Chapter 7

There are a lot of inconsistent stuff in here but i wanted to get the chapter out just because. I've pretty much given up on the whole idea but It was fun while it lasted

“Ardie!” “Ardie!” Yelled Fooz. “Wake up you Dumb American!” Fooz said.Ardie awoke, rubbed  his eyes, and wiped the drool off his face.
“What? I’m awake, I’m awake!” Ardie said as he looked around the strange jungle. “What happened to me?” He asked.
“That “bat thing” knocked you out and flew off with James and Tri- sgt. Dagmar!” Said
Fooz. Ardie’s face changed from confusion to shock. Ardie grabbed a small rock and threw it toward the sky, cursing loudly.
“We are going to die in this hell hole!” Ardie yelled. “We are going to-
“Shut up kid!” said King. “We’re not gonna let these vultures kill us and we’re sure as heck aren’t gonna die here!” The three men sat in silence, gathered fire wood and watched as the night drew nearer. Stars were gleaming, blue clouds dancing, and no one could tell the difference between a planet and a moon. King had wandered off somewhere to look for food and Fooz and Ardie sat on either side of the fire.  “Fooz?” Started Ardie in a quiet low voice. “Where are we?”
“What do you mean?” Fooz asked pulling his attention away from the fire.
“I mean how did we get here?” Ardie said. “We live on a planet that has no enemies other than ourselves, we have our own wars. What in this grand universe did we ever do to them? They storm in, kill our Sun, and we didn’t even know they existed!”
“It’s a screwed up universe man.”
“No Fooz! Said Ardie as he stood and paced in frustration. “It’s the things inside that are messed up!”
“Ardie.” Said Fooz. “Sit down and listen to me. We are not going to lose this war. Me and You, we may die, but this war belongs to us! The Good Guys!”
“How can you know that?” asked Ardie.
“I don’t know how I know.” Said Fooz Looking up toward the starfilled sky. “I just do.” They sat in silence for a few minutes waiting for the other to spark up another discussion, watching the sky, listening to the jungle around them.
“Where are you from?” asked Ardie, catching Fooz off guard.
“A small village in Norway.” He answered. “It was a beautiful place, full of laughter. Every one knew each other, and respected each other, until the Sun was attacked. I was fourteen years old when the news broke, people started going crazy, stealing, killing, and wreaking havoc. Not two months later, my mother was shot in a car jacking.   Me and my Father kept to ourselves after that, trying not to draw attention to the thieves and kidnappers. I can’t tell you how many times my Father saved my life in my last three months on earth, but I do know this: I’m winning this war for him, no matter what alien freak gets in my way!” Fooz grabbed his dagger and flung it into the ground, stabbing through a leaf.
“Tough life eh? Said Ardie. Yeah mine wasn’t too good either, maybe not as bad as yours, but not perfect. Born on a subway in the NYC. Mom was a waitress, Dad was a janitor at the Empire State Building Tower Two. He died when I was four in the World War Four bombing of Tower Two. I don’t remember him very well, just images. Mom and I moved to Jersey not long after he died, we did pretty well for ourselves up until they announced the news about the sun. I was eight, little boy genius they called me, got me and Mom free ride on the ship, and me a ticket into the militaries computer programming division. Mom and I lived in the sixth community on vultron, a small apartment that smelled like a new car.”
“Where is your mom now?” Fooz asked.
“She remarried a few years after I left for training. Rich guy. I didn’t like at first but he really has taken care of her. They live in New America now.”
“Girl back home?” Fooz asked, smiling.
“Not anymore.” Ardie replied. Fooz’s smile disappeared. “They wanted me here and She couldn’t take it, so we broke up.”
“That’s too bad.” Said Fooz picking his dagger up.
“Ahh well, that’s how the story goes I guess.” Said Ardie in a tone that told Fooz he was over it. “What about you? Got a lady?”
“Never really found the right one.” Replied Fooz. “But don’t get me wrong, I was looking!” They both laughed a little. They sat and waited for King to return. A few minutes later he showed up.
“Ok Kids, lights out.” King said in a tired voice. “We’re packing up and leaving early. Gotta make our way back to Base.” The three of them found the closest comfortable position and started to doze off into the cool night. All they could do was wonder and pray about what was in store for them.
  _________________________________________________________________________________


The wind whipped around a boulder, thirty feet away from the base's perimeter. Trisha poked her head out one last time. In the center of the base were three metal towers with cat walks connecting them at the top. A watch tower stood directly over the main entrance and a small shed stood to the east.

"It looks deserted to me.", said James.

"let's go" They sprinted to the next boulder. Trisha pulled out her pistol and held it close to her swollen face.

"You look like crap."

"I know..Go!" They sprinted toward a smaller rock where the were forced to go prone.

"This doesn't feel right." , said Trish.

"I'm telling ya it's deserted." They stood up and walked slowly toward the gate. "If they saw us we would have been shot at by now." James whispered. Trisha walked toward the gate and found it unlocked. "Sweet." said James who kicked it open.

"Would you stop it, be a little quieter."

"There is nobody here, Trish." James knew what he had done. Trisha looked him, gave a huff and walked on. A smirk spread across James' face. "So where do you suppose the food is?" Trish continued on in silence. The first building they stopped at was the tower closest to the gateway. above the door was red lettering neither could understand. James found this door unlocked as well. On Trisha's count of three he kicked it open and both held their guns at the ready. The room inside was large and dark , the only light source came from an eerie green cylinder at the center of the room. a spiral staircase wound around the cylinder up toward the second floor. but, the thing that caught James' eye was the small window on the left. On the other side he saw what looked like an industrial kitchen.

"Jackpot!" , He dashed over to the little door next to the window and pulled with all his might. Trisha kept her weapon pointed at the stair case not at all pleased with James' noisy attempts to open the door.

"Com on I'm starving!", He moaned.

"Would you keep it down." Her words were muted out by the sound of breaking glass.

"Boo ya!" said James as he crawled through the window falling on the kitchen floor. "I'm okay!" Trisha still kept an eye on the door and the stairs."We can take off our mask for a little bit right? I mean it's only carbon monoxide." She listened closely as James rummaged through the locked room, praying nothing would hear them. "What the heck is that!?..Oh...cool!....Hey Trish you should come try some of this!" It made her shiver when he said her name like that, but it was the least she could do for saving her. A loud crash was heard up stairs. James stood motionless, orange sauce dripping down his chin mask pulled up to his nose. "What was that?"

"Get over here." whispered Trish. James pulled down his mask and crawled back through the broken window. They noiselessly walked up the stairs. Trisha's heart was pounding , but James was more relaxed after having a bite to eat, or slurp, whatever it was it tasted good. When they reached the second floor the door to Trish's right swung open to reveal an empty cat walk. By the time James reached the floor, the wind had closed it again. The room was empty except for a knocked over metal table. The door swung open again. This time Trish grabbed it and walked onto the catwalk, James followed. He looked down at his feet and saw the ground through the slated floor. He felt woozy, his stomach churned and shot upward, sending sweet and sticky liquid mixed with bile out his mouth and into his mask. To avoid drowning he took off his mask, fell to his hands and knees and repeated the process several times.

"Sorry." he said when he was back on his feet."It looked okay." James' wanted desperately to take off his smelly mask.

"Just glad you didn't share it with me."

When they entered the second tower James did his best to keep his stomach down. In large containers place around the room, floated organisms in a yellowish fluid. Some were still alive, yet, completely unaware of the visitors. The stair way that led down stairs was illuminated by flashes of light. severed, live wires hung from the ceiling sending sparks onto the metal floor. James felt his hair stand up as he walked into the electric atmosphere. "This must have been a control room or something" he said as he pointed to the the converters, transmitters, and other electronic appliances surrounding them. They went back upstairs and took the cat walk to the third tower which was completely empty.

"Well I guess it's back to the kitchen.", said James.

"You just threw up!"

"They had a sink." He could feel the warm vomit slide down his cheek.

Chapter 6

"What's the plan captain?" said Fooz as he loaded his gun.
"There's nothing much we can do with just the six of us. We'll have to find our way back to base. It should be about a three days walk. If we find the path we can follow it home."
 They stood together at the jungle's edge. King stepped in first, followed by Trisha, James, Fooz, Mclarty, and Ardie. undergrowth continually snagged on the stretcher making the journey even slower. Everyone was on full alert as vines the size of Fooz's arm twisted around trees and moved along the forest floor. James was amazed he hadn't tripped over one of them the night before. They did their best to follow the tire tracks which would eventually lead them toward the "road". A red eyed lemur swung across the trees. It was two and a half hours before they finnaly found the first bird James had shot from the vehicle. Roots had wrapped themselves around it and were slowly pulling it into the ground.
"At least this place has the decency to bury their dead." Said Fooz. They walked on. Thirty minutes later they found the bulldozed path. Ardie was about to step onto it when king grabbed his collar, pulled him back and pointed.
"I hate those things", Said Fooz as he watched his "Dino-birds" pick at the dead bodies which were being pulled down by roots.
"I guess we wait.", said King. They stood and watched as their comrades were slowly lost to the earth or devoured. One of the birds was busy diving in Lowe's intestines when a root shot out of the ground and wrapped around its beak. Its squawks alerted the others who ran off around the bend. King and his squad walked toward the bird as it slowly sank into the ground. Its eyes darted back and forth as it pawed the ground. It tried to free itself but to no avail. Ardie pulled out his pistol and aimed at the birds head. Trisha pushed down his weapon. They stood in silence as they watched it be buried alive.  By this time the sun was high in the sky. They continued the trek. James begin to feel hunger slapping the sides of his stomach.
"Did we forget to bring rations?"
"No but we don't have enough for three days. You can eat tomorrow." King motioned toward a hill. They marched up it and found themselves at the edge a field. Ardie could see the tire marks from the convoy cut across it. King pointed toward a solitary mound in the middle of the field.
"Lets camp there. I know we still have some daylight but I think it would be safer than sleeping in the Jungle."
"I agree" said James as he gave an angry glance at Trisha. Fooz lay Mclarty against the grassy mound, leaned back ward and swung his shoulders left to right.
"You sure can get heavy.", he said. James lay down next to Mclarty and closed his eyes. His exahuastion caught up with him, making it easy to fall asleep.

It was night. Ardie was walking ahead of the squad, Fooz was in the rear. they traveled over vines and bushes, streams and fallen trees. suddenly something sharp pierced James' side. Trisha stood beside him, arm outstretched dagger in hand. James looked down there was blood on his shirt.
James awoke. Something was biting his stomach! He jumped up and brushed an emerald beetle out of his shirt.
"What the..?, Said Trish, gaping at Mclarty who was shaking uncontrollably.
"He's going into shock!" said Ardie. He knelt down and placed both hands on Mclarty's chest. "What?!" He tore of Mclarty's shirt revealing his chest. His skin was literally crawling. Something had found its way between his skin and bones. He began to shake even more. blood bubbled up from his mouth which splattered on the inside walls of his mask. An emerald head stuck out from under his tongue. Ardie jumped up in disgust.  Suddenly Mclartys frame was covered in beetles. the top of the mound burst with hundreds, swarming in every direction.
"Run!", Ordered King. James quickly moved backwards, but turned and ran when the creatures took flight. He followed his companions toward the edge of the jungle. He could barley hear Ardie's panicked squeals over  the hum of wings closing in on him. He broke into the forest. Three beetles were inching their way into his shoulder when Ardie, Trisha, Fooz and King vanished from sight. He stumbled over a root and sumersaulted onto his backside as he slid down a steep, muddy slope. When James fell into the river below it took his breath away. Up and down, In and out. Through his struggle to stay afloat he saw King in the distance as they were swept down, deeper into the jungle.  Trisha was the first to wash up on the muddy river bank. Too exauhsted to help the others, she crawled away from the water and leaned against a tree. King , Fooz and Ardie followed. James washed up much later, slowly let himself sink into the mud and fa ll asleep.  By the time the crew had woken up, the sun was allready on its way down.
"Lets just stay here.", said Fooz.  James who was still too tired and hungry to say anything lifted his right arm and let it drop to the ground sending mud flying.
"Come on!", whined Ardie as mud splattered his face.
"Allright we'll stay here." said king " But lets get up and move around. According to the satalite images, I think this river swings back around to where we started."
"You mean by that cliff?", said Fooz.
"Yes, if we build a raft perhaps we can ride the current back and start over." James felt good about the desicion to float the river. It seemed the safest alternitave to ventureing through the jungle. By sundown the y had fashioned a craft made of four logs. They pushed it out into the river and Fooz held it in place while everyone piled on. The passengers sat back to back, feet dangling in the water. Fooz climbed onto the rear and faced back wards. He pushed off using a fallen branch. They drifted through the forest at a suprising speed. the night noises became a blur over the rushing water and the wind that flew past their ears. James leaned back on his arms to strech his back. his shoulder touched trish's. She gave him a shove almost knocking him off the raft. after several hours of coasting along through the canapoy of neverending jungle and no sight of an opening or a cliff, King became nervous. Yet, everyone else was in high spirits.
"This sure beats walking."
"Too bad this dosent flow the other way."
"Yah, if it diid we be home by midnight or whatever time it is here."
"Hey look," said Ardie,"Is that what I think it is?" Ardie was pointing up at the only mountain on Gamma. Half way up was a multitude of glowing lights.
"What in the world?", said King astonished.
"How.." The raft colided with a shallow bed of jagged rocks. The team skided across it debris flying in every direction. James staggered onto his legs his shirt was torn down the back and a hole was in his trousers. Ardie chased after his glasses, and Fooz groaned as lumbered to the shore. Once again Trisha and King were unharmed.
"You've had one tough week, Have'nt ya?" said Ardie as he put his glasses back on and looked at James' bedraggled appearence.
"Tell me about it", he said.
" What do you suppose that is?" said Fooz as he pointed toward the lights on the mountain.
"Trouble." said King, " There's more to this place than plants and bugs."
"I hate bugs."
"Me too, Fooz, Me too"
King decided it was best to stay clear of whatever was up on the mountain.
"The sooner we get back to base to warn them the better." , he said.  They eventually found the cliff where the behemth had fallen. They made their way through the Jungle and back onto the main path where their nightmare had begun.
"We'll have to find a way around that feild", Said Ardie. "No way I'm goin back there."
" I suppose we could go back to the river and follow it around, Would'nt be surprised if it was the one we crossed over yesterday. Or was it the day before yesterday?", said Fooz as they walked on.
"Who cares," said James " I'm starving, can we eat now?"
"No", said king. "Were back to square one and it will take us another three days if not more to get back."
"But it's only been two days." said Fooz with a confused grimace.
"who cares." said King.
"It's starting to get cold.", said Trisha trying not to think about food.
"Tell me about it." said James who could feel the wind through his torn shirt.
"It's not that bad." said Fooz.
"You just have extra insulation.", Said Trisha.
"Whats that suposed to mean?...I'm not fat!"
"I never said you were."
Suddenly something grabbed hold of James' shirt pulling him off the ground. Before he knew what was happening he was rocketing over the trees.  A batlike creature was carrying him away. his shirt began to stretch. "No please no!" he thought to himself. He felt the remaining threads burst as he rolled out of his harness and fell. The flying monster swung down and clamped its talons aroung James' left arm. He held tightly to his gun with his right. Another flyer appeared on his left. In its clutches was a less than happy Trish. After twenty minuites of flying and hanging from one arm bare chested, James started to shiver. Trisha, who was hanging comfortably by her vest, crossed her arms and gave a menacing glare as if this whole thing was his fault. The beasts flew in the direction of the mountain. When they reached the mountains base James could make out the sillouette of a building adjacent to the lights.
"What now?!", shouted James.
"When we get closer to the ground we shoot em up!" It was as if the creatures knew what they were saying. They both began to flap rapidly and  pulled their talons to their beaks. These two intended to eat their midnight snacks in the air. James fired a burst at its face. He and the beast tumbled to the earth , James' world was spinning. The giant bat colided with the mountain, it released James and broke his fall. But, Trisha was having trouble. Her bat was sucking on her rifle as if it were a lolipop, swinging its head back and forth. the gun went off in its mouth. The stock of the gun hit her square in the face. Trish's world went black.

She awoke with her back propped against a large rock, sitting next to a toasty fire. She let the warmth sink into her muscles. Her head was throbbing. The fire cast a glow on James' face as he nelt down to add a gnarly root to the flames.
"What happened?", said Trish.
"Once the gun went off, the bat dropped you. You didn't fall but you took a nasty roll down that slope." James pointed to one of the many rocky and dusty drops that lined the mountain's surface. Trisha could feel her right shoulder stiffening. She put her hand to her face, it was swollen and sore. "The gun shot didn't kill it though so it went back for you. It put up quite a fight." James stood up. The firelight revealed three long gashes streched across his chest.
"Why w..."
"Don't like leaving people to die when I can do something about it, I guess." James leaned against a tree and spat on the ground. "Your heavy when your out of it, dropped you a couple times." Trisha looking toward the base. "You know it took me thirty minuets to get you up here." She remained silent. "Hello!? A simple thank you would suffice." She stood up and stretched out her shoulder still not responding. "Guess you would of left me to die, huh?....probably." James sat down on the ground.
"We should go up there." She said at last.
"I'm not falling for that stunt again."
"No, I'm serious. We haven't eaten in two days, I'm exasthed and don't feel like going all the way back on foot!"
"So we just go in there, grab some food and hijack a pod to fly us back to base? That's brilliant!"
"Yes it is, get some rest. You'll need the energy."
"I think that gun did a little something to your head. I mean your face looks like a balloon!...And now you want to get us both killed."
"James.."
"No, I see" James stood up, "Your gona send me in their guns blazing so they can use me as a guinea pig... Oh wait, we don't have any guns. I'm Outta ammo and a pistol ain't gonna do much against an army of..."
"James!" Something was wraping around James arms and neck. He was being pulled up the tree! More vines came down from its branches and wrapped around his stomach squezeeing the out his air. Trisha pulled out two knives, one strapped to each boot and lunged toward the tree. With her tremendous strength she managed to stab her way up into the trees canapoy. James vision became blurry. He was no longer on the ground. the vines around his arms pulled upward. Suddenly his torso was released and his arm restraints were loosening. "Trees don't have freaking brains!" he thought to himself as the cord around his throat tightend. His arms were let loose and he dangled only for a moment by his neck before falling to the ground in pain. Trisha landed next to him.
"Now were even.", said Trisha as it began to rain. 

Working working!!!

Right now we are working on chapter 7 and 8 it will proabably be a while, but i think it will be worth the wait!

long road

chapter 6 and 7 are going to take quite a while to finish im trying my best to be patient.

Chapter 5

Here is chapter 5:
I know there's lots of gramatical errors and choppy sentences.

   
They passed through the gateway one by one. As vehicle 78g left the base, James strapped on his mask. Over the roar of the engine he could hear Trisha ordering around Ardie and Fooz from inside the vehicle.

"What are you doing. Get off that you big lug! Ardie, get your butt over here! Don't touch that Fooz. Do you want to get us killed!"

The convoy viciously cut a path through the jungle. The Jungle seemed to watch in silence as they noisily bore on toward the mountain. After the initial tension of entering the unknown wore off, James rested his back against the vehicle and braced the rear machine gun between his knees. He glanced up at king who was in control of the main turret. King kept a constant eye on everything they passed. He knew the noise they were making would draw somethings' attention. The convoy continued on. The sun was already on it's way down when King felt that old familiar twinge in his stomach. Something was wrong. He had felt this feeling before but was never in a position to do anything. Thanks to the embassy, now he was. The head vehicle turned a corner followed by two rangers.

"Tell Mac to hold up!" he shouted to Trish.

"Hey Mac, Hold up!" Trisha voiced into the communicator. There was a pause.

"Corporal McLarty, This is Sgt. Dagmar. Respond now!"

"Nothing sir!", she shouted to King.

"Put me on speaker."

"Yes sir."

"EVERYONE STOP!" Kings voice startled James causing him to set off his machine gun. "Hold yourself together boy!" shouted King. James could hear him muttering curses under his breath. A ranger, and two assault vehicles including their own stood silently on the path.

"Whats the deal, Captain?" shouted one of the men from the ranger.

"Something is..." They heard the rumble of engines coming from the west. A ranger turned rapidly back onto the path and headed toward them. There was no machine gunner in the turret. A roar ten times the magnitude of the monster from the night before, echoed through the trees. An assault vehicle flew, from the curve in the path, through the air and into one of the trees. A repulsive head stuck out from behind the tops of the trees, its eyes were the size of a small car. Black flesh stretched across its face, a massive, clawed foot stepped into view taking down a tree which landed directly on top of the run away Ranger. The driver crawled from the wreckage and began to run toward the remaining convoy. Out from the side of the path ran a group of two legged monsters much larger than the driver with brightly colored feathers and broad beaks. They over took the man and tore at his flesh.

"God! They look like Dino-birds!" said someone from below as King watched the driver being eaten alive. The Behemoth turned toward the convoy and let out and earth crumbling bellow as it began to move toward them.

"Go. go.go!" said Ardie to Trisha as she put the vehicle in reverse. The convoy retreated backwards as the predators charged after them. The turrets on the tops of the vehicles fired away at the towering beast causing little effect. The flightless birds had reached the first assault vehicle and had jumped on flinging Henderson from the rear turret. The giant lizard crushed the vehicle and two of the birds, as it stumbled closer and closer to its victims. The last ranger's left wheel hit a large rock sending it out of control and into a tree. Vines from the tree wrapped around the ranger and crushed it against it's base.

"Get us off this path!" shouted King. The vehicle skidded to a stop nearly throwing James over his gun and onto the jungle floor. It suddenly took off head first into the Jungle. James aimed down his sight ready for anything that might persue them. Three of the same birds jumped out from behind a tree and snapped wildly at the air. James let loose sending one of the birds head over heels. It was harder to get a hit on the other two. Trees and vines blocked his line of fire as the vehicle wove in and out of obstacles. Without warning the Bird on the right clamped down on the barrel of the machine gun swinging herself onto the vehicle and James off of it. James managed to hold onto the gun and fire six rounds down her throat.

"King!" he squealed as he dangled from the gun, legs flailing in every direction. The remaining bird took advantage of the easy prey and latched onto James' boot. James was being pulled in one direction by an assault vehicle racing through an uncharted jungle and another by a flesh eating overgrown ostrich.

"KING! HELP ME!" His grip was slipping. King reached out a hand, but afraid to get pulled off as well, held back.

"Watch out!", shouted Ardie to Trish as they ran right over a fallen tree. The impact sent James flying through the air, without his boot, and strait toward the ground. King grabbed his leg just in time. James guarded his face as thorns and under growth slashed at his arms. Through Trisha's side view mirror, she could see James hanging up side down trying to dodge the sticks and stones that were thrown in his way by the tires.

"Hold on!" she said as she performed a three-sixty, swinging James back onto the vehicle. The last bird ran head first into the wind shield. King finished it off. Once James returned to his position, Trisha sped toward an opening in the Jungle. When they broke through, they found themselves on a precipice covered in luscious green grass. Trisha slammed on the brakes. James could see a mountain in the distance. The unmistakable roar of the monster from the path, shook the ground.

"What are we going to do?!" panicked Ardie. Trisha turned the vehicle in such a way that James and King could get clear shots If it came barrelling through. The commotion grew louder and louder. King began to count.

"One, Two, Three!" An assault vehicle flew out from behind the trees. The behemoth followed, knocking a tree directly onto the engine of Trisha's vehicle. Vehicle 45e and the beast, skidded off the cliff. Corpral Yazzie, who was in the front turret, jumped from the vehicle toward the cliff. He landed safely on his stomach only to be pulled down by a long, black, bone crushing tail. Silence was once again restored. 

King was the first to jump down onto the grass. James jumped too, but stumbled when he landed. He wanted his shoe back. Ardie and Fooz climbed out of the top and joined them. two submachine guns, a rifle and a pistol flew from the hatch and onto the grass. King handed the two machine guns to James and Fooz, he took the rifle for himself. Ardie bent down and picked up the pistol. There was a loud bang from inside the vehicle. smoke rose from the hatch, Trisha rose with it.
"It's no good, were screwed." she said as she landed next to Ardie sniper, in hand. The sun was begining to set behind the mountain. Bright colors shone from its peak, then it was gone. The rate at wich the darkness fell startled them all. Ardie reahed into his pack and pulled out a light stick. He shook it. The stick came to life shining brighter than a campfire. It cast erie shadows on the landscape below. The jungle echoed with noises as the stranded survivors, made preperations for the long night ahead. 
"James", said king, " You and Trish have first watch......Is there a problem?"
"No sir", said James and Trisha in unison. Fooz chuckled in the shadows.
"Good." King layed down in the grass next to Ardie and closed his eyes. James and Trisha walked closer to the edge of the Jungle. Hours passed without a sound from either of them. James made sideways glances every so often, but Trisha was made of stone. Her statue stood ridgid in the night. Now that they were away from the base the jungle seemed alive. The trees danced and swayed on their own accord. For a moment evrything seemed peaceful. A moment later Trisha heard a moan in the distance, a human moan.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yah, It sounded like a person."
"Comon." said Trish as she stepped into the foilage.
"Are you crazy?!"
"Thats an order. Comon soldier!" Jame reluctantly followed. Marching in high steps to avoid getting tangled in the under brush, he moved toward the noise. The light from the glow stick diminished as he folowed Trisha into the darkness. He felt like he was in a cave. He could barley see his own feet. Something swung overhead with a shrill cry. James aimed his gun upward, looked back at where Trisha was standing, and found she was gone.
"Trisha, Sergant Dagmar? Thrish! Where are you?!" He found himself alone, lost in the jungle of hell.
Ardie awoke form his uncomfortable position and looked at his watch.  It would be two hours till next shift. He glanced over at Trisha, who was now pacing back and forth across the jungles edge. Ardie stood up and walked over.
"Where's James?"
"He had to take a leak. He'll be back."
"You mean he went in there?!"
"Yah, Its no big deal he'll be back in a second. You should get some more rest." Trish seemed happier than usual, which Ardie took as a good sign. He layed down on a fresh patch of grass and fell asleep.
James heard crying to his left, he groped in the darkness praying to God, if there was a god, that he wouldn't run into anything that would try to kill him. The sound was definitley human and it was getting louder.
"Oh God no! Go away! Go AWAY!" the mans screams turned into uncontrolable sobs.
"Shut up! Do you want to get us killed?!" the cryind stopped.
" Who's there?"
"Lieutenant Calhorn" The man broke back into sobs.
"Pull yourself together..." James tripped and fell on something large and feathery. It was a bird! James rolled over onto his back. Something wet and sticky was dripping down his neck. Nothing happend, the bird remained motionless. He felt up the creatures neck till he reached the beak. A shiver went down his spine when he touched it. He moved down the beak, and along the ground. His hand met leather and string. His boot!
"Are you still there?" Said the man in a quivering voice.
"Yah, hold on" He pulled out the splinters and thorns in his foot and strapped on his boot.
"Thank God you found me!"
"Who are you?"
"Corpral McLarty..We were heading down the path when this lizard the size of my...It was Godzilla!"
"I know. Your not the only one. It wiped out more than half the convoy."
"I managed to escape before it tried to eat our vehicle. I ran in here and was attacked by only God knows what and now I cant walk." James felt down his legs. Both were covered in blood. he tried moving one of them but McLarty whimpered in pain.
"Theyre broken."
"I could have figured that much."
"Brace yourself." said James as he pulled Mclarty by the armpits and drug him forward.
"What are you doing...NO..Arghh!" James pulled him over the bird and stopped.
"I can't do this!" said Mclarty.
"You'll have to." James pulled again, this time for much longer. Mclarty screamed with every root and rock they crossed over. James was concerned he would draw attention, but he pressed on. Mclarty's screams made him want to scream. It was hopeless, the whole mission, screw the mission! Screw Ardie, King and Fooz. Screw the embassy, the institution, SCREW THIS! Mclarty was silent. James bent down to see if he was still alive. His pulse was seady. James pulled Mclarty for the better part of an hour, leaving a trail of blood  and tears wherever they went. Just when James was ready to give up and let the jungle devour him, a light shone through an opening in the trees. James lumbered toward it till he saw King and Ardie talking to Trisha.
"When did he go in?" said King.
"Over an hour ago."
"An hour ago, and he's still not back! I know you hate his guts but thats no excuse for not alerting us!"
"I know."
"Damn it! Trish!"
"Look!" said Ardie as he pointed toward James who had just emerged from the jungle dragging Mclarty.
"What is your freakin' problem!" James yelled at Trish. He put down his companion and walked toward Trisha ready to give her a peice of his mind. 
"You tried to kill me!"
"You just couldn't keep up!"
"You turned around and came back! You selfish b.." A malicious howl interupted him. Three dog like creatures came bounding out of the jungle and pulled at Maclarty's legs. King opened fire sending one down and the other two strait for them. James took out one and Trisha and Ardie finished the other. The familiar growl from last night echoed in James skull. Two bears came barraling through as well. Ardie fired a round but was thrown to the side. King rolled out of the way. Trisha shot at one sending it up on it's back legs. James was crushed by the weight of the first bear as he looked into its yellow snake eyes and felt its fleshy paw at his throat. Light and sound burst from the rear machine gun on vehicle 78g. The beast on top of James slumped over and lay motionless. The second retreated into the woods. suddenly roots shot up around the vehicle enclosing themselves around it. Fooz leaped off just in time. The vehicle was compacted and drug down into the earth. It was like the jungle was telling them to Shut up. No one slept for the remainder of the night. Mclarty finally regained conciousness and looked down at his feet which were now nothing more but bloody stumps. Ardie did his best to treat his wounds. He built a stretcher out of branches and brush and built it in such a way that Fooz could drag it along with ease. James stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down, not expecting to see anything. Using his canteen, he washed off as much of the bird blood as he could. The sun began to rise, and as it did, he saw the monster and vehicle 45e being picked and proded by a pack of devilish wolves. James knew for sure he was in hell.

Chapter 4

I've got to make sure next chapter is extra long...Please comment on mistakes..Thanks.

"Tomorrow," said King to all who had assembled for the briefing,"will be the start of an epic quest to take captive this galaxy and make it suitable for the human race. We will make this possible through our superior strength and intelligence." Ardie sat up in his chair, "We will begin" continued King,"by taking heavy assault vehicles to this mountain." He pointed to an image taken from the mother-ship hovering over them. "This should be an advantageous position if we encounter any 'high intelligence' life forms. If there are no opposing forces on Gamma, our research team will begin their duties. The rest of us will ensure the researchers safety. We will send out a specialized team to perform this mission, so, if you would Trisha..." Sgt. Dagmar stood up with clipboard in hand and began reading off a list of names.
"Lee, Patel, Mclarty, and Lowe will be in vehicle 45j. Grett, Schmitz, and Gordon will be in the ranger marked 34i. Williams, Johnson, Smith and Henderson will be in vehicle 67k." Trisha Stopped reading and looked at the captain. James thought he knew why.
"Continue." said King.
" Calhorn... Yazzie, Thomas, and Jones will be in vehicle 45e." James was glad to be in an assault vehicle. They were much larger than the Rangers. The list of names continued on.
"And finally," Said Trisha,"King, myself, Ardie Rutherford, and Cobalt will be in vehicle 78g." She placed the list on an empty chair and looked toward King expectantly.
"There has been a meal prepared for us in the barracks. If I heard correctly, they told me it was spaghetti.", he said. There was a general outcry of joy among the troops who sprung from there seats hoping to be the first in line. James and Ardie led the horde toward the temporary cafeteria. James spotted the stack of plates and forks. He was almost there when a huge man overtook him. James took back the lead almost sending the plates crashing to the floor.
"YES!" he shouted to Ardie who was right behind the burly man.
"Hey, I was here first!" said the giant.
"No you weren't."
"Are you calling me a liar?!"
"It was obvious he got there first." interjected Ardie. The brute turned toward Ardie and pushed him to the ground.
"Hey, what's your problem freak?!" shouted James. The man swung his arm around hitting James square in the face. He fell to the ground, but caught himself. He sprung back up and barrelled into the man's stomach sending them both rolling on the concrete floor. The brute managed to get on top of James, grabbed his throat and slammed his head onto the cement. James nearly lost consciousness. A massive, hairy hand came down on James slapping him silly. His head swung uncontrollably: left, right, left, right. James blood peppered the man's face. He couldn't hold on any longer, he was drifting away.
"What the heck is going on?!" Shouted someone in the back of James' mind.
"Get off him!" The darkness was surrounding him. He felt himself being lifted up. He heard laughing, it sounded like Trisha. He was gone.
He regained consciousness just as a nurse was giving him his last injection. He cursed as he sat up in the stretcher. He tried to open his eyes but they were sealed shut.
"Sit Down!" Ordered the nurse. James did as he was told. "It should take about ten minutes, for the swelling to go away. But then you'll be back to normal. Your arm may hurt in the morning but it will feel better by mid afternoon."
"Mid-Afternoon on what planet?" asked James not at all pleased by what had just happened.
"The next twenty-three hours."
"Great." He could open his eyes now, but his head still hurt. King walked into the medical wing and stood over James.
"Hello Captain." said James.
"You have picket duty on the south side of the base tonight. Your friend has been suspended from tomorrows mission."
"Ardie?!"
" No, private. Schmitz."
"Oh"
"I am disappointed in your behavior son, you should know better by now." James closed his eyes so he could roll them around in his head. "Your a lieutenant for cryin' out loud!"
"Sir," said the nurse,"Mr. Calhorn needs to rest if you want him to go with you on tomorrows mission."
King left without a word. It was the first time James was happy to be left in a hospital.




That night, James, Fooz and Pvt. Jones were sent to stand guard at the southernmost side of the base. As they made their way there, Trisha was leaving the shower room in an under-shirt and shorts.
"How ya feelin'?" she asked James with a smile. He didn't answer but continued toward his post. "I asked you a question!", She was no longer smiling.
"Better than I deserve, Sergeant." James said sarcastically. Something sparked in Trisha's eye.
"You're right! You don't deserve anything. You're a good for nothing, sack of entrails who has no business being a part of such a..."
"Cool it Trish!", Said Fooz.
" How dare you speak like that to your superior. You should hope I don't report you!" She marched off into the night. Pvt. Jones gave a long whistle then marched on in silence.
Along the bases fence, the tree's branches had become intertwined. The leaves shivered in the wind.
"So, I guess we're going in there tomorrow, ain't that right big man?" said Jones as he pointed to the jungle.
"The name's Arthur", said Fooz in an unpleasant tone. James was touched that "Arthur" had allowed James to call him Fooz.
"Anyway, that Trish girl was smokin'!" said the Private.
"Her name is Trisha Dagmar and she is your superior, watch your mouth son."
"Ya, I guess we both found that out!" Jones started to laugh. Fooz was turning red. 
James didn't feel like experiencing another fight, so he left the two alone and headed to the corner of the fence. He was getting sick of all this Trisha Dagmar crap.
 "What's she got against me?", James said to himself as he listened to the forest's noises. A low bellow, a high shriek, a birdsong, they all sent shivers down his spine. Two hours had passed before James thought about moving to a new position. He was about to leave his present station, when something moved. A large insect perched itself on one of the branches sticking through the fence. It looked like a scorpion with wings. James stared transfixed on the creature.
"Arrgh!", Gunshots were heard from where Fooz was now lying. James left the bug and ran to his friends side.
"What happened?!" he yelled.
"It's that Jones kid, he's gone crazy! Said something about the oxygen generators. Asked me how to get there." Fooz let out a groan,"I'll be fine. Now go after him!"  James stood up and saw a solitary figure slowly walking toward the HQ building. James darted toward him.
"Private! STOP!" he yelled. Jones turned around slowly with an unfocused look in his eyes.
"Why..'click'..Don't you make me..'click'", his head turned sideways as he charged at James with teeth bared. James reached for his gun, but Jones bounded over him like a grasshopper and ran toward the supply station. James followed as fast as he could, pistol at the ready. Jones darted behind a crate of medical supplies and disappeared. When James got there, one of the supply managers lay unconscious on the floor. He heard a series of "clicks" and "clacks" behind him. He turned around quickly. His jaw collided with knuckles causing him to stumble backwards and drop his gun. Jones was nowhere to be seen. There was a loud commotion nearby. James got up,head pulsing. When he arrived at the scene of the commotion, he knelt down by the private, who was lying on the ground, a small hole in his head and a trickle of blood down his cheek. A scorpion like creature crawled out from under his neck. A large boot slowly crushed it as it let out a muted screech.
"Always hated bugs." said King.
"Sir, Corporal Cobalt was injured as well as officer Steinback in the supp..." he was cut off.
"We caught everything on surveillance. You've got real guts. Be prepared to head out tomorrow, with my squad, I could use you son." James was flattered, but not at all excited about serving with Trisha. "We'll be holding up the rear, in my opinion the most dangerous position. Be sure to wet your pants before we head out. You'd better get back to your post, I'll send some exterminators over later. Be sure to watch out, that is, unless you want to end up like Jonesy here."

James spent the next three hours keeping an eye out for even the smallest movement. He continually brushed the flying scorpions, doubling in number, from the back of his neck. He longed for his shift to be over. Eventually, four men wearing packs full of poison, came to where James stood and sprayed the branches. James watched with satisfaction as the insects flew into the jungle. Their screeches were suddenly lost in a loud guttural growl which turned into a roar. The fence collapsed to reveal a creature that resembled a grizzly bear with dark flesh instead of fur, saber-like teeth that stretched below it's chin, and snake like eyes. There was a terrifying stalemate as the creature eyed each of them sinisterly. There was another blood curdling roar as it swung at one of the exterminators sending him flying over James' head. James pulled out his pistol and shot the beast in the snout, he pulled the trigger again but it jammed. He dropped his weapon and reached for the nozzle connected to the unconscious man's spray pack. He sprayed at the monster's eyes. It made a high pitched scowl and backed down. Together with the other three, James corralled the creature back into the jungle.
"What was that thing?!", breathed one of the exterminators.
"Don't ask me." answered James.
When the fence had been repaired and his shift was over, he walked back to the barracks, crawled in bed, and listened to Ardie complain about how the oxygen emissions were disrupting the monoxide levels and how it was causing the planets' inhabitants to fight back.
"They're just animals." said James.
"Oh no, they're more than animals."
James didn't care, just as long as they could be conquered, and that's what tomorrow was all about.

Power outage

No power today due to big storm last night. four people died. finished chapter three, and half or part or something of chapter four. I don't feel as optimistic toward writing as i once did ..Its not really my story after all ...well im just complaining today... found out i have semi-severe skeletal scoliosis, who cares..LOL.