The Uninvited Guest
"Shall we begin?"
The voice, muffled behind a gas mask, rolled out flat and dull. Either they hadn't quite heard it, or something else was off—Sara and James both tilted their heads in confusion.
"Shall we begin!"
That finally got them nodding. What they would do today, tomorrow, and every day after was secure the safe zone. First order of business: clear the corpses from this central hub, where so many corridors met, one body at a time.
Curtis stood on the platform behind the barricade, and Sara stayed with them for cover. Hyunwoo and James would heave the bodies toward the spider territory.
"Hooook!"
The creatures preferred fresh prey. But when corpses were all there was, they ate corpses. Fresh targets would push them back with gunfire while tossing "feed" into their zone—and the spiders would take it. Something like symbiosis, if you wanted to call it that.
"One, two, three!"
They flung the first body toward the passage the spiders had come from.
"…"
Sara flashed an OK with her fingers and stepped back. He grabbed the next corpse. A wet slap, and blood welled from the shattered head.
"Sssssss."
Sure enough—whether it was the smell of blood or the vibration of the falling body—spiders began skittering along the ceiling and walls out of the dark. They probed the corpse with their legs for a moment, then tried to come over the line.
— Thunk.
"Sss, ss…!"
The pump racked; a spent shell clinked to the floor. One spider's head blew apart, and the rest immediately recoiled in agitation.
"Get back, you sons of bitches."
Raw feeling rode the voice through the gas mask. Another shot, and the one hanging from the ceiling dropped. A steel slug punched through its belly and sprayed green blood everywhere.
"Sss, ssssss…"
"Don't overdo it. We need them to still take the bodies."
"I know that much."
Sara sucked air hard through the filter and kept her aim steady. Another heap of corpses went flying; the spiders edged back a few more steps—then
— Tock-tock. Tock-tock.
Legs that had only been nudging the bodies suddenly snagged cloth and flesh and started hauling them away.
Good.
"Keep covering us, Curtis!"
He waved; Curtis raised a hand in answer, glancing back now and then. They had thrown maybe ten bodies when—
"Uh—uhh. They're pulling back?"
Fresh corpses got no attention at all; the spiders simply withdrew. Judged it was enough, maybe.
"They'll come back to the pile when they get hungry. The bigger the swarm, the less food goes around."
"What?"
"I said they'll come looking later!"
Five more bodies later, something wrong caught his ear.
— Tak, tak, tak, tak…
He held his breath; the footsteps sharpened. He set the corpse down.
"Why the sudden—"
"Dad. Right-hand corridor."
Sara eased away from the spider den and swung her muzzle toward the hall. James took the rifle from Curtis and stepped out in front of her at once.
"You take this!"
And Sara's pistol. Hyunwoo gripped it two-handed, muzzle forward, stock locked tight against his chest. Nobody knew what was about to come out.
"Help—help me! Is anybody there?!"
"Ready."
Buttstocks settled into the father and daughter's shoulders as if they belonged there. Covering the rear corridor and the corpse-choked spider entrance, Hyunwoo extended his arms and aimed as well.
"Help me!!!"
What stumbled out of the dark hallway was a filthy, ragged man—and behind him—
"God Almighty, what the hell is that?!"
"Land Bat! Shoot!"
No eyes, but ears pricked sharp as a wolf's. The stubby mouth now split its jaw wide, and what should have been wings had become great scythe-like claws on arms. The thing was bigger than a man.
— Bang. Rat-tat-tat.
Special rounds made for spiders split its head in half. Its bloated chest turned to shredded meat under rifle fire and it toppled face-first. Thank God their long-range kit was solid. If the ammo had run dry…
Just picturing it made his skin crawl.
"That's no bat. That's a monster."
"Bats used to be a little cuter, didn't they?"
"Stay sharp. These things travel in packs."
The man who had been running lay curled on the floor. Slashes and cuts stood out all over him.
"We need to drag that guy out of the corridor first. Recheck the surroundings."
"Curtis!"
Curtis finally came down from the barricade and began sweeping each hallway, weapon ready.
"Father—spider corridor. Sara—rear. Hyunwoo, stick with me."
Under the crisp command of a retired soldier, they took positions.
"Do Land Bats make noise?"
"When they signal the pack they scrape their throats. Clear enough to—"
"Krrrrreeek."
"…Just like that."
The man on the floor ducked lower and started shaking harder.
"Looks like we need to pull him out of there. If we wait, he dies before we even try."
Hyunwoo shook his head at James.
"We can't go to him. That might be exactly what they want."
"Want?"
"You've heard bats map caves with ultrasound, right? They 'see' structure with sound, not eyes."
"…So."
"Same thing. These barely have eyes—and they don't need them."
That was why narrow, lightless bunkers were terrifying. And why grenades got used the second you found any. Watch a man-sized bat butcher a corpse and tear meat with its teeth and the fear came natural.
"Plus we don't even know who that guy on the floor is."
"He was running from a mon—"
"I'm the last one who should talk after joining thanks to Curtis, but if he gets his head together and comes toward us asking for help, he's worth saving. In a bait situation like this, though…"
The second they stepped into that corridor, the things would charge. Face covered by those scythes, they would close the distance—then either smash skull and scythe together with AP rounds, or wreck the reverse-jointed legs first and finish the head.
But—
"Krrreek."
"Krik, kreek, krrrrreeek."
"Kak, kyaak, kyaak."
They were already working out a plan of their own. At least one would loop through another corridor. Numbers had to come down first. These things were smart enough to run when the odds turned.
"All right. Here's how we do it. Curtis and Sara cover me."
"I'll watch the corridor?"
"Yes. Worst case, AP can smash the scythes clean through. Pistol or rifle, wreck the legs. Once they drop the scythes from their faces to crawl, take the heads."
"…Why are there so many things 5.56 just bounces off of?"
Sad truth of the rifle. Perfect all-rounder against people, close to mid-range—but against these abominations it barely left a mark most of the time.
"Fine. Sara, Father—forward. I'll take rear."
"I'll pretend to go pull him out."
"Pretend?"
"Get any closer and the ones jumping from the left alley kill me. Even if I drop that one, two or more come out of the corridor ahead."
"…"
"I'll try to draw him toward us. Anything pops out—just open up."
"Got it."
"Yes."
One deep breath and he started forward—then a gloved hand clamped hard around his arm. Sara.
"Hey. Be careful."
"Obviously."
He tore the gas mask off. The thick stink of blood hit his nose, faintly nauseating. Everything had to be finished before more time slipped away. Including those oversized bat bastards.
More work. God damn it.
"You there!"
"…"
"Hey!"
"Y-yes!"
He shone the light. Black hair, blue eyes. Were black hair and blue eyes this common? Usually it was blond and blue. Not like they were Zeroth Reich people.
"Can you make it over here?"
"N-no, I can't. I can't move. If I move they'll kill me."
"If you don't move, they'll drag you off right there and kill you anyway."
Full panic. Naturally. The only way to make someone move in that state was a bigger threat.
"You're bait for those Land Bats right now. Bait to pull us in. Wounded kin to lure us out."
"Th-then save me."
"If you don't come to us, the second we step in they swarm. Then we die."
He glanced at Sara and Curtis. Both ready to fire at a heartbeat's notice.
"Safest choice for us right now is turn you into a corpse."
"…What?"
"Satisfy them with one piece of meat. Make the situation bad enough they abandon the hunt."
But he didn't want to kill the man if he could help it. More people meant more hands for work, more materials you could gather at once. They were already short-handed thanks to one person with a busted leg and one elderly whose breathing was bad. That "bait" over there could become labor.
"Th-then—"
"If you want to live, crawl toward us. Slowly. Stand up and you eat a bullet or they carve you open first."
"…Will you save me?"
"As long as it doesn't put my people at risk, I'll do everything I can to get you out. That much I can promise."
Curtis raised an eyebrow a fraction. A quiet snort of a laugh.
"Stay put and I'll make it easy for you before they eat you alive. Move, and I'll try my best. Your call."
The man hung his head a moment, muttered something too soft to catch, then nodded.
"I'm coming now. Don't… shoot."
Inch by inch. Blood-soaked arms and legs dragged him forward.
And of course—
"Kiiiiieeeek!!!"
One came straight on, face shielded by the great scythes, charging hard. James's rifle cracked from behind.
"Open fire!"
Curtis's command and Sara's shotgun roared together.
— Crack. Wham.
The AP slug shattered the bone scythe and powdered the face behind it. The next one leapt with its chest wide open—and a massive hole opened in that chest instead.
"Kieeek, kreek, kii—"
Tight three- and four-round bursts punched through flesh from the rear in a steady rhythm. Curtis finished reloading the double-barrel and slapped Sara's back; she spun at once to support James's corridor.
"What are you waiting for?! I've got eyes on. Drag that pale bastard out now!"
Alternating glances between the man who had crawled all the way to the corridor mouth and the hallway itself, Hyunwoo seized the man's clothes with one hand and hauled. Pistol still trained forward—
"Son of a—!"
Of course. One that had stayed hidden to the end came charging over its own dead, claws and all.
But—
— Bang, bang, bang bang.
Pistol rounds pulped its knees. Posture collapsed; the thing shrieked in pain. Curtis's shot blew its head a heartbeat later.
"Reloading!"
An empty assault-rifle magazine hit the floor; a fresh one locked home. The bolt slammed forward with a hard metallic clack.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear."
"Move him!"
Under Curtis and Sara's cover, Hyunwoo and James—rifle slung across James's back—hoisted the man between them. His clothes were so shredded it was nearly impossible to tell any affiliation. Most refugee-join events went something like this.
"Let's clean and treat the wounds first."
"Shower room?"
"Shower room."
An unprepared visitor had arrived at the stable community he was building.