LOVE AT FIRST BITE (Chapter 1)

  Agent Red's pale skin seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, her ruby lips breaking the otherwise black and white night.

  She looked across the barren parking ramp, and impatiently stamped her foot. She checked her watch, ten minutes late, this was just like him. She heaved a sigh and headed for the warmth of the car.

   "Sorry," his voice startled her, she hadn't even heard his approach, but he was right next to the car. "Things got a bit... heated," he said, dropping the flamethrower for emphasis.

  "You're late. Again. We should be halfway back by now. Put it in the boot and let's go."

  "You should be happy. We're getting closer, Red."

  "I'll have plenty of reason to be happy when there are no more of them in town, Agent Green," she snarked, slamming the car door.

  Agent Green fanned out his trenchcoat and sat in the passenger seat, nodding gravely. "I thought they said there was supposed to be a den in there. But it was pretty bare, a few sleeping bags and piles of clothes. I lit it all up, anyway. They won't be back."

  Agent Red glanced at the dashboard. Where else would they be at one in the morning, she wondered. She looked down again as the speedometer crested eighty, and noticed she had a quarter tank. It would be enough to get back, but she would need to refill before patrol tomorrow night.

  "HQ, this is Envy and Blood, nest was ashed but no roaches present. Heading back to the roost, over," Agent Green called into the walkie.

  The car rushed along the rural road, trees and fields whizzing past. Silence loomed in the air as they waited for the response.

  "I say again, no roaches found, Green and Red returning to base, over," said Agent Green on the walkie.

  "Battery's probably just dead. You forget to charge it again?"

  "That only happened once, Red. The problem isn't the battery. And I've got signal. Only thing missing is response. When was the last communication from base?"

  Agent Red checked the clock. "It's been over an hour. I was busy wondering why you were running late. Besides, it's Agent Blue on comms tonight, and he makes you seem downright responsible. Probably just fell asleep, or wandered from his post."

  "Blue might not be a stick-in-the-mud like you, Red, but nothing gets in the way of his comm time. On nights we patrol he won't even let me touch the walkie."

  "Well, you are just a rookie, Agent Green. Base is just over the next hilltop. Nothing to fret over yet. We'll find out the real story soon enough," Agent Red said confidently, yet was readying her sidearm, so the rookie followed suit.

  As the hilltop met the horizon, the base came into view. A burning wasteland was all that met their gaze, the barbed wire melting in the heat of a hundred fires where hours ago buildings stood.

  Agent Red skidded to a halt in the middle of the road, staring at the burning carcass of their base. "White Rabbit Protocol."

  "What?" burst Agent Green, "Aren't you at least going to check for survivors? This isn't the time for protocol!" He said, slamming the door behind him as he ran for the entrance.

  "It's always the time for protocol," muttered Agent Red.

  There was a flash, and Agent Red winced. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, but she felt the car shake a moment later. She lowered her arm to look out, and saw Agent Green's lifeless body, his eyes still open, staring into the cab of the car. His left leg was missing, just a nub near his hip.  He must have stepped on a mine, Agent Red mused, too shaken by the recent events to allow any emotion into her thoughts.

  The window shattered inward, his leg no longer missing. Agent Red changed gears, and the car began speeding backwards, leaving the shattered remains of both the former agent and the former window on the road.

  From the debris of the headquarters rose a shape, and it called out to the speeding vehicle. "You thought you were predators. You will only ever be prey."

  The car spun quickly as Agent Red changed gears again. She drove as far as the gas would take her, stopping at a hotel shortly before dawn. She took the briefcase inside with her, put the "do not disturb" sign on the door handle, and closed the blinds. It was going to be a long day.