"This desert isn't what I signed up for." The thought rang out over and over again. They were already risking everything by betraying their leader. And now they had to hunker down in one of the hottest and miserable places on the planet. To make things worse, the puny human leading this band of betrayers was swinging his weight around like he was immortal. "You could just step on him." A grin found its way to Droz'exs face. "Or you could just flick him." The thought of watching the tiny man fly through the air made Droz'ex smile even wider. "I know what you're thinking." Came a voice in his native tongue. He turned to see his comrade cresting one of the dunes surrounding their camp. "And nothing would make me happier. Bide your time my friend." Droz'ex greeted his friend with a nod, and said, "Why must we follow this fool blindly, Scraxid?" Scraxid sat down on a ledge of rock with a steaming meal of mushed giant insects. He took a bite then looked towards Droz'ex. "As I said my friend. Bide your time. He is useful now, and his arrogance makes him as malleable as the sand beneath our feet." Droz'ex nodded and looked down. Scraxid had always been wise. It's why he followed him when he betrayed their leader by leaving and finding an alternative course of action. Their once so called leader wanted nothing more than the complete and utter destruction of the human race, along with anything they created. Scraxid had made the point that enslaving the human race would be much more beneficial. Of course the leader didn't listen. The fool is blinded by his own power. They could have an army that would be one hundred percent disposable. Now over ninety percent of the human population is gone. The thought angered Droz'ex. Not because of the loss of life, but for the loss of those lives potential in serving. Now their only chance of achieving their goal was to follow this simpleton of a human that claims to have knowledge that would help them along.
"Well, well, well." Came a quiet and irritating voice. Droz'ex and Scraxid looked down at the origin of the voice. It was the one that called himself Taahir. "For being an invading species you sure do sit on your asses a lot." The man said with a hint of arrogance. Droz'ex stood, staring at the man. All signs of confidence on the man's face disappeared in an instant. Scraxid stood as well, and they both stared down. "You forget your place, insect." Scraxid growled. The sound came out deep and guttural. The tongue of the humans was a difficult one to mimic. Another tiny man crested the dune behind Taahir. It was the one with the knowledge they seek. Razeen. "Cut the shit Taahir." He looked up to Scraxid and Droz'ex. "We have another run to make." A scoff escaped Droz'exs mouth. Scraxid flashed him a look. He then looked back at the tiny man, crossed his arms, and nodded. The two puny creatures turned and strode away, Taahir visually shaking. The sight brought joy. "Soon they will all tremble before us." Droz'ex thought. Scraxid turned to him and nodded his agreement. He then reached down to his meal that had been interrupted and swallowed the rest whole. He picked up his weapon, looked to Droz'ex and jerked his head to the side. Droz'ex stood and followed suit.
The two comrades made their way to a makeshift staging area just on the outskirts of the small settlement they currently resided in. The humans were loading a few of their weaponized vehicles with empty containers and some supplies for the journey. Droz'ex had been part of most of these expeditions before and knew what these 'runs' consisted of. They were going to steal supplies from surrounding settlements using their overwhelming firepower and fear tactics. The humans had always been ferociously awful to each other. That's why it had been so easy to invade in the first place. It took the threat of total destruction to get them to work together, and yet here they still were. Stealing and killing each other for scraps. Droz'ex smiled. It did bring him small amounts of joy to see them tear and scratch at each other over things that weren't all that important. The smile slowly faded. Not that killing and stealing from a species that was objectively beneath them wasn't a good time, but they should be working on the bigger picture. They should be working towards their goal of enslaving the humans rather than working with them to steal scraps. He caught a glimpse from Scraxid. "Yes. Bide my time." He thought. Two of his other comrades came from behind and nodded, signaling they were ready. Razeen stood at the lead vehicle and looked back at the convoy. "Let's move out!" He yelled as he twirled his finger.
The stretch of desert they had to traverse was an extremely dangerous place to travel through. After Droz'ex and the others cut themselves off from their so-called leader, so too was their connection to control the giant insects cut off. No longer would the creatures listen to his every beck and call as they had so many times before. This desert was filled with the monstrosities. Swarms of giant locusts and scarabs patrol the sky's, blotting out the sun and searching for their next meal. Camel spiders the size of a small building trudge through the sand looking for flesh to rip into. Antlions craft massive craters to trap entire patrols of humans or herds of animals. The scientists that created the giant insects made sure to give them massive bloodlust towards living creatures. The thought made Droz'ex more alert.
The group had been traveling for a good hour now and they were coming up to the first settlement. It was just a conglomerate of canvas tents. These people had little, but they would give up what was owed. The vehicles with weapons made their way through towards the center of the tents and came to a stop. Droz'ex, Scraxid, and the others made their way around the outskirts of the tents effectively surrounding the small settlement. He surveyed the area and spotted the old man that led this settlement standing in the middle of the main path through the tents. He stood straight with both hands on his cane. A tall female strode up behind and stood beside him, hand on the weapon hanging from her hip. A warrior. Despite Droz'exs immense hatred for humankind, he had to admit they were excellent warriors. Adapting and countering an invading force as powerful as the Ravagers was nothing short of impressive. Droz'ex continued to stare at the man and woman as Razeen made his way over to the pair with his cocky stride. The man was pathetic. Razeen and the two people from the settlement engaged, and Droz'ex could tell Razeen was getting irritated, flinging his arms around like a madman. It seemed there was a pause in the conversation as Razeen put his hands on his hips and studied the small conglomerate of tents and people. He then whirled and struck the old man in the stomach. Droz'ex barely blinked, and the tall woman had her sword drawn and holding it to Razeens throat. Droz'ex and the others raised their weapons, prepared to annihilate this entire settlement. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. On one hand, he would enjoy seeing this woman cut the bastard's head off. On the other hand, they still needed him. So he tightened his grip and prepared to fire. He saw Razeen just smile and back away, twirling his finger. Droz'ex couldn't believe it. They were leaving empty handed. Anger and pure rage filled his very being as he shot a glare towards Scraxid. His comrade just held his hand up and shook his head. The convoy turned around and headed to the next settlement.
Droz'ex and his companions followed behind the convoy of weaponized vehicles as they made their way through the desert. The lead vehicle suddenly stopped and one of the doors flung open. A body went flying out into the sand, tumbling away. It was Taahir. Razeen stepped out and stared at the man on the ground. "You question ME!? You're walking from here. Hope you can keep up. If not? Go ahead and die." He said as he stepped back into his vehicle and started again. Taahir was collecting himself, standing and brushing the sand off. The other vehicles drove past him, nobody even looking in his direction. Droz'ex strode up next to him, smiling down at the insect. "I know a thing or two about questioning your leader. Walk with me." Taahir looked at him with terror in his eyes. He didn't say a word, instead he just continued on next to Droz'ex, having to pretty much jog because of the size difference. They continued on in silence behind the convoy.
Droz'ex saw the vehicles veer off to the right suddenly up ahead. As he and the human below him made their way closer, he saw why. In front of him was a giant pit in the ground. An antlion pit. It was about a hundred feet wide, and terrifyingly deep. Droz'ex smiled. He looked down at Taahir. He had his hands on his knees breathing heavily after having to jog through the sand for so long. "You know, insect, we are also questioning your leader. He is leading us nowhere, we are stealing scraps and for what?" He knelt down on one knee next to the man still catching his breath. "I think it's time we let you in on a little secret." Taahir looked up at the alien. "You see, we're not working to further your leader's endeavors. We're working to enslave the human race. And he knows just where we can achieve that. He just hasn't told us yet." His comrades came up behind him, Scraxid with a big smile on his face. "We will have an army that we can send to do our bidding without any fear of loss." Droz'ex put his massive hand on Taahir's shoulder. "Because your people are nothing. Your species is nothing. Your entire purpose will be to die for us." He gestures to the other three aliens surrounding the small man. "But you? You are less than nothing. You are a waste of existence in this universe. You will not be a part of our army. You, will be food." And with that, Droz'ex shoved. The tiny man was flung backwards and down into the antlion pit, screams of terror escaping his lips. He tumbled and came to a stop halfway down the slope. He clawed at the sand, trying to climb out. It only made him slip further in. The ground started to rumble slightly, bringing a maniacal smile to the aliens' faces. The puny human clawed and screamed and begged. The sand at the bottom of the pit started to part and fall inwards. Giant mandibles longer than Droz'ex was tall speared through the sand and into the open air. The monster pulled itself up letting out a hungered screech, ripping through the landscape. Taahir screamed as the mandibles clamped around his body, crushing him in the middle. There was a resounding crack as he was dragged backwards, still screaming for his life. The man was pulled beneath the sand. The slight rumble in the earth ceased, and the landscape was quiet once more. Droz'ex looked to Scraxid, both warriors smiling. They walked around the pit and caught up to the convoy, heading to the next settlement to reap what small amounts they had.