Chapter 2

The first tunnel they searched, led to the school gym. The access hatch was locked from the inside. Hopefully the other tunnels ended up at equally secured hatches. It was probably the reason none of the huge insects had yet appeared in the shelter, from a tunnel.

Upon cracking the small door open, they were assaulted by the gym’s odor of sex, sweat, and bug chitin. The coppery tang of blood was also present, but faintly.

The sight that met them was dire. A young girl lay curled on the floor, whimpering softly. Her eyes fluttered open as they approached and reflected the terror that had befallen her.

“It’s Sarah.” Becky recognized the girl, but Becky’s bruised head was fuzzy about the details.

Large tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes as she recalled the traumatic event. “It- It happened so fast,” she sobbed. “A huge roach, bigger than a dog- It attacked me.” Her hands fluttered from remembering. Steve attempted to cradle her shoulders, but she shrugged him off with a sharp “No!”, her eyes scanning wildly. “Get away! It raped me! there’s eggs inside me!”

The gym loomed large and echoey around them. The stale scent of old sweat mingled with the sour smell of fear. They stepped carefully among the remnants of shattered sports equipment, avoiding the dead bodies of boys and teachers. Wrestling mats, once a vibrant blue, now appeared stained and torn, like sad, discarded toys. Steve’s voice broke the oppressive silence. “The doors are barred from the inside; no bugs can get in here.” He spoke with authority, but his eyes darted anxiously around the expansive room, telling a different story.

In the girl’s locker room, they found spare clothes. Steve handed Becky shorts and a baggy jersey. Sarah’s shorts had been viciously ripped. Becky gently helped her change into a clean pair, trying to offer reassurance with gentle touches and quiet words.

Sarah’s eyes widened as she suddenly remembered her attacker. “It- it felt like an orgasm,” she choked out, her face screwing up in a mix of shame and revulsion. “But I didn’t want it! It held me down-” Her words trailed off as fresh tears fell.

Becky shushed her and tried to stem the flow of painful memories. “We have a safe place.”

They wondered why other kids weren’t in the gym. Where were they? Had they escaped or been kidnapped to become horrific hostesses like Sarah? The news reports spoke of insects nesting with their prey, a notion that lingered in the back of their minds like a nauseating fog.

“How did you manage to make it here alone?” Becky offered Sarah a blanket to wrap herself in.

Sarah’s eyes darted around the gym. “I ran - my belly and, um, stuff hurt worse and worse. But I got inside and shut the doors. I passed out. When I woke up, I just-” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she buried her face in her hands.

Something wasn’t quite right in Becky’s understanding. If anything there should be more bodies than the dozen boys and two teachers decaying around them. Emily interrupted from the tunnel hatch. “The army’s on its way - they’re rescuing people. They have a special pesticide-” Her words died abruptly upon realizing the gym’s carnage aftermath.

Steve helped Sarah to her feet, and Becky led the way back through the tunnels. In the cellar they were greeted by a putrid smell of something vile.

Emily guessed their worry. “I think the insects are secreting acid to weaken the storm doors.” Time was not on their side. She picks up the radio and tunes it to the emergency channel. A repeating message informs about the bug attacks. They’re all over Texas, but the army is fighting back. Some people were rescued, and scientists are working on a pesticide. Emily summarized. “The message updates every hour.”

“On another channel, from a pirate station, the announcer said some girls have died giving birth to giant larvae, but the army rescued other girls and helped them to survive giving birth. Adult women survive more often.”

Becky’s stomach gurgled - reminding everyone about their few remaining supplies. Ashley piped up. “If that tunnel went to the gym, then I think this one may go to the cafeteria.” She points.

The group moved through the until they reached another locked hatch. It opened into the cafeteria kitchen. The lights were on - possibly from a battery backup. Surprisingly, there was no sign of bug activity.

They found supplies for cooking food, leftovers from lunch, and canned goods everywhere. There was also an emergency medical kit!

“We need to eat,” said Emily, still pale from blood loss. Her wound was getting worse.

They immediately removed Emily and Ashley’s bandages, sterilize the wounds, give them antibiotic pills, and used the medical stapler to close Emily’s severe cut before wrapping them in sterile gauze.

Becky gave them plenty of vegetable juice to drink, and they all eat from the leftovers before arming themselves with large, sharp knives.

“We have to rest.” She decided and led them back to the gym.

The wrestling mats became makeshift beds. Becky retired to the showers, grateful for the scorching water that washed away the stickiness of fear and insect acid. She didn’t even care if Steve peeped on her, nor fully appreciate that the gas main and water system were still operating.

As she soaped her body, her eyes closed, and her mind wandered. The events of the day replayed like a horrifying movie. Her body felt heavy from the eggs in her womb, and a strange sensation lingered between her legs - a tingling that wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

Drying off, she returned to the mat-lined chamber, pulling on clean clothes. The radio squawked urgently, the news reporting the army’s progress against the insects. But their victory seemed distant and rescue improbable in the short term.

Becky sat on her mat and watched the exhausted sleepers. Sarah’s words echoed in her mind. “I think I had an orgasm when the roach raped me.”

Becky’s pulse quickened as she knelt beside Sarah, who stirred at her touch. “Hey, you okay?”

Sarah sat up and rubbed her eyes wearily. “I’m sore,” she admitted, her voice small. “But I’m alive, thanks to you.”

“It’s not easy, is it?” Becky asked, thinking aloud. “If you want to talk about what happened, I’ll listen. I-I was attacked too.”

Sarah’s gaze dropped to the floor, and a deep blush crept up her neck. “I couldn’t fight them off,” she whispered. “A male roach held me down after the female attacked. It- it raped me.” Her admission was followed by a defiant sniffle. “But I got free. I-I came here. After that, nothing, until you found me.” She basically admitted that she was not only implanted with roach eggs, but they had been fertilized!

Becky’s heart raced, and an unexpected sensation of warmth blossomed in her core. She wanted to understand, to know more about this hidden, dark pleasure. But something in her resisted the urge to probe further. This was Sarah’s trauma, not hers. Instead, she lay back on the mat, feigning sleep.

She dialed the radio’s volume down to the barest she could hear. It reported that the national guard was also rescuing people, but the scientists needed time to make enough pesticide to kill all of the insects. Scientists didn’t know why the bugs suddenly grew huge, but the majority blamed pollution and global warming.

The pirate radio announcer said a politician claimed that Mexico or Haiti was trying to destroy America, so it could take over the country.

The thought of giant insects and their sinister intentions kept Becky awake. Her mind entertained a shocking notion. What if she went to a male fly and let him inseminate the eggs inside of her? “NO!” She blurted. That she could think of such a thing, terrified her, yet her troubled womb yearned for it to be true. It was an abhorrent fascination. Shaking off the bizarre thought, she slipped into the locker room, her mind churning with dark, forbidden desires.

In a stall, away from the others, Becky gave in to temptation. Her fingers worked swiftly, and the image of a colossal roach looming in her mind’s eye. She imagined its weight pressing her into the mat, its forelegs holding her captive as its massive penis thrust relentlessly. A hushed moan escaped, and she came with a shudder, the fantasy too potentially real.

Morning light filtered through the gym’s windows, revealing the group’s haggard faces. Becky felt a strange sense of satisfaction, almost like she’d had the most profound dream, except the dampness between her legs told another story. The radio news disappointed. It claimed the army’s progress remained slow but steady. They were developing an effective pesticide, but it would take time. Time that the middle schoolers didn’t have.

While Steve, Emily, and Ashley listened raptly to the news, Becky’s eyes drifted to Sarah, who rubbed her swollen belly with a confused, almost hypnotic expression which turned invitingly to Becky. She instantly realized that Sarah understood the need waiting inside Becky’s womb.

Approaching Sarah cautiously, Becky whispered, “You know don’t you? About the eggs- in you- fertilized by the roach.” It wasn’t a question.

Sarah held her slightly distended and hurting belly. “I-I felt them shifting inside me this morning. I want to make them go away!”

An urge to confide in Sarah took hold of Becky, and she found herself spilling the strange, arousing thoughts that had plagued her throughout the night. Sarah listened intently, her hands wringing tighter with each revelation. “I dreamt of a praying mantis impaling a boy, while I gave birth to cockroaches.” Becky confessed, her cheeks flushing.

Sarah’s breath hitched. “Oh my god, I thought I was going crazy! When I woke up earlier, I-I wanted it so badly. But the pain-” She coughed when the kids at the radio turned their concern to her.

Becky grabbed Sarah’s hand, an unspoken pact between them. They had each other’s secrets, and somehow, that made the burden lighter. But their quiet moment was shattered by a buzz that echoed menacingly in the large gymnasium.

A giant fly had squirmed through a narrow crack in the door. Sometime in the night, the gym’s main door had been weakened.

“We have company,” Becky reached for her flamethrower. The fly’s bulbous eyes glinted with unholy intent, and its enormous wings beat a chilling rhythm.

“I’ll hold it off. You four go!” Becky shouted. Steve, Ashley, and Emily hesitated, their faces etched with fear.