We waited and waited.

The nano-swarm wasn’t cooperating.

We could see it every now and then, slithering between the houses on the edge of town. But it seemed to be completely avoiding the guys.

“What’s it doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Ben answered.

“How does it interact with the world?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, can it hear us? Or can it see us? How does it hunt? What senses does it use?”

“Don’t know. Probably a combination.”

“How the hell are we going to get it to come here?” Maria asked.

“I don’t know,” Ben answered. He then spoke into his walkie-talkie. “Daniel, can you see it?”

“Negative.”

“It just went behind that row of houses on the edge of town,” Ben said. “It’s right near your position.”

“I don’t see it.”

“It should be right there.”

I looked up and saw the black smoke, heading away from Daniel’s position. It was now heading for Kenji.

“No,” I whispered. “It’s on the move again. It’s heading towards Kenji.”

Kenji came on the radio. “Where? I don’t see it either.”

Ben swore under his breath. “It’s not playing along. It’s not cooperating.”

“Well, what did you expect it to do?” I asked.

“I expected it to attack.”

Maria pointed. “It’s over there.”

“It’s in the north-western corner of the town,” Ben said into the radio. “It’s near those houses.”

Once they had new instructions, the guys would then change direction, moving towards the nano-swarm. And just when it looked like the guys had it cornered, it slithered away and found a new hiding spot.

We didn’t know it at the time but the damn thing was toying with us. It was playing with us, enjoying the game of cat and mouse, hide and seek. But then after a while, it got sick of the game. That’s when things got interesting. It was like the swarm changed its behavior. Instead of hide and seek, it turned into search and destroy. Hunt and kill. Now that I think back, I realize it was trying to lure us all together so it could take us all out at once.

“We need another body down there,” Ben said. “I need you. I need you to corner it.”

My eyes widened. “Me? Are you insane? I’m not running around down there. No way.”

“Fine. You can fire the last harpoon. I’ll go down there.”

He handed me the harpoon gun. I took it from him and nearly fell over. It was heavy. Too heavy for me to hold up to my shoulder and aim. I would be useless with this thing.

“And remember, we only get one chance,” Ben added.

I handed the launcher back to him. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“I need you to meet up with Daniel. Try making some noise. Try and lure it into the main street here. Get it as close to the first two harpoons as possible. Remember, the closer it is, the better the pulse will work.”

He gave me one of the EMP grenades. “Only use this if you absolutely need to. And remember, the grenade will only stun it.”

I took the grenade, felt its weight. Felt my heart race.

“Be careful,” Maria said. “We’ll be up here, helping you the whole time. You won’t be alone.”

She was trying to make me feel better, but by that stage I had gone completely numb. Her voice sounded distant, like she was a hundred miles away.

I swallowed hard, gathered up all my courage and what was left of my energy and walked down the stairs back out on to the street.

I looked back up to the bell tower. The sunlight glinted off the harpoon launcher. Ben was ready.

But was I ready?

The first two harpoons had been fired into the sidewalk on either side of the street. They had pierced through the concrete. A little flashing green light on the tip of the harpoon indicated they were armed and ready.

Just past the harpoons was a blood trail leading into the alley between the pharmacy and the hardware store. And I kid you not; a goddamn tumbleweed blew across the street. I couldn’t believe it. What next? A shoot out at high noon?

I looked up at the bell tower again. Ben was scanning the horizon.

I spoke into my walkie-talkie. “Guys, it’s Rebecca. I’m down on the street with you.”

“What?” Kenji asked. “Get back up there. We can handle this.”

“No, you can’t,” Ben said. “The more people down there the better. All you gotta do is flush it out and draw it to me.”

Yeah, easier said than done, I thought.

“I see it,” Ben said. “Jack, it’s moving towards you. Near that large warehouse.”

“Ah, OK.” Jack replied. “Now what?”

“It went inside.”

“Um, do you want me to follow it in?”

“Yes. Wait. It’s moving again.”

“Where?” I asked. “Can you see it?”

“Yeah. It’s moved to the edge of town. You need to draw it to you.”

“How the hell do I do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe try making some noise?”

I walked towards the alleyway and the blood trail where the nano-swarm had dragged Ed to his death. At the mouth of the alley were two small garbage cans. I picked up the lids and started banging them together as I walked up the main road back towards the town square.

Just before I arrived at the town square I noticed a general store.

The sign out the front read:

Johnson’s Family General Store. Since 1836.

There were a few notices stuck to the front door about the Oz virus. The military safe zones. The evacuation routes.

A sign read:

Closed until further notice due to Oz virus…

The front window had been smashed in. There was a hand written apology left behind, signed by someone. The signature was illegible.

The note said:

“Sorry, Rob. We needed the water. I’ll reimburse you when this is all over.”

I walked inside the store. It had probably been picked clean early on, but there might be some stuff that had been left behind.

Bottled water. Canned food.

Anything.

It was too good a chance to pass up.

“Rebecca, you there?” Ben asked.

“Yeah.”

“I think you should get back out in the open.”

“I’m just looking for water. I think there might be some in the storeroom here.”

“No. Get outside now.”

I paused in the center aisle. I could see some cases of bottled water towards the back of the store. “Let me just grab these first,” I said, as I picked up the bottles.

“Get to the street, now. It’s coming. It’s coming right for you. You need to get to the street and start coming back towards me.”

I felt a cold chill.

It’s coming right for you.

“Are you sure?” I asked nervously.

“Run! Come on!”

I reluctantly dropped the case of water. But I figured if I needed to run, it would only slow me down. Besides, we could always come back for it later.

I made my way to the front of the store, my feet crunching on the broken glass at the entrance.

I paused. I looked left and right, up and down the street. I couldn’t see anything.

But I could hear it.

The hissing noise, like a snake. The noise became louder and louder, like a rattle snake that had been threatened. Ready to attack.

It seemed to grow louder and then fade.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Ben answered. “I lost it.”

I walked out into the street.

The town square was still empty.

The rope that had been used to tie me up was still hanging from the light post. It was swinging gently in the breeze.

Another tumbleweed blew past. Darker in color. Almost completely black.

A flash of silver.

It was not a tumbleweed.

The thing I thought was a tumbleweed began to distort and grow. It expanded in width and height, like black smoke from a raging oil fire, until it filled the entire town square.

“Looks like you’ve got its attention,” Ben said.

“Yeah, now what?”

“Run!”

I didn’t really need to be told. I was already backing away when I asked the question. A heart beat later, I turned and ran. I ran back down the main road, back towards the harpoons. I could see their flashing green lights one block away. It wasn’t far. I could totally make it.

I glanced over my shoulder. The black smoke was following. But it was taking its sweet time, like a predator that knew its prey was cornered. It was sort of zigzagging down the street after me. I wondered how fast it could move. Would I be able to get back to the harpoons before it got to me?

“Come on,” Ben said. “You can make it. Just stay calm.”

I picked up the pace and started to sprint. I figured it was now or never. I wanted this to be over as quickly as possible. I was done with being live bait. I looked over my shoulder again to make sure it was still following, but what I saw scared the hell out of me. It was doing more than just following.

It was chasing.

It was moving.

Fast.

Way faster than I could run.

In a matter of seconds it had caught up to me. A split second later, it had moved ahead of me, and cut me off. I skidded to a stop. “Shoot! Do it now!”

“I can’t!” Ben answered. “You’re in the way. If I fire from this angle, the harpoon will fly right through the smoke and impale you.”

He was right.

And after watching the first two harpoons pierce and smash through the concrete sidewalk, I did not want to be anywhere near where he was shooting. It would probably, most definitely kill me.

“You need to bring it closer!” he said.

“How?”

“Make it chase you again!”

I was out of options. The thing had me cornered. It could move like lightning. And could kill just as quickly. I did not want to end up like Ed.

The smoke seemed to grow taller, rising up in front of me like a cobra rearing up, ready to strike.

I have no idea what came over me. Maybe I was still a little dopey from being drugged. Maybe I was dehydrated and starving. A combination of these things was making me brave and courageous and stupid.

I threw the EMP grenade at the black smoke. There was a bright bluish, purple flash. The nano-swarm seemed to disperse slightly. It lost its solid shape.

I charged it.

My actions seemed to momentarily catch it off guard. The whole thing seemed to double over itself as I ran toward it. Sort of like a giant black wave.

I held my hands out as I ran into the smoke, covering my face, holding my breath. Everything became dark and distorted. My vision was obscured, like being in a dust storm again. I closed my eyes as tight as I could. I felt pin pricks on my skin, tiny little cuts, like razor blades.

A split second later I broke free, light returned to my world. I could see the harpoons directly in front of me.

I sprinted, passing through them, leaning forward at the last second like an Olympic runner crossing the finish line. “NOW!” I shouted.

As soon as I crossed the finish line, as soon as I passed through the harpoons, I felt something grab my ankle. I tripped over and hit the ground. But instead of skidding forward. I was dragged backwards.

The thing, the black smoke, the nano-swarm, it had me. My whole foot was engulfed in blackness. Again, my skin felt like it was being sliced with razor blades.

It was dragging me back into the abyss, like it had done with Ed, when it had dragged him into the alley. Just before the swarm swallowed me whole, I heard a sound. A whoosh-crack. And then I felt the impact of the harpoon through the road. It actually lifted me clear off the ground.

The green lights on the harpoons turned red.

A pulsing bright flash sent me momentarily blind. The nano-swarm collapsed on the road, covering the surrounding buildings, the sidewalk, and me in black dust.