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‘No, this is great’ the sergeant commented. ‘No, I mean, having to clean your comrade’s blood from your boots’ he added as Jack just looked down at his own and then grimly nodded his head in agreement.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Day Seven:

  13th January 2021

  First Light in Eugene,

  Oregon, U.S.A.

  At first light, General O’Dowd arrived at the new army camp in Eugene and immediately made his way towards the pit to look upon the creature for the very first time.

  The sheer savagery of the insect/animal shocked them all as upon seeing them gazing down at it, it jumped up and screamed and spat at them!

  ‘My God!’ uttered General O’Dowd ‘what the hell is that damn thing?’

  ‘We don’t rightly know, General’ admitted Stuart truthfully ‘but it appears more insect than animal.’

  ‘Well I don’t care what it is, how the hell do we kill it is all I want to know’ the General stated forcefully.

  ‘It’s not going to be easy’ admitted Joan ‘the creature on its own, seems able to disable our electricity and prevent any flame being lit around it’ she explained.

  ‘I damn well know that much already, I’ve just had to walk a mile just to get here as our Jeep just stopped working’ the General replied angrily.

  ‘I just thought they had some kind of equipment to do all these things, but now it seems it’s the creatures themselves that are somehow able to do them’ commented Jack thoughtfully.

  ‘Well never mind that, let’s try shooting the God awful thing’ uttered the General.

  ‘How do we do that exactly? When none of our guns work around it?’ shrugged Jack.

  ‘But that can’t be right’ the General shook his head.

  Then he turned to a young soldier just behind him.

  ‘Give me your weapon, son’ he ordered.

  The General then aimed the semi automatic rifle at the creature’s head and then pulled the trigger.

  ‘Click!’ it went.

  ‘God damn it! Then how can we kill these things?’ General O’Dowd asked angrily.

  ‘We’re not sure, General’ shrugged Stuart.

  ‘Someone set up some high powered rifles to shoot this thing dead from a distance, somewhere where they will work!’ insisted the General.

  ‘Already on it, Sir’ a soldier saluted him as he then ran off to do just as he had ordered.

  ‘Oh and you’d better enforce a no fly zone too’ added Joan.

  ‘What for?’ asked another officer.

  ‘Because if you don’t, without electricity or flame working around this thing, things may soon start dropping out the sky all around us’ she insisted urgently.

  ‘But how will we know the range?’ the soldier then asked.

  ‘Have you a cigarette lighter?’ Joan asked.

  ‘Yes?’ replied the officer looking puzzled.

  ‘Try lighting it then’ she suggested.

  He did and then he looked quite shocked.

  ‘Well I’ll be…’ he just uttered.

  ‘Where your lighter won’t light, will dictate the area around the creature where no aircraft should attempt to fly’ she instructed.

  ‘I’ll get onto that right away’ he told her as he saluted her and then ran off.

  An hour later, General O’Dowd’s crack troop of sharp shooters began taking pot shots at the creature using high powered rifles with telescopic sights from helicopter gunships flying just outside the creature’s own dead zone area.

  Everyone took cover as a barrage of bullets now rained in!

  After which, they all ran forwards to stare into the pit to see if the creature was still alive or not.

  ‘Bloody hell!’ uttered Stuart in disappointment ‘it doesn’t even look to be scratched.’

  ‘What the hell?’ uttered General O’Dowd in dismay ‘bombard it with some damn rockets we’ll see how it likes that!’

  ‘We have to be careful, General’ insisted Stuart in alarm ‘we don’t want to damage the pit by mistake and allow it to escape.’

  ‘I’ll order just a few then, smaller missiles’ nodded an officer as he cycled away on a bicycle to pass on the order.

  ‘We’d better all take cover again’ suggested Jack as everyone began running away from the pit.

  Some forty minutes later, a small salvo of rockets flew into the pit fired from a rocket launcher back at the camp, but all the rockets failed to explode. Instead they just impacted onto the pit floor.

  General O’Dowd now just stared into the pit in disappointment as the creature seemed completely unmarked. Worse still, it began picking up what remained of the rockets and throwing them at people all around the edge of the pit!

  ‘This damn creature is the ultimate fighting machine. No firearms or rockets work in its presence, it can jump thirty feet into the air, run at God knows how many miles an hour, and it is seemingly invincible to any attack we can launch against it’ the General uttered in defeat.

  ‘You almost sound like you admire it, General?’ commented Jenny.

  ‘Well I do, young lady’ he replied ‘why it’s the ultimate soldier. I wish I had an army of them on our side’ the General admitted.

  ‘What about chemical weapons?’ a scientist nearby then suggested.

  ‘We could try I suppose, as long as they don’t endanger us that is’ nodded Stuart and for the next hour various things were thrown into the pit whilst they all wore protective gas masks, but the creature still remained completely unaffected.

  ‘I think he likes them’ smiled Jack afterwards.

  ‘This is no laughing matter, Professor’ criticised the General ‘remember, people are dying out there’ General O’Dowd told him angrily.

  ‘I’m sorry, General O’Dowd, I didn’t think’ nodded Jack as he immediately apologised.

  ‘Apparently so’ the General nodded back.

  ‘General, we’ll have to forget all our hi-tech weaponry as clearly nothing will work anywhere near these things’ Stuart insisted.

  ‘Then what do you suggest we do then, Professor?’ asked the General ‘surrender to them?’

  ‘We could try one of these’ suggested Joan, suddenly shoving a small drawing in the General’s hand.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked as he looked down at the rough sketch Joan had drawn.

  Then as he studied it, he just exploded.

  ‘A CATAPULT, WHAT IS THIS, SOME SORT OF SICK JOKE OR SOMETHING? IS THIS THE BEST ALL YOU SCIENTISTS CAN COME UP WITH?’ the General shouted angrily as he screwed the piece of paper up and just threw it onto the ground!

  ‘No, General, this is not just a catapult’ insisted Joan, picking up the paper and straightening it out again ‘in large enough quantities it could become an artillery barrage’ she insisted ‘something completely unaffected by any lack of electricity or flame!’

  The General was now interested.

  ‘But would it work?’ he asked curiously.

  ‘I have them building a rough prototype right now’ Joan smiled.

  ‘Then when will it be ready for testing?’ the General asked eagerly.

  ‘In around an hours’ time, we hope’ Joan explained.

  ‘OK, we’ll come back here again when it’s ready for testing and see how it works’ agreed the General as he immediately marched off.

  Stuart meanwhile, just stood staring down at the creature.

  ‘Can we do this though, Joan, really kill this thing?’ he pondered ‘after all, it’s a new form of life to us?’

  ‘You’re thinking with your heart and not your scientific head, Stuart’ replied Joan. ‘You’ve got to start thinking what might happen if we can’t kill these things. Then it’s the end of all mankind as far as I can see. Remember, this is just one of these creatures, and nothing we’ve tried yet has come even close to killing it. Don’t forget, Stuart, these things are
out there possibly killing thousands of people right now even as we speak’ insisted Joan forcefully.

  ‘I’m sorry, of course you’re right, Joan’ Stuart nodded.

  ‘The General’s right too isn’t he?’ commented Jack thoughtfully. ‘This creature is the ultimate killing machine, it’s pretty much invincible. It has clearly adapted itself for warfare. It has the best form of defence ever devised. A built in ability to block all our communication systems and render all our weapons obsolete’ nodded Jack. ‘The American government would give its eye teeth for an army even a fraction as well equipped as these.’

  ‘Don’t give the General ideas, Jack or he’ll be trying to recruit them into the American army next’ Stuart joked.

  ‘Yes, but both you and the General have missed out one important point’ added Joan. ‘If it is a pure killing machine made only for war, then it has no conscience or concept of morality. That means unlike you, Stuart, this is a creature that will kill indiscriminately and as far as I can see, if it isn’t stopped, it will keep on killing us until we have been wiped off the face of the Earth!’

  ‘Either that or will farm us for food’ commented Jack.

  ‘Oh, Jack, you don’t really think it could contemplate that do you?’ uttered Joan, now looking quite shocked at the very suggestion.

  ‘Why not, we farm animals for food we think are way below us, so why should we think this animal should act any different towards us? It’s clearly way more advanced than we are.’

  ‘Oh, this just gets worse by the minute’ uttered Joan as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair.

  ‘Unfortunately, you’re right, Jack’ admitted Stuart ‘although it goes very much against the grain for me to admit it, as I’m against killing any living creature. This animal/insect whatever it is though seems born out of pure evil. Why it could have stepped out of hell itself. Unfortunately, they must be killed before they kill all of us’ agreed Stuart as he nodded his head sadly.

  ‘Perhaps if we could at least give them a bloody nose they may disappear back to where they came from?’ suggested Jack.

  ‘Somehow I can’t see that ever happening’ commented Jenny as she stared down into the pit and watched the creature just scream at them again.

  ‘If these things fight like ants, they’ll just fight to the death won’t they?’ commented Jack as Stuart just held Jenny in his arms and pulled her back away from the pit.

  ‘I could do with your help on this’ stated Joan as she began walking back towards the camp that had been set up just outside the creature’s own new dead zone.

  ‘That thing is terrifying’ commented Jenny as she just looked back and shuddered before walking away even faster.

  ‘Yes and that’s just one of them’ added Jack ‘imagine what a million of them could do.’

  ‘I’d rather not if you don’t mind’ commented Joan thoughtfully.

  The three of them then worked alongside all the expert engineers, scientists, skilled technicians and mechanics to create a prototype catapult that could be operated manually.

  Several hours later, they were pulling it along with two horses borrowed from a farmer, to test out the new weapon on the creature itself. Then Stuart sent news to General O’Dowd so he could attend and witness the test himself.

  ‘It reminds me of something the Romans used to use’ commented Jack as he stared at it.

  ‘That’s what I based it upon’ commented Joan ‘after all they were the ultimate fighting machine before anyone discovered electricity or invented firearms.’

  ‘Yes, I guess there’s a kind of logic in that’ smiled Stuart.

  ‘Yes, our ultimate fighting machine verses theirs’ smiled Jack.

  Soon they had positioned the catapult on the very edge of the pit and General O’Dowd stood there closely inspecting it.

  ‘It looks a bit crude, can it really work?’ he questioned.

  ‘It’s incredibly powerful, General O’Dowd’ explained Joan ‘don’t be fooled by its appearance, General, its projectile could easily pierce the armour plating of one of your modern tanks.’

  ‘Really?’ remarked the General, now looking quite impressed. ‘What does it fire then?’ he inquired and Stuart handed him one of the arrows.

  ‘It’s made from steel, is four foot long and has a toughened steel tip, very quick and easy to mass produce’ Joan explained.

  ‘And the catapult itself would be too’ added Jack.

  ‘OK, let’s see if it works then’ ordered the General.

  Joan had fitted the modern day catapult with the same manual sights used on modern day artillery weapons and she lined the creature up in the sights as Jack readied himself to pull the trigger.

  ‘Looking at how fast the creature moves around, I reckon it will be easier if the person on the sights also pulls the trigger’ suggested Joan and so Jack handed the trigger to her.

  ‘Are you OK with this?’ asked Stuart and Joan nodded.

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she smiled ‘I’m confident it’ll work.’

  ‘No, I meant operating the machinery?’ questioned Stuart.

  ‘Stuart, I’ve won my University’s top marksman gold medal award for target shooting three years running!’ she smiled.

  ‘Yes, so don’t piss her off, because she’s a crack shot’ joked Jack.

  ‘I think that qualifies her enough’ commented General O’Dowd.

  Joan now carefully lined up the sights in an area the creature kept regularly walking passed.

  Strangely enough, the creature itself now stopped and looked up at the weapon as it roared, spat and screamed angrily at it defiantly.

  ‘It’s almost as if it’s taunting us’ commented Stuart.

  ‘Not for much longer it’s not’ replied Joan and only seconds later she fired off the catapult’s arrow.

  It flew down and immediately hit the creature sending it backwards to the floor in a huge cloud of concrete dust!

  ‘Has it done it? Have we killed it?’ puzzled Jack instantly as no one could see a thing.

  Then, as the dust gradually cleared they could see the creature lying on the base of the pit with the arrow skewered right through the centre of its chest.

  An instant cheer went up from everyone watching!

  ‘Well done you three’ smiled General O’Dowd now happily nodding his approval.

  Then he looked around at someone behind him.

  ‘Sergeant, I want these weapons mass produced at lightening fast speed and get me the President on the phone back at the camp.’

  ‘Right away, Sir’ saluted the soldier before quickly getting onto a bicycle and riding off.

  ‘Get some men down there and have that thing brought up so we can have it examined’ ordered the General, now looking very pleased with the outcome.

  He then went to light a celebratory cigar.

  ‘What the?’ he puzzled as he soon discovered that even dead the creature still prevented anything from being ignited.

  ‘But how’s that even possible?’ he demanded.

  ‘It must mean that the creature’s ability to neutralise our electricity and prevent anything being ignited around it, is inbuilt within itself rather than it being some kind of external gadget they use’ Stuart attempted to explain. ‘Fascinating’ he added curiously.

  ‘Fascinating? Might I remind you again, Professor Keys that good people are dying out there!’ General O’Dowd stated angrily before storming off.

  ‘Oh well, we pleased him for at least half a minute’ shrugged Stuart.

  ‘Never mind him’ smiled Jack ‘at least we’ve found a way to fight back and that’s got to be something to be pleased about.’

  ‘Yes you’re right’ Stuart agreed and he smiled at all the scientists behind them. ‘Well done everyone!’ he told them as they all smiled back and applauded excitedly.

  ‘Seriously though’ questioned Jo
an ‘will this really be enough to stop them?’

  Both Stuart and Jack now looked at each other.

  ‘The sheer numbers we’ve seen from the airship I’d have to say, probably not’ admitted Stuart.

  ‘It’s a start though’ smiled Jack.

  ‘Yes, that my friend it is!’ nodded Stuart happily.

  Meanwhile, two soldiers had abseiled down into the pit in order to attach some rope around the creature so it could then be pulled out.

  ‘CAREFUL!’ shouted Joan, concerned that the creature might not be completely dead. ‘It could be just playing dead’ she suggested.

  ‘WHAT? WITH A DIRTY GREAT ARROW STUCK RIGHT THROUGH IT?’ questioned one of the soldiers as he shouted up to her.

  ‘IF IT’S AN INSECT IT COULD FIGHT EVEN WITH LIMBS AMPUTATED! ANTS DO!’ she shouted back down to them.

  The two soldiers just looked at each other and then worked very cautiously, but there was no movement from the creature now. Instead, a trail of inky black semi fluid just poured out from the open wound in its body.

  ‘YEAH, IT’S DEFINITELY DEAD!’ shouted up one of the soldiers.

  ‘GOOD! THEN LET’S GET IT OUT OF THERE AND BACK TO OUR MAKE SHIFT LABORATORY WITHOUT DELAY!’ shouted Stuart, but of course, there were immediate problems as nothing electric, petrol driven or otherwise would work anywhere near the creature, so even a simple task like pulling it up from the bottom of the pit became a major headache. It resulted in it taking over ten soldiers to manually haul the creature up instead.

  Then upon attempting to hitch up the two horses used to pull the catapult, they then discovered the horses refused to go anywhere near the creature’s dead body.

  ‘Well have to lift it onto a trailer and push it back ourselves’ suggested Stuart.

  A mobile autopsy room had been set up inside the makeshift army camp, but of course, the moment they carried the creature inside, all the electricity immediately went off and no equipment of any type would work.

  Over a dozen doctors and scientists poured in to study the creature’s dead body, but within ten minutes two of them had to be rushed to hospital with serious burns from the creature’s leaking blood.