I settled down quickly though. It felt so good to get some payback against the enemy. And hear the chatter of all those little ones stuffed into the back of the truck. I should have thought they would still be terrified. Instead there were all kinds of happy kid sounds.
Rock had crawled over the seat, and was leaning through the pass-through window into the back of the truck. A couple of kids had climbed through to his side of the window and were giving him a hug. He was telling the kids a story. I caught something about a giant bug swatter made just for these horrors, called the .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun. He gave each of the kids a used .50 cal. shell for a souvenir. It had turned into a very good day.
But what were we going to do with the social worker and all those kids? I remembered mom and dad talking about a refugee program. They had been excited about the place, with so many displaced persons in a state of constant danger. Surely they would be able to help a group of kids. Or, maybe we could help them get to another facility. There would be time now to figure it out. At the moment we were curious to know the reason for the bug chase.
The social worker, Jan, was helping with the ever-increasing orphan situation. She had managed to stock supplies at the Snake Lake Nature Center in Tacoma. It was situated in a beautiful natural setting near the Snake Lake Trail by Highway 16. The place even had a limited power supply due to a good solar array. Her husband, Dan, recently discharged from the Marines, was also there helping with the kids. At first it seemed the ideal retreat. But then they witnessed numerous fliers skimming over the center and landing not far away.
Dan decided some recon work was in order. The fliers had brought in some sort of equipment and then left the area. There were 30 or 40 bugs working on something at the site. Dan wasn’t able to determine the purpose of what they were building. He just called it a contraption of some sort.
The Nature Center was no longer safe with all those bugs so close at hand. It was time to leave. They packed quickly and loaded the kids into the facility van. The van was ready to go when a squad of bugs decided to visit the Center. Dan said he would buy them some time and slipped out to distract the enemy forces.
Jan knew there was no arguing with her husband in this situation. He was in his element out there in the woods. If anyone could take out the bugs and live to tell about it, that was Dan. Jan took off with the kids and got onto Highway 16 heading east hoping to make it to another facility in Orting.
She almost made it to the Interstate 5 interchange when a group of bugs appeared on the roadway. They discharged some amber goo across the road. Jan assumed she wouldn’t get through the goo. Two police cars screeched to a halt on the other side of the bugs. The officers opened fire on the bugs.
Jan hit the brakes and did a hard turn, heading west, the wrong way down the road. That didn’t matter. There was no traffic. A tire blew and she ended up running on the tire rim. She could only watch helplessly in her rear-view mirror as a bug pointed a long tube at the police cars. She flinched at the two fireballs and the explosions that followed. Then more bugs came running onto the highway and almost cut her off. That’s when Mr. T and Roll showed up and opened fire on the bugs.
Oh, Dan made it out okay. He managed to get a call through to Jan and promised to meet up with her in Gig Harbor. Everyone wondered why the bugs were so intent on chasing down the van full of kids. Roll kept shaking his head and saying the bugs were up to something. When we get a chance, it would be a good idea to check out the ... contraption.
***
THE BATTLE FOR LOS ANGELES
August 25th. It’s day 5 of the invasion.
The battle for Los Angeles has begun. On day 1 of the invasion, five bug mother ships landed in the greater Los Angeles area: Long Beach, Burbank, Rosemead, La Habra, and Santa Ana. Typically, only one ship lands in a given area. Most often near a large military base. It was clear, the bugs had special plans for LA and Southern California. I bet they like the climate. Nice and warm. Near the sandy desert.
Normally, it would take weeks, or even longer, to put together a military operation of a scale necessary to defeat the bugs in LA. Five nest ships! A large portion of their invasion fleet. Fortunately, there were sufficient military assets nearby to expedite a counter-attack. We are getting regular updates on an encrypted line. Don’t ask me, I’m not sure where the encrypted line came from. The Battle for Los Angeles operations were already in motion on day 2 of the invasion. I have a report.
***
The Battle for Los Angeles. Reporting by Viz. On day one of the invasion, five bug mother ships landed in the greater LA area. There was a central ship near the Long Beach harbor with the rest forming a crescent around the city proper: Burbank, Rosemead, La Habra, Santa Ana. The ships dug in and brought some
