The Pilot

by Michael Cole

  The generator spit and moaned. A few popping sounds filled the air, and the droning came to a dead stop.

  The lights went black, coating the mercenaries in a blanket of darkness.

  “The fuck…”

  “Damn it,” Seymour whispered as the planning room went dark. “Everyone switch to night vision. Nag, you watch these openings. Terrie, with me!” He hurried around to the front. Ivan and Rex were placing their night vision goggles over their faces as he arrived.

  “Did it kill the generator?” Terrie asked.

  “Most likely,” he said. He hurried to the front door. “Terrie and Ivan with me. Rex provide cover.”

  “You sure you want to go outside?” Rex said. “I think it’s trying to drive us out.”

  “It’s gonna continue to engage unless we kill it,” Seymour said. He looked at Ivan and his flamethrower. “You ready with that thing?” Ivan smiled and nodded. They hurried down the hallway and gathered at the door.

  Seymour lifted the latch and kicked the door open. They burst from the opening, and swept the area. The wind tore at them as they moved toward the generator. Looking all around, they saw nothing nearby.

  Hawk woke up in a daze. She was covered in complete darkness, as though she was trapped underground. An immediate sense of claustrophobia struck. Adrenaline hit her and she shot out of her seat. She immediately bumped into the desk, nearly falling overtop of it.

  She steadied herself, then held a hand in front of her face. She couldn’t see it. She was in a complete absence of light, left entirely blind to her surroundings. Arms extended out, she worked her way around the table.

  “Seymour!” she called out. “Hello? Anyone?”

  A knocking sound filled the air, causing Hawk to freeze. She listened intently, realizing the sound was coming high along the far wall. It sounded as though someone was taking an ice pick to the blast cavity. Bits of broken cement pebbles fell to the floor. The chiseling intensified. Large chunks of debris crashed down to the floor.

  Blind, confused, and alarmed, Hawk tried to feel her way to the door. She stopped and turned around. The data!

  She looked back toward the sound. Something was prying its way through the hollow area in the wall. Hawk moved around the table, knowing her bag was on the next one over. Feeling along the corners, she blindly stepped away, reaching for the other table.

  “Come on, where are you?” she said. She felt the corners with her fingertips. She brushed her hands over the surface, feeling for her pack. Loud cracks popped from the cement, followed by the sound of a large chunk breaking away. She didn’t have time. She swept her arm over the table. Her wrist hit the nylon side. She grabbed it, finding nothing but air as she accidently pushed it away. She heard it fall over the side and hit the floor.

  “Shit!” She knelt down and fumbled for it.

  Seymour knelt by the generator. The entire side had been ravaged, as though someone unloaded a machine gun to it. Several puncture marks riddled the side, and the pumps had been shredded, leaking oil and gas all over the ground.

  He lowered his eyes to the ground. Several strange holes were in the dirt. With no specific order or arrangement, most of the strange holes only went an inch deep, no wider than that from a tent post.

  He thought of the southside outpost, where he had seen the same mark.

  “SHIT! BOSS,” Ivan yelled out. Seymour sprung up and turned. Ivan and Terrie were both looking high up to the bunker wall.

  Dozens of creatures scattered all over the building. Several had insect-like appearances, with long protruding spider-like legs attached to oval shaped bodies. Additional appendages curled over their abdomens like tentacles on a squid. Many others were humanoid in appearance, with narrower bodies containing two legs and arms. However, there was nothing human about them at all.

  They covered the wall like termites on a tree, gathering toward a specific point in the corner. Several others moved down the wall, toward the mercenaries. Their appendages bent at the joints, as though ready to spring from the walls.

  Seymour opened fire, tearing bullets into the nearest group of creatures. A deathly screech filled the air as the torsos of two beasts erupted into bubbling orange fluid. They fell to the ground, while several others leapt from the walls. The humanoids landed on their feet, with both arms extended out. Large pointed barbs protruded from each hand, dripping with venomous fluid. Each beast had a set of mandibles containing jagged teeth or fangs. Saliva dripped from each mouth as the creatures approached.

  “Come get some,” Ivan said. He pointed his flamethrower and squeezed the trigger. A tsunami of fire ripped from the nozzle, engulfing the creatures. Seymour aimed upward and sprayed a series of bullets into the large gathering above. Orange blood rained down, and several creatures dropped from the wall.

  Terrie aimed her sniper rifle. With so many creatures covering the wall, it was effortless to place a target in the crosshairs. She squeezed the trigger, placing a bullet into the abdomen of one of the arachnid creatures. Its rounded body burst into a pool of goo, and the creature dropped from the wall.

  “BEHIND YOU, BOSS!” Rex yelled. He stepped from the bunker entrance, aiming his M60 to the north tree line. Seymour ceased fire and looked, seeing a river of the arachnid beasts rapidly approaching.

  “Son of a bitch!” he said. The horde was thirty yards away and closing fast. He turned and opened fire into the horde, as Rex fired the M60. Several creatures exploded into a mixture of guts and exoskeleton fragments.

  Ivan aimed his nozzle and fired a burst of flame into the horde. The stream hit the middle of the group, causing several of them to split off into different directions. Seymour ejected his empty mag, and slammed a new one home. He fired several more bursts into the horde, then turned his sights back to the bunker. Focusing in on the large group gathered on the far corner, he noticed the arachnid beasts digging their scythe-like appendages into the wall.

  The hollow area.

  Several chunks of cement crashed down behind her as Hawk searched on her hands and knees for the pack. Crawling beside the table in the pitch black, her hand grazed the nylon strap. Moving her hand back, her fingers found it again. Grabbing it tightly, she stood up and unzipped it. Reaching inside, she found her night vision goggles.

  The chiseling stopped, followed by a dreadful series of hissing. Hawk pulled the goggles over her face and turned around. The crater in the wall had been opened up entirely. Underneath it, she saw several large bodies climbing down the wall like ants. One was on the floor, moving toward her. With a body length of four feet and a leg-span of six, the creature resembled a spider. Its face contained no eyes, though it possessed several fanged mandibles.

  She shrieked and drew her Beretta. The creature sprang toward her, rearing its front legs like pickaxes. Its two tentacles unwrapped from their coiled position, and rose over the creature’s head. A barb protruded from the ends, drooling a sappy fluid.

  Hawk pointed the gun and squeezed the trigger. Her ears rang as the gun went off, splintering the invader’s facial features. The beast reeled backwards, flailing its tentacles as though it were in agony. Behind it, several other creatures worked their way through the hole in the wall. Hawk shot several rounds toward the nearest one.

  The slide locked back. She ejected the bag and fumbled for a fresh one.

  “Shit…shit…” she cursed as she struggled to grab the mag from its pouch. The beasts crawled over their dead comrades toward her. The nearest one, a humanoid beast with stinger exposed from each hand, sprang toward her.

  Hawk screamed and dove to the right, narrowly dodging the two stingers. Hawk got on her elbows and knees and tried to crawl away. Hitting her head on the leg of a lab table, she stopped and turned. Straightening her goggles, she looked up, seeing the beast quickly moving toward her. Its mandibles folded over two pincer-like appendages that was its mouth.

  Trapped and helpless, Hawk yelled.

  The creature’s torso tore open as several gunsho
ts rang out. The creature fell away from her into a pool of its own blood.

  Several more gunshots rang out, generating several screeches from the beasts. Hawk rolled over and grabbed her pack, as Seymour stepped around the lab tables toward her. He fired several rounds into the horde then grabbed her by the vest.

  “We can’t hold them off forever!” he yelled as he pulled her to her feet. Nagamine and Terrie covered the stairway entrance. Shell casings riddled the floor as they emptied their submachine guns into the invading horde. Hawk checked her pack, making sure her flash drive was intact. She gave a thumbs-up, and followed Seymour out the door. Nagamine and Terrie were first to rush down the stairs. Seymour fired several more rounds to keep the creatures back while Hawk went next.

  The H&K’s ran empty. Seymour let the weapon sling, and he drew his revolver. One of the humanoids rapidly approached. Seymour pointed the gun and fired. The .357 bullet ruptured the creature’s head, spreading orange blood and brain matter all over the lab.

  Several more of the creatures gathered upon him. Crawling over one another, and over their dead comrades, the beasts completely filled the room. A series of screeches drowned out the wind and thunder as they moved in on their prey.

  Seymour backed down the stairs, shooting the remaining seven rounds into the crowd. With the cylinder empty, he turned and jumped the remaining stairs, landing in front of the open doorway. He moved out of the way as Nag and Terrie took firing positions.

  Alien creatures tore through the doorway, chipping the frames as they filled the stairway. Like locusts, they filled the entire stairwell. Numerous arachnid creatures climbed the walls, rapidly moving toward the door. In seconds, the entire stairwell was alive. Nagamine and Terrie fired several bursts up at the horde, causing several eruptions of guts. Terrie’s machine pistol emptied, and she quickly grabbed a fresh mag. Looking back up, the creatures were near the door.

  “There’s too many!” she yelled. “They’re coming down faster than we can shoot them!”

  “There’s more coming from the front!” Ivan yelled from the bunker entrance. "They’re all over the place.”

  “Shut the goddamned door,” Seymour yelled. Hawk and Nag pushed the heavy steel door inward. It was like pushing against a wall. The door’s hinges were rusted, slowing the rotation of the joints. The door squealed as it slowly moved. Hawk shook her head.

  “This isn’t gonna work! It won’t shut!” she yelled. Nag gave up and fired another burst into the stairwell. Two beasts dropped, only for the remaining horde to scurry overtop them. Nag’s weapon emptied. Seymour took his place, firing several rounds into the mass.

  Rex rushed toward the doorway, wearing his flamethrower harness.

  “Might wanna move,” he said, pointing the shaft into the stairwell. Seymour was already out of the way as Rex prodded the nozzle into the stairwell. Rex squeezed the trigger, and a river of fire sprayed from the nozzle.

  Flames consumed the entire stairwell. Screams filled the air as alien creatures scurried in all directions. Bodies encased in flame rampaged all over the stairwell. Dead creatures rained from the walls, as smoke billowed from the doorway. A wall of heat hit the mercenaries, driving them back from the stairway.

  The fire and smoke rapidly spread to the top of the stairway, forcing the herd back into the lab. Like a raging river, the fire continued into the lab.

  Several creatures covered in flames scuttled throughout, smashing into tables and lab equipment. Like termites being smoked out of woodwork, the aliens began working their way out through the hole in the wall.

  They worked their way down the outside exterior. They climbed on all sides, gathering near the loopholes. In a collaborative effort, the arachnid beasts used their rigid forelegs to chisel away at the edges. They viciously clawed at the cement, widening the opening as they broke away large chunks of debris.

  The operations room filled with black smoke, causing the mercenaries to gag. The air smelled of charred flesh and fuel. In moments, the room turned black. Holding his breath, Ivan picked up his M60. He let the flamethrower shaft hang from its hose, and he stuck the machine gun through the loophole, firing at the creatures that chiseled at the walls.

  “Boss?” he yelled. Seymour looked outside, seeing the army of creatures moving about. “You still think running’s a good plan?”

  “We can’t stay here. We’re gonna have to run for it,” Seymour said.

  “Where the hell are we gonna go?!” Hawk shouted.

  “Anywhere but here!” Seymour said.

  A loud, fiery hiss rang from the planning room office. Realizing his trip-flare had been triggered, Seymour moved to the hallway.Bits of gravel rained from the loopholes as the creatures clawed their way in. Terrie and Hawk followed him.

  “Oh, not good,” Terrie muttered.

  “Everyone to the entrance!” Seymour yelled. “Head to the…”

  An ear-piercing screech rang out. Seymour rushed back into the operations room. The partially shut stairwell door burst open, and several flaming creatures scurried out.

  “Holy mother!” Ivan shouted, seeing several bodies of fire tear into the room. Blinded by smoke and flame, he fired blindly into the horde. He felt Rex’s hand grabbing him by the shoulder harness.

  “Go! Go!” Rex yelled, dragging Ivan into the hallway corridor. Seymour, Hawk, and Terrie retreated back to the planning room.

  Nagamine fired several shots into the nearest beast. It dropped dead in a pool of boiling blood. Two other creatures, both completely encased in fire, sprang toward him. They climbed over their dead comrade, and onto the nearby fuel tank.

  Nagamine turned and dashed into the operations office. He slammed the door shut behind him, and dove under the desk.

  The fuel barrel exploded like a bomb. The entire wall shattered like glass, leaving enormous hunks of cement everywhere. Typhoon winds rushed into the new opening, twirling the fire into twisting funnel shapes.

  With its supports completely ravaged, the second floor collapsed onto the operations room. Thousands of pounds of concrete smashed into the flooring, creating a concussion which rippled through the remaining portion of the bunker. A wave of dust and smoke followed, completely filling the planning room.

  Alien creatures fell around as the side of the building crumbled. High pitched hisses echoed as the army of beasts started digging through the rubble.

  CHAPTER

  30

  Ivan and Rex burst from the entrance just as the entire front side crumbled. Fire ripped throughout the open space, forcing the creatures to scatter. Flames whipped about, stirred by the intense wind.

  Ivan put a hand over his eyes to block the rain. He looked at the circling horde of aliens, then back to the bunker. He saw several creatures, humanoid and insect-like, quickly beginning to move in on them. Barbs protruded from limbs, and terrifying screeches resounded. Ivan pointed his M60 and fired.

  “Come get some, you ugly pricks!” he shouted. Rex turned, seeing several other creatures moving in from behind them. Standing back-to-back with Ivan, he fired a stream of fire from his flamethrower. An orange flash illuminated the jungle as a wall of flame consumed the three nearest aliens.

  “We need to get the others,” Rex said. He turned to run toward the rubble. He stopped after only a few steps. Several creatures squeezed their way out of the debris.

  “God! Where are they coming from?!” he yelled, overwhelmed and frustrated.

  “They came from those pods! That damn alien infected everything on this damned island!” Ivan yelled. “All the wildlife…everything became hosts for those spores! And now they’ve hatched!”

  Several more creatures emerged from the rubble, while others climbed over the top of what remained of the structure.

  “Son of a bitch, they’re all over us! We can’t wait,” Rex said. Ivan continued firing, sweeping the barrel of his gun at the various hordes. Rex grabbed him by the shoulder. “Dude, we gotta go!” Ivan gritted his teeth, firing off several more r
ounds before darting to the woods. They jumped through the tree line, fighting jungle and weather as they fled.

  Rex looked back. The plants rustled behind them. The creatures were pursuing by the dozen.

  “They just don’t quit!” he yelled. He turned around and fired a stream of fire. The fire coursed through the jungle, instantly withering the smaller plants. Alien screams echoed, and they could see the plants rustling around them as their pursuers circled.

  Ivan sprayed dozens of bullets into the jungle. Finally, his M60 ran empty.

  “Shit!” he cursed. He dropped the machine gun and snatched the dangling flamethrower shaft. After sending a stream of fire toward the sound, the two men continued fleeing into the jungle.

  ********

  Hawk gagged as she struggled for breath. Smoke and dust accumulated throughout the planning room, making the air thick and toxic. Seymour fired through the loopholes, fighting to keep the creatures from digging their way in. Terrie shot her machine-pistol into the planning office, as one of the humanoids pried itself through. Its face imploded as the 9mm bullets pierced through it, causing its corpse to hang from the opening.

  “I’m running low,” she said. Seymour drove another creature back with his weapon, then glanced out the loophole. He looked at the trench in the ground that led from the bunker.

  “There should be a back exit somewhere through here!” he shouted.

  Terrie glanced out, seeing the beasts scurrying about. “Are we sure we want to go out there?”

  “Not much choice. We don’t want to stay here! If those things don’t get us, we suffocate. Either we take our chances out there or die for sure in here.” Seymour said. He glanced over at Hawk, who was struggling to reload her pistol. “Agent, are you aware of any back exit?”

  Hawk coughed and wheezed. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her mouth was dry. Squinting hard, she looked over at the storage room.