Back at Lila's inn, everyone had gotten as much food and water up to the second floor as possible.

Flash was up on the roof, looking out at the town. He, Hunter and Sandal were watching the ground, making sure to take in any movement they might see. They knew the Graboids could appear from anywhere. It was only a matter of time before they showed themselves.

"Anything?" Sandal asked, Flash and Hunter shaking their heads.

"Wish we had that seismic scanner stuff here," Flash stated before looking over in the direction Micro and the others had gone. He didn't like the idea of Micro being away from the main group. Even if Flint did have a rifle with him, Flash had seen first hand how dangerous these things were.

The trap door leading up to the roof opened and Lila pulled herself up, the woman reaching down into the hole and coming up again with some drinks. "Anything yet?"

"No," Flash shook his head, "nothing. If they're here, they're keeping incognito until the right time to strike."

"Maybe they don't know we're here," Lila pointed out. "Maybe they couldn't figure out where we are."

"I doubt that," Sandal frowned. "These things noticed a leaf hitting the ground. No way they can't find us. No, they're out there. Just watch. They'll show up eventually." Lila frowned, as Flash kept his attention in the direction of the lab.

He had expected Micro or the others to have come back by now. He frowned, fearing something might have happened. But he couldn't just go wandering off every time something seemed. He would give it a few more minutes and if he didn't hear anything, he would go check it out.

Hopefully, he was just being paranoid.

Micro always figured his death would happen in a lab.

He had always wanted to be a computer scientist, spending his days working on programs or even building robots of varying abilities. He knew that choice of career could very well lead to his end. One mistake putting a machine apart and boom, he was blown across the room and dying of burns or a broken neck. But he never expected to die in a lab, getting eaten by a giant killer worm.

The Graboid roared, as it unleashed its tendrils to try and grab them.

Flint kept firing at the creature, focusing on it instead of its tongues. But none of his bullets were even able to hurt this thing. As such, he quickly ran out of ammo whilst barely managing to avoid getting bitten by the tongues.

Micro moved over to the side of the room and decided to get off the ground. Since it felt the vibrations in the ground, he pulled himself up atop one of the many machines filling the room. His movements caught the Graboid's attention and it tried to grab him, but Micro managed to kick its tongue away as he pulled himself up onto the lab's processor.

Flint was using his rifle to bat away the tongues, but he wasn't having much luck.

"Get off the floor!" Micro cried, Flint nodding as he rushed over to the nearest machine whilst avoiding the tongues. He managed to jump up onto it, the tongues unable to stretch far enough to grab him there.

The Graboid roared as it pulled itself back underground, but they knew it would attack again soon enough. And as it disappeared, the water covering the ground began to flow into the hole.

Micro looked around and saw the water constantly pooling, though it was constantly draining into the holes that the Graboids were making. But Micro doubted a bit of water would be able to stop them. "Unless..."

"Micro!" Flint cried, "we've gotta get out of here."

"I know," he nodded. "But how? If we try and make it to the door, it'll hear us and attack. Is there another way out of here? Some way up onto the roof?" Flint nodded and pointed to an area Micro hadn't been to yet.

"Over there. There's a hatch and ladder. But dad never uses...used it. I don't know if it'll be locked or not."

"Only one way to find out," Micro stated. "I think I might have an idea on how to stop this thing. But if we do it wrong, we'll be dead meat."

Flint obviously didn't like that, but also wanted to get one of these things. "What do we do?" Micro told him to go open the hatch, but to be careful moving around.

Flint quickly started moving from one machine to the other, getting closer to the spot where the hatch was located. As he did, Micro moved over to the generator. Said generator was large enough to fit two washing machines inside of it, with a bunch of different cables sticking out the back.

Once Micro was on top of it, he leaned back and started fiddling with some of the wires. As he did, Flint was getting closer to the hatch. But along the way, he happened to shake part of the machine he was on. And unlike some of the others, this machine wasn't bolted to the floor.

As such, as Flint leapt off it, the shaking caused the machine to rock forwards and crash onto the ground.

Micro and Flint flinched, as the ground once again began to shake. And moments later, the Graboid exploded out of the ground right beside the machine. The tongues started feeling around it and when it did, it seemed to realise what had happened and moved over to the wall. Feeling around the machines on either side, it also grabbed Flint's foot until he moved to another processor.

He was finally near the hatch and grabbed a pole that was leaning against one of the machines, the pole having a hook on the end that he used to start poking at the hatch. Micro saw this and continued to work on the generator, whilst the Graboid kept feeling around the machines with its tongues.

As Micro neared completion, Flint managed to get the hatch unlocked. "Got it!" He cried, opening the hatch and seeing the ladder begin to descend. His outcry caught the creature's attention and its tongues turned to him. The whole beast was beginning to pull itself up out of the hole, clearly not wanting to bust through the floor again.

"Get on the roof!" Micro cried, as he finally finished the alterations he needed.

Flint frowned, but did as Micro told him and leapt onto the ladder. As the tongues got closer, he pulled himself up onto the roof. Meanwhile, Micro pulled himself off the top of the generator.

His feet splashed in the water, getting the Graboid's attention. But whilst it was fast under the ground, above ground it was pretty slow. It dragged itself along the ground, its tongues stretching out to try and grab Micro. But Micro flipped several switches before grabbing the leaver and pulling.

The generator burst into light and as it did, Micro ran for the door.

The machine was so loud, it deafened the creature and it didn't sense Micro as he leapt over its hole. As he did, the electricity generated flew through the machine. But due to Micro's alterations, the power began to surge out of the wiring and flowed into the metal of the generator.

Micro barely made it to the door and pushed his way outside, as the water covering the ground was electrified.

The next thing Micro knew, he was on the ground as a mighty squeal filled the air. The Graboid in the lab was being electrocuted, its entire body covered in water and getting the shock of a lifetime as it was getting cooked from the inside out.

Micro finally recovered and picked himself up, as Flint looked over the edge of the roof. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Micro nodded as he pushed his glasses back up. "How's our wormy little friend?" The squealing finally stopped and Flint moved away from the roof, Micro looking at the lab but being unable to see anything through the stone walls and door.

Flint came back to the edge and didn't look sure. "It's still wiggling around. But it's not really moving."

"The wiggling's just the muscles, being forced to move due to the current running through them. There's no way it's still alive after being subjected to that much electricity."

Flint nodded, as he looked back towards the hatch. He suddenly realised he wouldn't be able to get down through it. That generator would run for hours and so long as it was, that water was a deathtrap for anything that touched it. But being stuck on the roof was better than being on the ground.

"Micro, you need to get off the ground. That one that took...that took my dad. It's still out there, under the ground. And there's supposed to be another one along with it." Micro realised he was right. He had to get off the ground.

He looked around, but couldn't see anything he could climb up. Most of the buildings around them were residential houses, but Micro guessed they were all locked and he didn't want to hang around trying to break through a window.

He refused to move, not wanting to make any vibrations. But if the generator was still shaking, the whole area was practically screaming at the Graboids.

"Over there!" Flint pointed at a building across the street. "If you can get to the back of that house, there should be a ladder in the garden you can use to climb onto a roof." Micro nodded and seeing no other choice, he started getting up.

"We can't stay here," Micro told him. "We need to get back to the inn." He looked around and realised the house Flint had pointed to, was part of a group the inn was connected to. If he got to its roof, he could jump along them until he got back to the inn.

Finally on his feet, Micro looked around to see if there was any sign of a Graboid. But the cost appeared to be clear. So, stealing his nerve, he began to run towards the house as fast as he could.

He got to the back garden and sure enough, there was a ladder that was tall enough to reach the building's roof.

He grabbed it and carried it over to the house, placing it against the side and making sure it wasn't gonna fall over. But before he could make sure it was stable, the ground beneath him started shaking. "Oh no." He started climbing as fast as he could, trying to pull himself up to the roof before it was too late.

But as he was half way up, the ground next to the ladder exploded with a Graboid appearing.

It roared, as its tongues flicked around trying to find him. And when one coiled around the ladder, it started pulling it towards the Graboid. Micro felt this and panicked, climbing up to the roof as fast as he could. But just as the roof got within range, the ladder's end fell off the side and collapsed to the floor.

Micro jumped off the ladder and grabbed the edge of the roof.

The Graboid's tongues studied the ladder. But when it found nothing to eat on it, the tongues moved upwards towards him. As it did, Micro wished he had tried harder in gym class. He used all his strength to pull himself upwards, managing to get his elbows on the edges of the roof.

The tongue reached his shoe and almost bit it, but Micro managed to pull his legs up. He swung them back and forth before throwing them up, getting one on the roof and using it to pull himself up. "AUGH!" He groaned, as he laid on the roof and panted.

He removed his glasses to wipe the sweat off his face, as the Graboid continued to roar below him. "Micro!" Flint's voice called out, "you okay?" Micro pushed himself up to the top of the roof and locked eyes with Flint, the two nodding at each other as the Graboid finally returned underground.

"That was too close," the young teen stated. But as he said that, a crashing sound below him caused the entire building to rock. "WOW!"

"What's happening?" Flint tried to look, but he couldn't tell anything. "Where is it?" Then, one of the walls in the front broke apart and Flint saw the outline of a Graboid in the dust. It was ripping pieces of the wall apart before ducking back underground, causing the place to shake apart. "It's trying to rip the house down. Get out of there!"

Micro didn't need telling twice and turned towards the next building, taking a few steps back before running towards it.

Luckily, the houses weren't too far apart and Micro was able to leap over to it and just make it over the gap. He didn't stop and ran across to the next house, doing the same and also making it across.

Flint kept his eye on the first house and the Graboid reappeared, having not noticed Micro had fled. "Alright. I need to get out of here too." He turned towards the house next to the lab and suddenly found himself with a problem. Whilst the lab was only one story, the buildings next to it weren't.

Flint looked around and spotted a drain pipe. It didn't look too strong, but it would hopefully last until he reached the top.

Back at the inn, Flash had grown very worried about the others not coming back.

He was about to go there himself, when a loud crashing sound caught his attention. "What was that?" Sandalwood asked, as they all looked over at the spot where the lab was located. And as they did, Flash spotted something moving along the roofs. "Micro!" The others followed his finger and spotted the glasses wearing teen, who was running and leaping from one rooftop to the others.

"Where's Flint and Clay?" Hunter asked, Flash not wanting to think about it.

More crashing made them glance back at the building that was collapsing, leading Flash to realise what was happening. "They're here." He rushed over to the ladder hatch and called down. "The Graboids are in the town. Be ready for anything!"

Everyone nodded and prepared themselves, in case a Graboid happened to show up on the street.

Derpy was looking after Liberty, allowing her mother to help wherever she was. As they hid in Liberty's room, they kept their attention on the window. "What's gonna happen to us?" Liberty asked, hugging her cuddly toys close to her.

"I don't know," Derpy told her. "But I promise, we won't let those things hurt you. If they want to get to you, they'll have to go through us." Liberty smiled at this and hugged her, Derpy smiling and hoping she wasn't making a false promise.

Flash kept watching as Micro ran from rooftop to rooftop, the teen using his rifle scope to check the rest of the town.

He spotted Flint on another house, having pulled himself up onto its roof to follow Micro's example. But the absence of Clay had made Flash draw a single haunting conclusion. "I think he's dead."

"Who?" Sandal asked, only to spot Flint and realise who Flash was talking about. "Clay?" Flash nodded, Sandal and Hunter sighing as they kept an eye out for the beasts. And suddenly, a screeching sound could be heard from right below them.

They rushed to the side and looked down into Lila's backyard, where a Graboid had pocked its head out. Its tendrils shot out and Flash noticed this one was the one that he and Sandal had escaped from, its damaged tongue flickering around with the rest of them.

Hunter tried to get a shot in its mouth, hoping that would kill it, but the beast pulled itself underground before the bullet could land.

"I think they've found us," Sandal stated. "There's gotta be some way to beat these things. Or at least scare them away." Flash was wondering the same thing, as Micro finally reached the roof next to the inn. "Hey, little dude. You okay?"

"Yeah," Micro nodded. "But...Clay's dead." They frowned. They had assumed that, but actually hearing it made them feel angry. "We managed to kill one of them. Now there's only two left."

"That's still two too many," Hunter stated as the Graboid appeared in the backyard again. "Don't these things have any kind of weakness? Other than rock?"

Micro frowned, clearly trying to think of something. Then, he seemed to remember something. "One of the stories I read about these things, said that they hate loud noises. In the first attack, the survivors managed to make a bunch of pipe-bombs that they used against them. The sounds of the explosions hurt the Graboids, forcing them to run away. And later, they tricked the Graboids into eating some pipe-bombs to blow them up from the inside."

"Great," Flash told him, "you know how to make a pipe-bomb?" Micro frowned, clearly not having that knowledge. "Maybe we can use something similar. There's gotta be something that can make a loud noise."

Sandal's eyes widened. "What about fireworks?" Flash was about to remind him they didn't have any fireworks. But then, he remembered how they met Flint the previous day.

"Sandal, you genius!" He rushed over to the hatch and climbed down it, "Lila!" The woman turned to him, whilst the others appeared curious. "Where are those fireworks Flint left here? If Micro's right, we might be able to use them against the Graboids."

"They're downstairs. In the backroom."

Flash nodded and began to head down the stairs, as Derpy followed him from Liberty's room. "I'm going with you. You're not going down onto the ground alone." Flash nodded, the pair heading down and stopping just before they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Flash wasn't sure how much sound was needed to get the Graboid's attention. Hopefully, the inn's stone foundation would absorb most of the vibrations.

Flash gave Derpy a shushing sound and Derpy nodded, as Flash stepped on the ground and started carefully making his way towards the door that led to the back room. Derpy followed and the two were soon behind the bar and heading for the back.

They made it to the door and when Flash opened it, the door creaked and they both flinched.

Flash pushed the door open and with a loud screech, they realised the Graboid had likely heard that. But they couldn't stop now. They moved towards the spot Lila had mentioned and found the spot where the fireworks were located.

Flash grabbed the box and noticed a lighter on the table.

He grabbed it. But as they headed back towards the door, part of the wall suddenly broke apart and the Graboid's head stuck through it. The pair screamed, as the beast opened its mouth and its two undamaged tongues slithered out.

Flash looked at the box and saw something, handing it to Derpy and pulling something out of it. It was a fire cracker, Flash quickly using the lighter to ignite it before throwing it at the Graboid.

As the tongues got close, the cracker started exploding and unleashing loud popping sounds. The Graboid squealed in pain, the explosions probably sounding like nails on a chalkboard to it. It and its tongues pulled away, allowing Flash and Derpy to run out of the room.

"It worked!" Derpy cheered, as they reached the front room. But she was so excited, she tripped over a chair as they ran and fell to the ground. She let out a scream, as she hit the ground and sent the fireworks flying all over the place. Some even fell out of the open door.

"Derpy!" Flash got down, "you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Derpy nodded. "Get the fireworks." Flash nodded and they quickly started collecting all the fireworks, throwing them back into the box before the Graboid recovered and attacked again.

Derpy ran to the door and grabbed the ones that had fallen outside. As she did, she heard movement and looked around. And to her surprise, Flint was running down the main road. He had reached the road and was using it to get back to the inn.

"Hey!" He called out. "Is everyone okay?" Derpy could see the pain on his face, Flash having mentioned his father's demise.

She wanted to console him, but she wasn't sure how she was supposed to help him feel better. How do you help someone get over losing their parent? All she could do was hope they would all survive, so that Flint would get the time to mourn.

But as Flint got closer to the inn, the ground around them began to shake.

Flint looked terrified and seemed to pick up the pace, only for the road to break apart all over. And as he got closer to the building, the road beneath his feet completely exploded and he was thrown to the ground.

A Graboid pushed its head out of the road and roared, its three tongues flying out of the creature's mouth and sliding over to Flint.

"Get out of there!" Derpy screamed, as Flint tried to crawl to his feet and escape. But the Graboid was faster and its tongue bit into his leg, Flint screaming in pain as Flash ran out of the inn.

Flint was dragged backwards, but Flash ran forward and grabbed onto him. "Fight!" He yelled, as Flint tried to kick the tongue with his other leg. But the rest of the tongues bit into him and he screamed, as he and Flash were slowly dragged back towards the Graboid.

Hunter and Sandal leaned over the roof and tried to shoot it, but their bullets might as well have been spit-wads.

Derpy stood there, her heart racing as she watched her friends about to be dragged underground. She had to do something, but what?

She noticed the fireworks and realised she could scare it off, about to grab a cracker and light up. But then, an idea came into her head. Instead of scaring it off, maybe she could stop it once and for all.

Flash groaned, as he pulled with all his might. But they were getting closer and closer to the hole.

Then, he heard movement and looked around to see Derpy running past him towards the Graboid. "Derpy! STOP!" But she didn't, even when one of the tongues released Flint and tried to grab her. She managed to duck under it and when she did, Flash noticed she was holding something. A firework rocket. "Light it. Scare it away!"

"It's not going anywhere!" Derpy took out the lighter and began to light the fuse. "Except Hell!" As soon as the fuse was lit, she ran forward and shoved the rocket into the Graboid's mouth before jumping back. The tongue swept her legs as she did and she fell over, but the Graboid was soon focusing on something else.

The fuse has reached the rocket and the whole thing ignited, propelling the explosive forwards down the creature's gullet. It unconsciously swallowed and Derpy staggered away, whilst the tongues let go of Flint and Flash pulled him away from the creature.

It seemed to be feeling strange, as it let out several weird noises. And then, it seemed to look right at them before its entire body exploded.

Bits of Graboid flew everywhere, scattering all over the place. Flash, Derpy and Flint had to take cover, as the guts and entrails rained down on them. Micro, Hunter and Sandal even had to brace themselves for it. Liberty had been looking out the window when this happened and when a bit of orange guts crashed onto her window, she screamed.

Flash sat himself up and looked over at the smoking remains of the Graboid. He then turned to Derpy and started laughing. "Derpy. You did it. You killed it!"

Derpy smiled, "I did. I got one." But then she heard a panting and looked down at Flint, who seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. "Flint, are you okay?" Flash got up and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Come on. Let's get you inside." He pulled the terrified man up and tried to help keep the weight of the man's injured leg. But as soon as Flint was up, he pushed Flash away. "Hey!" Flash fell to the ground, as Flint started running. How he was running with a badly bleeding leg, Flash had no idea. But the man didn't stop until he reached his truck.

"Flint!" Derpy cried, "what are you doing?"

Flint didn't answer and pulled himself up into his truck as it started up, Flash appearing to figure out what he was planning. "Flint, don't!" He drove off and Flash ran to his own car, getting in and starting it up.

"What's Flint doing?" Hunter asked, as Flash drove off after him. They watched where Flint was heading and saw him going up the main road, towards the river.

"Oh no," Micro realised what was about to happen. "He's gonna try and cross the bridge!"

"Is he nuts!?" Sandal cried, "there's no way that bridge'll take the weight of his truck." They then heard a screeching and looked around, seeing the final Graboid as it pulled itself back underground. It had recovered from the fireworks assault and seemed to be tunnelling off somewhere.

On the ground Derpy felt it shake for a moment before slowly dying down. And by the cracks that were appearing on the road, she realised what was happening. "It's following them!" She looked around and realised what she needed to do. "I need someone who can drive!"

Flash continued to chase Flint down the road, hoping to stop him from getting to the bridge.

He managed to catch up to the truck and get beside it, but he just couldn't get ahead. He glanced through the window and saw the man had an almost crazed expression. Flash couldn't blame him. He had been attacked, seen his father eaten alive and almost got eaten himself. That coupled with the pain he was probably feeling, probably had his fight or flight response pushed into overdrive on the flight area.

"FLINT!" He yelled, "STOP!" But Flint didn't listen and sped his own truck up, Flash crying out as he tried to do the same. But when the truck was in front of him, it started blocking his path. Every time he tried to move to the other side, the truck moved to stay in front of him.

Eventually, they reached the bridge and Flint pushed his car to its full throttle. Flash was actually hoping he would make it at this point. Maybe if he was fast enough, he could get over before the bridge collapsed.

He hit the brake and his car skidded to a screeching stop, but the truck kept going and reached the bridge. And with how fast it was going, it managed to fly onto the wooden construct and race over it towards the edge. It seemed like Flint would make it, until the bridge finally gave way.

The end that was on Flash's side of the ravine broke away, the ropes holding it together snapping, and the bridge began to fall towards the wall of the ravine's other side. Flint's truck had just gotten its wheel onto the other-side when this happened and as it fell, a third of the truck reached the other side.

But a third wasn't enough and as Flash got out of his car, the back of the truck tipped over the edge.

Flash gasped, yelling at Flint to jump out of the truck. But it was too late. The truck rolled backwards and as Flint opened the door, it fell into the ravine.

Flash couldn't bear to look and turned away, as the horrible sound of the truck crashing into the side of the ravine filled the air. Moments later, the truck splashed into the water.

Flash finally looked back over the edge and sure enough, the truck and its driver were gone. Flash didn't know how deep the waters were, but he guessed the truck had sunk and been swept away by the current.

Flash's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, despairing at his failure to save him. His frustrations finally built up, as he let out a roar and punched the ground several times. All he had wanted to do was have a fun vacation. Why did this have to happen?

After a few moments, he remembered he wasn't safe on the road. He got up and headed for his car, getting in and quickly turning around. But as he did, the ground beneath him started shaking. He hit the gas, forgetting he was in reverse.

He backed up, seconds before the road exploded and the last Graboid appeared. Flash barely managed to stop before going over the edge, whilst the Graboid screeched and showed off its two good tendrils and one bad one.

Flash glared at the beast and put his car in drive, wanting to run the blasted thing over. He shot forward and picked up as much speed as he could, but the Graboid's undamaged tongues flew forward and somehow caught the front of his car. "What?" The next thing Flash knew, the front of his car was being lifted up. "How strong are you?"

The Graboid roared again, as its damaged tongue moved up towards Flash's window.

But before it could do anything, Chip's pickup rolled down the road behind the Graboid. It stopped several meters away and someone was standing on the back. That someone was Derpy, who held something up seconds before it shot out of her hands.

Flash realised it was a firework, which went whizzing towards them before zooming into the air.

The rocket exploded and the Graboid roared in pain, causing it to release Flash's car and pull itself back underground. Flash didn't let this chance get away and he quickly raced around the hole, as the pickup turned around and the pair flew back down the road. They knew the Graboid was likely right on their tail and if they weren't fast enough, it would catch them.

By the time they got back to the inn, Micro had somehow gotten down off the neighbouring roof.

Sandal had been driving the pickup and as soon as they got back, the three teens had grabbed the fireworks and ran back into the building. They got to the next floor, but knew the Graboid wouldn't be far behind.

However, the creature didn't show up again. They had been back at the inn for an hour and nothing had happened. The ground didn't shake. There was no screeching roar and there wasn't even a blast of dirt into the air.

"Maybe it's gone," one of the older men suggested.

Lila nodded. "Maybe when it realised it was alone, it decided to go look for easier prey somewhere else."

"No," Micro shook his head, "these things don't quit so easily. Even if it's on its own, one is still more than we can handle." He moved over to a window and stared out at the empty town. "It's out there. Just waiting for the time to strike."

"We can't just sit around and wait for it to attack us," Hunter stated. "You said it yourself. We're on a time limit. If this thing's allowed to survive, it'll turn into those shrieky things and we'll be in serious trouble. I say we go out there and do whatever we can to take it out."

"I'm with Hunter," Flash nodded. "I'm sick of being scared of where I step. Let's find it and kill it!" The others all nodded and whilst Derpy, Lila, Liberty and a few more stayed behind, Flash, Micro, Sandal, Hunter and four more middle-aged men armed themselves with the rifles and headed out into the town.

Flash stepped out first, his gun raised ready to shoot anything that moved.

They all split into two, Flash and Micro heading back in the direction of the lab. They kept their eyes on the ground, ready to move if the dirt and mud even looked like it was about to shoot out a Graboid tongue.

"Micro," Flash turned to him, "are there any indicators that a Graboid's about to turn into a Shrieker?"

"Well," Micro tried to think, "Shriekers can't burrow. So the Graboid has to be above ground to give birth to a Shrieker. So if the creature appears and stays above ground, it's safe to say it's about to give birth."

"Okay," Flash nodded, "anything else?"

"I'm thinking," Micro frowned. "It's not like I'm an expert in these matters. I just read some stuff." Before he could say anything else, a loud scream came from several streets over and was followed by gunshots.

They rushed over to that street, Sandal and Hunter appearing from between two buildings as well. They quickly arrived at the area and found one of the middle-aged men kneeling next to a rifle that was half sticking out the ground. "It just took him," he cried. "I tried to kill it, but it just pulled him under before I could do anything else."

"Ahhh!" Hunter roared. "That's it! No more. No more people are dying today!" The others agreed, but knew they likely weren't going to be seeing it for a while.

"It's already eaten one of its own," Flash stated. "Plus Clay and now..." He sighed. "If this thing eats anymore, it's gonna explode without any fireworks."

"We need to find it, fast. Every time it eats, it gets closer and closer to turning into Shriekers." They nodded, knowing they might have already run out of time. Once that poor soul was digested, it might very well be ready to pop.

They once again split up and started searching, trying to find any sign that the Graboid might be hanging around. But the whole town was completely empty. It didn't even come up to attack them again.

They even started checking inside the houses, looking through windows and unlocked doors to see if it had taken refuge there. But there was no sign of it anywhere. "Where are you, you slimy little creep?" Flash's question went unanswered, as they continued to search the town over and over again. But there was no trace of it.

They searched for an hour, then another hour. And as the sun started to set, they realised they weren't going to find it.

Heading back to the inn, they all came to the same conclusion. "it's gone," Micro announced. "Probably went off somewhere to let its meal sit and prepare to transform."

"So it's not gonna come after us?" Lila asked, as they stepped into the inn. "We're safe."

"Hardly," Hunter announced. "If it's gone somewhere else to turn into those Shriekers, then this'll go one of a few ways. Those things come back and attack us, one or two show up randomly, or they all head somewhere else to find food."

"If we let even one Shrieker loose, there's no telling how much carnage it'll cause. Remember, it only takes one Shrieker to eat something and turn into an army. Then we'll have the flyers to deal with. We're not safe until those things are completely exterminated."

"But there's nothing we can do," Derpy reminded them. "Unless it shows itself, we're never gonna be able to find it and take it down." But as soon as she said that, an extra loud roar filled the air from outside. They all jumped at the sudden outcry, Flash clutching his rifle as he moved to the door.

"What the heck is that?" Lila asked, as the others got ready to head out.

Micro gulped. "That sounds like a Graboid that's getting eaten from the inside out." They all realised what that had to mean. "It must have been hiding under the ground until the very last moment, letting its Shriekers form inside of it. And now that they're fully formed, it's surfaced and getting eaten out."

"Then this is our chance," Hunter stated. "We kill it before those things can get out." They nodded and all ran out the inn, following the screams of pain that were coming from the very edge of the town. They had to be fast.

They ran towards the noise as fast as they could, Hunter telling them not to load any ammo until the creature was in sight. The last thing they needed, was for someone to trip and blow their own heads off.

Flash panted, as he thought about everything these creatures had done. The innocent lives they had taken and the terror they had caused. All so they could turn into even more dangerous monsters. Well Flash refused to let it get what it wanted. If it was gonna die, it was gonna be by his own hand.

The scream came from behind a house on the edge of the town, the seven hunters all reaching the house with Hunter telling them to load.

They did so, all loading a bullet into the rifle and wishing they carried more than one shot.

"Let's do this!" Flash cried, as he leapt out from around the house and rushed into the backyard. And there it was.

The Graboid was laying on the ground, letting out several roars as its stomach appeared to be wobbling. Flash quickly fired at the worm's stomach, the others doing the same and unloading their bullets into the beast. As soon as they fired, they quickly reloaded and fired again. They did this a few more times, until they were all completely out of ammo.

The worm did nothing in retaliation. It didn't try and escape. It didn't try and fight back. It just laid there and took it, as the men unleashed all of their ammo into it.

And as Flash fired his last shot, it gave out one final roar before its head hit the ground still.

They stared at it, whilst its stomach stopped wobbling. They waited to see if anything happened, but nothing did. It was well and truly dead. "We got it," Sandal laughed. "We got it!" The others smiled, all cheering at their apparent victory. The one whose friend had been eaten rushed over to it, laughing as he started slamming his rifle into it.

"Not so tough now, huh!" He kept hitting it, eventually getting to the point where the action just seemed sad.

"That's enough," Hunter told him. "Get away from that thing."

"Why?" He asked, turning to him. "What's it gonna do?" He got his answer, when the stomach started wobbling again. They all went wide-eyed, whilst the man looked confused. "What?" Suddenly, he heard a squishing sound and spun around. Moments later, the stomach exploded and something came flying out of the Graboid.

The man screamed, as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by the creature.

The others were petrified for a moment, as they took in the appearance of the beast that had just emerged from the Graboid. And sure enough, it was just as Micro described. A two foot tall T-rex, with no arms and the head of a Graboid.

Two more pushed through the hole in the creature and the tops of their heads opened up, revealing a red layer of skin and muscle. They stared at them and both let out a mighty scream, living up to their names as the sound was almost deafening. But they seemed more focused on the man their brother was eating, both turning to him and digging in.

The poor sap was acting as the perfect distraction for them, allowing Flash and the others to run.

"What do we do?" Sandal yelled, Micro looking too panicked to come up with a plan. It was up to Flash to think of something, as he remembered everyone Micro had told them about Shriekers.

"Hide!" Flash cried. "If they can only see heat, we need to hide behind something that'll keep our body-heat concealed." They nodded and all began to look around, Hunter and the remaining older people running over to a nearby house.

This just left the three teens, who kept running towards the Inn. If those things found their way over to that building, they would cause havoc over there.

Screaming filled the air and they guessed the three had finished eating the poor man. As they did, Flash noticed something. "Is it just me, or does it sound like there's more of them?"

Micro gulped. "They must have reproduced."

"Already?" Sandal asked, looking shocked as the screaming got louder.

"I told you these things multiply fast." They got closer and closer to the inn, which was looking pitch black since there was no power. "Good thing the lights are off. The heat from that light would be like sending smoke signals to them." The screams were right behind them and as they reached the main street, the Shriekers appeared behind them and were able to see them.

Derpy was standing at the door, looking worried when she saw them. "Get inside!" Flash cried, as they rushed to the building. "Get upstairs!" The others didn't argue and all started heading up, Derpy being the only one to stay downstairs as the boys reached the inn.

"What's going on?" She asked, as they pushed her inside and closed the door.

They all leaned against the front walls and kept clear of the windows, as they heard the creatures come to a stop outside the inn. Flash then risked a glance outside and saw six of the creepy little beasts walking around. One turned towards the inn and they all moved away from the windows, as the creatures moved around searching for anything that might be edible.

"What do we do?" Derpy asked.

"We've got to get rid of them," Micro told her. "But we're all out of ammo." The Shriekers started moving away, "we need to find another way to kill them."

"I say we make a break for the cars," Sandal stated. "They're not that big. Maybe we can run them down."

"Not a bad idea," Micro nodded. "But the moment the engines get warm, they'll start munching on them and kill the cars." Flash nodded, thinking the same thing. "Besides, those things are fast. We'll never get to the cars without some kind of distraction."

Flash tried to think of something and slowly, an idea formed in his head. "The fireworks are hot." The others turned to him. "We light a few rockets and send them flying off in one direction. When they blow, we can make a break for the cars."

"Not a bad idea," Micro smiled. "Derpy and I will set the fireworks off. You and Sandal get to the trucks." They nodded and the two headed off towards the upstairs, as Flash and Sandal waited for the large bang.

"You think we can get to the cars before they get to us?"

"I don't know," Flash shrugged. "But it'll be easier if it's just one of us. I'll go. You stay here."

"What?" Sandal glared at him. "I'm not leaving you to face those things alone. We fight them together or not at all." Flash rolled his eyes, clearly not big on the idea of arguing.

He was about to say something, but a whizzing sound caught their attention and they saw a rocket shoot off towards the edge of the town. "Sorry bud." Flash looked at Sandal, as the firework exploded and caused the Shriekers to follow it. "But I'm not losing anyone else to these things." Before Sandal could reply, Flash threw a punch with all his strength.

Sandal yelped, as Flash's fist hit him and he suddenly found himself falling to the ground and blacking out.

Flash flinched at the pain in his hand, but quickly dragged Sandal to the wall so he wouldn't be easily seen if Flash failed. He then ran out the building, as his friends sent off another firework to keep the beast's attention.

The Shriekers were at the other end of the road, clearly confused by the bright burst of light and heat appearing and disappearing in the sky.

Flash got into his car and started the engine, revving it up as he tried to get the engine as hot as possible.

He then turned on the lights and this heat source caught the Shrieker's attention, as Flash slowly rolled the car forward. They all turned to him and Flash felt his nerves about to give out. But he refused to stop now.

The first Shrieker rushed towards him and he hit the gas, his car bursting forward and picking up as much speed as he could. As he hit thirty, the Shrieker leapt at it. But the car slammed into it before it could do anything and it roared in pain, as it rolled along the bonnet and up the windscreen.

As Flash continued to drive forward, it flew off the top and spun through the air before crashing into the ground. Its body then just laid there, dead, as Flash reached the next Shrieker.

This one didn't try and leap at him and simply charged head on, slamming into the corner of the car and being thrown backwards whilst smashing the headlight. It flew through the air and crashed through the window of a house, several pieces of glass stabbing into it as it hit the front room of the building. The impact sent one piece of glass right into its body, most likely hitting some kind of vital organ and killing it dead.

Flash wasn't sure if the Shrieker was dead, but had to focus on the other four. But these ones had figured out the car was dangerous. So as it approached, they all leapt to the side and avoided the car completely.

Flash growled as he stared at them in his mirrors, the four glaring at him as he skidded to a stop.

They roared and charged towards him, Flash hitting the gas and rolling away. He soon reached the edge of the town and drove out of it, the four Shriekers chasing after him.

"Where's he going?" Derpy asked, as she and Micro watched from the roof.

"More importantly, where's Sandal?" They shared a worried look before climbing down into the inn. They prayed Sandal was alright and Flash wasn't going to get himself killed. He had to have a plan. And hopefully, it would take out these creatures once and for all. If not, they were going to be in serious trouble.

Author's Note

The Graboids are dealt with, but now they have Shriekers to survive. Will our heroes be able to stop them? Find out next time.