I just had to get down to her, and fast.
And that meant climbing down this Radon’s Root.
I was still about thirty feet or so up in the air, so jumping off wasn’t an option. Instead, I was going to have to jump down branch by branch.
The first one was about five feet below me, off to the right. So, I zipped up my backpack, slung it back over my shoulder, and bent down to prepare myself for the descent.
Here goes nothing.
I propelled myself off the tree, spread out my arms, and then caught them around the branch below. The impact from the fall knocked the wind out of me, and a sharp pain shot across my chest. Then I pulled myself back to my feet and looked for the next stepping stone down to the ground.
It took me five more jumps before I landed solidly on the ground, and each one was just as painful as the one before it. My entire body ached and throbbed as I made my way over toward the sound of Natalie’s AK-47, but I couldn’t stop now.
Bodies of the giant bees and roaches littered the area around us, but there were still more on their way. Luckily for me, they weren’t too focused on my position.
However, that meant each and every one of the bastards was currently swarming Natalie.
The blonde woman was acrobatically tumbling across the ground, and she fired off rounds as she tumbled and lashed out at the beasts around her.
As fit as the Scavenger was, though, she wasn’t going to be able to keep that up forever.
I needed to help her, and I needed to do it quickly.
But first, I needed my weapon.
I ran over and began to dig around in the foliage where the E-Tool had landed. It took me a few seconds, but eventually the deadly spade was back in my hands and ready for another round with these ugly bugs.
“Over here, you six-legged, garbage eating freaks!” I called out as I charged at the swarm.
I doubted insulting the insentient insects was going to do much, but I hoped the noise would at least draw their attention away from Natalie.
Sure enough, several of the roaches and bees suddenly turned toward me and then screeched as they changed their trajectory. Now, half of the swarm was headed straight for me.
Careful what you wish for, I guess.
I lopped off the first roach’s head with my E-Tool and then hopped backward just as one of the bee’s stingers stabbed at my feet. He was eviscerated with a quick swipe from my spade, but then the rest of the roaches began to overwhelm me.
There were five of these things, and only one of me. I didn’t stand a chance.
I lashed out wildly with my E-Tool and felt it make contact, but the scene around me was way too much of a clusterfuck for me to see what I’d even hit.
The next thing I knew, there were pinchers on my ankles and arms, and then the insects began to stretch me out like they were trying to quarter my body. The roaches pulled as hard as they could, and I could feel my joints slowly beginning to pop out of place.
This was it.
At least my death would come with a sense of irony. Hunter Bragg, the Pest Control Technician, killed by cockroaches.
It’d be a hilarious thing to put on my tombstone. If I would even get one.
Thankfully, fate had other plans for me.
I heard one of the canisters from my backpack hit the ground behind me, and then the cockroaches suddenly released their grip on my appendages. I quickly rolled away from the swarming roaches, popped up to my feet, and watched as they all fought over the white, crystalized substance on the ground.
Sugar. I had just been saved by a canister of sugar.
With the roaches preoccupied, I readied my E-Tool and got to work. I cut the first two roaches clean in half with my spade and then split the third one’s head open from behind. Bug brains and white ooze splattered from his head as he collapsed into a heap, right onto the pile of sugar.
There was only one giant roach left, and he was not happy that I’d just ruined his meal.
He hissed as he charged at me, but I was more than ready for him.
I simply held out the spade in front of my body, and he ran straight into it like the mindless drone he was.
The point of the E-Tool hit the roach right between the eyes as his momentum carried him further onto the deadly blade. I braced my feet into the ground to keep my balance and then watched as the spade made contact with his brain.
I yanked the weapon out of the roach’s head as he fell to the ground, dead, and then I turned around to check on Natalie.
What’s going on, Hunter? Karla’s voice demanded. Your heart rate is through the roof, and it looks like you have multiple minor lesions and tissue damage across your body.
“Just fighting off mutant cockroaches and giant bees,” I chuckled with amusement.
Are you in combat right now? the voice questioned.
“Just kicking some bug ass!”
Get out of there right now, Karla ordered. You’re a few miles away from the power plant, and if you head due north, I estimate you’ll be there soon.
“What are you talking about?” I growled. “I’m not leaving Natalie.”
Hunter, you are the key to saving lots of different dimensions, the voice pleaded. Do you remember our chat earlier? Natalie may be a potential asset, but she’s expendable. My father predicts your chances of success on this mission are going down by the minute, so you need to get a move on it.
“She’s not expendable,” I shot back and readied my E-Tool. “Not to me, she’s not.”
Hunter, don’t even try it! Karla hissed. That’s an order.
I really wasn’t one to take orders. That’s why it took me so long to get my damn promotion at Bugslayer.
And I especially wasn’t taking orders from Karla the backseat driver.
As I ran toward Natalie, I realized she was now in dire straits.
The blonde woman’s gun was no longer firing, and her backpack had been ripped off and laid on the ground far away from her position. She continued to dodge the incoming attacks and counter with the butt of her rifle, but that seemed to be doing little.
I needed to get rid of all these bugs as quickly as possible, but I couldn’t do that with just a simple hand-to-hand weapon. I needed something with a little more firepower…
Then it hit me. Fire.
Bugs may have loved the warmth, but they absolutely despised fire.
I laid my weapon down on the ground, pulled my backpack off my shoulders, and then fumbled around inside until I found the zippo lighter. As I was searching for the small metal gadget, the light bulb went off once more.
The bug spray.
It might not have worked on bees and cockroaches, but it was highly flammable. And, if it was flammable, it could create a big boom.
I held the zippo lighter in my right hand and the bug spray in my left. Then I took a deep breath and charged forward. Once I got to within a few feet of the swarm, I flipped open the lighter and ignited the small flame inside.
Holy crap, was I really about to do this? This was the kind of stuff I’d only seen in an action movie, and I had no idea if it was actually going to work.
Still, I had to try.
I moved the nozzle of the bug spray canister a few inches away from the flame and pressed down on the button at its top.
The liquid from the canister struck the flame of the lighter, and suddenly a stream of flames erupted from the mixture.
I aimed the blast right at the nearest bee, and he squealed in agony as the fur on his body caught fire.
Within seconds, the entire mutated bee was engulfed in flames, and he wheezed as his charred remains fell to the ground.