AUBURN THAT BURNED

Auburn was a ghost city when Elijah and Isaac arrived. The city was so quiet that all they could hear was the goosebump-inducing sound of the wind. Like what happened earlier in Fall City, the situation there was exactly the same. The ruins of half-burned buildings, still billowing thin smoke into the sky.

They pulled the motorcycle into a gas station and filled it up. Elijah collected some empty jerricans and helped Isaac fill up their supplies for the trip.

After filling three jerricans, Elijah lined them up and waited for Isaac. The young man stared at the empty road leading into town.

Elijah turned to Isaac. "Isaac, are we going in?" he asked.

Isaac looked away for a moment, then his eyes returned to the gas tank of the motorcycle he was filling. Getting no answer from Isaac, Elijah stepped to the side of the road. He had a bad feeling. He wanted to go to New Castle right away, but on the other hand, there was a strong feeling that he should enter the city.

Isaac pushed the bike and leaned against it. He tried repeatedly to start the bike until he finally heard a roar. The two hurriedly carried cans of gasoline. Isaac and Elijah positioned the two jerry cans on the left and right sides of the bike and tied them together with rope.

"You have to carry the jerry can on your lap," Isaac said. "Or just leave it."

"No, we need fuel," Elijah refused.

Isaac just nodded quickly. "Then let's go now."

"New Castle?"

Isaac was silent for a moment. "Are you going to the city?"

"I don't know," Elijah replied hesitantly.

"There can't be any survivors here."

"There is an orb for sure. Even if we don't know exactly where it is."

Isaac looked at Elijah skeptically. "You want to destroy the Orb? With just us here? We'll be superhumans dying stupidly trying to be heroes."

Isaac turned off the bike and stuffed the keys in his pocket. He walked down the street first, leaving Elijah stunned and confused.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked.

"Don't you want a dystopian tour of the city?"

Elijah half ran after Isaac, clutching a canister.

"Put that down. I'm not riding a motorcycle, the noise will attract attention," Isaac said.

There was a quick shake of Elijah's head. "No, I fear I'll forget."

"Whatever you say."

The city of Auburn was quite large and more modern than Fall City. Skyscrapers were almost everywhere. The streets were wide. Wrecked cars were everywhere. Entering such a ruined city, Elijah and Isaac felt fear creep up on them. Although it was nothing, it was still a frightening atmosphere.

"How many orbs do you think came down to Earth?" Isaac asked in a quiet voice.

Elijah shook his head. "Probably a lot. I didn't count the number on Master Halsey's map."

"That's just a map of the country we live in, right?"

"Yes. As far as I know."

Isaac snorted quietly. "I've seen quite a few. Damn, if there really are orbs here."

"If we can get to New Castle, and it's okay there... we can tell them about the situation in Auburn."

"That is, if we survive."

A long, plaintive sigh came from Elijah's nose. "Think positive."

They continued down the street, looking around. They picked up food from the convenience and grocery stores they passed. What Elijah believed was that there had been no looting by the rebels. Or that the group had been wiped out by the ants.

What Elijah didn't understand was that the spread of the aliens from the orb was really fast. How could the humans prepare to fight back when the enemy forces were attacking blindly? The ant army was tireless, even physically, the humans were far inferior to them.

Faintly smelling the stench of corpses, Elijah and Isaac looked at each other.

Both of them followed the direction of the stench, which grew stronger and stronger. Until they approached a sports stadium, where the stench of corpses centered. Both of them immediately gasped in shock when they saw several ants in front of the stadium gate.

The creatures were walking, cackling, and moving in and out of the stadium. They surrounded the stadium as if they were standing guard.

Elijah and Isaac moved toward the bushes to get a closer look. Both peered cautiously.

"Did you see the orb?" Isaac whispered.

"Nothing. The Orbs are huge, like skyscrapers."

"Then what are they guarding? I'm sure there's something there."

Is the Queen there? Elijah thought. He remembered the beautiful but scary creature he had met inside the Orb. Maybe when all the ants come out of the Orb, she will come out too.

"Queen," Elijah muttered.

"Oh, you mean the tentacled commander?" Isaac waved his hands in front of Elijah's face.

Elijah had told Isaac once when they were in the forest, about the ants, the queen, though Isaac still couldn't believe that Elijah had survived the explosion unharmed. They finally agreed that maybe it was a miracle that logic couldn't explain.

Despite Isaac's sometimes annoying attitude, Elijah still had to get it.

"Yeah, that thing," Elijah replied coldly.

"I wonder. Will it unleash its super tentacle powers?"

"Wonder? You have no idea how terrifying the Queen is."

Suddenly, the pacing ants stopped, their antennae stiffening. Then the creatures moved quickly into the stadium.

"What's going on?" Isaac bit his lower lip.

"Come on, let's check over there."

The two ran as fast as they could toward the stadium, smelling the increasingly pungent stench of carrion. Isaac fought back nausea so hard that his face turned bright red. They entered the dark corridor and walked cautiously.

From inside the stadium, the sound of the ants grew louder. There were certainly a lot of them. There was no way they could just barge in, they would be attacked by the ants.

Elijah spotted the door under the bleachers and motioned to Isaac to go in. They stepped into a smaller, narrower passageway with no lighting at all. Until they saw sunlight coming through the gaps under the bleachers.

Isaac stopped walking, crouched down, and suddenly vomited. The smell of carrion pierced his nose and choked his chest.

Isaac's hand waved. "Go ahead, I'll catch up," he whispered.

Elijah just nodded. Then he stepped into the gap and peered through.

Elijah's eyes widened, unable to believe what he saw. "Oh, God..."