The Tide: Deadrise

by Melchiorri, Anthony J

  She swiveled on another man taking potshots from near the kitchen. The next time he popped up, she fired a bullet through his forehead. Once he had flopped to the hardwood floor, she dashed to the kitchen.

  Another three raiders were bunkered beyond an overturned metal shelving unit. Rounds whizzed past Meredith. She dove for cover behind a sink full of dishes. Ceramic cups and plates exploded in shards as the men fired. She hid, watching their reflections on the massive stainless steel oven. Andris peeked around the entrance to the kitchen and traded a volley with them. With their attention on him, Meredith pivoted out and sent a burst of gunfire in their direction. Two of the men went down. The third trained his gun on her, but he was quickly dropped by Andris.

  “Where are they?” Andris said, prowling through the room with his rifle ready. “Kara? Sadie? Navid?”

  There were no replies. Dread filled Meredith. Had Rick been playing them the entire time? She rushed to the walk-in cooler. She’d guessed this was where they’d secure their hostages. A perfect spot. Easily secured, only one exit. Gulping, she wrapped her fingers around the handle and yanked it open.

  ***

  Dom fired at a man hiding behind the bulky table where a scale model of Washington’s mansion was displayed. The glass case fell away in an avalanche of broken shards, and bullets tore through the miniature building. The man behind it groaned. Dom sent another salvo through the shredded model, and the groans abruptly ceased. The raider’s body thudded against the marble floor, lifeless, as Dom twisted to aim at the next asshole shooting from a support column.

  Dom was forced to duck behind the security counter he’d been using as cover as a shot whizzed past his head. He heard the rattle of the man’s homemade Skull armor as he charged. Miguel caught the man mid-run with a volley that chewed into his side. Apparently the Skulls’ bony armor was less effective when idiots decided to play dress-up in it.

  Dom waved Renee and Miguel deeper into the building, where the sounds of gunfire still raged. Spent cases pinged and rolled across the floor. The Hunters churned onward, trading shots and blowing holes through the walls, paintings, and displays full of historical artifacts. Dom felt a seed of regret for the treasures destroyed in the firefight, but that was nothing compared to his feverish desire to ensure Kara, Sadie, and Navid walked out of this estate alive. Rage burned through him as he searched for Rick, wondering what the hell that man had run away so fast for, what he might have planned now.

  They continued on until they reached the gift shop. Souvenir magnets, postcards, and T-shirts littered the floor, already torn apart by gunfire. Glenn, Jenna, and Spencer had several men cornered behind the checkout counter. When Dom, Miguel, and Renee joined in, the remaining marauders cowered.

  “Drop your weapons,” Dom said in a booming voice.

  Two of the men looked ready to surrender, but a third lifted his rifle, the muzzle pointing toward Spencer and his finger sliding toward his trigger.

  Dom fired. Seconds later, the raiders were nothing more than a mess of tangled, bleeding bodies.

  There could be no mercy. Dom had made that mistake just once, early in his career, when he’d spared a small group of insurgents. The fanatics had turned on them the moment they had the chance, and he’d lost one of his own men.

  Dom called out his daughters’ names over and over again. No answers. “Anyone see them or Rick?” he bellowed through the comm link.

  “Negative,” came the despairing replies.

  “Dom,” Meredith shouted back. “Kitchen. Now.”

  His pulse raced, and he dashed through the rest of the gift shop, knocking over any shelves and stands in his way. He leapt over a table, broken in half, that blocked the passage to the restaurant and skidded to a stop at the kitchen’s entrance. Crashing over the shattered dishes and strewn silverware, he ran to the open cooler where Meredith stood.

  -20-

  Dom lifted his rifle and pressed it to his shoulder. Meredith and Andris stood in the walk-in cooler’s door beside him with their rifles aimed inside.

  “Don’t you fucking dare,” Dom said.

  Rick was leaning against the back wall of the cooler. Blood trickled out of a wound under his knee and another in his left hand. His right hand trembled, holding one of the Skull claws still attached to his macabre necklace. The tip was pressed against Kara’s throat as Rick held her close to his chest. “Don’t fucking move.”

  Behind him, Navid and Sadie, tape over their mouths, sat in the corner with their hands tied behind their backs. Maggie was hog-tied and draped over Sadie’s legs.

  “You kill her and you aren’t making it out alive,” Dom said through gritted teeth. It took every ounce of his self-restraint to remain calm.

  “Lower your weapons,” Rick said, his lips shaking. Dried blood was plastered around the side of his face. “I said lower your goddamn weapons!”

  Dom complied even though his instincts were screaming at him to end the bastard. Meredith and Andris followed their captain’s lead.

  “What do you want, Rick?” Dom said, trying a different tack. One he wasn’t used to. One he didn’t like. But his daughter’s life was at stake. “Just tell me, and you can leave.”

  “I want the guns. Just like before.”

  “Your men are dead, Rick. Gone. Every single one of them. You need to let my daughter go, or you’re next.”

  A crazed glint shone in Rick’s eyes. “Oh, no. Maybe you killed everyone here. I’ll give you that.” He laughed. “But that’s not all of us. Not even close. Where do you think we were going to take those weapons? Where do you think we were taking this food?” His eyes narrowed, and the Skull claw shook slightly. “We’re just a scouting party, really.”

  “I don’t give a fuck who you are,” Dom said. “Just let Kara go, and you can leave. Go rejoin the rest of the assholes, for all I care.”

  “Weapons. Ammo. Oh, and give me the boat.”

  “What boat?”

  “The Zodiac your daughters and their friends brought. I want it.”

  A crackle came over the comm link. “Heard what he said,” Miguel said. “I’ll check it out.”

  Dom didn’t acknowledge the message. Instead he kept his attention on Rick. “Fine, Rick. You win. Tell us how this is going to go down.”

  Rick grinned. His single gold tooth gleamed. “Load up the boat. And don’t think you can pull anything. She’ll be with me the whole time, got it?”

  Dom nodded slowly.

  “Drop all your weapons and toss ‘em in that pack you’ve got.”

  Dom hesitated until Rick brought the claw up to the bottom of Kara’s chin. She blanched, but her furrowed brow and steely eyes betrayed the pent-up anger boiling in her. Dom put his rifle into the pack along with Andris and Meredith’s. He started to hand the pack to Rick, but the raider waved him off.

  “Come on,” he said. “Your knives, too. Pistols. All of it!”

  The clang of the knives and guns falling against each other marked each weapon he was giving up. He felt naked without them. But he knew his team was more than just their weapons. Rick couldn’t truly disarm a Hunter.

  Once Rick was satisfied, he took a step. He almost tumbled as he put weight on his injured leg but righted himself by leaning on Kara. “Come on, girl. Let’s go for a nice, romantic boat ride. All of you, back up and walk in front of me. Stay where I can see you.”

  Dom shared a meaningful look with Kara. He wanted her to know she would be okay. He wanted her to know he wasn’t letting this man go unpunished.

  “Forward!” Rick yelled.

  The Hunters marched from the restaurant. Rick commanded the other Hunters they met in the gift shop to follow Dom’s lead. They too loaded their weapons into the packs. Renee and Glenn lugged the extra duffle bags they’d brought full of weaponry.

  “Rick,” Dom said, in as calm a voice as he could manage, “we don’t know where the Zodiac is, so you’re going to have to tell us where to go.”

  “At the wharf, y
ou fucking moron,” Rick said. “Follow that path.”

  The Hunters continued marching, their hands over their heads, along the dirt pathway and through the woods. Dom heard the slight scrape of Rick’s boot as he limped. It wouldn’t be hard to bring the man down. But with his daughter as a hostage, Dom didn’t want to take any risks.

  The group moved wordlessly, but Rick grunted with each step. Dom hoped blood loss would finish the job they’d started. Skull howls drifted over the property. These sounded closer than before. Undoubtedly the monsters had heard the gun battle. It wouldn’t be long before creatures swarmed over this place, and the Hunters would need their weapons back.

  They eventually exited the wooded path and found themselves at the end of the wharf. Rising and falling with the passing waves, the Zodiac was tied to one of the wharf’s bollards.

  “You two with the bags,” Rick said. “Go throw them in the Zodiac and then come straight back.”

  Glenn and Renee lugged the bags over the wharf and threw them into the Zodiac. When they returned, Rick made them relieve the other Hunters of their packs and bring each to the boat. They made quick work of loading the craft.

  “Line up along the shore where I can see y’all,” Rick said. He eyed Renee. “Sweetheart, you wanna come with me? I got room on this boat for one more.”

  Dom could feel the heat of anger rise to his cheeks. “Come on, Rick. Let’s do this fast.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Rick said. He started backing down the wharf. Kara’s hands were wrapped tightly around his wrist, her knuckles white and her eyes wide.

  Dom glared at the limping raider. His eyes locked on Rick’s and never wavered. “You’re at the boat now. We don’t have any more guns. Let my daughter go.”

  Rick let out a long, menacing laugh. “I’m not that stupid, but I reckon you are. I’m taking her with me.”

  A red-hot fire tore through Dom. “You’re not taking her anywhere!” He stepped toward the wharf.

  “Ah-ah-ah!” Rick said, waving one hand and rubbing the Skull claw against Kara’s throat with the other. She winced. “You take another step, she’s gone. I’ll let her off two klicks down river.” He shrugged. “Maybe she’ll be alive, maybe not. Either way, it’ll be your job to find her.” Rick dragged Kara into the boat with him. It rocked under their weight, and he appeared unsteady.

  And then something behind Rick exploded out of the water and wrapped a hand around his claw-bearing arm. It was Miguel. The Hunter had served with the Marines and excelled in his Combatant Divers Course—a fact Dom couldn’t be more grateful for now. Kara took advantage of the surprise attack and ducked from Rick’s grip. With her hands still tied behind her back, she couldn’t do much besides kick him in the groin. Dom heard the impact all the way from the shore. Rick’s hand lashed out in a desperate attempt to reach her, but the rocking boat left them both off balance. Kara’s ankle caught one of the inflated tubes along the gunwale, and she spilled into the water, disappearing under the muddy waves.

  Dom sprinted for the river, his focus on the spot where Kara had gone under. But out of his peripheral vision, he saw Miguel twist his prosthetic and impale Rick’s forearm with his hidden blade.

  Miguel spoke, leaving the comm link open for all to hear. “Told you we don’t negotiate with terrorists, asshole.”

  Dom dove into the water. Bubbles streamed past him as he kicked and pulled himself through the current. He reached into the depths, combing through the silt and mess of tangled underwater plants. Something kicked his shoulder, and he spun around. He surged up from the bottom of the river and gasped for breath at the surface. Bobbing in front of him was Kara. She was treading water, her head barely above the surface. Dom grabbed her with one arm and kicked back to shore before the current could take them too far downriver. He dragged them onto the shore and, as soon as they were both standing, wrapped her in a hug.

  “God, I’m so sorry, Kara. So sorry.”

  She said something, but it was muffled by the duct tape over her mouth. He peeled it off as Meredith ran over.

  “Hi, Kara,” she said, giving the girl one of her rare smiles. “Dom, Skulls are inbound.”

  Dom sawed at the bonds on Kara’s wrists. “Spencer, stay here to help watch the Zodiac. Meredith, take everyone else to get Sadie, Navid, and Maggie.”

  She gave him a swift salute and then sprinted to the others to relay the command. They retrieved their weapons from the loaded Zodiac before plunging into the woods. Spencer jogged to Dom with an extra rifle.

  “Are you okay?” Dom asked, massaging Kara’s hands to get the circulation going again.

  “No. No, I am not,” Kara said, shaking him off. Her hands clenched into shaking fists. Water dripped from her auburn hair and streamed over her face. He guessed there was at least a tear or two mixed with the river water. Once again, he wrapped her into a hug. Her skinny arms reached around him as she buried her face into his shoulder.

  Over her shoulder, he saw Miguel marching toward them. He was still wearing the underwater rebreather from the Zodiac’s emergency pack around his neck. He prodded Rick away from the boat and shoved him on the bank. His face slammed into the dirt, and he coughed on a mouthful of dirt. Miguel placed a heavy boot over the man’s chest and kept the blade from his prosthetic pointed at Rick. The wounds on the raider’s legs and arms looked bad. He wouldn’t put up much of a fight.

  Kara pivoted in Dom’s arms, and her eyes fell on Rick. “You evil, rotten son of a bitch,” she said and then flew at her attacker in a rage, delivering blows with her boots and fists until the man was curled up and spitting blood. Dom wrapped his arms around Kara again, this time to hold her back.

  “Wait,” Dom said. “Trust me, I know he deserves it, but before we kill him, I need some answers.”

  Kara’s tensed muscles didn’t relax, but she stood still in Dom’s grip.

  Spencer gave Dom the extra rifle he’d been holding. “Why are we letting this guy live another minute? I’m with the girl.”

  Another bevy of Skull howls sounded, louder now. Miguel looked out into the woods, and then his gaze flicked back over Rick. He ground the heel of his boot on the raider’s chest, making the man writhe in pain.

  “I get it, Chief,” Miguel said, his eyes boring into Rick’s. “I want to know where the rest of this asshole’s friends are.”

  “Exactly,” Dom said. His main objective was still to get his crew and family safely back to the Huntress. But he knew eventually he’d have to face people like Rick and his gang. Understanding their future foes now would be crucial. “You heard those Skulls. Know what it feels like to be eaten alive?”

  Rick glowered, trying to escape from under Miguel’s boot. “I ain’t telling you nothing. You’ll have to kill me.”

  Dom aimed his rifle at Rick.

  “You let me walk out of here alive, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Haven’t you learned your fucking lesson, asshole?” Miguel asked. “We’re in control.”

  “Come on, Rick. Make this easy.”

  Another sound grabbed Dom’s attention. The unmistakable tremor of a running Goliath shook the ground. A bellow echoed from somewhere west of their position.

  “Screw you,” Rick said. “Those monsters don’t scare me.”

  “What we going to do with him, Chief?” Miguel asked.

  Dom didn’t have to answer.

  Kara stepped forward with the ropes that had been used to tie her hands. “I have an idea.”

  -21-

  Meredith charged into the kitchen with Andris and Renee by her side. The others stayed near the exit of the restaurant to guard against any incoming Skulls. The women cut through the bonds around Navid and Sadie’s hands while Andris freed Maggie. The dog barked excitedly, whipping her tail as she dashed between all the people. Meredith figured it was her way of thanking the Hunters for freeing her.

  “Is Kara okay?” Navid asked as soon as he peeled the duct tape from his mouth.

  “Is my daddy
here?” Sadie asked, her eyes filled with tears.

  “She’s alive, and Dom will have taken care of Rick by now,” Meredith said. “You all okay to run? We heard Skulls, and we think they’re coming.”

  “I’m good,” Navid said. “I can make it.”

  “Me too,” Sadie said.

  “Then follow me!” Meredith waved them out of the walk-in cooler and guided them through the restaurant, past the bodies of the raiders. The smell of cordite and spilled blood still hung heavy in the air.

  Sadie had no problem keeping up the hurried pace, but Navid was falling behind as they started through the gardens. The sunlight highlighted the bruises and dried blood all over his face. The young man had taken a heavy beating, and he was jogging with a limp. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he grimaced with each step.

  The roars of the Skulls were growing closer. A throaty bellow tore through the woods to the southwest. Meredith looked over the vacant livestock pens and gardens. Tree branches rustled and shook. Birds exploded into the sky. It took no great leap of imagination for her to guess what was causing the commotion.

  And she knew there was no way Navid could outrun what was coming for them. They’d be lucky if any of them could escape a rampaging Goliath.

  The behemoth’s massive claws dug into the ground as it galloped toward the Hunters, easily knocking over the smaller trees in its path.

  “Jenna, Glenn, take them down to the river!” Meredith yelled, gesturing to Navid, Sadie, and Maggie.

  “You got it!” Glenn scooped up Navid as if he weighed no more than a child. The group dashed toward the dirt path with Maggie barking behind them.

  “You got a plan?” Andris asked as he aimed his rifle at the oncoming Goliath.

  “You got C4?”

  He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “Always.”

  She rapidly relayed what she had in mind to Andris. He took off for the carriage house near the mansion and disappeared through the tall front entrance. Meredith sprayed a burst of gunfire at the Goliath. Bullets pinged across the plates bulwarking the monster’s overgrown muscles. Little bits chipped off and fragmented, but the beast continued undeterred. It opened its tusked maw and let loose another growling roar. Each heavy footstep rocked the ground harder as it approached, but she stood still for the time being. Before the Goliath reached her, she turned and hightailed it to the gift shop. She shot a three-round burst at the monster before closing the glass door. Adrenaline fueling her, she hurdled the dead raiders and fallen clothes displays.