Chameleon

by E. R. Torre

  Becky swallowed hard. She lowered her hand and again looked at the remains of the creature and Alicia. It was hard not to stare.

  The others in the group hadn’t moved throughout the attack. Only now, after the danger was past, did they rustle. Doctor Evans motioned to Jennie Light to lay the stretcher carrying Masters down. Jennie did as told and remained at the injured pilot’s side.

  Doctor Evans stepped past Becky and leaned down to examine Alicia. He gently brushed ash from her face. Her skin was blackened. Smoke rose from her mouth and the dark holes which had been her eyes.

  Doctor Evans touched Alicia’s neck. He felt for a pulse, perhaps hoping that, by some miracle, what appeared so obvious to everyone in the campsite somehow wasn’t. Doctor Evans’ hand remained on Alicia’s neck only a couple of seconds. Finally, inevitably, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. He then faced Becky. His expression told her all she needed to know.

  Becky felt a strong wave of nausea. She closed her eyes and stayed still for a few seconds while the feeling passed. When her eyes opened once again, she was again looking at the lifeless remains of Alicia Cunningham. The newbie. She hardly knew her.

  From somewhere seemingly miles away, she heard General Spradlin say something.

  “You saved us.”

  If the words were meant to offer solace, they barely registered. Becky straightened up and eyed the remaining members of the group. Doctor Evans was still crouched next to Alicia. Jennie Light and Frank Masters were together at the edge of camp. Samantha Aron leaned against a tree, her face ashen.

  General Spradlin reached for his M-16. It was on the ground, where he had thrown it. Becky Waters saw him throw the gun to the ground when the creature burst through the bush. He dropped that fearsome weapon so he could grab his black blade. The exact type of blade Alan Robinson had. The one Becky had taken from Robinson’s remains. The one she used to kill the creature.

  The one that also killed Alicia.

  Anger burned bright in pit of Becky’s stomach. She tried to hold it in, to let it dissipate. It didn’t. She reached for the Heckler and Koch at her waist. She pulled the weapon out and, in a sudden, furious motion, ran to General Spradlin’s side and grabbed him by the neck. She thrust the gun’s barrel against the General’s head. It took considerable effort on her part to not pull the trigger.

  “It's time we talked, General,” she said. She was surprised by how calm her voice sounded.

  Spradlin remained very still. The other members of the group froze. Spradlin locked eyes with Doctor Evans and shook his head very slightly. Doctor Evans nodded in silent acknowledgement.

  “Yes,” Spradlin acknowledged. “We should talk. If we are to survive this day, we need to. But first, tell me where Robinson and Thompson are.”

  “What do you think?” Becky said.

  General Spradlin eyes narrowed. For a fleeting second she saw…sadness in the General’s eyes.

  “Was it…?” the General asked.

  “Quick enough.”

  General Spradlin closed his eyes. His body sank a little.

  “Where did you get that handgun? It’s not one of the models we had on the helicopter.”

  “Nothing escapes you,” Becky said.

  “Force of habit. What happened?”

  “We lost track of Thompson.”

  “Lost track?”

  “He was behind us one minute, gone the next. We headed back to find him and instead found a man lying on the ground. At least he looked like a man. He talked with a British accent.”

  “You were told not to engage—”

  “I know that,” Becky yelled. “But your man Robinson got real interested in the guy’s backpack and must have forgotten all about your orders. After searching through his gear, and given his accent, Robinson figured he was a British agent sent her to spy on Bad Penny.”

  “He…he probably was.”

  “But it wasn’t human. It crushed Robinson’s hand…it…it crushed his neck.”

  “How did you get away?”

  “I blasted the shit out of that thing.”

  “Shot it?”

  “With this very gun,” Becky said. “Bastard ate all twelve rounds.”

  “The full clip?”

  “Yes. The full—”

  Becky was about to say more when she realized she had already said too much. She swore before lowering the unloaded gun from Spradlin’s head.

  “As I said before, nothing escapes you,” she muttered and put the weapon away. “Yeah, I emptied the full clip into the creature. Every fucking bullet this gun had.”

  General Spradlin faced Becky. She expected him to yell at her, to tear her apart. At the least, charge her with insubordination.

  Funny, how regulations frown upon officers threatening Generals. Especially with handguns.

  Instead of yelling, General Spradlin surprised her by saying:

  “Then it’s not dead.”

  He eyed the other members of the group.

  “We need to move.”

  “What do you mean it’s not dead?” Becky asked. “Between the Heckler and Koch and the .45, it took over twenty shots point blank. How the fuck could it not be dead?”

  Spradlin picked up his M-16 and grabbed Becky by the arm. He led her to the remains of the creature and Alicia. Spradlin gave the creature’s body a gentle kick.

  Incredibly, the very soft blow caused the charred remains of the creature to crumble into little pieces. The pieces dissolved into a fine black dust which blew away in the breeze.

  “That’s what one of these creatures looks like when it’s dead,” Spradlin said. “In a few minutes, these ashes will be gone. Nothing will be left, including the knife you used to kill it. All that’ll remain is Alicia Cunningham’s body.”

  The others in the group stared at the blowing ash.

  Spradlin walked over to Jennie Light, Frank Masters, and Samantha Aron. Doctor Evans left Alicia’s body and followed behind. As he passed Becky Waters, he laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

  “The General wasn’t kidding, you saved us all,” Evans said.

  “Yeah,” Becky said. “I’m a real hero.”

  She turned away from Alicia’s remains and noted who was left in the group. It was then she realized there was one other person missing.

  “Where’s Bartlett?”

  “He didn’t make it, either,” Jennie Light said.

  “What happened?”

  Jennie folded her hands across her chest and shivered.

  “That thing you just killed got to him.”

  “We’ve already lost four members of our group?”

  “Looks that way,” Samantha said.

  Becky ran to General Spradlin’s side.

  “General, what exactly are our odds of getting out of this alive?”

  “None at all, if we stand around and talk,” General Spradlin said.

  “What do we do…what do we do about Alicia’s body?” Samantha asked. “We can’t just leave her here.”

  “For now, that’s all we can do,” Spradlin said.

  “But…”

  “We’ll come back for her,” Spradlin added. “For her and Bartlett and…and anyone else. We owe them that much.”

  They moved slowly through the deep brush, zigzagging around trees and rocks and other obstacles. In front of Becky Waters were Jennie Light and Doctor Evans. They carried Frank Masters on the stretcher. In front of them walked General Spradlin. His hand was firmly on the handle of his black blade and only loosely on the trigger of the M-16.

  Samantha Aron noted Becky’s stare.

  “Bullets only slow them down?” Samantha asked.

  “You heard what the man said.”

  “General Spradlin and Doctor Evans have those blades.”

  “Yes they do. And we get the guns.”

  “Think they're willing to trade?”

  “Would you?”

  Samantha closed her mouth as a burst of cool air stirred the leaves
around them. The humidity made her sweat, the cool air made her shiver.

  “It’ll be morning soon,” Samantha said. “At least we won’t be jumping at every shadow.”

  Up ahead, General Spradlin came to a stop. He headed back to the group and addressed Becky directly.

  “Is this the way you and Robinson came?”

  Becky looked around. She spotted crushed stalks and a pair of snapped branches.

  “Yes sir,” she said. “Shouldn’t be too far from where...where Colonel Robinson…”

  Becky didn’t finish her thoughts and General Spradlin didn’t push. He addressed the rest of the group.

  “As I said before, the creature Lieutenant Waters faced is still alive.”

  Spradlin reached for the handle of his knife and pulled it out enough for everyone to see the black blade.

  “Barring an overwhelming pummeling by high caliber bullets or being blown up, the only way to effectively kill these things is by using this blade.”

  “What exactly is that thing?” Jennie Light asked.

  “We call her the lightning rod,” General Spradlin said. “She’s made of a special alloy that slips through these creature’s skins. Microcircuits within the blade scramble their system. The end result is a massive short circuit.”

  His eyes were on Becky Waters.

  “All the other weapons we carry, as you no doubt have surmised, at best only slow the creatures down,” Spradlin continued. “Lest there remain any confusion, these creatures are machines. The reason they resist bullets is because they have a self-repairing technology hardwired within them. Provided any injury they receive isn’t too grave, it can take them anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to fix their wounds and becoming fully functional. They are programmed to show no mercy to their intended targets. The fact that Private Waters escaped the creature she encountered proves she did some damage. But when it repairs itself, it will hunt us down. It might even bring along help in that cause.”

  “There are more of them out there?” Jennie Light asked.

  “The one that killed Private Cunningham and Bartlett came from the north. The one Private Waters encountered was farther to the south. There’s little doubt the two attacks were caused by different creatures. If there are two, we have to assume there might be more. We have to assume the worst.”

  “Where did they come from?” Becky asked.

  “Later,” Spradlin said. “Right now, let’s focus on getting this other creature or getting to safety.”

  “Do you have any more of those fancy blades?” Samantha asked.

  “Just the two,” Spradlin replied.

  “Terrific,” Jennie said.

  “If you slow them down even a little, it may be all the time we need,” Spradlin said.

  Becky pulled the M-16 from her shoulder. The others checked their weapons. A thick silence hung over the group.

  “We can make it out of here,” General Spradlin said. “But only if we work together.”

  Another breeze kicked the brush around the survivors of the Little Charlie. General Spradlin offered no other words of encouragement. There was little point.

  In silence, they continued their trek south to Bad Penny.

  It took them another five minutes to reach Colonel Robinson’s body.

  His corpse lay just as Becky remembered. Robinson’s neck was twisted and shattered, crushed by the creature’s steel grip. Robinson’s eyes remained open, staring up at the sky. No more than a couple of feet away, the brush was trampled down.

  This was where the creature fell. This was where Becky last saw it.

  “It’s gone,” Becky said.

  “So it is,” General Spradlin said as he leaned next to Robinson’s body. His hand settled gently over the soldier’s face. He closed Robinson’s lifeless eyes and bowed his head.

  “You were like a son to me,” Spradlin muttered. He offered no prayers or comment. Instead, he got back to his feet and faced the group. His expression was stone, unemotional and unreadable.

  “The base isn’t too far away,” Spradlin said.

  He walked off into the bush.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  They stumbled through the darkness, hoping with each passing minute to finally see lights from the base coming through the trees. Lights that indicated Bad Penny was finally within range. They used their flashlights only sparingly, out of fear of attracting those things. But doing so slowed them down even more. An hour passed and their progress was minimal. Fear gave way to frustration and exhaustion.

  Doctor Evans and Jennie Light carried Frank Masters. Samantha Aron and Becky Waters covered the rear while General Spradlin continued on point. Since seeing his dead partner, General Spradlin’s mood turned pitch black and he talked very little with the others. Now and again he slowed to see how everyone was doing, but in general he was forced to wait for the others to catch up.

  After an hour and a half of stumbling in the darkness, he had the group come to a full stop. He turned his flashlight on and examined each of the members of the group. They all looked exhausted. Frank Masters remained in the stretcher. He too looked completely spent.

  “I would suggest taking another break, but that didn’t go so well for us the last time,” General Spradlin said. “Anyway, the base can’t be too far away.”

  Despite the cooler temperatures from the passing front, sweat filled General Spradlin’s forehead. He leaned against a tree and looked around. There wasn’t much to see. The darkness swallowed the forest around them.

  “Private Light, I’ll take over for you,” General Spradlin said.

  Jennie Light pointed to Doctor Evans.

  “What about him? He might need some relief, too.”

  “He’s stronger than he looks,” General Spradlin said.

  “So am I,” Jennie Light countered.

  “I have no doubt you are,” General Spradlin said. He eyed Doctor Evans and nodded. Doctor Evans nodded right back.

  Jennie Light allowed General Spradlin to take the stretcher’s rear handles. Spradlin and Evans continued along into the forest.

  Jennie Light shook her head and watched as the trio of men walked off. Becky Waters and Samantha Aron approached her side.

  “Let’s move, soldier,” Samantha said.

  “Yeah, let’s do that,” Jennie Light replied. “Men.”

  “What’s that?”

  Jennie Light pointed to the trio of men and sniffed.

  “Ever study psychology?” she asked.

  “Why?” Becky Waters replied.

  “I read somewhere that when a group of animals are in a stressful environment, they flock together. The group is stronger than the individual.”

  “We’re all together in this right now,” Becky said.

  “Yeah, but the men are over there and we’re over here.”

  “Groups within groups,” Samantha Aron said. “What does that tell you?”

  “It tells me there isn’t a whole lot of trust among us. Either that or the men have mother issues. I wish I had studied more than just Freud.”

  “Two of the men know what’s going on while we women haven’t a fucking clue,” Becky said.

  “All three of them know more than we do,” Samantha added.

  “All three?” Jennie said. “You mean your co-pilot…?”

  “Knows plenty.”

  “What?”

  Samantha shook her head.

  “Are you holding back?” Jennie said. “Even now?”

  “Look, they arranged our crash landing, OK? They sabotaged the chopper. They forced us down.”

  “Holy shit,” Jennie said. “I had no fucking idea. I guess that makes us the odd women out.”

  “Three of us together?” Becky Waters said.

  “Groups within groups.”

  “Why not?” Jennie Light said. “Charlie’s fucking Angels.”

  “Feeling any better?” General Spradlin asked Frank Masters when he stirred.

  The pilot eyes fl
uttered open. He grimaced and shrugged.

  “You escorting me to the dance?”

  “For the last mile,” General Spradlin said.

  “I can think of better dates.”

  “So can I. I asked you a question, Captain. You feeling any better?”

  “No real change.”

  General Spradlin nodded. He eyed Doctor Evans and the Doctor returned the gaze. Unspoken messages were passed between them in that instant, and General Spradlin turned his head to see the remaining three members of his group.

  The women were a few paces behind, whispering to each other. He had a good idea what they were talking about. If he were in their place, he’d do the same. Forming connections. The group is stronger than the individual.

  General Spradlin fought off a chill at that final thought.

  The outer perimeter of the Bad Penny Military Base was marked with a thick chain link fence. Time and the inevitable wear left rust and withered leaves intertwined within their structure. Despite this, she remained sturdy.

  The group arrived at the fence just as the sun’s first rays rose in the east. It was looking like the beginning of a beautiful day.

  None of the survivors of the Little Charlie, however, noticed or cared about the weather.

  They leaned against the fence and were careful to remain well hidden in the ample bush. They were just north of the main barracks. It seemed like several lifetimes had passed since the last time they were here.

  In spite of the early morning hour, the weary group expected to see plenty of activity within the base. They expected to see groups of soldiers engaged in early morning drills and senior staff members drifting in and out of the barracks, clipboards in hand and a stern looks across their faces. They expected to see the odd soldier marching south, toward the mess hall, eager for an early morning meal.

  But they saw no such movement. They saw nobody at all. All was deathly quiet.

  The base looked completely deserted.

  “What the hell happened here?” Samantha asked no one in particular. “Is everyone…is everyone gone?”

  “I don’t know,” General Spradlin said.