Wiping his sweaty palms on his shirt, Charles' mind raced.1

A calamity? What calamity can there be on the Earth's surface? Unless mankind caused this intense heat?1

"Surface dwellers, leave! Your presence above will only bring calamity!"0

The gigantic mantises fluttered their wings and reiterated the same warning.0

Surveying the area and noting that the six-meter-long monstrous mantises had them surrounded, Charles knew that their immediate priority was to avoid provoking them.0

He contemplated his words before posing the question, "Who are you? Why won't you let us go up?"1

Since these creatures could communicate, Charles thought that perhaps he could coax some intelligence out of them. However, the mantises displayed no intention to converse. Their wings fluttered more rapidly and at an increased...0