46 Honestly

EEEEEE

The wolf spider retreats into the tunnel.

The wolf spider clan leader along with his surviving three followers jump into the pit. The leader blows his whistle.

"Help me!!! Noooo!!" the woman writhes against her bindings.

The whistle prompts the wolf spider to be bolder. It ignores the mercenaries shots to jump from the tunnel. It crushes the bound people beneath it. Turner and Nard reload. The leader and his followers are escaping into the spider's tunnel.

Ika shoots one of the followers in the back of the head and takes aim for the Wolf spider when the ground begins to tremble.

Directly behind them, the truck of explosives drives towards the pit. Turner and Nard run off to the right. Ika runs around the edge of the pit toward Raco, who has remained on his stomach and out of danger.

The wolf spider's leader blows his whistle once more and the spider jumps out of the pit. It lands on top of the truck. The vehicle swerves. The driver pulls the emergency brake and bails out of the car. The wolf spider jumps off to stand beside the pit as the truck careens into the hole.

Most of the people were crushed under the immense weight of the spider, but one individual continued to crawl toward the tunnel.

VROOOM

When the truck comes barreling down above them, she scrambles up and into the tunnel.

~~~~~~~~~````~~``

"What the hell is this?!" Ika shouts at Raco.

Raco crab walks backward and sticks out a hand toward Ika.

"Wait... aren't you glad I found your men?!" Raco yells at Ika.

Ika reloads his weapon.

"That wasn't what we were meeting for...you used them, you were gonna double-cross them, but you got captured," Ika says before holding his weapon up.

"No," Raco tries to stand and stumbles backward as Ika aims for his head. "Yes. Yes, I was captured, but I saw something and knew you would be happy..."

Ika takes a step toward the Savage, "Full of joy! Cheery even...Isn't there a finders fee or something?" the Savage attempts to negotiate.

Raco holds out his hands in surrender and bows his head in submission.

"We failed in killing them. They had too many people and the spider. It's some kind of circus freak. It's fast. It travels through those tunnels to anywhere within 5-10 miles of this place. It's a menace. Look at it." the Savage remarks.

Ika glances over his shoulder at the enormous mass of dark brown hair and legs. The large front facing eyes of the wolf spider creeps him out. It is being shot by Nard and Turner, while the two Savages, Slim and Nils, attack its legs with machetes. Ika spies something unusual crossing the road toward their squirmish.

A mass of people is running toward them from the trees. Ika curses and begins firing at the hooded people running toward them. Raco picks up his spear and runs over to defend his men.

The Wolf spider followers are wielding all sorts of weapons. Metal poles, knives, spears, and even large rocks.

Ika keeps moving as he shoots down one person after another. Each one is shot once in the head, and once in the chest. He never knows what sort of freaks they'll come across. Best to be sure they're dead.

Ika clears a few before running out of bullets. A maniac stalks up behind Nard as the black man aims for the Wolf Spiders eyes once more. Ika runs to intercept their metal pole. He grabs the barrel of his rifle like a bat and swings with all his might.

The follower is batted away from Nard. The body of the rifle whacks him in the face and knocks him unconscious.

Another follower comes forward. Ika swings again, but the woman grabs the gun and tries to pull it away. Ika releases the gun as she pulls. She stumbles back a step and tosses the gun aside to approach the shorter male. She runs straight into the blade he tugged from his leg holster.

"Gaah!" She exclaims as she feels the pressure in her chest.

Ika pulls the knife from her and lets her collapse to the ground. He steps over the two bodies and scans the area. The Savages are taking care of the rest of the followers.

Raco's spear pierces a mans' chest before the Savage retrieved it and stabbed it into another person's neck.

"Ika!" Nard yells before shoving his leader to the ground while lifting his gun hand to fire.

The Wolf spider swipes down and knocks Nard's gun out of his hand. With another swipe, it stabs through his arm.

"AAAAAH!" the dark man screams and falls to the ground with his arm pinned to the earth.

Ika scrambles to his feet and adjusts his grip on his knife. He slices at the leg of the spider while it pins Nard.

"Boss!" Ika hears Kid scream as she runs toward them from the green field.

She grabs a grenade from her tactical vest and sprints over. Her ginger hair falls into her face as she rushes to get within range of them.

Ika saws at the appendage and while pressing his weight into the wound, finally pierces the spider's thick skin. It pulls its leg away but drags Nard along.Ika grabs hold of the man's waist and tugs him down toward the earth, but he isn't strong enough.

"Get away!! Stand clear!" Kid screams at them.

The spider flicks its encumbered leg.

"No! Get back!" Ika yells with his cheek pressed to Nard's back before he and Nard are tossed through the air.

Nard flies. He hits the ground with a thud and doesn't rise. Ika spins through the air, and when he hits the ground he rolls and rolls. After a quick second, he coughs and gets up to return to the fight.

But it's over.

Turner succeeds in shooting one of the Wolf Spider's main eyes out. It screeches and pecks down below it at hyper speed. Turner jumps back but falls over a corpse. Kid throws her grenade. His leg is grasped by the spiders' fangs.

"AAAAAAH!" Turner screams as he feels his flesh be torn open.

One of the fangs snaps the bone of his lower leg and tears straight through his flesh.

The grenade explodes the back of the spider and interrupts its plans to inject Turner with its venom. It jerks up and charges for Kid. She freezes and backs up two steps before the creature is on her.

It grabs her head in its fangs. A barrage of gunfire shoots at the monster. It spins around to escape the rounds and swings her body with it. Another grenade is thrown and it explodes three of the legs off of it. Kid's body drops as her head is crushed in the wolf spiders maw.

It remains lying along the side of the pit as the gigantic spider tips back into the hole. It falls alongside the damaged truck.

Priya and the other mercenaries have arrived. Ika's eyes water as he fully stands and tries to straighten to...

"I've gotta you!" Pheno yells as he injects Turner with a strong painkiller.

The medic pulls on a tourniquet to stop the blood from flowing out of the injured man's leg. Turner's moans of pain dwindle as the painkiller takes effect.

"I had to clear out that field. It was going to be an ambush," Priya reports in.

She is unharmed. One of the mercenaries continues shooting the remains of the spider. Better safe than sorry. Two mercenaries drag forward a hooded man in torn jeans. The leader of the Wolf Spider Clan.

"He says you'll want to talk to him. He's the leader?" Priya asks.

The mercenaries toss the hooded man to his knees in front of Ika. Ika catches his breath. His adrenaline levels are dropping, and he can already feel a migraine coming on.

"Strong, huh?" Ika comments to the hooded man.

The hooded man spits blood on the ground, his lower jaw is already forming a bruise. There are scratches on his face and he's lost his whistle.

"The strong know when they are beaten," the hooded man stoically replies.

"Hmm..." Ika looks over the destruction and dead bodies.

His hands begin to tremble. He squeezes them into fists and puts on hand into a pocket.

"We're losing light here, Boss." a female mercenary calls from atop the hill.

She is watching their vehicle, the road, and carnelian stripes spread across the sky.

"This place will be crawling with critters soon. What do you want me to do with them?" Priya asks.

Ika remembers something and turns around to call out to the retreating Savage pair. Nils is nowhere in sight. Raco is holding Slim up with her arm over his shoulder. They are walking down toward the road and the charred forest.

"We had an attack in the Wastes, a week or so ago. Was that you?" Ika asks.

"Week or so? Not I, Bossman. My squad and I were leaving Coldstone around that time," Raco reveals. "Breeding. Children don't raise well in the wild."

"You don't consider Coldstone the wild?" Priya asks.

"It's definitely tame compared to the rest of this world. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I'll test out the bay area next." Raco says before continuing to exit the area.

Ika rolls his eyes and turns away from the Savage pair. Priya watches them limp away.

"We aren't going to escort them closer to their camp?" a male mercenary asks from behind the hooded prisoner.

Ika and Priya ignore the question.

"You lived in those tunnels?" Ika asks the prisoner.

"Yes." the prisoner replies through his teeth.

"All these years?" Ika questions.

"With the help of my partner, we were able to sustain ourselves with slaughtered insects and the supplies from travelers." the prisoner answers while looking at the pit.

A long brown limb sticks out from the hole.

"Your partner?" Priya asks.

She raises her weapon and scans the area.

"The spider," Ika says, the prisoner nods before averting his gaze to the ground. "You won't survive very long without that thing to mooch off of. Dependence. That's a trait of the weak isn't it."

The prisoner stays silent.

"Live in darkness, die in darkness...," Ika mutters before telling Priya, "Let's do these guy a favor. Light it all up."

Priya nods and orders the rest of the men forward to help her complete Ika's orders.

"We're taking those explosives and destroying these tunnels. Leave their bodies where they sit. The critters will go straight for here. If you see anyone suspicious running away from the tunnels. Leave em. They won't survive long out here without their monster to cull people. Julie, get the wounded." Priya commands.

Ika watches the prisoner wallow for a few minutes before deciding to find his lost blade and rifle. After retrieving his items, he limps over to the armored vehicle. The back is open. Pheno is treating Nard's arm. The black man seems to be alright. When Ika passes by they make eye contact.

Nard grimaces at the other male and looks to the bundle of clothing laying on the ground outside the truck.

Kid's headless body is wrapped in her jacket and someone else's. They'll never see her scarlet locks bouncing atop her head again.

Turner is unconscious. The tourniquet is still around his thigh. Below his knee is a mess. They'll have to amputate. He has stopped bleeding out, but he needs to be taken back to the medical ward at Warts as soon as possible.

Now that he sees that the rest of his men are alright, he returns to the passenger seat of his vehicle. His trembling hand opens the passenger door. He sets his rifle up against the dashboard and hops inside. He gingerly sits in his seat, sets his head back, and closes his eyes.

"Let it go....," he mutters. "Let it all go."

Multiple explosions sound off and dark clouds of smoke rise up to further blacken the darkening sky.

Ika opens his eyes to see the progress the sun has made toward the horizon. A horizon none of Ralph's group will ever see again. Kid's sacrifice resulted in that lump of flesh lying on the soil. Turner will never walk with two human legs.

Ika tries to breathe slowly out of his nose and catch his breath. It's too much for him. He can't let it go.

Ika opens the passenger door. He leaves it open as he stalks back over to the pit area.

The prisoner's form is lit up by the blaze rising from the pit. The man's hood is down. Greasy brown hair sticks to his sweaty face. His arms sit in his lap as he watches his domain crumble.

When the prisoner hears footsteps approaching, he doesn't rise or turn to investigate. Ika stops behind the prisoners' form. Ika's breathing has calmed down. The unhooded man trembles as he hears explosions in the field and gunshots. But then...Finally...there is a lull in the noise.

A bead of sweat rolls off the prisoners face onto the shaking hands in his lap. The flames heat the air, but Ika finds the temperature to be refreshing. The stress lines on Ika's face evaporate. It's cleansing. His feet scuff at the dirt as he idles closer to the animated cadaver.

Both men hang onto their convictions until one of them can no longer endure the hush that has descended over the area.

"It's only--" the prisoner says.

Ika grabs the back of the man's head and his forearm. Ika pitches him into the pits raging flames. His body hits the melting hood of the truck with a thud. The man is ablaze in seconds. His screaming is muffled as his body slides down the wreck into the mass grave below.

Ika's hands no longer tremble. He returns back to the armored vehicle. It's about time to return to Warts.

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The armored vehicle speeds across the wastelands, but it's too late. They won't make it to their headquarters before the sun sets.

When darkness falls, they are nowhere near a structure to hide within. Their only choice is to drive with their headlights off. The driver puts on night vision goggles. They stick to their usual route.

An hour passes with no incidents, but an hour and 20 minutes into the drive they sideswipe a large structure.

The driver regains control of the vehicle and stops the car. Ika collides with the window and dashboard. He groans. The driver curses as he holds his head.

"Go check." Ika orders passing over a thin penlight he retrieved from the glove compartment.

Quickly, the driver pockets the thin flashlight, grabs his pistol from the center console, and went to check the damage on the truck. He slams the door closed behind himself.

They don't have time to waste. The night hides unspeakable things.

"Damn it. Just one...one easy day." Ika mutters while prodding at the cut on his forehead.

"What the hell did we hit?!" Priya shouts over the radio from the back of the truck.