Becoming a Monster
Chapter 134: The Beginning of a Desperate Struggle

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: The Beginning of a Desperate Struggle

Outside, the scene was different from the organization the group had when fighting off the zombies. Everything was completely in chaos. The barricade of cars were broken apart, easily shoved away by the newly emerged creatures. The fence designed to keep any incoming zombies from climbing over could no longer be considered an obstacle. Combinations of small and giant insects swarmed the area, their sheer size and strength overwhelming any futile attempt to ward them off.

The insects were a grotesque amalgamation of subterranean critters. The gaping, abyssal holes in the ground was a clear indication of what kind of insects they were facing. Only someone in the field of study of entomology could effectively point out the species of insects they were facing, but to the general public, all of the insects were made up of three distinctive creatures.

The largest of the creatures were made of different versions of beetles, each ranging in different colors and sizes, the largest among them dwarfing the common pickup trucks. Their exoskeletons ranged from iridescent greens to pitch blacks, glistening ominously. Most of the beetles were similar to ground beetles, their mouths were terrifying with many long mandibles ganshing together with a sound akin to grinding bones, promising an excruciating death if caught. Thankfully, these made up the majority of the beetles, while the rest had long threatening pincers powerful enough to rend through metal, as demonstrated when the beetles breached the car barricade.

The second bout of creatures, ones that the students were very familiar with, were ants. Unlike their original counterparts, these ants were almost no different than a well formed army, an unholy legion of disciplined terror. Within the group of ants, three much larger, deadlier versions of themselves acted as generals, an evolved abomination of its kind. These ants were almost the size of a small vehicle while their minions were half their size. But size wasn’t the only difference between them.

The ants were similar to pure monster versions of Arachne, a hideous parody of the human body. The top versions of themselves were humanoid in shape, with nothing else about their features even remotely being human. Their "hands" were made up of only three long fingers, with each finger curving, ending in a daggered point, each tipped with a venomous point that glinted malevolently in the dim light. Their faces maintain all aspects of ants, including their domineering pincers. Although small in size, in between them were jagged bone rending saws leading to their tunnel of flesh peeling teeth.

The last creature amongst the others, and probably the most deadliest because of their unpredictable, writhing movements that made them particularly dangerous, were the centipedes. The smallest of the batch was a little under five feet, while the largest reached a monstrous twenty feet in length. Whilst their size played a huge factor in their menacing appearance and threat level, size was the least threatening part about them. Some of the smaller centipedes actually pose the most danger. The dangerous ones were colored differently than the rest, each bright and vibrant in their multilayered colors. Then there were those whose exoskeleton was even harder than the ants’ resilient armored skin. Their exoskeletons resemble layers of shells stacked upon themselves, interlocking like medieval plate mail. Some armored shells included spikes running along the edges of their "shells", while others created a spine-like existence along the center of their exoskeleton.

With numerous creatures appearing from their burrows, the landscape was a writhing sea of insects.

Their surprise emergence, combined with their evident prowess, ensured the human settlement incurred heavy losses without the chance of retaliation if they were their initial target. It was the mound of corpses that placed them in such a predicament, as well as being their saving grace.

The insects were all attracted to the hill of food, initially ignoring the base as a whole. The brief time this occurred gave Peterson and Raven time to not only realize the threat, but to gain a bigger picture of what they were facing.

Of course, there was slight hope that the insects would go away after fulfilling their goal that brought them here. That hope amplified with each passing minute of the insects only focusing on feeding on the corpses. But, the hop was short-lived.

As Peterson and Raven observed the monstrous horde from their precarious vantage point, the insects’ relentless feeding behavior shifted. The more the insects consumed, the less source of food was available for the ever growing horde. Eventually, the scarcity of food was not able to satiate the remaining half. The insects that were unfulfilled, yet driven by their hunger, soon turned their attention toward the next largest food source.

"Fire, shoot everything that comes near!" Peterson sharply ordered, his tone inspired by both fear and the desire to protect the base he worked so hard to build.

The first barrage of gunfire quickly sounded, plunging into the first wave of encroaching insects. The results of their attack brought about the first layer of helplessness and fear amongst their ranks.

Every ant, including the armored beetles and centipedes, was impervious to their gunfire, Their initial burst of bullets only seemed to cause little more than momentary disruption among them. The smaller versions of the creatures, less armored, were the only ones truly affected. Their numbers thinned slightly while the larger, resilient insects continued in their advance.

Peterson’s expression was grim. Instead of despair, he felt a budding sense of frustration towards the creatures as he saw the impact of their firepower dwindling. He didn’t want to believe that human’s technological weapons couldn’t contend with them.

"Use the grenades!" Peterson shouted, his voice now closer to desperation to make a stand. "Henry, Laura, it’s time to use ’that’."

Henry and Laura, two of his most promising officers, exchanged a quick, determined glance. They hurriedly moved to the rear to retrieve the weapon while the rest of the defenders continued their desperate fight.

Following Peterson’s orders, the defenders began hurling grenades into the advancing horde. Explosions of different magnitudes began to disrupt the monstrous insects’ advances.

The terrain became a bombing orchestra, with grenades exploding in rapid succession, sending shockwaves through the air and fragments of insect exoskeletons flying. The defenders hurled everything they had into the fray, trying to stem the tide of the monstrous horde. If Noah had been interested in human weapons of war, he could have easily acquired a massive arsenal from the shop, supplying everyone tenfold. Firearms and explosives were as cheap as food, and thanks to Raven’s group, they had managed to maintain their ammunition supply.

The bombardment continued, with loud unrecognizable shrieks echoing in the surroundings. The chaos overshadowed a lone grenade that landed in the sea of insects, the pin still firmly in place.

But it was clear that grenades alone wouldn’t be enough. The larger insects, though momentarily stunned or injured, quickly resumed their relentless push forward with in more fervor than before.

Raven no longer accompanied Peterson atop the rooftops, standing behind the walls with her team as she scrutinized the battlefield with a keen eye. With each grenade that exploded, her gaze narrowed even more. Although she provided Peterson with them, she only did so to appease the only faction that supported her in protecting and securing the livelihood of the civilians they sheltered. But she never thought it would come to this, not so soon. She always felt a bad premonition to using anything that would generate too much attraction to the unknown.

She understood the dire necessity of their actions, but the sheer scale of the response was unnerving. She wanted to intercept the creatures, hoping to tilt the scale in their favor, but even she was aware of her foolishness.

Her gaze subconsciously drifted to the side, landing on three inconspicuous creatures at the building’s entrance. The creatures stood vigilant towards the approaching horde, seemingingly with no intention of joining the battle. There were a lot of words she wanted to say, and the blood coming from her closed fist was a clear indication of her emotions. She would rather Noah’s monster take the brunt of the attacks; his monster didn’t have the same value as humans in her opinion. And simultaneously, she knew that the creatures would make more of an impact than all of the recently thrown grenades combined.

Still consumed by her mood, she looked back towards her fellow group, new faces mixed in.

Mark noticed Raven’s glance but ignoring her piercing gaze while giving Jasmine’s hand next to him a hard, supportive squeeze as they all mentally tried to prepare themselves for what was to come.

The group following Mark was small, barely reaching twenty people. The others selfishly declared themselves as non-combatants, delving into the "safety" of the building’s walls. Out of them all, no one truly desired to be there, especially after just their recent escape from death.

There wasn’t any special attachment to the settlement that compelled them to stay, nor any familial bonds urging them to risk their lives. The reality was that if the base fell, the probability of surviving the day would inevitably increase. They were acutely aware of their weakness, and the dangers lurking outside. Their lives now depended on those around them until they achieved strength to protect themselves, even that goal seemed unachievable to some.

Mark felt his entire arm shaking with an eerie intensity. He worriedly glanced over to his sister, whose face was completely ashen and almost lifeless, with only the fear in her eyes providing any semblance of life.

"Jas....don’t worry. As long as I live, you don’t ever have to fear dying," Mark uttered, trying to comfort her. But his heroic words elicited a head shake in return. Jasmine bit her lip in order to contain her tears.

"Then...what if you die...." She whispered to herself, but it was loud enough for Mark and their friends to hear.

Impulsively, Mark wanted to vehemently protest that he would never die. His heart ached at the thought of leaving his sister alone in this nightmarish world. But the reality of their situation weighed heavily on him, and he knew empty promises wouldn’t help.

As he wished that he could say more to bring Jasmine some stability before they faced a fight more daring and life threatening than they ever experienced, a mechanical whir sounded as if roaring to life. The distinct sound of rapid spinning of barrels created a unique hum and metal clinked against metal as the weapon Peterson finally received engaged.