George squeezed Jack’s arms tighter as he took a sharp corner too fast, lifting two wheels off the ground.
“Careful!” Dee shouted above the roar of the bike.
Jack risked a glance to the side. Ben and Boss sped along behind him. This was a dash to the top, a dash to live, to fight another day.
Flying around another bend, Jack saw the stairs he was looking for. They would take them the last few metres to the lookout platform. Screeches and howls greeted him as he brought the quad bike to a stop and leapt off the bike.
“Take the kids,” Dee said, lifting her rifle.
Jack nodded and grabbed George by the hand. He took the stairs two at a time, his injured leg screaming in pain. Boss bounded up ahead and, reaching the ladder, held out his hand to George. Jack looked back and gawked in horror. Variants of every size and shape spewed out of the bush.
— 31 —
Dee watched Jack, Boss and George head up the stairs. Checking her rifle, she looked back down the road. Already some of the Variants were charging towards them, their reptilian eyes fixed on her and Ben. More sprinted from the trees. First a few, before a wave of mutated humans flooded the road. Inexplicably, they stopped about a hundred metres away from Ben and Dee, as if assessing them. Dee wondered if they were contemplating which limb to rip off first.
Ben bumped into her as they backed up the stairs. She kept a bead on the massing horde. Slowly they made their way backwards until they were halfway to the platform.
“Take out the lead runners first,” Ben whispered. “Aim for the centre mass.”
“Okay,” Dee said. She spent a few seconds taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. To focus on the fight for life she knew was coming. She strained her ears, hoping for the sound of the helicopter.
“How long before the chopper?” she said.
“Should be here in minutes.”
Dee heard a deep, angry bellow as the lumbering frame of the Alpha Variant came over the crest in the road. Bones protruding from its shoulders, it stopped and tilted its head back, shrieking. The high-pitched sound echoed around the forest, so loud it rattled Dee’s teeth. She glanced at Ben, who was looking through his scope. His breaths remained steady and calm.
The huge creature moved closer, gathering the beasts with him. Now that it was closer, Dee could see the decapitated heads alongside his own. She couldn’t help the shiver than ran up her spine, chilling her to her core.
So that’s why they stopped. We are for you.
“Run!” Ben yelled, firing his carbine.
Dee reacted. Spinning around, she tore up the stairs towards the lookout. Ahead, the others were already clambering onto the platform. Jack yelled something to her but she couldn’t hear him. Finally the sound of the helicopter came thumping through the overcast sky.
The last few days of running, fighting and surviving were catching up to her. She was emotionally and physically drained, spent. Willing her body on for one last shot at safety, Dee sprinted for the ladder. For Jack. For survival.
Jack reached down, hand outstretched, his blue eyes willing her on. She grasped his hand and let him pull her onto the platform. She scrambled to her feet and spun, searching for Ben.
Jack gasped in horror as the giant creature bounded up the stairs after the fleeing Ben. The soldier paused and fired a couple of bursts at the beast. The Alpha swatted away the bullets. For its size, it moved incredibly fast. Jack had just hauled Dee up onto the platform when he heard the thump thump thump of the chopper. Boss was standing in the middle of the platform, waving his arms and a red flare.
Just a few moments more.
Ben reached the ladder, turning and firing over his shoulder as he went. The leader was now only metres away, his minions fanning out behind him.
Ben reached the platform and Jack rushed to help haul him over the lip. A ferocious bellow sounded out as the giant creature leapt ten metres into the air and landed on the ladder behind Ben. It pulled back one of its huge arms and speared Ben with a claw right through his side.
Ben screamed in agony as Jack tried to pull him to safety.
“Dee! Help!” Jack cried, his voice full of anguish.
Jack turned, his eyes finding Boss’s. The teenager dropped the flare and rushed over. Together they wedged their feet against the railing. Ben screamed once more as they tried to pull him to safety. The beast ripped his claw free and raked it down Ben’s back.
The Alpha swung his other arm at Boss, spearing him through his calf muscle. With a savage bellow and an insane glint in his eyes, he ripped off Boss’s lower leg, spraying blood over the teenager. Warm, red blood arced, hitting Ben and Jack.
Thump, thump, thump.
The chopper hovered above the lookout, the wash of its spinning rotors sweeping over Jack as he hung on to Ben. The blessed sound of the minigun firing pounded in his ears. The gunner swept the blazing rounds of hot metal death at the gathering mass of creatures. The Alpha raised it arms, shaking its claws at the helicopter. Jack breathed out and, using the distraction, pulled Ben onto the platform. Frantic, he glanced at Boss. Boss was shaking and staring down at his missing leg as blood soaked the wooden planks underneath him.
Brrrrooooootttttttt.
Jack saw Dee push George towards the lowering chopper but the little boy looked back, his eyes falling on Boss and the gruesome injury.
“Take the kid and go, Jack!” Ben yelled, pain evident on his face. He winced and swung his rifle up to his shoulder. Without waiting for Jack’s answer, he fired it at the beast, point blank range, until his magazine clicked empty. The beast shook his head and slammed his claw into Ben, pinning him to the platform.
Jack looked at George, conflicted. He wanted to get to safety but he didn’t want to leave this man to such a horrible fate. With an angry yell, he let go of Ben’s arm and reached over to pull Boss away from the Alpha. The poor kid was still shaking from the shock of his injuries.
Dee screamed as George broke loose from her grip. Pulling out the screwdriver he still had in his tool belt, George charged, screaming at the Alpha and jammed the screwdriver into its eye.
The Alpha let out a deafening bellow and released Ben.
Dee sprinted over and helped Jack pull Ben and Boss into the chopper. A man dressed in a grey flight suit jumped out and hauled the injured Boss into the hold. He said something into the mike on his helmet, but Jack wasn’t paying attention, as the howls of the Variants had grown in ferocity. Dozens of them poured onto the platform as the helicopter lifted into the air.
Two Variants leapt the remaining metres and hung on to the side. Dee shot one through the head and grinned as a soldier kicked the other into the air. It flung its arms in a windmill motion before dropping out of view.
The minigun operators let loose, firing upon the Alpha, the bullets slamming into his tough bark hide. He howled up at the helicopter, swiping his huge claws at it in frustration. The gunner continued to fire. The Alpha howled once more, saliva dripping from its sucker. It jumped down from the ladder and retreated into the forest below.
Strong hands grabbed Jack, pulling him and Ben deeper into the chopper. Dazed and confused, Jack sat on the cold metal floor as the chopper soared away.
He could see monsters covering the road and stairs. They streamed out of the bush, howling up at their escaping prey. The fire still burned on the airfield, thick black smoke rising into the air. Jack let his eyes wander over the landscape and shook his head.