《Wired》 Prologue West Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The United States. 20.11.2127 CE ... A platoon of armed soldiers in form-fitting exosuits jogged through a cavernous hallway at about thirty-five kilometres an hour. A logistics four-legged robot transporting a portable, high yield tactical nuclear device cantered alongside the formation. An assault variant armed with a turreted twenty-millimetre rotary cannon trailed behind the group behind a second logistics variant carrying supplies. The corridor pulsed with life. Asides from the sloppy thud of armoured feet on the goop-covered floor and the soft whirring of actuating servos, the sound of hundreds of litres of body fluids being pumped per second could be heard softly from within the fleshy walls. ¡°How far ahead, AWACS?¡± a voice said, speaking into John¡¯s ears via the headphones embedded in his helmet. The soldier reached a gloveless hand for the wall. ¡°Twelve hundred metres, over," John replied via his microphone, pulling back his hand. His warm breath fogged up his visor as the green and orange lights from his thermal imaging HUD dimly lit his features. A few seconds later, the soldier felt a tingle up his spine as he suddenly detected multiple non-native psyches entering his field of awareness. ¡°Contact!¡± he announced stoically over the communications channel. ¡±Hostile. Gorilla. BRVA: 12¡ã, 200, 30, Hot.¡± ¡°Halt and hull down,¡± his commander ordered, forcing the formation to collectively bleed speed. Skidding to a prone position, the tripod stand and Meissner glacis of his M2a2 .50 cal anti materiel gun deployed with a subconscious flick of a switch, the forward soldiers following his lead, while the ones in the rear simply falling on a knee, their exosuits locking in place. ¡°Defend while we cap. AWACS and The Football remain as priority assets.¡± ¡°WOODPECKER,¡± ALPHA called, receiving a warbling digital noise in return over the comms, ¡°you will cover priority threats. T -7 seconds to contact, you are all cleared to engage.¡± Two seconds later, the soldiers felt the vibration of dozens of thudding feet racing in their direction. With an abrupt crescendo, John¡¯s thermal HUD lit up in a vibrant red as multiple monstrous lifeforms burst out from within the darkness towards them. The creatures ran on four hind legs with cat-like grace, their humanoid upper torsos leaning forward in a steep incline. A ditch effort to streamline their large muscular forms. Four mantis-like upper limbs were tucked tightly in, their tails ending in bony blades whipped maliciously with the violent motion. BRRRRRRRT!!! The sound of the firing rotary cannon signalled the start of the slaughter as the soldiers opened fire on the approaching threats. A literal wall of fortnite-core anti materiel rounds welcomed the charging aliens. Obliterating them. A tense silence followed. ¡°AWACS, status report,¡± ALPHA called over the comms. Silence. ¡°AWACS! Status report!¡± the commander repeated, snapping john from his thoughts. ¡°Something¡¯s not right, commander,¡± John said, frowning. His hand tightened around his machine gun¡¯s grip ¡°What?¡± the commander asked. ¡°They just stopped outside that bend. It is like¡­¡± ¡°Like what, sergeant?¡± ¡°Like they are stalling for time.¡± A pause. ¡°Are more coming?¡± the commander asked. ¡°Maybe¡­ I am not sure. The ore veins here are richer in Alienium. It is interfering with my scans and forcing multiple false returns. It is hard to tell with all the clutter.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The commander fell silent for a moment. ¡°Assemble. Assault Formation. AWACS and The Football centre, WOODPECKER to the front. Set speed at sixty km/h.¡± ¡°Commander, I can¡¯t sense what is on the other side. We will be riding blind,¡± John said with a sigh. ¡°I know,¡± the commander replied, ¡°but we cannot wait here either.¡± ¡°Alpha check, twelve hundred meters, hot?¡± ¡°Affirmative, Commander.¡± The commander nodded, thinking for a moment. ¡°TRIGGER,¡± He said, turning to another soldier. ¡°Yes, commander?¡± ¡°Set a charge a hundred meters behind us.¡± ¡°But, commander, we are standing next to a major artery. The explosion might cause a rupture and flood the corridor.¡± ¡°That is the point,¡± the leader said. ¡°The rest of you should find somewhere to anchor down. It¡¯s high time we took out the trash.¡± The group shared a warm chuckle at the poorly made joke as they each found a spot to deploy grappling lines. Slender cables made of composite material anchored them to the fleshy walls via metal pneumatically driven piles. John watched as his fellow soldier jogged towards the designated point while he consciously scanned the area for threats. Twenty seconds later the soldier returned and anchored himself just before the explosive charge went off. A shockwave travelled through the tunnel, jolting the soldiers. The explosion ripped a large hole in the wall. A blast of smog washed over the fighters immediately followed by a flood of oily fluids. The torrents ran for two dozen seconds before suddenly receding as the wound in the wall unnaturally collapsed on itself, sealing the breach and causing pressurized fluids to well up in the wall behind the point of rupture. The soldiers gasped as they were suddenly exposed to air. With experienced motions, they detached their anchors and adjusted their formation. ¡°AWACS,¡± the commander gasped,¡± status report.¡± ¡°It worked, sir,¡± John gasped back. ¡°I am picking up multiple pings of pain and confusion on the psychic spectrum. The enemy seemed to have fallen into a state of disarray.¡± ¡°Proceed to blow through,¡± the commander ordered immediately seizing the opportunity, the platoon blazing into motion. ¡°Potshots only. Do not actively engage any targets outside your spectrum of operation. Action!¡± Guns blazing, the platoon exploded into the midst of the enemy. The alien lifeforms, although still in a state of confusion, responded with similar violence. Pouncing at the soldiers as they ran by, they attempted to pick off individual units. Although the aliens were met with mostly failures, some managed to get lucky. With a stoic gaze, John subconsciously dismissed two pings of vanishing mental signatures in his field of awareness. At the corner of his eye, he noticed another soldier toppled mid-stride by an errant swing of a passing alien¡¯s forearm. A second later he felt the soldier¡¯s mental signature vanish. The victim¡¯s corpse was violently dismantled underneath a horde of ravenous monsters. Despite the losses, the platoon continued their charge nonetheless. Soon, they reached their destination, their pursuers hot on their tails. ¡°WOODPECKER, hold the corridor!¡± the commander ordered as the platoon burst out of the tunnel. ¡°DONKEY, engage WOODPECKER in IOR mode.¡± The robots replied with digital warbles as they skidded to a stop. WOODPECKER¡¯s rotary cannon swivelling towards the incoming swarm, welcoming them with a spray of fortnite-cored 20mm rounds. DONKEY, the logistics robot, extended a probe towards its assault variant. With a repeating series of complex mechanical motions, it replaced WOODPECKER¡¯s ammo cartridges without disrupting its companion¡¯s task. The rest of the platoon burst into a large, cavernous hall. The soldiers immediately began eliminating the aliens occupying the room. The rest of the soldiers fanned outwards, taking defensive around the entrance they came in. John, his commander and the third automated machine stood in the centre of the clearing as the rest of the platoon diligently kept the monster horde from overwhelming them. ¡°So,¡± the commander said, staring at a mound of pure Alienium sitting in the middle of the cave a few dozen meters away outside their defensive circle, ¡°this is the server you could not stop talking about? It does not look that impressive.¡± ¡°It is,¡± John said, also staring at the rock. It was about five meters tall and mostly chalky-white in colour with grey and bioluminescent green stripes. ¡°I will establish a direct connection now for ¡®administrative access¡¯,¡± John said, kneeling in front of one of the largest bioluminescent tendrils extending from the ¡®server¡¯ into the ground in his direction. The glowing green line extends a few meters behind him before breaking up into many smaller tendrils that spread out before disappearing into the wall. Following his intuition, he pulled out his combat knife, slitting a large gash into his left palm. His commander¡¯s left brow crooked up as he observed the proceedings. The sound of automated gunfire was accentuated by the bestial screams of the encroaching horde. John placed his bleeding palm on the glowing tendril, feeling a resonance at the base of his skull and down his spine. ¡°They are coming,¡± he said after a few seconds, rising to his feet. ¡°How many?¡± the commander asked. ¡°All of them.¡± A pause. ¡°Good,¡± the commander finally said with a forced nod before walking to the robot standing idly. ¡°I have initiated the core meltdown,¡± he said, inputting a code on a touchscreen on the robot¡¯s payload. ¡°Is it close enough?¡± someone asked over the comms. ¡°It¡¯s a fifteen kiloton fusion bomb! This is as close as close gets!¡± another replied aggressively causing the platoon to share another chuckle before falling silent. Only the sound of firing guns and growling beasts could be heard. ¡°How long do we have left, John?¡± someone asked, breaking the solemn silence. ¡°Twenty-five seconds,¡± John replied, his expression still stoic, a timer running in the corner of his vision, ¡°the crawlies reinforcements would get here in thirty tops.¡± ¡°So, the bomb is gonna kill us first then. That¡¯s nice to know.¡± another chuckled mirthfully causing the platoon to share another laugh. Many sounded relieved at the thought. John¡¯s stony visage finally cracked, the hint of a smile creasing his lips as an errant tear ran down his face. Memories of his life flashed before his eyes. His parents. Sister. Lover. Friends. Comrades. Neural implants in his spine sent alerts of the spikes in his emotional spectrum to his suit. The alerts were displayed on his HUD, but he did not seem to notice. The vibrations travelling through the ground grew louder and the approaching horde could be heard. Falling to his knees beside the armed nuclear payload, his glazed gaze watched as a few of his comrades were quickly overwhelmed by a flood of bodies pouring into the hall. And with a bright flash, the bomb detonated, obliterating within a three hundred mile radius. Chapter 1 1240 S 7th Ave. South Lebanon, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, The United States. 22.12.2122 CE ¡­ "Fuck it," John sighed audibly as he walked back home through the deserted alleyway. He sat on the hood of the lone automobile on the block, staring at his own house, which was the only other occupied residence on the block. As the evening sun produced lengthy shadows on the ground, he glanced at the big trees around him. The sky was tinted a warm orange by the setting sun''s slanting beams. "It''s so lovely," he thought to himself. "It''s been a while since I''ve seen such a vista since I got stuck with that wretched job." He made a small scowl as his thoughts returned to the bizarre event that had occurred earlier in the day in the office; ¡°JOHN! Allan, his news director, inquired, "Where''s the piece about the GN company''s sudden boom?" "I feel we..." ¡°NO! You don¡¯t FEEL anything! I tell you this all the time. Your personal opinions don¡¯t matter! I ask for a story, you get me a story! GET IT DUMBASS?¡± Allan snarled. "No," John said calmly yet vehemently. ¡°WHAT? "Do you have any idea who you''re talking..." ¡°A piece of shit!¡± John cut in sharply He approached John hesitantly, taken startled. "You don''t get to talk to me like that, you moron!" ¡°Why? Cus I work here? I QUIT!¡± he replied with a daring smile. ¡°No! "You''re fired!" while tugging John by his shirt, Allan replied. John shoved him immediately, gave him a punch right in the throat. ¡°I don¡¯t work here remember?¡± he said and walked out on a writhing Allan. Coming back after spacing out, he noticed the whole atmosphere had gotten darker. ¡°It sure got dark pretty quick today¡± From afar, there was a startling clamor that sounded like a group of panicked shouts. He was frightened and began walking towards his house when he observed a figure fly quickly by him in the darkness and heard the sound of one of his windows crashing.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He began walking slowly towards his house, startled. He tried to open the front gate with his key, but it was already unlocked. "MARTHA!" he cried as he realised he wasn''t the only one home and dashed for the door. ¡°Shit! She isn''t supposed to be back yet." He pulled the door open and dashed inside. He hurried upstairs after hearing Martha scream and seeing a strange frightening monster beside her bed. When he turned to look at Martha, he noticed she had been stabbed by something he couldn''t identify. He could only see Martha muttering something that appeared like "run." He hastily grabbed his shotgun from the top of the tall closet and pointed it at the creature, but the creature had vanished. For a split second, his vision appeared to turn blue, and he spun around to look for the creature. The creature suddenly raced towards him from the location where he had initially spotted it after spinning around roughly twice. Due to his instinct, reflex, and wrath he had bottled up, he shot it right in the head in a very timely matter. He reloaded the shotgun and fired another shot at its dead body in the midsection. His vision went blue once more, but only for three seconds this time. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Martha''s body, her insides torn out as if she had been shot with a shotgun. In despair and befuddlement, John sank to his knees. ¡°How? Did I miss? No, I''m rather certain I hit it..." He came to a halt as he realized something. He exclaimed, "Where is the body?" When he turned around, he noticed the creature laughing at him. There was no sound, but its countenance said it all. He dashed up to it, grabbed it from behind, and began strangling it. The creatures struggled, constantly rotating and jumping. John was obstinate. He clung to it with all his power, despite the fact that it was hurting him. After a series of struggles, the creature swayed abnormally, causing John to lose his grip and tumble to the ground. He stood up quickly, ignoring the agony and glaring at the creature before pulling out his pocket knife. He sprang forward, but the beast deflected his thrust, sending him slamming into the wall. He lunged at it again, holding the knife in a reverse grip and stabbing it in one of its eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his thigh and immediately knew he had been tricked again When John returned to reality, he saw he had wounded himself in the thigh and saw the thing chuckling once more. ¡°Oh. I get it now¡± he said with realisation and removed the knife from his thighs, put it in his pocket and let out a little shout. He rushed at it trying to strangle it again. He managed to get a hold of it after a series of struggles. It struggled again but this time, it appeared weaker than before. John reached for his knife and this time, stabbed it in its head and some blue glowing stuff splashed out along with the bright red cold blood gushed out. His mind raced as soon as the blue fluid made contact with him, and he seemed to see years'' worth of memories in a matter of seconds. He was in a state of shock, and his eyes and mouth were both open wide. He was able to restore consciousness around 10 seconds later. He merely knelt by the lifeless beast, speechless. Martha''s death seemed to him to be something he had been accustomed to. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" This can¡¯t be real right? It''s got to be some sort of bizarre dream. That''s the only logical explanation there is¡± he said in devastation. He walked to the broken window where the creature had come in from and saw a group of other creatures rampaging in a distance; all different from the one he had encountered a while ago. Looking closer, he observed what appeared to be an aircraft carrier, but considerably larger and chaotic, and it appeared to be the source of the strange creatures'' abrupt entrance. He stood at the window, laughing maniacally. "How come all this appears to be normal?"