She was not. She’d seen Jay Perry’s last video stream featuring the monster that for all she knew had taken his life. The man on the radio was right to be afraid.
“Nothing. Just got the hell out of there. I tell you, I tell you, I want to know what our government is up to. Crop circles, secret societies...now these weird bodies. Something’s going—”
“Thank you, Roger.” The radio host cut him off. “Our next story is about a couple...”
Meredith tuned him out as she tried to do the math in her head while the road wove on before her. Jay Perry’s team had just reached the rig only a short time ago before she called in Dom’s team, who’d been lying in wait. The body that had washed up on shore couldn’t have originated from Jay’s expedition. She doubted it would’ve been carried by the currents in such a short time. Then she recalled the report that triggered this wild goose chase. The cryptic message requesting program termination had been an early warning. Something aboard the IBSL facility had gone drastically wrong. If whatever was on the rig turned people into monsters, then maybe the workers and researchers had all been affected by this unidentified bioweapon.
If the IBSL had been dark for weeks as the memo indicated, these creatures might have been floating around the ocean for quite some time. Their corpses might be driven up on land by waves all over the Atlantic coast, spreading whatever disease or biological agent they carried. As if to confirm her fears, another caller reported a similar occurrence. Then a third caller described his own encounter. A fourth, fifth, and sixth sent shivers down Meredith’s spine. All had happened within a couple of hours. She thought again of Dom and his Hunters. If anybody was equipped to infiltrate a covert laboratory and unearth its secrets, it was Dom.
But it might already be too late.
-12-
Another explosion rumbled beneath the IBSL oil platform. The entire structure listed, and a long groan resonated through its steel legs. Rain pelted Dom’s biohazard suit as he worked his way across the metal grating lining the edge of the helipad. Glenn slid alongside him. Renee seemed at ease, leaning to balance herself. She joined Dom’s side as another roar from beneath shifted the platform slightly.
Scott lost his foothold, and Glenn shot an arm out to grab Scott’s wrist. Both men steadied themselves and aimed their guns at the approaching horde of monsters. The sooty air played tricks with Dom’s vision as shadows danced among the gray wisps of smoke, illuminated by tongues of flame. The creatures climbed from the windows and doorways around the platform. Among the crackle of the smoldering rig, the voices of the Skulls carried up in shrieks and echoed against the derrick.
“Open fire!” Dom yelled. As the rig lurched, the crack of the Hunters’ weapons sent two Skulls falling backward, chunks of bones flaking down over the rain-slicked surface toward the edge. The Hunters fought to gain purchase as the rig moved beneath their feet, and the Skulls scrambled toward them. The creatures reached out with bony talons, climbing and scurrying over the pipes and rails. The beasts were a barrier of gnashing teeth and skeletal appendages between Dom’s team and the Zodiacs.
“We’re trapped!” Renee shouted.
Dom scanned for a way out, even though he knew there was only one option. They either fought their way through the beasts or went down in a hail of fire and steel.
“We fight to the end,” Dom said. He fired a round that sent a Skull’s body falling forward. “’Til the end!”
Miguel slid next to them. He shouldered his rifle and shot a brief volley that sent flesh and bone flying from one of the Skulls’ faces.
Another explosion echoed over the rig. One of the cranes fell sideways as if in slow motion. Steel screeched in protest. The crane collapsed over the deck, crushing several of the bone-plated Skulls. Yet more creatures climbed between the beams of the fallen structure.
“Keep moving!” Dom barked over the comm link.
Squeezing the trigger of his SCAR-H, Dom advanced toward the creatures. One bounded for him in a full-out sprint, its arms outstretched and claws splayed for attack. He let loose a quick burst. The bullets slammed against the creature’s skeletal chest plate and pinged off its shoulder blades. The Skull leaped and soared. Dom took aim and fired. Three quick shots pierced the beast’s face. It was dead before it crashed against the steel grating, and Dom sidestepped to dodge its malformed body.
“Move, move, move!” Dom shouted.
Renee sprinted forward and hurdled the railing onto a lower deck. Two creatures rushed at her from another open door near the bulbous gas compressors. She stopped to fire just as the deck under the two Skulls disappeared. Tendrils of fire surged into the sky. Another rumbling blast deafened Dom as he watched the concussive force send Renee backward. The Skulls flew into the air, their bodies cartwheeling and tearing into pieces.
“Cover me!” Dom yelled to Glenn and Scott, who obliged with a fierce volley of gunfire. He ran to Renee and fired as he took a knee. A Skull toppled only inches away from slashing her leg. He grabbed Renee’s gloved hand and helped her to her feet. More gunfire filled the air.
“Thanks,” she said before a scream of agony caused them both to twist.
Dom watched Scott fall to the deck. A Skull slashed at his chest. Miguel rushed to help, but he couldn’t get a clear shot at the monster’s face as it bit at Scott’s abdomen. Miguel backhanded the creature with his prosthetic and kicked it backward.
When the Skull staggered, Miguel blasted the creature’s face. The Skull crumpled to its back, revealing a crimson beard of Scott’s blood on its face.
Miguel hoisted Scott’s left arm over his shoulder. “Let’s go, man!”
The front of Scott’s biohazard suit flapped open, and blood gushed out. The sheer amount made Dom pause. They had to stop the bleeding—but the monsters around them wouldn’t make that possible.
“Clear a fucking path!” Dom shot two Skulls encroaching on Miguel and Scott. A hail of bullets riddled the Skulls still climbing over the fallen crane as Dom led the Hunters’ charge. Most of the beasts continued forward, unfazed by the rounds ricocheting off their warped bones. Renee kept pace with Dom and fired with each step despite the pained expression on her face. They made it to the edge of the platform and descended to a landing. Another blast rocked the platform. Groaning metal and the snap of cables and steel wires sounded.
“Double time, Hunters!” Dom yelled. “Bravo team, fall in with Renee!”
Renee split off with her squad toward the ladder where they’d first boarded the rig. Dom waited at the top of his ladder while he ushered the Hunters down to the ocean below. Jenna descended first, followed by Glenn. With one arm over Miguel’s shoulder, Scott limped toward him. His head lolled back and forth.
The shadow of a Skull darted from the cover of smoke. Dom fired before he even had eyes. The shots went wild, pinging harmlessly against the steel struts behind the creature.
“Miguel!” Dom fired again, but the Skull was moving too fast. It cocked back an arm, ready to swipe Miguel just as he prepared to help Scott down the ladder. Dom jumped between the monster and Miguel. He swung the stock of his rifle into the Skull’s jaw. The beast’s head snapped, and it reared back. Dom smashed the butt of his weapon into the creature’s face a second time. It staggered, and he battered it again and again until its face was a bloody pulp of flesh. He aimed a powerful kick into the Skull’s chest. The creature careened over the edge of the platform and plummeted into the murky ocean below.
Only after all his Hunters were descending did Dom scurry down the ladder. He caught up to Miguel and Scott as they struggled to make their way to the waiting Zodiac. Scott’s fingers slipped, and he started to fall. Dom shot an arm out, straining to reach Scott from above, and grabbed the man’s collar. “Hold on, buddy. We’re almost there,” Dom said.
“We got a problem,” Renee said over the comm link.
Miguel helped Scott into the Zodiac while Dom perched on the last rung of the ladder. He looked across at where Renee’s squad des
cended the ladder to board their craft. The green-hued shapes of the Bravo squad members and the mechanic they’d found weren’t moving. Something was wrong. It only took a moment for Dom to see the team was staring at the churning water where their Zodiac was supposed to be waiting for them.
***
“Where the hell is my Zodiac?” Renee barked into the comm link.
As if in reply, the groan of a falling crane sounded from above. Several of the Skulls began descending the ladder. Their claws clacked against the steel rungs.
“We’re on our way,” Hector Ko’s voice came through. “Just found Brett’s body.”
“Copy, but get your asses over here.” Renee’s heart leapt even as she took potshots at the Skulls clambering toward her. One of the creatures fell. Its body plunged into the roiling Atlantic. While some of the creatures climbed down the scaffolding and ladders, others leapt over the edge. Their bodies splashed into the waves before disappearing. The platform still listed, threatening to topple over. “What’s your ETA?”
“Now!” Hector’s voice rang in her ears.
She looked down to see the Zodiac spitting out from under the platform and swerving to her position. Hector sat at the tiller and guided the craft under her and her squad.
“Let’s move, Hunters!” Renee waved her squad mates into the boat. The crashing waves tossed it about, but Hector strained against the forces of nature until Renee and her Hunters had clambered aboard. The mechanic, along with Hector, put the craft past normal capacity. “Hector, can we make it back in this weather?”
Hector stared forward as he struggled with the tiller. “We’re at our limits, but I think we can make it.”
One of the Skulls decided to test those limits. It leapt from the ladder and crashed against the gunwale. Its claws stabbed into the inflated rubber sides, and air bled from the wound. Renee lashed out at the beast with the butt of her rifle. She crushed the creature’s face until it let go and fell into the water. She fired at it for good measure, and it sank below the surface.
“Bravo team, clear the platform,” Dom said over the comm link. “Back to the Huntress!”
“You heard him, Hector!” Renee yelled, her heart hammering against her chest like fully automatic rifle fire.
The scaffolding atop the rig crashed inward. Another deep rumble shook the platform. This time it came from beneath. Bubbles of hot air burst around them. The legs of the platform finally gave out. Water surged around to fill the void it left as it slowly sank, and the Zodiacs raced from the collapsing rig.
The outboard strained against the onslaught of waves and rushing water. Then with a jolt, the craft shot forward as it beat the unforgiving pull of the sinking behemoth. Waves washed over the gunwale. The air chamber pierced by the Skull was sunken in, but the internal valves and baffles within the bladders prevented the whole craft from turning into a useless sack of rubber. Still, the deflated chamber let gallons of water pour into the Zodiac. Renee scooped water over the side with her helmet as they surged across the waves.
Another loud crack of broken steel rolled over the ocean. Fire curled into the air behind them. Screaming Skulls leapt into the ocean. In a blink, the platform disappeared under the ocean’s surface as if it never existed. Bubbles churned the water, the only evidence of the nightmares now sinking to the ocean floor.
“Bravo team, give me a SITREP,” Dom’s voice crackled over the comm link again.
“Everyone’s accounted for,” Renee replied.
Even Brett. She stared at the man’s limp form and looked up, catching Spencer’s gaze. Through his visor, she could see his eyes filled with sorrow. He shook his head.
In her mind’s eye, Renee saw Brett tumble over the side of the platform again. Then she pictured the attack on Ivan in the generator room and the creature pouncing on Scott. She hadn’t even heard what—if anything—they’d found out about the biological agent or chemical weapon responsible for turning people aboard the oil platform into the bloodthirsty creatures. Had they done enough to help Meredith unravel this mess? Was Brett’s sacrifice worth it?
She glanced at Dom’s Zodiac skimming over the water, silhouetted against the dark horizon. And what about Scott? Would he make it?
The mechanic groaned, rolling over in his blue coveralls. His eyes fluttered open. His face went ghost-white as panic overtook him, and he fainted again. She didn’t blame him. After everything he must’ve witnessed, finding himself in the middle of the ocean surrounded by armed individuals in biohazard suits must have been too much. She hoped he would regain consciousness and be willing to talk when they took him aboard the Huntress.
She had questions. Lots of questions, but only one seemed to matter in that moment: was this mission worth the cost?
-13-
Jay’s head pounded with all the fury of a feral cat caged for the first time. His vision swam with the pain, but he wouldn’t let it stop him. He rubbed his fingers over a one-way, first-class airline ticket to San José, Costa Rica. Even the cacophony of voices around him and the incessant announcement of “See something, say something” over the airport’s speakers couldn’t quell his buoyant optimism.
He dragged his carry-on bag behind him and joined the end of the security line. He was ready to leave Washington, DC—and the States—for good. No more idling in the congested traffic. No more paying outrageous rent for a cramped apartment. Most importantly, no more godforsaken directives from the agency.
He had once found it thrilling to travel overseas as an independent secret service contractor. But after seeing that thing in the IBSL disembowel Corey, he’d had enough. All the money he’d saved working as a mercenary would now be put to good use in his retirement, touring the beaches and tropics of Central America. He’d spent his last night in DC at his favorite bar, a small joint near Dupont Circle called St. Thomas’s. He’d drowned himself in fresh mussels and Belgian ales, and he couldn’t remember how he’d made it home at the end of the night. But it didn’t matter now. In just a few more hours, he’d be leaving it all behind.
Jay pressed a cold, half-drained water bottle against his forehead in a weak attempt to subdue his headache. He might’ve forgotten how he’d gotten back to his apartment, but the pounding in his skull wouldn’t let him forgot about his late-night revelry.
A woman with an overstuffed carry-on bag bumped into him from behind. He started to fall forward. His hand shot out instinctively to break his fall, and he accidentally scraped his fingers on the bare shoulder of another woman in line in front of him.
“Hey, watch it!” The woman’s hand flew up over the spot where Jay had scratched her.
“Sorry,” he said. “Accident.”
A furrow formed across her brow as she glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “Ew.” She huffed. “You need to cut your damn nails.”
Jay stretched his fingers out in front of him and looked down at them. The nails had turned yellow again. He clenched his hands into fists, hiding the nails. He was self-conscious of their appearance. Since he’d returned from the failed IBSL mission, he’d filed down the hard, yellow growth once already. He must’ve picked up some strange fungus infection from his time at sea.
As the security line slowly drew him forward, his thoughts turned to what he’d seen aboard the IBSL facility. Maybe the nail infection—or whatever it was—had come from the labs. He shuddered and nudged aside the paranoid thoughts.
“Hey, the line’s moving,” the woman behind him said.
His cheeks flared with involuntary anger, and his eyes shot open wide. “Shut up,” he snarled. Several nearby travelers in line with him gave him curious or dirty looks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—it’s my head...it’s killing me.”
The woman held up her hands in a placating gesture. Her fingernails were painted an obnoxious hot pink that irritated Jay all the more. “All right.” A grin broke across her face. “I can recognize a hangover when I see one.”
Jay nodded but kept his eyes on his shuffl
ing feet. Just a few more people in line, and he’d be free—free to sit down, free to wait in his cushy seat for the seven-and-a-half-hour trip to Costa Rica. He could shut his eyes or get a cold Coke to chase away the hangover. Hell, maybe he should go for broke and order a Bloody Mary on the plane and pound a couple of gin and tonics afterward. It was first class, after all.
“Sir.” The TSA agent motioned him forward.
Jay dug out the fake passport from his pocket. This was one of the few not issued to him by the agency. He preferred to keep a couple on hand that the US government couldn’t easily connect with him. He handed over the forged document with the name reading Joseph Painter. The TSA agent took the passport and the ticket. For a paranoid moment, Jay thought the blue-uniformed agent raised a skeptical eyebrow at the picture and address.
Then the man handed Jay back the documents. “You’re going to have to throw your water bottle away.”
“Yes, sir,” Jay said. He trudged past the agent and dropped the bottle in a trash can. His patience waned as he joined yet another line. The bright fluorescent lights pierced his retinas and sent undulating waves of pain through his already tormented brain. He couldn’t remember a hangover like this. Not since college. Shit. Even his twenty-first birthday hadn’t been this bad. A deep, inexplicable anger welled up in him. He was stomping toward the full body scanner when an agent gestured for him to move forward.
“Sir, you’re going to need to take your shoes off.”
Jay resisted the sudden urge to hit the TSA agent. What the hell is wrong with me? he thought as he slowly bent down to untie his shoes. He stood and tossed them onto the conveyer belt.
“Sir—” The agent behind the belt started.
“What?” Jay snapped.
The agent rolled her eyes and put his shoes into a plastic tray. “You’ve got to put your shoes in one of these.” She dropped the tray with the shoes back onto the belt and into the X-ray scanner. “Go on.”
The Tide (Tide Series Book 1) Page 9