by Chris Hechtl
“I will. Shit!” Nick yelled jumping out of his room. Shane turned to him. The boy was pointing. “Something's in there!” he said.
Curious, Shane went over. TJ looked around the bend. He waved him back. He cocked his head and put his fingers to his lips to Nick. Nick looked up to him, brows knit and then closed his mouth.
Silently Shane listened. After a moment he could hear sounds, rustling sounds and a soft hissing. He nodded grimly. Something was definitely there. He keyed his mike on his shoulder. “Wayne check under the beds. Boogeymen. We've got a live one here,” he said.
After a moment the radio clicked. “Roger that,” Wayne said, sounding a little surprised and annoyed. Shane snorted. No one liked getting caught being slack or screwing up in front of the boss. He pointed to the bedroom as two soldiers immediately came into the house.
“Under the bed. Hissing and moving around,” he said. They nodded and passed them. The first rounded the bed, looking for ways in and out. He looked at his partner who nodded.
“Hang on a sec,” Shane said. He pulled a flashlight up and pointed to another on the night stand next to his son's bed. The man nearest to it looked and picked it up.
“I ain't getting on my hands and knees to look man,” the guy said.
“I didn't expect you to,” Shane said as he flipped his on and put it on the floor pointed to under the bed. The bed shook and there was some loud screeching. The men looked at each other.
“Creepling.”
“Or Gremlin man,” the other said putting his flashlight on.
“Creepling from the sound. More than one,” the second guy said. “They out number the Gremlins twenty to one,” he said. He pointed his gun at the center. “How you want to do this? Normally we toss a frag under it and then clean up the mess,” he explained.
“Which you can do, but...” Shane nodded as an arm reached out from under the bed and tried to bat the light away. He slammed the butt of his rifle down on it and watched the animal writhe. “Gotcha,” he growled. The claws dug into the carpet. Nick pulled his sword off the wall and went to slice but his father took it. “Not yet. It's trying to worm the arm out from under my foot. Just...”
He took the blade and held it aloft. Finally the Creepling's head darted out to bite him and he swung down hard. There was a wet crunch and a splash of blue blood. Nick kicked the now severed head down the hall.
“That's one,” Shane said grabbing the flaccid arm under his foot and pulling on the body. He dragged it out from under the bed and handed it to Nick who dragged it out and into the hall. “Outside son.”
“Roger,” Nick said. Shane could hear the Creepling being dragged down the hall and out over the step.
“That's one,” Shane said. He looked around. “No one has a flash bang?” he asked.
“That'd drive them into the box spring or through the drywall,” the guy holding the other flashlight said. “I don't think your trick will work twice boss,”
“Probably not,” Shane said as Wayne came in. “Nick you wanted...” he looked out the window to see his son.
“The computer and stuff. My sword of course. Mom already grabbed my clothes,” he said.
“Okay,” he said taking the phone and laptop and then handing them through the broken window. “Careful of the glass kid,” he said.
“Thanks. Don't forget the charger dad,” Nick said tucking the laptop under his arm.
“We won’t Nick,” his father said with a wave. He yanked on the cord and then when it pulled the power strip out he yanked on that. It was plugged into a cord going under the bed. Something hissed and suddenly a Creepling tried to dart out. The second guy kicked it. It turned, trying to latch onto his steel toed boot but failed.
Shane dropped the cord as Wayne slammed the thing with a sledge hammer. It creeled piteously but he hit it a second and third time and then kicked it down the hall.
“Let me see that,” Shane said. Wayne looked at him and handed him the sledge hammer. Shane took it and handed the sword to the second soldier.
“Here, make yourself useful. I'm going to hook the leg of the bed and pull up and to the wall. When I do you two kill anything under or clinging to the box spring. Got it?” he asked. The other two nodded.
“On three,” he said getting into position beside the bed and hooking the sledge's hammer under the corner leg. “One, two... three!” he said yanking up and back hard.
The bed frame lifted fast. He reached out to catch it and then pulled it all the way to the wall. The first soldier was using the flash light in his free hand and the light taped to his gun to pin the Creepling on the floor. Stunned the animal knelt, covering its eyes and hissing. He fired. The shot rebounded off its armored back. Stunned even more by the impact it rolled onto its' belly. A second shot put it out of its misery.
Meanwhile his partner used the sword to pin a Creepling that had attached itself to the underside of the box spring to it. He bore down on the sword.
“Just the two?” Wayne asked.
“Just this one left,” the guy with the sword grunted. “I can't get through the armor,” he said as the thing squirmed under the weight of the sword tip. “Its' slipping...” he said over the hissing and thrashing.
“Hang on a sec,” Shane said. They really needed a hook and pitchfork here. He'd have to talk to Wayne's team about their choice of weapons later. He looked at Wayne. “Wayne...”
“Got it,” Wayne said reaching out and grabbing the frame, keeping it up. Shane adjusted his stance with the sledge and then swung horizontally, slamming into the upside down head of the Creepling. Blue blood splattered against the box spring as the sledge rebounded. A second swing hit it right in the back. The guy with the sword let up and the thing slid to the floor. He darted in and swung hard, cutting the head off.
“Now that was interesting,” Nick said. Shane and others turned to see the kid had been watching from the broken window with Jayne. They nodded to them. Jayne's eyes were a bit wide. After a moment she returned to normal and gave them an amused thumbs up. He snorted. So far, take your kid and neighbor to work day was working out well. Good.
“I wonder how many of the damn things we've missed,” Wayne muttered.
“One is one too many. Four isn't good,” Shane said. He noted the hole in the wall. “In the wall here,” he said indicating the hole with the hammer end of the sledge.
“I see that,” Wayne said. “Shit.”
“The bastards are smart. Tricky,” Shane muttered. They were probably in the HC ducts as well. “Let's get this cleared and get out of here,” he said gruffly.
“Yeah,” Wayne said shaking his head and still staring at the hole. He winced at the thought of something in the wall. The walls were only four inches thick, but apparently the aliens could get in. Either that... he'd have to check and see if there was something on the other side. Maybe it went through and under something.
“Check the other side of the wall,” he said to someone the others couldn't see. “This wall,” he said pointing.
...*...*...*...*...
Later that evening Jen decided to get ready for bed. For once he was there with her. Usually one or the other would be in bed long before. The fact that they had their schedules in sync was surprising and gratifying to her. She was amused as she tucked the girls in and kissed each on the forehead. Tori held her favorite teddy close.
“I see someone has Sir Bear-a-lot,” she teased touching the bear. The bear was warm and smelled of lilacs. Freshly laundered?
“Jayne heard Wayne was hitting our neighborhood today so we swung by to pick some stuff up,” Shane said, getting ready for bed. He pulled the curtain around their area closed and sat on the bed to tug his boots off.
“Get much?” she asked. He indicated her hope chest under the duffels and in front of the lockers. She looked at it and smiled. He pointed to Nick across the way from them who was sitting up on the top bunk, listening to earphones plugged into his laptop. The kid had his sword nearby.
She snorted softly as she climbed into bed with him.
“We also grabbed all the photo albums, the girls' electronics, the bear you saw, your blanket, my police and military gear, and Nick's sword and bits he wanted. I'm sure he squirreled away his comic or penthouse collection as well,” he murmured smiling wickedly.
She glanced at her son who was now blushing scarlet, obviously overhearing that barb. Her lips pulled back in an amused smile. “Knowing him probably,” she murmured. “Just like his father,” she teased. Nick squirmed in place and then rolled over away from them. After a moment he flipped the laptop closed and hid under the covers. She giggled a little.
He smiled and pulled the covers aside for her. When they were comfortable he touched the night light and it came on. Her eyes widened at the sight of the family portrait taped to the underside of the top bunk. She clung to him and sobbed softly in his shoulder.
“Now its where you can look at it anytime you want dear,” he said softly, stroking her hair gently.
“Thank you,” she said over and over.
“What's wrong with mommy?” Tori asked worriedly. They could feel the bed shift and then she looked at them upside down. He smiled at her. Jen turned in his arms and looked at her as she dashed tears.
“Nothing dear,” she said with a catch in her voice. “Daddy did something very nice and I'm just overwhelmed by it,” she said smiling and dashing tears.
“See? Men are good for something,” he said as Tori looked at them in pretty confusion. She wrinkled her upside down nose and then retreated.
“Adults,” she murmured to her sister. “Weird,” she whispered. Jen smiled at him and curled up again, tucking her head onto his chest and closing her eyes. He smiled and closed his own eyes, letting sleep take him.
Chapter 41
“What the hell?” Walt said shaking his head as Julio and his barrio crew came in with flat bed trucks. Each of the first six trucks had a hot tub and plumbing on the bed. The last two trucks in the line had playground equipment.
“Someone want to tell me what's going on?” Shane asked as they watched the trucks rumble up Centerpoint circle to the Food court entrance.
“I have no idea,” Walt said wiping his hands. “But someone's getting a delivery,” he said.
“Yeah well, we'll see about that,” Shane said moving off.
...*...*...*...*...
Jen watched the video again and paused it. The image both intrigued and terrified her. “Do you see what I'm saying doctor?” she asked pointing to the freeze frame of a snarling Hellcat about to claw another. “We're talking pack behavior on the order of a lion pride.”
“Again you're applying Terran values to an alien species,” Doctor Phillips said patiently.
“And you're playing devil's advocate doc,” Nate said shaking his head. “Jen's right. Even I can see pack behavior. They used group hunting tactics to take down... what is that?” he asked looking at a nearby student.
“A Hell Bison,” the student said looking at her notes. “Four legged, the back is covered in spines and dermal plating...”
“Which means they had to come in from below as we saw.” They had just watched the pride separate a wounded Bison from the herd, corner it, and then attach themselves to it to pull it down before ripping its throat out. Now they were watching the feeding. Quite grizzly, with the animals up to their four eyes in blue/purple gore. The alien cat on the screen had dribbles of flesh coming out of its shark like mouth.
“We can't equate what they are doing to a caste system, but we are seeing an evolving pecking order. I'm not saying the Hellcats are lions doc. What we are saying,” she looked at Nate who nodded back. “Is that these animals are acting as a pack with equivalent social structures.”
Phillips looked mulish. Jen tried not to sigh as she shook her head. Nate stirred his cup for a moment as Phillips collected his thoughts on a counter argument. Just as he opened his mouth for a rebuttal Nate cut him off. “Doc, what we have here is the only meter stick we can apply. Our own experience with animals, from our own planet. Whether they bear out over time is anyone's guess. But we can't sit on results. These things are acting as a pride. A social grouping for whatever reasons you can attach to their behavior. Inferred or observed,” Nate said holding up his hand and meeting the doctor's eyes.
“Unfortunately doc, we don't have many people in the field so we have to rely on footage like this,” the student said quietly. “Its just not safe,” he said.
“True,” Jen said nodding. The video had been shot with a night vision camera the Border agent had in his kit. It would be nice if they could get such equipment in their hands, hell in everyone's hands. Getting this footage at all had been sheer luck. Right place, right time. At least for them, the Bison... not so much.
The Hellcats had taken turns digging at the soft underside over the course of the night. The hard epidermis on the back, shoulders, and hips had been bypassed. When dawn broke that was all that was left. That and a puddle of blue blood. A pair of Skitters had moved in to suck up even that after an hour.
It was amazing how congruent the two species were. Not Skitters, but Hellcats and Terran cats. They had a brief shot of one Hellcat using a long sinuous tongue to groom itself after it finished feeding. Hellcats were properly named, even if they didn't look a lot like a true Terran cat. They definitely took measures to act like big cats. Nasty cats. Cats from hell. A fitting name indeed.
“I think I'm going to get some air,” she said as Phillips showed signs of broaching an old topic. Many of the surviving scientists were a little put out that the public had attached layman names to the animals that were, as Phillips liked to point out, hardly scientific. She got up and patted his hand gently.
“All that gore?” Nate asked looking up at her. She nodded a little. “I see,” he said.
“It reminds me of Nick and Shane after a barbeque actually so I'm not as badly affected. But the room is a bit stuffy for me,” she said trying to gulp down a bit of bile working its way up.
“Need a hand?” Nate asked concerned. She shook her head and shuffled to the door.
“I'm not that out of it yet Nate. Thanks though,” she said going out. Doctor Phillips half rose and then sat as the door closed quietly.
“Doc, why don't we let you check this out a few times on your own and go over our own notes and observations. Maybe you'll pick up something we missed. I've got to check in on the farm anyway,” Nate said nodding to him. He downed his cup and got up.
“Sure,” Doctor Phillips said with a nod. “I....” he glanced at the door. “Do you think she'll be okay?” he asked. For once he looked worried about something other than his work.
“She's a trooper doc,” Yan said quietly. He nodded to Nate.
“She's a good student of behavior doc,” Nate said. “Both human and animal. I'll check on her on my way out,” he said pulling the door open. He winced at the hubbub of people talking in the hallway. He quickly stepped out and closed the door behind him.
“Anyone see Jen?” he asked looking around. A few pointed to the right. He followed the directions. He got to a fork and paused. He heard soft retching sounds and turned. He winced at the sight of her in a shadowy alcove bent over. “You okay?” he asked, stepping over to her and rubbing her back and shoulders.
She flinched and then seemed to sag a little. He felt concern as she wiped at her mouth and straightened. “Sorry,” she said.
“It gets to us all Jen. Some more than others,” he said, trying not to the breath through his nose. The smell of barf was enough to trigger nausea in anyone.
“I couldn't make it to the bathroom,” she said apologetically. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed at her mouth and then blew her nose. He wrinkled his own nose as she handed it back. He took it with his finger tips and shook his head.
“Do they have you on anything yet?” he asked.
“No. I'm fine, just tired I guess,” she said.
“Don't let them go too long Jen,” he said concerned. He knew from experience that cancer was nothing to take lightly. It had a bad habit of coming back.
“I'm not. It's my idea,” Jen said. He stared at her. She sighed. “I... Nate, this isn't my first brush. Far from it. My family and I know I'm on borrowed time. Even more so now than ever. We'll do what we can with what we have. No more, no less.”
“Better not be less,” Nate growled. She looked at him briefly and then reached out and stroked his cheek with a gentle hand.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling a whimsical smile and then patting the front of his shoulder. “Now come on, I know you want to check on your latest project and I promised I'd look in on the kids before checking the chicken production.”
“Jen, honest, I'll handle the chickens. Go to your family. Take a break. You deserve some down time.”
“Managing me, Nate?” she asked as she carefully walked down the corridor. People who saw her coming automatically stepped to the side. She gave them gracious smiled of appreciation as they went.
“No, I'm... damn it, you don't have the energy to...”
“I know my limits Nate,” she said. “I'm not there yet,” she said looking over her shoulder to him. “I need to keep busy. Dwelling on what I don't have doesn't do me or anyone else any good. I need to help,” she said. “I can help, I will help.”
“All right,” he sighed softly. “All right.”
“I'll meet you later,” she said smiling. “Stop hovering and go to work, I'll be fine,” she said starting to sound testy.
“You say so,” he said giving her a dubious look. She smiled again and made a shooing motion. He nodded and moved off slowly and reluctantly. She snorted as he bumped into someone and turned to apologize. When he turned back she was gone.
...*...*...*...*...
Shane got up the hill just as the last truck was parking. Julio was guiding it in to place with hand signals. People were milling about. A few men and women were arguing over to one side.