by Lee Stephen
“Any questions?”
Quiet hung in the transport bay. The operatives exchanged silent, somber looks, though none dared to make a sound. It was Zigler who finally broke the stillness, as he lifted a hand toward the ceiling.
“Yes?” Lilan asked.
“Sir…why don’t we have any medics?”
Lilan stared at Zigler for several seconds, before a faint smile curved from his lips. A hollow chuckle broke through the air. “Because if you get caught by a necrilid, you won’t need one.”
When the Vulture’s landing lights hit the school, it was already dark. The aircraft set down just in front of the main doors on a small patch of grass amid a triangle of large trees. Lilan stood and nodded at the pilot, who promptly shut off the Vulture’s exterior lights.
“We’re going to break up into two teams,” Lilan said. “Jurgen, you’re heading Team-1, consisting of yourself, McCrae, Mathis, and Zigler.”
David nodded. “Yes sir.”
“I’ll lead Remington and Carter with Team-2. Jurgen, Zigler, and Carter, take a shotgun. The rest of you take your E-35s. Stay on the comm at all times, and move quietly. Follow my lead for now.” Lilan motioned toward the rear door. The pilot proceeded to lower it, and after several seconds of mechanical whining, the ramp thumped against the fresh ground.
There was a heavy smell in the air, one that was impossible to pin down. It was thick. It was brooding. It was fear. Scott felt the sweat emanating from his fingertips, as his hands clasped firm against his assault rifle. This was totally different from Chicago. In Chicago, the enemy was right there in front of him. It fired at him with rifles and grenades. Scott could fight it fearlessly. Here, the enemy lurked in the shadows. And it wanted to eat him.
The operatives crept from the Vulture toward the large double doors at the school’s entrance. Behind them, Vulture-7‘s ramp whirred as it raised to a close. The pilot had the best seat in the house. Safety.
“An off-campus security system should have unlocked the doors,” Lilan said. He took hold of one of the door handles and gave it a gentle pull. It eased open without a sound. A ray of moonlight cut through the darkness beyond the doors. Everything else inside was pitch black. “Keep your guns up at all times. Be aware.”
Scott swallowed as Lilan took his first step inside. Into darkness. Scott’s heart felt as if it would burst in his chest. His palms sweated more fluidly. He took a step forward. The instinct to turn and run was strong. Everything in him told him to go the other way. Flight over fight. What about the others? He looked over at David. The former police officer appeared stoic. Hardened. Zigler? Zigler was afraid. He looked afraid. Becan…Becan wiped damp hands on his jersey. Everyone was afraid. Everyone but Lilan and David…no…David was afraid, too—he just didn’t show it.
Scott closed his eyes and hesitated. He had trained for this. He knew fear wasn’t real, it was burrowed in his mind. He had trained for this. He couldn’t make it on his own, but that’s why there were six others with him. He had trained for this. He was a Golden Lion.
Scott’s eyes opened. He centered his focus. He wasn’t going to die. He stepped forward again, right behind Lilan, and entered the school.
It felt like a tomb. Aside from the faint sounds of the operatives’ breathing, there was complete silence. An unusual warmth hung in the air. A thick warmth; a musty warmth. It felt stagnant. As the last of the operatives filed in, the double doors eased shut. They were in total darkness. Scott reached up to his visor and switched on his tcv.
The immediate area was spacious—a commons area. Benches and lockers lined the walls, as did several offices. There were two pairs of hallways: one pair on the right and one pair on the left. At the far end of the commons sat a pair of double doors and an open cafeteria. There was no sound. No spark of electronics, no skitter of necrilids. Total silence.
“Word from Command is that they checked with the local power distributor,” Lilan said. “The school’s dead. There’s no reason to turn off your visor at all. Don’t use your helmet light unless you have no choice. Necrilids can already find you easily enough without them.” Lilan knelt on the floor. He stared ahead at the commons.
“It looks to me like there are two wings here…left and right. Pay attention, we’re about to label everything.”
Scott looked back at the others. David and Michael had knelt to the ground. Becan, Henry, and Zigler remained standing. Scott’s attention shifted to Lilan, as the colonel pointed to the nearest hallway on the right.
“This is Alpha. Next one down,” he pointed to the hallway farthest on the same side, “is Bravo.” He turned in the other direction. “Near hall on the left is Echo, farther hall on the left is Foxtrot.” Everyone nodded in silence.
“Jurgen, move your team down Alpha. Hopefully it connects to Bravo farther down. If they connect, work down Alpha, switch over to Bravo, and then work you way back out of Bravo and into the commons. If they don’t connect, double back up Alpha to the commons, then hit Bravo. We’ll check out the cafeteria and whatever those double doors are way down there. The double doors are Golf for now. After that, we’ll hit Echo and Foxtrot ourselves.”
“Yes sir,” David whispered.
“If you come across anything, comm us immediately.”
“Yes sir.”
Lilan nodded. “One more thing. Don’t use grenades unless absolutely necessary. The last thing we need is the press saying we’re blowing up schools.” The operatives exchanged hesitant looks, and Lilan drew a deep breath. “Now split up, and stay alert.”
David gathered his crew together and crept toward Alpha’s entrance. He cleared his throat and whispered to Team-1 through the comm. “Henry, stay with me. Becan, Zig, keep an eye on the rear. We’re going to move slow.” The other men whispered affirmation.
Two parallel corridors intersected Alpha farther down. The vibrant hues of the tcvs lit them in frightening fashion. David paused. “We have two intersecting corridors up ahead, one right after the other. They may both connect to Bravo.” The group slowed to a halt as they approached the first of the two intersections.
David and Henry’s weapons trained ahead as Becan and Zigler sidestepped from behind. As Becan stopped behind David, he peered back into the commons. Everything was silent and still. He stared at the false colors of the tcvs for several seconds before drifting his hand to his visor. His finger floated over the tcv switch, and he clicked it off. All color faded. The world was thrust into blackness. He lowered his stare to the ground. Not even his feet were visible. Becan swallowed and reached back up to flick on his visor. A massive spotlight burst from his helmet and rayed into the commons.
“Veck!”
Everyone in Team-1 jumped and slammed against the wall. Their gazes darted to Becan, who frantically groped his helmet. The spotlight went out, and the halls were once again dark.
“What the hell was that?” Zigler spat out.
Becan’s heart pounded. “I hit the wrong flickin’ switch.”
“You hit the wrong switch?”
“I’m bloody nervous, all righ?’”
Scott’s voice broke through the comm. “Everything okay? We saw a light.”
David shut his eyes and caught his breath. “Yeah, Becan hit the wrong switch.”
“What?”
“He…” David shot a dark look at Becan, “what were you doing?”
Becan bent forward and tried to steady his breathing. “I turned off me tcv just to see the darkness, then I went to turn it back on an’ I hit the wrong button, I’m a bloody eejit. It won’t happen again.”
Zigler snarled, “Why do you wait till a draggin’ necrilid mission to test your trashin’ visor?”
“Enough. We’re moving on.” David turned back to the first intersection in Alpha hallway. “Everyone stay to the left side of the hall. I’m going to look around the corner of the first intersection and see if this connects to Bravo.” He hesitated. “I guess we’d better label this, too. We’ll call the firs
t intersecting corridor Romeo and the second intersecting corridor Juliet.” He pressed against the left wall and inched toward Romeo. There was once again an absence of sound.
He pressed against the corner of Alpha and kept a constant eye on the right side of Romeo. Through his tcv, he could see that various doors lined Romeo as far as vision allowed. There were no signs of life. He drew another breath and pressed against the wall again. He inched his head toward the corner just enough to allow his peripheral vision to angle around it. He poked his head around, and the hallway came into view. Romeo was long, and it did appear to connect to Bravo. It ran past Bravo, where it ended in a right-hand turn. A u-turn around into Juliet. He looked quickly behind him, where he saw the same pattern. The two ends of Romeo mirrored each other.
“Okay,” David said, “it looks like Romeo does run all the way down to Bravo. I see a turn at both ends…it must loop around to Juliet on both sides.” His gaze lingered on the Bravo intersection.
“We have to check out this end before we move toward Bravo. Henry and Zig, you guys are going to come with me to do that. Becan, I want you to stay right here in this intersection while we do so.”
“Like hell!” Becan said.
“Becan…we need to check all the rooms, but we can’t let anything slip by. You’ll be in constant view at all times.”
“Bloody grand. So yeh can see me get eaten alive first-hand, class.”
“We’re only meters away. If you see anything, just let us know, we’re right there.”
“Yeh think?” Becan scoffed. “Don’t be long.”
Back in the school’s center, Lilan surveyed the cafeteria while Scott and Michael focused on the commons. Only their footsteps had broken the silence. “Commons still clear, sir,” Scott whispered. It almost began to feel safe where they were. Even though the necrilid predators were somewhere in the school, Scott couldn’t envision them bounding across the room. It seemed too frightening a possibility to be real.
“Let’s move to the kitchen, make sure there’s nothing back there,” Lilan said. “Then we’ll hit the double doors. Carter, stay with us but keep an eye on the commons.” Michael nodded.
They weaved through the tables and chairs until they reached the only metal door—a swing door—along the back wall of the cafeteria. Lilan pressed against it, assault rifle firmly in grasp, and pushed his way through it. The door groaned, though the noise was short-lived. The kitchen came into view. It was a small two-lane galley. He motioned for Scott to enter and scan the galley. Scott did so while Lilan held the door open. Michael’s focus remained outside, on the commons.
Scott’s inspection of the galley was short but thorough. As soon as he was certain of its abandonment, he offered Lilan a thumbs up.
Lilan nodded and beckoned Scott out of the kitchen. The metal door swung shut behind them, and the colonel pointed to the set of double doors opposite the cafeteria. Point Golf. Scott and Michael nodded, and the three men worked their way back through the tables and chairs.
Becan’s heart pounded as he crouched in the middle of the intersection. Though his vision was shared by all directions, an unidentifiable force lured him toward one. The far end of Romeo, past the Bravo intersection. Something drew him there—something unnatural. Every moment his eyes left it felt like a mistake. Something about it was not right.
It took several minutes for David, Henry, and Zigler to finish the inspection of the near side of Romeo. It indeed u-turned into Juliet, as it appeared to do on both ends. The soldiers peered through classroom windows as they inspected; though there were no signs of necrilid presence anywhere. Midway through the near side of Juliet, David spoke quietly to Becan again. “Becan, we’re coming back to you down Juliet…move yourself to the second intersection so we can see you.”
Silence hung on the line. Becan’s voice murmured through. “Righ’, I’d like to stay here. Yeh guys can see down tha’ hall fine, but I want to keep an eye ou’ on tha’ corner way up ahead.”
David paused. “The other end of Romeo?”
Silence fell again. As David awaited Becan’s response, Henry and Zigler drew to his side and watched him. “Yeah,” Becan answered. “I think somethin’ is down there.”
The three men froze. They exchanged widened expressions, and David focused on the comm. “Did you see something?”
Becan hesitated. “I didn’t…”
No further elaboration came. “What makes you think something’s down there?” David asked.
“It’s…” Becan’s words trailed off. His attention was completely fixated on the far end of Romeo. The hairs on his neck and on his arms tingled, and he engaged the zoom on his visor. “…it’s just a feelin’.”
David raised a brow. “A feeling?” He turned to Henry and Zigler. “Okay. Becan…stay there, then. We’re going to finish here, then meet up with you again.”
Becan’s response was quick. “All righ’. Hurry. I’m brickin’ it over here.”
David reaffirmed his grip on the shotgun. “Let’s get this wing finished. I’ll take the doors on the left, you two take the doors on the right. Look through the glass, make sure nothing is there, then move on to the next one.” Henry and Zigler nodded, and they continued the search.
Lilan, Scott, and Michael stood outside the double doors of Golf. “I’ll go first,” Lilan said. “You two follow right behind. Same as before.” The colonel squared his E-35 against his shoulder and pressed against the door. It opened without noise.
It was an auditorium. There were three seating sections, all of which angled downward to a stage. The colonel gave a brief look up at the ceiling and grimaced. It was a labyrinth of lights, cables, and helicopter wire. “Okay,” he said, “let’s move in here. I’ll take the center aisle, Remington take right, Carter take left. Sweep the floor and meet on the stage.”
Scott and Michael affirmed, and they stepped ahead.
David paused to speak to Becan as he, Henry, and Zigler reappeared in the Alpha/Juliet intersection. “Still feel like there’s some—”
“I do,” Becan said.
David scrutinized the Irishman. His gaze was fixated down Romeo in a trancelike state. His attention never once wavered to look at David or the others.
David refocused down Juliet. “These corridors run parallel. We’ll move in pairs. Henry, stay with me—we’ll move down Juliet. Becan and Zig, you two move down Romeo. Step careful.”
The air hung with an intangible weight. With every step they took, it grew heavier. The temperature was still warm and alive, and sweat drops formed on their foreheads. There was still no sound. The two pairs were almost at the adjacent intersections of Bravo when Henry suddenly stopped.
David halted to face him. Henry’s expression was locked in a dead stare. “Everyone hold up for a bit,” David said.
Becan and Zigler froze in Romeo.
David followed Henry’s gaze toward the corner of Juliet, though nothing seemed out of place. His attention returned to Henry. “What is it?”
“Do you smell that?” Henry asked.
David shifted his gaze back down Juliet. He drew in a breath through his nostrils. The air was musty, as it had been since they first set foot in the school. He cocked his head slightly. “I don’t smell anything new…either of you smell anything over there?”
Becan and Zigler eyed one another; they hardly dared to breathe. “We don’t,” Becan answered. “Nothin’ here.”
Henry was quick to defend himself. “I smell something. I have a good sense of smell.”
“Does it smell like a wet dog?” asked Becan, his senses pricking again.
Henry shook his head from the other hallway. “No…it’s…” His expression contorted. “I don’t know. I’ve never smelled anything like this. It’s almost…sweet? But not good at all, it’s different. It’s strong.”
David hesitated, then offered a slow half-nod. “All right…let’s keep walking. Stop if you smell anything.” The foursome resumed their steady track in th
e direction of Bravo hallway. Moments later, all four abruptly stopped.
Zigler’s voice emerged first. “I smell it.”
“I do too,” Becan said.
David inhaled deeply, and the odor came to him. It was not pleasant at all. It was the exact opposite. It was like rancid nectar. It was like nothing else. He recognized it immediately.
“It’s flesh.”
Everyone froze. The hair on their arms and necks screamed for the walls. “Are yeh kiddin’ me?” Becan asked in a hushed whisper.
David stepped forward, and the odor intensified. His expression hardened. “Yes,” he said as he chapped his mouth. “That’s human flesh.”
Henry’s voice wavered for the first time. “I thought nobody was supposed to be in here.”
Becan swallowed hard but did not utter a word.
Team-2 was halfway through the auditorium when David’s voice emerged through the comm. “Colonel?”
Lilan raised an open hand. Scott and Michael halted. “What is it?” Lilan asked.
Silence spanned several seconds. “Sir, someone in the school died over here. We can smell it.”
Goose bumps erupted across Scott’s skin. Someone died? Wasn’t the school supposed to be empty? If someone died, something killed them. That was an obvious truth. He almost wished he didn’t know what that something was.
Lilan’s voice remained steady. “Do you see anything?”
“No sir,” David answered. “We can only smell it.”
Lilan nodded and resumed his slow pace across the auditorium. “Proceed to it. Be careful. Something’s probably close.”
Something’s probably close. It is probably close. Scott closed his eyes and thought a prayer.
David acknowledged, and the comm channel was closed.
David regripped his shotgun. “You heard him,” he said. “Continue forward, and stay alert.”
After several more steps, all four men were in view of one another again in the two intersections of Bravo. The commons area was visible in the far distance, though their attention focused on the ends of Romeo and Juliet. The odor grew worse.
