Scorpion String | Chapter 4

Serial Fiction | Novel Draft

—Diane—

The air was thick with the foreboding smell of sulfur, a precursor to the terror about unfolding. As the dark swarm closed in, I, Diane, felt the world narrow to the point of no return. Panic surged through me as Jack and I were thrown to the ground, quickly hidden from sight beneath a relentless tide of locusts.

The horror of our situation was unimaginable, a nightmare from which there was no understanding.

From my position, I could barely see Matthew trying to reach us. He was stopped by an impenetrable swarm of these creatures.

The sight of Jack screaming in unbearable pain as the locusts attacked him was almost too much to bear. As each locust found its mark, his screams pierced the chaos, intertwining with my fear and desperation.

These are no locusts.

These things are like flying armored scorpions.

Each attempt to swat the locusts away felt futile, only serving to deepen my sense of despair. Jack’s pain, his screams—it all amplified my own nightmare. Despite the chaos that had become our world, nothing had prepared me for this moment—this test of my endurance, my will to survive, pushed beyond its limits.

Suddenly, Matthew appeared amidst the storm, his presence a fleeting hope. My voice strained and barely my own, called out for help. But as he reached for me, the situation took a turn for the surreal. My vision was clouded by pain and fear, my screams no longer human as the locusts continued their assault.

These creatures were not merely locusts but instruments of suffering, appearing as terrifying as their purpose. I realized this was no ordinary plague but a punishment of biblical proportions. We were fighting to survive and ensnared in a battle with hell itself.

Matthew’s attempt to help was cut short as the locusts turned their attention to him, a reminder that no one was safe. The horror of watching those demonic locusts crawl over him, their grotesque faces a mockery of humanity, was overwhelming.

In this moment of apocalypse, as the locusts enveloped us in their nightmarish embrace, the distinction between pain, fear, and reality blurred. Jack and I were united in our suffering, each sting a testament to our shared ordeal. The world we knew was gone, replaced by this endless torment, a testament to the fragility of our existence and the profound terror of the unknown.