SWNOVELS Chapter Interlude
Deep below Jack, past the metal and concrete of the Arcology, deep in the blackness of the mines a war was raging. Not of conquest or ideology, but of hunger. In deep pits and flooded tunnels, the rats and psuedoscorpions were being hunted by a new creature. Swarms of scaly four legged forms poured through the tunnels, devouring anything in their path. Since their introduction to the planet the heavy carapaces and crushing claws of the psuedoscorpions had served them well against the rats, but These new creatures were different, their hides tougher, their teeth and jaws stronger, and their hunger driving them to suicidal lengths in the search for food.
They swarmed over the larger arachnids like creatures, many dying to their powerful claws and poisonous tales, but sheer weight of numbers tore the armoured insects apart. The native rats tried to hide, but were pursued relentlessly, parents, pups, and nests torn apart in the new creatures’ relentless quest for sustenance, every morsel of food adding to the swarm. Even the lichen on the walls wasn’t safe. The creatures gnawed and consumed it in a desperate attempt to appease their insatiable hunger.
Rapidly the psuedoscorpions retreated into the flooded depths, their respiratory systems allowing them to survive underwater whilst the creatures shrieked in rage. Any foolish enough to pursue the insects were quickly pulled underwater by grabbing pincers and drowned. The Surviving rats headed upwards through the mines, braving the colder reaches above in their quest for sanctuary.
All the while, nestled deep in the abandoned rooms of an old relay station, the first creature waited in the darkness. Its layer had been transformed into a colossal nest, with its children scurrying in and out to bring food to their Alphas. Its mate lay on her side near his old cage, grown to enormous size as she birthed litter after litter of young. They were born live into the world, screeching in hunger with their first breaths, each generation showing greater levels of mutations, from over-developed scales and claws, to missing eyes and limbs. Each generation became more diverse. The few too malformed to survive became fodder for their siblings.
The original loomed over the cage now, feeding on the morsels brought by drones, or the occasional unlucky pup. And slowly but surely the black tide rose, creeping ever closer to the light and heat above.