I Am The Swarm

“Open fire!” the squad leader roared, snapping his team out of their stunned state. His furious command was quickly followed by a barrage of concentrated energy beams aimed at the oncoming black tide.

The Daqi soldiers became sharpshooters in their desperation. Every shot was a direct hit, often taking down two or even three Raiders with a single blast. Yet their efforts were futile. The attacks did little more than splash greenish “soup” into the air, failing to halt the relentless advance of the dark swarm.

Within seconds, the defensive line formed by the two Daqi squads was overrun. The furious shouts and the staccato sounds of gunfire faded, replaced by the piercing, resonant screeches of countless Raiders swarming forward, their collective cry growing ever louder, shaking the very core of the listeners.

Watching the chaos unfold through the surveillance feeds, the remaining Daqi personnel were overcome with shock and terror. Those with a fear of swarming masses felt their breaths grow shallow, overwhelmed by the horrifying scene.

But the battlefield left no room for prolonged emotional responses. The Daqi commander was the first to recover, his hardened combat instincts forcing him to suppress his fear.

“Seal all the passages! Everyone, fall back to the command center!” he barked.

The commander’s extensive combat experience had taught him that dividing their forces against such a tidal wave of attackers would only result in them being picked off one by one. His priority now was to buy as much time as possible, gather his personnel, and plan either a strategic retreat or a desperate last stand.

In the base’s corridors, thick metal bulkheads slammed shut one after another, forming barriers to block the advancing swarm.

“Boom!” The tide crashed into one of the sealed doors, the impact crushing the leading Raiders into pulp. The mangled remains of the “wave” smeared against the metal door, green, semi-translucent corrosive fluid oozing from their broken bodies.