Safari: A Technothriller

by Alexander Plansky

  Sydney felt sick to her stomach, stumbling backwards. Smoke was wafting into her nostrils from somewhere behind her, but her attention was transfixed on the writhing figure of Ramsay as he was eaten alive. Blood poured from his mouth as he reached back towards her, a look of hopelessness etched on his face. The creature that had been Brandon voraciously tore its head away from the entrails to rip off a bite, then came back for more, its face smeared with crimson.

  She snapped out of her trance and turned around, running towards the cavern as acrid smoke filled her nose. She coughed as she stumbled out of the man-made hallway and into the natural space. The path to the stairs was now a raging inferno of flames. Dread filled her as she realized there was only one other way out.

  The cave.

  The shoe was still functioning as a doorstop, though it’d been shifted slightly. If she was going in there, she was going to need more than her claws. She looked around on the cavern floor for the Glock, but it was black and so was the ground. As she tried retracing her steps, her foot kicked something on the cave floor and she heard it scatter away across the rocky surface.

  Sydney got down on her hands and knees, hearing the Brandon-thing roar somewhere behind her. It sounded like a hoarse, demented version of a lion. Hurrying her pace, she swept her hand along the ground and her fingertips found the barrel. She scooped the pistol up and got to her feet, coughing. The smoke was almost unbearable.

  She stumbled across the cavern to the door and grasped the handle, aiming the Glock into the dark in case there were any more hybrids. She didn’t see any. Keeping her gun at the ready, she eased forward into the blackness and accidentally knocked the shoe out of place.

  The titanium door slammed shut behind her.

  There was no going back now.

  She coughed and continued into the cave, letting her eyes adjust as she walked. The tunnel curved to her left and the blueish glow of the cavern lights faded as she rounded the bend. Sydney kept close to the side, her whole body tense and alert.

  The familiar dripping noise grew louder, echoing from a distant point ahead. The ceiling appeared to be only ten feet or so here and the ground was much more jagged; she had to be careful not to slip and break her ankle.

  The place made her think of Kitum Cave in Kenya’s Mount Elgon National Park. It was where two visitors had contracted the Marburg virus in the 1980s, a sickness that causes one’s internal organs to melt from the inside out. It was currently believed to be contracted by inhaling dust from bat guano.

  She tried to put the thought out of her mind.

  The ground was beginning to slope upward beneath her feet. There was a big, black empty space coming up ahead. She realized it was another cavern and there appeared to be some kind of ledge she needed to climb.

  Sydney felt her hand along it and realized it was barely a foot shorter than she was. She lay the gun on the next level and hauled herself up, but as her waist cleared the landing she heard a guttural growl.

  Two red eyes locked onto her from twenty feet away. The creature was a dark outline in her vision, a black shadow ready to pounce. Without taking her eyes off it, Sydney carefully felt for the gun beside her, her left elbow keeping her propped up on the ledge. She felt her index finger curl around the trigger as her palm found the grip.

  The monster moved for her, red pupils gliding through the dark with frightening speed. She ducked down just as it leapt over the ledge, the pistol going off in an upward direction.

  The thing yelped and landed a few feet away, twisting and contorting itself on the ground, writhing its way towards her. Frightened, she fired again. She saw the beast’s razor-sharp fangs in the flash, its jaws agape. When she squeezed the trigger a third time, it was even closer. The ferocity in its monstrous eyes seared their way into her mind.

  She fired again, and again, and again. On the last shot, she briefly glimpsed the hybrid’s skullcap exploding open, then it was gone.

  All was quiet. The steady dripping noise returned.

  She sat breathing heavily against the ledge for a few moments, her wrist sore from the recoil. Then she got up and peered over it. Nothing was there. Swiftly, she pulled herself up and ran forward, keeping the gun at her side in case anything jumped out at the last second.

  The ground sloped upward gently and to the right, and she saw with great relief that she was approaching the mouth of the cave. She ran out into the warm night and almost collapsed out of sheer happiness. The sky was beginning to lighten, which meant it had to be after six in the morning.

  An enormous boom resounded somewhere off to her right, and she ran around the rock formation to see a fireball amongst the trees to the right of the lodge, which still had its lights on about half a mile away.

  The main lab building had exploded. Somehow the fire had reached the upper levels or the gas leak had spread. Regardless, it was gone now.

  Then, it hit her. Most of Sans’s research had been in there. All the data on gene therapy, the hybrids… Any chance for a cure, she realized.

  She turned and slammed her fist against the rocky surface beside her. It hurt and she gritted her teeth. Something else dawned on her: all the electromagnetic controls had been located in that building. They might be down, which meant she wouldn’t be safe even after she got back inside the perimeter until daybreak.

  Keeping the Glock clutched firmly in her hand, she started making her way toward the lodge.

  LODGE

  Chang’s eyes shot open. She sat up and looked around her darkened room; the clock on her nightstand glowed 6:34 in red digits. Rubbing her temple, she went over to the window and pulled back the curtain. It was just before sunrise and the sky looked clear save for a few clouds. There was no sign of a storm.

  Then that couldn’t have been thunder, she thought.

  She quickly changed into a t-shirt, khaki shorts, and boots and opened her bedroom door. To her surprise, there wasn’t a guard on duty outside like there had been earlier. She glanced down the hallway towards Andy’s room. Nobody was there either.

  Chang immediately knew then that, regardless of what was happening, this was her chance. Inching down the hall to the landing, she saw that Sans’s door had been left open. She glanced down the stairs to the foyer and saw no one.

  Walking faster now, she headed down the west hall to Andy’s room and knocked on the door. Groggily, he opened it. “What’s going on?”

  “Get dressed. We’re leaving.”

  “Twist my arm,” he said, disappearing.

  Chang looked back down the hallway to make sure no one was coming. There were no sounds from downstairs. If they could just slip away through the back door out the library, they could make a break for the airstrip. It’d been nearly two years since she last flew a plane, but she knew the Cessna 208. It might be a little bumpy, but they had to get out of here.

  She didn’t know what they could do about Sydney, however. It was too much to risk it trying to break her out of the labs. If she escaped with Andy, Sans would only have one human-hybrid to hunt so he’d keep her alive longer until she could alert the authorities–

  Two shots rang out somewhere outside. She held her breath, listening very carefully. They hadn’t sounded far off.

  Then came a human scream.

  “Andy, hurry up,” she hissed through the opening in the door.

  He appeared a second later, a backpack slung over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  They arrived at the top of the stairs and Chang motioned for him to hold up. She peered down into the foyer and still heard no one.

  “Should we run for it?” Andy whispered. “We’re going to the plane, right?”

  “Yes, but I think they’re trying to contain something outside.”

  “That should keep them distracted.”

  “But we don’t to attract its attention by running,” she said.

  Together, they slowly descended the steps, trying not to make too much noise. To hell with it, Chang thought. She began walk
ing at a normal pace and reached the bottom of the stairs, then turned and saw a figure seated in the dining room.

  It was Graves. A pistol lay at her side. “Don’t make me use this,” she said, looking it over. “I’m a better shot than you might think.”

  “What’s going on?” Chang asked, wondering if she was bluffing.

  “The laboratories just exploded. Dr. Sans is out with the others trying to get it sorted out.”

  There were more gunshots and another scream from outside.

  “Sounds like they’re doing a bloody good job of it,” Andy said.

  Graves smirked and stood up, keeping one hand rested atop the gun. “Dr. Sans is the finest hunter history has ever seen. Even if a few of the specimens have escaped, they will be swiftly dealt with. The others are who I’m worried about.”

  She gazed off out the window and Chang seized her chance. She grabbed Andy by the arm and began running towards the back of the house and the library–

  When suddenly Fatou stepped around the corner, holding a kitchen knife. The two of them started to back up as Graves walked out behind them, aiming the pistol at Chang’s head.

  “You see?” The red-haired woman smirked. “Escape is pointless. The emitters are down and those things will tear you to pieces. Besides, where would you go?” Chang said nothing. “Oh, you’re going to try to fly the plane. Well, good luck with that.”

  “I got my pilot’s license at seventeen, you bitch.”

  Graves just smiled smugly. “Do you really think anyone would believe you? All the evidence just went up in flames.”

  “You people are mental,” Andy said.

  “Your profile said you were intelligent, but clearly you can’t comprehend Dr. Sans’s genius.”

  “Oh, we can comprehend it,” Chang said. Fatou was right behind her. If she pulled anything, they’d be more likely to injure or even kill her than Andy. She was only alive for Sans’s amusement at this point, whereas if Sydney had died in the explosion he was now of prime importance to them. “You took technology meant to save lives and twisted it for sadistic purposes. People like you are why science gets a bad rap.”

  “Science doesn’t need good publicity,” Graves stated calmly. “It is a tool for advancement; it always has been and it always will be. And advancement takes many forms.”

  A radio crackled on her belt. “Lodge, come in. This is Banners. I repeat: lodge, come in.”

  Without taking her aim or her eyes off Chang, she held it up. “This is Lodge, Graves speaking. What’s the situation?”

  The man’s voice on the other end sounded desperate. “They’re everywhere. We’ve killed at least four of them and some must’ve died in the explosion, but there’s still a fair number left.”

  “What happened to the labs?” she asked.

  “Venter went in. There was a fire coming up from the basement. One of the things attacked him and he fired. It must’ve set off some gas leak or something. I barely got out. My ears are still ringing.”

  “Where’s Ramsay?”

  “He went to the lower level earlier, didn’t come out. He must be dead.”

  “How many are left?”

  “I think just Dr. Sans and myself. I don’t know where he is.”

  “He’s doing what he does best,” Graves said. “It’s almost dawn and they’ll retreat to the cave soon. Then we can sort out this mess with Dr. Sans. You better get back here.”

  “Understood. I’m on my way. Should be there in five, over.”

  “Copy that,” Graves said. She slowly lowered the radio, her icy gaze still fixed on Chang. “Fatou, I think it’s time we had some morning coffee.”

  “Agreed,” he said.

  Graves stepped aside and motioned for them to walk ahead. The four of them went to the dining room. “Take a seat,” she said. Chang and Andy reluctantly sat down while Graves did so across the table, keeping the gun trained in the space between them.

  “How do you like your coffee?” Graves asked.

  “I don’t drink it,” Chang replied.

  “I only have fair trade with Madagascar vanilla. If the creamer isn’t just right, I send it back,” Andy said.

  Graves smiled in contempt. “I wish Dr. Sans had decided to hunt you first.”

  “But then I wouldn’t get to experience your warm personality every day.”

  The radio crackled again. “This is Graves. What is it?”

  Static.

  Shared confusion hung in the air between them, then: “…need help! Now!”

  “Banners, where are you?” Graves asked.

  “Oh Jesus, it’s right–”

  Static again, followed by garbled noises, then nothing.

  “Fatou,” she called. “Scratch the coffee.” He came back out. “How safe are we in here?”

  “Not very.”

  “That’s what I feared.” She stood up and motioned with the gun. “We’re going back upstairs to Dr. Sans’s office. It’s the most secure room. Move!”

  They moved out into the foyer and started up the stairs when a violent knock came from the door. They turned around. The knock came again. And again.

  “Fatou, open it. It’s Banners.”

  Cautiously, he edged down the stairs and slowly reached for the handle. Graves kept her gun aimed at the door as Chang and Andy slowly backed further up past her.

  The door opened with a creak. Fatou peered outside and Chang could see that the sky was much brighter now, an orange glow appearing along the horizon. The seconds passed slowly as he looked in both directions, then threw his head back towards Graves.

  “He’s not out–”

  Abruptly, he heard something and rushed to shut the door just as one of the hybrids appeared, viciously barging its way through. Fatou turned and ran to the base of the stairs while Graves screamed and pulled the trigger.

  Her aim, Chang realized, wasn’t so great after all. A red spot appeared on the chef’s white uniform, square in his chest. He toppled back down to the floor while the beast ignored him entirely and started up the steps after them. Chang and Andy were already sprinting to the top of the landing and hurtling towards Sans’s open door.

  Just as they slipped inside, she heard a horrible shriek and spun around to see that the hybrid had tackled Graves near the top of the stairs. It wrapped its jaws around the base of her neck. Her face contorted in pain, her mouth stretching agape. Then, with the ghastly sound of vertebral dislodgement, the creature jerked its head upwards and Graves’s head tore away from her body, a bloody spray cascading in all directions–

  Chang slammed the big door shut, locked it, and leaned against the wall, hyperventilating.

  ESCAPE

  Sydney stayed close to the treeline as she went, crouching and occasionally pausing between each trunk. She had heard gunfire not long ago, and screaming, but that all seemed to be concentrated near the burning wreck of the veterinary labs. Nevertheless, she kept her pistol at the ready.

  The lodge was just ahead; it had taken her nearly twenty minutes to get here from the cave and the sun was now rising above the savanna to the east. Sans had to have Andy and Chang held inside, if he hadn’t already done something to them…

  She tried to ignore the grumbling in her stomach, but it wasn’t working. All she’d had to eat in the past twenty-four hours was a rat.

  Focus, she told herself. Most of Sans’s men would be out in the forest dealing with the escaped hybrids. Chang and Andy would be comparatively low priorities, so there were probably only one or two people left inside to watch them. She wasn’t sure how many rounds were still in the Glock, but she knew they held seventeen bullets and she hadn’t fired half of those yet. Hopefully, this would be quick and they could get to the plane and bail the fuck out of here.

  She walked out onto the front patio by the pool and saw the door was wide open. Keeping close to the side of the building, she inched forward and took a deep breath. Then she entered the lodge, gun first.

  Fatou was lying
on his back, the front of his shirt soaked with the blood of a gunshot wound. Sydney immediately had a glimmer of hope that Andy or Chang had been responsible during some kind of escape, but as her eyes traveled up the stairs she had to cover her mouth in shock.

  Graves’s severed head lay on a step. Her skin was ghostly pale, having been drained of blood. The perpetrator appeared at the edge of the second-floor landing, gore smeared across its monstrous mouth.

  Immediately, Sydney pulled the door shut and looked around. The pillars under the balcony were wooden; could she climb that? Only one way to find out.

  She sprinted as fast as she could across the pool deck, hearing the animal repeatedly smash itself against the wood. Finally, the door broke open and the creature wriggled through just as she reached the nearest pillar and dug her nails into the oak. They held surprisingly well and she clawed her way upward.

  The hybrid jumped up after her, its snapping jaws barely avoiding her legs as she pulled herself over the railing and landed on her shoulder. The Glock skidded away upon impact but she caught it before it could slide off the balcony. Groaning, she stood up, rubbing her arm. The monster was starting to climb the pillar, its eyes locked onto her with murderous intent.

  Thinking quickly, Sydney aimed the gun down and fired. The bullet embedded itself in one of the creature’s forearms and it fell back to the ground with a yelp. She watched as it angrily got up and limped back over, but couldn’t do more than leap and scratch at the pillar with its injury.

  Relieved, she turned and stumbled inside. She was back in the east guest room hallway. No one was in sight. She didn’t remember which room Chang had been in, but she knew where Andy would be. Coming out onto the landing, she saw Graves’s headless and half-eaten corpse. Blood and entrails were strewn about everywhere. She shivered.

  The shape of the hybrid did not reappear through the shattered remnants of the front double doors, but it could be back at any moment. She was about to head down the west corridor to Andy’s room when she heard a door opening behind her and whipped around, startled.