The Shadow Above The Flames

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The Shadow Above The Flames Page 9

by Daniel Swenson


  Rick saw the look of finality on the sergeant’s face, so he nodded his head, understanding that this was more of an order than a debate.

  Something slammed hard against the iron hatch, the thud reverberating through the chamber. Rick glanced over at the hatch and then at Wells, who was placing the drones back into his pack. After putting it in his pack, he pulled out a small charge, carefully placed it on the wall, and then took a few steps back. "Once this thing blows, we need to clear out of here fast in case that thing has a way in to the tunnel."

  Wells tossed the detonator switch to Jacobson, who waited until Wells was clear of the wall before hitting the button on the detonator. The wall exploded into a cloud of dust. The explosion rebounded off the chamber walls. Rick slapped his hands over his ears to stop the painful ringing. Wells and Jacobson leveled their guns as they exited the chamber through the new hole in the wall. McAvoy nudged Rick forward, and both men climbed through into the new tunnel.

  Saliva dripped from the unearthly reptile’s tongue that extended from its mouth. The power of the Beast pulsed through the creature’s veins. The spiky ridge that ran down along its back swayed as it swung its head back and forth trying to taste the air for a scent that was no longer there. All it could taste was the same stale and putrid air it had tasted for most of its life.

  The large iguana-like reptile that had once been someone’s pet bobbed its head as it blinked and then stared in confusion at the cold iron surface before it. It leaned forward trying to shove the object aside. But much to its dismay, the object stood firm and did not budge. It ran its long sensitive tongue over the surface of the metal door and immediately retracted it; the taste of the cold iron filth was intolerable.

  Gingerly, the creature ran one of its claws along the surface of the hatch, giving off a high-pitched squeal, which hurt its delicate ears. It had wasted too much time playing with its food. It slid off the small platform in front of the iron barricade and slumped down into the murky water like a petulant, sulking child.

  Refusing to give up, it let out a low growl and took several steps back down the tunnel before racing forward as fast as it could. It sprang forward at the last moment, throwing all of its weight against the object that blocked it. As it slammed into the iron bulkhead, pain lanced its way up to the creature’s shoulder, causing it to jump back and bellow in rage and pain. It hissed and snarled at the object that made it lose its prey.

  The creature flicked its tongue out one more time hoping to taste its prey upon the air. When it could not taste them, it slinked away to find some other meal and solace in the darkness. When it neared the main tunnel, a thunderous sound rumbled through the sewers, causing the creature to tumble and fall into the water. The sound was louder than anything it had ever heard before. It climbed back to its feet and let out a shriek of protest.

  It shrieked and wailed for several minutes as the pain in its ears rung through its skull. It lashed at the wall with its claws and tail. Then its saliva-covered tongue tasted something faintly familiar. It snapped its mouth shut and swiped its tongue along the roof of its mouth. There it was again, the smell of its prey. It snarled in delight as it raced off into the darkness in the pursuit of its prey.

  Rick traced his fingers over the graffiti that had been drawn on the tunnel wall. Whoever had done this was highly talented. His fingers moved over the lines that formed the pond near an old cabin. Lost in a daydream, he didn't notice that the others were continuing to get farther and farther away. The sound of something falling from the ceiling and crashing into the water broke him from his trance. He turned to regard the darkness with his flashlight, which glinted off something.

  He moved his light to see what it could be, and the light shone upon a reptilian creature that climbed along the wall several meters back.

  Knowing that it had been seen, the large reptile snarled at the light from Rick's gun, which momentarily blinded it. For the first time Rick saw how massive the reptilian creature was. It was well over seven or eight feet long with white brownish scales. He couldn’t quite make out what type of lizard it was, but it certainly wasn't your standard run of the mill pet lizard.

  The creature gripped the walls with its powerful claws and sped off down the tunnel. Its powerful corded muscles propelled it towards Rick at an astonishing speed.

  The dangerous reptile raced along the wall screeching in delight. Rick felt his stomach knot up immediately. Playtime was over. All the thing wanted now was to eat. It jumped, launching itself to the other side of the tunnel and then raced towards Rick. Without thinking, he raised his rifle and fired off several rounds down the tunnel towards the creature while calling out to his companions.

  The creature dove into the water, narrowly missed by the bullets fired by Rick. Within seconds, it sprang out of the water onto the tunnel wall, racing along it with lightning-fast reflexes, jumping from one side of the tunnel to the other as Rick continued to rain bullets down the tunnel towards it.

  McAvoy and the others turned at the sound of gunfire, and what they saw amazed and horrified them. These men were used to fighting men, rational thinking people, not crazed monsters that you'd expect to find in your favorite horror movie.

  McAvoy raced to Rick. When he reached him, he grabbed his shoulder and yelled, "Pull back!"

  The other two men opened fire. Their bullets bounced off the surface of the tunnel and missed the large water dragon like creature that dodged their shots; its thick, scaly hide deflected the rest. Some did find their way through the cracks of its hide, which only infuriated him, maddening him into a lust for blood.

  Shoot to the left as soon as the thing lands on the wall to the right, Rick heard in his mind.

  The voice was Henry's.

  But that was impossible, Rick thought.

  He didn't have time to think about it because the creature launched itself across the tunnel to land on the right wall. McAvoy tugged on Rick’s jacket, but Rick paid no attention. Instead, he did as the voice instructed: he took aim and fired off to the left. The bullet pierced the creature’s left shoulder as it jumped, causing it to loosen its grip on the tunnel wall and crash into the water, which darkened as the creature bled.

  Wells and Jacobson cheered in triumph. McAvoy slapped Rick on the back. "Way to go!"

  The knot in Rick's stomach didn't loosen; it only tightened, warning him to run. Rick watched in horror as the reptile menacingly rose to its feet and stared at him with pure hatred. It bellowed a cry of defiance. Rick and the others covered their ears to block the sound. That was all the distraction the creature needed. It charged forward with its teeth bared and saliva dripping from its maw.

  Run! the voice demanded.

  Rick snapped out of his stupor and yanked a flash-bang grenade from his pack. He shouted a quick warning and then lobbed the grenade towards the creature. All four men slammed their eyes shut before the flash-bang went off. A shriek of surprise and pain rent the air as the creature tried to attack whatever had blinded it.

  McAvoy yelled for Rick and the others to run while congratulating Rick on his quick thinking. They ran down a side passage Wells spotted only moments before Rick had tossed the flash-bang grenade.

  As they raced down the small access tunnel, they could hear the creature thrashing about. The tunnel was barely large enough for two men to walk side by side. Not only that, but Rick also noticed that the floor had a slight incline to it, causing the water level to lessen. When Rick commented on the fact, Wells and the others simply smiled because they hoped that this tunnel would lead them to the surface.

  Jacobson led the team down the tunnel followed by Rick, then Wells; Sergeant McAvoy guarded the rear. They raced up the tunnel, never daring to stop in case the creature recovered enough to hunt for them. They knew this time the creature would come for blood. They had injured it, and it wanted payback.

  All four men were terrified by what they had seen and by the unearthly sounds the creature made as it cried out in pain and frustra
tion. It probably never had experienced anything like the intensely strong light from the flash-bang down in the dark recesses of the sewers.

  As Rick raced down the tunnel and out of the main sewer, he found an odd sense of comfort in hearing the cries of the creature. He knew as long as he could hear the pained cries they would be able to put more distance between them and it and, hopefully, be able to escape it. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before their time ran out, and the cries of torment quieted to a faint whimper and then to complete silence.

  The silence was more chilling than the unearthly wails the creature had been making. Rick thought that maybe it had given up on them until he heard a cry in the darkness rend the air. It was so full of rage and hatred that it sent chills down their spines.

  More than likely, the creature’s sight had returned, and it knew it had lost its prey once again. The pain in Rick's side returned, and he could tell that the others were beginning to tire and were unable to catch their breath. None of them dared to stop to rest. They knew they had to reach the surface before the creature found them again.

  They ran on for another twenty minutes, passing through the twisted corridors of the access tunnels. Rick's side burned, and he knew he was overexerting himself. He knew if he didn't stop soon, he would collapse from the pain. Rick clicked on his comm.

  Breathing heavily, he asked, "Sir, can we . . . can we take a moment . . . to catch our breath and figure out where we are?"

  No answer came for several more minutes until, finally, McAvoy came on the comm. He signaled the team to take a few moments to rest up.

  "You've got five minutes, then we’ve got to get going."

  Rick thanked him and then leaned back against the stone wall to catch his breath.

  McAvoy approached Wells. "Do you have any idea if we are going in the right direction or close to an exit?"

  Wells shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He had no clue where they were. He quickly ran a program on the device on his wrist. “You won’t believe this, but it appears that I’m getting a signal now.”

  He grabbed a tablet out of Jacobson's backpack and powered it on. When the screen came to life, Wells activated the GPS tracking system and was able to link up to the military network. He quickly pulled up several maps and programs to help locate where the team was and find the fastest route out of the sewers. He found that they were near an exit, according to some old city plans he had found on an outdated and still miraculously working Irish government data core.

  He informed the sergeant that they were about three-hundred and fifty meters east from a potential exit if they continued down the corridor. The information he found was only good if the corridor was clear of collapses, broken pipes, natural disaster, and creatures after their blood.

  While he worked on the tablet, a warning flashed across the screen. It alerted him that a potentially heavy and devastating thunderstorm was heading their way. He flipped the tablet around and showed the warning to McAvoy.

  McAvoy jumped to his feet. "Well, it appears that rest time is over, gentlemen. We need to get out of these sewers before that storm hits. I promise you we don't want to be down here when all that water starts flowing into the sewers."

  McAvoy and Wells quickly reviewed the maps on the tablet while Jacobson and Rick prepared to leave. No one knew if the tunnels were still intact or not, so Wells and McAvoy devised a second escape route. As the four men left, a broken and discordant shrill echoed down the tunnel behind them. They looked at one another, knowing their time was up and the creature had found their trail. Wells powered down the tablet and tossed it back to Jacobson, who placed it in his pack before jogging down the corridor.

  McAvoy turned and extended his hand to Rick, who was still sitting on the ground trying to catch his breath.

  "It's time to go. Get on your feet and double time it!"

  Rick took a quick pull on his water canteen and reached up to grab McAvoy's hand, pulling him up to his feet. He thanked the sergeant and ran down the tunnel behind the two specialists. McAvoy glanced back to make sure it was clear. He pulled something from a side pocket in his pack and turned to yell down the tunnel at Rick, "Thank me when we've gotten out of this godforsaken land."

  McAvoy watched his men run down the tunnel. When they were far enough away, he turned and pulled the pin from a grenade. He lobbed it down the tunnel as far as he could see. Then he booked it back down the corridor. The grenade detonated and nearly knocked McAvoy off his feet.

  The explosion blasted the tunnel’s walls into dust, and the ceiling crashed down, creating a massive cloud of dust and debris. The comm clicked to life with Wells asking Rick if he could see the sergeant and if he could tell if he was alright.

  Rick couldn’t see the sergeant through all the dust in the air. He yelled out for him, but no answer came. He was about to charge farther into the dust when McAvoy came on the comm giving the all clear. He let Rick and the others know he was on his way and that he had collapsed the tunnel behind them giving them some extra time.

  McAvoy clicked off his comm and leaned back against a wall, grimacing in pain. The shock wave from the explosion along with the nine-inch piece of steel rebar that was now protruding out of his left thigh was what had nearly knocked him from his feet. The small piece of metal had blasted out of the explosion as though it were fired from an old cannon and had struck McAvoy in the leg.

  Blood seeped from the wound with each passing heartbeat; it wasn't a critical wound, but it was one that could quickly become life threatening. McAvoy undid his belt, wrapped it around his thigh just above the wound, and pulled with all his strength, hoping to tighten the belt to help stanch the blood flow.

  I need to get back to my men, he thought. With Jacobson’s medical training, he’ll be able to remove the rebar and stitch up the wound. McAvoy grunted in pain as he tightened the belt to make sure the makeshift tourniquet was in place. Then he ambled down the tunnel. He moved slowly at first, but eventually made his way through the tunnel. After going about twenty-five feet, he stumbled, hitting his injured leg on a rusted pipe.

  The pain radiated up and down his leg, nearly causing the war veteran to faint. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and fighting off the pain. He tried once again to step down upon the injured leg, but the pain almost overwhelmed him, and he fell. He quickly grabbed on to one of the nearby pipes along the wall, hoping to catch himself before he hit the ground. Sweat trickled down his brow as blood dripped down his leg beneath his pants. The metal was tearing up the inside of his leg with every step. If he didn't call for help, he would destroy the muscles in his leg and be of no use to his men.

  He slowly slumped to the floor, grunting in pain as the metal sticking out of his leg hit something on the wall. Once he was down on the floor, he became overcome with exhaustion. All was silent except for the persistent dripping of water that dropped from the ceiling. The water seamed to beat in rhythm with his heart.

  He remembered the promise he had made to his wife before leaving. He had told her that he would repaint the kitchen when he got home. He was never one to break a promise.

  He tightened the belt around his leg until nearly all the feeling was gone from it. Then he took a few calming breaths and clicked on his comm.

  "Jacobson, Wells, Morgan, . . . I need you to backtrack to my location. I know I gave you the all clear, but I actually took a piece of metal in my left leg, and I am bleeding pretty badly."

  As they continued down the tunnel, Rick frequently glanced behind him, hoping to catch sight of the sergeant. He began to worry as more and more time passed without any sign of him. Wells yelled over the comm lines for Rick to catch up and not to worry about the sergeant because he had given the all clear.

  Twenty minutes passed, and McAvoy still hadn't caught up with the three men. Rick knew something was wrong; he felt it in the pit of his stomach. Maybe this was that feeling Henry had often spoken about? he wondered.

  Henry always got a feeling dee
p in the pit of his stomach when something was wrong. That feeling had always been right, and Henry lived by that gut feeling. It had saved Rick’s rear end more times than he could count and here he was feeling something similar.

  Rick stopped running, clicked on his comm, and asked the other two to stop.

  Once they did, he waved both of them over. "We need to go back; something's wrong. I can't explain it, but something happened to the sergeant."

  Wells threw his hands up in the air. "Corporal, we don't have time for this. We need to get our asses out of these sewers as quickly as possible. That tremor we felt was more than likely some plan the sergeant had to slow down whatever the hell that thing is.”

  Rick shook his head as he looked back down the corridor. "I'm telling you something’s wrong. Henry always had this sixth sense when something was wrong, and I swear—to whatever power in the universe you believe in—that I'm feeling that same thing right now."

  Wells scoffed at Rick. "So you’re telling me that the amazing Henry Morgan was Spiderman, and when things went wrong, his spider sense would get all atingle, and that you have that superpower too?"

  Both Wells and Jacobson busted up laughing.

  "Good God, that was funny! Seriously, I've needed a good laugh since we made footfall on this godforsaken island."

  Wells wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm sure the sergeant is fine and is making sure that no one or nothing is following us down here. We have about another two-hundred meters to go, and then we can get out of here and back up to dry land. I'm done with these sewers. I’d rather face those damn squirrels again than the sewer creature."

  "Damn it, Wells, something is wrong! I can't tell you how I know, I just know. Henry always had these feelings; they've saved my life more times than I can count, and I know it's saved your bacon more than once too. Laugh at it all you want, but see if you can get the sergeant on the comm, and see if he's okay?"

  Wells shook his head no when the comm clicked on and McAvoy requested that all three men backtrack to his location because he had been severely injured. Jacobson and Wells looked at Rick with blank incredulous stares. Wells clicked on his comm to respond.

 

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