Then he noticed the display at the top of the visor ticking off a series of numbers: 300, 320, 340. Something was out there. It was out of range of the visor’s night-vision capabilities, but the helmet was tracking it, displaying the distance from his position in yards. It had to be another one of the dragons. Bennett had surmised that several of them might have survived the team’s assault. Kyle was relieved to see it was moving away from him.
But then he realized it was headed up the valley.
Toward the ranger station.
And Carrie.
Heedless of the pain in his legs, Kyle rushed across the ledge and onto the trail leading down.
CHAPTER 97
In the distance, the glow of lights from the ranger station came into view just above the tree line. It looked to still be a mile or more away, but at least it was in sight. Here in the lower elevations, the road leveled into a more gradual descent, and Carrie took advantage of it. She twisted the throttle and felt Bennett’s arms tighten around her in response. They flew down the last stretch of the road, slowing just enough to make the turn as they reached the final bend leading down to the river.
They shot across the bridge without slowing. Disregarding the road that curved away on the other side, Carrie took them straight across the ground in front of the ranger station and killed the engine as they slid to a stop just short of the front porch.
The night became deathly quiet.
Carrie jumped off the snowmobile and hurried up the steps, Bennett behind her. She grabbed the door, but it was locked.
“Hank! Help! Please … someone help us!” she called out as she banged on it.
Behind them, the wooden floorboards creaked.
“Whoa, don’t turn around,” said a strange voice.
Carrie felt something hard shoved in the small of her back—the barrel of a gun. “Hand over your weapons, nice and easy,” he said. Carrie complied, slowly reaching into her pocket and pulling out the Glock, which was quickly snatched from her grasp.
She was confused. Where was Hank? Had he been relieved by another ranger, and if so, why were they doing this? “You don’t understand,” she said. “We need help. Where’s Hank? Didn’t he tell you what was going on?” She tried to get a look at the man out of the corner of her eye but was unable to make out anything.
“Okay, now you, buddy boy,” the man said to Dr. Bennett.
“I … I’m unarmed,” Bennett stammered.
The gun was removed from Carrie’s back, but she knew it was still trained on her as the man frisked the doctor. “All right,” he said. “Step aside.”
He moved to the door, unlocked it, and then motioned for them to step inside. It was too dark for Carrie to make out any details of his face, but she did notice his coat had the US Forest Service emblem on the breast. The door opened with a groan. The light caused her to squint as she was shoved inside.
The man closed the door and locked it behind them. As he walked past Carrie, she caught a whiff of something familiar—gum, cinnamon gum, the same sickly sweet smell of the man who had attacked her.
He wasn’t a ranger.
Her breath caught in her throat as the man turned around. He held a silencer-equipped gun aimed at her midsection. He was muscular, with broad shoulders and burr-cut reddish hair. Smacking the gum, he grinned lasciviously as he looked her up and down.
Carrie shivered.
On the floor in the aisle between the counters, she noticed the body of a man wearing the dun-colored uniform of the US Forest Service. A pool of blood spread out from beneath him.
Hank.
“Oh, dear God,” Bennett gasped as he spotted the body on the floor.
“Where are the others?” the man snapped. He casually backed to the counter and picked up a shotgun which he leveled at them before he tucked the pistol into the front of his pants.
Dr. Bennett began quivering. “They … they—”
“They’re dead,” Carrie interrupted. It was the only thing she could think of that might give them a chance. “Are you happy? Those things, whatever they are, killed them. We’re it, the only ones who made it back.” To help sell it, she let tears well up in her eyes. After all she had been through, it was easy to do. Bennett looked at her, a mix of confusion and fear on his face. She hoped he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. She just prayed that nothing had happened to Kyle and the sheriff. Otherwise it wouldn’t matter.
“Huh,” the man snorted, seemingly unconvinced. “We’ll see about that.” He grabbed a sturdy oak chair behind the desk and shoved it across the floor in front of them. He tossed a pair of handcuffs to Carrie. “Cuff him to the chair,” he said, nodding at Bennett. “With his hands behind his back.”
Bennett started to protest, “But—”
“Do it,” he shouted, which caused Carrie to jump.
“Okay, okay,” she said. She pulled off her gloves and tossed them onto the counter.
Reluctantly, Bennett sat in the chair. Carrie’s hands shook as she snapped the cuffs on his left wrist. She ran the other bracelet around one of the slats on the back of the chair. If something happened, Bennett might be able to break free.
“Unh, unh, unh,” the man grunted, waving the gun back and forth like a schoolteacher shaking her finger at a student. “Run it around at least three of them,” he said. “We wouldn’t want the good doctor to accidentally break one of them during his interrogation.” Bennett looked up at Carrie in desperation. The terror was clearly visible in his eyes. He would crumble at the first hint of violence.
“I’ve got to admit … you surprised me,” the man continued. “I didn’t think you would make it back alive, much less bring back one of our own employees. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what to do with him. I guess I’ll have to get clarification regarding his current employment status.”
“I … I don’t understand,” stammered Bennett. “What are you doing here? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
The man chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”
“But we work for the same company, you and I,” said Bennett.
“Not exactly. Let’s just say I do all my work outside of regular office hours,” the man replied. “You might say I’m sort of like … the cleaning crew,” he said with a wicked smile.
“Cleaning crew?” Bennett asked, bewildered.
As Carrie’s hopes collapsed, so did the restraint she had placed on her anger. “Don’t you get it?” she snapped. “He’s been sent to get rid of us. They’re trying to cover up the link between GenTech and those creatures.”
“But … why?” the doctor asked.
“Because it’s all falling apart on them,” Carrie said. “First, the monsters started killing people. Then Charlie and I uncovered the truth. So they killed Charlie and sent him here to kill me. Then they sent you and the others to catch that thing you brewed up in your lab, but they all wound up getting butchered by it instead. So what do you think will happen if word of that gets out? Huh? Have you thought about that? The bigwigs at GenTech have decided to pull the plug. Your lab is probably going up in flames even as we speak. They intend to make sure there are no witnesses left to tell the story. Including you.”
“Oh, God—” Bennett muttered.
“Now, now, doc,” the man chuckled. “Things aren’t quite as bleak as she would have you believe. If I’m convinced of your honesty and loyalty to the company, once I take care of her, we’ll simply whisk you back to your lab. I’m sure General Colquitt would love to hear what happened to the rest of your team. Why, I bet you could be back to work as soon as tomorrow.”
The man picked up a hunting knife from the counter and held it up, twisting it so the light reflected off its surface.
“Nooo,” Bennett moaned, shaking and jerking the cuffs against the chair.
“Oh, don’t worry, doc,” the man said. “This isn’t for you. It’s for her,” he said, looking at Carrie. His eyes seemed alight with an unnatural fire. She had seen that look before. She knew he intended to d
o more than just interrogate her.
Her mind screamed at her to run, but the cold emptiness in the pit of her stomach seemed to have frozen her entire body. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he took another step. She had to do something while she still had a chance.
She bolted for the door, but he was too quick. Before she could reach it, he grabbed a fistful of hair. She yelped in pain as she was jerked backward and thrown to the floor.
She looked up to find him stepping toward her, a maniacal grin on his face. An image of her lying in the street as Bret walked toward her flashed through her mind. She waited as he took another step. Then she ducked her head and kicked out with her right foot, catching him squarely on his right kneecap.
“You fucking bitch!” he roared as he stumbled and hopped backward.
Then the plate-glass window behind them imploded.
Shards of glass blew into the room. A log skittered across the floor and banged against the counter.
The instant she saw it, Carrie knew what was coming.
CHAPTER 98
Kyle crashed through the undergrowth, limbs and branches cracking against his forearms. Time blurred as he stumbled through the luminous green netherworld. All that mattered was that he get down the mountain as fast as humanly possible in order to help Carrie. When he finally burst from the forest at the trailhead, he had no idea if it had taken him twenty minutes or twenty hours to reach the bottom.
He climbed onto the remaining snowmobile and started it up. Instinctively, he flicked on the headlights and was suddenly blinded by the blazing green-white light inside the visor.
Shit! he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned off the lights and took off for the ranger station in the dark. He drove slowly at first, waiting for his eyes to adjust again. But as soon as he could see, he twisted the throttle until he was flying down the roadway. He glanced over his shoulder repeatedly, each time expecting to see one of the dragons hurtling toward him.
As he continued down the trail without encountering the other snowmobile, his hopes began to rise. Maybe Carrie and the doctor had made it to the ranger station. But why wasn’t Hank on his way back up?
When he came within sight of the ranger station, the first thing he noticed was the cabin door standing wide open.
Luminous green-white light spilled out into the night.
Carrie.
With a sick feeling in his gut, Kyle twisted the throttle more.
CHAPTER 99
It was as if Carrie had fallen through a hole in space where time hung suspended between one moment and the next. She knew what was coming, and there was nothing she could do about it.
A massive black shadow shot through the window, slamming into Bennett. He was knocked across the floor, crashing into the counter, a rippling black mass atop him.
Bennett screamed in terror as he flopped about, desperately straining against the cuffs. The dragon rose above him, towering over its creator. The beast’s long snout opened wide, revealing row upon row of jagged teeth. It spread its wings and shook them as it released a piercing screech.
Bennett ducked his head into his shoulder, too terrified to look. The dragon struck, its mouth snapping shut on Bennett’s shoulder with crushing force. Screams filled the air. The creature slashed at him with its long claws, gutting him. Blood geysered forth, spraying everything.
A loud boom shook the room as a shotgun went off.
The creature shrieked as the upper half of its left wing was blown off. With incredible quickness, it launched itself up into the open beam ceiling. Gripping one of the logs with its talons, it flipped itself about. Its tail flicked out from beneath it as it spun, the glint of steel flashing in the light. The shotgun roared as it fell to the floor along with the suddenly severed arm. The man looked at his missing limb in disbelief as the dragon dropped onto him from above. The two fell to the floor in a writhing, shrieking frenzy.
Carrie scurried across the floor. Glass dug into the palms of her hands. She grabbed the door latch, which became slick with blood. Her hand slipped off. She grabbed at it again and finally managed to jerk it open.
She fled outside, chased by the horrific screams. She stopped on the porch and looked for signs of other dragons bearing down on her.
The snowmobile was parked in front of her. But where to go? And what if there were more dragons?
Then it came to her.
The Hummer.
She took off around the building. She panned the dark skies as she ran, like a terrified rabbit running from a hawk.
The Hummer still sat out back, apparently undisturbed. All four of its giant tires still held air. Relief flooded through her.
She raced to it and yanked on the door handle. It was locked.
Damn it. The keys.
After Kyle had given them back to her, she had put them in the pocket of her jeans that morning. She unzipped the top of the snowsuit and then ripped it halfway off to get to her jeans. Relief flooded through her when she shoved her hand in her right pocket and felt the remote. She jerked it out and punched the unlock button.
Snap!
She jumped into the truck without pausing to pull her snowsuit back up. After she slammed the door behind her, she locked it. The keys slipped in her bloody fingers as she tried to shove them into the ignition. On the third try, she rammed it home. She cranked the ignition switch so hard she was surprised the key didn’t snap off.
The truck roared to life.
She flipped on the lights, threw it into reverse, and tromped on the accelerator. Snow and gravel spewed from under the truck, pelting the back of the cabin. She hit the brakes and then shifted into drive. She was going to make it.
Something heavy crashed down on the hood, crumpling the metal.
Carrie screamed. The long, toothy snout and the narrow, golden eyes of a dragon appeared before her. Were there two of them now? But then she noticed the shattered wing dangling at its side. Broken glass covered the hood of the truck. The cabin’s back window was now gone.
With an angry screech, the dragon bashed its forehead against the windshield, leaving a bloody smear across the glass. Carrie screamed. Snapped from her momentary trance, she stomped on the accelerator. The truck took off with a roar. The dragon sprawled across the hood, its head cracking against the windshield again.
She was heading straight for the cabin. She jerked the wheel to the left. The truck’s floodlights swept the back of the building, sending huge shadows of the creature flying across the wall.
She wasn’t going to clear the corner. She braced herself just as the truck’s right front wheel slammed into the log that served as a parking stop. The front of the truck canted up crazily as it bounced over the log and slammed into the cabin. The airbag deployed with a concussive bang. Mortar and splintered timber flew as the truck rammed through the back wall.
The impact of the airbag stunned her and caused everything to flutter about crazily for a moment. The cabin of the truck was filled with a fine white powder.
Coughing as things slowly coalesced back into focus, all Carrie could see was the dark, pebbly skin of the dragon’s underbelly through the window. It wasn’t moving.
Crack! Carrie shrieked as the dragon’s tail smacked against the windshield. She watched in horror as it rocked its body back and then sent its tail whipping toward the glass again. The steel blade struck the window with a bang, launching a spiderweb of cracks across it.
Without waiting for the next blow, Carrie threw the truck into reverse and floored it. The Hummer’s massive engine roared as it strained to move, but it was wedged between the logs of the cabin’s back wall and the parking stop. The front right tire spun against the log, smoking and stinking of burned rubber. The truck shimmied from side to side as the other tires spun, throwing up plumes of snow and gravel.
The tail slammed into the windshield again. The safety glass cracked and crumbled along a three-foot depression where the tail struck. The thin plastic laminate between the
sheets of glass was the only thing that kept it from falling into Carrie’s lap.
She let off the accelerator and then slipped between the bucket seats, over the center console, and into the backseat. The tail struck again. Safety glass exploded into the cab and pelted her with a spray of sticky pellets. Crackling and crumbling, the front windshield fell onto the dashboard and into the front seats.
The dragon’s head snaked down into the opening. Streamers of blood and saliva dripped from its snout. Its amber eyes narrowed as they focused on her. It emitted a shrill, coughing bark and then slithered into the truck like a crocodile slipping into the water.
Panting and trembling, Carrie shoved herself up and over the backseat into the rear cargo area. The gap between the seats and the roof of the truck was confining to the dragon, which helped to slow it down. Its claws raked across the seats and ripped large gashes in the leather as it struggled to pull and push its thick bulk forward. One of its long forelimbs slipped off the center console, and it dropped down, momentarily disappearing from view.
Carrie groped for the rear door’s latch, her bloody hand smearing the plastic as she searched for the handle. But there wasn’t one.
She was trapped.
She looked about the cargo area, desperately searching for something to break the window with. She grabbed anything and everything, including the leather gun cases, and tossed them up front to get them out of her way and hopefully slow down the creature.
Then she saw it. Mounted in front of the tire well against the backseat was the metal jack. She reached over and began frantically working to unscrew the large wing nut holding the jack to its mount, but it kept slipping through her bloody fingers.
Up front, the dragon’s head rose above the seat. Carrie became aware of a high-pitched, keening sound within the truck only to realize it was her own panicked whimpering.
The dragon pulled and clawed its way between the front seats.
The wing nut finally spun off, and Carrie jerked the jack free. She slammed it against the back glass, but it didn’t break. She slammed it against the glass again, but the thing just bounced off, slipped from her hand, and fell to the floor.
Shadow Dragon Page 37