Epic: Dawn of Destiny

by Lee Stephen

  Only moments after he passed the intersections, Zigler drew to a halt. Becan froze and stared at him. “Wha’?”

  Zigler released one hand from his combat shotgun and pointed forward. “Left wall. Look.”

  Becan followed Zigler’s finger, until he too came across it. His eyes locked on it for several seconds, and a span of silence lingered before he uttered into the comm.

  “There’s blood on the wall.”

  David inched closer to the corner of Juliet. “How much?”

  Becan zoomed in his visor. The dark red smears streaked across the wall in long dashes, then dropped to the floor, where they trailed around the corner. “A lot,” he answered. “Yeh migh’ see some where yeh are. It looks like somethin’ was dragged.”

  Henry’s breathing grew heavier.

  David inspected the wall ahead. As he concentrated his vision, he identified speckled crimson against the wall and floor. It would have been impossible to see had he not known to look for it. “I see it now,” he said.

  Becan and Zigler remained fixated on the stains. The Irishman could make out a bloodied handprint along the bottom of the right-hand wall. It smeared along the pale white paint until it disappeared completely around the corner. “…I’m movin’ to it,” he said.

  “Careful, everyone,” David said. Though their noses were almost fully adjusted to the odor, new inhalations occasionally freshened it.

  Becan took his final step to the corner. Silence lingered in all directions. The smell was as intense as ever. With every second that passed, his stomach grew more and more nauseated. He closed his eyes. He regripped his assault rifle. He counted to three. As soon as he opened his eyes and rounded the edge, he gagged over the comm.

  David tore around the other corner. His eyes captured Becan, who had doubled back and covered his mouth. David’s attention shifted down to the floor, where he saw the cause of the Irishman’s disgust. The remains were not even identifiable.

  Becan swallowed as his gaze rose to David. “Is tha’…?”

  “Yeah,” David answered.

  “God…”

  “What is it?” Henry asked.

  David and Becan pivoted their heads upward. Directly above the remains, a hole was torn through the ceiling panels. Claw marks were visible from where it was slashed open.

  “What is it?” Henry asked again.

  Becan closed his eyes and whispered as David spoke through the comm. “Colonel, we’ve got something.”

  Lilan’s voice emerged a second later. “What do you have?”

  “Human remains and a hole in the ceiling.”

  “Can you reach it?”

  David and Becan eyed each other. “Possibly, sir,” David answered.

  “Find a way up,” Lilan said. “Chances are, it leads to the nest. Whoever goes first, be extremely careful. Don’t start searching until at least two people are up.”

  “Yes sir,” David answered, and he closed the comm channel. He stared up at the hole, then he lowered his gaze to Becan. “You’re lighter than me.”

  Becan’s mouth dropped. “Big bloody deal!”

  “Shh!” Zigler warned.

  David sighed. “I can probably lift you up enough for you to climb through.”

  “Well tha’s just grand, isn’t it?”

  “Okay?” David asked.

  “Why do I have to go through the bloody hole first?”

  “Because there’s no way you can lift me up.”

  “Put Henry in the hole first.”

  “Hell no,” Henry answered.

  David’s expression narrowed. “Becan, you’re going up first. Someone will be right behind you.”

  “Who?”

  “Zig. He’s small, too.”

  Zigler muttered under his breath.

  Becan shot David a look of disapproval, and shook his head acceptingly. “If I go up there an’ somethin’ bites me head off, I hope to flickin’ God my body falls on yeh.”

  David lowered himself to the ground and entwined his fingers together. Becan hesitated, then set his foot into place. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and peered up as he braced for David’s lift.

  David’s muscles tightened, and he raised Becan just enough for him to grab the edge of the hole. He waited until Becan had a firm grip on it and began to pull himself up before he stepped away and took up his shotgun again. Ceiling timbers crinkled in the previously undisturbed silence as flecks of construction material drifted down to the floor.

  Becan scanned every direction as he pulled himself into place on a rafter. The ceiling space could be easily traversed via a catwalk of supports. It was unnaturally warm, and beads of sweat dripped from his brow. He glanced up. The roof of the building was twenty feet above him. Everything else was a series of pipes, rafters, and units. He slipped his assault rifle from his shoulder and gripped it in his hands. Without a look down, he gave David a thumbs up.

  Zigler watched the climb from beyond the corner. He had yet to see the remains on the floor, and he fought the urge to duck around the corner and look. The sound of Becan situating himself was disturbing enough.

  At that very moment, a sensation tingled across Zigler’s arms. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He held his breath as he froze. Silence prevailed all around him. Only the odor of flesh hung in the air. Yet still, his senses screamed. His breath released. His eyes bulged.

  Something was behind him.

  He spun around and propped his shotgun against his shoulder pointing at the intersection of Romeo and Bravo.

  It was empty.

  Zigler whispered into the comm, “I think something was just here.”

  Becan froze on the ceiling rafter.

  “What do you mean?” asked David.

  “I think something was just in the intersection.”

  “You guys smell that?” Henry asked.

  David backed against the wall. “Are you saying you saw something?”

  “I think something saw me. I didn’t see it, but I sure as hell felt it.”

  “Something stinks over here…”

  “Guys,” Becan said, “Henry says somethin’ stinks.”

  David looked up at Becan, then returned his focus to Zigler. “It was by the intersection?” Zigler nodded. Silence fell around them, and David stepped back in Henry’s direction. “Okay…Henry, work your—”

  He was cut off. From just beyond the intersection, in the visually blocked space between Romeo and Juliet, something shrieked. It lasted a mere second, then it stopped. Team-1 went rigid. The school fell silent.

  For almost ten seconds, no one spoke. Their stances froze as they neared the intersection. Above, Becan cupped his hands over his mouth. The next sound they heard was Lilan’s voice through the comm.

  “Anyone over there hear that?”

  David swallowed hard for the first time. “Yes sir.”

  “Find it and kill it. Remember what I said. Distract.”

  David wiped his hand across his face and then wiped it on his armor. It streaked across the silver metal. He offered Lilan an instinctive nod, then whispered to his team through the comm. “It’s right there. In the hallway between the intersections.” Henry began to shake. “Henry…I want you to work your way slowly toward it. Zig and I are going to mirror you on this end.”

  Henry didn’t reply. He only trembled in the corridor.

  “Henry? You read me?”

  “Yes sir…”

  “All right,” David said. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his mouth. “Move.”

  Henry was the closest to the corner, meters away from where the creature had shrieked. The odor was exactly as Lilan claimed—like a wet dog. His fingers curled around his E-35, and he crept closer.

  A rasping breath sputtered from around the corner, followed by a flapping grunt. The creature was making noise. Henry inched forward, his body pressed close against the far wall, his head goose-necked just enough to give him an angled view of the intersection betwee
n Romeo and Juliet.

  He froze.

  On the floor, thrusting out from the corner just enough to be visible, were two of the necrilid’s toes. Its claws tapped twice on the linoleum, then slid back out of view. Henry drew a short, sharp breath, swallowed, and stuttered a whisper into the comm. “I’m…I’m in position.”

  David inched ahead. “We’re almost there…hold for a few more seconds…”

  Becan’s voice cut through the comm. “Throw a flickin’ shoe.”

  David drifted up a foot and began to fiddle with his bootstraps.

  Becan breathed again. “Throw a flickin’ shoe.”

  “I’m throwing a flicking shoe! They’re not slip-ons—give me a second.”

  Becan listened to the transmissions from his crouched position on the rafter at the edge of the hole, his assault rifle firm in his grip. For the first time, he was thankful to have been the one to go through the ceiling.

  David’s voice came again. “Boot’s untied. Few more seconds.”

  A few more seconds. Every second seemed an eternity. Becan waited for the sound of gunfire, for some alien scream to pierce the silent tomb. He waited for any sound at all.

  Thud.

  He started. It was a sound, but not the one he expected to hear. More alarmingly, it was not the sound he expected to feel. It jolted beneath his feet, as if a loaded sack had dropped from the rafters behind him. His first inclination was to pivot around and look, but he froze before the impulse took over. He already knew what it was.

  It was it.

  The next two seconds were a blur. He whirled around. Something strong slammed into his chest. He pulled the trigger of his assault rifle. Something screamed. The next sensation to come over him was gravity, as he fell from the ceiling. Everything faded to black.

  Zigler leapt against the wall and spun around. He registered David behind him, also against the wall. Then Becan, sprawled out on the floor. Then the sound of contortions in the ceiling. In the split second it took to realize what happened, it was too late. He whipped his head back around to the intersection of Romeo and Bravo, but the necrilid was already in mid-leap. The last thing Zigler felt were claws in his throat.

  David turned toward Zigler. As Zigler crumpled to the ground, the necrilid bounded straight from his body toward David. David was struck in the chest, and his shotgun flew from his grip. He landed flat on his back. The creature was atop him.

  The necrilid was as horrible as Lilan had described. Its dark gray body was grotesquely defined, and its flattened head formed a sinister frame for the rows of razor-trimmed teeth that glistened within its oversized mouth. Its yellow eyes gleamed in the true-color vision, and it let loose a soulless wail.

  David closed his eyes and braced for death.

  Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

  David opened his eyes. It was Henry. He stood in the intersection of Bravo and Romeo as the barrel of his assault rifle flashed repeatedly. The necrilid atop David stuttered, leapt off him, and bounded from wall to wall toward Henry. Henry peddled backward and continued to fire. David scrambled back to his feet.

  It took a moment for Becan to realize he wasn’t dead. Everything was black, and he shot up a hand to his visor. His tcv was broken. He reached to the floor. His assault rifle was gone. Above, the ceiling tiles thumped as the necrilid reoriented itself.

  Panic struck Becan as he leapt to his feet. He bolted to the nearest classroom door and felt in the darkness until he found the handle. He swung the door open. The necrilid landed on the floor behind him. Becan dove, jerked around, and kicked the door shut. He fiddled with his helmet until he found his helmet light, and clicked it on. It still worked. Through the glass of the door, the necrilid’s yellow eyes gleamed at him.

  David flinched as Henry’s shots ricocheted around him. “Henry!” David screamed as he propped up and reclaimed his shotgun. The necrilid was bounding after Henry, growing closer with every leap. “Get down!”

  Lilan, Scott, and Michael had finished their sweep of the auditorium and were halfway down Echo hall when gunfire erupted across the school. Before they could react, another sound emerged from their end. Another shriek, just like the one near Team-1. Lilan turned to face it. “You two go assist Team-1,” he said, “I’ve got this one.”

  Scott blinked. He’s got this one? What did that mean? He was going after it alone? That was the one thing he had told everyone else not to do. “Sir…”

  Lilan exploded. “Are you questioning me?”

  Michael gave Scott an ominous look.

  No, he wasn’t questioning. He was just watching out for his colonel. But if he said to go…then he had to go. Lilan knew what he was doing. “No sir,” Scott answered. Without hesitation, he and Michael fell back in the direction of the commons.

  “Get down!” David shouted again as he dropped to a knee and raised his shotgun. “Henry, get down!”

  Henry stumbled backward as the necrilid bounced from wall to wall in an effort to get closer to him. He no longer fired his assault rifle.

  David gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. Boom! The necrilid screamed. David pumped the shotgun and pulled again. Boom! Henry toppled backward. A third pump, and another flash of orange. Boom! The necrilid’s back exploded, and it collapsed forward. It scraped desperately toward the now-fallen Henry.

  Becan deadlocked his gape with the glare of the necrilid in the window. Its fangs curved with saliva, and for the first time, the Irishman looked straight into its eyes. His body shuddered.

  The creature’s head snapped around. It rumbled a low growl, and in the next instant, it was gone. Panic overtook Becan.

  It was going after David.

  Becan flung the door open and bolted into the hallway. His helmet light illuminated the back of the creature as it tore toward David from behind. “Dave!” Becan said as he reached for his sidearm, “Mind your house!”

  David whirled around. The necrilid behind him was in mid-lurch. David dove into Bravo hallway. The necrilid swiped at his shoulder in mid-flight, and David’s shotgun was knocked from his hands a second time. The creature skidded past him down the intersection and spun around to face him again. David stutter-stepped backward, ripped the handgun out from his belt, and raised it to try and aim. Before he could fire a shot, the necrilid started to leap from wall to wall toward him. He realized in that instant why Henry no longer attempted to fire. The necrilid were too fast.

  From around the intersection, Henry let loose a blood-curdling scream.

  Lilan strode to the bend as the echo of gunfire sounded through the hallways behind him. There was no stealth or urgency in his steps, and his boots clopped solidly against the linoleum floor. In a single fluid motion, he slung his assault rifle down from his shoulder, engaged the safety, and underhanded it toward the bend. He reached down, unholstered his sidearm, and aimed it forward.

  The assault rifle racketed past the corner, and the necrilid pounced from around the corner after it. As soon as the creature landed, it skidded to a halt and jerked its head at Lilan. It released an angry scream, but it was too late. Lilan pulled the trigger, and a procession of bullets flew straight into the necrilid’s head. A gurgle of blood spat from the creature’s mouth, and it toppled onto the floor. Lilan stepped beyond it, bent down, and retrieved his assault rifle.

  Becan stormed full-speed down the hallway to the intersection. He could make out his necrilid as it chased David around the corner, though the tortured scream of Henry arrested his mission momentarily. He could see the other necrilid squatted above Henry, where its claws rose and fell with murderous abandon. Becan steadied his handgun, aimed it directly at the creature, and unloaded several shots into its back. The necrilid screamed and then collapsed to the side.

  “Man down!” Becan said.

  David stumbled backward as the second necrilid pounced after him. Every attempt to aim was futile, and before David’s mind could register his failure, the creature leapt onto his chest. David was flung onto his back.
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  For a second time, a necrilid was poised atop him with its claws in the air, and for a second time, gunfire saved his life. Bullets tore through the necrilid’s body, and it whirled its head around.

  It was Becan.

  The necrilid howled. David ripped out his sidearm, placed it straight at the necrilid’s head, and pulled the trigger. The creature’s head erupted, and it cocked up and backward, where it toppled to the floor. David squirmed away and skittered back along the ground. He gasped to catch his breath, then looked up to find Becan. The Irishman was nowhere to be seen. David immediately knew why.

  Henry.

  By the time David arrived on the scene, Becan was already there. The Irishman was almost delusional. “Yeh goin’ to be all righ’,” he stuttered. “Just sit tigh’ for a minute!”

  Henry was a wreck. The lower portion of his body was mauled beyond recognition. His chest heaved up and down as he struggled for breath, and his eyes bore straight to the ceiling with frozen terror. His teeth rattled together.

  Scott and Michael arrived a second later. The instant Scott saw Henry, he whirled around, and a wave of vomit spewed from his throat. Michael gagged, but bit back an eruption.

  David fell to Henry’s side. Henry’s glazed eyes found him, and David took hold of the soldier’s bloodied hand.

  Becan continued to stutter. “Yeh goin’ to be all righ’!”

  David knew better. He understood now what Lilan had said before the mission. There was no need for a medic. As he held fast to Henry’s hand, Henry continued to flicker a hollow stare at him. The fallen soldier couldn’t speak—the only sounds that came from him were gurgled gasps—but he could look. David’s eyes moistened as Henry’s blurred gaze locked against his, and he felt the soldier squeeze his hand.

  Then it was over.

  The hand went limp, and the muscles behind Henry’s clenched expression grew soft. He was dead.