Mandible

by Ian Woodhead

  “Move it, Ellis. You next!”

  The monsters were almost on top of them. “What about you?”

  He emptied the magazine into the mass before pushing her inside.

  “I'll be right...”

  She saw nothing but darkness, then blue light, followed by a grey haze before her feet once again found purchase. Ellis stumbled over Lorraine's body and landed next to Marty. She jumped to her feet and ran back to the archway.

  “Where is he?” She grew more anxious by the second and began to fear the worst.

  “Any second now, honey,” said Lorraine. “I promise.”

  Ellis bit back the acid retort and tried in vain to prepare herself to acknowledge the simple fact that her Jason was gone for good.

  “Maybe there's a time delay, or something? I don't know, or what if the archway took him somewhere else?” Marty glared at Lorraine. “Don't look at me like that. It is possible. I mean, none of us know how this stuff works.”

  She sank to the floor and rested her back against the door. What was she going to do now?

  “Ellis. Come on, girl.” Lorraine wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “Marty might be right, you know. Don't give up hope, not just yet.”

  “Something is happening!” Marty scrambled to his feet and ran over to the girls. “I can feel a rumble. The archway is re-activating.”

  “It's Jason!”

  “What if it isn't?” he replied. “Yeah, I know he said they couldn't come through but what if he's wrong? I mean, something must have used the archway to come through. How else can you explain the soldier confetti?”

  Lorraine nodded and helped to pull Ellis onto her feet. She pulled the girl over to the other door. Marty had already reached it and held it open.

  “Hurry up!” he cried.

  The rumbling increased and an unpleasant smell drifted out from the doorway. It reminded Ellis of bad meat crossed with dirty motor oil. Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach when the truth finally hit home. Marty was right. Her Jason was dead and the massed horde of ravenous insects were trying to come through that archway! Ellis picked up her pace, just as a large black lumpy bag was thrown out of the doorway. It landed on the floor beside one of the tables.

  The smell immediately vanished and so did the rumbling. All was still again, except for the mass of slimy black matter, wriggling about on the floor. Ellis looked both at Marty and Lorraine, as if somehow, they knew what had just happened. Lorraine looked at the pistol still in her hand, the only weapon they had left. She handed it to Ellis.

  The younger woman took it and tentatively approached this revolting lump. It had stopped moving now and just lay there inert. Ellis took aim.

  “Do it!” shouted Marty. “Kill the monster before it kills us.”

  Ellis still had a knife tucked into her belt. She took it out, dropped to her knees and pressed the tip against the shiny black surface. The voices coming from behind her, urging Ellis to kill it, faded into background noise while she pushed the blade through the film and pulled the knife towards her. The substance split apart like cellophane to reveal a very familiar shape. Ellis dropped the knife and dug her hands inside. Black, foul smelling slop covered everything, making it almost impossible to grab what she most desired.

  It took a few attempts but Ellis did wrap her fingers around something solid. She pulled as hard as she could and brought up a wrist, covered in the thick black goo. Once part of the anatomy was free of the stuff 's insidious suction, the rest of the body came up with ease. “Jason!” she cried. “I thought I had lost you forever.”

  As soon as the relieved words left her mouth, the other two ran over and helped Ellis to pull Jason out of the womb-like bag and to wipe off as much of the vile stuff as they could. Lorraine ripped the arm off her blouse and passed it to Ellis who used the material to clean Jason's face. The young man blinked a dozen times then lurched forward and threw up.

  He shook his head then pulled the cloth out of his girlfriend's hand, found a clean area and wiped his mouth. Their eyes met. “Thank you, Ellis. I thought my time had come just then.”

  “What happened to you?” asked Lorraine. “What is this stuff?”

  He shrugged. “You got me there. Some kind of immobilising agent, I guess. The Sentinels sprayed me just as I was about to dive through the archway.”

  He tried to stand up. Both Marty and Ellis caught him when his legs collapsed. They sat him in one of the chairs.

  “I come bearing gifts by the way. Well, a gift,” he said. Jason reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a small yellow cube and placed it on the table. “I'm sorry to break this to you chaps but, we need to go back through.” He held up his hand. “No, don't fret, we aren’t going back to that blasted cavern. That's what the cube is for. It'll take us somewhere else. Hopefully, to someone who'll be able to help us sort this mess.” He leaned forward. “The situation is even worse than I first believed. What we have here in our lovely town is a beachhead. The Mantil scouts have basically secured a foothold in what they think is enemy territory. If we don't stop them here, their main forces will pour through and that, I'm afraid, really will be the end of everything. Imagine vast armies of genetically augmented, unstoppable, armour-plated killing machines rampaging through every town and city in the country. It won't stop there either, as I guess the other countries will start to panic and they'll do everything in their power to stop those monsters from reaching their shores.” He shuddered. “They'll turn this country into a radioactive dust bowl.”

  Ellis went white. “You mean there's more of those huge monsters down there?”

  Jason shook his head. “No, the things already up there are natural. They are the inhabitants from the inner Earth. The things I mean are worse, much worse.” He stood up and grabbed the side of the table. Jason quickly shook his head when Marty came to his assistance. “No, I'm fine, it's fine. I'm just a bit weak. Nothing to worry about. I'll be as right as rain in a minute or two.” He picked up the cube and slowly walked back to the doorway.

  Ellis now noticed a small, rectangular recess in the door frame. Jason pushed the cube into it, turned his head and gave her a wink. The motion looked so painful. Ellis so wanted to hold him but believed that Jason had to feel like he didn't need any help. “Where do you think it will take us, Jason?”

  “Let's find out!” He pushed the cube into the recess, took her hand, then stepped through.

  Ellis opened her eyes and stared in disbelief at their new environment. She moved a couple of steps away from the archway when Lorraine and Marty stepped into the pale light. As soon as Marty was safely out of the way, the archway merged into the wall. “This has got to be somebody's idea of a joke.” Ellis sighed heavily. “Not that I'm finding this remotely funny.” She took the lead and walked out of the ladies’ toilet and back into the closed market.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Old Friends and New Enemies

  She wasn't sure what was worse; finding herself back in familiar surroundings or, as Jason suggested, walking into yet another unknown environment. Here, in this deserted market, Ellis so wanted to pinch herself, just to make sure that she wasn't actually sleep-walking through some nightmarish part of her brain. Old recollections of happier times and the occasional sad moment jumped, unwanted, into her memory with every step she took. Ellis wished the market still existed, that this place, with its drying bloodstains, its broken stalls and obvious evidence of brutal slaying really did belong inside her warped imagination. Ellis knew, deep down, that the place she remembered with such fondness had gone forever, it would never be the same. Hell, how could it be? Most of the people who either worked in the market or shopped here were fucking dead, munched up fodder for all those vile monsters that invaded this place not so long ago.

  “How are you holding up, Ellis?” asked Jason.

  “Oh, you know. As well as can be expected, I suppose.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he quickly glanced to their right.

&n
bsp; Lorraine and Marty were inside a shop which sold DIY tools, amongst plastic plates, cheap food, DVD's as well as a million other bits of tat. Lorraine wanted to look for a kitchen knife, at least that's what she said. Right now, she was hitting Marty on the back of the head with an inflatable flamingo.

  Jason wiped a couple of tears from her cheek. “Ellis, I know that you're really pissed at me right now and believe me, I do understand why. If I was in your shoes, I would have gone absolutely ballistic. I just hope you can see why I couldn't tell you what I really did for a living?” He tried to crack a smile. “Heck, maybe I should have risked a court marshal and spilled the beans, who would have believed such a fantastic story? What about if I told you that I was a male stripper, Ellis? That I have a full wardrobe of fake fireman outfits, all with Velcro down each side for easy access? What about a porn star or...”

  “Shut up, Jason. Seriously, just stop fucking talking.” She shook off his hand, vaguely aware that some of that black stuff now adhered to her fingers too. He spent a good ten minutes earlier on, trying to get the stuff off his skin. Five packets of baby wipes later plus a complete change of clothing, he looked almost normal again, although some of that horrible shit still stubbornly clung to Jason's skin. Ellis walked past the DIY shop and stopped outside a noodle bar. She wrapped her arms around her body while glancing at the menu, while trying to remember the last time she ate. Hell, after the horrors she had been through since this ordeal began, Ellis wasn't sure if she'd ever get her appetite back. Jason had stayed in the same spot, looking like some big dopey puppy. Was he expecting her to run back to him, like the big old cuddly bear act was going to melt her? Ellis kept looking at the menu, while listening to those two in the shop next door comparing previous boyfriend statistics.

  How could she even think of eating anyway? She took a deep ragged breath, already knowing the answer. Eating market food is what she did every day. It would prove to her that, despite the hellish circumstances, she could still carry on as if nothing was really happening, giving the middle finger to everything which wanted to do the same to her, to turn poor Ellis into a kebab.

  Marty left Lorraine inside the shop and was walking straight for her. “Honey, I'm wondering if you could do me a little favour?!”

  Ellis shrugged. “If you want to know Jason's statistics, forget it.”

  The older man gave her the widest grin she had ever seen. “Very droll. No, just hold both his hands for me, that's all.”

  She hadn't expected that one.

  “It's so he doesn't punch me,” he continued. “Your hunky man boy is holding back on something and we need to know what.”

  A single glance into the shop to find Lorraine looking incredibly uneasy suggested to Ellis that perhaps, looking for a knife might have been an excuse so those two could have a little chin-wag. She had no problem in helping Marty extract a few more info nuggets from Jason. Hell, he might even spout out something that actually made sense! Ellis left the last menu board unread and hurried back to Jason. She grabbed both hands before he had time to react. Her boyfriend sure did react when Marty and Lorraine crowded him from both sides.

  “What's the deal, guys? You know, personal space and all that?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” growled Marty. “You almost got yourself killed going back for that cube, which, as a result, almost caused Ellis to have a mental overload. How about you telling us why you felt it so important to torture the girl?”

  Jason's happy-go-lucky persona vanished. Ellis felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight at the sight of the hard-faced killer which took over. It so helped to reinforce her inner argument that Ellis had no idea who this guy really was. Thankfully, the hateful expression dissolved when his eyes made contact with hers. She guessed that her boyfriend wasn't too keen on getting jumped on.

  “There were procedures put in place,” he said. Jason spoke in hushed tones but it didn't matter, they all heard every word. “The commanders feared something like this might happen, despite the assurances from our new allies. That's why, as soon as the tremors started, the local authorities were secretly put under military control and our own forces, which includes me, I guess, were ordered out into the wilderness.” He took a deep breath. “When I say they feared something like this might happen, I meant they thought that some of the wild animals might get free. Don't look at me like that, Lorraine. Believe me, they really did have steps in place to contain any kind of breakout, to put down anything which did get onto the surface without any locals getting hurt. Yeah, so that didn't work so well. Like I said earlier. Our allies held back info, in particular just how close their ancient enemy really was. I suppose, if the top brass knew about the Deltin deception, they might have been more prepared.”

  “More prepared,” sneered Marty. “Listen to yourself, man. You make it sound like your inept fools just took a trip to the shops and forgot to lock the door. What has any of this got to do with you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “I was getting to that,” he replied. “While our new allies tried to dazzle us primitive cavemen with their magical toys, our own scientists were able to snag one of their little gizmos without our insect pals noticing.”

  “The cube?”

  Jason nodded. “Yeah, the cube. The Deltins had already explained their purpose, that they are some kind of navigation tool. Well, our men in white coats actually figured out how to program them.”

  Ellis became aware of another noise coming from the other end of the market. It was faint and hard to make out but her neck hairs really started to dance as it sounded like clicking. She looked at Jason who was doing his best to explain to his unreceptive audience that this cube had locked-in coordinates, programmed to take the next traveller to where the top brass would have fled in the event of a full-blown invasion. She pulled her hands away and stepped back. The clicking noise was getting louder. Yet the other three seemed blissfully unaware thanks to their bickering.

  “No, Marty, stop asking me that. I don't have a fucking clue as to why it brought us here. I mean, it's not like I set the coordinates is it?”

  Her hand brushed across a pile of thick rubber dog balls in a white basket while backing away. Ellis picked up a green one and threw it as hard as she could. It smacked Jason right in the centre of his forehead. “Hush your lips!” she hissed. “What, are you three deaf or something? We're not alone anymore.”

  “Nice shot there,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead. The man then nodded. “God, I must be losing my edge. Good call, Ellis.” Jason pulled several rubber balls out of the basket and handed them out.

  “Have you gone insane?” Ellis looked at the two bright red balls that he'd just pushed into her palms then looked down the middle aisle, sure that something down there had just moved.

  He shook his head, then grabbed two for himself then ran past the discount shop and the noodle bar. Jason took up position behind a kiddie ride, gestured the others to follow him, then crouched down. Once they were behind him, he pointed to the second-hand shop in the far corner, then threw one of the balls. It smacked into the window, bounced off and rolled across the tiles before coming to a stop next to an ancient red metal weighing machine.

  “What are y...”

  Jason put his hand over Lorraine's mouth. He then threw another ball. This one flew straight through the open door and vanished inside the shop. A moment later, something large, black and fast smashed into the shop window. The sound of breaking glass seemed to trigger a cacophony of noise.

  Ellis wrapped her arms over her head while trying to fight the urge to run away. The clicking had grown to insufferable levels and competed with the loud buzzing of insect wings the length of surfboards. Jason gently lifted her head and she now saw four black beetles standing in a line in front of the shop. The wings belonged to some kind of giant hornet. They hung upside down on the pipes bolted to the ceiling. A moment later, every beetle turned as one then scuttled into the shop. The hornets dropped to the floor and fo
llowed them inside.

  Jason jumped up. He tapped Lorraine and Marty then raced down one of the aisles. Ellis and the others ran after him.

  “Where's he gone?” Ellis skidded to a sudden halt opposite a phone repair stall. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

  Marty then pointed to a coffee shop. “He went inside there. I'm sure of it.” He pushed past Ellis and hurried forward.

  “What's wrong?”

  Ellis shrugged. She looked at the rubber balls that Jason had given her. Lorraine had dropped hers by the kiddie ride. Marty had almost reached the coffee shop. Ellis threw one of the balls as hard as she could. It flew over Marty's head and into the shop where it landed on the counter, bounced off and rolled under one of the tables. The interior exploded with a flurry of wings, shell, and legs, as several smaller beasts jumped out from a dozen hiding places. At first, they all fought each other in order to get the ball before two of them suddenly retreated from the scrum. They turned their bright-green mantis-like heads. Marty froze! Ellis threw the remaining ball into the coffee shop which caused all the creatures to resume their scrapping. She ran at Marty, grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. Lorraine had already taken refuge inside a book stall. Ellis pulled the older man inside.

  “Oh my God!” uttered Marty. “They almost got me. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can take much more of this.”

  Ellis wrapped her arms around his shaking body and hugged him tight. “The word of the day, Marty, is almost. Come on. Get your shit together. Don't lose it now, for God's sake!” She lifted her head. “Lorraine. Where the hell is Jason? Can you see him?”

  “Shit. Can you believe we ran straight past him?”

  Marty ran over to where Lorraine was leaning. She saw Jason straight away. He stood behind a cold meat counter on the opposite side. The café full of monsters was between them and her boyfriend.

  Those things weren't staying inside either. The bastards had already started to scuttle across the flagstones.