Chapter 17

Though taken aback by the giant's appearance I didn’t allow it to frazzle me. While he appeared to be friendly and he did just do me the courtesy of finishing off the Beacon I still kept my guard up.

I didn’t move for a moment, deciding to wait for this newcomer to make the first move. This must have concerned him, as he then said “I guess…you don’t…recognize me…huh Forminus?…well I won’t…hold that…against you…” he said, making a deep ‘ruk ruk’ sound in the back of his throat that I suspected was laughter.

He stepped forward a bit and I stepped back, not wanting this stranger to be so close to me while my vision was still impaired.

“If you want me to trust you then bring me that beetle you just knocked away…” I said warily.

“Sure…” he said, laughing again before unfurling a set of wings on his back and flying over to where my (now pulverized) quarry was.

After he brought it back, the newcomer dropped it on the ground and walked a good distance away so I could eat. Even with my partial blindness I managed to locate the brain and heart and, after finally enjoying my meal, my eyesight returned to normal.

After finishing I looked up at the mystery intruder to finally see what kind of creature had managed to deal such a serious blow to the Beacon. I had already had my suspicions, but it was still a shock to see that it was, for the second time, a Lord that I had encountered.

This time though, it was no Ant or Grasshopper. His body was even more massive than I had originally thought, as he must have weighed at least half a ton. His carapace was a warm brown color, and was speckled with black spots. But without a doubt the most striking feature of the new Lord before me were the two massive horns sticking out of its head. One was larger than the other, with them being 7 and 4 feet long respectively.

I knew what he was. Arguably the most famous species of beetle in the world. And one of the strongest to boot.

“Hercules…” I said, standing up from the remains of the Beacon.

“What?” The Lord said

“Hercules. You’re a Hercules Beetle.” I said, approaching him.

“Oh really…I didn’t know…whatever I am…i’ve become…way stronger…”

“Yes, I imagine you have….Terry.”

It couldn’t have been anyone else. Even in the form of a giant beetle I could still see that annoying heroic aura he exuded. That and the fact that there were no other Lords who could have known me.

He laughed and said “Took you…long enough.”

“I was blinded by that thing’s lights. Besides, you’re totally different than the last time we met, hero. Follow me, I’ll take you to your friends.”

He nodded, as if I had just invited him to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the park and not a long walk underneath an arch spider. We could have flown the way, but I preferred to take things slow after I ate something new. If I moved around too much while I was transforming my body would start to ache.

“You look…different too…Forminus…what happened?” Terry asked

“…Quite a lot, actually. Almost as soon as you left we were attacked, and now I’ve become something called an Evolved…”

I decided to use the long walk to fill Terry in on all of the events of the past month, starting with when I killed Tetra and ending with what the Fermas were and why they were here. Terry turned out to be a remarkably good listener, only interrupting once or twice to ask questions pertaining to his friends.

It did shock him when I told him of his friend Bryan’s fate.

“He was…like my little bro…” Terry said, sadness coloring his tone.

“We buried him a little ways away from where you and I first met. After we see your friends off would you like to visit his grave?” I asked.

Terry nodded.

“What do…you plan on doing…going forward?”

“Ember believes that the Queen would stay in more metropolitan areas. More places to hide, more tall infrastructure to build nests and webs, and more ‘creature comforts’ that the humans leave behind. I’m thinking of starting my search for the Queen in Columbus and Cincinnati.”

“And when…you find her?”

I stopped and turned to face Terry.

“I’m going to eat her. Whatever power she holds that makes everything from the Cleaners to those Ferma’s obey her will, I’m going to steal. I’ll stop all of it and force the bugs to retreat back to wherever they came from. The fog should dissipate without the Fermas creating more of it. Eventually, the world can go back to normal.”

“Ruk ruk…and here I thought…you would be happy…living in this…foggy world.”

“I’m hardly able to live when the Queen’s forces keep trying to kill me.”

I turned back toward where the humans were waiting for me and was about to start walking again when Terry said “Would you mind…having a friend…along for the ride?”

I smiled at him, and it was the first genuine smile I had been able to make in a long time, and said “Not at all.”

The two of us walked in silence for the rest of the way.

When we reached them, most of the humans backed away from Terry save for my three lieutenants who approached us somewhat apprehensively.

“I uh, I take the fact that this… this bug isn’t dead means that its not hostile? Was he the one making that light?” Jordan asked.

“No” I said, pointing to the tips of my feelers. I activated the power I just gained, causing the tips to glow with a soft golden light. I could have ramped up the intensity to the same levels as the Beacon, but that wasn’t necessary at the moment.

“He’s an old friend that slept for a little too long. Cory, Tim, I’ll be leaving him to the two of you until we get out of here. Head up the rear with our friend while Jordan and I take point.” I said.

The two of them looked confused and wary of Terry for a moment, but I suspected that that wouldn’t last for too long.

The rest of our journey passed much more happily than the previous month had. With my lights illuminating the path forward and Terry’s jovial personality there was fantasy-like air surrounding our group, like we were a party of adventurers trekking our way through dark and mysterious lands. It almost made one forget that we were in the modern era.

It didn’t take long for Cory and Tim to figure out that the Hercules Beetle they were walking alongside was actually Terry and soon there were many cries from the trio as the two humans practically tackled the much larger Lord in their embrace.

Once again I found myself smiling.

Ember, noticing this, said “I’m glad to see you in such high spirits master! With you and Terry working together, you’re sure to become even stronger!”

She wasn’t the only one who noticed, as Jordan said “Are you…smiling? I never thought I’d see the day…I guess you really like that Terry guy, huh?”

To both of them, I said “Why wouldn’t I be happy? I got to eat a new kind of food today, and I’ve finally met someone who might be able to understand me. I have a feeling that the future is going to be delightful.”

We marched for four hours before the fog finally started thinning. To my surprise, I was able to venture much farther out than before. According to Ember, eating a human had given me some ability to take in air through my mouth directly into my bloodstream. Though I still didn’t have real lungs, I could now drastically increase the overall amount of oxygen I took in. Terry on the other hand…

CATHUNK

“’Wheeze’…’wheeze’…’wheeze’…can’t go…any further…can’t…breathe…” he choked out, after having collapsed onto the ground.

I nodded and walked back to him.

“Beyond this point, you won’t have to worry about any more bugs. You’re all free now.” I said, propping Terry’s massive body up onto my shoulders. “Tim, Cory, if either of you have anything to tell Terry before you go…”

The two of them nodded and approached us.

“Terry…” Tim said “I…i’m sorry we couldn’t save you from becoming like this. I know you’re still you in there, but ain't nobody would ever want to turn into a giant bug.”

“Don’t…be…sorry…I…chose…this…i’ll…no…we’ll…save…you…all.”

He smiled and shook his head, muttering “Same old Terry…”

Cory couldn’t seem to find the right words, and was silent for a moment before quietly saying “I’m sorry we couldn’t protect Brian.”

Terry shook his bulky head and reached out a huge hand to pat his friend on the shoulder. Cory nodded, understanding that Terry didn’t blame either of them.

“I…will…always…be…with…you…Here-” he said, tapping Cory’s head “And…here.” he tapped Cory's chest. “No…matter…how…far…apart…we…are…we’ll…always…be…brothers.”

I couldn’t help but smile again at the cliched heroic line. Tim and Cory were smiling too, but they also had tears in their eyes as they embraced their friend for one final goodbye. They didn’t see a 10 foot tall Beetle man. All they saw was their old pal, about to leave them for a long time.

“And then there’s me…” I thought remembering, for a moment, my past as Marcus.

The contrast made me want to laugh.

“Forminus…it’s…time…to…go.” Terry finally said, gently pushing his friends toward where the fog ended. Toward the light.

“Right…” I said, before addressing the crowd of people in front of me. They were all waiting, apparently anticipating something. “Tim, Cory, Jordan and everyone else! Goodbye and good luck. Remember to run as far away from this place as is humanly possible. ” I said.

I turned to leave but to my surprise, rather than turn tail and run like every other group I had escorted, every one of these humans shouted “Thank you, Sir!” and saluted me.

I stood there for a moment, stunned. No other group had shown me this level of respect before. It almost seemed to me that they were sad to see me go. Some of them even had tears in their eyes…

“Yes, yes as it should be!” Ember said approvingly.

I nodded, saying “At ease.” before waving them off. For once I felt a little awkward, unsure of how to respond to such genuine emotions. My Lieutenants were the last to go, with Cory and Tim shaking my hand before leaving and Jordan saying nothing, but giving me a look that said “I Believe in you, so please don’t let us down.

I waited until every one of them was out of my sight before finally walking Terry back into the oxygen rich fog. And for the first time since becoming Forminus I found myself wondering…

“Will I ever be able to leave this place?”