Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2)

by Anthony M. Strong

  Mina entered the lobby at a clip and propelled herself toward the opposite corridor. If only she could get to the window and climb out into the open she might stand a chance.

  The creature was still in pursuit, and it was fast. She risked a glance over her shoulder and was shocked to see that it was closer than she expected. She redoubled her efforts and put on a spurt of speed to reach the corridor. A few moments later she was out of the lobby, her chest heaving, lungs burning with the effort. Up ahead she could see the door to the first room, and beyond that the window.

  She just might make it.

  Suddenly her shoe caught on a piece of debris, a ceiling tile that had fallen, and she pitched forward. She let out a horrified wail as the floor rushed toward her, and she reached out, frantic for any kind of handhold to arrest her tumble. Her hand found a doorknob and she grasped it, struggling to regain her balance. Her left leg shot forward and found enough ground to keep her upright as she stumbled and fell through the doorway into the room through which she had entered the tower.

  Ahead of her the window beckoned like a redeeming savior. She dodged an upturned chair, weaved around a disintegrating desk, and then she was there, pulling on the window, lifting it and climbing through. She got one leg through and braced herself to lift the other leg up and out, but before she could clear the sill she felt a hand grip her ankle and pull.

  She cried out in despair and kicked back, hoping to dislodge her attacker, but she could feel herself losing the battle. Her fingers curled around the window frame, knuckles white with tension.

  A second hand landed on her shoulder, gripping her much too tight.

  She yelped in pain as sharp claws pierced her coat, her shirt, and punctured the skin below her collarbone. The creature ripped her from the window, with a gleeful shriek, and spun her around with so much force that she feared she might pass out.

  And then it let her go.

  She flew through the air for a moment before impacting the wall opposite the window, the back of her head bouncing off the drywall as if it were a badly thrown basketball.

  A spear of agony shot down her spine.

  She crumpled to the floor, gasping, dazed.

  The creature stood several feet away and watched her.

  Mina raised her head and saw her attacker clearly for the first time. A stab of fear clenched in her stomach.

  The creature opened its mouth in what appeared to be a mocking grin, baring rows of needlelike pointed teeth. It hunkered down, like a sprinter at the starting line, just for a moment.

  And then it shot forward with incredible speed.

  There was no time to think.

  Mina looked around, saw the upturned chair she had weaved around a few moments before.

  It was within reach.

  She grasped it and lifted, her muscles protesting the work, and swung just as the creature reached her.

  The chair hit its mark and disintegrated into kindling, leaving her holding leg shaped sticks.

  The creature’s head snapped to the side and it stumbled away, confused.

  That was all that Mina needed.

  She sprang to her feet and leapt for the window, discarding the chair legs as she went. This time she didn’t even attempt to climb out, but instead launched herself headfirst toward the open window.

  Her aim was perfect.

  She sailed through the opening and hit the grass beyond, lifting her arms and tucking her head, rolling as she landed. For the first time in her life she was thankful for the two years of gymnastics her mother had forced her to endure.

  Without hesitation she sprang to her feet, hitched the bag high on her shoulder, and kept on running across the open space toward the other tower, and safety.

  From somewhere far behind her, in the room she had just escaped, rose a howl of frustration.

  45

  Decker left Hayley Marsh in the lobby and rode up the elevator to the tenth floor, lost in thought. Even though he wished it had not occurred, the untimely death of Sheriff Don Wilder made things much easier. He would now be able to go about his investigation free of harassment, but at the same time he felt a tinge of apprehension. There was no denying that he was pursuing a dangerous and unpredictable killer who had already got the drop on both an armed ex-marine and an experienced cop, eviscerating them with apparent ease. He would have to proceed with caution if he wanted to avoid meeting the same fate.

  The thing that really troubled him was the amount of shots fired by the two men, not all of which could have missed their mark, and yet there was no sign that their attacker was wounded, let alone killed. Such a barrage of lead should have left some physical trace of the intended target, even if it was just a drop or two of blood. But there was nothing, at least as far as he could tell.

  His only hope was that the crime scene techs found something the state troopers had missed, but it was unlikely. Decker was sure all the blood on the scene had come from the victims, given its location and the splatter patterns.

  He reached the tenth floor and hurried to his apartment. Once inside he stripped off his shirt and took a fresh one from a hanger in the bedroom closet. Somehow this made him feel clean, as if the old shirt carried with it the memories of the crime scene.

  He considered calling Nancy, telling her what had happened, and that he was now the acting sheriff in the town of Shackleton, at least when it came to tracking down the killer that had so handily dispatched the previous sheriff.

  Phone in hand, he took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank deeply. By the time the water bottle was empty he had changed his mind. He pushed the phone back into his pocket. Nancy was already under enough stress. If he told her about the latest killings, and his sudden and unexpected promotion, it would worry her even more. He didn’t want to cause her undue concern. She had enough to deal with.

  He crossed into the space that served as both living and dining room, to the pile of books on the kitchen table, and picked up the top volume, the Naval history book. He found the bookmark and read the chapter on Shackleton again. He could not help but feel that the events of the past few days were somehow tied to the history of the place. His eyes lingered on the same phrase he had picked out earlier, the sentence that alluded to some kind of research being carried out. There were two key questions foremost in his mind. What exactly were they up to, and where were the experiments taking place?

  He was sure that neither of the towers contained any laboratories. The south tower had been housing even when the base was operational, and the north tower was logistical, with offices, briefing rooms, and such. If there were any labs in either buildings, someone would have noticed in the years since the base was decommissioned. For a start, Mina claimed that she regularly explored the north tower with her friends as a child, and many kids before her would surely have done the same thing. It was too good a thing to pass up, especially given the lax security and lack of anything better to do. No, he was sure that any research facility must be located somewhere else. Only where? Other than the towers, there were very few structures big enough to house a whole research facility. The fisheries buildings fit the bill, but they were much too new. Those structures weren’t even there at the time of the Naval base. That meant that the labs were either gone, the buildings that housed them torn down, or hidden.

  He glanced down to the key card they had found the previous evening. The card itself might be a copy, but it was old tech, dating back to at least the Seventies. So why was it in a bag hidden in an abandoned tower? This was another question he didn’t have an answer to, but he had a feeling that the key card must be tied to the elusive research facility, and that meant it was still here, somewhere. All he had to do was find it.

  He closed the book, dropped it back on the pile, and walked to the window, where he looked out in the direction of the bay. As he watched, one of the helicopters rose from the ground and hovered for a moment before pointing its nose out toward the ocean. The second helicopter followed s
uit, and soon they were nothing more than specks on the horizon, the sound of their rotors fading to nothing. The State Troopers were gone. He was on his own.

  His eyes fell to the bait and tackle store. The crowd had diminished now, leaving only a few diehard onlookers to chat among themselves. Even the ambulances had departed with their grisly cargo. The only sign that anything bad had happened was the yellow crime scene tape that was barely visible, strung around the building to keep the curious at bay, and Sheriff Wilder’s Jeep still sitting there, waiting for a driver who would never return.

  He yawned, suddenly overcome with a deep tiredness. He had not slept well since his arrival. He had been called away on midnight excursions twice, once when the maintenance man was killed, and then again last night to break into the north tower. He moved toward the bedroom, intent upon laying his head down for an hour or two, but at that moment there was a knock at the door.

  46

  Mina didn’t stop running until she reached the south tower lobby. When she entered, there were several people talking, clustered around the fountain that graced the central plaza, their laughter belying the terrifying ordeal she had just underwent. Despite the fact that her heart was still pounding, and her legs felt like jelly, Mina felt safe enough to reduce her speed to a fast walk, doing her best not to draw any unwanted attention.

  She rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and hurried to her apartment, where she stashed the bag in the bedroom closet under a pile of dirty laundry, which was as safe a place as any to hide the evidence of her adventure.

  Safe at last, and with the front door securely shut and latched, she sat down on the bed and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths in through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Within a few minutes she had stopped shaking and could feel her composure returning.

  She stood up and looked in the mirror, shocked at her pale and disheveled appearance. She reached up and touched the back of her head, where it had cracked against the wall, and winced when a sharp lance of pain shot down her neck. She would have a hell of a bump there by tomorrow.

  Her shoulder throbbed like crazy. She peeled her coat off, annoyed to see a crimson patch of blood seeping through her shirt where the creature had snagged her. The top was useless now, torn in at least two places.

  She unbuttoned and slid the garment down, gritting her teeth as the fabric pulled away from the four nasty puncture wounds near her left shoulder blade. She dropped the blouse and leaned close to the mirror to examine the damage. It didn’t look like any of the wounds would need stitches, but some antiseptic wouldn’t go amiss. She would need a new bra too. The left cup was stained red.

  She turned away from the mirror and headed toward the bathroom, where she kept first aid supplies.

  She ran the water in the sink until it warmed up. She cleaned the wounds as best she could, dabbing them with a wet cotton washcloth. Next she opened a cabinet and pulled out the bottle of antiseptic. When she splashed it on her shoulder it stung and she let out a yelp of pain. She found a box of adhesive bandages, selected the largest ones, and applied them, being careful to position the pads over the raw puncture holes.

  She stepped back and looked at her work, pleased to find that she looked much better than she had just a few moments before. It still hurt to move her shoulder, but at least she wouldn’t bleed over everything now.

  She went to the closet and changed into fresh clothes, discarding the soiled bra and pulling a loose fitting tee over her head. Now there was just one thing left to do. She must find Decker and fill him in. He might be mad at her for sneaking into the north tower without telling him, but that was a risk she would have to take.

  47

  Decker opened the door to find Mina standing on the other side. She looked pale and there was the start of a nasty bruise blooming on her cheek. No sooner had he stepped aside than she brushed past him into the room.

  “I saw the monster.” Her words were fast and jumbled. “It’s real. I can hardly believe it, but the monster is real.”

  “What?” Decker spun around. “What do you mean, you saw the monster?”

  “In the north tower. I went there to get the bag.”

  “You did what?” Decker said. The last thing he wanted was for her to take off on her own without consulting him first. “I thought we were going to talk about that before we went and did anything stupid. Did you get it?”

  “What?” She looked distant, as if her mind were on other things.

  “The bag. Did you get it?”

  “Yes, but you’re not hearing me.” Mina sounded flustered. “I saw the creature that killed that tunnel worker, and Garrett Evans, the maintenance guy. It was in the north tower. It chased me.”

  “It did what?” Decker could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You could have been killed.”

  “I know that now.” She paused, drew a long breath. “It caught up to me just as I was about to climb out of the window.” The memory of the creature pulling her back into the room, throwing her against the wall, was still raw. She felt a tear welling at the corner of her eye. Decker was right. She could have been killed. In fact, if it weren’t for some quick thinking, and a whole heap of luck, she surely would be. “Gave me a hell of a fright.”

  “You’re lucky to be alive,” Decker said. He was annoyed with her, but at the same time he now knew where to find the creature.

  “I barely made it out. The thing is strong, and ugly.” A vision of the creature, the scaly skin, powerful frame, and sharp teeth flashed through her mind. What really made her skin crawl though, more than anything, were the eyes. Pale and cloudy, yet somehow alert and intelligent, they possessed a coldness that she had never encountered before. “We need to go kill it, right now. We should go get Sheriff Wilder too. He’ll have to cooperate now, seeing as how we found the killer. Besides, we might need the firepower.”

  “That won’t be possible,” Decker said.

  “What? Why?” Mina looked perplexed. “Surely you don’t think he’ll still want to put us in jail? We’ll be helping him solve the biggest case of his life.”

  “Sheriff Wilder is dead,” Decker said, matter-of-factly.

  There was a stunned silence. Mina furrowed her brow, as if she were processing this latest piece of information. Finally, after a long pause, she spoke again. “How can he be dead? He was giving us hell just last night.”

  “He was murdered at the bait and tackle store this morning. That’s not all. Verne Nolan, the store’s owner, is dead too. They were both killed by the same person.” As soon as he said it Decker realized that person was the wrong word. It wasn’t a man that had killed the sheriff and Verne, but something else, something much worse, and it appeared that Mina had inadvertently crossed paths with it. If it weren’t for her miraculous escape, he could be viewing his third corpse of the day right about now. “They were torn apart.”

  “So that’s what all the commotion was about.” Mina suddenly felt sick. She moved to the sofa and sat down. After a while she looked up at Decker. “Where does that leave us?”

  “It leaves me in charge from here on out, for one thing,” Decker said, and then he told her everything that had happened after they parted ways earlier that day, and also how Hayley had promoted him to acting town sheriff.

  Mina listened with a look of concern on her face before commenting. “I guess it’s just the two of us then.”

  “Looks that way,” Decker replied. He walked to the bedroom and opened a slim drawer in the bedside table, pulling out the gun that had nearly landed them in jail. This would not be enough, he knew. But there were bound to be more guns, bigger guns, in Wilder’s office, and he had the keys, thanks to Hayley, who commandeered them before they took the sheriff’s remains to the morgue.

  Mina watched him retrieve the pistol. “What about me?”

  “What about you?” Decker slid the gun into his jacket pocket.

  “Don’t I get something too?” she said. “I really don’t want to run i
nto that creature again unarmed.”

  “I thought you didn’t like guns.”

  “I don’t, but my hunting knife isn’t enough protection. The creature would have to be right on top of me before it would be any use.”

  “It won’t be a problem,” Decker replied.

  “What? Why?”

  “I’m going alone. You are staying here where it’s safe.”

  “Like hell I am.” Mina’s eyes flew wide, a look of indignation on her face. “You can’t leave me behind.”

  “Yes, I can.” Decker had no intention of putting Mina in harm’s way again. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “I can take care of myself. I already ran into it once and survived.” She hovered near the door, ready to follow Decker if he tried to leave without her. “Besides, taking the creature on alone didn’t work out too well for Wilder, did it?”

  “No, it didn’t.” Mina had a point, but still he felt a responsibility to keep her safe. “Wilder wasn’t expecting an attack. I’m going in prepared.”

  “I’m coming with you, and that’s all there is to it.”

  Decker was silent for a moment. He couldn't really stop her if she decided to tag along, unless he was willing to lock her up in the town jail, but he could not bring himself to do such a thing. Eventually he shook his head, realizing he was beaten. “You’d better not make me regret this.”

  “I won’t,” she said. “I promise.

  Half an hour later Decker led Mina toward the north tower. Along the way they made a stop at the sheriff’s office on the third floor. Decker wasted no time pulling a rifle from the gun rack, and made a quick search of the place, finding ammo and a holster that fitted the pistol. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and strapped the holster to his belt. On a pegboard behind Wilder’s desk he found several sets of keys, one of which was labeled North Tower Front Doors. He grabbed them. Now they wouldn’t need to climb through windows. It also gave them an easier escape route should anything go wrong.