A Dirt Road in a Swedish Forest

A Near extinction event

A Dirt Road in a Swedish Forest (

When war ends, delusional hope begins. It’s all that’s left; clinging to the hope that their wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and friends left behind are still human, alive, and unaffected by the alien virus. The world outside is a Lovecraftian hellscape full of grotesque monsters and creepy-crawly things bereft of any traces of humanity they once shared. They hunt, kill, and eat any unchanged human unlucky enough not to have found refuge in one of the designated Ark Shelters. Unfortunately, that meant the majority of the human population.

Our group, made up of the downtrodden and unchanged, is one of the unfortunate ones locked out of the Ark Shelters. When I say locked out, I mean truly locked out. They have sensors and laser weapons near and above the steel-enforced entrances. Anyone approaching it is immediately vaporized into a pile of bones. The unworthy weren’t allowed access to the Arks. Salvation was for the sinners, not the saints.  They were reserved for the political and scientific elite, and those at the top of their fields. Instead of using their expertise to fight for the survival of humanity, they chose to hide and survive in comfort, while we were left to die or be transformed into hideous monsters. We despise them, maybe more than we detest the aliens.

We want to see all the aliens dead or gone forever. But that now seems like a pipe dream. They decimated our world and are in the process of transforming it into an alien environment. We need oxygen masks to breathe the air. It's now an oxygen-rich planet. The Earth now has 36% oxygen instead of the normal 21%. If we breathe the air for more than 10 minutes, we suffer from hyperoxia (oxygen toxicity). But we dare not even do that, as the alien virus is airborne. The sons of b*****s are terraforming this planet to fit their needs. Animals, plants, and affected humans have been metamorphosed into otherworldly monstrosities.  There are fewer than a few hundred of us in Medskogsbyggett. We dare not leave the church we’re sheltering in, as the abominations roam the street, our food and oxygen are running low, while just a mile up the road is an Ark Refuge. May they all rot in hell.

…..

 

I’m Rear-Admiral Benjamin J. Russo, in charge of the last remnant of NATO Command. We’ve been getting our asses kicked for three years or more. Most of the military bases and the cities throughout Europe have been destroyed. Billions have succumbed to the virus, and the outlook for humanity looks bleak. The only safe place left is on the Naval and Cruise ships. We have maybe fifteen fleets left worldwide.  I’m in command of an armada of fifty vessels that are running low on supplies and food.  We’re a thorn in the aliens’ a*s, were mobile and lethal. We've shot down hundreds of their ships and killed thousands of those Zoite bitchs. All of our oil and gas platforms are heavily targeted by the Zoites, so half of our fleet's mission is to protect them. If they fall, we go dead in the water and run out of fuel that feeds our generators and oxygen scrubbers; all that will be left is an armada full of 45,000 monsters.

We have targeted a facility with plenty of food, supplies, and equipment to upgrade our platforms and fleet. It’s located on a dirt road in the middle of a Swedish forest. It’s an Ark refuge, one of 150 worldwide. They’re filled with state-of-the-art equipment, food, and duplicitous and treacherous traitors of humanity. We’ll release them into the world and let the virus eliminate them, except for the scientists �" there’s always a use for them.

…..

History is told through the victor's eyes. We’re assured that the Zoite Sisterhood will secure Earth. Once the world’s ecosystem is fully transformed, they will bestow Earth’s guardianship to us.  What choice did we have? Their technology and sciences were more advanced than ours. It was just a matter of time before they would consume us, so why not join them to at least save a silver of humanity? Most of the world's leadership agreed and signed the Zoite Accords. The only standout was the American president. He said we should fight to the last drop of blood and not capitulate to the enemy. He was shortly assassinated, and a more agreeable, newly minted president eagerly signed the accords.  According to the document, in exchange for building 150 superstructures to house, feed, and accommodate all our needs, as well as making us immune to the virus, all we had to do was disarm all our protective satellite systems and destroy our nuclear stockpiles. We were to declare that peace was at hand, and the invaders were leaving.  

The Zoites executed a strategic withdrawal, leaving the skies free of their ships. While the world cheered and their vigilance relaxed, world leaders, scientists, and society's elite abandoned their positions and homes for the safety of the Arks. This was a difficult decision, but one that was necessary. Two and a half million of us will ensure humanity's survival. Moreover, the world was overpopulated; a major cleansing was overdue. Once everyone was safely settled in our new environment, the Zoites launched a surprise attack that made the Japanese in World War II look mild by comparison. We’re not heartless; we cry everyday for those we left behind. It eats away at us, but sacrifices were essential for humanity’s survival.

…..

Admiral Russo watched as three C-17 transport planes took off to secure Ark refuge shelter 32. They were to land on a private airstrip ten miles outside Medskogsbygget. Five hundred marines will lead the raid with special equipment that will nullify their lasers and force shields.  

The only good outcome of this large-scale invasion was the technological and scientific progress made from the aliens' downed ships and the capture of a few Zoites. The ships were rich in advanced weaponry and technology. The female Zoites refused to give us any information. They were seven feet tall with feline features�"beautiful yet lethal. They had fangs and sharp claws, which they used skillfully. They showed no mercy, so we did not show them any either. Our doctors had an excellent opportunity to study their anatomy and language patterns. In contrast, the male Zoites were more cooperative. They had translators, so understanding them was straightforward. They explained they came from a matriarchal society where males were treated almost like slaves. The females were the warriors and led the government, while the males handled other tasks that society called for. They were regarded as well-educated pets with no desire to die or suffer torture for the sake of their mistresses. We learned much from them, including advanced medical procedures, AI, weaponry, and a vaccine for the virus.

The Marines landed, and their ten-mile journey was a perilous adventure. The forest was transformed into some weird alien landscapes. The trees seemed alive, twisted and mangled, with branches twisting in the wind. Their vines and branches grabbed some of the soldiers, but a few laser blasts released them from their hold. Monstrous hounds and human-like monstrosities kept attacking to no avail as the Marines chopped them down. But their biggest danger was the one-foot mosquitoes; a few of the marines fell dead as they sucked the blood out of them. To say that the forest was dangerous was an understatement.

They were greeted as heroes as they entered Medskogsbygget. The townspeople packed their belongings and followed the marines to the Ark. The dirt road leading to the Ark was lit by strange-looking lampposts on either side. It gave off an eerie reddish glow that made the troops feel they were walking into hell.  As they reached the Vaulted entrance, they were attacked by a squad of Zoites. They jumped right into the marine formation, with claws and fangs ripping many of their throats. They were ferocious. But the marines outnumbered them and eventually killed all fifty of them. The Marines' losses were over a hundred. Half of the townspeople were dead as well. A three hundred and ninety-five marines remained, more than enough to breach the Ark.

With their new alien-equipped tank, they easily broke through the steel-enforced vault. They were met by an Ark police force, guns blazing, but were no match against experienced combat marines. They wiped out their entire police force of over five hundred strong. Their weapons, surprisingly, were not alien-enhanced, just plain old M-16s and standard protective gear, while the marines had alien-enhanced armor. It seemed the Zoites didn’t trust their pets with their weapon technology. The people of the Ark were terrified, except for a few pockets of resistance; they meekly surrendered like the cowards they were.

The marine commander signaled for their transport planes to land in the makeshift airstrip that their Corps of Engineers had built in Medskogsbygget. They needed to hurry before the Zoites got wind of the breach. The marines loaded all the food, supplies, and technological equipment into the trucks. They also gathered many of the scientists and loaded them up as well. They headed to the Transport planes and got the hell out of there. While they were in the sky, cruise missiles bombed the hell out of the Ark. The bombings decimated it, killing thousands. Those who survived had to learn to live with the virus-laden creatures. May they eat them with relish. Traitors deserve no mercy and are gifted with only death.

…..

The Galactic Commission of Planets just received the latest report on the Earth Reclamation Project. The news was disturbing, to say the least. The Human Rebels managed to reverse-engineer and accumulate much of the Zoites' technology. They were an extremely adaptable species, clever, devious, brave, cowardly, and formidable in battle. A contradiction in spades. The commission sent their most battle-hardened and vicious warrior members (the Zoites) to run the project. They managed to kill or mutate 99.6% of their population, and still, they persevere. They are the most dangerous species in the galaxy, and time and time again over the millennia, like locusts, they conquer and rule the galaxy with an iron fist, only to be destroyed from within by their continuous infighting. Their saving grace is that they are the galaxy's greatest artists.

The terraforming is near complete on all of Earth’s landmasses. Once complete, we will transport many of our dangerous animals to complete the Galactic Zoo. The Ark humans will serve as zookeepers and will be provided with the necessary equipment to contain the animals.

The oceans we’ll leave pristine. We’ll let the humans run wild. We’ll make it a human preserve.

Our main attraction is the humans; we'll show them the domesticated and feral ones. It’ll attract members from the farthest reaches of the galaxy.

The Zoites will remain the caretakers; they’ll have garrisons situated throughout the world. Humans are rebellious and crave war; they will need to keep a close eye on them at all times, no matter how docile they may appear.  

A galactic blockade around their planet and solar system will be implemented by all member nations on a rotating basis. The blockade will stay in effect until the threat of humanity no longer exists.

The Zoites' request to exterminate them all is denied. It galls them that they met their match.

…..

Zara screamed in agony; she was ready to give birth to a litter of abominations. The cursed humans repeatedly raped her and her sister to create a hybrid species.

She vowed to hate them and poison her milk while she tit them. But when she laid eyes on her six Zoite-Human babies, she couldn’t help but love them. She thanked the gods that they had little fangs and claws.

 

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Author's Note

get at it