This Green Hell - [Alex Hunter 03]

by Greig Beck

  So, there it was. She did know about the Arcadian, he mused. Hammerson had known from the outset that there was a double mission thrust in Captain Senesh’s secondment to him and the HAWCs. He knew the Israelis; and he knew his old friend Meir Shavit too well to think he did anything without an ulterior motive. Damn shame really, the woman was skilled. He’d immediately recognised her potential and had tried to turn her, but her resolve was iron hard and her subterfuge skills world-class. In the end he’d simply quarantined her from the frontline and she had taken it as a personal affront. She’d also been getting way too nosey.

  He smiled grimly at her, leaned forward himself and keyed a few commands into his computer. He turned the screen around so she could see it and pressed a key.

  A night-time CCTV loop commenced. A figure in black, moving low to the ground, climbed up and over an eight-feet concrete wall like a dark and silent spider. The face was black-masked and a single lens jutted out from the head. Somehow the intruder managed to deactivate the electronic countermeasures, then entered an upper silo of Deep Storage, one of the access vents to the most secure military storehouse facilities in the United States. The film switched to the inside of the complex, but only for an instant before it was blacked out by the infiltrator.

  Hammerson sat back and folded his arms again. ‘We’ll get ‘em next time. And no need for rendition here; we’ll grind the information out of them, then throw what’s left into the chemical furnace.’

  He stared into the woman’s face, his eyes like twin lasers, and watched with satisfaction as her jaw tightened aggressively. Both her fists balled and he readied himself. Adira picked up an old tank shell he kept on his desk as a paperweight and threw it with enough force to smash through the plaster wall. He felt the impact under his feet.

  Hammerson’s office door immediately opened and Margaret stood there with a small-calibre handgun by her side. He held up his hand to her and she paused in the doorway, keeping her eyes on the Israeli woman.

  Adira spoke through gritted teeth. ’I could have had a jump jet down there by now — Hunter would be already on his way back. My country hasn’t burnt its bridges in South America like yours has.’

  Hammerson kept his gaze flat. ‘Not your problem, Captain.’ He motioned sharply with his head to the door.

  She glared at him for a few seconds, looking as if she was going to say something else, but then spun and went out, her shoulders hunched in fury, Hebrew curses filling the air around her.

  Hammerson raised his eyebrows at Margaret. She looked over her shoulder, then back to him and nodded — she was gone.

  ‘Thanks, Margie. And have security double-sweep my office again — it’s getting a little crowded in here.’

  * * * *

  Adira stood on the landing of the military office block and sucked in a few deep breaths to calm her pounding blood.

  It is my problem . . . and I am not finished yet, you bastard goyim, she thought.

  She stood like stone, staring off into the distance as she listened to the small pellet inside her ear. Then she glanced up at the building where Hammerson’s office was located; there was an almost imperceptible black dot on the outside of his windowsill.

  And sweep inside your office as much as you like, old man.

  * * * *

  THIRTY-NINE

  A

  imee heard Alex groan as he shifted the massive block further across the doorway. His hands were red with blood — this time, mostly his own. The wounds were already healing, but she knew he felt every one of them.

  Moonlight filtered in through the wider opening. Alex kneeled and felt Sam’s neck; he exhaled and nodded slowly.

  Aimee was relieved. She knew Alex would be devastated if the closest person he had to a friend died.

  ‘Get Sam and Saqueo outside,’ he told her. ‘I won’t be long.’

  Aimee noticed he wouldn’t look at her. She knew exactly what was on his mind — unfinished business. She put her hands on her hips. ‘Uh-uh, no way, buster. If you go down there, I’m going with you.’

  Alex looked at her for a moment then shrugged. ‘Sure. Just help me get Sam outside.’

  ‘Yeah, right,’ she scoffed. ‘And as soon as I step out there, you’ll push the door shut.’

  Alex shook his head slowly. ‘Aimee —’

  She cut him off. ’I’ve seen what that thing can do, Alex. If you get killed, then we’ll all end up as more bones on its killing field.’ She looked briefly at Saqueo, then back into his eyes. ‘And if you shut me out, and you win, when you do step outside . . . then I’ll damn well kill you myself1.’

  Alex looked up at the roof and exhaled. ’Aimee ... Ahh, Jesus.’

  He wiped one hand through his hair and looked down at Sam’s unconscious form. ‘Saqueo...’ He pointed to the doorway, then grabbed his HAWC by the shoulders and pulled the large man through the gap, the boy following him.

  Aimee smiled and nodded her satisfaction...but only for a moment. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she turned to peer at the black hole in the floor. No light, sound or movement came up from its depths, but something was leaking out nonetheless; she could feel it — and it was pure evil. There was something down there, waiting for them in the black depths.

  ‘Alex, please hurry,’ she whispered.

  * * * *

  Alex heard Aimee’s plea and tried to work as quickly as possible. He removed one of his gauntlets, then ripped off Sam’s shirt sleeves; the material was tough to tear, but he needed the padding. When he re-entered the small room, he found her wide-eyed and pale, pressed as close to the doorway as was possible without actually being wedged in the gap. He knew what she felt: there was a darkness here that had nothing to do with lack of light.

  He grasped her arm and pulled her to him. ‘We’ll be okay,’ he said.

  ‘We will now,’ she responded with a smile when she saw the weapon, the colour coming back into her face. ‘I’ll look after you.’

  Alex wrapped one of Sam’s sleeves around her elbow and halfway down her forearm, then slid the gauntlet over the padding. He left her wrist free, and spent a few seconds adjusting the weapon so the sensors would pick up her brachioradial muscle movements for the triggering mechanism.

  He pointed her arm towards the far wall. ‘Try it.’

  Aimee nodded and drew her eyebrows together in concentration. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a small stream of ice spikes hissed from the gun in a wild spray and her body fell back from the recoil. Alex grabbed her before she hit the ground.

  ‘You have to be ready for it. Short bursts, or you’ll either be blown off your feet or dislocate your arm.’

  She nodded and lifted her trembling arm again. This time, she managed a two-second burst that hit the wall in a straight line. She lowered her arm and rubbed her shoulder. ‘Got it, and ouch.’

  Alex kneeled down, drew his longest blade and wrapped Sam’s other sleeve around it. He pulled a small canister from his belt and squirted some acrid liquid on the toughened material, then used the big man’s lighter to ignite it. He stood up and handed the torch to Aimee. ‘Let there be light.’

  She took it and looked towards the black pit. ‘And let there be luck.’ The massive gauntlet covered most of her slim arm, its weight pulling the limb down to her side. Her eyes were wide behind the torch flames. ’Let’s finish this, and go home.’

  ‘There are steps... about eight,’ Alex told her. ’Aimee, if you get the chance for a shot, you take it. Do not wait for me to get out of the way. You shoot, and you shoot to kill. Understand?’ He waited a second, watching her. When she didn’t respond, he peered closer into her face. ‘You promise me that?’

  ‘Yes, yes. Don’t worry about me. Just remember who it was that saved your ass up here.’ She moved forward quickly and kissed him.

  Alex smiled and shook his head. She was brave, but her lips were cold from fear. He drew his short blade and disappeared down into the impenetrable darkness.
r />   * * * *

  FORTY

  A

  imee followed quickly, holding the burning torch and gauntlet before her. Even with the light from the flame, the room remained dark. It seemed to consume light. She felt a spongy mass under her feet, and could see the wall nearest her was stained a dark brown and pierced by hairy roots that looked like tentacles reaching for their prey. She shuddered at an old memory.

  Alex was in the centre of the room, down on one knee, his head turning slowly. She saw that his eyes were half-closed — he was relying on a different type of vision.

  ‘I can’t...’ he said, turning to her and frowning. ‘It’s overwhelming.’

  His face registered shock just before a howl tore through the small room. Aimee staggered at the sudden, overwhelming noise, and then everything went crazy.

  The priest dropped from the roof like a giant spider, his mouth open in that terrible roar, and flung himself onto Alex, smothering him with his black robes. The creature’s sudden descent created a draught that made Aimee’s torch waver and dance; for one heart-stopping moment, she thought it was going out.

  She raised her gauntlet, hesitating as the jumping light made the movements of the priest even more erratic. It was hard for her to tell where Alex was in the jumbled mass. Short bursts only — do not wait for me, he’d said. She gritted her teeth and made a fist.

  At exactly that moment, the tangle unfolded and the priest held Alex up in front of him, one arm round his throat, the other exposing his chest and abdomen to the spray of spikes that was already on its way.

  * * * *

  Alex felt the penetrations run from his waist to shoulder. What was left of his suit was tough, but not designed for protection against that sort of assault. The pain was hot at first, then cold, as his body recognised the frozen water penetrating his flesh and attempted to deal with the trauma.

  Alex ignored the pain; his vital organs were undamaged and he knew his body had the recuperative capability to deal with the injuries. It responded with a severe jolt to his system and a resulting flush of chemicals that burst through him. He jerked backwards and reached behind his head to grab the priest by the robe, then pulled with all his strength. The creature hung on, its claws digging into Alex’s flesh.

  Alex grunted with a last herculean effort and slammed backwards. The thing on his back was enormously powerful, but, like Alex, was encased in a human body and bound by the same skeletal and muscular limitations. He tore it over his shoulder, ripping free the black robes and slamming it into the wall. González stuck to the stones like an enormous dark growth, then grinned before dropping lightly to the floor. He straightened and opened his arms wide.

  Alex heard Aimee gasp. The priest’s body was crisscrossed with weird veins and bulges, and his skin didn’t look right. It sagged in some places and was overly light in others — as if a wrong-sized suit had been pulled too quickly over the frame.

  González’s hands curled into claws and he crouched, ready to spring. Alex saw some of the ropy tendrils slide around under his skin and tighten, as though they were the strings of a giant marionette.

  ‘Now!’Alex yelled.

  He hoped Aimee understood his intent as he raised his arm and fired a stream of projectiles at the thing. From behind him, another stream shot out, hitting González in the neck and head before sliding up towards the roof and dying out.

  Alex directed his spray at the priest’s shoulder, keeping it focused for as long as he could before González spun away . . . long enough to nearly sever the arm. González howled again and leapt towards the steps — and potential escape. He was fast, but he was also damaged, and had underestimated Alex.

  Alex leapt too, colliding with the priest’s naked torso. He heard a satisfying crunch of cartilage as he slammed the body backwards onto the stone floor. When González got to his feet again, his arm was hanging loosely by his side. He snarled.

  ‘Hurts, doesn’t it?’Alex said, and charged again.

  He cannoned into the man, hurling him backwards into the far wall. Before the body even hit, Alex had his arm up, directing another deadly accurate stream at the thing’s leg. The thousands of high-speed spikes cut through the thigh, partially severing it.

  González stuck to the wall again, but this time there was no grin. With a sickening, sticky sound, the limb fell away from his body. There was no spurt of blood; instead, strings of dark mucilaginous tendrils stretched from the severed leg back up to its ragged stump. Alex watched in horror and disgust as the threads tightened and began to reel in the limb.

  Aimee directed another short burst at the man’s torso, the dark holes that appeared in his chest testifying to the hits. The priest grew still and silent. His bulging eyes swivelled to Aimee, one moving more slowly than the other. His mouth opened and he slurred, ’I am sick, child. Please forgive me.’

  ‘He’s trying to buy himself time,’ Alex warned. ’He’s —’

  He didn’t need to finish. Aimee’s slim arm lifted again, wavering slightly from the strain.

  ‘Fuck forgiveness. This is for Francisco, you demon from hell.’

  The spikes shot into the thing’s face, slicing flesh from its skull. Alex fired again too, cutting through the tendrils that were recovering the injured leg, then severing the other leg. González fell to the ground.

  Alex walked over and placed his foot on the priest’s chest. There was no blood, despite the massive trauma. The skull, where it was exposed, was grey instead of white, like that of a skeleton you might see in a museum.

  González reached up with his remaining arm and grabbed Alex’s ankle, but could get no leverage to throw the HAWC off. Alex felt the crushing strength that still remained in the man’s arm and lifted the gauntlet slowly, pointing it at González’s face.

  The priest began to laugh, the words coming thickly from behind his gore-soaked beard. ’Creature of the dirt, we will meet again.’

  Alex smiled back. ‘I doubt that ... your holiness.’

  He fired at the other shoulder, severing the final limb. Still the hand continued to grip his ankle. He finished by cutting through the neck and kicking the misshapen head away to the far wall. The odour of the thing’s open flesh was vile.

  ‘Yuck.’ Aimee covered her mouth and nose.

  Alex shook off the talon around his ankle and kicked the limbs away from the body. He pulled a small canister of liquid fuel from a pouch at his side and doused the torso, then stepped back and nodded to Aimee. She threw the flaming torch onto the carcass and stepped back too.

  Alex waited mere seconds to make sure the corpse was fully alight before grabbing her arm and leading her up and out of the pit.

  * * * *

  Behind them, in the shadows, the priest’s severed head lay in the dirt. One of its eyes swivelled to watch them go.

  * * * *

  FORTY-ONE

  U

  p in the main room, Alex looked back at the pit, now glowing red-hot from the burning remains, and over to the massive block that was partially covering the doorway. ‘Just one more thing,’ he said.

  As he put his hands on the stone, a small face appeared in the gap.

  ‘Encontró a Chaco, señora?’ Saqueo asked, looking from Aimee to Alex and then back again.

  Ah shit, thought Alex. They had protected Saqueo from seeing the small body out in the clearing; he was probably hoping his little brother had been trapped somewhere inside the old church. He exhaled, suddenly feeling his fatigue. And the pain never ends ...

  He turned to Aimee. ‘Take him outside... and talk to him.’

  He could hear Aimee speaking softly to the boy in halting Spanish as she led him from the church, but he shut it from his mind. He placed both hands on the corner of the stone and his foot against the wall, sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth. At first, nothing, but then a minuscule tilt. Alex screamed with the exertion; he felt his muscles protesting, and one of the healing wounds on his chest ripped open.

  The
giant stone balanced on its corner for a second, then, in slow motion, began to topple. Alex leapt back and lifted one arm up to protect his eyes.

  With a thunderous noise, the stone fell across the hole.

  Alex nodded. ‘Just in case.’

  He walked around the slab, noticing only the tiniest of gaps where it rested against the stone floor.

  * * * *