Artificial Earth

37

Earth's Temporary Outpost
7 hrs. after last transmission

THE SKY WAS A BEAUTIFUL SHADE OF RED ORANGE With a thin layer of light blue below and a growing layer of black above. An occasional cool breeze passes by just above the tall green grasses, and in the distance, rows of trees stood side by side marking the entry way to the dense forest. Sergeant Meyer and the men from Bravo Team were gradually making their way towards the line of trees, cutting a path through the high grass.
"See anything?" Sgt. Meyer asked, following one of his men.
"Nothing yet Sergeant." the tall commando replied. "We rest when we reach those line of trees." Sgt. Meyer said.
"Where are we on Earth exactly?" asked one of the commandos behind Meyers.
"We're in the Amazons." Meyers replied. The tall commando leading the group stopped then looked back at the Sergeant, obviously unaware of the information.
"Okay, Why were we not informed of this earlier?" asked the tall commando.
"Information's on a need to know basis, and right now, you need to know." Meyer said, stopping.
"What else do we need to know?" the tall commando asked as the rest of the men caught up with them. Sergeant Meyer took out his Tablet from his back pack and touched a series of commands on the screen, showing a map of the area.
"Once we reach those line of trees, we'll secure the area and station ourselves there. The Crash site's located at the heart of the jungle, that's roughly a two to three days trek....When the others get here, we push forward and secure the path for them to follow." Sgt. Meyer pointed out.
"Will there be snakes?....'Coz I really hate snakes." a young commando asked.
"It's a jungle..." the tall commando replied, turning towards the younger commando.
"Crap." the young commando spat out.
"Come on, we need to get to those line of trees." Sgt. Meyers said, putting the Tablet back.
"Huh. Welcome to the jungle boys.." the tall commando said, walking ahead.

-----------------------------------------------------------

INSIDE EARTH'S TEMPORARY OUTPOST, Above it's cargo hold, a solitary figure hiding in the shadows wearing a black tactical suit with matching ski mask was watching the men from Charlie Command inspect the small rectangular container units and team of civilian lab personnels as they prepare their equipment before disembarking.
The cargo hold was huge, almost as large as two indoor oversized basketball courts. Enormous metal crates were stacked on top of each other, wooden boxes and heavy machinery were laid a few feet apart, forming a giant maze inside the hold, military and lab people were scattered and were moving all around, checking and making final preparations. His interest however lay on a particular piece of object, a cylindrical silver container, approximately four foot six inches in length and eighteen inches wide. It was imperative that he finds this object and soon. His eyes darted from one container to another, examining from the distance the shape and sizes of each container. In the center, surrounded by lab technicians and military men, encased in an open wooden crate, was the object he was looking for.
"What is that thing?" asked one of the commandos, looking at the cylindrical container.
"I'm sorry but we're not allowed to share any information regarding this device." answered one of the technichians.
"Oh Yeah, Who said so?" the commando asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"I'm truly sorry.." the technician replied, turning away.
"Just remember we're the one's putting our ass on the line for you people!" the commando spat out.
"Lighten up bro.." Another commando said, slightly nudging the other soldier.
"Jeez, We risk our lives for them and we don't even get to know what we're protecting." the commando said, clearly not done yet.
"Relax, just..." the other soldier was saying.
"You think that thing's some sort of bomb?" the commando asked, cutting the other soldier off.
"I don't know..." the older soldier replied.
"Well, It really pisses me off! They should at least let us know if we're carrying a bomb or some sort of weapon." the commando exclaimed.
"I assure you, that is no bomb." a voice boomed out.
"Attention!" announced another one of the commandos. A tall well built, well groomed officer walked towards the center of the commotion.
"Sir!" the commandos said in unison, greeting their superior.
"At ease boys." Lieutenant JR Woods said. (Charlie Team Commander.)
"Is everything on schedule?" Woods asked, turning towards his men.
"Sir yes sir!" answered one of the veteran commandos.
"Good. Now, go get ready, no more talk about bombs and weapons or any of those shit, are we clear?"
"Sir yes sir!" the men said in unison.
High above, in the shadows, the lone figure watched as the lieutenant and three of his men walked out of the cargo hold. He then slowly backed down the ramp, entering the small opening on the other side of the platform, continuing through a narrow corridor that led to a vent behind the communications control room. Setting the cover aside he slid down the vent using the black tight wire on his pouch, landing silently on the floor. The room was small, in front of him were huge wall like computer chips with hundreds of wires interconnecting with each other..He was inside the computers brain.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Sergeant!" one of the commandos called out, kneeling with one knee on the ground.
"What is it?" asked Sgt. Andrew, walking towards the commando.
"Take a look at this.." the commando replied, showing him a set of paw prints.
"What do you think made those?" Sgt. Andrew asked, hunching behind the commando.
"Looks like it belongs to some sort of animal." the commando replied, "Like a paw but much larger than a lions." the commando added.
"A bear maybe?" Sgt. Andrew suggested.
"I don't think so, looks more like a lions to me...but way bigger." the commando from Alpha Teams 2nd Squad said.
"Like how big exactly?"
"Well...I'm no expert, but..judging from the size of this paw...must be at least twice the size of a full grown lion."
"You mean to tell me there's a giant cat roaming around out there?"
The soldier stood up then stared ahead at the high grass. "That's not our only problem..." the commando said, "Seems like there's more than one of them." he added, pointing at several paw prints on the ground.

----------------------------------------------------------

First Lake
7:45 a.m

INSIDE THE GROCERY STORE ALONG 14TH STREET near the church, Sheriff Gilbert, Deputy Monroe and Officer Nelson patiently waited for the civilians to arrive. An old man and a young teenager were behind the counter watching a movie from a portable dvd player on top of a table in front of the counter. Two teenage girls were standing in front of a large freezer looking for something to drink while on the far corner, a guy wearing a black hood was pushing a cart along checking out snacks. Rows of tables and chairs were lined up near the entrance, a sign with bold black letters hung above with the words eating area on it.
"Guess were early." Deputy Monroe said, taking a seat.
"Might as well get myself some coffee.." Nelson said, "How about you Sheriff?"
"I'll have one...Monroe?" Gilbert asked.
"I'll have a soda." Monroe said.
"Okay." Nelson said, walking away.
"Think they'll come?" Monroe asked.
"They'll come...." Gilbert replied.
"Can't believe this is really happening." Monroe said.
"Can't believe what?"
"Everything....the storm, missing people and those creatures out there. It's like i'm dreaming with my eyes open."
"Yeah, Me too. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"You scared?"
"I'd be lying if I said no."
"Ever been scared before?"
"Lots of times."
"What do you do when you feel afraid?"
"I drink."
Both officers laughed.
"Here we go..." Nelson said, walking back with a tray and their drinks. "What's so funny?" he asked, putting the tray down on the table.
"Nothin'.... Just some shit we were talking about." Sheriff Gilbert replied, taking his coffee. The guy with the hood walked by and left the store, carrying a plastic bag full of chips.
"Monroe...any word from the military?" Gilbert asked, taking a sip.
"Nothing. I've been trying to reach them since last night."
"What about the other districts? I mean, we could use all the help we can get, right?" Nelson suggested, sitting down beside Monroe.
"Tried that already....can't reach any of them." Monroe said, "Storm messed up the communication service, there's no signal anywhere." he added, drinking his soda.
"What do we do now? Think we can protect all those people?" Nelson asked, taking a sip of coffee.
"We have too." Monroe replied.
The store's door opened and Burt Donovan together with two other men walked in carrying their riffles.
"Sheriff.." Donovan said, walking over.
"Burt right?" Gilbert asked.
"Yeah."
"How many men did you get?" Gilbert asked, standing up.
"Got thirteen men sheriff."
"Good. Anymore we can get?"
"Sorry Sheriff...only called my buddies and neighboors. It's really pretty bad out there, hard to use the road to call people."
"That's okay Burt. You did good."
"Any word on my brother?"
"We still have people looking for them out there....don't worry too much." Gilbert lied.
"Thanks Sheriff. What now?"
"First...we bring these people along with us to the church." Gilbert said, looking at the two teenage girls, the old man and the teenage guy behind the counter."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Authors Note

Hi there! Thank you so much for staying guys! Really sorry for the long wait, schedule's really tight right now. Hope you enjoyed the story! Please don't foget to Vote, Share or Comment. Thanks again ya all!