Attack of the Yetis, page 6
Quinn sat at the comm. room’s sensor station and Dobson stood quietly, leaning against the opposite wall. Both of them looked rather rattled.
“So Quinn had a thought,” Colonel Brannon told him. “… one that should have been obvious to us all right from the start if we hadn’t had our heads up our butts that is. We can track the radiation signatures those creatures out there are emitting. Since Quinn got the sensors back up and working again now, he decided to give it a go.”
“And?” Larka asked, already knowing that whatever Quinn had found wasn’t going to be good news.
“Take a look at Quinn’s screen, Lieutenant,” Colonel Brannon ordered.
Larka stepped to peer over Quinn’s shoulder. The sensor screen was packed with green moving dots that all appeared to be moving quickly towards the large red dot in the screen’s center. Larka gawked at the number of the green dots. “Don’t tell me …”
“You got it,” Dobson said from where he stood.
“Each of those green dots is emitting a radiation signature identical to the ones the rovers were dispatched to check out,” Quinn told him.
“God help us,” Larka muttered as his mind processed just how much trouble they were in. “There are what … close to a hundred of them?”
“Likely more,” Quinn replied. “Some of the signatures are packed so closely together it’s hard to get an accurate read on them.”
“How long do we have?” Larka asked.
“Best guess?” Quinn looked up at Larka. “Less than an hour until the first of them reach this camp.”
“We need to get out of here.” Larka turned to Colonel Brannon. “Even if those were just men out there and not some kind of alien creatures that can apparently tear through metal with their bare hands, we’d never stand a chance against that many of them. We just don’t have the firepower or numbers to keep them out of this base if they want inside it.”
“I know.” Colonel Brannon nodded. “I had planned to send Dr. Harvey and his team out first while we tried to hold on here and see if we could avoid losing this camp. It doesn’t look like that’s an option anymore.”
“No. It’s not,” Larka agreed. “The flight time from the Hobart to here is close to forty-five minutes. We’ll be cutting it pretty close even if the birds are already scrambled.”
“They are,” Colonel Brannon assured him. “Quinn placed the call for a full evac. as I came to get you. The birds are on their way as we speak. Still, as you said, it’s going to be too close for comfort. I need you and your men ready to engage the enemy and hold them back if necessary while we get Dr. Harvey’s team and their data loaded onto those birds.”
“Colonel!” Quinn shouted, interrupting the two men.
“What is it, Quinn?” Colonel Brannon cocked his head around at Quinn.
“Take a look, sir,” Quinn said, gesturing at the sensor station’s screen. “All the creatures farthest away just stopped. They’ve changed their course and are headed away from the camp.”
“Why?” Colonel Brannon asked aloud.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Colonel,” Quinn answered, shaking his head.
“That greatly reduces the number we’re going to have to deal with,” Colonel Brannon commented.
“Not enough,” Larka said. “There are still going to be far too many for us to handle.”
“We had best get back to getting ready for them then.” Colonel Brannon left the comm. room and Lieutenant Larka followed him.
****
Dobson left the comm. room for a few minutes. When he returned, the pilot was carrying two M-16s and a pump-action shotgun. There was also a pistol holstered on his hip. He thrust one of the M-16s at Quinn.
“Here,” Dobson said. “I hate to say it, but you might need this.”
Quinn took the weapon reluctantly. He hadn’t held anything other than a pistol in a very long time. Techs like him tended to work far from the places where the battles were being fought. “I haven’t fired one of these since Basic.”
“This room opens straight to the outside.” Dobson gestured at the door on the north side of the room. Larka and his men had boarded it up, but both Dobson and Quinn knew it wouldn’t be enough to do more than slow down the creatures heading for the base at most. “If those things get in here …”
“We keep talking about these creatures like they’re some sort of unstoppable monsters. Did you even see one?” Quinn challenged him.
“No, I didn’t,” Dobson said. “But I saw what they did to Rover 1. Those creatures ripped through its roof, the metal roof, and broke through its side door. Think about what kind of strength that takes, Quinn. And I honestly think that was the work of just one of them.”
“And you say they ate part of Rover 1’s team?” Quinn asked.
Dobson nodded, his expression grim.
“That’s fragging messed up man,” Quinn said.
“Just be thankful you didn’t have to see it, Quinn,” Dobson told him.
“Did it look like the guys in Rover 1 put up a fight?” Quinn asked hopefully. “Maybe the creature got the drop on them before they had time to react to it. I mean, we at least know they’re coming.”
“Laybourne was a fighter, kid. Heck, all those guys were. There were bullet casings inside the rover. One of the poor bastards was at least able to fight back for all the good it did him,” Dobson answered.
Quinn looked scared out his mind.
“The copters are on their way, Quinn,” Dobson assured him. “All we have to do is stay alive until they get here.”
“Right,” Quinn agreed and then repeated, “Just stay alive until they get here.”
Quinn turned his attention back to the screen of the sensor station. His eyes bugged as he saw that three of the fast-closing green dots had reached the camp. “Oh crap,” he muttered. “They’re here.”
Dobson and Quinn watched the dots on the screen intently as they split up. One headed directly for the camp’s other building and disappeared into it. The building’s walls had to be obscuring its signature because they lost sight of it on the screen. Another of the creatures circled around the main building, approaching it from its other side. The third was coming straight for the comm. room’s exterior door.
Quinn snatched up the M-16 he had sat beside his chair, hurrying to ready the weapon. Dobson already had his shotgun aimed at the doorway, pumping a round into the weapon’s chamber. Quinn screamed as the lights in the comm. room went out. The dim red of the building’s emergency lights clicked on just as the creature outside slammed into the other side of the exterior door. The boards nailed in place across the door shook against it but held against the creature’s force. The door itself was made of thick metal. They couldn’t just start shooting through it.
“Get the hell out of here,” Dobson ordered Quinn. “I’ll hold this mother here.”
“What? … Where am I supposed to go?” Quinn snapped back at him.
Before Dobson could answer, the creature outside smashed into the door again and the boards nailed across it splintered from the impact. One more hit and they’d be done.
“Find the colonel!” Dobson ordered. “Now go! I got this!”
Quinn listened to him this time, sprinting out of the room’s other door into the corridor that led deeper into the building. Dobson kept his eyes on the door in front of him, holding his ground. The creature’s third hit brought it inside the comm. room with him as the door swung inward and boards reinforcing it gave away.
Dobson saw the creature’s white fur and blazing yellow eyes as he squeezed the shotgun’s trigger. The blast punched into the creature at point-blank range, sending it reeling backwards as an explosion of green blood burst from its chest. Dobson pumped another round into the shotgun’s chamber as the creature recovered and righted itself, standing up to its full height. It towered over him, nine feet of bulging muscles and raging anger. Dobson fired again, aiming for the mass of shredded flesh where his first shot had struck it. Shards of the creature’s ribs flew as his second shot finished it. The monster collapsed sideways, bouncing off the comm. room’s wall to topple to the floor. It lay there, rivers of green blood pouring out of it as it whined and whimpered like a dying animal. Dobson wasn’t about to give it a chance to get back on its feet. He lowered the barrel of his shotgun until its metal touched the monster’s forehead as it stared up at him with pain-filled eyes and squeezed the trigger. The creature’s head popped like an overripe melon, splattering him with blood and gore. Dobson wasn’t a scientist, but he had seen enough horror films to know getting alien blood on you could be a very bad thing. Ignoring the frigid air that blew in through the smashed-open door, he wiped the blood from his hands and face as quickly as he could and then discarded his parka, leaving it behind as he turned to run. His legs pumped beneath him as he made his way along the corridor that led out of the room in search for Quinn and the others, hoping that they were still alive.
****
Lieutenant Larka and Colonel Brannon were caught utterly off guard as the monster came tearing through the wall at them. There was no warning, only an explosion of splinters and flying larger bits of shattered wood. Larka gritted his teeth as several splinters pierced the flesh of his right cheek and the hand he jerked up in an attempt to protect it. Colonel Brannon yanked his pistol free of the holster on his hip as he saw the monster clearly for the first time as it charged at him. The beast stood close to ten feet tall. Its body was covered in thick white hair. Muscles bulged and rippled beneath its hair as it took a swing at him. Colonel Brannon staggered backwards, avoiding the monster’s slashing claws. They raked through the air where he had been standing only a fraction of a second before. The monster’s eyes burned a bright yellow in the dim glow of the emergency lights that had kicked on as the building’s primary power had gone out. Lieutenant Larka had recovered behind the monster and raised the barrel of his M-16 at its back. Larka opened up on the monster. His rifle chattered as he fired a three-round burst into the white-haired beast. The bullets smacked into the monster’s thick muscles without getting any real penetration. Larka fired a second burst as the monster spun towards him. The fingers of its right hand closed around the barrel of his weapon and tore it from his grasp. The beast smashed the M-16 into the wall of the corridor, breaking it into pieces.
Colonel Brannon took aim at the monster’s head. His pistol barked as he squeezed its trigger in rapid succession. Bullet after bullet hammered into the white hair covering the backside of monster’s skull. They bounced away, scraping the flesh there but doing little else. The monster’s attention remained focused on Lieutenant Larka as it moved in for the kill. Larka went ninja on it, lashing out with an upwards kick that caught the underside of its chin. The monster’s head snapped back as Larka rammed a fist into its exposed throat. The monster grunted in pain but managed to catch Larka’s arm. Larka screamed as the monster broke it with an effortless twist. Colonel Brannon watched the fight, frustrated and unable to get a clear shot at the monster with Lieutenant Larka so closely engaged with it.
Larka stumbled away from the monster but sprang forward to grab him. The beast lifted Larka from the floor of the corridor. Larka legs kicked in the air as the monster buried its teeth in the meat of his chest, biting into and through his ribs. As it did, Colonel Brannon finally got a clear shot at it again, peppering its back with tiny wounds that leaked green blood until his pistol clicked empty. The monster flung Lieutenant Larka aside as it whirled about in anger at Colonel Brannon.
Bennet and Wallace came running along the corridor to join the fight, their M-16s blazing away at the monster as they ran. Three-round bursts smacked into the monster’s chest and shoulders. The monster roared and ripped a piece of the shattered wall free. It hurled the jagged piece of wood at the two men like a spear. Wallace died instantly as the wood entered his chest and its tip burst out his back in a spray of red. His body toppled to the corridor’s floor and lay there twitching. Bennet skidded to a halt, bracing his M-16 against his shoulder as he fired again, aiming his shot. The three-round burst he fired sent teeth and green blood flying from the monster’s howling mouth as they punched into it.
The monster spat pieces of its teeth as Bennet took another shot at it. Ignoring the rounds hammering into its chest, it charged at him. Bennet panicked and tried to run. The monster overtook him, its claws cutting deep, red grooves along his back as they raked down it. Bennet stumbled and tripped, falling to the floor in front of the monster. One of its wide feet came down on his head, popping it in an explosion of splattering brain matter and blood.
Colonel Brannon found himself alone in the corridor with the raging beast. The creature snarled as its yellow eyes fell on upon him. Brannon had ejected the spent magazine from his pistol and slapped a fresh one into the weapon, but he knew the 9mm pistol wasn’t going to stop the beast. He needed something else, something that hit harder. He wasn’t that far from the base’s small armory and took off running for it. The creature bounded after him as he dashed around the bend in the corridor. Brannon almost ran straight into Dobson. The pilot shoved him to get him out of his line of fire as the monster came into view. Dobson met it with a thundering blast from the shotgun he carried. The heavy slug the weapon fired blew a hole in the creature’s chest. The creature shrieked a high-pitched cry of startled pain as Dobson advanced on it, firing his shotgun again. His second shot finished blowing apart the creature’s ribcage, splashing green blood onto the walls of the corridor. The creature slumped onto its knees before Dobson continued to advance on it. Colonel Brannon watched as Dobson’s third shot ended the creature, ripping away a chunk of its skull at near point-blank range.
“Frag me,” Colonel Brannon muttered, getting to his feet.
“You okay?” Dobson asked him as he shoved more shells into his shotgun as fast as he could.
“I’ll live,” Colonel Brannon answered.
“You seen Quinn?” Dobson glanced around the bend of the corridor at the bodies of the three soldiers the monster had murdered.
Colonel Brannon shook his head.
“Alright then,” Dobson grunted. “Let’s get moving before another one of those things shows up.”
****
Dr. Harvey was stuffing the pockets of his coat with thumb drives containing all the data on the radiation he had time to download when the monster appeared in the doorway. Leah screamed as she saw it. Dr. Seeley dropped the crate of gear he had been getting ready to take to the comm. room. The monster was like something out of a childhood nightmare. Its yellow eyes burned with hunger and rage.
None of them were armed. They weren’t soldiers. That didn’t stop Dr. Harvey from trying to stop the monster as it hurled itself forward at Leah. He leaped into its path, grabbing a lamp from a nearby work area. Dr. Harvey swung the lamp at the creature. It caught the side of its head, breaking there as it made contact. The blow took the creature by surprise. Its claws lashed out to sink into Dr. Harvey’s stomach and ripped their way up through the flesh of his body to the bottom of his sternum. Dr. Harvey looked down to see the purple, red-slicked stands of his own intestines spilling out of his stomach. His eyes went wide in shock and horror as he tasted his own bile and blood on his tongue. The creature wasn’t done with him though. The fingers of one of its hands closed around his throat, lifting him upwards off the floor.
Leah looked frantically about the area around her for some kind, any kind of weapon. She snatched up a scalpel from a work table and ran at the monster as it held Dr. Harvey in its grip. The monster saw her coming and backhanded her with its free hand. The blow sent Leah flying across the lab to bounce off its far wall. She flopped onto the floor. Her scalpel was gone, lost somewhere in her flight. She refused to give up though. Leah shoved herself to her feet, grabbing a microscope from the top of another table and ran at the monster again, swinging the heavy instrument like a club. This time, the monster ignored her. She savagely smashed the microscope into the monster’s back over and over, screaming in fear and fury as she did so.
The monster’s attention was focused solely on Dr. Harvey as it slid a hand inside his ruptured guts and pulled a fresh fist full of them out in its grasp like a cat playing with its food. Dr. Harvey’s head had slumped over and dangled limply against his right shoulder. His eyes were closed and his pained screams had stopped.
Dr. Seeley crept passed the monster and Leah, making his way out of the lab without looking back.
“Come back here, you coward, and help us!” Leah shouted after him, but if he heard her, Dr. Seeley gave no sign of it. He vanished into the corridor and was gone as the monster released its hold on Dr. Harvey and let his mangled body thud onto the floor.
Leah stopped hitting the monster as it turned towards her. What was left of the microscope slipped from her hands as she stared into the monster’s yellow eyes, meeting its gaze. She back-peddled away from the beast as it gave a feral snort at her. Leah didn’t want to die. She had so much life left ahead of her.
As the creature prepared to lunge at her, Dobson appeared in the doorway of the lab, the barrel of the shotgun in his hands aimed at the monster’s head. The barrel flashed and the shotgun boomed as Dobson took his shot. The creature jerked its head to the side, but the blast still caught the side of its skull. Dobson pumped another round into the chamber of his shotgun as he moved farther into the lab, allowing Colonel Brannon to enter after him. The colonel was carrying an M-16. It coughed out three-round bursts as he opened up on the staggering monster. The monster seemed to have had enough. It charged straight at the lab’s westward wall and smashed through it.
“Over here!” Dobson shouted at Leah, gesturing for her to run to him. She didn’t need to be told twice. She sprinted to where Dobson stood. He kept a close watch on the hole the beast had made in the wall even as she reached him.
