The research team made haste outside of the dogtree forest. They were washed over in red light as they stepped into the open, emerging before a large field of what looked like blackened plants. It spanned for miles, like a dark sea of curly weeds and vines tangled up in one another.
"Interesting biome," Rocky noted, approaching the edge of the field. "What is this, plants, hair?" A small sniff of the weaving material brought the stench of sweat and musk to his nose. He could already see thousands of tiny insects swarming up and down the hairs like fleas, making him instantly back away with a mortified expression. "Ugh, I'm not walking through this."
"Didn't say we were," Averus said, looking out over the field. "No telling what's hiding in all that mess. The trapping site is right here along the edge."
Ryder crossed his arms, "you're sure this is going to work?"
"I'm not sure of anything, I'm just following orders."
Marshall walked off from the group slightly, looking around the outer glory of the Omnihive. At least they were out that depraved forest, even if the rest of the realm wasn't all that better. The fond memories of dry land were some of the happiest thoughts in his mind; the bright green grass warm under the paws, even the cool metal that composed the ACG warships. Anything was better than a ground made of soaked flesh and meat.
"Where is this light even coming from?" Marshall looked up to the foggy sky. "There's literally no sun here."
Rocky walked over to him, sharing his initial confusion. "I stopped questioning things after we saw the tree made of dog pieces. We probably shouldn't read too much on this."
"But aren't you curious how any of this is even possible? What's behind all this, what is powering the Omnihive?"
"I don't think we're meant to find out, at least not now."
Rocky wandered his vision back over to the working scientists, spotting a nearby eye that opened to spy on them.
"You're being watched," called the captain, pointing his paw at the peeping eye and pulling his gun.
Averus paid no attention to it, "careful with your ammo, you keep shooting out eyeballs, you won't have anything to fight the real threats."
"Those eyes could be the real threats."
"Give it a rest, captain," Parker spoke up, walking over to the group. "We understand the way you think, trust us. But we're quite safe out here."
Annoyed by their banter, Marshall broke away from the group and approached the field of vine-like hairs. No way in hell was he stepping paw in that, but a brief smell probably wouldn't hurt, anything to distract him from the dissonance in the group. Boredly casting his gaze across the field, he spotted something that gripped his fascination. Curiosity overtaking him, he wandered a little farther, stepping up careful to what appeared to be a large hole in the ground.
The pit was roughly twice his size in length, almost perfectly camouflaged in the gory surface of the land. Marshall peered over the edge, and quickly jumped backward in surprise at what he saw. Throughout the entire drop into the hole's darkness, jagged teeth scattered like a festering disease. Despite being only a simple pit in the ground, it lied in wait like a predatory hunter, keeping still for unsuspecting prey to suddenly fall into its unforgiving throat. It was like the mouth of jawless lamprey eel, only massive in size, and Marshall swore he felt a faint puff of breath emitting from the death pit.
"God, the hive itself is trying to kill us," the Dalmatian muttered. "Hope no one's fallen into that recently."
"Marshall!" Rocky called over. "Don't wander off, I need you to help me win these arguments." He shot a death glare at Averus and Parker.
"I don't want to be part of your childish rivalries," the medic rolled his eyes. "Besides, I found some kind of mouth-hole over here."
"A what?" the captain raised an eyebrow, walking over to him while the scientists resumed their work.
"Yeah, there's like a jawless pit of teeth right here, wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen lately. Maybe this is how the Omnihive feeds itself?"
Rocky nervously crept up to the pit, peering over its slippery edge. "Ugh, it's like a pitcher plant... but made of meat. That's unsettling, we probably shouldn't get too close to this."
"Well darn, I was hoping to jump down there," Marshall said sarcastically, chuckling at his joke before walking away.
The mixed breed sniffed the air emanating from the teeth-lined pit. It reeked of dead meat and shredded flesh, the air puffing out in steady patterns as if the pit was breathing. The millions of tiny teeth were stained red, painted with blood likely not its own. How truly disgusting; a perverse sight to molest the eyes, was anything in this horrid place even mildly appealing to look at? Thinking nothing of the horrific monster he was standing on top of, Rocky left its presence and returned to the group.
"This device will emit an electromagnetic pulse," Averus said, unfolding a small device and accessing its controls.
"And that will do... what?" Ryder asked, a skeptical look on his face. "There's no other technology here."
"Maybe, but the pulse itself will physically vibrate through the Omnihive. I guarantee you; something will feel it and come to investigate."
"So you're basically going to send out a massive alarm to the entire hive," Rocky narrowed his eyes. "Effectively declaring our position to every single depraved creature in this cursed place?"
"It won't go that far, captain. Just far enough to lure a ferox warrior to us. Once it appears; it'll trip a motion sensor, making the device shoot out a potent electric stun. That's how we're going to capture it."
Ryder looked at the device with disdain, "and you're positive that's going to work?"
"It doesn't matter how powerful they are, they have nerves in their bodies just like we do. If we shock them, they'll be paralyzed enough for us to bind it."
"Make sure you secure the tail," Rocky said, shuddering at a haunting memory.
"Well, no time like the present," Ryder sighed, running a hand over his hair. "Alright, do it."
Averus flipped a switch on the machine, "everyone stand back."
He worked swiftly, pressing buttons and turning dials until the device began beeping. Making the final adjustments, Averus punched its activation key, quickly darting a safe distance away. For a moment it did nothing, prompting shared looks of confusion around the group, Rocky and Marshall flicking puzzled glances at one another.
A sharp beeping noise was heard, a rapid warning of the incoming detonation. The machine shook with stored energy, compressing it all into an unstable field until it was impossible to keep together. It all discharged at once, exploding into a non-lethal, yet powerful electric blast in a large radius. Nearby dogtrees swayed as the electricity passed through them, dozens of the hive's eyes wordlessly screaming with their panicked gazes. The ground moved slightly, swaying like a boat on water.
"Now we wait," Averus backed up next to Ryder.
"How long is this gonna take?" asked the boy.
"Hopefully not long, I'd rather not stay out here in the open."
Disinterested in the conversation, Rocky turned to face Marshall, a part of him hoping a conversation would ensue. Being in the medic's general presence seemed to be the only source of relief in this disgusting place, and a part of him wondered if Marshall felt the same way.
"This is a terrible idea," Rocky muttered, sitting down next to his brother.
Marshall was on alert, relaxing only a hair at the captain's voice. "This entire thing has been a terrible idea in itself."
"It's not going to work; I promise you that. I feel like none of them really understand what actually needs to be done. The answer is right in front of us, yet these idiots are more concerned with science and shit."
"You sound like Zuma," the medic chuckled, only to frown as sorrowful memories returned to him.
"Yeah, except my plan doesn't include backstabbing everyone."
"What is your plan, exactly?"
"The Omnihive is a threat to all life on Earth," Rocky said, keeping his voice low from the rest of the group. "And it's not even a secret, we saw everything it was capable of the moment we walked in here. But Dutch," a sharp growl left him. "Dutch is blinded by his own ambitions, he wants to weaponize the hive and the creatures inside it, and it ain't gonna work. He'll fail, Archline will be overrun, and the Omnihive will spread to the living surface."
A pit of dread clenched in his stomach, the visualized daydream of all life on Earth melting into the hive's nightmarish cesspool. "We need to stop this, Marshall."
"I agree, but how in the world do you plan on doing that? This isn't an infected basement, it's a whole world."
"If the hive truly is a living creature," Rocky contemplated. "Then surely it has some kind of brain? We've seen eyes, teeth and mouths, why wouldn't it have some kind of nervous system as well?"
"It probably does," the medic said. "But how are we supposed to find it where it is?"
"I was actually relying on Chase for that. He was sent to the Nexus, remember?" The captain pointed, recalling the separate mission given to his other brother. "Given how Dutch talked about it, it sounds like a really important part of the hive... almost as if there's something in there vital to its survival."
"Then we need to contact Chase."
"Well Dutch is too far up his own ass to let us do that," Rocky grimaced. "We can't just ask him normally; he'll definitely suspect we're doing something. We'll just have to wait for an opportunity to sneak it in, some reason to justify talking to Chase again."
"The ground is moving," Marshall jumped up with surprise.
Indeed it was, Rocky could feel slight swaying below him. "I guess the device worked then, brace yourself."
"Uh... Rocky?"
"Yeah?"
Fear had completely broken Marshall's voice, "the pit of teeth... is gone."
"What?" The captain turned with confusion, noting that Marshall was staring off at where he had last seen the hole of teeth. The entire pit was missing; in its place was sagging folds of meat and gore, hanging loose as the space underneath them was disturbed. It had simply disappeared, slipped away as if it had never been there to begin with.
Rocky narrowed his eyes, "what the-"
The ground next to the machine suddenly exploded with a rippling tear of blood and meat, blindsiding the entire group. What appeared to be a massive eel-like creature rose out of the blood, screaming its deafening roar through its jawless throat. Its body was composed of slimy, fleshy material, stretching and contorting with its worm-like movements. Ryder, Averus, Parker, and Danny were caught by surprise, toppled off their feet completely unprepared for the incoming attack. Rocky and Marshall jumped backward as alarm flared through them both, their minds instantly registering the new threat. The fanged pit Marshall had discovered wasn't a pit at all, it was the maw of a sleeping predator.
"Jesus!" Ryder yelled, scrambling away in a blind panic and lunging for his thrown weapon. He grabbed it sloppily, almost slipping on the bloodied floor. "What is that thing!?"
Averus shook his head of the impact, looking up at the roaring eel with paled horror. "Baalcross!"
The creature wriggled its body, salivating blood and mucus from its circular mouth. Ferox infants scampered through its lips, swarming around the body like spiders. Roaring with fury, the creature curved its body and slammed its mouth directly onto Averus's machine, crushing it under the impact and swallowing up its broken pieces. Enraged with the disturbance, the baalcross began forcefully jerking itself in all directions, pulling the rest of its body free from the ground.
An armored torso made of compressed gore and bone was pulled through, followed by gigantic arms reaching out to grip the floor. Meat and blood splattered in all directions as the Omnihive's surface was brutally ripped through. The body of a baalcross was a nightmarish quadruped, four muscled red legs pushing up its gore-splattered body. An elongated tail was the last to emerge, dancing far up in the air as the animal completely revealed itself. Unlike the ferox warriors, there was not a single thing about this animal that resembled a dog. It was simply a gigantic feral body with a horrifying, jawless feeding tube attached directly where the neck should be. There was no gracefulness within the disgusting creature, no eyes, no ears, no nose, just a vile monstrosity of destruction.
"Run!" Ryder screamed out, aiming his rifle and opening fire at the colossal creature. "Get back to the outpost!"
The bullets did little to phase it, barely leaving the mildest tears on its leathery skin. Standing tall, the baalcross screeched into the air, spreading open its drooling throat until the light illuminated the bladed teeth that circled its jawless maw. The dogs all fled at once, Rocky in the lead as they tore back to the outpost with every burst of sprint in their bodies. Just get away, get as far away as possible, that was their only option. They couldn't fight something like that, running was the only option.
"It jumped!" Ryder called, rearing with horror as a shadow passed over him.
The fleeing animals skidded to a terrified halt as the baalcross crashed down from the sky, landing in a massive splash of red and cutting off their escape.
"Get back!" Rocky scrambled backward, with not a clue of where he was supposed to go.
"Aaaaaahhhh!" Parker fell onto his side, slipping on the wet flesh that made the ground.
The baalcross singled him out, vibrating its teeth and looming over the terrified dog. Stretching open its feeding tube, the creature roared with fury and slammed down its mouth directly on top of the meal. Its saliva instantly sealed its lips to the ground, trapping the helpless dog inside the lacerating throat. Parker's screams were so loud they emitted through the creature's flesh, wailing with agony as his body was vacuumed up the feeding tube. His screams lasted only for a couple seconds, cut off swiftly as the dog's body was shredded into mangled ribbons, grated into a bloody pulp.
"Parker!" Averus screamed for his coworker, only to be yanked back as Rocky bit him by the scruff.
Swallowing up Parker's remains, the baalcross detached its mouth from the ground, a sickening runoff of fresh blood leaking off its teeth. A single, red-stained bone fell from its jawless mouth and landed with a splash, the only remaining piece of Parker. Ferox infants skittered across every inch of the monster's body like swarming fire ants, emitting high-pitched squeals as they desired a meal of their own.
Desperate to end the massacre, Ryder caught up with the group and turned his gun on the monstrosity. A hail of gunfire soared through the air to assault the creature, making it snarl with annoyance. "Outpost! Go!" the mercenary shouted. "I'll distract it!"
"You sure it won't follow us!?" Marshall yelled out to him, the other dogs already sprinting back for the forest.
"Of course it will, that's why I'm distracting it, now go!"
The dogs all swarmed back into the dogtree forest, Rocky slowing down slightly to make sure Marshall was still following behind. Averus and Danny sprinted directly past him, not slowing for a moment for any left behind. The Dalmation was running like he never had before, weaving around the dogtrees and leaping over the uneven ground. The outpost was just within reach, only a few meters of distance left. Ryder was the last to flee, running like a bat out of hell clutching his smoking, empty weapon.
"Go go go!" Ryder shouted at the top of his lungs, hauling after them.
Crashing through the edge of the forest, dogtrees were ripped from the ground and tossed aside. The baalcross swung its feeding tube throat like a blunt weapon, knocking away obstacles with violent force. It towered over the forest, its tail floating even higher than its head went. Bellowing out its echoing call, the baalcross chased after them like a battering ram, punching through dogtrees with little effort.
Averus had already unlocked the reinforced door and held it open, screaming for everyone to get inside. Danny, Rocky, and Marshall nearly threw themselves in, the husky looking at Ryder with fearful desperation. The boy gritted his teeth and ran with everything he had, the stomping footsteps of death sounding behind him. Singling out Ryder in his flee, the baalcross charged forward with immeasurable speed, already closing the distance and sailing straight at Ryder's back with its mouth stretched wide open.
"Shit!" Ryder dove into a slide, throwing himself through the doorway into safety. He crashed into the room, slamming his body against the tables and sending lab equipment and military bags crashing everywhere. Averus was fully consumed by heart-racing panic, making an attempt to close the door, only for his mind to scream that it was too late. The husky jumped for his life as the baalcross rammed into the open doorway, sending a deadly shock of impact through its frame. The building held, although the metal shell was deformed by the collision. Its tubular mouth was too large to fit through the entrance, instead squeezing up against its frame and roaring its open maw into the room. The group quickly backed into the far wall, gazing with horror into the deadly throat of the animal.
"It can't get in... can it!?" Marshall said aloud, magnetizing himself against Rocky.
A long, tentacle-like tongue began extending out of its circular mouth, seamlessly passing through the door.
Ryder reared back in terror, "oh fucking hell-"
The tongue stretched open fanged jaws of its own, screeching its high-pitched cry directly into their ears. It shot forward like a bullet, snapping its teeth into Averus and started pulling him into the baalcross's hungry maw. He screamed for his life as he was dragged across the floor, "aaaaahhh! Help!"
Rocky leapt for him, grabbing the husky by the arms and fighting against the monster's pull. "Ryder! Marshall! Danny! I can't do this alone!"
"Aaaaahhh!" Averus yelled as his body was painfully pulled in two directions.
The other jumped into action, ignoring the terror in their veins for a desperate attempt to rescue even one soul. Ryder grabbed the mixed breed and held him tightly by the torso, Danny and Marshall gripping their teeth into the straps of Ryder's vest. A tense battle of strength ensured, the baalcross roaring into the outpost as it fought for its meal. Rocky screamed as every bit of strength in his canine body came forward, an unbelievable agony threatening to tear his arms from its sockets. Ryder's feet were slightly sliding on the floor, his foothold barely enough to anchor him in place. The two dogs holding him were giving it everything they had, their teeth moments away from breaking out of their jaws.
The baalcross gurgled in agitation, slamming both its arms around the outpost and clenching it so tightly the tempered glass windows shattered all at once. A storm of glass shards rained in all directions, cutting skin and clothes.
"Averus! We can't... hold you!" Rocky yelled, feeling himself getting slowly pulled in.
"Don't let go! Please!" the husky pleaded, crying as the tongue's own teeth began tearing down his flesh.
The captain was struggling to hold on, "I- I can't-" His strength was weakening, and Averus had an iron grip around his arms, locking them together. If they couldn't pull him free, the baalcross would drag them all in at once. The mix's eyes looked frantic in all directions, searching for something, anything to fight back with. His gaze settled on one of the overturned military bags, launched to the floor when Ryder hit the table. Its contents had spilled, just a foot away barely within reach. A tactical knife, spare ammo for a weapon he didn't have, and one lonely grenade.
Without thinking, Rocky let go of Averus's left arm, sparking a terrified exclamation from the entire group. "Rocky!" Came the husky's scream, tightly gripping the one arm holding on to him. Ignoring his cries, Rocky gritted his teeth and tried reaching for the grenade, stretching his arm to an agonizing length. It was so close, yet so far, the tip of his paw brushed against its metal shell. Just a little farther, he told himself, grab it, grab it, just grab it.
The baalcross emitted a sickened gurgle, like someone on the verge of throwing up. With no warning, a blinding storm of ferox infants spewed from its mouth, scampering into the room with a violent invasion. They all attacked at once, lunging for throats and plunging their teeth into flesh. Ryder cried out as one latched onto his neck, an attack impossible to defend against as his arms were occupied. Marshall and Danny were swarmed as well, assaulted by the vicious piranha-like beasts, and unable to fight back as even one mistake would send the rest of the squads to a devouring death.
"Aaagghh!" Rocky snarled as two infants bit into his legs and back, a third one going for his face. But his paw was so close, just a single inch from the grenade. Blood began pooling underneath them, Averus also getting swarmed by an entire squad of infants attacking all at once. Pain spiking in every area, infants biting into his flesh and muscle, Rocky snarled out all his ferocity and reached far enough to nearly dislocate his arm. His paw gripped the grenade. Rocky brought it to his mouth, pulled the pin, and immediately launched it forward with his mouth. The grenade flew through the air and entered the baalcross's maw, its inhaling breath sucking it up into its throat.
The explosion was brutal, an ear-splitting blast cutting through air quickly followed by wounded roar. The tongue finally released Averus, making the entire group sail backward and crash into the back wall. The collision dislodged the ferox infants, knocking them all to the floor. Screaming and groans of agony befell the group, everyone gripping their gnawed wounds in stinging pain.
The baalcross stumbled backward, blood gushing from its feeding tube. Wounded screeching filled the air, loud enough to be heard across the entire hive. Squealing in pain, the monstrous animal quickly fled the scene, crashing through the forest with its tail between its legs.
"Ah! Fuck, fuck!" Ryder gripped the bleeding cuts on his neck. In a fit of rage, he pulled his sidearm and started blasting into the infants, each bullet shredding their tiny bodies. Finally able to turn their attention to the infuriating infestation, all four dogs went feral and blindly attacked the small creatures, rendering them to bloody ribbons until the threat was vanquished.
Once every ferox was dealt with, the group collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Ryder was caked in his own sweat and blood, his hair and tactical gear a disheveled mess. Rocky was littered with cuts, breathing heavily on the floor while Marshall shakily looked over him, ignoring his own cuts and abrasions. Danny went to Averus, helping up the husky in his sore, wounded state.
"That... was awful," Rocky grimaced. "Averus... you okay?"
The husky hobbled over, weakened severely from the attack. He took a second to breathe, then looked at the captain with a grateful expression. "Yeah... I'm good. Thank you... really. Thank you."
"Hey, I said I'd protect you, didn't I?"
"I don't know how I could repay you for this..."
"Don't worry about it," Rocky brought a paw to his sore cheek, feeling the bite left by the ferox infant. "Did they get anywhere vital?"
"I don't think so, but..." Averus walked forward slightly, a nervousness mixing with his exhausted expression. "When those little things swarmed me... I think I felt something go down my throat."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, it was just a weird feeling."
"We'll deal with it later," Rocky breathed, resting his head on the floor. "I just... I'm just gonna need a minute."
The group collectively addressed each other's injuries, their original mission only an afterthought as they recovered from the brutal attack. Ryder had to excuse himself to the corner of the room, leaned back with his hands on his face. Rocky and Averus didn't get any more arguments, the two sticking close to look after one another.