A World Split In Two

Chapter Sixteen!

Chapter 16: Zack Meets The Rock!

Zack had been driving for a few hours when he started regretting not letting someone else come with him on his death trip. Even though he knew it was the smart choice, it didn't change the fact that he was bored, so bored he couldn't even come up with a cheesy joke about how bored he was.

He got sick of coming up with catchy comebacks to say to Bones. He gave up on imagining how Bones would react to Zack valiantly smashing right through the wall of whatever playfort Bones had set up. The scenery wasn't really much to look at--just old farmland that had been deserted long ago--when food started to be created in labs, with a bunch of different chemicals.

Eye-spy wasn't really that fun in the wasteland, nor was it much of a competition when no one else was playing. He couldn't play that game where you try to find letters in alphabetical order, using street signs, as he wasn't driving on streets. Nor could he even listen to the radio, or play that game where you try to find a song that was in a movie, as his four wheeler--and perhaps all other four wheelers--didn't have a radio....

'Ok that was it, this was just too boring,' he thought as he stopped the all terrain vehicle at a nearby, very round, rock. By now he was in an open barren area, which he didn't mind because it was easier for driving, the only bad thing was that it didn't offer much cover from the occasional beast he saw, roaming around in the distance. Luckily this rock looked big enough to hide from anything behind.

As he sat down behind the rock he noticed that it smelled kind of weird. Which was interesting, because the last time Zack checked, rocks didn't smell like anything, unless they had some bacterial growth, but he was too bored to care, and already had a granola bar out of his back-pack. Now you may be wondering why, if Zack was bored, did he decide to eat? Probably because he grew up living in what was once known as America, and eating when they are bored is what Americans do best. Yep, eating, as well as, contradicting themselves in their constitution, and saying how awesome their country is--even after they--with the aid of British George Malcolm--started the bloody war with the Ralams.

At least this is what Zack was thinking as he looked through his backpack for more food, having already devoured the granola bar, though in all fairness he was rather starving, as well as bored, having not eaten all morning--save for a snack of some weird space food on Vockreel's ship. Zack quickly found what looked like a dehydrated apple, which quickly regained its size, flavor, and color after he soaked it in a container he brought along just for this reason.

Without waiting any longer, Zack went to take a bite from his apple but froze before its nice, red, glossy, chemically enhanced, peel, even could touch his lips. 'Did his rock just move?! Probably just his imagination...' He waived the thought as he bit into the apple. 'Nope it definitely moved!' Zack, doing the sensible thing, like most people that don't like being eaten, quickly stood up bracing himself for whatever was shaking the rock.

Pity nothing was shaking the rock, because Zack might have had a chance of survival fighting against something big enough to shake a huge rock.

"Shoot!" Zack shouted as he came to the terrifying discovery that the rock was shaking itself. He then also figured that since rocks are in-animated solid minerals unable of movement, that this was probably not a rock. It was then when the rock decided to uncurl itself showing what looked like a huge Armadillidiidae, A.K.A. Pill Bug, and when I say huge I mean two tons. "Wow," Zack shouted at the bug, "Would have been nice if you did this like five minutes ago!"

In response it roared, "Agagagaga," which is giant killer bug for... well Zack actually didn't know, for he was not a bug whisperer. To partner its roar the beast reared back on its hind legs (which for it was a few dozen), revealing a few hundred more trying to crush him. And ew, were those hundreds of mini ones crawling around its legs? And when I say mini I still mean hand size.

"Ok that's it," Zack shouted at the beast, apparently not realizing that it didn't speak English, (or any human language for that matter). Zack knew that with all those legs he could never outrun the creature, and that by the looks of it, the creature wasn't planning on going easy on him. Quickly he pulled his pocket sword out of... yes his pocket, and flipped the knife part up. Sadly though he remembered that he had two pocket knives, a green one that was an ordinary knife and a black one that became a huge sword. He... was holding the green one.

Not having much time to pull out the other knife, before the Armadillidiidae's front legs came crashing down on him, Zack wildly slashed the knife out in front of him, hoping to hit something important. Like the air, or more air, which he was bravely chopping up like there was no tomorrow. His eyes were shut, his head turned away, but thankfully as the Armadillidiidae came crashing down, Zack was able to slash off a few of the beasts hundreds of legs, in between the air slicing. In reality it didn't do much but make the insect mad, but at least it reared up again before it could crush Zack flat.

Spraying a type of blue transparent blood out of its new legless spots, the creature roared out in anger. Shaking a few of its white babies down on... you guessed it, lucky old Zack. Zack didn't know if the plague of small white ones was intentional or not but he only had one response to them.

"Ohhhhh--" Too late they were already on top of him. Cursing, Zack toppled down, doing some sort of crab walk back while trying to shake the nippy babies out of his head. Wildly he stabbed at the little big parasites with his sorry knife. He screamed, the baby monsters cried out, and they just kept biting. Their blue blood was everywhere, mixing with a fair amount of his, and it burned, like an awful sort of itching torment. Scurrying across his legs and back the creatures cried out for their mother, and Zack wished he could do the same.

Without giving it a second thought Zack shifted out of the Ralam jacket, that was probably worth a lot on EBay, whipping it, along with all the larvae that were attached to it, back at the giant Armadillidiidae, who was now back to standing on all her legs, well all her remaining ones that was.

The coat slid limp off its shell, doing nothing but perhaps making it mad. At least all the babies were gone now, though not before cutting Zack's scalp in many places. Not knowing what else to do, Zack quickly chucked his knife at the beast. Although now the knife just bounced harmlessly off its rock hard outer shell and Zack could have sworn the beast was laughing at him.

But the bug must have taken Zack's attempted projectiles--as well as his return of the creature's dead and mangled kin--as an insult as it reared back up on its hind legs once again, getting ready in, yet another attempt to smash him yet again. Because bugs aren't smart enough to try new tactics. This time though Zack didn't move, perhaps he was comfortable in his half kneel-lying position, or he just wanted to know what it felt like to be smushed. But whatever the reason was he still didn't move letting the creature smash down on him crushing him flat.

A few moments passed of absolute silence, as if the Earth itself was holding its breath in anticipation for Zack. But there's only so long a busy world can wait, and after a few moments a dying bird call echoed in the distance, followed by some rather out of place, early, cricket chirps. Finally a bulge started to form in the Armadillidiidae's back, followed by a sharp metallic like thing popping up through it, along with a whole lot of blue ooze? Perhaps a new form of bug... zit?

Ripping straight through the creature's shell was in fact Zack's pocket sword. The sword was then followed by a hand, which was followed by an arm... NO IT'S NOT THE LADY IN THE LAKE, it's the very filthy boy in the Giant Armadillidiidae. And unlike the lady Zack crawled entirely out of the bug, standing, triumphantly, on top of the now hopefully dead beast in which he just slain. Well, if you would call resting on your sword, gasping for air, and covered in a coating of bug blood, triumphant.

Unfortunately Zack had to continue his rather embarrassing triumphant moment, as he shouted "OWW!" ripping another white baby bug thingy, who had become quite attached to his head, off. And then he passed out, yet again, as his head inflated a little bit too big for that of a normal person.

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--Me