Hunger Pains

Kitamatsu Village, 2000

"Are you sure we're allowed in here?" Two figures, both 20-something Americans, stood at the opening of a dark and ominous shaft. The man who had spoken rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. He was a tad chubby, Hispanic, with black unkempt hair and an equally messy mustache. His eyes darted from the entrance, then back to his friend. His plain white undershirt was soaked with sweat and his blue jeans were dirtied from the hike up to this out-of-the-way location, and he wasn't too fond of being the pack mule. The backpack was a hell of a weight. His friend looked at him and grinned.

"Of course, Tony. I don't see a sign that says we can't just take a look."

"You can barely read Japanese," Tony replied, shaking his head. The Caucasian rolled his eyes and scratched his head, ridding himself of an irritating itch. He was of average built, not quite as big as Tony. He was clean-shaven with brown hair, spiked in the front. His striped red and white polo shirt with sweat, but he definitely wished he had worn jeans instead of khaki shorts. His legs wouldn't be getting mauled by insects if he had.

"Robert, you sure that guy's information was legit? He looked like a senile kind of dude."

"I'm pretty sure he was more of a 'Yoda' sort of man. He told me that this used to be some sort of coal shaft and he used to work here. He said there were a bunch of gems down there." Robert took a step forward, crouching to get a better look inside the maw of the shaft.

"Rob, he's probably full of shit. You paid him and he made it all up."

"Well, we won't know until we try. Besides, we might find some old relics or something. It'll be cool."

"You're a real geek, you know that? That's why you don't get any coño." Tony grinned as Robert frowned and shook his head.

"You're a real charmer. Now get in there." Tony chuckled as he took out a flashlight from the backpack and turned it on. The beam of light cut through the darkness and blazed them a path. All they could see so far was wooden supports and rocks.

"Such wonderful treasure," Tony stated sarcastically as he made pushed forward, Robert right behind rolling his eyes.

"I'm not seeing anything of value, Rob. So far, we've come across old mining equipment and bat crap…or whatever the hell that stuff was," Tony proclaimed, rubbing his boot against a rock wall, leaving a gooey white residue on it.

"I don't understand…I thought for sure we'd have found something. This place is pretty straightforward."

"You got duped man. You're too trusting. You lost your cash and wasted our time. I could be in that bar right now putting the moves on some fine girls instead of rummaging around in the dark!" Robert said nothing, his hope fading away much like their daylight. The two frustrated companions continued forth until they reached a dead end.

"Oh, this is just great! Just great!" Tony cursed their lucky profusely while Robert grabbed the flashlight and studied the wall. It seemed…different then the rocky and jagged build of the walls in the tunnel. This seemed so smooth. Not to mention it was what appeared to be a glossy jet black. It was odd and it puzzled the American. He set the flashlight down, still allowing the light to illuminate the smooth barricade. He scanned the ground and set his gaze on a medium-sized rock that may have once been part of the ceiling until its unfortunate fall. He heaved it upwards, grunting and readjusted his grip on it.

"Rob, what're you doing," Tony questioned, eyeing his friend suspiciously. His inquiry was soon answered as Robert slammed the rock into the anomaly, the impact of the two shaking his body to the core. The black wall splintered then shattered violently, as if it were some mirror. Robert dropped the rock and murmured something as he wiped his hands on his shorts. Trickles of blood began to seep out of minor cuts on his palms. The stone he had used as his own personal battering ram hadn't been as nice to handle as he had hoped.

"Nice going, bro!" Tony slapped him on the back as a way of congratulating his ingenuity, but it hurt like hell more than anything. He followed Tony, who had taken point wielding the flashlight. He swung it around, and gasped in shock.

The two had walked right into some sort of chamber. The place was gigantic, and would easily fit a dozen buses. There was no sign of any antique mining equipment, or any sign that anyone had even been here. A disgusting aroma was immediately detectable and the two were forced to cover up their noses. The two split up to further investigate the mysterious and eerie chamber, with Robert wielding the flashlight and Tony manipulating his phone to give off some, if not weak, light.

The taller of the two, Robert, strode up to one of the walls of the chamber, which had been covered in that same glossy material as the entrance was. He squinted, his eyes trying to see through the near-suffocating darkness. Something caught his attention. He brought the light up to get a better look.

"The hell is this," he whispered. As best as he could describe it, it looked like some sort of pod of sorts. It was a jet black, easily blending in with the chamber walls. The pod appeared to have been torn open from the inside, a fact that sent a shiver rocketing down Robert's spine. Strange dark green liquid dripped from the interior and Robert backed up, raising his flashlight as he did. His mouth gaped open as he saw more pods. Dozens of them. Each one as destroyed as the first.

"What the hell? Tony, listen, we need to get outta here-"His sentence was cut off as his friend yelled out in agony. Robert spun about, the light from his flashlight darting around, yet his friend was nowhere to be seen. One shred of evidence remained, however. The dim phone lay on the dusty ground in the center of the chamber. The panicking American ran towards it but immediately stopped before he too dropped into the pitfall that was now visible. It looked like quite the drop for someone to take. He looked down and saw his friend lying on the floor, his left leg placed at an awkward angle. Tony groaned and shook his head, ridding himself of the stars in his mind.

"Tony! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can…agh, my leg," Tony groaned, grimacing as he attempted to move his leg. He had been walked across the chamber when the ground had collapsed and he fell through the floor. He wasn't sure how bad the damage was to his leg, but all he knew was that it hurt like hell.

"My leg is messed up Rob! It hurts like crazy!" Tony cursed as he once again tried to move it, realizing it was futile at this point to even try. He was about to tell Robert to go ahead and get some help when he heard a clicking noise. He froze, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. He scanned his surroundings, trying to uncover the source of the noise. More clicking soon followed, growing louder every passing second.

"What's that noise?"

"I don't know!" Tony struggled once again to get up, or at least do something to get out of his predicament, but he let out a cry of pain and quickly stopped his efforts. A low hissing reached his ears. The stench of something rotten, akin to vomit reached his nostrils.

"Robert! There's something do-"Tony stopped what he was saying. His eyes widened as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down, the spotlight directly on him. He let out a choked yelp as he saw a bronze blade protruding from his stomach. Dark red liquid seeped from his wound and he let out a cough, splattering his own blood upon his shirt. The owner of this appendage twisted and shoved it in deeper, completely impaling Tony.

"Tony! No!" Tony looked up at his best friend and mouthed the words 'Help me' before another serrated appendage decapitated him swiftly and brutally. His body was quickly dragged off into the darkness, the clicking mixing with the tearing of flesh.

"Oh God no! No no no!" Robert walked backwards, his face a mask of horror and disgust. He bent over and released a stream of vomit. He felt sick to his stomach. His best friend was just…slaughtered right in front of him. He was dazed, confused. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and looked back at the hole. The clicking grew more intense and he stared, petrified with fear as a bronze blade-like limb swung over the edge. Then another. The creature paused before pulling itself up.

Robert first noticed the eyes, vibrant green eyes that glowed in the darkness. Dozens of them each like a miniature mirror that reflected Robert's own terrified figure. The bug was the biggest Robert had ever seen. Blood droplets stained its brown, jagged carapace, and its sword-like forearms were still scarlet with Tony's blood. It opened its mouth, dagger-like teeth glinting in the light provided by Robert, a shred of flesh jammed in between two of the fangs. It cocked its head to the side, studying the human for a moment before releasing a bone-chilling screech as it leaped out of the hole. Robert needed no further warning as he abruptly turned around and sped off as fast as his legs could take him, the insect hot in pursuit. As the predator sped after its human prey, the chamber was silent for the moment. Suddenly, more clicking and hissing emanated from the hole in the floor. A bladed forearm stabbed into the earth, followed by another. And another as several more of the giant insects began to pour out of the hole.

The Meganulon had awoken. And they were hungry.