"Eindringlinge! Eindringlinge!"
Bloody hell! Someone had found one of Audrey's victims.
Seizing the moment of surprise, Richard opened fire. The machinegun roared like a buzz saw, tearing through the ranks. Soldiers dove for cover, scrambling behind anything they could find. Their backs now exposed to the darkened house, Audrey opened fire from a second floor window, tracers streaking down.
Roaring, one of the beasts hurled a wooden box at Richard and Dennis' nest. The crate shattered beside the foxhole and a stream of machinegun fire tore into the creature. The non-silver rounds only seemed to slow its charge. A grenade landed in its path. The explosion sent the creature tumbling. Dennis' silver-loaded rifle flashed beside the machinegun's blazing flare.
Tearing my eyes from the chaos, I dove into the first truck and began searching. Peter raced off to check the vehicles on the far side, leaving me alone. Inspection done, I dropped a grenade into the cab and hurried away. Come Hell or high water, the Nazis weren't escaping this time.
The easy targets gone, Richard focused his gun at the lights, shattering them with short bursts. Peter hurled a grenade at a pair of soldiers maneuvering toward the house. Audrey's shooting had already ceased, her job to fire the gun dry and then move once the lights were mostly gone.
One by one I scoured the outer trucks, slashing open bags and flipping back lids, praying to find the weapons. A soldier rounded the corner as I exited a vehicle and I plunged two feet of blessed steel through his chest.
Twin blasts exploded inside the house. I only prayed Audrey was clear of them.
Howls bellowed as three more monsters smashed from the side of a locked truck. Purple lightning crackled and two beasts died before they'd made it fifteen feet.
I'd almost completed checking the trucks when a boat engine roared to life. I rushed out to see it starting across the water. Firelight glinted off an enormous gold bowl at the bow.
Richard swiveled the gun toward the vessel but a barrage of German fire forced him down. A potato masher twirled through the air, landing in his foxhole. My stomach lurched, but the bomb flipped back out before exploding, sending gravel and flames into the air.
Crouching behind a car, one of the hulking beasts charged, pushing the vehicle across the beach toward the foxhole. Richard opened fire, as did Dennis with his rifle, but the bullets only pummeled the sliding shield. More suppressive fire forced them down as the car charged their position like a train engine.
I leveled my gun at a pair of the shooters, killing one and forcing the other to scramble away. I stopped firing as Audrey appeared and slashed him open before vanishing into the shadows.
"The boat!" I screamed, firing ineffectually at it.
More grenades exploded, drowning my words. With a howl, the monster pushed the mangled vehicle up the low wall and down into the foxhole with a crash. Trusting the knights made it out in time, I charged the shore, firing at the fleeing boat.
Lighting flashed, momentarily blinding me. Breaking his cover, Peter raced across the open beach, Glisuan in hand. He launched another bolt out across the water. Electricity danced along the surface. Orange flares of gunfire flashed from the boat.
"Peter, get down!" I shouted.
Bullets whizzed around him. Peter stumbled, but continued on, heedless of the danger.
I returned fire, but through the choking smoke and darkness I couldn't see where I was hitting. Stubborn bastard.
With a defiant scream, Peter hurled another bolt across the water. A fuel tank exploded, launching flames into the sky. A burning man tumbled over the side. Clutching his stomach, Peter turned toward me, a triumphant smile on the American's face. Machinegun fire tore through his chest, sending him down in a spray of blood.
"Peter!" I screamed. I spun to see a young soldier, no more than sixteen leaning out from behind a boulder, rifle in hand.
I fired.
My shots struck the rock, sending him back for cover. Anger boiling, I ran for a better position. Reaching the central truck, I spied the killer's leg peeking from behind the large stone. I crouched to take aim, but leaped back as a crate flew out from the vehicle, missing me by inches. It smashed on the ground, spilling clinking sacks. I whirled as one of the great pale beasts dove toward me. SS runes adorned its thick breastplate and armored shoulders.
Slashing my rapier, I spun and leaped aside. The monster growled, white froth dripping from the corners of its mouth. It swiped its huge arms at me, its hooked claws a blur. I hopped back and then lunged. The indirect blow glanced off its armor, leaving a deep scratch.
The beast charged for me, claws arcing toward my face. Ducking and springing away, I slashed the monster's calf as it passed. The creature bellowed in pain as it fell to its knee. Twisting its body, it swiped again and I whipped the rapier around, lopping off its claw at the wrist. Blood splattered my cheek and the beast fell.
Turning back to the hidden soldier, I saw Audrey standing above him, bloodied sword in her hand. In an instant, she was gone. Dozens of dead and dying littered the rocky beach and smoke choked the air. Another grenade exploded, igniting one of the trucks. Dennis popped up from behind a dead beast and shot a charging soldier. He ducked as return fire pulped the grotesque corpse.
I dove into the open truck beside me. It reeked like a pig sty. Five crates rested against the back, the SS rune stenciled across their sides. Strange books, and what appeared to be Egyptian figurines, filled the first one. Pushing it aside, I opened the next. I recoiled at the rows of embalmed human hands, tattooed and packed like sardines. I shoved the box away, spilling them across the floor.
A burst of gunfire barked outside.
Please be here, I prayed throwing back the next lid. A golden scepter rested inside, an outstretched eagle as its head. Ignoring the fortune, I hurled the box off the stack and opened the next.
Two swords, an iron spear head, and an elaborate war pick rested inside, cradled in straw and cut-out supports. I blew a relieved sigh, my fingers touching Lukrasus, the sword plundered during the Polish blitz. The sacred weapons were all that stood between humanity and annihilation. They were safe.
A man's choked scream sounded outside.
Not safe yet. I closed the hinged lid and heaved the heavy box out, holding it by the rope-loop handles. Outside was eerily still. I peered around, seeing no one. A smattering of burning debris floated atop the water — all that remained of the sunken boat.
"Did you find them?" Audrey appeared from the shadows.
"Here."
She hurried toward me.
Peter's axe hung from her belt. There was no need to ask his condition. "Richard and Dennis?"
Audrey took the other side of the box and I hopped down. She nodded toward the line of trucks, most of them on fire. The huge knight hobbled through the smoke, practically carrying Richard with one arm. The smaller knight's face was scrunched in pain.
No! I cursed myself for even bringing him on this mission.
"He took a bad cut to the abdomen," she said as we hurried toward them. "I'll patch them up once we're out."
Trying not to think of his injury or of our fallen knight, I focused only on escape. We made our way the half mile to where our automobile was hidden in the shell of a stable.
Richard's face was ashen as we loaded him inside. "Really… gave 'em Hell… didn't we?" He smiled weakly.
"That we did." I brushed the grit from face to hide my concern. We still needed to slip past the American line, change vehicles, and get back to France.
Audrey climbed in beside him, clutching an olive-coloured med kit.