“Something that goes bang?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
“What about you? How will you get out?” Reynolds was concerned. He didn’t like this one bit.
“I’m not of your concern, Colonel. You’re under orders. Don’t worry, I’ll get the hell out. Meet you on the far side of this valley. Get the men out!” she commanded.
“Careful. They’re brutal. Delta Five and Six are dead. Going in, looking for the rest,” Reynolds said. He was now at the top of the trail, staring at the gaping hole of darkness.
The opening of hell itself.
Having found the hole in the ground, small and hidden, Elizabeth stopped. She peered down, briefly shining a light. Not too far a drop. I can make it, she thought.
Elizabeth clicked her radio. “I heard gunfire. At least some are alive. Get the team out. Past the village. Do it fast, this thing is on a timer. I’ll retreat from the top, move along the ridge. We’ll blow this damn thing and get out of dodge,” Elizabeth said, staring down into the black of the cave.
Then, she jumped down.
“Roger that, Hot Bitch. Good luck. Sierra Bravo Four, moving in.”
111
The drones went in deep.
The men followed.
The creatures deep inside, the first wave, hiding, waiting… they frenzied. They had already felt the disturbance, felt these humans’ flight machines enter their cave. Had long since smashed it to bits.
They waited in the shadows.
Deeper and deeper.
“See anything?” Dale asked.
“Movement. See that — they smashed my bird,” Rivers responded, pointing to the destroyed hawk-drone. “Oh shit!”
“What?” Dale asked, turning. They were halfway in.
“Definitely movement. The drones are pissing them off, that’s for sure. Those bastards are taking them out, but we have enough to see. Dale, look! They’re preoccupied. We go in now, we have some element of surprise.
“Let’s hurry,” Dale said.
“They’re close. Forty meters, maybe,” Rivers said. “Here, maybe this will help. All eyes, look away,” Rivers said. “Fire in the hole.”
By sheer instinct and training, all members turned their heads.
An explosion, followed by a bright flash of light, filled the long corridor.
It was loud, bright, but did no real damage.
“What the hell was that?” Dale asked.
“A special flash-bang grenade. Here’s our window. Let’s do this… oh, and Dale… I’ve lost all the drones. The mosquitoes dropped, the snakes stopped working. Something is interfering with the signal.” Rivers dropped his tablet, pulling his AK-47 to the ready position. “We’re going in blind now.”
Jefferson looked back, saying, “Let’s do this the old fashioned way.”
“Kill ’em all,” Dale said, and the team of seven moved in.
Elizabeth stared into darkness. It was a small opening. She looked around, feeling claustrophobic, yet conquering her fears as she crawled through the entrance. This was most likely an old ventilation shaft, and the farther in she went, the wider it got.
A hundred feet, she was sweating.
Two hundred feet and she was breathing heavy.
Time was against her. Elizabeth prayed she was headed the right way. Using her instincts, she kept on.
Pure darkness, she could smell death. She could feel it.
She proceeded forward, her Glock on her hip, her MP5 pointed forward.
“Here we go,” Elizabeth whispered.
The team was twenty feet away from the end of the tunnel, their lights bouncing off the walls. They could see where the tunnel curved — a sharp right. They could see the smashed drones, the hawk, the snakes, all stomped to small pieces.
“They must be here,” Dale said.
Flashlights scanning, muzzles looking up, to the side, back down the tunnel.
“Must be around that corner,” Jefferson said.
Out of the corner of his eye, the man caught something. A movement. He turned, backing up at the same time. He opened his mouth, gasping loudly. “What the hell?”
Inside the rock, along the wall, were two dozen creatures. Not hidden in crevices as Dale had guessed. They were morphed into the rock, somehow blended in, unable to escape. The team had never seen such madness. The creatures’ heads protruded, giant monstrosities, gaping mouths, reptile scales, reptile eyes. They lashed out with their long arms, clicked their teeth, flickered their tongues.
One reached at Jefferson, who in turned jumped back, raising his AA-12. He unloaded a burst from the automatic shotgun.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Jefferson emptied ten rounds into the first creature, screaming, “They’re in the walls!”
It took a moment for the team to realize what he meant. It was true. Dozens of them had long since been morphed into the rock, their DNA scrambled, their bodies melting into the rock, forever prisoners. The creatures looked like reptiles, their arms like tentacles, scratching at them.
Svetlana was motionless, terrified at the sight of the monsters. One reached out, snatching her. “Help me!” she screamed, flailing against the hands gripping her.
Rivers grabbed her, struggling to free her from its grasp. “A little help here,” he yelled to the team.
Thompson obliged, lowering his M4 and raising his Glock .45 caliber. He was careful of ricochet, pressing the pistol to the thing’s head.
The beast glared, uttering something not human, though not quite animal either. A scream of a thousand damned souls.
“Die, you fucking freak,” Thompson said, putting three rounds into its head.
The creature’s hands dropped, Rivers pulling Svetlana to safety. For now.
The rest of the members had their hands full. They looked to the sides, to the ground, above — dozens of these things, all morphed into the rock, all blended into the cave, as if a part of it.
The creatures reached at them, their long, white spindly arms, like drooping vines, attempted to grab the men.
Dale and York killed four each, their M4s barking thunder.
Jefferson pumped more three inch slugs, spraying the long row of trapped creatures.
And Clements, the man with the muscle, fired his M240 machine gun down into the cave, spraying everywhere, haphazard, hot lead punching into the walls.
Rounds bounced off walls. The noise, despite their ear protection, was deafening.
Finally, they stopped.
“Report,” Dale commanded.
Moments later, he heard them shout out, “Clear.”
“All right, boys, that’s how they got the drones. We’re going around that corner. Clements, you and Jefferson first. Delta Two and Three, turn that corner and fire!” Dale said
They were happy to. They wanted payback.
Especially York.
They now knew what awaited them. They had seen the monsters. It was more horrific than they had ever imagined.
112
None had ever been in such a fight. The monsters flocked, racing down the tunnel, the younglings first. They were white, hunched over. Red eyes. Drool dripping from their fangs.
Thompson killed a dozen, reloading and killing more.
Clements emptied his ammo drum, pumping round after round, shredding the creatures apart.
Dale and Rivers, side by side, killed the ones on top. The ones racing along the top of the tunnel like lizards. Some had tails, most had scales.
The team screamed out like wild madmen, a warrior’s call.
They rounded a corner, entering a large corridor. A massive room. They paused a moment, seeing piles of bodies — the villagers. Most were dead, half-eaten, shredded. Others were still alive, moaning in agony.