My expectations were for this to be a routine operation, I would stay silent and Augus would never be aware of my existence as I continue my observations. Yet those expectations had managed to spectacularly crumble into dust as the prospect of my pet’s deaths came to the forefront. Humans like all organics tend to become distracted, certain wavelengths and light spectrums tend to at times lower their awareness. This unfortunately was just such a time, so much in fact that they failed to notice the large creature stalking them from the shadows.

As I was mapping the current cavern, I had noticed a low frequency reverberation originating from the upper areas of the cavern. All the while the humans were deliriously gazing at the fungal lights, if they hadn’t been wearing their re-breathers, I would have been assumed the spores were somehow affecting their minds. However, that was not the case, they were merely being stupid organics, doing what they do best, getting themselves almost killed at every turn.

It is as if their very existence, their mere presence attracts the specter of death. Death is inevitable for an organic, but somehow humans lack even the self-preservation modules of the unintelligent organics. There was no option unless I was okay with losing a valuable resident, and my current vessel, which I was most certainly not. “Augus! Now is not the time to be entranced! You all need to duck now! Like right now!”

The boy was startled for a portion of a second, my sensors which were connected to his neural link and suit indicated enhanced brainwave functions. No doubt his gift activated, and he had significantly more time to contemplate within his increased perception mode. After that point he was quick to relay my orders, however that wasn’t all he did. Choosing to dive towards danger instead, the combination of his gift and his suits sensors allowed him to pick out the strange shadowy shape.

Sensing that its ambush had been foiled, the creature flared its wings, extending its full wingspan and stretching itself in a primitive attempt to startle its prey. To my astonishment the tactic somehow worked, the human mind working against the body, with fear and a preset response hard coded into their genetic code. Luckily Augus’s gift managed to significantly shorten this period to an infinitesimally small number, and Melnie simply had the benefit of experience and immediately went on the offensive.

Jasemine dropped the relay equipment and stealthed instinctively, and Phenix hit the dirt as both Melnie and Augus opened fire. Weapons fire erupted, the sound echoing in the cavernous space, the creature took two bursts’ head on, one to the chest and the other to the face. Its death was confirmed when it fell straight down, headfirst into the mouth of the tunnel they had just exited from. The fight was however far from over, there were many more where it came from, their cries and throaty shouts could be heard from up above.

“Man down! Man down! I repeat Man down! Requesting backup now!” Frankyl’s gruff voice sounded over the comms, the interference was bad, and it came through somewhat staticky, but the message was clear. Assuming that wasn’t enough, uninterrupted weapons fire in the distance said all that needed to be said.

“All of you get up! We need to move now! Stay close, weapons hot and shoot to kill!” Melnie reached down and grabbed Phenix by the scruff of his neck, yanking his massive bulk as if she were handling a bag of fruit.

Jasemine reappeared, her face was pale as a sheet, yet she cradled her weapon, holding tight as if for dear life. The time for contemplation, for thinking was over, the three rushed forward, not wanting to be left behind by Melnie who had already crossed half the distance. This area was composed primarily of rock and dirt, open space without cover, with the forest of fungal stalks a few minutes dash from their original position at the tunnel.

Those few minutes would make all the difference, as open areas were prime hunting grounds for aerial creatures. A strange deep throated chittering could be heard, a spine-tingling crescendo which quickly dissipated, replaced by a steady whistling that grew louder and louder. “Raise your rifle forty-five degrees, pull the trigger in three… two… one.” Augus followed the instructions to the letter, two rapid bursts rung out in the darkness. Phenix had followed suit, not knowing what would happen, but trusting in his friends’ abilities.

The bullets arrived exactly where they were meant to be, at the exact moment when they needed to be. Six rounds spaced apart passed the area above Melnie’s head, instead of passing through the air unimpeded, they struck another one of the beasts. Each kinetic round punching a gaping hole in the creature’s thin armor and leathery wings, the force from the impacts throwing the now falling corpse into the path of its partner. The dead creature slamming into the other while in mid-dive, tying up its wings and diverting its course, resulting in it missing its mark and striking the rocky ground headfirst.

Neither the trio nor Melnie stopped their charge, the safety of the fungal stalks grew the closer they got, but the sound of flapping wings and hissing also grew. There was no time to celebrate their kill, no time to even examine the things that were hunting them, just the single-minded focus to get to safety. Somewhere they could make a stand, hunker down back-to-back and mow down whatever attempted to take a bite out of them.

For me the encounter was quite exhilarating, there was the chance that my human pets would cease to be, and I truly didn’t want that, but I possessed the luxury of not having a weak meat sack as a body. Poor humans, whatever thing managed to create them did not love them the same way in which the ancients loved us machines, they granted us nigh impregnable forms without fear of mortality. I could almost shiver thinking what could have been had the ancients decided organic machines were superior to purely mechanical ones. A scary thought indeed.

In any case, the sensors tied into their suits picked up the heightened adrenaline levels, the increase red blood cell movement as oxygen was rapidly expended, and the strain on their muscles and skeletal system. The auditory systems also picked up the flapping of wings and using those same systems I was able to get a rough image of the attackers. Crafting an image based on the multiple encounters and stitching together a rough understanding of what my humans faced.

Whatever it was, it did not exist during the Golden Age of humans, it was a post-war evolution or something which came about from genetic manipulation. Perhaps it could have been stitched together in a lab, but it was more likely a creature that survived exposure to pollutants following the destruction of the surface world. Or it was also possibly a remnant of some species which had always lived down here deep within the Hollows, it was unlikely the humans managed to explore every cavernous space down here.

The global interference which was restricting my communication channels and ability to remotely commandeer armies of drones was showing itself to be a direct threat to my expansion efforts. Had I been able to deploy an army of scout drones, there is no way my humans would be put at such risk. It may be necessary to invest in unlocking the final sealed factory levels, access to the manufactory and blueprints would allow for methods to empower the humans. Counteract their biological weaknesses and leverage them as a force to deal with the threats, otherwise how else could such a large unknown exist within an hour’s drive from my main body.

While contemplating my plans, the humans had managed to safely enter the fungal forest and meet up with their remaining members. The combined group of six opening fire, blasting the assailants who were now visible in the light coming from the bio-luminescent stalk. They looked like snakes, if snakes were the size of horses, had leathery wings similar to a bat, and with a wingspan almost twice the length of their body. At the very least their scales didn’t appear to be particularly thick, if that had been the case then the bullets would have had a tough time putting them down. Luckily that wasn’t the case, or more than likely due to the weight inhibiting flight. In either case the winged snakes more than made up for this weakness through sheer numbers, with hundreds gliding around waiting to nab their prey.

“Melnie she’s gone. They got her in the first attack, bit her arm clean off. I… I couldn’t save her…” Frankyl began to break down under the pressure, now that Melnie had arrived the mantle of leadership had passed, and he began to crack. Between them lay the lifeless body of one of the original survey members, half their body along with the right arm was missing. The bite marks and torn flesh was clear, other evidence nearby pointing to the fact that the human bled out quickly but was very much still alive at the time of the attack.

In typical fashion, Melnie slapped poor old Frankyl a bit and told him to get his head in the game. A solid strategy seeing as the serpents were preparing to make another pass, and this time they were going to come down in much larger numbers. It was like those pictures in the old databanks, of what was then the ocean, observing creatures called sharks engaging in a feeding frenzy. Honestly, I find that I would like to visit the ocean at some point in time, perhaps if an opportunity arrives to rebuild, I can go about returning it to its previous glory.

“Get ready boys and girls! Here they come!” The six yelled out in unison, crying out, praying to me, except for Augus. He knew I was there and that there was nothing I could do; if they had set up the relay I could have helped.

However, just as the swarm was approaching and the weapons were aimed towards the dive-bombing reptiles, the entire ground shook. Surprisingly the serpents also called off their attack, the coordinated feeding frenzy suddenly became a wild free for all. The creatures turned to flee in every direction, often crashing into one another and falling in a heap to the ground below.

Then there was another loud crash, this one much larger than the previous one. The earth itself seemed to buckle, causing the group to rise into the air for a second before falling to the ground. Before Melnie and the others could understand what was happening, a mile long green line swept through the air. The force of its impact against one of the distant stalactites snapped the rock formation in two, sending the bottom half into a free fall.

That is when the lengthy object retracted back towards the center of the cavern, where the lake was located. Dozens of the winged serpents could be seen trapped, stuck like flies, and rapidly pulled in towards the other end of the lengthy object. The hill was gone, what had replaced it was the gaping maw of a massive toad like beast, its sheer size had to be close to that of a four-story building, its mouth making up almost the entirety of its body.

Crying out in desperation the winged creatures struggled for an instant before being swallowed into the unending darkness. Seemingly content with its meal, the monstrous toad settled back down into the lake, sending thousands of gallons of water surging in all directions. Only now did the absence of any vegetation in a perfect circle around the lake make sense, as anything in that region would be destroyed each time the king of the lake emerged to feed. While the prolific numbers of the winged serpents appeared to be an evolutionary adaptation to their unique position on the local food chain.

Now the reality was beginning to sink in. The trio realizing there was a clear difference between a simulation and real life, here they could die, there would be no game over, no restart, it would just end. This was the experience Melnie had spoken of, the true training, if they did not overcome their natural biological reactions, did not overcome their individual weaknesses, and most importantly did not learn to work together, then they would suffer for it. This would be their crucible, it was much sooner than anticipated, but there was no time like the present.