Flight

by Jason Cheek

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  The loud sound of Pete’s machine gun shook the airboat as he joined in on hammering the creatures. Jim started shooting his bow again as he saw several other pilots bringing their airboats in closer, so their archers could join in on the alien turkey shoot. Arrow after arrow slammed home into the screeching mass of dying Scourge, in less than a minute there was nothing left alive on the floating wreck. As the machine guns stopped firing, Tom spoke into the loud speaker attached to the top of his airboat.

  “Good job Rangers! Harry and Greg, I want your airboats to search for survivors.” Taking a second to gauge the distance to Trapper Nelson’s, Tom continued. “I don’t want any airboats getting closer to the east bank than thirty yards.”

  SSSCCCCRRREEEEEEEEEECH

  The screeching calls filled the air coming from what sounded like an army of Scourge. Looking towards the commotion, he swore that the whole ridge to Trapper Nelson’s was literally crawling with dark grotesque shapes of the aliens in the predawn of early morning. Grinning fiercely, he waved the airboats around him forward.

  “Now let’s go kick some alien ass!”

  The rangers turned on their airboat’s fog lamps, lighting up the entire east bank with the bright white light. Now, they could clearly see the gruesome forms of the Scourge, and their fang filled maws as the creatures screeched in fury.

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  Both 50 Cals opened up as one, their heavy rounds repeatedly raking across the Scourge standing on the eastern bank, while Jim and the other archers started sending their arrows flying into the thick mass of creatures. Tom and the other airboat pilots began sounding their air horns in long blasts loud enough to drown out even the alien’s ruckus. Tom actually started to laugh out loud at the creatures’ futile rage as his boys took care of business.

  “And those city boys had made such a huge deal about these aliens.”

  RRRAAAAAAOOOOOORRRRRRRR

  The terrible thunderous bellow shattered the night, momentarily drowning out all other sounds. The blood literally froze in Tom’s veins, bringing out some primitive terror from deep inside his very soul. Fighting with every fiber of his being not to whip the airboat around and get the hell out of there at full speed, he forced the dreadful fear away. Clearing his head somewhat, Tom saw Pete and Jim literally shaking where they stood frozen, unmoving in the airboat. Looking around, he realized that everyone in his squadron must have been hit with the same overwhelming feeling of terror from that horrendous sound.

  Once again, the blood froze in his veins as he heard the beating of enormous wings.

  FLOOMP

  FLOOMP … FLOOMP

  Looking around wildly towards the far bank, Tom literally could feel the pressure of the air beating against his face with each FLOOMP.

  Suddenly, a humongous black shape rose up from behind the ridge, blocking out the predawn glow of the eastern sky. As the darkness began creeping across the river, two glowing cones of red light shot out from the center of the blackness. Slowly, the red beams of light began sweeping over the river from side to side as if searching for prey. All at once, Tom saw the light stop on the two airboats nearest to him.

  AAAiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  The men onboard the airboats began screaming uncontrollably, falling to their knees in terror, when suddenly the enormous shape leaped into the air. As the monster moved, its shadowy cloak flowed around it like liquid smoke, making the horrific creature even more terrifying in the darkness. The rush of air from beating leathery wings pressed Tom into his seat as the creature passed low overhead. The screams from the men in the targeted airboats grew in intensity as the hulking shadow flew straight for them. A second later, the sound of crushing metal filled the air as the airboats were suddenly smashed flat in front of his horror filled eyes.

  The shadow didn’t even slow down. Tom heard the giant monster splash down in the water near the west bank as, a split second later, the water exploded into the air behind them. Snapping out of his shock, Tom slammed the airboat’s throttle open as a large wave lifted his airboat out of the water. His hands worked the control sticks expertly as he fought to stop the light craft from flipping over. Slewing the boat from side to side, he rode the wave until it passed by.

  A new fear gripped his heart as he suddenly realized they were now too close to the east bank and the enraged Scourge, but, surprising enough. They didn’t seem to be trying to jump aboard their airboats now. Instead, they stood silently watching. Not waiting for the aliens to change their minds. Tom quickly swung the airboat around, angling for the west bank of the river as three other airboats joined him matching speeds, creating an echelon formation with his boat in the lead. Aiming for the point where the creature splashed down into the water, he raised his voice to be heard above the roar of the engine.

  “Pete! Get that 50 Cal ready, we’re going in!”

  Their fog lights lit up the entire western bank, just as Tom saw a giant fist slam down on Harry’s airboat. A loud crunching sound echoed across the river as the airboat was flattened like a tin can. A moment later, a humongous muscular arm power drove the remaining pieces under the water. Simultaneously, Tom saw Greg screaming face as a massive two headed battleaxe sliced through the center of his airboat, leaving only bloody piece floating behind in the water.

  Suddenly, Tom froze as he saw the gruesome monster for the first time!

  Following the heavy corded muscular arms up to the even broader shoulders and thick bull neck, Tom saw the massive horned head rising into the air. As the demon's red eyes met his own, the entire airboat was bathed in a dark red glow. He used the word demon, because there was no other word that could describe the terrible abomination standing before him. In that split second, Tom was momentarily overwhelmed with gruesome visions of horror flooding into his mind. It was as if the devil were sharing with him its dark conquests over the millennium. It had brought death to hundreds of thousands of beings. It had fed on the life energy of countless souls, relishing on their fear and terror as it fed. It was the called the Destroyer.

  The large corded muscles of the demon’s shoulders rippled as it lifted the massive battleaxe out of the water. Its arm snapped forward in a flash of metal, splitting through one of his team’s airboats in the blink of an eye. The sudden screams of his friends snapped Tom out of his terror, kicking him into action. Seeing the crews in the airboats next to him likewise frozen in fear, he did the only thing he could think of.

  HHHHHOOOOOOONNNNKKKK

  The loud blast of his air horn seemed to shake the men free of the demon’s aura of fear. Seeing Pete as he began to look around wildly in panic, Tom began barking out orders.

  “Pete!”

  Pete’s entire body jerked around hearing the command, his eyes reflecting pure terror.

  “Pete! You’re going to blast that thing back to whatever hell it came from!”

  AAAAAAAAAAEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIII

  Looking back, they watched the demon grab one of the survivors from the last wrecked airboat. As its large clawed hand lifted the screaming man from out of the water, the demon shoved the weakly struggling man’s head into its gaping maw. A second later, the sounds of crunching bones filled the air as the demon consumed the ranger in a matter of seconds.

  “Peter Johnson!”

  This time when Pete turned around, there was no more fear in his eyes, only rage. Nodding his head, he yelled back at Tom.

  “Let’s do this!”

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  Heavy rounds began slamming into the devilish face as Pete opened up once again with the 50 Cal. Tom let loose with another blast of the air horn, just as he saw an arrow shaft bury itself deep in-between the demon’s horns in the center of its forehead as the creature roared in anger. Looking down in surprise, Tom saw Jim’s grinning face looking back up at him.

  Suddenly, air horns on either side of their airboat answered back as he saw Brad Duke’s and Andy Ho
rn’s airboat fall in beside him. The rangers on board gave them a whooping yell as their archers began sending their arrows following Jim’s. Tom turned them parallel to the demon at twenty yards out, while Pete kept the 50 Cal hammering home.

  Obviously annoyed, the demon rose to its full height of twenty feet as its humongous leathery bat wings spread out on either side of its broad back. The wings partially flapped once as the demon lifted its immense battleaxe above its head, before springing into the air once again. It leveled out in a low fast glide heading directly for the trio of airboats. Without a second thought, the ranger’s formation broke apart. Each boat headed in a different direction as if they’d planned the move a hundred times over. Tom heard Frank’s 50 Cal barking continuously as it took over throwing hot lead at the demon as the red streaks of the tracer rounds followed the winged creature in the darkness.

  Andy’s airboat had quickly gotten up to full speed in a matter of seconds, and was now flying across the water, but the creature was still faster. As the demon dived after Andy’s airboat first, Tom’s mind insanely kept replaying an old TV show he’d seen so many years ago about the Physics of the Large. The show had discussed how an increase in mass by even fourfold affected all biological creatures. Larger creatures had severe physical limitations based on bone structure in relation to how bones handled stress and muscle mass. Making gigantic Hollywood monsters, like King Kong or Godzilla, impossible to stand, let alone run and jump like in the movie. Even larger mammals, like the African Elephant, couldn’t handle a drop of more than several feet without shattering their thick bones.

  Obviously, the Laws of Physics didn’t mean anything to demons!

  Unbelievable, the demon closed to striking range of Andy’s airboat as the 50 Cal’s tracer rounds bounced harmlessly off the creature’s hide. A second later, the massive battleaxe cleaved through Andy’s airboat with casual contempt. The shriek of shredding metal rang out across the river as the airboat split apart. Tom could only pray that the brave men aboard had managed to jump free into the water in time.

  Almost quicker than the eye could follow, the demon banked into a sharp turn diving straight for Tom’s airboat. Heart pounding, Tom yanked on his control sticks. As the bow bit deep into the river, he swung the airboat into a sharp left turn. Pete bounced out of the airboat still hanging onto the 50 Cal, with Jim following him a second later as the airboat began skipping sideways across the water.

  Suddenly, Tom felt the airboat flipping over uncontrollably. He was flung from the pilot’s chair just as the demon flashed overhead. The battleaxe cleaved through the airboat in a shower of sparks a second before he hit the dark waters of the Loxahatchee River.

  Chapter 19

  Location Earth / Florida present day:

  Agent Ryan Moss smiled to himself watching the SWAT officers around him flinch from the bright explosions lighting up the western sky as Beta Team began their attack run. He was familiar with how well the older AN/PVS-14 dealt with light flares, meaning they didn’t. Even from this distance, the sharp flashes from the explosions would be blinding to the officers around him.

  The older third generation image intensifier tubes amplified normal ambient light, giving the wearer the ability to see in the dark during nighttime operations, but had difficulties with any sudden changes in light intensity and non-ambient light conditions. The ‘Night Enforcer’ or NEPVS-14, which the SWAT teams were using, was just a repackaged AN/PVS-14 with a cooler sounding name to increase corporate sales. The devices were remarkable for their time, and was now the hottest new technology currently being utilized by most law enforcement agencies around the world.

  While the CTA agents, on the other hand, were equipped with the newer AN/PVS-22 models, which utilized the latest in the fourth generation night vision technology. The AN/PVS-22 still used image intensifier tubes, but with a much better design, which was now combined with an infra-red thermal imaging technology. They worked in combination with a newly developed auto-gating hardware. This allowed the newer night vision goggles to actually see through smoke and fog, while handling extreme changes in lighting conditions from explosions, unlike the older models. From the outside, they didn’t look any different from the SWAT teams’ devices except for a slightly larger power pack. Unlike the older models, these fourth generation devices were only available to U.S. Special Covert Units like the Navy Seals or the Counter Terrorist Agency, and were relatively unknown due to their top secret design.

  Looking around at his own men he could see their matching grins. Also, unknown by the SWAT teams were that the fourth generation devices were also capable of showing detailed facial expressions, unlike the older models.

  Ryan looked again towards Startüm’s broad armored back shaking his head mentally. The intensely charismatic young man was like no one he had ever met before. It wasn’t something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was that made you want to follow the younger man, but even though he didn’t understand the reason. None the less, he felt its power, and saw its effects on the men and women around him. There was something about Startüm that made you trust him unconditionally.

  He had spent nearly twelve years working for the U.S. Military, and had been working in Covert Operations for over half that time. Covert Operatives were watched closely to make sure they were not compromised socially, politically, financially or religiously. Questioning orders were not allowed, no matter how shady they seemed to be.

  Glancing for a moment at Agent Foster, he swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. There was little honor in most agencies since the majority of the government was controlled by Special Interest Groups and Political Factions. For the most part, he had kept as far away as possible from situations that went against his personal honor, but he had a feeling Agent Foster was going to cause problems before the night was through.

  Agent Foster was generally a decent enough Boss. Unfortunately, he didn’t do well in situations he didn’t have complete control over. In the man’s mind, it was more valuable to catch a tiger by its tail, then to be an ally and have the tiger on your team. Hopefully, Chief Darden could keep a leash on the CTA Director for the duration of their current operations. Ryan didn’t want to have to be forced to make any tough decisions that were at odds with his orders. Looking back at the man that was causing the Director so much trouble, he shook his head once more.

  Although, he logically understood Startüm wasn’t human in any sense of the word, except for his physical characteristics. Still, Ryan considered him the most compelling man he’d ever met. In West Point, they would have called him a natural leader. The man’s extensive knowledge of combat tactics, equipment and martial art skills were impressive enough, without even taking into account his incredible physical strength and other extraordinary abilities he had. On top of that, he innately knew how to deal with the hard-ass personalities that made up most combat teams.

  A prime example of that knowledge was immediately displayed, when Startüm had seen the equipment his men were using in comparison to the SWAT teams’ gear. His only comment had been to request that Ranger Harris be given one of the CTA devices, instead of the surplus night vision gear that the SWAT teams were handing out to the rest of the rangers joining the main assault. Even with Sergeant O’Reilly’s advanced training in weapons and tactics, he hadn’t realized there was any difference between two sets of equipment, but Startüm had recognized the difference immediately, and had the common sense to be discrete about it.

  He’d also found the strategy that Startüm had laid out to be another prime example of his natural leadership ability. With so many different units trying to work together as one for the first time, he had kept the plan relatively straight forward, except for the sleight of hand they were carrying out now. Ryan agreed this was the most complexity any last minute combat group thrown together such as they were could handle. The younger man had wisely allowed each of the various assault leaders the flexibility in how they carried out their individu
al tasks, and had only explained the desired tactical outcome that needed to be accomplished by each group’s assault. Even most of the experienced officers he’d had to work with over the years, still had problems with learning that basic skill.

  As planned, the pontoon boats had started forward as the first explosions lit up the western sky. They had been holding position three minutes out from the island, and were even now quietly approaching the dark shoreline. The men lined the railings in rows of two. Their crossbows held cocked and ready as they waited to take out any sentries the enemy might have posted to guard this approach. The greatest threat, at this time, was being discovered by the enemy, and losing their chance for a surprise rear attack on a prepared enemy position.

  His eyes wondered back to Startüm, who was now balanced on the lead boat’s railing, like some extreme acrobat ready to spring into action. His eyes constantly swept the darkness in front of them for signs of the enemy. Although the position was highly unusual, it did have the benefit of giving all three pontoon boats in the strike group a clear view of his hand signals. Slightly behind him, on one side, stood the raven haired Detective Kurwoski, with her bow drawn and ready to shoot at the first sign of trouble. On his other side, calmly holding her large hunting knife, stood the fiery haired Susan Tominski, her unblinking green eyes surveying the dark island.

  They were both two of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen, but Startüm seemed oblivious to the fact. Susan was in her late thirties, but looked much younger. The small woman wasn’t someone he would have ever considered a fighter, yet he’d seen her go toe to toe with those hideous super beasts without hesitation, and hold her own. The Detective was just as little as Susan, and just as tough in her own way. With her bow, she had single-handedly killed more of those creatures than anyone else here, except for Startüm.