When the first round struck, a burst of guts shot out of the mantis’s side, but it moved quickly, darting backward and down. King strafed to the side, striking the insect only once more before it and its partner disappeared from sight.

They reached the base-side dock a moment later. But Bowers didn’t stop. He plowed the boat into the shoreline. The engine grinded as it chewed up sand. Neither man felt concern for the craft. They left it beached, jumping onto the shore and pounding up the incline that led to the base.

They paused ten feet from the water, looking back at the far shore.

“What the fuck were those things?” Bowers asked, his chest heaving more from adrenaline than actual physical exertion.

“Exactly what they looked like,” King said. “Giant mantises.”

“Okay. Seriously. Giant mantises?” Bowers shook his head, confused and excited.

King nodded as he scanned the far shore. “I think we’re in the clear.”

Bowers laughed. King turned to find him running up the hill toward base despite no sign of the mantises. “Bad news, buddy,” he said. “Mantises can fly.”

A string of curses filled King’s mind as a buzzing sound rolled over the river. The mantises shot up over the Euphrates and honed in on his position, barreling toward him like kamikaze pilots.

King’s mind raced for solutions. To their right were the main facilities of the base. Lots of buildings to get lost in. Lots of guns to fight back. And Bishop and Knight were somewhere in that direction. But the soldiers there had no experience dealing with this kind of freakish problem and there would likely be a lot of casualties, from the mandibles of the mantises and from panicked friendly fire. No good, King thought.

He needed Chess Team support, minus the regular soldiers.

The ruins.

Queen and Alexander were there, both armed with XM25s. The mazelike ruins would provide ample hiding spots and bottlenecks to make a stand. Of course, the brown stone would also make perfect camouflage for the mantises. But there was no choice. And no time.

“Stay with me,” King said.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Bowers said, his voice shaking. “I’m sticking to you like a tick on a collie’s dick.”

Despite the circumstances, King grinned. Bowers’s colorful language reminded him of Rook. As they ran across the road and started up the hill that led past Saddam’s Babylon palace, King glanced back.

Mantises didn’t attack from the air, so the pair had to land and give chase. Given their slow and clumsy landing, King guessed these two had never landed, let alone flown before. The skill was instinctual though, and they would soon be cruising over the sand once again.

Bowers looked back as he ran up the hillside. The mantises were already gaining on them. “Oh damn. Oh damn!”