Them
Colby S
“What is that?” Sammy asked, looking down at the creature. It was slimy, round and almost transparent.
“I have no idea,” I replied, studying the object.
It moved.
We both jumped. “Is-Is it alive?” I said, grabbing Sammy and slowly walking back. I started to tense up and my breathing rate increased.
“Yeah, it’s shaking, almost. Does it need help?” Sammy wondered aloud.
“I don’t want to touch it,” I replied, almost gagging. “Look how slimy it is.”
“Did we just discover a new species?”
I grinned. My brother loved nature. Anything with animals, plants or the earth, he was into.
“Should I pick it up?”
“No! It could be poisonous!” I said, blocking him from the creature.
He sidestepped me and touched it. “Haha, see Laura, it doesn’t bite, haha,” He said, examining the slime on his hand. He stopped laughing when he saw the look on my face.
“Sammy! It could have just given you a disease! Or fleas! Or ticks, or rabies!” I said, getting more worried as I said it. “Wipe that off your hand!”
“You can only get rabies if it bites you,” He replied with a stupid grin.
“It’s not funny! Come on, we’re going home,” I started walking. Sammy looked back at the still shaking creature, wiped most of the goo from his hand, then followed me home.
A week later, Sammy died.

*     *     *
No one knew why.
Not the doctor.
Not the scientists.
No one.
Except Laura.
The second she heard he died, and why, she knew.
Of course, she tried to tell them. Sammy even still had the now hardened slime stuck to his hand.  Did they believe her? No. Not even when she tried to show them. She took them back to the exact spot the creature was in.
It was gone. No slime marks, no trail, nothing.
It was only a week later they started to believe her.
As more and more people started to die without reason.
The day Sammy died, twenty others died unexplainable deaths.
Every day, more and more people died, each with hardened slime on their bodies.
The doctors believed me now. It didn’t matter. No one could find a cure to this mysterious disease.
Ten days after Sammy died, the death count of unexplainable deaths grew to an estimated 5,000 people.
I’ll get them back, Sams. I’ll kill Them. For you, and everyone else.
*     *     *
I turned off the TV. I couldn’t take any more of the news. It was all about Them, the little blobs no one could figure out. The scientists only knew very little about these creatures. They developed the stages on how one gets infected by Them. One; when touched, they leave a slime that hardens in 20 minutes. Two; the only way to get the non-hardened slime off was by putting it under hot water for 20 seconds, then cold water for 10. Three; once the slime hardened, it would immediately start to slowly tear up the skin underneath it. They also knew that once it hardened, it had a hardness level of 11, meaning it was tougher than diamond (virtually impossible to break). Four; after about three days, the goo would reach the blood. It would then react with it, becoming a slime once again, and slowly moving through the body. Five: At day seven, the slime reaches the heart and clogs all the blood flow, making the person die.
It was all accurate. Sammy had a little patch of clear, hardened slime on his hand. He didn’t even notice until it started breaking skin. He was in so much pain. He woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. All you could see was the open skin beyond the clear, hardened goo. Mom took him to the hospital, who thought it was just an infection, yes, a little strange that they couldn’t touch it, that there was this weird clear liquid in the way, but they said it was just a reaction to some medicine he must’ve taken. They gave him some pills and sent him home.
I turned the news back on. I didn’t want to hear it all again, but I forced myself to. There might have been a breakthrough; but I doubted it. For Sammy, I thought. The TV flickered on, the reporter saying the same stuff.
“.. scientists have found no more solutions to the hardened liquid from the slime. They have given them a name, though - Facheril. Of course, me and you will most likely keep calling them ‘Them’ a name created by the public. In other news, the President has addressed the issue, saying that Them should not be touched under any circumstances, and that his leading scientists are working hard on the issue. President Trump also addressed that if you did touch Them, and it is not hardened, follow the procedure - put under hot water for 20 seconds, then cold water for 10. If you have hardened slime on you, scientists could still use it for experiments. Please call 1-800-SLIME10 if you have any info or slime, hardened or not. Sorry folks, commercial break. We’ll keep you posted here at CNN. I’m Kate Bolduan, signing off.”
I mute the TV. Still nothing. I started crying again. Why him? Why did all this happen? How did this happen? Will there ever be a cure, or a way to stop this?
I forced myself to stop crying. I need to be strong. I am strong.
But I knew that wasn’t true.
After all that had happened, I know I wasn’t brave, or strong, or smart. I failed my job as a sister, I say, for the hundredth time within the last week.
CNN flickered to life, and Laura let out one last sob, stopped crying, and un-muted the TV. Her grandma’s couch was covered in tears.
“This just in! Scientists are looking for a brave, daring person. They want he/she to find one of Them and touch it. They will be standing by to remove the unhardened slime, and then help you remove the rest using the method. Scientists will then use the slime for crucial research. As you can tell, this will be very dangerous, and could even result in death. Again, scientists want a daring soul to collect slime from one of Them. If you would be interested, please dial 1-800-SLIME10 and type extension 123. We’ll keep you posted on this 24/7 CNN broadcast.”
I sure hope someone would volunteer for that. For people that have died, like Sa-sam..
Laura started crying, heaving huge sobs.
All the sudden, it hit her. She immediately stopped crying.
Me.
I could volunteer.
After all, what do I have to lose?
It was true. Until a week ago, Sammy was the only real family I had left. My parents died in a car wreck when Sammy was a baby. I was only 2.
Me. I’m going to do it.
No one can stop me. After all, no one wants to be my foster family. Not after what happened to Sammy. They’re all afraid I will be sick, too.
I pull out my phone.
I unlock it, and select the ‘phone’ icon.
And I dial.
1-800-SLIME10-123.
*      *     *
Left, Right. Left, Right. Left, Right. Me and my old Vans walk down the avenue. The bright signs of New York, New York light up and I walk by. I see a public sign, lit up with the latest details on Them. Nothing new. The bottom left corner reads 6/8/2017 11:55. Good, I’ll be on time for my 12 O’clock appointment. In fact, I can see the sign - National Science Association. I walk for another minute or so, and reach the door. I pull, and then see the big red ‘PUSH’ sign. My face goes red, and I push the door open.
There’s a lady at the desk. I approach her and she looks up at me, then back at the computer.
“Hi, I’m have a meeting with Doctor Alex. Is he here?” I ask.
“Sure. Why?” She replies in a nasty tone. I can tell she doesn’t like her job.
I take a deep breath. I’m trying to calm my nerves with little success.
“Well?” She asks impatiently.
“I’m here for the slime experiment. I’m collecting some for research.”
At this she lights up, immediately picks up her desk phone, and speaks.
“Mr. Alex, someone is here at the front for a ‘slime experiment’. Should I let her in?”
Doctor Alex talks through the phone, but it’s too muffled to hear.
“Yes, of course. One second,” She says as the puts her hand over the microphone.
“What was your name, miss?” She asks, much more politely.
“Laura. Laura Brown.”
She says thanks, and puts the phone back to her ear.
More talking.
“Alright. I’ll send her up,” She says, and puts the phone back.
“Walk straight back, take a right, and the elevators will be on your left. Go to the 5th floor, and Mr. Alex will be waiting. Oh, and I’m Mrs. Overn. Have a nice day,” She says, and points down the hall.
“Thanks for the help,” I say, and walk down the hall.
*     *     *
DING! “5th floor,” The elevator says, and the doors open. I step out and run right into Doctor Alex.
He’s super short, and I almost trip over him. He literally comes up to my belly button.
“Oh jeez, sorry!” I say apologetically.
“It’s fine, don’t worry. It was my fault. I was too close to the elevator. I was just so excited to meet the person that’s willing to help stop all of this!” He exclaims.
“It’s no big deal,” I say, shrugging it off.
“Oh, but it is. If you don’t mind, can we talk in my office?”
“Of course.”
“Right this way.”
*       *     *
It’s huge.
His ‘office’ is more like a hotel lobby. It’s got all sorts of equipment, microscopes to test tubes to scales and all sorts of stuff I’ve never even seen before.
“‘The Facheril are more intelligent than we previously thought,” He says, saying it less like a statement and more like a question.
I shoot him a confused look.
“Ah, yes, right. The scientific name for Them is Facheril. Is that why you were confused?” He asks.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“How old are you?”
Straight to the point. My style.
“I’m not too young. I want to help the cause,” I say slowly. “I want to help people like my - nevermind.”
“That’s not my question. And what were you going to say? Did you lose someone to Them?” He asks, and I can hear the pity in his voice.
“14, OK? I’m not too young. And - yeah, my brother, Sammy. He was one of the first to die. I want to help the cause to honor him, I guess,” I say, holding back a tear.
He sees it. “It’s OK to cry. I lost someone, too. My wife. She was a scientist, too. She was studying one, and the next thing, she’s dead. I’ll - I’ll never be the same.”
For about a minute we sit in a awkward, sad silence.
He breaks it.
“Why risk your life?”
It take me a second to create a good answer.
“I think because - so far, life has been really unfair. My parents died in a wreck when I was 2, my brother died, and no foster families want me. So, I guess I want to give others a chance to a better life - by stopping this.” I say.
“Wow. I honestly don’t know what to say,” He says genuinely. “You are possibly the bravest, most compassionate person I have ever met.”
I seriously doubt that, I say in my head, but out loud I softly say, “Thanks.”
*     *     *
“Alright,” Doctor Alex says. “Do you have all the details?”
“Yes, I thanks. See you tomorrow at 9!” I wave goodbye.
“It’s at 10!” He yells back, laughing.
“Duh! Sorry! Bye” I yell as the elevator shuts.
My mission is much more challenging than I previously thought.
I’ll meet back here at 10 (not 9!) tomorrow. From there, I’ll use some tool (I don’t know what yet) to find one of Them. Dr. Alex and his assistant, Dr. Jones, will be about 300 feet back so they can monitor me without Them realizing I’m here. He thinks Them are much more intelligent than originally thought. In fact, he has another theory.
Dr. Alex thinks that Them can take over human bodies.
His theory is that if the goo from the hardened slime reaches the brain before the heart, it can take over a human. He thinks this has happened multiple times, and they have taken over around 500 humans - enough for an army.
In fact, there is over 400 missing person reports that came out around a week ago. He showed me.
The elevator door opens. I turn left, then left again, and walk out into the lobby. Mrs. Overn sees me.
“Have a good day,” She says, and waves.
I open the door and turn back.
“You too,” I say, and walk out.
As I walk down the street, I get more and more nervous. What if I see a slime in a human body? What if I can’t get the slime off me? What if I BECOME a human with a slime? How do I help the people with slimes in their head?
Save the questions for Dr. Alex.
He said he’d have more details and a special item for me tomorrow.
I walk to my grandparents apartment. They don’t like me very much, but agreed to let me stay with them until foster care finds another place for me. They don’t care what I do. They mostly sleep all day.
I arrive at their apartment. I walk to their door and knock. Surprisingly, they answer right away.
“Where were you?” My grandpa asks suspiciously.
“Getting lunch,” I reply and walk past him. Grandma’s on the couch watching TV. It’s on volume 56, and she can still barely hear it. I grab some earplugs and walk over to my temporary room. It’s only 3:30, but I’m still really tired. I lay down on my bed and fall asleep.
*     *     *
“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING?!” My grandpa’s screams echoed off the room’s walls.
Not again, I think to myself. That’s the third time this week.
I groaned. Grandpa wakes up a lot a night. Every so often, he thinks he sees something and yells. The only way he goes back to bed is if I show him that there’s nothing there.
I jump out of bed and open the door to the kitchen.
“See, grandpa, there’s nothing here…..” My voice trails off.
I open the door the and find hundreds of Them, all over the floor and walls.
My grandpa is laying on the couch, covered in Them.
*      *    *
I wake up sweating and panting.
It was a dream.
I look at my clock. 9:30 PM.
How was that so realistic?
Jeez, I slept 6 hours and it’s not even 10. I’m never going to get back to sleep. Guess I’ll just watch TV.
I walk into the living room and turn on the TV. I find the news channel; the CNN 24/7 live broadcast is still going on.
Oh, that poor guy. There’s a reporter sitting behind the desk, and he looks like he’s about to fall asleep.
“This just in!” The reporter says while yawning. “We have news that a info mission will be conducted sometime tomorrow by leading scientists in the greater NYC area. Not much is known, but we do know that a brave, young person have volunteered for this dangerous mission. In other news, *yawn* oh. Nevermind. There is no other news. That’s all for now.” The TV cuts to a commercial break advertising a new phone.
How can people still be doing their jobs and going around like everything is normal? Like that new phone. They are still advertising during this crisis?
Maybe they think everything will be fine.
But what if it won’t?
Isn’t that what I’m trying to do? Help everything?
I’m going to try and go back to bed. I need to be rested for tomorrow if I’m going to help save the world.
*      *     *
I wake up and glance at my clock. It’s blinking 12:00.
Power outage. I groan.
This isn’t uncommon for their apartment. In fact, every time I’d visited them, the power would go out.
I went up to the window and pulled aside the curtains.
It’s pitch black. Obviously, it’s night. But it’s literally pitch black. I can’t see any lights from apartments, buildings, or streetlights. Nothing.
I run into the kitchen and look at the little clock on the wall. It’s not wired to anything, and it’s working fine. Thankfully, there’s a little LED in the ceiling that turns on every time the power goes out.
The time is 5:27. I have to be at the National Science Association center at 10.
But what do I do NOW? Do I wait? Or try and go now? Maybe someone’s there.
Something is obviously wrong here.
I don’t care, I’m going.
I grab a bag of chips and some grapes from the no-longer-cold fridge, and step out into the hall.
Right before the door shuts and locks me out, I put my foot in front of it. I walk back into the kitchen and find a flashlight. I walk into the hall and switch it on.
The door slams behind me, and there’s no going back.
*     *     *
I open the door to the science center and try to push open the door. It’s locked.
Shoot! What do I do now? I’m locked out of my grandparents house until morning, and I can’t get in. And all the lights are out.
I look out into the street. The only lights that are on are the emergency lights in some stores. I look back at the door, and see a light coming to the door. As the figure appears, I can see how short he is.
Dr. Alex. He comes to the door and unlocks it.
“Laura? Is that you?”
“Dr. Alex! How did you get inside?”
“I’ve been here since you left last, trying to create something you’re gonna need; and it’s ready. Come inside, please.”
I step inside and he shows me to a hidden staircase, since the elevator wasn’t working.
We get to his lab, and I see it.
A blaster.
It looks like something straight out of Ghostbusters.
“This is the thing that I’ve been working on,” he says, picking up the blaster. “It shoots a ray of pure heat. It can melt next to anything.”
“How does it work?” I ask.
“Well- it’s complicated. Do you want me to explain?”
“No thanks,” I reply quickly, knowing I wouldn’t understand any of it.
“Anyway, you point this at one of Them, and it basically melts it. Once melted, I’m 99% sure that it will be so hot it will turn into steam.”
Well, that’s good. At least there won’t be risk of stepping on dead slimes.
Dr. Alex started talking again. “Since all of the deaths caused by Them have come from the greater NYC area, I have reason to believe there is a mother nearby. We have also learned that Them don’t live that long. In fact multiple people have found dead ones in the streets. This means that if we kill the mother, all will eventually die.”
That makes sense. But how do I find the mother?
“But, Dr. Alex, how will I find the mother of Them?” I asked.
“I had a feeling you were going to ask that. I’m assuming that since they have slime around them, the best place for Them to hide out is in the sewers, where it’s dark and damp.
Oh, no. I’m going to the sewers?
“You don’t mean-” I started.
“Yup,” he replied, finishing my sentence. “You’re going into the sewers.”
I groaned.  Oh well, I’m sure he’ll give me a special suit or something.
Once again, he read my mind. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a suit that will protect you from the germs and the slime.”
“Oh, Ok. That sounds much better,” I said, relieved.
“I assume you’re wondering about why the power is out,” He said, and I nodded. “Well, I think I figured that out, too. I think they found a main power hub and covered it with slime. It hardened, which blocked the power current. After all this, they’re going to have to rewire all of it. That won’t be cheap, either.”
Oh dang. Rewire the cities electrical? Is he crazy?? Maybe they’ll figure out how to get rid of the slime. After all, he said this blaster could kill Them, maybe with a tweak here and there and it could get rid of hardened slime, too.
“You might be worried that you’ll run into humans controlled and possessed by Them. Don’t worry, I don’t think that can happen anymore. You see, if the slime does reach the brain and harden, the person’s brain will simply not work. It won’t send signals to body parts, such as the lungs and heart, which, sadly, will also kill the person.”
Wow. This is so sad. But, on the bright side, some one will stop it all. Me.
“So, here’s the big idea,” He says, and tosses the homemade blaster to me.
I drop it.
And it breaks into a million pieces.
Dr. Alex just stares at it, and a wave of fright washes over me.
Did I just break what was going to end all this? I thought to myself. My eyes start to water, but I brush them off. The tears keep coming.
Dr. Alex starts to laugh. He walks away towards what I think is a closet near the back of the lab. I hear more laughs, and Dr. Alex steps out - holding two more blasters.
“You think I wasn’t going to come, huh?” He replies, still somewhat laughing.
Of course. Alex is coming too. But I still broke the first one...
“That one that’s sitting on the ground, shattered? Prototype. Didn’t even work. These, now these, don’t drop. They are the real deal.” He hands me one, still laughing, and I grab hold of it, fingering the trigger.
“Woah. Watch out. That thing shoots a massive beam of heat that can melt almost anything. Point it at the microscope and pull that trigger,” He says, pointing at the lab equipment.
I look over at the nice, definitely expensive piece of lab equipment. “Are you sure?” I ask.
“Oh yeah,” He says, waving his hand. “Only about 400 dollars, no biggie.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Whatever, I say, aim, and pull the trigger.
I let go and look over at the microscope. It’s gone.
“What??” I say in awe.
“Crazy, right? It’s so hot, that it basically super heats anything it’s pointed at. That microscope? It got so hot it turned into a gas. That’s why you can smell that burning scent, but not see it,” He said, with a grin on his face.
“Yeah, totally,” I replied, but honestly, I felt a little scared holding something this powerful.
“Ever seen Ghostbusters?” Dr. Alex asked.
“Yeah, and it looks like something straight out of it,” I replied, grinning.
“I know, right? Well, there’s one main thing different. You know how you can never cross the beams? Total opposite. If you cross the beams, it doubles the power. You can basically vaporize anything,” He said, staring me dead in the eye. He was obviously very serious about this. “Do you understand?”
“Yeah. Don’t cross the beams unless you really need to.” I said, with the same seriousness he used. “Hey, could you use the blaster to take the slime off of people?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, but you would also burn whatever the slime is attached to, which would be a body part. Which wouldn’t be good.”
“Yeah, I can tell. So… when do we actually go into the sewers to find the mother of Them?” I asked.
“Good question. As soon as you're ready. We have to stop Them before they take out more of the cities essentials, like the water supply.”
Jeez, he’s right. No water? There would be riots, fights and everything in between. Absolute chaos. Especially with no power.
I took a deep breath, and said it.
“I’m ready now.”
*      *     *
At this point, I have my suit on (which is next to impossible to walk normally in), my blaster, a flashlight, and a walkie-talkie headset (on under my suit).
“How are we getting into the sewer?” I ask through the headset.
“Actually, there’s a sewer storm drain right outside on the street. That’s our ticket in. It’s got a ladder going down, too. Are you ready?”
“As I always will,” I say. “Lead the way,” I add, and we walk down the stairs to the sewer.
*      *     *
      This smells disgusting.
      As I climbed down the ladder, the stench overpowered me. Even with the suit, I  could still smell the nasty smell of raw, fresh sewage. As I stepped down into the round pipe, I switched on my flashlight. I pointed my flashlight at the ladder, and saw Dr. Alex step down. I pointed my light down the tunnel. I couldn’t see the end of it.
I radioed Dr. Alex. “Which way do we go?” I asked. The tunnel went two ways, and I couldn’t see the end of either.
“I have a feeling the mother will be in an unused, overflow part.” He pulled a electronic GPS out of his pocket. “This is used by people cleaning, unclogging, or repairing sewers,” He said. “It shows the whole sewer system, even unused parts and parts that we can’t use either because there’s too much sewage, or there’s something we can’t get around.”
My turn to ask a question. “So, where are we going, and how long does it take to get there?”
“There are five big overflow pipes, that basically look like big warehouse rooms. It’s only a five minute walk from here. Also, if you see one of Them, you can blast it, but only pull the trigger for two to three seconds. Otherwise, you might burn a hole through the pipe.”
As I walked down the pipe, my boots clanked on the floor, echoing down the tunnel. Waves of feelings and emotions washed over me. Fear, bravery, nervousness, anticipation. At least I have Dr. Alex here to help me.
“So, do you think the mother will be bigger than all the other ones?” I asked.
“Yeah, for sure. She’ll also probably have tons of Them around her. When we see her, blast. We’ll both focus our power on her, and finish her. After that, Them won’t be able to reproduce-”
“End everything,” I said, finishing his sentence. “Then the clean-up begins, I guess.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure. It won’t be cheap.”
My footsteps suddenly stopped echoing. There’s a concrete wall in front of me, about eight feet tall. There’s also a five foot gap above the wall. To my right, there’s another long tunnel.
Dr. Alex points to a small, rusty ladder on the left side of the wall that leaves up to the passage. He starts climbing up, and I follow. Once we get to the top, we see a surprise.
What is that?
It’s a wall of hardened slime. How will we get through?
Dr. Alex pulled his blaster off his shoulder. “Ready to test these things?”
I couldn’t help it. I grinned. These blasters were super cool.
Dr. Alex grinned too. “Go for it,” He told me, pointing to my gun.
I took it from my shoulder and turned off the safety.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Dr. Alex said quickly. “Aim right in the center, or once the beam gets through, it’s gonna go right through the wall.”
“Ok, makes sense.”
“Go crazy.”
Here goes nothing.
I pulled the trigger.
Woah.
It’s a feeling I can’t describe. The blaster is pushing back, yet lurching forward, as if trying to go right at the wall.
What’s the battery life on this thing?
“Hey, Laura, let go of the trigger,” He said, examining the wall after my blaster was off.
It did almost nothing.
“Alright, that didn’t do much, did it?” Dr. Alex said. “Not to worry; on full power, these things can last a little over an hour, so we should be totally fine on battery levels. So, here’s what we’re gonna do now,” He finished, undoing his gun’s safety.
“We’re both going to fire.”
Yeah, we’re gonna have too. My blast only got rid of an inch deep hole. This wall looks like it’s a foot thick.
Dr. Alex and I have our blasters in hand, pointed at the wall.
He counts down.
“3...2...1…”
We both pull the trigger, and hold.
“Oh, yeah!” He yells, excitedly. “Keep it up!”
Awesome.
About a minute later, there’s a three by two feet whole in the slime. Just enough room for us the fit through.
“Perfect,” he mutters to himself. “Absolutely perfect.”
*     *     *
After we climb through the wall, we see it. There’s a huge room in front of us.
“Yeah, we’re in one of them. The overflow tunnels, that is,” Dr. Alex says though his headset, with a tone of excitement. He pulls out his sewer GPS thing. “Looks like they tried to block us off from this. It’s the only way in and out, other than an overflow hatch, but that can only be opened with a certain code we don’t have. Yup, looks like we found the base.”
Uh, yeah. Yah think?
There’s slime all over the floor. It’s hardened, though, so we don’t have to be worried about getting a boot stuck in it.
We start walking across the room. “How does the overflow tunnels work?” I ask.
“Well, the sewer and drain systems in this part of NYC are connected, right? Well, when it rains, the tunnels can’t handle all the stuff in here. When it’s that crowded, it flows over that wall back there, and into this room. From here, the water and sewage waits until the city opens the outflow hatch with the code, usually after the rainfall so the pipes have time to drain. After the hatch opens, the sewage-water flows out back into the pipe system.”
“Oh, ok. Is that why this room smells worse? Because sewage has been waiting in here to drain after rainfall?” I asked, because the room did smell awful.
“Yeah, that’s why.”
Dr. Alex pulled out his GPS. “We’re almost in the next room.”
Another one?
In front of us, there was another wall of hardened slime.
“Ok, did you see the dial on the side of your blaster?” Dr. Alex asked.
I looked at the side of it. Wow. How did I not see that?
“No, I didn’t. What does it do?” I asked.
“Let’s find out. Rotate it to the other side.”
I turned the knob 90 degrees to the other side.
“Ok, great. Undo the safety, and pull the trigger once. Pointed at the slime, of course,” He added quickly.
Well, ok, then. Let’s find out. I switched the safety off, and pulled the trigger.
The gun recoiled back, and a blue ball of electricity shot out.
The entire wall shook with electricity, but stood its ground.
“What was that?” I asked in awe.
“Basically a ball of electricity. It didn’t knock down the wall, but it weakened it a lot. Probably about 45%,” He said. “It should be easy to blast down now. Oh, it also serves as a taser, almost. It paralyzes Them for about five seconds.”
I switched my blaster to heat mode. I let loose on the wall. He was right. About a minute later, I burned the wall down.
To find around 100 of Them swarming around the next overflow.

*     *     *
“FIRE!” Dr. Alex’s voice echoes through the tunnels.
We both let loose with our blasters into the room.
You know the noise that tea makes on a stove? That high pitched, whistling noise? Imagine that times 100. That's basically the noise we heard.
“Don’t let up!”
After about three minutes, the screeching stopped. We had vaporized all of Them. It smelled like something burning in there.
“Umm...”I started. “That seemed too easy.”
“Yeah, it did,” Dr. Alex agreed. “But that’s not all.
We walked forward towards the back of the room. It was pitch black. I whispered flashlights into my headset and Alex nodded. We flicked them on.
There was the mother.
*     *     *
Imagine one of those four inch long slugs. Now multiply that by 20. Then, make them transparent. That’s basically what the mother was.
It screeched. It sounded really ticked. Immediately, several panels opened in the wall to the right and left of the mother. I heard Alex mutter the words overflow pipes. I got it. They somehow gained control of the pipes and controlled the doors.
Dr. Alex and I slowly walked back.
All the sudden we were surrounded. By Them.
They weren’t attacking, almost as if they were waiting for something.
The mother screeched. All the sudden, we had about 50 of Them running at us.
Time slowed down.
I threw the blaster into electricity mode and yelled jump! Into my headset. Me and Alex jumped, and I blasted at the ground.
The electricity shot through the metal floor and hit every one of Them. They all just stood there, unable to move.
“Now’s our chance!” I yelled into the headset while putting my gun in heat mode. “Blast ‘em!”
Alex and I held down the triggers, spinning in a circle. In less than 10 seconds, they were all gone.
“Great idea, Laura!” Yelled Dr. Alex.. “Now focus the beams on the mother!
The mother acted like she understood us, and screeched again.
“Hit and release the trigger, aiming at the overflows! It’ll fuse the metal together!” Dr. Alex yelled.
We both fired at the doors. The mother screeched again, but it was too late. The pipes couldn’t open. The metal had fused together.
“Finish it!” Alex screamed.
We focused fire at the mother. She let out a scream, and then disappeared into thin air.
We had stopped Them.
Dr. Alex and I ran to each other and hugged.
“We did it,” He muttered.
“We really did it.”
I did it for you, Sam, I thought to myself, as tears started to run down my face.
It’s over.