Ice Rift - Xtro: Alien Invasive Horror Thriller

by Ben Hammott

  Before crossing to see what was on offer, she checked the area for people and vehicles; both were a threat. Surprised to see a rabbit bounding along the path and with her in full view, that it hadn’t scampered away in fear, she watched it boldly approach and halt a short distance from her salivating jaws. Not one to miss out on the chance of an easy meal, she pounced.

  Tentacles shot out of the rabbit and wrapped around her before she reached it. Struggling to be free, she watched something squirm through a small rip in the rabbit’s skin and crawl onto its head. Radiating menace, it sat between its ears looking at her. The vixen had never experienced such fear. When it puffed up, her struggles to be free increased. The sharp pain in her cheek was followed by calmness. As the tendrils released her and retracted back into the rabbit, she flopped to the pavement.

  After the Alpha had re-entered his body and resumed control, Benjamin Bunny continued with his mission. Before he had reached the end of the street, the fox climbed to its paws and gazed around. Ignoring the tantalizing food scraps it had come to town to scavenge, she headed in the opposite direction with a new purpose. Approaching the edge of town, she stopped opposite a dog barking at her furiously from behind a wooden fence. Its eyes peering through a gap between the slats at her. Showing no fear, she crouched and sprung at the barrier between them.

  The German Shepherd backed away and snarled at the fox on top of the fence. Yanking taut its leash attached to a chain anchored to the house wall. It reared up and barked at the fox out of its reach. It dropped to the ground and growled at the black thing that appeared. It fell to the ground, whimpering when something stung its nose.

  Climbing to its feet a short while later, it chewed through its leather leash and bounded over the fence.

  *****

  It was early evening when the fox paused to stare at the house and then the chicken coop at the bottom of the garden. The tall chain link fencing cordoning off the coop from the rest of the garden was new.

  The lack of any chickens moving freely through the garden indicated they had been shut away for the night. Unconcerned with the added complexity to her mission, the vixen padded alongside the fence.

  When she drew level with the coop, she began biting the wire. Gums bled, teeth were loosened, jaws were scratched and bloodied, but the vixen persevered until she had made a hole big enough for her body. Although the sharp strands of chewed through wire scratched at her flesh when she squeezed through, the fox didn’t feel a thing.

  Her next obstacle was to find a way of getting inside the coop. She sneaked around its sides until she smelt wood rot and scratched at the weakened board it emanated from. Aware the chickens whose reek filled her nostrils would soon sense her presence and cluck out warnings of alarm, her teeth attacked the damp-softened wood.

  Terrified at what was coming, the frantic chickens cried out, squawking and clucking loudly. When the vixen’s nose appeared through the hole, some took to flight, crashing against the sides in their panic. One slammed into the wall so violently it snapped its neck.

  A final push saw the fox inside. Glancing around at the frightened frantic birds, she took position in the center of the hut and sat on her haunches. The alien emerged and climbed onto its host’s head. After selecting its targets, it puffed up and fired off spikes in multiple directions. Although too small to provide more than meager nourishment for the Propagator to evolve, they were ideal carriers to ensnare larger creatures.

  Vaguely aware of what was happening through her foggy brain, the vixen cocked her head to sounds outside, a slamming door and the voice of an angry human approaching. The alien looked around at the chickens. The few that had escaped being struck squawked frantically. The calm and roosting victims that had returned to the nests of straw indicated a sufficient number had been infected. It slipped inside its host as the human arrived at the coop door.

  Livid that the fox was back and attacking his hens, Elroy drew the bolts back, flung open the coop door, and raised his hunting rifle as he stepped inside. Two chickens flew past him, their frightened squawking loud in his ears. His eyes and weapon swept the coop stinking of chicken shit. He picked out the dead chicken on the floor with its neck at an acute angle, and the unusually calm birds perched in their nesting cubicles looking at him.

  A flash of a fox’s tail through the splintered hole in the wall sped him outside and around the back. Spying the fox running for the fence, he followed its swift progress with the rifle and fired. The fox dived through the hole barely big enough for it to fit through. The chain link rattled with its passing. Elroy cursed as the fox bounded into the undergrowth. Despite there being little hope of hitting it, he fired another shot in frustration before crossing to the hole in the fence.

  Noticing blood and tufts of fur caught on the strands of gnawed wire surrounding the hole, he was surprised the fox had managed to chew through it; the fence was rated as fox and badger proof. It would need repairing, he sighed, yet another job for him to do. Doubting the fox would return anytime soon, it could wait for fixing until tomorrow.

  After herding three escaped chickens back into the coop, he collected the dead bird. It was Samantha. Thankfully, she wasn’t his best layer, but it was a loss, nevertheless. She wouldn’t go to waste, though. Come the morrow, she would be gracing the family’s dining table. He propped a piece of wooden board over the fox hole and held it in place with a few bricks; he would do a proper repair tomorrow when he tackled the hole in the fence. He headed back to the house with tomorrow’s dinner swinging in his hand.

  Huddled together in the corner of the hut by the door, the uninfected chickens nervously watched the others that seemed different, strange, watching them back.

  Chapter 44

  Playtime

  In the school playground sat in a circle, six children were playing one of their favorite clapping games.

  “A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,

  To see what he could see, see, see.

  But all that he could…”

  Six-year-old Emily, with her long brown hair, and cute as a button, mis-clapped and stopped singing when she spotted something. With her big brown eyes glinting with excitement, she pointed it out. “Ooh, look! A bunny rabbit.”

  Her playmates turned to the white cottontail rabbit at the school gate, looking at them.

  The Alpha studied the small humans. It had learned from their control of the adults that these undersized humans were precious to them, they might prove ideal for its purpose—a backup plan if its primary mission here failed. It initiated a release of chemicals that turned six of its black hairs white and squirmed under the barrier between it and the small humans.

  “That’s so adorable,” said Sofia, seven years old, blond and mischievous when she got the chance. She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers while tutting softly to coax it to her.

  To their astonishments, the rabbit obliged. Benjamin bunny pressed flat to the ground, squirmed under the gate, and bounded over to them. Taking center place in their play circle, he contentedly let them pat, cuddle, and stroke it.

  “He’s real friendly,” said Dominic, also seven years old.

  “Do you think we can keep it?” asked Tommy, Sofia’s slightly older brother.

  Jacob, twelve years old, making him the oldest of the group, shrugged. “I doubt it as it must belong to someone.”

  “It might be Mr. Vanguard’s,” offered Eric. “My mum mentioned he had brought a rabbit back from one of his driving trips.”

  “We’ll have to check after school in case it escaped from its hutch,” said Jacob. “We’ll ask Miss if she has a box to keep it in.”

  They continued stroking the rabbit.

  Glancing at the clock on the staff room wall, Headmistress Pamela Thackery sipped the last of her green tea, rinsed her cup, and headed outside. Waiting for the three minutes to tick by until the afternoon session was due to start, she glanced around at the children occupied with the variety of games children played. A scream abru
ptly cut short, captured her attention; she had heard the playful and excited cries of children for nigh on forty years and could tell the difference between a fun and a frightened scream when she heard one.

  She turned her head to the group of children sat in a circle. Though unusually still and silent, nothing seemed amiss. A movement in the corner of her eye flicked her gaze to the school gate. She thought she saw something fluffy and white disappear behind the wall; a passing cat, she surmised. She refocused on the circle of children who had started playing a game and watched them for a few moments. Their clapping got faster and faster and faster with each line of the rhyme they sang. It looked unreal. As if it was a movie effect where the kids had been speeded up, while the children around them, girls with a skipping rope, others playing hopscotch, and the boys playing marbles, were performed at normal speed.

  A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,

  To see what he could see, see, see.

  But all that he could see, see, see

  Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.

  A sailor went to chop, chop, chop,

  To see what he could chop, chop, chop.

  But all that he could chop, chop, chop

  Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop.

  Sea, sea, sea.

  A sailor went to knee, knee, knee,

  To see what he could knee, knee, knee,

  But all that he could knee, knee, knee,

  Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee.

  Chop, chop, chop.

  Sea, sea, sea.

  A sailor went to snap, snap, snap,

  To see what he could snap, snap, snap.

  But all that he could snap, snap, snap

  Was the bottom of the deep blue snap, snap, snap.

  Knee, knee, knee.

  chop, chop, chop.

  Sea, sea, sea.

  A sailor went to jump, jump, jump,

  To see what he could jump, jump, jump.

  But all that he could jump, jump, jump

  Was the bottom of the deep blue jump, jump, jump.

  Snap, snap, snap.

  Knee, knee, knee.

  chop, chop, chop.

  Sea, sea, sea.

  Her phone alarm drew her attention from the children. She turned off the alarm and noticed she had no signal. The mast must be playing up again. You’d think with it being the town’s only source of communication and the internet, it would be better maintained. She lifted the whistle hanging around her neck and blew it.

  The six clapping children froze at the shrill sound and stood. Emily grabbed her teddy bear rucksack from the ground and slipped it on.

  “I think we can go even faster next time,” enthused Eric glancing around at the excited looks on the faces of his friends.

  Tommy snorted, age-wise, at eight, he was in the middle of the pack. “Of course we can. We can clap as fast as Speedy Gonzales can run.” It was one of his favorite classic cartoons.

  “Arriba! Arriba!” exclaimed Jacob, mimicking Speedy’s catchphrase and hurrying them along.

  Laughing, they entered the school with the other kids.

  Minus its six white hairs, the Alpha headed Benjamin along the street to continue with its present mission.

  CHAPTER 45

  Evacuation

  Prewarned by Control of their imminent arrival, the soldiers stationed at Checkpoint 2 on the edge of the town to prevent anyone from leaving, waved the two quadbikes through, and closed the barrier behind them.

  Mason tilted his head to the impressive drone flying overhead. “Now that’s an expensive toy I’d like to play with.”

  Sullivan’s gaze also followed its flight. “By the look of it, it's fitted out with all the latest surveillance gadgets.”

  Steering the quad along the road he had failed to escape along earlier, Richard had little interest in the technical aspects of the drone he briefly glanced at. His thoughts were occupied with moving on. Having kept up his end of the bargain, it was time for Blightburn to keep hers and arrange transport for him and his meteorite. He was keen to leave and put considerable distance between him and the Xtros and start repairing his reputation as soon as possible.

  Richard slowed when a convey of trucks led by the deputy’s patrol vehicle approached and sped by them in the opposite direction.

  “Looks like they are finally evacuating the town,” commented Colbert.

  “About time,” said Mason. “They should have done that as soon as they arrived.”

  *****

  The convoy of trucks loaded with soldiers drove into Devil Falls. The deputy switched on his hazard lights to let them know he was stopping and pulled to a halt along the main street. When the convoy had lined up behind him, armed soldiers poured from each.

  The two trucks at the rear of the line pulled into a side turning and headed for the school.

  The Deputy climbed out and placing the megaphone near to his mouth, called out instructions to let the townsfolk know what was happening. “As you may be aware, a plane carrying a meteorite which contained an alien organism crashed just outside of town earlier today. Although we believe the threat to be minimal, it has since been learned that the alien organisms are multiplying and have the ability to infect humans. There is no need to panic as the threat of infection is minimal, and currently, the aliens have not reached Devil Falls. For your safety, we are temporarily evacuating the town until it’s safe for you to return. You will be taken to the airbase where accommodation has been set up for you. Plan for a one or two overnight stay, but please do not take any unessential belongings. Hot meals and drinks will be provided. If you have any questions, please visit the information station outside—” he glanced at the building where the desk was being set up “—the drugstore.”

  “As a further safety precaution to ensure no one has been infected, everyone will be screened before boarding the trucks. Please do not panic and move in an orderly fashion. Thank you for your cooperation.”

  As people along the main street flooded toward the information desk for further details about what was happening, soldiers set up a screening area to check everyone before being allowed to board one of the trucks. Once someone was confirmed as free from infection, their name would be ticked off the list containing the entire population of Devil Falls provided by the sheriff’s office. When the screening post was ready, soldiers armed with tranquilizer rifles to subdue any of the infected took position behind the scientists waiting to do the screening.

  Although some were reluctant to do as asked and leave their homes, the news of the alien creatures Kathryn had filmed had spread like wildfire and persuaded them it might be in their best interests to agree. Some treated it as an adventure, a bit of excitement rarely seen in their remote town.

  *****

  When the trucks pulled into the schoolyard, private Lopez climbed down from the passenger seat of the lead vehicle and entered the school.

  Surprised when the soldier barged into her office and explained that he was here to evacuate the children to the airbase. Headmistress Pamela Thackery demanded to know why this was necessary; the news of the aliens hadn’t yet filtered into the school. Though she found it hard to believe, the seriousness of the soldier’s demeanor prompted her to do as he asked, and she went to put the evacuation of the school into motion.

  Under the guidance of their teacher, Joan Simms, the children filed out of the classroom and toward the exit. As they rounded a turn in the corridor, six kids stealthily nipped into the girls' restroom. When they heard the headmistress conversing with the soldier pass by, they crept out and headed for the rear of the school. They agilely climbed over the perimeter fence and moved through the town to find out what was happening.

  When the children, the headmistress, and the teacher were aboard the two trucks, Lopez closed the tailgates. He thumped the side of each vehicle to inform the driver they were loaded and watched them pull away. When they were through the gate, he entered the school to check
no one had been left behind.

  *

  After collating all of the available information known about the aliens, the scientists had arrived at a simple test to check for anyone who was infected. The back of their necks would be examined for telltale wounds of an Xtro having exited or entered. Soldiers armed with tranquilizer rifles and more deadly weapons, standing by to deal with any that failed the test.

  After each Devil Falls resident was deemed to be clear of infection, they were loaded aboard one of the waiting trucks. As soon as one was full of evacuees, it drove to the airbase, unloaded, and returned for a second load. Over the course of four hours, an hour quicker than predicted, except for a few stragglers, the town had been evacuated.

  With a few names not ticked off the list, the details were shared amongst four small teams of soldiers accompanied by an INSECT member to go to their home addresses and round them up.

  *

  Having observed the screening process they knew they wouldn’t pass, and concerned by the armed men prepared to take down anyone infected, the Xtro-controlled children headed down a side street when soldiers began to arrive. To ensure their species survived, they had been tasked with a separate mission other than becoming nutrition for the propagator; escape from the town and make their way to another populated area to begin the process of propagation anew. Certain they were being hunted, they needed to hide and come up with a plan to leave Devil Falls before they were captured and destroyed.