Writing Prompt

Flynn took a sharp, shaky breath as he lifted his gun to shoot the beast. It was the last one. The final alien.

Its long, spiky legs were spread out over the ash-covered ground, twisting and pulling to try and escape. Its once metal body was now covered in blood, although it didn’t exactly look like the kind of blood Flynn had gotten used to throughout the last six months. It was bright, liquid silver. And the alien was drenched in it. Its blood-red eyes glared at Flynn, almost seeming to dare him to shoot it. He felt lost, although he knew where he was, who he was, and knew what he was here for.

He was in New York. Well, what remains of it. His name was Flynn Cooper, son of William Cooper. And he was here to end this war. He tightened his hold on his gun in his sweat-drenched hands and took another shattered breath. He was ready. His finger gripped the trigger and he pulled gently, a sudden beam of blue light electrocuting the alien. Flynn jumped at the loud bang of the gun and slowly lowered his weapon as the alien let out a shriek of pain and slumped down onto the ash-carpeted ground. Its eyes closed and its stomach fell, losing the last breath left in its system.

Flynn’s hands shot into the air in victory and he let out a laugh. It was over. The war was finally over.

Just then, a female voice startled him. “Conner! Flynn! It’s time for dinner!” Flynn blinked, and the battlefield disintegrated into nothing. There, in front of him, was words written in bold on a flat screen, reading; “you win the game!”

Flynn blinked again, a voice suddenly grabbing his attention. He turned to his right and locked eyes with a boy about his age. He had freckles and blond hair. He was cheering. “We did it, Flynn! We beat the aliens!”

For a monster so capable of destruction, I found it to be quite beautiful to behold. The true peak of mankind’s engineering, born into the world after many mistakes were made. It, the epitome of its era, reduced to a killing machine evolving on its own concious knowledge. And now it had turned on the men which had built it. As I stood in the line with the others, waiting for the general’s command, I wondered. Maybe this should be how we die; how humanity ends. Machines taking over would be very appropriate, due to the amount of power we’ve allowed them to have. In a way, this is our own doing.

The cry of the general fills the frigid air. The mechmachine monster turns on its metallic legs, clicking as it focuses its attention on us. Bright red eyes the colour of blood yet to be spilled pierce us, scrutinizing our every movement. We lift our guns on the second command, and fire on the third. The flourescent jets of blue light from them are met with a torrent of twisting red fire that the mechmachine conjures up from its gaping mouth. The sudden spread of the glow illuminates the underside of the mechmachine, revealing human-like ribs and a metal spine running through the middle. The gun vibrates in my hands as I fire shot after shot at it, as we all fire at it. Our desperation is palpable. Its six legs are planted firmly in the rough land, kicking up dust as we are commanded closer to the beast. The more we fire, the more I realise that this metallic monster is not taking any of the damage we are inflicting. Until one shot reaches its flaming eye.

It howls. Howls is a strange word to be associated with a machine, but it howls. Ear-ripping, head shaking wails that rip through us. And just like that, the angry ball of red fire at its mouth doubles, triples in size and is flung like a laser jet down the middle at the front five rows of soliders. Obliterates them. Burns them. It falls onto its side having used up its energy, crushing its left legs with a final howl. Now that the lapping flames dance around us, the few remaining people, the intensity of the light increases, illuminating the land around the fallen beast. We greatly underestimated this.

Behind, are mere thousands of the same spider-like machines, arising from the foggy mist that shrouds the landscape. They surge forward at an alarming rate. Many of us turn to run.

I am in the sixth row, now the front row, and reality has hit me like a blow to the head. We cannot defeat these monsters of our own creation. There is no ‘could’ or ‘might’. Humanity will end at the pointed hands of these machines.

The creature reared its head again, its terrible screams sending spasms of fear throughout all who gazed upon it. It’s attack had been swift, and the defending forces ill prepared. The small garrison at the remote outpost was mostly comprised of reserve forces, ready for a small skirmish not a full on siege from never before seen daemon. As they reigned fire hastily upon the creature, its energy weapon lashed out, scything three of the defenders clean in half. The faces of the defenders that were left turned to abject horror, as a second beam sliced another of their kin in half at the waist, they turned tail and ran. Little did this small force know, that his was only the beginning of this conflict, and that this was an entirely new enemy for them to grapple with.

Those…things. They’re back. Zatar shrieked as his abdomen ached from their last visit, when it had been shredded to pieces by some sort of fire. Fire made of light? Zatar didn’t know. All he knew was the rage inside.

He needn’t wait.

Zatar was the first to strike, preparing to vomit the ball of energy collecting near his larynx. All he felt after that was pain, as fire tore into his jaw, throat, and eyes.

Then darkness.

This was the end. Or was it?

Rhett sighted Nightshade on another Spiderbot squeezing the trigger and watching with satisfaction as it’s abdomen explodes in sparks. Quickly she sighted another and another each shot followed by the sizzle of electricty. The planet’s suface was crawling with eight legged robot. Each bot had a singular glowing red eye. Rhett knew robots didn’t have emotions but she would swear those eyes showed malice. Another pop and sizzle. Her mind raced to do the math on energy rounds versus bots. In her ear she heard Whisper rattle off the amount of ammuntion and variety of explosives Rhett had at her disposal. Whisper never said how but she knew Whisper was reading her mind some how. Rhett didn’t care. She would share anything with any of her sisters.

This is day 147 on planet Beta I’ve been working on project g89c I tied my best to fix him the best I could and take back what was mine but instead it took my soul and combined my thought and it’s Alien technology to make this monstrous beast, I turned on my team and it’s up to me to take them down and take over this planet. My captain thought I was a joke,MY TEAM HATED ME! ILL SHOW THEM WHOS A JOKE this time they won’t be the ones laughing. Captain grunt took me from my family and I’ll take his life and his family I built life here and the are not going to take anything away from me again project g89c is my home my family and my life I will make sure to show and teach them how it fels to be me and to be very forget what they did to me. I am project g89c and I’ll always will be no matter what team I’m in or no matter what captain tells me I’m not good enough,that I’m a joke or takes my family away. I’m never going back to the way that it was.

We had been on EP5J for 345 days doing our best to find some kind of sustainability. At first it seemed like a waste of land, the dry gray ground and lifeless plans. My job was to moniteur all five of our expedition units. Each Individual wore a bracelet that tracked there vitals, all expeditions had been quiet leaving my job rather boring. That was until today I was playing black jack with some of the other researchers when and alarm went off. Exited that something was happening we ran to the monitoring room only to seen the dégustation on the screens. Men were being blown to bits, by some kind of spideresk creature. A crew mate of mine muted the audio that poured through the speakers. Everyone thankfully for the blood curtailing screams to have stopped but not one of us could take our eyes of the screens. Then suddenly ant like creatures emerged from the ground armed with laser guns Ames at the spider. Before I could even comprehend what had happened that ant like creature took what was left of the unit.

When their earth had turned against them, the Nai-er nations met with their scientists for one desperate attempt at reclaiming their biosphere. They would take evolution in to their own hands, merging their dying animals with a new science of artificial protien synthesis to keep them resilient and reproducing, thus the food industry would survive. First it was the insects when the summer heat raised miasma, and the flowers were left untouched in bloom. The farmers took on debt as their orchard fruit grew in accordance with their payments. All was balance upon a metallic wing.

A generation would go by and this artificial autobiomism became a mainstay to stave off animal extinction. An industry of rewriting proteins to fix failing flowers, fruits, and fauna to resist the pollution and the ever growing heat of the sun.

When the farms from the furthest reaches could not pay, starvation and agitation and war began. So the Nai-er unleashed the dogs of war, built bigger stronger beasts of metal frame and iron teeth. They gave their beasts minds of animals, leashed at their command. Victory was assured until nature took its course. Infection from a meningococcal virus had interacted with one of the autobio proteins and entered into the reproductive cycle of the war dogs. They had become good at disobeying. At first it was only the enemies, then one final victory against the starving masses and they turned agains their creators.

Their wolf nature had returned, now fused with their war built artifice, the apex predators had returned to claim their planet. The apocalypse of tooth and claw came with a glint of intellect. The nai-er were unprepared and their warriors turned themselves into machines to prevent their own annihilation. However the canines were breeding, evolving at a rate beyond what was ever seen before. The showdown would devastate the western continent, both species destroyed and unable to function as the cities and labs that built them were destroyed. Few of the nai-er survived and less of the mechanical wolves. Now their planet rests, awaiting the day when life may return again

My legs wouldn’t move. Whether due to sheer terror or the unwillingness to move forward, I was unsure but there was not question about it that I couldn’t move an inch. I was going to die here. I knew that from the moment I stepped out of the ship a few hours ago and yet it only has just dawned upon me that this is my end: on a foreign planet, lightyears away from my home, surrounded by alien gore. I want to go home. However the decisions that have lead me to be present in this moment cannot be undone. I must therefore, take a step forward, and face this monstrosity that we call the Dilosophacto head on.

I joined the expedition 2 years ago, after failing my exams I dropped out of university and couldn’t find a path to go on. So when the government began to recruit people for the expedition I immediately signed up after all, I was living a doomed life anyway and thought I might as well make some use of it.

In these past two years I have learned how to live again and how to enjoy my existence rather than just waiting on my impending death. Despite the constant threat of dying I don’t regret signing up after all, this mission is nothing but an expedition, to scout out territory for the real soldiers to be informed of. All of us knew that we probably wouldn’t make it out alive but we accepted it.

That’s why, as I lay in a pool of my own red blood, staring up at the ceiling, I don’t regret joining the expedition. It may have ended my physical life, but being on it tought me how to live again.

“Fire“ shouts the commander. Instantly the spider like creature was lit up by blasts. As the laser met it’s body, it swept its head from left to right and let out an agonizing scream which let a shudder erupt on even the strongest solder. But the pain didn’t seem to weaken the beast, instead, it seemed angered held itself steady. “It won’t back down“ said soldier 2.1.1.