28: Life isn't fair -Jay-

I was bleeding bad and god only knows what was going on outside, but I could hear the thumps of the Moth god's hits all the way in the lab that I'd been thrown into. How could we possibly stop something like that?

The Moth boy was nearly impervious to any physical damage we could deal him, and seemed to possess a strength I could only dream of. My body wanted to panic but my mind tried it's hardest to push those thoughts from my head.

This was all new to me. I'd never fought an actual god, I've always been on the side as support for Carl and John as they stood face to face with these leviathans. No human alive could kill something like that; I was sure of it. I pushed the idea of killing it from my head and centered on distraction.

My mind immediately leaped to John's selfless attempt to save my life, but I didn't have a moth and I would not be so foolhardy. I had to find a way to distract the boy without putting myself in that kind of peril.

I pulled myself to my feet and stole a look around the room. The room that I had previously thought to be a lab looked like it hadn't been used as one in ages. Instead the tables were stacked with boxes and several giant high-powered light stands. Moths. Light. It took me only a few seconds to realize that it was not only a significant distraction, but also a potential way to end this horror for good.

It didn't take long for me to finish what needed to be done. I heard Robby say something outside and knew it was nothing good. I slid under the exposed wires and made my way to the window. Looking outside I could see Robby dragging John away from the Moth-boy. John wasn't moving. It was now or never.

"HEY! Butterfly boy!" I stepped back from the window as the boy looked at me, "Surprise!"

I flicked the switch and the room flooded with light. I shielded my eyes and glanced outside before I turned to the second step of my plan. It was working. The Boy was breaking up and making his way to the room I was in. I slipped under the wires again and grabbed the plug that I'd left near the outlet.

The loud noise of fluttering filled the room and I yanked the lights. The boy immediately formed together in the middle of the room looking dazed as the lights went out.

"Wha-Where's the light's go? They were so prettyful." He tried to move toward me but got caught on the wires going through his abdomen.

Stretching across the room were exposed wires, all crossing in the center of the room where all the lights were pointed. He looked at me confused and I smiled.

"Bug. Zapper." I slid the plug into the wall and watched as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through the wires. Smoke began to rise and moths fell as the energy flowing through them turned them into ash.

"But I was righteous!" The boy cried as his body burned away, "My cause. I was wronged and I don't get vengeance? How is this fair?"

I stood and stared down at the last fluttering moth and sighed, "Life sucks. You either let it get to you, or keep going until it kills you," I pressed my foot down and listened to the satisfying sound of a crunching exo-skeleton, "Either way you end up dead."

25: Hive Father -Emma-

I rubbed my head as I pulled myself off the floor. Immediately after I'd gotten off the phone with Patrick something hit me hard from behind.

I wasn't sure how long I was out, but I knew that I smelled rotted flesh nearby. The lights flashed on, illuminating the large, specimen containment room I was in. The smell of rotten flesh came from the bowl of meat across the room.

"Emma." The voice came over the speakers, it belonged to a young boy.

One of the walls was made with large reinforced glass to allow safe observation of what ever subject we were working on. On the other side of the glass looking at me was a small boy, his hand on the microphone button.

"Hello, Mother." He smiled at me, "Are you well?"

"Stop calling me mother and tell me, what's going on? Let me out."

"We can't do that, you are very violent toward us." He walked to the window and looked outside, "People are coming. They want to take you away."

He stepped away from the window and made a high-pitched whistle, then he sat down again, "We know that you don't understand, but we are your son. Father stole parts of you to make me, we know because his brain-voice said so."

"Brain-voice?" I sat down closer to the glass, "Who's your father? I'm still very confused."

"People have two voices, one they use with this," He pointed to his mouth, "and the other they use with this." He pointed to his head, "It's hard to listen to both at once, it hurts our head."

"You're telepathic? That's really impressive." I was intrigued by this boy that claimed to be my son, "I'm still very confused about who you are."

He held out his hand to me and nodded at his hand. Sliding closer, I realized that his hand was moving slowly. The closer I got, the better I understood who this boy was. His hand, his entire body, was comprised of thousands of small moths.

"You're the Moths!" I pushed away from the glass and slid to the opposite wall.

"Father says that we're the God of Moths. We're the failed attempt at speeding up human evolution. He wanted to kill us. I don't want to die."

"So did all those people that you killed."

"Father says that sometimes it's necessary to do things that are immoral as long as you're saving more than you're destroying. There are thousands of us and only a few hundred people living here. It was a needed evil." He stared at me with cold eyes.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Yes." He looked out the window as a loud explosion rocked the building. His face contorted with anger as he grabbed the chair and threw it at the glass of my cell. It bounced off and shattered on the opposite wall.

"They killed one of us! They're coming to kill us all! Just like you did! You, our Mother, ignored our screams of pain after you lit us on fire! Our Father just left us there to die! This isn't my fault, it's his!"

I was terrified of this creature. I was at its mercy, stuck inside a small cage just waiting for it to come inside and tear me to shreds.

"You . . . " The boy walked to the door, "You stay here and we will be back after we take care of the people killing your children."

"No, no wait. Don't just leave me in here!"

"We were in a jar most of our life. You learn to like it.", and he left.

24: Fugly Bug Meets Big Red -John-

The roar of the moth stung my ears as it barreled toward me. The ground shook as it grew larger in my vision.

I smiled. This thing had no idea what was about to happen to it. In only a few seconds it's anger would be gone, replaced with surprise and pain.

"COME ON, YOU FUGLY BUG!" I yelled raising my hands in the air, "I CHALLENGE YOU!"

The moth roared louder. There was no stopping it now. I ran to the left, my eyes searching for a place to hide from the blast. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small child looking out the window of the Gas Station.

Nothing was ever easy. It was almost as though there was some malicious being putting us in the most insanely difficult and complicated situations, expecting us to make the right choices to get the best outcome. All we had to do was explode the moth and it would have been over, but like a well laid trap the catch sprung up at the last moment. There were people in the building.

I had seconds. I wouldn't make it in time. If I turned around, then I'd be killed along with the moth and the child. I slid to a stop and ran back toward the doors. To me there wasn't a choice. I had to try, no matter what the sacrifice.

I kicked open the door to find a dozen people in a panic. My heart hit the floor as the moth roared again. It was getting closer, it was too close. I couldn't get all these people out in time. I turned to the moth and roared, "Let's go!"

I ran toward the moth. I had to stop it, I had to make it turn. I knew I never would. This was the end. For me. For these people. For my journey.

I thought of Alex as time seemed to slow down. I thought of the options that he'd felt he had. I wondered if maybe he felt the same way I did now. Was I the people stuck in the gas station, and the sun God Moloch the giant rampaging moth? Did Alex make the same choice I was now making?

I pulled back my hand as I got close to the crazed moth and suddenly the world became a blur of red. I felt someone grab me and push me to the ground. There was a loud crash. The world then erupted into bright light and intense heat. I pushed who ever was on me off and pulled myself to my feet.

"Holy shit." The apartment building had collapsed on the moth, as well as the firetruck that had forced it in to a different direction. Fire had ignited the gas causing the truck to explode. There was no way the moth survived that.

"I'll say, that wasn't the expected outcome."

I led the turn with my fist, catching Robby on the side of the head, "We thought you were dead, you stupid ass! Where were you while the moth played cat and mouse with me and Jay?!"

"I was relaxing armless at the top of a nearby apartment complex. Cut me a break, I just saved your ass."

"Yeah." I turned to look at the moth, "Thanks for that."

"You don't seem very surprised that I'm miraculously back."

"I'm not." The apartment fire was out of control, but I didn't care if it burned the whole town down. Robby was back, the moth was dead, and for some reason I felt really good, "I've seen a lot of things the last few months."

We silently stared at the fire.

21: The Easy Part -Jay-

It didn't take too long to get up the moth's throat, and wasn't really difficult either. There were a few close calls of going back down, but I managed to keep steady. In a matter of minutes I found myself at the back of its tongue, feeling the heaves of breath flow in and out. The smell of the stomach below finally got to me now that I was out of it. I pinched my nose for a moment in hopes of drowning out the horrid stench. It didn't work.

The moth kept roaring in pain, its tongue flickering at the sides of the mouth. I guess John must have left a decent amount of damage for it to cry so much. I looked around in order to locate the beginning of its windpipe. The whipping of the tongue made it a bit harder to focus, since it meant trying to keep my balance. I risked a jump to the right side of the mouth, jabbing my knife in to the tongue by mistake. A wicked screech pierced my ears as the giant muscle flailed about with me holding on tight.

I began to feel dizzy, leaving me unable to do much until the thing stopped freaking out. I may have stabbed it on accident, but it turned out for the better on my behalf. One moment, the world of the inside of a giant moth was blurry and made no sense to me. The next thing I knew, I was flying down a tube; the windpipe. I clenched my hands to make fists. The blade was still in my hand.

This moth just made my job all the easier. As I fell, I slashed and hacked at what ever was around me. I felt no solid connection; only air. Turns out the tube was a lot wider than expected. Me being skinnier had nothing to do with this task. Either John just wanted the more convenient escape, or he felt that I was more capable of this. Maybe it was both.

Up ahead, I noticed a glow of light. I ended up plummeting to a pretty soft landing. The whole lung was lit up with a faint tint of yellow. Since when did the innards of a moth give off any light? Guess I should be glad that I have some light while stuck in here.

I remained seated after landing. It seemed pointless to try and stand in such an environment as this. Cutting this thing wide open seemed simple enough though, due to how fragile the lungs are for any creature. I gripped at my knife and started slicing away, leaving large holes behind. While doing this, I kept my free hand clinging to the floppy leftovers that were attached to the tube above.

It soon became obvious that the giant moth was struggling for breath, raspy sounds echoing through out it. I placed my blade safely back into my pocket and ripped a piece of the remnants for a source of light.

I may have only took out one lung, but it would get the job done. Any longer in this thing and I may not stand a chance of ever getting out. I kept on climbing with my arms, it feeling like eternity to reach the exit. Ten minutes later and I found myself at the top again.

Carefully, I made my way towards the front and clung to the bottom of its mouth; adding my knife in for insurance. The thing snapped its jaw every few seconds, making me wary of just jumping straight out.

I leaped in, landed in a stomach, climbed a throat, flew down a breathing tube and made it back up to where the exit was just ahead, and freedom was right there. Regardless of these feats, the threat still remained before me. It would seem getting in and doing the job was easy.

Getting out would be the hard part.

17: Robby's End -Jay-

We each dove in opposite directions as the moth smashed into the place we were standing. I took the left, fixing my gun to its side as I ran. The bullets ate through its burnt flesh, splashing its insides all over the ground. I met John behind it and in unison, we turned toward the back end of the moth and unloaded the rest of our ammo into it.

As I reloaded I glanced around for any sign of Robby. I saw him running toward an alleyway as the moth chased him down.

"Shit! John, the moth is after Robby!"

"DONE!" John finished reloading and ran toward the alleyway.

Robby had his back against the wall, his gun hanging at his side. He was trying to reload when the moth hit him. The gun strap tore away and the gun flew on to the roof of one of the buildings. He dropped the clip and raised his hand in front of him. The moth dived toward him as Robby swung.

The sound that emanated from the alleyway made my stomach drop, and my eyes lose focus. The sounds of bones crunching and Robby's screams soaked through my skin and cut unseen wounds. My friend was dieing.

The guns were useless. Fire was useless. I had even run a car into this thing and it still had enough strength to take one of us down. It took Robby down.

"Noooooooo!", I ran toward it, John following suit.

I could tell that John was thinking the same thing as me. You can beat us till we bleed, you can take away everything we have, but the one thing no one can do is hurt a friend; unless they want to end up dead.

The Moth turned toward us, its gaping maw dripping with blood. It roared loudly as me and John leapt into its mouth.

16: The Four Musketeers -John-

Broken elbow or not, I wasn't going to just let this thing kill us that easy. As it lumbered toward me, I glanced to my left and spotted a car. Grabbing Jay, I dragged him over to the car as fast as I could and pushed him beneath it.

No sooner had I gotten him under, when I was slammed to the side by the moth’s flaming arm. I hit the ground rolling, trying to ignore the pain in my arm while putting out any fire. Exhaustion and pain made it hard for me to move, but I rolled to my feet and tried to lead the moth away from Jay. The ground shook as it got closer and I couldn't run anymore. I quickly spun around and ducked under the moth’s belly.

Running beneath it I felt the heat from its charred, flaming skin. I shoved the knife up in to the charred and burning areas, cutting them wide open. As I cleared the back of it, I could hear the creature’s screams of pain as fluid and some innards spilled from the cuts. I didn't look. I just kept running.

That's when I heard the buzzing above. Glancing up, I saw one of the smaller moths flying toward me. Why do things have to keep getting worse? I dived behind a trash can as a dart hit where I'd been running. The larger moth had turned around and was making its way toward me. I heard several loud popping noises coming from somewhere.

To the left Robby came running from an alleyway, his gun in his hands, firing away at the massive thing. He saw me and ran over as fast as he could, avoiding darts from the smaller moth.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll live. Jay's underneath a car behind that thing."

"Is he?"

"He's knocked out. Robby, I've thrown everything that I could at this thing, it won't go down."

"John, cockroaches can live a week with out their head. Bugs are known to live through extreme things."

The large moth roared and began running toward us.

"Robby, Jay tried blowing it up. I shot out its eye and sliced it up a bit. It's just not stopping."

The smaller moth flew around so that it could hit us and took aim.

"We have to move."

"Yeah."

At that moment a small plane flew in from the side, blasting away with small guns on its side. The small moth turned toward it and shot three darts. The plane dipped and weaved to avoid the attack and then turned off to the side.

"Stupid moth! John, why'd you have to go and get yourself in over your head?", Tim's voice came from the small craft.

Something about that guy just gets me angry, "Couldn't have gotten here sooner you little prick?!"

Robby pulled up his gun and began to fire at the gargantuan moth, "Now's not the time to argue."

I pulled myself to my feet and raised my fist at the small plane, "When I get back . . .!"

"I'm expecting it!" The small plane flew off to resume its battle with the little moth.

Robby's bullets weren't stopping the moth; only slowing it down. I lifted my gun with my good arm and just as I was about to fire, I felt a pain on the back of my head.

"Nice way to save my life!", Jay stepped next to Robby and began firing as well, "You could have just said duck."

"My way was funner." I lifted my gun the best I could and began firing.

15: Enter The Fray -Tim-

My fingers flew over the keyboard as fast I could get them. The satellite images showed the situation going from bad to worse. I needed to find some way to help and fast. I tried my best to ignore Patrick leaning over my shoulder.

He'd gotten his composure back, but you could see that he was still very angry. This girl, Saba's death, had been an unexpected development and anything Patrick didn't expect was a pleasant thought.

"So, after your done helping them, then you'll get me as much as you can on that damned Ben?"

"Shut up." I could find nothing I could do. These computers weren't sophisticated enough to get me what I needed.

"DAMN!", I slammed my hand on the keyboard, "I can't do anything to help them from here."

"If I could get you access to a remote controlled military plane, would that help?"

"You can do that?"

"Get up." I moved as Patrick sat down and began accessing the deeper files, the ones I didn't even know existed. Moving through the system with ease, he opened a program labeled, 'Emergency Exposure Procedure' and suddenly the screen was flooded with a first person view of a runway.

Patrick stood up, "It's just like a video game. The plane is not very large, almost the size of a hawk, but it has two weapons. Side mounted automatic rifles and as a last resort, the entire thing explodes on impact. Also, you can speak through it using a sophisticated radio system."

I sat down and clicked, 'Start Engine'.

Even as I worked my fastest, I knew I wasn't going to make it in time. Even if I didn't get there to save John and Jay, I'd make that thing wish it'd never hurt them.

14: Repay -John-

Up ahead, I spotted an abandoned gas station and sped toward it as fast as I could; not fast enough. My feet were knocked out from under me, lifting me head over heels and depositing me to the ground. My broken elbow slammed into the ground and as I yelped in pain, the moth’s head descended toward me, mouth open wide.

I was thrown off my feet as an explosion rocked the ground. I looked toward the beast to see Jay running toward me, away from the flaming wreckage of a convertible as it exploded. The fireball flew out toward us as I pulled myself to my feet and began running with Jay.

We leaped to the ground to avoid burning hot pieces of metal and moth as they flew all around us. Roars of agony could be heard through the flames and smoke as another explosion shook the ground. Soon all we heard was the crackling of the flames.

Jay sat up and turned to the fire, a smile on his face.

"Thanks." I sat up and looked at my elbow. It was clearly broken.

"I turned the corner, saw that thing about to chomp on you, and thought, 'Hey, that thing needs a hole in its side.' ", Jay laughed a bit.

A low whistling noise, and suddenly there was a large dart at my feet. One of the smaller moths had finally spotted us. Jay got to his feet and was just about to start running when a loud roar was heard from the fire. One of the giant moth’s limbs reached up and snatched the smaller moth right out of the sky. What was left of the car was hurled at us as the moth-beast pulled itself to its feet.

Thinking quick, I grabbed Jay’s feet and yanked them out from under him. He fell back as the flaming car flew over his head.

With a loud thump Jay hit the ground and stopped moving.

The huge moth-beast lumbered toward us, half its body on fire from the explosion and the other partially crushed by its own weight. I grabbed Jay and started to drag him. One glance told me he was breathing, but I didn't know how bad he hit his head. The moth was gaining on us quickly. With my elbow, I couldn't carry him any faster.

I glanced back at the abandoned building. We weren't gonna make it. I turned around and grabbed Jay's knife off his belt.

As I stood there watching a creature much larger than me rushing toward me, I got an image of the Snake Goddess (UC case2) in my head. Jay had risked his life to save me twice, and now it was time to repay the favor. I flipped the knife over in my hand and prepared for its arrival.

I was pretty sure I would die.

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."