by Ben Hammott
“Not yet,” answered Rickmeyer.
Richard was pleased with the news. There still might be time for him to leave before they arrived and prevented him from leaving with the meteorite.
“Did you find Wayne, Claire, and Greg?”
Richard turned to the deputy. “We did. The aliens have infected them.”
“And the creatures? What about them?” pressed the deputy, nervously glancing along the forest track.
“There are a bunch of them holed up in the mine,” answered Kathryn, joining them. “After we’ve rescued my friends, we can blow the entrance somehow to trap them inside.”
“Yeah, well, that’s something for you lot to work on,” said Richard. “I’ve done my part. I need to get this meteorite somewhere safe as we can’t be sure there still aren’t things inside.”
Kathryn narrowed her eyes at Richard suspiciously.
Richard grabbed the torch from the back of the truck and lit it. “With your agreement, deputy, I’ll take it somewhere safe for the soldiers to sort out when they arrive.”
Rickmeyer nodded. “Farther away from town, the better.”
Richard paused at the passenger side door. “To get an idea of the threat your town faces, you might want to look at this before I destroy them.”
Rickmeyer crossed to the truck’s open door and looked at what Richard pointed to. Amongst the blobs of gooey mess decorating an area of the cab were tiny worms that wriggled and stood on their ends stretching toward him like leeches sensing a victim's body heat.
“Don’t get too close,” warned Richard. “If they get on your skin, they’ll burrow inside and infect you.”
Rickmeyer moved back. “So, there’s worm aliens as well as those black things on Kathryn’s video?”
“It seems so, but these are the tiny versions of the parasitic worms. They grow a lot bigger when they infect a host.” Richard thrust the flames at the worms to kill them. “These came from the small black creatures that fire spines. I think some of the worms might have the ability to grow into the black aliens and then take control of the infected host. Although the black ones can move in and out of their host, the worms seem to live permanently inside them for reasons I haven’t worked out yet.”
“Richard thinks the soldiers on the crashed airplane would have called for a specialist team to come to handle the alien situation. The CDC, WHO, or the like,” said Kathryn, keeping Richard’s cover.
Satisfied he had killed all the worms in the cab, Richard threw the torch to the ground and shut the passenger side door. “Good luck with everything.” He walked around to the driver’s side and climbed into the truck filled with the acrid scent of singed plastic.
Rickmeyer approached the passenger window. “You leaving us then?”
Richard nodded. “I’ve done what I can. It’s up to you now, deputy. Kathryn’s suggestion of blowing up the mine entrance was a good one, so you might want to think about that.”
The deputy dodged back when Boris climbed through the window into the cab. “What about that article you were going to write about our town?”
Richard shrugged. “I’ll do it later.” Having got what he wanted, Richard crunched the truck into gear, steered around the barrier, and drove off along the road.
CHAPTER 15
Ravine
Panting from their climb up the steep treelined slope, Colbert, Mason, and Sullivan stopped for a breather and sat with their backs against trees as they gazed at the rough terrain they still had to navigate before they reached the town, its water tower poking above the trees indicating its distance and position.
Colbert looked to where the smoke had come from earlier; there was no sign of any now. They’d heard the faint call of a klaxon and not long after plumes of white smoke replacing the gray coming from two areas of burning plane wreckage. It was an indication the fire service had been called to the scene and extinguished the fires. Hopefully, Richard had concocted a story—he was good at that, telling lies—to stop them from investigating the other wreck sites for survivors or bodies.
Mason looked down at the valley between them and Devil Falls. A fast-flowing river ran through the rocky bottom, its white caps visible. All they had to do was make their way down, cross the river, and up the other side. From there, it seemed relatively flat ground. He looked at his comrades. “Not far now.”
“It’s not the distance that’s a problem; it’s the damn terrain.” Sullivan pulled a water canteen from his pocket and took a drink.
Colbert gazed across the valley. “Unless there is a surprise waiting for us over yonder ridge, this is the last ravine we’ll have to cross.”
“Good!” exclaimed Sullivan. “Not sure my legs could handle another one.”
Both Colbert and Mason were of a like mind.
A few minutes later, Colbert climbed to his feet. “Let’s move. We have an alien threat to take care of.”
The men climbed to their feet.
“I’m hoping Richard will have handled that situation by the time we arrive,” said Sullivan. “I don’t have much respect for the man, but as you said earlier, he has the canny knack of dealing with lifeforms that are not of this world.”
“You have more faith in him than me,” uttered Mason. “He’s probably caught the first bus out of town.”
“I wouldn’t write him off just yet,” advised Colbert. “I don’t think he’ll leave until he’s certain he can’t get his hands on that meteorite of his. He needs it to jumpstart his flagging career.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon.” Mason looked down the steep slope and sighed deeply. “Are we doing this?”
Colbert led them down.
CHAPTER 16
The Bait
A fearsome predator of its domain, the large brown trout poked its head from the water and looked at the nest in the tree leaning over the river; it had previously feasted on a baby bird that had fallen into its territory. Spotting no activity in the nest, it swam over to some rocks near the bank in search of other prey. Its exploration brought it to a small branch the current had jammed against the stones. Spying movement, it swam to the worms dancing enticingly at the end and feasted upon them.
CHAPTER 17
The Grizzly
The four wolves approached the cave with none of the fear they would have experienced if they weren’t under the control of the parasite inside them. The overwhelming urge to seek out the vicious grizzly led them inside without a faltering step or an inkling of concern for their safety.
The large, male grizzly was sleeping off a meal when his senses alerted him to intruders. It opened an eye and registering surprise more than fear, watched the four wolves padding slowly nearer. It raised its head and bellowed a ferocious roar that should have turned any foe high tailing it out of there in fear of their life. The wolves didn’t even flinch but kept on coming. It climbed to its feet as the wolves spread out. The wolves watched it charge toward them. Noticing something sitting on one of the wolves’ heads, the bear felt fear for the first time since he had become a fully-grown formidable beast all avoided.
The alien puffed up and shot a spike at the bear. The beast yelped when it struck its nose, sending crippling pain through its nervous system and collapsing it to the ground. It writhed for a few moments before pain-free calmness stilled it.
The alien creature moved down the wolf’s head and slipped inside the small cut on the back of its host’s neck. It was time for them to carry out their next instructions; eliminate the threat that had almost seen their species dead. The wolves turned and headed out of the bear’s cave.
CHAPTER 18
Ambushed
Crossing the uneven rocky ground to the stream, Sullivan knelt and splashed cold refreshing water over his hot, sweaty face.
Colbert glanced each way along the gloomy ravine cast in faux twilight shadow. There seemed no easy way up the steep vertical face of the cliffs. “We’ll head west in the direction of the town and climb up as soon as we find a su
itable route.”
The others followed him along the side of the river.
Standing on a large boulder fifteen feet high, the wolves watched the humans they had been tasked to kill come closer before backing out of sight to stage their ambush.
Spotting movement from the corner of his eye, Sullivan turned to come face to face with a wolf leaping onto a nearby rock. It snarled and pounced. With no time to aim his assault rifle, he dodged to the side and swung the stock at it, clubbing the vicious beast’s head with enough force to break its jaw. The wolf stumbled when it landed, a front leg collapsing. Snarling, its bottom jaw at an unnatural angle, it turned to Sullivan and sprung. Bullets exploded its head. It collapsed to the ground.
While the wolf had attacked from the front as a distraction, two more had attacked from the rear. One pounced on Mason, toppling him forward into Colbert, who slipped on the rocks and fell to the ground.
Knocked off balance, Mason stumbled to the side and entered the river as he spun to confront his attacker. The attacking wolf was almost upon him. He lashed out with a foot and delivered a hard strike to the beast’s snout. The clumsy attack sent him falling onto his butt in the water. Showing no sign of being hurt by the blow, the wolf landed in the water and bared its teeth at him.
Mason aimed his weapon at the growling wolf slinking toward him and fired a short burst. Bullets shattered the wolf’s teeth when they passed through into its brain, stopping it dead. As it collapsed, Mason shot his gaze to movement on the top of a large boulder when a fourth wolf jumped down to attack Sullivan as he rushed to help Colbert currently pinned down by another wolf. He shifted the weapon and fired. Blood sprayed from the wolf’s chest and stomach onto the boulder when the bullets passed through its back.
Sullivan faltered when the dead wolf thudded to the ground in front of him. He nodded his thanks to Mason and sprung over the corpse.
Colbert held the wolf at bay with his weapon gripped in both hands pressed against the wolf’s throat as it snapped its jaws at his face close enough to feel its warm, carrion-tainted breath. The dire situation became worse when something thin and pale slithered from its nose. The wolf was infected.
Sullivan savagely kicked the wolf with the sole of his foot, knocking it clear of Colbert, and followed through with a short burst of bullets that ended its life.
Colbert climbed to his feet and backed away, his eyes and weapon searching for more attackers. “Don’t get too close, they are infected,” he warned.
“How close is too close,” called out Mason worriedly, stepping out of the river, his eyes alert for danger.
“I’ve no idea.”
“That’s a great help.” Sullivan moved away from the dead infected wolf.
“It looks like it was just the four,” surmised Mason, his gaze aimed along the sides of the gorge.
“Lookout, something’s happening,” warned Sullivan, focused on the two wolves Mason had shot.
Two of the small black aliens crawled out from the back of the wolves' necks. All three men fired, and bullets ripped into the wolves and chased the fleeing creatures. One found its target, exploding it into a mass of dark, gooey blood. The other alien scampered up the side of the ravine jumping from side to side to avoid the trail of bullets in its wake; it reached the top and disappeared.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the two creatures in the remaining wolves emerged and made their escape unseen.
Unaware the aliens had already vacated the corpses; the SEALs trained their weapons on the other two wolves and fired bullets at their necks where they seemed to hide.
When the echoes of the gunfire through the ravine faded, Colbert pondered what they should do with the worm infected remains; he could see them wriggling beneath their skin. “We need to burn the bodies to stop other animals feeding on them and becoming infected,” stated Colbert.
“As I am certain none of us are going to drag them into a heap, that’ll mean building four separate fires,” advised Mason.
“A quicker and safer alternative might be to cover them in rocks, take note of their GPS coordinates, and inform the quarantine team when they arrive,” suggested Sullivan. “They’ll be better suited to destroy them than us.”
Colbert nodded. “I agree. You two gather up some rocks and cover them while I keep a lookout for any more threats. Who knows how many other infected animals there might be.”
Mason and Sullivan hastily collected rocks and, careful not to get too close, piled them on the dead wolves. When all four were covered, they continued their trek to Devil Falls.
CHAPTER 19
INSECT
While one of the aircraft remained in a higher holding pattern, the other c-130 Hercules, black, unmarked, and menacing, flew over the airbase. Satisfied the runaway was in a good enough condition to land on, the pilot swung around in a wide circle to line up with it. When it flew over Devil Falls, the passengers in the seating section peered out of the windows and stared at the small town, the people looking up at them, and the crash sites.
Kathryn, deputy Rickmeyer, and those gathered around the barrier, gazed at the large airplane sweeping overhead, the roar of its powerful engines deafening.
The deputy’s relief at seeing the aircraft was evident to all. “At last, someone better equipped to handle our alien problem has arrived.”
“At least this one didn’t crash,” commented Trev Stoker as he watched the airplane head for the airfield.
Kathryn walked away from the gawping group. “I’m going to the airbase. Whoever is in charge needs to be informed about my friends’ condition and the aliens in the mine.”
Keen not be left out of anything that might impress the townsfolk, Rickmeyer hurried after her. “I’ll come with you. Might be better coming from someone in an official capacity. I also need to find out what their plans are and how they might affect the town.”
Kathryn altered direction toward the deputy’s patrol car. “Good. You can give me a lift.”
*****
The C-130 lined up with the airstrip and landed on the rough concrete runway. It shook the passengers inside who were relieved when it slowed down and taxied to park near the hangers. As the engines wound down, they unbuckled their seat harnesses and exited the plane.
Susan Blightburn, mid-forties, a little plump, her face wearing a mess with me at your peril expression, walked past the two Humvees in the rear cargo section, down the rear cargo ramp, and briefly turned her gaze to the second black Hercules coming into land. Her black uniform consisted of a just below the knee skirt, gray blouse, and black jacket. Her flat, no-nonsense shoes, tapped the concrete when she crossed to the reception building.
In tow were two similarly dressed women, Charlotte Bennett, her chief coordinator, Joan Novak, her cleanup specialist who would be out in the field coordinating her team’s effort to contain the spread of whatever threat they found themselves battling, and Troy Kirkman who wore a suit and shirt with the same color scheme; nicknamed The Scavenger, whatever you needed he always managed to source it. The only splash of color came from the badges they wore on their chests. INSECT in red letters stood out from a chrome background. The letters were an acronym for Investigation and Nullification or Suppression of Extraterrestrial Contamination and Threats, derived from other organizations such as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—CDC, The World Health Organization—WHO, the CIA, FBI, and more. The little known INSECT organization was set up in 2010 to combat the threat of extraterrestrial organisms arriving on earth, an event some scientists believed was not if but when. After the discovery of the alien lifeform-infested Spaceship in Antarctica, the unparalleled event convinced even the staunchest of skeptics that there really was something out there and worryingly they had the resources and technology to reach Earth.
Since their formation, they had spent their time planning against the threat of an alien invasion, whether it be from physical aliens, parasites, or microbes. Although they had run through computer-simula
ted scenarios, this was INSECT’s first call to action.
As the small group approached the entrance of the reception building, Troy Kirkman nipped in front and sorting through the keys speedily couriered to the team shortly before takeoff, unlocked the double doors and pushed them open until they caught in the floor clips.
Head of INSECT, Susan Blightburn, strode into the building filled with stale, musty air. She halted in the middle of the reception area and glanced at the corridors leading left and right. The glass-walled rooms were ideal for the use she required of them. “This will be our base of operations.” She glanced at Kirkman, “What’s the ETA on the equipment trucks?”
Troy glanced at his watch. “Eighteen minutes if they are on schedule.”
“They had better be.” She turned to Bennet. “When they arrive, I want the communication trailer set up outside reception.”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Blightburn strolled along the glass-fronted rooms and entered one with tables and chairs in disarray. “After some organization, this will become our conference room. Charlotte, I’ll take the room nearest the entrance.”
Charlotte made a note on her tablet. “I’ll get that organized.”
“Also, have my laptop set up,” added Blightburn, then turning to Kirkman. “When we will have power.”
Troy glanced at his watch. “I checked with the power company as soon as we touched down, and they promised me it would be on within half an hour, and that was twelve minutes ago.”
“Good,” acknowledged Blightburn as she glanced around at her team; each member was responsible for overseeing a specific element of the operation. “You all know what to do, so jump to it.”
