Early in the morning, the four men descended into the valley while the sky was dyed blood red. Throughout the night, the Worms had actively patrolled, and with the sun's rising, many retreated into the comfort of the indoors. Only a few of the essential guards remained outside, and had their heads not squirmed uncomfortably in the rising sun, it would have been possible to mistake them for statues.
Slacks was the first to break off from the group. He had covered himself in a makeshift ghillie suit and melded into the mountain landscape. Only the long sniper barrel indicated where he lay.
Bandana was the next to break away, giving Helmet and Glasses a box before pulling his gun close to his chest and running around an old house. The other two headed to the large complex with shaky steps.
Glasses walked behind Helmet, holding a plastic bucket full of the C4. His rifle clanked around as the strap tried to cut into his shoulder. The younger boy pushed away the pain—stopping to adjust his weapon would lose them valuable minutes.
Helmet’s eyes and head darted around as he tried to keep tabs on everything in the spot. Glasses couldn’t help but wonder how he didn’t get whiplash. He didn’t stop even as they entered through the backdoor of a building that had been consumed—melding the walls straight together—by the worm factory. It always bothered the boy how their technology seemed to graft so easily—like they could grow anywhere and fuse with anything.
The door creaked shut as the duo examined the spot. It had once been an ordinary kitchen; the cabinets and appliances were still intact enough to make out. The room's far wall appeared to have metal grow into it and opened up to a dark silver hallway. Huddled in the corner, two skeletons wrapped around each other, a larger one with a hole-ridden back acting as a barrier for the smaller one.
Glasses felt his shoulders tremble until a firm hand was clasped on one.
“We’ll come back and bury them later,” Helmet said before walking into the hallway briskly. Glasses nodded and followed after.
Any trace of a human abode vanished instantly as the duo headed into the depths of the worm base. The hallways were wide, enough for two armored invaders to pass each other, and the walls were made of glass tubes. The occasional fleshy body would slip past in a flash as the creatures moved from one location to another. Helmet and Glasses had seen it before, but the sight was always jarring enough to make them jump when one passed. The boy hoped the creatures went too fast to notice the duo walking through. Now and then, they would dart down another path to avoid approaching Worms—the sound of hard feet scratching the metal floor, like nails on a chalkboard, always alerted them to one coming.
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More than the sights, the duo found the smell to be overwhelming. A putrid stench, like sulfur and rotted garlic, always hung so thickly in the air that humans felt the desire not to swallow, lest they feel they tasted it in their saliva. Glasses had heard of the experience but never smelled it for himself until now. Neither of the duo knew the source, and trying to plug their noses only seemed to make the problem worse. They did their best to ignore it as they began placing the first explosives.
They set the first few charges up in random locations as they wandered labyrinth-like hallways. They would serve as extra explosive damage after the primary target, the central power system, was destroyed.
It took some time, but eventually, they wandered into a room filled with giant cylinders. A toxic green liquid swirled inside and glowed in a manner that only suggested radioactivity. Though neither of the duo understood the principle behind the spot, when ignited, the stuff let off the purple smoke they were all too familiar with. Glasses was sure they lost several years of his life as he stood next to the alien generator. At the very least, he might have some odd kids, if that were ever to be a possibility. They set charges under some tanks; Helmet turned off the squeal of a Geiger counter he must have forgotten was in his equipment as he kneeled close.
It took a while; they had to hide several times as patrols came through and waited with bated breath for the threat to pass. When they finished, the duo quickly exited the room. Glasses held a final explosive close, and his gun was ready for battle.
“One more. Do you think everything outside is okay?” he whispered.
“Not for us to worry about now; let’s just get this planted and get out of….”
The ugly walls of the worm base suddenly gave way to an operating center. It had once been a banquet hall, and a large window on the opposite side and chandelier on the ceiling remained intact. Three Worms stood with their backs turned as they worked on some pedestals just before the window. The older man looked around with wide eyes and shook his head. “Let’s get out now, just drop that…” a bang interrupted him. They both turned around.
Across the room, what could only be described as a giant, almost twice the height of Glasses, ducked under the doorframe it just hit its head on. It stood on two legs and was covered in ratty and torn fur. Metal had been welded to the chest and legs like some sort of armor, and cloth wrapped like a double slit skirt around the waist and down to the knees. Whatever the head had once resembled was long lost as a pointed metallic material, like a bird’s head and beak, covered it entirely. A bundle of wires flowed like hair from the back of the head. They moved like tentacles up to the ceiling and linked to some ports on the top while a metal-infused tail hung down to the floor. At once, the giant shuddered and turned its pointed head like it glared down at them.
“Damn worms and their pets!” Helmet spat as he held his gun ready. Glasses followed suit. The giant banged what looked like a long pole with two arches on either end on the ground three times. The Worms in the room suddenly turned and fixed drawn guns at the duo.