by Jacob Rayne
One of the cops pulled out the keyring for the cells and began trying to find the right key for the lock.
‘Fuck it,’ Hennessee said, unlocking the door to Duggan’s cell and racing in. He shoved the barrel of his gun into the hole in the back of Finn’s head and pulled the trigger until it clicked empty.
Finn stopped halfway through slamming Duggan into the wall again, and collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
Duggan fell to the floor, his hands clasped to his throat which still bore an imprint of Finn’s clawed hand.
He gasped for breath like a drowning man.
‘Thanks… Randall,’ he managed between herculean breaths.
Dark blood poured out of Finn’s mouth and the light in his eyes had begun to fade.
‘It dead?’ Hennessee said.
Duggan didn’t feel for a pulse, just wrapped his arms round Finn’s throat and squeezed hard. He held the chokehold for a full minute, smiling grimly as Finn revived to desperately claw at the arms that were killing him. Duggan relished the last throes of life as his enemy struggled.
Finn was strong as hell and Duggan’s arms were beginning to burn out, but he had used the chokehold a huge number of times and knew he was close to achieving what he wanted.
The desire to kill this thing for good outweighed the fatigue and pain he felt (his forearms were dripping blood from dozens of claw wounds) so he squeezed harder and harder until Finn began convulsing.
Everyone watching almost shit themselves when the side of Finn’s head erupted in a thick cloud of gore. Gobbets of flesh and skull flew in Duggan’s face. The moth thing emerged from its skin and bone cocoon, in search of a fresh supply of oxygenated blood.
‘Here,’ a voice said behind Duggan.
He jolted as something tapped his shoulder.
It was a relief to see it was just one of the cops who had managed to get into the next cell and retrieve the Taser.
He muttered a thanks and dug it into the moth thing’s head with grim satisfaction. The creature smoked and twitched and squealed, finally shrivelling up like a piece of bacon in the pan.
Only when its death throes stopped did he remove the Taser.
Then he wiped the blood off his hands and staggered out of the cell.
‘They had to take our guns,’ Abbott frowned. ‘I can hit like a sledgehammer but ain’t much I could do against that thing.’
The full scale of the devastation became apparent as they set foot onto the corridor outside the cell.
There were dozens of dead or dying guards on the floor. Most of them had horrific wounds, similar to the guard who’d had his head crushed, but one looked as though he’d had his entrails roughly torn from his body. His face was frozen in a mask of agony and terror.
Claw prints in the blood showed that the creature had gone into the room at the end of the corridor.
Though he reckoned it would do nothing to the creature, Abbott picked up one of the guns from the floor. He scoured the pockets of the dead guards, sharing the ammo he found with Mark.
He opened the door to the next room slowly, not sure he wanted to see what was inside.
The hot coppery stench of blood flooded out.
The floor was covered in thick puddles of blood. Torn bodies lined seemingly every foot of the floor space.
There was a long control panel running down the centre of the room and another along the wall nearest to them.
There came a sound that Abbott recognised as belonging to the laser – the sound that reminded him of a disposable camera charging. He saw a light building in the corner of the room.
‘Where’d it go?’ asked a terrified-looking man with thick blood spatters across his lab coat.
‘Beats me,’ Abbott said. ‘We just got out of the cell to find everyone dead.’
A chilling series of screams from behind the door at the far end of the room revealed the creature’s location.
The scientist remained crouched.
‘Want me to take that, son?’ Abbott said. ‘I’m a Marine. I’m used to staring death in the face.’
The scientist shook his head with a force that almost threw off his glasses. ‘It needs to be me. The sights haven’t been calibrated. You’d miss it and fuck up our only chance to kill it.’
‘I ain’t that bad a shot,’ Abbott muttered.
The scientist remained crouched behind the desk, visibly shaking. The light on the weapon built, running down the sides.
‘You gonna go then?’ Abbott said. ‘’Fore it fucks off and leaves us here holding our dicks?’
The scientist gulped, used the control panel to help him to his feet.
‘You hurt or just scared?’ Abbott asked.
The scientist swallowed hard, licked his lips, ‘T-terrified but u-u-unharmed.’
Abbott nodded. ‘Well go out there and blow that ugly fucker a new asshole.’
The scientist nodded.
Abbott followed his lurch across the room, trying not to look at the torn bodies on the floor.
His foot landed in something sticky and he looked down to see a corpse with its head crushed, pieces of brain seeping out of his riven skull amid a thick stream of blood.
‘Don’t fuck this up, mind,’ he told the scientist, pointing at the corpse.
The scientist didn’t look at the body, he already seemed to know the score.
He reached the door, his chest heaving like he’d sprinted a marathon.
‘Seriously, I’ll shoot the bastard, just tell me how to aim,’ Abbott said.
‘You’d fuck it up,’ the scientist insisted, cradling the weapon to his chest like a new-born baby.
He opened the door and a thick spray of blood hit him full in the face.
One of his fellow scientists was hanging upside down from the ceiling. The arachnoid was holding aloft the man’s heart like a trophy, hence the blood spray.
Its hideous mouth opened and it emitted a high-pitched cry that threatened to drive all three of the survivors past the brink of insanity.
The scientist screamed and shouldered the weapon.
‘Don’t fuck this up, boy,’ Abbott repeated.
The creature dropped to the floor and moved towards them with terrifying speed.
The scientist, to his credit, didn’t blanch, just aimed slightly up and to the creature’s right and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Duggan happened to glance at the monitor, something he’d done regularly since killing Finn. The body was still slumped on the cell floor, surrounded by a pool of blood which continued to grow. It seemed no one wanted to be the one to move it.
‘You ok?’ Hennessee said.
‘Yeah. I’m fine,’ Duggan said, his voice strained from the effects of almost having his windpipe crushed by Finn’s clawed hand.
‘Thanks for going in there, Jim. I wouldn’t have had the guts.’
‘Just doing my duty.’
‘Is it dead?’
‘I don’t know. It’s different to the things I’ve had dealings with. Let’s just leave it in the cell until we know for sure.’
Officer Thad Allan had a bet on with his buddy Chuck McClean. Chuck had won the last wager by sneaking the middle finger of a late local celebrity out of the morgue. They constantly tried to outdo each other. Just something to pass the time of day.
Since Chuck had won the last bet, it was his turn to think of a dare for Thad to perform.
‘I got it,’ Chuck said, a maleficent grin spreading across his stubbly face.
‘I don’t like that look,’ Thad said.
‘I bet you daren’t… go and pull one of that monster’s teeth out.’
‘Holy shit, Chuck. I ain’t going in there. Did you see how fucking vicious that thing was?’
‘Bitch.’
‘That’s a step too far.’
‘No. Stealing Donnie Riley’s fucking finger was a step too far. This is karma catching up with you, my chickenshit little friend.’
; ‘This is much worse.’
‘Is it fuck. That thing’s dead. All you gotta do is go in there and pull one of its teeth out. Get me one of the big curved ones. It’ll take you five minutes, if that.’
‘Go on then,’ Thad said, shaking Chuck’s hand. ‘You’re getting a hell of a dare the next time.’
‘You’ve got it easy, buddy.’
‘Fuck off. Right. Knock the cameras off. I’m gonna do it now before I lose my nerve.’
‘Good man.’
Chuck moved to the control panel and knocked the camera off. He gave Thad a thumbs up.
Thad took a deep breath and went into the corridor which led to the cells.
As Duggan’s eyes happened upon the screen again, he noticed it was blank.
‘What’s the score here?’ he asked Hennessee.
Hennessee groaned and proceeded to smack it with his hand, ‘They’re always on the blink. I keep requesting some new ones from the mayor, but he ain’t interested. Fucking things.’
Abbott was close enough to smell the scent of decay on the creature’s breath when the laser finally went off. The light seared their eyeballs and hit the creature full in the face.
Its head disintegrated in a spectacular shower of blood, brain and bone and it fell on its back, its eight limbs twitching weakly.
‘Fuckin’ A,’ Abbott smiled, pounding the scientist on the back so hard that his glasses actually did come off this time.
An ocean of thick black blood oozed from the creature’s pulverised head.
The scientist sunk to his knees, his body shaking. ‘Oh my fucking God,’ he sobbed. ‘It nearly split me in two.’
‘Hey, hey, it’s ok,’ Abbott said, clamping a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
‘Are there any more of those lasers?’ Mark asked. ‘Cos that made mincemeat of it.’
The scientist shook his head, forlorn. ‘No. That was the emergency model. One shot and it’s gone. It’ll take us weeks to make another.’
‘Weeks we don’t have,’ Abbott said. ‘There must be a quicker way.’
‘Even if there was,’ the scientist said, his eyes staring blankly at the floor, ‘the only few men who could make them are AWOL. I’d be amazed if they were still alive.’
‘Is there no one else who could do this?’ Abbott asked.
‘There are a few people but the creatures have probably already killed them. They knew that we were making the weapons in here and came to destroy it.’
‘Who are these people?’ Mark said. ‘Maybe we can find them and get everything together.’
‘There’s a lab like this near each of the test facilities,’ the scientist said.
‘So there’s still hope,’ Abbott said.
The scientist shook his head. ‘I doubt it.’
Thad stared through the bars at Finn’s remains. Even in death he looked absolutely horrific, especially the way his skin had separated, spewing blood down his face.
The head was distorted, the eyes still seeming to stare out at him. He stuck his arm through the bars, trying to reach the grim, blood-caked mouth. It was two inches too far. Typical. Still, there was no chance of him reaching far enough into the cell.
He cursed under his breath. Being in a cell with that thing was his idea of hell, dead or not. He grabbed the lock to the cell. Hesitating, he looked at the body, his skin crawling.
‘Wait, the screen’s on,’ Hennessee said. ‘See the little orange light?’
Duggan nodded. ‘So what’s that mean?’
‘Has someone knocked it off?’
‘Why would they do that?’
Duggan felt a shudder run through him. ‘To go see the body.’
Thad opened the cell door. His heart thudded in his ears. He moved slowly, not wanting to believe he was actually doing this. To avoid creeping himself out, he tried not to look at the body. He jolted as the door clanged shut behind him.
Only the door, it’s ok, he told himself.
He squatted down next to the head. Shuddered with revulsion as he saw it up close. His hands curled around one of the teeth, a nice, long, sharp one for Chuck. That way he couldn’t complain and send him back in here again. Perish the thought.
He gripped the tooth and pulled. His fingers slid off the blood- and slime-covered tooth and hit the floor.
He grabbed it again, putting his hand right inside its mouth to get more leverage. As he did, he slipped and the tooth sunk into his hand. The wound stung like a normal cut would, but there was also a deep burning as if he’d been poisoned.
Abbott went into the lab where the lasers were being built. The vast array of components rammed inside the weapons made his head spin. Certainly he would have no luck trying to assemble them on his own.
‘Jeffries had a hotdog cart laser. Are there any more of those around?’
The scientist sighed. ‘No they were very unstable.’
Abbott nodded, remembering the way the other one had gone supernova.
‘Looks like we’re fucked then,’ he said.
‘There is one person who may be able to help,’ the scientist said. ‘If the creatures haven’t gotten to him already.’
‘Who is it?’ Abbott said. ‘Spit it out, son, we’re wasting time here.’
‘His name is Kyle Riggs. But we’ll have major problems trying to find him.’
‘Say we do find him what’s our best course of action?’
‘Bring him here. This is where most of the advances were being made.’
‘Any idea where to start?’
The scientist turned. ‘He might still be at home. If not, I’d try Cormac’s compound on the other side of town. But I’ll warn you, it’ll be heavily guarded.’
‘Just what I wanted to hear,’ Abbott said.
Duggan and Hennessee heard the scream on their way to the cells. Duggan pulled his gun and Taser as he ran in.
‘Fucking idiot,’ he shouted, seeing Thad Allan in the cell, the creature’s tooth stuck through his wrist and hand. Duggan aimed carefully, and blew the back of Thad’s head all over the cell wall.
Thad fell back like a blood-spattered sack of shit.
Duggan was already in the cell. He booted Thad onto his back and pulled the Taser and, without waiting for Thad to respond, jammed it into the side of his throat. The corpse shook with the force of the blast but didn’t react.
‘He’s dead, Jim. It’s ok,’ Hennessee said, putting an arm on Duggan’s shoulder to placate him.
Chuck had ran in now, mouth agape at seeing his buddy’s head sprayed up the wall.
Duggan grabbed Chuck by the scruff of the neck and slammed his head into the wall.
While he reeled, Duggan slugged him in the gut. Chuck doubled up, air leaving him in clouds of agony.
Duggan hit him again, knocking him to the floor.
‘You stupid son of a bitch,’ Duggan roared, standing over Chuck. He drew his hand back to punch, then Hennessee grabbed his arm.
‘Leave him, Jim.’
‘He’s just put us all in danger of being contaminated by that thing.’
‘I know. But he’s hurt bad enough. He needs to go to hospital.’
‘I’ll fucking put him in hospital,’ Duggan growled.
By now, a few more cops had come in, hearing the screams, gunshots and raised voices.
They saw Thad on the floor, his head blown apart. Saw Chuck at Duggan’s feet, his nose splattered across his face.
One of them lunged at Duggan, barking curses.
Duggan turned, saw the angry cop on his way over and swung a left hook that could have stopped a charging bull. He slumped on top of Chuck.
‘Anyone else want a go?’ Duggan barked.
Everyone backed off.
‘This stupid dick,’ he said, booting Thad in the ribs, ‘Snuck into the cell for fuck knows what reason. He cut his hand on the tooth and began to change.’
Duggan felt utterly furious. He wanted to vent his anger on Chuck, who was just starting to pull around. Henne
ssee felt his intention and he and one of the other cops led Duggan away.
‘Someone get him to hospital,’ Hennessee snapped.
Duggan struggled, breaking free of the two men.
‘Damn it, Jim,’ Hennessee shouted. ‘Help me, some of ya.’
It took Hennessee and three of his colleagues to restrain Duggan enough to get him away from Chuck and back in the office. They sat him down, gave him a smoke and a coffee, then Hennessee told him to go and get some rest.
‘You’re no good to me like this,’ he said.
‘I just can’t believe he was so fucking stupid.’
‘Me neither.’
‘Like you say, I need some sleep. Calm myself down. I’ll see you in the morning.’
‘Cheers, Jim. Try and chill out.’
While Abbott listened to the scientist’s advice, Mark called Sadie and asked for an update. She told him that she’d read a fair bit of the document and that, as they’d thought previously, an electric shock to the parasite in the mutant’s skull was enough to paralyse, usually kill, them.
She said that the document also recommended a variety of weapons. And there was mention of another shelter near them, but that she hadn’t found a map or blueprints for it yet.
She reminded Mark that the document detailed that there were a number of weapons already in effect at the lab they were being held inside. She suggested that the scientist was holding out on them.
Mark thanked her and told her to stay safe then took Abbott to one side and passed on the information.
‘So you reckon he’s holding out on us?’ Abbott said.
‘Sadie said they have designed all sorts of weapons to combat these things.’
The scientist looked around at them suspiciously.
‘There’s a weapon like a slaughterhouse bolt gun, only with a power pack that delivers a charge with the bolt. She said that if you can get close enough that’s a sure-fire way of killing them. There’s also a crossbow that fires charged arrows that instantaneously kill the parasite.’
‘So why’s this cocksucker not mentioned any of this?’ Abbott growled.
