Base Alexandria

Chapter 11 What is it

“Could you please stop walking so fast?”

“Why? So you can insult me again?”

“Look Mark i'm sorry okay? I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, it just slipped.”

“Sure whatever, the faster we get there the sooner i can get rid of you.”

He continued walking faster and faster and before i knew it we could see the lining of the jungle. I had to stop in tracks to get a good look at it. From a distance it seemed small but i knew it wasn’t. The trees are like something from out of this world they stretch so high, but maybe because i was smaller back then. Then it seems like it goes on forever and ever as if its never ending.

“Finally, i'm so done with this whole mission.”

Mark stormed off walking again.

“Mark i'm-”

“Save it! I don’t want to hear your fake apologies. You know you, your dad and my dad, your all the same. Assholes who think they are better than everyone else just because you have a high rank or because your a skilled fighter. News flash cousin, at the end of the day you can still bleed and i hope somebody at this camp can make that happen for you!”

Suddenly we felt the ground shaking. I looked behind me and could see something making the sand move and slide. It was coming at as really fast. 

“Run!”

We both started for the jungle again running as fast as we could but our equipment was weighing us down. 

“What the hell is it?!?”

“Just keep going!!”

I looked back and I saw it getting closer and just before it reached us it stopped and i stopped too. 

“Is it still behind us?”

When I turned back something was popping up from the sand grabbing mark by the leg. He screamed so loud as it was waving him back and forth before it threw him to the ground again and roared before disappearing under the sand again.

I was slowly trying to make my way to Mark as he was rolling and screaming in pain. I was also trying to load my M4 so I could be prepared to take a shot, but I was shaking so hard I could barely do it. When I tried moving a bit faster I could feel the ground shaking again when I stopped  so did the shaking.

i remembered learning that some animals use their bodies to sense vibrations from other animals which would make sense when it attacked the first time, it attacked Mark because i stopped and he was still running. So it only reacts to movement. Then it’s body reminded me of an earthworm but it had teeth but no eyes and it was some kind of tan color which made it perfect for blending with the sand.

I gathered myself and came up with an idea.

“Mark i know you still hate me right now but you gotta listen to me.”

He calmed himself down and looked at me.

“You have the rocket launcher, you have to hit with that.”

“And how the hell do you expect me to hit what I can't see?!?”

“It reacts to movement, I can distract it while you fire at it.”

I felt the shaking right underneath me as it was getting ready to pop up again but was able to roll out of the way. This time as it popped from the sand it stayed above as if it was trying to see me a bit better. Behind him though I could see Mark quietly loading the launcher. I started running towards him so he could get a good aim and as expected this thing followed. 

“Wait...it’s jammed!”

Luckily I remembered the grenades I had in my little bag on my back, so I changed direction with the thing still following me. I could feel it getting closer as I was getting the grenades out and just as I was pulling the pins I looked to see it plunging at me so I tossed them behind me and it caught them. 

At first it seemed like they had no effect on him but then blood and guts started flying everywhere as i was being pushed back by the explosion. I felt like I was going to faint but I did my best to keep it together before going to Mark's side.

His leg was still intact but bandages and painkillers could only do so much we needed help fast. 

“Just go on without me.”

“I’m not leaving you out here, there could be more of those things out there.” 

I bandaged him up the best I could before going to pick up the bags that we dropped. He obviously wasn’t going to be able to carry everything so i had to do it myself. I tightly secured everything around me and began helping him up.

“Samantha just leave me, you can’t carry all of that and me i’ll just slow you down.”

“Look, I already lost friends out here, I'm not losing family too, now come on it’s not that far of a walk now we got even closer running from that thing.”

I could see him looking at me as if he were amazed or something, but we continued on to our destination.