5: More Than He Told Us -Jay-

The weapons he gave us seemed like over kill for what we were after. We needed high powered rifles for a few caterpillars? There was more to this than we were told.

We were dropped in by plane, landing in the parking lot of the only Inn within the small town of Arbing; Rott am Inn. We all shuffled quickly out of the plane and it slowly lifted into the sky. Our only escape just left.

Luckily we had radios.

"Hey, Tim?!", John nearly screamed into the radio.

"OW! Not so loud, I can hear you fine." His voice was fuzzy but it was there. Our only way out of this place was talking to him, not that I didn't trust him. I just didn't trust the information we'd gotten from Patrick, and I suspected that the second we became a liability, these radios would suddenly stop.

What can I say, my trust is very limited.

My turn to talk, “Tim.”

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could do me a favor and check what kind of information Patrick has on this place?"

"Don't trust him either? I've already started worming my way in to his more . . . sensitive files. When I learn anything, I’ll let you know."

"Thanks."

The town looked normal besides the lack of people, and the occasional large mass of webbing the size of an ice cream truck. As we made our way outside the inn’s parking lot we came across one and, like the scientist he is, Robby was the first person to go over and began examining the fibers.

"Wow, would you look at this thing?", he could barely contain his excitement, "What if they're man eating caterpillars? Then we'd have to watch where we sit because one of them might nibble their way up your a-"

"Hey guys?", I'm pretty sure that everyone was grateful for the interruption. Robby is like that; always turning everything he can in to a very disturbing image. It was one of his quirks. Nobody enjoyed it, but they didn't stop it either because then Robby wouldn't be Robby.

"Yeah?", John responded while we all helped Robby collect some samples of the webbing.

"Okay, I think I've figured out why he sent us in with the kind of firepower he did. Apparently his "friend" was actually a squadron of armed men. He'd sent them in to retrieve a sample and document the situation. Seems they had perfect radio contact until they started to take pictures of the caterpillar nests, which I presume is the large cocoon that you people are poking at."

Patrick was keeping information from us, which was to be expected, but just pissed me off. Right now we could be working toward our real goal when instead we're miles away from home looking at the nests of killer caterpillars. Still, Patrick knew more about this stuff than we did.

"With the amount of nests we've found, these are going to create hundreds of butterflies." John had opened a hole in the nest and was staring at the writhing caterpillars that filled its interior.

Looking in, Robby laughed, "These are aren't gonna be butterflies. They're gonna be moths. I recognize the type. I've never heard of them making nests this size though."

By the time we noticed that it had gotten unusually dark it was too late. What ever had blocked out the sun landed on the ground with a thump. A blast of wind sent us all flying in different directions all at once.

I felt the radio slip out of my hand as I smashed into the upstairs of the inn.

I tried to lift my head but decided to black out instead.

Flashback Entry 4: Anyone Can Play -Robby-

Do you know what it's like to walk around your entire life with out having anyone who would understand you? Having no one who would give you a chance to prove your words to be true? My life was like that until I met them.

I had seen them at the library many times, playing a game I'd never heard of. Every day I listened to the story. A story of a group of heroes doing their best to save what was left of their world. I was entranced by the depth of the game and the opportunities that it presented.

The loneliness I'd felt my whole life seemed to slip away as I listened and soon I longed to join these heroes on their quest; to ride on the back of dragons and wield power beyond imagining. I felt some connection to these fictional characters and because of that, I began to feel a connection to the people they represented.

Something in me made me approach them and I'm not sure exactly what it was.

"Can I join you guys?"

"No.", a large guy piped.

I shouldn't have tried. Sadness filled me like usual as I turned to walk away.

"John, I'm not going to stop anyone from playing this game. It's not like it's an exclusive club or anything."

I turned back to them and the tall, skinny guy looked at me, smiled and said, "Sure you can play, but you'll have to make a character."

Over time I got to know them better and respect them each for their own brand of strength. Tim, the smart one whose talents were admirable. John, the tough one whose heart is bigger than his ability to reason. Jay, resilient and creative with just a touch of anger.

I didn't feel as alone anymore.

Flashback Entry 3: Done The Same -Tim-

I couldn't breathe; at least not very well. Pains in my chest caused me to sit down and gasp for breath. All this because I laughed at the internet?

I took a deep breath. More pain.

This wasn't happening. I wasn't ready to die.

"Dude, you all right?", John looked sincerely concerned, a first for me.

I shook my head, the pains were worse and I couldn't talk anymore. I was getting dizzy and it was hard to move. I was terrified. They had to call my Mother. They needed to get me help.

"Carl, call his house. I don't think he's okay. He's red in the face."

Carl rushed off and in only a few moments he came back, "She called a cab. It will be at his house in a few moments."

What? Why my house? Why not here? I needed it now. I tried to pull myself to my feet because I'm not the type to give up.

A person can go for a long time with an injury with out having much problem. How ever, there comes a point when it's just too much and the human body can not function like it used to. I was at that point, so it took me almost a minute to get to my feet.

"You can't walk." John walked over and put his arm under mine, and let me lean on his shoulder.

We began the trek back to my house which was three blocks away. The further we went, the weaker I got and the more pain with every breath. As we walked, John kept taking more and more of my weight until he was practically carrying me.

John carried me more than two blocks to the cab.

The hospital told me that I would be okay, it was a common lung issue.

When I asked him why he did that after I got out of the hospital, he just looked at me, "You would have done the same."

All I could do was smile and say, "Damn straight."

2. Europe -John-

"Hey! Wake up!"

I wasn't about to get up in the middle of the night. I rolled over, grunted, and fell back to sleep. A second later I was shaken again, and I recognized Tim's voice as he called for me to get up again. I opened my eyes and glanced around the room. No one was there.

"Dude seriously, pull your ass out of bed. Patrick is here with our next assignment." This time I noticed the distinct crackle of the intercom.

"Are you watching me sleep? That's just wrong.", I sat up in bed and reached for my shirt. It was a company shirt, and by company I mean evil syndicate run by Patrick Bernauw. A man as mysterious as he is rich. I had been waiting for him to call on us for a job.

"Shut up and get over here. Idiot." That was definitely Tim on the intercom. He'd been given the computer job, a low-risk information gathering type thing. Not that he couldn't hold his own, he was just better at computers than field work.

"So what's this about?", I had slipped on my shirt and the door to my room slid open of its own accord. It could be opened from the inside as well, but the master controls could open it. Another thing for me to worry about if I piss Patrick off.

"Caterpillars.", Patrick's smooth voice came over the intercom as I walked down the halls. Something about his voice gave it an old quality, though the guy looked like he was in his 30's.

"You're gonna need to tell me more."

"A European town named Arbing vanished yesterday. Every person just disappeared with out explanation, which is very unusual. I sent a friend up there to check it out and she sent me pictures of what looked to be webs. On closer examination, it was found that these webs weren't of arachnid origin. They were caterpillar nests. Nests the size of an SUV. I tried to tell her to get a sample when suddenly the phone hit something hard, and I heard her scream in the distance. It seems there is a hostile entity up there and I need you to be the rescue-research group."

"You think these caterpillars have something to do with it?"

"I can't say." I swear the guy sounded like he knew all ready, "I can, how ever, say that you won't be going in there empty handed. I've got quite the arsenal for you."

"When do we leave?"

1: Obviam Vita -John-

My name is Johnathon Nathon Miller, and I was once a good guy. I still feel that my cause is good, but my methods have certainly changed from my previous work. Now I have a goal and will do nearly anything to see that it's done, and done well.

I'm not much of a leader, but he knew how to bring Alex back and so I took the job anyway. Did I trust my new boss? No. Did that matter? No. He was better than that spineless Ben Ashford.

Don't understand? Well, let me catch you up to speed . . .

A while back a friend of mine, Alex, found out that our hometown was soon to be a crater, because of some ancient sun God. Alex, my brother and I went to see if we could avert this tragedy. Turns out we could, at the cost of Alex’s life. Alex decided to leap to his death and save the whole town with his selfless act. I could have saved him but my brother held me back.

I had to listen to his screams for ten minutes and I'll never forget how many times he yelled for help.

My brother and I, decided to go searching for Gods and other beasts, and destroy them as revenge for what their kind did to our friend. That's when we found Ben, and really it's all because of the book. Ben's biological father wrote a book and within the book rests hundreds of information on the creatures we were searching for.

One thing led to another and we soon found ourselves working side by side with not only Ben, but another friend of ours named Jay. Jay seemed to have a different type of motive and he really only wanted to bring Alex back. He was willing to risk everything and sacrifice any life to do just that. He failed thanks to the concerted efforts of Ben, my brother Carl, and a young, zombie girl named Crystal.

That's when P.B. contacted me directly and offered me this job. Jay had the right idea in finding a way to bring Alex back, but he had gone about it wrong. Patrick Bernauw, P.B.; claims to have a way to do it right and all I had to do was work for him.

So now I'm the leader of a team of hunters, all working toward the goal of bringing our friend back, while keeping our representative from using us to his own ends. To be honest though, as long as he's helping us bring Alex back, then we'll do what ever he needs of us.

Isn't life grand?