As the beasts continued their onslaught, I drew my XVR and kept the sword in my left hand. I snap fired and shot one of the beasts in the head as it bore down on McBride. As the creatures continued to attack from all directions, I found myself back to back with another warrior. I glanced back and was shocked to find it was Grimnir. He was bleeding profusely from the side of his face and from a long gash down his torso.
“What is this madness!” he bellowed. “We cannot control them!”
Suddenly, foe became friend as we all were forced to fight a common enemy. If we didn’t band together, we were all going to die. If the Hrimthurssar could not control the creatures, then they would tear us all apart and dine on our flesh.
“We must work together,” whined Grimnir. “If we do not, we will all die.”
“Agreed,” I said, nodding.
“We will settle our differences when this is all over,” said Grimnir.
The others took their cues from us and began concentrating on the attacking undead primates. Our differences suddenly seemed insignificant when faced with mutual destruction. We would fight alongside each other, but I knew that they would betray us at the first opportunity. The trick would be to see it coming before it was too late.
“Bergelmir!” I shouted. “Take McBride and get to the generator room. We’ll hold them off.”
Those of us who were left crowded together in a ring and faced outward. The massive dead gorillas attacked with strangely coordinated attacks and seemed to anticipate our blows. Only gunshots proved impossible for them to dodge, but they still managed to avoid the worst of the shots. We were thinning their numbers, but not significantly. The creatures used the shadows and tactics far beyond the limited intelligence that normal gorillas possessed.
I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that they weren’t just experimenting on humans to make them better soldiers, they had apparently done something similar to the gorillas. If they had created gorilla versions of the Stalkers AND modified the gorillas as well, we were in for more trouble that we could handle. If Bergelmir and McBride didn’t get that generator set to overload, we might not only die fighting these creatures, they might escape and attack the others.
“Fall back this way!” I called, motioning for my people to follow me.
I fought our way back towards the big doors that Bergelmir and McBride had exited through. I could tell that it was a containment door, in case of emergencies. If we could shut it, we could buy ourselves some time to escape before the gorillas got through. I wasn’t sure if they could smash through them or not, but it would at least slow them down.
I looked up to see Grimnir taking his people the other direction, towards the other set of containment doors. I smiled when I realized that there were only three of them remaining. There was Grimnir, Vigdis and the one who had been fighting Marko. Vigdis and Grimnir were both covered in what I assumed was their own blood and dragging the other Hrimthurssar between them. I could hear Grimnir’s voice above the din of battle.
“Let those fools go that way,” he snarled. “That is not the way out!”
I didn’t have the time to change directions. They would have the doors shut long before we could fight our way across the room, assuming we even made it. The undead primates were going after each group. They were hard on our heels and we were going to have our work cut out for us getting the doors shut.
We grabbed the doors and began forcing them shut. It was two doors that met in the center of the hallway, with locking mechanisms that sealed them tightly together. If only we could get them shut in time. Muscle against muscle, we were no match for the gorillas. If we didn’t get the doors shut and locked, they would come crashing through them like a wrecking ball.
We put our backs into shoving the heavy steel doors and they swung slowly inward. Marko and Butcher were on one door while Bridgett and I were pushing the other. Just as they were about to shut, first one then a second beast slammed into my door with bone jarring force. They began to drive us back, forcing the doors to open back up. Just as we were about to lose the battle and allow the doors to open enough for them to get through, a massive set of hands hit the wall beside mine. Bergelmir had joined in the contest.
Soon, we were forcing the door back, inch by agonizing inch. Butcher and Marko forced their door into the closed position and shot the bolts into the ceiling and floor, securing it. Just before we had forced our door into position, a pair of massive hands gripped the edge of the door and kept us from closing it all the way. Then with supreme effort, they began to fight their way through the gap.
“Get ready to shove that bitch shut!” screamed Butcher, drawing his knife from his belt.
Marko threw his weight behind ours and we shoved for all we were worth against the mighty beast. The snarling and growling of the creatures could be heard through the gap as more and more of them arrived to try to force the doors open. Just as I felt the door beginning to slip back our way, Butcher stuck his hand through the gap and drove the knife into the face of the nearest beast.
It howled in fury, but the brief respite was all we needed to slam the door shut with a thunderous boom. Marko slammed the bolts into place as we took stock of the damage that had been done. We were all bloody and wounded, but we were all accounted for. The doors were shut and the locks were holding, but there was only one problem. When they had slammed shut, they had severed Butcher’s right hand just above the wrist.
Bridgett yanked off her belt and applied it like a tourniquet to the stump of his arm, cutting off the spurting blood. Butcher’s face was drawn and pale, both from blood loss and shock. His hand was gone and even if we had a surgeon back at base, the dead gorillas had his hand. It was gone for good. To make matters worse, the tourniquet would only stop the blood for so long. We had to cauterize the wound.
“Hold him,” I shouted. “I’ve got to seal that wound or he’ll bleed out.”
“I have him,” rumbled Bergelmir.
Igniting one of my few remaining road flares, I let the eerie red flame sputter and come to life. In the incandescence of the burning flame, I could see Butcher’s eyes go wide and he set his jaw.
“Do it,” he hissed.
Holding the burning flare to the bloody wound, I could instantly smell the acrid stench of burning flesh. For his part, Butcher didn’t scream. I would have, but he only gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes tightly shut. I seared the wound as fast as I could while making sure it was done enough that I wouldn’t have to do it again. I only wanted to put him through this once. When it was finished, he passed out. Bergelmir caught him and lifted him up as if he were a small child.
“We must get him to a medic,” rumbled the big blue warrior.
“I know another exit,” I said. “It comes out beneath the hospital. Let’s get moving.”
As we turned to head down the corridor, Lieutenant McBride stepped out of a side chamber and waved his arms at us.
“It’s done!” he called. “This entire facility is going to blow in less than ten minutes.”
“We need to get the fuck out of here,” said Marko.
“Let’s move,” I said, putting away my sword and bringing out the Keltec shotgun.
I quickly reloaded the tube and headed down the hallway towards where McBride was waiting for us. As my tactical light illuminated the hallway, a hellish figure emerged from the darkness and loomed behind McBride. The massive figure of the undead gorilla dwarfed the young Lieutenant as gigantic hands reached for his head.
Before I could scream a warning, the beast had him and I heard the sickening crunch of his skull as the beast crushed the life out of him. I quickly raised the shotgun and fired three times in rapid succession, blowing the beast’s head and neck apart. I may have been too late to save the unfortunate Lieutenant, but I could at least avenge him.
Behind us, the beasts began to slam into the door with horrendous blows. The door was shaking violently against the bolts and hinges. I knew we only had minutes befor
e it came down and we were ass deep in living-dead primates.
“Move!” I bellowed and headed down the corridor at a run.
The others followed behind me with Marko bringing up the rear. Bergelmir had to carry Butcher and Bridgett stayed right on my heels. We found the stairwell that I was searching for and headed up without hesitation. I took a grenade out of my pocket and tossed it to Marko.
“If they get through,” I called, “give them something to think about!”
“Got it,” he replied.
Behind us, I could hear the door shrieking in protest and knew that they were coming through. If we could get up the stairs and onto the next level without them seeing us, we might have a chance at losing them. At least, I hoped that they wouldn’t be able to follow us. The stairwell would be a tight fit for them, but I doubted that it would slow them down.
When we hit the top, I shut the door to the stairs and braced it shut with a fire ax I yanked off of the wall. I doubted it would hold for long, but we only needed to buy enough time to get out of the facility. Once we shut the big doors, they would be trapped inside. If we could get that accomplished, the explosion would take care of the rest.
We headed up the second flight of stairs as fast as we could go. The stress of battle and our wounds were beginning to take their toll. We were slowing down considerably.
“Come on!” I shouted. “Keep pushing. We’re almost there.”
From down the corridor, I could hear the sound of the stairway door hitting the opposite wall. They were coming through. Marko yanked the pin and threw the grenade back down the corridor as we fought our way to the top of the stairs. At the top, I repeated my trick of shutting and securing the door. Even if it only bought us ten seconds, it was ten seconds longer than we had before.
Just as I was shutting the door, I heard the grenade detonation followed by roars of fury. They were still coming, but now they had something to think about. I tossed Marko two more grenades and nodded at him. He pulled the pin on one and trapped it between the ax handle and the door. When the gorillas forced that door open, the grenade would go off.
“Nice,” I said.
“Thanks,” he replied. “Just being creative.”
“We’re almost there,” I called to the others.
“Convoy to team,” squawked my radio. “We are approaching the front of the hospital. What is your ETA, over?”
I grabbed my radio and keyed up as we ran.
“ETA two minutes,” I replied. “We’re coming in hot. Have your team on standby; we may be bringing guests to the party, over.”
“Solid copy,” was the reply. “We’ll get the welcome wagon ready.”
Just as we were reaching the door that led into the hospital basement, I heard the tearing of metal followed by the CRUMP of the grenade that indicated the beasts were now on our level. They were gaining ground quickly. We only had moments before they would be on top of us and tearing us limb from limb.
“Fire in the hole,” shouted Marko as he tossed the other grenade down the hallway behind us.
I hit the door to the exit and smashed the manual override button. With a hiss and popping of seals, the big steel door swung open, revealing the darkened basement of the hospital. My tactical light didn’t illuminate any of the dead in our area so we dove through and started slamming the door as fast as we could.
Bergelmir sat Butcher on the ground and put his weight behind the door. This time, the crump of the grenade didn’t seem to slow the beasts down. I could see the nightmarish faces of the first of them emerging into the room as we were forcing the door the last few inches shut.
I tensed in anticipation of the impact, but heard the thunk of the bolts locking back into place first. Then the beasts slammed ineffectively against the solid steel door. So long as they didn’t figure out the manual override, they were trapped inside.
“Let’s get out of here,” I called. “Our ride is waiting for us. I don’t want them to leave without us.”
Bergelmir threw Butcher over his shoulder and drew his gigantic pistol, clicking the safety off with his thumb. Bridgett readied an arrow and Marko brought his M-4 up to his shoulder. I shoved a few replacement shells into the shotgun and nodded at them. With that, we headed for the emergency stairs as fast as we could go.
“Don’t stop to engage the dead,” I called. “Keep moving and stick together. We have to get the fuck out of here before this whole place blows sky high.”
No one answered, but kept running beside me. We took the stairs up to the ground floor and turned towards the main entrance. There were dead in both directions in the hallway, but we cut them down quickly. Just as the stairwell door was closing, I thought I heard the hissing and popping of the door seal in the basement. I didn’t have time to wait and find out. We pushed on for daylight and the open front doors of the hospital.
We emerged into the daylight and I blinked rapidly to get used to the sudden brightness. About forty yards away, the convoy was waiting for us with a man in every turret covering our escape. We ran for the vehicles without looking back. We had made it.
The rear Humvee was pulling a trailer that had all of the motorcycles tied down to it. I headed for that vehicle with Bridgett right behind me. Bergelmir headed for one of the MRAP’s with Butcher while Marko headed for the closest Humvee.
Chapter Twenty Three
Blaze of Glory
“All that live must die, passing through nature to eternity.”
- William Shakespeare
Just as Bridgett and I were about to dive into the back of the Humvee, I heard the rotors of a helicopter. I knew that the only chopper anywhere around here belonged to the Hrimthurssar. That could only mean that they had escaped as well. I didn’t think they knew about us setting the generator to explode, but I knew that they weren’t going to just let us walk out of here.
“Go!” I yelled at the driver and jumped onto the trailer.
Swinging my legs onto my bike, I cut the tie down ropes and fired up the engine. The bike was already facing backwards, so I just planned to drive off the end of the trailer as the convoy sped away. If I could get close enough to the Blackhawk, I could keep their attention on me and buy the convoy time to escape. I knew that Blackhawks had mini-guns mounted on the sides and they could do massive damage to the convoy. They might not destroy the MRAPs, but they would do a number on the bus and the Bison.
Just as I was getting ready to release the clutch and jump off of the trailer, I felt someone jump onto the seat behind me. I glanced back and saw Bridgett smiling back at me.
“You’re not going without me,” she said.
I didn’t have time to argue, so I did the next best thing.
“Hang on!” I shouted and dumped the clutch.
The big bike shot off of the end of the trailer and hit the road with teeth rattling force. The convoy took off and headed for the main gate while I shot back down the road towards the sound of the oncoming rotors. I didn’t know if this would work, but I had to risk it. I had to buy them time to get away.
As we shot through the next intersection, I saw the chopper banking around and heading after the convoy. They hadn’t seen me, so I had to make myself known. Sliding to a stop, I grabbed my M-4 and started taking shots at the chopper. I could see the rounds strike the canopy and fuselage, but they did minimal damage. I did, however, get their attention.
Banking sharply, the chopper came around and headed right for me. I could see Vigdis in the pilot’s seat and the other wounded Hrimthurssar in the co-pilot’s seat. Grimnir was leaning out of the side, trying to get a bead on me with the mini-gun.
“Fuck!” I snarled, dropping the M-4 to hang by the strap and gunning the engine.
Popping the clutch, I spun the rear tire and took off as fast as I could go. The mini-gun came to life and started spitting out high-velocity lead, turning vegetation, vehicles and buildings to rubble wherever it swept.
I kept swerving back and forth to prevent him from
getting a solid lock on me and turning us both to bloody confetti. I could hear the rounds sizzling through the air, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off the road long enough to see how close they were getting. I really didn’t want to know. If I could hear them, they were too fucking close.
Sliding sideways between two cars, I shot down a side street. The chopper had to bank hard to try to keep up with me. They might be faster, but I had agility on my side. If I could keep dodging, I had a chance of getting away. It was a slim chance, but still better than nothing.
I had to give Vigdis credit; she was a Hel of a pilot. She kept right after me, pressing me hard at every turn. The screeching of rubber and the whizzing of bullets were all the sounds I could hear. I was only vaguely aware of Bridgett screaming something into my ear. Then it dawned on me what she was saying.
“How long until this place explodes?” she screamed.
“Oh, fuck,” I yelled.
I had completely forgotten about the count down. I had to do something and fast or I would ride this bike all the way to Valhalla. If that explosion hit while we were anywhere near this base, we were going to the next world in an instant. At least we wouldn’t know what hit us.
“Hang on!” I yelled and slid the bike sideways, narrowly avoiding an overturned truck.
We shot past a burned out hatchback and I slid sideways into the parking lot of the Main PX. Suddenly, I had a crazy idea. I didn’t know if it would work or not, but I had to do something to buy me a few minutes to act.
“Hang on,” I shouted. “This might get really interesting.”
“Holy Crap!” she called.
I straightened out and gunned the engine hard. Lining up, I accelerated directly at the hole that had been smashed in the front of the building.
“Weren’t there zombies inside there?” she yelled into my ear.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Hang on!”
Ragnarok Rising Page 44
