The livestream was still going, a very pregnant pause as Jackson stood there with his arms spread wide. One of the others in the room dragged Logan’s body off to the side, and the camera zoomed in a little to give more emphasis to Jackson himself, instead of the ruined room they were currently in.

“That, ladies and gentlemen, is how it’s done. A small group diving into a dungeon works better than an army if you need to surgically remove a parasite while preserving the city itself.” Jackson dropped his arms, putting his pistol back into its holster. “I just wish that we had more support for the militia, because then maybe we would have had enough manpower to break through the swarms of insects that have infested this place!”

Jackson pointed at the camera, almost shouting, “That’s why we’re asking you, to join the militia! Great areas to level up, good gear granted for service, and plenty of benefits for everyone who earns enough merit points! Join today and you can join us in taking back the city from the leftover bug threat!”

He placed his hands on his hips and he struck a heroic pose.

—

Mason had moved away from Jackson as he preened in front of the camera, making full use of his talents as part of the conscription squad. His minigun had gotten a bit heavy, and since he didn’t hear the scratching of the bugs nearby, he hooked it onto his back.

Shifting around the debris, Mason saw the amount of players they killed, noting that there were only a couple dozen, which wasn’t anywhere near the amount he expected. He also noted a distinct lack of the bug goo anywhere in the room. Devourers didn’t have much need to make an entire area covered in their slimy substance, but he knew that the central hive usually was completely covered in the stuff.

His brow wrinkled in confusion, as he was trying to figure out why this room wasn’t covered, but the rest of the city was. As he looked around, he noticed that one of the doors leading out of the room in the back had a small amount of the organic material creeping out from behind it. Mason walked over to the door, ignoring Jackson and his film crew, tentatively moving his hand to hover over the handle, unsure what he would find.

A deep rhythmic thump could be heard on the other side of the door, causing a bit of panic in Mason. He looked back at the others, and they hadn’t noticed the sound, too engrossed in their advertisement pitch for the militia. The benefits of joining, the cost that not joining would incur, and the glory that could be earned!

That all didn’t matter, though, as Mason turned back to the door, only for it to explode in a shower of wooden splinters, a massive blade of chitin diving straight into his chest. He was carried along, only able to stare in disbelief at the insane creature that stood before him, completely lost in the golden eyes that burned their way into his memory as the world faded away.

—

Jackson heard the door explode behind him in the middle of his speech, and he was going to turn to shout at whoever interrupted him, but that thought disappeared the moment he saw what caused the ruckus. A massive insectoid creature, four legs propelling it along the ground, two large arms, one ending in a blade, the other in a three clawed hand, carried Mason across the room, blood dripping down before it tore him off using its claw. The torso was heavily armored, and the head had the same shape that the armor Logan wore had, complete with the six glowing golden eyes that stared into his soul.

Jackson could only see malice in the golden glow, and he stood petrified as the creature turned and started to tear apart his allies, who had started to fire at it in panic. Blade struck gun, moving it out of the way, claw grabbing a head, lifting the man off of the ground before crushing, causing the remains to fall to the ground. The creature charged the last two, who had the thought to group up, and picked up both in its arms as it smashed them into the wall. The blade pulled away and carved a massive bloody groove into the wood panel behind the two men, leaving just Jackson standing in the middle of the blood-filled chaos.

Heavy breathing accompanied the creature as it slowly advanced on Jackson. He looked to where the camera was still floating, showing him and his cowardice at the introduction to a new type of foe. Knowing that this was being shown to everyone on the Prestige Entertainment site, he had to come to terms that his reputation was likely to be completely ruined.

He was known as a badass. A great pilot who could run circles around everyone else in the militia, and even the entire starting sector. Less well known, but still recognized as a great soldier, he fought in many of the early battles to take over the sector for the Free States. Yet here he was, afraid of a creature that hadn’t been seen before. The other aliens he had fought were reminiscent of animals on Earth; wolves, bears, and great cats. The biggest threat were the NPC bandits that spawned, because they could fight back with guns and ships, but once you knew where they were, they weren’t a problem anymore.

Jackson pulled his pistol and tried to put it against his temple, but the creature casually grabbed his hand with its claw, breaking all of the bones and the grip to his pistol, before releasing, causing the gun to fall to the ground, broken and useless. He did everything in his power to stand to his full height, putting on a brave face, but he knew that he was failing.

The beast picked him up, not by the head, but by the jacket he was wearing, as if it was trying to be gentle with him. Jackson was pulled within inches of the glowing eyes in the center of the monstrous face before him, and he was surprised, because the creature spoke to him.

“You, killer of the Hivelord, do not get to release yourself. You are to be fed to the pool, as ordered by the queen.” Jackson didn’t know what that meant, but he knew he didn’t want to find out. He started to struggle, but the massive creature had a grip that could likely break steel, so he just caused his leather jacket to creak.

He was taken into the room where the door that was destroyed lead into, seeing for the first time that it was completely covered in the organic material that the rest of the city was coated in. Three small pools of green, bubbling liquid, were in different corners, and a large one sat in the center of the room. A familiar being was tending to the different pools as more of the devourers were bringing in bodies from a door set in the opposite wall.

The queen turned to look at Jackson, squirming in the large creature's claw, and motioned to the large bubbling pool in the middle. A few calm stomping steps later, and he was dangling over the liquid, looking back and forth between the insectoids that were doing this to him.

“Drop.”

A single, simple word escaped from the queen, and it was the last thing Jackson heard before being submerged in the liquid of the pool. It burned every fiber of his being, and he involuntarily opened his mouth to scream, allowing it into his mouth, down his throat, into his lungs. His eyes were squeezed shut, but he knew that wouldn’t matter soon. He welcomed the death message as it appeared in his vision.

You are Dead

Respawn in [1] Real World Hour(s)