Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
– FLYING SQUAD – ‘Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return’. I don’t know who said that, but it couldn’t be any truer. There is nothing I enjoy more in life than to roam the sky in my racer, looking down on worldly creatures going about their everyday activities, unnoticed. I have had to tweak my old Diptera’s wings so that her occasional buzzing doesn’t betray my presence anymore. My fellow fighter pilots, especially young recruits, now ride more recent mounts, like Bironella, or even brand new Chagasiae, despite my warnings that latest jets are often unreliable. I guess as a veteran, I am bound to be a little old-school, but nothing could make me give up on my loyal Dippy, whose comfort almost makes me forget that we’re at war. The sight of an enemy group suddenly brings me back to reality. It’s dark, and the air is thick. My squadron and I approach carefully. We know from experience that it is safer to attack at night, but we can never be sure they won’t suddenly wake up and try to gas us with one of their toxic sprays. As silently as possible, we land on a target and proceed to drill an imperceptible tunnel through its defences. In these moments, I am happy I have good old Dippy by my side. She can smell a prey over a hundred feet away and sting it in record time without it ever realizing a thing. “Alright, stand by”, I tell my unit. “Now, go!” As I give the signal for charge, my troops dive into the tunnel, pouring rapidly into hostile land. But it is too early to claim victory. Infiltrations are easy. The real battle for survival only starts after we get under the target’s skin. Within minutes, the cavalry will arrive in white uniforms, and we know very well we would stand no chance on the battlefield against an army of much larger opponents who could swallow us up in one bite. So, our strategy to avoid a bloody confrontation is to hide and wait patiently for our moment. One after the other, we rush through the network of
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
underground streams until we reach a safe organ to occupy. There, wasting no time, we start spreading, murdering civilians and stealing their red clothes to deceive our lovely host’s immune patrollers. We usually stay in there for a week or so, but I’ve heard of missions that lasted for years. It is true the ‘liver’, as they call it, is a very pleasant place to live, but we’re all aware of the risks if we come out of it too soon: unless another squadron comes to our rescue in the next twenty days, we all die. The decision is mine to launch the terminal assault. I hesitate for a second. I’m a veteran. Every operation I undertake is less likely to succeed than the last. I tighten up to the thought that I might not make it out of this one alive. I’ll miss Dippy’s warmth, and the flights aboard her. I breathe deeply. Let’s trust my luck once more. I give my soldiers the signal. In one, irresistible flood, we exit the liver, invade the blood vessels and infect all civilians in our wake. Helpless, they’ll soon explode, releasing more of us into the world. Ultimate sign of our overwhelming victory - the host’s temperature is rising worryingly; it’s starting to feel like a furnace in here. It may survive or it may succumb, and us with it, but the order was to conquer, and mission was accomplished. Surprisingly, a needle pierces the tissue right above me and I am sucked back up to the surface, followed by the remains of my unit. It’s Dippy! She has come back to exfiltrate me, oh, sweet friend. As she flies away, I look back at our unfortunate enemy. It is gasping for air, shivering, and its natural beige is replaced by a more jaundiced complexion. The flag of Malaria is waving over it.
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘I guess as a veteran, I am bound to be a little old-school, but nothing could make me give up on my loyal Dippy, whose comfort almost makes me forget that we’re at war.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘It’s dark, and the air is thick. My squadron and I approach carefully’.
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘In these moments, I am happy I have good old Dippy by my side. She can smell a prey over a hundred feet away and sting it in record time without it ever realizing a thing.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘The real battle for survival only starts after we get under the target’s skin. […] One after the other, we rush through the network of underground streams until we reach a safe organ to occupy.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘There, wasting no time, we start spreading, murdering civilians and stealing their red clothes to deceive our lovely host’s immune patrollers.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘In one, irresistible flood, we exit the liver, invade the blood vessels and infect all civilians in our wake. Helpless, they’ll soon explode, releasing more of us into the world.’
Text by Camille REBOUILLAT Illustrations by Armand AUQUIER
‘As she flies away, I look back at our unfortunate enemy. It is gasping for air, shivering, and its natural beige is replaced by a more jaundiced complexion. The flag of Malaria is waving over it.’