Chameleon (Corrosive Knights Book 3)

by E. R. Torre

  “I don’t know,” General Spradlin said.

  No one spoke for several long seconds. Despair hung in the air like a thick fog.

  “We need to find a way in,” General Spradlin said.

  “Too bad the chopper didn’t carry bolt cutters,” Jennie Light said. She pulled at the fence and found it wouldn’t give. “We’ll have to climb over.”

  “No need,” Becky said. She pointed to a portion of the gate some thirty yards away. It was a hinged entry that was slightly ajar.

  “How inviting,” Frank Masters mumbled. He sat up in the stretcher. His face was bone white.

  “Let’s move,” Spradlin said.

  The group silently approached the entry point. Once there, they noticed a heavy padlock lying on the ground. The hinge had been neatly sliced through.

  “Could the creatures do this?” Samantha asked.

  “I don’t think so,” General Spradlin said. “There would be no need for subtlety on their part. They’d just rip it right off.”

  “What about the British spy?” Becky said.

  “More likely,” Spradlin admitted. He thought about this for a moment before turning to Becky. “Tell me more about him.”

  “He was another creature,” Becky said. “What more is there to tell?”

  “The creatures are chameleons,” Spradlin said. “Though it might not seem like it based on your experiences so far, their primary function is to emulate people.”

  “Why?”

  “So they can pass themselves off as someone else. Very helpful when your goal is to infiltrate.”

  “Then the creature we found never was a British spy?”

  “On the contrary, I suspect there was a British spy on the island,” Spradlin said.

  “Why?”

  “There is absolutely no reason for that chameleon to adapt a British disguise unless the creature saw the spy first hand,” Spradlin said. “Therefore, my guess is there was a very real British spy infiltrating Bad Penny. This spy ran into one of these things and, after it killed him, it assumed his identity. It’s probably why Robinson let down his guard. He was just as surprised and intrigued to find a British subject on American grounds as you were.”

  “He was curious,” Becky said.

  “Curiosity,” General Spradlin spat. “You know what it did to the cat.”

  Becky Waters offered the General the British spy’s backpack.

  “And you aren’t curious?”

  General Spradlin considered the backpack.

  “Other than the handgun, what did he find?”

  Becky Waters looked inside the backpack.

  “Binoculars, a camera, some kind of radio device.”

  “What were his conclusions?”

  “Robinson said he was SIS,” Becky said. “I asked him why our allies were spying on us. He said that even though we’re allies, we like to sniff around in each other’s back yards now and again, to make sure everything was the way it ought to be. Something like that.”

  “How poetic,” Jennie Light said. “You guys live in an interesting world.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Spradlin said.

  “Do we spy on the Brits?” Samantha asked.

  “Let’s just say it would be foolish to blindly trust everyone’s good intentions.” Spradlin said.

  General Spradlin was silent a few seconds. He nodded.

  “The SIS officer’s presence here might certainly explain things.”

  “Like?”

  “Like how the creatures got out,” Doctor Evans said.

  The women’s eyes shot toward Doctor Evans.

  “We didn’t create them,” General Spradlin said. “But we had a few of them locked up on the island.”

  “You know what they are?” Becky Waters spat. “With all due respect, General, are you going to tell us everything or do we beat it out of you?”

  General Spradlin smiled. The smile vanished quickly.

  “Perhaps it is time,” General Spradlin said. “The information you’re asking about is top secret. Very few people outside of the military’s highest command know anything about these...these things.”

  The wind died down and the leaves stopped rustling.

  “The fact is that we don’t quite know what they are, not entirely,” he continued. “We've been trying to figure that out for many years now.”

  “By sniffing around other's back yards?” Becky asked.

  “It's a little more complicated than that.”

  “Enlighten us,” Jennie said.

  “The gathering of intelligence is like playing a game of poker in the dark,” General Spradlin said. “Not only are your opponents’ cards hidden, so too are your opponents. Sometimes you have to show your hand a little before they show theirs. The trick is making them show you more than you show them.”

  “What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Jennie said.

  “What I’m getting at is—”

  The General abruptly stopped talking. He crouched low to the ground and motioned for everyone to do the same. All eyes followed General Spradlin’s stare.

  In the distance, on the main road leading to the heart of the base, a single dark figure appeared from within the shadows of a barrack. It looked like a man. It carried a limp form over its shoulder. The form was familiar.

  “It's Thompson!” Becky Waters whispered.

  She tightened her grip on the M-16.

  “We have to save him!”

  General Spradlin grabbed Becky’s shoulder and held her in place.

  “Don't you dare move.”

  Becky squirmed under Spradlin’s tight grip. Spradlin released her. Becky remained in place. Barely.

  “It’s just one, General,” she said. “Thompson might still be alive.”

  General Spradlin shook his head.

  “You saw what it did to Robinson,” he said. “Do you really think it treated Thompson any differently?”

  Becky’s grip on the rifle loosened. She drew a deep breath.

  “What about the base? There are over three hundred people stationed at Bad Penny.”

  General Spradlin didn’t reply. Samantha shook her head.

  “You can’t be serious?” she whispered. She thought of her lover, Warren. The man it took such effort to leave behind for what turned out to be the last flight of the Little Charlie. Was he still alive? “You don’t think everyone’s dead, do you?”

  “We’ll see soon enough,” Doctor Evans said.

  “Where’s the creature taking him?” Jennie Light asked.

  “I don’t know,” Spradlin replied. He sat on the ground.

  “How many of those creatures did we have?” Becky asked.

  “Three.”

  “Three?” she repeated, incredulously. “You’re telling me just three of these things were enough to silence an entire base?”

  “That’s how many we had locked up.”

  “Below the shed?” Samantha said.

  “How did you know about the shed?”

  “Too many people were guarding something that didn’t look like it was worth guarding at all.”

  General Spradlin thought about that.

  “Good eyes, Captain,” he said. “Maybe that British Special Forces agent saw the same thing you did.”

  “He freed them…?”

  “It’s certainly possible” General Spradlin said. “At this point, he’s the only wild card in this whole situation. It was less than one hour after your departure from Bad Penny that we received word the base was dark.”

  “That’s why your helicopter was diverted to Tortuga,” Doctor Evans said.

  “You thought one of those things was on the chopper?” Becky asked.

  “It was a possibility,” General Spradlin said.

  “And if you were certain?”

  “We’d have blown you out of the sky.”

  “Why bring us back?” Samantha said.

  “We needed a quick reconnaissance of the bas
e. We needed people who knew their way around the island. We’re on point, folks. We’re the ones drafted into figuring out what exactly is going on here and, yes, if someone might still be alive.”

  “On the plus side, one of the creatures is dead,” Doctor Evans said.

  “Therefore there are at least two left,” General Spradlin said. “The big question is where we go from here.”

  “You don't know?” Jennie said.

  “I know the basic layout of the base,” Spradlin said. “You’re here to fill the gaps.”

  “Where do you want to go?” Becky said.

  “We’re going to work our way through the base, to see what shape it’s in and verify its status,” General Spradlin said. “Along the way, we look for survivors. We move straight south to the control tower by the helicopter pad. I lost the PCOM back in the jungle, so we also need to find some kind of communication gear. If we don’t find any in the base itself, there’s sure to be some in the control tower, which is where I'm guessing the creatures’ jamming equipment is, too. Once we disable that equipment, and provided we find some kind of radio gear, we call in the marines.”

  “We'll be exposed,” Becky said.

  “That’s inevitable. We’ll start with the barracks. They’re clustered close together. It shouldn’t take long. What comes next?”

  “The general supplies.”

  “There might be communication equipment there,” Samantha said.

  “Then?”

  “The cabins,” Samantha said. “Then there’s the gym and a couple of offices.”

  “Toward the south end of town is the Mess Hall,” Frank said. “It’s a big, sturdy structure. Brick and mortar. It’s withstood a couple of hurricanes and is the strongest building on the island. If anyone’s left alive in this base, they’ll be barricaded there.”

  “Good,” General Spradlin said. “We’ll take no more than twenty minutes on the barracks and the offices. From there we move to the Mess Hall.”

  The soldiers nodded.

  Gingerly, General Spradlin reached for the fence gate and pushed it open. He ducked behind the bushes after the gate was open. Long, silent seconds passed. There was no movement from within the base. The creature carrying Thompson had long since vanished down the road.

  “OK,” Spradlin said. “Let’s move.”

  The group stepped into the base.

  In back of the barracks was a small parking lot. To the south, the start of the town’s main road. Becky Waters knew it well. It snaked to the south until eventually reaching the beach. She ran that course every morning.

  Jennie Light walked beside her and kept very close. General Spradlin walked a few feet ahead of them. Behind them were Samantha Aron and Doctor Evans. They carried Frank Masters.

  General Spradlin paused before the edge of the trees. There were over fifty feet of open ground between them and the closest barrack building.

  “We need to move very fast,” General Spradlin said. “Ready?”

  Grim faces stared back at him. He didn’t expect an answer.

  “I’ll go first,” he continued. “I’ll stop at the building closest to us and cover you. We search through them one at a time.”

  “It would be quicker if we split up,” Jennie Light said.

  “We’re not splitting up.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “I’ll go first. Captain Aron and Doctor Evans, you follow. Private Waters and Light, I want you two to cover them.”

  “Yes sir,” Becky and Jennie said.

  “Any questions?”

  There were none. General Spradlin nodded and crouched down low. He scanned the open area before him to make sure there was no movement coming from either the barracks or the road.

  “Here goes nothing,” he muttered.

  He was off, sprinting as hard as he could. For several agonizing seconds, he was fully exposed. There were no trees to cover him, no shadows to disappear into. He knew that if the creatures attacked, he stood no chance.

  Yet there was no alternative.

  He breathed heavily, realizing this was the fastest he had run in a very long time. Despite his speed, the barracks seemed so very, very far away.

  For several agonizing seconds he felt like he was in a nightmare, running from unseen enemies but not actually moving. A bead of sweat rolled down his neck and fell to the ground. His breathing grew heavier and his legs ached. But he was nearly there. With one last burst of energy, he reached the rear wall of the nearest barrack building and crouched down. He welcomed its shadow.

  General Spradlin took several seconds to catch his breath while searching for any threat. He spotted none. If anyone saw him sprint to the barracks, they hadn’t reacted.

  General Spradlin wiped more sweat from his brow. He looked back into the trees and deeper into the forest beyond. The rest of his crew was barely visible. He motioned for them to come.

  General Spradlin waited several tense seconds for Captain Aron and Doctor Evans to emerge.

  “Come on,” he muttered.

  There was the sound of someone breaking through the brush and General Spradlin’s eyes locked in on the edge of the forest.

  Samantha Aron emerged. She held on to the stretcher. Frank lay on it, flat. His eyes were closed and his hands were tight against the stretcher’s side. He was holding on for dear life. At the rear of the stretcher was Doctor Evans. He tried his best to keep up with Samantha.

  They moved much slower than General Spradlin and were therefore exposed for much longer. Spradlin watched helplessly as they made their way slowly –too slowly– through the empty area and to the barrack. There was panic on Samantha’s face, heightened by every long second it took to make this dash.

  “Hurry up,” General Spradlin whispered. He gritted his teeth with such force his jaw hurt.

  In his mind he pictured things hiding in the shadows or behind the windows of the barracks. These things were watching them all, sadistically, waiting to pounce.

  “Hurry up,” he repeated.

  He kept his left hand on the trigger of his gun. His right hand held the black blade’s handle. They were getting closer, and closer.

  They were still exposed.

  General Spradlin wanted to leave his hiding place and run to them, to try to somehow hurry them to safety. But he couldn’t leave. He had to be ready, in case the creatures attacked.

  They were closer. Samantha was gasping for air. Frank looked up, to see where they were going, to see how far they traveled.

  “Hurry,” Spradlin said, out loud.

  Samantha heard him and ran harder. Doctor Evans had to adjust his grip on the stretcher and, in doing so, nearly fell over. Frank lay back and closed his eyes.

  They entered the shadows of the barracks and, like magic, were at General Spradlin’s side. Samantha Aron and Doctor Evans breathed heavily. They laid the stretcher down. Samantha wiped sweat from her face. The General waved his weapon at the various shadows around him, just in case one of them came alive.

  None did.

  “Good job,” Spradlin whispered.

  “I need to work out more,” Doctor Evans replied between gasps.

  “After this, I’ll stick to the big cities,” Samantha said.

  General Spradlin stared into the forest. He waved to Becky Waters and Jennie Light.

  It was their turn.

  Together, Becky Waters and Jennie Light ran past the forest edge and into the empty field. They moved very quickly and followed a straight path. Their motion was furious, the concentration on their face absolute. They moved quicker than General Spradlin, yet were nonetheless just as exposed. General Spradlin watched in mounting horror. His jaw hurt from clenching it so tightly.

  “Come on,” he whispered.

  The others around him shared his fears. They silently urged the two runners on.

  “Move!” Samantha muttered. Her fists were clenched; her eyes wide open in fear.

  Inexplicably, halfway through the run Becky Waters slowe
d. Jennie Light, unaware of this, kept going. She left her fellow soldier behind.

  “What are you doing?” General Spradlin hissed.

  Becky Waters looked toward General Spradlin, Samantha Aron, Doctor Evans, and Frank Masters. Jennie Light scampered behind the barracks and was at General Spradlin’s side. It was only then she realized Becky Waters wasn’t with her.

  “Where is she?” Jennie asked. She noted everyone was staring at the open area she just ran and looked in that direction. She saw Becky standing in the clearing, completely exposed. The Private wasn’t moving at all. Her eyes were locked on one of the barrack buildings.

  “What the hell?” Jennie Light called out. “Becky, get your ass—”

  “Stay here,” General Spradlin said.

  He ran to Becky Water’s side.

  “What are you—?”

  “Look,” Becky Waters said and pointed.

  General Spradlin followed Becky’s finger.

  The survivors of the Little Charlie, all but Becky Waters, ran so quickly past this clearing that they failed to notice a series of scrawls painted on the east side of one of the farther barrack buildings. The scrawls made up a single word. The word was written in red.

  The word was written in blood.

  “My God,” General Spradlin said.

  He grabbed Becky by the arm.

  “I saw it,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  He pulled her past the empty field until they joined the others.

  “What happened?” Jennie Light asked.

  “Nothing,” General Spradlin said. “Let’s search the barracks. Quickly.”

  Becky Waters knew that this search was a useless task. She shivered when she thought of what was written on the barrack wall.

  Welcome.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  “What happened back there?” Samantha Aron asked. “I thought you spotted them.”

  “We didn’t,” Becky Waters replied. “They knew we were coming this way.”

  “We can’t be sure,” General Spradlin said.

  “Of course we can. Who else would leave that message for us?”

  “Message?” Doctor Evans said.

  “It’s on the other side of this very barrack. Those things knew we’d arrive here. The attacks in the forest were some kind of sick game. They were having some fun with us, but they wanted us here.”