Stephan and Damien came over the wall and ran toward the Administration building. Sabrina, Mark and Neal followed them. They took the stairs two at a time until they reached the top. The door was locked. Stephan waved them back then kicked in the door. It slammed against the inner wall, the sound echoing through the building and bringing the howls of more creatures to them.
Damien ran the few steps to the janitor’s closet and banged on the door. “We’re here to rescue you. Let’s go. Now.” A few seconds late, it opened a few inches. He shoved it open and pulled the first cadet out and shoved her toward the back door. The other cadets rushed out behind her.
Sabrina and Mark stood at the bottom of the steps, firing arrows at the creatures who ran across the ground toward them. Neal stood at the top of the stairs, firing at any creatures who came out of the building’s windows. Stephan and Damien herded the cadets down the stairs ahead of them.
Several of them yelled at him to give them weapons. Stephan handed an extra pistol to one and signaled Neal, Sabrina and Mark to hand over their extra pistols.
“We can’t make it over the wall and through the woods.” Stephan pointed to the wall where dozens of monsters appeared over the top and dropped to the ground before skittering toward them. “We’re taking the shortest route back across the green.”
Damien took off ahead of them, firing short bursts at the creatures and clearing a path. Stephan followed him with Sabrina, Neal and Mark flanking the cadets and Neal at their six. The four cadets who were armed moved into flanking positions and fired at the creatures.
“Charlie to Base One, Door one. Over.”
“Base One to Charlie. Understood. Out.”
Stephan heard screams behind him and turned to see one of the cadets being dragged away by a creature. She fought and screamed as it tore at her. One pincer closed on her hand and cut it off. She screamed and grabbed her wrist as blood squirted into the air. The creature stopped and moved over her then bit into her face. Stephan aimed his rifle, fired once at the cadet then at the creature. Both lay still on the ground. He turned and continued firing bursts of bullets at the creatures as he caught up to Damien.
They reached the end of the dorms and ran across the green toward the cafeteria. They had to go around the building to the back. He could already see the creatures on the roof moving toward the edges and preparing to attack them from above.
He broke radio silent. “Sabrina and Mark take out the hostiles on the roof. The rest of you continue clearing a path.”
“Changing,” Damien yelled and dropped a magazine then slammed another one into his rifle. Two of the cadets moved up next to him, firing at the creatures who rushed toward him.
Creatures fell from the edge of the roof as Sabrina and Mark killed them. No matter how may they killed there always seemed to be another one to take its place.
The creatures poured out of the trees, moving closer to them. They fired short bursts at them and continued moving forward. They gained ground until a large group of creatures came from behind the cafeteria.
“Make your shots count and keep moving,” Stephan yelled.
“I’m out,” Sabrina yelled, and grabbed her bow and fired an arrow at a creature who rushed her. The arrow hit it in the chest area and she jumped over it as it reached for her. She turned and pulled her knife and stabbed its head over and over until it lay still. Standing she prepared the bow for another hostile.
“Move to the center, back to back,” Stephan yelled and gathered his team and the cadets in a tight bunch. “Keep moving.”
The creatures had them surrounded and were closing in. For every one they shot and killed two more took its place. He fired a burst of bullets into a monster less than two meters from him, and yelled, “We fight to the end.”
# # #
Suddenly, three fighters came around the corner of the cafeteria and fought their way toward them. Blood and gore and parts of creatures covered their path. They stepped over or around them as they continued firing and moving toward the cadets.
“Watch your fields of fire,” Stephan yelled.
Step by step the gap between the two teams closed. When Stephan and his team reached them, Luke signaled them to go through. Stephan stepped to his side and continued firing while his team and the rescued cadets moved toward the dock. One by one they jumped onto it and ran into the elevator.
Grace and John laid down covering fire while Luke, Sherry and Mark along with Charlie Team fought their way to the dock and into the elevator. Luke and Neal took a knee in the center of the elevator and continued firing as John and Grace entered and John reached up to pull down the overhead door. It was less than a foot from the bottom when one of the creatures reached in and closed its pincers around John’s ankle, stabbing its talons deep into his skin. He yelled and tried to free his leg. The more he struggled the more the talons ripped at his ankle and the more he bled.
He fell to the floor as it tried to drag him from the elevator. Sabrina and Damien grabbed him around the shoulders and held onto him. Neil drew his knife and stabbed at the pincer but he couldn’t penetrate the hard armor-like surface.
Another talon tipped pincer reached through the gap. Grace stomped on it then drew her foot back. “My God, it’s like stomping on a rock,” she yelled and drew her pistol. Dropping to her knees she lowered her head and aimed at the creature’s body. She fired several bullets into it and it scrambled away. She moved the sights to the creature that held onto John, aiming at the joint where it the arm met the creature’s body. She emptied the magazine into it before she blew through it. The creature screeched and withdrew, leaving its pincer still locked on John’s ankle.
“Close the door now,” Sabrina yelled as she and Damien pulled John to the back of the elevator. A trail of blood led from the pool by the door to John’s boot.
Luke threw his weight on the door and forced it closed.
Stephan pulled his shirt off and kneeled to wrap it around John’s ankle but Mark stopped him and reached for the creature’s leg.
Grace grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t touch it. We’ll take him to Medical and remove it there. We need to clean and bandage that wound. We also need to be careful how we handle the creature’s limb and how we dispose of it.” She turned to Stephan. “Go ahead and wrap your shirt around it.”
Stephan had just finished when the elevator stopped. Luke and Mark picked him up and carried him to Medical with Grace hurrying behind them.
Sabrina caught up to them. “My mother is a trauma nurse. She’s taught me a lot about wound care. I can help you.”
“Thank goodness. I need all the help I can get,” Grace said.
They entered Medical and placed John on the examination table. Luke and Mark stood against the wall. John groaned in pain and reached for his leg.
Sabrina grasped his hand. “I know it hurts but don’t try to touch it. Let us deal with it.”
Grace held her rifle out and Luke took it. She removed her body armor and he took that as well. Thanking him, she scrubbed her hands, dried them and pulled on a pair of gloves.
“I’m going to unwrap this and take a look at it. While I do that can one of you make sure the elevator is cleaned, sanitized and secured?”
Mark stepped forward. “I will and I’ll get our guests fed, showered, and assigned a bunk.”
“Thank you, Mark,” Grace said as she slid several clean towels beneath John’s ankle then removed the shirt Stephan had wrapped around it. The talons of the pincer had gone through his boot. She glanced at Sabrina. “Scrub and put on some gloves.”
Sabrina released John’s hand and hurried to the sink.
“I’m going to need something to cut away his boot. Also, antiseptic wash, sterile clothes, antibiotic ointment, and bandages—to start.” Grace looked at Luke. “I may need your help getting this thing off him so please put on some gloves.”
Luke handed his weapons and armor to Neil.
“I’ll put these away then wait outside the
door in case you need me,” Neil said.
“Thank you, Neil,” Grace said. “Could you check on everyone, including security, and report back to me please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and walked away.
Sabrina moved a tray with everything needed next to Grace. Luke stood across the exam table from her.
“Okay, Sabrina can you take John’s blood pressure, pulse, and temperature?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sabrina continued talking to John, who moaned in pain, while she carried out Grace’s request.
Grace gathered an alcohol wipe, an IV and a saline bag. She cleaned John’s arm, then inserted the needle, hung the bag and adjusted the saline drip. Leaning over him she made eye contact. “I need to know if you’re allergic to any medications or pain killers?”
He shook his head. None.”
She patted his shoulder. “Okay, I’m going to give you something to help you relax and for the pain.” Moving to a locked cabinet she removed two vials, calculated the correct dosage and then infused them into the IV. She watched him until he relaxed and his eyelids fluttered closed.
“Okay, let’s get this boot off.” She handed Luke a pair of scissors with rounded ends.
Luke unlaced John’s boot then used the scissors to cut around the pincer until only the pincer was left and they could see where the talons had pierced into his ankle.
Grace used an iodine solution to clean around the wounds on both sides.
“How’s he doing,” she asked Sabrina.
“Blood pressure and heart rate are stable,” Sabrina answered.
“I’m going to remove the pincer now,” Luke said.
Grace grabbed a couple of sterile towels and handed them to him. “Wrap a towel around each side of the pincer. I don’t want you to tear your gloves.”
Luke wrapped them around the pincers and then grasping them he pulled them apart, slowly pulling the talons from John’s leg. Blood gushed out, soaking into the towels beneath his leg. Luke held the pincer up. “What should I do with it?”
“I put a plastic bag on the counter behind you. Lay it on that,” Grace said and Luke turned and dropped it on the bag along with the two towels. “We’re going to let the wounds bleed for a moment then flush them with a saline solution before we apply pressure and stop the bleeding.”
She moved away from the exam table for a moment and returned with several more towels and two bottles of saline wash. She handed one bottle to Luke before she cut the tip off one of the bottles and began irrigating the wound on the inside of his ankle. Luke copied her and cleaned the wound on the outside. At first the wash ran red then gradually it turned pink and then almost clear.
“Okay, I think that’s enough. Let’s put soft pressure on the wounds and see if we can stop the bleeding.” Grace set the bottle down, picked up a sterile towel and held it against the wound. Luke did the same thing. After a couple minutes the wounds still seeped blood but seemed to be slowing down.
“Will you bandage this, Sabrina?” Grace asked.
“Yes, of course, ma’am. Do you want me to apply an antibiotic ointment with a numbing agent?” Sabrina asked.
“Yes, please. There’s a tube on the tray and I think we can remove the IV now as well.” Grace removed the gloves then washed her hands. “He’ll be drowsy for a while but I want to move him back to his bunk. We need to clean and change the bandages every day and I want someone to be with him at all times.”
“I’ll get Mark and we’ll move him.” Luke glanced at the pincer. “What are you going to do with that?”
Grace frowned. “I’m not sure but for now I think I’ll wrap it in several layers of plastic and put it in the walk-in freezer. We might learn something about the creatures if we study that thing.”
“I’ll clean up in here while you deal with that.” Sabrina pointed to the monster’s limb.
Grace wrapped it in several more towels, then slipped it inside the bag, tied it shut and slipped the entire thing in another bag and sealed it. “I’ll be right back,” She lifted it, surprised by how light it felt. She carried it to the walk-in freezer where she set it in the far corner then returned to the exam room.
Luke and Mark had moved John to a stretcher and were carrying him out of Medical when she returned.
“Neil has medical experience so he’s going to monitor him tonight,” Luke said. “Then, Damien will take over at oh four hundred.”
Grace glanced into Medical. Sabrina already had the room in order. “I’m going to do a walk through and make sure everything is locked up tight. Thank you for your help tonight, Sabrina. You did good and you’ve definitely earned some rack time.”
Sabrina smiled and waved. “Night, ma’am.”
Grace notified security she was beginning her nightly check and that she’d only call for help if she needed them. They nodded. She started at the armory and worked her way around the building returning to security. “Everything is secure. I’m heading to bed. Wake me if anything happens.”
“Night, Grace,” Luke said.
Six
May 8th, 2015
Gunnery sergeant Dan Perryman dropped to one knee between the two semi-trucks and signaled to his men. Snake and Sherlock slid into the ditch to his right while Books and Sharp disappeared into the trees lining the left side of the road. Leaning forward, he ducked beneath the bumper and examined the body on the ground.
Blood and bits of gore covered the ground The red haired man lay face up. His arms, legs and most of his torso were missing. Dan noted the open doors on both trucks. The one in front didn’t have blood on it but the one behind it was covered in gore. He figured the driver of the second truck had gotten out to check on the driver of the first truck. He’d walked up to it, opened the door, and gotten the shock of his life. He’d probably ran, trying to make it back to the safety of his cab. He’d made it as far as the door before the Variant caught up to him. From the condition of the body Perryman thought there must have been more than one Variant because they’d torn him to pieces.
“Gunny, the signs on the trucks are Miller Food Supply,” Snake said, his voice calm on the headset.
“Looks like our intel about the food delivery was right,” Books said.
“The school is a klick away,” Sharp said.
“Move out and stay sharp,” Dan said.
They took their positions with Snake on point and Dan five meters behind him. Sherlock paced him on the left while Books paced him on the right. Sharp guarded their six. They moved fast but silently.
“Gate is open. Bits and pieces of bodies on the ground,” Snake reported.
“Any movement?” Dan asked as he moved up next to Snake and scoped the nearest buildings.
“No, but lots of places the Variants can hide,” Snake said.
“Sharp, you see anything?” Dan asked.
“No movement in the windows or on top of the buildings,” Sharp said, looking through the scope on his sniper rifle.
“Variants probably left,” Books said. “Doesn’t look like there’s any food left in the area.”
“I know you can’t relate, Books, but they’re called people,” Sherlock said. “In this case, they’re kids.”
“Abandoned, or not, this place will make a good post,” Books said.
“Stop the chatter,” Dan said. “We’ll follow the wall around. Go over it, find the bunker, get in, secure it then get some chow and rack time,” Dan said. “Snake, you take point.”
They moved out, guarding their steps and staying in the shadows. They’d only gone about a hundred meters when the sound of something scurrying across rocks reached them. It was a little different from the clicking they were used to hearing. This sound was more of a quick tapping, dragging sound like something hard and sharp coming down on rock. They dropped into the deepening shadows, their eyes scanning the area around them.
Dan held still, moving only his eyes as he searched for the Variant through the thick foliage where he’d taken refuge. Several me
ters away he caught a movement on the top of the wall. A breeze flowed over him, carrying the scent of rotting fruit as the Variant moved, reminding him more of an insect than a human. Its skin had turned a shiny black and looked hard like the shell of a bug. Its hands had formed into pincers with sharp talons. When it moved it made the tapping, dragging sound.
His night vision outlined the Variant in a green glow as it scrambled along the wall then jumped to the ground. It scrambled through the trees away from them. He waited a few moments then signaled his men to move out. They followed the wall around until the GPS indicated they were directly behind the cafeteria.
Dan pointed to Books then to his eyes and mimed cupped hands. Books nodded and moved next to the wall. Dan placed his foot in Books hands and lifted himself up until his eyes cleared the top of the wall. He scanned the campus, looking for movement.
A long low building was to his right. The parking garage. Next to it was a shed of some kind. Probably for the groundskeeper. Trees and dying flower beds lay between him and the loading dock at the back of the cafeteria. He grabbed the edge, climbed over and jumped down then moved to the back of the shed.
Snake came behind him, and moved to the other corner of the shed, checking it out. He dropped to a knee beside Dan.
“The shed door is down and locked,” Snake said.
Dan signaled him to move to a large tree twenty meters away. He moved to it, disappearing into the shadows beneath it.
Sherlock dropped from the wall with Sharp and ran toward Dan with Books on their heels. He signaled them to follow him as he moved toward Snake. They covered each other as they moved from tree to tree.
Dan saw movement in a tree just before a Variant dropped from a tree onto Snake. He fought it off while Dan ran toward him and kicked it away then fired a stream of bullets into it. Snake regained his feet and opened fire as more Variants dropped from the trees and scrambled from the deep shadows. In less than thirty seconds, they found themselves being charged from all sides and fighting to clear a path to the dock.
“On me,” Dan yelled and Sharp moved toward him. They turned to face the building while Sherlock, Snake and Books continued firing at the Variants that climbed over the bodies of the dead to get to them.
Extinction Cycle (Kindle Worlds Novella): Resistance Page 7