The Siberian Incident

by Greig Beck

  The haunted mill, he remembered someone telling him. He felt the chill on his neck, and now he knew why it was called that.

  *****

  Carter could tell they were headed back to the ice now, and he also bet there would be trucks waiting to speed the group away the moment they arrived.

  Though Tushino and his men were in the lead, after being here for over a year now, his advantage was he knew every shortcut there was. Carter branched off and took a more direct path to the lake. He knew he’d arrive in just a few minutes and as he ran, he started to load more cartridges into his gun.

  He slowed, listening. That noise—the cracking and tearing—he recognized it, and it was the sound of massive ice sheets being torn up.

  “Oh no, no, no.” He held his gun in one hand and started to sprint.

  CHAPTER 50

  Bulukov was first through the tree line onto the lakeshore. He slowed, his arms dropping to his side, looking one way then the other. He then turned to Tushino.

  “Where are they?”

  Tushino’s mouth was open and the other men piled up behind them. Two of them placed Sara’s unconscious form onto the ground. They all stared—at what wasn’t there.

  There were no trucks, no men lounging beside them smoking thick cigarettes, and no ice sheet meeting the frozen shoreline.

  Instead, in a huge disc, the ice was broken open, and they could all feel the bone-numbing cold emanating from the impenetrable black water.

  “They left us?” one of the men asked. “Why would they leave us?”

  “No.” Bulukov walked a few more paces forward. “The sound we heard before, it was this; the ice breaking up.”

  “They broke through… or sunk?” another of the assassins stammered.

  “Impossible,” Tushino spat. “It was over six feet thick. They’d need dynamite.”

  Bulukov shook his head, walking right down to the edge of the black water. He pointed out to where the ice started again and turned back. “It’s folded up, as if it was broken upward from the water side… from below.”

  The big Russian fumbled in his pocket for a moment and then withdrew a flashlight. He held it up and pointed the beam down to illuminate the dark but crystal-clear water. He craned forward.

  “No, look.” He began to shake his head. “They are there. Under the water.” He frowned and craned forward even more, stretching out his flashlight arm. “Wait… something moving.”

  “One of the men?” another of the team asked.

  “I don’t…” Bulukov took another few steps closer, his boot now actually in the water. He slowly moved his light around.

  “Svoloch!” He leaped up, as the bear’s head broke the dark water’s surface. He tried to keep his light on it but his hand wobbled.

  Tushino’s lips pulled back in a frightened rictus and he pulled his revolver, trying to aim at the huge animal as it lifted itself from the water. But then immediately to one side of it, the antlers of a deer showed, then on its other side another, and then another. Then a wolf began to rise from the inky water.

  The bratva leader’s mind became confused and scattered—their transport was gone, and now they had an army of animals surfacing. Some of them large and dangerous beasts.

  To Tushino’s horror, a man came next, his long hair wet and matted to his shoulders. Bulukov yelled his fear and shone the flashlight into his face, illuminating milky-white eyes that belonged on a corpse.

  “They’re dead. They’re all dead,” Bulukov screamed at Tushino. He then spun back and immediately shot at the bear, once, twice, and three times. But it took the bullets without flinching, or worst of all, not even making a sound.

  Tushino’s gun hand wobbled as he backed up, and his teeth began to chatter. He realized now what was so terrifying was that none of the beasts made a single sound—not a snort or a sneeze, a growl or even a whine.

  He’d had enough. “Fire! Shoot, shoot!”

  The men opened fire and their bullets zippered the animals and people rising from the icy lake. Many of the wild rounds splashed in beside them, but hitting them or not, none made a difference.

  “Cease firing.” Bulukov waved a huge arm in the air. “It’s Stanislov Borga.”

  Sure enough, Tushino saw the mustached sniper he had engaged to kill Carter also rising from the water. He still had on his white camouflage fatigues, but now the front hung open, and there could have been the dark, washed-out remains of blood there.

  Now he knew what happened to him. But just like the animals, Borga’s face was dreary and slack and his eyes were the deadest of white, but there was just the hint of something dark behind them. He rose up from the depths and headed straight for Bulukov.

  Tushino began to shake his head. “No, don’t let him, there’s something wrong.” He lifted his gun and fired. With more luck than skill, his bullet struck Borga in the shoulder, the impact punching him back half a step. But even though there was now a ragged hole in the clothing and undoubtedly the flesh beneath, Borga never made a sound and continued to approach Bulukov.

  Bulukov in turn turned and yelled to stop firing, but when he turned back, Borga was now only a few feet from him.

  “Borga, what’s happening?” Bulukov stared into his face, but the assassin never said a word, and instead lifted an arm. In turn, Bulukov reached out to take the hand, thinking he was asking for help.

  The hand gripped Bulukov’s, and Borga simply began to turn back to the water.

  Bulukov was dragged forward a step.

  “Hey, no, brother. What…?” Bulukov was bigger and yanked and jerked at the hand gripping him, but it made no difference and he was slowly being pulled into the freezing water.

  One of Tushino’s men went to break ranks, but the Russian leader screamed at him to stay where he was. Tushino knew it was turning into a madhouse and he quickly looked up and down the coastline. To the south were hundreds of miles of frozen nothingness. He turned back—to the north, in just over a mile, was the mill compound.

  He looked back toward the water as the animals and strange people were reaching the shore now. He saw Bulukov still struggling as he was dragged, screaming, down into the depths.

  Tushino knew he should try and help, but he also knew none of his men would obey the order. When that happened, chain of command would be destroyed.

  “Madhouse,” he whispered as the huge and tough Bulukov started wailing like a small child as Borga, still expressionless, took them both down into the stygian dark water.

  “Mad, mad, madhouse,” he whispered again. Tushino decided. “Grab the woman. This way.”

  CHAPTER 51

  Red and Mitch caught up with Carter as he belly-crawled toward the chaotic sounds at the shoreline.

  “Something big going down,” Carter whispered.

  “Sounds like a full-on fire-fight,” Red said. “And it ain’t against us.”

  “Yuri?” Mitch asked.

  “No, something else.” Carter increased his speed. “Nearly there.”

  The three men crawled through the last trees and saw the Russian men gathered at the shoreline. But then they saw what they were firing at.

  “Sweet jumping Jesus.” Mitch’s mouth hung open.

  Like a scene from a portal of hell, the dead animal hosts were rising from the water and stepping up onto the land—bears, wolves, antlered deer, and even several people, some in clothing, others looking bloated and mottled, as if their flesh had started to corrupt.

  Red blew air between pressed lips. “That answers the question about if there’s more than one of those ugly little critters.”

  Beyond the Russians, the inky water held a distinct green glow down in the depths. Carter spotted Tushino, and then Sara being held up by two men.

  “That bastard,” Carter hissed, seething.

  He dispatched Red and Mitch to different positions, and moved along the tree line behind Tushino and his men while they were preoccupied.

  After another few seconds, he saw th
at the Russians looked to have decided to head up along the shore—back toward the mill.

  Carter yelled from his concealment. “Cton—stop!”

  The Russian hitmen looked panicked at the new voice, and their guns swung from the approaching corpse-like animals to Carter’s position. One fired, perhaps on instinct, as there was no way he could have spotted Carter.

  Carter returned fire and hit the man in the heart dead-center, dropping him like a stone.

  “Bring the woman here.” Carter drew a bead on the man holding her. “Tushino, last chance. Or I shoot another of your men.”

  “Carter Stenson.” Tushino suddenly looked wracked with indecision. The animals were edging closer, and he seemed to have no choice. “A truce.”

  “Bring the woman, now.” Carter ground his teeth, as they seemed to be conferring. He fired above their heads. “Fucking right now.”

  One of the men looked to try and steal his way into the forest to try and work his way behind Carter. A single shot from either Red or Mitch rang out and the Russian fell backward from the trees.

  “Don’t think we won’t kill you all,” Carter yelled. “Three seconds, or you’re all dead.” He aimed. “Two seconds.”

  “All right, all right.” Tushino spoke rapidly to his man who held Sara. In turn, he dragged her along the shore toward Carter’s position and then went to lay her on the frozen ground. Carter spoke to him in Russian.

  “No! Bring her to me… closer.”

  The man’s eyes burned with anger and also a hint of fear, but he brought Sara into the forest. He spotted Carter, and saw his armaments, and quickly laid her down, raising his hands and straightening.

  “Now fuck off.”

  The man backed up, but by now the animals had reached them, so instead of rejoining his group, he turned and sprinted down along the shoreline. Another man broke ranks and also sprinted into the frozen forest.

  Tushino’s eyes bulged as he yelled for them to hold their place.

  Carter quickly drew Sara to him and immediately saw the beating she had taken. He felt the surge of anger in his chest.

  Tushino seemed to have made a change of plans, held his hands up, and began to walk toward Carter. “I surrender.”

  In turn, Carter fired a single round into the snow at his feet.

  “Your men can do what they want. But you stay right there.”

  “What?”

  His men looked one way then the other, and as one lowered their guns and then ran at breakneck speed into the freezing forest.

  “Bastards!”

  Tushino bared his teeth and spat a stream of Russian curses, first at his fleeing men, and then at Carter. He spun back, bringing his gun around, but Carter fired first into his leg. Tushino screamed and went to one knee, grasping his leg.

  One of the bears reached him and looked down with its milky eyes and gaping, desiccated mouth for just a second or two before leaning forward and gathering him up as if he weighed nothing.

  The merciful thing would have been for Carter to put the Bratva leader out of his misery. But Carter had no mercy for this creature.

  He stared as the screaming Russian was carried to the dark water, beating against the sodden hide of the enormous animal. In another few seconds, his screams were cut off as he vanished below the lake’s dark surface.

  Red and Mitch rejoined Carter, and they watched as many of the beasts that had risen from the freezing water were going after the fleeing Russians. Unfortunately, another group was heading toward them.

  “They’re dead,” Red breathed. “They’re dead, and being driven around like fucking zombie suits.”

  “When the gates of Hell are opened, then the dead will rise,” Mitch added. “Boss, time to go.”

  “Yep.” Carter brushed hair from Sara’s face and saw she was still only semi-conscious, and he worried about a serious concussion. However, for now, perhaps her being oblivious to what was going on was for the best. He stood and lifted her. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Red and Mitch turned to take shots at the closest animals but other than blow chunks of flesh from some of them, it didn’t slow them down at all.

  The trio pulled back into the forest and quickly moved along the trails Carter knew to speed them back to the mill compound.

  *****

  In another 20 minutes, movement from up ahead had the three men take cover. Carter held Sara close with one arm and lifted his rifle with the other. But soon, the flashlights and noise the group were making gave them away.

  “Yuri,” Carter said.

  The big Russian lifted his gun above his head. “Hold your fire.”

  Carter came out from behind the tree trunk as Yuri and the scientists all came in. Yuri quickly crossed to Carter and took Sara from him. “She’s alive.” He exhaled with relief. Then he looked up. “Tushino?”

  “Dead… sort of.” Carter turned to Mikhail. “The creatures came out of the lake; lots of them. They grabbed most of Tushino’s men and they’re heading our way. We gotta get back to the mill and create a defendable position.”

  Anna looked over his shoulder.

  Carter pointed to the dark forest. “Red, Mitch, take point. Mikhail, Anna, communicating time is over. And let’s light ‘em up as we go.”

  Mikhail nodded. “Yes, yes.” But then bobbed his head. “We didn’t, ah, bring any blacklights.”

  That meant they only had the portable one Carter had with him. “Then let’s hope they stay in their skin suits.” He shoved them. “Move it.”

  CHAPTER 52

  The group ran hard. Red and Mitch sped out ahead, next came Nikolay and Anna, followed by Yuri carrying Sara. Mikhail puffed his way next, and Carter covered the rear, while also putting his hand in the center of the old scientist’s back to give him a shove along.

  Though the animals never moved quickly—as if the creatures riding around inside them had trouble moving the limbs at any speed—he knew that the alien creatures themselves moved like lightning. Added to that, without a full contingent of blacklights, they were now invisible.

  The entire time Carter moved through the dark forest he had the tingling feeling up his spine from his imagination conjuring something lashing out of the dark like a razor whip, slitting him open from one end to the other.

  It took them another 30 minutes to begin to head into the compound. “To the mill house,” Carter yelled from the rear. He knew it was the largest and most solid structure they had. Plus, it was where all the blacklights were stored. Bottom line: they needed to see their enemy.

  As they left the tree line, Red out in front held up a hand. He then flattened his palm and waved them down.

  The group crouched and Carter and Mitch came up to join the Special Forces soldier.

  “What have you got?” Carter asked.

  “The waterline, which used to be an ice line. Check it out.” Red nodded toward the icy shore.

  Sure enough, the ice was broken open in front of the wharf. There was also the tell-tale green glow emanating from deep below the water.

  “Ah shit, here too,” Carter said and exhaled in a hiss. “No choice; we got to get to the mill house. We can’t afford to be stuck out in the open.”

  “Got it.” Red turned back. “Then lock and load; we’re going in hot.”

  “I heard that.” Mitch wracked his gun and got to his feet.

  Carter turned and waved Mikhail closer. “The creatures are coming to shore here as well. We’ve got to get inside.” He looked to the small group. “We’re going fast and hard. Stay in a line—just focus on the back of the person in front of you. Don’t stop for anything. Got it?”

  The group nodded, and Carter turned back to Red. “Mr. Mitch Tanner and Mr. Redmond Bronson, take us out. Gentlemen, stop for nothing and nobody—dead or alive.”

  “HOOAH!”

  The pair slapped their guns and turned back. Red charged first, gun up, immediately followed by Mitch.

  “Okay?” Carter asked Yuri. Th
e big man still cradled the unconscious Sara.

  “Yes, I’ve got her. I will not drop her.”

  “I know you won’t. Let’s go, big guy.” Carter waved him on.

  Yuri started to lumber forward followed by Nikolay, Anna, Mikhail, and finally Carter.

  Carter put his scope to his eye and could see the animals and people coming up the shoreline—they looked ghostly, and in among them, he thought he might have seen Leonid. He hoped not.

  Carter sucked in a breath as it came his turn to run. One thing was for sure: he wasn’t going to let that happen to Sara, himself, or anyone else on his watch.

  *****

  Red and Mitch fired as they ran. They aimed for the animals’ gut cavity, and many times, the beasts crumpled to the ground, meaning that the men’s high-powered rounds had passed all the way through the dead flesh of the animal and into the creatures within.

  “Not too many,” Anna yelled.

  Carter’s brow furrowed as they closed in on the mill. What did she mean? Did she mean not too many more steps to the mill? Or not too many more creatures killed? If she was still hoping to communicate or make friends with these horrors, then she was out of luck, as that bus had come and gone hours back.

  In another few minutes, they came to the mill and Red slammed his shoulder into the large set of doors. And then bounced back.

  “Fuck!” He glared. “It’s locked.”

  “I left it open,” Yuri said and shifted Sara in his arms who seemed to finally be coming around.

  “Look.” Mitch pointed toward the waterfront where the ice had broken open in a massive circle over 100 feet around.

  Carter turned and saw the creatures coming ashore. But there was something else—the deep green glow seemed to be emanating from a large object just below the water. It could have been a whale, but he knew that was impossible. Same again for a submersible.

  He quickly lifted the scope to his eye and saw that it was a single object, but seemed to be a conglomerate of pieces—no, he thought, feeling his gorge rise—not pieces, but separate animals. The larger object was constructed of seals, and wolves, and deer, and there also looked to be a small, naked, human body pressed there, possibly a child.