D.E.A.D. (The A.L.I.V.E. Series Book 2)

by R. D. Brady

  Norah moved to the door. “Hank?”

  “Well, the original Hank was called Kecksburg-AG2. But I called him Hank. Hank I is dead. But he had a few brothers. And I’m guessing you just met another one of his family members.”

  Norah tapped her mic. “Aggie? Kitten? You guys there?”

  Only silence answered her.

  “They’re not okay, are they?”

  Norah shook her head. “I don’t think so. Tell me about Hank.”

  “Well, Hank was really good at tracking … and killing. I’m guessing that is something Drummond was looking for in his little army of aliens.”

  “You think that thing was under control?”

  “Probably. Or maybe he just escaped and was killing on his way out. Did I mention the Hanks really like to kill things?”

  “Yeah, you mentioned it.” Norah pulled the door open. Blood and guts were smeared against the door.

  Greg peeked around her shoulder. “Actually, I think I was wrong. I think you got it.”

  “Yeah, but I also took out the hallway leading to the stairs we were supposed to exit through. We’re not getting out that way. You have the USB?”

  Greg nodded.

  “Well, let’s get out of here.” She tapped her mic. “This is Norah with Charlie team. I’ve lost contact with Aggie and Kitten. I’m bringing the professor topside.”

  “Roger, Norah.”

  Greg grinned as Norah looked over at him.

  “What?”

  “You called me ‘the professor.’ He was my favorite character on Gilligan’s Island.”

  “Focus, Greg.”

  “Right, sorry, just glad Hank’s in pieces.”

  Norah shook her head, stepping out into the hallway. “Control, this is Norah. The hallway’s blocked. We’re going to be coming out the eastern hallway.”

  “Roger. We’ve seen security movement. Keep your eyes peeled.”

  “Will do.” She turned to Greg. “Come on. I’ve had enough of this base.” She hustled down the hall. Greg jogged right behind her. She paused at the other stairwell door.

  “Great. More stairwells,” he muttered.

  Norah looked back at him. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve just found from experience that they tend to be the physical manifestation of terrifying nightmares.”

  “Ohhh-kay. Just stay with me. We’ll be out of here in a few minutes.” She pulled the door open, peeking outside. Gunfire raked the door and she slammed it shut, shoving Greg back against the wall. “Shit.”

  Greg pulled her down the hall. “Okay, digging through rubble it is.” They sprinted down the hall. Ahead, the rubble moved. “Someone’s pushing through,” Norah said, picking up her pace.

  “No!” Greg grabbed her arm, pulling her back as a dark arm with long talons punched through the debris.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT

  A team of four security officers had reached Martin and they all looked shaken. Six had been dispatched, but they had met up with one of Martin’s Hanks, and now there were only four.

  I will have to figure out a way to get them to be more selective in who they kill, Martin thought idly as he hustled down the hall toward the lab, his security surrounding him.

  Gunfire sounded from down the hall as Martin ducked into the lab. Damn it. “Grab those containment units.” Martin pointed to where the units were pushed up against the wall.

  The guards quickly wheeled them over to the cages. “Put one down there, the last cage on the end,” Martin said as he stopped in front of the big Gray’s crate. He reached out and punched in the code for anesthetization. The Gray leapt to its feet, its eyes glaring with hate at Martin before they closed and it dropped to the floor.

  “Get him in the unit,” he ordered.

  He ran down to the other unit. Subject One sat against the bench along the back, staring at Martin with terror. Martin punched in the same code and Subject One toppled over to the ground. Martin opened up the cage when the gas had cleared and picked him up, surprised at how light he was, even though he knew the hybrid had hollow bones, just like Orion1.

  The containment unit was already open. Martin placed the subject inside. “Go help get the other one restrained,” Martin ordered the guard with him. The guard hurried over to do his bidding and Martin locked Subject One in place. He pulled out his phone and dialed Hamish.

  “Sir?” Hamish squeaked.

  “I need control of the freight elevator.”

  “I don’t think I can—”

  “Get me control, Hamish. Now.”

  “Yes. Yes, sir. Give me just a … there. I should be able to keep control until you reach the surface.”

  “I’m not going to the surface.” Martin disconnected the call.

  He leaned down, his face close to Subject One’s as anger rolled through him. “You have cost me a great deal of time, money, and pain. And once I have you settled, I am going to return the favor.” He slammed the unit shut and locked it. Then he pushed the unit toward the freight elevator.

  Yes, I have plans for you, you little bastard.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

  Maeve stood crouched on the ladder in the elevator shaft. Chris and Mike were on other side of the door. The doors slid open. Chris and Mike peered through, gun muzzle first. Chris swung out into the hallway. And then Mike did the same.

  “We’re good,” Chris said. Jasper walked along the metal framing of the elevator shaft and grabbed Chris’s hand, pulling himself into the hall. Maeve did the same and Chris held her for a moment longer than necessary. “You good?”

  “Yeah,” she said, feeling a little breathless from the climb and the fear.

  “Then let’s go get our boy.”

  Maeve nodded, stepping away from him. Mike headed down the hall. The lab where Alvie was being kept was at the end of the hall, around the corner. Maeve had to fight down the urge to sprint down the hall and burst through the doors. Getting herself killed would not help Alvie. And he would never forgive himself if she got hurt trying to help him. But it was still difficult to move carefully down the hall.

  Mike looked around the corner and held up a hand. “I see four, no, five humans. They’re at the far wall. It looks like there’s an elevator back there.” Chris tapped his mic. “Control, is there an elevator in the lab?”

  “There’s nothing on the blueprints.”

  Chris swore.

  “They’re loading two containers on.”

  “Alvie.” Maeve jumped forward, but Jasper grabbed her, holding her back.

  “Move now,” Chris ordered. He and Mike burst through the doors, Jasper following them.

  Across the room, the men opened fire. Maeve bit her lip, diving into the room and taking cover behind some shelving. Please, please don’t injure the containment units, she prayed as her group returned fire.

  “Elevator’s closing!” Mike yelled.

  Maeve peered around the shelving in time to see two of the guards drop; the other two were inside the elevator as it closed. She stood up. “The train. They’re taking Alvie on the train. We need to get down there.”

  “What do we do about these guys?” Jasper waved to the cages along the wall.

  Maeve turned, taking in the four aliens locked inside. Her attention on the back of the room, she hadn’t even realized they were there. Maeve didn’t know what they were. Or what they were capable of. But she knew one thing—she couldn’t leave them here. “Those cages are on wheels. You need to get them out.”

  She got to her feet, running to the door. “Tell Penny to bring the elevator back online. We need to stop Martin.” She didn’t wait to see if anyone responded. She just sprinted through the doors down the hall.

  CHAPTER NINETY

  Greg’s heart stopped the moment he saw that way-too-familiar arm extending through the rubble. But luckily his mind kept working. He grabbed Norah’s arm and shoved her through the nearest doorway, slamming the door shut behind them. It was a supply closet wi
th no exit.

  Norah whirled on him. “What are you—”

  Greg raised his finger to his lips, shaking his head.

  Norah nodded, leaning toward the door. Greg leaned against the door as well. He could just make out the sound of Hank’s nails on the tiles outside. He prayed that it hadn’t seen them slip into the closet. If it had, Greg had just sealed their deaths. Their sense of smell wasn’t great, though, so if it hadn’t seen them, they might have a chance.

  He held his breath as the creature grew closer and his chest began to feel tight. He exhaled sharply, throwing a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound. Norah stood next to him, her ear to the door, her breath enviably even.

  The cadence of the creature’s footsteps ticked up and a yell sounded from the end of the hallway, followed by a barrage of gunfire.

  “Yes,” Greg whispered.

  Norah smiled at him, but this time she put a hand to her lips. A long, drawn-out scream sounded, making the hairs on Greg’s neck stand up. And then more gunfire, but it sounded farther away.

  “They’re drawing him away. Let’s go,” Norah said. She cracked the door open and looked down the hall. “Okay.” She stepped out, keeping her weapon trained behind her. “Get through the hole that thing created.”

  Greg needed no further urging as he scrambled up the pile of debris, his pants leg snagging on a piece of rebar. He ripped it free and squeezed through the opening. The hallway stayed silent as he dropped down to the other side. A few seconds later, Norah appeared, climbing through the same hole.

  Together they jogged quickly toward the other stairwell.

  “Well, that was—” Debris tumbled from the pile behind them. Greg whipped around as Hank’s head popped through the opening.

  “Run!” Norah yelled.

  CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

  The elevator doors swooshed open. Martin slammed the emergency stop button, locking the doors open before he pushed the container with the Alvie out onto the train platform.

  I should have trained a dozen Kecksburgs, he thought with a growl.

  He couldn’t believe Maeve Leander was here. Didn’t the woman know when she was outmatched? He glared at Subject One’s container. I should have thrown you in a cage the day you were born. He needed to get these two specimens out of here, and then it would not be a complete loss.

  “Where the hell’s the train?” Martin barked.

  “Two minutes out,” one of his guards said, his eyes shifting back and forth between the two other entrances to the tracks.

  “God damn it,” Martin growled. He pulled out the controller. He checked the screen. Only two of his Kecksburgs were still alive.

  Come to me, he ordered one of them. He felt the pull of the creature.

  The seconds seemed to crawl by. He would not lose his prize possession. Not after he’d just managed to acquire it. He knew he was on the cusp of a weapon that would truly save the human race. He glared at the containers. Why the hell didn’t people understand that?

  Lights appeared down the track. He had placed a safeguard on the track so it could be manually overridden from this station. But to do so, you had to be here. There was no way to hack into it from some other location. He smiled.

  Time to go.

  CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

  Norah sprinted up the stairs, yelling into her mic. “We’ve got a … thing … on our tail!”

  “It’s a Kecksburg-AG2!” Greg yelled as he sprinted up the stairs next to her. The exit door ahead of them burst open.

  “Move!” Adam yelled as he threw a grenade behind them. Norah grabbed Greg’s shoulder and threw him through the doorway, then dove in after him.

  She slammed onto Greg’s back as he hit the ground and quickly rolled off him, taking aim behind her. Adam flew through the doorway as the stairwell exploded behind him.

  Norah kept her attention and weapon trained on the doorway as she got to her feet, backing up slowly. “Did you get it?”

  Adam was backing up as well, his weapon also trained on the doorway. “I don’t think so.”

  “Great,” Norah muttered.

  Greg’s voice was shaky as he spoke from slightly behind her but he held the Sig Sauer Chris had handed him before they left the farmhouse confidently in his hand. And she had to admit, she was impressed he was still there. She’d expected him to run. I guess Chris was right.

  “Okay, so, weak spots,” said Greg, “Eyes, mouth, and, well, that’s about it. His skin is pretty damn tough and his talons … well, just stay as far from them as possible.”

  Adam nodded next to her at the same time as Norah. “Got it,” she said, adjusting her grip.

  The creature burst from the doorway. Norah opened fire, as did Adam and Greg. The creature veered to the left, leaping up onto a guard shack and then jumping down to the other side.

  Damn, that thing’s fast. Norah whirled, trying to follow it, but she kept missing it. Neither of the other two was doing any better. It leapt onto a truck and swung behind it. There was a scream and then everything went quiet.

  “Where is it?” Greg whispered.

  “Don’t know.” Norah scanned the area. Adam went to one side of the truck and Norah circled around the other. The two of them met on the other side over the body of one of their men. His throat had been slashed open and he stared unseeing into the air.

  “I’ll check down by the entrance.” Adam started to move quickly away from the truck. Norah searched the area, feeling as if the creature was nearby.

  Gunfire burst out from the other side of the truck. “Greg!” Norah sprinted back toward him. Hank swung from the loading dock, Greg’s bullets seeming to do nothing. Its feet slammed into Greg, throwing him back onto the ground with a thud. Norah brought up her weapon and opened fire. Hank turned and hissed, rushing toward her. A shape dropped from the top of the truck and landed on the creature’s neck.

  Norah’s heart leapt into her throat. “No!”

  Iggy dug his talons into either side of Hank’s neck. Hank reached up and swiped at him, cutting Iggy across his midsection.

  But Iggy raised his hands and once again plunged his talons into Hank’s eyes before toppling off the creature.

  “No!” Norah burst forward, firing nonstop as Hank toppled forward. Adam did the same as he sprinted back toward them from the other side of the truck.

  Norah slid onto her knees at Iggy’s side, pressing her hands to his wound. Blood seeped through her fingers. “No, no, no.” Tears pressed against her eyes.

  Vaguely, she heard Chris’s voice over the earpiece, saying that Martin was escaping into the tunnels underneath the mountain and asking Penny to open up the elevators. But she didn’t take her gaze from Iggy.

  He opened his eyes. “Ig?” he whispered softly before closing them.

  Greg knelt on Iggy’s other side, opening a first-aid kit on the ground next to him. “Move your hands, Norah.”

  She shook her head. “No. He’s bleeding too much.”

  “Norah, let me help,” Greg said.

  Norah looked up at Greg and then nodded. Greg pressed the bandages to Iggy’s chest and she heard him telling Penny to find Iggy’s file and tell him about his blood. Noah didn’t understand half of what the two of them were saying to each other.

  She grasped Iggy’s hand. “I’m here, Iggy. I’m right here.”

  “Adam, we need to move him,” Greg said, looking up, and then he frowned. “Where is he?”

  “He was just—” Norah shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  CHAPTER NINETY-THREE

  Maeve, Jasper, and Chris stood in the elevator as it descended. Mike had stayed behind to start removing the aliens. It only had to go two floors, but it felt like they were travelling miles. Why is this taking so long?

  “When the doors open, be ready to fire.” Jasper looked at Maeve. “Will you be able to shoot someone?”

  She glared at him. “Just try to stop me.”

  Jasper nodded with a grin. “Well, okay, then.�
�

  The elevator dinged, indicating they had reached their destination. They all flattened themselves against the sides of the elevator as the doors opened. Chris peered outside. “Clear.”

  Maeve and Jasper followed Chris out into a short, dull, yellow hallway. It looked like it belonged in a parking garage. Through the small window in the door at the other side, she could see the top of a two-car train as it approached.

  Oh no.

  Chris peered through the window. “Train’s stopping. They’re on a platform a hundred yards to our left. Martin, two guards, and two containers. There’s no cover between here and there.”

  “Well, let’s go. Team Save the Aliens to the rescue,” Jasper said, grasping the door handle. He nodded at Chris and swung it wide. Chris darted out just as the train pulled into the station. He got off the first shot, catching one of the guards in the shoulder before he could react.

  Jasper stepped out, firing as he went, but Martin leaned out from behind a pillar and fired. Jasper crashed to the ground. “No!” Maeve yelled, pulling the trigger on the man on the platform. He jerked and then collapsed.

  Chris was already moving forward. “Check Jasper!” he yelled.

  Maeve sprinted to where Jasper lay.

  Blood trickled down the side of his head from where the bullet had grazed him. Luckily it didn’t look like it had done much damage, but he’d slammed his head into the ground pretty hard.

  Maeve crouched down, her fingers on his neck. His pulse was strong. A lump had formed, but she didn’t think it was a life-threatening injury. Hopefully he was just knocked out. She looked up to where Chris was exchanging gunfire with Martin. Alvie and Agaren’s containment units were on the platform in between the two of them, and Maeve cringed each time she heard the ping of metal.

  Jasper did not look like he was getting up anytime soon. Maeve rolled her shoulders and then placed her hands under his arms.