“Sir, I’ve got them on my screen,” yelled out Reba, trying to be heard over the racket.
Maclean looked over and counted seven predators still on their feet. Quite unexpectedly, the birds stopped what they were doing, and turned their heads to look down the hallway. One by one, they ran away from the battered doors and disappeared from view.
“Bring the drone up over the top of school,” suggested Hayes. “Perhaps something happened to draw them outside.”
Maclean heard a mother soothing a terrified child in her arms, while another knelt, hand- in-hand with her four children, and prayed for someone to come to their aid. When they finished, Maclean added a silent amen.
“Oh crap!” blurted out Hayes, when the drone came to a stop and hovered over the school.
“What’s wrong?” Maclean asked.
“That,” he said, pointing at the screen.
Maclean’s eyes widened, when he saw another batch of terror birds had come out of the woods to join the surviving creatures. One bird stood out among the others. It was at least a meter taller than the rest, and had a frill of feathers around its head.
“Well, well, well,” muttered Maclean. “Looks like the alpha male has arrived.”
“Professor, it looks like they’re talking to one another,” said Reba. “Birds can’t do that, can they?”
“Normally, no, but we know so little about these hybrid animals,” replied Hayes.
“With the addition of the extra birds, I’d say there are almost twenty of them out there now,” said Maclean.
“They’re on the move again,” said Reba.
“Where are they heading?”
“Looks like the back of the gymnasium.”
Maclean looked over at the far side of the gym, at the long, gray curtains. “Sheriff Black, what’s behind those curtains?”
“That’s the school’s stage,” she replied.
“Can you get to the stage from the outside?”
“Yes.”
Maclean broke out in a cold sweat. He should have known they’d swing around the building. It was too late to do anything about barricading the stage doors now. There was a loud crash as the outside door was smashed open. The sound of birds crying out as their feet scrambled on the polished wooden floor of the stage filled the air.
“Everyone down behind the redoubt!” ordered Maclean.
Reba, Hayes, and a couple of others ducked down, leaving Maclean, Black, Sam, Tibeluk, and three civilians standing on a slender parapet to repel the attack.
The curtains parted, and four terror birds charged out, tumbling off the edge of the stage and onto the stage floor. The men with the rifles opened up.
Like a tidal wave of feathers, claws, and beaks, the rest of the birds tumbled down onto the floor, jumped back to their feet, and ran toward the redoubt.
The noise inside the gym became deafening. The defenders fired as quickly as they could to bring down the creatures before they could reach the fort. The birds dodged around the debris on the floor, shrieking and crying as they closed in. Maclean didn’t bother to aim. He pointed his MP7 at the swarm, and pulled back on the trigger. The birds in the lead took the brunt of the weapons’ fire. Their bloodied bodies fell to the floor at the bottom of the redoubt. The rest of the horde slammed their bodies against the makeshift fortification, trying to find a way inside. Bird after bird died trying to claw its way up the side of the redoubt. Black and Sam kept up a hot fire, with Tibeluk calmly firing her shotgun at anything that moved.
One of the men’s rifles jammed. He struggled to eject the jammed casing. From below, one of the birds leaped up and clamped its beak around the man’s right arm and pulled him down to the floor. Before anyone could swing their weapons over to fire, the starving bird thrust its beak into the man’s exposed stomach and ripped him open. Blood gushed from the wound.
“Say goodbye, you son of a bitch,” said Black, as she shot the bird in the head, killing it.
The surviving birds snapped their beaks and squawked in anger and frustration. They clawed at the bleachers and smashed their beaks against the wooden fort. All of a sudden, the alpha male let out a cry, leaped up onto the top of the redoubt, and smashed Tibeluk with its head, sending her tumbling down onto the gym floor.
“No!” hollered Maclean. He jumped over the side of the redoubt, and landed next to Tibeluk. He drew his pistol with his left hand, and with both hands held out, he opened fire on any bird which looked his way.
On the fort, Sam saw the alpha bird about to jump down among the families. He brought his rifle over, took less than a second to aim, and fired. The bird, struck on the side of the head, let out a cry. It wobbled on its unsteady feet before falling back onto another bird trying to climb the redoubt.
Maclean switched targets as fast as he could. His submachine gun’s action stayed back. He was out of rounds. Maclean dropped the weapon and switched his pistol from his left to his right hand and kept on firing.
The last couple of birds, sensing the fight was over, began to step back from the carpet of dead and dying animals.
“Don’t let them escape,” yelled Maclean, switching magazines on his pistol.
It wasn’t an order he needed to give. With their blood up, Sam and his mother repeatedly fired until the last two birds lay motionless on the floor.
“Are you okay?” Maclean asked Tibeluk.
She looked up at him and nodded. “I am now.”
The scene in the gymnasium was nauseating. Blood, bone, and tissue was everywhere.
Black and Sam climbed down from the redoubt and moved from bird to bird firing a shot into its skull to make sure they were all dead.
“My God, we made it,” said Hayes.
Maclean looked back and stared at his colleague. The man looked as if he had aged a decade in the past couple of days. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale.
“Doc, can you please have Reba keep watch over the school, until we know this is really over?” said Maclean.
“Yes, of course.” Hayes waved the young girl to his side.
Maclean glanced over at Black, who was busy soothing and calming the terrified civilians.
“Now what?” asked Tibeluk.
“First, we fix the stage door so nothing else can get inside. Once that’s done, we’ll wait here, until we know it’s safe to go outside,” replied Maclean. He placed an arm around Tracey’s shoulders and gave her a hug. Maclean took in a deep breath to slow his racing heart. For the first time in hours, he wondered how his friends were doing, and if they were even still alive.
Chapter 54
Grant could see light coming down from above. He scrambled up the elevator shaft as fast as his exhausted muscles could move. His clothes were drenched with sweat, while the inside of his mouth felt like sandpaper. Grant had no idea how much time it had taken him to climb this far; all he knew was that he couldn’t afford to slow down, not even for a few seconds, to catch his breath. He pushed on until his hands reached the rocky floor at the top of the shaft. With a pained grunt, Grant pulled himself up onto the floor. He got up on his knees, wiped the sweat away from his face, and stood. Grant peered down the tunnel for any sign of Elena. When he didn’t see her, he smiled. She must have made it, he thought to himself.
From the shadows a light switched on, blinding Grant.
Max walked out of the dark, holding a pistol to Elena’s head. “If you’re carrying a gun, I suggest that you drop it down the elevator shaft, or I’ll kill Ms. Leon.”
Grant shook his head and held out his arms. “I’m unarmed, and for the love of God, man, give it up. If we don’t leave now, we’re all going to die when this whole mountain explodes.”
“You’re lying. Surely, you took something of value that belonged to them.”
“I have nothing. I’m not like you. I just want to come out of this alive.”
“Liar!” screamed Max. Spittle flew from his lips. The man’s right eye twitched uncontrollably. “Empty your pock
ets. I want to see what you have.”
Grant took a step toward Max. “Please listen to me. I have nothing; I never wanted anything from them. We have to go, or we’re going to die.”
“No. I can’t go back to my brother without something to give him.”
Grant kept walking, taking one slow, careful step after another. “Max, come with us. There’s no need for you to die.”
“Never. I’d rather die here than face the shame I will bring on my family’s name for failing to accomplish my mission.”
“Okay, have it your way. But please let Elena go.”
“No. I think it best if we all go together.”
Elena had heard enough. She balled up her right fist and sent it flying straight back into Max’s crotch. The man let out a muffled moan as he doubled over and reached for his injured groin.
Grant leaped forward and hit Max in the jaw with his right fist. The mercenary staggered back on his feet. He went to raise his arm to fire, but Grant saw the move coming, grabbed his opponent’s right arm with both of his hands, and brought up his knee onto Max’s elbow, dislocating it.
The mercenary cried out. His pistol fell to the ground.
Grant kicked it away and pulled Max to him, flipping him over his hip. The killer landed hard on the ground. Before he could regain his strength, Grant grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward the elevator shaft.
“Rot in hell,” said Grant, as he pushed Max out into the open air.
Max realized he was about to die and tried to grab hold of Grant’s arms. It was too late; he cried out in fear as he fell back into the darkness.
Grant stood still. He stared down the shaft, as he struggled to catch his breath.
Elena took him by the hand. “Come on, David; he’s gone. Let’s make a run for it.”
Grant nodded, and ran as best he could beside Elena. Within a matter of seconds, they were out of the mine and under a clear, blue sky.
“The car,” said Grant, pointing at the vehicle the mercenaries had stolen from him.
“You don’t believe they left the keys in the ignition, do you?” said Elena.
“If they didn’t, we’re dead.”
Elena opened the driver’s door and saw the keys were missing.
“Look behind the driver’s visor,” suggested Grant.
Elena flipped it down. The keys fell into her hand. She slid down onto her seat, and started the car. As soon as Grant was inside, she placed the car in gear, thrust her foot down on the gas pedal, and spun the steering wheel around in her hands. The car’s tires spun on the gravel, shooting rocks up into the air. The instant the car was facing downhill, Elena let out a whoop and drove the car as if she were a NASCAR driver. She sped around several long-abandoned trucks, and made straight for the road leading back to town.
Max slowly opened his eyes and looked up. He could see the faint light at the top of the shaft. He tried to sit up, but found that he couldn’t move his arms or his legs. He let out a mournful cry when he realized that he had broken his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something moving in the dark. It sniffed the air before letting out a throaty growl. Fear gripped Max’s soul, when he realized the saber-toothed tiger was only an arm’s reach away from him. The creature placed a paw on his chest, and dug in its claws. It swung its head over until its salivating mouth was right above Max’s face. He tried to scream, but found he had no voice. For the next few horrible seconds, Max Roth found out what it was like to be eaten alive.
Grant glanced down at his watch. They were out of time. “Pull over,” he said to Elena.
“Why?”
“Because we need to get out of the car and take cover in a ditch.”
Elena saw a spot a few hundred meters ahead, and brought the car to a sliding halt. They jumped out of the car and ran to a steel culvert on the side of the road. No sooner had they crawled inside, when the ground beneath them seemed to vibrate and shake. Grant looked back at the mine. The whole mountain was rocking back and forth. A second later, a brilliant-white light shot from the top of the mountain, followed by an earsplitting explosion. The mountain disappeared behind a cloud of dust. Rock and debris was thrown skyward, before tumbling back to the ground. A boulder slammed into the hood of Grant’s car, flattening it like a pancake.
He saw the wall of dust racing down the side of the mountain toward them and took Elena in his arms. He had to yell to be heard. “Cover your mouth and close your eyes!”
The world went dark as the dust surged over the top and then inside the culvert. The last thing Grant heard before blacking out was Elena screaming.
Chapter 55
Two hours after the attack on the gym, not a single predator had been seen. Reba saw some of the townspeople walking down Main Street.
It was over.
The doors to the school opened, and the people were allowed to head home. A fine, gray dust covered everything in town. When Maclean had heard the explosion, and felt the ground move, his gut told him Robertson’s Mine was no longer there. He feared for his friends’ lives.
“Should I grab the keys to one of our Suburbans?” said Tibeluk to Maclean.
“Yeah, I’d like to head up to the mine right away,” he replied, silently praying his colleagues had somehow survived the blast.
“Can I come along?” asked Hayes.
“Of course, you can. But I wouldn’t hold out much hope for David and Elena.”
“There’s always hope, Sergeant.”
“And I took you for the eternal pessimist.”
The sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air made Maclean stop and look skyward. He brought a hand to his eyes to block out the sun, and peered skyward. A half-dozen dark shapes flew over the top of a nearby hill, heading toward the town at treetop level.
“Are those Blackhawk helicopters?” asked Hayes.
“They sure are,” replied Maclean. “Must be the National Guard. Better late than never, I suppose.”
The helicopters flew over the town and broke into three pairs. Two turned about and came back down over the top of Main Street. Maclean frowned, when he realized the choppers were unmarked. He spotted two racks protruding from the side of the helicopters, with rows of canisters attached to them. His jaw dropped, when he saw a man in a biohazard suit looking down at them from an open side door. Maclean smelled an odd odor in the air. His vision began to blur. He reached out for something to grab hold of. He never felt his feet buckle out from underneath him.
The onrushing dust cloud filled the sky. The sound of the mountain coming apart deafened Grant. He held Elena tight in his arms and closed his eyes. Grant didn’t want to witness his own death.
With a loud gasp, he opened his mouth wide and sat straight up, trying to get air into his lungs. Grant opened his eyes and saw he wasn’t in the culvert anymore. Instead, he was in bed, in a brightly lit military tent. He looked around and saw he was alone. There was an IV in his arm. His breathing and heart rate were being monitored by a machine behind his bed. No matter how hard he tried, Grant had no recollection of being rescued.
A door on the side of the tent opened. Grant could have jumped for joy when Maclean and Hayes walked inside. They were wearing matching dark-gray coveralls and sneakers.
“I’m glad to see that you’ve returned to the land of the living,” said Maclean. “It was touch-and-go there, for a while. Your lungs were caked with dust. If they hadn’t found you when they did, you and Elena would both be dead.”
“Where is Elena?” asked Grant. His voice was hoarse and barely audible.
“She’s still in intensive care,” said Hayes. “She’s going to be all right, but the medics wanted to make sure her lungs were completely cleaned out and working as they should.”
Grant ran a hand over his bristle-covered chin, “How long have I been here?”
“Four days.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, four long days,” replied Maclean.
Grant tried getting
out of bed. In an instant, his head began to swim. He sat back on the edge of his bed. Maclean poured him a glass of ice water. Grant smiled and took a swig to wet his parched mouth. “So who’s in charge of the clean-up?”
“Beats me,” said Maclean. “But I can assure you it’s not your army.”
Grant looked at Hayes. “Do you know who they are?”
“I’m positive they’re not from our partners in the DIA. The best I could get out of a colonel was to mind my own business,” said Hayes. “If I hadn’t had my Project Gauntlet ID on me, we’d be with the rest of the people of Robertson’s Mine being reprogrammed.”
“What the hell does reprogrammed mean?”
“David, these people are experts at covering things up. Within hours, all of the animals were gone. They were flown out in the back of Chinook helicopters to who-knows-where. Next, all of the people in the town were rounded up under the guise of administering first aid, and trauma counseling. They were given a concoction of drugs which made their minds malleable to suggestion. Right now, they’re being told that there were no prehistoric creatures on the loose. What happened was a catastrophic volcanic eruption. All of the people who died over the past few days did so when the volcano blew.”
“What about the Sheriff? She met us and knows all about the aliens.”
“Come tomorrow, we’ll be able to walk into her office and she won’t recognize us, or ever recall meeting us.”
“My God, this is all so unbelievable.”
“I know, but it’s happening as we speak,” said Maclean.
“Have either of you heard from Colonel Andrews?”
“I have,” said Hayes. “He’s on his way up here. It seems he doesn’t trust whoever our hosts are to see us home safely.”
“Until he gets here, I’d like one of you to be by Elena’s side night and day. If these people are as untrustworthy as they sound, I don’t want them tinkering with her memory.”
“We can do that,” said Maclean. “Now, you need to put your head down for a little nap. I’ll come by at suppertime to see how you’re doing.”
Fallen Star (Project Gauntlet Book 1) Page 26
