The Crey Industries truck swerved violently as the boulder struck, cracking the reinforced windscreen of safety glass. The driver, already half-stunned by the impact found himself in further turmoil as a host of biting, stinging hornets swarmed through the hole in his windscreen, turning the inside of his cabin blacker than the night sky above. He valiantly struggled to maintain control of his vehicle for a few seconds but it was too much, and he braked, bailing out flailing at his clothes and the deluge of insects which assailed him.
Striding out from the dark came a trio of towering monstrous forms, lit up by the headlights of the truck. They were vaguely humanoid in shape, though the lead creature resembled more a grey-black mushroom than a man, and its two companions were verdant green leafy tree-like beings. Even through the haze of flies he struggled to fend off the driver recognised the horrors for what they were - the Devoured Earth. He ran, the stings making him yelp in pain in his desire to escape from the scene.
There was a squeal of rent metal as it was forced to relent to the strength of the attacking creatures, as they tore at the trucks rear to get to the cargo it carried. Several cannisters of chemicles errupted spraying a hue of steaming liquids over the road and the unflinching Devoured. Only when they were illuminated in the sudden glare of another set of headlights did they pause momentarily in their assault.
Patrick Denzy was driving his niece, Kate, home after she had spent a few days the Denzy family, and one hand that had been on the dial of his radio froze as he saw what unexpectedly loomed at him ahead just as he had turned the corner. A tyre burst as the rubber reacted with the hissing chemicals that pooled over the tarmac, the car striking the verge, one side slamming into a tree before it came to rest competely some two hundred feet down from the halted truck.
Forcing the half-jammed drivers door open, Patrick clambered out of the car, turning to see one of the tree-like monsters approaching, giant footsteps yards apart. Shock from the crash and panic from the sight of the impending creature causing his adrenilin to flow rapidly, his first thought was to flee yet he yanked open a rear door to help his niece out of the disabled car, before breaking into a run with her. They did not get far before they were swept up in the arm-like appendages of the beast, its stride easily outpacing their own, and were carried struggling back in its vice-like grip to the truck and its cohorts.
Both of them were terrified, of course. Neither knew what the Devoured creature exactly had decided to do with them, but they had heard the rumours that circulated the city. But such rumours were nothing to being actually confronted with the reality in which they now found themselves. Placed down besides the truck they backed up against the cab of the vehicle, staring up at the faceless creature that had released them. Even without an ability to make expressions its forboding stance made it clear that trying to escape would be unwise at best. Patrick took hold of his niece protectively, offering his support, though he felt that his niece might be faring better than him. Kate was glaring defiantly up at their captor, and he had to admire her show of bravery under these circumstances.
The other two Devoured had not being idle whilst their compatriot had captured the two humans. They had fully ripped open the trucks rear and the toadstool-like giant was sorting through the undamaged containers in a way that showed some form of intelligence, stacking them to one side. The other tree-like beast was stood a short distance away, turning about as if on watch.
***
Long, tense minutes passed, as Kate and her uncle stood by the trucks cab in silence. The relative quietness of the scene was quickly disturbed, noise exploding as the unmistakable chatter of gunfire and that of more advanced weapons filled the air. Hails of bullets tore into the watching Devoured, though it strode several yards in the dark towards its assailants before toppling over. Figures rushed forward, Crey agents in their formidable powered armour, who had been called in after the alert was placed by the trucks driver. The bright beams of their shoulder-lamps cast about as they attacked, heavy weapons blazing. The area was further illuminated as a Crey APC turned on its hull-mounted searchlight.
Kate hunkered down against a truck wheel with her uncle, watching as their guard turned its attention to the new aggressors. They took what protection they could against the vehicle whilst the gunfire was laid down around them. The Fungoid directed a cloud of buzzing angry insects against the lead Crey juggernauts, but encased as they were in their armour there was little the swarm could do to harm them.
Their captor was the second to fall, green limbs flailing, engulfed in flame and a hail of lead. Kate felt the heavy thud as it collapsed, and gave a cheer.
"Civilians on scene!" shouted one of the armoured men, Kate's jubilant cry drawing his attention to them. "Mind your fire!" barked out an order from another. The remaining Devoured swung an arm low and struck home, sending its target reeling back, a heavy dent against his armour. Despite the withering fire it took, the Fungoid seemed relentless in its counter-attack.
"Come on Kate, nows our chance, lets move!" she barely heard her uncle shout beneath the din of the battle. Scrambling to their feet, the two of them ran for cover further away, Patrick in the lead. She slipped in a spreading pool of chemicals from a ruptured barrel, then as she started to get to her feet, she glanced back over her shoulder.
She saw the Fungoid finally collapse, though it had done a fair share of damage in return to the suited Crey security force, three of their number down on the ground. As it fell back, it landed with a crash amongst some barrels which it had stacked on the roadside near the truck. Under its weight and the remaining gunfire the Crey directed at it to ensure the Devoured was no longer a threat, several of the cannisters burst.
Covered in a spray of mixing chemicals, Kate gave a cry of alarm. Her uncle began to run back to her but was restrained by one of the Crey soldiers. Moments later their medics were on the scene, to tend their wounded. A couple went to examine Kate who was sat apparently uninjured besides a puddle of spilt chemicals. Their diagnosis was apparently positive.
"Agent Samson will take your details, sir, if you could come this way please," one of the armoured figures addressed her uncle nearby, "our medics will take care of your daughter."
"She's my niece," half-mumbled Patrick in reply, looking back to Kate, nodding his reassurance to her before he was taken away to the opposite edge of the scene where a dark-suited man and woman were stood in conversation.
"You seem fine, apart from shock, but we're going to take you to one of our medical facilities for a more thorough examination, miss," said one of her examiners, as he put away his mediscanner. His tone of voice was not one that would give him a good bedside manner, Kate noted, shivering.
"We have transport on the way," he added, before turning to talk with some of his colleagues in a lowered voice several feet away.
***
Kate saw her uncle getting into a black sedan with the two Agents before being driven off, just as a private Crey ambulance arrived. She was helped into the brightly-lit interior in the back by another medic and the doors closed behind her, the medic seating himself on one side.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"One of our best medical facilities," he replied after a short moments silence. Kate felt the ambulance begin to move. "We'll be there in ten minutes." He turned his attention to a clipboard, not seeming to want to continue into a conversation with her.
The journey felt longer than the supposed ten minutes in the ambulance with its coldly sterile-looking enviroment and the seemingly uninterested Crey doctor sat opposite her. It made Kate felt uneasy, despite the fact she and her uncle had been rescued from the Devoured from a likely terrible fate.
The rear doors slid open, the medic got up and motioned her to step down from the ambulance. As she got out, she glanced about, in some awe. The ambulance had come to a stop inside a low-ceilinged bay. Everything seemed so hi-tech. Blue-uniformed guards were stood at their posts, and - her thoughts were cut off as she felt a sting against the back of her neck.
The medic caught the girl as she began to collapse, then waved over a guard to help him carry the unconcious Kate into the facility proper.
A couple of hours later, in the early hours of the morning, the senior Crey scientist of the base, Doctor Lanwell, was holding a conversation with Agent Samson in the doctors office.
"We are aware of the effects and properties of a few of the chemicals, but several of those with which she came into contact are of a highly restricted security clearance in nature. The red tape will take hours to cut through," said Dr Lanwell, with a frown.
"Let me deal with that," replied Agent Samson smoothly. "Just tell me what you have so far."
"Well, as far as we can ascertain there has been no damage to her celluar structure," replied Doctor Lanwell, "The blood work we took also came up negative for any ill effects. That in itself was unusual, as two of the chemicals we identified were used in cleaning radioactive isotopes in Venice. She should show have some signs of radiation poisoning from such close contact with contaminated waste. We subjected her to a low level dose of argon particle radiation and... she absorbed it."
"Absorbed?" queried the Agent, though his face remaining impassive.
"We then detected a faint energy emission," Lanwell continued, "Somehow her biochemistry is converting radiation directly into pure concentrated energy. Quite remarkable. A shame we do not have the authority to retain her for more intensive tests."
"Continue with your tests, doctor. The official press release from the Crey media relations department will state they were both abducted by the Devoured Earth, before we arrived on the scene," replied Agent Samson coldly, "Neither of them will be looked for - or if they are, they will be looked for in entirely the wrong places."
The doctor nodded, with a malicious smile. "I already had a number of experiments in mind. The radiologists on my team will be delighted, I'm sure."
"Keep me informed," Agent Samson instructed, "I have to interview the truck driver. One of our own employee's going missing will add credence to the report." He turned and left the office.
***
Later that day, though she was unsure of the time herself, Kate awoke slowly, feeling groggy. As the diziness subsudided she began to take stock of her surroundings, and as she did her panic began to swell. She was in a very advanced-looking laboratory, with tall machines pulsing blue light and strange and a little frightening looking pieces of equipment. Restrained to some kind of metal table, she counted five men in her field of view, dressed in red and blue outfits with white masks and aprons, moving about checking machinery, marking clipboards. They looked a little indistinct, as if through a heat haze.
"What... what are you doing to me?" Kate asked, lifting her head a little from the hard padding that made for an uncomfortable pillow.
"Energy output rising at a level consistent with radiation particule exposure."
"The subject is awake, Doctor Lanwell," someone said from behind her.
"Increasing containment field strength."
"Let me go," she demanded, starting to struggle.
"Increase anesthetic by fifty milligrams," another said, his firm voice making it clear he was in charge.
"Yes doctor."
***
Elsewhere, Agent Samson was stood flicking through a file of paperwork, in the room which he had sequestered for debriefing and interrogation in the facility, when the door slid open and a pair of security guards brought in the driver of the truck. He was still wearing his Crey coveralls, though they were the worse for wear, and his face was marked with several plasters covering swellings from insect bites.
"Mr Andrew Jacobs, employee number 7342-B-3822 slash 041," said the Agent, not looking up, as the driver was ushered to his seat. "I apologise for having to detain you overnight. I hope the quarters provided were not too uncomfortable."
"I'm okay," said the driver, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing a few cold beers and a good shower won't cure when I get home."
Agent Samson glanced up. "According to the report, it might be rather more serious than that. Multiple bone fractures, contusions, toxic burns from a Devoured. Lucky you have taken up one of our life insurance policies. Your widowed wife will receive a tidy compensation."
"What?" Mr Jacobs replied, tensing for a moment, before he started to get to his feet. A gauntleted hand pressed down on either shoulder keeping him in the chair. He looked round at the figure who had come up behind him, wearing blue and white armour. "What is this?" he demanded weakly, his face paling.
"Your termination of employment," Agent Samson replied, waving him away, turning his gaze back to the file. "Thank you for working for Crey Industries."
"You... you can't do this!" the driver yelled as he was dragged away, his struggling futile.
"Make sure his injuries are consistent with the report," was the last thing he heard the Agent say, in a voice that seemed colder than the coolants that pumped through the Cryo Tanks armour.
***
Kate found herself waking once more, surfacing from the blackness of an induced coma.
"Energy output spiking. These readings are very unusual, doctor. Subjects heart rate is-"
Kate felt a powerful surge rip through her body. She felt her nails digging into her palms, and winced. A few seconds later, the room went dark.
"Power overload?" somone asked.
"Out all over the base, sir" another voice said, after a moment. The voice was muffled, and overly calm compared to the others that began to chatter quietly around the room.
"But I'm sure the energy spike from the subject was nowhere near powerful enough to -"
"Security is on full alert. It seems we have intruders on the facility. The base generators have been disabled."
The darkness was dispelled a little by a glow. Kate blinked in confusion, as she realised the source of the light. Herself!
From somewhere, she could hear the sounds of shouting and gunfire.
"Whats going on out there?" questioned someone, their voice betraying rising panic.
