The Tide: Breakwater (Tide Series Book 2)

by Melchiorri, Anthony J

  She didn’t say a word to Glenn but leaned in close, pressing against him and laying her head on his thick shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her.

  “Lauren...” he started.

  She didn’t let him finish. Instead, her lips met his. She pushed the bulky man back into his bed and kicked his door shut in one motion. He pulled one hand through her hair, something he knew she loved, something he clearly hadn’t forgotten.

  A brief worry flashed through Lauren’s mind. Maybe they should go slowly. Maybe they should let the dying embers of their previous relationship ease back into the flames they once were.

  But as her flesh pressed against his, as their tongues met and she traced one hand over the muscles bulging across his chest and abdomen, she knew their feelings for each other had never died. They still burned for each other, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  She slipped her shirt over her head and then pulled his off. He tossed aside their clothes. With Glenn, she could let herself relax into the warmth and passion they shared. It was a release she needed more than she could ever imagine. Each passing second shielded her from the grim realities that would face her once she left his bed.

  His hand traced down her back, pulling her closer, reminding her to leave her thoughts behind, to give in to the moment and let the world outside slip away.

  -29-

  Navid squeezed Abby’s hand and then brushed away the tear rolling down her cheek. He glanced at the scratches on her wrist again. “You’ll be okay. It’s small, and we’ll find help, all right?”

  She bobbed her head. He could see she wanted to believe him, but her expressive blue eyes told him she wasn’t hopeful.

  “Come on, kids,” James said, peeking back out into the conference room. “We don’t have all goddamn day.”

  The door and the makeshift barricade shook. The crazies’ growls sounded just as loud as when Navid and Abby had first sought refuge here.

  “We’re coming.” Navid stood and held out his hand to help Abby. She took it, hoisted herself up, and wrapped one arm around his shoulder. “We’re going to be fine. Just got to make it until help gets here.”

  Again, she nodded, her long blond locks bouncing on her shoulders. She hobbled forward; her sprained ankle clearly still bothered her.

  “If I do turn,” she whispered, “promise you won’t kill me, okay?”

  Navid pulled her into a hug. “Never, never, never.” He pulled her against his chest and brushed the back of her head.

  The voices of Sandra, James, and Geraldo from the office were growing louder and more anxious.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Navid said.

  As they made their way to the office, he spotted the first aid kit that they’d used earlier to find pain medication. An idea struck him, and he tore through its contents. He poured the gauze and pills and bandages out until he found the antibiotic spray. Maybe...

  He took Abby’s wrist and sprayed the antibiotics over the wound. The spray hit the scratches, and she winced.

  “Just in case,” he said. “Want to make sure the scratches are clean, right?”

  “Right.”

  Navid slipped the spray into his pocket, and they entered the office. Geraldo and James were moving a heavy desk from the door leading to the hallway. Sandra moved a few boxes full of books. The smell of ripe meat and copper hit Navid, and he almost gagged.

  In the corner, a curtain had been torn off one of the windows and placed over something. It wasn’t until Navid saw the speckles of blood on the wall that he realized exactly what was causing the smell. It was Kaitlyn, the woman the other three had talked about—the one who had gone crazy. He resisted the strange urge to peel back the curtain and make sure she was actually dead.

  “Come on, kid,” James said. “Help us out here.”

  “Sorry,” Navid said. He helped Abby into a chair so she could rest her ankle. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Get this shit away from the door so we can make an escape if we have to,” James said. “And if we’re running for it, you can help your little girlfriend. We aren’t slowing down because she’s hurt.”

  Geraldo frowned. “Speak for yourself, James. We ain’t leaving anyone behind.”

  “Christ,” Sandra said. “Let’s just get this done and talk about our next plan.”

  They heaved the office furniture out of the way. With no air conditioning, the small room quickly grew humid and hot, adding to the putrid odor of death hanging in the air. Navid was almost ready to leave with Abby due to the oppressive smell and temperature alone. Certainly, without water, they wouldn’t last much longer anyway.

  “We need to get the hell out of here,” James said.

  Sandra rolled her eyes. “That much is obvious. You got a way to do that without getting devoured by those things?”

  James huffed and folded his arms across his chest but said nothing else.

  “I got an idea.” Geraldo picked up his pipe, the only weapon among the group. “We run upstairs. Head to the roof. There’s a heavy steel door up there. Hard to tear down.”

  “How the hell do you know that?” James asked.

  Geraldo’s face flushed red. “During the day, I need a smoke break.”

  “And you’re too good to join all the nurses with their cigarettes out by the dumpsters?”

  “No, it’s just that...I’m not smoking cigarettes.”

  “Christ!” James said.

  “Come on,” Sandra said. “Focus, focus.”

  “I think Geraldo has a point,” Navid said.

  “And what do we do on the roof? Jump off? End it all on our own terms?” James looked incredulous.

  “No,” Navid said. “We call for help. Like, make an SOS sign or something.”

  “Bull—”

  Geraldo cut him off with a stern look. “Boy’s right. They were doing work on the sixteenth floor. Painting some new offices. We grab a can, bring it to the roof, and then we paint our SOS.”

  Sandra sighed and leaned against the wall. “That’s a nice thought, but what if no one sees it? You’re banking on a flyover or someone paying attention to some satellite imagery or something. That’s a big gamble. What do we do if no one shows up to rescue us?”

  Geraldo shrugged and then looked at James. “I guess if you really want to jump, you can jump.”

  “Great, this is just great.” James started to pace.

  Navid rubbed Abby’s hand. He let his mind wander back toward a Friday two weeks past when she’d suggested they take a weekend trip together. She’d said they needed it. They’d been working too hard in the labs, spending too much time on their research and not enough time together. She’d even pulled together a list of places in Vermont they could visit. Bed-and-breakfasts, lodges near pristine hiking trails. Just a quick escape, she’d promised. Work can wait.

  But he’d been stubborn, adamant that work was what was important right now. After they graduated, after they got a post-doc or industry job and did that for a bit, then they could afford to spend time and money on weekend trips.

  Now he realized how foolish he’d been. He kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. You were right.”

  She shot him a puzzled look.

  “We should be in Vermont right now. Hiding out in a cabin together, far away from this madness.”

  Her lips trembled before she spoke. “Maybe next weekend. Promise me, when this blows over, we’ll do that?”

  “We’ll go all over the US. I’ve never been to Portland. Maybe we’ll go there. And then after that, Seattle.” He could feel a wet sheen form over his eyes. “The Redwoods in California. Always wanted to see them. South Dakota, the Needle Mountains. Heard pretty things about the Black Hills, too. We’re going somewhere every weekend, Abby. I promise.”

  She interlaced her fingers in his. Her touch was cold, clammy. “I can’t wait.”

  “Time’s ticking away,” James said. “If you don’t give us something to work with, you won’t see any of t
hose places. We’re all going to starve to death in here.”

  Geraldo and Sandra lifted their shoulders noncommittally. The banging against the conference room door persisted, and Navid shut the office door to muffle the noise. An idea came to him.

  “Okay, I’ve got something. The only way back to the stairs is straight down the hallway.”

  “Right,” Geraldo said.

  “And if we go out there now, those crazies will come after us,” Navid continued. “So, I need you all to hear me out for a second. Let’s get them into the conference room. While they’re all in there, we escape through this door.” He pointed to the office door.

  “Just how do you propose we get all those monsters into the conference room?” James asked.

  “They want us,” Navid said, “so let’s give them what they want.”

  -30-

  Dom ran while firing at the Goliath’s chest. Rounds punched into bulging muscle where the grenade had shattered its skeletal body armor. But that only slowed the beast down, jerking it from side to side, its flesh absorbing the rounds. Wailing in a voice that assaulted Dom’s ears, the monster continued its charge.

  Several swifter Skulls dodged under the lumbering beast and ran toward Dom, the Hunters, and the midshipmen. One of these Skulls leapt, and Dom hammered the stock of his rifle into its face. The creature fell, and the Goliath trampled it. The small Skull’s body crunched under its heavy footsteps.

  The Hunters and Dom brought down the other Skulls, but the barrage of bullets did nothing to sway the Goliath. It forced its way forward. Its spikes and blades tore into the ceiling and knocked down paintings as it went. Dom watched the beast tear off a placard announcing they’d entered Luce Hall. They were almost out of the dorm complex and into the field near the basin.

  “Bravo, what’s the status on the boats?” Dom said, gasping.

  He could barely hear Renee’s reply over the behemoth’s bellows. “Alpha, we’re loading people as fast as we can. Got about half of the survivors on boats, but only four boats to sea.”

  “Faster!” Dom said between breaths. “Got to go faster!”

  He twisted and fired another salvo at the Goliath. The monster flinched, turning its head away. For a second, he thought he’d gotten a shot through the thing’s eye and ended it. The glimmer of hope that he’d delivered a fatal blow dissipated as it hurtled forward and let out a guttural roar. One of its bent ribs caught on a doorway and snapped off, tearing with it a chunk of flesh.

  The midshipmen ahead spilled out of Luce and ran toward the field. A brief image flashed through his mind of the slaughter that would unfold if Dom led the Goliath and the pack of Skulls directly to the survivors.

  “Bravo, keep loading. Alpha, on me!”

  The Hunters obeyed, turning away from the midshipmen exiting the building, and stayed on Dom. They just needed to buy Bravo time. They didn’t have to kill the Goliath, just—

  The Goliath swiped at a squawking smaller Skull. He grabbed it by the back of its neck and tossed it.

  The rattle of bones whistled over Dom’s head as he ducked, and the creature smashed against the wall with a crunch. Dom raised his rifle and fired a short burst at the Goliath.

  “Come and get it, you fuck!” Dom shouted.

  The beast roared, staring in his direction. Dom shut the exit door the midshipmen had run out of.

  Jenna shouldered her rifle and fired at the mammoth creature, but her shots were no more effective than Dom’s. Owen and Spencer let loose a salvo to the same effect. The rounds chipped away at its armor, but what they needed was a solid eyeshot that would hit soft tissue and, with luck, the brain.

  “Head up the stairs!” Dom pointed to a stairwell.

  The Hunters sprinted, and Dom fired another blast to ensure he had the Goliath’s full attention. The monster ran past the closed exit door, hot on Dom’s trail. He hoped the normal-sized Skulls would follow and not stray out that door and straight into Bravo and the survivors. But with the Goliath’s bellows and its bulky frame blocking the view, Dom couldn’t see whether or not his plan was working.

  The Hunters hit the stairs and started taking the steps two, then three at a time. Dom ran after with the Goliath following. The beast made it to the bottom of the stairs. Its hulking frame and the horns and hooks jutting out of its body got it stuck on the support beams surrounding the entrance to the stairwell. Smaller, swifter Skulls leapt and climbed around the banisters.

  The Hunters opened up on the gaining Skulls. Round casings pinged off the stairs. Gore sprayed against the walls, and the creatures’ howls echoed in the space. All the while the Goliath struggled, caught in place by its own bulk.

  “Keep moving!” Dom yelled. He pulled the pin on another grenade and lobbed it. “Frag out!”

  He and the Hunters made it up another flight. Fire and fragments of Skulls and marble flew through the air. The scent of explosives and charred flesh wafted up. Yet more of the creatures leapt and pounded up the destroyed stairs. At least half a dozen Skulls were gaining on the Hunters when they reached the fourth floor.

  A Skull with patches of short-cropped hair and bumpy horns along its scalp pounced at Dom. He juked, and the Skull hit the floor hard. Dom took advantage of the creature’s momentary confusion and smashed the stock of his rifle into the back of its head with a sickening crack. He jumped past the injured beast.

  “Where the fuck are we going?” Jenna called.

  “Keep running!” Dom had no concrete plan. He only knew he couldn’t lead the Skulls to the survivors and Bravo. “Huntress, do you copy?”

  “Copy, Alpha,” Chao responded. “The fuck is going on?”

  “No time to explain.” Dom pointed down the hall and directed the Hunters to take a left at the intersection.

  A roar sounded behind them. The Goliath had somehow freed itself and made it to the top of the stairs. But this hall was narrower than the ground floor. Progress for the huge creature became more difficult as it struggled to free the hulking shoulder blades and spikes from the walls and ceiling where they kept getting stuck. It roared in frustration, and its plight gave the Hunters a precious few extra seconds.

  “How the hell do we get to the roof?” Dom asked Chao. “We’re in Luce Hall now.”

  “Oh, God,” Chao said. “Give me a minute to find the architect—”

  “We don’t have a fucking minute!”

  “Working on it!”

  “Oh shit!” Spencer yelled. He skidded to a halt, and Dom, Jenna, and Owen stopped beside him. “Contacts dead ahead!”

  Ahead of them, a dozen Skulls charged. Several wore the white, short-sleeved, button-down shirts characteristic of the Academy’s midshipmen uniforms. Those shirts were now covered in dried blood and ripped where the creatures’ sharp growths poked through the fabric. Dom and the Hunters let loose a barrage of gunfire. Bullets ricocheted off the walls, and the sound of barking rifles became deafening. Blood poured from the first several Skulls knocked back, their bodies a tangled mess.

  Yet more creatures surged up the stairs on the opposite end of the hall to replace those that had fallen. Their claws clacked along the floor and their bones rattled. Dom’s pulse pounded in his ears, his heart hammered against his ribcage, and adrenaline poured through him.

  In front of them, Skulls ran at the hail of gunfire. Behind them, the Goliath tore through the building, drawing ever closer, its angry bellows and footsteps resonating. The Hunters were surrounded by the beasts with nowhere to go and no way to possibly fight them all off.

  Dom had tried to save the survivors and Bravo, but now he might have led Alpha to their end.

  But he wouldn’t give up. No matter what, he was determined to save his team.

  “Grenades out!” Dom yelled.

  Jenna, Spencer, and Owen tossed their grenades into the oncoming Skulls, both in front and behind. Dom shouldered through a door, and his team followed. Explosions rumbled through the hall. Dom’s ears rang with an unholy pain at the deafening
din. He slammed the door shut and found himself in some kind of shared office space.

  He knew his Hunters would have been similarly deafened, so he grabbed each of their shoulders, one at a time, and signaled for them to barricade the door with the heavy oak desks and bookcases lining the room. They worked quickly to build the extra layer of protection. Dom had no doubt the Goliath had survived their last round of grenade blasts and knew the feeble defenses wouldn’t last once the enormous Skull made it to the doorway. If they were lucky, it would buy them enough time for Chao to tell them how to get out of there.

  The ringing in Dom’s ears began to subside, and he heard a voice calling for him. “Alpha, do you read? Dom, are you there? Come on, guys!”

  “Copy, Chao. Alpha here,” Dom replied. His voice still sounded muddled to his recovering hearing.

  “I recovered the blueprints. There’s roof access from the service elevator shaft. Elevator doesn’t go all the way up, but there’s a ladder that does.”

  “Great, where is it?”

  “Hold on.”

  The door and barricade shook as the Skulls slammed against it. Glass shattered when they broke through the thin, wire-reinforced window in the door. Their spindly arms stuck through, and claws raked the furniture set up to keep them out. Jenna, Owen, and Spencer aimed their rifles at the blockade. Dom saw the sweat trickling across their skin and the worried expressions on their faces.

  “Elevator’s near the south stairwell,” Chao said.

  “Shit. Copy.” Back where they’d come from. Straight past the Goliath and the horde of Skulls in its wake. “Any other ways to the roof?”

  A sharp crack sounded. The wood of the doorframe split and bowed inward.

  “Negative,” Chao said.

  “Sure?”

  “Affirmative. Don’t see any other way.”

  “Charlie, this is Alpha,” Dom said into his throat mic.

  “Copy, Chief,” Miguel said.

  “I need you above Luce Hall. We need a quick exit.”

  “Roger that. Ride’s on its way.”

  One of the bookcases toppled sideways, and the desks shook.