When the night comes out presents the Hive. Part ten. This is Warden
Michael Kenninger speaking to you for my office in the Administration building. I'm speaking
to you now because we have little time and a serious crisis on our hands.
A virus of some sort has begun to spread among the prisoners and hospital
staff. The virus acts quickly and seems to turn each individual into mindless savages
who attack any living thing that happens to be nearby. They will tear apart
and devour some individuals, but some they just bite, and a single bite
causes the infection to spread. Mike stopped at that point and looked down at
his desk. The unreality of the situation washed over him. He was losing
control of the Hive. He could feel it slipping through his fingers. I
must stress to everyone in the Hive and Hive City that this is the most
dangerous of situations. Already, numerous deaths have occurred, and the entire medical
wing of the prison has been sealed off. The creatures, ghules, whatever
they are, seem to be able to travel via the air vents, and
it's for that reason I'm calling for the orderly evacuation of the entire prison population
of the Hive. With the air vents in each cell, it has become
evident that it will be impossible to seal off the cells enough to protect everyone.
There was almost a palpable shift in the mood of the entire prison.
He could feel the tension within the administration building. He knew that his voice
was booming like God from high within the walls of the cave from which Hive
City had been dug. He could imagine mothers clutching at children and why sitting
down at kitchen tables and wondering if they would see loved ones again. Present
has been sealed off from Hive City. No one will be allowed in or
out. All of the prisoners are to please proceed in an orderly fashion to
the administration building. Accommodations will be made in the gymnasium. Gentlemen, I
must dress to you how important it is that you do proceed in an orderly
fashion. Kennenger clicked off the mic for a moment and cleared his throat.
We are no longer guards and prisoners. We are no longer administrative staff and
criminals. We are in this together. If we cannot cooperate in this matter.
Band together to fight this threat. We will lose the hive. We
are miles below ground. There's no help coming. We have to do this
ourselves. And now the final thing that had to come, the threat.
Anyone who does attempt to cause trouble, avenge a grudge, or do anything
other than proceed orderly to the Administration building will be shot, no question asked.
There will be no warnings save for this one. Given, you will
be shot immediately. Please do not make this necessary. Ketnnger shut off the
mic. He looked up at Dalton King, the last person he ever expected
to see in his office. King was staring at the banks of monitors along
the wall. Standing in the doorway, her hand clutched at her throat was
Jenny. She looked pale and terrified. Reg was in the office as well,
staring out at the high from the giant window. Reg, please instruct
your guards to make this happen as fast as possible, Kenninger said quietly.
There was no need to shout. Everyone knew how critical this was and how
incredibly dangerous. Reg said nothing, his face like stone, suppressing whatever fear
he might have had, and walked out the door. Jenny Kenninger said,
get as many people as you can to volunteer down to the gymnasium. We
need help getting caught set up. Kettinger looked up into her fearful eyes.
She said nothing in protest, but gave a short nod of her head.
Then she vanished back down the hall. Kettinger could see others in the office
and hallway beyond his office, and he could feel the eyes boring into him.
They were scared, he reminded himself. Most of them had no real
idea what these things looked like or what they could do. They were more
terrified of the prisoners than they were of the demons that inhabited the bowels of
the hive. Thank you, it was King who said that, What does
it matter to you, Kettinger asked, sitting down in his chair. It's
not like these are your people. Those people who followed you are on the
surface. King turned away from the monitors and faced Kettinger. The prisoners around
the world are my people, Michael. You should know that. Who do
you think Most of my followers are former prisoners in many cases, but also
many who just felt that light had made them prisoners. And if you think
that communication cannot go forth within the walls of the hive despite your best precautions,
then you are truly delusional. King pointed to the window toward the hive.
That place is as much mine as it is yours, Michael, he
finished. He strode over to Kettinger's desk and then leaned down his hands on
the surface. We need a plan now, King said, what are you
thinking? We have them trapped? Kenninger said, I don't know a thing
about making bombs or something that can wipe out potentially hundreds of creatures at once.
That's why I brought you here. Let's face a Dalton, you were
the most prolific mass murderer in quite some time. King smiled, and here
I thought it was my charming company and personality. Of course, Michael,
I understand, but I need to know what we're dealing with. If these
things, as you say, die when the virus hits, but then reanimate
and chemical weapons will not work. Were faced with the very real possibility of
destroying, probably on a permanent basis, a large section of the hive.
Kettinger sat forward, his head spinning. He hadn't thought about that. Some
part of him had assumed he would shut off the air or spread some kind
of poison, like wiping out insects if they were already dead. However,
they were not breathing, and that meant that this avenue was gone. Kettinger
was not used to dealing with the undead who was What do you need to
do something like that? Kettinger said, I need to know the layout of
that entire wing, and I will need access to chemicals, fertilizer, perhaps
other things. King said, I regret to inform you, Michael, but
I am going to need to see plans of the hive. You may have
bargained with the devil to an even greater degree than you realize. Ketninger felt
a sinking in his stomach. When was the last time he had eaten?
His brain was scattered too much to process. The phone on his desk rang.
Ketninger picked it up. Cattinger, He said, this is Kettinger.
Who is this? Cue? The voice hissed at the other end. Kenninger
felt cold ice envelop his heart. Que Q, what's wrong with your voice?
Ketninger said, his mouth dry gesh God, it Q is that you?
What are you doing? What are you saying? Ketdinger knew he was
basically babbling, but despite all that had happened so far, he had not
felt true and utter fear until he heard the voice. Ah God, the
voice that claimed to be Q hissed. It was unlike anything that Ketnenger had
heard before, and it was certainly unlike Q. It was like gravel stuck
in someone's throat. It hissed and vibrated like bees and a hivey are the
voice said, still holding out the vowels, like notes and a song evolving
fast. We all think together, ive true, hive Q. Please if
this is some kind of choke, Kenninger's own voice no longer sounded like anything
he recognized. His breath wheezed in and out of his chest. Dalton King
walked over to the desk. He studied Kenninger's face for a moment, cocking
his head to the left and right, as if studying him. His brow
furrowed. Then he leaned forward and hit the speaker button on the phone.
They learn mine with each person they capture with their right, their mind grows.
They learn from each person. Why are you calling us? Then?
This time it was King speaking Hello, Dalton, I thought you might be
there. Why are you calling us? What do you want to inform?
You? Don't fight, don't resist. It is a futile effort. We
grow, We hunger. He were here long before humanity, and humanity feared
us for centuries, buried down here for so long. Others of us now
set free, we must return to where we were. We must return to
the surface. Humanity will fear us again. Many will become one of us.
Anymore will die, but not how some will remain. They must.
They will be bred, and they will serve us. They will be a
vital resource for us. Kenninger and King sat there listening to this long,
rambling, hissing monologue. Kenninger felt as if ice were in his veins.
He knew what the thing that had been his most trusted advisor was talking about,
but he needed to hear him say it. What purpose, Kenninger said.
There was a strange noise. At first Kenninger could not place what it
was, and then realized that the thing that wore Q's flesh was laughing.
Then the line went dead. Get the prisoners out, King said, and
fear acrossed his face. Kennenger had never seen the man afraid. Get them
out fast, Kettenger bolted from the room. He heard King right behind him.
Kettinger saw the faces of the people who worked in the cubicles on all
sides of him. They were terrified and pale, and they all looked half
dead. Already, all of these people were his responsibility. But things were
getting much worse. He was losing control. He had once had a name.
He had once but an individual. Now he was one of many.
He no longer breathed, He no longer truly thought on his own. He
had been known as Q, but now he was part of the many.
He could feel his skin rotting on his flesh, His heart no longer beat.
The world looked red, and everywhere he looked he wanted to tear something
apart, tear into soft, hot flesh, and feel the blood as it
spurret it down his throat. So many of them were meat. Only the
few could really become part of them. They stood in the hall and stared
at him. Their faces were slack or twisted into snarls. Q ran his
tongue over the teeth that somehow had transformed into a mouthful of needles and knives,
perfect for rending flesh. Q walked past them, knowing they would follow.
It was hard to think, but Q had been chosen for a reason.
He was chosen because his mind was strong, and they wanted the knowledge
that was in his mind, knowledge about the hive, knowledge of how to
get out without air shafts. Q walked down the hall past the empty cells.
The dozens of others followed, some of them groaning and moaning, but
most of them silent. They did not shamble. They might have been a
group walking in a mall save for the blood and scraps of flesh that clung
to their clothing. Food was coming, so much food. They were going
for the big door that had come down and shut them off. Food was
on the other side. Q could get them to it. Redge and his
crew had managed to get a large portion of the rest of the prison moving,
but the prisoners were clogging the hallway. They moved slowly, their eyes
filled with fear. Kennenger arrived and grabbed a megaphone. Please move urgently,
he said. He did not want to start a panic, but he was
close to panicking himself. We need to get you to the gymnasium as quickly
as we can. Vacant eyes looked at him, But the flow of the
prisoners did not get much faster. There were just too many of them.
The hallways were not built for this kind of mass exodus. Kaddenger looked to
his left at Dalton King. His eyes conveyed the urgency. King grabbed the
megaphone. Please my brothers, King said. Almost immediately, the throng of
prisoners stopped. Do not stop, keep moving and move fast. Help your
brothers. We have little time, and if we do not get the entire
population in the gym soon, many more will die. His voice galvanized them.
They began to move faster, many of them suddenly taking leadership rules,
guiding and directing them. No one thought, they moved with purpose and urgency.
Now one by one, the cell doors opened and more prisoners joined the
group, none of them, thought Keeddinger felt a moment of fear at seeing
this, many of the prisoners in one place, fearing a riot at any
moment, But that did not happen. It was as if they too had
become like a hive mind. They all seemed to know the danger. They
had all been locked in their cells, but they all knew that something terrible
had happened. Kettinger pushed the button on his communication device. Jenny come in
a moment passed. It felt like one thousand years go, Mike, Jenny
said, how are things at the gym? Some of the first prisoners are
already arriving. It's all very orderly. Most of them are helping us put
up more cots and get things set. Okay, keep it going. I
think most of them understand that this is not a time for foolishness. Do
you have guards with you, yes, Matthew and Billy are here. Tell
them they are authorized to shoot first and ask questions later, Roger Jenny said,
and then the communication went quiet. Kettinger made his way to the back
of the line of prisoners. Reg was there, looking tired but determined.
His gun was in his hand, ready for action at a moment's notice,
but it was also by his side to hopefully not freak someone out. They
seem to get that this is serious, Boss, reg said, I've never
seen them this quiet, not even when they go on the shift. I
can tell they're scared, and they have every right to be. We'll keep
them moving, but we need to move fast. They got q Kettinger said.
Regge's face registered the fear doubt and anger that Kettinger had felt and was
still feeling. He says that when someone gets bit and becomes one of their
number, their knowledge and mind becomes part of their hive mind. Yes,
those things think they can plan. Kettinger knew he was close to babbling again,
but he didn't care. If Q is part of their number, they
now have full knowledge of the hive. Reg nodded at this, but said
nothing. He appeared to be thinking this over, a man of action but
also a ponderer. Suddenly, the air was filled with rumbling noises mixed with
a metallic screeching sound. The floor vibrated. Reg looked at Kennenger. Kennenger
stared back, and then looked at King. That's the door, Kenninger said,
Dalton King licked his lips. We're out of time, gentlemen. The
sound of the metal door went on and on. It was so loud Kennenger
thought his head might explode before it stopped. Almost as soon as it began,
another sound began to fill in the moments of silence, a horrific screeching
sound that was obviously not just one creature but dozens. They sounded angry,
They sounded inhuman, and they somehow managed to sound hungry. We go to
move, rereg said, everyone, run, move, move, move,
everyone with a gun get back here, sit up a firing line. Kettinger
looked at Dalton King, but King was already trying to push the prisoners along,
taking charge, motivating them. Kettinger looked back behind himself and he could
see shadows and shapes, things leaping and diving and jumping into the air,
climbing over each other. Then they came around the corner, and Kettinger felt
his breath catch in his throat. This was the first time he had seen
them in person. There were dozens, and most of them were people he
knew. There was Carol, one of the nurses. There was Frank,
one of the guards. And finally, most devastating of all, there was
qu at the front of the pack, his mouth open, the pointed teeth
on display, like some kind of walking shark. They ran with a speed
that baffled Ketteinger. They were climbing over each other, around each other,
their arms outstretched, their fingers bent into ragged claws. Their mouths were open,
and they made the screeching sound over and over and over again as Kenneinger
watched two of them broke off their hands grasping at the wall, and they
began to climb, now like some sort of human shaped spiders, climbing the
walls, scrambling over the rock, moving on all fours. Jesus Kenninger whispered
reg and his men began firing. They took careful aim, knocking the two
off the wall first and then taking out more of them in the pack.
The guards formed a line and they took the brunt of the attack first.
The pack of ghoules reached the guards and yanked the guns away, then pulled
the guards one by one into the horde. Ketdinger could hear them screaming as
the sound of rending flesh breaking bone also filled the air. He could smell
the blood as it spurted felis spray is a fine mist across his face.
Kettenger whirled his own gun in his hand hand and took aim at q.
Q saw him, hissed and then ducked. The bullet went over Q's head
but got one of the prisoner ghules in the neck. The prisoner bobbled in
its footsteps and then went down, but was soon scrambling to its feet and
running again, just as fast as before. Kennenger took careful aim and hit
him in the head, and the prisoner went down for good. Q was
still coming on strong. It was no use. The throngs of prisoners were
just moving too slowly. Kennenger fired and fired, but several of the Ghules
rushed past him, and he heard screams from behind him. Now he had
lost sight of Redge of Dalton King. Jesus, what would these things be
able to do if they had Dalton King's mind added to their collective. Kennenger
turned back the other way, trying to find King. He couldn't see Dalton,
but he could see the Ghules as they leapt into the air, scrambled
up the walls, leapt off the walls, and landed amidst the prisoners.
There was more screaming, more rending flesh and muscle, and more breaking bones.
Blood ran down the floor. Kettinger kept moving. It was beyond his
ability to think of anything more than his own survival. At this point.
He reloaded his gun and began firing again and again. He aimed as carefully
as he could, firing into their heads. One of them grabbed his arm.
As he was aiming at another scrambling up the wall. He saw movement
out of the corner of his eye, and then a grip like a vise
latched onto his arm. The shot went wild, and then he saw the
rotted flesh leaning in to bite him. Kettenger kicked out with his left foot
and caught the former Tim, whose guy's name was Tim, and the knee.
The knee gave way and the leg bent back. This sent it off
balance, and Kennenger yanked his arm out of the strong grip. Ketdinger staggered
back, aimed his gun fired a bullet into the thing's head. The guard
formerly known as Tim, was down. Something left onto Kennegar's back. Hands
grabbed at his throat. He heard the teeth clacking together against his right ear.
He could not move his arms and waited for the pain of the teeth
sinking into his neck his shoulder. It wouldn't matter where he was bitten.
If he was bitten anywhere, he was a gonner. Then the head of
the ghoul on his back exploded into ropey strands of brains and materials that used
to think. The head fell to the ground, blown to pieces, and
the body fell right after it. Henneger caught a glimpse of Redge turning away
from his direction, facing back against the horde up ahead. The throng of
prisoners kept moving, but more and more were being bitten. Henninger saw limbs,
fingers, eyes, hair flying into the air. More than anything,
he saw blood. Those that were bitten, instead of devoured, quickly turned,
adding to their numbers. The hallway was filled with a mass of humanity
and demons, the floor slicked with blood and bits of flesh. Sh Kettinger
just fired and fired, He reloaded and did it all over again. Anything
that looked at him and showed its teeth he fired. He aimed for the
head, hitting more often than not. They were fast. Twice he was
nearly overwhelmed while aiming, but managed to get help from one of the remaining
guards. He saw that some of the prisoners were using weapons, now perhaps
they were homemade weapons, he couldn't tell. They were aiming for the heads,
chopping and stabbing. More of the Ghules fell, but far more were
being bitten. The group ran and ran. They were surrounded, and more
and more of the Ghules were popping up in the places where they managed to
shoot down another. Kettinger knew that his supply of AMMO was running low,
but he kept raising the weapon, aiming and firing. He was breathing hard
his chest, but like it was on fire. He couldn't take much more
of this before a lack of ammo or sheer exhaustion took hold. One of
the ghules grabbed him from the right. Kettinger twisted and got his arm free.
Then he kicked out with his right leg sending the goual backwards into one
of the guards that had yet to be changed. The gual seemed to change
its mind and turned toward the guard. Kettenger raised the gun and put a
bullet into the back of the thing's head. The guard returned the favor and
blasted one of the ghules that was leaping into the air behind Kettenger, about
to land on his back. Everywhere that Kettinger turned was a fresh horror.
Over to the right was a steaming pile of entrails. Over to the left
was a severed arm still twitching. Over in another direction was a prisoner with
three of the gulls biting down on a different section of his body. In
another direction, a ghul who had been blasted through the mid section and was
now paralyzed from the waist down. Was still crawling forward using its arms,
teeth snapping at the air. Questions fired off in Kettinger's head. Where was
Dalton? He had to keep Dalton safe? Where was reg reg could not
fall among their number. Both of them knew to too much and were too
dangerous to add to the hive. Mind were almost the Kettinger dared to look
up. They were near the door to the administration building. He heard fresh
gunfire from the doorway of the admin building and more yelling. Ghoules fell and
fell and fell. When Kettinger was able to get a clear view of things,
he saw people dressed in shirts and ties, men and women, all
firing weapons. Jenny was there, standing in the doorway, a rifle up
against her shoulder. Kettinger pushed forward. Something grabbed his legs and he went
sprawling, landing face first against the floor. He felt hands scrabbling over his
legs, and then there was pressure against his ankle. Kettenger kicked out with
his free leg and kicked something in the face. Kettinger rolled over and there
was a ghoul promptly crawling up his body, the sharp teeth snapping at the
air. Kettinger got his arm up and punched the thing in the face.
Then he aimed his pistol and fired. Thing happened. There was a click,
but no bullet, no explosion of rotted brains. The ghoule seemed to
realize this as well, and the thing cocked its head to the side,
as if studying Ketteinger curiously. Then the head dodged forward, and the open
black maw of the thing's mouth seemed huge, a mile wide. The teeth
seemed huge, the ends of the teeth like sharp needles. He wondered what
they would feel like as they tore him apart. He wondered what it would
feel like to become part of the hive mind. Then there was gunfire,
and the thing's head exploded into fragments. Kettinger looked up and Jenny was there
with the rifle. Kettinger got to his feet and ran. He stumbled,
ran, skittered, and jumped. When he looked up, he saw that
he was inside the administration building, locked down. Kenninger yelled, keep them
out, lock down. Kettinger ran to a panel on the wall. He
opened the panel, punched in a number, and then placed his palm against
a glass plate. Over at the doors. The soldiers and ties and skirts
formed a line and kept firing into the throng of ghuls. An alarm went
off. Red lights began to flash. Lock down, lock down, locked
down, over and over again. A mechanical female voice blared again and again.
A loud rumbling shook the building. Huge metal panels slid down over every
window, every door, every way to get in or out of the building.
Lock down, lock down, lock down. Kettinger sank down to the
floor, breathing hard, his head pounding as the rumbling went on and on
over the sound of the door's closing was gunfire and a few screams. Then
there was a huge thudding sound that seemed to vibrate the entire earth itself.
Kettinger opened his eyes and saw the administration building bathed in the red light.
The voice had stopped, but the interior was dark. Then generators kept inside
the building kicked on the lights brightened. Kettenger looked around. Prisoners who had
been running were lying on the floor. They were near the massive loading back
that they used to transfer men and machinery out into the hive. Itself.
Guards lay there as well, side by side with the people they were supposed
to be guarding. Outside the huge metal door, they could hear the snarling
and the things out there scrambling and scrabbling over the door trying to find a
way in. Kettinger had initiated a lockdown that was meant to be an emergency
only protocol. Not even Q had the ability to do it. In fact,
only he and Jenny could do it. That meant Q had no idea
about it, had no way to know how to stop it, and had
no way of knowing if there were any weak points. The problem was that
they were now trapped inside. They had food and water for over a week,
but they would run out eventually. Where's rech, Ketninger asked, slowly,
getting to his feet. Are you here? He heard nothing but moans
and breathing mixed with sobbing for some time. Then two figures slowly got to
their feet and came towards Ketninger. He breathed a sigh of relief. Amherbos
Reg said. The man looked pushed beyond the limits of exhaustion. I'm still
among the living. Dalton King replied, Let's get a count Kenninger said,
how many are alive You've been listening to When the Night Comes Out The Hive?
Tune in next time for the Hive. Part eleven Written by Brian w
Alaspa, narrated and produced by Ali James, Music by Vivek Abishek. Catch
up on the first four seasons of When the Night Comes Out Now support us
on Patreon for more terrifying content.