Chuck decided to try doing some hunting. He figured if R2 had his back then it should be relatively safe. He somehow convinced Tess to stay in the house by promising not to go very far away from home. After receiving a passionate goodbye kiss, he headed out the door for the first time since the migration started.

There were definitely more bugs flying over. The next thing he noticed were two dead dragonfly like insects laying by the garage. They were each the size of a horse and it would take some work to harvest the usable parts. Presumably R2 had killed them. Speaking of which, it was just coming into view from around the side of the house. It definitely had some bug guts on it but was otherwise undamaged.

Chuck opened the garage doors and helped R2 move the bodies inside since he didn’t want to deal with them at the moment. He then directed R2 to guard him while he went to see if he could hunt some of the bugs. He went out to the street and immediately saw one not far away. The droning of the bugs flying overhead was a constant thing and a little unnerving. This one appeared to be a beetle of some kind and was the size of a sheep. It was crawling along the street, unaware of his presence.

He took careful aim and pulled the trigger, blowing its head off. Two more came out of a nearby alley, attracted by the commotion. He fired again and shot one through the middle. The injured beetle turned around and fled back down the alley while the other advanced. R2 threw one of its spears which skewered the remaining insect. It was still struggling so Chuck finished it off. R2 retrieved its spear and Chuck had it help him get the two dead insects back to the garage.

So far, so good. The beetles didn’t seem to be overly dangerous. He didn’t think the larger dragonflies would be quite so easy though. Chuck walked back to the street and looked both ways for another one. The garage wouldn’t hold much more so he didn’t plan on hunting for long. Chuck cautiously walked farther down the street, searching for another target with R2 in tow. There were several he could see in the distance but he had promised not to go that far.

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Suddenly it started getting darker. At first Chuck thought it was from clouds but as he looked up he realized it was the swarm. He paused in shock at seeing the huge swarm block out the sun. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it in person sent a cold shiver down his back. It was definitely time to head back home. Chuck turned around and started running. Some of the bugs noticed the movement however.

Several flew at him and others landed between him and the house. He switched the gun from single shot to beam and pulled the trigger. Chuck aimed for those coming at him from the sky and fanned the gun around, taking off wings and splitting bodies. He dived to the side as one of the bodies dropped where he was standing and splattered him with gore. R2 had advanced and was engaging the ones that landed.

It twirled the spears around in deadly arcs and made mince meat out of the ones in front of them. Chuck fired again into the sky to keep the flying insects away. He had to keep moving towards the house so they didn’t overwhelm them. It seemed like more and more insects were being drawn to the battle. R2 swung the spears so fast they were a blur and took out bugs left and right.

Chuck continued firing but the bugs didn’t care how many of them he killed. He was starting to think coming outside was a very bad idea. The path to the house was now clear so he took the chance to make a run for it. R2 stepped up to shield him and continued whirling the spears around to intercept the numerous bugs. Chuck reached the front door and threw himself inside, bolting the door shut behind him. There were a few thumps but the door was sturdy and held. Tess rushed over to him and checked him over for injuries. He was fine but was filthy and covered in bug guts. “Honey, I’m home.” He said smiling with a lopsided grin.