In horror Rev watched the substance reach Ziller. The tendril slithered up the man’s leg until it reached his chest. Ziller eyes focused on the dark snake-like creature. He screamed. An all-out blood curdling scream of sheer fright. The tendril took the scream as a cue to strike and it lunged into the man’s mouth and down his throat. Ziller snapped his mouth shut and clenched his hands around his throat as if he could strangle himself. His eyes bulged and small droplets of blood ran down his cheeks as he thrashed about in pain.
Rev watched in amazement as he saw the tendril creature swimming under the man’s skin. Ziller squirmed frantically, clawing at the snake-like movements under the skin of his face, then his neck. He ripped his clothes from his torso and watched the creature multiply and split under the surface. Ziller looked up pleading at Rev and Flint and started to sob.
Rev felt pity as he watched the doctor twist himself up into a ball and fall to the ground. Ziller twitched, then was still.
* * *
FLINT HAD THE COVER off of the security panel to the clean room working on the locking mechanism as Rev watched the inert form of Ziller sprawled on the floor. The lights flickered and went out plunging them into total darkness.
“Sorry,” said Flint. “I must’ve crossed the circuit. I’ll repair the lights.”
“No, wait,” called Rev noticing a faint greenish glow emanating from Ziller’s body. “Look at that.”
Flint could see the glow on Rev’s face and positioned himself to get a better view. What he saw were bands of green where the tendrils had traveled under Ziller’s skin. The glowing trails criss-crossed the skin and looked like some ghastly vascular system as the light pulsed.
Ziller moved and regained consciousness. He felt odd, like when a leg falls asleep, except his whole body tingled. Strange thoughts ran through his mind and he felt his control fading. He then saw the green glow and panicked clawing through his lab coat looking for something.
Rev pushed the intercom button. “Doctor, what can we do for you?”
Ziller spun around startled. He dropped the vial he’d found in his pocket which broke and splattered its glowing blue contents on the floor. He tried to scoop the liquid with his hands in frustration. “It’s your fault. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like this,” screamed Ziller, holding his hands up and watching thin green lights squirm under his skin. “It’s too late . . . ” He started to sob.
“We can get you medical assistance,” said Flint.
Ziller shook his head. “They can’t help. I’m infected and soon I won’t be in control. If you value your lives leave—”
“That’s not going to happen,” interrupted Rev. “Tell us who’s behind the creatures?”
Ziller looked as if he was going to tell them. Then the voice in his mind took over. “I’ll tell you everything,” he pulled another vial out, but this time its contents were as green as the light that glowed within him, he opened the lid and drank it down, “after I kill you.”
Ziller’s body swelled until his clothing ripped at the seams. Then his shape changed and bulged with muscles. It wasn’t long before Ziller was transformed into a beast.
“Jam the door!” Rev moved back from the observation panel. Flint responded and shorted the circuits with a blast from his laser. The glow from Ziller faded and left them in utter darkness.
“Can you get the lights back on?”
“I think I fused the lights with the circuits, but I’ll try.”
The creature apparently didn’t mind the dark. It started pounding on the door. The metal of the frame popped; the creature was close to being freed.
“I think we need to get the hell out of here,” said Rev.
“I agree,” said Flint. “I’ll guide you.”
Flint held Rev with one arm and retreated from the lab. The creature howled. The door ripped from its frame and went flying. Rev felt the whoosh of air as he dodged the missile. The door tore through the lab like a Frisbee shattering glass and ripping walls along it’s flight path.
The beast sniffed then and let out a snarl. Even though Rev couldn’t see the creature, he could hear it very well. He sighted his las-pistol over his shoulder and pulled off a few rounds. He missed completely, the beast eluded the pulses with ease but it gave Rev further reference to its position.
Flint found the door and tried to unset the lock without any luck. Rev faced the sounds of the creature and cocked his best ear towards the foul assailant. He pictured it in his mind, raised his weapon and fired. A direct hit to the creature’s chest flared and its skin burned away from the pulse. The beast howled in rage while rubbing the flames from its chest.
Rev could see the flames and fired over and over again at the same spot hitting the target in the head, trunk and abdomen. Still the creature moved forward, angrier from its wounds.
“This isn’t going well,” said Rev to Flint. “Can you speed it up on the door?”
“I’m trying.”
“There’s not enough room in here to use the thermite phosphorus bullets.”
Flint didn’t respond as he worked the controls. He finally opened the door and the light from the hallway flooded into the lab. The creature stopped its advance for a second, howling from the sting of the sudden light. Rev leaped from the room with Flint right behind him. They both pushed the button to close the door which slowly moved into position.
The creature pounced at the last rays of light that flowed through the door and struck it with a mighty crash. The door buckled as the monster pounded fists on the steel.
Rev peeled a couple explosives from his arm and stuck them to the door.
“You really think that’s a good idea?” asked Flint.
“Well, the door isn’t going to hold for much longer.”
“Good point,” said Flint. “We should run.”
And they did, all the way to the end of the hall before the bombs exploded. The door, wall and most of the ceiling went up in the blast. The partners were thrown from the force of the explosion. Rev took the most damage from pieces of the lab pounding his body. One of his ribs cracked and he took a deep breath from the pain. A flash of white light numbed his mind and he knew he was losing consciousness. Luckily for him, he passed out as his body was thrown against something even harder and finally came to rest with Flint rolling up to his chest. Flint’s internal parts looked still and his surface didn’t ripple like normal.
The flames and debris settled. Flint started to move. His surface started to undulate and his neural circuits came back on line. When he rebooted he was looking into the human’s bloodied face.
“Rev?” Flint prodded the man. There was no response.
* * *
REV REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS to find himself being dragged along the floor. It was an odd feeling as he watched his feet bouncing along. A long trail of blood smeared the shiny floor.
“Whose blood is that?” asked Rev groggily.
“Yours,” said Flint who had a grip on his mentor under both arms and was tugging him with all his strength. “Can you move on your own?”
“I’m not sure,” said Rev. “Why do I have to move at all?”
“Because Ziller’s not dead.”
“Oh . . . I suppose he’s really pissed too.” Flint looked annoyed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
The human rolled over on his side. A pain in his ribs jabbed him hard along with a new pain in the right leg. Rev found the source of the blood as he probed his calf. A metal shard had penetrated the soft tissue. He carefully eased the sliver free and tossed it aside. Rev then pulled a small length of cord from the lining of his coat and made a tourniquet. The blood slowed. Flint helped him get to his feet with some difficulty.
The sound of rubble being clawed away became louder, the beast roared, its face became visible and it located its prey. Rev was amazed at the strength of the creature as he watched a man-sized chunk of concrete slide away and the beast squ
eezed itself through the opening. Its face sported deep gashes from the explosion along with a crushed left arm.
“We can’t outrun that,” said Rev shuffling away from the creature as fast as his injured leg would allow.
“I could,” said Flint.
“You’d leave me here?”
“No.” Flint hovered in front of Rev. “I was just stating a fact. What do you want me to do?”
“I want to go on a vacation,” said Rev sarcastically, “be pampered by loads of exotic women . . . but darn it all, my agenda says ‘kill nasty beast’ today.”
“Any plan to accomplish that task?” asked Flint. “My defenses aren’t powerful enough to stop it.”
“I’m all out of—” started Rev when he looked up at the sign on the door: Atmospheric Chamber. Rev opened the door and found that the room contained a heavily plated orb with two pressure doors that were opened. They could see completely through the sphere, like a big metallic donut. Rev secured the lab door and raced across to the pressure chamber’s control panel.
“You think this could contain a raging monster?” asked Rev.
“Not for long.”
“Long enough to pressurize its hairy butt?”
“Maybe,” said Flint as he viewed the controls. “Here are the door seals and this is the pressurizer.”
The door to the lab was ripped completely from the frame, the creature rushed in. Rev jumped into the pressure chamber with Flint cowering by the controls. The creature smelled the blood from Rev’s injured leg and licked its lips with a long fleshy tongue.
Rev pulled his weapon and shot the beast in the face. Momentarily stunned, the beast stumbled. When it regained control it reached up to feel the burned flesh on its cheekbone. A hideous voice spoke. “You can’t kill me.” It was Ziller’s voice but amplified tenfold, melding with the hissing sound of a snake.
“Ziller? Are you still in there?”
“I’m more than that now,” hissed the creature. “I’m all of Ziller’s knowledge and more.”
“If you know so much, what can you do with it in a body like that?” asked Rev.
“I know you’re about to taste very good as I gnaw on your bones.” It lunged through the pressure chamber door striking Rev hard in the chest as it entered, throwing the man out the back hatch.
Rev had enough wits about him to fling the hatch shut. The door lock engaged with a clang. The beast turned to exit and Flint switched the pressure toggle, closing the other door and filling the chamber with compressed oxygen. The beast was caught in the blast of air and forced backwards. Its arms reached out clawing for a handhold. The creature howled in pain.
The grotesque form stretched its limbs against the hull and pressure, but it wasn’t enough to exert enough force to crack the seals. When it realized its peril, it flew into a frenzy, clawing and lashing out against the inner chamber. The pressure increased, yet it still pounded the hull in vain. Rev and Flint watched as the creature slowed in its efforts and bent down trying to breathe. The force of the pressurized oxygen increased. They watched as the flesh of the creature compressed. The force of the pressure rippled the flesh of the creature’s limbs and torso. The monster stopped its efforts to escape. Beads of sweat pooled on its hide. Its eyes sank into its head, and with a convulsive heave, bloody ooze popped from sunken eye sockets. It whimpered in pain as the pressure increased with even more intensity. The hiss of the pressure drowned out the creature’s efforts to speak. Its mouth opened but its tongue had now squeezed into a tangled cord. Flint pushed the flow up to its maximum setting.
The beast, realizing its end was near, threw itself against the hull in a last effort to escape. Its flesh had compressed to the point that it looked like a skeletal frame with wrinkly flesh draped on top. The bones of the creature imploded. The snapping sounds made Rev sick to his stomach. In its last moments, the body changed to a crumpled ball of broken flesh and bone. The beast turned its head as if it could still see Rev and Flint and then its skull collapsed, the body stopped moving.
“Three thousand atmospheres,” said Flint.
“What?”
“It took three thousand atmospheres of pressure to kill it.”
“Sonuvabitch,” swore Rev.
Chapter 28
FLINT HELPED REV to an examination table in the infirmary. He looked at Rev’s wounded leg and released the pressure on the tourniquet. When the blood flowed he took gauze and applied pressure to staunch the flow.
“You programmed for this stuff?”
“Of course,” stated Flint. “Tsunamian physiology is very much like humans.” His nimble fingers probed the wound and found the torn artery, sealing the tear. Next he applied an antibiotic inside the wound and closed the puncture with laser stitches from his fingertips. When Flint was done, Rev felt relieved and the wound looked much better after the blood was wiped away.
“Not bad,” said Rev eyeing the scar.
“I can’t help your cracked rib,” said Flint. “It’ll have to heal on its own.”
“Thanks, I couldn’t ask for more now that I’m not leaking precious bodily fluids.”
“Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that no one has come to investigate the explosion?” asked Flint.
The P.I. had a solution to that mystery. Nothing about this case followed the easy path. “Not really, I kind of expected we wouldn’t be interrupted.”
Flint looked puzzled.
“You still thinking the government protects its citizens?”
Flint nodded. “I’m programmed to be a part of the force that protects.”
“With that thinking you believe there’re authority figures who are anxious to soothe civil disturbances?”
Flint nodded again.
“I believe we’re their wild card right now. An ace in the hole, you might say. These creatures have threatened the very structure of Tsunamian government. To get to the bottom of this conspiracy they set us up to expose them.”
Flint finally recognized his situation. “So we’re left to our own devices to bring justice to light.”
“Absolutely correct. Unfortunately, we can’t ask for help either. We’re outside the law and dispensable. If we fail—we die—the problem still remains and the Tsunamian government finds a new replacement to do their dirty work.”
“That’s not fair,” said Flint. “Not after we’ve risked so much.”
“Yeah,” said Rev with a nod. “I’m as much a tool as you are in this affair. You were made for this but I volunteered.”
Flint fiddled with the emergency first aid kit and closed the lid with a bang. “I’m not just a tool. I’m—I’m . . . ”
“My partner,” said Rev. “And getting better at the job all the time. You saved my life back there and I want to thank you for it.”
“I’m programmed to serve you—nothing more.”
“You’re more than a servant and you know it,” said Rev. “You could’ve left me and you didn’t. You could’ve failed to destroy the beast, but you didn’t. I think you’re the best partner I’ve ever had. Not only did you save my life but you also anticipated my need to threaten Ziller to get him to panic.”
“Thanks,” said Flint. “It did seem like the right thing to do at the time. But part of me wanted revenge for his trying to shoot us in the transmat tube.”
“Yeah,” said Rev. “I guessed as much. You’re taking on my traits—which I think isn’t all that good sometimes.”
“Why not?” asked Flint.
“I make mistakes,” said Rev. “I should’ve told you before that I recognized Ziller in the room when he took a pot shot at us.”
“If you had I wouldn’t have felt the need to threaten him as much,” said Flint. “My reaction was more instinctual and genuine. If I knew he was the one then I would have had to act angry instead of being angry.”
“Well, we know how the beasts are made now don’t we?” said Rev pulling himself off the examination table and test
ing the strength of his leg.
“We know there’s a biological parasite involved,” said Flint. “And some serum that transforms the host into these creatures.”
“Yep. And we know Ziller was trying to destroy the evidence but messed up and got infected and then was forced to drink more serum. That leads us to know that the parasite gains control and can influence the host. Yet we don’t know why they engineered this creature in the first place.”
Flint whirled around. “It seems to me, the best bet for success for an intelligent parasitic species wanting to infect an entire planet, would be to keep its existence a secret for as long as it could.”
“Gaining strength in numbers until they outnumbered the uninfected,” finished Rev.
Flint bobbled. “So if the—can we call them aliens?”
Rev nodded pulling up his pants and snapping his belt tight. He shifted his weapon on the belt and slung his jacket over his shoulder.
Flint continued, “So, if the aliens infected the Tsunamians, then they’d have to come up with a plan to defend themselves . . . like building a creature big enough to fight back.”
Rev rubbed an aching cracked rib, wincing when he felt the rib flex. “That’s my guess too.”
“What do we do now?” Flint was ready for action.
Rev pulled his weapon and checked the charge. Nearly full. Then he counted the remaining explosives on his arm. Seven small bulges on the transparent tape. It took two of the explosives to slow the creature down and that didn’t even kill it. He was thinking he’d have to ram the bomb down the throat of a creature just to kill it—which wasn’t a bad idea—just an unpleasant one.
“We dig deeper and hope to find out the plan.”
Flint hovered towards the door. “Something has been bothering me.”
“What’s that?”
“Why’s Cassie so important to them?”
“That’s a very good question. Let’s hope we find out before she becomes unimportant.”
The Beast of Tsunam (Rev Smalley: Galactic P.I. Book 1) Page 22