“Oh my god!” Pete shouted when he noticed the small tentacles crawling out of his skin. His eyes grew wide and he started to scramble backwards along the floor, with his arm outstretched, as if he could back away from it. He slammed into the wall.
Tes quickly leaned in closer. “They seem to be growing on the surface.” Referring to the wiggling tentacles. “Almost like parasites,” she added.
Bachman stared at Pete’s arm. “Do you think it’s in his bloodstream?”
“I have no way of knowing,” Tes stated.
“How did it happen?” Bachman asked Pete.
“I-I s-scrambled into the alley last. A creature was close behind. It couldn’t grasp hold of me, so it must’ve cut me instead. With all the adrenaline, and being scared shitless, I didn’t notice!”
“They haven’t done this before,” Bachman stated. “That means they’re adapting fast.”
“Shit!” Emma muttered. “Now it’s not just a matter of stopping them from wrapping a tentacle around you, now we have to stop them from getting within reach of us.”
“Hold him down,” Ralph said as he picked up Bachman’s large axe.
“What, are you fucking kidding me?!” Pete shouted, as Ralph took a step towards him.
“If we do nothing it will spread. If we cut the arm off you might still have a chance. It might not be in the bloodstream, just in the wound.” Ralph looked at Bachman.
“We have to try,” Bachman said.
Pete’s face was a mask of horror. He was just as grossed out by the suggestion of cutting his arm off, as he was at looking at the tentacles that grew from the gash.
“Wait! Wait!” Pete shouted over everyone talking at once. “Have you got any kind of drugs to put me to sleep?” His eyes were wide with fear, and his voice was cracking under the stress.
“Only painkillers, nothing to knock you unconscious,” Ralph stated. He turned to Tes. “The first-aid kit is in the right-hand drawer in the kitchen.”
“But I need something for the pain!” Pete hollered as he started to lose control and the seriousness of the situation sunk in. “I don’t want to be awake for this! Please, alcohol, or anything!”
As Tes returned and started pulling bandages, gauze and tape from the small red first-aid kit, Bachman headed for the kitchen to turn the single gas stove on, to see if it still worked. He knew that the only way to staunch the bleeding would be to cauterize the stump.
“I’m sorry, there’s no alcohol in the apartment,” Ralph apologized.
“Here,” Emma said. “We can use this as a tranquilizer,” she stated, as she raised the rifle butt and smacked Pete in the side of the head.
308
Smokie, Frank, and others
Inside the superstructure of the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Smokie’s bullet missed the boss’ ear by mere inches and pinged off down the corridor. “Have I got your attention now?”
The Boss stood motionless, weapon still raised, with his twitching finger poised on the trigger. It wasn’t clear whether she’d aimed for his head and missed, or missed on purpose.
“The next one will be between your ugly eyes,” Smokie stated. She moved the barrel of the gun a few millimetres to the left.
“If you haven’t realized it, I’m also holding a fucking gun?” he stated, as his sweaty hand re-gripped the weapon. Water dripped off his clothing. He was still unnerved by witnessing two of his men outside get attacked by the creatures. If anything, he was more worried about what might come around the corner behind him, than who was in front.
They are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before – a new strain. How the fuck did it spread on this ship? The Boss thought. And how, with all this going on, did they manage to beat us?
“Then grow some goddamn balls and fire it,” Smokie replied.
However, it was a stalemate and everyone knew it. Whoever killed first, their partner would start firing and gun down the other person still left standing. It was a miracle the other guy was stood rooted to the spot and hadn’t returned fire.
“You lot, get up off the floor,” Smokie said to her people.
Slowly, Lawrence, Lindell, Alex, Mollee, Caroline and Donna crawled over to Smokie’s side. None pushed their luck by reaching for their weapons – there was still four guns pointed at each other.
They rushed around the corner, still aware that there was aggressive people with weapons in the corridor.
Only Mollee stood out in the open, behind Smokie’s right shoulder. Her hands were at her sides, clenching and unclenching. She stared at the Boss under hooded eyelids and through tangled hair. Her knives were on the floor, in pools of water, by his wet boots.
“Who killed Gordon?” Smokie asked, as Gordon’s blood slowly spread around her feet.
“I have no idea. Or care,” the Boss said. He was aware of the creature by his feet. He tried not to think about it. He knew his two men would soon be like this killing machine.
Frank hadn’t said a word. His weapon was pointed at the other man, while the mans wobbling weapon was pointed at Frank’s chest.
“This guy hasn’t fired because he has no bullets,” Frank stated. He could see the weapon was empty due to the inner barrel extending past the end of the gun, showing nothing was chambered; it had fired the last round.
The man shifted his feet nervously. He still didn’t lowered the weapon, as if keeping it pointed at Frank was proving him a liar.
Lindell had his head around the corner, watching the standoff. His brother Terrance was by his side. They had information Smokie needed to hear.
Alex and Donna sat on the steps. Happy to be away from the line of fire, while they allowed their heart rates to return to normal.
Alex was sure it was the end. He’d expected a bullet in the back of the head. Who knows what would have happened if Smokie and Frank hadn’t turned up?
“So, what’s it going to be?” Smokie said.
The Boss’ eyes dropped from Smokie’s gun to the creature at his feet.
“Is that what happens to the infected?”
“It’s a new strain,” she stated. “It’s carried by the birds.”
The man lowered his weapon. “Two of my men are lying on deck with those things attached to their faces.” He stepped back out of the pooling blood. “I think they need to be put out of their misery before they change.”
“Are you talking about a truce?” Smokie asked, with one eyebrow raised. She had no idea how many men he had onboard. These two could be it, or there could be another twenty outside.
“Let’s call it an alliance,” he said.
“Okay. We will call it just that,” Smokie said while lowering her gun. “But know this, if you fuck with me, I will not hesitate to put a bullet between your shifty eyes.”
309
Naomi
Down inside the hull of the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
Naomi’s head was held in Cane’s vice-like grip. She could see the large undulating pod, with its blackened, leather-like skin, with weeping soars where it had been burnt down one side when the president tried to kill it when he ordered a complete sweep of Madagascar with nuclear weapons.
“Our Queen!” he stated. “The cleanser of the unholy human spawn that has overpopulated this planet and taken it to the brink of destruction.” His fingers dug into Naomi’s chubby cheeks, which were wet with tears.
Naomi didn’t want to move or make a sound. She was sure the moment she did the creature would lunge at her.
“Stay on your knees, bitch!” Cain shouted. “You’re in the presence of the most powerful creature on the planet. A Goddess among men!” He sneered at her insolence as he roughly gripped her hair and raised her head.
So this is the original creature that started the infection, she reasoned as she stared wide-eyed. The cause of all the death and suffering. The reason I am running for my life.
She fel
t like throwing up. Her stomach contracted. She held it back. Her vision was blurred by tears.
The large pod-like creature was moving about the chamber, its long black tentacles rolling over the carcases around it. A spiked foot slammed down through the back of a decomposing woman dressed in an overall. The creature raised her in the air and tossed her body against the metal hull. The corpse hit with a sickening thud and cracking of bones, leaving a bloody wet smear.
Naomi couldn’t see any way out of her predicament. The hatch was behind her, but sealed – which would take precious seconds to open. The hatch above was too high; she would never be able to reach it, even if she stood on the massive pod.
Cain was engrossed in watching the creature work its way around the hold, tossing the bodies about as if looking for something. It almost looked like it was lining the bodies up.
Then the creature started to use its tentacles and clawed feet to lay the bodies in a long row, arranging the arms and feet with more care, as if putting them to rest. Whatever it was doing; it looked like it had a purpose.
What is it doing? Why line them up, they’re dead? What does it want with me? Why hasn’t it killed me yet?
Then Naomi saw it – a knife. All she could see is the handle. She couldn’t tell how long the blade was. It was covered by a twisted body that seeped body fluids over it.
It wasn’t much, but it was all the hope she had left.
If I’m going to die, I’m taking this asshole with me.
310
Stu, Soozie and young girl
On the cargo ship.
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
“Stop, or you’ll kill her!” Stu shouted, as Soozie continued to pull on the thick tentacle that was pushed deep into one of the young girl’s eye sockets.
“If I do nothing, then she’s already dead. And who knows what happens to the people who are affected this way?”
Stu threw his hands in the air and turned his back. He couldn’t watch this. The young girl reminded him too much of his daughter, Hanna.
Outside, more birds could be heard thudding against the metal hull.
Stu could hear the girl’s small feet thrashing around, and her palms slapping the decking.
“You need to hold her still,” Soozie shouted.
Stu turned and knelt down. He wanted to throw up. Over the last month, he’d seen things that would turn most people’s stomachs, but it seemed different to purposefully inflict such pain on such a small body.
“Hold her down,” Soozie muttered as she pushed one hand against the girl’s chest, on top of the crab-like creature, to hold her down, while the other gripped the tentacle and pulled.
The thick tentacle started to slide out. Blood gushed from the wound. However, Soozie didn’t stop there. She grabbed the crab-like creature attached to the girl’s chest and started to pull.
The unattached tentacle lashed about, as if trying to find purchase. Stu hung onto the black, withering feeler as Soozie prized at the chest section.
One long leg came free with a spurt of blood. The creature started to move, as if it knew it’s time was up. With a blur of speed, it unhooked its legs and jumped to the side. It started to sidestep away at speed, like a deformed crab trailing the long, blood-dribbling tentacle.
But not fast enough. Stu shot at it repeatedly until it stopped moving.
The girl lay motionless. After her thrashing and groaning, Soozie expected her to scream and roll about it pain. However, the girl lay like one of the dead. If it wasn’t for the fact her chest was rising and falling, Soozie would’ve presumed she was dead.
311
Bachman, Emma, Ralph, Pete and Tes
Zone 6
The underground bunker
Quirauk Mountain, Pennsylvania
“Hold his arm steady,” Ralph said.
Tes and Bachman held Pete down by his shoulders, while Emma gripped his legs. Pete was out cold, but there was no knowing what reflexes might kick in once Ralph started hacking at his arm.
Ralph returned from looking out the curtained window, to make sure there were no creatures close. The streets were deserted. Even though Pete was out cold, the shock might revive him, and he could start shouting. There was a roll of bandages set to one side to force into his mouth if he did start hollering.
“You sure this is the right course of action?” Bachman asked.
“Look,” Tes said, “the tentacles are growing.”
It was true. Just within a matter of minutes, the thrashing black feelers were almost twice the length. There was also thick black veins spreading out from the cut, which weren’t there only moments before.
She’d checked the rest of Pete’s body to see if he had any other thick black veins appearing on the surface of his skin. So far, it was only on his arm. They needed to hurry.
“This is the only chance he has,” Emma said while gripping tighter.
Ralph stood over them, looking like a crazed lumberjack with bloodlust.
“How far up?” Ralph asked. He repositioned the axe while wiping the sweat off each palm, one at a time. Sweat was also gathering across his forehead and top lip.
“I’d say as close to the shoulder as you can, just to be sure. We don’t know how fast it’s spreading,” Tes stated.
Pete gave a low groan.
“We need to hurry before he wakes up,” Emma said.
Ralph gave a nod to say he understood. He knew the idea was his, but now he was holding the axe in his shaking, sweating hands; he wasn’t sure he could do it – cut the arm off someone he knew.
What if I miss, and hit him in the face, or chest? What if I cut Emma’s hands off instead? He wiped away the sweat that was running into his eyes.
“Fuck! Give it to me,” Emma said as she released the shoulder and stood up. “Take my place.” She snatched the axe from Ralph. She could see he was a mess.
“I don’t want you cutting my fucking hands off,” she muttered. She looked over to Bachman. “Ready?”
Bachman had an iron in his hand. It wasn’t plugged-in – it needed more heat than it was used to producing. Instead, Bachman had it over the flames of the gas stove. The metal under surface was glowing white-hot.
“Ready,” he replied, while griping the iron with an oven glove. The handle was starting to deform from the extreme heat.
Emma looked at Tes and Ralph.
“Ready?”
They both nodded in unison and tightened their grip.
“Okay. On, three…”
Everyone held their breath. The only sound was the pinging of the iron as the metal started to warp from the intense heat.
“One… two… three.” Emma swung the axe with all her strength.
312
Smokie, Frank, Terrance, Caroline, Lindell, Donna, Alex, Mollee, and the two men
Inside the superstructure of the cargo ship
Somewhere off the shore in New York State
“Are you sure about this?” Frank asked.
“What other choice do we have? Shoot them both and hope there isn’t another twenty of his men on deck waiting for us?” Smokie remembered seeing all the men behind the Boss when the seized coastguard ship had attacked them. She had no way of knowing how many had survived the sinking vessel.
“I don’t trust them,” Frank added.
“Nor do I. That’s why you’re going to keep a close eye on them,” Smokie muttered.
Frank look over at the two men.
The soaking wet men stood to one side. The man with the empty gun looked down at the body of the dead infected. The man called the Boss was checking his weapon.
Mollee and Lindell collected their weapons. Terrance was checking his, and Donna and Alex stood to one side, as far away from the two men as possible. Lindell passed them their weapons off the floor.
Caroline stood staring at the newcomers, as if wishing they would show any sign of aggression, so she could shoot them.
“We need to talk,” Lind
ell said.
“Couldn’t you find Naomi?” Smokie asked. Now the drama was out of the way it was back to business.
“Oh, we found her,” Alex stated. “But that’s not all we found.”
“An abomination is what it is,” Donna said, as she crossed herself.
“I don’t understand,” Smokie said. “Can someone explain why Naomi isn’t with you, and,” she looked at Donna, “what do you mean, an abomination?”
Terrance answered. “There’s something else down there. Something big, hiding way down in the belly of the ship.”
“Big? Like what?” Frank asked, as he turned his attention away from the strangers.
“We didn’t see all of it,” Lindell stated. “However, a large tentacle came through a hatch and folded Troy in half like a piece of paper.”
“Troy’s dead?” Smokie asked.
“There’s no way he survived what we saw,” Alex stated.
“How could something that big have escaped our notice?” Smokie thought aloud.
“Whatever it is, it’s in a side chamber. There’re probably dozens of chambers you’ve not opened yet,” Terrance added.
“This is what happens to those attacked by the birds?” the man called the Boss stated, interrupting the conversation. He was pointing his weapon at the dead creature.
“Yes,” Smokie said.
“In that case, as I said before, two of my men are in the process of being changed, as we speak. Their bodies are on deck.”
Smokie needed to hear more from the others, but one thing at a time.
“Frank, Lindell, go with them, and make sure the two are put out of their misery before they change. Then toss their bodies overboard.” She looked at the Boss to see if he would take offence at his men being tipped overboard like trash.
The Sixth Extinction America Omnibus [Books 1-12] Page 63