The Hive Wastes

Formic wrote:

A vast desert devoid of any sign of life. The sky is choked with a hazy mist and only a tiny sliver of moonlight can pierce it. The soil is dull as if it's nutrients have been sucked out. This territory is under the control of Formic and his Queens, and the mist which surrounds it is filled to the brim with an airborne form of the T-Virus. Gas-masks, if not full hazard suits, are an absolute must. A few infected creatures linger here, but most have left for more populated areas. So the only creatures to encounter outside are the enormous Soldier ants which protect the Hive containing Formic. While they may kill intruders, the soldiers are usually trained to bring their targets in alive for the Ant-God to devour.

On the outskirts of this wasteland, a helicopter lands and a reporter exits the vehicle. She walks up to the six man BSAA team and they shrug towards her presence. She pulls away bangs hanging over her right eye. "Gentlemen, I'm ready when you are." she states. One of the men grunts. "Listen here, you may have gotten the clearance from HQ to accompany us lady, but we don't exactly have the man power to cover your ass. This is a rescue mission after all, there's no telling what we'll be up against once we enter the 'Hot zone'." he explains.

The reporter cocks an eyebrow. "Oh don't worry, I can save my own ass." she replies first, pulling up her compact glock. "As long as I get what I came for, we shall be fine. And my name is Morgan, thank you." She finished before walking between a pair of BSAA grunts.

The leader nodded. "Ok, move out!" the four grunts ran ahead, Morgan following behind them with the remaining two grunts covering the rear.

The Hive Wastes truly fit their name. Not a sign of life could be seen. Of course considering the massive soldier ants that filled the tainted region, nothing was far better then other alternatives. Granted the ants were known for hiding beneath the soil, springing up in an ambush whenever anything walked above them. And so even quiet was not certainty. Though due to their lack of intelligence, such traps were less common then they could be. But it only took one ambush to put an unprepared group in a very bad situation.

Morgan and the BSAA grunts she was following came into a large rocky clearing. As the earlier reports stated, this place was indeed devoid of life. Morgan felt a little nervous now that she was actually here; but there was no turning back now, not with a story to be written.

One of the soldiers pauses, and begins coughing heavily. Morgan soon finds out why as she too begins to cough uncontrollably. "Ehh GAH! What the hell is that stench?!" She exclaims.

The man leading them, unflinchingly says: "It's likely the rot of 300 civilians...this was a farming community only but a few months ago. Now get yourselves together and keep moving!" he ordered, and the others, including Morgan obeyed.

At one point Morgan pauses, taking her video camera and survaying the area. "Wow...so much destruction...what could have caused all of this?" she says to herself. One of the BSAA grunts stepped up behind her. "What are you doing? Stop lagging, lets get moving already." he called in an agitated voice, waving her on.