Incursion

by Richard Turner

  Pulling back on the trigger of his submachine gun, Muller aimed at the imposter’s mid-section, hoping to cut it down.

  The impact of the rounds staggered the imposter slightly back on its heels.

  Suddenly, silence replaced the sound of bullets tearing through the air. The submachine gun’s magazine was empty.

  Muller swore. No man could have withstood the deadly barrage of bullets fired, but incredulously the imposter still stood. Throwing his weapon to the ground, he reached for his pistol.

  Turning its head, the imposter looked over at Shaw. For a moment, it changed back into his brother. Shaw could see a look of amusement in its eyes. It was enjoying itself. Gritting his teeth, Shaw knew that it was toying with them.

  Shaw’s throat still burnt, but he had to warn Muller to aim at its head. He opened his mouth to say something, when the imposter let out a high-pitched whistle. His ears felt as if someone had jammed a thousand red-hot needles into his eardrums and was twisting them around. Bringing his hands up to his ears to block the piercing sound, Shaw looked over and saw both Muller and Bruce cringing in pain.

  A couple of seconds later, the noise abruptly stopped. Looking back to where the imposter had been standing, Shaw finally found his voice and swore. Their attacker was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where is he?” said Muller. Dropping down onto one knee, he tried to see if the imposter had hidden himself under one of the trucks.

  Silence descended upon the camp as the three men tried in vain to see where the imposter had gone.

  The silence, however, was not to last.

  It was Bruce who first heard it, a low growling noise that seemed to grow louder by the second. Stepping away from Shaw, Bruce peered into the darkness. Through the driving snow, he could just make out a large shape moving quickly towards the chain-link fence. Raising a hand to block out the falling snow, Bruce’s heart began to hammer away in his chest when he realized that it was a large animal charging straight at them.

  “Sir,” called out Bruce, pointing at the beast.

  Shaw turned his head just as the animal crashed headfirst into the chain-link fence.

  The shrieking sound of the metal bending and snapping filled the air. A second later, the animal let out a loud roar as it raised one of its powerful arms and then with its razor-sharp claws, it easily tore a hole through the fence.

  Shaw saw that the animal looked like a massive tiger. Its fur was light gray with white stripes running down the length of its body. The beast’s head was large for its body with a wide mouth. White, bone-like armor plates covered its neck and its vital organs. Thinking back to the odd egg-like object they had found by the imposter’s craft, Shaw instantly knew that the animal must have come from there. How it had gotten so large, so fast, was unimportant right now; staying alive was the only thought in his mind.

  “Run,” hollered Shaw, finding his voice, as he grabbed Bruce by the shoulder and pulled him back with him.

  With a deafening roar, the beast leapt into the camp.

  Muller knew he had no chance. If he ran, it would be upon him before he took five steps. Bringing up his pistol, he took careful aim at the creature’s head and then opened fire. Bullet after bullet struck the animal in the head. Instead of dropping to the ground dead, the animal shook its head, growled from deep inside its chest and then leapt straight at Muller, knocking him to the ground. Looking up, Muller’s blood turned cold when saw the beast open its mouth. It’s hot, wet, breath smelt of rotting meat and death. The last thought that flashed through Muller’s mind was that the creature seemed more like a shark than a tiger as its row upon row of razor-sharp teeth descended upon his head.

  30

  Weather Station

  The sound of a rifle firing somewhere nearby startled Anna. Sitting up in her chair, she turned her head and listened. Aside from the howling wind racing around outside the building she was being held in, the world once again seemed quiet and calm. Perhaps someone had panicked in the dark and fired at nothing, thought Anna.

  However, about the room, the SS soldiers seemed to sense something was wrong. Anna watched as they all reached for their weapons and began to check that they were loaded. Wagner, sitting across from Anna, stood up, drew his pistol from its holster and then stared at the wooden walls as if he could somehow see what was happening on the other side. Suddenly, the sound of a submachine gun firing made Anna realize that something was wrong. Was the camp under attack? If so, by whom? All of her people were dead. Tugging at the rope tying her to her chair, Anna grew apprehensive. If something was going on, the last place she wanted to be was tied to a chair.

  Suddenly, the firing stopped.

  Wagner looked down at Anna. His cold, unfeeling ice-blue eyes made her instantly uncomfortable. Turning to the nearest SS soldier, Wagner pointed at Anna and said, “Get her on her feet. If there are partisans inside the camp, we may need her.”

  The soldier acknowledged the order, cut her hands free and then grabbed her by her jacket collar. Hauling her up, the soldier pushed Anna until she stood in front of the door. Anna cringed inside when she realized that they intended to use her as a human shield should anyone attempt to force their way into the building.

  A loud animal roar from outside in the dark made Anna turn her head. Deep inside, the primal fear of being attacked by a wild animal took hold of her. She wanted to run, to hide, but where could she go?

  Shaw and Bruce turned the corner of the weather station office and ran as fast their legs could carry them. Propelled by fear, both men sought the safety of the main headquarters building. There would be men and weapons there. From behind, they heard a loud roar. Turning his head slightly, Shaw looked behind him and saw nothing but the falling snow. The beast, whatever it was, was thankfully not chasing them. Ahead the headquarters and safety loomed.

  “What the hell was that?” said a terrified SS soldier, looking around the room at his equally scared comrades.

  “It was only the wind,” said Wagner, trying to calm his men’s growing anxiety.

  “Sir, that didn’t sound like the wind to me,” said another soldier.

  “Everyone keep quiet,” snapped Wagner, desperate to control his own fear. He wasn’t a natural leader like Vogel. He was a man who kept his men in order through threats and intimidation. At that moment, Wagner would have paid a king’s ransom to have a man like Vogel by his side.

  Suddenly, the far wall of the building shook as if something unseen had bumped up beside it, testing the strength of the wooden structure. A nervous soldier spun on his heels and fired off a quick burst from his submachine gun at the wall.

  A second later, an unsettling loud roar split the air. Several soldiers near the far wall had heard enough. Dropping any pretense of discipline, the scared soldiers pushed past one another as they tried to put as much distance as they could between themselves and whatever it was moving around outside. Another soldier, his hands shaking like a leaf in the wind, opened fire at the wall, emptying his weapon’s magazine. The noise of the weapon firing inside the small building was deafening.

  “No more bloody firing,” yelled an SS Sergeant. “All you’re doing is wasting ammo.”

  The smell of cordite and fear hung heavy inside the room.

  From outside, the sound of growling moved down the side of the building and then faded away.

  Anna suddenly realized that she wasn’t being held anymore. The young soldier had let go of her and was standing there with both of his hands on his weapon; his eyes were wide and scared as he stared over at the far wall. Letting go with one hand, the soldier reached under his jacket and pulled out a silver cross, brought it up to his quivering lips and then kissed it. I doubt that God listens to and protects the SS, thought Anna. Although tonight, she hoped that an exception could be made. The ragged sound of heavy breathing filled the room. Turning her head, she looked over at the SS soldiers and saw the look of terror in their eyes. This is how their victims feel just before they die, thoug
ht Anna. She had no time to be smug, as she was in the same predicament with the soldiers, and she didn’t want to die either.

  “Perhaps it has gone away,” said one of the soldiers nervously.

  A couple of soldiers laughed uneasily and tried to put on a brave face. Even Anna wanted to believe that whatever was outside had left.

  However, it was not to be. When the attack came, it wasn’t from where the soldiers had expected. With a loud thunderous crash of wood being smashed apart, the roof above the soldier’s head collapsed inwards, showering the men below with wood and snow.

  Suddenly, the generators powering the camp went silent, plunging the camp into pitch-black darkness.

  Men screamed in panic and fired wildly inside the darkened building.

  Anna threw herself to the floor and covered her head with her hands as the world all around her exploded.

  With an ear-splitting roar, the beast jumped down into the room and landed on several SS soldiers, knocking them to the floor. Lashing out with its deadly razor-sharp claws, the beast effortlessly eviscerated men where they stood. Anyone unfortunate enough to be near its wide, gaping mouth was instantly attacked. Large bloody pieces of flesh and innards flew through the air as the beast tore everything in its path apart. Men tried bringing their weapons up to fire at the beast, but the rush of men trying to get away from the beast made it all but impossible to get a shot off.

  The heart-stopping sound of men screaming and dying only feet away from her head filled Anna’s ears. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She knew that she had to escape or die like everyone else in the room. Without looking back, like an Olympic sprinter, she quickly got up on her feet and ran for the door.

  Wagner stood to one side firing his pistol impotently into the creature’s side, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off the hard armor plates running down the length of its body. Dropping his empty pistol, Wagner felt his bowels turn to jelly. He wasn’t a soldier. He didn’t see the need to die fighting. Forsaking his men, he turned on his heels and fled for the door.

  Shaw dug in his heels and came to a sliding halt on the icy ground. Looking back, he realized that in his panic to escape that he had forgotten about Anna. No matter what happened next, he knew that he couldn’t leave Anna to a horrible death. Grabbing Bruce’s arm, he told him to find Vogel and tell him that Muller was dead and that the camp was under attack.

  Bruce hesitated. He heard the thunderous roar from the beast as it smashed into the weather station office’s outer walls, followed almost immediately by panicked gunfire. He couldn’t abandon Anna any more than Shaw could.

  “Go,” said Shaw, pushing Bruce away. “We need help and you have to stay alive.”

  Gritting his teeth, Bruce turned about and ran.

  Shaw suddenly realized that he was unarmed. He had no idea what he was going to do to help Anna, but standing there staring into the dark wasn’t going to help either. He had barely moved, when he froze in his tracks. From the far side of the building emerged the beast. It walked along the outside of the shack smelling the air. A deep growl escaped its throat as it seemed to smell the fear of the men trapped inside the flimsy building. Shaw felt his heart pounding away in his chest. He could see that the beast was well over twenty feet long and powerfully built. Barely able to breathe, Shaw watched as the beast walked past the weather station office and then with one easy leap landed on the roof of their old cell. Shaw was amazed that the beast hadn’t seen him. Its focus, however, was on the SS soldiers and the thought of an easy meal.

  Bending down like a cat about to pounce on an unwary mouse, the beast looked over at the other building and then launched itself over onto the roof. Shaw heard the loud thud of the beast landing on the wooden roof, followed immediately by the snapping and crashing sounds of the roof collapsing under its weight.

  Horrified screams and gunfire came from inside.

  Running, Shaw almost made it to the door when the camp went dark. All of a sudden, the door flew open and Anna burst from the building and ran straight into Shaw. Letting out a frightened cry, Anna raised her hand to hit whoever or whatever was blocking her way.

  “Anna it’s me,” said Shaw as he grabbed hold of her arm.

  Looking up, Anna saw Shaw’s face. Throwing her arms around Shaw’s neck, Anna held onto him as if it was the last thing she was ever going to do.

  From out of the dark, another figure ran past Shaw and Anna. Neither person saw who it was.

  “Come on, we have to go,” said Shaw. Taking Anna by the hand, they ran back towards the headquarters building. Behind them, the sounds of men fighting and dying faded away until the only sound was of bones being snapped and flesh being torn asunder.

  Shaw and Anna turned the corner of the headquarters building and made for the front door. The distinct sound of a bolt loading a round into a rifle somewhere in the dark brought both to a sliding halt.

  “If you move another inch so help me God, I’ll shoot you,” said a frightened voice.

  Remaining perfectly still, Shaw said, “It’s only me, Captain Shaw and the Norwegian woman.”

  The light from a flashlight unexpectedly turned on in his face blinded Shaw.

  “Turn that off you idiot if you know what’s good for you,” snapped Shaw.

  “Do as he says,” said Vogel from behind the soldier. A second later, the world turned dark again.

  “What happened?” Vogel asked Shaw, pushing past the frightened soldier.

  “Major, it’s hard to explain. You’ll just have to trust me. There’s an enormous animal inside the camp. I’m not really sure what it is, but it killed Muller and has most likely killed all of the SS soldiers in the old weather station building.”

  “Not all,” said Vogel, barely disguising the disgust in his voice. “Major Wagner is in my office cowering under a table. I think he’s soiled himself as well.”

  Bruce stepped out of the building and into the dark. He gave a mock salute and then said, “Glad to see you could make it, Captain.”

  Shaw shook his head. Looking over at Vogel, he said, “Why did you turn the generators off?”

  “We didn’t.”

  “That German soldier must have,” said Bruce.

  “Which soldier?” said Vogel.

  “That’s hard to explain as well. Suffice to say, Major, you have a soldier running around the camp killing your men, who isn’t who he appears to be,” said Shaw.

  “This is a bloody nightmare,” muttered Vogel under his breath. Turning about, he saw Corporal Zach standing there with his sniper rifle in his hands. “Corporal, take a couple of men and get the generator running again.”

  Zach nodded his head and then headed out alone into the dark. He knew he could move faster and quieter in the night on his own.

  “Sir,” said a soldier trying to get Vogel’s attention.

  “Yes,” said Vogel, his voice growing irritated.

  “Sir, we have the men’s weapons here. They’re defenseless,” said the soldier.

  Shaw said, “Jesus, why the hell did you do that?”

  “I thought it best. After the attack on Sergeant Muller, I thought it wise to limit their access to the weapons,” replied Vogel, regretting his decision.

  “Sir, you have to get their weapons to them, or they won’t stand a chance against whatever it is inside the camp. I doubt that it will remain inside the weather station building forever. It’s a killer and after it eats, it will come after your men.”

  Vogel nodded his head and ordered the few men he had with him to grab all of the weapons immediately.

  “Sir, you’re going to have to make your stand in the barracks,” said Shaw. “I don’t know if it will do any good, but there is always some safety in numbers. Perhaps you can bring down such a weight of fire that it decides to leave the camp rather than push its luck.”

  “I agree,” said Vogel.

  Shaw quickly passed on what he had said to Bruce.

&nbs
p; “Captain, I doubt it’s that simple. Even in the dark I can tell that you’re planning something,” said Bruce.

  Shaw placed his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “Duncan, you and Anna need to go with Vogel and his men. You should be safe there until I return.”

  “And you?”

  “I’m going over to the generator.”

  “To what end, sir?”

  “Gasoline, the generators are powered by gasoline,” explained Shaw. “Whatever it is out there; I doubt it likes fire any more than any other wild animal.”

  “Aye, you could be right about that.”

  Shaw tapped Bruce on the shoulder and then turned towards Anna. “You’re going with Bruce and the Germans,” explained Shaw in Norwegian, praying that no one else nearby could understand. “Whatever happens, you have to keep Bruce alive. If you can, I expect you both to try and make a run for it.”

  Anna felt a lump in her throat. Struggling to keep her feelings in check, she said, “What about you?”

  “I have a job to do.” With that, he leant over and quickly kissed her on the forehead. Before she could say a word, Shaw turned about, picked up a submachine gun from the ground, checked that it was loaded and then quickly disappeared into the night.

  Bruce saw the look of loss and sadness on Anna’s face. Moving over beside her, he said, “Don’t worry lass, he’ll be alright. He’s far too stubborn to quit or die.”

  Anna quietly nodded her head and prayed that Bruce was right.

  “Come on lass let’s grab a rifle or two or this plan is going to end badly before it ever has a chance to begin,” said Bruce, picking up the nearest couple of rifles and throwing them over his shoulder.

  Anna stood there staring into the falling snow feeling helpless and alone. She never could have imagined that her life was now in the hands of men she had taken an oath to drive from her homeland.

  31

  Weather Station