CONVERGENCE

"This is Hawk-01 talking to all units! We have visual on the main Convergence wave! Estimated contact with the evacuation point in fifteen minutes! Over!"

"This is HQ. Understood, Hawk. All aerial squadrons, take positions along the perimeter of the cell as agreed, and begin the suppression operation. Gentlemen, do everything you can to slow down that wave!"

"Yes, sir!"

Row after row of buildings passed like a blurry mirage under the helicopter, and the deafening noise of the propellers muffled the tumult coming from the streets. The other vehicles in the squadron got separated from the formation, extending in multiple directions.

He felt the sweat drops falling from his face and dirtying his uniform. No human being in their right mind would be able to witness such horrific spectacle and still keep their cool.

Attracted by the queen from neighboring cells, the stingers had congregated into a homogeneous, organic mass, in a frenzied sprint towards the signal's epicenter. More than two meters tall, legs with multiple joints, osseous exoskeletons covering their bodies, mandibles instead of mouths… Those creatures were abominations, which had abandoned all traces of humanity.

The wall of monsters, whose bodies emitted a bright blue light, advanced at terrifying speeds, passing through buildings and trampling all obstacles in their way. Anything not made of reinforced concrete or steel collapsed under the horde's power, leaving only devastation in its wake.

Wherever he looked, the horizon gleamed in azure tones. And a mere handful of those monsters would spell doom for his comrades at Kurtis Tower.

'This is madness.'

"Initiating suppression!" shouted the pilot on the radio. "Fire at will!"

The helicopter's weapons roared in unison, along with those of the other combat helicopters positioned across the perimeter. A barrage of missiles fell on the stinger wall, while the gunners neutralized the ones who managed to survive the explosions. The pilot was forced to constantly fly backwards, following the stinger front advancing through the offensive.

Something crossed the skies over the helicopter squadron in the blink of an eye, leaving a vapor trail behind. Barely some seconds later, the sound of a distant explosion reached the pilot's ears, and a long, dense cloud of black smoke manifested on the horizon.

"This is Silvergull, fire blockage deployed in sector 3, returning to base. Over." said a voice on the radio.

Afterwards, a second aircraft flew over the area. Then another one. And another one. Exactly as they'd been informed, the bomber fleet had jumped into action to cover the ground access to Kurtis Tower with a napalm ring.

A new volley of missiles fell on the stinger wall. Would all that effort achieve anything? Maybe they'd be able to buy one minute or two for their comrades. Maybe it'd be nothing but a couple of extra seconds.

"This is Hawk-01, the wave has covered almost the entirety of sector 5, retreating to 12! Over!"

Maybe it was a lost battle. Didn't matter, mankind's future was at stake. Facing that destiny was no madness. Surrendering to it was.

******

Isaac's arms were numb due to the rifle's constant vibration. With every passing second, the corpse mound at the bottom of the stairs multiplied in size, and more hysterical stingers climbed and crawled over the fallen ones, with their eyes fixated on the group of soldiers.

"How the fuck are they still coming up!? It's just fire and smoke down there!" shouted Erik.

"Stop talking!" replied Isaac. "Focus!"

Fire wouldn't work this time around. Many of the stingers coming up the stairs were in flames, or displayed severe burns all over their bodies. The pile of corpses was steaming, and looked like it could burst into a fireball at any moment.

Usually, the presence of smoke would urge them to evacuate the area. However, the queen's call was formidable, impossible to resist. Those bastards only had eyes for her.

"This is Isaac!" he said, holding his weapon with a single hand while grabbing the radio with the other one. "Where is the evacuation, damn it!!?"

"This is Lucky-02! We've encountered enemy resistance in the tower's airspace, we've been forced to perform evasive maneuvers! We're on our way! We'll get you out of there!!"

'Enemy resistance!? What the hell is going on!?'

The corpse mountain already covered half the stair flight. The horde pushed the bodies without rest, getting dangerously close to the landing.

"We can't hold this position much longer! Erik!" said Isaac.

"It's ready, captain!"

"Hurry, everyone up! Come on, come on, come on!!"

The soldiers ran upstairs, with the stingers hot on their trails.

"Now!" ordered Isaac, as soon as the last of them reached the relative safety of the upper landing.

The explosive charge detonated, releasing a deafening blast that shook their eardrums despite wearing earmuffs. Not bothering to check if the explosive had been effective, they continued ascending, until taking positions on the next floor's landing.

"Get ready!" said Isaac, seconds before new groups of stingers emerged from the stairs. "Fire!!"

The weapons roared again, taking those monsters down by dozens, and creating a new pile of corpses that, like the previous one, advanced upwards step after step.

"Attention, contact on our nine! Stingers in the hallway!!" said one of the soldiers.

Isaac glanced at the stairwell door and spotted a small group of stingers sprinting in their direction.

'Where are they coming from!? They must've gotten up the other stairwell! Have they climbed all the way up there!?'

"Kenneth, Alan, cover the hallway! The rest, keep the heat on the horde on this side!" he ordered.

The soldiers repositioned themselves following his orders and continued fighting.

Isaac's mind was divided. A part of him was focused exclusively on the battle. On the weapon's rattling, on counting the number of magazines he had left, on the sound of bodies dropping dead, on the splatters of blood painting the walls, on the tumultuous screams and growls coming from seemingly all directions at once, on the sweat sliding down his forehead.

His other half was pensive. He had gone through this before. They say that when your mind feels like it's about to die, your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. In his case, the only thing going through his head was a single, specific memory.

A memory he refused to relive no matter what.

######

It was cold, and a dense fog covered the city as far as the eye could see. With the sulfurous smell of the inhibitor gas seeping up his nostrils, Isaac continued watching over the panorama with the binoculars.

Among the buildings stood the ruins of a car factory. The vast majority of the expanse of warehouses had collapsed, revealing an alien scenery within. What once were production lines were now covered in some kind of solid substance, akin to wax, forming a jungle of arches, tunnels and domes branching towards the outside and covering the entirety of the industrial park. It was like a furious, turbulent stream of muddy water frozen in time.

Activity levels were extreme. Skittering among the corridors and corners of that labyrinth, the stingers numbered thousands, if not tens of thousands. Among them, a small handful of enormous creatures could be discerned. The praetorians, the size of an adult African elephant, patrolled the bigger hallways of the hive, taking turns to converge at the core before once again wandering towards the outer perimeters.

There was at least one of them at the structure's heart at all times, watching over a very special entity. Almost the entire ceiling had fallen apart, leaving the head of the hive's hierarchy exposed and in plain view.

He couldn't see her too well past the fog, but Isaac knew what he was seeing. Elongated arms of brittle appearance, an almost skeletal body in comparison to the other stingers, and two articulated protuberances jutting out of its head.

'There it is… The queen.'

"Nelson, situation report." he said.

"Almost all teams are in position, captain." answered a voice to his left. "We've got visual on the target from multiple sides. We're still awaiting confirmation from Delta."

"Good…" he said, with a dull voice.

Nelson made a short pause. "Everything okay, captain?"

"Yes, focus on the mission."

"Yes, sir."

He wasn't okay. That mission meant bad business, and all his men were probably aware of it. Eliminate the queen and watch the hive's reaction? Seriously? What the hell were they thinking?

It had been a long and thorough operation, with endless resources at their disposal. The higher-ups were anxious to know more about the enemy, to understand what they were fighting against; and it was obvious that results were the only thing that mattered to them. Everything else was a bunch of tools. Human lives included.

The journey through the city had been slow, tedious, and dangerous. And despite all that, despite everything they had risked to make it that far, he dreaded the moment he'd have to give the final order. He wished it never came.

"This is Delta, we're in position and we've got visual on the target. Over." said a voice over the radio.

"All marksmen are ready, captain." said Nelson. "Your orders?"

Isaac looked away from the binoculars, and let his eyes get lost in the cloudy skies above for several long seconds.

"Captain?"

"…this is Captain Isaac…" he said, before dragging his attention back to the binoculars. "All marksmen, get ready to shoot. In three… two… one…"

'May God have mercy on our souls.'

"Fire!"

*Bang!*

…

Nelson Brown. Aiden Lee. Carter Tremblay. Addison Clark. Samuel Stewart. James Mitchel…

Cursed be the moment he decided to comply with those orders. The weight of that list would remind him for the remainder of his life. How many? How many more would he have to add?

######

'Not one more. Like hell I'm gonna allow my men to die here. Not again.'

"Captain, they're closing in on us again!" said one of the soldiers.

"Erik!?"

"Charges ready, captain!"

"Hurry, everyone up! Come on, come on!!"

They repeated the whole process again. The blast resounded throughout the entire stairwell and shattered nearby windows, while the squad rushed upstairs towards the next floor.

"There's no more explosives, captain!" shouted Erik.

"We'll have to keep them at bay with the ammo we have left!! Take positions and get ready to—!!"

A new outburst made the walls tremble, and a dust cloud expanded from the top of the stairs, making Isaac and his team freeze and stop in the middle of their ascent. A rain of debris and gravel scattered down the steps, as something large and bulky moved within the dust.

"Watch out!!!"

"Contact ahead! What the fuck is it!!?"

Isaac was petrified for an instant. His survival instincts jumped into action and took control as soon as that silhouette took a step forward.

"E-Everyone step aside!! Take cover!!!"

The squad hugged the walls, seconds before the hulking shape charged downstairs, crashing on the landing below and cracking the floor in the process. The image of the praetorian rising on its back legs until almost scraping the ceiling with its head made all of Isaac's nerve endings send danger signals.

The stinger horde reached the praetorian's position and began struggling against its imposing body, which blocked the way. One of them scurried between the monster's legs, and howled as it jumped up towards the bewildered soldiers.

The massive claw of the praetorian sank into the stinger's back. The creature entered a state of rage and, among blaring roars, charged the crowd bunching around it.

'W-What the hell!?'

Isaac looked at the rest of his men. Some stared at him directly. Some others couldn't take their eyes away from the maddened creature. They needed orders. Orders that didn't get them all killed.

"We're leaving!!"

"C-Captain!?"

The walls, floor, and ceiling of the stairwell were getting covered with blood and entrails at vertiginous speeds. With a devastating impact, the praetorian opened a hole in the façade, ejecting a dozen stingers into the void outside. Still roaring, it plummeted downstairs, dragging the horde with it.

"That thing will keep them busy!! Let's gather the others and head to the rooftop!! Hurry!!"

'I just hope it buys us enough time! Enough to regroup and secure the rooftop! Come on, Lucky…! Where the hell are you!?'