The Industrialist

Chapter 133 Jeepers Critters

Damian closely inspected the skeletons without touching them. Some of them had a white translucent liquid. Damian grabbed a femur bone and separated it from the pile, a viscous liquid stretched from it to the pile.

"Critters," Damian said. "Typical if we are near the hive. The queen transforms everything, including the crawling insects, even those that lurk underground. Like those huggers."

"Somebody get the power on," Damian commanded and the two of them separated to find the central breaker.

"The Quantum Flux Capacitors should be with the Generators," Lance said.

"According to the map, we will go in further. It's in the center of this building," one rebel said, his torch light training at the large map on the wall labeled, 'Evacuation Plan'.

They went further deep, two rebels still gone for the power switch. The darkness crept into Lance's skin, goosebumps. He had heard about the critters. He imagined them crawling, twenty or thirty pointy legs skittling against walls, against metal.

The acrid smell grew stronger with each step they took. The piles of dead skeleton humans heaved the passage as if they were entering hell. The dark sinuous passageway, and metal-slab walls surrounding them, made their position dangerous.

The only way to escape was behind them: an easy trap and a buffet for the critters.

"I don't like this, Damian," Lance said, following behind him. Damian led the group inside.

"Me neither," Damian responded.

Reaching the end of the passage, two large metallic doors stood in their way.

"Behind this door is a large room that comprises the generators," one rebel said. He hurriedly places charges on the doors' sides.

As he was ready to detonate them, Damian grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait!" Damian said. "Prepare attack formation. You three, watch our six."

They scattered along the expanse of the doors, farther away. Damian stood in front of Lance, portraying concern.

"Don't worry. Your Exo-armor will give you protection against their teeth. Ready your blasters."

Luke took out three PB 10 poison bombs from his belt holster. Sign of silence had been evident momentarily, Damian checked on their positions. As he raised his hand to signal detonation, the lights powered on, flickering until they were awake. The hum of machinery vibrated along the walls like a large motor engine had turned.

"Now!" Damian commanded and the rebel pressed the trigger.

The charges exploded, only enough to decimate the doors' locks and hinges. The doors fell inside the dim-lighted room and the shrieks loomed, creatures celebrated for the smell of food. The skittling sounds of pointy legs creepingly orchestrated inside the room.

Lance found the generators inside, but the interior of a large expanse of the room, gradually materializing against the darkness, bathed with the curling humanly-large millipedes of black exo-shell carapace covering red flesh.

Their shrieks came out from the disfigured opening on their heads and held hundreds of sharp teeth. Above them held no eyes but only a smooth black exo-shell.

The skirmish had halted, the surviving sounds of pointy legs skittled within the walls, through the vents. They had won over the critters, but the blue mist still permeated.

"I am not feeling good," the young soldier meekly said, grunting in pain. As he spoke, blood spluttered from his mouth.

His armor was intact but he lost his foot. No. His entire leg. What remained was the only armor, hollow inside.

The Critter could slurp human flesh even from the casing of their armor easily.

Silence fell on them. No one dared talk. He was a young soldier, probably three years older than Lance.

"I feel cold," the young soldier sobbed. His breathing increased, signifying his panic.

Damian hunkered down beside him and placed his palm on the victim's cheek. "You did good, soldier," Damian whispered. "It's ok. It's ok."

Lance was confused. If Damian meant that he could be saved or the opposite. He looked at his other comrades, standing with saddened faces.

"Hey! Help him!" Lance said. But no one answered. Not even an eye contact with him.

"No, kid. It's alright," the young soldier groaned. "I will be fine. I will miss you all."

"No. No. This can't be." Lance stepped closer to the lying soldier. And a pool of blood splattered as he stepped. Then he realized that the severed leg would drain the soldier's blood.

Then, after a few moments, the soldier stopped breathing, his eyes blankly staring at Lance. Damian's tears fell, but he concealed it from his comrades. Lance witnessed it, though.

Damian carefully dislodged the Exo-kinetic armor from the lifeless body and placed it in a plastic container. As the armor was completely collected, the dead body revealed a lanky kid, who had been beaten by the cruelty of poverty.

Lance felt the guilt, storming inside of him, bringing the cold sweat out from the pores of his forehead.

"Don't worry, kid. We are here for a noble cause. The cause of the Truthseekers," Damian tapped Lance's shoulder. "It's time to collect our price."

They sauntered inside the room after they covered the dead body with a mantle and paid their respects silently.

The generator room held Twenty large generators with a capacity of one thousand megawatts each.

Lance unscrewed the portion of the casing of the nearest generator. As he opened it, a cylindrical smoothed metallic casing was sandwiched by other electronic components and thick wires.

"Quantum Flux Capacitor, at last!" Lance said. He pulled on out and placed it on the casing. Others followed how Lance harvested the Capacitor from the casing of the other twenty gigantic generators.

Hurried footsteps were nearing them, and two soldiers emerged in their midst. They were the ones who powered the facility.

"Damian. We have to hurry! They are coming."