Shepherd bent to retrieve his weapon. He pulled on the handle, but it was firmly stuck. Another Skull lunged, and he decided running was more important than struggling with the ax.
He sprinted for the river, Rachel and Rory close behind. A Skull careened directly into their path. Shepherd bowled it over with the pack. Rory lashed out with an ax. Rachel slammed a Skull with a shovel. The hollow ringing echoed between the tree trunks. More Skulls cried out in response.
Shepherd, Rachel, and Rory dodged under branches and leapt over knotted roots as they dashed down a slope. Momentum carried Shepherd to the point where if he lost his footing, he would probably roll straight into the river. But he didn’t stop. They ran as the muck and mud grabbed their boots and sucked at their feet. Skulls splashed in after them. The monsters, weighed down by their heavy organic armor, floundered in the shallow water.
The Skulls would be dangerous until they were far enough out to be swept away by the current and drowned. According to Rachel and Rory, the damn things couldn’t swim. He hoped their intel was good, but it was too late now to change tactics.
Let the river take the Skulls, please, Shepherd prayed.
Soon he was swimming, his pack floating in front of him. The midshipmen did likewise. They kicked as hard as they could, and the current started to sweep them away. Suicidal Skulls, attempting to follow, were quickly pulled under by their dense armor plates. They splashed and flailed, but Shepherd did not spare them a moment’s pity.
Shepherd felt something hit his feet and roll under him. “Shit! Keep swimming!” The monsters were just as dangerous dead as they were alive. One cut from their bony claws, one scratch, and the Oni Agent would take them.
“Ah!” Rachel cried out, practically jumping from the water. “They’re under us!”
She powered ahead of the group with the prowess of a practiced swimmer. Shepherd wasn’t too far behind, but Rory was struggling. Soon, Rachel was striding up the other side of the river. Shepherd kicked until he reached the shore. He tossed his bag up the muddy bank and looked back.
“Where the hell did Rory go?” he asked.
The midshipman’s pack was floating nearby, but the young man had disappeared.
-8-
The Skull screamed at Meredith. She rolled out of the way, and it slammed harmlessly against a tree trunk. She dove to snatch up her dropped rifle. Before she could grab it, bullets lanced through the Skull. Its body twitched with each shot. Blood and flesh sprayed from the exit wounds. The rounds had come from the wrong direction to be machine-gun fire from the Joint Base. She pressed the stock of her rifle against her shoulder and aimed it around the darkness.
“Meredith!” Miguel yelled. Glenn came running behind him.
“Careful,” Meredith said. “Renee’s nearby!”
“Here, here! Don’t fire!” Renee’s voice called out.
They swiveled toward the crunching of feet over leaves and twigs. Renee emerged from the gloom. More Skulls cried out around them. The Hunters circled up and fired. Their gun chatter broke out over the unholy chorus of Skull voices. The creatures came at them, clawing and screaming, through the trees. Bullets crashed into the monsters’ plates and tore through their flesh. Their heads snapped back, their bodies crumpled and lifeless.
“Retreat,” Dom said over the comm link.
“Aye, aye,” they replied in unison.
The Hunters worked like a killing machine. Firing and moving slowly through the woods. Machine-gun fire still peppered the shore and the sailboat. The Hunters maintained a healthy distance from the river as they made their way north, back to the building they’d come from. Progress was slow but steady.
“Changing!” Meredith called out. She replaced the mag on her rifle and resumed firing. Somehow they’d been lucky enough to avoid being overwhelmed by a wave of Skulls. But she’d learned long ago relying on luck was a mistake, and she remained vigilant. They soon reached the parking lot near the marina.
“Run!” Dom said. “I’ll cover your retreat!”
As promised, rifle fire chattered from the window of the burned-out office building they’d used as a temporary base. Rounds pierced the night air and impaled the pursuing Skulls. Bony bodies thudded and smacked against the asphalt. Meredith ran with the others, taking the occasional shot at any Skulls that dared to take a passing swipe.
They would be back to safety soon, she told herself. Back where they could better defend themselves. Back by Dom’s side.
A resonating bellow quenched those thoughts. Dom’s voice broke through the comm link, but Meredith didn’t need him to tell her the source of the roar. She spun on her heels and sighted up the humungous monster bursting through the edge of the woods.
It was a Goliath.
The creature ripped a tree from the ground. Soil sprayed from its roots. The Goliath tossed the uprooted tree with ease, and the trunk whistled through the air. Meredith dove, scraping her arms and knees against the asphalt. The others scattered as the trunk flew at them. Branches struck Glenn, and the man went down hard. The tree hit a parked car, and the vehicle skidded sideways, slamming against another. Metal screeched against metal.
This was supposed to have been an easy mission. Take a boat and use it as bait. See if the Joint Force Base was actively monitoring the river. If they were, abandon the boat. Check. Get back to Dom and then traverse south quietly through the night. That second part hadn’t quite worked out. The Goliath was an enormous wrench in that plan.
The Hunters sent a volley of fierce gunfire at the behemoth. Bone chipped off as bullets slammed into it or glanced off its horns and spikes and plates. Although its armor cracked and splintered, the beast didn’t even slow down. Its feet dug into the ground with each galloping step, sending clods of dirt and plants flying.
Soon enough its raucous bellowing attracted other Skulls. The beasts careened toward the gunfire and the hunting cries of their fellow creatures. There would be no easy way out of this mess.
“Keep falling back,” Dom said over the comm link. A loud whoosh sounded overhead, and then an explosion rocked the Goliath. Dom had used one of the group’s last grenade cases for their barrel-mounted launchers. Fire rolled in a billowing cloud from the Goliath. The giant Skull grabbed its chest and let out a moan of agony that shook the treetops. Its plates had been split open, and its ribs were exposed.
Meredith fired volley after volley into the unprotected meat of the Goliath’s chest. The beast stumbled then crashed forward. Momentum carried its body into another couple of trees, and the falling trunks smashed several of the nearby Skulls. One of the trapped creatures managed to free itself. It left behind a shredded leg caught under the tree in the process. It hobbled, tripped, and then crawled, relentless in the pursuit of its prey. She lit it up with a salvo of gunfire before retreating across the parking lot toward Dom’s position.
“Hunters, gather at the west entrance,” Dom said.
Meredith frowned in confusion. Dom had initially ordered them to reconvene in the office building, where they could hold out. This change of plans worried her, but she trusted that from his vantage point he could see how the battle was unfolding. Her job wasn’t to second-guess his orders, but to follow them to the best of her abilities.
The other Hunters were blurs in Meredith’s peripheral vision. Miguel’s rifle flashed. Glenn took a knee and sighted up a Skull running on all fours. Jenna waved a hand to goad them all on, while Renee changed mags and Andris sprinted for cover. All hell had truly broken loose.
Another loud bellow sounded behind them. Meredith first looked at the downed Goliath, but it hadn’t miraculously recovered. Smoke still drifted from its singed skin, and its tusked mouth hung open under its glassy, lifeless eyes. Then she saw a second Goliath punch through the wreckage of vehicles. Its hammering fists knocked the cars aside as if they were toys.
Then another noise caught Meredith’s ears. It was the thump of chopper blades. She spotted several helicopters zooming above the river
and circling near the shore. Their side doors lay open, and door gunners sprayed gunfire into the flanks of the Skull horde. They turned their attention on the new airborne combatants. Some scaled the trees and leapt into the air, their claws flailing desperately as they tried to reach the helicopters. It would have been almost funny if Meredith didn’t know how deadly the creatures were.
“Ignore the choppers,” Dom said. “These are the same people who fired on the boat. Get the hell back here!”
Meredith’s entire body felt like it was on fire. She couldn’t tell if she was overheating in her combat gear or burning up with adrenaline. Either way, she used the excess energy to power through the streets with the others. The sawblade-like churn of machine-gun fire sent rounds spraying into the Skulls. Blood spilled. Bullet holes pocked abandoned vehicles and the sides of buildings.
A spray of gunfire arced overhead, and Meredith ducked. It was far too close for comfort. The individuals in those choppers weren’t too careful about their aim. It made Meredith wonder if these people were actually military or if they were some rogue faction of survivors desperate to secure a place for themselves by quelling any threat, Skull or human, in their territory.
All she knew was that she didn’t want to stick around to find out.
“Watch out!” Andris cried.
Meredith had just enough time to dive and roll. She felt the sting on her elbows as her fatigues tore. But it was a small price to pay for avoiding the chunk of concrete that flew overhead. As she watched the trajectory of the projectile, she realized it hadn’t been intended for her anyway. She heard the victorious roar of a Goliath when the concrete and rebar missile crashed into one of the helicopters. Metal screeched. The bird listed and shook. It continued to tilt and then fell into a slow descent. The chopper slammed sideways into a nearby parking lot, and the spinning blades were shorn off, sending fragments of metal flying. A piece of blade severed the head of one Skull, and a long shard embedded itself in another beast’s chest. A final blast of fire bloomed from the chopper and tossed dozens of Skulls backwards.
But instead of dissuading the Skulls, the monsters surged to the downed chopper. Several broke into the burning cockpit. Meredith felt a fierce urge to help the two people she watched torn from their seats. She knew it was already too late as the Skulls ripped into the flesh of the pilots. There would be nothing for her to save even if she could reach the helicopter.
Three more choppers still hovered nearby, raining down vengeance for their lost squadron members. Flames licked into the sky. Skulls, silhouetted by the conflagration, rent the air with demonic howls. Human screams answered from the downed chopper as ravenous monsters dug through the burning wreckage.
It was, Meredith decided, hell on earth.
***
Dom wasn’t certain why the choppers had flown from the Joint Force Base. He could understand their aggression toward a boat that might be carrying people infected by the Oni Agent toward their base. But taking an unnecessary risk by coming to this side of the Potomac seemed, well, unnecessary. In his paranoia, he wondered if the military units there had somehow identified his little ragtag band as the Hunters that Kinsey had been looking for. He sure as hell hoped not. Maybe there was some other, more prudent reason for their actions, but Dom didn’t bother trying to figure it out. He knew his team might have one shot to escape, and they could no longer delay. He’d seen what was headed in their direction, and he didn’t like it.
“Spencer, you ready to move?” Dom said, gathering up as many of their supplies as possible. He placed a few planned C4 charges around the damaged columns of the building and pocketed the detonator.
Spencer nodded. His jaw was still clenched, and the bandages covering his face had bled through again. Despite this, the man looked stolid as ever. He grabbed the rest of the packs and grunted, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Dom and Spencer dashed down the rubble-strewn stairs. The bursts of gunshots, the crackle of a raging fire, and the roars of the Skulls grew louder as they descended. The hellish soundtrack provided more than enough encouragement for him to get down and get the Hunters moving. He rushed around a landing, shoving a burned-out desk from his path. He heard stumbling footsteps behind him and turned to see Spencer falling forward. Dom dropped his packs and caught the man before he hit the ground.
“Sorry, Captain. The meds—”
“No time. Let’s go!” Dom said.
They made it to the west entrance of the building. Dom didn’t bother opening the large doors to the outside. The glass had already been blown away by whatever bombing had caused the craters and wreckage in the streets. He saw shapes moving at the end of the block. The Hunters.
“Hurry!” Dom called.
They charged, leaping over slabs of broken concrete and the twisted wreckage of vehicles. When the group at last moved into position around the entrance, Dom signaled for them to hunker down. A couple of lone Skulls gave chase, but Dom dispatched them with a few quick shots. Most of the beasts were still focused on the choppers.
“More Skulls headed in from the north,” Dom said. “Packs coming in from the west, too.” He watched one of the helicopters veer away from the other two. “And I bet those birds are looking for us.”
Miguel raised a soot-covered eyebrow. “Why the hell—”
“Doesn’t matter why right now. We need to move, and, unfortunately, the best way to move is south.”
Jenna’s eyes went wide. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s where we just came from.”
“Trust me on this. South might look bad, but what’s headed from the other directions is worse.” He pulled up a map on his smartwatch. The others huddled together to see the tiny screen. “We need to go straight through the city. It’s our best chance to stay hidden from Skulls and those guys in the air. Stick to the shadows and alleys if possible. If it gets too hot, we go up, understood? Find an apartment building, something, and lose these bastards before trying to move out.”
Glenn shook his head. “This sounds like a half-baked plan, Captain.”
“Didn’t have time for a full-baked one, so unless you’ve got a better idea, we move.”
The Hunters looked at each other. Dom privately wished someone did have a better plan and looked at Meredith hopefully. She gave him a noncommittal shrug. The gunfire echoing around the streets, the chopper blades thumping the air, and the Skulls’ relentless screaming didn’t provide an atmosphere conducive to careful deliberation and thinking.
Dom stood, slapped his rifle, and said, “Move out!”
Rather than have another Hunter do it, he took point. He ran, ducking behind a burned-out ambulance, and then jumped into the storefront of what used to be a boutique pet store. There was no time to take things slowly and carefully. When Skulls appeared in front of him, he steamrolled them with rifle fire before they could so much as turn in his direction.
His pack slapped against his back. Pain stitched his side from the intense running and the injuries he’d sustained over the course of their battles with the Oni Agent. He could hear the other Hunters gasping for air. He knew each of the Hunters bore their own burdens, emotional and physical. But even Spencer ran on.
They wound their way through the bombed-out city until they neared the south edge of Alexandria. They found themselves looking over a six-lane highway that led to the other side of Cameron Run, a tributary into the Potomac River. That highway would take them over a bridge and into the next town over. Several Skulls lingered among the abandoned vehicles, but the monsters would pose little threat.
But Dom paused at the end of the bridge and indicated for the group to take cover in the ditch beside the road. The Skulls weren’t the reason he’d stopped. Two helicopters were hovering nearby. They’d joined in the fight against the Skulls with the other birds already in the air. These ones shone spotlights across the city blocks as if they were looking for something.
“Are they after us?” Renee asked.
“May
be,” Dom said.
“How the hell do we cross now?” Meredith asked as a spotlight flooded the bridge with intense light.
A grin spread across Spencer’s ruined, bandaged face. “We planned for something like this.”
-9-
Dom took the detonator from his pocket. As Spencer had said, they’d come up with a contingency plan. But there was no telling if it would actually work. He depressed the small button. One second later, a rumbling blast exploded from the building where they’d been sheltering. Plumes of dust and debris filled the air. Skull cries and the bellows of a few Goliaths joined the cacophony.
One of the choppers took off toward the explosion. But one kept its spotlight gleaming over the bridge. Come on, come on, Dom thought. Go check out the pretty explosion.
The second chopper raced to the crumbling building.
“Now!” Dom sprinted to the bridge. A Skull snarled at him. He bashed its face in with a well-timed strike from his rifle’s stock. He kicked another out of his way and shot it point-blank. Behind them, the thump of chopper blades was growing louder again. One helicopter was already returning to its position on the south side of the city. “Damn it! Move!”
The Hunters were halfway across the bridge. The wandering Skulls provided brief, surmountable roadblocks. More difficult was the maze of charred vehicles. Heavy footsteps echoed behind him as the Hunters navigated the wrecked cars. If the choppers caught them now, there was little chance all of them could avoid its probing spotlight.
Another Skull lunged. Dom elbowed it hard in the chest, sending it reeling. The beast shot back to its feet. Its jaws snapped, and it moved in for the attack. He started to bring his rifle up but realized gunfire now would certainly draw the chopper’s attention. The bird would be on him like a Skull on helpless prey. Instead, he dropped his gun, letting the strap catch on his shoulder. He whipped his knife from his thigh sheath.
The Tide: Deadrise Page 6