by Ian Woodhead
Three of the beasts charged over the top of the hill, heading straight for the only visible target, Malc. To his credit, the old man didn’t turn tail and run away. Harry wouldn’t have held it against him if the man had done that. These things looked nothing like the other creatures they had killed. The bastards were twice the size for a start and faster. A lot faster.
They had already passed Dosser. He too must have realised their plan would not work as he broke cover, ran into the middle of the road, and fired in their general direction. The shot obliterated the rear end of the middle creature. Despite its grave injury, the beast still managed to spin around and launch its broken body at Dosser. The man fired his last cartridge which, thankfully, tore it apart, but now the remaining two had taken interest. Dosser ran for his life. He jumped onto the front of the automobile, turned, and calmly broke open the weapon to reload. Even from his position, Harry knew that the old man wouldn’t stand a chance of killing them both.
Harry jumped up and ran from his position while hoping that these vile beasts didn’t employ the same technique as the things before. He was still too far for his hits to count. At this distance, if he fired, he was likely to cook them all including Dosser. They were almost on him! Harry tapped into an energy reserve he didn’t realise he had and pelted forward another few metres. Harry lowered the fleshmelta and fired two shots.
The tarmac immediately below the running beasts turned into a pool of steaming fluid. All three beasts screeched in agony as they sank into the black muck, the boiling hot tar burning the soft flesh off their bones. The time gave Dosser enough time to reload. He shouted out in rage then fired twice. The shot destroyed two of them, leaving the remaining beast meowing in agony while it attempted to drag what remained of its damaged body out of the cooling quagmire. The creature pulled itself away, leaving most of its dissolved legs stuck in the gelatinous tar.
“Harry!”
He saw them a split-second after Malc’s panicked yelling. Another four more of the larger beasts were galloping towards Malc, coming from another direction, just like their previous encounter.
“Go on, man,” shouted Dosser. He had only just broken open the shotgun. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”
He ran towards Malc who saw him coming and attempted to close the gap between him and Harry. The beasts were faster, much faster, and the first creature had almost reached Malc. It leapt towards the running man. Harry could not fire without killing the man.
“Get down, you daft old git! On the floor, Malc.”
Dosser’s urgent shout had the desired effect. The man dropped onto the road and rolled to the left, giving Harry his target. “Die, you vile monster,” he snarled. A stream of energised plasma particles slammed into the approaching creature, reducing it to liquid in an instant. He fired again, only to discover the weapon’s energy resources had dried up. “Dosser, I need you now!”
The three other monsters were not as eager to charge to their deaths. The beasts slowed down then jumped onto the roof of another parked automobile. The three creatures looked straight at Harry. The largest animal opened its jaws and roared. It was the last action it would ever do. A blast from Dosser’s shotgun turned its head into of red and black wet lumps. His other shot took out the other beast, leaving just one.
“Harry, kill the bloody thing!”
“I can’t,” he replied, desperately squeezing the trigger. “It’ll be at least another minute before the weapon can fire.”
“We don’t have another minute and I’m out of shells!” gasped Dosser.
Sensing triumph, the remaining animal slipped off the car roof and onto the bonnet. Dosser had already turned the gun around, but Harry knew that even brute force would not save them, not this time. This monster was too well protected.
He pulled out his knife. “You are not going to kill me so easily!” he growled.
The animal matched Harry’s growl then slid off the car. It lowered its head and jumped straight at them. Both men staggered back and fell onto the road. Harry yelled out in rage, knowing that he had failed, but before those serrated teeth could rip into him, Harry heard the sound of shouting, followed by another gunshot.
The beast screamed when something punched through its side. Harry shuffled backwards then helped to pull Dosser back towards the curbside. More gunshots followed and the creature skidded across the road before it collapsed. The gunfire continued and now Harry saw the originator of their rescuer. The tall, grim-faced man with very little hair and wearing a black uniform ran towards the dying creature, still firing. The man only stopped when the gun dry-clicked. He stopped by the beast’s head, calmly ejected the clip from the pistol, inserted another, and pointed the gun straight at the creature’s head.
“This is for Dennis,” he said. The new arrival fired one more time.
Harry reached for his own weapon then got back on his feet. He helped Dosser up then walked over to the animal still alive. It had crawled away from the now solid road and its detached hind legs and took up shelter under the wheels of a large van. It hissed at Harry when he approached. He heard his two new friends thanking the new arrival for intervening and after ensuring the damaged animal was no longer a threat, he returned to the others.
It shocked him a little to discover this man belonged to the city’s constabulary. From the uniform and the presence of body armour, Harry had first assumed he was part of some military force.
“That’s some wacky-looking gun you have there,” said the new arrival. He held out his hand, which Harry promptly shook. “I’m Paul, by the way. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I am Harry,” he replied, “and the feeling is mutual. The addition of another armed man will make our mission a little easier.”
“Right.” Paul glanced at Dosser and then at Malc. “Okay, so what’s going on here, guys?” His eyes finally rested on Dosser’s shotgun after one more curious glance at the weapon cradled in Harry’s arms. “This is a bit of a change for you too. You’re normally skulking inside the shopping mall, annoying the locals.” He then gave Harry a detailed scrutiny. “And what’s your story, and what the fuck is that in your arms?”
“It’s called a fleshmelta.”
“Yeah, obviously. So what’s it do?”
Harry briefly wondered if this new arrival had any mental health issues. If that was the case, it would explain why he wasted so much ammunition on killing that beast when a single shot to the skull sufficed. “It melts flesh,” he replied. Unlike the humans on his world, Harry was not used to wasting anything, including words. He pushed past the constable and walked back over to the parked van. He placed his foot close to the front wheel and waited. As expected, the beast’s need to devour overpowered its need for self-protection and it crawled out from under the vehicle. Harry took three paces back, aimed the weapon, and fired.
“Holy shit!”
“Indeed.” Harry walked back over to the reaming corpse. He raised the gun only for Dosser to push the gun down.
“Wait a minute, Harry.” He looked over at Malc who joined them. The constable stayed where he was. “What are we dealing with here, man? This thing is so different to the other bastard things!”
It was clear from the man’s tone that this new thing had seriously spooked him. “It is a collector,” he replied.
“A collector. So you’ve come across them before?”
He shook his head. “No, Malc, this is the first time that I have encountered such a beast.”
“So how do you know what they are?”
He crouched beside the corpse and used his weapon to pull back one of its forelimbs. “Observe that the legs appear to be larger than such a creature needs, and do you see that? There is a flap of membrane which runs down its belly. These animals have the ability to store a huge amount of material. They expand like a balloon. Judging from the size of these, they have just returned from emptying themselves and were about to restart the process, only they had the misfortune of running into us firs
t.” Harry stood up. “These creatures are part of the next phase.” He looked at Malc. “You were correct about the lack of people.” Harry sighed. “We may already be too late.”
“Too late? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” The constable took a step back from Harry. The man blinked then aimed his pistol at Harry’s face. “Put your space gun on the floor, sonny, then place those hands on the top of your head. Also, if you don’t mind, I want you to shut your bloody hole. I’ve heard enough bullshit to last me a lifetime.”
“What are you doing, you silly twat?” shouted Dosser. “This guy is on our side.”
“Yeah, man. Quit being so excitable.” Malc walked up to the constable then placed himself between him and Harry. “Come on now, if we don’t all work together, we’re never going to survive this nightmare. Lower the popgun.”
“Why do you think it’s too late, Harry?”
The constable still hadn’t lowered his pistol. Harry found the man’s behaviour a little disturbing but understandable. His uniform suggested that the police in this world were trained to deal with situations far more violent than the stories he had been told of their type from his world over a century ago. He snapped the fleshmelta back into its cradle, guessing that its absence might help the man relax. After all, the constable was more likely to be better trained in subduing armed civilians than dispatching monsters from another world.
He gently moved Malc to the side and wrapped his fingers around the pistol barrel then moved it up to his forehead. “Dosser’s shotgun is now empty. Your clip has probably ten rounds left in the magazine. Nine, if you shoot me and the weapon on my back will only respond to my touch.” Somewhere in the distance, the sound of an explosion made the man holding the gun jump. Harry could hear human screaming. They were not far off. The collectors they had just killed were obviously not the only pack operating in this area. “How long do you think you and these two will last before the collectors catch you and turn your bodies into food for that Goliath?”
Malc reached for Paul’s gun and pulled it away from Harry’s face. “He’s got a point there, Robocop. Do you not remember your prime directives?”
“Christ, Malc. I told you not to call me that.” The constable slipped the gun back into its holster. “Forgive me, I guess I’m not thinking straight. I’ve not had the best of days.”
“Understandable, Paul,” replied Harry. “It is not every day that monsters from another Earth invade.”
Paul looked him up and down. “Another Earth, you say? An Earth that, perhaps, you came from?”
“Come on, man,” snapped Dosser. “What do you think?” He gave the shotgun back to Malc. “See, told you I’d look after it.”
“Not much use to me now. Not unless we can get some more ammo for it.”
Harry nodded. “Normally, I would agree as right now, if I die, then we all do. Time is against us. If we do not reach these tunnels, then it will no longer matter how much ammunition we carry.”
“Wait on,” said Dosser. “What did you mean earlier about it being too late?”
“There’s a sports shop opposite the shopping mall, on Basin Street. They stock shotgun shells.” The constable gingerly booted the collector. “After how easily this fucker took my bullets, I could probably do with an upgrade too.”
“The city landscape had changed considerably since I arrived. Gone are three of its tallest buildings and black smoke covers much of the landscape. Right now, the Goliath appears to be heading for the tower blocks on the outskirts of the city and moving in a clockwise direction. It would not be long before it re-enters the centre of the city. Once that happens, none of the humans still alive would stand any chance of surviving. The familiars that accompanied the monster will see to that.” He stopped then turned to stare at the corpse. “That isn’t why it is too late. I believe that there is more than one Goliath.”
“What? No way, we’d have seen it,” cried Malc. “I mean, come on, they’re not exactly hard to miss.”
Harry shrugged. “Its absence is mysterious, but the evidence fits. With such a large amount of available meat, phase two should not be happening for another few days. My guess is that both creatures are stocking up before they run out. Remember, they are like cows. The Goliaths will never stop eating. The only way to stop them is to take away the grass.”
“Protect the innocent,” murmured the constable. “These tunnels, you mentioned. I take it you mean the abandoned sewer outflow, a few streets from here?”
Malc nodded. “Yeah, we once used it as a place to bed down until some of the local kids decided to start organising their dealing there.”
“Then we had better get started. Harry, don’t you think you had better have that pop gun in your hands? Wait, does it ever run out?”
Harry shrugged. “It hasn’t yet. I do not know how they work. Nobody does, only that it is effective.”
“Have you ever used it against a Goliath?”
Harry paled. “No, Dosser. Nobody has been able to get close enough to try.”
“Come on, we’re wasting time. Harry, take the rear. I’ll lead. You two just keep your eyes peeled. They will come at all angles.”
“No shit,” muttered Dosser. “Like we don’t already know that.”
The old man looked quizzically at Harry. He wasn’t sure how to act. He shrugged and held out his hands. “Dosser, the man is a constable, are you not supposed to do what they say?”
“Huh, until he gets us killed, you mean?”
Malc sighed. He grabbed his friend’s sleeve and pulled him away from Harry. “Come on, man. Let him play the brave police captain. Does it really matter? Now come on.” He glanced at Harry. “Both of you, the copper’s almost out of sight.”
Harry followed the others as they ran through the deserted streets. He could still hear those screams but they had become more distant. Harry hoped that the remaining population had found secure places to hide. Could he be correct about the addition of another Goliath? After all, Harry might know more about these beasts than anybody else on this planet, but he did not know everything about them. Only the Goliaths knew that. Still, it did make sense, although he had accused the people of this world as soft and weak, they were still human, and even the most subdued individual will fight for their right to exist.
Right now, they were only fighting products belonging to the Goliaths. The invaders have not had the time to begin the construction of creatures built from human parts, meaning their numbers should be few. The locals were plenty and, as Dosser and Malc had demonstrated, were more than eager to fight back.
If two Goliaths had arrived here though, that meant twice as many monsters. The fighting humans would not withstand an assault from familiars belonging to two monsters, not even with help from people like Paul. Harry looked to the skies and hoped that everything the two men had told him earlier on was true.
He ran along the middle of the road, seeing signs of the passing of collectors but no bodies. He did see a few human weapons. Everything from Dosser’s shotgun as well as pistols similar to the one carried by Paul. Harry also spotted knives, axes, as well as garden tools. The humans here had done their utmost to avoid being taken but, Harry guessed, the overwhelming numbers of collectors had made short work of any resistance.
Harry stopped dead when he spotted movement from beyond a window to his left. “Hello, is there anybody in there?” He looked straight at Dosser and pointed to the floor, hoping he would understand then ran over to the stone building. The door swung inwards when he pressed upon it. “Hello?” he repeated.
The sound of someone or something moving above him told Harry that he had not imagined a presence within this dwelling. He had to throw caution to the wind. Leaving Dosser out there alone was so irresponsible, considering the man had no weapon. Harry was just hoping that as the collectors had already scoured this area, they were unlikely to come back.
Harry raced up the stairs and proceeded to check each room. It took him seconds the rea
ch the last room. Harry pushed open the white door and scanned the interior, trying not to marvel at the vast amount of material possessions scattered around the large bedroom. He saw teddy bears, books, and dolls, but no sign of any human. That changed when Harry moved further into the room.
A spool of cotton fell from the top of a wooden wardrobe. Harry’s eyes darted up and saw something bright scoot back towards the wall. “It is okay,” he said, keeping his voice level. “I am here to help.”
Harry heard another sound from behind him. He spun around to find himself staring into the face of a young boy who had stuck his head out of the bottom of a sliding cupboard. The boy looked at Harry then his eyes darted up to the top of the cupboard and he released an ear-shattering scream. He swivelled around and gaped at the sight of five irregular lumps of moving flesh clinging to the wall just above the wardrobe. He fired and liquidised two pieces. The other three moved at incredible speed along the top of the wall, heading straight for the cupboard where the boy had been hiding.
He had no other choice but to drag the shrieking boy from out of his hiding place and sling him over his shoulder. The boy’s teeth sank into Harry’s fingers but still, he held him tight. He ran over to the door, knowing he had to get out as quickly as possible. Holding this struggling infant rendered him helpless, as there was no way to fire his weapon.
Not that it mattered. The pieces of flesh didn’t appear to be after him or the boy. “Oh no!” gasped Harry when he saw the open window. He ran along the hallway and raced down the stairs, desperate to reach Dosser before those things landed on his head.
Harry stopped before he reached the door and pulled the boy off his shoulder. He wiped his bleeding fingers against a black coat hung up beside him while watching those things fall from the window. He saw no sign of Dosser. Harry turned the boy to face him and lifted his head. “I am really sorry for what you must have been through, but right now, if you are to continue to live, it is essential that you do everything that I say. Do you understand?”
In response, the boy tried to bite him again before he wriggled out of Harry’s grasp and ran out into the street. “Wait!” Harry ran after him. He saw the boy head straight towards Malc. He breathed a sigh of relief to see both Malc and Paul were stood beside Dosser at a comfortable distance from the house.