He ruffled her hair, something she would have usually hated. “I’ll be along, Alice, I promise. Wait for me, okay?”
She threw her arms around him and squeezed. “If you die, I’ll never forgive you. I already lost my dad; I won’t lose you too.”
Tosco glanced up at Nancy and smiled. “You have your mom now. Things are looking up.”
To his surprise, Nancy hugged him too. “Thank you for bringing her back to me.”
“My pleasure. She’s a brave young woman. You should be proud.”
“I am.”
Tosco stepped back slowly, not wanting to get pulled into another hug and convinced to stay. Then he turned and hurried back towards the walls. It pained him that he would never see Alice again. The odds of him joining her on Klein’s submarine were slim.
But she’ll be okay. That’s all that matters.
I kept her safe for you, Guy.
Maddy met Tosco at the wall. People were aiming their rifles downwards over the top of it, the demons on the other side. The ground shook, the distant strides of Crimolok getting closer.
Maddy clutched his arm and pulled him closer. “Hey, James, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure? Best make it quick though.”
She gave him an odd frown. “Why’d you give me a handgun instead of a rifle when we left The Hatchet?”
It was an odd question, and not one he had an immediate answer for. He had to think about it first. “Um, because I didn’t want to put you in danger. I wanted you to leave the fighting to me. Can’t stop trying to be your knight in shining armour, I guess.”
Maddy nodded to herself. “So, I was right. It was sexist.”
“What? No… no way. I was just… yeah, maybe it was.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Sorry. I just didn’t want you getting hurt. Not because you’re a woman, but because you’re you.”
“I can handle myself, James.” The way she glared at him turned his stomach. He felt ashamed. When she kissed him, though, he felt confused.
She pulled away and left him spluttering. “W-What was that for?”
“Like I said, James, I can handle myself, but the thought of letting a man take care of me is surprisingly nice. Thank you for caring about me.”
“I do! Which is why I would really like you to get on Klein’s submarine. There’s no way you would agree to that, though, is there?”
She lifted the handgun he had given to her on The Hatchet and cocked it. “No way in Hell. Someone needs to stick around to keep you safe.”
He grinned. “Thank you for caring about me.”
She grabbed him and gave him a forceful yet intimate kiss on the mouth. “I do. Now come on.”
Maddy joined the fight atop the walls. The wooden platforms were rickety, but the cement wall was reassuringly firm. Tosco followed behind, still blushing from their kiss.
I can’t believe I did that.
Her head was still a mess. Her feelings for Amanda hadn’t gone away, but it was likely she and Tosco were both going to die. She didn’t want that to happen without having kissed him at least once.
Or twice.
There were many she recognised on the platforms, including her recent friends from Kielder. Frank ran back and forth, barking orders like he was still back at the castle. Dr Kamiyo was comforting Scarlett, who had lost her pet demon in Klein’s initial bombardment.
Maddy leant over the wall with her handgun and searched for a target. She didn’t have to look for long.
The demons had made it to the wall. The only thing keeping them back now was the sheer number of corpses piled up in front of them. They stumbled and clambered over a field of flesh, unable to find their footing. Maddy took several shots at them, each round finding a target. There were too many to miss.
Crimolok made it to the crater Klein had created with his initial bombardment. The giant flattened everything in its path. Soon it would reach the wall.
Frank rushed by on the platform. He was too short to fire over the walls, but he excelled in his role as drill sergeant. She grabbed him before he could disappear. “Frank! Everyone is getting onto the boats. You need to get out of here.”
“Ha! No way, lass. My buddy Ted died for me back at Kielder. Now it’s my turn to die for someone else. I’ll be on these walls till they fall flat. My legs are too short for running anyway.”
Maddy laughed. There wasn’t an ounce of fear on Frank’s heavily bearded face. He was a warrior. “Then it looks like we’re going to be holding the fort together.”
“Just so long as you leave the big bugger to me.”
Maddy looked at the terrifying monster striding through the blackened crater. She shuddered. “He’s all yours.”
Tosco moved up beside Maddy and rattled off several rounds from his rifle. “I’ve got one more magazine,” he said, “then nothing.”
“We can always heckle them,” said Maddy, firing off the remainder of her clip. It was all she had left, so she tucked her handgun into her waistband and searched for another weapon. There were none to be found. All along the walls, men and women stood unable to do anything but watch or turn and flee. Portsmouth was almost out of ammunition. The howitzers had fallen silent too. The docks were full of frightened people running for the boats.
Maddy looked down over the wall and saw a throng of demons directly below. They were still clambering over corpses, climbing over each other like rats, but they were gradually making it higher. Without the constant barrage of gunfire, they were amassing faster than they were being pushed back. It was like looking down into an ocean of teeth and claws.
Frank continued running back and forth along the platform, shouting for everyone to fire whatever they had left. “We’ll fight ’em with our bare ’ands if we ’ave to. Who do they think they’re dealing with?”
Dr Kamiyo started leading Scarlett towards the ladders. He noticed Maddy watching and shook his head sadly. “There’s nothing more I can do here. I’m going to get Scarlett back to the boat.”
Maddy smiled weakly. “People are going to need you, Doctor, so go. You have time.”
Scarlett had stopped crying, but her eyes were swollen and red. All the same, she managed to give Maddy a polite nod that was really a simple goodbye. They would never see each other again.
“Demons on the walls,” Frank shouted. “Demons on the sodding walls.”
Maddy turned just in time to see a primate bounding awkwardly along the narrow wooden walkway. Tosco grabbed her out of the way and let rip with his rifle. Bloody divots opened up on the primate’s clammy chest and it went toppling back over the wall.
Tosco tossed his rifle and groaned. “That’s me empty. You okay?”
Maddy nodded. “Fine. I have my knight in shining armour with me, don’t I?”
“Always.”
Frank staggered backwards along the ramparts. “Ah, bloody ’ell!”
Two more primates had leapt onto the walls, knocking a pair of soldiers off the platform and onto the hard concrete fifteen feet below. Dr Kamiyo and Scarlett were forced backwards, their route to the ladders cut off.
“They’re trapped,” said Maddy. “We need to help them.”
Scarlett screamed as Dr Kamiyo stood in front of her with only a knife to defend himself with. The young doctor was brave, but he was outmatched.
Frank tried to get the demon’s attention by shouting obscenities. It didn’t work; they had their eyes on vulnerable meat.
“Get back,” Dr Kamiyo yelled, his voice wavering. “Please!”
Maddy picked up Tosco’s rifle, knowing it was empty. She turned it around and used the stock to strike one of the demons between the shoulder blades. The demon spun to face her, furious. Its fangs dripped bloody saliva. Maddy then swung for its head, but a swipe of its lethal claws sent the useless rifle cartwheeling over the wall and into the writhing mass of demons below. More and more were nearing the top of the wall, climbing on top of each other like acrobats. Maddy’s spine stiffened at
the sight of them.
Dr Kamiyo grunted, swinging his knife at the primate and drawing blood from its arm. With a bloodcurdling screech, the demon leapt on Dr Kamiyo, knocking him down and pinning him against the wooden walkway. Maddy was forced back by the other demon, unable to help.
Scarlett screamed for help, screamed for Sorrow.
There was a whoosh of wind, and something dark shot up into the sky. Maddy could only make out a shadow, a bat-like shape streaking through the spotlights that criss-crossed overhead. For a moment she thought it was a new kind of demon – an abominable creature they had yet to see – but then the beast came crashing down onto the ramparts and she realised it was Sorrow.
He survived. How the hell did he survive?
Sorrow flared his wings and knocked the primate off of Dr Kamiyo just as it was about to tear into his throat. The force sent the doctor rolling towards the edge of the platform, but Sorrow snatched his ankle and yanked him back just in time.
Scarlett saw her friend was alive and lost her mind. “Sorrow! Sorrow, you’re alive!”
The demon took a step towards the girl, but the other primate leapt onto his back and caused him to stop. Sorrow merely reached back and yanked the demon away. Then, without mercy, he tore the arms off the demon like wings from a butterfly. The way he tossed the armless torso over the wall was chilling. Sorrow was furious.
Thank God he’s on our side.
The space between them now free, Scarlett threw herself at Sorrow. The demon embraced her, cocooning them both with his leathery black wings. “Ward, I feared the worst.”
“I thought you were dead, Sorrow.”
“Merely injured. Your allies hit me with crushing fire. It caused me great anger.”
Maddy winced. “I can’t believe you survived that.”
“How did you?” asked Scarlett, still hugging him, still sobbing with joy.
Sorrow pulled his wings back in and stood straight. “I was forged in flame. No fire may burn me.”
Tosco raised an eyebrow. “Good to know.”
Kamiyo got to his feet and rubbed at his arm. “Thanks for the save, Sorrow.”
“I am happy you live, Doctor, but you will die soon. Crimolok is here.”
As if to prove his point, a part of the wall thirty metres away crumbled as Crimolok strode right through it. Men and woman fell, shattering against the concrete twenty feet below.
People stopped fighting and ran for their lives.
Frank started shouting, but this time, instead of telling people to stand and fight, he yelled at them to get to the boats. Hundreds of people stayed to fight on the battlements while thousands fled. Maddy felt their fear. This was sheer terror.
Further north, the demons were massacring people. Their screaming was the only thing she could hear. All gunfire had ceased.
“We only have a few minutes,” said Tosco. His eyes were wide and unblinking. “They’re going to overwhelm the docks before everyone can get away.”
“The bastards,” said Frank, seething.
There was a sudden burst of gunfire as a large group of soldiers sprinted across the courtyard. Instead of running away, they were running towards battle. Maddy saw Colonel Wanstead among them, and when he saw her questioning stare, he stopped to explain himself. “Reserves. I wanted to keep something back in case the demons breached the wall. The children and the elderly are already safe, but there are still thousands trying to make it onto the boats. We need to buy them time.”
“Good work, Colonel,” said Tosco, nodding appreciatively.
“Yeah,” said Frank. “Bostin’.”
Maddy didn’t quite understand the reason in keeping reserves, but slowly she realised that these men would have just emptied their weapons into an endless sea of demons. Now they could deal with the demons that had made it past the walls. Smart move.
Someone handed Tosco a rifle. Then someone else appeared and handed one to Maddy. It was Sarah. “You’re still alive then?” she said.
Maddy nodded. “For now. Where have you been?”
“Got dragged into a fight nearby. I saw these fine gentlemen handing out guns and decided to tag along.”
Wanstead pointed to the broken section of the wall. “Attack those demons before they overwhelm the docks.”
Everyone roared like berserkers as thousands of bullets whizzed through the air and struck demon flesh. Even at this range, the assault was devastating. The demons fell in their hundreds, once again creating a barricade of their own corpses. Their progress through the broken-down wall slowed to a trickle. It brought time for people to break cover and race for the quayside. With any luck, they would find boats there waiting for them.
Crimolok stomped at another section of the wall, creating new gaps for the demons to flow through. The giant being seemed in no rush to end the battle. It looked like Crimolok was enjoying it.
Maddy savoured the feeling of a rifle bucking in her hands as she fired round after round. Sarah knelt beside her, once again showing inhuman accuracy and speed. It was as though the woman had been born with a high-powered weapon in her arms.
Wanstead waved at the armed men. “Fall back to the warehouses. We can take cover inside and try to keep them at bay for as long as possible.”
“We go inside,” said Tosco, “we’ll never make it out again.”
“I understand the consequences, Commander. It’s my duty to stay behind, but the rest of you should fight only as long as you want to. Get yourself back to the boats before it’s too late.”
“Maybe Sorrow can fly us out of here,” said Frank, half-serious.
Sorrow flapped his wings.
Everyone fought their way back towards the warehouses. Most of them had been cleared and organised, used for accommodation or supplies. The first warehouse they reached was full of bedrolls and assorted human belongings. Fortunately, it was empty of people.
Wanstead gave orders. “Set up at the windows. Don’t pick your shots, there are too many. Hit whatever you can as quickly as you can. Let them climb over their own dead to get at us.”
Maddy pulled aside a makeshift curtain that someone had put up over a broken window, then set her rifle against the sill. The demons came in their hundreds now. Soon, it would be thousands.
They’re like locusts. Biblical.
I hate them.
The warehouse was like the inside of a deafening drum as two hundred soldiers fired their rifles at once. Their combined assault pushed the demons back, injuring most but killing many. The beasts clambered and bumped into each other, their clumsiness slowing them down.
Sarah fired out of the window beside Maddy. “These things never get any less ugly, do they?”
Maddy chuckled. “Are you still trying to keep me alive?”
“A soldier without a mission is just a maniac with a gun.”
“Good point. I’m glad you have my back, Sarah.”
Sarah rattled off a full magazine. “Saw you and Tosco eating each other’s faces earlier. How long’s that been going on?”
“It’s not going on. Maybe if we don’t all die in the next ten minutes, something might get to go on, but right now…”
Frank yelled in the background. “Make ’em eat shit!”
Sarah nodded. “Yeah, bigger issues. I get it.”
The two women fired round after round for so long that it was hard to breathe amongst the gun smoke, but it was a losing battle. The demons advanced relentlessly – a tide that couldn’t be held back. Every now and then a primate would make it into open ground and start sprinting. It shifted everyone’s fire enough that the larger mass of demons would gain a few yards every time.
“Everyone, spread your fire,” shouted Tosco. “I’ll deal with any demons that make it into the open.”
Maddy was out of ammo, so she headed over to the rucksack that one of Wanstead’s men had put down. It was full of ammo, and she grabbed what she needed. Reloading her rifle, she turned to go back to the windows, but a radio hissed
and caught her attention. The handset was clipped to the side of the rucksack. She grabbed it.
“Commander Tosco,” said a familiar voice, “are you still alive?”
Maddy grabbed the radio. “Klein, is that you?”
“Ja, fräulein. It is good to hear your voice. Is James still with you?”
“Yes, he’s alive.”
“Then please inform him I have young Alice and her mother aboard my submarine. They are safe.”
“I’ll tell him right now.” Maddy turned and headed for the windows. Tosco was busy and hadn’t heard the conversation over the din of rifle fire, but she was glad to be able to give him some good news. If nothing else, he would die knowing that Alice was safe. “James! James, that was—”
Maddy was struck from behind. She hit the ground and smacked her head on the concrete floor. She didn’t see the demon at first, but she smelled it. Rotten flesh and spilled blood. She tried to get up, but her vision swirled.
“Shit!” someone shouted. “They’re coming in round the back.”
The deafening gunfire got louder as people turned their rifles inwards, gunfire echoing off the vaulted ceiling. Maddy saw stars, and when a burnt man collapsed onto the ground beside her, she realised someone had just saved her life. Sarah appeared and grabbed her. “On your feet, soldier.”
“I’m not a soldier,” said Maddy, looking around for her rifle. “A real soldier never loses their weapon for one thing, right?”
Sarah located the rifle and shoved it into Maddy’s arms. “You’re a soldier whether you like it or not. Get your head in the game, bitch.”
Maddy nodded, struck by the other woman’s ferocity. “Sure thing.”
“We’re surrounded,” someone shouted.
“We’re trapped in here,” said someone else.
“No,” Frank roared. “The sorry bastards are trapped in here with us! Let ’em ’ave it.”
Tosco looked around desperately. “Everyone, head for the side door over there. We can fight our way out of this.”
Maddy lifted her rifle and fought for her life. A dozen demons had made it inside the warehouse from a side entrance. She picked her shots and hit headshot after headshot. Maybe she was a soldier. Sarah edged her towards the other side of the warehouse, firing her rifle and using her elbows to keep Maddy moving. Eventually, they joined up with the others. So far, no one had been hurt.
Hell On Earth (Book 6): Rebirth Page 29
