“Beckers over here,” called out Shaw.
“What do you want?” replied Beckers, sounding quite tired.
“Where is Corporal Zach?”
“He’s riding in the last vehicle with the Scotsman.”
“I need to speak with him right away.”
Beckers shook his head. “It’s too late. We’re leaving right away. Sit down and be quiet.”
Shaw could feel himself starting to become desperate. They were all in danger. He had to get them to listen. Turning to Beckers, he said, “Listen up, the imposter, he’s here in the camp. I just saw him climb into the second jeep.”
Turning his head, Beckers looked back at the jeep. Even through the swirling mist, Beckers could see four German soldiers sitting patiently in the jeep waiting for the order to leave. Looking from man to man, Beckers recognized each man. Shaking his head, Beckers walked past Shaw and climbed up into the cab of the half-track and took a seat.
“Herr Captain, you must sit down,” said a soldier to Shaw.
His stomach was tied in knots. Angrily, Shaw struck the side of the half-track with his fist and then sat down. A moment later, the vehicle’s engine revved loudly and with a piercing creaking noise from its frozen track, it ever so slowly it began to edge forward. Picking up speed as it went, the half-track led the small column of vehicles out of the weather station.
Relief washed over the German soldiers as they drove through the front gate and onto the narrow road leading down the hill away from the station. Several men in the back of the half-track stood up, enthusiastically cheered and waved their helmets in the air, not knowing that the worst was yet to come.
Hidden in the fog was the small village of Vikedal.
It, however, wasn’t the only thing obscured in the mist. Jogging through the woods was a long, dark shape. Easily keeping pace with the slowly moving vehicles, the beast felt a sharp pang of hunger in its belly. It had waited its turn, and now it wanted to feast until it couldn’t eat anymore. Waiting for the coming signal from its master, the beast’s wide tooth-filled mouth began to salivate. Drool fell from the corners of its mouth like rivers, quickly turning into slender icicles hanging from its fur-covered face. It had been far too long since it last ate. The thought of the coming meal drove the creature on. It wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Something in the back of its engineered mind told it that within minutes its master would make his escape and that death would come for everyone else. With a low growl, the beast picked up its pace. It wanted to be at the head of the column when the order to kill was given.
35
German Convoy
The biting wind surged inside the open crew compartment of the half-track, making an already miserable ride even more uncomfortable for Shaw. He sat with his hands jammed deep inside his parka pockets. Under his hood, his toque was pulled all the way down as he tried to stay warm. Looking about, he saw that the three soldiers sitting in the back of the vehicle with him looked just as dejected. Their heads were down. None of them paid any heed to their prisoner whatsoever. Another soldier stood up manning the forward-facing machine gun mounted directly over the driver’s cab. The machine gun at the back of the vehicle sat there unloaded, covered in an inch of ice. Shaw lifted his head slightly and looked out onto the winding road. The driver of the half-track was driving very cautiously. The vehicle barely seemed to move at all as it crawled over the ice-covered road. If this kept up, Shaw knew that he had a chance, no matter how slim, to overpower his guards and then turn a weapon on the vehicles behind him. The tricky bit would be in avoiding hitting his friends. Still he knew that he had to take the chance. Turning his head, Shaw tried to see where they were. Unfamiliarity with the local terrain and the lingering presence of the thick ice fog didn’t help. Peering down at his watch, he decided to wait a couple more minutes before he made his move. By that time, he figured that they should be somewhere near the village. With Anna’s help, they should be able to easily lose the Germans in the mist.
In the second jeep behind the half-track, the mood was almost festive. All but one of the soldiers were happily laughing and joking with one another. Leaving the camp had been like having an ancient and deadly curse being lifted off the soldiers.
Sitting quietly, the imposter twirled a slender metal silver-looking rod in his hands. On one end was a small red button and on the other was a red light that suddenly came to life and began to blink on and off.
“What’s that Hahn?” said a soldier sitting next to the imposter in the backseat, oblivious to who he really was.
“It has a dual purpose. It is an indicator and a control device,” said the imposter, knowing that in a few seconds he was going to trigger it sending out a signal that would kill everyone but him.
“What does it indicate?”
“It indicates that he’s full of crap,” said the driver of the vehicle, chuckling to himself.
“No, seriously Hahn, I can see it blinking, what does it indicate?” asked the curious soldier.
The imposter smiled. “It means that my extraction team is less than an hour away.”
A puzzled look grew on the soldier’s face. “Hahn, I don’t get it. What are you talking about?”
“It’s time for me to leave.”
“Leave what…your fucking mind?” said the driver over his shoulder.
Pressing the red button on the bottom of the rod, the imposter sat there with a smile on his face, knowing that death was coming.
In the mist-shrouded woods, like a switch being turned on inside its head, the beast instantly went into attack mode. Adrenaline was released, swiftly surging throughout its body in preparation for the coming feast. With a loud roar, it turned in its tracks and then burst from the woods. Fixing its attention on the lead vehicle, the beast charged straight towards it.
Sitting half-asleep in the cab of the half-track, Lieutenant Beckers saw something moving very quickly towards them. Leaning forward in his seat, he rubbed his tired eyes and tried to get a better of view of whatever it was moving rapidly through the fog. A second later, the beast charged out of the swirling mist. Beckers’ blood turned to ice when he realized that the beast was coming straight at his vehicle. He barely had time to warn the driver before the beast with a loud roar leapt up on top of the half-track’s cab, its weight easily crushing down the top of the cab. Hearing the metal shriek and buckle above his head, with a frightened cry, the driver foolishly jammed his foot down hard on the brake pedal. It was the worst thing he could have done. In the blink of an eye, a chain reaction that doomed them all was set in motion.
Shaw heard the beast’s deep growl. Turning about in his seat, his heart instantly began to race in his chest. Less than a second later, the beast landed with a loud thud on top of the half-track’s cab. It was slightly smaller and leaner than the one that had attacked the weather station. What it lacked in size, it made up for in speed and ferocity. Acting on pure instinct, Shaw dove over the side of the vehicle. Landing on his shoulder, he rolled over and came up on his knees.
The soldier manning the machinegun had been looking the wrong way and never saw the creature coming until it was too late. He reached over to cock the weapon, but never made it. Slashing out with one of its long arms, the beast tore the man’s head from his shoulders. A fountain of blood shot into the air as the head flew into the back of the vehicle, rolling around like a bloody soccer ball.
With a terrified look on his face, a soldier sitting in the back of the half-track dropped his rifle from his hands, hurriedly stood and then tried to jump over the side of the half-track only to be snatched out of the air by the beast’s powerful jaws. The crunching sound of his chest being pulverized inside the beast’s maw filled the air.
Another man stood up and tried loading a round into his frozen rifle only to be hit in the chest by the beast. With long, deep bloody scars cut into his body, the soldier dropped to his knees and then fell face forward, dead.
The last soldier still alive in the
back of the vehicle sat there frozen in place with fear. His mind tried to block out the world around him. He closed his eyes as the beast leant forward, its blood-covered mouth opening wide.
In less than five seconds, four men lay dead. Steam rose into the frigid morning air from the pools of warm blood spilled inside the back of the half-track.
Shaw scrambled to his feet and turned to run just as the jeep following the half-track came out of the fog and slammed head-on into the back of the stationary vehicle. Although not travelling very fast on the snow and ice-covered road, the jeep still hit hard enough to crush in the front end of the vehicle. Inside the small jeep, the sudden unexpected stop threw everyone forward in their seats.
Knowing that Anna was trapped inside the jeep, Shaw’s mind struggled with what to do next. He was unarmed and the beast wouldn’t remain in the back of the half-track for long.
Anna let out a pained moan as she tried to push herself upright. She had been sitting behind the SS Major when the jeep smashed into the back of the half-track. Flung forward in her seat, Anna hit the back of the major’s seat, knocking the wind from her lungs. The soldier sitting beside her in the back of the jeep snapped his neck on impact and lay there in a heap with his glossy, unblinking eyes staring over at Anna. Turning her head, Anna saw that Wagner was leaning forward in his seat with his head on the jeep’s dash, a bloody gash gouged into his head. Her mind had barely registered what had happened, when she heard the heart-stopping cry of the beast as it brought its blood-soaked head over the top of the back of the half-track and laid its hungry eyes on the people trapped inside the jeep.
Leaping down, the beast landed with its front paws on the jeep’s windshield, shattering the already cracked glass inwards. The driver, unable to move, pinned under the weight of the massive beast’s paw, was the first to die. Shooting its head down, the beast grabbed hold of the driver inside its mouth.
Anna let out a scream of horror as the hapless driver was pulled kicking and screaming out of the jeep to be devoured by the beast.
Hearing Anna scream launched Shaw into action. Running back to the half-track, he scrambled back up into the open crew compartment. The floor was littered with blood and horribly mangled bodies. Blocking the sight from his mind, Shaw jumped behind the rear-mounted MG-42. Smashing down hard with his hand, he feverishly knocked off chunks of ice until it was ready to use. Opening the machine gun’s housing, Shaw grabbed a belt of ammunition and fed it in. Slamming down the cover, he pulled back on the weapon’s charging lever. Shaw leant into the weapon and aimed the machine-gun straight at the back of the beast’s head. It was only a couple of yards away; he couldn’t miss. Pulling back on the trigger, nothing happened. Cursing, Shaw reached forward and re-cocked the machine gun. As before, when he pulled on the trigger, nothing happened. Throwing open the weapon’s housing, Shaw saw that the ammunition belt had twisted and was jammed inside the breach. Knowing nothing about how to properly clear an MG-42, Shaw swore and then angrily slammed the housing closed. Spinning about, he saw a blood-covered submachine gun lying on the floor of the vehicle. Reaching down, he grabbed it and then in one smooth motion, he turned it on the beast.
In the second jeep, death came quickly. Coming out of the heavy fog, the driver saw the crashed jeep in front of them. Jamming his foot down, he hit the brakes and then turned the wheel hard over to the right trying to avoid the collision. With ice and rocks flying up into the air behind the jeep, it slid off the icy road and then came to a sliding halt in the deep snow.
Knowing that there was no reason to remain hidden anymore, the imposter cleared its mind and became what it was. The men trapped with him saw the leathery skin and reptilian eyes of the imposter emerge from the face that had once been their friend, Hahn’s. Panic swept the jeep as the men tried to escape. Only they weren’t quick enough. Lashing out with its left hand, the imposter first crushed the windpipe of the soldier sitting beside him. A fraction of a second later, it reached over with both hands and snapped the necks of the men sitting in front of him. It was done.
The sound of Shaw’s weapon firing away at the beast was the kick that Anna needed to fight for her life. Turning in her seat, she flipped open the flimsy jeep door and then threw herself out onto the snow. Without looking back, she ran towards the half-track and safety.
Shaw fired until the weapon was empty. The beast hadn’t moved. It didn’t seem to care that Shaw had opened fire on it. Unlike the first beast that attacked them, Shaw saw that this one had even more armored plating protecting its neck and body. It was going to take a lot more than a submachine gun to bring this monster down.
Inside the battered first jeep, Wagner slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was pinned by his seat against the dash. He turned his head over and saw the beast as it gnawed on the entrails of the vehicle’s driver. Blood seemed to run like a red river down the hood of the jeep. Cold fear and horror seeped into Wagner’s injured body. Struggling to reach his pistol holster, Wagner, to his dismay, realized that his right arm was broken. Sharp, shooting pain also emanated from his other arm as well as he tried to free himself from the wreck. Both his arms were broken.
Seeing a man move around inside the vehicle, the beast stopped feasting and turned its head to look down at Wagner.
A second later, Wagner could hear the creature breathing as it lowered its head to sniff him. The strong coppery smell of fresh blood filled Wagner’s nostrils. With a muted cry of panic, Wagner saw the beast’s massive maw open wide. Row upon row of razor-sharp teeth waited to devour him. With one swipe of its arm, the beast tore the remainder of the jeep’s broken windshield aside. Letting out a triumphant cry, the beast dropped its head down and then snapped its jaws tightly around Wagner’s head, severing it from his body. In one gulp, it swallowed its bite before pulling the remainder of Wagner’s body out of the jeep. Tearing into his mid-section, the beast began to feast once more.
The last domino to fall was the truck carrying Bruce. The driver was more concerned with lighting a cigarette than paying attention to the road in front of him. Not that he expected anything to go wrong while they slowly drove back to their base. The few seconds of inattention while he fumbled for his lighter, cost him his life. Coming out of the ice fog the truck slammed straight into the back of the crashed jeep. The sound of crunching and compacting metal filled the air as the truck crushed the jeep like an accordion into the back of the stationary half-track. If Anna hadn’t already jumped free, she would have been killed in the impact. Coming to a sudden stop, the driver was sent flying through the truck’s windshield and onto the hood of the destroyed jeep.
With lightning-fast reflexes, the beast leapt from the jeep just before it was struck. Landing in the snow, the creature turned its attention to the new vehicle. With a growl from deep in its throat, the beast jumped up onto the hood of the truck. Thrusting its head through the smashed windshield, the beast snatched a stunned soldier riding up front in the cab in its mouth. With a scream, the soldier was pulled flailing from the cab and flung to the ground. Leaping down, the beast landed on the hapless soldier and instantly tore into the man’s stomach. No matter how much it ate, the beast didn’t seem to be able to sate its hunger. What it didn’t know was that the instant its master had triggered its mind into attacking the convoy that it had less than ten minutes left to live. It was a weapon and one the imposter did not intend to leave alive in the hands of the primitive inhabitants of this inhospitable world.
Struggling up onto his hands and knees in the back of the truck, Bruce shook his head. He knew that he was going to have some good bruises out of the crash, but thankfully that was the extent of his injuries. Looking over at Zach, he said, “Who the hell is driving this wreck?”
Zach didn’t understand English, but he understood the sentiment. Helping Bruce to his feet, both men instantly froze when they heard the roar of the beast just before it jumped up onto the hood of the truck. The sound of its claws scratching the metal hood of the truck filled
both men’s hearts with dread.
“Get up,” said Zach to the two soldiers lying on the floor in the back of the truck with him and Bruce.
Staggering to their feet, the men grabbed their rifles and then looked to the front of the truck just as the co-driver was bloodily pulled from the cab to his death.
With his sniper rifle in hand, Zach moved to the back of the truck and carefully peered outside. A wave of nausea ran through his body when he saw the beast take a bite out of the soldier struggling to escape in the snow. Spinning about, Zach pointed to the other side of the truck. Leading the way, Zach, quickly followed by Bruce and the two soldiers, jumped down into the snow. Zach knew that he didn’t need to tell the men behind him to be quiet and to keep their heads down as he led them past the destroyed jeep towards the half-track. He could see that Shaw, Anna, Lieutenant Beckers and the half-track’s driver had all taken cover from the beast behind the armored half-track. He saw a submachine gun in Shaw’s hands but didn’t care. Zach knew it was going to take every one of them to remain alive.
Shaw saw Bruce coming and let out a deep breath. He had been worried that the beast had somehow gotten to him when it attacked the truck. Taking refuge behind the half-track with Anna, Shaw never saw, but heard the poor soldier being pulled from the cab of the truck to his death.
“Where is everyone else?” Beckers asked Zach.
Zach shook his head.
“You ok?” Shaw asked Bruce.
“I’ll be happier when I know there’s no more of them bloody tigers prowling around out there,” replied Bruce.
“What are we going to do sir?” said one of the soldiers to Beckers.
Incursion Page 23
