Hunger

CyberShadow


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Hunger. Hunger pushed it on. Hunger drew a veil across all else, both within and without. Hunger was present in many colours. It was hungry, it physically needed substance. It had never known a time when this was not so. But, beyond and above this, there existed another hunger. A hunger which was outside, and yet so intense and powerful that it could feel the need above even its own requirements. The hunger drew it forward and it knew that only by following where it lead would it lessen - temporarily. And then, deeper and darker, there existed another hunger. This hunger dwelled at the back, in the far reaches. It was less intense, but eternal. It would never be satiated. It was the Hive. It knew all of this without thinking, without knowing. More conscious was the knowledge that the desperate hunger, the external hunger, came from others. It did not originate there, but it grew as the others were nearer. It was alone. It was never without company. The presence and hunger which the others provided gave both comfort and fear, it was reassuring and intimidating. And yet, it was also beyond its power, and so it did not belong in its World to comprehend that there could be any other way. The others were tolerated. It did not know why, only that this is the way that it should be. And it, in turn, was tolerated by the others. Then there was 'them'. 'They' were different, and yet the same. 'They' stood tall. 'They' provoked feelings of disgust, of not right, of prey. 'They' were parasites, 'they' were not natural and did not deserve to exist. 'They' were all identicle. Not like it. The Hive drew strength from its diversity. The others were distinct, it could tell what they were, what they did, what their role was from their appearance, their heat signature, their smell. 'They' were all the same, upright and weak. 'They' had no differences.

If you could have communicated with it, could have asked it it's name, it would have been blank. It had no use for a name. Its society and culture needed no tags of identity. What purpose did names serve? If you could have asked it where it came from, where it was 'before', it would have been puzzled. 'Before' meant nothing. Why bother with what had happened? Who knew what the future held? It existed. If you could have asked it why it was fighting this war, it would not understand. It was not even aware that there was a war happening. It was hungry. Nothing personal.

It crouched at the edge of the jungle, hidden in the foliage. Around it, seven other Termagaunts waited. Behind them, Tyranid Warriors stood. They were completely still. Frozen in the center of the trees. They were out of place, they did not belong. And yet they fitted in, they seemed at home. They stood as if listening, but they were only waiting. A group of patrol guards approached, unaware of the danger present. There was movement, sudden and brief. The Termagaunts instinctively fired their Spine Fists, and the guards fell. Pierced, they collapsed without a sound, venom coursing through their blood. The Termagaunts leaped forwards and fell on them. Three held back, searching the environment for further danger, glancing furtively as if they were smelling the air. The Tyranid Warriors broke from the jungle, moving quickly for their size. They advanced towards the camp. Then, one fell. It was torn almost in two by an unseen force. The heads of the Termagaunts and Warriors instantly tracked to the source of the laser fire. All could see the humans struggling with a heavy, metallic tube, straining to point it towards a second Warrior. Light stabbed towards the Warrior, creating a blackened hole in its chest. The Termagaunts shuddered as they felt it die.

It glanced around. It was confused, it knew that there was danger, but the hunger existed. The remaining one of the others pointed towards 'them', and a creature launched itself forward, shrieking wildly. It impacted with one of 'them', biting and burrowing inwards. Its target screamed, a sound which stunned those near by as the Tyranids were forgotten in favour of this new spectacle. Then, there were many of 'them', rushing forward. 'They' held tubes of a material which reflected the light and seemed wholly artificial, it hated 'them' for that. These artificial tubes were wrong, they didn't belong in this place. In a web of light, the remaining of the others was caught.

It was thrown into turmoil. The hunger, that driving force which had controlled and given a reason to everything, had gone. It was completely alone. It had no concept of freedom, only of confusion, of fear. Those around it were the only unity, the only consistency linking the before with the after. It gathered close to them, feeling small security in the pack. But there was only doubt, as an animal thrown into the arena of a predator. The pack wavered, torn between seeking cover and turning on those who would attack them to drive them off.

Then, it felt the hunger, at the back of its mind. A faint hint of order. The rest of the pack could feel it too. It grew, and out of the jungle another of the others appeared. Bigger, this creature was powerful, it gave purpose. The hunger returned. The reason returned. Certainty grew, and banished the confusion in the pack. It looked up, 'they' were still there, thrown into disarray at the sight of the other. It knew. The hunger drove it forwards.

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Date: 18/10/2001
Author: CyberShadow