Chapter 21+22

CHAPTER 21: THE NEST + BIG MOTHER

Drew and the rest of the crew moved to a big building nearby, seeking shelter from the upcoming onslaught of nocturnal monsters. They secured the building room by room, and having cleared the ground floor, nestled in a defensive position. All they have to do then was to wait for Adam and his crew to return with the shuttle.

All was well, until some disturbing rumblings could be felt.

"Earthquake?" asked Drew.

"I don't think so," said Bob.

"There's no monsters around that can cause such rumbling, is there?"

"Only if it's the size of this building!" sneered Danny.

"Well, why don't you check it out, then?" asked Drew. "It should be easy to find, if it's that size."

"I don't want to." said Danny.

"Take somebody with you. How about you, Leslie?" asked Drew.

"I'd rather sit here and eat my chow." grumbled Leslie. He was still not used to take orders from a woman.

"We can wait for you." said Drew. "We'll wait for you to return, and then we'll eat together."

"I don't want to, and that's that." said Leslie.

"Leslie," said Drew, "the monsters will react to gun fire. You're the only one with the flame thrower. That's about as silent as possible. If there's trouble, only you can handle it without attracting undue attention."

"How about him?" Leslie said. He didn't trust Danny at all.

"He's not carrying any weapon." said Drew, misunderstanding Leslie's remark. "He needs to be protected."

"He can run."

"If there's any trouble, then you'll hold them back while he runs here to us, and we'll come running to help you."

"Not good enough."

"We'll be ready to help. Really, Leslie. We won't be eating while you're gone." assured Drew.

"I'm not going to do that."

"Leslie, is there any reason why you don't want to?" asked Drew. She was getting exasperated.

"You're not the captain, and I don't take orders from _you_!" said Leslie.

Drew reflexively gripped her gun tight. Her face was tense. Her eyes narrowed. Her body crouched in defensive gestures. Bob smiled. He clamped his hands to Leslie's head.
"Leslie," Bob said in a calm manner, still smiling. "Beware the power of POB."

"The power of Bob," corrected Drew without thinking.

"POB. P-O-B. Pissed Off Bitch." said Bob, smiling.

Drew smiled.

Leslie skunked off to the darkness, followed by Danny.

"All right, everybody." said Drew. "Check your weapons and get ready to move out at a moment's notice."

"You're serious about that?" asked Bob.

"I gave him my word." replied Drew. "I intend to follow through." Bob simply nodded his ascent.

It's a good thing, too, for a while later, Danny came running breathlessly. "It's big! Major! It's in the basement!"

"I'm not a major." said Drew. The crew snickered. "What's in the basement?"

"The monster!" screamed Danny. "The big monster is in the basement!"

Everybody got up at once. They followed Danny down to the basement, armed and ready to kill.

CHAPTER 22: MONSTERS BY THE SHUTTLE

Adam was joyful. It has been a long while since he was flying free. Being cooped up in the shuttle wasn't his cup of tea. Being a country boy, he preferred open sky to a small room in a spaceship. In fact, that is what drove him to outer space. It was a foolhardy decision, since just like an ocean going vessel, you are being cooped to your cabin, despite the expanse of the sea.

He can see the shuttle from a distance. Despite a smaller size due to the anti-gravity unit negating the need for large fuel tank to lift-off and escape the planet's orbit, it is still a sizeable vehicle. It's about the size of a big cargo plane, minus the wings. There was a slope on the back that doubles as loading ramp. Adam flew closer.

Adam heart sank, when he got close, though, for he saw monsters clustering on the shuttle. A lot of them were gathered near the exhaust port, no doubt seeking the warm that was there. There was no way to get to them to move. Briefly, Adam thought about shooting them, but the accuracy of shooting while flying is dicey at best, and he wasn't about to land because there were only 5 of them, and that's not enough firepower to overcome the monsters.

"Kev, what do you think?" asked Adam.

"Big trouble, Adam." replied Kevin. He understood the situation, too. "Do you want to shoot them?"

"Don't land." replied Adam. "Too dangerous!"

"Got it." said Kevin. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Do you think we can shoot them out?"

"Can't think of any other think to do."

"All right, we'll fly in close and shoot them out. Kick them out of the shuttle, or if that fails, draw them out _with_ the parafoils!"

"Draw them out with the parafoils?" Kevin stared Adam in disbelief. "That's not safe! That's downright dangerous!"

Adam laughed. "What a wussy you are! You can just stay back where it's safe! The rest of us are going to come in!"

Kevin said nothing, but his expression was clear that he was deeply offended.

Adam led the crew to a shooting run. He was fearless. He flew in closer and closer, and yet, the monsters still did not budge. They flashed their fangs angrily, but still stayed where they are. "Makes sense." Adam thought. "Elsewhere, it's just an open field. When in danger, they would at least seek partial shelter."

"Doesn't work!" said Kevin. Adam nodded. "We have to get back."

Adam thought for a while. "There's one more thing to try!"

"What's that?" asked Kevin.

"I'm going to land on top of the shuttle and attack them from above!"

"That's crazy! That's suicidal!" Kevin was horrified. "There's not enough room for you to land on top of the shuttle! Even if you could land on the shuttle, there's no guarantee you can go fly back."

Adam nodded gravely. "It's a one-way trip, Kevin. That's why I'm going to do it! You just stay back here where it's safe!"

The crew watched in awe as Adam maneuvered his parafoil on top of the shuttle. Going headwind, it was as if his flight goes to a stand still. Adam ditched the parafoil as soon as it touched down. The wind carried it off to the side, where eager monsters tore it to pieces. "There goes the way out." thought Kevin. "He's stuck there."

Adam shot the monsters from above. The monsters tried to jump and get him, but to no avail. Furiously, Adam shot at the monsters again, and again, trying to drive them off. The monsters stayed put. Adam was getting frustrated.

Suddenly, his ears perked up. What was that sound? A horn? A siren? It was coming from the compound. His thought went to Drew. Did she sound the siren? Was she in trouble? Adam has the sudden urge to go back and check, but was stuck where he was. He was frustrated.

Without warning, the monsters suddenly moved off, and go toward the compound. The area around the shuttle was cleared in a short order. Kevin was joyful. "You did it! You drove the monsters away!"

"No, I didn't. They moved out on their own." Adam was worried.

"Is that right? Why would they do that?" asked Kevin. "Oh, maybe it's time for them to feed? Nocturnal feeding?"

"Maybe." Adam said. "Let's get a move on real quick. I have a bad feeling about this."

Adam was grim. Kevin saw that he was serious, and immediately jumped into the shuttle into the pilot seat.

Time: 45 minutes
Words: 1323