But was there ever any doubt?
Before he could strike, a snarling flash of brown fur and bright white teeth leapt at him. The manlings' strange four-legged pet drove its teeth all the way through the leather armor over his forearm, burying them deeply in his flesh. Pain swept up his arm, and he shrieked, stumbling back as the animal savagely tore at his arm. He dropped Witch-Bane but caught it in his uninjured left arm and desperately stabbed with its point at the animal, driving it deeply into the beast's flank.
The animal yelped and let go. Ulfir staggered back, watching as the wounded animal crawled atop the manling mage, trying to protect her with its own dying body. Ulfir flexed the fingers of his right hand but found they were going numb and could no longer grip properly. His blood dripped down his fingers and pooled onto the stone floor.
Damn that beast to the Red Ether!
But even one-handed, Ulfir was a master warrior. He hefted Witch-Bane in his left arm, prepared to kill both the vicious animal as well as the wounded mage.
ALEX THREW himself forward and smashed his shoulder into Ulfir's back, knocking him away from Leela and Clyde. The dark elf stumbled away but recovered his balance far quicker than Alex would have thought possible and spun to face him again, now holding his spear in his left hand, with blood dripping from his right.
Alex glared at the dark elf, Kargin's fighting ax in his hand. It had taken a few seconds to pry it from the monitor, and in that time, Ulfir had almost killed both Leela and Clyde. "That's right, prick. You're not done with me yet."
Ulfir smiled and went on the attack, thrusting his spear one-handed at Alex's face. Alex parried as he stepped back, just in time catching the spearhead and pushing it aside—more by luck than skill. He stepped forward, sweeping his weapon up in a backhanded slash, but even fighting with only one hand, Ulfir easily hooked Alex's ax with the shaft of his spear before bringing its point up and over the ax-head, ramming it at Alex's throat. Alex dropped, and the spearhead whistled as it went over his head. He shoved forward and slammed his shoulder into the smaller dark elf, hearing a satisfying grunt as he shoved him back. He tried to knee Ulfir in the groin, but the dark elf twisted away, catching the blow on his hip instead, like a seasoned martial artist.
Shit, he's good.
Ulfir pulled back, swinging the spearhead in a whistling arc that Alex dodged beneath, but Ulfir must have been counting on that because he arrested his swing and slashed down at Alex's back. The edge of the spearhead must have cut through his Kevlar because he felt fire burn down his shoulder blades, followed by wetness. Alex dodged back.
Ulfir slashed one-handed again, and again, Alex just caught his long spearhead and pushed it away. He's still screwing with me, Alex realized, his chest tightening with fear. Even one-handed, he's better at this than I am.
Ulfir came on hard, keeping Alex on the defensive with a series of stabs and slashes. Each time Alex tried to attack, the dark elf warrior lithely danced back, clearly in his element. He said something in a mocking tone. Alex, panting for breath, blood running down his back, snarled, "Go fuck yourself."
Ulfir bowed his head, perhaps in respect, then his eyes hardened. He altered his stance, now holding his spear above his shoulder, the point directed at Alex's face. This is it, thought Alex. He's done playing.
ELIZABETH CAUGHT herself against one of the workstations and used it to hold herself up. Helena was still screaming, but just in front of Elizabeth, a wounded Kargin was at the mercy of a manticore, its tail raised above its head and pointing at Kargin, the intent clear.
When the manticore released its barb-like needles, Elizabeth tried something in desperation: she duplicated the shield weave Leela had demonstrated so many times before. Only the manticore was more surprised than Elizabeth was when the weave worked and the barbs rebounded from an invisible shield around Kargin. Not perfect but better than nothing. Before the manticore could react, she channeled telekinesis, picking the huge beast up and throwing it thirty feet into the burning remains of the destroyed Jump Tube. The manticore screamed and tried to leap clear, but Elizabeth held it in place then fed the fires with air, fanning the flames around the monster.
She felt pity as its cries abruptly ceased, but this was war.
Exhausted, she tipped over and fell onto the floor. Her eyes closed, but Helena's constant screams jarred her awake again. Move, Elizabeth! Move, she told herself.
She dragged herself to Helena.
ULFIR CAME at Alex with murderous intent. Alex backpedaled, trying to deflect the spearhead with his ax but knowing he wouldn't be fast enough this time. His foot slipped on something, and he stumbled back, avoiding the spear thrust through clumsiness. As he slammed back into a workstation, his hand must have slipped on the ax handle, because he felt a subtle click. There was a depression near his thumb—a button! The ax-head flared red-hot in an instant. Ulfir's face registered his surprise when he saw the burning weapon, and he hesitated. Alex, taking advantage of his indecision, caught the spear shaft with his free hand just below the black spearhead. Ulfir tried to rip his weapon free, but Alex was bigger and stronger, and he yanked Ulfir forward, off-balance. Still holding the spear in place, Alex brought the burning ax-head down on the black shaft, cutting all the way through it with a single blow, leaving the two-foot spearhead in Alex's left hand.
Ulfir's eyes widened with fear. Alex spun the long spearhead about and rammed it up through Ulfir's throat. Then he used the flat of the ax-head to hammer the spearhead through Ulfir's mouth and deep into his brain.
Alex staggered back as Ulfir, dead already, fell forward with a crash.
Still not quite believing he lived, Alex stared at the red-hot ax-head. The ax-shaft was cold in his grip, giving the lie that he was holding a normal weapon, but as he moved the ax closer to his face, he felt its considerable heat. This is amazing! He depressed the button with his thumb again, and the ax-head went cold and dark in a moment.
"Alex!" screamed Elizabeth.
She knelt beside Helena, trying to stop the bleeding from her severed arm. He briefly checked Leela's pulse on her throat with two fingers. It was strong, and he heard her moan. Clyde lifted his head and whined.
"Stay with her, boy."
Alex ran to Cassie and Helena. He set Kargin's ax down then removed his load-bearing vest and body armor. As he did, another torrent of pain coursed down his back, as well as fresh blood. Ignore it, he told himself. If the cut severed the tendons, I wouldn't be able to move my arms at all. Most likely, it's superficial.
He didn't feel lightheaded, confused, or weak, so if there was a risk of someone going into hypovolemic shock, it was going to be Helena, followed by Leela then Kargin, who was staggering over now to join them, his arm hanging limp. Alex removed the first-aid kit in his load-bearing vest, dumped its contents before him, and grasped at the black nylon tactical tourniquet. He forced Helena onto her back and held her in place with one hand on her uninjured shoulder. "Helena, you have to calm down. If you don't, your heart will beat too fast, and you'll bleed out before I can help."
She ground her teeth, but her eyelids fluttered weakly. She's ready to pass out, he knew. How much blood has she lost already? He strapped the tourniquet around her arm then used the plastic finger-length windlass rod to tighten the strap. Almost instantly, the bleeding lessened, and now he could see the severed end of the brachial artery. "Talk to her, Elizabeth," he said as he rummaged through his supplies and found the syrette of morphine.
As Elizabeth comforted the woman, Alex injected the syrette into her hip. Then, as her eyes closed, he used arterial twine from the first-aid kit to suture the artery closed, stopping its hemorrhaging.
"What can I do?" asked Kargin.
"Check on Leela," Alex said as he finished tying off the suture. "Make sure she's still breathing." As Kargin stumbled away, Alex yelled over his shoulder, "And check on Clyde!"
Finished with his sewing, he loosened the tourniquet and was happy to see most of the bleeding had now
stopped—or at least, greatly lessened. Helena was already passed out as he opened up a packet of QuikClot, a chemical coagulant, and poured the powder into the wound. As he began to bandage the stump, Elizabeth picked up the empty packet of QuikClot. "What does this do?"
"Promotes blood clotting."
She glanced at Kargin's ax. "Shouldn't you … you know, cauterize the wound?"
"This isn't the movies. If I had no other choice, maybe, but the risk of infection would be vastly increased." He paused, considering Elizabeth. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "Nothing more than a headache."
He nodded. "Find a rifle, and keep watch."
"On it," she said, hurrying away.
Alex checked Helena's breathing then rolled her onto her side in the recovery position, the injured limb elevated as much as possible. He got up, scooping his medical supplies into his hands, and scurried over to Kargin, who was applying pressure to the wound in Leela's back with his palm. The other arm hung limp, and there were jagged bite marks in his shoulder and back where the manticore had ripped through Kargin's Kevlar. He must have noticed Alex staring at his arm, because he snorted derisively. "Your people took my chain mail when I was in your hospital. Your 'Kevlar vest' does nothing against a manticore's teeth."
Alex reached over and brushed the pocket in the center of Kargin's vest holding the foot-wide ballistic plate, dislodging several shards of twisted metal stuck in the fabric. "Not designed for monsters, my friend."
Kargin barked in laughter.
"Little … help here," Leela whispered.
Alex pried Kargin's hand away and examined the puncture. She had been incredibly lucky because the spearhead had missed her spine, going through her hip instead. On the other hand, it might have pierced a kidney or the large intestine. There was no way of knowing without an x-ray. "Listen to me, Leela," he said softly, making sure he made eye contact. "You're going to be okay. Do you understand?"
"Please … please … it hurts."
"It's going to hurt even more when I stop the bleeding. I can give you some morphine if you'd like."
"I'd like."
"Be strong, Leela," Kargin said, reaching out and holding her hand.
Alex gave Leela a shot of morphine then went to work, pouring QuikClot into both entrance and exit wound. When he was done, he stuffed gauze deeply into both openings. Even with the morphine, Leela cried and thrashed, gripping Kargin's hand.
"That's the worst of it, Leela," Alex said. "Just breathe. Concentrate on finding your calm. You're going to live. I promise. The bleeding has almost completely stopped, and we'll get you to a hospital as soon as we can."
She nodded. "See to Clyde … please," she said, closing her eyes.
He hesitated, staring at Kargin.
"Go," the dwarf said, shooing him. "We dwarves are as hard as nails."
Alex knelt beside the dog and examined the wound. He had been stabbed in the flank, but the bleeding was already slowing. The dog watched him, its head almost touching Leela's. Gently probing the stab wound, he saw it didn't look too deep. Clyde whined as he packed gauze bandages onto the puncture and tied strips around it to apply pressure. He sat back, knowing that was as good as he could manage without a veterinary physician's help. Clyde licked his hand. "Your turn, Kargin."
As Alex pulled away the ripped Kevlar armor, exposing Kargin's wound, the dwarf glanced at the dead Ulfir Dunwalker, the spearhead jutting from beneath his chin. "Not bad for a human." A trickle of bloody spit ran into his beard.
"I got lucky—very lucky."
The puncture marks had been ripped even wider when the manticore had tossed the dwarf about, leaving jagged, bleeding wounds. "This is going to hurt," Alex said as he ripped open another QuikClot. "The zeolite burns."
"Whoa, slow down there, human," Kargin said suspiciously.
"You'd prefer I cauterize the wounds with your ax?"
Kargin smiled and snorted. "Magic manling powder it is, then."
As Alex poured the contents liberally into the open wounds, Kargin nearly jumped upright. "Grandmother's hairy tits! That stings!"
"Stay still." He emptied the last of the QuikClot powder into the wounds, and the bleeding slowed. Alex then packed the wounds with gauze, shoving the fabric in with his fingers. Finally, he took Kargin's good hand and placed it atop the gauze. "Put pressure here. Do you want morphine, medicine, for the pain? It'll make you drowsy."
Kargin shook his head. "Slept enough on this world." He glanced at Alex's back. "You're bleeding as well."
"Just a scratch. I'll rub dirt into it later."
Kargin laughed. "Make a proper dwarf of you yet."
Elizabeth, hearing the exchange, came over, a SCAR in her hands. "You're hurt?"
"It's not serious."
"How would you know? You can't see your back." She placed her rifle down then turned Alex about and ripped his cut shirt apart to examine the wound.
"Well? How's it look?"
"Like you need stitches. About six inches long and bleeding." She tenderly touched the muscles on his back. "Despite all the blood, I don't think it's serious."
"Pour some of this into the wound." Alex handed her the last of his QuikClot packages. "Then tape a bandage over it."
He ground his teeth as she followed his instructions.
"Swamp Thing … Jules ... is dead," she said softly, her voice slightly breaking.
"I know. I'm sorry. He was … he was a hell of a soldier."
When finished, she rested her hand on his shoulder from behind. "What now, Alex?"
His gaze took in the destruction around them, the still-burning remains of the Jump Tube and the growing smoke that was even now making it harder to breathe. "I don't know. We needed those explosives." He flexed his arms, satisfied that he could move and act, then put his body armor and load-bearing vest back on before picking up Swamp Thing's discarded LMG. He slung it over his neck so that it hung in front of his chest. "We're going to need to find a stretcher. I think there's a first-aid station near the backup generator. Then we need to move everyone away from here. The fumes are probably toxic."
"I've still got the Shatkur Orb," she told him.
"I can walk," said Kargin. "But don't forget my ax."
"Where do you want to go?" Elizabeth asked him.
"Back to the elevator. We can check on the others. Make sure Paco and Huck aren't … aren't—Goddamn that dark elf bastard!" His voice broke, and he felt a surge of emotions threaten to overcome him. "And Goddamn me for letting him get the drop on us! This is my fault."
She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her cheek against his chest, hugging him. "This isn't your fault, and it isn't God's fault, either. I understand that now. But you need to stay strong. I need you. We all need you."
He stared down at her, overwhelmed by the stress and responsibility and—frankly—surprised at the depths of Elizabeth's strength. When did she become this person? "You're absolutely right, Elizabeth. Let's go."
ELIZABETH FORCED herself to concentrate on helping the others. They found the first-aid station and quickly raided it for its stretcher and supplies. She helped Alex carry Leela, with Clyde lying on the stretcher beside her, to the elevator at the base of the Bore Hole. The dog whined, but Alex insisted he'd be fine.
When she saw Huck and Paco were still alive, she felt an immense surge of relief. Thank you, she whispered in a quick prayer to God. Maybe Ulfir hadn't cared enough to kill them. Maybe he thought they were already dead.
They laid Leela next to her sleeping brother.
They went back for Helena and Kargin. Helena was still unconscious, but Kargin could walk on his own. While they had been gone, Kargin had even pried the two-foot-long spearhead from Ulfir's throat. He carried it under his uninjured arm as they made their way back to the others with Helena on the stretcher.
As they carefully set Helena down, Elizabeth felt an enormous surge of mana—so powerful, she gasped in surprise. It was like the earlier
sensation when they had been in the Chinook, the green flash that Kargin thought was a test of the Culling Wave. But this time, the sensation was vastly more powerful. And after the initial surge, the mana-force kept coming, repeating every few seconds—like waves crashing against the shore.
Breathless, she stared in horror at Kargin and Alex.
Kargin peered at her, his eyes filled with sudden sorrow. "It's begun, hasn't it?"
"I think so."
Alex looked from Elizabeth to Kargin. "You mean—"
"The culling," she said. "We're too late."
54
Paul Bernard looked up from his desk in the Government Operations Center in Ottawa. One of his analysts, his face pale, had just burst into the center. Paul stood up. "What's wrong?"
"Some … some sort of … of terrorist attack," the young man panted, barely coherent.
"Calm down. Give me the facts."
"Vancouver. People are just … disappearing."
"I know; we're working it." An hour ago, they had started to receive reports of thousands of very elderly people vanishing without a trace. In fact, he had just put down the phone after discussing the situation with the prime minister's office. There was a quiet calm right now, but the news was beginning to break, and when it did, there'd be rioting. There's no way these disappearances are unrelated to the aliens. We need to do something.
"No, not just the elderly—everyone! It's gotta be some form of nuclear, biological, or chemical attack. Something we've never heard of before."
Paul stared at the analyst, a chill running through him. "Everyone?"
"Vancouver's gone. Video feeds, phone calls. It's like the city was instantly abandoned."
Paul, feeling as if he was going to vomit, grasped at his phone. "I need to call—"
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