It was a huge aluminium retaining fence. Angel sighed fearfully, wondering what those protections should contain. Prevent people from leaving Small Mountain? Or prevent them from entering?
What could have done such damage? "She tried to ignore the chills in her stomach that were increasingly uncomfortable and very aware of the problems. Whatever had done such destruction was terribly great. And maybe dangerous.
-We're going to die, Angie! - Spike's eyes transmitted more than words, jumping out of their sockets. - I'm only 17! I was going to buy a car!
She fell silent, swallowing the ironic comment, penalized by her friend's manner. Spike might be a charming person, but bravery was certainly not one of her qualities.
Everything, absolutely everything had turned inside out. Since Zorack had come into her life. She bit her lip in remembrance. Ah, if he never came ... The thought was appealing. No more Spartackus, invasion, aliens or viruses. All Angel wanted was his monotonous, boring, normal life back.
If Zorack had never met her ... What if they had never met? Her only concerns would be evidence, arrests and an angry director. She was in no way attracted to Zorack either. She just had to get rid of that little memory she brought from the ship. It was like proving that he didn't exist. His fingers in his coat pocket played with the object.
A small sphere of energy that sometimes glowed. They had at least different types of flashlights around. He was a thug who was very fond of giving orders. The thought took root with insistence. That weekend ... if she had stayed in the library a little longer ... Even if it meant being stuck there all Saturday and Sunday she would have been worth it. She would never have to worry about staying clear. There was certainly an excellent reasonable explanation for the deserted city.
She felt an unsteady tremble beneath her feet, looking around.
- Did you feel that? she asked, rubbing her arms restlessly.
Spike frowned.
-Of course! What do you think can happen even more? - he asked, turning to her.
Angel did not answer! It was a tremor, and stronger than it shook the ground around them. She looked at the impossible.
Usually, scorpions were small insects. Her eyes were fixed on the feet that emerged from the floor. Eight paws, pausing in its pincers. Insects ... she hated insects! The very idea of scorpions and spiders made her panic.
They were small creatures of 5 to 7 centimetres. They could climb the walls, stand upside down on the ceiling, and enjoyed hibernating in groups, which made them even more dangerous if they entered their home. Many people managed to survive their bites, but they could be deadly.
Some were so deadly that their sting could kill within two hours. There was no antidote, they hid in holes in the walls. There was a type in the arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa ... the scorpion's poison caused terrible pain, fever, convulsions, paralysis, coma and even cardiac arrest.
She stopped, paralyzed, the cry strangled in her throat as the creature left the land where it had been hiding. Spike was unable to hide the growing horror when the creature showed itself to the full. It was monstrous. His scream could even wake the dead.
-I'm not seeing that!
Angel widened her sceptical gaze and then put her hands over her ears with the high-pitched sound that the creature let out as it moved its tweezers in a threatening way, backing up slowly.
-It's all right! - She agreed in shock. - Me neither!
Creatures like those did not exist. Only that one, in particular, was almost as tall as a 3-story building. Her body seemed to vibrate starting to change the old cuticle. There, scorpions spent their entire lives making seedlings, making periodic cuticle changes. The taste of the bíles came to the throat.
-All right?! - Spike asked, astonished.
-Do not move. They say they don't see very well.
"Is it a joke?" Spike swallowed.
-The whole body is a type of eye. - Angel explained startled. --They feel the variation of light.
-This thing has six eyes! Don't start now with the damned science explanations. My business is calculus.
Angel held her breath.
- He's a damn arachnid. What did you expect? They don't see it very well! Damn it, Spike. Have you managed to attend any biology classes awake?
-Is that you?! - he exploded. - Have you ever tried to pay attention in math classes?
He bravely resisted the attack of nerves. Die! It was so unfair at 17. The creature remained immobile while changing the exoskeleton. And the smell ...
-God! What a smell! - Angel whispered.
That animal's cuticle looked very, very resistant and impenetrable as if it were armour protecting the entire body. The exoskeleton was a resistant but flexible layer that covered the bodies of many animals, mainly invertebrates. Every time such an animal needed to leave the cuticle to increase in size it was scary.
There were basically two environmental factors that could interfere with this cycle: temperature and nutrients. Angel's nervousness became uneasy. Temperature variations altered the metabolism, which consequently also altered the cycle. To make the change, such a large animal would need an enormous amount of food to cover energy costs. Food energy was used for growth until it reached adulthood.
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-Tell me, for God's sake, that I was never like that! a woman's voice expressed disappointment.
The view was depressing. It was never pleasant to remember mistakes, especially when those mistakes were disastrous.
-Well, maybe ... maybe a little? Let's go! Be at least tolerant. It is the age! Don't be so severe!
The woman rolled her eyes with a plaintive sigh. Anyone, even if they were a human, should have a sense of self-preservation. She looked at the scene again through the monitor screen with utter dismay. It's all right. It was a huge scorpion. Ah, the image of the animal with its eight legs and much less its claws that were used to smash food was not very pleasant. But still ... That animal was vulnerable ... it was the perfect time to attack or flee. It couldn't be that difficult, could it?
-Intolerant?! I? I'm not that intolerant. And you still haven't convinced me. Mercy! Won't she do anything but stand there paralyzed? Are you serious?
The woman pursed her lips, checking the laser pistols. Just intolerant? It was absurd.
He was still stubborn. It hadn't decidedly changed that much. Showing forced indifference, the woman shook her head at the feel of the hands that held her arms. No. In fact, he had changed. That was one of the changes she most appreciated. Physical contact. She let herself be embraced, the magnetism always enveloping her. The honey-coloured eyes looked like a source of sensual surprises and promises on the attractive face.
It was admirable. Even after so long ... the attraction was the same. The feel of her hands steady on her skin ... Involuntarily she shivered with a sigh that was nothing like irritation. There was work to be done. Her fingers swept the masculine uniform with a cheeky smile in an insinuating way. She could put aside obligations for a moment and forget about problems. Forget the war and the enemy they faced.
With a satisfied moan, she settled down like a purring cat as she sat on his lap. The magic was always the same. It was a pure affinity and not just attraction. The years of living together had only strengthened a strong and secure relationship. She loved him. If they lost that war ... The fear showed in her strained face.
-It will work! Know this!
She shook her head doubtfully.
Perhaps that was the only chance the resistance still had against the enemy. Even so...
-If something happens to you ... We don't even know where Klaus is.
He smiled a confident and more mature smile than before. They were getting older. All she wanted was a place where they could live safely. Not to be afraid every time the day dawned ... Maybe take root ... a family. He was her whole family. It was not the first time that she imagined life of tranquillity. And maybe children ...
- It was going to work. You know you're going! his thick, low voice was confident.
Too confident.
The woman closed her eyes, refusing to think about her doubts. She believed in him. She believed that there might be a different destination. If only these creatures could be fought ... Ravenack seemed to have especially liked some species there to make genetic changes.
Those animals were almost prehistoric. The first was still of aquatic life, with paws and gills. They had adapted to the most varied types of habitat.
Initially, carnivorous animals preyed on any large number of invertebrates. Only occasionally preying on vertebrate animals. Everything had changed. They withstand low temperatures to the point of freezing. And they had adapted
A developed, robust body with short legs and large, powerful pedipalps meant scorpions that built shelters. Some scorpions lived in deep caves. As there was no need to see in the dark, most of them were blind and in some with the total absence of eyes. Generally, their bodies, legs, and pedipalps were extremely thin, colourless - all of these adaptations had been developed to live in crevices, under the rock, and in the depths of the caves. Scorpions adapted near the cave entrances were known as troglophiles, did not lose their eyes and did not acquire other characteristics of troglobites.
They had adapted to surprising places. They had adapted to survive. They had the ability to camouflage themselves. And still to inoculate poison. He was a formidable and dangerous predator. One of those could live with failure for fifty years or more. They were the primitive animals that existed. The evolutionary and adaptive capacity ... They dig the soil ...
Scorpions with larger, more robust claws were able to crush the exoskeleton of any invertebrate no matter how tough it was. What a ship will say.
The sound they made ... rubbing body parts against each other, vibrating anatomical structures ... And the poison, a complex chemical mixture ... they captured and immobilized their prey. A quick and efficient poisoning and the introduction of the sting in the skin of its target. It was a death sentence.
The poison was from an extraordinary and deadly predator, a scorpion was able to capture prey even bigger and even more dangerous than themselves. The poison could kill in a period of one to six hours. It was a cardio-respiratory failure.
-I ... I am ...- she started talking awkwardly, hating herself for her weakness.
He sighed, hands deepening in her loose hair, He knew she was afraid.
-Ah, my little incendiary... You are never afraid. You are not afraid of anything. Just stay alive, please. I love you.
The woman's eyes widened.
-I'm afraid of losing you! - she confessed, burying her face in the strong muscular chest. - And I don't like the idea at all. If that woman ... knows what they will do when they find out that Gargoyles control ...
He smiled puzzled.
-I can't believe you're still jealous of her!
She shrugged nonchalantly. It was clear that she felt it!
-We will! You definitely know that there is no reason. She and Max live well. You know what we need to do here! - he was appealing.
The suggestion was even more unnerving. Caring for a teenage girl without judgment! Ah, who could escape like that in the middle of an invasion! The woman took a deep breath, the most unhappy and miserable of creatures. She had to be punished!
-I'm sorry for all the problems that ...
He smirked, holding her in his arms. The sensation was delicious. Her body reacted immediately with the suggestive position. Only he didn't intend to start something that wouldn't end anytime soon. A resigned sigh again escaped his mouth.
- You bet I'll charge! - he teased. "Just take care of him, okay? Try to keep him out of trouble." In the meantime, I take care of the girl myself. I'll avoid further trouble. She's just scared. You should know and remember that.
-God! She's just ...- the woman looked impatient.
-Young. Scared. And she is afraid. Be tolerant of yourself.
- And maybe even save the people of that city. Do you believe they're still alive?
The captain shook his head with little hope. The chances of that happening ... The temperature of the planet had taken a totally different turn than they would have expected. The virus, in general, was symbiosis with the dominant species in the ecosystem.
Only there on Earth ... They needed to find a way to resolve the situation. That new mutation would be a disaster for the entire galaxy. That decision had been a desperate move by the Confederacy.
And it wasn't just scorpions that worried. There was an exotic, predatory and terrible variety. There were a variety of venomous animals ... collars, spiders, ants and more.
Nature selection. And that was the problem ... Ravenack had decided to increase his small collection of pets.
You and I are going to survive this. It's a promise.