Incursion

by Richard Turner

  Shaw knew that it could only be the people he had specifically told not to come after him. He had never been so happy to realize that his strict orders had been disobeyed.

  “Down here and hurry,” called out Shaw.

  In less than a minute, Bruce and Anna were standing above him looking down the hole, the light from her flashlight illuminating the world around Shaw.

  “Jesus sir, what happened to you?” said Bruce.

  “What the hell do you think happened?” snapped Shaw, instantly regretting his tone. He was lucky to have friends who wouldn’t quit on him. “Listen up: I need to get out of here right away if I am going to stop that bastard.”

  “We don’t have any rope with us to pull you out with,” said Anna. “Is there something down there you can throw up to us to help you out with?”

  Shaw shook his head. He couldn’t believe his bad luck. He was becoming desperate when it hit him. Looking up, he called out to his compatriots. “Take your jackets off, tie them together, and then lower it down. I’ll use it to climb up to you.”

  Bruce and Anna exchanged a look and then hurried to get their jackets off. A minute later, the jackets were lowered down into the hole. Bruce held onto one end of the jackets while Anna tightly wrapped her arms around him and then dug in her heels into the rocky floor.

  Reaching up, Shaw saw that the jackets were just out of reach. Stepping back a couple of feet, he took a couple of deep breaths to fill his blood full of oxygen and then ran. Leaping up into the air, Shaw grabbed hold of the hanging arm of Bruce’s parka. Swinging in the air for a second, Shaw blocked the pain in his chest from his mind and began to climb hand over hand.

  The sudden shock of Shaw’s weight on the jackets pulled Bruce and Anna forward a couple of inches. Digging in his heels, Bruce held on for dear life.

  A couple of seconds later, a dirt-covered hand reached up from below and grabbed hold of the rocky ground.

  “I got him,” said Bruce, through clenched teeth. “Help Shaw up.”

  Letting go of Bruce, Anna darted over, grabbed hold of Shaw’s parka and with a loud grunt she started to pull him up.

  Shaw’s head popped up, quickly followed by his other arm. Within seconds, Shaw lay on the floor of the tunnel, gasping for air. With a grin on his dirty face, Shaw rolled over and shook his head at his friends and then stood up.

  “Thanks,” was all Shaw could muster between breaths.

  “Yer welcome,” replied Bruce as he untied his and Anna’s jackets.

  Looking past Bruce, Shaw saw the lifeless body of Zach lying face up on the cold ground. He may have been an enemy soldier, but Shaw respected the man. He died fighting.

  Bruce broke the silence. “Where has our friend gone?”

  “Up there,” said Shaw, pointing towards the airshaft.

  “I know where that comes out,” said Anna. “There’s a sacred site on the top of the hill with several dozen tall standing stones dating back to pagan times.”

  Shaw said, “Duncan, do you still have that pistol I gave you?”

  “Yes,” he replied, digging out the German Luger from his parka.

  “I’ll take that,” said Shaw, pocketing the pistol. With Zach dead, Shaw knew he needed his friends’ help to stop the imposter. Besides, any order he gave to stay away would instantly be disobeyed. “Listen up you two: I’m going up the airshaft after the imposter. I want you two to head back the way you came and then make your way to the top of the hill. Perhaps three of us working together can stop it before it can get away.”

  “Captain, what exactly do you want us to do?” asked Bruce.

  “If you see it…kill it.” Before anyone could say another word, Shaw sprinted towards the edge of the hole. With a deep grunt, he leapt into the air, his legs and arms reaching ground on the far side of the hole. With a thud, he landed on the other side with less than a couple of inches to spare. Rolling over on his shoulder, Shaw came up on his feet.

  Looking back, Shaw called out, “Don’t just stand there. Get moving.”

  Nodding their heads, Anna and Bruce turned on their heels and sprinted back the way they came, the light from their flashlight quickly fading into the darkness.

  Shaw turned his head and looked up the airshaft. It was narrow, but if the imposter had made it all the way up, Shaw figured he could do the same. Bending his knees, Shaw jumped up and grabbed hold of a wooden beam hanging down from the end of the shaft. Pulling himself up, Shaw hung there for a moment. Shooting out his right foot, he tried to find a spot on the wall to dig his foot in. A second later, his boot jammed home into a small crevice. Bringing his left leg over, he took a deep breath and then pushed up. Using his legs to propel himself up into the shaft, Shaw began to climb. Recalling how much he had hated the obstacle course during commando training, he was happy now that they had spent so much time day after day crawling up and over the various obstacles. Like a mountain climber, Shaw always kept three points of contact as he slowly, but steadily, climbed up the hundred yards to the top of the shaft.

  Running as quickly as they dared through the tunnel, Anna and Bruce soon saw the light from the tunnel entrance calling to them. Picking up the pace, they burst out into the open. A cold wind whipped past them, reminding them just how bitterly cold it still was outside. Both were covered in sweat. Hurrying, they donned their jackets and gloves to ward off the cold.

  Seeing Anna, the horse raised its head and let out a neigh as if welcoming her back safely.

  Running over, Anna untied the horse and then climbed up onto the saddle. Bending down, she held out her hand to Bruce. “Climb up.”

  “I’ve never been on a horse before. Are you sure it will hold both of us?”

  “Don’t be silly. This is a Clydesdale. He can pull the fire engine by himself. Now quit wasting time and climb up.”

  Mumbling to himself, Bruce took Anna’s hand and then climbed up onto the back of the horse. The instant Anna felt Bruce’s arms wrap around her waist, she dug in her heels into the horse’s side and called out. With a loud neigh, the horse began to trot up the snowy trail leading to the top of the hill.

  The hunt was on.

  38

  Sacred Site

  The light from above grew brighter by the second. Shaw’s weary muscles cried out for him to stop and take a break, but he couldn’t stop, not now. Seeing the end of the climb nearing, Shaw dug deep inside and began to climb faster. Sweat soaked his body. Stopping just below the top of the airshaft, Shaw waited a couple of seconds to catch his breath and to listen for anything moving around outside of the airshaft. He didn’t want to pop his head up only to have it torn from his body by the imposter lying in wait for him. Digging out his pistol, Shaw cautiously stuck his head up so he could see out of the hole. He could see that the airshaft came out a couple of dozen yards from the top of the hill. Although the ice fog had begun to burn off, it still clung like a horde of swirling ghosts to the thick evergreen trees. Looking about, Shaw saw the imposter’s footprints leading away from the airshaft and up towards the top of the hill. Quickly pulling himself out of the shaft, with his pistol in hand, Shaw began to quietly work his way through the trees, hoping to come out behind the imposter.

  The light had stopped blinking and turned a solid green on the imposter’s wristband. Looking up at the cloud-covered sky, his training told him that he had about five minutes left to wait. The recovery craft would already be through Earth’s atmosphere and be racing towards the signal emitted from his wristband. Its neck ached and burnt from where it had been shot. Taking a deep breath through its nostrils, the imposter looked about at its surroundings. He was standing in the middle of a clearing filled with tall standing rocks. Some were twice as tall as him, while others were no taller than his knees. The stones didn’t seem to follow any pattern as far as the imposter could tell. He judged the place to be an ancient place of worship. The thought that foreign, ancient Gods were worshipped here was unsettling to the imposter. It was as if he were trespassing
where he didn’t belong. They may not have been his Gods, but he still felt their power deep inside his chest. Looking up once more, the imposter began to count down the seconds in his mind until he could be gone from this cold and wretched place and back among his own kind.

  Pulling back on a snow-covered branch, Shaw looked over at the standing stones spread out on top of the hill and tried to see if he could spot the imposter. The mist seemed to be conspiring against him as it clung to the ancient stones as if somehow protecting them. Slowly moving out from the cover to the trees, Shaw made his way into the stones. His heart was pounding away in his chest, yet oddly Shaw felt at ease. He had a job to do, and he intended to see it through to the bitter end. Moving behind a tall stone, Shaw got down on one knee and peered around the rock. With a grin on his face, he spotted his foe standing in the middle of the stones with its head turned up to the sky. Raising his pistol, Shaw took careful aim. He needed to hit the imposter in the head. Any other shot would be pointless. He was an excellent marksman with a rifle, but with a pistol, he had barely passed the qualification range back in basic training. He suspected that the instructor had taken pity on him and let him pass the range so he didn’t have to waste his time re-teaching Shaw the proper way to shoot a pistol. From where he was, Shaw knew that he was going to need a miracle to hit his target in the head.

  He had to move closer. Cautiously moving out from behind his cover, Shaw crept towards the next tall stone, intending to use it for cover. He could hear the sound of the snow crunching under his feet. To him, it sounded as if an elephant were trampling along beside him. Cringing, he tried to move along as quiet as he could. Moving behind the stone, Shaw took a moment to catch his breath. Warily, he took a quick look around the side of the stone. His stomach instantly dropped…the imposter was gone. Swearing under his breath, Shaw stuck his head out further, trying to see where the imposter had gone. All he could see were standing stones of all shapes and sizes and fog blanketing the entire site. With his pistol raised out in front of him, Shaw edged out from behind the tall stone and slowly moved towards the next stone, hoping to find the imposter and get off a lucky shot before he had a chance to react.

  The sound of a horse loudly neighing somewhere beyond the mist startled Shaw. Dropping to one knee, he looked over his pistol, hoping that the noise would have rattled the imposter into giving himself away. Shaw held his breath and waited. The clearing remained deathly still. Realizing that there was only one-way to draw out the creature, Shaw stood up.

  The standing stones on the top of the hill suddenly emerged out of the mist. Pulling back on the horse’s reins, Anna brought her horse to a gradual halt. Jumping down, she pulled the submachine gun from her back and looked around. The fog hadn’t begun to dissipate from around the stones yet. It still hung heavy and thick. A foreboding feeling of dread filled her heart.

  With as much grace as he could, Bruce got down from the tall horse and patted its neck. Unlike Anna, he didn’t have a weapon. Stepping in close beside her, Bruce whispered in her ear, “Now what do we do?”

  “I don’t know,” whispered Anna. “I think we had best wait here until Captain Shaw arrives.”

  Looking over at the stones, a shudder ran down Bruce’s back. He couldn’t decide if he were cold or frightened. He had to admit to himself that he was both. From out of the corner of his eye, he saw a darkened shape move stealthily through the fog, startling him. Tapping Anna on the shoulder, Bruce pointed to where he had seen the movement. Turning, Anna brought up her submachine gun and aimed it into the fog. Suddenly, Shaw darted out of the fog, ran over and stopped beside Anna, struggling to catch his breath.

  “Quite the climb,” said Shaw between breaths.

  “Have you seen the creature?” asked Anna.

  “No, not yet…have you?”

  Bruce placed his hand on Anna’s shoulder and gently pulled her back a couple of feet. “Captain, where’s the pistol you took from me?” Bruce asked Shaw.

  “I lost it.”

  “Which pocket did you put it in?” said Bruce, his voice suddenly serious.

  “Duncan, has anyone told you lately that you’re a really paranoid person.”

  “Anna, if he doesn’t answer the question,” said Bruce, “I want you to kill Captain Shaw.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous you two,” said Shaw, taking a step towards Anna.

  “Not another step closer,” said Anna, bringing up her weapon. “Answer the question Captain…which pocket?”

  In the blink of an eye, the imposter dropped its disguise and attacked.

  Seeing the imposter for what he really was made Anna gasp and recoil in horror. Without aiming, Anna pulled back on the trigger of her submachine gun. With a loud blast, bullets shot forth. She might as well have fired up into the air. The bullets harmlessly struck the creature in its body armor; a second later its gloved hand wrapped around Anna’s weapon. With a sharp tug, the submachine gun was pulled from her hands and thrown into the mist. Fear gripped Anna. Stepping back, she tripped over a stone, with her arms flailing in the air; she fell back into the snow.

  Seeing Anna fall, with a loud guttural cry, Bruce charged at the imposter.

  Turning its head, the imposter saw Bruce coming straight at him, bent his knees and then waited for his attack.

  It was like hitting a solid brick wall. The imposter didn’t move an inch when Bruce ran into its mid-section with his head down trying to tackle him to the ground. A second later, Bruce felt an arm like a boa constrictor wrap tightly around his waist.

  Picking Bruce up off the ground, the imposter flipped him upside down and then rammed his right knee hard into Bruce’s head, knocking him unconscious. Hurling his body into a clump of snow-covered trees, the imposter walked over and reached down for Anna, who had been struggling to get back up on her feet. Effortlessly, he picked her up off the ground and brought her face up to his. Seeing the look of revulsion in her eyes, the imposter barred his teeth and hissed. He had yet to kill a female of the species. If he had the time, he would have enjoyed ritually killing and then eating her organs, but there wasn’t any time left to waste. With a quick snap of its head onto Anna’s forehead, he knocked her out cold. Letting her body tumble down into the snow, the imposter turned and looked up at the sky. How much time did it have left? One, perhaps two minutes at the most?

  Hearing the loud, rhythmic rattle of a submachine gun cut through the air, Shaw knew his friends were in danger. Turning on his heels, he ran through the mist towards the sound. His heart was pounding away in his ears. Bursting through the fog, Shaw fired as he ran towards the imposter standing in the open with Anna at his feet. Several bullets struck the armor around the imposter’s neck, making it flinch and step back from the barrage of bullets coming its way. Suddenly, the pistol stopped firing. Quickly glancing down, Shaw saw that a casing had failed to eject. There wasn’t time to fix the stoppage. With a snarl on his lips, Shaw threw the pistol at the imposter’s head, causing it to duck just before he leapt up into the air and landed on its back. Wrapping his arms around the imposter’s neck, Shaw instantly pulled his arms in tight, trying to choke the life out of the creature.

  Stunned by the unexpected ferocity of Shaw’s attack, the imposter fought to break Shaw’s hold on his neck. Reaching up with both arms, the imposter clamped hold of Shaw’s arms and then squeezed down hard.

  A pained cry escaped Shaw’s lips as the imposter’s hands began to crush both of Shaw’s arms. Letting go of the imposter’s neck, Shaw placed his right foot on its back and then pushed with all his strength, trying to break free from the creature’s vice-like grip. A second later, Shaw felt the imposter let go of his arms. Flying backwards, Shaw landed on his back in the snow. Rolling over on his shoulder, he came up on his feet and glared up at the imposter. Only it wasn’t the imposter, it was Andrew in his dress blues standing before him.

  Shaking his head, Andrew said, “I thought you were really dead this time.”

  “Sorry to disappoi
nt you again,” replied Shaw. “I landed on an old tarp in a mine shaft right below the one I fell through.”

  “You really should have listened to me earlier. Now it’s far too late for you. Here’s what I’ll do, I’ll make you a deal Jim, your life for hers,” said Andrew, pointing down at Anna’s prostrate body.

  Shaw chuckled. “Do you really think that I’d trust a single word coming from your mouth…or whatever you’ve got?”

  “Have it your way. My time here is limited to mere seconds now.” With that, the imposter changed back, hissed at Shaw and then with a hateful glare in its eyes it ran straight at him.

  Waiting until the last moment, Shaw turned sideways and then shot out his foot. With its arms thrashing in the air trying to stop itself, the imposter tumbled headfirst onto the snow. Diving onto its back, Shaw shot his arms around its neck again and pulled back with all his strength. He was like a man possessed. His only thought was to kill his opponent. He could feel the imposter squirming beneath him, trying to get air into its lungs. Unbelievably, the imposter stopped moving for a second and then got up onto its hands and knees. Resting on its knees, with its long arms, the imposter reached behind its head and latched onto Shaw’s parka. With a loud grunt, it flipped Shaw up and over its back. Shaw landed several yards away in the snow. Taking in a couple of desperate gulps of air to fill its burning lungs, the imposter stood up.