The Swarm - Part One
They come at night...
"Keep it steady girl. Just need to connect the new battery and we’re off" I try and reassure her but it’s a waste of time. Too many times before she’s seen what happens when someone is caught by the swarm.
Our car had given up about a mile away. I knew when we found another its battery would be flat so I removed the one from ours as it was still strong and carted it along the road until we finally came across this van. This wasted time has brought the night down and we both know the swarm won’t be far behind.
"Please hurry up Bill, we need to get back to the kids; they will be worried to death by now." Yeh I believe you girl, only worried about your kids, not worried about us being devoured by the swarm. Oh yes, the children, if it wasn’t for her kids we wouldn’t be out here searching for food, the little bleeders just can’t stop eating. Its times like this I wish I was still by myself, I wish that when I saw Debbie and her four eating machines walking past my home I hadn’t offered them shelter.
"That’s it done, get in the van Debbie and let’s get out of here." I take a deep breath before I turn the ignition key, the engine turns over several times before it coughs and splutters into life.
Crap! Just when I thought we were sorted I hear them coming, that damn clicking sound fills the air even above the thumps of the cold engine.
I remember when I first heard that noise, back when we had television. They poured out of the ground all over the world, billions and billions of these beetle like insects with an appetite for meat. No one knew where they came from, captured specimens were shown to the watching nations. Jet black, the size of an egg and with rows of razor sharp teeth. At first they attacked in vast numbers and fed on all types of animals, cows, sheep, even cats and dogs which led man to try and destroy them before they ate all our food and friends. The problem was the swarm fought back. No matter how many we killed more and more rose up and attacked. Whole platoons of soldiers armed with flame throwers were devoured as the swarm burst through the ground beneath them as they marched. Once the so called mighty armies were defeated they came to the towns. Now all that’s left of my town are us, only kept safe at night because we stay in my old workplace, the bank, with its vault as our bedroom.
"Hold tight Debbie!" I shove the van into gear and slam my foot down on the accelerator. The clicking surrounds us, so loud it’s almost deafening but the next thing we hear is crunching as we drive over them as they carpet the whole road.
Debbie keeps looking out the windows, looking and seeing that they are thinning out. "Come on Bill" she pleads "get me back home."
"Don’t worry doll, aint planning on doing anything else."
We spin onto the High Street and speed towards the bank. Debbie screams at the sight before us, the whole bank building is covered in a black mass, a squirming and evil mass of the insects.
"Oh god Bill. The kids won’t be in the vault, they won’t be safe. You have to help me get them out." She grabs my arm and looks at me with tear filled eyes.
I look at the swarm covered building and then at the open road in front of me. Why the hell did I get involved, sod it, I am now so I haven’t got a choice.
The vans wheels spin in a cloud of smoke as I once more slam down on the accelerator and fire towards the bank.
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