EMERGENCE: Annihilation, Book 6 (The Emergence Series), page 14
Ivins surveyed the massive fuel barge that was coming into view, which spanned the length of a football field and was four stories high. He looked across the cabin at the two civilian engineers and merchant marine captain they had brought along. “You boys ready to do your stuff?”
The burly man with a goatee to his right nodded then pointed to the engineers, who were gathering their tool bags. “Once these grease monkeys get the engines running, I’ll take us out of the harbor and back to the fleet.”
The lanky engineer next to Murph leaned forward. “Figure an hour to survey the engine room and prime everything then another hour before she’s warmed up enough to get rolling.”
Ivins gave a thumbs-up, knowing a hell of a lot could happen in two hours in a region ruled by the paras. He looked at the distance between the ship and the loading ramp on the dock eighty feet away and felt some small level of comfort knowing they had a miniscule buffer from a shoreline assault.
The pilot swung the Blackhawk to the right while descending onto the rear helipad. Ivins, Asbell, and Kroeber were the first operators to disembark, followed by the captain, while Murph, Maybrier, and Martinez escorted the engineers towards the stairwell entrance that led below.
Chapter 33
Nick trod water, holding his head just slightly above the waves as his other alphas regrouped around him. The past hour of swimming in such choppy waters would have been impossible in his former life, but now he hardly felt diminished. He studied the bow and stern sections of the two ships resting sixty yards away. When he was certain there were no sentries on deck, he reviewed the assault details with his alphas then sent them on their way in two groups. Crixus took four, heading towards the Coast Guard vessel to the right, while Nick swam with the remaining five alphas.
As he pressed on, Nick would occasionally glance to his right above the waves at a cluster of islands to the southeast, where one of his alphas was waiting with Victor in their escape boat.
Nick focused his mind on the large ship ahead, sensing Abby’s presence and knowing he would soon free her from the horrors she was suffering at the hands of the Others. After that, he would give her the choice of joining them. He had no desire to force his will upon her as Roland had done, but Nick also realized that the alternative was death, since she couldn’t live without the creature attached to her nervous system, just as he could not. But he was hopeful, for he knew that their unique biology could open a new doorway into their evolution. If she will be my Eve.
Chapter 34
The plane ride over western Texas had brought with it considerable turbulence, but Kelly hardly felt it as she sat strapped to the bench seat with Cassie in her lap. On her right sat Erica, whose head was leaning on Kelly’s shoulder, while Mary sat across from her next to Sam. Both of them fawned over Bosco, who seemed to provide some comfort to the anxious flyers.
Lining the benches along the length of the C-130J was a medley of army and air force personnel along with a few dozen civilians, who looked as sunbaked and exhausted as Kelly. There wasn’t anyone with soft, lotiony hands, and none was lacking in physical scars after the months of survival they’d endured. Kelly knew that each one of them would probably always awake to a sound in the night and reach for a weapon.
She saw a red light activate on the cabin wall as the voice of the pilot came over the speaker. “Sixty-five minutes to South Padre Island. We will refuel with Commander Ivins’ ship and then be on our way to MacDill.”
Kelly bolted upright, her heart punching through her chest. “Tom—he’s here in Texas!” The engine noise drowned out her plaintive words, and she fought back the tears, trying to maintain her composure for her daughter’s sake. Cassie had been assured of too many promises over the last few months, and Kelly still couldn’t believe they were about to be reunited with him. She stared at the digital clock on the wall, every minute seeming like an hour, hoping she would be running off the exit ramp into her husband’s arms and wondering what she would say to him in that moment.
Chapter 35
“Ten more minutes of running the engines at this speed and we should be ready to roll towards South Padre, Commander,” said the engineer into Ivins’ earpiece.
“Roger that,” he said, gazing out at the growing number of drones that had assembled at the shoreline near the docks, eighty feet away. Ivins paced along the rear deck, watching the propellers churn the waters below as the rest of his team stood fanned out on either side with their rifles trained on the horde, an uneasy tension crackling in the night air.
“Surprised they haven’t tried to attack yet,” said Murph. “That’s not like them.”
“Most of ’em would end up in the drink,” said Kroeber.
Asbell moved up next to Ivins, handing him the tablet, which provided a view from the areal drone they had just sent airborne to survey the city. “Here’s what they’re waiting for—you’re not gonna believe this shit.” He pointed to a growing yellow mass in the heart of downtown that was moving towards them. “This must be that fucking herd that Pacelle said would be heading this way.”
Ivins pushed the tablet closer to his face, squinting at the growing tally in the bottom corner. “Christ, is this right—twenty thousand or more creatures?”
He tapped on his ear-mic. “Chief, we need to get moving now.”
“Just a coupla minutes left, Commander, or we risk burdening the engines and suffering a catastrophic failure. These turbines haven’t been operated in almost three months.”
Ivins ground his teeth. “Shit.” He looked again at the murky depths of the seawater, knowing it was probably over twenty feet near the docks. He thought back to an attack he had witnessed in San Francisco, when thousands of creatures piled up enough of their bodies to reach the roof of a six-story building. Twenty thousand creatures could make quite a bridge.
He glanced at the tablet, seeing the yellow blob encroaching upon the neighborhoods a mile north of them. Ivins handed it back to Asbell when he heard the grating of metal and the rumble of concrete emanating from the darkness ahead. A tornado of dust formed in the moonlit streets ahead, as if a mighty beast was arising from the sewers.
He knelt down, resting the barrel of his MK12 on the metal handrail. “Fan out—focus on hitting the gas tanks on the cars out there once the drones arrive. We need to buy some time, so don’t worry about taking out individuals.”
Chapter 36
Nick slowly climbed over the metal railing at the stern, emerging onto the deck behind the empty helipad. The five other alphas followed behind him, darting towards the lifeboats then over to a stack of crates beside the rear hatch.
“Two of you go below to the engine room and unload your grenades into the fuel shafts and turbines.” He pointed to a structure up top near the midline of the ship. “After that, make your way to the bridge and destroy as many of their command personnel as possible.” Nick motioned for them to depart along the walkway to the right, then he opened the hatch and raced down the steps that led towards Abby’s location.
Arriving at the first landing, he encountered a blond-haired woman in a lab coat moving up towards them, her eyes glancing up from her tablet. Nick lunged at her, shoving the shocked figure back then smashing her head into the steel wall. He glanced at her mangled face, wondering if she was the human who had kept Abby restrained to a table for the past two days. He yanked the woman’s security keycard from the lanyard on her neck, then they continued down to the third level. He swiped the card against the locking mechanism on the steel hatch, and the door hissed open from its airlock. I’m coming, Abby.
Chapter 37
“The engines are almost purrin’ like they should be, Commander,” said the engineer into Ivins’ earpiece while the SEAL cursed the delay. He looked at the growing mass of drones that had poured into the shoreline, their demonic faces aglow from the burning cars that his SEALs had already ignited with gunfire. The drones’ numbers extended a half-mile in either direction, and Ivins could no longer see any patches of pavement on the streets in front of them. The air smelled like a slaughterhouse, and the air temperature must have increased by ten degrees due to the sheer body mass on the boardwalk. Still he wondered what the creatures were waiting for.
“Something’s not right,” said Murph.
“Agreed, but we’ve only got a few minutes, then we’re out of here,” said Ivins.
They heard a grating sound that drowned out the sound of the engine turbines below them. Ivins stood up, staring ahead as the avenue in the distance was showered with sparks. He saw the drones directly in line with the stern of the barge begin to part a few at a time, then fifty at a time, then a hundred, until a path extending three blocks up the slope began to emerge in the horde. He stared into the darkness, the sparks intensifying as the front end of a Greyhound bus emerged, its speed increasing, the steel rims rolling along the blacktop, powered by the force of fifty creatures pushing from the rear.
Ivins’ eyes became saucers as he saw the trajectory. He yelled into his ear-mic, rushing along with the other SEALs to clear the rear deck. “Chief, I need full speed ahead now! They’re gonna ram the ship!”
The propellers increased, the waters roiling as the vessel began inching forward. Ivins could see the bus hurtling at a runaway pace, the creatures falling behind the rig as the speed increased. The bus plowed through the parking lot and over a wooden bench, then smashed through the metal guardrail before the dock. It rose slightly as it became airborne, its mangled front end smashing into the water and coming to a rest on top of the first of the three propellers. The rear end of the bus slumped back, tilting the front cabin upward as the engines of the barge sluggishly moved forward.
The creatures who were pushing the bus resumed sprinting down the street, and Ivins could see that many of them were alphas, four of them wearing small backpacks. They quickly bolted through the parking lot then leapt from the dock, dozens at a time, trying to bridge the gap.
Ivins and his team trotted forward, waiting for the first ones to rise above the rear deck from their perch on the bus.
“Get us the hell out of here, Chief,” snapped Ivins into his headset as the barge trudged slowly out of the bay, the bus preventing sufficient momentum.
A slurry of creatures began jumping in a last-ditch effort to mount the bus. Many of the slower drones ended up in the water, but a few more alphas managed to get a handhold on the trailing vehicle.
Ivins saw three creatures burst onto the rear deck, their heads quickly splattering onto the ground from the hail of 5.56 rounds flying downrange from his operators. He saw a sinewy alpha wearing only blue shorts bound onto the deck, managing to escape the first hail of bullets but being caught by Ivins’ headshot as it ran up the gangway towards engineering. He saw it was wearing a backpack and recalled Dorr’s unnerving comment earlier about alphas using explosives. Ivins was relieved that he had dropped it before it made its way to where it might incur catastrophic damage below deck.
The second wave of remaining creatures leapt onto the deck, each of them quickly dispatched by precision shooting from his men until they ceased. Murph and Asbell slowly crept up to the bent guardrail, looking over the edge and shooting the last two creatures clamoring to hang on to the bus, which finally gave way in the current. The battered metal rig disappeared below the turbulent waters.
Ivins scanned the deck, examining the dead alphas and putting any rounds into those still twitching. He proceeded with caution up to the alpha wearing the backpack and unzipped the top flap. Kroeber shined his rifle-mounted flashlight inside, revealing a pile of soiled rags.
“What the fuck?” muttered Murph as he examined another pack nearby.
Ivins scratched his head, licking his lips as he stood up. Then he saw a drenched creature climbing over the bow of the ship with a green backpack. He caught a glimpse of small, bulbous protrusions pressed against the pack fabric. Grenades–my God, this whole thing was just a ruse. He swung his rifle up, but the alpha disappeared, darting to the right side of the ship. “It’s going to take out the bridge!” He bolted forward, yelling at Asbell and Maybrier to stay at the stern while Murph and Kroeber followed on his heels.
Ivins ran along the gangway, racing to make it to the command center. He heard two gunshots followed by the voice of the captain. “I shot at an alpha but only wounded it. He’s heading towards the stern, I think.”
Ivins slowed down as the front deck opened up, then he saw the creature running towards the stairwell, grenades in either hand. Shit—this whole mission is for nothing if we lose this ship. He threw down his rifle and dove for the creature’s waist, sending it backwards over the railing. Both of them plunged into the pitch-black waters below.
Ivins felt his lungs expand when he came up, waiting for the resulting explosion but only hearing the sound of water thrashing behind him as he felt something clutch his neck. He swung his head, feeling the nails digging into his skin, barely missing his carotids. He frantically felt for his knife then stuck it into the ribcage below the sternum, sensing a flush of warm fluid rising up. The alpha pawed at him with both hands, scratching his cheek as Ivins continued wildly stabbing the creature in the ribs then the neck and finally striking it in the right ear. It shrieked, its mouth filling with seawater as it released its grip on his collar. Ivins plunged the blade in until the hilt was buried then shoved the drooping creature back into the waves.
He gasped, trying to catch his breath, feeling the sting of saltwater in his wounds. The floodlights along the side of the barge illuminated, and he heard a splash to his right. He saw a life-preserver, which he clung to with both trembling hands. Murph hauled him in, his body aching but his soul craving the sight of the sunrise along distant shores.
Chapter 38
General Dorr stood outside the observation window as Doctor Coppen and his assistant, Devon Stecher, entered the lab in their biohazard suits. Dorr glanced down the long passageway near the entrance, noticing Selene trying to poke her head out from her office. He gave the guard outside her office a swift nod, indicating that he should get her back inside her room, then he folded his arms and moved closer to the observation window.
Coppen moved to the rolling cart next to the gurney and began removing his electroshock implements from a silver container while Stecher turned Abby’s unconscious figure onto her stomach then readjusted her restraints. Coppen carefully removed the rubber sheaths on the two electric probes then attached their leads to the charging unit in the container. He turned towards Abby’s slumped figure and palpated the slight ridge of skin along her upper thoracic region.
The girl groaned slightly. “I promise to make this as painless as possible.” Coppen looked up at the MRI image on the overhead screen then inserted the slender tip of the first probe into the left side of her spine along the parasite’s midsection. The next probe he positioned four inches further up, where he slid the probe into the thick mass of tissue below the creature’s head. He studied the image of the parasite on the screen, its black body wriggling slightly.
Coppen gave a trembling thumbs-up to Dorr, who stood with his arms folded, his refrigerator-wide figure nearly filling with window.
“Abby, or whatever the hell you are called, this is General Dorr. What information have you gathered on our fleet here since you began living amongst us, and where is your command element located?”
Tears ran down Abby’s face. “Please, don’t hurt me. Where is Doctor Munroe or Will? They said they would help.”
Dorr smirked, shaking his head. “Proceed, Doctor.”
Coppen adjusted a dial on the charging unit then depressed a red button, immediately sending a surge of electricity into the sub-dermal probes. Abby’s head arched up, and a shrill howl bellowed forth from her shuddering lips. Her facial muscles contorted as she thrashed her hands in the restraints. Coppen stepped back, his shaking hand slamming down on the unit’s kill switch. Abby’s head slumped forward, her breathing labored as her limbs quivered.
Coppen’s nervous breaths were fogging his face visor. “Jesus, that must be too much for her.”
“What was it set at?” said Dorr.
“The lowest it can go—it would have been a mild shock to you or me.”
“Then that creature has a low pain threshold—excellent. That gives us plenty of room to work with. Again, Doctor.”
Coppen stood still, acting like he hadn’t heard Dorr. “Again, God damn it.”
The doctor turned the dial to the next setting then reluctantly flicked on the switch. This time, Abby’s shrieks filled every centimeter of the lab as her eyes widened in agony. “Please, stop,” she yelled, her cheeks quivering as sobs wracked her heaving chest. “God, please.”
Coppen turned off the device then looked at the frightened expression on his assistant’s face while glancing over at Dorr. “Maybe Doctor Munroe is correct. We should try…”
Dorr pressed his irritated face in closer to the glass. “Unless you want me to send you and your family adrift on a goddamned lifeboat in these waters, you’ll complete what you came here to do. I need answers, and Munroe’s timid approach yielded little. Now, increase the damn voltage and continue, Doctor, so we can…”
Abby lifted her head, looking at Coppen then past him at Dorr. She whispered, her lips forming a slight smile as her eyes became slits, “He is coming.”
The intercom next to Dorr blared with the voice of one of his female staff. “General, I’ve been trying to locate you. We can’t reach our engineering room.”
He stared at Abby then slammed his fist on the reply button. “Send a security detail down there.”
“They’re currently responding to a sighting off the starboard.”
Dorr licked his lower lip, darting his eyes around the room then gazing again at Abby’s wolfish expression. “Sighting of what?”
“An approaching plane, but it appears to be—” He heard the staccato of machinegun fire, followed by his XO barking out orders to secure the general quarters. “No…no!” the woman shrieked into the intercom. “There’s an inbound plane heading straight at your vessel,” said the woman’s panicked voice.
