I: Escape

My name is Ka'rud. I am…well, was a Theron guard of high standing amongst our ranks in the Horde. For many years now, the humans and we Locust, have been at war. The humans had thought us defeated when they used their weapon of mass destruction upon our home, but they were ever so wrong. We had returned more powerful than ever, and we were driving humanity to the borders of extinction. Unfortunately the same went for our species. The use of the Lightmass bomb was not without repercussions. The humans now suffer from the disease known as Rustlung; while we Locust now must deal with the Lambent, a rapidly spreading Immulsion infection, which has turned brother against brother, and has become ever so troublesome to us.I am no stranger to these monsters. The Lambent took away two of my brethren, one was brutally mutilated, while the other…the other…he had become infected and attempted to kill me. I put him out of his misery, but not without a heavy heart. Little did I know that we would be fighting two fronts; one against the infection, the other against the humans.


Ka'rud glanced up from the piece of skin-parchment that he was writing on. A torque bow, lancer rifle, and his four-eye-hole helmet rested on the desk of the cold, dimly lit room he was in. The musty smell of a corpse filled the room, but he paid no mind. Matter of fact, he was using the dead body to provide the 'ink' to write with. Little noise was audible, and yet he still could not shake the feeling of something looming out in the dark. Ka'rud exhaled a cloud of steam through his large teeth, and then went back to writing on the skin-parchment.


Then it happened…

The despicable humans and Lambent seemed to coincide in their assaults four days ago. I was on the lower front trying to stem the spread of the infected. Those under my command fought valiantly despite the enumerable odds. The Lambent had us outnumbered as we fought in the lower ruins leading to the Palace. I remember their faces, yet not so much their names. The battle was hard fought, but still, the filthy infected overwhelmed us. I turned away, my cape flowing after me, and stormed down the hall, when one of my Cyclops comrades ran to me from the battle toting his Lancer.

"You cannot leave! We must not fail!" he growled at me. I whipped around and grabbed him by the throat.

"Dare you question my tactics!? Insolent worm!" I hissed at my trooper. I heard a loud roar over the gunfire, which I knew was from the victorious Lambent. I released my minion, and beckoned.

"Come. We must flee this place. The Lambent are coming, and we cannot allow them to secure this path", I said. He looked at me confused, but soon followed.

"If we retreat, the filth will easily take this path!" the Cyclops snarled. I pointed at the ceiling and walls. We had placed frag mines throughout the hall, and I intended on using it as a last resort, should we be overwhelmed. It became my new plan. The Cyclops nodded after realizing what my plan was.

We continued down the hall. The torches cast shadows that danced around the hall. The Cyclops and I traveled in silence towards the platform that we had left our Reavers. Suddenly, a smoke grenade exploded, knocking us over. A Lambent with a Lancer burst from the adjacent corridor, growling. It was another Cyclops, but its once pale skin had become tinted blue from the infection, and Immulsion leaked from cracks in its skin. My teammate roared as he got to his feet. Though my head was still spinning, I could still hear the chainsaw bayonets activate, and the clang of the two weapons clashing in a duel. I drew my torque bow, and as the smoke cleared, I saw the two Cyclops dueling. I watched in horrid astonishment as both Lancers were knocked away, and the two began to throw blows at each other. The memory struck me as I watched the fight…

My fellow brother that had fallen to the infection was locked in a duel much the same as now. I charged my torque bow as the two fought. The Lambent threw two heavy blows to my squad mate, which stunned them. My torque continued to charge slowly. The Lambent then buried its palm into the stomach of my comrade. My eyes widened as blood poured out, but a glowing light seemed to pour into the body. They were infecting him!

Back then, I screeched and aimed, but a tremor shook my aim and I missed horribly. My Theron brother's red armor began to change to a greenish blue. They turned towards me and charged, but this time my torque did not fail. The arrow pierced my old squad mate, and exploded showering the area in Immulsion infused blood….

This time I would not watch that horrid scene again. My torque charged fully as I saw my Cyclops ally becoming infected in the same manner. There was a tremor that shook the entire hall from the grenades going off. I held my breath. Time seemed to slow as I targeted the offending Lambent filth.

"Suffer!" I shrieked, and let the arrow fly. The arrow pierced through the infected flesh, embedding itself deep into the beast. Then, an explosion. Both of them disappeared into a shower of flesh and blood. The head of my teammate had landed on a ledge. I walked past it, saying a quick rite of passing for him.


Ka'rud looked up once more. This time there was some cry or growl of some sort that echoed outside over the howling wind. The snowy landscape that he had retreated to was both a haven and a grave. He sat alone. Nothing could save him nor harm him, save for the weather outside, ever so lethal. He lit a small fire in the room, and then resumed writing.


Upon reaching the platform, I mounted a Reaver and took flight. I did not glance back. There was no need, I survived alone…again.

I sped towards the Queen's palace, as I saw small lights raining from the sky all around. The humans were drilling right into our sacred grounds! Somehow a beacon must have been placed. Impossible! Firefights were visible throughout the area. I spurred my Reaver onwards towards the platform behind the Queen's throne room.

I landed and ran off to see her Majesty. Two Palace Guards barred my entry to the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" I snarled.

"What business do you have with her Majesty? She is meeting with General Skorge presently", one replied. Skorge…what a despicable and pitiful excuse for a general. My mouth opened to respond when the doorway began to open. The Queen stood before us, and we all knelt down.

"You two, let none pass. You", she said pointing at me, "escort me." The Palace Guards stood rigid, I stood dumbfounded.

"Majesty?" we asked in unison. She held up her hand and briskly walked towards the platform from where I just had come. I chased after her and walked excitedly. Few Locust ever got to personally escort the Queen, as it was such an honor to do so.

"Your Majesty? You seldom leave the palace. What has happened?" I asked. She shot me an icy look though she took graceful strides towards the Reavers.

"My child, I would highly recommend that once I leave on a Reaver, you do much the same. Perhaps gather some comrades as well. Our home here…", she said solemnly, "…is no longer ours." I paused in the entryway to the dome as she walked on.

"I-I-Impossible! How can this be?!" I screeched in fury. Her Majesty slowly turned.

"The humans have discovered a way to destroy the Hollow. They intend to flood it by sinking Jacinto. I have as many as I can to prevent that from happening. I surmise that whether or not we succeed will dictate our future. Also, there is still the problem of the Lambent…" she trailed off.

"My Queen! Such cowering shows we are no better than the pitiful ground walkers above us! We are Locust! We-" I was cut off as one of the tendrils of her headdress lashed out and wrapped around my neck, choking me.

"Silence! Listen to me my child, or else all will be lost. Go. Seek refuge, and if you can, gather any allies. We face imminent extinction lest we endure this onslaught and survive!" her powerful voice echoed.

The tendril released me as she climbed up onto a Reaver and disappeared from my sight. I sat there for what felt like an eternity as the revelation struck me. We have been trying to exterminate the humans, when now WE face extinction. Ironic actually. Footsteps echoing brought me back. I glanced down the bridge and saw two humans both clad in armor running across, one was bulky and dark skinned, whilst the other had yellowish hair and blue goggles across his forehead.

I hissed and reached for my torque bow, only to find it was not on my back. I had forgotten I had left it on my Reaver. I cursed as I ran to my Reaver, mounted up, and took off. I reequipped my weapons as my Reaver surged through the immense caverns that the Hollow was comprised of. I headed towards the tunnels that would take me to Jacinto. I vowed to stop the flooding of the Hollow. I would not fail the Queen, wherever she had gone….


A loud crash outside of Ka'rud's makeshift safe room immediately had him suiting up. He fastened his typical Theron helmet, and gathered his weaponry. He left the parchment on the desk. After checking the ammo, Ka'rud strode towards the barricaded door. He listened intently for signs of life. He heard voices echo through the hallway.

'Way to be sneaky…" a male's voice said coolly. There was a grunt in response.

'At any rate. Do you honestly think there is anything we can use here?' the same voice said.

"Dunno', but we've been through this blasted mansion three times now. Let's check the study over there. It's the only place left.' replied a second male human.

Ka'rud quickly ducked behind the nearby bookshelves, clenching his torque. Loud thumps came from the doorway, as the barricaded door was being kicked in. A loud crash and the creaking of the old door gave away that the two humans had entered the study. Their footsteps echoed through the room as the two approached the desk.

'Wow. Get a load of this!' the second male exclaimed.

'What the…looks like a bunch of chicken scratch and whatnot.' the other replied.

Ka'rud's anger simmered as the humans dare defile his parchment with their putrid fingers. He quietly extended the torque's bladed ends. He peered from his cover, observing the two humans. They both appeared to be non-soldiers. Neither was clad in armor, though both held shotguns.

'Ugh. This place smells horrible. Poor sap. Must've died here while hiding' the first human said and continued walking around the room. The second was headed towards where Ka'rud had concealed himself.

The Theron held his breath patiently. He could easily have eliminated them from the get go, but Ka'rud decided on keeping his dinner 'intact'. The second human walked to where Ka'rud hid, but was facing the opposite direction. Ka'rud lashed out with the blades of his torque, cutting a nice gash in the neck of the human. No cry escaped his throat, but the clatter from him dropping his Gnasher shotgun caught the other's attention.

Ka'rud slipped around the bookshelf as the other human came over to the limp body. The human bent down to see what happened, as Ka'rud came up behind him.

'Where are you? Show yourself!' cried the human as he stood up. A sharp pain shot through the man's body. Ka'rud had driven the bladed end of his torque through the back of the man's chest. Blood spurted out as Ka'rud jerked the weapon out. The man collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around his maimed, yet still living body. Ka'rud grabbed the man by the back of his head, digging his sharp nails into the man's scalp. He drug the dying human to the fire, and smeared his face in the searing embers. The man screamed loudly and writhed until dead.

Ka'rud then shut the door and repaired his makeshift barricade. He built a larger fire and drug the bodies near to it. He took bits of flesh from the dead humans and placed them on the torque's blades, held them over the fire, roasted the meat, and sat down to a meal.