Addy did the only thing she could – she tried to even the odds. She aimed the LMG at the largest group of enemies she could spot, which was four men taking cover behind an old tractor. She fired off a spread and cut down two men before the others could duck into cover.
The LMG grunted, finally out of breath. She wouldn’t be laying down any more covering fire, but at least she had made her final shots count.
“We need to go,” said David. “We need to go. We need to go.”
Addy hissed at London. “Shut him up, will you?”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but if we don’t think of something, Mass and Tox are screwed. They can’t fight off all of those men with a pair of shotguns.”
“He’s coming,” said David, clutching his head and dancing. “He’s coming. He’s coming. Ahhhh… He’s here.”
Addy turned away from the empty LMG and glared at the irritating demon. It was only its ties to Aymun and Vamps that had kept her from putting it down like a rabid dog. The demon was an enemy. And right now it was losing its shit.
Addy checked no one was climbing the hill, then leapt up and marched over to the demon, intending to strike it until it shut up. Before she got there, she paused. Something was coming up the other side of the hill, a rapidly moving mass approaching their rear. She gasped. “Oh no!”
They’d been flanked.
Any second now, they would be riddled with bullets. Mass and the others too.
Game over.
London noticed the advancing army as well, but he noticed something she hadn’t. “Demons,” he said in disbelief. “Those are fucking demons. I haven’t seen so many in months.”
Addy’s stomach hit the floor. The two dozen bodies advancing up the hill weren’t human. They were demons. A wiry, young black man led the pack, roaring like a hellish beast. When she realised it was Vamps, she might have fainted with relief, but it wasn’t really him. It was whatever the tiny demon had spoken about. The wicked creature imprisoned inside Vamps’ body.
David, breaking out of his stupor, grabbed Addy’s arm and pulled her. He glared with his soulless black eyes. “We must run!”
And so they did. Right down the hill towards their other enemy. They weren’t getting out of this alive.
8
Mass and the others were intercepted mere metres from the farmhouse’s front door and forced to take cover behind an old brick outhouse. Four men unloaded on them from behind a tractor.
Mass had his 12-gauge and Tox had reloaded his shotgun with spare cartridges. They were low on ammo, but Addy needed to hear that they were dug in. She had to hear them shooting. If she did, she would head back for the farmhouse instead of the car park.
Mass fired a shot around the corner of the brick building. Harriet and Smithy crouched behind him.
“If we don’t move from here,” said Tox, firing a shot of his own, “we’ll end up surrounded. Everyone’s coming back down the hill. The distraction Addy brought us is about to expire.”
I know,” said Mass, flinching as a gunshot obliterated the brickwork right next to his face. “We need to take out those bastards behind the tractor.”
“We’re going to die,” said Harriet. “We should just make a run for it.”
Mass rolled his eyes at her. “Thanks for the positivity, sweetheart.”
Smithy ducked and fired a shotgun he’d found on a man Addy had killed. His shot struck the tractor’s rear window and shattered it, causing glass to rain on the men hiding behind the massive tyres. “Ooh, I nearly got the sods, did you see? Not bad for my first shoot-out.”
Tox raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve never used a shotgun before?”
“Nah, but you just point and shoot, right? Piece of piss. Oh, and I totally agree with Harriet, by the way. We’re absolutely going to die.”
“Probably,” said Mass, “but anyone still alive nowadays is on borrowed time, anyway.”
“Good point.”
Tox hissed as more brickwork exploded and spat debris into his face. He rubbed his eyes, frantic for a second, but relaxed when he realised his vision was okay. “We’re pinned down. What the hell do we do?”
One of them had to break cover to try to get an angle on the men behind the tractor. The problem was that whoever volunteered would probably get shot. That was why it had to be Mass. “Get ready to break for the farmhouse,” he said. “Okay, on three. One… two… three!” Mass lunged from behind the brick wall and levelled his shotgun towards the tractor. He pulled the trigger and sent a blast into the giant tyre. The men behind it ducked, but were right back up again, knowing they had a chance to shoot at him in the open. He fired again, his last cartridge before he needed to reload. Behind him, the others made a break for it. If he ducked back into cover too soon, it would leave them exposed. That couldn’t happen, so he knelt and pulled a pair of cartridges from the holder on top of the shotgun. He started loading them as quickly as he could, hoping to get off another shot before the enemy broke cover and shot first, but it was an unfamiliar weapon and his hands were shaking. As soon as he fumbled the first cartridge, he knew he wouldn’t make it in time.
One of the men behind the tractor stepped out into the open and raised a stubby shotgun at Mass. If they missed, he would have time to finish reloading. If they didn’t…
Thunder boomed and the man pointing a shotgun at Mass did a dance. Then one of the other men behind the tractor flopped forward onto the gravelly courtyard as the thunder continued.
Addy was firing from up on the hill. She’d heard the fighting and returned.
Right on time, sister.
Mass got the time he needed to run after the others, hopping a low stone wall outside the farmhouse and making it up to the front door. It was locked.
“Damn it,” said Tox, battering a fist against the wood. “This thing’s as thick as a mattress and hard as a rock.”
Mass kicked the ancient oak door and knew it wouldn’t budge – not without some impressive persuasion. “Stand back.”
Everyone moved away from the door and Mass pumped several cartridges into his shotgun and fired a shot at the door. The wood splintered around the lock but was unaffected otherwise. The wrought-iron handle bent slightly.
Tox tried the door again. “It still won’t budge! Shoot the lock again.”
“Okay, stand back.”
Mass levelled the shotgun a second time but was distracted by movement to his left. One of the two remaining men behind the tractor had moved out of cover and was approaching the small stone wall surrounding the house. Mass twisted his hips and adjusted his aim, pulling the trigger and placing a hole in the sneaking man’s shoulder. The other man leapt back behind the tractor’s tyre.
Most of the enemy were nearing the bottom of the hill now, breaking cover and moving back towards the farmhouse. Addy and London were legging it down the hill, too, with what looked like a small demon.
“What the hell are they doing?” Mass shook his head. It made no sense.
But then he saw what they were running from.
“No way.”
A stream of demons crested the hill and released a bone-chilling screech. A platoon of the damned.
Addy and London were only halfway down the hill. The creatures bellowed and hissed after them like blood-crazed monsters. Animal noises came from the paddock, too, and when Mass looked around, he saw demons from the pit leaping out and attacking the nearby livestock. The sound of terrified cows was hellish.
Smithy took cover behind the brick wall. “Where the fuck did those demons on the hill come from?”
Tox looked sick. “They’re going to get Addy and London.”
Mass didn’t disagree. No way were Addy and London going to make it. The demons rolling down the hill behind them were like a crashing wave, gathering speed every second. By now, the men who lived at the farm had stopped fighting altogether and were running for dear life. Mass spotted the hook-handed man amongst them, dashing inside one of
the barns and taking cover behind the white coach that had taken Gross yesterday. Mass considered rushing over and snapping the bastard’s neck. If he did that, though, the demons would get him.
The last surviving man behind the tractor had wandered out of cover and was staring at the approaching horde as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. Mass lifted his shotgun and was about to fire but changed his mind. He couldn’t shoot a man in the back. Instead, he shouted, “Hey! We need to get inside the house. Anyone who stays out here is dead meat.”
The man turned slowly. Dark-skinned and white-eyed, he didn’t lift his shotgun to shoot at Mass. Instead, after a moment’s thought, he hurried over to join them at the farmhouse door.
“Tell me you have a key to this place,” said Tox.
“No,” said the man in a mild African accent, “but we can go around back.”
Mass nodded, knowing it was the right course of action. They needed to hurry, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the hill. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from Addy and London running for their lives or the weird little creature running alongside them. Of the three of them, only the demon seemed quick enough to have any chance of getting away. He grabbed Tox by the arm. “Get to the kitchen around back. Then get whatever weapons are inside that basement and put them to good use.”
“I’m on it!” Tox got everyone moving while Mass raced away from the house, yelling at the top of his lungs. Addy set eyes on him and ran full tilt towards him. All the armed men of the farm had taken cover, and some now fired shots at the demons on the hill. One man, though, was aiming not at the demons but at Addy.
You son-of-a-bitch.
Mass rushed forward and shot at the man. At that range, he missed, but the explosion of dirt near the would-be assassin’s feet was enough to send the man scrambling for cover.
Addy and London finally made it onto flat ground. They wheeled towards Mass as he continued to yell to them. The small demon with them seemed disorientated, and it scurried out of view behind the barns. The demons on the hill began to spread out like a concertina fan, seeking human targets. Men began to scream. The battle had begun.
Addy and London weren’t going to make it. They had too much ground to cover. Mass hurried to reach them, wishing there was some way he could save them from being slaughtered. All the armed men began to flee – all except one. The hook-handed bastard exited the barn with a hunting rifle tucked against his shoulder, not yet retreating. Did he hope to take out the demons single-handedly? Why wasn’t he running with everyone else?
Then it became clear. Mass watched in horror as the man balanced his rifle against his hook and fired off a shot.
London cried out in pain and dropped to the floor, grabbing his thigh with both hands.
The hook-handed bastard lowered his rifle with a smirk, then departed, disappearing back into the barn.
London dragged himself along the ground, hands covered with blood. Addy turned back to help him, but the demons were already on him, biting into him and tearing at his body with their claws. His screams echoed through the fields. Mass lifted his shotgun and fired at a primate about to tackle Addy. Then he took a second shot and struck a burnt man. There was no time to reload, so he yelled at Addy to get the hell out of there before it was too late.
Addy pumped her arms and legs, cheeks puffing out like giant raspberries. Most of the demons had found other targets, or were occupied by London’s screaming death throes, which meant she now had a slim chance. She could make it. Then another primate appeared, right at her back. She didn’t even know it was there. She didn’t know she was a dead woman. Mass fumbled with his shotgun, trying to reload, but he knew it was too late. He needed to turn and run – to save himself – but he just… couldn’t.
Addy was only a dozen steps away, but the demon would be on her in six. It leapt into the air, rising over her with outstretched talons.
Boom!
Someone shot the primate clean out of the air. It landed in the grass, rattling and choking. Mass turned and saw Smithy standing behind him, a smoking shotgun in his hands. He gave Mass a silent nod and ran back towards the farmhouse.
Mass finally gathered Addy into his arms and dragged her towards safety. “Come on,” he said. “We need to get inside that house or we’re screwed.”
Addy was panting and moaning. “We’re screwed no matter what. Vamps is here.”
Mass had no idea what that meant, but he decided to ask questions later.
Maddy was sharing a bowl of baked beans with Diane in the dining room. It’d been a long, arduous day and General Thomas had run everyone ragged implementing his changes in Portsmouth. It was now six o’clock, and she was done for the day. Wickstaff had told Maddy to take a couple of days to herself while she and General Thomas learned to work together. Fine by Maddy.
Diane was off the clock too. As Wickstaff’s head of security, she could never truly take an evening off, but now that there were so many more armed men on base, it was as good a time as ever to take a break. It felt strange, sitting together just to chat. Almost normal.
“So, you hooked up with anyone on base yet?” asked Diane. The girl had once been a shy mouse, but months of survival had hardened her. She was now one of the scariest people on base – all smiles until she had to pull her gun and shoot something in the face. Diane never hesitated. That was why she was still alive despite her previously meek nature. The apocalypse had unlocked the deeper parts of her soul.
Maddy had changed too. This time last year, she’d been a married paramedic thinking about having kids. She’d never found out what had happened to her husband, but she had resigned herself to the fact he was almost certainly dead. For the most part, she never thought about him any more. She never said his name or pictured his face. He was from a different time – a different time when monsters didn’t exist. She couldn’t encumber herself with thoughts of what was lost. Not just her husband, but the millions of husbands all over the world. Billions of people torn to pieces with their lives unfulfilled, their goodbyes unsaid.
Maddy turned her mind back to the question Diane had asked her. “Have I hooked up with anyone? Erm, no, I haven’t. How do you even find time to think about that stuff?”
Diane smirked. “Are you kidding me? I barely think of anything else. I swear, if I don’t find a man soon, I might dry up down there.”
“Jesus, Diane.”
“Hey, we might die tomorrow.”
Maddy looked over at a table crowded with naval officers at the rear of the dining room. The newcomers were friendly enough, but mostly aloof and unwilling to make small talk. That might change after a little time for them to settle in, but for now it created an awkward atmosphere. “I feel as far away from dying as I have in a long time,” she admitted. “Wickstaff was right; we’re better off with Thomas and his people, even if it puts our noses out of joint.”
Diane shrugged. “More the merrier, I suppose. More men, for one thing. Time to start living our lives again.”
Maddy rolled her eyes. “You think this will ever truly be over? Something sent the demons into hiding, but they’re still out there. I can never shift this feeling that they’ll just reappear in force one day and wipe us all out. There are still so many gates open.”
Diane reached over and took Maddy’s hand. “Hey, we’re alive. We survived the end of the world. All that’s left is a new beginning. Perhaps things won’t ever get back to normal during our lifetimes, but I’m proud to be part of the reason that future generations might one day get to live happy, normal lives. Maybe even better lives than the ones we had before. Maybe once the demons are gone, mankind will finally live in peace.”
Maddy huffed. “We’ll always find a reason to fight. As long as one man can have something another man doesn’t, there’ll be war. It’s who we are.”
Diane shook her head. “It’s who we were.”
A high-pitched whine filled the dining room, followed by a crackle and a hiss. Maddy looked over at the naval
officers and saw that one of them was receiving a call from a shoulder-mounted walkie-talkie. He was sitting too far away for her to hear his conversation, but she saw his eyes widen. After a few seconds, he got up from the table and hurried out of the room, taking his colleagues with him.
“Something’s going on,” said Diane, her smile replaced with a thin-lipped grimace.
Maddy stood. “I need to get back to the office. You coming?”
“Nothing gets to happen around here without me knowing about it. Yes, I’m coming.”
The two women exited the dining room and followed the naval officers outside. Portsmouth was a ruin, which had ironically made it easier to fortify. The concrete and wood from destroyed buildings had been used to erect barricades and watchtowers in numerous places. The roads were blocked by cars and lorries, and a two-mile palisade had been erected north of the docks. If Portsmouth fell, people could fall back to the waterfront. If the waterfront fell, people could fall back to the ships. Wickstaff had drilled them all relentlessly about staying alive no matter the cost.
The naval officers were hurrying. Maddy spotted other personnel gathering ahead. Clearly, a call had gone out. Most of those present were Thomas’s men, but she was relieved to see at least some of Portsmouth’s militia making their way to the gathering too. Then she spotted Wickstaff and was even more relieved.
The brigadier stood beside Commander Tosco. Maddy hurried to join them. “Ma’am, what’s going on?”
Wickstaff nodded to both Maddy and Diane, then explained. “There are demons at the north-west edge of the city. A lot, by all accounts.”
“Define a lot,” said Diane.
“Sixty or seventy. Nothing to wet our knickers about, but it’s been a while since we saw a group this large.”
“Months,” added Tosco, his hands on his hips and foot tapping. He seemed nervous.
Maddy glanced around at the gathered personnel and estimated there being two hundred men and women, nearly all armed. “Why are Thomas’s officers gathering like this?”
Hell on Earth- the Complete Series Box Set Page 125
