Another intersection lay ahead. Kevin didn’t even pause, remembering clearly the path they had taken during the tracking party.
They branched off and kept moving.
“Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction?” said Sarah.
“Positive.”
He glanced down at the cell phone. The power level had dropped, depicting a red battery. Kevin’s lungs started to burn and his legs ached from the effort and dampness. Easing his gait, he tried to level off and recover a little.
“Why are you slowing down?” This from Sarah who didn’t sound the least bit winded. “Let’s move along faster.”
“Need to conserve our strength for the escape…” he gasped for breath, “from the beasts chasing us.”
“If we push on now, we might not run into them again.”
She had a point, but somehow he figured the Rhino-pards were too smart to let them waltz out of there. And the beasts knew the tunnel system well. “They’re going to try and beat us to the access point.”
“How could those animals possibly think ahead like that?” Sarah said.
“Can’t explain it,” Kevin replied. “Just have a feeling in my gut.”
Sarah’s shadow reflected on the grimy brick wall, head shaking. He knew she wanted to sprint ahead of the beasts and make a dash for the common. The creatures were smart. And the Rhino-pards had acute senses. The beasts could likely hear the slogging footfalls echo through the tunnels, giving away their flight.
Such powerful and agile creatures could bound through the main passageway, and then lay in wait like giant cats on a grassy plain, biding their time for the prey to come to them. Kevin expected that no matter how fast they ran, the Rhino-pards would be ahead of them, waiting for the kill.
“Let’s conserve our energy,” he said. “Just in case we have to fight them.”
Sarah glanced at him through the dim light. A look of dire concern cast upon her face, reflecting a dissipating hope of evading the beasts. Her pace slowed, and then she stopped advancing altogether.
“What is it?” Kevin called back to her.
She didn’t respond.
He stopped.
Then, he heard the bolt of the Gibbs clanking a round into the chamber. “What are you doing?” he asked, knowing she’d checked the load.
“Preparing for the fight,” Sarah said, stepping towards him. She held the large rifle ready to fire, with the butt lodged into her shoulder.
“We haven’t much time left with this light.”
“At some point, we are going to run right into them.”
Sarah had finally spoken what he’d been thinking for some time. The splashing through the water would alert the beasts to their approach, and the commotion served to obscure the Rhino-pards in the dark, quiet tunnel.
Nothing would give away the beasts, not their breathing or stench.
Kevin and Sarah would run into the creatures and get mauled. She was right. Slowing down and preparing for a conflict was the best option. He still feared losing their light, getting trapped in the maze of dark tunnels.
“You’re right,” Kevin finally said. “Let’s prepare to fight, and keep the pace as fast as we can move without making too much noise.”
“And keep that light pointed down,” she added.
Reaching an intersection, Kevin paused, trying to remember which way led out. He recalled stopping there before, but Cunningham hadn’t marked the path. This was near where the tracking party had encountered the beasts for the first time.
The ceiling suddenly felt low and the walls seemed to be closing in. Kevin’s heart raced. Anxiety pulsated through him. The pressure of making the right decision caused him to panic. Fear of a mistake fogged his brain.
Frantic.
He was running out of time.
Every second counted.
Power to the phone was winding down, so they couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Time ticked, almost accelerated by his paralysis.
“This way,” he finally said, pointing.
“Are you sure?”
“No,” Kevin replied, “but we’ve got to keep moving.”
Fifty paces down the tunnel, Kevin knew they’d made the right choice. “This is the right way,” he whispered.
Anxiety slipped away due to the relief he felt. He took a deep breath, and then heard a splash in front of them. A heavy thud. Followed by another.
Light cast onto giant claws spread in the water before them.
Kevin reflectively ran the beam up. It caught on the creature’s face. The Rhino-pard blinked its yellow eyes, then roared. The great horn shook in the shimmering light.
The Gibbs leveled alongside Kevin’s right ear, and the barrel nosed ahead. The beast pounced, and the big bore rifle fired: KABOOM!
The beast wailed, but kept coming.
Kevin stepped aside.
KABOOM!!
The Rhino-pard stumbled. Sarah had remembered to shoot for the shoulder. Kevin saw a greenish fluid drip from the wound. It was the same shoulder that had already taken fire. The creature pounced again, staggered, and then limped trying to recover.
“Get back!” Kevin yelled.
Sarah tread away, her Wellie’s splashing the murky water.
The beast shook off the wound, eyeing Kevin, as it slowly advanced. Behind the Rhino-pard, the tunnel lay empty.
Everything appeared blurry as shock and panic consumed him. The beast inched closer, then lost its footing. An immense rhino hind end collided with the brick wall, crushing masonry. Dust and grime fell from the ceiling.
Kevin steadied himself, clutching the Ray-gun ready to fire.
The Rhino-pard stumbled and then whipped its head. A fang tore open Kevin’s sleeve, and severed his flesh. He lost his balance; the Ray-gun tumbled to the concrete floor with a splash.
He saw it lying in the standing water a meter away. The beast stabilized, poised for another attack, its mouth still smeared in blood.
Kevin retreated just as the Rhino-pard attacked.
Claws extended, baring its fangs, the beast rose on its husky hind legs, and lunged forward.
A paw swiped Kevin’s chest. Sharp claws caught his jacket, cleaving through leather and meat. The blow hurled Kevin to the deck, clutching the cell phone.
The Rhino-pard slowly nosed closer.
Light cast toward a brick wall from the mobile. The beast lingered in the darkness as Kevin crawled, desperately back-peddling away. Its yellow eyes twinkled in the dark tunnel.
Another shot from the Gibbs rang out through the catacombs.
Kevin watched the eyes glowing in darkness.
The beast didn’t seem injured from the shot. Its yellow portals continued moving closer, slinking toward its prey.
KABOOM!
Still, no impact on the Rhino-pard.
Then Kevin realized the shots were directed away from him. The other beast had closed in on Sarah!
He scrambled from the encroaching Rhino-pard.
Trying to rise while back-peddling, crab-like, Kevin’s boot slipped in the mire. He dropped onto his rear. The cat seemed to register his vulnerability and pounced. Yellow eyes floated through the darkness.
Descending upon him, the beast poised for destruction. Claws extended and fangs dripping saliva, the beast had a thirst for death.
He kicked madly, moving out of the creature’s path.
KABOOM!
The Gibbs fired again in the other direction.
Kevin wondered how long Sarah could hold out. And his own fate was imminent. He shifted right, and banged his hand into something. The Ray-gun.
Picking up the weapon, he began pulling the trigger before taking aim. Beams of red light traced through the air, slicing into the Rhino-pard’s gut, scorching the thinner underbelly hide. It shrieked and wailed in agony.
The Rhino-pard landed, a front leg crashing into Kevin’s thigh. Pain jolted through his right leg. The beast writhed upon the floor, balling up, floundering from
its wounds. Then, it let out a few kicks and stopped moving altogether.
Kevin turned onto his stomach and saw yellow eyes down the tunnel. “Sarah!” he yelled. “Get down!”
A loud splash.
Kevin fired the Ray-gun in bursts.
Red beams of light shot through the dark passageway.
The stout Rhino-pard let out a wail.
Kevin noticed it backing away, the yellow eyes grew smaller. Then Sarah rushed to his side, helping Kevin clamber to his feet.
“That was close,” Kevin said.
“Come, we must be quick,” Sarah commanded.
They ambled past the fallen Rhino-pard. The thrashing had settled, but its menacing eyes watched them. A taste for vengeance emanated from its orbs.
Twenty paces down the tunnel, Kevin heard the beast rising. Water dribbled off of its back, cascading into the murky puddles, as large paws sloshed, moving erratically, slouching toward its prey.
A stumble. The Rhino-pard cracked into a wall; the tunnel trembled.
“Let’s move!” Kevin yelled.
More sounds of the Rhino-pard staggering in the dank water, trying to steady itself. Then silence, as though it achieved its bearings.
“They’ll be upon us soon,” said Sarah.
Kevin picked up his pace, lungs burning and legs growing rubbery. The demands of tracking through the flooded passageways and fending off panic were taking a toll. Sarah pressed from behind, not breathing hard, seeming strong.
“The other creature will head in another direction,” Sarah said. “We have to reach the intersecting tunnel before it does.”
“Hope we can do it,” Kevin panted.
They reached another passageway, but Kevin knew to steer toward the left. Venturing into a larger tunnel, he sensed they were nearing the access point. Kevin glanced over his shoulder, searching for the stout Rhino-pard.
“Move it!” Sarah commanded.
“Just checking to see if it’s sneaking up from behind.”
“You’re slowing us down. Get a move on.”
Kevin straightened out and pushed ahead. “Sorry,” he said.
“Those things won’t approach by stealth now,” said Sarah. “You can rest assured.”
Around a bend, Kevin saw a shimmer of light. “We’re almost there,” he said, feeling elated.
Then, the unmistakable sound of a Rhino-pard bounding through the passageway caught his attention. Thunderous paws pounded through the tunnel, inciting dread. Panic.
Kevin worked his legs faster, and Sarah matched him every step of the way.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sarah breathed through her nose, trying to conserve her wind. They narrowed the distance to their egress point, as the beast closed in. She marked their progress against the pursuit of the Rhino-pard by the sound of thumping feet. She expected they’d reach the end of the tunnel before the creature got them.
Stomping from behind grew louder. The beast moved in quickly; its footfalls echoed through the catacombs.
For a moment, Sarah thought she heard two sets of paws, but wrote off the noise as reverberations. The mouth of the pipe stood less than fifty meters away. Moonlight and lampposts in the common caused light to refract into the passageway.
“We’ll need to slow up…” she said, “to squeeze through the grate.”
“The creature will be upon us by then. Speed up.”
Sarah pumped her arms and churned her legs, pushing forward, expecting any misstep would result in a mauling.
By the time they were ten meters from the grate, the beast had closed the distance. Kevin stepped aside and grabbed Sarah’s shoulder, directing her through the gap between the steel pipe and metal grate.
Then, he turned and faced the charging beast.
She paused to watch him. Kevin raised the Ray-gun as the Rhino-pard lunged into the air. Squeezing the brass trigger, beams of red light cut through the darkness. Yellow eyes bulged as the beast let out a roar of pain, misery, and wrath.
The laser blasts cut into the creature’s underbelly, burning striations that bled greenish phlegm.
Sarah dashed from the opening. Kevin shimmied through the grate, and followed after her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Outside the tunnel, Kevin saw Sarah well down the pathway. He ran after her, but glanced back toward the passageway. Through the grate, he saw the Rhino-pard writhing on the ground, balled up, front paws clawing at its chest.
Pounding emanated from the caverns.
“Run!” he screamed, picking up his pace to a mad dash.
Sarah stumbled, caught her balance, righted herself, and then kept pressing forward. Fear drove Kevin ahead. He stretched out his strides and felt surefooted, taking smooth deep breaths. Soon, he was on her heels.
A massive bang let out behind them, followed by loud clanging. The grate had broken loose. Metal shaking and clamor accompanied an angry snort.
Heavy thuds pounded the ground.
The beast was upon them.
“Faster!” Kevin called out.
Sarah picked up her pace. Wellington boots sloshed through the rivulet, as she plied through the wooded grove.
The Rhino-pard trailed in heated pursuit. Kevin marked its encroachment, faster than before, fueled by anger, pain and revenge.
Another set of paws thumped in the distance.
“Toss your rifle,” Kevin called to Sarah.
She hesitated.
“I’ve got your back with the laser gun.”
The Gibbs slipped from her hands, stock banging into a rock and then awkwardly fell over.
Kevin skipped over the gun, a foot slipping on the barrel.
Sarah pulled ahead.
The open common lay just ahead.
Kevin slowed and the beast closed in quickly. He turned and fired the Ray-gun. The laser beam cut wildly into the brush. Kevin bounced off a tree, stumbling, breaking small branches. The stout Rhino-pard moved in closer.
The larger beast picked up steam. It seemed hungry for a kill. Wild. A taste for human blood.
Stepping back onto the path, Kevin fired a lucky shot. The ray beam zapped into the creature’s shoulder. The Rhino-pard lost its gait. Kevin bolted into a full sprint. He pumped his arms and felt his heart throbbing. His lungs burned.
He widened the gap. The pounding paws stampeded behind him; Kevin figured this was the final dash. Do or die.
The open common lay just ahead. Sarah bolted onto the grassy plain with Kevin on her heels. They ran toward the trap. Sarah cut to the right and Kevin went left, treading along the edges of the vault, spreading their scent.
A barricade lay a hundred meters ahead. The 10th Royal Hussars and Cunningham were at the ready.
The Rhino-pards cleared the wood line. Kevin heard the stomping as heavy paws pounded the earth of the immense park. Snarling and panting seemed to crawl up his neck. He had worried the creatures would sense the trap and make a break for it. Now, Kevin panicked, thinking the beasts were so bloodthirsty that they’d precisely follow the trail of their prey, missing the trap altogether.
Kevin pictured himself and Sarah being taken down just beyond the trap, out in the open field, being mauled while the Hussars fired in futility.
Both Rhino-pards had tracked after Kevin. He’d menaced them with the Ray-gun, and so the mad pursuit was directed solely at him.
He stepped closer to the edge, and then plunged into the trap.
A volley of rifle fire erupted from the barricade.
The Rhino-pards followed suit.
Kevin fell through the coverings and dropped into the vault. The scattered debris used to camouflage the trap helped break his fall, but still Kevin landed on the concrete floor; jolting pain shot through both his shins, most likely stress fractures.
He glanced up and saw the beasts crashing through the coverings. The stout Rhino-pard dropped through the brush, its front legs buckling from the fall. Then the other creature toppled into the vault, landing on the back o
f its companion. The stout beast wailed in pain.
Kevin reached for the Very pistol and fired a flare into the sky.
He hoped Niles would spot the fireworks before the beasts turned their attention toward ripping him to pieces.
Then, Kevin heard gurgling in the pipes. An ominous sound, even the Rhino-pards became still, trying to deduce their situation. He took the pause to assess his situation. Kevin saw a steel ladder bolted to the side of the vault.
He made a quick step for the ladder. A claw swiped across his shoulder, tearing open the leather jacket, cleaving flesh. Kevin didn’t feel pain. He just pressed for the ladder, scurrying up, hoping beyond hope that the beasts wouldn’t pull him back in.
His head cleared the surface. Kevin could see the 10th Hussars advancing toward the vault. Clambering out, he felt fangs sink into a jackboot. But the hold wasn’t secure; he yanked the boot loose.
As Kevin clambered from the pit, he sensed the Rhino-pard had clenched a rung, along with his foot. The gurgling intensified into a rush of water being hammered through the pipeline.
He began to roll away from the opening, when the water-hammer pounded into the loosened flange. Just as the steam pipe exploded, dousing the vault with scalding hot water and steam, the agile Rhino-pard bounded off the back of the stout beast and leapt from the hole.
The stout Rhino-pard howled in agony. Its companion trampled past Kevin toward the line of vehicles. Another volley of rifle fire rang out, but the beast kept going. Steam hissed from the broken pipes.
Then, a heavy thud echoed from the hole.
Kevin glanced down and saw the beast writhe on the concrete floor of the vault. The thick hide percolated with blisters; dark skin had turned reddish, boiled from the steam. Parts of it had burned white. A tormented moan escaped its dying mouth.
The other Rhino-pard charged into a parked delivery truck, knocking it aside like a bale of hay. Steam pipes clanged onto the withered grass, and a front tire spun. Downfield, the 10th Hussars rushed after the beast, but it broke into a full trot and spread the distance between them. Among the throng, Kevin noticed a portly man wearing a pith helmet. Cunningham! He’d split from the pack, headed toward the Rover, the Weatherby cradled in his arms.
Clockwork Universe Page 13