She smirked and shook her head. “You’ll have to work harder than that.”
As she walked away, Smithy felt butterflies in his stomach. Had he just engaged in a bit of good old flirting?
Shit, that felt good.
The brief moment of humanity reminded him of the stakes he was playing for. As long as there were still people alive, he had to keep fighting.
The door at the top of the stairs rattled as demons thudded against it. A sharp crack sounded as part of the frame gave way.
“Okay,” said Mass. “Looks like our time just ran out. Once the hatch is open, we need to get out as quickly as we can. Stick together, head for the barn, don’t die. Ready?”
The butterflies in Smithy’s tummy turned bad, and the stale biscuits he’d just eaten threatened to revisit him. Tox must have seen his apprehension because he came over. “You know how to work that?”
Smithy lifted the pistol in his hand and looked at it. “I’m not sure, to be honest. The clip was loaded, and I just jammed it in.
“It’s a semi-auto. It’ll keep firing until it’s empty. This is the safety. It’s on.”
Smithy saw a small lever and pushed it with his thumb. “Now I can kill things, right?”
Tox grinned. “Right. It’s been good meeting you, Smithy. Let’s have a beer back in Portsmouth.”
“A beer? God, yes.”
“Let’s go!” Mass threw open the hatch and scrambled up the ladder. Then he was gone, swallowed by the night. Addy went after him, and, of all people, Gemma went next. Tox told Smithy good luck and then disappeared. David scrambled out next, and that just left Harriet – but she wasn’t moving. She stood there, trembling, with a shotgun cradled awkwardly in her arms.
“You need to move,” Smithy told her over the din of the door rapidly cracking at the top of the stairs. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right behind you.”
Harriet nodded at him, but she still didn’t move. There was nothing he could do, except…
“Sorry about this!” Smithy slapped her cheek hard and then shoved her towards the ladder. To keep her moving, he yelled at her nonstop, using her timidity as a harness and his unkind voice as a whip. It worked, and Harriet scurried through the hatch. Smithy kept his word and stayed right with her, putting a hand against her back as they left the basement and started across the field. The darkness was disorientating, and it was difficult to know which way to go. The others were ahead, but they were almost invisible. Only the sound of their hurried panting allowed him to keep up.
The demons could have been anywhere, hiding behind every shadowy shape. Not being able to see them was even more terrifying than them coming right at you.
“I can’t see anything,” said Harriet. Her wide eyes shone.
“Just keep moving. We’re fine.”
Harriet grabbed hold of him and stared into his eyes. “Promise me I’m not going to die.”
It was absurd to ask such a thing. Death waited around every corner and most of the world had already succumbed. He couldn’t promise her she wouldn’t die tonight. “You’re going to be fine,” he said. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Just… just keep moving. Look, over there. I can see the others.”
Smithy pointed his handgun forward with one hand while shoving Harriet with the other. While he couldn’t promise to keep her alive, he could promise not to let her go.
One of the others was just ahead, their silhouette taking shape in the dark. Smithy wanted to call out, but he knew his voice would be too loud – too anxious. If the demons were still gathered at the front of the house, then there was a chance they didn’t even know they were making a break for it. He might make it to the bus in one piece.
The figure ahead was standing still, as if they were waiting for Smithy to catch up. He was grateful because he didn’t know where the hell he was heading in the dark. With the moon gone from the sky, there was no sign of the barn.
“Tox? Mass? Is that you? Addy?”
“Nah, blud, it’s me, innit?” A demon stepped out of the darkness. “And this time, you ain’t running nowhere.”
11
There were still demons in the streets of Portsmouth as they made their way back, but they were backing off now, retreating into alleyways and shopfronts. They’d lost the fight but had managed to tear apart two dozen of Thomas’s best men. Another dozen were injured. Spotlights cast from nearby boats lit up their misery and made their many cuts glisten.
Cross grabbed her arm as she tried to hurry ahead, a little harshly for her liking. “Tell me you were messing around,” he snapped at her. “You were just telling a bad joke, right?”
Maddy shrugged free of his grasp. “Take a look around, Tony. Your men are carrying the bloody remains of their friends. No one needed to die tonight. If killing Thomas and his ego prevents more deaths, then so be it. I’m sorry but I wasn’t joking at all.”
“D’you realise what you’re saying? You’re threatening to murder a ranking general in what is basically a martial state. I can’t just pretend you didn’t say it.”
Maddy kicked a flattened pop can into the gutter and glared at Cross. “Who’s asking you to?”
“Why did you even tell me? I’m the man’s second in command.”
“I told you because I thought you were a good man who would be as pissed off about men dying as I am.”
“I am pissed off, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to kill this country’s highest-ranking officer. We’re at war; people die.”
“You think I don’t know that? Tony, I’ve watched people die in front of me by the thousands, crushed and mangled beyond recognition. I’ve lost friends, family, and people I respect, but until tonight I hadn’t seen a single person die simply because someone ordered them to. We fight at Portsmouth because we’re family, not because Wickstaff tells us to. Your people don’t belong here so long as Thomas is in charge. Either he goes or you all go.”
Cross stopped her by grabbing her arm again, but this time he was gentler. He looked around, making sure no one was listening. Everyone was so weary and glad to be alive that they kept on marching towards safety with no regard for each other. “Okay, Maddy, let’s say I agree with what you’re saying. It doesn’t mean you can just kill Thomas. He has a personal guard. You’d be shot before you even pulled the trigger. Even if you got him alone, you’d catch a bullet as soon as they discover the deed.”
“I don’t care. Every day people around me die trying to make the world a better place. Maybe this is my turn.”
Tony leaned in closer, his breath hitting her lips and making them tingle. “Maddy, don’t do anything stupid, okay? At least sleep on it for a night. We’ve been in battle and your blood is up. Things might look different tomorrow.”
Maddy sighed. The decency in his eyes was too much to bear after the madness of the last hour. His gaze made her feel safe, like a silly girl with silly fears. To look at, Tony was a hardened, rough-edged warrior, but his eyes gave away his kindness. “Fine. I promise I’ll think about it before I do anything, but I won’t let Thomas throw away any more lives.”
Tony put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a tiny squeeze. The warmth of his hand made her shudder. He said nothing else to her, just turned towards the docks and resumed marching with the other men. Maddy had no choice but to do the same. While she did so, she stared across the ruins at the shattered remnants of the Spinnaker Tower. Its remaining panes and steelwork glinted with silvery light as dawn approached. That the monument was still standing, even though battered and burned, gave her hope.
Beaten but still standing tall.
The returning army neared the barricaded lorry that blocked access into the docks. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But the relief didn’t last long.
A trio of men stood on the roof of the lorry with rifles, and they began to wave at the sight of everyone making it back home. Two of them were from Portsmouth, but one of them was a soldier from Thomas’s contingent. The men were wo
rking together.
Then they were dying together.
A group of primates appeared from nowhere and leapt up onto the lorry in a single, collective leap. In their recent fugue state, the demons had been incapable of such feats, but it seemed they had now broken free of their daze and were once again out for blood. Unstoppable killing machines.
The three men on the lorry were blindsided, torn down before they could even acknowledge their attackers. More demons spilled into the streets from multiple directions. Maddy started shooting, launching into action even before Tony did. A second later, every man and woman was firing in a dozen directions. The demons were everywhere.
“It’s a sodding ambush.” Tony raised his rifle. “I think they meant to set us up this whole time.”
“Everyone, close in,” Wickstaff bellowed from the front. “Keep a tight formation and let the bastards have it.”
Blood and gunfire filled the air, getting in Maddy’s nostrils. She didn’t know if the blood stench was demon or human, but it made her sick. And angry. She levelled a primate with her MP5, putting four rounds right in its skull. Then three more took its place. Men began to fall again. Portsmouth men. People Maddy knew. More anger rose in her guts and turned her vision red as she pumped round after round into the demon forces.
Tony shouted at her. “Maddy, get back. You’re too far out.”
Maddy knew she’d moved away from the group, leaving herself vulnerable, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to kill. She imagined every demon she shot was Thomas and slammed in her next clip like a lifelong-trained soldier.
“Maddy, damn it! Get back!”
Maddy was out at sea, space all around her that demons could exploit. Her survival instincts finally snapped back into place and she began moving backwards as she pulled the trigger, moving back towards the safety of the group. But it was too late. She was cut off. A burnt man reached out for the back of her neck and another burnt man lunged at her from the left. She swung her MP5 and fired into their chests. A primate appeared and slashed at her face. She leapt back but caught the bladed talon across her collarbone. She bit down on the pain and lifted her MP5, emptying it into the primate and tearing it to shreds.
She was out of ammo.
The problem with weapons like the MP5 was that if you fired them out of desperation or panic, they were liable to run dry on you in a matter of seconds. Hers had done just that. Now she was defenceless. Burnt men surrounded her, their smouldering eyes like embers from the fires of Hell, their broken teeth hanging loose in decaying jaws. Saliva and chunks of old flesh dripped onto the ground. Whatever glue had been holding the demons together was wearing away. Their bodies were becoming mush.
But they were still deadly.
And Maddy was surrounded.
The demons closed in.
A burnt man at her rear jolted suddenly and fell to the ground. Then another dropped as well. Something was taking the demons out from behind. Tony appeared in the gap he’d made and reached out a hand to her. “Move it, you daft cow.”
Maddy started forward, but more burnt men stepped in her path. It forced Tony to meet her halfway, and he rammed his shoulder into the back of one of the demons and sent it sprawling. Then he grabbed Maddy by the wrist hard enough to almost break it and pulled her back into the group. Everyone continued firing, fighting desperately to keep the multiplying demons at bay.
But the demons just kept coming.
A large primate shrugged off a bullet wound to the shoulder and one to its thigh. The momentum of its surging run kept it moving forward, heading straight for Maddy. Maddy turned to face it, her empty MP5 the only defence she had, but then Tony shoved her out of the way. The primate smashed right into him, knocking him clean off his feet. Several men aimed their weapons, but it was too dangerous to shoot as the demon mounted Tony, and they began to wrestle back and forth, their bodies entwined. Maddy tried to help, but the savage primate swiped its claws at all angles. If she got too close, it would take her face off. Tony had the demon by the throat, keeping it from biting him, but his arms were getting torn to shreds.
Maddy stood frozen.
I have to do something.
He needs me.
Somebody shoved passed Maddy and launched themselves at the primate fighting with Cross.
Maddy gasped. “General!”
“Not now, woman,” said Wickstaff as she squared up to the snarling demon with nothing but a long knife. “I’m a bit busy.”
Cross was winded, and he rolled away rather than get to his feet. The primate forgot about him and turned its focus on Wickstaff. It glared at her, lit up by the spotlights of the nearby boats. For a moment it looked like it might run away, but then it leapt at the general with an almighty roar. Wickstaff hopped aside and threw out a leg, kicking the demon in the back of the knees. It toppled onto its side and had no time to recover as Wickstaff dropped on top of it and drove her knife right into its eye socket.
The heavens opened in a downpour as if the skies were applauding her victory. The sound of heavy rain on concrete was like clapping hands. Tony grabbed Wickstaff and yanked her to her feet. “I owe you one, General.”
Wickstaff sniffed, raindrops dripping down her face. “Shouldn’t that be Brigadier, Colonel Cross?”
“Right now, I don’t have a fucking clue, but thank you all the same.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Maddy moved up to Cross and touched his elbow to get his attention. “You wouldn’t have needed saving if you hadn’t saved me first. You’re… you’re a good man, Tony.”
He looked her in the eye, but it seemed like it was a struggle for him. “I try to be.”
Wickstaff put a hand out to separate them. “Let’s do this later. We need to go.”
It was true. While they’d managed to fight off the first wave of demons, multiple shadows were once again slinking out of the dimly lit alleyways. The heavy rain and glaring spotlights were disorientating.
“Everyone, get up those ladders,” shouted Wickstaff. “Now!”
A new wave of demons raced through the streets. Everyone at the front formed a line, firing, while those at the rear scurried up the ladders onto the lorry. Once up top, they turned and fired from above, picking off demons as soon as they entered the harsh white glow of the spotlights.
Maddy was up front with Tony and Wickstaff. Tony tried to move her towards the back. “Get yourself up that ladder, love. I’ve got this.”
“Ha! I’m not leaving until everyone is safe.”
Wickstaff smiled at her, a lingering look. “That’s my girl.”
“I could use a gun though,” she said, strapping her empty MP5 to her belt and then holding out a hand.
Cross pulled a large handgun from his belt and thrust it at her. “I expect it back.”
“You’ll get it back empty.”
The three of them stood their ground alongside two dozen brave but frightened men and women. A wall of demonic flesh hurtled towards them – talons, teeth, and infernal fury all seeking blood. The gunfire started in spatters before becoming a constant drone as multiple rifles, pistols, and shotguns roared.
The demons came in their hundreds.
Too many.
Weapons began to run out of ammo, including Tony’s rifle. He held it sideways, ready to fight hand to hand – to die hand to hand.
“Get up those ladders,” Wickstaff yelled. “Move if you want to live.”
The men began to scatter, shoving each other up the ladders and clawing themselves up onto the lorry. It was now so crowded that those already on top had to leap off the other side to make room. Only a dozen people remained outside the barricade, including Maddy, Wickstaff, and Cross. The guardsman, Tom, was there too, shaking like a leaf, but when she looked at him, he gave a defiant nod.
The demons would be on them any second.
They would never make it up the ladders in time. All they could do now was hold the line and hope everybody else got out of there
to continue the fight.
Don’t you dare let Portsmouth die.
Tony licked his lips nervously. “I really wish you brave gals would make a run for it. We don’t all need to die here.”
Wickstaff popped a shot off from a handgun. “We run without a fight and the demons will be up and over this lorry before the others get a chance to dig in and defend themselves. Not happening. I understand if you need to get yourself away though, Colonel.”
Tony cackled. “No chance in hell.”
The group fired off the last of their ammunition and the cacophony of gunfire spluttered to a stop. They lined up, shoulder to shoulder, and braced to meet the charge. A hundred demons appeared beneath the spotlights, snarling and salivating. Some even spat insults.
“Fight together,” said Wickstaff, “and die together. Is there any better way?”
“No,” said Maddy, a tear in her eye for the first time since the gates had appeared and shocked her emotions into stasis. It felt good – a release. “My husband’s name was Ben,” she said. “I really miss him.”
Wickstaff stared at her, brow furrowed. Then a sadness washed over her. “My husband’s name was Tristan. I miss him too.”
Tony grunted. “I had a dog when I was a kid. Used to piss on the carpet.”
The demons reached them.
Maddy shut her eyes.
A yellow light bloomed, so bright it flared through her closed eyelids. Her ears thrummed with an almighty boom. She opened her eyes and was blinded by light that she thought might have been God. Then she realised Portsmouth had been lit up by an explosion. The entire road was on fire and demon parts lay scattered about. The ones still alive had been stunned into inaction.
Maddy rubbed at her eyes and looked around. She didn’t see Tosco but heard his voice. He was shouting down at her from the top of the lorry. “I called in the boats,” he said. “We have about thirty seconds before the next strike comes and turns this area into a crater. Come on!”
Beside Tosco were a handful of men. They started firing on the remaining demons in the road and gave Maddy and the others time to make it up the ladders. Tosco grabbed Maddy at the top. “I’m glad to see you’re still alive.”
Hell On Earth Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 131
