by Jacob Rayne
A shallow staircase led down below the ground.
Abbott went first, the magnum levelled in front of him.
As the latest of his new generation of family took their first faltering steps, Subject I looked around and let out a shrill cry.
All of his kin stopped and waited for instructions, their black eyes fixed in the direction of the scream.
Now that the young had awoken, Subject I could get on with the next part of his mission.
Abbott caught movement at the bottom of the stairs and fired fast.
The guard who’d lurked behind the wall fell, cupping his hands to his bleeding gut.
‘Nice shooting,’ Hammett said from near the top of the stairs.
‘Thanks,’ Abbott said, moving in closer and kicking the gun out of the dying guard’s reach.
After clubbing the guard into oblivion with the butt of his gun, he took cover against one of the walls while he scanned the room. Clear.
He waved Hammett forward and moved into the next room where another staircase led down.
Abbott noticed a CCTV camera above his head and smiled into it as he smacked the gun butt into the lens.
‘Think we’re goddamn stupid,’ he muttered, descending the next staircase into a large square room.
It was eerily quiet, no guards anywhere to be seen.
Abbott noticed a door at the far end and he heard voices as he pressed his ear against it. Jeffries’ was among them.
He grinned and pulled the door back and found himself staring at Jeffries’ smiling face.
‘You made it, Captain Abbott,’ Jeffries beamed. ‘Come in. Sit yourself down. You want a cold one?’
Abbott looked round the room and saw nothing to suggest he was walking into a trap.
‘Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blow a hole in your lying head,’ he growled, his finger tensing on the trigger.
Jeffries held out a beer which was frosted with condensation.
‘I’ve got a business proposition for you and Sergeant Hammett. Sit down and I’ll tell you all about it.’
Abbott moved into the room.
Jeffries was alone at the table.
Abbott’s eyes scanned the rest of the room again, looking for hidden accomplices. There were none, nor were there any hiding places.
‘I assure you, I’m alone, Captain. And I mean you no harm.’
Abbott looked at him and reckoned the son of a bitch was lying even though he did seem genuine.
He beckoned Hammett in, who also scanned the room a few times, keeping his gun trained on Jeffries.
‘As I told Captain Abbott, I assure you I’m alone and I have an exciting opportunity for the pair of you.’
‘Sit down, Captain, I’ll keep an eye on things,’ Hammett said, putting his back to the wall without taking his eyes or his weapon off Jeffries.
Abbott sat, glad to take the weight off his damaged leg. Though it was healing well it was sore from overuse.
‘So what’s the story?’ Hammett said.
‘Or, in other words, give us a reason not to blow your snake-eyed face all over that wall,’ Abbott added.
Jeffries sighed then passed Abbott a frosted beer.
Abbott popped the top off with his teeth and passed it over his shoulder to Hammett, who took a long swig.
Jeffries passed Abbott another cold one and he again popped the cap off with his teeth. Jeffries winced at the sound then swigged from the open beer beside him.
‘So, gents,’ Jeffries said before taking another gulp of beer. ‘First of all, well done. I know your talents are well-renowned, but still I have to admit I’m surprised to find you here.’
‘Quit blowing smoke up our asses and tell us what the fuck’s going on,’ Abbott growled, gesturing with the gun.
‘Of course. I’m getting there. I just wanted to express my pleasure that you both survived. Especially Sergeant Hammett who managed to escape from the facility.’
‘Don’t remind me,’ Hammett frowned, swigging from his beer.
‘So, as an apology and as a way of showing how impressed I am with your achievements I’d like to offer you the chance to share in the profits of my enterprises. I’m sure – as you’ve seen the merchandise first hand – you’d agree it’s a worthwhile investment.’
‘Investment?’ Abbott spat.
‘Ordinarily there’d be some cash outlay required, but under the circumstances I don’t expect to take any money from you.’
‘So what are you wanting us to do?’ Hammett said.
‘Essentially I want you to act as my bodyguards. You’ve gone through many of my private army without too much hassle. I’d be honoured if you were protecting me. And, of course, I’d give you a percentage of the company’s profits.’
‘Are you for fucking real?’ Abbott said.
Jeffries ignored the question and said, ‘I’d give each of you a five per cent share. That’s three point five million dollars per year. Serious money. All you have to do is keep me alive so I can monitor all the laboratories and test facilities.’
‘What do you mean, all the test facilities?’ Hammett said, his blood running cold.
‘Well, you don’t believe that the small facility in Taunton is the only one worldwide, do you?’ Jeffries said, a triumphant glint in his eyes as his trump card was revealed. ‘There are five facilities in the Southern states alone, of which the Taunton one is the smallest.’
‘Holy fucking shit, there are more of those walking abortions?’ Abbott bellowed, slamming his hand into the table top.
Jeffries nodded deliberately.
‘Where?’ Hammett said.
Jeffries smiled and steepled his fingers in front of his face.
‘We’ll discuss that later, when you’ve agreed to join me.’
‘Answer the man now!’ Abbott barked.
Jeffries shook his head. ‘And what reason would you have to keep me alive then?’
Abbott and Hammett remained silent.
‘I thought as much. So, are you gentlemen going to make yourselves rich or not?’
‘That’s signing with the Devil himself,’ Abbott said.
Jeffries’ smile did little to prove Abbott wrong.
‘What about you, Sergeant Hammett?’
‘You tried to turn me into one of those fucking things. What do you think my answer’s going to be?’
Jeffries nodded. ‘Well, think of it this way. You look after me for a year, or until this blows over – whichever comes first. I’ll pay you three point five million for each year – or part year – that you help me. And, this will be the sweetest part of the deal for you, I’ll tell you where the other facilities are. Once I’m out of the woods, I’ll help you to take them down. How’s that?’
‘And why the hell would you do that, when you’ve just admitted these tests are making you a fortune?’ Hammett said.
Without pause, Jeffries said, ‘This weighs heavily on my conscience. I haven’t slept properly in weeks. The deaths, the bloodshed, the look in the eyes of those test subjects. It all stays with me. I see them when I close my eyes.’
If it was an act, it was a good one.
The three men fell into an uneasy silence.
Sadie crouched behind a dustbin. The stench was drawing vomit up her throat, but she remained crouched.
One of the mutants had turned and glanced in her direction. She swore he’d spotted her, but after a tense few minutes he still hadn’t approached, just remained staring towards her with a gormless expression on his face.
She could hear his laboured breathing from where she crouched. The scratchy sound made her skin crawl, made her again wish she had brought the gun with her.
He approached, his unsteady feet slapping the concrete.
She cursed silently and crawled along the alley floor, wincing as something slimy soaked into her blouse.
It took every ounce of her resolve not to scream when she realised she was crawling through the remains of a dismembered body.
>
Her skin crawled even more than it had when she’d heard the man’s rattling breaths.
She glanced behind her, eager to take her eyes off the torn corpse beneath her, but also to check on where the creepy man had gone.
He was moving slowly, but there was no doubt that he was headed for her.
His black eyes and blank expression disturbed her. He looked absolutely unhinged.
Now she tore her eyes off him, feeling as though every second she looked at him was draining her strength and sanity. She tried to avoid the corpse, which was hard because she couldn’t bear to look at it again.
A few yards further down the alley, she saw a brick. It was the best weapon her circumstances had to offer so she crawled towards it, trying not to think about the slimy substances that coated her bare knees.
By the time she got to the brick (she’d crawled slowly to avoid making noise as she was aware that there were more than one of the creepy mental cases on the loose) the man had reached the dustbin.
He looked behind it as though he still expected her to be there. His brow furrowed a little.
Despite her unease, she couldn’t help but grin; he was too stupid to realise that she’d moved.
Her smile vanished when he started shuffling towards her.
‘If it was only me sat here, this sneaky son of a whore’d be wearing his brains as a fucking hat,’ Abbott said. ‘But since you’re here too, Sergeant, what do you make of it?’
Hammett addressed his answer to Jeffries. ‘If we come with you now will you destroy one of the labs?’
‘As a show of faith, yes, I will. But we’ll need to go deeper underground, that’s where my communications centre is. Trust me, you won’t regret taking my side.’
Abbott snorted. He looked to Hammett. ‘We don’t even know if there are any other labs.’
‘We can’t take the chance,’ Hammett said. ‘You saw what one of those things could do.’
Jeffries smiled at this comment whereas Abbott frowned. Both men knew Hammett was right.
‘The cocksucker has us right where he wants us,’ Abbott said. ‘He’s got a gun in his face, but it’s still us who ends up getting shafted.’
Jeffries tried to hide his smile behind his hand, but Abbott saw.
‘You’re lucky Sergeant Hammett’s here,’ Abbott said. ‘Else you’d already be cold and blue by now.’
Jeffries nodded. ‘I appreciate that. And I appreciate your patience and understanding.’
‘Are we really doing this?’ Abbott said.
‘We don’t have a choice, if there’s a chance of more of those things around,’ Hammett said.
‘Just so you know I think we’re getting into bed with the devil himself here.’
Sadie held the brick in a palsied hand, hardly daring to watch the man’s approach. She hoped she’d have the strength to attack when he did reach her.
He moved slowly, so Sadie had time to back herself into a corner (never know when her attacker might have company) and tried to prepare herself for the attack.
Finally he shuffled into range, his arms dangling limply by his sides.
Sadie said a prayer and swung the brick with all her might. The corner of the brick met the man’s forehead with a horrid noise and a splat of blood.
The man actually started grinning at this, which she found even more disturbing than the warm splatters of his blood on her face.
While the man faltered, she hit him again, aiming for the same place. The split widened and she felt sure she could see gleaming bone beneath the blood and torn skin.
The man continued to grin and now brought his hands up. His thumbs crushed into her clavicles on either side of her neck.
She swung the brick again, aiming the strike over his outstretched arms. The blow didn’t seem to faze him despite the torrent of gore that poured from his head.
His thumbs found her windpipe and dug in, prompting a startled cough from her. There was hardly room to draw another breath as his thumbs closed off her airwaves. His grip was tight considering his scrawny build.
He stared his glassy-eyed stare at her, smiled his creepy smile.
She swung the brick again, knowing that this was likely to be her last strike before his thumbs cut off her breath forever.
She caught him in the eye, making the pupil disappear in a brimming socket of blood.
The left thumb slackened a little and she used both hands to prise it loose.
Air rushed into her lungs in panicked gasps.
Buoyed by her success, she jammed her thumb into the man’s good eye and shoved for all she was worth.
His other thumb slackened as he moved to remove the offending digit from his eye.
While she had him on the back foot, she aimed a final blow at the bulge on the back of his head.
The blow connected harder than the others and the sharp corner of the brick broke the skin.
The man staggered sideways, wiping the blood from his eyes.
Sadie knew she should have run, but the bulge on the man’s head started to move beneath his skin.
As she watched, transfixed, the skin split apart, showering blood down the man’s back.
He let out a cry, the first despite all of the punishment Sadie had inflicted upon him.
Beneath the torn skin she saw a shimmering creature clamped to the base of the man’s skull. It was roughly the size of a golf ball, but its wings disappeared beneath the skin, making it larger than it first appeared. The flesh reflected the light in a strangely hypnotic way.
Unable to resist the lure of the story, she snapped a photo of the creature.
The man started to come to his senses, taking his hands from his eyes and scanning around for her.
She took one last look at the creature, which convulsed rhythmically like it was either breathing or sucking – it was impossible to tell which – then took a running jump at the fence and started to haul herself over it.
As she neared the top, the man grabbed her ankle and started pulling. Again she was amazed by his strength.
Maybe the creature on his skull gives him greater power, she thought.
She kicked out with her free leg, catching him in the eye that she’d busted with the brick.
He didn’t cry out or anything, but he did let go just long enough for her to get over the fence.
On the other side of the fence she hurried away in case he climbed or battered his way to her.
When she stopped running, she realised that she had no idea where she was.
Worse, she could see and hear more of the strange lurching people all around her.
‘So what’s your decision then, gents?’ Jeffries said. ‘We’re a little pushed for time.’
‘Looks like we’re going to have to go with you,’ Hammett said grudgingly.
‘Excellent,’ Jeffries said. ‘You’ve made the correct decision.’
‘There’d better be other labs after all this,’ Abbott said.
‘Oh there are, don’t worry about that,’ Jeffries grinned. ‘Now, I need a show of faith from you. Turn in your guns.’
‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,’ Abbott said.
‘I need to know I can trust you.’
‘And as soon as you do you’ll shoot fuck out of us. We weren’t born last week, Jeffries.’
‘I’m unarmed. Before you turn your guns over one of you can search me, if you like.’
‘Go on, Sergeant. I ain’t touching the sweaty bastard ’less it’s with my knuckles. Besides, I was all for shooting him.’
Hammett sighed and gave Jeffries a thorough frisk. ‘No, he ain’t armed.’
‘He will be once we give him our guns,’ Abbott fumed.
‘I’ll be leaving the ammo here,’ Jeffries said. ‘And just taking the guns themselves.’
‘I don’t trust this asshole,’ Abbott said.
‘You’ve got to trust me,’ Jeffries said. ‘And protect me. Now, hand over your weapons.’
Hammett f
rowned as he handed the magazine to Jeffries.
Abbott watched the act with barely-concealed disgust.
‘And now you, Captain Abbott.’
‘My old man gave me this gun. So I’m walking out of here with it.’
‘Of course. I understand and I will give it back once you have earned my trust.’
Abbott looked at him for a second.
Hammett reckoned the stare was intense enough to see through Jeffries’ skin.
Abbott picked up the gun and said, ‘I’m sorry, Sergeant,’ and aimed the gun at Jeffries’ forehead. ‘I just can’t put my trust in this asshole after everything he’s done.’
His finger tightened on the trigger.
Just as his finger was about to reach the firing point, the door to the room shuddered in its frame.
Abbott’s finger relaxed and he spun to face the door.
‘Shit, it’s come faster than I thought,’ Jeffries said, staring at a tiny monitor above the door.
‘What the hell is that?’ Abbott said, squinting at the dark mass of limbs topped by a charred skull.
‘Subject I,’ Hammett and Jeffries said in unison.
‘We’d best get out of here,’ Jeffries said. ‘That door may as well be cardboard for all the good it’ll do.’
Dents were already appearing in the heavy metal door.
Jeffries and Hammett ran to the far end of the room. Abbott considered for a moment then followed.
Behind them the door began to buckle, letting sunlight through.
Jeffries tapped a code in a keypad and the door swung to the left. Cold, damp air rushed out to greet them.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘There’s not much time.’
As if to prove his point, a dark appendage appeared through a hole in the door.
They had no choice but to follow him.
Sadie’s instinct to get the story on the mutants was gone.
Now that she had the photo she just wanted to get the hell out of there.
The problem was that she didn’t think she was going to make it. There seemed to be more of the strange people every time she snuck a look from her hiding place.
She ducked back into the shadows, fearing one of the men had seen her.
