“All right Renegades. Time to rock and roll. Kill any Variant bastard you see. Eric, you’re with me. We’re going in the top entrance by the road. Jack, Dee, descend the stairs and enter through the turbine room.”
He reached into his backpack, extracting the remaining explosives. He adjusted the timers and handed five to Jack.
“Plant these on the back wall, closest to the lake. Press the red button to arm them.”
Then he held up a small device Jack wasn’t familiar with. It looked like a bicycle handgrip with a red button on top. On its side was a metal switch. Ben flicked a guard over the button. “This is the detonating trigger. I’ve taken them off timer. It’s too risky. We go in, find the boys, and once we are clear, we’ll blow this bastard place to hell!”
“Hell yeah!” the Renegades answered.
Jack put the explosives in his pack and checked that his rifle was ready. He knew it was, but Ben had drummed the habit into him. And besides, it helped take his mind off the horrors that awaited them. Looking out, he could see the source of the black smoke. Flames had engulfed the village end of the dam. It was the burning wreckage of a chopper. As he watched, Variants scrambled around the flames, trying to reach the other chopper, which hovered above the village, spraying it with 50 caliber rounds. His heart sank at the sight. The men in that chopper had risked their lives for the rescue of the boys. They had paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Feeling the loss, Jack channeled the anger and frustration, steeling himself with new determination. Gazing around the cockpit, he could see the same grim expressions on the other Renegades’ faces.
The chopper thumped to the ground. Eric flung the door open and Jack pushed off his seat. Crouching low, he waited for Dee to join him. He felt the touch on his shoulder and moved left and around the building. In his peripheral sight, he saw Ben and Eric head directly for the building, their destination visible over the sight of his rifle. He took up a covering position and watched Dee descend the ladder. Dozens of Variants were on the far side of the dam, but for now their way was clear. He heard his two-way click with the signal that the coast was clear.
Jack took a calming breath and climbed down the ladder. With every step he took closer to the inside of the meat locker, his trepidation grew. He had reached deep down inside himself to escape this place, to find an inner strength and a will to survive. Then, thoughts of Dee, alone and worried, had spurred him on. He paused at the door.
Dee glanced up at him as if she read his concerns. She grasped his hand. “It’s all right, Jack. We do it together this time, okay?”
“Okay.” He breathed deep, trying to calm himself. Memories of this place stirred up terrors he had buried deep down. “Let’s do it.”
Dee flung open the door, and moved through it with the grace of a cat. Jack followed, and glanced around the cavernous room beyond. Four giant turbines sat in a row, silent. Metal walkways ringed each turbine, and huge metal pipes disappeared from each one into the walls of the dam.
Jack remembered a school trip many years ago. The sound the spinning turbines had made had been deafening. His ears had rung for days after. Like after a rock concert. Dee moved out into the room, signaling for him to keep an eye on the walkways as she swivelled around, searching for the foul beasts. He couldn’t detect the rotten fruit smell in here, but the stench of death emanated from the far end. Jack clicked his two-way to get Dee’s attention. She glanced at him. Jack held up one of the explosives. She nodded in agreement. Glancing around the room, he decided that the intake pipes were the best place to set the charges.
Jack jogged behind the turbines and placed the four charges. Meeting Dee at the far end, he gave her a quick smile. He thumbed his radio. “Captain. Charges primed and ready. Over.”
There was a short pause before Ben answered. “Received. We are heading for the main room. Move it.”
“Wilco. Over.” Jack glanced at Dee, and nodded.
She cracked the door open and peered out before moving out into the corridor beyond. Glancing left and right, Jack recognised the corridor he had awoken in all those weeks ago. They were farther along, but it was the same corridor. Evidence of the strange membrane that had trapped him, George, and the others to the wall was still there. Screeches echoed down the hall, forcing Jack to pay attention. The strong rotten fruit smell they expunged reached him before the sounds of their scampering did. He moved his selector off semi-automatic onto full. A hideous howl sounded out from around the corner. Jack nestled the rifle into his shoulder. A black blur of movement careened towards them. Jack squeezed the trigger, aiming for the torso. He watched, satisfied, as he filled it full of holes. It tumbled to the ground and lay still. He quickly moved forwards, taking down a few more with controlled bursts. Dee’s rifle spat, but with more Variants joining the battle, Jack had no time to admire her kills. Another wave joined the first one. Jack and Dee fired at anything that moved. Firing. Loading. Firing. Sporadic gunfire echoed down the hallway from the far end. Jack assumed it was Ben and Eric.
He yelled above the din. “There’s too many, we have to go back!”
Dee shook her head. “It’s better here in the hall. We can trap the bastards in a bottleneck!”
Jack nodded and moved to one side, taking down another Variant. The stench of death mixed with gun smoke made his eyes water. Casings from his ammunition clinked off the concrete walls. Jack centered himself and fought on. He fought for the boys, he fought for all those moments he wanted to still share with Dee. He fought for all the sunsets they had yet to see. He fought for the children he wanted to have with his beautiful wife. He fought for humanity.
Shrieks rang out above the gunfire, and another wave of Variants scampered around the corner. They stopped, hissing at Jack and Dee, watching them with their cold reptile eyes. Jack squeezed his trigger. His rifle clicked empty.
“Changing!” He reached into his vest and grabbed a fresh magazine.
Dee let loose with a burst, hitting one in the head and another in the leg. The remaining four howled and lurched towards them. Jack looked up and sighted one of them. With a sudden burst of speed, it bounced off the wall and leapt at Jack. He pivoted and flung himself to one side, hoping to avoid its outstretched claws. The Variant landed next to him with a shriek. He only just managed to bring up his rifle to protect his head. Jack glimpsed a flash of red down the corridor. Thinking he was having a flashback of the man he killed, Jack opened his eyes wide when the red figure ran towards them, firing at the Variants. But as surprised as he was, Jack had more pressing matters to be concerned with.
Jack reached down and grabbed his knife. Lunging, he buried it deep into the Variants neck, killing it. He pushed the dead beast off him and scrambled up, looking for Dee. She stood over the body of a Variant, but had her carbine pointed at the red figure.
It was a dark-haired woman. She had tied the arms of the red coveralls around her waist. She held her rifle to one side and had a hand lifted up in surrender.
Jack looked at Dee, then back to the woman. “Who are you?”
“I could ask you the same thing?”
“American?”
“Yes.”
Jack shook his head. What the hell is an American doing here? “We don’t have time for this. Dee. Do it.”
“Wait!” The woman held up her other hand. “I’m not one of them. I just killed those bastards. I’m here for the kids, all right?”
Jack watched as Dee lowered her rifle. “Maggie?”
“Yes. Wait. How did you know? Alice?”
Dee nodded her head. “She’s safe, and the kids.”
“Oh, thank God. I guess you’re here for the kids too, right?”
Jack butted in. “Yes. Let’s go. There’s always more of those bastards.”
Maggie and Dee nodded. Howls and shrieks reached them from farther down the corridor. Jack took a deep breath. It was time. Time to end this. Time for the final battle. He leant down and wiped the black gunk off his knife. Shouldering
his rifle, he jogged down the corridor. Towards the horrors of the throne room.
TWENTY-NINE
Dee jogged a few paces behind Jack, with Maggie running alongside. The bodies that once lined these walls had gone, but the stench of their deaths still lingered in the air. The last time Dee had run down this corridor, she had been searching for Jack. She had promised herself to come back and help these people, but the Army had refused her request. Seeing the vacant spots fed her guilt. She was determined to make up for that failing and rescue the boys. Deep down, Dee wanted to kill the Trophy King too. It was the only way to end this properly. He had shown that he didn’t forget by attacking the island, and by kidnapping Boss and George he had let them know that he was king. The apex predator. Thinking of the boys, she grimaced. Not if I can help it.
Dee could hear the rattle of Ben’s rifle and the boom of Eric’s shotgun coming from behind the green door. She clicked the talk button on her two-way. “Captain. We’re in position.”
“Get your arses in here. Now!”
Dee exchanged a look with Jack and Maggie. She saw their determination. All right, Trophy King, I’m here.
Jack reached the door and gripped its handle. Dee swung her rifle up and nodded, meeting his gaze. In that brief second, she saw the love and admiration he had for her. It was all the encouragement she needed to carry on with the mission. Gritting her teeth, she moved through the open door, looking over the rifle’s sight.
Dee gasped at the scene greeting her. A dozen Variants had grouped together under and around the metal stairs opposite her position. Ben and Eric stood on the metal landing above, firing down into the group of snarling beasts. Each blast of Eric’s shotgun sent Variant gore spraying into the air. The Variants he was hitting merely shrugged off the rounds, rising and crawling over the bodies of their fallen kin. Their shrieks and howls filled the cavernous room.
Ben fired controlled, expert shots from his carbine, hitting the Variants in their heads. Gaping holes opened up in the deformed heads as they crumpled to the ground. Dee stood transfixed, watching the old soldier kill the hideous beasts with ruthless efficiency.
The Trophy King stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by a guard of larger Variants. Against the far wall was the prone figure of Beth, slumped against a rack of bones. Dee prayed that she was alive. Frantic, she searched for the boys. Jack nudged her arm and nodded his head at the box at the Alpha’s feet.
Adrenalin surged through her veins as she recognised the figures of Boss and George, huddled in the cage. Dee squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to block the image out. The stench of death was suffocating. Maggie brushed past her, firing into the mass of monsters. Dee snapped back to the battle and screamed at the Trophy King. All the motherly instincts buried deep down inside her, all her anger and frustration, came out in one long scream.
Dee raised her rifle and let loose at the Trophy King. The bullets bounced off his thick bark-like skin. He looked up at Dee and bellowed. She swore he was grinning at her. A few Variants scampered around the room, running towards them.
Dee reached into her vest and grabbed a couple of grenades. She waited until the Variants were beneath her before dropping them.
“Grenade!”
She yelled more for the boys’ sake, hoping they heard. She pulled Jack and Maggie back through the door and slammed it shut. The exploding grenades shook the metal stairs. Variant screams mixed with the constant sound of gunfire. Smoke and concrete dust hung in the air, causing her to cough.
Dee reached over and grasped Jack’s arm; he looked back at her. She didn’t speak. He knew what she was thinking. She turned to Maggie. “I’m going for the boys and Beth. You two, cover me. If you can keep those big bastards off me, I think I can get them out.”
“Gotcha. Give him hell,” said Maggie.
Dee raised her rifle, flung the door open, and ran down the stairs, firing at the Alpha as she went. Jack and Maggie added to her barrage. The Trophy King swatted at the bullets as if they were pesky mosquitos.
Dee skirted around the side of the room. She risked a quick glance to see Ben’s progress. He was sweeping his rifle back and forth, mowing down any Variant that happened to be within range. Their numbers were dwindling. She estimated about twenty Variants remained, including the Alpha and his guard. Her radio squawked.
“Keep firing, Renegades. Jack, Dee, get the kids!” yelled Ben.
Dee quickened her pace, pumping her legs. She sighted a Variant over her AR-15 and squeezed the trigger. The bullet entered its neck, spraying her with black, putrid smelling blood. The scent of rotten fruit almost overwhelmed her. The beast tumbled and fell at her feet. It looked up at her, pure hatred in its eyes, and clawed at her legs. Dee unsheathed her knife and rammed it into the Variant’s deformed skull. The knife grated on the bone before entering its brain, killing it. She scanned her immediate vicinity, looking for targets. Seeing no more, she ran the last few metres to Beth.
Dee checked the girl’s pulse. Her heart leapt. Weak, but present. It was then that she realised: the poor girl had been crucified. The depravity of it sickened her. With a silent apology, she yanked Beth off the cross and flung her across her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Grunting with the effort, she struggled back to the stairs.
Jack had made it to the floor and continued to fire at the Alpha and his guards. He stopped firing to take Beth from Dee.
Dee pivoted around and fired her penultimate magazine at the Alpha. He bellowed at the barrage of metal.
Her two-way squawked, and Ben’s voice rang out. “Keep firing, I’m going for the boys.”
She looked over, and watched as Ben and Eric descended, firing as they went.
Dee concentrated on covering them. The Alpha bounded towards her and, bellowing, swung a huge claw at her. She spun to one side, but his claw gouged her shoulder. Dee winced at the pain. She ducked from his follow up, slipped on some intestines, and skidded. As she slid, she fired up at the Trophy King, hitting him in the groin. She saw his eyes go wide, and realised that her bullets had hit a weak spot. She peered closer. She could see patches of pink skin on his inner thighs and at the bottom of his stomach.
The Trophy King bellowed a deep, angry roar and swung out another huge claw. Dee rolled away, avoiding certain death. The Alpha caught her rifle and it slipped from her grasp.
“Dee!” Jack yelled, concern evident in his voice.
She didn’t look at him. The Trophy King turned towards her and snarled, flashing his sucker mouth filled with teeth. The grotesque heads mounted on his shoulders jiggled. Dee let out a breath. She reached back and drew her Katana.
The Alpha was ten metres away, his feet planted wide, arms and claws outstretched. He let out a ferocious screech.
“Dee! No!” Jack screamed again.
She smiled. She looked over at Boss and George, huddled in their cage of bones, watching her with tears in their eyes.
She let out a breath, and charged the Trophy King, Katana held high. Screaming all her anger. All her hate. All her frustration. Everything she had.
As she reached the Alpha, she tucked into a roll, ducking underneath his swinging claws. Passing through his legs, she leapt up and slashed deep into his groin, continuing the slice up into his stomach. Then she reversed the blade and swung down, slicing through the backs of his ankles. The Trophy King stumbled, turned, and fell to one knee, eyes fixed on Dee. A wet sloshing sound made her smile as the Alpha looked down to see his intestines falling to the ground.
Dee leant back and shoved the Katana through his eye, impaling him to the hilt. The Alpha grunted once and toppled sideways.
Dee dropped to the ground next to the Trophy King, relief overcoming her. She heard running feet and, looking up, saw Jack. He reached down and hauled her to her feet, pointing to the door above Ben and Eric, where Variants were struggling to get back into the room. Jack handed her rifle back to her before turning. He aimed his carbine and shot the Trophy King twice in the head.
&
nbsp; Rule #2. Double tap.
Dee clicked in her last magazine. She ran over to the cage, opened it, and grasped the boys in a hug.
George sobbed into her shoulder.
“I’m sorry we weren’t there,” she sobbed.
Boss struggled to stand on one leg, so Dee wrapped an arm around him, helping him steady himself. She watched as he glanced up at the Variants fighting through the barrage of bullets to get to the humans. “Thanks, Dee. Let’s get out of here.”
***
Jack reached down and lifted George. Then he ran for the stairs and went up, taking two at a time. Ben, Eric, and Maggie fired into the knot of Variants swarming into the throne room. The Renegades backed out of the room of horror. Jack put George down next to Beth in the corridor, and lay down covering fire as Ben and Eric ran up the stairs. Screeches filled the cavernous room, bouncing around like an aviary of undead parrots.
Jack fired at a beast to his left, taking a chunk out of its face. The Variant howled and leapt, landing on the stairs next to Eric.
Eric spun, bringing up his shotgun. The Variant speared him through the torso, tearing into his flesh. Eric screamed and smashed his fist into the Variant, trying to get him off. The monster held on and tore at his chest.
The Renegades looked on in horror. Jack met his gaze. Tears forming, he raised his AR-15.
Eric shook his head. Holding up one of the explosive bricks, he reached down for a grenade.
Ben pushed Jack back out into the hallway. “Go!”
Jack reached down and lifted George into his arms. He could see Dee a few metres farther down the hallway with the hopping Boss. Ben slammed the door behind them. Jack ran with George in his arms, away from that pit of despair. Away from the horrors that would be forever etched into his mind. Away from the Alpha and his disciples of death. He shook his head, remembering Dee’s desperate move that ended the Trophy King. As he rounded the corner, a huge explosion tore through the air. He cradled George’s head and dropped to the floor. The heat of the fireball washed over him. Jack said a silent prayer for Eric, rolled over, and ran for the exit.
The Fourth Phase Page 21