Pages: << prev 1 next >>

Scorpions on the rise., write some more if you can!

*JD_Basher* Gearjammers Darkwind Guru Renegade Group: Marshals + Storytellers Posts: 2,728 Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Scorpions on the Rise You might like to listen to this song while reading this story! Bad Moon on the Rise.... CCR by J.D. Basher Gregs` well exercised caution and scouting ability served him well. The dust plumes he saw leaving Badlands were members of the Badlands Rudeboys. He needed to get past the last of the Pirates surrounding the Truckstop. Greg stopped on top of a rocky outcrop and watched them through his binoculars as they stitched their way past him, running the `lows` of the dunes looking for any possible vehicular prey. These were `Fast movers` meant to kill. They made it to a large cliff and were stopped side by side, nose to tail. The drivers obviously talking... possibly planning their next travels. The movement in the cliff was what drew Gregs` eye first. He swiveled the binocs on the movement and let out a `HEY!` before he realized the drivers of the Rudeboys could not hear him. There were 2 caves in the side of the cliffs next to where they stopped. One closer, within 20 meters of the pirate patrol and the other farther, at least 50 meters from them. The near cave literally erupted with `insect` like creatures scrabbling over each other to get out. The two drivers of the Rudeboys didnt even see them until there were at least eight of the six legged monsters on them, each one as long as their Phoenixes. The `insects` Greg saw were scorpions like he saw in the school books, but different. One of them reached into the driver window of the farthest car, with a 1.5 meter claw and pulled the poor driver out. His seat harness held him until his right arm was ripped free of his torso. The screams could be heard from here, where Greg watched. Not the low gutteral moans of a fast death. These were the high pitched, screeching sounds of an agonized, delayed, wrenching of life from the living. The second car moved with a start... and stopped. The driver could be seen hitting the dash as he tried to find the starter button. The seven other unoccupied `scorpions` surrounded the stalled Phoenix. Greg saw the movement before he heard it. Two rooster-tails of dirt sprayed the two `insects` behind the stalled driver. Then the sound of a well tuned V8 motor roaring. The driver turned hard right, directly into and under one of the scorpions. This scorpion sidestepped the Phoenix while raising its tail over its back. Just a sparkle was all Greg could see. Then the sound, `Ponk---------Ponk` The car kept moving away from the six-legged monsters until it got about 15 meters away. ALL of the scorpions had regained composure and aimed their tails at him..Their tail tips opened in wide three way clamps. Greg saw two ground flares where two projectiles hit. One, 1 meter from the car and one directly underneath the bumper. He saw the others etch a dotted line up the trunk, over the roof and off the hood to the ground in front of the car. The car swerved, hit a small dune, and rolled on its top and stopped moving save for its tires. He couldn`t watch any more. The high scream filled his ears until he fired the engine and turned back toward the Badlands Truckstop. Greg looked at the bright blue color of the Aurora. `Good GOD! Where the hell did these monsters come from?!` He thought to himself. `Goodness had nothing to do with it.... HOPEFULLY, God didn`t either!` =========================== continued =========================== Mike Lefave looked sheepishly around the crumpled hulk of his Apache, the Badlands were a BAD place to be on foot. A movement caught his eye and he focused on it. `Sue... Is that you?` ... `Yeah` came her reply grunting softly as she crawled out from the inside of the overturned SUV. Susan Mayer swiped her arm across her eyes to wipe the sweat and grime from her tearing, salt stained, dust covered face. `What the hell happened Mike?` `We got our asses kicked is what happened `Captain Obvious!`... I TOLD you not to slide off the ridge of that dune!` She took two steps toward and pointing at him said, `DON`T go there right now `ya freakin weenie!..... We have more to worry about than who is at fault dammit!` She dropped to her belly trying to work her way back into the overturned Apache. Mike watched her crawl into the wreck then stood up and looked around at the bleak landscape looking for signs of the `Rudeboys` who recently put them in their current situation... Nothing now. He looked at Sues` feet, her boot toes digging into the sand. Toes jiggled left...... then right...... then turned toes up.... `HEY!...gim..my feet a pull... lets get outta here.` He grabbed her legs above the ankle and slowly pulled Sue out of the wreck. She was dragging two sub-machineguns and one rifle with a `musette` bag of ammo for the handguns over her head as her dusty smiling face emerged from the upside-down back window of the wrecked Apache. `Bingo` She puffed, waving her hand in front of her face. Susan Mayer slung the rifle on her shoulder while handing an SMG and the ammo bag to Mike Lefave, she slung the remaining SMG upsidedown under her left arm. `Lemme get an SMG and rifle reload mike... You hang on to the rest.` `Wait a minute! Why do you get the rifle?!?!` He complained. Sue walked back to the overturned Apache and put a large rock on the main chassis rail and backed off 30 feet. `OK Mike, lets see you take that rock off the car!` Sue chided tossing the rifle to Mike. He shouldered the weapon and breathed. `Exhale-hold-fire`. The bullet hit half a meter right and high passing through the destroyed rear tire of the Apache and whistled off into the distance. `Fine` Mike said handing the rifle back to Sue, his head hanging. `Hey!! No big deal Mike, you got a nice bullet sprayer there, you`ll be fine with that SMG.` `Lets get moving` she said slapping him on the shoulder. The sky was a ruddy red as the sun set. `I saw some cliffs about 5 klicks from here, looked like there were some caves too. We better head there and hunker down till morning, we can get there by nightfall.` Mike said nothing as they both re-arranged their gear for a long walk. The cliffs dominated the horizon as their boots slipped and sunk into the endless sand dunes they crossed getting here. Mike huffed, `can we .... stop.... forabit?!` They stopped on top of the dune and turned to face the cliffs. No more than 1 klick distance, but they looked SO far away! The sun had set an hour ago but it was already pitch dark out here in no-mans land. The cooling breeze in their faces was coming from the cliffside area ahead. The lowering temperature was rejuvenating but.... There was something in the air. Sue settled on one knee next to Mike. He sat with legs extended leaning back on his arms. `You OK?!` `Yeah` Mike said exhaling the cooler breeze. `Good` Sue replied, `We only have a 30 minute walk to the cliffs, we can wait another 15 here then get over there, right?` Mike sat up and began searching his rucksack. `You bet, Sue` Mike said as he breathed heavily sucking on his canteen. Sue put her hand on his, holding the upturned container and lowered it. `Go easy on the water... too much will slow you down` She gazed at the cliffs, the image shifted back and forth in the heat emanating from the dunes. The terrain changed as they approached the cliffs. Endless dunes gave way to Rocky, hard-pan soil. Broiled by the sun and baked hard. `Look` Sue said as she pointed to the face of the cliff. `There, under that overhanging bush, that cave`s got good cover` Mike was leaning over with his hands on his knees huffing for breath as she moved to the cave warily readying the SMG in her hands. Mike unconsciously held his breath as Sue stuck the muzzle of her SMG through the hanging vegetation in front of the cave. She deftly swept the dry, hanging vines and leaves to one side and stepped from his view. He remembered to breathe when he turned his head to look along the cliffside. The sound was a bit closer when he heard it next... a sound like fingernails clicking on eachother.... No sound now..... Just the cooling breeze following the cliffside. He moved to the opening of the cave and whispered, `Sue....` No answer. He moved to the edge of the cave opening and leaned in to whisper.... `Sue... Are you ..` An arm appeared from the veil of vegetation and grabbed the straps of Mikes backpack and pulled him into the cave behind the leafy cover. A hand cupped his mouth as he was about to go into a tirade. `SHUT-up`... `Don`t say a word` Sue said as she pulled Mike deeper into the cave pointing with her free hand at the entrance. That peculiar `nail-clicking` sound became louder..... Sue loosened her grip on Mike when he started breathing slower... `Watch out there` she whispered in his ear. `Stop moving and watch......` Sue released her hand from Mikes mouth, he inhaled slowly looking where her hand pointed. That insidious `clicking` sound was louder than ever making Mike unconsiously move backward away from the sound. He backed up into Sue stepping on her toe. She gripped his shoulder and whispered.... `Easy Mike......` They sat and listened until the leafy vines covering their hide-away moved. They both shuffled back into the cave as the leaves rustled. Only 3 meters from the cave entrance they found the wall. This was as far as they could go and they were making themselves as small as possible in the cramped space. Mike unslung his SMG as he squatted on his heels. `What the hell is that` he asked outloud to himself. Sue patted him on the shoulder and said, `Keep your finger OFF the trigger `Rambo`, we might get out of this one.` Sue slowly pulled her SMG in front of her and moved to the cave entrance. No vine movement now. Mike`s hand was `glued` to her backpack gripping the `hold-down` straps..... Where she went he followed. The `clicking` sound was still radiating from everywhere but not so intense as it was. Sue knelt down next to the vegetation covering their hideout and set the SMG on her knee. She turned to Mike and gave him the `one-finger-over-mouth` `Shhhhhh` then reached out with one hand and moved the vines apart to get a better look. Hard packed soil and sand dunes greeted her gaze from their cave. `Nothing out there now` she whispered. The `clicking` sound went faint in the darkness. Sue stood up and turned to go to the back of the cave and tripped over Mike. She fell hard. `DAMMIT mike!` she hissed, trying to catch her breath. That was IT!.......She had had enough of his wimpy attitude! She kneeled next to Mike and grabbed him by the front of his coat and pointed her finger in his face still trying to keep her voice down. `LOOK, `Weenie-boy` I`m not getting killed trying to teach you to survive in the wilderness.......GOT IT?` A hard poke in his chest emphasized her point. Mike winced when her finger hit him and he raised his hands in a mock surrender `Got it---- You bet, Sue!` `This isn`t a GAME my friend!... We could DIE out here!` she hissed, looking him in the eye. Sue looked back at the veil of leaves covering the cave entrance. `We have about 6 hours till daylight.....` she said softening her voice, `Curl up and have a snooze till then!` He did. Knowing Sue was there helped him get the best sleep he had ever remembered. Mikes dreams got the better of him.......... The sand was too close to his mouth..... His arms swiped the sand away in wide arcs from his buried torso. `No` he gargled... The sand flowed over his arms and filled his nostrils, opening his mouth for breath, sand filled his throat.........and then....... He was looking at Sue`s face, not knowing where he was, gasping for breath. `Easy... Take it easy, Mike... I`m here...` Sue whispered. She kneeled next to him cradling his head and tried to hold his arms as still as possible. His eyes focused on Sue... `That was a dream.....right?` He asked..... She giggled.... `The lights are burning bright...` she softly slapped his cheek...... `Is anybody HOME?` Mike grabbed her hand and took a deep breath..... `Yeah Sue..... Thanks` he said, pushing her away and rolling to a kneeling position in the tight confines of the small cave..... `I`m ok now ...` He said, looking around. He could see the small `crevice` they were holed up in, a thin veil of vines between them and whatever made those sounds last night.. He felt uneasy.... He slept fitfully while remembering the sand. The Finale Beyond the vegetation Mike could see the shimmering black carapace of a giant scorpion. It had just come over the ridge and was looking directly at them with, what he thought to be, a thousand black little soul-less eyes. Mike tapped Sue`s arm and pointed, breathless, not believing what he was seeing. Sue followed his gaze and every muscle in her body stiffened. Sue pulled him deeper into the cave. the chittering clatter followed. They stopped only when it became absolutely pitch black and they could only feel the walls, the dampness...the hard shell of that which was about to devour them. Mike let loose a blast from his machine gun, lighting up the cave in a strobe of cartoon images. Bang, bang, bang, BOOM! The scorpion was right there, right next to them, and thousands of gleeming eyes were just behind. The horde of massive insects were only steps away...they both fired a dozen times, their shells bouncing across the cave and ricocheting away...needles from flared tails with anxious quills sought their blood, Sue gave a yelp and clawed at her leg. ...Then it was silent. She blinked several times, but Sue couldn`t erase the after-image she was sure she`d seen. This cave was a garage... That scorpion with a thousand eyes, that was a Sunrise...wasn`t it? There was a mad clattering and scraping and the real horde was approaching...she climbed into the car and tried the key...hoping that poor inept Mike was right behind her...the car was warm and welcoming...she was being pulled into its sweet embrace... `You leave Sue alone!` She heard from the back seat. `Silly boy, yelling at their new car,` She thought. She wondered if it would fit in the garage back home?... Would they need a car seat for their kids? Suddenly she had a moment of clarity.. she was in love... and possibly being eaten alive from the feet up. `Oh my...` she said. Sue could feel the cold, alien claw around her neck, pushing her down. She reached out, her breath came in gasps. `Mike` was her last word as she passed out. Mike couldn`t open fire the way he wanted to with his SMG, he might hit Sue. Mike was certain, however, that he`d seen a well preserved car hidden in this cave just behind them, so he scrambled back, further...sickened by the crunching and moaning sounds he heard. The familiar form of a Sunrise was under his fingers then...and with a practiced ease he loosed the bonnet and connected the terminals...to be sure. Someone had tucked this bird away for another day. There was a spark...my God... It still had juice... He pushed the cables in place. Without a thought he jumped through the driver`s window behind the wheel...and...searching for the spot... `YES!`...the keys were actually in the ignition. The car roared to life, the V8 quickly warmed up and slowed to a smooth idle. The scorpion hovering over Sue stopped for a few seconds, raised its body high over her stretching, then dropped and continued gnawing on her leg. Mike threw it into gear with one hand as he flicked the toggle for the headlights with the other. The lights enveloped a horror of gore. There were chunks of giant Scorpion everywhere, entrails coating the floor and oozing off of the walls with sick plops as they hit the ground. The shadows of frightened bugs running away slithered down the walls and away from the light. The windshield clattered as oozing darts bounced across it from the one remaining bug. It stood up again when the lights came on, staring indignantly into the headlights, Its tail standing straight up high. 3 wide `clamps` flared open from the tip with new darts dripping with venom pushing out of it`s tail into the light. It`s many eyes reflecting the headlights, it leaned back down and the bloody mandibles continued chewing on Sue`s left thigh... The bug twitched as Mike gave the Sunrise a jump on the throttle. Mike gave the V8 another punch and the car growled as it lurched forward while he held the brakes. The scorpion quickly switched its hold on Sue, moving her body like a rag doll with the two forward legs till it could get hold of her shoulder with its` mouth. It sat there holding her till Mike screamed in anger. The bug backed up taking Sue with it, It`s tail `blinked` with a bright `light`. The V8 roared as the last dart the scorpion fired penetrated the windscreen only halfway. It was directly in front of Mikes vision. If the armored `clearshield` had not been there it would have hit him. Venom dripped on the dash as he punched the throttle hard enough to leave a dent in the floorboards. Mike drove after the scorpion, it`s pointed, crab-like legs cutting flakes of stone off of the rock of the cave as it backed up holding Sues shoulder in it`s mandibles. Her body bounced off the floor and sides of the cave as it retreated in the advancing headlights. The creature ran backwards almost faster than he could drive forward in the confined space, dragging her flailing body after it, too hungry to let go. Mike leaned into the horn, startling the beast at last so that it gave up dragging Sue away. It spun around, chittering, clicking and moved away from Sue, seeking it`s own escape. It had had enough of these Bi-ped Meatsacks, it was running away. The H.U.D. `beeped` and locked on the moving target. Mike focused on the target reticle and pressed the drivers` wheel gun trigger and twin MMG`s erupted fire from the grille of the Sunrise. The staccato sound of the guns reverbrated in the closed space of the cave. The strobe light effect showed individual bullets impacting and passing through the scorpion`s carapace from back to front, dropping it dead where it stood. He pulled alongside Sue`s still form and opened the driver door. The backpack she wore made it easier to pull her 90 pound weight over his lap and into the empty seat to his right. `I got you Sue`, she moaned in reply. Her left leg was gone just above the knee and dripping blood... `DAMN` Mike said aloud..... he closed the door and stomped on the throttle. `DAMN!` `I may suck with a rifle, hon, but I`m one hell of driver.` Mike plowed through their ranks, their hard shells breaking windows and denting armor. Ponk...Ponk..... `Overhead shots` he thought. Ponk.....CRASH...... Driver window gone. `WOW` ......STING! When he finally stopped to look at his gas gauge, Mike realized it was time to turn home. He left behind him only a pool of scorpion blood and pulverized chitin exo-skeleton. ========================== When the Badlands scouts finally found Mike, days later, he was sitting in the car holding his beloved. He was strangely silent. Sue was dead in his arms and both of their voices would stay silent forever, She, given to the silence of the dust from whence she came. Mikes silence, from monsters he could only scribble on rough paper. The scribbles looked like spiders. Most of Mikes time was spent hiding, but when he did come out from the alleys of Somerset he would run from imagined creatures as he foraged for food to bring back to his hole behind Dexter`s. When he died they found he had dug a hole under the building and had fashioned himself a cave. He had drawn pictures of giant scorpions chasing a Sunrise on every surface. The only recognizable words in the artwork was this, `The razors took my beloved by the head. Now I`m silent, and she is dead.` That particular setup used on Mike`s Sunrise has, since then, been known as the Scorpion, and those hard-shelled projectile-firing poisonous beasts of the desert are forever known from the poem as `Razors`. =================== Excerpt from the Evan Library: Razor: Reports on this elusive creature are patchy at best. Mainly because anyone encountering it does not survive, or any survivor suffers from a type of walking coma. Survivors are found to have been penetrated by some kind of dart resembling a Flechette. With intensive care and copious amounts of drugs, survivors seem to be curable, although loss of speech seems to be a permanent condition. Drawings made by semi-conscious survivors indicate this denizen of the badlands to be extremely large, resembling huge scorpions. ......................... vet marshal wv cont Posted Jun 4, 2011, 5:24 am Last edited Jun 4, 2011, 5:53 am by *JD_Basher*

*Bastille* Raging Scavengers Darkwind Guru Evan Reds Faction Group: Marshals + Contributors Posts: 7,513 Joined: Mar 31, 2009 One of, if not the, best story Ive ever read here. Really paints a picture. Even better when Im forced to read it aloud at gun point ......................... marshal vet wv pvp4 zom cont pvp32,12,1 Posted Jun 4, 2011, 5:34 am

*JD_Basher* Gearjammers Darkwind Guru Renegade Group: Marshals + Storytellers Posts: 2,728 Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Consider my Smith and Wesson pointing at you....... Write some good reading!..... Make my Day! ......................... vet marshal wv cont Posted Jun 4, 2011, 5:41 am

*Bastille* Raging Scavengers Darkwind Guru Evan Reds Faction Group: Marshals + Contributors Posts: 7,513 Joined: Mar 31, 2009 If only. Ive tried a few times, but Im never happy with them. I mean, how am I meant to compete with this ......................... marshal vet wv pvp4 zom cont pvp32,12,1 Posted Jun 4, 2011, 6:00 am

Stingray191 Bladerunners Darkwind Guru Deathrace Mafia Faction Group: Members Posts: 678 Joined: Dec 9, 2008 Great Story. Hope the scorps are not real! ......................... vet wv elmsautumn e2g ww Posted Jun 4, 2011, 6:26 am Last edited Jun 4, 2011, 6:49 am by Stingray191

Lord Foul .-^-HellRazors-^. Darkwind Guru Mutants Faction Group: Rules Council Posts: 3,543 Joined: Jan 12, 2008 I remember reading each chapter in the gazette a long time ago and making a mental note to go back every 2 weeks to read the latest chapter. One of the best short stories I've ever read. ......................... vet race1 deathrce1 wv zom circuit1 pvp1 northernsummer community circuit3 paintball55,206,126 Posted Jun 4, 2011, 8:02 am

*JD_Basher* Gearjammers Darkwind Guru Renegade Group: Marshals + Storytellers Posts: 2,728 Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Stingray191 said: Great Story. Hope the scorps are not real! They are real..... They DO kill gangers and they are just as big as the car you are in..... Good luck when you encounter them. ......................... vet marshal wv cont Posted Jun 6, 2011, 7:45 am

*JD_Basher* Gearjammers Darkwind Guru Renegade Group: Marshals + Storytellers Posts: 2,728 Joined: Feb 11, 2007 Thank you LF, stingray and Bastielle .. Your opinions of my writing means a lot to me. Thank you very much! ......................... vet marshal wv cont Posted Jun 6, 2011, 8:46 am

*Bastille* Raging Scavengers Darkwind Guru Evan Reds Faction Group: Marshals + Contributors Posts: 7,513 Joined: Mar 31, 2009 *JD_Basher* said: Stingray191 said: Great Story. Hope the scorps are not real! They are real..... They DO kill gangers and they are just as big as the car you are in..... Good luck when you encounter them. and they are fast. Real fast ......................... marshal vet wv pvp4 zom cont pvp32,12,1 Posted Jun 6, 2011, 11:05 am

Pages: << prev 1 next >>

Powered by MercuryBoard [v1.1.4]
© 2001-2005 The Mercury Development Team

0.1264 seconds - 19 queries - 0.27 load