Insectophobia

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. They. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Drake Solis tossed in his sweat-soaked cot. He thrust out his hands for something that was wasn’t there and he was jolted awake, but consciousness didn’t relieve him of his flashbacks. The ambush was burned in his memory. He saw it clear as day wherever he went. He heard it wherever he went. A door closed somewhere down the corridor but when Drake turned, he was back aboard the Torrent.

* * *

Spinning red lights lit the path. The klaxon continuously warned the crew to keep moving. Drake followed his fireteam to the life pods while distant thuds rocked the ship.

“Go! Go! Go!” a non-commissioned officer urged the Marines running by. “Once you’re in your pods, you hit that eject button!”

There was a larger thud on the hull and the lights faltered for a moment. Drake had no idea what was happening on the bridge but knew the situation deteriorated almost instantly. They were never even ordered to battle stations. They had gone from a lulling patrol to abandon ship. His squad turned the corner and saw another fireteam of four Marines at an intersection.

“We got bugs!” one of them yelled and the second fireteam opened fire down one of the hallways. A fluttering of wings overwhelmed them. The quick pulse of wings and insectoid clicking gradually overtook the rifle fire. Drake and his Marines fired into the mass of exoskeletons. The squeals and popping should’ve been more gratifying, but it only echoed in Drake’s mind. The mass of insects only grew closer. An NCO grabbed Drake’s flak and pulled him to the side.

“Get the hell out of here, Marine!” and Drake was pushed away while the NCO fired an under-barrel grenade into the hall. The last Drake saw of him, the NCO was covered in a couple different colors of blood with insect appendages and wings fragments coating his armor.

The walkways had a trail of red lights quickly flashing to direct them to the pods. Drake’s fireteam spotted more personnel running towards them from the far end of the hall.

“Let’s go!” Drake waved for them to hurry. A giant spike penetrated the hull and cut off part of the hallway. That wasn’t the worst part though. The spike throbbed for a second and pulled out, leaving the exposed hull.

The atmosphere rushed out of the opening, tossing boxes, gear, and people all around as they were ejected from the ship and into the black, cold, open space. Drake slammed into a beam which he grabbed onto with every muscle he could command but watched as his team swirled past him. He tried to reach out and grab someone. Anyone. But he failed them. The couple moments it took for the automated doors to seal off the compromised hallway seemed to last hours for Drake. Drake slid back to the deck, the red path lights pulsating on his face. The clattering, squeals, and fluttering of wings sounded down the hall. Drake needed to move. He adjusted his helmet and ran down the last hallway.

He came across a single, flightless bug occupying the hallway. It was standing upright and carrying someone in its forward pincers. Two additional appendages hung over its shoulders and it turned to face down Drake. Drake brought up his rifle and moved in on the invader.

The bug dropped the human with a sickening thud and made more noises just as the other bugs had as it dropped down onto its six legs. The squeals and clacking of its pincers were joined by its several legs skittering along the deck as it charged Drake.

“Die!” Drake opened one long continuous stream of bullets into the bug. Its blood coated his boots and he kept firing until the magazine emptied. Drake heaved in and out until he finally released the trigger.

“This way!” someone called and a few more people rounded the far hallway. There were a few more survivors in this section of the ship.

“Come on!” Drake heard himself yell. A stampede of insects covered the walls and ceiling immediately behind the humans. “Holy!” Drake swapped magazines and fired at whatever he could safely hit. A couple people jumped into a pod and closed the hatch, but a bug made it inside with them as it ejected. One last survivor ran with the help of Drake’s covering fire. More bugs swarmed behind Drake. He continued to fire and back-peddled towards the final pod. “Keep coming! You’re almost there!” he yelled at the survivor who he could now tell was a woman.

Drake stood at the hatch to the pod and the woman slipped by him. Drake swapped to his last magazine and ducked inside. At the same moment a smaller, quicker bug entered with him and grabbed the woman. She screamed as it yanked her towards the door and Drake turned to fire but didn’t have a clear line of fire through the hatch. She held onto the doorway desperately as she continued to be pulled violently by the small insect. Drake maneuvered his rifle and fired into the bugs but now several other bugs had already latched onto her legs. She looked into Drake’s eyes and smashed the eject button before letting go. She was pulled into the mass of bodies, the hatch slammed shut and the pod was shot into the silence of space.

“No!” Drake pounded on the glass. Then the situation become abundantly clear. The outside hull of the Torrent was literally crawling with bugs of various sizes. Some the size of infantry, some the size of frigates. Their “living” ships. Their bioscience defied all laws of nature. Something hit his pod and Drake found himself floating closer to the Torrent. He could see more people still inside through the windows. He watched helplessly as they were overrun by a variety of bugs. Drake continued to pound on the glass when an explosion opened another hole in the Torrent’s hull and ejected more people into space. Drake saw their faces contort into fading screams. Screams he shouldn’t be able to hear. But as he looked at them, floating in space, he heard their screams in the back of his mind. Every last one. Drake pounded on the glass and added his own scream to the wreckage. His pod, however floated silently by as the bugs continued their work.

* * *

“Lance Corporal Solis!” someone called. “You’re safe! You’re okay!” They pulled Drake’s fist from the lobby window and brought him back to reality. He had wandered from his room again during the night. It would be morning soon and there was a physical training formation beginning to take shape outside. “Should I let the corporal know?”

Drake finally acknowledged the person still holding his wrist. He looked at Private First Class Gabriela Lopéz. She was already in her green-on-green PT uniform, complete with its stupid reflective bands over the shoulders and around the waist. Her brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and her big brown eyes looked worryingly up at Drake. He snatched his hand back from her.

“Let him know what? I’ll meet you outside.”

Drake went back to his room and began changing into his own PT clothing. He stopped by the sink and mirror. After a moment of hesitation, he turned on the overhead light. Bags had formed under his eyes. He needed to shave. Not his beard though since he shaved it the night prior and it didn’t grow that fast. His hair was starting to come in, but he didn’t have time for that right now. Drake turned on the cold water and cupped his hands under the stream. He splashed it on his face and gently tapped his cheeks. His tapping gradually became stronger until he practically slapped himself in the face.

“Come on, Solis!” he yelled into the mirror. “Get it together!” He violently turned off the light and left his room.

* * *

“Lopéz?” Corporal Murphy continued to call roll outside.

“Present.”

“Martinez?”

“Yut.”

“McGregor?”

“Oorah!”

“Don’t get too excited, McGregor. Park?”

“Present, Corporal.”

Drake jogged towards the formation. There was an open spot where he should have already been standing towards the back. A few of the Marines turned their heads to watch him.

“Lance Corporal Solis. Glad you decided to join us.” The corporal put his clipboard down at his side.

“Surprised he came at all. Figured he abandoned ship again,” someone in formation laughed. Drake was almost to the formation. A couple of other Marines snickered. Lopéz turned her head in disgust.

“Stow it, Private Cooper,” Corporal Murphy interjected. Cooper started clicking his tongue and tried to imitate insectoid noises.

“Watch, it’ll freak him out!” Cooper continued with the noises. Drake slightly altered course and broke into a run. He pushed past the first two Marines and tackled Cooper. A quick couple strikes across his face and Cooper was busted open; blood splattered on Drake’s fist.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Murphy shook his head in disappointment. The Marines started forming a circle around the brawl and cheered for one or the other. Cooper was able to maneuver Drake into his guard and started trying to isolate one of Drake’s wildly swinging haymakers. “Out of my way!” Murphy pushed through the Marines and paced around the fighters. “Solis, you’re tiring yourself out. Think! Where are your openings? What is he trying to do to you? Cooper, I already counted three missed opportunities for you to end this.”

“Yes, Corporal.” Cooper gritted his teeth when he finally caught one of Drake’s arms and hooked his leg over Drake’s head. Drake replied by elbowing Cooper’s legs. Both were sweating and panting uncontrollably.

“Corporal Murphy!” someone called from the second deck of the building nearby.

“Sonuva… Everyone shut up.” Murphy turned to the building. While it was gradually becoming lighter out, the figure couldn’t be clearly seen but Murphy knew who it was. “Yes, Gunny?”

“Just what kinda grab-ass do you think you’re doing right now, Corporal?”

“Just a little impromptu martial arts, Gunny! Working on technique!”

“Not on the old man’s grass you aren’t! Take that crap out back, so I don’t have to answer questions!”

“Aye, Gunny!” Murphy turned back to the Marines. “Everyone get into formation. Cooper, you’re front road guard. Solis, rear. We can settle this later.”

“Any day, Corporal!” the Gunnery Sergeant ordered.

“Move it, Marines!” Murphy yelled. Everyone jumped into their formation, save for Cooper and Drake. They slowly got to their feet but were helped by an impatient corporal who pulled them up and pushed them to their respective locations.

“Double time! March!” Murphy started their cadence. Drake droned it out. As they jogged around the base, he just heard the rhythmic thudding of their shoes all landing in sync. Every time they came up to an intersection, Cooper ran out to stop traffic and Drake ran out to relieve him. Cooper would periodically click his tongue a few times, smile with dried blood coming from his nose and run back to the front. Past voices seeped into his mind.

“I’m recommending you for further counseling, Drake.”

“Are you kidding me, doc? I’m good! I need to be on the front lines!”

“I can’t do that.”

“I’m a Marine! If I’m not fighting, what am I good for?”

“Mankind has just entered an uneasy alliance and your xenophobia will put not only yourself but your fellow Marines at risk. Until you can come to terms with that, you’ll continue your military occupation in a support role. The other option is ship you back to Earth and disqualify you.”

“Oh, I’ve come to terms with it. Any non-human alien that rears its ugly head gets a fistful of lead until its dead!”

“I’ll see you next week, Drake.”

The Marines had stopped the running portion of their PT. Murphy motioned for the platoon to distance themselves from each other and expand the formation. They proceeded to move on to stationary exercises. The sun was only starting to peak over the horizon accompanied by the planet this moon was orbiting. The planet was laced with vivid colors but was by no means habitable. Luckily for mankind, the moon needed little to no work for them set up an outpost here. Drake never paid attention to the science of it. He preferred to have a weapon and a direction to point it. Simple.

“Alright, form it up,” Murphy ordered after they finished their exercises and stretches. The Marines stood and remade their running formation. “Double time! March!” Murphy led another cadence as they started jogging back to the barracks. Cooper ran out to stop traffic by the guard shack and Drake relieved him.

“Com… in… Does anyo… …py? Ov…” the military police radio was crackling. Drake turned his head to the military police officer in the shack.

“Stupid planet,” the MP huffed to himself. He reached for his microphone.

“This is guard shack seven. Your message is coming in broken. I say again. Your message is coming in broken. Over.” The MP released the transmit button and waited for a response. He noticed Drake looking at him. “It’s that stupid planet. Every time.” He pointed to the colorful celestial body on the horizon.

“We… b…. enga…—”

“Road guard!” Murphy yelled back. “Road guard!” Drake turned and sprinted towards his squad. He took one last look at the MP trying to hail the person on the radio. “Keep up, Lance Corporal!”

“Aye, Corporal,” Drake responded. The formation entered the final straightaway back to the barracks. The rhythmic hits of their shoes droned on amidst Corporal Murphy calling cadence. It dragged Drake’s mind back to his last station where vehicle and ship repair rang day and night.

“Listen up, Marines!” Sergeant Danson had said. “God has given us the privilege of living in uncertain times. Introduced us to creatures almost as disgusting as mankind itself! And you need to know everything you can about them.”

The formation jogged around the side of the barracks. The muffled sound of rifle fire sounded in Drake’s ears. At first Drake thought he was only remembering rifle fire. But then Corporal Murphy started yelling and motioning for the Marines to break formation for another building.

“You’ll never see them coming,” Sergeant Danson called out from Drake’s tangled memory.

A large beetle-like bug charged through the wall from inside the third floor of the barracks. It had someone in its pincers as it fell to the earth. Drake froze.

“If their target becomes complacent for a moment, that target will be wiped off whatever backwater planet it decided to die on.”

The armorer motioned the Marines inside the armory where she had rifles ready to go. Murphy, Cooper, Lopéz, McGregor and the rest of the Marines quickly grabbed a rifle and ammunition. Bugs started to swarm over the other buildings. Some flying, some crawling, some running. All of them creating a whirlwind of noise. Clicking, squealing, fluttering. One appeared nearby, unfurled its two sets of wings, and grabbed Drake. It lifted off but before it could get anywhere, Murphy glided out of the armory, rifle at the ready and dropped the bug. Drake tumbled back to the earth. Murphy turned him over and yelled something. But Drake was wide-eyed. All he could hear was the chattering of insects and the memory of Sergeant Danson.

“They are bigger, stronger, quicker and more agile than you.”

Murphy grabbed a second rifle from Martinez, thrust it into Drake’s arms, and pointed at the position he intended to take. Drake watched other personnel fleeing from the insects, but they were easily overrun. He had a momentary flash of the Torrent again. Bugs littered the skies and the earth moved. Murphy moved up on a nearby building with Cooper and two other Marines.

“They are smarter than you. But that doesn’t mean much when it comes to you jarheads.”

Drake still hadn’t moved. He couldn’t. No matter how much he willed his body to move, he didn’t budge. Murphy pointed to Lopéz and back to Drake. She slung her rifle across her back and grabbed Drake from under the arms. She dragged him to cover by the armory. An explosion went off across the field somewhere in the administration building. A beetle staggered through the wall while the gunnery sergeant leaned over the balcony and finished it off with his rifle. A bug skittered over the roof and landed next to the gunnery sergeant. While he fought off the insect, two more joined the fray and then five more.

Bugs turned on Drake’s position as Murphy’s assault stagnated. Murphy resorted to defending their position with what ammo they had. One bug, clinging to the wall, rounded the corner which Lopéz quickly eliminated. Drake’s head slowly turned. He spotted a single bug standing up on its last pair of legs, surveying the damage. It had two additional bloody appendages that came out of its back and over its shoulders. Drake lifted his rifle. Lopéz looked to where he soon aimed.

“They do not care that you are God’s creations, no matter how you try to convince them.”

Drake opened fire. The target turned its head to Drake. Nearly simultaneously, all the clutter in the sky and on the ground turned on the group. Meaningless bugs soaked up Drake’s fire and the upright insect approached the Marines. Murphy and his Marines continue to fire upon the enemy, but the bugs’ numbers only seemed to increase.

“In ground combat, they are simply better than you.”

Insects rushed over their dead brethren and, one by one, they tackled Murphy’s squad and pinned them to the ground. Cooper managed to break one of the insect’s legs, so it broke one of his and carried him away. Lopéz and Drake were the last ones firing until a beetle-like creature burst through the wall and tossed them from cover.

The Marine squad was lined up on their knees, each with a bug holding onto him or her. Most of the rest of the invaders dissipated to the rest of the outpost. The bug leading them paced in front of the Marines, clicking away with its mandibles.

“They are the ones who snuck past our outposts.”

The bug looked Murphy up and down and stepped over to the next hostage. Murphy’s bug unfolded its wings and carried him away.

“They are the ones who infiltrated Earth.”

It clicked its mandibles and McGregor was dragged off. It stepped in front of Lopéz. One of its appendages twitched before it skewered Lopéz through her shoulder.

“They held our leadership hostage.”

It pushed her to the ground and stepped in front of Drake. Drake looked at Lopéz bleeding out beside him and then back to his captor. An appendage twitched and Drake’s breathing became heavier.

“They are the Irdoni.”

A dart zipped through the air and tagged the insect’s neck.

“They are our allies.”

The light next to the insect became contorted and seemed to bend. The insect’s head jolted to the side as a short blade wreathed in plasma penetrated its thorax. The insect was lifted into the air and contorted light revealed a seven-foot creature not unlike a werewolf. Its weapon resembled a katar, beaming with energy. This Irdoni’s hair was gray and mangy. It had some sort of rifle slung behind its back.

“Do not piss them off. They’re mad enough we almost glassed their home world. So, remember to play nice!”

The Irdoni dropped the insect, shoved Drake to the ground by his head with its free hand and took out the insect holding him. It drew its rifle and tagged a beetle about a hundred yards away. Drake watched the Irdoni’s shape dissipate and get sucked through the air only to reform on top of the beetle, energy beam at the ready.

Drake felt control return and he wasted no time. Drake shuffled over to Lopéz.

“Hey! Are you alright?” Drake was already working on something to stop the bleeding. “Lopéz! Are you okay? Talk to me!” He ripped his shirt into pieces to block blood flow and wrap around her wound. He propped her up and tried to apply pressure to the wound.

A bug flew towards his position. Drake felt his body slow down but he threw himself over Lopéz before he completely froze. Another contorted light jumped from the ground and snatched the bug out of the air. This time a brown Irdoni materialized and coughed out the insect bits. It stepped over Drake and ignored the injured. More and more of the wolf-life creatures appeared throughout the compound and gradually the return of Marine rifle fire sounded in the air. A jeep screamed down the road, three Marines firing at bugs. The jeep slid to a stop next to Drake and Lopéz. Corporal Murphy, with blood on his PT clothes, jumped out of the jeep and ducked next to them. He grabbed Drake’s face with both hands.

“Solis, what happened? What do we got?”

Drake meekly motioned to Lopéz.

“She’s… she’s hurt. She needs help.”

“Okay. Help me get her out of here, alright?”

Drake nodded in response, and they moved Lopéz to the jeep. Two of the Marines hopped out and linked up with other personnel coming out of the buildings. The third Marine, a crippled Cooper, continued to provide cover fire from the passenger seat. Murphy wheeled the jeep around. Drake continued to tend to Lopéz but watched the shrinking humans and Irdoni clear out the swarms of bugs. To the uninitiated, it almost looked like they were working together. Almost.