When they had landed on Zebes, there were twenty-four men in their squad. Two hours later, there were six.

“Davies,” said Jackrum, turning on his helmet’s flashlight and peering around the cave, “you...um…you saw what happened to Sarge, right?”

“You mean before the locusts were hopping everywhere, or after?”

“Um…after.”

“The dragon? Yeah,” Davies’ voice got slow and hard, “I saw the dragon.”

Jackrum nodded slightly, his helmet barely visible in the darkness.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Tannish whispered, “I was hoping I imagined that thing.”

“Well you didn’t,” said Miram, panning around to survey the damp, narrow cave, “You saw the real deal. You saw him pick Sarge up with his tail and…”

“Did anyone else hear it…y’know…um…say stuff?

Everyone stared at Jackrum.

Rosser stepped forward. “Jackie, now is not the time for bullshit.”

“No…I’m serious. I thought I heard it…y’know…speak.”

“Alright,” said Rosser, “I don‘t know who they had testing those berserker shots, but whoever it is didn‘t do it well enough.”

“I heard it.”

Everyone looked back at Miram.

“He was speaking New Martian. When he flew over the mesa, and looked down at us? Yeah, I heard him. He told me to watch what happened, because it‘d be happening to me in a minute. Then he stuck his tail through Sarge‘s chest and flew him up into the air, and he told me in my skull to watch closely, and then he-”

“WE GOT IT, RICHARD.”

Tannish’s armor had cracks all over the chest and arms. Behind them, his muscles were tensing up.

Miram smiled.

“Hehe. Don’t worry, Tannish. I was just pulling your leg. That didn’t really happen. Right, Jackrum?”

The three meter wide passage seemed smaller and more enclosed. Their armor took up all the space, hanging around them like pieces of rigid cardboard. Five of the marines stood in a circle, looking back and forth behind their visors. The sixth was looking back the way they had come, helmet-light battling the thick darkness.

“Guys,” said Ricardo, “there wasn’t water there a second ago.”

Everyone looked around. Their lights reflected off the surface of the water, which filled the passageway they had come through.

“Oh god…they‘re flooding us?” Davies pointed his gun ineffectually forward, as if he could shoot the water away.

“Don‘t think so,” said Jackrum, “I mean, there’s that many of them…why wouldn’t they just come down here? I mean, if they knew where we were.”

“Hang on,” said Rosser, “remember the briefing? There’s underground seas on Zebes. This planet’s also got a moon, doesn’t it?”

“Tide coming in.”

Ricardo stepped closer to the water, bending down slightly.

“Its still coming in fast.”

“It…? Shit. That passageway…it went down before it came back up to our level. That means its all flooded now.”

Davies looked the other way, peering into the blackness that lay further into the tunnel.

“The incline’s still going along this passage,” he said, “maybe it goes above high tide line.”

“Hold on; these suits can make it through a tank of gel coolant. Why’s water a problem?”

“Because, Rosser,” said Davies, “Tannish and I both have armor breaches. I dunno how Aliehsites are built, but I‘m from Earth, and on my planet humans breath air.”

Silence. In the distance, or perhaps just around the corner, a steady drip echoed through the abyss.

“Let‘s keep going.”

There were sounds of metal-shod feet scraping against the damp cave floor as the troopers resumed their climb.

“Here; it gets steep, grab on.”

“Its fine, I‘ve got it.”

A minute later.

“Ricardo, is that you in the front? Why are you stopping?”

“Water.” Said Ricardo. “Lots of water.

“Could you,” huffed Rosser, crawling up behind Ricardo, “get any more vague when people ask you-oh shit.”

Their flashlights showed less than a tenth of the chamber they had entered. The troopers were on a tiny rock outcropping, a small cliff hanging over a lake of black water. The cave ceiling was high above them; too high for anything but the faintest glimmer from their flashlights to reach. Rosser scanned the underground sea below them; he couldn’t see the other side of it, or even the other two sides. All he could see were the four meters of shelf under him, the slimy, black wall that their passage broke through, and the water trickling from stalactites around him and dripping, second by second, into the tide.

“Rosser,” said Jackrum, “do you think it‘ll climb as high as we are?”

“Does paying attention during the briefing make me a geologist?”

“I think we’re safe.”

“Ricardo?” Tannish asked.

“The stone further down is a darker color. It has more algae on it. There‘s a clear line where it changes, right below us.”

“High tide line,” said Tannish, “thank god.”

“Look,” said Jackrum, pointing to the side, “looks like there’s another passage. I think we could climb into it.”

Davies shined his light in that direction. Sure enough, there was another opening in the cave wall, leading into a tunnel like the one they had come through. It was about four meters away from their outcropping.

“You think we can climb that wall?” Asked Tannish.

“I wouldn‘t try it. I mean, even up here, the stone‘s plenty slippery. And who knows how stable that wall is? Grab the wrong rock, and it comes out of the wall, and then it's down, down, down, until we hear a splash. Then it's all black and pouring into your armor…”

“Miram!”

“Just saying.”

The water was even higher now. They could see the line shining against its surface just two and a half meters below.

“Almost at the line, but not quite,” Tannish shined his light on the tunnel wall behind them, noticing the water creeping up behind them as well as in front.

“Okay, but will the tide go out before, y‘know, we run out of oxygen? I mean, we don‘t know if there are other openings.”

“Jackrum, why are you stuttering?”

“Oh…um…I am?”

Davies couldn’t see through the visor, but judging by body language Jackrum honestly hadn’t noticed. Instead of pressing the issue, Davies checked his air gauge.

“We‘ll have ninety minutes of air after the cave runs out, assuming it does. Hopefully, the tide’ll go out by then.”

“Heh. What do you think, Mr. Geologist?”

Silence.

“Rosser?”

There was a shuffling as they looked around.

“Jason? Private Jason Rosser, where the fuck did you go?”

Still no answer. Davies shined his flashlight all around, counting helmets. Jackrum, Miram, Ricardo, Tannish, and himself. Five marines.

“Tannish, wasn‘t he back there with you?”

Tannish’s outline flickered against the darkness.

“He was.”

They raised their GAUSS rifles, helmet-beams scanning in every direction. But there was nowhere to search. It was just the five of them, standing in the entrance of a giant, half-flooded cave. The tunnel behind them went down into the water. The cavern in front of them was empty; full of stalactites, dripping, and darkness.

“M-Maybe he climbed over to the other tunnel?”

Flashlight beams moved along the wall that led to the other tunnel entrance. There was no one climbing there, and the other entrance was empty. Pale, yellow lights kept twitching around the cave. The only people were the five doing the searching.

“He was standing behind me,” Tannish said, “last I saw, he was bending over the…”

Tannish stopped mid-sentence and stared into the watery tunnel.

“That passageway might be steep,” said Davies, “but if he fell in, he could still climb back up. His armor was intact. He‘d at least be able to signal us.”

Tannish shook his helmet.

“There‘s nothing but water on both sides. If he didn‘t fall in, where the fuck did he go?”

Tannish moved back into the tunnel, kneeling down to look into the water.

“Its too murky for the light,” he said, “maybe if-GHAAA!!!”

There was a small splash, and Tannish stumbled back toward the others, both hands on his shoulder. His feet slid on the damp rocks, and he went over on his back, helmet light shining on the tunnel ceiling, feet just a meter from the water.

“What the…?” he shouted over the comlink, “Help!”

The other four crowded around him, guns at the ready. With all four of their lights shining down at him, they could see Tannish clearly. His hands were gripping his right shoulder, body curled up as if he had been struck.

“Tannish!?” Davies shouted, “What happened?”

“Ahhh…” his voice sounded strained, as if he was in pain, “I dunno…something just…”

Slowly, he removed his hands from his shoulder. Protruding from his armor was a dripping, black quill, covered in tiny barbs. Longer than a human finger, it was made of some hard, chitin-like material. The armor within a centimeter around it was shattered.

Three marines stood up and pointed their guns at the water, knees bent and ready to spring back. Ricardo remained bent over Tannish.

“I saw a splash,” he said, “like, something breaking the surface. Then it just stabbed into me!”

Ricardo placed a finger next to the quill.

“Painkillers?”

Tannish nodded.

“Yeah, they’re starting to work. I don’t think we should pull it out, though. Here, wanna’ give me a hand?”

As Ricardo helped Tannish to his feet, careful not to upset the embedded quill, Davies turned to the two beside him.

“Too murky; whatever‘s down there, we‘re not going to see it until it comes back.”

“I have a couple grenades left. Maybe if we threw some down, we’d…well…even if we missed, we might scare it away.”

“Nah,” said Miram, “if we start tossing eggs, the locusts will hear. And if that happens, they‘ll be down to finish the job.”

They looked at each other for suggestions, but saw nothing but tinted visors and darkness.

“Hey,” said Tannish, “sorry to interrupt, but does anyone have water left?”

“A little,” said Davies, “Why?”

Tannish shrugged his left shoulder, keeping his right cradled in his hand. “I‘m really thirsty all of a sudden, and I finished mine.”

“We left the dropship two hours ago,” said Davies, “we each had a quarter gallon.”

“I know. I just finished mine a second ago, but I still feel like I‘m dehydrating.”

“Take it easy. You‘re probably just worked up from that injury.”

As Davies and Ricardo dealt with Tannish, Jackrum looked back across the watery pit, staring at the other passage.

“I say we climb to the other exit. Whatever it is, its on the tunnel side. If we climb over the lake-even if someone does fall in-there won’t be a line of sight. We can just, uh, go over to that tunnel, and maybe it’ll be drier, and we…we can wait for the tide to go out.”

“Jackie,” said Miram, “maybe I‘m not Rosser, but I still remember a couple things. And one of the things I remember is that the entire crust of this planet is full of caves. Everything‘s connected. Now, if there was something living down here, don’tcha’ think it would know how to get to the other side?”

“We…we don‘t know that!”

Miram shrugged.

“Okay,” he said, “sure. We don’t. Do we, Jacks?”

“Wh…what are you…?”

“How come you’re stuttering, Jackie?” Miram took a step toward him. “What did the dragon say to you?”

Jackrum said nothing. For a few minutes, the only sound was the dripping of cave water into the tide below.

“Fellas,” said Tannish, “I don’t think its being hurt. I’ve been IIA before, I can deal with that. I‘m just really thirsty.”

“You drank a quarter gallon,” said Davies, “how could you be thirsty?”

“Why do you have such a problem with this, Davies? Just share a few drops, okay?”

“You sound a little defensive.”

“Well EXCUSE ME, HOWARD, BUT I DON’T REMEMBER YOU BEING IN COMMAND! How come you‘re acting like you‘re in charge or something? I‘m just fucking thirsty! Can I have some water? Please? Ow!”

His muscles tightened up under his suit again. The quill in his shoulder twitched as his shoulder tensed up, making him flinch and grab it again.

“W…wait a second,” Jackrum pushed forward, “wh…when exactly did you start wanting water?”

“Oh for the love of fucking…just now! Why does it matter? I just need a goddamned drink!”

Tannish was standing apart from the other four now, his back to the cave wall. Ricardo and Miram still had their guns pointing down the passageway, but their attention was divided.

“Fine,” croaked Tannish, “that’s fine. You want to keep your fucking water? Alright.”

His voice sounded hoarse, dehydrated. It was hard to tell through the armor, but it looked like he was trembling.

“You‘re all-” he stopped to cough “-well, you anyway, Jack, you think the other side might be safe?”

He gestured with his rifle, pointing at the open cave with the cliff hanging over the lake.

“Well…I was just saying that, uh, maybe…why? You aren‘t talking about-”

“Alright then!” Shouted Tannish, “I guess its-” he coughed again, his voice drying up by the second, “I guess maybe I‘ll risk it.”

“NO!”

Davies lunged at him, but Tannish had already darted to the edge of the cliff.

“I can go down there, filter myself some water, risk getting spiked again. Or, maybe you guys can just GIMME SOME OF YOUR FUCKING WATER!”

“Tannish, think about it! When did you suddenly start dying of thirst?”

“You guys already asked-” he coughed, “-why…”

Davies pointed at Tannish’s shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s a coincidence!”

Miram and Ricardo moved away from the passageway, moving closer to Davies.

“Its in the water,” said Davies, “it got Jason when he went too close to the water. What do you think that quill is supposed to do?”

For a moment, there was silence. Tannish’s breath came hoarsely over the comlink.

“Are you sweating?” Davies asked.

“I…no…”

“Pissing?”

“No...why…” he coughed again.

“And there’s nothing dripping from the wound. That means your body hasn‘t lost any water. It’s the quill. Its tricking your nervous system.”

“But…I…”

“You’re not really thirsty.”

They watched their HUD’s. Seconds turned into minutes. Tannish stayed on the edge of the cliff, legs trembling, hands gripping his shoulder.

Then, he jumped.

“DAMNIT!!!”

Davies raced to the edge of the cliff, shining his helmet light downward. The three other marines were right behind him, stopping just short of the edge and calling downward.

“Tannish!” Shouted Davies, “Tannish, get your stupid ass back up here!”

“T-Tannish?” Shouted Jackrum, “Tannish, can you hear us?”

“Yeah,” a croaking, dried out voice spoke back over the comlink, “yeah, I hear you assholes. I can feel the water…getting in my suit. Oh god, it feels great! Its warm! S‘like taking a shower!”

Davies scanned the whole area under them. There was no visible sign of him.

“He‘s underwater,” said Miram, “standing on the bottom. Must be. And I‘ll bet Rosser‘s down there with him. Too bad its all murky, or they‘d see each other get-”

“Tannish,” Davies repeated, “you‘re tank‘s gotta be full now! Climb out before you drown in your fucking turtleshell!”

This time, there was no response. Davies waited a second, still straining his eyes at the dark tide below them.

“Tannish?”

Nothing.

Suddenly, Jackrum pointed at the water.

“Look!”

Davies turned his head just in time to see it. A wake. A ripple of black, filthy cave water, just at the border of their lights. Something had moved below the water. Judging by the ripple it made, it was bigger than Tannish. Davies raised his gun, but the wake had already vanished.

“TANNISH!?”

Nothing. Davies, Jackrum, and Ricardo all had their rifles pointing at the water. Miram stood with his back to them, staring back down the flooded passageway, as if expecting something to crawl out of the watery tunnel and sneak up behind them.

“Looks like I was right,” said Miram, “Wasn‘t I, Jacks? There‘s another tunnel connecting both sides. Probably a few of them. He knew Tannish would be going down on side or the other. He was circling back and forth, waiting to see which one. Or maybe he had his friends helping him.”

“Miram,” said Davies, “shut the fuck up. Now.”

Suddenly, there was a tiny splash below them, and something flew up through their flashlight beams.

“AHHHH!!!”

“Davies!” Shouted Jackrum.

Davies took a step back, staring down at the dripping, black quill that had landed in his chestplate. Ricardo and Jackrum fired wildly into the water, sending dozens of GAUSS rounds after an enemy they couldn’t see. The water splashed feverishly as the bullets went in, but there was no blood. After they lowered their rifles, nothing had floated to the surface.

“I…I…” Jackrum stammered.

Miram turned around and came closer.

“Davies?”

Davies placed a hand on the quill.

“It‘s okay,” he said, “its just in my armor. I don‘t think it punctured my skin.”

Wrapping his fingers around the quill, he strained his arm muscles and wrenched it out. There was an almost perfectly circular hole in his armor, with torn padding and wires visible. Jackrum shined his light into the hole; there was no skin or blood.

“Impressive range,” said Miram, “that one flew at least five meters.”

“W-wait,” said Jackrum, “if, uh, if they can shoot that far, they can hit us anywhere!”

It was true. Between the flooded tunnel they had come through and the murky sea ahead, there was no place that didn’t have a line of sight from the water.

Davies looked at the quill. It was black, coral-hard, and covered in thorny barbs. Almost perfectly cone shaped, it was as long as his middle finger and more than twice as thick at the base. The point was incredibly small; it had to be, to pierce polymer armor. The quill was covered in water, and a few drops of thick, organic slime. He wondered what thirst-inducing agent that slime contained. Drugs? Microorganisms? Either way, the effect would have been the same.

Below them, the water started to rise.

“What the…?” Jackrum jumped back from the side, “But…its already high tide!”

“Ever heard of spring tides?” Miram asked, “Just cause the water doesn‘t stay high long enough for algea to grow on the rocks…doesn‘t mean it doesn‘t go there at all. I mean,” he pointed down at the rock beneath them, “its damp, isn‘t it?”

Davies and Ricardo stared down the passageway, ready to jump to the side if any quills flew out. Sure enough, the water level was rising again.

“How high?” Asked Jackrum.

No one said anything. Soon, the water was just a meter under the cliff, where it finally stopped moving. As he stared at the swollen tide, Davies thought he saw another wake moving across the surface, but it was gone before he could point his rifle.

The four stood huddled together, surrounded by darkness, stalactites, and dripping. They now had a four by five meter platform of ground to stand on. Everything else was flooded.

“Well,” said Miram, after a minute, “I guess its just a question of who goes last.”

Davies wheeled on him.

“Miram,” he growled, “I’ve gone fucking crazy just for asking this question, but are you ENJOYING this?”

Miram shrugged.

“Not especially. Why, are you?”

“Our entire squad is dead! Sarge is dead! Tannish is dead! Rosser? Dead! Dylan? Remhani? Cantor? All dead! Its just us, and chances are we‘re gonna be dead too! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU MAKING JOKES ABOUT THIS?”

As he stared down Miram, Ricardo and Jackrum were pointing their guns to either side, waiting for signs of movement. Davies was on the brink of hyperventilating. Miram’s helmet stayed impassive, blue visor hiding the trooper’s face.

“I‘m sorry.”

Miram shifted a little in place.

“It‘s just…”

For a moment, there was nothing but dripping.

“When we ran from the dragon, after it dropped Sarge. Remember when we were hiding behind the rocks, dodging all those locusts?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, when we ran into the cave, I looked back. He was standing on a boulder behind us. Blood all over his face, wings spread so they were blocking the sun. He looked right at me, and I knew his eyes were going under my visor, like they were groping around my face and going into my head. Now, he was so close to us I could‘ve hit him with a rock, but he just stood there.”

Jackrum’s head had turned around. He was now staring at Miram out of the corner of his eye.

“Now, he could‘ve been on us in a second. But he didn‘t chase us. See, when he looked at me, I knew that he was only letting us get away down here because he knew we wouldn‘t be coming out. He didn‘t chase us, ‘cause he knew he didn‘t have to. And you know what else? I think he knew that I understood that. And he didn‘t care.”

Miram stood still, waiting for someone to respond. No one did. Slowly, heart sinking, Davies turned back to the water and kept looking for something to shoot. Ricardo, who hadn’t spoken a word, kept doing the same.

“We need to leave,” said Jackrum.

Miram shook his head.

“Jackrum,” said Davies, “if you mean climb that wall to other tunnel, its not happening. We might be targetable now, but if we all start climbing right above the water it‘ll shoot us like grounded ducks.”

“THAT WALL IS CLIMBABLE! If we all go together, fast, it might not get all of us!”

“Yeah, but we sure aren‘t all going to make it across either! If we stay here, and stay close, and keep our eyes peeled and rifles out, we might hold them off until the tide goes out!”

“W..We don‘t know that!” Jackram shouted, almost hysterical, “If we stay here, we‘re going to die! ALL OF US are going to die! We need to leave!”

“Jackie?” Miram looked back around.

“What?”

“What did the dragon say to you?”

Silence.

“Wh…what does that h…have to do with…”

“I think,” said Miram, “it has a lot to do with why you’ve been so jumpy. Out with it.”

“N…that isn’t…”

“Come on,” said Miram, “we need something to talk about while we dodge the quills. Why don‘t you get it off your chest?”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!”

Jackrum held the gun to his back, letting its magnetized strips latch onto his armor.

“That‘s it! I‘m not dying here!”

“Jackrum, Miram?” Davies asked, still surveying the water, “Would you mind explaining just what the hell is going on?”

“What‘s going on,” Miram said, “is that Jackie isn‘t really afraid of dying. He‘s a brave guy, we all know that. The reason he‘s been shivering like a camel in the arctic is because this whole time, he was afraid we‘d ask him what the dragon said.”

“HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING! HE…HE JUST LAUGHED! OKAY?”

“When he talked to me,” Miram went on, “he asked me about my life insurance package.”

Despite themselves, Ricardo and Davies both stared at Miram.

“So tell me, Private Miram, how‘s your life insurance plan? You forged your father’s will; that‘s got to be substantial. Invest any of it? I hope so, because your wife and kid are going to need it.”

Jackrum was visibly trembling.

“Nice job with that marriage, by the way. Those hookers you met on Norion weren‘t the firsts, were they? Ah well, that‘s how we stimulate the federation economy, isn‘t it Private?”

Under his helmet, Davies’ mouth was hanging open.

“The dragon told me that while he was flying Sarge into the air,” Miram finished, “and since then, I‘ve been a little distracted. But I‘m not stuttering and stammering whenever I open my mouth. Remember when you asked us about the dragon? I think you were trying to make sure you had just imagined it, because you were afraid it might have told one of us what it knows about you. So I‘m wondering, Jackie, what have you got to share with us?”

Jackrum didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed onto the cave wall and started to climb.

“Grab him!”

Ricardo and Davies both charged, but Jackrum was already out of reach. He climbed, body hanging above the water, hands and feet grasping and sliding at any handholds he could find.

“Jackrum, get back here!”

There was no response, not even static. Jackrum had turned his comlink off. Davies turned to Miram.

“What the hell did you do that for?”

Miram shrugged.

“I didn‘t think he’d do that.”

Jackrum’s feet slipped as he kicked wildly, trying to get them somewhere they could catch. He was climbing faster than Davies would have thought possible, even with the powered armor. When he was about halfway across, there was a splash from the darkness beyond their helmet lights, and a quill appeared in Jackrum’s back. His body trembled from the impact, but he kept his grip. From this distance, it was impossible to tell how deeply the quill was embedded; no way to know if he would soon be feeling the thirst. A few seconds later, another quill stuck itself in the wall, just a few inches from Jackrum’s waist. Jackrum didn’t seem to notice. A few minutes later, he dropped down from the wall and landed, on his side, in the other gallery.

“He made it,” Ricardo whispered.

Davies stared in amazement.

“Damn. Maybe we really should have-”

A bloodcurdling scream echoed across the cave. Jackrum hadn’t even managed to stand back up when they pounced. From the depths of his new tunnel, a swarm of flapping, black wings blocked their helmet lights. Davies was just barely able to see segmented, wormlike bodies, oversized bug-eyes, and mouths full of sharp, vampirish fangs snapping in the darkness, before Jackrum disappeared entirely under their mass. He screamed again, the sound of pain and terror so loud they could hear it even through his muffling helmet.

“AAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!! HELP!!!! GET THEM OFF!!! GET THE-”

They raised their guns and fired into the swarm of gnashing teeth and flapping bat-wings. With a chorus of high pitched screams, the swarm dispersed, flickering, vile outlines shooting away into the darkness in all directions. A cloud of the shrieking, flapping little demons charged at their position. Davies and Ricardo fired frantically, both hands clutching their weapons, the hum of GAUSS rifle fire almost drowning out the monsters’ screams. Most of the creatures dropped into the water, the splashes hidden by the wall of darkness. One of them, however, lunged into their flashlight beams, giant mouth opening around Ricardo’s helmet…

Quicker than ever in his life, Davies swiveled around and fired. The last creature shrieked and chattered, falling from the air and landing at Ricardo’s feet in a bundle of chitin and broken wings. Davies looked around. He saw no more movement, though that meant nothing in a cave this huge and dark. He stared back at the far tunnel, where Jackrum was lying. Even in the dim light that made it across, his armor was obviously tattered and broken. He wasn’t moving.

“Ric, Miram, you guys alright?”

“I’m alright,” said Ricardo, looking down at the twitching, dying thing on the floor, “thank you.”

“I‘m doing alright,” said Miram, “but I’m getting kind of thirsty.”

Davies stared at him. Miram was slouching forward, leaning on his rifle like cane. A black, dripping quill was buried in his side.

“Sorry, Howard, Uri,” said Miram, “didn‘t see it coming ‘till it was already in. He waited for us to get distracted with those bat things. He‘s smart.”

“Is it…in your flesh?”

Miram bobbed his helmet.

“Ayup. Right in my will-embezzling, wife-betraying, whore-mongering gut.”

“Its okay, Richard,” said Davies, “I‘ll filter some water from the lake; you two cover me. If we keep the thirst under control until the tide goes out-”

“Don’t bother,” said Miram, shaking his head, “its not gonna be enough. You saw how much Tannish went through. No way can you purify the water that fast.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

Miram shrugged.

“No idea.”

Ricardo poked the thing on the floor with his rifle. It was no longer moving. Flipping it over, he studied the gruesome creature. Tan in color and segmented like a worm, it was as long as his arm and much thicker. Four, batlike wings grew below its head, though they were now broken and bleeding from Davies’ bullets. Its head took up almost half of its body; grinning, slimy jaws full of tusks, black, globe-like eyes that stuck out above its upper jaw. There was no reason a creature its size should have a mouth that could fit around his helmet, but it did.

“Geega,” he whispered. He wasn’t sure why.

“You know,” said Miram, one hand on the quill on his side, “I never learned Tannish‘s name. What was it?”

“I’m not sure,” said Davies, “I think Malcolm, or Maxwell?”

“Poor guy. He wasn’t much more than a kid, was he? Looked about in his early twenties, when I saw him outside of his turtleshell.”

“Yeah,” Davies nodded, “something like that. How old are you, by the way? I…well…I wouldn‘t have thought you were…you know…”

“Married? Yeah. I’m older than I look. Would’ve turned thirty-six this October. You’re what, thirty-five?”

“Thirty-four. Engaged, not married. She‘s waiting for me in New Singapore. We were supposed to get married this winter.”

“Nice. Cheat on her?”

Davies hesitated for a moment.

“Come on, I’ve spilled my beans. Its not like I’ll be able to tell anyone anyway.”

“You‘re not dead yet.”

“Close enough. Well?”

Davies hesitated, looking out over the water.

“No. I‘ve never cheated on her.”

Miram didn’t answer.

“Sorry.”

They stood back to back. Miram and Davies had their guns pointed out over the lake. Ricardo had his pointing down the tunnel. The power gauge on his HUD told Davies his suit had forty minutes of power left.

“So,” he tried to restart the conversation, “I don’t think I ever talked to you much, Uri.”

“Its okay,” said Ricardo, “I don’t talk much anyway.”

“Mmmph,” Miram’s voice was getting hoarse and thirsty, “well, we‘re going around the table, so I guess its your turn. I‘m guessing twenty-four? Twenty-five?”

“Actually, I’m nineteen.”

“What? You’re shitting us!”

Ricardo shook his head.

“I‘ll turn twenty in March. Well…I hope I will.”

“But that’s…how’d you make it into the marines? Don’cha need two years of experience?”

“I’m from Europa. Enlistment age there is sixteen.”

“But,” Miram croaked, stifling a cough, “why would-”

“My dad got laid off. My little sister has a cardiac deformity. Bills.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“I was gonna study and be an oceanographer.”

“You…“ Miram coughed, “…you should have told…”

“I know,” Ricardo’s voice was trembling, “I just didn’t want everyone’s sympathy.”

Davies tried to think of something to say. Nothing came to him.

“Alright,” Miram was wheezing now, “I…don‘t have much…much left. Here‘s the deal. I‘m going to…climb down there…and start purifying water.”

“I said I’d do it for you,” said Davies, “here, just keep me-”

“Nah. I’m already infected…poisoned…whatever it is,” he coughed again, “I‘m the…the most disposable. Just watch the water. If you see it coming, maybe we can solve the problem. If you can‘t…well, you‘ve got a girl you‘ve been treating real well, Howard. And Uri, you‘ve got to pay those doctors.”

“What about you’re kid?”

“Haha. That’s the funny part. See, I DID invest in life insurance. My boy’ll be fine. So’ll Nadine. And hey…” he coughed violently, “if you guys aim good, maybe no one‘s gotta die at all? Eh?”

He stuck his rifle to his back and walked toward the hallway they had entered through, all those hours ago. Wordlessly, Davies and Ricardo followed him, hoping they would only be vulnerable from one side now. As Miram stepped into the flooded hall, he croaked into the comlink.

“Jackrum. He seemed like a good man.”

Davies nodded.

“Yeah. I always thought so.”

“I guess we‘ll never know now. Probably for the best.”

Miram sounded like he was on the verge of choking. As he bent down over the water, Davies pointed his rifle over his shoulder, wishing there was more space in this tunnel. Ricardo stood over Miram’s other shoulder. Davies looked at his ammo gauge. Thirty rounds left. Most of his bullets had passed over the shoulders of ducking space pirates, or bounced off the skin of the dragon. He wondered how much the other two had.

The splash came from nowhere. There had been no movement, no ripples that Davies could see. Just a sudden, explosion of water, as something lunged out and latched onto Miram. Davies and Ricardo squeezed the triggers, throwing the last of their ammo into the mess. In less than a second, it was over.

The water was covered in ripples and waves from the struggle. Greenish, alien blood was spattered over the bank, mixing with the water that had been splashed up onto the rocks. Miram was gone.

“Richard!”

A hoarse, thirst-cracked voice came back over the comlink.

“Nice shooting, guys. I think you hurt him pretty bad…he‘s…” he coughed “…he’s bleeding a lot. Still grabbed me, but he‘s pretty chopped up.”

“You‘re okay down there?”

A sickening, vocal sound came over the link. It might have been intended as a laugh.

“Nah. He let me go, but its…” the cough grew desperate, “I don’t think its…my suit‘s filling up. Water’s getting in my helmet...”

Then another, even more sickening laugh.

“…hahaha…the water’s clearer down here. Here come two of his friends. Aw, look, they have babies with them. I’ll bet they’re hungry. I guess I was right about hunting in pa-”

The comlink went out.

Davies turned around and looked at Ricardo. Ricardo stared back. The water calmed back down, the ripples disappearing completely now that the creatures that had caused them-and their prey-were far away. The greenish blood seeped back into the water, leaving the ground almost clean. Slowly, the two men retreated back toward the center of their island.

“What‘s your sister’s name?”

“Mari.”

Davies nodded. “That‘s a beautiful name. I actually loved a girl named that, once.”

“Before you met the woman in New Singapore?”

“Yeah. I went to school with Mari, back on Earth. When she left me, I didn‘t think I‘d ever find anyone else. I didn‘t run into Calliana until years after that.”

“Why’d she leave you?”

“I dunno. She said it was because she wasn’t ready yet. Too much commitment, or something along those lines. I didn’t understand what she meant then, and I still don’t today.”

“She was before you were a soldier?”

“Yeah.”

He paused for a second.

“Come to think of it, she was the reason I became a soldier at all.”

Ricardo nodded.

Davies checked the power gauge again. Twenty-five minutes of energy until his suit went dead. Ricardo’s would be the same.

“How about you? I know you‘re young, but have you ever been in love?”

Ricardo shook his head.

“How’s your sister doing, last you heard?”

“Mari‘s a little better. The money’s helping.”

Ricardo’s voice was still a little shaky, but it had grown calmer. Davies was reminded of the late Richard Miram.

“How about your parents?”

“They‘re proud of me. They worry. Especially my father, but they‘re proud. My grandfather lived on Aliehs.”

“He died in the raid?”

“They never found him. I think the locusts ate him.”

Davies wanted to say something comforting, but he had seen the pictures and read the documents. He knew what happened to humans who disappeared during space pirate raids. Ricardo was right.

“I‘m guessing it was your father‘s father?”

“Yes. My grandmother already died.”

The darkness and silence went on. Twenty minutes of energy left.

“Howard?”

“What is it, Uri?”

“Did the dragon talk to you?”

“No. Yourself?”

“No.”

Another long silence. Fifteen minutes left.

“If he did, what would he have said?”

Davies was quiet for a moment as he thought of an answer.

“I don‘t know.”

“Me neither.”

There was a splash, and a quill whistled through the air. Both men ducked to the side, but Davies wasn’t fast enough. The spike pierced his leg armor, burying its tip in his upper thigh. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain as it broke his skin, squirting its contents into his bloodstream.

“Howard!”

“Ow…damn, its in. It got through my skin.”

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Ricardo thought he saw shapes moving under the water, just beyond the cliff. He wondered how many there were. How hungry they were. Humans had a high bone to muscle ratio. Each marine would only provide a little bit of nourishment.

“It looks like Zebes will belong to the locusts for a while,” said Davies, “you know what? They can have it. They can have this fucking planet.”

His mouth was going dry. Davies felt his throat going sore, demanding water. He thought about pulling out the quill, but decided against it. The quill was buried deep in his thigh, close to the femoral artery. Pulling it out might be dangerous.

“Uri?”

Ricardo looked at him.

“You‘ll fall in love.”

Ricardo shook his head.

“Trust me,” he said, as the power gauge on his HUD sunk to ten minutes, “this tide…it can‘t stay up for much longer. You‘ll make it back to the surface, and…”

He thought for a second.

“…there‘ll be a rescue mission. There‘ll have to be.”

Ricardo shook his head.

“No.”

Davies was quiet.

Losing his self control, he drank the last of his water. It was no relief; he needed more. His arms and legs were starting to tremble, causing pain in his quill wound with each vibration. His whole body felt as parched and dehydrated as desert sand. He tried to say something, but he could only make a hoarse, choking sound. All around him, water glistened.

Was it possible that he could grab some water, quickly, while the monsters were still busy eating Miram? No, they had fired their quills at him. They were still hungry.

“Uri,” he managed to croak, “you…you‘re a bigger man than I ever was.”

“How?”

“You…risking your life out here…I joined the army to run away. Run away from,” he coughed, “from my family, ex girlfriends, problems I got myself into that I was too…ahem…too cowardly to face. I went on to the GFMC for the retirement benefits.”

“The marines are really dangerous.”

“I know. I knew. I thought I…” he tried to cough up phlegm, but his throat was too dry to secrete any, “…I hoped I‘d risk it…see the galaxy…save the world. You know.”

He shut his eyes, trying to keep out the idea of all that water, nice and warm, filling the cave around him. If he took off his helmet, he could grab a little quickly. The microorganisms might not be that deadly…

“Yes,” said Ricardo, “I did too.”

“You,” he wheezed, “if you're nineteen, you must have been born the same year as K2L.”

Ricardo nodded.

“First generation to…to think of this stuff as normal. If you‘d asked me in high school if I…ahem…thought there‘d be aliens, and we‘d fight a war with them…if there‘d be locusts, or frosties, or any of them…I‘d have thought you were out of your goddamned mind.”

His head was spinning. He was parched. He knew he would die if he didn’t get water fast. Five minutes left on the HUD.

“But…you…the kids you grew up with…this is...haha.”

He was sidling toward the edge of the cliff. Ricardo made a motion to stop him, but Davies stepped back. 

“The tide…” he wheezed, “it could go any time. If I…they might be full. I’ll see if I can…buy you the time. You deserve it.”

“But…”

“You…when you get back to Europa…tell Mari she…I dunno, just tell her.”

And with that, he collapsed, letting his legs crumble under him. Grunting in pain as he landed on the quill, he rolled off the cliff and splashed into the water.

“Ohhh…I feel the water. It feels so good. Don‘t worry, Uri, the tide‘s going out. It’s gotta be. I‘ll keep ‘em busy…”

A green, armored head rose out of the water. Uri saw the chitinous plates that covered its oversized head, hooding its white, vein-ridden eyes. Half emerging from the water, a circular, lamprey mouth with fangs all the way around was open. Uri squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened; his ammo chamber was empty.

The crustaceous head loomed up over the floating Howard Davies. Empty, white eyes staring, the creature brought its teeth down around his helmet. Then, it plopped back under the surface, bringing Davies with it.

“Howard?”

No response. His helmet must have cracked as soon as it bit him.

Uri stared out over the water. His helmet light was dying. Two minutes of power left.

“Evirs.” He whispered. “They’re called evirs.”

And then, the water level started rising.