“What does that mean?” Smithy asked as he hugged the front bench of the cabin.
“That I can take us up out of harm’s way for a few minutes, but then we’re going back down whether we like it or not.”
Smithy looked at Angela. “Hey, vicar. You think we can power this thing on prayer?”
“I don’t think you understand how prayer works.”
Now that the helicopter was level, Steph dragged herself over to Mass, grabbed him, and looked at him with a pleading expression. “Damien?”
Mass shook his head. “I’m sorry, he’s gone.”
Steph turned away and Harry pulled her into an embrace as she broke out into a sob.
The dead Damien – now the only Damien left – groaned. “Damn it, I liked that guy.”
The helicopter rose up, Mass felt it in his stomach like getting in a lift.
The pilot turned back to the cabin. “We’re out of reach for now but we only have a few— Hang on, there’s a call coming through.”
Mass frowned. “A call? You mean someone is trying to contact us?”
“I’ll open the line.” The pilot turned a switch and static hissed from the cockpit speakers.
“Auklet One, do you read me?”
The pilot pulled a wired handset up to his mouth. “Loud and clear, friend. Who am I talking to?”
“Do I really need ze introduction? This is Commander Klein. Commander Tosco asked me to assist you in vatever vays I can.”
Mass leant over the pilot’s shoulder. “It’s good to hear from you, Klein, but I think we’re beyond helping. I passed through the giant gate but nothing happened. The demons are coming out in their thousands – and Crimolok is here. In a few minutes we’re going to run out of fuel, and then that’s pretty much it for us.”
“Is that you, Mass? You truly are unkillable. I am afraid to report that things are finished here in Portsmouth too. Those of us left are departing by boat to seek safety elsewhere. It pains me to leave these shores. They have become a home to me. If Crimolok is truly there, kindly flip him ze middle finger, ja?”
Mass chuckled, although there were tears in his eyes after hearing that Portsmouth was truly gone. “I’ll give him more than the middle finger, Klein. I wish I could smack the bastard in the face and send him right back through the gate.”
“Yeah,” said Smithy, “and then send a nuke in after him and blow Hell to pieces!”
Mass patted his friend on the back and laughed – but then he fell silent as something formed in his mind. He stared at Smithy until Smithy became uncomfortable. “Um, what’s wrong, big man? You just shat yourself or something?”
Mass turned back to the pilot holding the radio. “Klein? You still there?”
“Ja!”
“I know you’re really protective about those nukes of yours, but do you think you could spare one?”
“Mass, what are you suggesting? The enemy have claimed this place and you vant to burn it to the ground? I cannot do such a thing in good conscience. Not even—”
“No,” Mass interrupted, “I don’t want to scorch the Earth, I want to scorch Hell. The gate is right here. How accurate can you fire your missiles?”
“With perfect accuracy, providing I have prefect targeting. Without precise coordinates, however, I cannot—”
The pilot blurted out, “Commander! We have a laser targeting module on our helicopter. I can paint an X if you can hit it.”
“I can, ja. I hoped never to send my missiles anywhere, but I will trust in you fine men and do as you ask. I hope it helps.”
“It will,” said Mass. “Thanks, Klein.”
“I’ll await your instructions.”
Angela grunted. “Why didn’t anyone mention earlier that we had nuclear missiles?”
“The guy who has them doesn’t like them being mentioned,” said Addy.
Smithy moved up beside Mass and looked at him. “You know I was joking about the nukes into Hell thing, right?”
“All you do is joke, Smithy, but sometimes you say smart things too. We’re going to send a nuke straight into Hell. If nothing else, it’ll stop the flow of demons coming out. How many would die in a nuclear blast?”
Smithy shrugged. “Like a billion-nillion?”
“At least. So let’s paint an X on that gate.”
The pilots leant forward, pushing down on their control sticks.
“Wait,” said Addy. “Ever heard of killing two birds with one stone?”
Mass looked at her. “Huh?”
“If we can lead Crimolok so he’s in front of the gate, we could hit him with the nuke and send him back to Hell, just like you said.”
“Like we joked,” said Smithy. “We’re taking things very literally here, people. We can’t harm Crimolok. He’ll just shake it off, so why risk it?”
Mass thought about it. “He can’t be harmed by our weapons, but he has been harmed. Rick hurt him. Maybe Crimolok can be hurt by the right kind of weapon. A nuke isn’t the same as a bullet or even a bomb. It’s like the power of the universe unleashed in a tiny package, right?”
Smithy shook his head. “I was due to study astrophysics next year. This year was home economics.”
“We’re kind of in a no-lose situation,” said Addy. “I say we try it.”
Damien crossed his arms and nodded. “Yeah, let’s fuck things up.”
Angela shook her head. “That kind of language will get you sent straight to Hell, young man.”
“Been there, done that.”
Mass took a deep breath. “After we do this, there might not be a Hell left.”
“The engines are starting to struggle,” said one of the pilots. “We need to get down on the ground.”
Mass nodded. “Okay, take us down in front of the gate. Once we’re back within reach, Crimolok will come for us. Make it look like we intend to fly right on through. Soon as he’s close enough, paint a target on the gate and get us out of there.”
The pilot chewed his lip for a moment. “We’re not going to survive a nuclear blast. It’ll fry our circuits even if we don’t get obliterated by the blast.”
Mass sighed. “We’re not doing this for us.”
The pilot nodded; he understood. They all did. None of them were making it through this alive. That wasn’t what this was about.
“Okay,” said the pilot, “descending.”
Everyone held on to the roof straps while the helicopter plummeted. The cabin vibrated, not fully under control after the damage it had taken. The engines made unhealthy noises and several warning lights lit on the dashboard.
Mass felt like puking again, but he held on, knowing there wasn’t time even for that. This was a nearly impossible mission, and he held onto that… nearly. The nearly was hope.
Mass moved to the open doorway and looked out. Crimolok was a hundred metres away, watching them balefully. The giant had been unable to reach them at high altitude, but now that they had descended he came right for them, crushing droves of his own demons beneath his feet. He let out a soul-shattering roar and Mass felt his bladder let go for the second time. The warmth against his leg reminded him he was alive. He could still fight.
“Okay, paint a target on the gate,” he yelled to the pilots.
A second passed. “Target painted. Commander Klein, do you copy?”
Another second. “Ja! Target acquired. Missile launched. May Heaven take you fine men.”
Mass kept his eyes on Crimolok and wondered how long it would take for a nuclear missile to travel twenty miles. Seconds, he imagined. “Hold our position,” he shouted. “Hold it until I say go, and then get us the hell out of here.”
Crimolok’s enraged sprint tore up the ground and uprooted trees. The roads cracked beneath his feet. It was the most terrifying thing Mass had ever seen, and only his hatred allowed him to face down the charging beast. Annihilation was seconds away – a clash between an ancient evil that thrived on spoiled flesh and mankind’s greatest weapon launched by a co
mputer. It was just a question of which would reach the helicopter first.
“Hold!”
Crimolok bounded twenty metres in a single step.
“Hold!”
Twenty metres left, a single second.
“Hold!”
Crimolok swung a massive arm and released an ear-splitting roar.
Mass roared back. “Move! Move! Move!”
The helicopter tipped onto its side and fell. Mass’s feet left the ground and he was swinging from the handholds beside the doorway. Through the opening he saw Crimolok’s huge fist swipe the air. Then Mass saw the ground, a blanket of flattened demon flesh covering the road and fields. The helicopter’s searchlight strobed wildly against the countryside, making the whole thing feel like an acid trip. Everyone inside the cabin screamed, but Mass could do nothing to help them. This was the end, and as much as they were together, they would face it alone.
There was an almighty flash and Mass closed his eyes, but it was like staring into the sun.
The helicopter tumbled and spun.
The pilots yelled at one another, fighting for control. The helicopter’s cockpit was a chaos of sounds, warnings and alarms.
Mass didn’t know which way was up. His legs dangled in the air as he held onto the nylon roof straps with everything he had left. It felt like his arms were going to tear off. Any second, it would all end. They would hit the ground and explode, or the nuclear blast would eat them up.
Mass’s ankles struck the side of the helicopter’s cabin wall and bounced. His body rotated and his legs entered a wind tunnel. He was dangling outside the helicopter. The wrist strap tightened around his arm, the only thing keeping him alive.
Why wasn’t it over yet?
Why weren’t they dead?
Mass’s legs crashed back down. His shoulders were on fire. The light began to fade. He dared to open his eyes. What he saw was chaos. Smithy was unconscious sliding around beneath the seats. Harry was bleeding from his nose. Steph and Angela were clinging on in the back. The pilots fought with their controls. Even Damien seemed terrified.
“Hold on,” one of the pilots shouted. “Hold on!”
There was an almighty crash, followed by the sound of imploding steel.
Mass was upside down, his knees pressed against his face. He heard moaning but couldn’t tell if it was his own. The helicopter’s interior had changed. It was smaller now and angled all wrong.
Mass tried to move, but he was numb. His entire body had stiffened. He felt bruised. With effort, he managed to rock himself back and forth slowly until he tumbled over onto his side. He expected it to hurt, but it didn’t. The only thing he was feeling was a tingling in his limbs.
Smithy was splayed on his back. The pair of benches were twisted and his legs were tangled up inside their metal supports. His eyes fluttered open and he moaned, “I think we crashed.”
“We’re alive,” said Mass. “How are we alive?”
“Perhaps we ain’t. This kind of feels like dying, don’t you think?”
No, they were alive. The helicopter was on the ground. It was wrecked, but somehow, the pilots had got them down in one piece.
More or less.
“Addy?” Mass started dragging himself through the wreckage. “Addy, talk to me?”
“I’m still here,” said Angela. “In case anybody was wondering.”
“I’m alive too,” said Damien. “Well, not exactly alive.”
“Addy? Addy, where are you? Damn it, talk to me.” Mass pulled himself past the twisted benches, noticing the blood that covered Smithy’s legs. He kept on moving towards the cockpit. There, he found Steph, her neck angled in a way that she could never have survived. He hadn’t known the woman well, but it sucked to see her dead. There was no sign of Harry, but both pilots were still sitting up front. One was slumped backwards, a huge shard of glass lodged in his Adam’s apple. The other was alive, but clearly in shock. He was trembling and mumbling to himself, and when he looked at Mass, his eyes were bright red like they’d been held over a flame. Mass feared the man was blind.
Mass panicked. “Addy, where the hell are you?”
“Mass, I’m here. I’m here.”
Mass looked around. “Where?”
“On the grass. I’m hurt, but I think I’m okay.”
Mass’s heart fluttered. Adrenaline coursed through his body, but the relief of hearing Addy alive filled him with joy. He clambered through the wreckage, pulling himself along with numb hands and pushing with heavy legs. The opening in the side of the helicopter was now only half as big as it had been, the sides pinched inwards. There was barely enough space to crawl through, but Mass made it through. He found himself surrounded by a grey landscape devoid of colour. He heard demonic screeching from every direction.
We’re in Hell. We must have fallen through the gate.
No, Hell was worse than this.
As he crawled away from the wreckage, Mass felt soft grass beneath his palms and realised that the grey landscape was merely night giving way to dawn. The starry sky had gone away, replaced by a featureless expanse that would soon welcome a morning sun.
Addy lay in the grass ahead, rolled onto her side. She clutched her hand and gritted her teeth, but when she saw Mass she smiled. “I’m going to get a god complex if I keep surviving this shit,” she said. “I’ve got to be the toughest woman alive.”
Mass smiled back. “No doubt.”
“How are the others?”
“Steph didn’t make it. Neither did one of the pilots.”
Addy nodded to a spot nearby. There was a body lying there, every limb twisted. “Neither did Harry. Is Smithy okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart.” Smithy appeared in the gap inside the helicopter and pulled himself through. His left leg was injured, and it dragged behind him uselessly. He was pale but alert. “I could really use a rest after all this,” he muttered. “Let’s just find a house with a copy of FIFA and sit things out for a while.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Addy. “I get to be Real Madrid though.”
“Glory chaser.”
The three of them sat together on the grass and caught their breath. The demons were nearby, heralded by their screeching and wailing, but they were a little ways away for now.
Damien and Angela emerged from the wreckage next, pulling the blinded pilot along behind them.
“This guy saved your lives,” said Damien. “Hey, buddy, you still with us?”
The pilot nodded, a little more in control of his senses than he had been in the cockpit. “T-The blast blew us out of the sky. It wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been, but we couldn’t keep from crashing. Is Braggs okay? He wouldn’t answer me.”
“I’m sorry,” said Angela. “Your co-pilot didn’t make it, and you appear to be blind.”
“I had to keep my eyes open if there was any chance of setting us down. The blast burned my retinas. T-There’s a chance I might recover.”
Mass nodded. “Good. That’s real good. Why the hell were we not all incinerated though?”
“Because the plan worked,” said Damien. “Take a look!” He pointed around the side of the crashed helicopter, necessitating everyone to shuffle themselves along until they could see past it. In the distance, the gate was on fire. The lens was still intact, but beyond was a fiery hellscape beyond comprehension. Ash and embers swirled through a realm of melting flesh. Hell had been incinerated along with an infinite army of demons. It was beautiful.
“The gate’s still open,” said Smithy.
“And the demons already through it ain’t dead,” said Damien.
Addy dragged herself along and winced in pain, still favouring her hand. “What does that mean?”
Mass stared at the gate, trying to work out if they had won or not. However many demons had been waiting to come through the gate were now ash, but none of those already through were dead. There were still thousands of them.
Something moved inside the gate. The ashes
on the ground rose up, embers spilling everywhere. A black mountain grew out of nothing; then that mountain split apart, revealing massive limbs and a huge torso.
Mass flopped onto his side, too weak to hold himself up any longer. He rolled onto his back and groaned up at the grey sky. “Crimolok is still alive.”
Crimolok was alive, but they had clearly injured him. The giant stumbled on wobbly legs and, as the ashes fell away from his flesh, glistening wounds revealed themselves. Crimolok’s entire body had been burnt.
“We need to hit him again,” said Addy. “Another nuke may do it.”
“You got a radio?” asked Mass, nodding towards the wrecked helicopter. “Because I’m guessing the one in there is broken.”
Smithy shook his head. “Damn.”
The demonic shrieking in the distance was gradually getting closer. The demons were unsure exactly where the helicopter had crash-landed, but it wouldn’t be long before they found it. This time, Mass wasn’t even going to fight. It was pointless now. The last of his hope was gone.
“If only we could close the gate,” said Addy, “Crimolok would be stuck where he is.”
“Even if we could close it,” said Mass, “there are too many demons. You’d have to wade through a thousand just to reach the gate.”
“I’ve got this.” Damien rose to his feet. Unlike the rest of them, he was unhurt and didn’t even appear winded. He was a dead man walking, and that made him more alive than any of them right now.
Smithy tutted. “Yeah, okay, man. I know you’re a badass and all, but even you can’t fight a thousand demons.”
“I don’t need to fight them. I’ll see you guys later. Don’t wreck what’s left of the world, all right?” He looked at Smithy. “Put it in the can, man, remember!”
Damien walked away, marching down the hill they had landed on. Mass couldn’t get to his feet, but he managed to rise onto his elbow and shout, “Damien, what are you doing?”
Damien turned back with a smirk. “I’m going to go fuck shit up. Like I said, I got this. It was always meant to be me.”
Hell on Earth- the Complete Series Box Set Page 169