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TH - Chapter 52 - Hide and Seek
🕑 Added 2024-12-10 16:36:47 +0000 UTCI stepped out of Skyler’s car into several inches of water. The creek was wide, but quite shallow, which was good, because the trees were so thick that there was no room for us to get out on the bank.
I immediately stepped onto the bank and scanned the area. According to the real-time map there were antithesis close by, and I wanted to be ready if they decided to attack.
“You see anything out there?” Skyler asked as she popped open the trunk. The drones instantly sprang to life, and began orbiting around her like some defensive puppies.
“Nothing yet, but the map says they’re close,” I muttered as I squinted into the undergrowth.
As Skyler stepped up next to me I heard her shoes squish, probably full of water. I knew I shouldn’t have found that funny, but I smirked, despite myself. That of course immediately earned me a smack from my girlfriend. “It’s not funny! My feet are soaking wet! Not all of us have protector grade footwear,” she scowled.
“Then maybe you should swap out before we move forward,” I suggested. “Not only will you be more comfortable, but we should probably both work on upgrading our armor fairly soon anyways.”
Skyler huffed, then turned back towards the creek. {Sky: Athyna, I know you’re busy handling the car, but could you suggest a good pair of boots for me to use?}
{Athy: You don’t have to worry, I am capable of so many simultaneous processes that I could drive millions of cars, and have hundreds of thousands of simultaneous conversations, it wouldn’t even come close to taxing me. I think your best choice right now would be to invest in a pair of ‘Swords in the Dark’ greeves like Reina. You could open another catalog, but considering you’re about to assault a hive, and receive another token, I’d suggest maybe waiting on that.}
{Sky: If they’re good enough for Reina, they’re good enough for me. One pair please.}
I spared a quick glance in Skyler’s direction as her delivery appeared at her feet. When she popped off the lid I could see her version of the knee high armored boots were brown, matching her coat. She quickly shucked her wet shoes, shoving them into the same plastic shipping package as the boots before swapping over.
“Don’t let me forget these when we leave,” Skyler said as she carefully shoved the package into the roots of a nearby tree. “I like those shoes.”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised as I started stalking forward. This area of the forest was mainly filled with evergreen trees, whose branches started around seven or eight feet off the ground. While it blocked our vision from the air, the area under the canopy was relatively clear. We had relatively good lines of sight, and few obstructions. “Why haven’t the antithesis torn down the trees in this area?” I mumbled softly as we advanced, “don’t they consume everything they can to reproduce as quickly as possible?”
{Arty: It depends on their purpose. Most humans only encounter the antithesis during incursions, where the models are genetically predisposed to be exceptionally aggressive, and grow a hive as quickly as possible. These models seem to have been designed to grow the hive slowly, and remain undetected.}
“So… where have they been getting the mass for that?” Skyler asked quietly.
{Athy: I would guess dead foliage, and local wildlife. Most evergreen forests slowly build up a thin layer of dead needles, and other foliage, but as you can see this area is completely barren. It wouldn’t take much effort for a couple smaller models to hoover up all that free biomass and take it back to a nascent hive.}
I hmmm’d softly as I followed the conversation, occasionally flicking over to the real time display to track our progress and surrounding antithesis. Unlike the models we fought in the city, the antithesis in this area seemed to be trying to avoid us. I didn’t know if that meant that something was directing them, or this prerogative to create a hidden hive meant they’d prioritize trying to stay undetected until the last moment. Either way, I found the fact that they weren’t rushing blindly into Skyler and me a little disturbing.
“We’re getting close now,” I whispered as I eyed up the map. “What should we be looking for exactly?”
{Arty: Unfortunately we can’t tell you. Antithesis hives can be as varied as the models they make. Most offensive hives develop like titanic underground root networks. The central area will house the birthing area, typically an open area wide enough that the antithesis seeds have space to grow, develop and be harvested. The tendrils will develop digestion pods, which are massive acid filled orifices which the antithesis throw all their gathered biomass to be recycled. Since this is a stealth hive we’re probably looking for something a little more compact. Probably a single moderately sized hive structure.}
I glanced towards Skyler. Her drones were following behind her now, like ducklings following their mother. The three of them were surprisingly quiet, barely making any sound as we advanced. “Looks like this thing should just be over the next ridge, are you ready?” I asked.
She nodded. “Ready,” she replied quietly.
I gripped the hilt of my sword, took a deep breath to center myself, and sprinted forward. I got about half way up when the local antithesis decided we were close enough. A wave of Model Threes crested the ridge in front of me, eager to meet my charge. Compared to the groups we fought yesterday, this was nothing a couple dozen at most. The first couple didn’t even pounce at me, instead trying to dodge around me, and flank. They were smart enough to stay over an arms length away from me, but not smart enough to stay out of sword range. I triggered the blade extension and caught the entire vanguard in a single quick sweep before disabling the feature. I had to use it sparingly, I didn’t want to risk my sword’s power failing mid fight, like it did during my fight with the fourteen.
As the second rank began to pounce I had to concentrate on dodging, and countering those specific models. If I had been alone I could have gotten in a lot of trouble, because there were still a number of Threes trying to flank me, but Skyler was there. Her rifle was as effective as before, but her new drones were something else. Their machine guns ripped apart everything within range. They probably would have erased the entire horde, if I hadn’t been standing in the way. It didn’t matter much, because I still managed to cut down the last Three within a couple seconds.
I didn’t pause to enjoy the victory, instead I continued my charge up the hill, only pausing at the very peak, staring at what I could only guess was the hive. Beyond the hill was a grove of what had once been evergreen trees. At the center of the grove was something that looked like an overgrown pitcher plant, filled with some sort of hissing acidic solution. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of small tendrils and vines had spread out from this central point and grown both up, and into the surrounding trees. The entire place vaguely resembled a mangrove swamp.
The trees which had been parasitically taken over all had a series of semi transparent pods, which vaguely resembled overripe fruit. As I started down the hill a group of small four armed, headless monkey-like creatures flooded out of the holes in the mangrove trees. They jumped between the various fruits, violently ripping them open.
As they ripped them open, the fruit pods spat out new antithesis. Most of these were either half formed, or too weak to even stand, but there were a couple that were almost fully grown. It didn’t matter whether they were full grown or not, Skyler’s drones cut down everything the instant they touched the ground. Seeing this the monkey creatures attempted to flee, only to be caught by the drones’ next burst.
“They didn’t put up much of a fight, whatever they were,” Skyler mumbled as she inspected the carnage.
{Athy: Those were Model Tens, hive tenders. They’re usually one of the first models created by new hives, to both help shape the local environment and monitor the newly developing antithesis. They have nearly zero combat potential, and only engage, or flee when the situation is hopeless.}
“Great, we slaughtered the alien nannies,” I mumbled. “You were right about recognizing the hive when we saw it, I doubt this is natural.” Just as I hit the bottom of the hill, and approached the middle of the grove, there was a series of snapping noises from above me. I instinctively dove out of the way, barely avoiding the mass that crashed down on my location.
When I rolled back to my feet I found a massive antithesis there. It was like three squids had been attached by the back of their mantles, creating a monstrous flower-like cluster of teeth and tentacles. The point the bodies were connected at had a stem, which appeared to have been broken off.
As I stepped back Skyler’s drones opened up on the beast, peppering it ineffectively with machine gun fire.
{Arty: Huh. This is something I didn’t expect.}
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