Chen hurled another rock at the remaining two Black Hawks, but they were ready and swerved. Moments later they landed, and soldiers outfitted in desert camo, biohazard gear, and gas masks, and armed for heavy warfare poured out of them. It was such an unexpected sight that Jeff wanted to cheer. Or cry. He settled for struggling to his feet and cradling his arm.
The first group of men laid down warning fire as puffs of sand popped up right in front of Chen. He dodged behind a rock for cover. That gave Jeff and Holly time to run toward the soldiers, waving their good hands, desperately trying to get their attention. Kaahtenay and Hicks slowly struggled to get to their feet.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” Jeff yelled as loud as he could. “We’re unarmed. We want to surrender.”
They managed to make it to the soldiers’ forward position.
“Down on your knees!” yelled out one of the men. “Hands behind your head!”
Jeff and Holly obeyed, each lifting their only functional arm.
“Please, please help us,” Holly sobbed. “That man is trying to kill us. He’s been infected with some type of virus that’s driven him crazy.”
“Don’t worry, ma’am,” said a young soldier who, through his gas mask, looked to be in his late twenties. “We’re here to help. We need to keep you isolated until we assess the situation. Names?”
“Jeff Madison and Holly Scarborough.”
“I’m Lieutenant Commander Charles Paulson, United States Navy. But you can call me Buddy.”
Chapter 28
Early Morning Hours
Date and Time Unknown
Desert Outside Lechuguilla Cave
Buddy Paulson checked his ammo clip one last time and adjusted his com link. He took several deep breaths as his heart began to race and his muscles tensed in anticipation of the coming combat.
He didn’t know exactly what the situation was, but he knew for sure that the big linebacker guy who threw the boulder at his Black Hawk was hostile. He wasn’t sure about Jeff and Holly, but they both looked pretty banged up and certainly not able to put up any fight. Jeff’s arm was clearly broken, and Holly was missing an arm. Both injuries were fresh and likely courtesy of the Hercules hiding behind the rock.
Jeff and Holly where whispering quietly to each other and gesturing towards him. He couldn't hear all of it, but they clearly recognized him.
"I don't think we've ever met," Paulson said inquisitively.
"No," Jeff said grunting in obvious pain from his broken arm. "You just remind me of someone I once knew—in another life."
Paulson quickly turned to Holly and asked, “What can you tell me about this guy?”
“His name is Dr. Patrick Chen, and up until a few days ago he was a seventy-two-year-old physicist. What he is now is anyone’s guess. But we believe he’s infected with a virus that has taken over his body and is causing him to try to kill us.”
A mad scientist. Excellent.
He could smell a fight coming, and Buddy Paulson never backed down from a fight. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. There were eleven good men on that copter—soldiers. Friends. There was no way a mere man could have thrown the huge boulder like that. They were dealing with something unknown here, something which merited extreme caution.
“Stay on your toes, everyone,” he directed his team. “There seems to be just one hostile, his name is Patrick Chen. We've seen what he can do. Consider him extremely dangerous.”
“Hey Chen!” Paulson spoke into a megaphone from behind the cover of a large boulder. “You can surrender now or we will kill you. Your choice.”
There would be no negotiation with this beastly killer.
The Indian man and the Park Ranger both held up their hands.
"Who are these guys?" Paulson asked Jeff.
"The Native American is named Kaahtenay and the Park Ranger is Tommy Hicks. They were both here to rescue us."
There was no response from the hostile, Chen. He was one of the largest, most muscular human beings Paulson had ever seen in person, with a thick neck, huge oxen-like trapezoid muscles, and shoulders that made him look like he was wearing full football pads.
Chen darted out from his protection and snatched the park ranger with a speed that belied his size. With one arm, he held the man by the back of his neck and out in front of himself, shielding his body from where he thought Paulson’s troops were positioned. Hicks cried out and tried to squirm away, but Chen held him effortlessly.
Paulson looked through the scope of his rifle, trying to decide if he should take a shot or not. Just a graze should be enough to take him down before this situation got further out of hand. Before he could pull the trigger, Chen cocked his head slightly, then lunged out again, trying to grab the young Native American man. The man was just quick enough to avoid his grasp and slid away into the moonlit shadows.
Seconds later Paulson caught a glimpse of Kaahtenay deftly jumping onto one of the horses and pulling out a bow and arrow from a satchel. In one fluid movement he kicked the horse into a gallop and shot at Chen. The arrow was swift and accurate and embedded deep in the mad doctor's chest.
"Get that bastard!" Jeff yelled out.
Paulson felt like he was watching a battle scene out of the distant past or some TV western with Indians shooting arrows. But those arrows could kill just as easily as bullets.
Chen barely flinched, however. He simply stood unmoving and two seconds later the arrow fell to the ground. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it looked like the sharp arrowhead had simply dissolved away. Paulson brought his night vision goggles up and saw the puncture heal over in a matter of seconds.
The young Indian fired three more times in quick succession, each with the same result, the arrow embedding, then dissolving away.
“Enough of this bull,” the horseman yelled out as he pulled out a heavy caliber rifle and took aim.
"Hold your fire son!" Paulson yelled into his microphone. "Let us take care of this."
Chen tracked with the circling horse and held Ranger Hicks out in front of him so Kaahtenay couldn’t get a clear shot.
“Hold the live rounds on the hostile,” Paulson said to his men. “Fire tranquilizers.”
If this Chen was not acting of his own accord, then they should make every attempt to bring him in alive. Paulson had planned for this type of contingency, in case they’d needed to subdue someone from a distance and with minimal injury.
A small group of soldiers fired tranquilizer darts toward Chen. Unfortunately, several hit Hicks. He quickly ceased his kicking and his head flopped onto his chest. The darts that got through to Chen embedded in his body for a second before falling off just as the arrows had. Chen also managed to catch one of the darts.
“That little trick won’t work again,” he said in a deep voice.
Chen held the dart in his hand and casually flipped it between his middle finger and thumb. Then he cocked his arm and hurled it at Kaahtenay who was still circling on the horse, trying for a clear shot. The dart flew out with the same speed as a bullet fired from a gun and struck the horseman square in the chest. The force knocked him off the horse and onto his back. He struggled to get up, lifting his head slightly, then fell back into the dirt, unconscious.
Chen jumped over to where Kaahtenay had fallen and picked him up. He then held both men by their necks, like rag dolls, out to either side as human shields. He ducked down and scanned the horizon, then tilted his head up and sniffed the air, like a wolf hunting a bleeding deer.
“There’s no need for anyone to get hurt here,” Chen boomed out in a deep metallic-sounding voice.
What the hell was he? People didn’t sound like that without special equipment.
“I will exchange these two men for the man and woman you have over there. Then we can go our separate ways.”
Holly whimpered beside him and grabbed his arm.
"Please don't hand us over. He'll kill us. You can see what he did to Jeff."
She g
estured to Jeff's broken arm, which he was holding while gritting his teeth. He was obviously in extreme pain.
Paulson patted Holly's arm gently to reassure her.
"Don't worry. You're safe with me," he said to her quietly, then turned to his second in command. "Evangelista, move these two further back. I'll deal with Chen."
Evangelista, Jeff, and Holly ducked down and retreated to a large boulder just behind and to the right of Paulson.
He brought his megaphone up and said to Chen, “Let the two men go and then we can talk.”
No fucking way was he going to let this joker negotiate, not after he threw a boulder through the Black Hawk, killing eleven men.
Chen was still turning and moving, holding the men out to the side and periodically shifting them to his front, creating a highly effective defensive shield. He sniffed the air again and began edging in the direction where Jeff and Holly were hiding with Tony Evangelista.
He strode to a large, round, three-foot-high rock, flipped it into the air with his foot, like a soccer ball, then punted it toward Evangelista’s position. The rock flew at super speed crashing into the boulder Evangelista and the others were using as cover. The soccer-ball rock exploded into a million fragments, but not before breaking the larger boulder into several pieces. The pieces fell away, revealing the three who’d been hiding behind it.
Tiny pebbles ricocheted and hit Paulson's gas mask visor.
In an instant Chen flipped another rock into the air with his foot. Evangelista tried to fire his weapon and dodge the rock at the same time, but it was moving too fast and with the precision of being kicked by a World Cup MVP. Evangelista managed to get off a few rounds, which hit the rock before it slammed right into his chest. A cloud of dust exploded out as the boulder struck, knocking him off his feet and back at least ten feet, his weapon and gear flying in all directions.
While this attack was going on, the other SEALs tightened their circle around Chen, all of them awaiting Paulson's next orders.
Chen jumped, flying at least thirty feet.
“Sniper one. Target the hostile,” Paulson whispered into his com link. “Wound only. Clear.”
The sniper’s bullet caught Chen in the leg as he landed in the spot where Jeff and Holly had just crouched. They’d barely been able to roll to safety. Hit in the leg, Chen collapsed and fell to the ground, dropping the two unconscious human shields as he tried to catch himself.
“Team Two advance and surround Primary Target,” Paulson ordered.
Chen stood again, a bluish-silver liquid streaming down his leg, like blood, except that it was glowing in the moonlight. When the liquid stopped flowing, the wound closed up, the damaged tissue magically sewn back together.
“Snipers One and Two, two more leg shots each on the target.”
Four shots rang out, with bullets hitting Chen in each of his legs. The blue-silver blood splattered and the man screamed out in pain, but this time his wounds closed even faster. Paulson knew that Chen wasn’t just going to sit there and take this punishment. But the shots bought them time.
Holly and Jeff should've been able to move further away by this time, but Holly was sitting in the dirt, stacking tiny pebbles into neat little rows, mumbling to herself and shaking her head in random, bizarre ways.
He'd seen combat veterans crack under battle stress, so Holly's actions were no surprise.
"Jeff! Get her out of there! Now!" Paulson screamed.
Jeff grabbed her by the back of her collar using his one good arm, and tried to drag her further away from Chen. Holly pulled away, attempting to return her rock collection, and Jeff was clearly in pain and weakened from his injuries. They weren't going to make it before Chen got to them. Buddy fired off a couple rounds at the monster scientist and ran over to Holly, picking her up in his arms and scrambling just outside the advancing perimeter of Team Two. Jeff followed. Once they were far enough away from Chen he handed her off to Seaman Jacoby.
As Paulson struggled to keep eyes on Chen, he sprang, cat-like, to another position, picked up two soldiers by their heads and smashed them together, cracking their helmets and gas masks. He dropped the unconscious men to the ground, discarded toys he was done with.
"All teams fire at will!"
Chen bounced from position to position, leaping twenty to thirty feet at a time, picking up soldiers and slamming them together. Automatic weapons fired from all directions, hitting the man but not slowing him at all.
“Team Three, pull back to position Alpha with Jeff and Holly,” Paulson yelled. “Teams Four and Five, lay down cover!” They needed more firepower to bring this fucker down. “Team One and I will rendezvous at position Alpha. Banks, you’re with me.”
Heavy Munitions Specialist Latrell “Tiny” Banks scurried across the desert carrying a Stinger missile launcher and joined Paulson and his four team members. Chen continued his rampage. They were down to only nine men, including Paulson, who were fully conscious and able to fire their weapons. His team scurried over the rocks and away from Chen, who continued tracking the scent of the two civilians.
“Fire when ready, Banks,” Paulson said when they were far enough away.
Banks swiftly dropped to the ground and positioned his rocket launcher. The missile flew out with a whish and a trail of smoke, flying over the desert and striking Chen center back. An explosion blasted the desert as dirt and debris flew high. Then all was quiet.
Paulson, his remaining men, and Holly and Jeff jogged over to the remains of the hostile, who lay in a smoking heap.
"Yeah!" Jeff yelled out.
"Is . . . is he dead?" Holly asked.
“Looks like we got him,” Banks growled. “That guy was one tough mutha'. What is he, some kind of super soldier?”
Paulson stared down and said, “I don’t know. We need to get him back to the base for testing. Then we can figure out just what the hell he is. Bag him up! How are the men he attacked? Oldenburg!”
“Checking them now, sir” the team medic replied. “Most are unconscious with severe head trauma and concussions, a few broken bones, but for the most part I think everyone will recover. It seems that your super solder there just put them out of service without killing them.”
Good news, Paulson thought. The loss of the men in the chopper was enough for today.
"These guys can handle it from here," he said to Jeff and Holly. "Let's head back to the base and get you two to a hospital.
They were about a hundred yards away, heading to position Alpha, which was behind a rocky outcropping, when a voice came over Paulson's intercom.
“Ah, sir, something weird is happening over here,” Ensign Redding said. He was standing beside the fallen Chen.
Paulson looked back over his shoulder and saw Redding kicking the body, which had stopped smoldering.
“What is it, Redding?”
“There are all kinds of things moving inside this guy, like maggots, swarming. It looks like they’re . . . they’re weaving strands of thread all around his body.”
"Oh, no!" Holly said. "The nanovirus is healing him!"
“Get away from that thing now!” Paulson screamed. “Full speed back to position Alpha! Banks, get another rocket ready.”
As soon as he gave the order, the six men standing around the body started running. But, as they did so, Chen slowly started to rise from the ground.
The resurrected scientist stretched, as if he were testing his body, moving his arms and twisting at the torso. Paulson started running as Chen let out a terrifying growl of rage and grabbed one of the men closest to him. He lifted Petty Officer Simmons over his head, holding him around the neck and at the ankles. Then he flexed his arms and jerked them outward, ripping Simmons in half.
Jesus!
The poor bastard’s intestines gushed out all over Chen’s head as he threw the two body parts to the ground.
The enraged Chen let out another heart-rending bellow.
How were they going to stop this thing?
Chapter 29
Early Morning Hours
Date and Time Unknown
Desert Outside Lechuguilla Cave
“Banks, fire when ready!” Paulson yelled.
He turned back for a quick second to see Banks mounting the rocket launcher. But Chen was on to him and had leaped to his position. He ripped the launcher out of Banks’s hands. In one lightning-fast, fluid movement, Chen punched him in the ribs, and Banks flew twenty feet or so.
Chen then bounced to the other SEALs like some goddamn video game character, landing on top of them and slamming his fists into their backs. Blood and guts flew into the air, splattering Chen’s face and body and spreading out into the desert sand. The men grunted and screamed as they were pounded with the lethal blows. Guns fired all around them, but had absolutely no effect on Chen. Paulson turned around and kept running. Holly and Jeff were with him as were two of his remaining men.
“Are you ready, Brodsky? We’ll only get one shot.” Paulson rounded the boulders and slid into Position Alpha.
He glanced at his two SEALs and Jeff and Holly, assessed them quickly, and then turned back to the battle. The SEALs looked angry but Jeff and Holly, who were covered in dirt and grime, looked terrified.
The horizon began to brighten. Sunrise was minutes away. Chen sniffed the air again, turned his eyes to Position Alpha, crouched, and leaped.
Paulson was already screaming, “Now, Brodsky, now!”
As Chen flew through the air and was about to land directly on them, a loud metallic hum sounded. Nothing was clearly visible to the naked eye, but a slight distortion of the air shot out from just behind them and hit Chen full-on in midair. Brodsky had fired the electromagnetic pulse device from the ridge.
Extermination Day Page 24
