Hellfire and worse. Watch the ruins burn...
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Chapter 12
The Actor’s Pack was in a glum mood due to the loss of their leader. Redtail was crying, because she had loved him. Starflyer was contemplating if he should stay or go with Squawks and his group. Fuzz had just noticed the translators.
‘What are those things? I thought they were jewelry, but no earring blinks at me!’ she said.
‘They’re translators, given to us by the Lukarians, aliens who are trying to help. The good guys.’ Squawks said.
Starflyer stopped thinking and said something. ‘We had a play scheduled in a couple of hours. But without Bloodclaw…’
‘I know…’ Neverclaw added.
Rodriguez got up from next to Redtail. ‘Senors, I think I know what to do. You said you had a play, yes?’ he said.
‘Right.’ Starflyer responded.
‘Then we can use this to try to get the rebellion started. We need to start fighting, and stop running.’
‘Well said, Rodriguez.’ Bluewing chimed in. ‘Well said.’
‘So, Redtail. What do you want to do?’ Scribbles asked the sad coyote.
‘I… I think we should do that, and… and have some food.’ She stuttered. She was not doing to well with Bloodclaw’s death. ‘Fuzz; can you go make some food? All the original dog places plus one and three places for our avian friends?’ She asked.
‘Ok, I’ll do it.’ Fuzz said rather angrily, and then ran off to the small kitchen.
‘Wait, we’re going to need a speech to start a rebellion, not a play. Who’s going to do the big talking?’ Neverclaw asked.
‘He’s right, you know. So who?...’ Scribbles started. Everyone turned and looked at Squawks.
‘Why are you guys looking at me like that? Guys?... Oh dear, I’ll do it.’ Squawks gave in. he was never one who could resist that many stares. Fuzz came back pushing a cart loaded with bowls of dog food and on the top, some bird seed. The dogs came running, some with Bluewing. Starflyer sat on his large perch, and Squawks joined him.
‘You know, macaw, I have never liked eating the food that humanity gave us, especially the bird seed. That’s for the brown finches or the robins, not hawks. What about you?’ he asked.
‘Basically the same. They did cut down lemons though, and I love those. Salads are fine too.’ Squawks responded.
‘You are an odd one, you know that?’
‘Some have said that. For a long time, it was just me and Scribbles, walking around, freeing animals in zoos, things of the like. But now, we fight for the world.’
‘I never expected a bird that relies on song and colors to be able to fight.’
‘I fight in my own way.’
Starflyer smiled in his own, hawk-ish way. ‘It’s funny, I’ve dreamed of helping the world, ever since I was a hatchling. Now maybe that wish can be fulfilled.’
‘It sounds like you want to come with us.’
‘If it would be at all possible…’
‘Fine by me.’ Squawks said, wondering what he’s going to eat if not the seeds.
‘Good. Oh, you may eat the seeds if you want. You need your energy for the speech you’re going to give.’
‘What about you?’
‘After the speech, I’ll go find myself a mouse, or a squirrel or something.’
‘Alright then.’ Squawks said, and he flew down to the small bowl of seeds, and started eating.

The group was napping before the speech, well, most of them. Bluewing was awake, but only semi-awake. He was basically sleep-flying. He flew out the door, and over the stage which was being set up by some cats. Bluewing was heading out to sea, and not under his own control.

The group awoke several hours later, at nearly midnight. It was time for Squawk’s speech.
‘Alright then, we need to get this going.’ Starflyer said. He was the first one awake and the most awake as well. ‘Anyone saw Bluewing? He vanished!’ he shouted, when he noticed there was one animal missing. His perch (on a moldy couch) was hardly stood upon.
‘What?! Jeez… can some people go out and find the poor fool, he was probably controlled by the Hive queen again.’ Squawks said. He was expecting something like this again. ‘He’ll probably be around the shoreline, the Hive seem to like it around there.’ Squawks said. He flew out the door. ‘Get those lights up, I want to try this!’ he squawked. He landed on the dark stage, in front of a good five hundred or so animals, although it was probably a lot more, and then some more watching from the ruins of buildings all around.
‘Never done this before…’ Squawks whispered. He noticed there was a wooden pet-shop perch in the middle of the make-shift stage, set out for him. Redtail was out there, with Fuzz right behind her.
‘You ready? We’ve got a whole sound system set up. Most of the people in L.A. will hear you.’ She said.
‘Ready when you are.’ Squawks responds. The coyote and the poodle ran over to some switches on either side of the stage and hit them, one by one. With each one hit, a hidden spotlight flared up, some lighting the stage, some the crowds. It made some bats fly away to find a different perch, away from the bright, yellow light. Squawks looked at the big crowd. Several large dogs, even a Great Dane, were at the front, acting as guards. They stopped a few animals who wanted their normal show. There was a good amount of noise from the group, wanting an explanation or their money back (obviously taken from the humans), or even wanting to go back home to their nest or burrow or whatever they slept in. Squawks looked around, and then started.
‘I know all of you are wondering what happened to your normal show, and I will explain.’ He said. His voice was amplified by some unseen speakers and a hidden microphone. ‘Everyone knows the disappearances happening in the mansion area, correct?’ about half of the gathered creatures agreed. ‘Well, there will be no more again, and not for a long time. You know why? Bloodclaw, the leader of the actor’s pack died fighting off the beast which killed our mates and brood! My name’s Squawks, and I have seen what the Hive can do. I have been all across this continent and even in China once! How many of you have lost friends or family to the Hive, killed when your burrow, nest, or shelter was blown up?’ There was a roar of agreement. Nearly everyone had lost someone. ‘Well, its time to fight back! I have just most likely lost a friend- a good friend- to the telepathic powers of the Hive queen, and I will not bear to lose another. Take the humans’ examples! How many times have they been repressed, and then fought back? Think the Mexicans against the spanish, the Americans against the British, or even those series of uprising years ago in Egypt and other countries!
‘We have ways to fight. Many of us have claws, teeth, strength, or stealth. Some may have two or more. We are not powerless against the hordes of reptilian, aquatic creatures bearing down on our front lawn! We can use all kinds of things against them, the humans’ guns, our natural weapons, or even the whole environment! As one good friend once said; we need to start fighting, and stop running.’ Squawks finished his short speech. There was a roar of approval, and the animals scattered to set up. It had explained all their questions, but Squawks still wondered why some of them said they wanted their money back…

Out in the forest near L.A., Starflyer flew high up in the sky at a great speed. He had spotted an oddly-colored bird flying around here. You don’t find large birds with blue feathers here, only small ones… he speed over, calling out to let everyone else know he found the blue macaw. He glided next to Bluewing.
‘What the hell are you doing?! We need to get back to the house, now!’ he said like a scolding father.
This guy’s probably controlled. Starflyer thought. He flew above and gave Bluewing a slight scratch on his back. The macaw then flipped over, and cawed loudly right in the hawk’s face. His eyes were pitch black!
‘Probably controlled? Very much controlled if you ask me…’ he said. Bluewing did stuff no macaw should be able to do. He flipped back over, dived down to the trees at nearly 50 miles an hour, and then straightened out on a dime, going even faster!
‘Damn! How could a bird like that become such a changed creature? Perhaps Squawks was right, he is being controlled by the Hive, being changed by the Hive- hell, how will I catch up?’ he said to himself. He called out saying that he lost Bluewing, and that he wasn’t the macaw they knew anymore. He landed on a high pine tree branch, looking out over the dark skies. There were many stars, and even some nebula could be seen, along with the Milky Way. But in the distance where the controlled Bluewing flew some blinking lights could be seen, in several colors. Bluewing was gone.

Neverclaw walked out down the beach, leaving paw prints in the sand. A crab had washed ashore next to him. He sat down in the soggy sand.
‘You know, crab? This life was fun, traveling with the pack, and acting out everything. We had fun, but it’s slowly declined from just earlier today. It started with Bloodclaw getting killed at the jaws of that Hive beast, and then having to search for a bird which could be god knows how far away. Do you think I should leave the pack?’ he asked the crab. Of course, there was no reply.
‘Like you’d know.’ He said. He picked up the crab in his mouth and then chucked it into the sea. ‘God, I wish the smaller animals could talk… and why do some larger ones not talk either? I wonder…’ he walked down the shoreline some more, stopping to watch a blue shape fly out to sea.
‘That was the macaw? Well, we lost him…’ he muttered. He noticed another crab washed up. He tossed it back.
‘It makes me wonder what I was in a past life…’ he muttered. There was a large splash as a large serpent, very alike the one that killed Bloodclaw sprung up and caught the poor crab from the air. ‘Hopefully not one of those.’
The serpent vanished as quickly as it appeared, not giving the coyote any trouble.
‘How odd… I wonder why it didn’t kill me. Because I’m on land? Yeah, that’s probably it. Bloodclaw was in a flooded area, not a dry one. Oh, that poor fool…’

Back at the stage, Squawks was still standing around, waiting for everyone to leave and finish asking their questions.
‘How many times have you fought the Hive?’ A cat asked.
‘Multiple times. They’ve even destroyed some of my friends’ town, and one of those is currently in the Hive’s grasp.’ Squawks responded.
‘Is there anything specific we should look out for?’ A crow asked.
‘The Hive are able to breath in water, so any ducks or amphibious creatures should watch out. Same thing with the bears when trying to fish. Just don’t go into the deep water!’
And so one and so forth. Squawks seems to have become a celebrity or a leader among the animals here. Redtail walked over.
‘You seem to be taking all our fame here.’ She said.
‘You could say that. Sorry.’ Squawks responded.
‘Why does this feel like the calm before the storm?’
‘Maybe it’s just you, Redtail. You’ve had a rough day.’
‘I god well hope so! Feels like a tornado is going to come through, but not anything like that.’
‘You sense some danger?’
‘Any dog can do that. I thought birds were like that to.’ Redtail said. She looked up at the starry sky, wondering what calamity will fall from it.
‘Only some.’ Squawks responded. He answered another question. ‘I’m not use to this treatment…’ he muttered. But up in the sky, about 300 miles behind them, a cluster of Hive ships floated above the Pacific Ocean, waiting for a certain controlled someone to near…

Bluewing flew above the dark ocean, which was now a violent torrent of salt water. A storm was approaching. One of both weather and Hive. He was happy about that. But inside, he was screaming out for help, trying to break the Hive’s hold on him. How would he get to his friends now, and how will they ever forgive him? The huge ships were near. They seemed to be controlling the weather by some device on the largest ship in the middle.
CRACK!
Thunder rumbled very near. The Hive will be using the cover of this darkness… to what? Probably destroy the devastated city ahead of them, no doubt. He flew underneath one of the smaller ship and headed for the middle main ship. He fought with himself for control, the Hive part of him winning.
We shall go to my queen, and you, my alternate self, will die! His Hive self thought. They had retreated into his mind! They were in a dark room, with the normal Bluewing on one wooden perch, and his other self at the other end, on a larger perch. The Hive Bluewing was an odd one out from the rest of the Hive, because it was not aquatic, but purely reptilian. The wings were scaly bat wings and a small amount of his original blue color remained. Any feathers were gone, replaced with scales, dark green and blue ones, common with the Hive. The body was thinner, with longer legs with scary talons, like the ones on a bird of prey like Starflyer. The beak now had teeth.
I shall find my way out at the end, even if I become like you.
Unlikely. I shall kill all your friends; starting with the one you call Squawks.
Why do you want to kill him?
Because there are several threads of importance running through him. There were some with you too, but for no longer. We shall fight, and you shall die!
Well, this is my mind, I can control it. We fight!
And with that, the two combated. If the normal Bluewing had no ability to conjure things from his mind, he could not protect himself from the vicious lashings thrown at him from the other him. He conjured several metal walls which were smashed down, and a large metal cube which wasn’t smashed but slowed the Hive Bluewing for a short time. Then the Hive Bluewing conjured up a large metal hammer which was continuously swinging at the original one. He avoided it a good few times until he stopped it with another wall. Both of the things disintegrated.
Die! The Hive Bluewing shouted. He flung himself straight at his normal self, and they were stuck together for a moment, pushing against each other with a brilliant flash of light. Objects flew, and one old television set showed where Bluewing’s body was nearing. The entry bay of one of the Hive ships! The normal Bluewing could feel himself fading away and the Hive version getting stronger. The normal one stumbled on a tin can that was pushed out by the telepathic force, right into his Hive self! Then he was falling, falling in the abyss of the soul, of one where there is no return. Not now, not ever. The Hive have won that fight…

Back in L.A., it was eerily quiet. Nothing was stirring, except for what seemed to be a tank salvaged somewhere near. Squawks looked up and watched some small swallows fly away.
‘They always seemed to have more sense…’ Squawks muttered. Redtail looked scared.
‘They don’t have much room for anything else except instincts. I have them too, but- god, they’re trying to control my actions!’ She shouts. Neverclaw was just watching the sky. He ran around the back of the stage.
‘Same thing happened to my friends the first time we met the Hive. You’ll get used to it. But I was never affected… Scribbles was, and she’s out there! God, I hope Rodriguez can do his job of protecting the girl.’
‘You like each other that much?’ Redtail asked, amused.
‘Only as well you can like someone you’ve traveled alone with for a month and a half. And then traveled with other friends for another two months.’
‘Right, so you’re traveling companions!’ Redtail shouts.
‘You make it sound so silly.’ Squawks responded. Before Redtail could speak a word, Neverclaw poked his head out from behind the wall which acted as the back of the stage.
‘You guys better see this!’ he shouts. The other coyote and the macaw follow him, and nearly fall backwards. The sky was full of Hive ships, ready to fight and destroy the new rebellion.

Chapter 13
Back in New York, Ka-Shan was picked up quick. But Rook may have been alive, and he was. He woke up dazed, but his mech was still working! He powered it up, and got up. No Hive in the area… he turned around. No enemies. He looked up, and watched the Nova fly off without him.
‘Damn! I’m alone... I was left for dead.’ He tried to open the cockpit, but it wasn’t budging! He was stuck. The Rook looked around, and noticed a huge hunk of metal making a reasonable bridge most of the way to the other shore. It was that statue. The mech went inside it, since the outside was too high to reach. His rockets were out. Inside was debris, rubble, and bodies, lots of bodies. Drones littered the ground, including some warriors and some Lukarian troopers. Well, not on the ground but the wall. This statue was sideways. The mech trampled on, smashing through a walkway which was in his way.
But there was no trench coat, so Rook knew that his captain had survived, or his body wasn’t in here. He was at the end, and he smashed through the wall. The mech stumbled through the ragged hole and landed in the soggy fields outside of it. The Hive had been here, with scorches and burns on the fields. Several Lukarian bodies littered the ground, and a mech lay in pieces. But there were much more Hive bodies. They hadn’t gone without a fight. Must have been the team that gave cover fire.
The Rook continued on. But to where, not even he could say. He was alone now, with no orders. He would find a way out of the city and do what he can. Maybe he can be his own hero. The city stood out over the horizon, not shining like you would expect but bearing a omen of dirty, bad things to come. Some mortar remnants could be seen stuck to the sides of buildings like giant barnacles, with the barrel sticking out like some half-absorbed piece of piping. Rook walked on.

Back in the Nova, Ka-Shan was on the radio to Lukarian command, trying to get some more people in. It wasn’t working very well.
‘Sir, I need six more battalions of troopers right away! The Hive are here, and I know what to do to stop them!’ Ka-Shan shouted at the higher-ranking officer on the screen.
‘Ka-Shan, your request is being noted. You will get the troops when we see fit.’ Said the female Lukarian on the screen. She had almost fox-red fur and was wearing a fur-tight commando suit, unusual for other higher-ranking officers. The suit held several hoisters for a few pistols and even some throwing knives. Other officers never went on the field, preferring to control the forces from miles away. Ka-Shan and this lady had some sort of history together…
‘C’mon, Quan-Shan. Do something for another of the same family!’ Ka-Shan said.
‘We may be of the same blood, brother, but sadly the restrictions stop me from sending troops.’ Quan responded.
‘What? What about those times you helped me when we met the Hive? You sent in troops!’
‘Only against my better judgment. I nearly lost my rank back then, same with you, remember?’
‘Right. And you said “We”. What, you mean the other officers?’ Ka-Shan asked.
‘We have a… agreement. I’ll see what I can do to send you those troopers.’ Quan said, and she shut the talk-screen off.
Ka-Shan was silent for a moment, until he cheered. ‘This is utterly brilliant! Quan’s back, hopefully for good!’ He shouted, and then ran off to suit up for the next mission to London. He was happy because Quan was one of the few females who had a part in the Lukarian military. Most of them made weapons and children at a fast speed, so fast that the guns would fall apart and the children weren’t naturally fed. Those children became troopers. That was never Quan’s idea of a life. She was the highest ranked female in the Lukarian military and one of the few females in it at all. And she and Ka-Shan had known each other for a long time.
In the hangar, Ka-Shan set up some APC’s for the team with some large guns. They were going to storm the Big Ben with force. The soldiers came in and piled into the three orange armored vehicles which looked rather like giant driving coffins with a tank turret on top. Ka-Shan piloted one, two pilots to the others. The captain was qualified to drive these old things. Hopefully they’ll get more when Quan delivers the troops and equipment. Ka-Shan fumbled with the coms.
‘You hear me… hello?’ Ka-Shan said.
‘We hear you, captain.’ A voice came in through the coms. ‘Ready to set down?’
‘Set us down, pilot.’ Ka-Shan responded. The Nova was landing near to the London Eye, which had kinda lost the wheel. The ship simply knocked down the rest.
The hangar door opened up right when it landed and the APC’s thundered out, guns ready. The Hive were out there, ready to fight them. One drone had been spotted by one of the sharp-shooters mounted inside the right APC. The fight had begun. The big tanks drove down the streets in a straight line, one-by-one. The big gun on the lead tank, the one Ka-Shan drove, blew up the rusty hulk of a diesel truck which had tried to make a illegal short-cut through the town. Hive swarmed from all directions, bringing in larger, infected castes of creatures which tried to damage the tanks, but had little luck. The tanks were old, but they were made from a material which could hold up to that kind of barrage. The main guns shot the larger ones down. An aerial fighter flew in and started firing, but was quickly blown from the sky by a well-placed shot by one of the APC’s. The tanks turned and widened a thin alleyway by driving straight through it. The walls on either end just fell over. Some Hive drones tried to fight back; one even jumping on the lead tank, but it did them no good. These APC’s were too strong. The allies of earth were fighting back! Big Ben could be seen, only three quarters of its height after it broke from rust. It was still very tall, though. Hive snipers were set everywhere, one perfectly sniping out one of the bolts which held an APC’s wheels together. The tank quickly turned its main turret and blew the building the sniper was posted on into bits. They drove through buildings and broke through fences, not even caring about any roads. A Lukarian APC can smash through about whatever it wants.
‘Alright, we’re nearing the tower!’ Ka-Shan shouted through the onboard-coms. ‘Deploy no one! I repeat, deploy no one! We can’t afford to lose any more until we get more! And that’s for your safety, men! Even though I make you sound like things, you have rights. We need to raise that tower to the ground, you got that?’ he shouted. The others gave him a green light. Anyways, a thumbs up. Hive drones were run over, but a warrior managed to wedge open the back of one of the APC’s. The men were shooting out the back as the Hive tried to swarm in. they were in trouble! Ka-Shan commanded that tank to return to the landing area ASAP, so there would be no loss of life. They left when they heard that. The door would have to be replaced. The remaining two tanks stopped at the base, and started firing what they had at it. Holes were torn; debris flew, and chunks of rock bounced off the APC’s. Some Hive were based in there, because shots were fired at them, and even someone pulled out a mortar, raining explosive bits down on Ka-Shan’s tank. The tank unloaded and everyone got out in time before the tank imploded from the pressure. Ka-Shan commanded everyone to give the remaining tank covering fire, hopefully stopping the mortar gunner. That mortar was a tiny one compared to the ones at New York. No wonder the Nova stayed back. Ka-Shan spotted the drone with the large mortar! He was hauling it down a hallway with help from another drone. Ka-Shan shot the other one with a single shot to the head, killing it and missed the other. It tried to set up the mortar again, but was struck by a bullet right when it was pushing the large mechanism up, and it landed on the body. Ka-Shan the side-stepped a laser which then blew another fresh hole in his jacket which he had gotten from a store here on earth. Of course it wouldn’t fit him right; it had not expected to allow for a tail. It had then been slit up the back by Ka-Shan for himself. Ka-Shan ducked and rolled behind a rusty police car, next to some troopers.
‘So, is this what it always comes to? Hiding from the Hive behind a broken vehicle?’ Ka-Shan said.
‘I believe so, sir.’ One of the troopers said.
‘Very funny, trooper.’ Ka-Shan said before he dragged a wounded soldier behind the cover.
‘You alright, soldier?’ he asked.
‘Got shot in the leg. Damn- is it bad?...’ the trooper muttered. He was shot in the ankle, in a weak point. The laser had gone straight through, and that foot was only held on by some skin and sinew.
‘Sorry to say, but its bad. You’ll not be able to walk on that foot again. It nearly got shot off.’
‘Then kill me, sir!’ the soldier protested.
‘How do you think I got where I am now? Giving up? I fought on no mater what. And you’ll do so to.’ There was the click of a gun behind Ka-Shan. A trooper walked over and blasted the wounded soldier in the face. A painless death.
‘What the hell are you doing? I was going to try to save him!’
‘He would have had a life as someone who didn’t fight.’ The trooper responded, still holding the smoking gun.
‘Does it matter? He had a life, a family mother, and a father somewhere which he could have found.’ Ka-Shan groaned. ‘Just don’t do it again!’
All of a sudden, the shooting stopped. The Lukarians had won, but few stood on the battlefield. The tank was still there and still firing at the base.
What was that idiot doing? Ka-Shan thought. The clock tower was starting to tilt- towards them!
‘Everyone run! Scatter!’ the captain shouted, and he ran to the left. The tank stopped its bombardment of shells when it noticed it was leaning. The tank stood still, right in the tower’s way. And then Big Ben came crashing down around their ears, squishing the APC, a few troopers, and many Hive bodies.
‘Why do things always explode when I’m sent on a mission?’ Ka-Shan shouted out amongst the dust from the fallen tower. ‘Why…’

Later on, Ka-Shan was sneaking through the old, cracked roads. They still had some Hive. Luckily, a good amount of troops followed him through those roads, shooting down anything which got in their path.
‘Nova, can you hear me? I repeat, can you hear…’ Ka-Shan spoke through his portable coms.
‘We hear you, captain! Your signal is weak. Do you need pickup?’ the pilot’s voice responded.
‘When ever you can. And we have survivors this time! Over and out.’ Ka-Shan responded. He stopped the group and waited for the ship to come. The Nova must have been a distance away. One of the troopers tried to talk with his captain.
‘So sir, do you have a known father, or mother?’ the trooper asked.
‘Odd that a trooper would ask questions like that. Well, I never knew my father. He had no name, and he died in the field. My mother is still alive, but I didn’t know her. I still can’t find any records about her.’
‘Any brothers or sisters alive?’
‘Every one knows Quan. She’s my broodsister. The only one, so she became a fighter. Just to stay alive.’ Ka-Shan chuckled. ‘It was even said she killed one of my broodbrothers- one of her broodbrothers- to get to my-her-mother’s milk. I know no others.’
‘I would believe that to be just a story.’
‘I have asked, she has never said anything about it. What about you, trooper?’ Ka-Shan asks.
‘Born to the usual litter of eight, god knows who my broodbrothers and broodsisters are. I’m the usual trooper, sir. I follow orders, not give them. I have no name, why would I need one for this rank? I’m your usual nobody important.’ The trooper responded.
‘Sorry, trooper. Just asking.’ Ka-Shan’s coms activated as the Nova came in for a quick pick-up. They flew past, materializing the group of stranded Lukarians onto the deck of the ship. The troopers ran of to their posts to shoot at the Hive fighters behind them.
‘Pilot! Report, why in Central Command’s name are we being chased?’ Ka-Shan shouted. An out of breath pilot quickly responded.
‘They must have… detected us…sir! Had to fly… out to make…sure we weren’t… killed!’
‘Well then, keep on flying, pilot! Try to get us to Squawks and his bunch, its time to move them somewhere else to continue with their rebellion.’ Ka-Shan responded.
‘Right-o, sir!’

In L.A., things were heating up a bit. The rebellion had found a still working tank, and was using it against one of the larger Hive ships floating on the horizon. They were doing some damage, sending large chunks of Hive-colored metal into the air and then the city. But other than the singular tank, the rebellion had no defenses against air attack at this scale. Things continued to explode, but they were mostly buildings blown up by the Hive.
‘Some one, get that tank to aim better! Shoot for the center, maybe we can take out the control center on one of the ships!’ Squawks shouted. He was actually guessing on where the control center was, but he knew that the main rocket booster was in the center.
TWANG! Was the loud noise made when a shell from the tank bounced off the inside of the main rocket and caused a small explosion in the inside of the ship. The ship was crippled, and falling to earth.
‘Everyone, get behind something!’ Redtail shouted as the ship neared the ground. The coyote ducked behind the ruins of a wall with Neverclaw and Squawks got behind the rusty tank.
THOOM! That was the sound the ship made when it imploded on the ground, flattening a small section of forest. The rebellion had taken down their first Hive ship!
‘Ye-haw! Good shot! Who took that baby out?’ Squawks said, trying to imitate a cowboy. A German Sheppard poked his snout out of the tank’s hatch.
‘I did, Squawks. And before you ask, we have only 12 shots left before we need more ammo!’ the dog said.
‘Good boy! Be a little strategic who you shoot out of the sky next. Try to get one near another!’ Squawks shouted.
‘Alright then, Squawks. We’ll do just that!’ the retriever said, and he slid back in.
Squawks watched as the tank reloaded its heavy shot. He turned to Redtail.
‘Damn, we need to go find Scribbles and everyone else!’ he swore.
‘Good idea, Squawks. I and Neverclaw will find them and lead them back. You need to lead the rebels.’ She said.
‘Alright, Redtail. Get out there and help them.’
‘I’ll do what I can, captain.’
‘Oh god, I don’t think I can deal with being called captain. Just Squawks, alright?’
‘Alright then, Captain Squawks.’
‘Oh dear…’ What ever Squawks said next was muffled by the boom of the tank cannon. The shot blew a hole in the bottom of the ship, but it was still in the sky. A Hive drone fell out of the hole, just a dot against the night skies. Redtail and Neverclaw ran off, leaving Squawks to wait, perched on the tank turret.

Out in the forest, the rest of the group met up, but some of the actor’s pack had gone missing, presumed dead because of the Hive swarming the forest. Only Rodriguez, Scribbles, Starflyer, and Fuzz were left, the others gone.
‘What are we going to do?’ Fuzz complained. She had just seen the Hive ship tumble to the ground and she was scared.
‘Starflyer, have you got the way back to the city?’ Scribbles asked. She was tired. Starflyer nodded, and started to lead the group out of the forest.
Rodriguez was scratched from a tumble down a hill and in the worse shape of them all. He was bleeding from multiple cuts and he was bruised all over.
What’s black and blue all over? Why, me of course! Rodriguez thought. He always seemed to get the painful end of it all. He had also lost his sombrero some where on the hill, the one which he had been through a lot with. He’ll miss it.
‘Senors, I fear I may need some medical attention when we get back to the city.’ Rodriguez said, and he collapsed.
‘Rodriguez!’ Scribbles shouted. She ran over to him. ‘He’s burning up! Fuzz, help me carry him! We need to get him to a place to rest, and fast!’
Fuzz ran over and picked up Rodriguez by his tail in her mouth, dragging him. She didn’t like it very much. She mumbled about something.
‘Alright then, girls. The city is near, keep on going forward, I’ll get a room ready for him.’ Starflyer said. He zoomed off. Scribbles was carrying Rodriguez by the nape of his neck like a puppy, and with Fuzz’s help, able to keep him up. But they couldn’t talk right now. Their mouths were kinda full, and Rodriguez’s life was in danger. Well, they believed that.
This has been hard, Scribbles thought. Fighting the Hive, saving other creatures, meeting and… losing friends. A tear fell from Scribbles’s eye. I’ll miss Bluewing… she thought.

In the city, Starflyer landed just on the outskirts to find some housecats wandering about.
‘You two! Get a safe place to rest ready! We have a wounded dog coming in!’ Starflyer shouted. The cats got at it right away, running into a building full of what seemed to be hay.
‘Rodriguez is old… he really shouldn’t be doing this stuff, he could get killed! But isn’t there always a risk?’ The hawk mumbled to himself. ‘For Rodriguez, that risk is just increased.’ And almost as a response, a tank shell went flying up from the middle of the city, striking one of the four remaining mother ships. It didn’t hit the center thruster, so it did little damage.
‘What the hell are they doing?’ he said, instinctually diving for cover in a tree. A few seconds later, the three dogs stumbled out of the forest.
‘Get in there! It may give that Spanish mutt some protection! We’re in a warzone!’ Starflyer shouted. He flew off to where the tank shell may have come from. He flew over chaos. Beams blasted from the huge ships above, searching for the attacking tank. They destroyed buildings and killed animals with the utter ferocity of a fighter full of bloodlust. Starflyer swooped down to keep alongside a tan horse running for his life from one of the beams.
‘Stay away from the mall area! That’s where I believe the tank is, and if this beam keeps on following, it’ll destroy the rebellion’s only means of fighting!’ he shouted.
‘Right!’ the horse neighed. ‘What about you, bird?’
‘I’ll be alright. Go, lead the beams away!’ Starflyer shouted as he swerved off from the tired horse. He went after the tank, which had just fired off another shot that damaged one of the main rockets on the largest ship, which had a ring of six large rockets holding it up. It was about twice the size of the other ships. A beam shot out from the large ship, just where the tank was! But there was no explosion.
‘Thank the lord the tank wasn’t destroyed!’ Starflyer said. There was a loud thruster noise, like the sound made from a plane taking off. The Nova had arrived! It started launching a barrage of fire at one of the smaller mother ships. There was a loud cheer from below. The tank was still firing at the larger one, expending two, three, four shells.
THOOM! The Lukarians had succeeded in destroying a ship! It fell into the city in flames. But before the others could be destroyed, they disappeared!
‘What the fuck- warp drive.’ Starflyer swore. The warp had taken a scoop of the ground with them as well. ‘Let’s go find the rest of the pack.’ He said to himself. He veered off from his course and towards the ruins on the second downed ship.

Near the ruins of the first ship, Redtail walked. She has hidden herself from Hive many times, and she also seemed to be caught in a maze of flames from the crashed ship. She looked up. The storm was near. It would rain soon, and extinguish the flames. Redtail watched a group of drones walk past from behind a strut from the downed mother ship. There was a small, flying thing behind them.
‘What’s that- Bluewing!’ She growled. She ran up the strut and knocked the mutated macaw from the sky, and into a courtyard (or a backyard) littered with rubble and flaming bits of debris. She had caught Bluewing under her front paws, and she was horrified by the changes. The macaw had become what the Hive self of him had looked like in his mind. Bluewing tried to bite Redtail, but she jumped back.
‘What in god’s name happened to you, Bluewing?’ she barked.
‘My queen has taken me under her arm as one of her own. I follow her commands. And her command is to let you die in the flames.’ Bluewing said in a patchy voice. The only way in and out of the yard was just blocked by a large piece of falling rubble, flattening a drone which was under it, the first one in the group trying to get back to Bluewing. The other drones had no other commands but to continue patrols. Redtail ducked to avoid the macaw’s attack, a brutal slash to the head. Redtail in turn jumped at Bluewing, mostly missing but tearing the membrane of his wings. Blood spilled on the ground.
‘You have drawn blood. You are a good fighter, but are you good enough to best me and escape this courtyard in time?’ The mutated macaw said, barely noticing the tear in his wing.
‘Bluewing, fight the queen’s control! She may have changed your body, but she can’t change your mind!’ Redtail shouted, avoiding a falling piece of metal. They hadn’t noticed, but there was a huge section of the ship hanging over most of the yard, protecting them from pieces of rubble high up, but dropping it’s of flaming metal on their heads in the process. It was also unstable. With every shake of the ground caused by the Lukarians blasting the remaining Hive from the Nova. It quaked, and creaked.
‘I am not the creature you called Bluewing. This is just his body, and I am a nameless entity that has acquired his body.’ The Hive Bluewing said, or the creature in his body.
‘Well then, damn you!’ Redtail roared, and she pounced. They fought, pure against mixed, light against dark, friend against foe, as the city crumbled around them.

Back with Squawks, he watched the Nova drop off Ka-Shan and several Lukarians.
‘Squawks! What in hell’s name has been happening?’ the captain shouted.
‘A lot.’ Squawks responded. He told the German Sheppard controlling the tank (He was named Rex.) to find as many survivors as possible. The tank rumbled off and Squawks flew to a bent mailbox. ‘Do you want the story now? Because Scribbles, Rodriguez, a bunch of friends are out there. Bluewing may be dead, or worse.’ He noticed Neverclaw getting out from behind some ruins of a wall and jumping into the tank with the other dog.
‘Infected by the Hive? Damn!’ Ka-Shan turned to the troops behind him. ‘Spread out! Take out any Hive you see! Save anyone! Save everyone. Go!’ he turned back to Squawks as the troops ran off. ‘Get on my shoulder, Squawks. We need to find everyone. You can tell me what’s been happening on the way.’
Squawks glided over to Ka-Shan and landed on his shoulder. Ka-Shan started running, and Squawks started talking.

On the outskirts of the city, Scribbles tried to cool down Rodriguez, who seemed to have a fever. Fuzz had pulled out a thorn and was examining it.
‘Scribbles, I think these thorns were poisoned.’ She licked the thorn, and spat at the wall. ‘Gah! Definitely poison. I don’t know how to help him. Rodriguez, how many thorns were you scratched by?’ Fuzz asked. She knew something about medical things.
‘Many, senora. Many.’ Rodriguez responded. He coughed, and some liquid came out.
‘You may not have long to-UGH!’ Fuzz shouted as she was hit by a beam that went straight through the wall. She was dead.
‘Oh heck…’ Scribbles muttered.

Ka-Shan jumped the ruins of a wall, hearing the howl of a dog. A dying dog. He turned and saw a Hive drone trying to kick through a wall on a small shed. Ka-Shan quickly dispatched him by dispatching his head with a well placed shot.
‘Oh christ, was that Scribbles?’ Squawks cried. Ka-Shan kicked down the door to find a frightened Scribbles trying to cover up a hurt Rodriguez. Fuzz was in the corner, dead from having part of her chest missing.
‘Good lord… Scribbles, are you alright? And what about you, Rodriguez?’ Squawks asked.
Scribbles answered first. ‘I’m fine… but that poor dog…she was trying to help us…’
Rodriguez coughed. ‘Senors, I think the lady was trying to say I may not have long to live. I would like to live out what I have left back in Mexico…’
‘We can do that, Rodriguez.’ Ka-Shan said. ‘Is there anyone else out there that you know that may need help?’
‘Redtail, maybe. And Starflyer, too. We haven’t seen him since he lead us to this outbuilding.’ Scribbles said.
‘Right. Squawks, hop off. I need to carry Rodriguez back to the ship. Scribbles, would you and Squawks be able to search for this Redtail? There are Hive out there.’ Ka-Shan asked.
‘We’ll be fine. We’ve gone up against worse than several drones. We just run.’ Squawks responded.
‘Good luck.’ Ka-Shan said, and he picked up Rodriguez and slung him over his shoulder like some type of towel. Rodriguez was unconscious. Ka-Shan started to run, leaving the two animals back in the outbuilding. They went another way, towards where Redtail went. Scribbles looked out and watched some dark clouds roll in. there was the crack of distant thunder.
‘Is this how it’ll work out every time? Our friends being hurt or killed?’ Scribbles said.
‘Sadly, it does seem to happen like that.’ Squawks said. He led Scribbles down a thin road. ‘Sometimes, life just doesn’t notice us, and tramples us and our allies. Sometimes, life sees us and we change the world.’ He noticed a tumbled strut from the crashed ship and a flaming courtyard. ‘I wonder… Scribbles, stay here! I need to check the courtyard!’
Squawks flew up and saw a fight taking place in the middle of the field. Redtail was re-enacting Bloodclaw’s fight with the serpent. She tumbled in a mess with the mutated Bluewing, which Squawks identified right away. She noticed Squawks just for a second.
‘Squawks, stay back!’ she shouted. The mutated Bluewing immediately disengaged the fight with the wounded coyote.
‘So, I met Squawks. I have orders to tear you apart.’ Bluewing growled. Before he could charge at the surprised macaw, Redtail grabbed hold of his leg with her mouth and would not let go. She made gestures telling Squawks to run, and he did just that. But he did see the mutated Bluewing change his angle and drag Redtail into the inferno on the edge of the courtyard, along with himself. There was a long howl as Redtail tumbled into the flames. Squawks flew right next to Scribbles.
‘We have to run!’ he shouted.
‘Why?’ Scribbles asked.
‘Because Redtail is very likely to be dead and I have no clue, but Bluewing was changed by the Hive and plunged into the flames with her! We have to…’ he was interrupted by the soft thumping of wings behind him. Squawks turned to see a scorched Bluewing hovering behind him.
‘Run!’ Squawks shouted. They ran and flew down the burning streets of L.A., jumping over a rusty car.
‘You can’t run forever!’ Bluewing shouted. He put on extra speed, nearly catching up with the sweating Scribbles. Squawks stopped just for a second and pushed down a broken pole that was just supported by a decayed bit of rust. It slowed down Bluewing for a few seconds.
‘The Hive shall win against you all!’ Bluewing shouted. The street was cracked, and Scribbles tripped on a broken section.
‘Oof!’ she cried, landing with a thud. Squawks stopped, and Bluewing took advantage. He landed next to Scribbles, who was paralyzed with fear. Something again with instincts.
‘I have you now, dog!’ he turned to Squawks. ‘Run, damn you. Run and hide!’ he shouted, gnashing his sharp teeth. Squawks nearly left Scribbles, but they had been through to much together for him to leave her to the sharp teeth of a lost friend. Too many people have been lost today.
‘No!’ Squawks cried, and he flew straight at the mutated Bluewing, knocking him down. He tore at Bluewing’s scales that used to be feathers, scratched at what used to be a beak. It took a second for Bluewing to register he was getting attacked by Squawks, so he retaliated. They fought, fought against each other with the ferocity no human could have, only one the other species could. Scribbles watched, wondering how she could help. Green feathers and blue-green scales flew. Scribbles finally made her move, head butting Bluewing into a wall. She had noticed a Lukarian soldier down the road, running to help. Scribbles pulled the injured Squawks up and they ran to hide. They turned a corner and passed several ruins of cars before they heard a scream. A terrible, long scream coming from the trooper.
‘He was just the appetizer! Come out, show yourselves! Let’s make a big fight of it!’ Bluewing shouted. He had lost the Dalmatian and the macaw. In turn, those two ran into the ruins of a bookstore and hid under a desk.
‘Do you think he can find us?...’ Scribbles whispered.
‘Some reptiles have been known to have infrared vision…’ Squawks responded.
‘Aha! Found you!’ the two animals jumped out of the way just in time as Bluewing crashed through the store window, and the desk. They sped towards the shelves full of rotting books, ducking as Bluewing again charged. He was dazed for just a second, but Scribbles had an idea. She pushed against the nearest shelf, and with a loud crack it fell over, on top of Bluewing!
‘Good one!’ Squawks shouted, and they ran off, searching for Ka-Shan. They had to get as far away as possible. They stopped at a huge trench cut in the ground by one of the beams, stopping Scribbles. The Nova could be seen hovering a short distance away, over the gap.
‘Go! Tell him I’m over here!’ Scribbles shouted.
‘I am not leaving you alone! You’re going to have to jump it!’ Squawks responded.
‘You’re just prolonging the chase, and your miserable lives!’ Bluewing shouted, some distance away.
‘Perhaps you’re right.’ Scribbles said. She backed up, and took a running leap. She landed on the other side, well, more of scrambled, and started running for the Lukarians’ ship, with Squawks close behind. Bluewing was doing the classical evil laugh as he flew down the street at speeds greatly overtaking the duo. (Been awhile since we’ve called them that.) But the duo had just jumped into the beam, and were teleported inside. The teleport beam had then shutdown itself. They tumbled into the bridge of the ship, with Ka-Shan at his usual chair.
‘Glad to have you back, you two.’ He said. He turned to the pilot. ‘Shoot down that Hive creature! Then let’s get the others we picked up back down safely.’ The pilot responded, activating the turret on the nose of the ship. Lasers connected and disconnected with the mutated Bluewing, but only burnt him. There was a flash of light, and he was gone!
‘Did-did you kill him?’ Scribbles stuttered.
‘No… he teleported out. Was that Bluewing?’ Ka-Shan asked.
‘Yep… he killed Redtail right in front of us. And what do you mean by others you picked up?’ Squawks asked.
Behind him, a door opened. Neverclaw strode out, followed by Starflyer and a very bandaged up Rodriguez.
‘Thank god some of the Actor’s Pack survived!’ Squawks shouted.
‘You mean we’re the last?’ Starflyer asked.
‘Afraid so… Fuzz was killed by a laser blast and Redtail was burnt to death in the flames by Bluewing; the mutated Bluewing, who tried to kill us.’ Scribbles said.
‘Nearly succeeded to.’ Squawks said.
‘If it wasn’t for your intervention, I would have been dead. So no bragging.’
‘What? I like bragging, nearly as fun as gloating.’
‘Oh, shut up.’
Squawks laughed, the first true time of happiness he’s had in a while. Even after all that running, he could have a laugh. Outside, there was the crack of thunder and it started pouring on all the survivors’ heads. The fires were put out, and the last of the Hive were killed by the Lukarian soldiers searching the streets and the animals who just ripped them apart. It had started raining, signaling the fight was over. They had won this time. This time...