The beetles continued their slow, inexorable advance in pursuit of the prey. Their minds, limited as they were, didn’t understand or appreciate why they were pursuing it, only that they needed to. It had hurt the swarm. It had threatened the swarm. It must die and be consumed. That guiding directive pushed the vanguard of the beetle swarm multiple kilometers, the pheromone trail left by their fallen still clear as they closed the distance.

Soon, the beetles found themselves at the entrance to a modest two-story home, the doors and ground-floor windows all broken in, leaving a clear path. There was no doubt that their quarry was inside. Mandibles clicked excitedly as the group scuttled over broken wood and glass, the prey that had eluded them these last hours finally in reach.

~~~

Kyle couldn’t help but second-guess his decision, but at this point it was too late to make a change. He was currently inside one of the buildings near where he and C.H.A.D.D. had entered Albaum, which he had not fully explored at C.H.A.D.D.’s recommendation. The building was one of the more heavily damaged structures they’d come across their first day, and the drone had advised that there was a significant risk of the whole thing coming down on their heads if they weren’t careful.

Kyle had considered his position long and hard, and had come to the conclusion that if fighting and fleeing weren’t valid options he’d have to rely on superior tactics. It was funny how often having access to these powers limited the way he approached problems. He was so focused on what his powers could do to help him survive that he hadn’t properly considered what other resources and tools might be at his disposal. Ambushes were basic military tactics, and ambush predators often found high degrees of success in the wild. Knowing that, and having no better options, Kyle decided to try his hand. Even if all he accomplished was thinning out the group a bit, he would be closer to his goal than before.

Knowing he still had at least a few uses of HASTE available if necessary, he wasn’t concerned about being able to outrun the group if push came to shove. That mentality changed, however, as he saw the beetles crawling through the doorway and the windows he’d broken earlier. He hadn’t expected the sheer number of beetles that came lumbering through, and for a horrifying moment he had a vision of being unable to pass by and being overtaken by the swarm. The fear threatened to paralyze him. Instead, he took a stabilizing breath before initiating his plan. With a grunt of pain, he smashed his shoulder into the damaged support strut exposed in the ceiling and felt it begin to give.

He turned and kicked off of it, tucking his shoulder and jumping through the second story window he’d broken out earlier. Behind him he heard the loud groan and creak of wood giving way, followed by a tremendous crash before he’d even hit the ground. The house was unstable when he and C.H.A.D.D. had originally been scouting, and with the damage Kyle had caused on the second floor, the house’s structure failed. The home collapsed in on his pursuers, and Kyle smiled. There was no way they’d get out of there any time soon.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The reality of his situation reasserted itself as he heard the sound of clicking mandibles and clawed legs methodically shuffling over stone. His best estimate was that he had managed to catch roughly half of the beetles in his trap, which still left an imposing number outside. When he also considered that at least a handful of the beetles in the collapsed house had survived, he knew he needed to make distance again. Gritting his teeth against the intensified pain, Kyle once again activated HASTE and ran. This time he didn’t have a convenient house to drop on his foes, but he did have one more trick up his sleeve.

Kyle deactivated his skill and immediately fell over. The dull ache was now familiar, but he had not expected it to hit him as hard as it did. Coupled with the prolonged use through the day and the damage from his two-story fall, and it was too much for Kyle’s body to handle.

He felt a pit forming in his stomach as he realized the full extent of his exhaustion. He felt REGENERATION going to work to help ease the ache, and knew he’d be able to stand shortly. It wouldn’t be enough to get back to one hundred percent. This would be his last stand.

The area he stepped into was the last part of Albaum that he and C.H.A.D.D. had scouted. They had successfully hunted two smaller groups of beetles down here before, and during the second hunt, they’d found the damaged remains of a rail yard. The mana-infused batteries had been largely corrupted, and most supplies of value had been taken away as well. What was left, however, was one crane holding a large shipping container suspended in the air.

Even better, the container wasn’t held with the more common mag-lev technology, but with a standard mechanical connection. Kyle knew going in that he would need a lot of luck on his side for this to work, but had thought he would be able to escape if the plan went sour. However, with his body in the condition it was in, the stakes had gotten much, much higher. REGENERATION was still at work, though at its current pace there's no way he'd be back to top condition any time soon.

Clambering over broken glass, Kyle made his way into the control room. He looked around at the various monitors – all dead – until he spotted what he’d hoped he was looking for. A bright red button under the words EMERGENCY RELEASE showed him what he wanted to see, and he looked north in the direction his enemies would approach from. In a strange way, the waiting was the hardest part.

In his hurry to cover distance he pushed HASTE too far, and watching the empty, unmoving horizon was a reminder of how he’d screwed up. He could have deactivated the skill much earlier and still gained ground, but he allowed himself to panic and create the situation he now had to dig his way out of. Almost an hour had passed, but then he saw them.

Faint at first, he saw a mottled black mass slowly take the form of close to twenty beetles, all following the trail he’d left behind. They began to congregate in the area he’d spent much of his time since entering the rail yard – right below the suspended shipping container. As the last couple of beetles entered the space, he slammed his palm into the EMERGENCY RELEASE button.

There was a harsh grinding sound, a slight shaking, and then nothing happened. He slammed his palm into the button again and again, but nothing else happened. The beetles, startled by the sound, regrouped and began to move directly towards the control room. Well, that’s not good.