship is massive, it’s parked right at the other end as for some reason they only seem to travel out of it in a single direction’ pondered Stuart.

  ‘Perhaps they’re going all round the world to get back to it again’ suggested Alec.

  ‘I wouldn’t be a bit surprised’ nodded Jack. ‘You think the building is definitely their space vehicle then, Stuart?’ he asked curiously.