“Charlie to Base One, Door one. Over.”
“Base One to Charlie. Understood. Out.”
Stephan heard screams behind him and turned to see one of the cadets being dragged away by a creature. She fought and screamed as it tore at her. One pincer closed on her hand and cut it off. She screamed and grabbed her wrist as blood squirted into the air. The creature stopped and moved over her then bit into her face. Stephan aimed his rifle, fired once at the cadet then at the creature. Both lay still on the ground. He turned and continued firing bursts of bullets at the creatures as he caught up to Damien.
They reached the end of the dorms and ran across the green toward the cafeteria. They had to go around the building to the back. He could already see the creatures on the roof moving toward the edges and preparing to attack them from above.
He broke radio silent. “Sabrina and Mark take out the hostiles on the roof. The rest of you continue clearing a path.”
“Changing,” Damien yelled and dropped a magazine then slammed another one into his rifle. Two of the cadets moved up next to him, firing at the creatures who rushed toward him.
Creatures fell from the edge of the roof as Sabrina and Mark killed them. No matter how may they killed there always seemed to be another one to take its place.
The creatures poured out of the trees, moving closer to them. They fired short bursts at them and continued moving forward. They gained ground until a large group of creatures came from behind the cafeteria.
“Make your shots count and keep moving,” Stephan yelled.
“I’m out,” Sabrina yelled, and grabbed her bow and fired an arrow at a creature who rushed her. The arrow hit it in the chest area and she jumped over it as it reached for her. She turned and pulled her knife and stabbed its head over and over until it lay still. Standing she prepared the bow for another hostile.
“Move to the center, back to back,” Stephan yelled and gathered his team and the cadets in a tight bunch. “Keep moving.”
The creatures had them surrounded and were closing in. For every one they shot and killed two more took its place. He fired a burst of bullets into a monster less than two meters from him, and yelled, “We fight to the end.”
Suddenly, three fighters came around the corner of the cafeteria and fought their way toward them. Blood and gore and parts of creatures covered their path. They stepped over or around them as they continued firing and moving toward the cadets.
“Watch your fields of fire,” Stephan yelled.
Step by step the gap between the two teams closed. When Stephan and his team reached them, Luke signaled them to go through. Stephan stepped to his side and continued firing while his team and the rescued cadets moved toward the dock. One by one they jumped onto it and ran into the elevator.
Grace and John laid down covering fire while Luke, Sherry and Mark along with Charlie Team fought their way to the dock and into the elevator. Luke and Neal took a knee in the center of the elevator and continued firing as John and Grace entered and John reached up to pull down the overhead door. It was less than a foot from the bottom when one of the creatures reached in and closed its pincers around John’s ankle, stabbing its talons deep into his skin. He yelled and tried to free his leg. The more he struggled the more the talons ripped at his ankle and the more he bled.
He fell to the floor as it tried to drag him from the elevator. Sabrina and Damien grabbed him around the shoulders and held onto him. Neil drew his knife and stabbed at the pincer but he couldn’t penetrate the hard armor-like surface.
Another talon tipped pincer reached through the gap. Grace stomped on it then drew her foot back. “My God, it’s like stomping on a rock,” she yelled and drew her pistol. Dropping to her knees she lowered her head and aimed at the creature’s body. She fired several bullets into it and it scrambled away. She moved the sights to the creature that held onto John, aiming at the joint where it the arm met the creature’s body. She emptied the magazine into it before she blew through it. The creature screeched and withdrew, leaving its pincer still locked on John’s ankle.
“Close the door now,” Sabrina yelled as she and Damien pulled John to the back of the elevator. A trail of blood led from the pool by the door to John’s boot.
Luke threw his weight on the door and forced it closed.
Stephan pulled his shirt off and kneeled to wrap it around John’s ankle but Mark stopped him and reached for the creature’s leg.
Grace grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t touch it. We’ll take him to Medical and remove it there. We need to clean and bandage that wound. We also need to be careful how we handle the creature’s limb and how we dispose of it.” She turned to Stephan. “Go ahead and wrap your shirt around it.”
Stephan had just finished when the elevator stopped. Luke and Mark picked him up and carried him to Medical with Grace hurrying behind them.
Sabrina caught up to them. “My mother is a trauma nurse. She’s taught me a lot about wound care. I can help you.”
“Thank goodness. I need all the help I can get,” Grace said.
They entered Medical and placed John on the examination table. Luke and Mark stood against the wall. John groaned in pain and reached for his leg.
Sabrina grasped his hand. “I know it hurts but don’t try to touch it. Let us deal with it.”
Grace held her rifle out and Luke took it. She removed her body armor and he took that as well. Thanking him, she scrubbed her hands, dried them and pulled on a pair of gloves.
“I’m going to unwrap this and take a look at it. While I do that can one of you make sure the elevator is cleaned, sanitized and secured?”
Mark stepped forward. “I will and I’ll get our guests fed, showered, and assigned a bunk.”
“Thank you, Mark,” Grace said as she slid several clean towels beneath John’s ankle then removed the shirt Stephan had wrapped around it. The talons of the pincer had gone through his boot. She glanced at Sabrina. “Scrub and put on some gloves.”
Sabrina released John’s hand and hurried to the sink.
“I’m going to need something to cut away his boot. Also, antiseptic wash, sterile clothes, antibiotic ointment, and bandages—to start.” Grace looked at Luke. “I may need your help getting this thing off him so please put on some gloves.”
Luke handed his weapons and armor to Neil.
“I’ll put these away then wait outside the door in case you need me,” Neil said.
“Thank you, Neil,” Grace said. “Could you check on everyone, including security, and report back to me please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and walked away.
Sabrina moved a tray with everything needed next to Grace. Luke stood across the exam table from her.
“Okay, Sabrina can you take John’s blood pressure, pulse, and temperature?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sabrina continued talking to John, who moaned in pain, while she carried out Grace’s request.
Grace gathered an alcohol wipe, an IV and a saline bag. She cleaned John’s arm, then inserted the needle, hung the bag and adjusted the saline drip. Leaning over him she made eye contact. “I need to know if you’re allergic to any medications or pain killers?”
He shook his head. None.”
She patted his shoulder. “Okay, I’m going to give you something to help you relax and for the pain.” Moving to a locked cabinet she removed two vials, calculated the correct dosage and then infused them into the IV. She watched him until he relaxed and his eyelids fluttered closed.
“Okay, let’s get this boot off.” She handed Luke a pair of scissors with rounded ends.
Luke unlaced John’s boot then used the scissors to cut around the pincer until only the pincer was left and they could see where the talons had pierced into his ankle.