Carolyn heard its voice in her mind again, as it placed both of its palms against the transparent wall.
Waaannnttt ouuuttt…
And then the Plexiglas wall began to crack.
CHAPTER 77
“Ma’am, the secretary of state is on line three.”
Allison quickly answered. “Adam, what do you have?”
“Madame Vice President, the Canadians have closed their border. Their airspace is now off-limits to all US-originating traffic. And there’ve been some skirmishes.”
“Firing?”
“Yes, ma’am. At border stations. Dead on both sides.”
“What are they thinking?” It dawned on her that she was in Canadian airspace.
“The same thing is happening along the Mexican border — all the crossing stations are closed and under armed guard. Their troops are deploying along the entire border. Their airspace is closed, too.”
In the matter of a few short hours following the president’s nuclear strikes against the three infested cities, it seemed as if war had broken out across the globe.
The Israelis — nuked.
Taiwan — obliterated.
South Korea and Japan — choking under spreading clouds of North Korean chemical and biological weapons.
There were no more allies — America had no friends.
Even the British — at times America’s only friend — had killed innocent Americans, blowing airliners out of the sky as they tried to land with empty tanks. Preventing any chance of the mutant horrors across the pond finding their way to England. Saving themselves, out of fear more than anything else.
She’d watched her country torn apart from within, by the horrible creatures. And she knew that if she didn’t act quickly to get control of the situation, her country would be torn apart from without, as well.
CHAPTER 78
As the creature stepped through what used to be a thick Plexiglas containment wall — which it had shattered with a touch of its hands — the guards opened fire with their M-16s.
As the bullets slammed into the creature’s body, its hold on Carolyn, Garrett, and General Rammes was released — they were able to move! All three of them dove for cover, Garrett protectively covering Carolyn’s body with his own.
Through Garrett’s arms, Carolyn watched in disbelief as the creature absorbed the rounds from the M-16s. It was just standing there, taking it! As each shell rocketed through its body and spun crazily into the back wall of the containment room, the wounds were closing! She could see holes opening and closing in its flesh with each impact — but that couldn’t be! No living thing could absorb that kind of punishment and survive!
But right before her eyes, it was happening. The shots were slamming into it as the guards emptied their magazines — and it wasn’t having any effect! The creature just stood there, its body jerking from the incredible amount of kinetic energy pounding into its torso, its arms, legs, neck, and head.
But it wouldn’t die.
The wounds were healing almost instantaneously!
The firing abruptly ceased as the ammunition ran out.
The guards quickly grabbed fresh magazines from their belts and slammed them into—
But it was too late.
The creature raised its arms, and the soldiers suddenly froze in place. Unable to move, just as Carolyn, Garrett, and General Rammes had been.
The creature stepped toward the guards, its eyes shining like molten silver.
Carolyn felt it.
It swept through her thoughts like a burst of static in her brain.
The guards began to grimace, their eyes wide and fearful. Trickles of blood began to flow from their nostrils. Their ears. Their eyes.
She could feel the pressure in the room build, the wave of static increasing in intensity. Somehow, she knew the real force of the static was aimed at the guards — she was experiencing only the outer edges of the creature’s assault. It was like standing ten feet away from a flamethrower and feeling the indirect heat from its blazing stream.
The humanoid beast was killing them. With its mind.
The guards began to scream. Terrible, agonized shrieking.
Carolyn watched as blood poured from the orifices in their heads, spilling into their biosuits. The veins just under their skin began to distend, visibly bulging with each terrified beat of their hearts. Their eyes rolled back into their sockets. One man bit through his tongue.
Through the speakers in her suit, she heard their skulls cracking.
And then, as if their heads could no longer stand the pressure from within, their skulls exploded.
Their bodies dropped to the floor.
The static was gone.
The creature slowly turned toward her.
Caaarrrooolllyyynnn…
General Rammes pushed the button.
CHAPTER 79
The call had come in right on schedule.
“President Vladimirov, this is General Thad Metzger.”
“I want to speak to your president.”
“The president is unavailable at the moment, sir. He was slightly injured during an attack on Air Force One and is in the infirmary getting stitches for a wound on his arm.”
About ten feet from where Metzger was standing, Andrew was on the floor of the bunker’s command center, eyes wide open, nobody home. Jessie was next to him, whispering into his ear.
“Who is in control, General? Is it President Smith, or Vice President Perez?”
“There has been no change in this nation’s leadership, Mr. President. Andrew Smith remains the president of the United States. Ms. Perez is the leader of a failed coup attempt and she’ll be—”
“Was the attack on the cities successful, General? Were you able to stop the creatures from spreading?”
“Yes, sir. The creatures in those three cities have been destroyed.”
“And the others? What is the plan for them, General? Are you going to continue to drop nuclear bombs across your country to destroy them as well?”
“If that’s what has to be done to keep the creatures from spreading, then yes. The president hasn’t made that decision yet.”
“I would like to hear it from him, General. I wish to speak to him now.”
Jessie had somehow gotten through to Andrew Smith. He was standing, and she helped him walk to the secure hotline.
“Stand by, President Vladimirov. The president has returned.”
Metzger muted the connection.
“Is he good to go?”
“It’s as far as I can take him. It has to be quick,” Jessie said. “Andrew, you need to speak to the Russian president. You need to tell him his forces’ alert status is risking nuclear war. Do you understand, Andrew?”
“Yes. I understand.”
Metzger handed Andrew the hotline.
“President Vladimirov, this is Andrew Smith. It’s good to hear from you again.”
“Mr. President, this is a very dangerous time we find ourselves in, is it not?”
“Yes, it is, Anatoly. A dangerous time.” He paused, unsure of what he was supposed to say next.
Metzger quickly muted the connection, and fixed his smallish eyes on Jessie.
“Andrew,” Jessie said, “you need to tell him to drop his alert levels or we’ll respond in kind.”
Andrew slowly nodded his understanding, and Jessie motioned at Metzger to restore the audio.
“We know your forces have entered a heightened state of alert, Anatoly. There’s no need for you to—”
“You have dropped nuclear bombs on your own country. Your vice president tried to countermand your orders, did she not? This tells me that the situation in your country is getting out of control.”