At the bottom he sat painfully up and realized he was in the centre of a rocky bowl lined at the rim with man sized boulders. It was clearly the beginnings of some kind of quarry but it felt like he had been thrown head first into a gladiatorial arena. Ariel desperately tried to scramble up the far side towards the lodge some twenty feet away but he could gain no solid foothold and slid back down to the waterlogged floor.
He was standing there up to his ankles in dirty water, breathing hard and wondering how he had ended up in this geological frying pan when he heard the snarl.
Looking up, Ariel saw two huge slavering Gravehounds at the rim of the rocky bowl. They bared their yellow teeth. Maggots and bloodworms writhed in their leathery black skin. Ariel could smell the rot on them from where he stood.
Ariel felt the fear then more than he had ever felt it.
The noble meaning of his actions, the legacy he may leave behind, the friends he could save, the moment of glory he could steal with his final breath, all of it faded to nothing.
The simple mechanics of death were what came to him.
Animal jaws were about to clamp down on his skin and flesh would be punctured and torn. He would suffer tremendous blood loss, clinical shock and tissue trauma. His body would fight because that is what it had evolved to do but against such monsters there could be no success. Perhaps they would clamp onto his throat like a lion and asphyxiate him, or his blood pressure would drop until his heart had nothing left to pump around his body. When the heart or lungs gave up the ghost, so too would he be over but Ariel did not want to be aware during that time. He hoped unconsciousness took him quickly.
The question that made him most afraid as he watched the decaying creatures’ edge their way down the side of the basin, was about what would happen to the power he was custodian of when his own life had expired. Would it dissipate up into the cold air like steam or had Argent and the Unseelie already made plans to capture it?
Ariel wished he could think of a way to deny the Court that victory but his mind was present in the horrible sickening fear of the danger making its way carefully down towards him.
Ariel looked up and saw figures appear a between the tall boulders wearing arctic military gear, weapons unslung and hoods pulled down. They were smiling at him, enjoying how much of a rat in a trap he was.
Ariel looked around at his feet for some kind of weapon. In desperation he picked up a rotten branch of blackened wood that lay half-submerged at his feet. It was crooked and brittle but he held it up in front of him with as much threat as he could. Tears were starting to stream down his cheeks as he heard the soldiers at the ridge above him start to laugh and cajole. He even thought he heard some of them placing bets as to what part of him the dogs would tear off first.
The Undead hounds were at the bottom of the basin now and tentatively placing their paws into the cold water. They never took their infected eyes from him for a second. What a strange thing thought Ariel that all the complex moments of a life, all the memories and loves that filled us and made us what we were nothing to these beasts. Our brain could be the most complex thing in the entire universe but to the hungry monster facing him, Ariel was absolutely nothing more than food.
Ariel raised his pathetic branch and tried to steady his shaking hands. He was determined that he would at least put up some kind of fight. He needed to go down swinging even if all he felt was terrified.
The first Gravehound sat back a little on his haunches then sprang at him bearing its filthy plague-ridden jaws.
Then everything happened very fast.
There was a whistle of air and the leaping Gravehound’s leathery head exploded in mid-air like a watermelon. Even as the decapitated body fell with a splash into the cold water, the other two beasts were already pouncing at Ariel. With a terrified shout Ariel swung the rotten branch out at one of the beasts but it never connected.
Two more streaks of whizzing air and the remaining dogs whimpered then fell bubbling and stewing into the icy water.
Ariel spun around with no idea what was happening. He caught the faces of the Bleak Team and noticed that their mocking smiles had faded and were now replaced by confusion and fear.
Ariel saw one of them have presence of mind enough to raise his carbine and point it down at him. Ariel knew there was no cover at all and nowhere to run. He took a deep breath.
Then it seemed as if the earth itself rose up behind the soldier and closed its arms around him. The Bleak team operative tried to scream but nothing more than a muffled grunt came out and a silver spike shot out through his sternum. It then seemed to Ariel that several more white and grey rock elementals rose up from the ground itself and enveloped themselves around the terrified members of the Chromium Project’s elite team.
No screams or cries for help, just the flash of metal and they were dragged into the ground. Ariel spun around and saw another strange creature standing behind him on the lip of the basin. It was a bulky humanoid covered in dappled white and it was holding an elaborate compound bow in its hand. As Ariel watched the being, it quickly knocked a vicious looking arrow from a quiver on its back and drew it up.
Ariel raised his hands and voiced some wordless plea begging not to be shot, but a moment later he felt the arrow as it whistled past him. Spinning around, Ariel saw a Bleak team soldier spasming and twitching against a boulder with the shaft of the arrow protruding from his cheekbone. He fell face forward and the arrowhead crunched out the back of his skull and then he was still.
Ariel then watched as the elementals gathered and stood like pillars at the lip of the rocky basin. For a brief absurd moment he thought he might have unconsciously used the Feral power to conjure some protective familiars from the arctic soil itself.
Then the one with the wicked looking bow pulled back a hood and drew off a white balaclava. Instead of an elemental there now stood above him a man with a lean and focused face who peered down at Ariel with animal intensity.
The other figures removed their own camouflage and as his enhanced memory kicked in Ariel suddenly realized that he knew these men. It was the field operatives that had trained him in survival skills before he left for the Proteus. The ones called Empire One.
The leader held up a small black receiver with a light that was rapidly flashing red. Without thinking, Ariel slowly and foolishly held up his own wrist, showing the man the flashing beacon beneath his skin.
The slightest smile showed in the man’s otherwise cold blue eyes. He nodded at Ariel then moved a finger up towards his lips and mouthed sshhhhhh.
At a gesture one of the other soldiers threw a rope ladder down to Ariel, who wasted no time in scrambling up out of the water and away from the disgusting dissolving corpses of the Gravehounds.
Once he was topside, the leader gave a series of hand signals and the team moved silently into another formation, encircling him and drawing him back towards the hunting lodge all the while keeping guns pointing out towards the tundra.
Ariel was immediately amazed at how the team operated symbiotically as a single unit, seeming to communicate as if by telepathy. Within thirty seconds they had silently manoeuvred back to the lodge and ushered him through the door, closing it behind them and propping a heavy log against it.
The team did not speak or stop. They immediately moved to defensive positions within the lodge, taking up sniper rifles, jamming metal plates up against the windows, checking motion detectors and assuming positions of hard cover.
Ariel suddenly realized how incredible it felt to be out of the cold. A blazing fire burned in the hearth and the floor was strewn with thick fur rugs. Ariel felt his strength go and he collapsed down onto the floor. Before his face made contact he was caught in the tree-trunk arm of a huge blond soldier with a braided goatee, who picked him up as he were a child and set him down on the sofa. In a Nordic accent the man spoke.
“Take a moment little man. You’ve had a very busy day.”
The leader strode over and clapped the
big blond soldier on the shoulder.
“Thank you Brock. Now go take up position, they’re coming.”
Ariel stared up at the man who now stood before him. Everything about him looked functional and capable. If he felt any fear he did not show it. He looked like the kind of man who would stare death in the face with nothing but that cold and strangely British pragmatism. The kind of man who instantly made you feel safe no matter how big the danger. The kind of man Ariel had always wished he could be. The man crouched down in front of him then pulled off a thick glove then extended his hand.
“Dr Speedman? My name is Usher. I think we met briefly once before. First things first I’d like to thank you for inventing those arrows. Good kit.”
Ariel put his shaky freezing hand into the warm strength of Usher’s. He felt the emotion rise and relief at being alive flood his body.
“I didn’t think anybody would come.”
Usher shot him a grin and patted him on the shoulder before standing up.
“We don’t leave people behind Ariel. Brave thing you did going on board that ship. Lots of men with more training than you would not have had the bottle to go on there without backup. Personally I think it was an insane act, but brave all the same.”
Ariel shook his head.
“I wasn’t brave enough. I couldn’t stop them. Argent has the Bjorn and the seeds. He’s going to open a portal that can let god knows how many horrible things through. The Bjorn, the bear-god is not our enemy. All it wants to do is go back under the ice and sleep. But if the Unseelie can grow those world trees I don’t think we will be able to stop the tide of things that will crawl through.”
Usher peered at him, his blue eyes scanning Ariel and seeming to make hundreds of micro calculations and threat assessments. After a few moments he spoke.
“Agreed. We deal with Argent and the Proteus. I hate to do this but we’re going to have to ask you to come back to that ship with us. You’re the only one that knows the layout and has had contact with this bear-god. We might need your grey matter before the end. Ours isn’t quite as sharp.”
Ariel swallowed. The idea of going back aboard that ship after all he had seen and done to escape it filled him with dread. At the same time he saw clearly the stoicism and everyday courage of these soldiers and how much they had risked for duty and honour in coming to rescue him.
“I’ll help in any way I can Mr Usher.”
A young looking man with the face of a football hooligan called over in his rolling east London accent.
“Major Usher, mate.”
Usher was busy checking his weapon as he glanced across at the tough looking younger soldier.
“Eyes front Charlie. Need the heads up on those monsters when they come. Just Usher is fine Ariel. Unless you want me to call you doctor?”
Ariel shook his head.
“Alright then. You look like you need some medical attention and we’ll get it to you as soon as we can, but right now this fight isn’t over yet.”
Ariel stood shakily and drew a fur rug around himself. In what sounded to his ears like a very small and weak voice he spoke.
“These things, these berserkers are different. I don’t know what stops them yet, if anything at all. But they don’t go down easy. I’m not much of a shot but if there’s a spare gun I’ll do whatever I can.”
A swarthy looking soldier with dark eyes and a cigarette in the corner of his mouth spoke to Ariel with a wry grin on his lips.
“We’ve had a few run-ins with these boys recently Ariel. They don’t like bullets but it doesn’t seem to stop them for long. I was considering lots of bullets, what’s your scientific opinion on the efficacy of that? I’m Isaac, nice to meet you. Good work on that ship by the way.”
Ariel realized that these men were relying on his knowledge as much as he needed their strength. Slowly he began to remember that he was also a specialist. He cleared his rasping throat and stood a little taller.
“As far as I’ve seen, their healing is off the scale, but the central nervous system seems to take longer than the rest of them to recuperate. Headshots will slow them down but I would recommend dismemberment. From anecdotal evidence the complete removal or destruction of the spine can have fatal effect.”
Usher regarded Ariel and nodded.
“I’d go along with that. The one I gave the good news to was pretty much dead once I dealt with the head and the backbone.”
The thuggish looking soldier Usher had called Charlie cracked his neck and rolled his shoulder out. He peered closer through the scope on his sniper rifle.
“Twelve o’clock boys. Three X-rays headed this way. They’re about nine feet fucking tall so I’m guessing it’s our boys. Wait, no, make that four X-rays.”
Usher moved over to the barricaded window.
“Four? All Feral?”
Charlie shook his head.
“You won’t believe this boss. It’s only fucking Kruger.”
Ariel watched as a collective vibration of emotion rippled through every soldier in front of him. Their lips were tight and faces grim.
Ariel did not know who this Kruger was for sure, but he guessed it to be the strange moustachioed man who had shot the Bjorn. Whoever he was, it was obvious that Empire One had a score to settle with him.
38
Usher watched the berserkers of Fury One advance across the snowy tundra with unnatural grace and power. Next to them was the lanky loping gait of Kruger.
Usher felt his blood start to boil but he checked himself and nodded.
They had chosen this place as a good defensive position. There were rock walls to the rear and one side, it was difficult terrain to ascend at speed, and was an excellent vantage point. They had the high ground and observation on the enemy. After what felt like an age of being on a back foot, for once they had not been caught off guard. They had intentionally taken out the Bleak Team without a single firearm being discharged. As far as Kruger and those berserkers were concerned the only enemy they faced was a terrified and exhausted scientist with no weapons. Exactly the kind of wounded straggler Kruger had loved to hunt all his life.
Usher gritted his teeth.
“Alright boys, remember how much our girl Christi hated bullies? What we have out there on that ice are some pretty fucking terrible bullies. I say we show them what Christi liked to do with such people. Agreed Ariel?”
Usher looked over at the small shivering scientist wrapped in a fur blanket. He had to admire the hardiness of the little man who had survived against all the odds. If Usher was honest though he thought the scientist did not look well at all. Not hypothermia but some manner of fever had definitely taken him. As long as they could keep him alive and get out of this place in one piece he would get him some treatment soon enough. Usher just hoped it was not Ebola or some other contagion he had picked up in the labs aboard the Proteus. The sweating scientist raised a shaky thumb towards Usher.
“Agreed.”
Usher took position behind Charlie and Isaac. Both of them had state of the art sniper rifles aiming out from between the thick metal plates that had been propped against the windows. Stromberg and Brock were keeping watch at the windows on the other side of the lodge.
“This might end up close quarters but let’s take as much out of them as we can and hope it doesn’t come to that.”
He watched Isaac and Charlie relax into their firing positions.
Usher felt tense as always before a contact but a calm professionalism had settled over them all that they had not felt in a long time. The constant struggle had been starting to get to them all, Usher had seen it building over the past few months. The deaths of team mates and friends and the constant stress of the unknown had been shredding their nerves. The drink or the drugs or the mental breakdown had been beckoning to them all and they had all started to wave back.
Now that was all gone. Quite simply they had a job to do that no one else was either properly trained or willing to do.
It no longer mattered what fresh horrors the supernatural realm was sending through to meet them, they would deal with them all, one determined and logical step at a time.
Starting with these ones.
“When you have the shot boys, don’t hesitate. Fire at will. Deal with the Feral first, Kruger we can take in our own time.”
Usher looked through his own scope, ready to give advice and co-ordinates where needed. He heard the first loud crack and watched through his scope as it struck one of the berserkers centre mass. The huge ogre fell to his knees as the pink mist rose around him and a trail of innards streaked the snow for twenty feet behind. Almost simultaneously another round was loosed and struck a second berserker on the left side of his head. Half the skull and one eye was blown clean away and the monster crumpled and fell. The final berserker leapt with a power Usher could scarcely imagine, clearing thirty feet in a single bound and taking cover behind a huge boulder at the foot of the hill. Kruger’s reactions were as deceptively fast as they had always been and he skulked to cover behind a series of granite boulders.
Usher nodded in approval. “Excellent work. We’ll call that a warning shot shall we? Strommy, how we looking your side?”
The big Australian gave thumbs up. “Clear this side boss.”
Usher resumed his view through the scope and watched as the berserker who had been hit centre mass was twitching. Then it slowly got to its feet as the long trailing ropes of its intestines were sucked back into the torso. Ribs folded around like a closing gate and then the skin closed over the wound leaving only a livid scar. It picked up its rifle and looked up at the lodge.
Usher scanned over to the berserker who had taken the headshot. There was activity in the flesh and one leg was spasming but there was no sign of it surfacing yet.
“It seems we were right about the central nervous system giving us time. Let’s not give them a chance to regroup.”
Isaac nodded and took another shot. The prone berserker was hit once again in the skull, sending blood and bone streaking across the snow. What was left on its shoulders was unrecognisable as a face. Some horrible instinct caused it to stand, staggering and blind. It thrashed about like a malfunctioning android, until Charlie took a final shot that hit it right in the centre of its thoracic vertebrae, sending parts of the spinal column flying out through its chest. Finally it fell and this time did not get up. Its body then seemed to hiss and start to dissolve into the melting snow.
The Last Line Series One Page 30