The Tide: Deadrise (26 page)

More Skulls forced themselves in as the door was pushed ever wider. Meredith sighted one up. She held her breath and fired. The round slammed against the Skull’s shoulder and chipped off a spray of bone. The creature continued running at her. Aiming carefully again, she squeezed the trigger. This time a splash of violent red exploded. The Skull fell backward.

Yet more Skulls trampled its body. The Hunters’ careful salvos could not keep up with the creatures. Spencer threw another gas canister, as did Renee. They didn’t bother throwing them in the hall this time. The canisters pinged against the metal door and bounced along the floor, under the feet of the swarming Skulls.

The door gave way to the onslaught, and the Skulls flooded into the room. They moved like a raging river overflowing after a thunderstorm. The Hunters retreated to Kara’s position. Meredith felt an overwhelming shroud of dread fall over her. They were cornered. She hadn’t even said goodbye to Dom. And she’d failed him—failed to protect his family.

***

“M
ight as well try it,” Dom said. “You got a light?”

“We have matches in one of the emergency supply packs,” Miguel replied.

“Let’s do this.” He turned to Jenna and Glenn. “You two got our backs?”

Jenna and Glenn nodded, cradling their rifles. But it was clear from Glenn’s shaking that the Hunter would be of little help for the remainder of this mission.

Dom crouched at the dive shop’s front door. He ducked behind a wide concrete planter and then to the side of the BMW with the dead driver. Slowly, he reached up and pulled open the front door. Miguel fell in beside him and faced the rear of the car. He held a towel from the dive shop that he’d soaked in fuel from the portable gas compressor. As soon as he disappeared around the rear bumper of the car, Dom opened the driver’s door. The skeleton slumped out, and Dom caught it before the bones clattered against the sidewalk. He lowered the driver’s body gently and then stretched an arm over the front seat. With a quick pull, he released the emergency brake and put the car in neutral. Then he held down the brake pedal with his hand, still crouching next to the car.

“Ready, Chief,” Miguel whispered, his voice barely audible over the comm link.

“Light her up.”

“Done. Push.”

Dom released the brake. He stayed outside the BMW, hidden by the front door. Bending forward, he mustered all the strength he could. His boots slid and scraped on the concrete for a second until the car started moving. He could hear Miguel’s heavy breathing over the comm link as he grunted, shoving the rear bumper. The stink of burning diesel stung his nostrils.

Soon gravity came to their aid, and they both flitted back to the dive shop’s front door. The BMW rolled downhill toward where the majority of Skulls were gathered. Then it started veering right. Dom silently prayed that it would make it all the way down the hill.

The car accelerated. The noise of the tires bumping along the asphalt started to attract the attention of a few curious Skulls. They ran at the car. It hit one, and the car turned more aggressively right. It bounced over the curb and careened into the front window of an Irish pub. Glass shattered, and the BMW’s alarm went off.

A small trail of smoke continued to churn off the diesel-soaked rag Miguel had left dangling from the fuel tank. More Skulls barreled toward the wailing vehicle. Dom watched until the Skulls near the boat repair shop turned and sprinted at the sedan.

“Now!” he said. “Miguel, Glenn, get the cart to the docks and load it up. Jenna, on me.”

The men rolled the cart out the door. The tanks, despite the Hunters’ best efforts to secure them, clanged noisily. Several of the Skulls looked up from the wrecked car. One started running at Miguel and Glenn.

Dom aimed his rifle at the Skull. He had to time this shot right; he didn’t want the gunfire to attract all the riled-up Skulls.

A ball of fire erupted from the BMW. It lifted off the ground as its gas tank exploded. Tongues of orange flame swallowed the nearby Skulls, and Dom squeezed the trigger, the gunshot masked by the roar of the conflagration. The Skull chasing them fell, a bullet through its head, as the two Hunters took the cart around a corner. The fire crackled and spread to the wooden benches and bar inside the pub. A plume of black smoke billowed out of the broken window. Charred Skull corpses lay everywhere.

“Our turn,” Dom said. He and Jenna sprinted from the store. As they ran, more Skull voices wailed up around Quantico. They sounded as if they were coming from deeper within the base.

“Hurry!” he said.

They sped down the street until they were near the waterfront again.

“In here!” He indicated a wooden door with chipped white paint. With his shoulder, he rammed it open. Each second the Skull cries grew louder. They soon drowned out the roar of the fire from the pub. He ignored the hellish chorus and ran to the back of the repair shop. A door there opened onto a large dry-dock facility.

“See it?” Dom asked Jenna as he scrounged through toolboxes.

“Here!” She snagged a couple of large drills from an assortment of dive equipment. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

The Skulls outside threatened to drown out his thoughts as he looked over the drills. He noted the water resistance ratings. “Exactly. Grab the drill bits, too.”

Jenna scooped up a plastic case of bits along with several battery packs. She stowed the goods into her pack.

“Glenn, Miguel, how’s the boat situation?” Dom asked.

“Almost there,” Miguel said. “The cart spilled, but we’re moving again.”

“You two okay?”

“So far.”

“Good. Give us ten minutes.”

Dom and Jenna rushed out of the boat repair shop and toward another building closer to the Quantico base. The low-lying brick structure was situated just beyond the gate, defended by chain-link fences topped with barbed wire.

Dom glanced at his smartwatch to ensure they were on the right path. A small sign nearby confirmed that this was the Provost Marshal Office, the base’s military-police headquarters. The sliding front doors were made of wire-reinforced glass. Both were slightly askew, as if they’d been forced open. He ignored the glass that crunched under his boots and the broken Skull bodies within the front lobby. He didn’t have time to wonder what had happened here.

“We need to find the arms locker,” Dom said.

He and Jenna searched the lobby. Jenna pointed to a hallway beyond the metal detectors and security desks. “MP Offices and lockers. Maybe back there?”

The clamor of the Skulls sounded louder. Dom looked out the front door to see two creatures in military uniforms speed past the forced-open front doors. They were no doubt headed to investigate the source of the earlier explosion, as so many more of the demonic creatures soon would. He wondered how many of the monsters would be out there by the time he and Jenna had found what they were looking for. They’d find out soon enough.

Together, they dashed down the hall, breaking down doors and searching offices filled with fluttering papers, upturned desks, and broken chairs. They burst through another set of doors and ran down a flight of stairs. The sounds of howling Skulls and scratching claws sounded even louder.

Then Dom realized the noise wasn’t coming from outside.

––––––––

K
ara fired a round into a Skull wearing a white lab coat. Shreds of blue nitrile gloves still hung from its claws. Other Skulls trampled it even as its body twitched. Then something slammed against the armory door. The impact let out a hollow, shaking thud, and the door swung wide open. An ear-shattering bellow thundered through the room.

Goliath
.

Its jaw shook as it roared again. Both of its pointed tusks were stained with blood. The thick, hooking claws jutting from its massive fists clicked together as it bounded toward them.

Sadie screamed. Maggie let out a weak bark, her eyes half-closed, and then fell still beside Kara. She adjusted her aim. Fear latched its icy grip around her heart. Bullets pinged, cutting across the Goliath’s bulwarking chest plates and helmet-like skull. The beast’s manhole cover-sized feet landed on the smaller Skulls, crushing them. They squawked and squealed. Kara squeezed the trigger, wondering if this pull would be the one to set off an explosion or if she’d be lucky and bring down the Goliath. But even if they killed the giant, there were far too many smaller Skulls for them to fend off.

And then she noticed something that made a spark of hope ignite in her chest.

The smaller Skulls had started to stumble and trip over each other. They skidded along the floor or ran headlong into the metal shelves. One by one, they fell.

The Goliath crushed another fallen Skull. Its claws continued to arc through the air, and its mouth opened as if to roar again. Instead, its gait slowed until it was barely shuffling forward. The beast seemed to deflate, and it crashed to the floor. Several smaller Skulls were smashed by the tumbling behemoth.

The Hunters had stopped firing. They played their muzzles across the crowd of Skulls lying prone around the armory. Kara looked at Maggie. The dog’s chest was rising in slow breaths, but her eyes were closed.

“It...worked,” Renee said, almost distantly. “It worked!” She grinned and whooped, but then composed herself and added, “Stay sharp! It’s time to get back to our boat.”

Sadie was staring into the distance at some point Kara couldn’t see. She guessed her sister was in shock. She tried shaking Sadie, but it didn’t rouse her.

“Navid, help me with her?” she said, nodding at Maggie.

“Of course,” Navid said, scooping up the golden retriever. “Come on, Sadie. We’re alive. We’ve got this, okay?” He kept uttering words of encouragement as the group stepped over the sleeping Skulls.

Kara wiped a fleck of blood off her gas mask. It had become more and more difficult to find any open space on the floor to walk. Skull limbs were tangled where they had fallen. She tried desperately not to step on any. Soon the group had no choice but to climb over the pile of Skulls at the armory’s entrance.

“Careful,” Renee said unnecessarily.

Kara climbed over another Skull. A gray haze filled the hallway, and Kara felt almost reassured by the fog’s presence. It was like a force field around them. She sucked in a clean breath through the gas mask. As they trudged on, Sadie staggered, almost fainting, and Kara caught her in her arms.

“Need me to help?” Andris asked.

“Thanks,” Kara said. She felt slightly guilty as Andris took one of Sadie’s arms and lowered his rifle. She didn’t want herself or Sadie to burden one of the Hunters. Because, as they prowled through the hallways full of snoozing Skulls, she knew they’d soon be outside again and beyond the protection of the sleeping gas.

“Alpha, this is Bravo,” Renee called over the comm link. “Do you read?”

Kara stared intently at Renee, waiting for a sign. She wished she could see the Hunter’s face behind the mask.

“Roger that, Captain,” Renee said after a beat. “We got everything we came for. Even had a chance to try the knockout gas. Happy to report it works. We should be at your position within fifteen minutes.” She was silent for a long while this time. “Got it. Over and out.”

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Is my dad okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. Glenn’s been injured, and the Skulls are gathering on their position. Dom and Jenna are picking up Tasers and other nonlethals from the MP station. After that, they’re done.”

Kara wanted to ask how many Skulls were out there, how her dad and Jenna would avoid the monsters, and how bad Glenn’s injuries were. But she let the questions remain unasked, figuring it would be better to focus on the task at hand. They weren’t out of harm’s way yet themselves.

Soon enough they reached the main entrance. Kara spotted the office where they’d entered. The door had been chewed to splinters, and as they passed the room, she saw their makeshift barricade was now nothing more than shattered fragments of wood. This time they didn’t have to use the window. Andris unlocked the mechanisms securing the formidable front doors and pushed them outward. The gray haze of the sleeping gas drifted out, dispersing into the open air. He jogged outside and took off his gas mask. The others followed and, one by one, removed their masks. With Maggie still sleeping in her arms, Kara couldn’t take hers off, so Meredith helped remove it. One of the clasps caught in her hair, and she winced.

“Sorry about that,” Meredith said, undoing the clasp. She stowed the mask into her pack with the others.

Although a few Skulls cried out in the distance, they made it back to the Zodiac before any appeared. Renee started the motor and directed the boat away from shore. Kara sucked in the fresh air over the river. The smell of cordite, blood, and death was gone, left behind in the experimental ordnance research building. The songs of birds in trees overlooking the river provided the soundtrack to their escape. She stroked Maggie’s golden fur and soaked in the warmth of the sun. If only her father was there with them, she might have actually felt happy and safe.

***

D
om played the muzzle of his rifle over the doors leading off the hall. Jenna followed close, her labored breathing loud over the open comm link. The intertwining smells of must and rotting meat wafted over them. Bones littered the floor alongside broken picture frames and fluttering sheets of torn paper. Cold seeped up from the concrete floors. The clanging of bones against metal rang out loudly.

Dom tried to make sense of the scene. Most of the walls were covered in splotches of blood and gashes from raking skeletal claws. He ignored the litter and signs of a lost battle, choosing to focus instead on the path forward.

“Captain,” Miguel’s voice called over the comm link. “Couple of Skulls hassled us at the docks.”

Dom paused as Jenna swept the hallway with her muzzle. “Found a boat?”

“Found one, got loaded up. Too many Skulls to board safely. We’re camped out in the boathouse. Need backup.”

“Alpha, this is Bravo,” Renee said. “We’re listening in and headed your direction. We’ll provide cover.”