Mega 4: Behemoth Island

by Jake Bible

  “Later,” Ballantine snapped. “Focus on telling me what really happened.”

  “We’d lured Dr. Liu and her people to Alpha as a distraction then set the charges to blow up Omega,” Dr. Harris said. “We’d escaped and were deep into the jungle when the charges went off. But I knew the explosion wasn’t big enough. Only half detonated. The ones in the sub-level didn’t go off. She must have gotten to them.”

  “How?” Ballantine asked.

  “You have to understand that she had been going insane for a lot longer than any of us knew,” Dr. Harris said. “She was highly functional, but far from stable well before the idea of cloning even came up. I think she had an agenda from the beginning.”

  Ballantine closed his eyes and steepled his fingers in front of his face. He took a couple of deep breaths then opened his eyes and moved quickly towards Dr. Harris. The man was down on the ground, holding a hand to his chin, with Ballantine standing over him, before anyone could even move.

  “Is it all bullshit, Harris? Is everything you have told me and are telling us now, just complete bullshit?” Ballantine shouted. “Because it sounds like bullshit! You had me snowed for a while there, but your timeline isn’t making any sense. I am a man that understands timelines. I have stayed alive for this long because timelines, and timing, are a specialty of mine. Down to a minute. I can calculate a plan down to a minute. I can calculate a million variant scenarios to branch off from a plan if that minute becomes compromised. Your timeline is compromised and I am not liking the variants that are going through my head.”

  “Listen, Ballantine, none of us meant for any of this to happen,” Dr. Norris began. A swift kick to his face stopped him.

  “NO!” Ballantine said. “I think you did want this to happen! I think you wanted all of this to happen! Who are you? Because you are not Dr. Timothy Harris anymore! Just like that thing on that island isn’t Dr. Ann Liu anymore either! WHO ARE YOU?”

  Dr. Norris wiped blood from his nose and started to speak then shook his head. He cautiously stood up, and Ballantine let him. The two men stared at each other and the scared, helpless look that had been in Dr. Norris’s eyes was replaced by something sinister. Something more akin to the look in Ballantine’s eyes.

  Ballantine watched him for a moment.

  “You aren’t a human clone, are you?” Ballantine asked. “You added something in there so the lifespan could be extended. What did you do? What are you now?”

  “We are gods,” Dr. Norris said and grinned. “And there isn’t a fucking thing any of you tiny little ants can do about it.”

  Then he picked up Ballantine and tossed the man all the way across the lab.

  “I didn’t see that coming,” Boris said and grabbed Dr. Morganton’s arm, yanking her towards the lab’s hatchway. “We should run now!”

  “Yes! Run!” Dr. Norris shouted. His form began to change and swell, his muscles thickening and almost doubling in size as his height increased at a rapid rate until his head almost touched the ceiling. “Run! BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!”

  ***

  Surrounded, Team Grendel looked for the weakest point in the attack and pushed in that direction. Unfortunately for them, it was deeper into the cavernous room.

  Croanderthals came at them hard and fast, but Darby, Max, and Mike held them back with their plasma rifles while Thorne, Darren, Shane, and Lucy tried to find a way out of the massive room of tanks.

  “What the holy fuck?” Thorne growled as he stood before a row of tanks that held what were obviously humans. Small, miniature humans, but humans for sure. “What the hell place is this?”

  “That guy’s dick is still bigger than yours,” Lucy said to Shane as they passed the tanks.

  “Ah, come on! Really?” Shane replied. “No fair with the burns while we’re in mortal danger. Save them all up for later.”

  Lucy didn’t have time to respond as about twenty croanderthals came rushing at them from their right, squeezing through the gaps in the tanks. She ducked a swing from one and then jammed both fists into the belly of another. It grunted, but didn’t go down. So she jammed both fists into its crotch and it dropped like lead.

  “Oh, I have a good one I’m saving!” Lucy called out. “You’re gonna love it!”

  “I have a feeling no, I am not,” Shane said.

  He swung out with a powerful right haymaker and the sound of a cracking cheekbone was like a gunshot. The croanderthal that had been grabbing for him screeched and grabbed its own cheek instead. Shane came forward with a headbutt then stumbled back, instantly regretting the action.

  “Ow,” he muttered, his head fuzzy from the impact. “Big craniums. Remember that.”

  “Move,” Thorne said and shoved Shane aside. He stabbed the croanderthal in the belly and lifted up with the knife, sending guts spilling to the thing’s feet. “Stop fucking around.”

  Thorne yanked the blade free and spun about, slashing at two that had come at his back. He glanced past them as they jumped away and saw a group of croanderthals circumventing the barrage of plasma blasts. Thorne was about to yell a warning, but the words didn’t get to leave his mouth as his legs were taken out from under him by a tackling croanderthal.

  Thorne’s head hit the metal floor hard and he felt blood fill his mouth as he bit down on his tongue. He spat the blood out and hammered at the croanderthal that still had its arms wrapped about Thorne’s knees. The thing grunted under the attack, but didn’t loosen its grip.

  “God dammit!” Thorne shouted. “You are too close to my penis!”

  He made two fists, raising the middle knuckle of each hand just above the others, then smashed those knuckles right into the thing’s temples. It cried out and its arms loosened slightly. Thorne hit it again and again until it slackened and lay slumped across him.

  He shoved it off and hopped to his feet in time to dip his shoulder and toss an incoming croanderthal over his back. He swung about and stomped on the thing’s face, wincing as the thing’s teeth sliced his heel. The pain didn’t stop him, though, and he brought his foot down again and again until the croanderthal’s face was nothing but mush.

  The plasma blasts stopped and Thorne looked up.

  “Empty!” Darby yelled.

  “Same here!” Max shouted.

  “Fuck!” Mike cried. “I’m done too!”

  Darby flipped her rifle around and gripped its barrel then began to swing the weapon like a bat, cracking every skull that got within range. Mike and Max did the same and the three slowly backed up to Thorne and everyone else’s position. That’s when Thorne looked around and realized Darren was missing.

  “Chambers!” Thorne yelled.

  “Here!” Darren called from a few rows away. “I found a door! Come on!”

  Team Grendel sprinted past the rows, giving up on the fight and looking only for escape. They found Darren spread-eagled in a doorway, his arms and feet stretched out, keeping the sliding doors from shutting.

  “Hurry your asses!” Darren shouted. “This is not as easy as it looks!”

  “Oh, come on!” Max cried. “Don’t tell me we have to crawl between his fucking legs to get out?”

  “I won’t tell you that,” Thorne said. “Because you already know it has to happen.”

  Thorne got onto all fours and crawled between Darren’s legs, followed by Darby, Mike, Lucy, and Shane. Max cringed and joined them.

  “Please don’t let his junk touch me. Please don’t let his junk touch me,” he whispered over and over then screeched in a very high-pitched voice. “His junk touched me!”

  Once through, Darren let go and jumped away from the doors. They slid closed with a bang and everyone took a deep breath as the doors seemed to hold despite the pounding from the croanderthals on the other side.

  “I feel so dirty,” Max said.

  “Suck it up, frogman,” Shane said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. “At least you have a suit on. I almost got some skin on skin action.” He held up a hand at Lucy. “Wha
t did we agree on?”

  “I’d save all the jokes until later,” Lucy said, sounding very disappointed.

  “Did you shout ‘You are too close to my penis’?” Mike asked Thorne.

  “Yes,” Thorne nodded.

  “I thought so,” Mike said, grinning. “That was beautiful to hear coming from you.”

  “I’m glad I could amuse you,” Thorne growled. “Now let’s stop fucking around and find our way out of here.”

  “Stairs,” Darby said, pointing to a door at the end of the corridor they found themselves in. “They better not be blocked.”

  The Team ran to the door and Darby got it open, everyone sighed with relief as they felt a breeze of fresh air coming from above. Thorne leaned in and looked up, his eyes studying the spiral staircase that wound for a couple stories before opening up onto what looked like nothing but open space.

  “We’re going to be exposed,” Thorne said.

  “Too late,” Shane said, motioning to his nudity.

  The doors behind them shuddered.

  “We can’t stay,” Darby said to Thorne. “We get up there and then figure it out.”

  “We have no firearms,” Thorne said. “Not until your rifles charge.”

  “We’ll make do,” Darby said.

  Thorne nodded as metal began to groan. He looked back at the doors. They were beginning to bulge from the croanderthals’ weight on the other side.

  “Go,” he said.

  Team Grendel didn’t hesitate. They hurried up the stairs to the surface above. The sound of the doors finally giving in echoed up to them all as they stood in the midst of the burned out ruins of the top level of the Omega facility.

  “Which way?” Darby asked, looking at Thorne, Darren, and Shane. “You’ve been here before. Which way?”

  “We never got out of the Zodiac,” Thorne said. “Ballantine did the recon for us. That lasted all of a minute before he was sprinting back to us.”

  “I think the river is that way,” Darren said.

  “He’s right,” Shane said, pointing at a small mountain peak in the distance. “I remember catching a glimpse of that through the trees as we waited at the dock.”

  “Then we go that way,” Thorne said. “Towards the mountain.”

  “Not towards the river?” Lucy asked.

  “Not unless we want to swim,” Thorne said. “I would rather not find out what’s in the river. Would you?”

  The sound of heavy feet coming up the stairs ended the discussion.

  Team Grendel began running through the scorched ruins, making their way past the blackened carcasses of not just equipment, but people as well. Everywhere they looked was nothing but destruction. Even when they reached the edge of the tree line, the palms were stunted and burned. The blast had reached far into the jungle.

  They pushed through the destruction and were almost concealed by the shadows of the jungle when they heard the angry screams and murderous grunts from the croanderthal mob.

  “They’ll catch us,” Darby stated. She looked at her plasma rifle and stopped, spinning to face the things. “It’s worked up some charge. Go. I’ll buy you some time.”

  “We go together,” Thorne said. “You won’t buy us nearly as much time as we need.”

  Darby began to argue, but shut up as the air was split by a deafening roar.

  “Oh, fuck,” Shane said. “I know that song.”

  “Where is it?” Darren asked, turning in a circle.

  The roar came again, but it was so loud, no one could figure out its direction.

  Then the jungle to the side of the ruins split open and a massive monster surged through, its giant head dipping, its mouth opening wide as it scooped up half a dozen croanderthals at once. There were more screams, but no longer of an angry or murderous nature. They were screams of terror as the huge dinosaur gulped down the first bite and went in for more.

  “This is our only shot,” Thorne said. “Keep running. Head for the mountain. We’ll try to find somewhere up there to hunker down in.”

  Everyone nodded and tore their eyes from the horror that unfolded in the ruins of the Omega facility. It was a long time before their ears found relief as the screams continued until they were thoroughly deep in the jungle, the palms and ferns finally thick enough to block the sounds.

  ***

  The room Kinsey and Ingrid found themselves in was Spartan. From what they had seen after being hauled aboard, so was the entire ship. It was stripped down for combat efficiency, having none of the luxuries that the Beowulf III had.

  Yet even with the obvious lack of niceties, Kinsey did not think the vessel was military. At least not officially. Everyone she’d come in contact with stank of private contractors, guns for hire doing a job they were getting well paid for. No one with any authority had come to see them as they stood on the upper deck dripping wet while being stripped down to nothing but their underwear.

  Kinsey’s were classic grey boxers and sports bra. Ingrid’s, on the other hand, were what Kinsey guessed would be called adult Underoos.

  “Are you supposed to be Wonder Woman?” Kinsey asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

  “Shut up,” a guard barked as he stood by the hatch to the small room, a M4 gripped tightly and at the ready. Kinsey and Ingrid were handcuffed to a metal table in the center of the room, both sitting in cold, steel chairs. “No talking.”

  Ingrid looked like she was about to pee her Underoos and Kinsey felt sorry for the woman. She’d been sheltered in the sanctuary of the Toyshop for so long that Kinsey figured Ingrid had probably forgotten just how dangerous their lives were on a day-to-day basis. She made a mental note to talk to Ballantine about getting the elves out of their comfort zones and learning some real skills. Skills that would keep them from falling apart like Ingrid looked like she was about to do.

  “Hold on,” Kinsey whispered. “We’re getting out of this. Just keep it together.”

  “I said to shut up!” the guard barked. “Next time you open your fucking mouth, I’ll fill it with this barrel.” He waved the M4 at them and sneered. “I will fucking do it.”

  “Come try,” Kinsey responded. Her eyes narrowed and she grinned.

  She could feel the old Kinsey, the junkie Kinsey that killed anything that was even close to a threat, start to grow in her. She didn’t like that junkie Kinsey was still in her, lurking in the background like a deadly shadow, but at that moment she knew she’d need all of her to get them free if the opportunity presented itself.

  “You want me to shut up?” Kinsey laughed. “Then walk that carbine my way and just try to shove it in my mouth. We’ll see how well that turns out for you, asshole.”

  The guard debated then his sneer grew and he took two steps towards the table. But he only got two steps before the door opened and he snapped to attention.

  “Clemmons? What the hell were you moving from your post for?” Jowarski asked. “Get the hell out of here before I decide your services are no longer needed.”

  The guard didn’t argue with the man, he did not question leaving him alone with the two women, he just nodded and removed himself from the small room as quickly as possible.

  When the door was closed again, Jowarski turned and smiled at Kinsey and Ingrid.

  “Hello there,” he said and folded his hands in front of him. “Kinsey Thorne. A pleasure to meet you finally. And Ingrid…? I’m sorry, but our records have never included your last name. Ballantine seemed to pluck you and the other, what does he call you, elves? Yes, elves. He seemed to pluck you and the other elves out of nowhere. I’m afraid we have no record of you existing anywhere. Ever.”

  “He did that?” Ingrid asked, looking genuinely shocked. “He said he could, but I never checked to see if he did. I probably should have. I had access to all the files down in the—”

  “Who the fuck are you?” Kinsey asked, cutting off Ingrid before she spoiled the benefits of being anonymous. “You know us, you know Ballantine, but we
don’t know you.”

  “Chance Jowarski,” Jowarski said, not moving from his spot. “And you will get to know me very well before our time is done, I think. Probably too well, if I have my way.”

  “God, I hate you black ops fuckers,” Kinsey muttered.

  “I get that a lot,” Jowarski said. “I’d think you would be used to us considering how long you have been around Ballantine. Speaking of, how about we start there? Tell me everything you know about Ballantine and I promise our time here will be short.”

  “And if we don’t then our time here will be really long because you’ll make it as painful as possible, is that it?” Kinsey asked. “Just knock it off and ask your questions.”

  “Oh, I will,” Jowarski said. “I’m waiting for someone to join me. A couple people actually.”

  Jowarski smiled and didn’t say anything else. When the door rattled he stepped to the side, making room for the two people that came through.

  “Popeye!” Kinsey yelled and tried to stand, but was caught short by the handcuffs bolted to the table. “You died!”

  “Nope,” Popeye shrugged as he was shoved against the wall by Jowarski. He didn’t even try to resist. “Close, but these assholes found me and fixed me up.”

  “We did our best,” the next person in said. Dr. Dana Ballantine frowned at Kinsey and Ingrid. “Let’s get to the heart of the matter, shall we? Is my husband on that ship in the bay? Or is he on the island? I need to know right this second or one of you gets hurt badly. I don’t want to hurt you, but Mr. Jowarski does. I’m afraid I cannot hold him back, as much as I would like to.”

  She looked from Kinsey to Ingrid and waited.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “Did you say husband?” Kinsey asked.

  “Yes, I did,” Dana said. “My name is Dr. Dana Ballantine. I am going to ask one more time. Where is my husband? The ship or the island?”