The Tide (Book 3): Salvage

by Anthony J Melchiorri

  “We’re going to follow the Potomac until we can reach shelter,” Adam said at last. “We’ll lie low for a while and see if we can contact the group at the NIH. Sound good?”

  The others nodded halfheartedly. The bow of the Zodiac cut through the waves, and it bobbed and tossed less as they neared land. Bare branches arched over the riverbank, but other trees still wore the vibrant red and orange hues of a bonfire. Occasionally they passed buildings standing like silent sentinels along the waterway. Now and then, a few Skulls burst from the foliage or tumbled out of houses overlooking the river. The creatures leapt into the water or tried to sprint after them, sticking to the shore. The Zodiac outpaced them and left the Skulls howling in frustration.

  They finally came upon a pier jutting into the water. A black-roofed pavilion lay at the dock’s end. Adam motored toward it and signaled for the group to hop out of the craft. Kara leapt onto the slippery wood and lent a hand to Navid. Sadie and Maggie scrambled out. Adam killed the motor. He held a mooring line from the Zodiac and climbed onto the dock.

  “Bring her up.” Adam started to lug the rubber craft onto the dock, and the others helped. “We need to hide the Zodiac.”

  Maggie grabbed one of the mooring lines in her teeth and pulled it beside Kara. She almost laughed, forgetting where they were and what they were running from. The dog’s valiant efforts in a war it had no comprehension of were both admirable and comical. They grunted and heaved the Zodiac ashore and then pushed it under the pavilion. Once the Zodiac was stowed, they picked up their packs. Adam led them up a stone pathway lined with trees. He looked back at them with an unexpected smile. “Know where we are?”

  Kara shook her head, but Sadie’s face lit up. “I came here with Dad! We’re at Mount Vernon, aren’t we?”

  They broke through the forest toward a white-brick manor with a scarlet roof.

  “Welcome to George Washington’s estate,” Adam said.

  “Why are we here?” Navid asked, adjusting the strap of his pack with his good hand.

  “For somewhere along the Potomac, this place is pretty well hidden in the woods. Plus, you’ve got gates and fences to protect it,” Adam said. “And since it’s a tourist site and national landmark, they would’ve shut the whole place down during the outbreak. That means fewer Skulls. Plus, there’s a restaurant.” He started counting on his fingers. “A gift shop with more food. And they even have a whole field full of crops.”

  “Yeah,” Sadie said. “I remember the tour guide telling us they were growing stuff just like Washington did when he ran the plantation.”

  “Right,” Adam said. “So we’ve got beds, an isolated location, and food. Gives us time to figure out what’s next.”

  Kara looked up at the mansion as they approached it. Despite everything, she didn’t feel right about breaking into the historic home and taking up residence. She felt a strange sense of relief when Adam bypassed it and took them past the gardens and to the visitor’s center first. They passed into the gift shop full of trinkets. Christmas ornaments and gift baskets stuffed with wine bottles filled the place. Cookbooks and souvenir mugs, nothing that looked especially useful. Except for the T-shirts.

  “Dry clothes, anyone?” Adam asked.

  Kara started to pick through the shirts. A dull ping sounded from her pack. She paused, her brow furrowed, wondering what had caused the noise. Then she remembered. She tore through the pack and took out the laptop. It was closed, but she hadn’t turned it off. The FoldIt program had continued to run in the background, completing its molecular simulation. Opening the computer, Kara settled against a rack of sweatshirts. She forgot about the soaking clothes she wore. The progress bar showed a complete simulation. And it was perfect. Her fingers started to shake, and her mouth dropped open.

  “Adam! Navid! Sadie!”

  They crowded around. Each stood in silence for a moment, staring at the screen. Then they realized what the score meant. They burst into yells of joy and relief. Maggie’s tail wagged.

  Kara hugged Sadie. “We did it!”

  “I can’t believe it,” Navid said. “I can’t believe it. After everything, you found it!”

  Kara held the laptop at arm’s length, afraid for a moment that she was reading it wrong. But she really had done it. She’d found a molecule from one of the Mass Gen laboratories that could be used as a vaccine.

  She’d found a way to stop the spread of the Oni Agent.

  -31-

  Meredith stared down the barrel of the rifle. She saw no easy way to escape Ford and his Marines. Judging by their attitude, they had no intention of going against orders. They weren’t soldiers gone bad; they were merely doing their duty. They were trained to kill for their country, and right now she was their target.

  “Drop your weapons!” Ford repeated.

  Meredith tried to delay them. “Get Kinsey on the line,” she said. “I’ll explain—”

  “Do as I say!” Ford’s eyes narrowed, and she thought she saw his finger begin to tighten on the trigger.

  “Okay, okay.” She gently lowered her rifle to the ground. Andris did likewise. She saw no easy way out of this. Maybe she could call Dom, warn him.

  But it seemed Ford had already considered that option. He kept his muzzle trained on her. “Hand over your mics.”

  “Fine,” Meredith said, slowly undoing her mic. She dropped it into Rollins’s outstretched fingers, and Andris gave his mic to Grant. She tried to keep her voice calm and level. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Why?” Ford seemed almost offended by the question. “You don’t get to ask why. You caused this mess. It’s your goddamned fault!”

  “No, no, I never—”

  “Don’t lie to me! Command told me who you are, who you used to work for.” He shook the rifle at her. “Drop your goddamn weapons!”

  But before Meredith could comply, a brash chorus of alarms and sirens rent the air. The generators chugged to life, sounding like a NASCAR race. Ford’s gaze momentarily slipped toward the din, and Meredith didn’t hesitate. She ducked under the Marine sergeant’s rifle and landed an uppercut that made him stagger. She didn’t want to kill the man, but she could not allow herself to be captured.

  Andris was as quick to react and landed a hard elbow into Grant’s face, sending the man’s standard-issue glasses flying. Rollins wheeled his rifle around and aimed at Andris, but Meredith shoved Ford into Rollins. The impact sent his aim up as he squeezed the trigger. The bullets chewed into a nearby brick building. She scooped up their weapons.

  “Let’s go!” Meredith tossed Andris his rifle, and they sprinted away from Ford and his men.

  The Marines stationed near the Huey opened fire on them, followed by the door gunner. Rounds whistled through the air. But the wailing alarms and generators had attracted more than the attention of the Marines. Skulls flung themselves out of buildings and clambered over the fences surrounding the NIH facilities. One leapt into the Huey, and the Marines focused their attention on the creature. The scuffle gave Meredith and Andris a brief reprieve from the gunfire.

  “What is happening?” Andris asked as they paused to catch their breath. He pointed to the building where the alarms were coming from. Too many Skulls to count were converging on it, drawn by the sound of the klaxons and the generators.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say that’s the VPPL.”

  “Where Dom is.” Andris clenched his jaw. “Fucking bastards, using us as bait.”

  “I have a feeling there’s more to it than that,” Meredith said.

  Gunfire chattered. Dirt and debris flicked up around them again. Meredith ducked and took refuge behind a massive pillar holding up the awning of one of the NIH research buildings. She swiveled around, her rifle shouldered, and saw Ford, Rollins, and Grant firing on them. Andris prepared to fire back.

  “Don’t kill them!” Meredith yelled.

  Andris scowled, pursing his lips. “Have it your way.” He fired off a quick burst, far over their heads. But i
t was enough to make them duck.

  “Can’t have their blood on our hands. They’re just following orders.”

  “They have no problem with our blood on their hands,” Andris muttered, shooting wide again to keep them back. “We need to get to the Hunters, and I won’t let them stop us.”

  “Same.” Meredith unlatched a smoke grenade from her tac vest. She pulled the pin and tossed it into the street between them and the Marines. Gray smoke plumed out of it. Wind cut through the billowing tendrils, twisting them into the air. More gunfire rang out from Ford’s group. But their shots were erratic, chipping away at the brick around Meredith and Andris. The two used the cover to move from under the awning and into the street. Meredith could sense something running in the dense smokescreen beside her. She heard the rattle of bones and saw a hunched silhouette mere yards away.

  Her feet pounded against the asphalt harder, faster. They didn’t need to fight these Skulls; they didn’t need to fight the Marines. They needed to get to the VPPL. They needed to find Dom and the others and get the hell out of the NIH before Kinsey’s men or the Skulls got to them.

  The clicking of claws against pavement sounded louder, and a Skull careened out of the smoke. It lunged, and Meredith twisted to avoid it. The monster kept after her. It ran with unholy speed. She bashed its head with the stock of her rifle, and it tumbled, somersaulting and disappearing into the smoke.

  Her lungs started to burn. Her eyes itched, assaulted by the acrid smoke. Coughing, she and Andris burst from the gray fog. Wisps of smoke twisted after them. They ran behind a group of Skulls intent on the lobby of the VPPL. The creatures threw themselves at the glass doors until they shattered. Meredith’s heart stuttered when she saw a Goliath barrel through the entrance. It crashed into the building and sent a cloud of dust and debris into the air. Smaller Skulls swarmed around the large creature.

  “We’re too late,” Andris said.

  “No!” Meredith yelled. “We’ve got to help!”

  Gunfire rang out from inside the VPPL, adding to the discord of screaming alarms and frenzied Skulls. Meredith saw choppers overhead, but none swooped in to offer support. Andris had been right about Kinsey’s plan: Isolate the Hunters. Use them as bait. Bring all the Skulls into one place to truly eradicate them.

  This was all her fault. Kinsey had been biding his time, waiting to make an example of Dom, extracting information from him, building a case against the Hunters. But it was her they really wanted. They must actually think she was involved in the Oni Agent outbreak. Maybe even responsible for this madness.

  Shots cracked out, this time from behind them. Ford’s men emerged from the smokescreen, guns blazing. Andris went down hard, clutching his chest. His head slammed against the pavement, and his jaw went slack. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Rage filled Meredith. She debated for a split second whether she should fire back.

  Before she could pull the trigger, a spray of bubbling liquid shot from the smoke, dousing Ford and his men. The trio swatted at their skin as it turned red and blistered. The acid ate into their flesh, and they screamed. A gaggle of Skulls descended on the agonized Marines and tore into them with ravenous fury. The men’s tortured cries devolved into gurgling before being replaced by the sound of ripping flesh. A Skull missing its lower jaw emerged, reared back, and sprayed the feeding pack with more acid, scattering them so that it could enjoy the spoils for itself.

  Meredith turned away from the grisly sight and pulled Andris by his collar. She hoisted him into a fireman’s carry and loped toward an open loading dock with two vacant semi-trailers. Her muscles strained as she lugged Andris through a door. She set him among a pile of cardboard boxes and unstrapped his tac vest to check his wounds.

  More gunfire echoed across the NIH complex. Skulls howled. Helicopter blades beat the air. But there was only one sound Meredith wanted to hear at this moment. Meredith leaned in close over Andris’s mouth and placed her ear near his lips. She prayed the Hunter was still breathing.

  ***

  Red lights flashed viciously throughout the bioreactor room. Dom tried prying one of the emergency containment doors open with a large wrench he’d found in a toolbox, but he stopped when something slammed against the door from the outside. Pounding added to the already-terrible din. The familiar sound of Skulls howling came next. Skulls smashed against the doors, trying to force themselves into the bioreactor room. The screech of bending metal sounded from the south end. Jenna and Glenn jumped as a containment door bent inward. They leveled their rifles at it and backed up slowly.

  The door groaned then blew out. It careened into Jenna and knocked her over. A Goliath forced itself through. Its massive, plated shoulders scraped the doorframe. Its claws dug into the walls as its bulging muscles strained and flexed. The spikes and horns protruding from its demonic body were stuck like fishhooks in the doorframe. The walls shook as the Goliath pulled itself through and finally freed itself.

  Glenn yanked the door off Jenna, and Dom directed the others to provide a volley of cover fire. Bullets cut into the Goliath’s armor. Smaller Skulls spilled in around it. Several tumbled under the hail of bullets. Their bones snapped under the weight of the swarm flooding in behind them.

  Dom’s hope of ensuring the VPPL survived Operation Salvage faded. He played his rifle over two Skulls closing in on Glenn and Jenna. A squeeze of the trigger later, the Skulls tripped over each other, their limbs tangled and bleeding. Glenn pulled Jenna up. She put an arm over his shoulder and used him for support as they limped away from the oncoming horde.

  A Skull wearing combat fatigues loped toward them. With Jenna’s injury slowing the two Hunters, Dom could see the monster would be on them in seconds. He shot a salvo into the beast. Bullets tore holes in its fatigues. The Skull continued toward Jenna and Glenn, but its movement was hampered by its bleeding wounds. It let out another wail before pouncing.

  Dom sent a second burst of gunfire at the Skull. The bullets impaled the creature midjump. It was dead before it hit the ground. The other Hunters formed a perimeter. They fired into the mass of Skulls trying to make it farther into the bioreactor room. Bodies piled up as they came through the entrance. While the Hunters kept the smaller Skulls at bay, the Goliath swatted at the gunfire as if it were nothing more than a minor nuisance.

  Rearing its head back, the Goliath bellowed. Dom fired into the creature’s mouth. Bullets ricocheted off the Goliath’s tusks, but some found their home in its soft palate. The monster stumbled backward and fell with an enormous crash. The Goliath crushed several of the smaller Skulls. Dom thanked God for the lucky shot that had sent a bullet into that damned thing’s brain.

  The Hunters continued to lay down a heavy stream of fire into the doorway the Goliath had destroyed. Skull corpses stacked up until a veritable wall of bone, flesh, and blood blocked the entrance.

  “Changing mags!” Dom called. As soon as he reloaded, his finger found the trigger again. He instinctively patted his vest to take inventory of his remaining magazines. The earlier fight had depleted over half the ammunition he’d brought.

  “Spencer, Miguel, you guys see an escape?”

  The two Hunters momentarily ceased firing and sprinted alongside the walls, searching for an available exit, but he feared he already knew the answer.

  “Skulls at every fucking door, Chief!” Miguel yelled as he sent a salvo into a Skull with particularly long spikes arcing from its spine. The beast twisted when the gunfire slammed into it, and its body skidded across the tiled floor.

  The flow of Skulls into the room started to dwindle. Creatures pushed themselves through their dead compatriots in the entrance, but the sheer number of corpses made it difficult. The Hunters’ gunfire grew more sporadic. Dom’s crew took more careful shots, conserving their ammunition.

  The momentary reprieve allowed Dom a chance to check his comm link once more. “Huntress, this is Dom, do you read?” He tried hailing them again before calling Frank. But his attempts to reach
the pilot were also fruitless. He scanned the room again. More pounding and scratching sounded against the doors. Skulls stubbornly pushed themselves through the mountain of dead monsters. The alarms continued their relentless wail, no doubt calling more of the creatures to the bioreactor room.

  If Kinsey’s plan to clear the NIH facilities had been to trap Dom and his crew in this hellhole and then invite every goddamned Skull in Bethesda over for a visit, it was working. Another creature burst from the pile of the dead. It careened through the hail of gunfire and darted behind one of the bioreactors. A second flew past the Hunters’ volleys. Renee twisted to fire on it, but her rounds pinged uselessly off a knot of metal pipes.

  “Stay on them!” Dom ordered, gesturing to the wall of Skulls at the entrance. He dashed to the bioreactors to meet the two evasive Skulls before they could flank his crew.

  Sidestepping around one of the huge steel drums, he leveled his rifle where he expected the Skulls to be. Instead, he was greeted with nothing but flashing red emergency lights. He prowled forward, playing his muzzle between the bioreactors. Something caught his eye, a silhouette in the blinking lights.

  A Skull stood atop one of the bioreactors. It screamed, and spittle flew from between its lips. Its claws clicked together, its muscles coiled, and then it sprang. Dom brought his rifle up to fire on the creature, but something slammed into him. He fell sideways. His helmet smacked against the floor, and his ears rang. The Skull grabbed his tac vest, and he tried to bash it with the stock of his rifle. With one swipe, the Skull attacking him knocked his weapon away.

  Dom crab-crawled backward, trying to regain his footing. The Skull stood, its nose scrunched in a menacing snarl. Its nostrils twitched. Ragged flesh hung from where its right arm should be. It raised its left hand, displaying its claws in all their skeletal glory. Each one glistened with blood. Dom had only a second to wonder whose blood it was before the creature pounced.