Bug Island

by R. G. Cordiner

  They all approached the ruined buildings. They could hear Zosimo rummaging around inside. He suddenly popped out.

  "Pretty cool hey?"

  "Zosimo, do you know when or why these were built?" Henry asked, ducking his head as he entered the building.

  "Forty years ago or so, I reckon. They came here, build the base, laid the mines and then they disappeared, I think...."

  "Hang on," Mary interjected, "mines? Did you say mines?"

  "Yep. If you swim out a fair bit you can see them under the water. They're all around the entire island. I guess the military guys didn't want anyone coming here." Zosimo scratched his scraggly beard.

  "That must have been what the ship hit!" exclaimed Tracy.

  "Guys, come take a look at this!" Henry called from inside the building.

  The others went inside.

  The inside of the building was in ruins, so much so that Tracy wondered what was actually holding the walls up. Large, jagged holes had been gouged out of the roof and walls. Spent shells lay strewn over the floor, intermingling with the leaves and mud.

  "Wow, this thing is heavy," Henry grunted.

  They turned to look. He was holding a flamethrower with its attached backpack in his hands.

  Zosimo clapped his hands, "I know. That's why I leave it here."

  "What else have you left here?" asked Mary.

  He frowned, "Not much. There was not much left here. I took most. Much was, how you say, rusty? Very old. And lots no work. I tried and then - big boom. Not good." Zosimo grinned, his eyes wild.

  Tracy rummaged around through the debris.

  "Hey, there's another flame thrower here!" she cried out.

  "I can help," Henry offered.

  "Thanks, but this one's mine," she replied. Tracy grunted as she hefted the rusty backpack onto her shoulders. The weight of the fuel was almost overwhelming, but she was determined to not let it show. She carefully squatted down and picked up the nozzle. Her legs strained as she stood up. Tracy looked at the remaining survivors.

  "Right. How do I work this thing?"

  Zosimo seemed unperturbed that Tracy had managed to successfully pick up the flame thrower - a task seemingly beyond him. He grinned and clapped his hands.

  "Yes, yes! I like! Come outside and I show you."

  Henry and Tracy lumbered outside with their weapons, closely followed by Zosimo. Sarah and Mary stayed inside the military bunker.

  "What's wrong with him?" Sarah asked.

  "He's just been here too long. We all have. Now go outside and spend some time with your mum," Mary pointed outside. Sarah slowly walked out of the room.

  Mary waited until she was gone before she sat down on a nearby stool and started to sob quietly.

  ...

  Fiona paused. The gunfire that she had heard before had ceased and the giant centipede that had been chasing her had stopped at that man. She felt bad for him, but she knew that if she had tried to help him, she too would be dead. Fiona fought the desire to lie down and rest her weary body. She forced herself to start walking again. She had to find a way to get back to Mary and Sarah. The question was, how?

  She frowned. She needed to find a way to defend herself against the bugs as well. That wasn't going to be ea... Fiona paused and looked around. That was odd. The fog was coming back. She noticed a gap in the trees up ahead. She cautiously approached, constantly looking around in all directions, straining her ears for the slightest sound that might signal another one of those hideous creatures.

  Fiona reached the edge of the clearing. It looked familiar. She saw the cave in the distance. This was near where she had left Sarah and Mary, she was sure of it. She was about to walk around the edge of the clearing, when something caught her eye. There was something glinting deeper in amongst the waving grasses.

  She hesitated. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked into the clearing. Fiona slowed down as she came closer to the spot where she thought she saw the flickering light. It was hard to see anything on the ground as the fog was beginning to smother the mud. She looked up and was startled to see something striding into the clearing...

  .... a harvestman.

  ...

  PEROOSH

  Zosimo clapped his hands, "Oooh! Pretty fire! Do it again!"

  He was bouncing up and down. Henry was still recovering from the shock of the arc of fire that squirted out from the flame thrower. He was surprised how far it sprayed out. A few plants smouldered away.

  "Let's not waste it. We need it against the bugs," Henry replied. "Tracy, see if yours works."

  Tracy turned to her daughter, "Sarah step back dear. Go and see what's taking Mary."

  "But I want to stay with you," Sarah pouted.

  "I don't have time for this Sarah. Just check on her and then come back."

  Sarah scowled and walked back towards the base.

  Tracy turned to face the forest in the distance.

  "Right. Let's see what this can do."

  She pulled the trigger.

  PEROOSH

  A long orange and red arc of flame burst forth. Tracy felt the heat and struggled to hold the nozzle straight. She let go of the trigger and the flame suddenly died.

  Tracy wiped the sweat from her brow and grinned.

  "Wow, Mum!" Tracy turned to see Sarah staring at her from the doorway of the bunker. They grinned at each other. Mary slowly emerged behind the young girl. It was clear that she was struggling and her eyes looked haggard.

  Zosimo put his shotgun over his shoulder and exclaimed, "Let's lock and load! It's time to go bug hunting!"

  He marched off into the forest.

  Henry followed him. Tracy waited for Sarah.

  Mary called out, "Wait up! There's a couple of knives here too."

  She held them up. Sarah reached out, "I'll have one."

  "No way!" said Tracy.

  "But Mum, you guys have the flame things, Zosimo has a shotgun, Mary has a knife, what am I supposed to have?" Sarah asked.

  Tracy turned to her daughter.

  "Sarah, it's too dangerous."

  "Mum, are you serious? Too dangerous? More dangerous than being attacked by one of those things and not have anything to protect myself? I promise I won't be silly with it."

  Tracy sighed, "Fine. You can have a knife."

  Sarah clapped her hands and grinned.

  "But only until we get off this island," her mum explained.

  The group started off into the jungle.

  The hunt had begun.

  ...

  Fiona watched the harvestman as it entered the clearing. She tried not to move in the hope that it wouldn't come near her.

  The creature paused. Its eyes, on the end of two long stalks, swivelled around constantly.

  Fiona stayed down as low to the ground as she could. The fog lapped around her ankles. She glanced around to see if she could find something, anything that she could use as a weapon.

  Then she saw it. There was a bone and what looked like a knife lying just a short distance away. That must have been what she saw glinting in the light earlier. She looked back up at the harvestman.

  It suddenly dropped down into the waving grass. Fiona began to panic. Where was it? Was it coming for her?

  She decided that it was worth the risk and she quickly ran through the grass towards the knife and leg bone.

  SHHW

  She could hear the harvestman making its way through the grass.

  ZZZZ

  Another sound intruded on her thoughts and she looked up.

  Three bee assassin bugs flew over the clearing and swooped down.

  Fiona quickly grabbed the bone and the knife and looked around frantically for a sign of the harvestman.

  She slowly started to back out of the clearing, her knuckles were white as she tightly gripped the two objects.

  The assassin bugs spread out. Two headed deeper into the clearing and started spitting. One started to fly towards Fiona.

  PTU
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  PTU

  She couldn't see what they were spitting at, but then from the centre of the clearing she saw the harvestman suddenly rise up.

  TCCHT

  It sprayed out its acid and the burning chemical spray splattered over the nearest assassin bug.

  SSSSS

  RII

  With a squeal, the bug fell through the air, smoke pouring from it as the acid did its deadly work.

  The third assassin bug was flying closer to Fiona, but turned around when it heard the dying cries of its compatriot.

  She took her chance, turned and started running to the edge of the clearing.

  The flying bug nearest the harvestman swooped down towards it.

  TCCHT

  A spray of acid arced out from the harvestman but the bee assassin bug dodged to one side and the deadly liquid flew through the air and sizzled harmlessly in the grass.

  The assassin bug landed on top of the harvestman and stabbed it with its syringe like rostrum. Fluid spurted out as the harvestman collapsed into the grass. The second assassin bug flew over into the grass where the harvestman lay.

  Fiona sprinted into the jungle, still clutching the bone and the knife. She stopped and turned to look back at the clearing. She could just make out the wings of the two bugs in the centre of the clearing. She turned back and stopped.

  A giant centipede stood in front of her.

  ...

  "Always the way isn't it?" asked Zosimo. "You guys spend a day running away from the bugs and now that we have weapons, numbers and are ready for them, where are they? Here buggy buggy! Nice bug! Come say hi to Zosimo!"

  Sarah ignored the wild man's ramblings and turned to Mary, who was sweating profusely.

  "Are you ok?" she asked.

  Mary smiled weakly, "Yes dear. I'll be fine."

  "You don't look fine. Do you want us to stop?"

  "No, we need to keep mobile. I'm just tired, that's all. Everything's just catching up with me," Mary replied.

  Sarah smiled at her, "Hang in there."

  Tracy listened to the conversation between her daughter and the old woman as she quietly lugged the heavy flame thrower. She was taken aback by Sarah's concern for the elderly lady. It was very unusual for Sarah to be worried about anything apart from herself. Tracy smiled to herself.

  "Zosimo, aren't we more likely to find the bugs if we stay still?" Henry asked.

  "Why's that my friend? We are better to hunt them," he replied.

  "But if we stayed in one spot we could set up some traps and pick a good position to defend. We'd stand a better chance. The bugs will surely be looking for us anyway - particularly with so many of us in one spot," Henry argued.

  "He has a point," Mary added. "If we are going to try and fight them, we are better off picking somewhere that gives an advantage."

  "Can't we just hide?" asked Sarah.

  Zosimo stopped walking and shook his head, "No, no hiding. We need to kill them all."

  "Actually, Sarah has a point," Mary began. "I mean, didn't we just leave a military base? Wouldn't that have once had military guys in it? You know, people who knew what they were doing? None of them are here now and the bugs still are. None of the scientists are left either. What chance do we have? Why not just bunker down somewhere? Didn't you say that the bugs only came out for a couple of days last time?"

  Henry turned to the old woman, "But who's to say it will be the same this time? That was twenty years ago. Aren't we better off just trying to get rid of them all? I mean, it sounds as though they have been on this island for quite a long time. We have no idea how long a rescue party is going to take and even if they make it here they won't be expecting those ... things. I for one am upset, really upset. Because of those hideous things we've all lost almost everything we held dear. I say it's time to get some revenge."

  "I've lost my grandson," Mary replied. "Killing those bugs is not going to bring him back."

  Henry snorted, "No, but it would feel good."

  Mary held up her hand, "Let me finish. Have you ever considered that those creatures, bugs, whatever they are, are just trying to survive like us? All they are trying to do is get on with life."

  "I don't believe this. You're on the bugs' side! What next? You going to run up to them, give them a hug and a big sloppy kiss? Should we hug a couple of trees whilst we're at it?" Henry smirked.

  "Henry, you've got me all wrong. I'm not on their side. There are no sides. I just want to survive. I think Sarah's idea has merit. We should hide and only come out for short forays to get food."

  "Well, it doesn't matter now," Zosimo said.

  "What do you mean?" Henry asked.

  Zosimo pointed in the distance.

  Three toe biters were heading their way.

  Chapter 14

  Fight Back

  Fiona stared at the giant centipede in front of her. Its tail whipped back and forth before it reared up, pincers open.

  Fiona clenched the bone and knife tightly. The centipede leapt almost instantaneously. The girl dived to one side lashing out with the bone. The pincer snapped at her, but only ripped at her shirt. She felt a jolt in her arm as the bone connected with the side of the creature's head. It staggered a little.

  She held the weapons in front of her.

  WSHHW

  The bug's tail whipped around behind her and lashed across her back.

  "AAGH," Fiona cried out in pain and dropped the bone, as she felt the tail gouging into her.

  The multitude of scales rippled along the creature's back as it curled itself closer to the young girl.

  Fiona's mind raced as time seemed to slow down. She knew she now had to be wary of attack from both front and back thanks to the creature's vicious tail. She could bend down to get the bone, but it would make her more vulnerable to attack. She edged backwards and stopped as she felt the hard tree trunk behind her.

  Trapped.

  She looked frantically around as the giant centipede edged closer.

  Fiona looked down at the knife and then back at the enormous bug.

  She had an idea.

  ...

  The three toe biters made their way closer to the small group of survivors.

  Mary and Sarah clenched their knives, which seemed puny in comparison to the size of the creatures.

  Tracy, Henry and Zosimo stepped in front of them, weapons raised.

  Mary whispered, "If we are lucky they will play dead."

  Zosimo yelled, "I hate playing games!"

  TCHBOOM

  He fired the shotgun at the nearest toe biter.

  SHPPLOOSH

  Its head exploded.

  The remains of the bug collapsed to the ground.

  The other two toe biters immediately jumped on their dead comrade and started eating it.

  Tracy and Henry stepped forward and pressed the triggers on their flame throwers.

  PEROOSH

  The three bugs were engulfed in the flames. The two toe biters took to the air like a pair of flaming catapults. They both spun around before...

  KERUUNCH

  They smashed into a tree and slid down the trunk.

  Their bodies lay smouldering at its base.

  "Ha ha! Take that little buggies!" Zosimo danced around.

  Mary looked on sadly. Such a pointless waste of life, she thought to herself.

  ZZZZ

  The group looked up.

  Two assassin bugs flew down and landed on the corpses. They started to feast.

  Zosimo raised his shotgun and aimed at the creatures.

  He pressed the trigger.

  CLCK

  Nothing happened.

  The two bee assassin bugs looked up at the sound.

  CLCK! CLCK!

  The gun was empty.

  PEROOSH

  A jet of flame arced out of Henry's flame thrower towards the two winged creatures.

  They both flew up into the air, the flame smacking into the tree below them. Henry kept his finger
on the trigger and tried to follow the flight of the creatures. The assassin bugs weaved this way and that as the jet of flame carved a fiery path of destruction in their wake.

  RII

  Finally the weaving snake of fire hit one of the bugs, who cried out as it fell with a thud to the ground.

  SPT

  SPT

  The flame thrower sputtered as a few more flames flickered out and then it was silent.

  Henry kept pressing the trigger but the weapon had given up its last.

  The other assassin bug swooped down.

  Tracy fired the flame thrower but missed. Henry started to run.

  The bug started to follow, but Zosimo started waving.

  "Over here!!" he yelled. "Come here buggy!"

  The assassin bug paused and then swooped back at the shaggy survivor.

  It zipped so close that Tracy stopped pressing the trigger and the flame died out. Sarah threw the knife.

  WHW

  SHPPLT

  It went straight through the bug. It kept flying at Zosimo, who swung at it with his shotgun....

  ... and missed.

  The bug spun and slammed into Zosimo. They collapsed together on the ground. Mary rushed over. The bug lay twitching on top of him, fluid leaking from the hole in its middle.

  She kicked it off his body and knelt down. The others soon joined her at his side.

  "Zosimo?" she asked.

  He groaned and clutched his side, "Nasty bug hit me." He brought his hand up and winced at the sight of his own blood.

  "Here let me look," Tracy tentatively lifted away his jagged shirt.

  A large wound just above Zosimo's hip was slowly oozing blood. Tracy looked at Henry.

  "Give us your shirt."

  He looked at her for a second and then quickly took it off and wordlessly handed it to her.

  Zosimo winced as Tracy pulled off his shirt and stuffed it into the wound. She then used Henry's shirt to wrap around his waist as a makeshift bandage.

  Zosimo looked at Sarah, "Thanks girl. Good throw."

  Sarah smiled shyly, "Thanks. Are you going to be ok?"

  "What this?" he nodded at his bandaged midriff. "A bug scratch doesn't bother me."