"It's damn quiet out here. You seeing anything?"
"I don't see shit, Lee. I mean nothing, man. No birds. No lizards. Nothin'."
"I'm calling it in. -Team Alpha checking in.-"
-Go for Team Alpha.-
"-We've got nothing out here, Viper Nest. Whatever set off the sensors on this side is long gone. Over.-"
-Understood. Rendezvous with Bravo Team.-
"-Roger that. Alpha Team out.- Alright, Akin, we're moving west to meet up with Bravo Team."
"Got it, this is damn eerie, man. I haven't been attacked by a single bug yet. What the fuck is going on out here?"
"So BAT, you see anything? Of course, you're fucking not, damn obsolete robot. I can't believe I'm walking around the damn sweltering jungle with a glorified tin can. It's been hours, man, and we haven't seen shit."
Snap
"What the fuck." Crouch raises his rifle in the direction of the sound, finger on the trigger. The BAT stands motionless, scanning the thick jungle bush for signs of life. The call of a native bird comes from down the trail. Crouch lowers his rifle slightly and whistles out an answering call. At the sound of the return call, he lowers his rifle. Two figures slowly emerge from around the game trail.
"- Lifeforms approaching from the east. Identified. Cobra Viper and Cobra Sniper. -"
"Thanks for nothing tin can. What the hell man, I almost shot you."
"You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Besides, Akin had you in his sights."
"That's messed up, man."
Akin shrugs, "What can I say."
"You two find anything?"
"Not a damn thing. What about you're friend there? How's the 'full spectrum analysis' going?"
"Don't get me started on this thing. It didn't even sense you till you came off the trail."
"Onesi is gonna be pissed."
Crack
Like a well-oiled machine, all three Vipers have their rifles trained in the direction of the sound. A call comes from the bush. A scene previously played out repeats itself.
" - Lifeforms approaching from the west. Identified. Cobra Viper and Cobra Viper. -"
"Damn piece of shit, BAT. Thanks for nothing."
• Back in the bunker:
"What the hell is wrong with those guys? Don't they know we can hear everything they're saying?"
"It's their way of coping with not knowing what's out there. So long as it doesn't distract them, they can bitch all they want."
"You're the officer."
"Yes, I am. Now back to work."
"Yes, sir. I recalibrated the BAT's sensor array, and it's getting some weird readings."
"What kind?"
"Well, sir. I've kept the BAT scanning, and it's picking up movement. But zero heat signatures. The movement is increasing. I thought it might be wind, but I'm not picking up a reading. Fifty yards out from the team, the bushes are moving en masse. It's like they're alive but not."
"Well, let them know and have them check it out."
-Team Alpha. Come in. Over.-
"-Go for Team Alpha.-"
-There seems to be some movement about fifty yards north of you. It's deep in the bush and giving off no heat signature.-
"-We're on it. Team Alpha out.-"
• Back on the game trail:
"All right, guys. Fifty yards out, we've got movement. Crouch set the BAT for perimeter security."
"Damn, Lee, who died and made you an officer?"
"Stuff it, Crouch. Helm coms only. No open helms. Here is our fallback position. Full sweep. If it moves, it dies."
The team sets off to the north, carefully planning each footfall to prevent alerting whatever lies in front of them.
"- Akin take a position in that tree. -"
"- On it. -"
"- Lee, I don't see anything. -"
"- Thanks for that, Young. Nason seeing anything? -"
"- Nothing. The weirder thing is I don't hear anything either. -"
"- None of us have for a while now. -"
Unintelligible moan.
"- What the fuck was that? -"
"- Can it. Eyes sharp. -"
A hand darts out from under the thick growth. Grabbing Young's leg pulling him to the ground
"FUCK!" Young fires blindly into the bushes the hand releases.
"- I said no open helms. -"
A sniper shot rings out, flying just above Nason's helmet.
"- Nason, watch your ass. -"
Nason turns to see a body fall to the ground.
"What the hell is happening? Why can't I see these fuckers on thermal?"
"Why aren't they going down?"
Another sniper shot rings out. A body falls on the back of Crouch.
"Get this fucker off of me!"
"- Keep it together, Crouch. -"
"Fuck off, Lee."
"Enough of this. Light this shit up!"
The jungle comes alive with the sounds of machine-gun fire and sniper rounds. Within minutes the once overgrown and rich jungle is nothing more than a smoldering pile of branches and writhing bodies.
"What are these things? They're still moving."
Bang. The report of a pistol echos in the newly made clearing. At the receiving end of the barrel is what was once a head. Now little more than a gory hole.
"Not anymore."
"Damn, Akin."
"Look from up in that tree, I saw you guys emptying mags into these things, and they didn't go down. One bullet in the head, and they stop."
"Well, sorry, we aren't all snipers."
"It's okay. Not everyone can be perfect."
• The Bunker.
"Sir. Did you see that?"
"Of course I did. But I can't believe it. Call the team back."
The Jungle:
-Vipers Nest to Team Alpha.-
"-Go for Team Alpha.-"
-Get your asses back to base.-
"-You don't have to tell me twice. Over.- All right, guys."
"Shh! Did you hear that?"
"Hear what, Nason?"
"I swear I heard moaning."
"Circle up. Weapons hot. Ammo check."
"We're fucking low Lee, do we need to count."
"Fall back to the BAT."
The men move quickly. Less concerned with noise control and more with their dwindling rounds.
"Crouch, get that fucker off perimeter watch and have it watch our six."
"Done."
UUUUGGHHHHH!
The sounds of moaning grow in volume and frequency. Echoing from every direction, the Vipers know time is not on their side.
"Let's move. Let's move."
The men get to the bunker in record time.
• As soon as the doors seal:
"Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on out there?!"
"Calm yourself, Crouch. Let's see what Onesi has to tell us."
"I was hoping you could tell me."
"Sir. I don't know what the hell is going on."
"The things weren't going down."
"They just kept coming."
"…grabbed my leg."
"…tried to bite me."
"One at a time."
The men tell their tales to the officer in turn. Even though their encounter lasted mere minutes, the information gathered spoke words about the advanced training Cobra gave this jungle unit they didn't miss a single. As time passes, the Tele-Viper and Techno-Viper continue to monitor the situation outside and recalibrate the BATs sensors again to deal with the new menace. The men find themselves surrounded by the growing horde of creatures. Unaware of what is happening around the world the unit plans its survival.
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