A small mass of soldiers gathered near the boom barrier, weapons raised as they fired on the beast. They had a difficult time hitting their target, firing toward the end of the convoy. The soldiers were all too late.
“Commander!” yelled Asher. He raced toward Greaves, still multiple vehicles away, the rest of his assault group close behind.
They wouldn’t reach him in time.
Greaves continued to fire upon the creature, but neither his rounds nor those of his comrades had any effect.
Asher gritted his teeth. They didn’t have the weapons to stop the beast.
A human-sized, black streak suddenly burst from the cover of the trees, dashing headlong at the charging beast. It slammed into the giant creature’s side just before it reached the truck, shoving the beast through the line of parked vehicles, launching both off the highway and down the mountainside. They plummeted down the ravine in a jaw-snapping, claw thrashing storm.
Asher slowed his pace, taken aback, though continuing toward the truck.
“Wow, that thing nearly got me,” said Greaves. He lowered his weapon and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Kresnik’s in for one heck of a fight,” he muttered. Greaves remained atop the truck cab, taking a moment to catch his breath before turning toward the approaching assault group.
“Sergeant Ito,” said the commander, finding her assault group below. “Take your group down the ravine and see if you can’t find that wrecked truck.”
“Lieutenant Tarango,” Greaves spoke into his helmet. “Gather up the rest of your platoon and follow after them. There’s no tellin’ how many soldiers it may take to bring that thing down. I’m hoping our kresnik can take care of himself, but I’ll have you go after him just in case.” They heard a brief spurt of static as the commander switched frequencies.
“Follow me!” Sergeant Ito commanded, moving around the rest of the group and sprinting back down the highway. Her assault group dashed after her, weapons still at the ready, hurrying to fulfill Greaves’s order.
A shrill scream sounded over the mountainside as the assault group raced toward the forest, knowing their extra effort was a waste. It was the cry of a woman in distress, the beast likely tearing into her.
“I have gathered up the rest of the platoon,” said Lieutenant Tarango into their helmets. “We are proceeding toward your position now. Do not engage that monster unless it forces you!”
“Yes, sir!” they said, nearly in unison.
Asher wondered if the rest of the platoon would arrive in time. Greaves had sent them on what amounted to a suicide mission. Their backup lagged behind, and the four of them were unlikely to survive an encounter with the beast on their own.
“This way!” said Ito. She took a sharp turn away from the highway and onto the mountain’s forested slope.
Asher moved quickly but cautiously after her, careful to keep his footing as he descended the mountainside. Milo remained close to his side and Aaron behind him.
The sound of savage, bestial combat exploded from the trees below. The battle sounded surprisingly close, the roars and howls of the giant wolf-thing interlaced with the leopard-like shrieks and snarls of the kresnik. The great noise produced by the relentless death match reverberated across the mountainside, causing several large groups of birds to abandon their perches.
“Move,” Sergeant Ito’s command came as a whisper, keeping their position concealed.
The assault group’s progress down the mountain slackened considerably as Asher and his comrades darted between trees, taking cover should the first beast come back up. The wrecked truck lay below, crashed over on its side against a tree.
Only the bottom of the vehicle was visible to Asher. He saw no evidence of the creature as he continued downward, crouching against the trunk of a tree. The roars of the second wolf-thing quieted and turned to long, low bellows, all conveying a sense of helplessness and defeat. The beast was dying.
Asher cautiously peered around the edge of the tree, his weapon at the ready. He expected the first beast to reappear at any moment to lung at him through the hail of useless bullets. The private looked down the slope toward the wreck, his heart’s rapid beating slackening when he saw no sign of the creature. He saw the ruined vehicle lying undisturbed.
“Proceed,” Ito’s voice drove them forward from their cover. “Let’s take a look behind the truck.”
The battle to their left had reached its conclusion, the cries of both warring creatures now silenced, and the forest returned to its natural volume.
Asher took a deep breath, quickly moving from cover toward the back of the overturned truck, leaning against its closed double doors, still finding no evidence of the creature’s presence. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ito and then Milo and Aaron stacked up behind him.
Ito reached over and grabbed the back of his arm, silently instructing him to search around the truck.
Asher slowly made the corner, prepared to fire, feeling as though the whole procedure was ridiculous. Four soldiers wouldn’t be enough to stop the beast. Their rounds would be rendered useless by its massive bulk and armored hide.
“Uhh.” Asher grimaced, caught off guard by the horror show before him.
The top side of the truck was ripped open, the metal hull shredded like a tin can by the beast’s giant claws. The bodies of the Legions soldiers lay thrown across the mountainside, limbs and heads scattered everywhere, pools of blood soaking into the rocky ground. Despite the gore, none of the bodies looked even partially eaten. The beast had killed out of bloodlust alone.
There was still no sign of the monster as far as Asher could see. Perhaps the creature had run off after the kresnik or doubled back toward the Legion convoy.
A shiver ran down Asher’s spine as a sense of unease swept over him.
They needed to leave before it was too late.
Asher finished with the corner and moved toward the nearest whole body. He rolled it over to find the man’s stomach a bloody, juicy mess, slashed open by the beast.
The rest of the group followed Asher, all four searching over their fallen comrades, finding their bodies desecrated, bloodied, mangled, and torn asunder. They looked over the destruction for nearly five minutes but found no survivors.
Asher moved down the ridge, pushing the last body over with his foot, finding the man bloodied and lifeless, his brains protruding from his skull.
“Looks like that’s all of them,” he said as he walked back up to where the rest of his group now stood near the overturned truck.
“No need to rush down here, Lieutenant,” Ito said into her microphone, a tinge of hopelessness in her voice. “The monster is gone, and there are no survivors.”
Asher jumped as the beast reappeared several yards below, bearing its teeth as it crashed through the trees toward them on its hind legs.
“Way to call it too soon, Sergeant.” Aaron’s voice went cold. “And here I thought we might make it until sundown.”
Asher took a grenade from his pack, pulled the pin, and let it cook before he hurled it at the monster. It struck the beast directly in the head, exploding on impact, sending shrapnel into its eyes.
The beast roared, thoroughly enraged, dropping to all fours to charge them.
Their group opened fire, all of their rounds landing squarely on target, but they could not damage the beast’s armor. This was it. They would all die here, naught but fodder against this bloodthirsty monster.
Asher took a deep breath, hoping the monster killed quickly.
The beast was nearly upon them when a black streak fell from the treetops, landing atop its back, tearing into its exposed neck with deadly fangs.
The beast screamed in pain, rearing up as it tried to throw off its attacker.
The kresnik dug into its neck, fighting desperately to cut through its bulk to reach its spine. The blood was black and viscous, flowing from its victim’s wounds like syrup.
The monster roared
for the last time and staggered, then fell to the ground, landing with a thud less than ten feet in front of them.
The kresnik shrieked and leaped to one side of the beast, jumping unnecessarily high before plummeting back down to land on its feet, crouching to catch itself. It stood up and turned to look at them, acting as if it was surprised to find them there.
The kresnik was dressed in full black body armor, complete with helmet, all of it more advanced than their own. Only the lower portion of its face was visible. Stark white fur grew upon its chin, and a pair of large fangs protruded from its mouth. It walked toward them, its focus resting solely on Asher as it stopped to remove its helmet.
Asher stood, both amazed and terrified, unable to move or speak.
The kresnik gritted its teeth at him, making him think it might suddenly attack.
It took Asher a second to realize the creature was smiling.
The kresnik pulled its helmet from its face, causing all of them to jump a little. It looked like a cat, complete with large, pointy ears and enormous, yellow-green glowing eyes, a tufted, white mane crowning its head.
“What… What are you?” Asher stuttered, unsure if the creature would be able to answer him.
“Asher, it’s me!” it proclaimed, its voice deep and rumbling, sounding so familiar yet completely alien. “It’s me, Cyrus!”
“What?” Asher nearly fell to the ground. “But that can’t be,” he continued, unable to find the words. “You’re dead!” he said at last.
The creature continued toward him, slouching down toward the ground. It cautiously circled him, sniffing the surrounding air.
“I’m dead no more,” it said, rising to its feet when it did so.
Asher could only stare, speech completely lost to him once again.
A third beast howled from some distance away, its cries coming from back over the ridge to their right. The kresnik’s green-yellow eyes went wide, like a cat catching sight of a mouse.
Asher raised his weapon, startled by the sudden change in behavior.
The kresnik turned to pick up its helmet, shoving it back over its head before it darted past him. The urge to kill seemed to carry it back up the mountainside.
“What’s going on?” asked Lieutenant Tarango, appearing off to their left side. He pushed his way through the trees toward them, forty or so soldiers in toe behind him.
“That monster killed everyone from the truck, sir,” said Ito, lowering her weapon. “It was waiting for us. It would have killed all of us easily, but the test subject, the kresnik, killed the monster.”
Asher was grateful when she left it to only that.
“Well, now that we have established that there are no survivors, let’s head back up,” said Tarango. He placed a booted foot atop the dead beast’s head, its tongue rolling out of its wolf-like jaws. “I’m sure you heard all the howls from up over the ridge. Let’s not wait around for a fourth monster to join these first three. You heard her!”
The lieutenant moved away from the enormous dead creature to address his personnel. “There’s nothing to see down here! Back up to the convoy!” He waved the gathered soldiers back up the ridge, following them as they made their ascent.
Aaron and Milo followed the rest of the departing soldiers.
Asher remained in place, nearly sliding to the ground as he leaned against the back of the truck, still too shocked to move.
Sergeant Ito began to follow the rest of their platoon but went back to find Asher still cemented to the ground.
“Come on, we can’t just leave you out here in the woods,” she said, putting her hand on Asher’s shoulder. “You’ll have plenty of time to think about all this later, so long as we survive the operation, that is.” She extended her hand, waiting to help him back onto his feet.
“Better start heading back,” said Asher at last. He took her hand in his, the capacity to stand returned to him. “It’s already getting dark.”
Ito continued to hold onto his hand, gripping it in hers for a prolonged amount of time as she stared up at him. “Oh… sorry.” Ito released his hand, embarrassed.
Asher’s feet remained rooted to the ground as he watched her leave. He found the sergeant’s actions awkward yet comforting. Slowly coming to his senses, Asher followed her, overwhelmed by all that had occurred in such a short amount of time.
Chapter XXIX
Into the Mouth of Hell
“Sanders, what’s your status?” asked Sergeant Ito, beginning another round of pointless status checks. She was temporarily back to her original duties serving as sergeant over a squad of fifteen.
The convoy had regrouped after the ambush and now made its way up the road and over the ridge to rest near the lab’s tunnel entrance. Night had set in fast, and menacing darkness had replaced the delicate orange and purple pastels of evening. The Legion personnel remained stationed at strategic points around the mountain. Half of their number waited outside, forming defensive lines around the perimeter, while the rest remained in their vehicles, waiting to proceed into the tunnel.
Ito’s assault group was the latter. Their orders confined them to their SUV until the kresnik’s recapture from the wilderness was complete. Asher retained his seat up front beside the sergeant. All occupants sat with helmets on, weapons held across their chests, prepared should an unforeseen enemy suddenly appear.
The entrance to the tunnel lay in front of them, illuminated by the glowing headlights. It gaped open like the dark, toothless maw of some great Stygian worm, a dread portal to Hell. The lab’s automated massive security guns loomed above the tunnel, ready to fire should an unrecognized individual approach. It was poised to tear them in half with a devastating hail of lead.
The kresnik had silenced the rage-fueled roars of the rampaging wolf beasts some time ago. The Legion waited for the return of their killing machine, expecting the retrieval team to reappear at any moment.
“Do you think that thing really is your brother?” Aaron asked Asher in a near whisper. He leaned in from behind his seat, careful not to interrupt the sergeant.
“It can’t be. It’s impossible,” said Asher, his voice grave. “My brother is dead.”
“I heard how it spoke,” Milo cut in. “It seemed convinced.”
“Oh, come on. You too, Milo?” Asher groaned. “Isn’t the way it looks enough for you? It’s not even human.”
“You know how much vampires change when they turn.” Milo’s eyes went wide behind his visor. “Granted, the change isn’t as drastic as what would have to happen to go from human to kresnik, but the same basic rules still apply. You can’t say it was never human by going on looks alone.”
”Cyrus died of heart failure.” Asher gritted his teeth. “We had him cremated. That thing can think or say whatever it wants. My brother is dead.”
“Ash, you got to admit that the possibility exists,” said Aaron. “I mean, neither of us thought vampires, hellhounds, and giant werewolves existed a few months ago. All I’m saying is that it’s odd that of all the people it could claim to be.”
“Sorry, Aaron, there’s just no way,” Asher cut him off. He wished Aaron would leave it alone. “I mean, maybe they, CyberGen, the Legion, whatever, somehow looked up my family, picked a name, and told the kresnik that was its identity.” Angry as he was, he felt an unsettling sickness in the pit of his stomach.
What suffering would Cyrus have had to endure to become that thing? Asher asked himself.
“Man, that makes even less sense.” Aaron frowned. “I mean, I don’t know how long it takes to make a kresnik and have it ready for testing, but it’s got to be longer than just a few months. The Legion didn’t even know you existed then.”
“Both of my brothers had muscular dystrophy, and both of them are dead.” Asher knew he would snap soon. “The disease is always fatal. They reached the end of their lifespans and died.”
“That still doesn’t eliminate the possibility,” said Milo. “Who knows what they actually did with your
brother’s body after he died.”
“Man, would you guys just drop it?” Asher nearly yelled at them. “You’re starting to make me angry. I don’t want to be off my game when we go in there.”
“Uh… Captain Kilgore,” Ito said into her headset, effectively silencing the rest of her assault group.
Asher took several deep breaths, caging his anger. He turned on his helmet speaker, not wanting to miss what the captain had to say.
“What’s our company’s status?” asked the sergeant.
Our status…” the captain’s voice was full of frustration. “We’ve been sitting here for an hour. Nothing has changed.”
A burst of static followed as the captain switched between channels.
“Sir, what’s the hold-up?” Captain Kilgore asked Commander Greaves. He spoke over his company’s channel, allowing Asher and the others to hear. The captain was close, waiting in one of the nearby vehicles.
“We’re still waiting on the District X folks to retrieve the kresnik before we proceed.” Greaves stood beside the back of an armored truck, X-12 strung about his torso, impatiently kicking up gravel from the road.
Asher saw his massive form illuminated in the headlights, the commander trading in his tank top and jeans for body armor and a helmet.
“We can’t have him and the vampire out at the same time,” Greaves explained. “A vamp that’ll talk is hard to find, and we don’t want him torn to pieces just yet.”
“Understood, sir,” said Kilgore. “I suppose it’s kind of late to gripe about the itinerary now, but we need to get a move on.”
“Dang it, Captain,” said Greaves, his frustration setting in ever further. “Do you think I don’t know! If I had a nickel for every complaint tonight,” he muttered through gritted teeth.
“Kresnik inbound,” the commander from District X spoke into everyone’s helmet.
“Thank you, Commander Griffin,” said Greaves. “‘Bout time! Sun’s been gone for a while now.” Greaves switched channels as he spoke, his voice now only heard by those ranked captain and above.
Fall Prey: The Hunt Page 41