The Shadow Above The Flames

by Daniel Swenson

  "Then I hope it maims it enough that we can get the hell off this rock and back home."

  "Sounds good to me."

  Rick scooped up his equipment, removed a small package of explosives from his bag, and handed it to Henry before he ran off.

  Henry climbed down from the bulldozer with the package carefully cradled in his arms. He moved up to the front of the bucket of the vehicle. Henry slowly pulled the Semtex from the package along with a can of spray adhesive. The adhesive stuck to anything. Even a hurricane wouldn’t pull it away from what it was attached to once the glue set. Henry popped the top off of the adhesive can and carefully sprayed it to the bucket of the bulldozer. Once satisfied, he attached the Semtex to the middle of the scoop.

  The Semtex remained securely in place. He pulled out and set up a pressure plate detonator on the front of the Semtex. All it would take was for something to strike the plate on the front of the scoop, and it would detonate the explosives.

  Satisfied, Henry returned to the bucket seat on top of the bulldozer. He sat there patiently waited for Rick's signal.

  It wasn't long before Rick gave the signal that he was set up and ready in position two. Henry smiled knowing that Rick had his back. The wind whipped about him picking up debris and dust, creating small dust devils that ran around the drilling site.

  Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the sky, momentarily stealing Henry's vision. The Beast was nearly on them, the thrum of the all-terrain’s wheels could barely be heard over the lurching and sputtering of the bulldozer's engine.

  The clouds above the drilling site became black as midnight as they swirled in a clockwise pattern. Purple and blue lightning danced around in the vortex above. Henry stared up into the swirling clouds from his seat on the bulldozer and quietly prayed that his plan would work. Something crashed into the chain-link fence, knocking a section to the ground.

  He grabbed the AK47 at his side and fired the ineffective bullets at the enraged beast as it swooped down.

  Lenny heard the deafening crack of the Russian PTRD-41 reverberate throughout the drilling site as the bullet struck the swooping beast just below the joint in its left wing. Violent winds whipped away the blood and tissue of the Beast’s wing.

  It went into a spiral spin and crashed to the ground. It slid across the drilling site with its left wing utterly useless. Lenny yanked hard to the left on the steering wheel trying to avoid being clipped by the Beast. As the vehicle spun out of control, Jacobson called out.

  "Lenny! Henry's on top of the bulldozer. We need to go back for him!"

  Lenny regained control of the vehicle. He looked back where the Beast lay in a daze and turned the vehicle around, speeding back over to the bulldozer. He slowed his speed as he neared the construction vehicle motioning for Henry to jump down.

  "Let's get out of here!" Lenny yelled.

  Henry shook his head while he kept his eyes on the fallen beast.

  "I can't let this thing terrorize the world again. We've clipped its wings, so it’s vulnerable. I plan to take it down and end its reign of terror once and for all!"

  "Are you insane?! This thing’s a dragon! A living fire-breathing dragon! How in the hell are you supposed to kill a dragon?"

  "We're not going to run, Lenny. We've wounded it. But I understand if you don't want any part of this fight. However, something tells me I need to stay and fight. What about you, Jacobson, are you in?"

  "I'm in!" Jacobson responded as he grabbed two grenade launchers, several packs of ammo, and grenades before jumping out of the vehicle.

  "Get out of here, Lenny, and go find someplace safe to hide! Today, the Beast will pay for every death it's caused!"

  Lenny was astonished. He didn’t want to argue with Henry, so he raced off, hunting for a place to hide.

  "What's the plan?" Jacobson asked as he climbed up the side of the bulldozer.

  At that moment, the Beast shifted its body within the small crater that it had created when it crashed. The crater wasn't far from the viewing platform, which Henry was glad for.

  "Is this part of your plan?" Jacobson asked.

  The Beast rose to its full height, shaking itself like a wet dog. A barrage of rocks and dirt flew away from it, pelting everything within one hundred feet of it. Henry feared that one of the pieces of debris would strike the pressure plate on the Semtex ending all his plans in an instant. However, he couldn't do anything about it, so he and Jacobson shielded their heads from the hailstorm of debris.

  Thunder crackled as Rick fired off another round towards the shaking beast’s shoulder. The bullet deflected off its scales and ricocheted into the unknown. The Beast flexed its wings and immediately felt the pain. It swiveled its neck to inspect the damage to its wing. The Beast bellowed in rage as it beheld the broken and shattered wing.

  "I think we've officially pissed it off!" Jacobson yelled.

  "I think you're right. I need you to jump down and take cover in one of the makeshift bunkers we created. I'm going to ram this bulldozer right down its throat, and I can't guarantee your safety with me up here."

  "Good luck! You're going to need every ounce the universe has to give."

  "Thanks!"

  Jacobson jumped to the ground with weapons in hand and ran with all haste towards a bunker. Knowing that Jacobson didn't have a chance without distracting the Beast, Henry pulled the pin from a grenade and heaved it with all his strength. The wind, unfortunately, caught the grenade and carried it far from its intended target before exploding.

  However, it did cause the reaction Henry wanted from the Beast because it swung its massive head at the sound of the explosion.

  The Beast’s eyes narrowed in hatred when it saw the lone human sitting upon the strange yellow metal device. The annoying vibrations from the device rattled and thrummed within its delicate ears. The device seemed to pulse with a power of its own, which gave the Beast pause.

  What is this? It noticed small black clouds puffing out of the sides of the device.

  The Beast knew the human was afraid because it could smell the fear rolling off of it. However, the Beast was both impressed and annoyed that this human was somehow in control of its fear.

  So you think you can challenge me on your strange metal thing, do you? Well, my little worm, you will see the true power of who you face!

  Enraged, the Beast reached into the well of power that resided inside it. It desired nothing more than to incinerate this defiant human into a smoldering pile of ash. It only took a fraction of a second to tap into its power, yet the Beast froze. Panic raced through its heart for the first time in untold centuries; the power was nearly gone! The Beast realized that it had used up too much of its reserve while chasing the damnable humans across the countryside.

  Doubts raced through the Beast’s mind as it contemplated its next move. The human sat there smugly waiting. Throwing caution to the wind, the Beast tapped into the power as it inhaled, filling its lungs to capacity with huge amounts of air in preparation to unleash a torrent of hellish flames.

  You're dead, it mused.

  The colossal beast whipped its head as the power spun within its throat transmuting the release of carbon dioxide from its lungs into a flammable liquid. Another shot crackled across the drilling site at unimaginable speeds and struck the Beast in the left cheek. The armor-piercing round hit home, punching through scales, tearing through muscle, and shattering bone. The impact of the shot snapped the Beast’s head to the side, moving it a good thirty-five degrees, which caused the flames to completely miss the man and his metal toy. The pain in the Beast's shattered face was instant and agonizing. It screeched in rage and agony as it clawed at its injured face.

  As the creature thrashed, Henry pushed down on the clutch shifting the engine into first gear as the bulldozer lurched forward. The Beast swung its head around to face the on-coming threat. Henry could see the blood and gore dripping from the Beast’s broken face. Hatred filled its eyes. Henry knew that if this didn't w
ork, he was surely doomed.

  Give me strength to face my death, Grandfather, he thought as he shifted the bulldozer into second gear.

  The construction vehicle picked up speed as the Beast reared up on its back feet. Its forearms held wide preparing to slam down and crush Henry and the rusty bulldozer.

  Jacobson and Rick opened fire as the creature reached its full height. Six small rocket-propelled grenades fired off in succession and sped angrily towards their intended target. The Beast, wanting to claim its victory, tapped into what little remaining power it had and summoned the winds to create a protective barrier around it. The first three grenades detonated several feet away from its body, exploding over Henry's head. He shifted the bulldozer into third gear and drove on.

  The bulldozer rattled and groaned in protest as it picked up speed. Henry had a firm grip upon the steering wheel. Peace settled over him as another two grenades deflected, thrown wide from the Beast’s body, and exploded high into the sky.

  The final grenade also deflected, which soared to the left of the Beast where it exploded, further damaging its broken wing. Rick fired the PTRD-41 again hitting the Beast in the left forearm. The scales on its forearm gave way and a fountain of blood erupted. The Beast pulled more power to expand the barrier to protect its left flank.

  Another volley of grenades raced out from the bunker where Jacobson hid. The flying projectiles detonated immediately when they hit the wind barrier. Henry covered his eyes protecting them from the intensity of the blast but blocked his view of the Beast. Luckily, the explosion had also caused the Beast to turn its head fearing that it would cause further damage to its face.

  Henry slammed down on the clutch and jammed the gearshift into fourth gear. The gearbox groaned in protest as the engine shuddered, sputtered, and stalled. Henry saw the red-hot fury in the Beast’s eyes as it knew its moment had come.

  Rick fired two more shots deflected by the howling winds that surrounded the Beast. Henry grabbed his M16 with the modified M203 grenade launcher on it that Jacobson had left with him. He desperately fired off a grenade towards the rapidly descending beast. The Beast saw the grenade coming and swatted it aside where it exploded somewhere off in the distance.

  Henry opened fire, screaming in denial as the bullets bounced off the hardened scales. Rick fired another shot from the PTRD-41. The winds around the Beast captured the bullet and deflected it into the dust at the Beast’s feet. Death descended from above since nothing could stop this beast. The plan had failed! Henry panicked for a moment as he watched death coming for him.

  He dropped the rifle and desperately tried to get the bulldozer to turn over. He muttered several pleas to the heavens, pleading for a miracle.

  Lightning flashed in the sky high above, where Henry could see the massive clawed hand rushing towards him. He heard Rick scream out, "No!" before firing off another round towards the massive beast with no effect.

  Henry closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He could only hope that Rick and the others could escape.

  Something large crashed into the side of the Beast exploding into a giant ball of flame and smoke. The flames erupted up into the sky but didn't seem to hurt the Beast at all. However, the impact of the object and the sheer shock of being hit by something with such force caused the Beast to recoil and drop Henry and the bulldozer.

  Henry opened his eyes as the bulldozer crashed to the ground and stood in disbelief. A flaming broken-down van had crashed into the Beast, saving his life. Henry wasn't sure who was responsible until the light from the flames revealed the driver. Lenny ran as fast as his long skinny legs would carry him from the titanic monster and the flaming vehicle.

  "While I'll be a monkey's uncle!" he exclaimed.

  Lenny was the last person he expected to do something so reckless and idiotic. But he was damn grateful he had. Henry pumped the gas pedal, pushed down on the clutch, and twisted the key. The bulldozer protested at being made to start up again, but the engine ignited roaring back to life.

  Lenny looked up over his shoulder and smiled at Henry with an expression of pure triumph on his face as he ran. When out of nowhere a massive tail whipped around and hit Lenny on the side, hurling him past the now moving bulldozer and across the drilling site where he slammed into one of the rusted-out vans. Lenny crashed down into the dirt and didn’t move. Henry slammed the gearshift from second to third and then skipped up to fifth gear.

  "You son of a bitch!" Henry screamed. "I'm going to kill you for that!"

  Another grenade came from Jacobson’s direction. This one hit home and exploded on the Beast’s right breast. The powerful explosion and the fragments within the grenade sheared away the scales and muscles of the Beast.

  The force of the blast knocked the Beast to the left, causing it to stumble off balance. Seeing his chance, Henry quickly rigged the steering wheel with his belt and placed a large rock on the accelerator. He jumped from the bulldozer and landed in a roll, tumbling to absorb the shock. He jumped to his feet and ran. The Beast swiveled its head in hatred and prepared to strike at Henry.

  Henry slid behind one of the makeshift barriers as the bulldozer slammed into the unbalanced beast and detonated! The explosion blasted away large chucks of its abdomen, sending it hurtling towards the already unstable platform. It slammed into the viewing platform like a falling meteorite.

  Many of the metal beams on the viewing platform gave way as the Beast crashed down upon it. The metal's integrity had been compromised from the Beast's earlier flames when it had killed the wolves and tried to kill Henry. The viewing platform twisted and turned, wrapping around the thrashing and wounded beast. It quickly found its limbs bound by the twisting metal.

  Henry sat up, making sure he hadn't been struck by any shrapnel. Which to his amazement, he hadn't. He stood and watched as what was left of the bulldozer slowly puttered towards the platform as the Beast thrashed. The bulldozer rolled out onto the platform; metal groaned in protest as it made its way forward. Several beams gave way, and the bulldozer pitched forward as the engine finally gave out. The construction vehicle hung precariously on the broken beams.

  Frantically, the Beast thrashed about trying to free itself.

  Its broken wing tangled in the twisted metal as it shifted around to free itself, which only further ensnared the Beast. It bellowed in rage as small flames erupted from its mouth while it thrashed. It swung its head around and bit down hard on its broken and pinched left wing. The jaws of the Beast snapped down with such force that it crushed both bone and muscle allowing it to sacrifice the bones to tear itself free.

  The Beast grabbed the portions of the platform that had twisted around it. It pushed and heaved the metal away from its blood-covered body as it attempted to free the bulk of its massive body. The metal bent as the Beast pushed the irritating entanglements away. Three more support beams holding the platform in place gave way and snapped. The platform dropped and shifted farther into the chasm causing several of the broken and razor-sharp metal beams to pierce through the Beast's scales and deep into the soft fleshy tissue beneath.

  Blood dripped freely from many of the Beast’s wounds. Its right forearm no longer moved, it could see that a large metal beam pierced all the way through it. It desperately tried in a vain to touch the side of the cavern so it could draw strength and healing from the ground. Pain lanced up its side from its abdomen causing the Beast to stop short, unable to reach the earth’s strength.

  Three large metal beams had pierced its abdomen and chest. The Beast feebly peered up to regard the strange yellow metal moving device that the human had ridden. It hoped that it would find that it had at least killed that damnable creature.

  However, when it looked up, it saw nothing but the device hanging above it. One of the beams holding the bulldozer gave way, and it bounced and spun down the length of the viewing platform, hitting the metal beam that had pierced the Beast’s chest. The metal beam slammed deep into the Beast’s chest, piercing its heart. The rem
aining beams of the platform gave way at the impact, sending up a cloud of metal chucks, rock, and dirt into the air. As the remains of the platform scattered, the Beast descended one last time into the chasm as the world faded to black.

  Henry cautiously walked to the edge of the chasm where the viewing platform had once been. Nothing stirred. The wind died down, and the clouds overhead lost their angry charcoal color, slowly turning a dull gray and releasing a gush of rain.

  Nothing came back out of the darkness after Henry and his companions.

  The Beast that had terrified the world was finally dead.

  "Lenny!"

  Henry spun around and raced over to where he had last seen Lenny. When Henry arrived, Jacobson and Rick were already there tending to Lenny's wounds.

  "Is he dead?" Henry asked.

  Jacobson wore a broad smile across his face. "He's got to be one of the luckiest bastards I've ever known. The scanners can't find any internal bleeding, but he does have two broken ribs, a cracked pelvis, and his right femur is broken. I've given him something for the pain, which should keep him quiet for a while. Rick and I were about to set his leg when you showed up."

  Rick looked at Henry hesitantly.

  "Is it dead?"

  Henry faced the giant chasm in the ground. "Yes, I believe it is. Otherwise, I don't think we'd be having this conversation."

  "I don't know how, but you did it, Henry; you did it," Rick said as he smiled. "So what's your plan for getting us off this rock?"

  Henry looked at Lenny and panicked. He knelt and shook the semiconscious man.

  "Where's the data core? Was it on you when you were hit? Please don't tell me that after all of this it was destroyed."

  Lenny groggily opened one of his swollen eyes and focused on Henry.

  "You know me better than that," Lenny croaked. "I left the bag with the core and my laptop back in the all-terrain."

  Lenny bent over and coughed for several seconds before speaking again. "Our ride is already on its way. When I was in the control deck, I used the satellite phone Cod gave us to contact General Carmine. Carmine wanted proof, so I sent a video of me holding the data core in my hands. It shouldn't be too long before the general gets here."