Part 2: Chapter 9
~The Conversion Bureau - The Last Human: Part 2: Chapter 9~
~By Maxis122~
How was I feeling? A little scared. Why? To be honest, I’m being judged for the first time in a long time to whether or not I’m worth it. I know that I am, I’ve been through so much that it’s not even funny. And yet I feel so low down all over again. It’s almost like going through officers training from day one. And that was tough. Now I had to fly these men out to some places, work with them and then fly them all back safely. And that’s not even to consider the fact that I am babysitting a german kid for the only person who seems to trust me around here. No pressure.
I read over the plans while I was trying to get to sleep last night. It was a simple coordinated plan which was adequate for a casual US Army unit. These guys knew what to do and how to do it. So I wasn’t going to be the one to judge what they did. Their search squad is only filled with men and women who want to go ahead into the thick of it. And that just happens to be the five man squad.
Clint was the leader of operations, being the highest ranked man in the squad. Then his second in command was Hilary, his right hand man. And with his other hand, he had Raven - the calm and collective sergeant who preferred to take a few steps back before running in. Then there was Benedict, the corpsman. And finally there was Xavier, their average shooter with a gun. Together they seemed small, but if they had made it this far like this, then they should be more than alright.
I was allowed to have my M4 rifle back with some more ammunition than before. But they advised me to pack light for these ventures, because we would always be back before dark. That is, as long as we didn’t get ourselves screwed over. Apart from my main weapon, a M9 pistol was also given to me as well. They thought that it was a little odd for me to be carrying a bow in the modern age. And to be honest I didn’t think that I should bring it along. Instead I left it behind in the armory. On top of the weapons I was given a small packet lunch, a flashlight and some flares. And that was it.
Guns, lights, food and flares. Everything you would apparently need for one of these ventures out into the world that they came to know as hell. I was then stripped of my coat and administered a combat vest with kevlar. Although I wasn’t going to be shot at they suggested that it might be useful it something tries to bite at you. Last but not least they offered me a helmet. Again, it was just for safety. As I put it on I saw that I and Xavier were the only ones wearing helmets. The rest of them just had earpieces instead. Now this was cruel.
With us all geared up and briefed for the mission, along with Alex, who was only given the body armour and the helmet, welcome to the club Alex. We made our way to the helicopter. Hopefully we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting it off the ground, but from the looks of things we shouldn’t have a problem. Things like that were going on in my head as we approached the helicopter that had been pulled out of the hanger bay. It almost felt like I was one of them for a moment, but instead the reality was that they treated me somewhat of an outcast. Coming into their group with a single desirable skill. Now we were a group of seven making our way to the helicopter.
When we got there I opened the side door and climbed into the helicopter. Upon sitting in the pilots seat I felt right at home. Alex then got into the other side and picked up the map that he had left behind on his seat. I then listened as the other members got into the back of the helicopter and strapped themselves in.
“Lets get this show on the road then!” Clint shouted to me, knocking on the side of the helicopter. He then pulled his side door closed and whoever was on the other side did the same.
“Lets hope this all works” I mumbled as I began to start the startup procedure. After checking all the diels and pressing whatever button needed pressing, I turned the engine on. In seconds the engine began to hum away, until it took into full power. The blade above turned at lightning speed and only got faster as the engine roared away. I then increased the power until the feet came off the ground. We were airborne.
The ground was now getting further away as the helicopter accended and climbed in height. I then slowly moved the control stick forwards and the helicopter tilted forwards, and began to move. Soon, we were gaining speed and leaving the base behind. I was free of the ground now and the sky was my playground. Although I had to keep the taps on what I did, for I was under moderation.
“Comms check” Sounded the voice of Clint through my helmet. I was confused as to how I could hear Clint over all of the noise from the chopper, and then I realised that the helmet I was wearing was a little more high tech than I first imagined.
“Hearing you loud and clear” I replied.
“Might want to turn me down then” He chuckled in reply.
“No no, it’s quite alright” I said back, grinning a little. The rest of the squad then turned their communication devices on, saying a ‘check’ to let everyone else know that they were in. I then referred to Alex, who had already been tracking our position from when we took off. It didn’t seem to be long until we got to the landing zone, so I gave them a five minutes heads up. Clint then began to lay down the ground rules, mainly for me.
“It’s simple, we get the supplies and get them to the chopper. Once you’ve done that, we’ll move along to the military base, same again, and then home. You all know the rules of engagement: Only shoot if its your last resort. Try and keep it quiet so we don’t have to get into a firefight” He explained.
“What do I do?” Alex asked, looking over to me.
“You’re going to have to stay with the chopper, and keep a look out for us” Clint said, getting the expected sigh of annoyance.
“Hey man, keeping a lookout is very important” Raven said in an acknowledging tone, “I’ve done it a fair few times, and it can mean all the difference in a sticky situation. Trust me.”
“I guess so” Alex sighed, looking back to his map. I then began to get sight of the parking lot above a shopping complex ahead, so I lowed the engine power and began to descend.
“Almost there now, ETA: thirty seconds” I announced as the helicopter began to descend towards the parking lot. Luckily there was plenty of space to land, so I found it easy to bring it down without having to aim to much. Suddenly the helicopter landed on the ground with a slight thud. Looked like my helicopter piloting skills were getting a little rough.
“Smooth, real smooth” Clint sighed as he then opened the side door and jumped out of the helicopter. As the team began to dismount I began to shut down the engine, causing the rotor blades to swing slower and slower. I then opened the pilots door and hopped out with my rifle in hand. I then turned around and looked at Alex, who was looking a little awkward sitting there.
“Don’t worry, we shouldn’t be too long” I began, looking around the area that we landed. “Hopefully” I added as I then nodded to him and closed the pilot door. I then turned to see that the entire team had now dismounted from the helicopter and were getting ready to move out. I then walked to stand next to Clint, who was currently referring to a smaller version of the map from yesterday.
“You ready to move out?” He asked as he continued to study the map.
“Ready when you are” I replied, looking around to the rest of the team who had now prepped their weapons and had their bags ready to carry the supplies.
“Alright Squad, move out” Clint called out as he stuffed the map into one of his pockets and then began to jog towards where the shopping centre was. Everyone else followed behind him, occasionally slowing down a little and scanning around the area every now and again - just to check that everything was safe. I decided that I should do that too, just in case there was something here. Like there was at that factory.
In a minute we came to a door that seemed to be the way to the stairs. Clint tried to open it by hand, but it was locked. Fortunately these guys didn’t give up easily, so Clint proceeded to kicking the door. And when that didn’t work, Xavier stood in with a mini shotgun and shot off the lock. After saying a quick ‘thanks’, Clint then shoulder barged the door and rushed inside.
From the moment we entered it was pitch black, so the team quickly switched on their flashlights so that they could see where they were going. I too turned on the flashlight on the end of my rifle so that I could see where I was going. There was about a two floors of stairs to go down until we came to the shopping centre itself. There were plenty of shops everywhere - but more precisely I think we were looking for special supplies. Medical supplies.
I wasn’t sure what Romanian pharmacies were called, so we had to just rely on global symbolism when we were looking around. There was a large variety of shops, but soon we found one that just about fit the bill. With a big plus sign, and inside it looked like there were different medical things. The squad then gathered around it, looking inside to see if it was actually what we were looking for.
“This should be it” Clint said as he referred to another map with some writing on it. After nodding to himself to confirm it, he then took a few steps back and pulled up his rifle. The others too stood back at seeing this and allowed Clint to have some space. Clint then fired five rounds into the glass and then used the butt of his rifle to smash the glass down. But to our misfortune, something inside the shop suddenly sounded.
“Shit” Hillary muttered under his breath as the siren sounded. Echoing around the entire shopping centre.
“Raven, Hillery and Xavier - stay out here and watch for nightcrawlers or whatever else we may have attracted. Benedict and Max - follow me” Clint shouted as he then dashed inside and began frantically searching the store.
I decided that I should sort out whatever was making the sound. So I then quickly looked around the room, using my ears to locate the bugger that was shouting. Then, I saw the device that was on the ceiling. Without a second to lose, I aimed my rifle at it and shot a single bullet - causing the unit to burst open - throwing its electrical contents all over the floor. And then there was silence.
“Nice work, now help us collect this stuff” Clint said as he threw the bags on the floor and began collecting supplies; throwing them inside the bags. I then began looking for whatever might be considered useful and started to throw it in the bags. Unluckily for everyone, all the words were written in romanian - so we had no idea what we were throwing inside the bags. As for Benedict, he could only guess what they were from sight.
“Max, get over here and help me open this!” Benedict called as he walked over to a door that seemed to open up to the harder medical supplies. I followed him and observed that this door was yet again another locked door. So far as we knew, we hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. But if we were to shoot this lock open, we could cause that attention to come over to us. I then noticed that Benedict had gotten out a crowbar - which would probably help.
He then stuffed it inside the between the door and the frame and began to work at it. I then began to pull on the door, trying to pull it out. After a few short seconds the wood that was once holding the lock in place was gone and the door flew open. Benedict then made his way inside and started to look around at the harder supplies, seeing if there was anything of actual use. I then returned to grabbing any of the other stuff that looked important. God this felt weird, taking all of this stuff from a shop. But it wasn’t exactly wrong since no one lived here anymore.
Benedict then returned from that room with some supplies in his bag and we all nodded to each other. It was time to get out of here. We then began to walk out of the shop, seeing that everyone was still scanning their sectors, seeing if there was anything waiting to jump out and kill them.
“We’re done here, it’s time to move” Clint announced as he walked past the group and began to retrace the path that they had just taken to get there. The group moved quickly through the empty centre. And now, because of the new found fear, I began to notice everything.
The paper on the floor, flying about in the quiet draft. Ascending, rolling and then falling back down. Again and again it would do this until it hit something. Then it would need to find a way to get around the obstacle, so it could continue it’s journey. It does this, until it gets trapped in some corner or box.
The lights flicker every now and again as short amounts of power flow through the system, and then instantly get sucked up. The old capacitors finally discharge their energy for one last time. Broken wires spit out hot flickers of static electricity; which bounce off the floor and shatter their light on the dark surfaces.
Water pipes have been broken, casing new streams to be created. Small amounts of aquatic life have now taken back the land, living in these buildings that used to be the centre of modern life. This water then works its way off the floor and falls down to the ground below. Creating a small pond at the bottom, filled with green vegetation.
The more I look, the more green I see. Tree’s from the outside have started to grow inside the buildings. Branches have now become strong enough to push the glass out of the windows and send it plummeting to the ground. Vines cover the walls and floors, dominating everything that used to be human. Now everything was being taken back. Slowly, but in time it would be all her’s again.
Something then caught my ear. A sound that echoed across the entire centre, and bounced back into the team. They all suddenly came to a stop and frantically looked around. The sound happened again, and then another similar sound happened. It sounded like some kind of insect communicating. But then it turned into something quite different, a more voice like sound. Something was behind us. Something was where we just were. More voices sounded from behind, echoing around. And then another sound came, some sort of buzzing sound. But it didn’t stop there, that buzzing sound was followed by stepping sounds and more buzzing sounds.
“Nightcrawlers, move!” Clint whispered sharply, as he began to run. The rest of the squad began to run as well. Nightcrawlers. The same things that attacked me in that factory. The same creatures that have attacked and killed people belonging to these people. Whatever they were, they had developed a craving for flesh.
Weird though, because they come from Equestria. And I haven’t heard about them until I was told what they were. They probably have their own name from Equestria - with some kind of meaning. But for now, that is what they are called to the remaining humans. Nightcrawlers. Being of the dark who crawl around, and then strike. And worse yet, they like to do it at night. But that’s not to say that they won’t go ahead and try during the day. It’s just at night they have better camouflage, so they get the advantage.
But enough of what they are, because they are chasing us. Like a pack of wild dogs looking for their prey, the fly and run through the centre. We can hear them getting closer as we run. Closer and closer, they got as we did to our destination. The door was still open from where we got out. Clint then stopped just outside the door and turned around, pointing his weapon towards where the Nightcrawlers were coming from. The team ran past and got through the door. And then there was silence.
I stopped, just before the door. The team was already running up the stairs, knowing that we would be right behind us. But for some reason, I just stopped. I then began to turn my head around to where Clint was standing. He too had stopped, like I had for the same reason. Silence.
I then found myself looking back, where a hoard of these dark Nightcrawlers gathered. They all just stood there. Watching us. Why were they just standing there? What the hell were they doing? I took a step towards Clint, who then put his arm out to stop me going any further. I looked to him, to see a look of seriousness stuck to his face.
“What are they doing?” I asked aloud. Clint stood there absolutely still. Watching them, and then he looked around them. Until he stopped, with his eyes locked on something. A sharp breath left him as he looked at it. He then pushed me back and turned around, quickly making me go to where the rest had ran to. “Clint, what’s going on?” I protested, wondering what had made him so anxious.
He looked to me with the same stern face, eyes showing no traces of emotion. I got the hint and began to move so that he didn’t have to push me around. We then got inside and he pulled the door closed. We then began to ascend the stairs together. Occasionally I looked to him, seeing the same face as before. Something was bothering him. I had no idea what it was, but whatever he saw was causing him to think.
We then arrived back at the top where the rest of the squad was waiting. They all seemed to sigh in relief when they saw us come out. Perhaps they thought that we had been captured and eaten or something. But now they all seemed to be looking a lot better. Hillary then approached us, seeing Clint’s expression.
“What’s up boss?” He asked. Clint looked at him for a second, and then walked past him. Hillary then looked over at me, as if to say “what’s up with him?”. I shrugged, because I had no idea what was wrong either. The others noticed Clint’s sudden change in expression, looking over at him, then at me, and back to him again.
“Something must be up for him to be looking like that” Benedict said, watching his troubled leader walk back over to the helicopter.
“Is he normally like this?” I asked, receiving sigh’s from the rest of the group. Must be a regular thing for them.
“Whenever he has seen something bad, or something that questions what he already knows. He phasses out and thinks” Xavier explained, “And it looks like this is something really bad.”
“What happened down there?” Raven asked. I took a few seconds to remember exactly what happened down there before telling them all.
“The Nightcrawlers just stopped chasing us. Stopped still in their tracks” I explained, looking back a little at the door. “Is that normal of them?” I then asked.
“Nope, they don’t do that” Raven said, shaking his head.
“They just stick out for themselves, run and try and get whatever they can get their teeth on” Hillary explained with a hint of anger in his voice.
“Though they travel together for protection” Xavier added.
“So, it would be weird of them to do that?” I questioned, starting to get why this was getting Clint so worked up.
“Sure, with them all doing something together” Benedict answered. “So this would suggest that there is something else happening with them” He added, pondering about it himself.
“Something else?” Raven looked over at Benedict, waiting for him to explain himself.
“If they all did something together, like that. It would suggest two things” Benedict began, looking around at the group. “Either that they are connected somehow, because of their insect relations they could have a hive mind. Similar to ants or bees” He explained.
“So they could work together” I said. Benedict shrugged a little, but nodded as well.
“In theory, yes. But from what we’ve seen that’s unlikely” Benedict said, but he wasn’t fully convinced by this theory. There was something else that bothered him more, and was probably what was bothering Clint - who was now standing with everyone else. “It could also suggest that the Nightcrawlers aren’t as unorganised as we think. Not the ravage lone wolf beasts that we have seen before. And in fact, that perhaps they might have...”
He stood there for a moment, almost unable to say what he was going to. Something was holding him back from finishing his statement. His eyes twitched from side to side as he thought of whether or not this was really worth saying. Could it be true? Clint stood forward, looking at the group. He then finished Benedict's sentence, giving us all a new perspective.
“...they might have a leader”
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I thought Clint was hypnotized or something, I'm just glad that everyone's okay. But they're right that the bad thing is that the nightcrawlers have a leader and if they have a leader and are smart enough, they could probably follow the helicopter back to the base and maybe even invade it once they finished tracking it. So that leaves two of several choices, one: They return to base like nothing's happening but beef up their defenses; or two: Fly to a fake base, wait a day and then fly back to the real one in the morning.
2896853
If they are Changelings, it seems awfully backwards to kill for the sake of killing, unless... the humans keep bumbling into a nest where driving out the intruders would be a natural reaction. And how have they been surviving on Earth with no one but themselves to feed off of? Most Changeling lore says they are primarily emotivores and will die without consuming love/love-related emotions. You know, this could quickly devolve into a Alien movie cliche... the drones killing their way through the marines that fight back so they can capture as many humans as possible to drag back to the hive. Then again, it might not end with everyone in cocoons. The ones captured could instead be cared for like you would with any cattle. Fed, protected, tried to be kept happy... and encouraged to breed.
Is this going to update soon?
The wait for the next chapter is agonizing!
Are you going to update this story or did you just give up? Please keeping this story alive
make more
It would've been more logical to use I am legend soundtrack but okay
*sigh* another dead story to add to the list of dead stories
o7