Jones had always been a warrior in Reyes’ eyes. He now looked small and weak.
The creature roared and yanked on Jones’ head. Reyes flinched away, her stomach flipping as the sound of deep tearing ran through the cove.
When Reyes looked back, she saw the beast had decapitated Jones, his spinal column dangling from his severed head like a thick rope. The rest of his body lay as a hunk of meat on the ground, belching blood from his exposed neck into the rocky yellow surface.
In quick succession, both Campbell and Martins went down. Two creatures jumped on their backs like they’d done with Jones.
Two deep rips and both of them lost their heads.
About fifteen metres stood between Henry and the shuttle. Not even a metre stood between him and the wall of insanity behind him. Ever vocal, he screamed as he ran.
Rousseau fired a couple of blasts into the crowd behind Henry, but it did nothing.
A second later, the WO said, “Get back in and close the door.”
Patel looked at him, his jaw loose. “You sure?”
“Don’t fucking question me.”
Although Rousseau and the others pulled back into the shuttle as Patel closed the door, Reyes watched Henry. Maybe the closing door slowed him down. Maybe he realised what they’d seen from the shuttle. He wouldn’t make it and they couldn’t all die hoping he would.
A creature jumped on his back and knocked both of them to the ground. They rolled as a spinning mess across the sandy surface.
Before Henry could do anything, the monster slapped its large hand over the top of his head, squeezed, and ripped it clean from his body.
Chapter 9
Now. Eleven dead.
Nausea locked tight within Reyes as she watched Federichi retrieve Jones’ torch. She bounced on the spot as if she could do her running for her, although she probably wouldn’t make it back even if she could; Federichi had left it too late.
The Commandos in the shuttle remained quiet for the most part. Heavy breaths, the shuffle of bodies, and Singh still heaved, but none of them spoke.
Federichi had taken over ninety seconds to get to Jones’ corpse because she’d made sure the others were okay first. She could have done it quicker had she trusted Reyes’ theory. But Reyes didn’t trust it herself, so she couldn’t blame her. Hopefully she had something left in the tank to make it back. Something more than she’d shown so far.
When Federichi turned and ran back towards the shuttle, she moved much quicker than she had until that point. Hope lifted in Reyes’ chest and she said, “She’s going to make it.”
Holmes ran into the shuttle next, placing his torch on the pile in the middle before falling onto one of the benches beside the others.
A glance at Patel and then down at his hands on the wheel to shut the door. “We need to run this to the wire,” Reyes said and looked down at the lump of rocks by her feet. “We need to give them every opportunity to get back.”
Patel didn’t respond. As a rookie, Reyes couldn’t tell him what to do.
After a glance up at the timer, Reyes shouted out into the desert, “Fifteen seconds.” Thirst and the dry heat made her throat itch. Her eyes watered with the need to cough, but she managed to keep it at bay.
Federichi had already halved the distance between her and the shuttle. She’d be fine.
Platt’s heavy footsteps boomed through the space as he ran into the shuttle next. The same exhaustion that gripped them all seemed evident in his clumsy gait as he placed his torch down and found a spot to slump into on the bench. They were going to pull this off. Everything would be fine.
“Ten seconds,” Reyes called, her hands shaking as she held her gun, waiting for the yellow rocks to spring to life.
“Just Peacock and Federichi left,” Patel said for the benefit of the WO, who couldn’t see from where he sat. “Although Peacock doesn’t look too good.”
Because she’d focused all her attention on Federichi, Reyes hadn’t seen Peacock’s deterioration. “Shit. He said he was fine to go out. I knew I should have kept him back. Damn!”
Just as the words left Reyes’ mouth, Peacock fell to the ground, sand kicking up as he landed face first in the dirt, his arms limp at his sides. He was still about fifty metres away from them.
“Shit!” Patel said and twisted the door handle, closing the door by a few inches.
Reyes threw a halting hand in Patel’s direction and said, “Wait!” A glance over her shoulder and she found the WO glaring at her. “Federichi was doing fine until Peacock fell,” she said to him.
“Just focus on them,” the WO roared.
A shake ran through Reyes’ voice when she shouted, “Five seconds.” Nervous energy forced her to shift her weight from one foot to the other. She looked from the pile of rocks in front of her to the two remaining Commandos. Federichi had stopped next to Peacock and grabbed his flaccid arm. She’d have to carry him. She wouldn’t make it.
As much as Reyes wanted to call out for Federichi to leave Peacock, she knew she wouldn’t. No Marine got left behind.
After a quick glance at the timer on the wall, Reyes put all of her attention on the rocks in front of her, waiting for them to spring to life. She had to give Federichi and Peacock as long as possible to get back to the shuttle.
Chapter 10
Four days ago. Five dead.
The way the creatures had turned into rocks had burned as an image in Reyes’ mind. No matter how much she tried to think about anything else, she kept returning to the fact they had another level of defence against the Commandos. They seemed unbeatable.
Reyes looked at the shuttle’s clock. It sat amongst a host of dials. Many of them were dead now the power had gone out. But the clock and the thermometer ran on the battery backup like the radio. They always needed to know the time so they could co-ordinate with their team. They also needed to make sure they didn’t cross over into a temperature that could be detrimental to their survival.
About forty-five minutes had passed since the four Commandos had their heads ripped from their bodies. The creatures—although bloodthirsty in their pursuit of them—paid little attention to the shuttle now the doors had been closed. They seemed supremely confident they had the upper hand. The Commandos would come to them sooner or later. Regardless of what the WO had said, they were smart.
Most of the team had taken seats on the benches, all of them removing their flak vests as the temperature rose inside the small metal vessel. The hot sun shone directly down on it, turning it into a sauna.
Reyes remained by the window, dazzled by the fierce glare responsible for boiling them all. It felt even hotter through the small square of glass and sweat turned her uniform damp. If she could strip off, she would have.
One or two of the creatures had left the cove, but there still remained at least thirty, if not more, of the horrible freaks. They stomped around outside, stalking the place as their heads swung from side to side.
To look at the creatures, it would have been easy to assume their thick and powerful jaws were their weapons. Sharp teeth and a wide bite, it seemed like the deadliest attack they had. Then Reyes had seen what their hands could do. The power it must take to pull a human in two. A shudder snapped through her. They couldn’t beat them.
Henry lay as the closest dead Commando to the ship. The sand and heat had combined to cauterise the wound covering his neck. The planet’s natural conditions had quickly sealed his body. At least Reyes didn’t have to watch him belch blood for any longer. A lump rose in her throat; too many of them had already died. When she swallowed it down, the dry pinch of thirst made her oesophagus itch.
A look over at McTavish, who sat closest to the water vats, and Reyes nodded at one of the large containers. “Can you pass me a cup, please?”
Before McTavish could respond, the WO cut in. “I’ve already told you, we need to ration the water.” When he stood up, he stumbled because of the pressure he put on his leg. Rousseau jumped up to try to help
him, but he levelled a glare at her that forced her back a couple of steps and into her seat again.
It took him longer than it would anyone else, but the WO finally reached the small vats of water and fell onto the bench next to them. Every movement seemed to cause him pain and he winced as he poured some out. “We’re going to have half a cup each for now. We don’t know how long we’re going to be on this planet for, and whatever happens, we can’t afford to run out of water.”
Reyes took the cup he offered her in her sweating grip and threw the small amount of warm liquid down her throat. It did little to quench her thirst. As she passed it back to the WO, she looked at his leg. The shin of his trousers still glistened with his fresh blood.
When she looked up, she found him glaring at her and she instantly turned away.
“What are you even doing, girl?” the WO asked her as she looked back outside. “Standing by that window as if you’re admiring the view. What the hell are you looking at?”
As always, the entire team stared at her. Reyes did her best to ignore it, shrugging as she replied, “I figured I might learn something.”
“Like how to get the rest of us killed? You’ve not learned anything in your life so far, so what’s different now?”
Despite acing every exam she’d ever done, Reyes bit back her reply and swallowed it down. There seemed little point in responding. The WO would never acknowledge her achievements. She’d got there on merit, but he didn’t want to hear it. Instead, she returned her attention to the window, the heat from the reinforced glass seemingly fiercer than even a few moments ago. “We’re going to boil in this bloody shuttle,” she muttered.
“What?” the WO said.
Reyes didn’t reply.
The onboard thermometer read forty-five degrees Celsius. Not impossible for a human to withstand, but certainly not fun.
“What the hell?” Reyes said and pushed her face to the glass.
“What?” the WO barked again. “You ain’t making much sense, girl!”
For a second, Reyes simply pointed out of the window.
“I hate to state the obvious,” the WO said. “Actually I don’t; I can’t fucking see from here. Use your words.”
“I don’t have the words for this,” Reyes said.
As second in command with Jones and Henry gone, Rousseau and McTavish both looked at the WO. He clearly didn’t have quick in him at that moment, so Rousseau moved to the window, bringing the smell of sweat over with her. Or rather, just a different smell of sweat. They all stank now.
Reyes moved aside and watched her corporal say, “What the hell? I think you need to look at this, WO.”
“What is it?” the WO asked, still clearly reluctant to move.
“I’m not sure.” Rousseau shook her head. “They’ve all pulled down into their shells like they did when Jones tried to blow them up.”
“Is there something out there attacking them?”
“Not that I can see.”
The WO groaned as he stood up and limped over to the window. He stared out at the creatures, shoving Reyes even farther aside. Instead of looking out with him, Reyes watched his reaction. Confusion crushed his usually certain face. It took a few more seconds before he finally spoke. “What are they doing?”
Chapter 11
Now. Eleven dead.
A twitch snapped through the pile of yellow rock. As much as Reyes wanted to watch Federichi and Peacock, at that moment the creature needed all of her focus. The second it sprang to life, she’d best put a shot straight into its yellow lizard face; otherwise Federichi and Peacock’s currently wafer-thin chance would vanish. An already damp brow, sweat gushed from her at that moment, stinging her tired eyes. But she dared not blink. Even that could be the difference.
Maybe Reyes’ ears played tricks on her, but it sounded like the thirteen other lumps of rock were shifting and twitching too, all of them getting ready to jump up.
“They’re not going to make it,” Patel said.
Although Reyes kept her focus on the rocks by the door, she saw Patel in her peripheral vision. He continued to grip the door handle, his arms shaking as he readied to shut their two remaining corporals out.
Patel then shouted into the cove, “You have to leave him, Federichi.” The desperation in his voice echoed through the large space.
In the brief second Reyes looked at Federichi for, she saw in her face that she wouldn’t leave Peacock. They didn’t leave people behind.
As if voicing her thoughts, the WO said, “Leaders don’t leave their team. No matter what.”
Whoosh! The rocks in front of Reyes burst to life. They went from a lump on the ground to over nine feet of teeth, saliva, and powerful hands. It loosed a roar that shook the shuttle. The deep sound whipped around the cove.
The volume of the creature’s call blurred Reyes’ vision and forced her back a step. She froze for the briefest second, her gun still pointing down like it had been when the beast had been just rock.
The creature stepped forward. Reyes pointed her gun at the brute’s soft leather face. Its black tongue snaked from its mouth. Its sharp teeth glistened. Stringy, snotty saliva clung to its chin. When the reek of the beast’s stale breath caught in her throat, Reyes pulled the trigger.
Set to rapid pulse, she sent a stream of five or six laser blasts into the creature’s face. The force of the shots sent it back a couple of steps. Daylight burst through the hole she’d made where its nose had been.
The creature toppled backwards. It hit the ground with a heavy thud that shook through the soles of Reyes’ boots. She looked out into the cove.
Federichi had seemed slow when the creatures were inanimate. Now they were on their feet, she appeared to move at a glacial pace, burdened by the lame Peacock. Reyes watched her look around as the other monsters closed in on them. The thunder of their feet galloped through the cove. The creatures snarled, hissed, and swung their large arms at the two Commandos. They moved in on them from all sides. No escape.
From the look on Federichi’s face, it seemed like she understood the futility of a fight. Their only hope rested on getting back to the shuttle. Any other course of action would be suicide. From the look on Federichi’s face, she knew they wouldn’t get back to the shuttle.
No one gave Patel the order, but he spun the door’s manual lock anyway. As much as Reyes wanted to stop him, she didn’t. Instead, she watched the gap close in front of her.
Still fifteen to twenty metres from the crashed shuttle, Federichi and Peacock stopped. Reyes watched them through the small window in the door, a lump in her parched throat, a knot in her guts.
Three beasts converged on them. They hit them hard, knocking them to the ground. Even through the thick door, Reyes heard the oomph of air being driven from the Commandos’ lungs. It sounded like something cracked too—more than likely several bones had shattered. The three creatures moved like they had rocket propulsion.
Two beasts pinned Federichi. From the way her limbs and head flopped, she’d already been knocked unconscious. At least she wouldn’t feel any more pain. One of the creatures clamped a large hand over her head. It roared as it twisted it free.
The ripping sound ran straight to Reyes’ guts. The beast then discarded Federichi’s head while the other one stood up from her body.
By the time Reyes looked across at Peacock, he’d already been decapitated. The bloody line of his spine hung down from his detached head. His blood soaked into the dry ground.
Although the other Commandos didn’t look out of the window, they’d clearly heard what happened. Silence swept through the space.
Then Reyes saw the torches. The three that Federichi and Peacock had recovered between them and the ones on their breast pockets. All of them were smashed. The loose ones had been trampled, the others looked like they’d been shattered in the scuffle. Did the creatures do it on purpose? Had they worked out their plans?
Reyes shook her head to herself to banish the thought. She t
urned away from the door and looked at the pile of torches they’d recovered in the middle of the shuttle. For the entire time she stared at them, she felt the WO glaring at her.
When she finally looked up at him, he said, “This best bloody work. I’m not losing any more people.”
Chapter 12
Two days ago. Five dead.
Reyes watched the monsters outside as they stalked through the cove. They needed to get out of there without any more casualties. She had a theory and, hopefully, it was correct.
The beasts all suddenly dropped into their shells and hit the ground. The door had a timer beside it. Reyes slapped her hand against it to start the countdown. They had two minutes.
“That’s the third day in a row now,” Reyes said as she looked from the clock to the creatures outside.
They lay scattered around the cove as forty or more piles of yellow rock. Whenever Reyes had counted how many creatures there were, more always appeared, so she couldn’t be sure. Regardless of numbers, all of the ones she could see had dropped into their protective lumps. It looked like something had triggered it.
A glance up at the thermometer on the wall showed her it read fifty degrees Celsius. Reyes handed her empty cup back to the WO, swallowing the dry paste in her mouth as she did so. Another half cup of warm water each. Not much. Not enough, but something at least. Better than nothing, which was what they would be left with very soon.
One minute and forty-five seconds remained on the timer.
A nod at Patel on the door handle, Reyes said, “I’m ready. Let me out.”
The WO tried to stand up, but he didn’t make it. Instead, he puffed out a hard breath and fell back into his seat. When he spoke, he winced as if every word caused him physical pain. “I thought we’d already spoken about this. You’re not going out there.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 57
