Mega 4: Behemoth Island (14 page)

The Zodiac hit the beach hard. Max, Darby, and Mike rolled out onto the sand, each taking a kneeling stance, very large rifles to their shoulders. They waited a few seconds, their goggled eyes scanning the beach, the tree line, the darkness beyond. When nothing came for them, and they were sure they were alone, they stood up and moved towards what was left of the FOB they had created.

It was shredded. Everything destroyed. And defiled.

“Something shit and pissed on all this,” Mike said. “Jesus. That stinks.”

“Claws,” Darby said. “Look at the tracks. The animals had very large claws.”

“Maybe the sand just makes it look like they have very large claws,” Max said, a hopeful look on his face. Darby shook her head at him and he shrugged. “I would like to believe that the sand makes it look like they have very large claws.”

“You do that,” Mike said.

Max sighed and muttered, “Damned fucking large claws…”

“Objective is to find any trace of the rest of Grendel,” Darby stated. She nodded at her rifle. “Are you two both clear on how these work?”

“Plasma is default,” Mike said. “Should punch a five-inch hole in anything a blast hits. We can switch to stun with this switch and to self-destruct with this switch.”

“Max, what is self-destruct for?” Darby asked.

“For last resorts only and shouldn’t be used unless absolutely necessary,” Max replied.

“What’s it not for?” Darby asked.

“It’s not for blowing shit up just because it looks cool,” Max said. “Jesus, I make one joke and suddenly I’m on a training leash.”

“One joke,” Mike laughed. “Right. Just the one.”

“Why the hell didn’t they give these to us in the first place?” Max asked, ignoring Mike. “Would have been handy the first time we set foot on this beach.”

“They weren’t perfected yet, according to Carlos,” Mike replied. “Ballantine had to be very persuasive to get Carlos to hand them over. I gotta say as crazy as Ballantine is, watching him be persuasive is like watching art happen.”

“Obscene art,” Darby said and then moved towards the tree line. “I’m on point. Max, you have the rear. Mike, take center and keep your eyes open.”

Max hefted the rifle and frowned. “I miss my Win Mag. This thing just feels all bulky and clumsy. Not sexy and sleek like my .300.”

“If you shut up about your sniper rifle then I’ll be sexy and sleek for you later,” Darby said.

“That’s a fucking deal,” Max chuckled.

“If we live,” Darby added.

“And there’s the Darby I love,” Max said. “Couldn’t just leave it at the sexy talk, always bringing the delicate balance of our mortality into things.”

“How stoned are you?” Mike asked.

“Just stoned enough,” Max said.

“Silent from here on out,” Darby said as she stepped into the deep shadows of the jungle. “Eyes open, ears open, mouths shut. Kill whatever isn’t friendly. No exceptions.” She tapped her com. “You with us, Ballantine?”

“In your ears like a nasty, nasty worm,” Ballantine chuckled. “What kind of worm would I be, I wonder?”

“Silence goes for you as well,” Darby ordered. “Monitor only. Watch the beach in case hostiles try to take the Zodiac.”

“I have all six senses trained on that island, Darby,” Ballantine said. “Don’t you worry.”

“Six senses?” Max asked.

“What did I say?” Darby growled.

“Right. Sorry,” Max whispered.

Darby slid further into the jungle shadows with Mike and Max right behind.

***

“So, to make sure I have this right,” Kinsey said. “Freak energy wave hits the island. Probably comes from the Omega facility. It basically turns everything into a giant lab and recreates the biosphere experiments across the whole island. Except, instead of being on a small scale, the biosphere—”

“Biospheres,” Dr. Logan corrected. “Multiple.”

“
Biosphere
s
,” Kinsey continued. “The biospheres grew, are still growing, and now we are dealing with dinosaurs and carnivorous plants that are larger than even the originals they are based on. Is that it?”

“Plus the cannibal mutants that used to be my colleagues,” Dr. Logan said.

“Cannibals? I don’t remember you saying they are cannibals,” Kinsey snapped. “You said butchering, not eating.”

“Didn’t I? Oh, yes, well, they are cannibals,” Dr. Logan said. “I apologize for leaving that out.”

“Fuck me,” Kinsey said.

Kinsey looked at Dr. Logan. Dr. Logan looked at Kinsey. They shifted uncomfortably for a second.

“Are you waiting for me to say something?” Kinsey asked. “Because I have no fucking clue what to say.”

“I was hoping you would say you have a way off this island,” Dr. Logan said.

“I might,” Kinsey replied. “But we have to get to the beach. How far is it?”

“The beach? If you mean the beach at Golden Bay then not very far at all,” Dr. Logan said, grinning. The grin quickly left his face. “But the beach is always watched. Either by Liu and her people or by some of the creatures. There is a pack of raptors that lives close by. They are also a lot larger than normal raptors.”

“There’s such a thing as normal raptors?” Kinsey asked. “Don’t bother answering that. I don’t care.”

“There is also a different creature that has claimed the area from Omega to Golden Bay as its territory,” Dr. Logan said. “We would be wise to avoid that creature.”

“I think I know which one you are talking about,” Kinsey said. “The mutant T-Rex looking thing? We ran into it when we first arrived at the island and went to look at the Omega facility.” She looked about the cave. “Weapons?”

“Ah, yes,” Dr. Logan said and shook his head. “No. No weapons. We had a pistol, but our missing colleague took it with him when he left. He wasn’t supposed to.”

“Leave or take the pistol?” Kinsey asked.

“Either. Neither. Both,” Dr. Logan said.

Kinsey stood up and stretched. It hurt, but she ignored the pain. She studied the cave, noticed a few crates that looked suspiciously like they held weapons. But they could have held anything. That feeling like Dr. Logan had some secret, something he wasn’t sharing, crept back into Kinsey’s mind, but she shook it off. He was her shot out of the cave and down to the beach. A beach which held the Zodiacs.

“Let’s get moving,” Kinsey said.

“What? Now?” Dr. Logan asked. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“And we’ll be harder to see during the day?” Kinsey asked.

“Well, no,” Dr. Logan responded.

“Then we should use the dark while we can,” Kinsey said. “We get to the beach and meet up with my teammates. If they are still there. We have rafts. We’ll get you to safety and then come back here with some serious firepower, find the rest of my Team, and kill everything that gets in our way.”

“It won’t be that simple,” Dr. Logan said.

“Never is, man,” Kinsey sighed. “But whoopty fucking shit. Life isn’t simple. If you want to wait for simple then you’ll be dead before you’ve done a damn thing.”

“That’s pretty insightful for a soldier,” Dr. Logan said.

“Fuck you,” Kinsey said.

“No, I didn’t mean to insult you,” Dr. Logan apologized.

“Tough shit,” Kinsey responded. She glared then shook her head. “You have a radio?”

“Yes, but…”

“But, what?” she asked. “Dr. Liu is monitoring?”

“We think so,” Dr. Logan said. “Like I said—”

“Primal, not primitive,” Kinsey said. “We bring the radio. I have a way to contact my Team without Dr. Liu knowing.”

“You do?” Dr. Logan asked. “How?”

“I’m a professional, Doctor,” Kinsey said. “You let me handle the soldiering. You introduce me to the others and pack up whatever supplies are useful. We move out now.”

“You are a complex person, Kinsey Thorne,” Dr. Logan said.

“Not really,” Kinsey said and pushed past him towards the rest of the cave.

***

Thorne stared at the Liu croanderthal for several seconds. He weighed his answer very carefully. The ideal approach would be to respond in a diplomatic tone. Maybe tell her what she wanted to hear then figure out a way later to get free. But the way she studied him, the way her eyes belied an intelligence that her caveman-like features didn’t, told him that bullshit would be detected instantly and that he would pay for it with his life.

“Won’t happen,” Thorne said finally. “Ballantine won’t let you off this island. Odds are he won’t let you live. You already know that. I just spent a year working operations that we thought were legit missions, but turns out were probably just Ballantine’s way of cleaning up his messes. This place is a mess, but I don’t think he knew that when he first brought us here.”

“Ballantine always know,” the Liu croanderthal said. “Now Ballantine here. Protocol. Destroy island if mess. Destroy me leader. Destroy me people. Clean up mess.”

“Shit,” Thorne said.

“Yes,” the Liu croanderthal said. She grinned her sharp-toothed grin. “Ballantine not destroy island if you here. Ballantine not destroy me leader, me people, if you here. You make sure no destroy. You make sure me leader live. Me people live.”

“Like I said, that’s not going to happen,” Thorne said. “It’s not up to me.”

“You useless,” the mutant woman said. “Done talk.”

“Hold on!” Thorne shouted.

Her fist hit Thorne hard between the eyes. He slumped, but didn’t pass out.

“You meat,” she snarled as she hit him again. Thorne went completely limp. “Stupid, stupid meat.”

She dragged him to the door and the other croanderthal that had remained with her yanked it open so she could pull Thorne out into the corridor beyond. She tossed him out there and pointed at the other croanderthal.

“Kitchen,” she ordered. “With others. Kill. Dress. Dry. Need food store. Ballantine no give in.”

The other frowned at her. “No give in?”

“Make give in,” the mutant woman growled. “Me leader. Me make Ballantine give in. Me take ship. Me leave island. Ballantine stay. Stay in mess. Die in mess. Ballantine loose end.”

She lurched off down the corridor and the other croanderthal grabbed Thorne by the ankles and dragged him in the opposite direction. The long trail of dried blood on the corridor floor showed that Thorne wasn’t the first body to be dragged that way. But he may have been the first living one.

Chapter Seven- Stand And Fight

After the second huge beast lumbered past, its spiked tail just missing where Mike stood pressed against a palm trunk, Max began to think the elves had actually done something miraculous. He looked down at himself and saw his usual body, his usual gear, his usual everything. Although it was tinted green by the new NVGs he wore.

What he didn’t see was the cloaking effect that Carlos swore would keep them from being detected. As long as they remained still and silent in the presence of a threat. Carlos had glared at him for an extra second when he’d said those words. Max wanted to tell him to fuck off, but the guy did have a point. Unless he was in a sniper hide, he had a tendency to not be as quiet as needed on ops. Shane was the quieter of the two, which wasn’t saying much.

The strange dinosaurs moved through the jungle, following a narrow trail cut through the foliage and trees by countless other species of giants. The three operators waited until they were sure the coast was clear then Darby moved back onto the path, her hand up and waving them forward. Mike fell in line behind her with Max taking the rear position.

They kept moving, plasma rifles swinging this way and that, ready for the attack they knew would happen eventually.

Max wanted to light up the whole jungle, just blast the fuck out of the trees and ferns and whatever the hell the weird swaying flowers were. And those thorn bushes. Yes, he really wanted to waste those. They looked nasty. He wanted to burn it all down and call it a day. Fuck whatever science project Ballantine had been conducting. He could care less. Seriously.

But there was the whole not knowing where the rest of the Team was and all that crap. Can’t burn down the jungle if everybody was trapped in the jungle. Although, Ballantine was fairly certain he knew where they were now. Something about protocol with his researchers. He didn’t elaborate, just gave Darby coordinates and made sure she understood that loose ends were not ideal. Darby had nodded at the orders, but Ballantine hadn’t looked too pleased with her less than enthusiastic response.

At some point, Max knew, he would have to ask her exactly what her relationship with Ballantine was and why it seemed like she was pulling away from the mysterious bastard. Not that that was a bad thing. Distance from Ballantine was probably in everybody’s best interest considering the man was a certified psychotic whacko. Max had been wondering lately whether or not Ballantine was the good guy in the scenario they had found themselves in or if he was maybe the—

He was ripped from his thoughts as a snapped twig got his attention. He did a quick snap of his fingers, which he was surprised he could do considering he was wearing the modified cloaked compression suit. He would have to let the elves know he was impressed with the tactile abilities the suit allowed. Those little tech scamps were getting better and better at their jobs.

Darby and Mike moved up next to him and he pointed off in the direction of where he heard the twig snap. There was no movement, no sign of anything out there in the thick of the jungle, despite his goggles being able to sense infrared and different light spectrums. They waited, but no sound presented itself.

Then, just before they started to move again, there was a clicking in their ears. The com. It was a short set of clicks. Not an SOS, but obviously an intentional signal. One, two, three, four.

A twig snapped again. Not once, but four times. In the exact same rhythm as the clicking over the com. Max looked at Darby and she shook her head. He grimaced and pointed at his ear then pointed out towards where the twig snaps had come from. The sounds repeated themselves, both in the jungle and over the com. Max stared through his goggles at Darby, since that was the only way to see her, until she acquiesced and nodded.

Max moved forward, one step at a time, making sure he didn’t make any noise as he slipped off the path and into the thickness of the jungle. He made it about ten yards before he saw a thick grove of what he guessed were rhododendrons. Their flowers were massive, each bloom about the size of his head.

But it wasn’t the flowers he was interested in, it was the heat signatures that were inside the grove, hidden behind thick leaves and fragrant blossoms. Max stopped and watched the grove then put two fingers to his lips and gave a long, low whistle. The whistle was instantly returned and he grinned, pulling up the goggles so he could see his cousin in real life, not as a green lit ghost.

“Hey, Sis,” he whispered, becoming visible as he deactivated his suit. “It’s good to see you guys. We thought we’d have to…”

He trailed off as instead of the rest of Team Grendel coming from between the rhododendrons, three rough looking strangers appeared behind Kinsey. Two men and a woman stood there, eyes wide and scared, body language saying they were ready to bolt and run at any second.

“This is my cousin Max,” Kinsey said, whispering at the three strangers. “Max, this is Dr. Logan, Dr. Sales, and Dr. Werth. They used to work for Ballantine here on the island. Until it all went to shit.”

“I don’t think everything going to shit gets you out of your contracts,” Max said, nodding at the three. “But we’ll ask Darby on that point.”

“Darby is here?” Dr. Logan asked.

Dr. Werth, a mousy-looking woman with short, bobbed black hair and skin so white it glowed in the darkness, took a few steps back. Dr. Sales, a man that had obviously weighed considerably more only a short time before, as evidenced by the hanging jowls and fleshy look to his body, grabbed Dr. Werth by the elbow and held her in place. Although, he looked about as ready to take flight as she did.

“Kinsey said Ballantine was here to help,” Dr. Sales said. “Darby won’t hurt us.”

“I won’t,” Darby stated, turning off the cloaking mechanism as well. “Not my mess. Ballantine can clean up his own crap now.”

“I heard that,” Ballantine said over the com.

“Good,” Darby said.

“Good?” Dr. Logan asked. Darby tapped at her ear. “Oh. Is that him?”

“Yes,” Darby said and glanced to the side. “Dr. Logan, Dr. Werth, and Dr. Sales are here, Ballantine.” She looked back at Dr. Logan. “Anyone else?”

“Not with us,” Dr. Logan said.

“Let’s get back to the beach and out of here,” Kinsey said. “Dr. Logan can explain once we’re safe on the ship.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Max asked.

“We don’t know,” Kinsey said.

“We have an idea,” Dr. Logan said.

“Ask if Alpha facility is safe,” Ballantine said to Darby.

“Is Alpha safe?” Darby asked.

“No,” Dr. Logan replied. “Dr. Liu and her, uh, people have it. That is probably where the rest of your team are being held.”

“Being held?” Mike asked, making the newcomers jump. He switched off his cloaking. “Sorry. What do you mean by being held? You know we’re talking SpecOps here, right?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dr. Logan said. “Dr. Liu and her kind are not like anything you have dealt with.”

Max snorted. “Dude, you have no idea how wrong you are.”

“Kinsey, take them to the beach,” Darby said. “Get them in the raft and back to the ship.” She studied Kinsey for a second and shook her head, tapping at her NVGs. “Have Gunnar check you out. You’re readings don’t look great.”

“She was captured by a—” Dr. Logan started.

“Don’t care,” Darby said. “Get to the beach and back to the B3. You hear me, Ballantine?”

“I’ll alert Gunnar right now that we have guests and an operator that will need full work ups,” Ballantine replied. “Send them my way.”

“I want to help find Grendel,” Kinsey said. “Dr. Logan has told me what we are up against.”

“We’ve already dealt with them,” Darby said. She quickly recounted the beach attack as well as the fight on the ship. “We aren’t taking prisoners.”

“They may still be able to be helped,” Dr. Werth said quietly.

No one replied.

“If Gunnar gives the okay then bring the raft back and sit tight,” Darby said. “You secure the beach and wait for us to return. We’ll get the rest of Grendel. I promise.”

The tone in Darby’s voice left no one with any doubt as to her sincerity.

“I’m coming back whether Gunnar says it’s okay or not,” Kinsey said.

“I figured,” Darby replied. “Now, go.”

She took out a 9mm from her belt and handed it to Kinsey. Max grabbed his and handed it over as well, plus two magazines. Mike started to give his up, but Kinsey shook her head.

“These’ll do fine,” she said.

There was a massive roar from somewhere in the jungle.

“Go!” Darby hissed.

Kinsey racked the slide on one of the 9mms and motioned for the doctors to follow her. They fell in line like ducklings and were lost from sight in seconds.

“Alpha facility is this way,” Darby said. “From this point on, we don’t stop.”

“Lead on, hot stuff,” Max said.

***

The air in the kitchen was stifling. It was thick and humid, a miasma of smells and stenches that hung over everything, choking Team Grendel as they stood against the wall, their hands bound over their heads by ropes that were hung on a row of hooks. Despite the fact that their compressions suits, and all clothing, had been removed, each member of the Team was sweating profusely, the perspiration streaming down their naked bodies in long rivulets.

Despite the oppressive temperature, the Teammates knew where the real threat lay. They did their best to ignore the discomfort of the heat and instead focused on the four mutants that worked casually at one of the kitchen tables, laying out various knives, checking their blades, sharpening the ones not up to snuff.

Darren drew his eyes from the glinting metal and glanced over at Thorne. The commander looked dazed, not from the heat, but from the quickly swelling lump on the side of his head. Whatever had struck him had done a number on the man and Darren worried that Thorne might have a serious concussion. The way the older man’s eyes swam in their sockets seemed to support his fear.

“Vincent?” Darren whispered. “Hey. Vincent. You keeping it together, frogman?”

Thorne turned his head slowly and the fire that burned inside all SEALs showed itself. His eyes focused and narrowed.

“I’m keeping it together, Chambers,” Thorne replied. “Don’t you worry about me.”

“NO TALK!” one of the croanderthals yelled. “No talk!”

“Fuck you, Lumpy Joe,” Shane spat. “My friends will fucking talk if they want to fucking talk!”

The croanderthal growled and stalked over to Shane. He got right up close and grinned, his huge, sharp teeth only an inch from Shane’s face. His tongue darted out quickly and licked the tip of Shane’s nose then the croanderthal took a deep breath, his wide nostrils spreading even wider, become huge chasms in the mutant’s face.

“Not ready,” the croanderthal said and the other three at the table grunted in disappointment.

The croanderthal moved over to Thorne and sniffed, shook his head, and moved down to Lucy. Despite her body being completely naked, the mutant didn’t give her a second look. At least not with his eyes. He lowered his nose to right between her breasts and breathed deeply, moving up her chest, around her neck and then nearly jammed his wide nostrils right inside her mouth.

“Close,” the croanderthal said. “She close.”

The three at the table grunted with approval.

“Keep your sniffer away from me,” Darren protested when it was his turn to be olfactorily molested.

The croanderthal ignored him and took a long sniff up and down Darren’s body. The smell seemed to please the man-thing and he stood back quickly, his hands clenching and unclenching in anticipation.

“He ready,” the croanderthal said to the others. “No residue.”

“Residue is a big word,” Shane snapped. “Looks like someone has been watching Reading Rainbow.”

The croanderthal hissed at Shane, but didn’t move to harm him. Instead, he turned and took the large chef’s knife that was offered to him by one of the others. He approached Darren, the blade before him, and smiled his sharp toothed smile.

“Back the fuck off, asshole!” Darren shouted.

He was about to shout again, but a hard jab by a hairy fist to his diaphragm stopped the words before he could get the breath to push them out. He gasped and struggled for breath as the croanderthal reached over him and slashed the rope holding his hands on the hook. Darren instantly collapsed to the floor, his legs and arms, nothing but pins and needles.

Two croanderthals rushed him and grabbed him under the shoulders, lifting him to his feet like he was made of straw. They dragged him over to one of the tables and tossed him up onto the cool metal. Despite the obvious danger, Darren shivered with relief at the feel of the cool stainless steel.

The relief left him quickly as the croanderthal with the chef’s knife appeared over him, the tip of the blade tracing an invisible pattern from his sternum down to his groin.

“Get the fuck away from him!” Lucy yelled. “You want a piece? Come get me! What? You don’t like lady meat? Come on, you fucking faggots!”

“I am totally telling Gunnar and Mike you said that,” Shane whispered. “That is so not PC.”