Them 2- Chapter 47

Chapter Forty Seven
Near Greenbriar State Forest, West Virginia

They heard what sounded like gunshots in the distance but the noise the creature was making overwhelmed everything else. The only thing keeping the monster from getting to them was the giant boulder and a smaller one to the left of it a little further down.
Glancing up, Jacob could see that daylight was starting to fade. Hopefully the creature would leave them and head for its nest when it got dark. They were tired, thirsty, hungry and near exhaustion. After what seemed like eons, the darkness above them was complete.
“I think it’s gone,” Jacob whispered to Caitlin. “Want to try to get away now?”
Caitlin’s voice sounded parched and squeaky. “Let’s wait and make sure.”
For half an hour they fidgeted and whispered back and forth. The hope of food and rescue was uppermost on their minds, the thought that the creature would return with more ants was an ever present fear. Within another half hour they were both in an exhausted deep sleep.
Huck contacted the commander of the 504th Regiment. The plans were to leave one battalion at white Sulfur Springs to salvage and secure what they could of the defeated followers of Moses. The second battalion would be airlifted from the Interstate near White Sulfur Springs and deployed to Hatcher airfield to act as a blocking force against the remainder of Moses’ believers. The Ranger platoons were sent to ambush the force led by Bert and several Airborne Companies would remain with Theopolis until things were under control.
Forty minutes later, Huck, along with Kayle, Horse and Sergeant Smith’s Bradley crew were nearing the GPS coordinates where the ant was spotted by Crapshooter. The terrain was rugged with scattered clumps of pine, oak and hickory and contained steep gullies and sharp crevices.
As they rounded a small knoll they suddenly spotted two ants in the distance digging in the ground near a huge bolder.
“We still have some Gatling Gun ammo,” Sergeant Smith stated. “Want us to light them up?”
Huck halted the Bradley and carefully surveyed the scene. “If they’re digging for the children, there may be too much risk of a stray round hitting the. Move in closer and see if we can draw them away.”
The Bradley slowly inched forward through the thick blackjack shrubbery. As it got to within twenty yards of the ants, one of them broke loose and charged in their direction. As soon as it reached an angle to where the rounds would not possibly deflect into the dig site, Huck ordered the gunner to open fire. Within seconds all that remained of the beast was small bits and pieces. The remaining ant continued to dig, completely oblivious to the fate of its companion.
The Bradley continued on to within twenty yards of the creature. Huck ordered the tail gate lowered and signaled to Sergeant Smith to flank left while he, Horse and Kayle moved to the right.
“Don’t fire unless the ant charges you,” Huck ordered. “And keep a sharp eye out for more ants.”
As they drew near all they could see of the giant monster was its rear abdomen or gaster. The front part was down inside the hole.
Huck signaled to Horse. “On my mark, put a three round burst into the creature’s ass.” Huck lifted his M-16 and took careful aim at the center of the abdomen. He quickly fired a three round burst, which was immediately followed by Horse’s rounds. The creature screamed in agony and rapidly backed out of the hole.
When Jacob and Caitlin awoke that morning it was to the sound of a talon against the large boulder. They had slept the night through and lost their opportunity to run from the ants. The Monster had returned at daybreak and resumed its relentless digging. It was almost close enough to get to them.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of rapid machinegun firing and the scream of one of the ants as it was chopped to pieces.
“They found us!” Jake blurted. Caitlin was too exhausted and thirsty to answer. Seconds later, the cycle like claw on the ant’s forelimb ripped into Jacob’s thin jacket. He was pulled screaming from the hole as the creature rapidly pulled out. Caitlin cried in terror.
The ant felt the searing pain from the six rounds fired into its body and instinctively backed from the hole to confront its tormentors. As it did so, one claw snagged the food prize it had been seeking for so long. Before it could consume its reward it had to confront the creatures who wanted to take the food away from it.
“The creature had Jacob!” Kayle screamed, pointing to the lip of the hole.
Horse immediately ran towards the creature yelling to distract it away from Jacob. The giant ant turned and reared up on hits hind legs. Juices were pouring from the massive wounds in its abdomen. Horse swung his rifle at the creatures head. Sounds like a hammer hitting a rock echoed down the valley as he struck again and again.
The creature continued to grab for the puny human who moved too fast. Finally, it latched onto the rifle with its deadly mandibles and pulled it from Horse’s grasp. Horse instantly wrapped his powerful arms around the deadly closed mandibles and held on with all his strength. Obviously, the vice gripping power of the mandibles worked best while closing on prey because the creature could not open them against his powerful grip.
While Horse did a deadly circular dance with the giant ant, Huck rushed in and pulled Jacob to safety. As soon as Jacob was safe with Kayle, he returned and slid down inside the hole and retrieved Caitlin. When both children were safely away from the area, Huck returned to help Horse.
Both of Horse’s powerful arms were bleeding from his massive effort to prevent the deadly mandibles from opening. The monster was shaking its rock hard head back and forth and side to side in an attempt to dislodge Horse.
Suddenly, a loud snapping sound erupted like a gunshot. The creature’s left mandible snapped completely off. Horse was thrown fifteen feet away still holding on to the deadly piece.
Before the creature could recover its senses and bring its deadly stinger into play, Huck opened fire with his M-16 and started blasting the creature. Sergeant Smith joined him firing his Squad Automatic Weapon and within seconds not much was left of the huge beast.
The children were shaking with fear, thirst, hunger and exposure. Kayle carefully rationed their water intake and allowed them a few crackers and chips.
As soon as they were safely inside the Bradley, Huck contacted Tappy and Eoin to pass on the great news. After she calmed down, Tappy gave them an update on the status of the ants and what they had found inside the dead nest. Arrangements would be made to have Jacob and Caitlin flown back to the airfield as soon as possible.
Theopolis and his commune was all smiles as the children walked down the back ramp of the Bradley. “Great news, man,” Theopolis grinned. “We only lost seven people during the attack. Thought it was a lot more but the Army medics said most of those who were wounded will pull through. Sorry ‘bout your Army buddies, man. Those tanks did some serious damage.”
“That’s the nature of their job,” Huck somberly replied. “Some are willing to die so that others may live in peace.”
Theopolis nodded. “Never thought I’d say it, man, but we all have a different outlook on the military now. It’s not as if you guys are mindless, brainwashed killers. You all went out of your way to save as many lives as you could. You’re family, just like us. Love you, man.”
Kayle glanced at Angel. “We also have a bit of good news. They’ve found a way to kill the monsters and it works.”
“Awesome, man! Theopolis waved for his people to join them. “The ants are toast!” he yelled. “They discovered a new batch of Raid.”
“In the meantime Colonel Peterson will leave several companies of paratroopers here to help just in case the ants hit you before we can eliminate their nests,” Huck added. “It may take a while to locate and kill them all.”
“What about the Loonies?” Angel asked.
“A full battalion will be left at White Sulfur Springs to reorient them and make certain they remain peaceful.”
Angel glanced over to where a nurse was cleaning and bandaging Horse’s bloody arms. “What I meant was, we have a large number of nurses and medical trained people with us now. Is there any way we can help them? They all looked so ragged and in bad shape and all.”
Huck nodded. If you will contact Colonel Peterson I am certain he will be more than happy to accept all the help he can get. Those people are all fellow Americans, after all.”
They all turned as a loud shout rang among the soldiers outside the camp. Huck was surprised to see a ragged and dirt stained soldier limp slowly towards them with a wide grin. There was blood caked on his shoulder and half of his hair had been singed off, but there was no mistake, it was First Sergeant Brett.
Sergeant Brett slowly came to attention and saluted. “Crew’s pretty banged up, sir, hut somehow we all made it.”
“You’re out of uniform, Top,” Huck grinned, indicating his missing helmet.
“It’s as flat as the proverbial pancake, Sir. If my head was still in it you could suck it out through a straw.”
They both laughed at the lopsided joke.