Jack watched Nick approach. Nick introduced himself, pointed to his family, and then they shook hands.
“I take it you’re an employee?” Jack asked.
“That’s right. Marketing. But you probably already know that.”
“Not really. Do you have an idea how many of you came here?”
“Ah, I’d say, maybe ninety.”
Jack glanced over at the bodies. “I’m going to need an exact headcount.”
Nick saw two more security guards enter the lobby. One of them walked over to Jack. “Sir, Mr. Connors told us to check with you. See if we could assist.”
Jack looked over at the guard with the shotgun standing near a door just off the front desk. “Hey, where does that lead?”
The guard opened the door and peeked inside. “Looks like a conference room,” he hollered back.
Jack gave the guard a wave. “Thanks.” He turned to the two men that had just arrived. “Let’s do a quick clean up. Move the bodies into the conference room. And cover them with table cloths. See if you can drag a hose in here and wash away this blood before we start getting more people to come down.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.” The guards slung their weapons over their shoulders and got right to work. Miguel went along to give them a hand.
“Anything I can do?” Nick asked.
“Not unless you can identify some of these bodies and I can scratch them off my list,” Jack said, producing a folded up piece of paper.
“No, but there’s a boy upstairs I’d like to go up and get,” Nick said.
“I’d prefer if you and your family stayed down here. That way I’ll know you’re safe. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure security gets him when they bring down the others.”
“Sure, I understand.” Nick tagged along and followed Jack as they took a roundabout way over to the front desk so they didn’t have to step over bodies or tread in any blood.
They had just come around the backside of the counter when they saw the mutilated body of the poor hotel clerk lying on the floor. He remembered she’d been an attractive young woman.
After a few minutes, the guards had moved all of the bodies except for the hotel clerk’s into the conference room.
Another guard came into the lobby and propped the double doors open that led out to the pool area. He dragged in a long hose and positioned himself so when he turned on the high-pressure nozzle, he was able to spray the blood in the direction of the opened doors.
Nick figured he’d hose the stream of blood outside and direct it down a drain.
While Jack went over the list, Nick returned to his family. He sat down on the couch between Meg and Gabe and put his arms around their shoulders. “Don’t worry. They’re working on a plan to get us all out of here.”
“Thank God,” Meg said, leaning against Nick.
Nick looked at Gabe. “Don’t worry buddy, Jack assured me they’d find Shane.”
Gabe stared down at his sneakers but didn’t say anything.
***
Cam and Tilly stepped out of the service elevator onto the main floor and headed down the dark passageway, using their flashlights to guide them.
“Let’s check to see if anyone’s in the lab,” Tilly said.
“Yeah, maybe they know what’s going on.” Cam led the way. Soon they were at the long bank of windows outside the laboratory. He pressed his face close against the glass and gazed in. “It’s too dark to really see...wait a minute. I think there’s someone in there.” He shined his flashlight but got too much reflection off the glass so he put it down by his side.
Tilly and Cam banged on the glass to get the person’s attention.
“Where were they?” Tilly asked, cupping her hands beside her temples and looking in.
“I can’t see them. Maybe it was just a shadow.”
“Aren’t there sleeping quarters in this building for people who work weird hours?”
“Yeah, for the lab and animatronics techs. I think Burt Owen and Professor Howard also have their own private rooms. I’ll bet they’re back there. We should go wake them up.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little strange that no one’s up? I mean, they must have at least felt or heard the explosion.”
“We better go see.” They turned right at the junction and followed the hallway down to a series of doors.
“This must be where most of them sleep,” Cam said, reading the plaque on the door. “Should I knock?”
“Just take a peek.”
Cam grabbed the doorknob and twisted. As soon as he cracked the door, he could smell the overpowering odor. “Jesus, there must be a gas leak.” He opened the door all the way and held his nose as he entered the large room.
There were six military-style bunk beds lined up along the walls, each with a pale-faced person with blue lips, lying on a mattress.
Cam kept his nose and mouth covered and searched the room.
“Do you hear that?” Tilly said, her hand over her mouth.
It was a hissing sound, coming from behind a radiant heater by the wall. Cam approached and could feel his eyes begin to burn. He glanced behind the radiator and saw that the coupled line had come loose and was the source of the gas leak. Cam reached down and inserted the thin pipe back into the fitting. He took the crescent wrench out of his back pocket and tightened up the nut, stopping the gas from escaping. He shoved the tool back in his trouser pocket.
Tilly fanned the air with her hand, going from upper to lower bunk, checking for pulses or seeing if anyone was breathing. “Oh my God, Cam. They’re all dead.”
“Must have been caused by that damn explosion,” Cam said.
“We better see if the professor and Mr. Owen are here,” Tilly said.
They dashed out of the room and went down the hall to the next set of doors.
Not bothering to knock, Cam opened the door to Professor Nora Howard’s room. She was lying on a single-size bed. A glass of water was on a nightstand, next to a vial of pills.
“Ah, shit!” Cam rushed to the bedside and shook the woman.
“What?” Nora said, groggily.
“Professor, are you okay?” Cam asked.
“Yes, but what are you doing in here?”
“Something horrible has happened,” Tilly said, stepping into the room.
Nora sat up. She was dressed in a rumpled blouse and a pair of wrinkled slacks. She swung her feet onto the floor. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“The lab techs and Mr. Owen’s crew are dead.”
“What do you mean, dead?” Nora asked, slipping her feet into her flats.
“They were asphyxiated by a gas leak in their room.”
“Oh God,” Nora said.
“Didn’t you hear the explosion?” Cam asked.
“What explosion?”
“It took out the main power grid.”
“I took some sleeping pills and must have been so zonked out, I didn’t hear it.”
“Is Mr. Owen here?”
“I believe so.”
“Then we better see if he’s okay,” Cam said. They rushed out of the professor’s room and down the hall.
Before they reached Burt Owen’s door, they could hear him yelling inside his room.
“Mr. Owen, can you hear me?” Cam shouted.
“Yes. Who’s out there?”
“Cam Morgan. I’m out here with Professor Howard and Tilly O’Brien.”
“My door’s stuck, I can’t get out,” Burt shouted from the other side.
“Hold on, let me try from this side.” Cam tried opening the door but it was as if the doorframe had shifted, wedging in the door. He spotted a glass cabinet with a fire ax inside. He went over, took out his crescent wrench, smashed out the glass, and pocketed his trusty tool.
He reached in and took out the ax.
“Okay, everyone, stand back.” Cam waited until Tilly and the professor were clear and swung the ax blade at the door, chopping out the entire locking mechanism.
Burt opened the door. “Thank you, young man. We better see to the others.”
Cam and Tilly exchanged looks then turned to Nora.
“What’s going on?” Burt asked.
“I’m sorry, Burt, they’re all dead,” Nora said. “My people and yours.”
“But how?” Burt said in disbelief.
But before anyone could tell him, a menacing roar sounded from down the hall.
“What the hell was that?” Burt said.
“I don’t know, but I think it’s coming this way,” Nora said.
“Quick, we can hide in the workshop.”
Everyone followed Burt down the hallway. He opened the door and stepped into the animatronics assembly area. “Get behind those workbenches.”
Before they could get situated, a tall figure appeared in the doorway.
Burt took one look and yelled, “It’s the damn yeti.”
Entering the large room, the abominable snow creature roared and flung out its right arm, smashing the head off a clay lizard sculpture on a table.
“I guess that’s not one of yours,” Nora called out from behind the workbench.
“Unfortunately, no,” Burt replied, grabbing a control box wired to the incomplete bigfoot covered with fur except for its metallic arms and legs.
The yeti spotted Burt and stomped across the room.
Burt held the controller in one hand and operated the toggle switch with the other.
Before the yeti could get at Burt, the motorized bigfoot came to life and blocked its path with its heavy body. The snow creature slammed its fist into the bigfoot’s face but its mechanical opponent wasn’t fazed.
Burt did a fancy maneuver and got the bigfoot to sidestep the yeti. The bigfoot’s metallic arm swung upward like a guillotine between the yeti’s arm and body. The sharp edged metal sliced up the armpit, cutting through bone, and severed the limb at the shoulder.
The yeti roared with pain as blood spurted out the gaping wound. It stared down at the blood-soaked appendage lying on the floor by its feet and bent to pick it up.
Burt set his creation into motion and cranked up its speed.
The bigfoot collided head-on with the yeti, the impenetrable steel head caving in the bio-engineered cranium. The yeti crashed to the floor.
Burt turned off the control box and the animatronic bigfoot froze in mid-motion.
“Jesus,” Burt said, gazing down at the dead yeti. “How the hell did that get out?”
“We think the zoo’s been compromised,” Tilly said.
“Yeah, they’re escaping everywhere,” Cam piped in.
“Oh my God,” Nora said. “I have to get over to the Biped Habitat.”
“Sorry, professor, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cam said.
“I agree,” Burt added.
But Nora wasn’t listening to reason and started for the door.
Cam ran after her and grabbed her by the arm. “Seriously, Professor. You don’t want to go out there.”
Nora stopped and looked at Cam’s hand on her arm then gazed up at him. “You don’t understand. If what you’ve said is true, and all the creatures are running loose, that means Connors’ men are out there right now hunting them down. I can’t let that happen.”
“But how are you going to stop them?”
“I don’t know but I have to try.”
“But those things are dangerous.”
“Not the yeren. It wouldn’t hurt a fly. I can’t stand by and watch them kill it. You stay here if you like but I’m going.”
“No, I’m going with you,” Tilly said.
“Okay, I’m coming too.” Cam looked at Burt Owen.
“You three go. I’ll see if I can find help. Maybe I can get word to Connors. Good luck to you.”
“Thanks, Burt.” Nora dashed out, followed by Cam and Tilly.
27
PANDEMONIUM
Nick stood with Meg and Gabe in the lobby and waited while the security guards canvassed the hotel and checked each suite on every floor and brought the guests down the stairs in small groups. So far, they had rounded up around fifty people as they continued their search. Apparently, some had managed to sleep through the disturbance while others had been apprehensive to leave their rooms.
Luckily, the dead bodies had been removed and the cleanup was completed before the first arrivals had showed up. Nick imagined their horrified faces if they could have seen the fancy lobby looking like an abattoir.
A dozen more people filed out the fire door into the lobby. When it seemed the last person had come out, Nick said, “Still no Shane.”
“Don’t tell me he took something and is out cold,” Meg said. She looked at Gabe accusingly.
“Mom, I already told you. He wasn’t feeling well.” Gabe shifted his eyes to the floor.
“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Nick asked.
Gabe continued to stare at his sneakers.
“Gabe!”
The teenager looked up at Nick. “It’s not my fault.”
“What’s not your fault?” Meg asked.
“It was Shane’s idea, not mine.”
“Let’s hear it,” Nick said.
But before Gabe could answer, another group of guests started piling out of the stairwell.
Nick raised his hand. “Wait, let’s see if he’s with these folks.”
A woman screamed from the other side of the lobby.
“What the hell!” a man yelled.
Soon other people were shouting and screaming.
“Oh my God, Nick!” Meg pointed into the dining room.
Winged creatures were flying in through the busted out window, entering the hotel like a bizarre air raid.
A giant bat swooped into the lobby, snatched a little boy by the scruff of his shirt, and to his mother’s horror, flew off with him. Five more ahools soared in and dove into the crowd, flapping their enormous wings over everyone’s head.
Nick turned when he heard a scream and saw a flying snake attacking a woman; its thin skinned wings wrapped around her face as it sank its fangs into the top of her skull. Two more arabhars glided in over everyone’s heads. The venomous serpents latched onto guests trying to flee and clung onto their backs.
Jack and Miguel ran in from outside through the propped open lobby doors and saw the panicked crowd running in every direction. They pointed their rifles trying to get a bead on the flying creatures but they couldn’t shoot for fear of hitting someone.
Nick moved his family against the wall near a hallway entrance that led to the suites on the ground floor.
Two ahools broke away from the melee and flew at them.
“This way!” Nick yelled, motioning for Meg and Gabe to run down the hall.
The farther they went, the darker the passageway became as all of the emergency lights were out except for the last one at the very end of the hall.
Nick spotted a walking cane on the carpet that someone had dropped and left behind. He bent down as he ran and scooped up the cane. He could hear the giant bats’ wings flapping behind him as they steadily closed the gap.
“Dad, there’s nowhere for us to go,” Gabe shouted as he and Meg reached the end of the hall by an alcove for the ice machine.
Nick swung the cane and shattered the emergency light.
The passageway went pitch black.
“Down on the floor!” Nick yelled.
The giant bats flew right over them and crashed into the wall with a sickening crunch. Their heavy, lifeless bodies thudded on the floor.
Nick stood up in the dark. He could see the light at the other end of the hall leading into the lobby.
“Nick, how’d you know they’d crash into the wall?” Meg asked. “Did you have another one of your visions?”
“No. Weren’t you paying attention during the tour?”
“Oh, yeah, right. Christine said ahools couldn’t navigate in the dark.”
“Bingo!”
Nick could hear guns
hots and more people screaming but it seemed to be further away. “We better see what’s going on now.”
They sprinted down the hall and stepped warily into the lobby.
Jack spun around, aimed his revolver and shot a giant bat before it could attack a woman huddled on the floor protecting her child. The bullet punched a gaping hole through the ahool’s chest. It hung in the air for a brief moment like a kite caught in an updraft then plummeted to the floor.
Miguel stood in the middle of the lobby. He held his big pistol in a two-handed grip and was taking careful aim, picking off one giant bat then another.
One of the security guards was bashing a flying snake into the marble floor with the butt stock of his rifle.
Most of the people were running through the open doorway leading out toward the pool area.
“We better follow them,” Nick said.
Jack and Miguel dashed for the doorway to join them.
They had only gone maybe twenty feet outside when they heard everyone scream and come running back.
Nick couldn’t believe his eyes.
People were being lifted into the air by gigantic suction cupped arms coming out of the pool. A man was smashed against the hotel wall while another was dragged down into the water.
Nick counted six arms flailing about, grabbing one person after the other as they tried to run past.
“Holy shit!” Miguel said. “How’d the kraken get in the pool?”
Jack got as close as possible and fired into the water.
“How about we try these?”
They all turned and saw the head of security, Ivan Connors. He was holding a stun grenade in each hand. He pulled the pins and lobbed them into the water. Two bright flashes of light appeared under the crystal clear water followed by twin concussions that sent a pair of geysers spewing up out of the pool.
Nick gazed down at the deep end of the black bottom pool and saw a shape forming as the giant octopus’ camouflage changed to its natural pigmentation.
The kraken’s head came to the surface.
Jack and Miguel fired their handguns while Connors strafed the giant octopus with his machinegun. Bodies bobbed to the surface as black ink clouded the water.
The rest of the kraken floated up and looked like a giant deflated balloon from a Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Cryptid Zoo Page 13
