She was used to being alone when it was just her, Sue and Tia looking after the vessel, but she at least expected a few people to pop up and say hello, to take a look at the heart of the ship they now found themselves on.
So far, apart from some radio calls from Smokie, she was all alone.
Alone that is, apart from all the birds.
If they can be called birds anymore, she reasoned.
There was no walkway around the front long window, just a lip, before giving a clear view of the long vessel in front. Behind there was a walkway leading down to the next level.
However, about forty or so birds were resting on the ledge outside the front view port, which had landed over the last ten minutes.
Emma could see the deformed creatures, with tentacles where heads should be. They flapped and slammed into the thick window just because they could see her inside.
Some dived headfirst at the window, only to bounce off and vanish from view. Hundreds of others still circled overhead.
It’s got to be another type of strain. This one affects the birds. And the way they are trying to get at me, I presume it can be transferred from one species to another?
She already set of the loud horn twice to warn the others below when a cloud of birds broke away and dive-bombed below her line of sight.
If the creatures weren’t bad enough, the fog was playing havoc with her line of sight. She could just about work out the radar and stay clear enough of the coastline, so she didn’t ground the vessel. However, after leaving the cove and heading along the coast, the vessel was approaching what looked like a lighthouse in the distance, and the radar was going crazy.
It looked like an area she wanted to stay well clear of.
Just then the hatch to the lower level opened and Sue walked in, followed closely by a bounding Tia.
“Jesus,” Sue stated. “You have your fare share of the buggers too,” she said seeing the birds perched outsides, with their tentacles rubbing over the glass.
Tia started racing back and forth, japing at the birds.
“Did they cause any hassle down near the mess hall?” Emma asked.
“You could say that,” Sue said calmly. She then placed her magnum on the countertop, within easy reach.
“That bad huh?” Emma said eyeing the weapon.
Sue removed a Berretta and passed it to Emma.
“Your gonna need that,” Sue stated.
“A mop would probably be more handy,” Emma replied, thinking it would be easier to swipe the creatures away.
“Oh, that’s not for them,” Sue checked the clip was full. “That’s for what the little buggers turn into.”
286
Bachman, Emma, Ralph and Pete
Zone 6
The underground bunker
Quirauk Mountain, Pennsylvania
The door swung open as it was hit from the other side.
Pete jumped back, and the other three went to swing their weapons.
Instead of a pile of thrashing tentacles, a skinny black woman dropped onto the tiled floor.
“My god, that’s Tessa Jones,” Ralph said as he rushed to her side.
“There’s no one else inside,” Pete stated as he looked around the corner now he knew the chiller was safe.
“She’s freezing,” Emma said as she started to rub warmth back into the woman’s arms.
“Tes is the head chef now for those in Zone 6. She used to be army field medic,” Ralph stated.
The woman looked stick thin and had long black hair, so dark it was almost blue, like a raven’s wing. She shook in Emma’s arms.
“We have to gradually raise her body temperature,” Bachman said, “or she might go into shock.”
“Lucky it’s a chiller, not a freezer, else she would be a block of ice by now,” Pete said.
“She must’ve locked herself inside, knowing the chiller is airtight,” Emma speculated.
“But surely she could’ve opened it up again at any time,” Bachman wondered. He checked the inside handle. It was broken. Once inside the woman couldn’t get back out again.
“Why lock herself inside if she knew she would be trapped?” Pete questioned.
“Because I would rather risk dying of hypothermia than have those black spores pour down my throat,” the woman muttered.
“Get her to her feet. Get her walking around. Get her blood circulating,” Bachman said.
Emma and Ralph helped her to her feet.
Pete had moved to the end of the kitchen and was looking through the small window set in the door.
“We have movement out here,” Pete said. “The street outside is filling up with creatures pouring up from the exit to the train station below.”
287
Troy
Down inside the hull of the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Troy’s heart was beating so fast, he could feel it pounding against his chest.
This is it; the stranger will die by my hands, by the will of the Almighty God.
Troy snuck around the pallets as he stayed clear of the King brother’s as well as Alex and Mollee. He didn’t want them getting in his way. Besides, they’d taken his weapons, all he had now was his bare hands and determination.
Because he had fired at them in the corridor, he was sure if they realized he was conscious and about to foil whatever plan they were formulating, they wouldn’t go so lenient with him the second time.
They can stand back and watch the power of the Lord, as He works through me, he thought as he silently moved around another towering pile of boxes.
He knew all that stood in his way was a simple metal hatch. He heard the hatch slam shut, and the click of the handle, but not the grinding sound of the lock being activated.
Troy could hear the other four murmuring, trying to decide what to do.
Imbeciles, I can hear them from here.
There was only a short gap now between him and the hatch. In a rush of adrenaline, he raced the distance and lunged for the metal handle.
The Lord will guide my hands.
He could hear the other four react to seeing him running for the hatch.
However, before they could do anything, Troy gripped the handle and swung the door open.
It’s time to show the stranger that the power of God will always win, regardless of any obstacle in His path. Hallow be His mighty name, because with God on my side, I am indestructible.
288
Alex, Terrance, Lindell and Mollee
Down inside the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Alex stood next to Mollee as Lindell and Terrance formulated a plan.
Mollee was even less chatty than normal, and she simply stared at the hatch, as if being able to see through the thick metal. He could see her toes curling and uncurling on the cold metal deck.
Steam billowed from Alex’s mouth.
Jesus it’s cold down here. I thought hell is meant to be hot?
The two brothers were nodding a lot, and muttering under their breaths.
What’s to decide? There’s one hatch. We either go through it, or we don’t.
The handgun felt heavy in his grip.
Just then the problem was solved, when out of the corner of his eye, Alex noticed a figure running towards the hatch.
“Troy!” he announced.
The King’s brother’s heads turned as one.
Mollee’s stance changed, as if she was ready to run straight at Troy again.
However, before any of them could react, Troy gripped the handle and swung the hatch open wide, slamming it against the metal hull with a reverberating thud.
What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion.
As the four turned their bodies to face the hatch, to race towards it together, a large black tentacle shot out of the dark hold and wrapped around Troy’s waist.
Alex could hear Troy’s bones crack under the pressure, as the
thick tentacle squeezed harder. Blood spurted from Troy’s wide-open mouth as his body went rigid and his feet were lifted a few inches off the metal deck.
“What the fuck?” Alex shouted.
“Good God!” Lindell muttered.
Then, showing tremendous force, the tentacle pulled Troy into the room, so fast it snapped his spine and folded his body in half as if he was made of paper. All that was left in the open hatchway was a puddle of blood and a lingering scream.
Just when Alex thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, behind them a new sound echoed throughout the large hold.
Alex forced his attention away from the dark open hatch to look behind them.
Down the thin aisle, between the stacked pallets, a humanoid creature with a thick tentacle burrowed into its brain through an eye orbit, and with what looked like a scaly crab-like protrusion on its chest, and black growths all over its body, was stood crouched over roaring at them. Spittle flew from its wide-open, serrated teeth filled mouth. Strong clawed hands gripped the stacked boxes to either side. A long, black whip-like tongue lashed about, as if tasting the air. Its head jerked left then right, while twisting slightly, like a dog does when it hears a noise.
Another creature moved behind the first.
Holy fuck, what the hell are they?
289
Stu
Out to sea
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Stu was confused and spitting out mouthfuls of water. At first anger engulfed him, as he was kicked in the chest. After everything that had happened, he was pissed that it would end like this – drowning out to sea.
He knew, deep down, it was preferable to being ripped apart by the creatures, or being turned into one of them, but the thought gave him little comfort.
I will never know what happened to my beautiful Hanna. If she has already passed on, then I will see her soon along with my other family members.
However, something wasn’t right; he was still moving – the waves crashed into him as he sliced through them.
It took a few seconds for him to realize he wasn’t still tumbling through the water from the initial fall overboard, but he was, in fact, moving.
Just before he was kicked overboard, Soozie had leaned forward and tied a rope around his belt from behind. As he was kicked from the small craft, and tumbled out, Soozie had used her body to hide the rope as it spooled overboard, before snapping tight on the thick cord that encircled the craft. Soozie’s dramatic performance worked.
Also, due to the large cargo ship stopping, and the men in the boat being in a hurry to reach it, and the thick fog swirling behind them, none of them noticed the small craft was dragging something in its wake. If they did, none thought to mention it.
It dawned on Stu what was happening.
Jesus! Thank you Soozie.
Fear was replaced with hope.
At first, Stu swallowed more water than he spat out. Sadly, as he twisted and turned in the wake behind the boat, he couldn’t see the young boy who had jumped just before him.
Stu’s body was freezing, and he knew he wouldn’t last long in the ice-cold water. At least the large cargo ship was close. He would wait until the men on board had tied it up against the larger vessel, and climbed aboard, then he would swim forward and follow them up. He knew he had the element of surprise on his side. Now all he had to do was work out how that helped him in his current situation.
He spat out another mouthful of cold salty water.
290
Smokie and the others
Inside the superstructure of the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Smokie had called Emma and Sue and asked them to stop the cargo ship, so the sound of the large engines wouldn’t mask the noise the four creatures would make as they moved about the ship – hopefully people would hear them coming.
She still couldn’t raise Lindell or Terrance and the other two. She presumed the sound was turned down on their walkie-talkies as they hunted the stranger.
Gordon had been replaced by two others, while he used more tables to wedge against the one blocking the hatch. The exit was secure for now.
“Gordon, you, Caroline and Donna, head down to let Andy know what’s happening. I can’t raise him.” Even though Emma obviously could because the engines had stopped.
“On it,” Caroline stated.
“Gordon, take over from Andy for a while, let him get some rest.”
Gordon gave a brisk nod to say he heard.
“Make sure you head down the internal steps and stay clear of the deck.” After what they had witnessed they didn’t need to be told, but she felt it needed to be said.
The three stated they understood, and then checked their weapons before heading down the interior steps.
Smokie’s hands automatically went to the old CD player attached to her belt. She was too busy to listen to the music. She missed the calming sounds of her favourite band.
More deformed seagulls slammed into the windows.
Will this nightmare ever end? If it continues like this, we will drop one by one from exhaustion.
She noticed Frank was missing.
Hopefully, he has gone to sleep off his hangover. Not that he was any use when he was sober. He’s like a spare wheel with a puncture.
Her mind turned to the four creatures running loose around the vessel.
She looked around the mess hall. They were thinning out.
We are spreading too thin.
She ripped the walkie-talkie off her belt to see if she could reach the King brothers. Just then, something large passed in front of the window.
291
Soozie, the girl and the six men
Out to sea
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
The smaller crafts motor was switched off, and the boat gradually slowed down and edged closer to the large cargo ship. The vessel’s side towered high above and vanished into the grey swirling fog.
A rifle was pointed at Soozie and the child, to make sure they didn’t call out and warn anyone who happened to be close by, far above on deck. Sound carried in the fog.
The men jostled around on the boat, trying to get into position, and also reach the metal steps, which hadn’t been raised back up properly.
Stu must’ve left them down; Soozie thought. She wondered how he was doing back behind the boat.
“You two will stay in the boat with Jim, and he will make sure you stay quiet.” The Boss flashed Jim a look.
Jim was a little older than the other men, probably about fifty, Soozie guessed.
The bearded man was staring at the two females as if he hadn’t seen one in years.
“We’ll be quiet, just don’t hurt us,” Soozie said.
The sound of the waves lapping against the small craft and the creaking of the large metal vessel echoed around them.
Soozie wondered how close Stu was.
The five other men started to climb the metal steps and head up towards the deck of the cargo ship. They moved slowly due to having been in the cold water for so long. They soon vanished into the thick, swirling fog.
The sound of the waves crashing against the coastline boomed in the distance.
Jim sat at the stern of the boat, while Soozie hugged the young girl in the bow.
The mans gaze was locked on them. It was more than just making sure they didn’t try to make a run for it, or shout out for help – it was a look of longing.
“Now, there’s no need to sit so far away, is there?” The man removed the rifle from the strap around his neck and leaned it against the outboard motor. Instead, he held a six-inch blade in his wrinkled hand. “Why don’t you both move a little closer, hmm. Come on now, just wiggle on over.”
“We’re good thanks,” Soozie stated.
“Honey, it wasn’t a request.” He patted the empty wooden seat in front of him. “So do you want to go first, let the youngen know what’s
in store for her?” he said as he stood, balancing in the craft while he started to undo his zip.
292
Bachman, Emma, Ralph and Pete
Zone 6
The underground bunker
Quirauk Mountain, Pennsylvania
“We need to keep moving,” Bachman stated. “Are you okay to move?” he asked Tes.
“I don’t think I have much choice,” she answered weakly as she leaned heavily against Emma and Ralph.
She seemed to recognize the older man. “Hey Ralph,” she muttered. “Who’s your friends?”
“We can all become acquainted as we move,” Bachman announced. “If those creatures head in this direction, there’ll be no need for introductions.”
“Creatures?” Tes asked. She was slowly regaining her strength now she was warming up. “Like the hungry vermin on the surface?”
“Kinda,” Emma said.
“How’d they get into the bunker?”
“It’s a long story,” Bachman replied.
“But trust me, within a few hours you will become an expert.” Emma stated.
“I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
“You’d be crazy if you did,” Pete replied.
“If you didn’t know about the creatures down inside the bunker, then why’d you lock yourself inside the chiller?” Emma asked.
“Trust me, when you see a black swarm, like an undulation cloud move towards you, and after I’d seen it pour down the throats of the people still outside, who were about to walk in here; you’d lock yourself inside as well, sister.”
“Amen,” Ralph muttered.
“Where’d it come from?” Tes asked. “Is it another strain, a mutation of what came outta Madagascar?”
“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Emma said.
“Sister please, this is a government run facility; I bet they have all kinds of crazy shit hidden in deep vaults around here.”
The Sixth Extinction America Omnibus [Books 1-12] Page 59