Finn made a soft hissing sound. Cass glanced over and saw him holding up one finger. She wondered if anyone else could see it in the darkened room, but Gamble’s whisper answered that question.
“How far?” she asked.
“Thirty meters,” Finn answered.
“Inbound?”
“Not yet.”
“Hold fire. See if it moves on.”
Cass hated not being able to see what was going on. The slot window wasn’t far from her. But she knew Gamble was counting on her to watch the stairs, and she fought back the urge to sneak a peek.
“What’s it doing?” Gamble asked after a minute.
“Just standing there,” Finn said. “But it’s looking this way.”
And then it made a sound that sent chills racing down Cass’s spine.
“Spshhhh. Naaaah.” The same noise they’d made the night they attacked the wall. It was shockingly unlike the Weir’s typical cries. They were some unholy mix of electronic and raw animal sound. As uncanny as those were, this new cry was different, more disturbing; almost as if a piece of machinery were trying to form words.
“Not again,” Sky said.
“Hold,” Gamble said.
“Spshhhh. Naaaah.”
“Count?” Gamble asked.
“Still just the one.”
Cass watched the others, trying to get a read on the situation. Everyone was focused, intent on their areas of responsibility. Wick might as well have been oblivious to what was going on through the front door, even though Cass knew he was completely aware; he just kept his eyes fixed on that back hallway. Wren and Painter were still huddled together in that corner. Cass noticed Wren had his knife out.
Some instinct kicked in, and Cass quickly looked back at the stairs and at the same time brought the jittergun up. There was a soft glow reflecting, and through the gap she saw clawed fingers closing to grip the top stair.
A Weir.
Cass did her best to emulate what she’d seen the others do. She hissed and held up one finger, keeping her eyes on the Weir’s hand she could still see. What was it waiting for?
Wordlessly, Gamble glided over to her side, and Cass pointed at the hand. Gamble shook her head. She couldn’t see it, unlike Cass.
“Spshhhh. Naaaah.”
It didn’t matter.
“Back hall, back hall,” Wick called, and then he was firing, and Cass saw the fingers flex on the stair.
She squeezed the trigger just as the Weir pounced down the steps, and caught it with a full burst before it touched the ground. It landed in a wet heap and slid down the stairs towards her, but in the next instant a second Weir was on the steps, and she fired again. It fell backwards, flailing wildly. Gamble fired a burst from her weapon and the second Weir went still.
Wick was sending a steady but measured stream of death down his hall, pop pop pop pop-pop, and Finn fired two shots out the front.
“Help on the hall,” Wick called, and Sky was there in a second, standing behind Wick’s crouched form and adding his firepower.
Gamble ducked under Cass’s gun and moved up two steps. Then Gamble leaned forward and braced herself with one hand to get a better look up the stairs, and then fired off two quick bursts.
“They’re coming in through the roof!” she called, and then bounded up four more steps.
“Help front,” Finn said.
“Sky moving front,” Sky called, and he dashed across the room. Finn was standing right at the door, calmly firing. Sky slid on his knees and started shooting.
“Cover,” Finn said. He ejected the magazine from his rifle and smoothly replaced it with a fresh one. “I’m up.” And he went right back to firing.
“Back hall,” Wick called again. “I’m low.”
“Cass, help Wick,” Gamble said.
Cass flew across the room and took up a position just as she’d seen Sky do a few moments before, leaning over Wick so she could shoot over top of him without impeding his movement. There were several dead Weir strewn in the hallway, all in awkward positions, and three more were charging towards them.
It was a tight angle. Cass fired and saw the doorframe splinter as the burst from her weapon tore through it and into the first Weir. Wick fired twice, and Cass followed with another burst, dropping the last Weir.
“Cover,” Wick said, “keep it covered, Cass.”
“Covering,” Cass answered. And she killed another Weir that tried to round the corner.
Wick swapped magazines on his weapon and had it back up and running in under two seconds. “I’m up.” He emphasized the point by firing off four rounds and dropping another two Weir. There were enough bodies piled in the hall now that other Weir were stumbling and clambering over their fallen. But still they came, heedless of the death that awaited them.
“Gamble,” Sky called. “Get back where we can see you!”
If she answered, Cass couldn’t hear it over the shrieks of the Weir and the gunfire echoing in the cavernous room. The jittergun was starting to get warm in her hand. She wondered how much ammunition she had left.
“Gamble!” Sky shouted.
“Here!” Gamble answered. Cass glanced at the staircase and saw Gamble backpedaling down the steps, firing controlled bursts the whole way. “We’re gonna lose the stairs!”
“Finn?” Sky said.
“Go!” Finn yelled.
“Sky, moving to stairs!” Sky called, and as he moved to help his wife, he let his rifle drop on its sling and transitioned to his sidearm. Cass couldn’t tell what it was, but it was loud.
“Swoop, we’re in the heat!” Gamble said, still firing her weapon. A Weir tumbled down the stairs and Sky shot it twice more. “Where are you?” Then to Sky, “Back, get back off the stairs!” And then “Swoop, say again!”
Since Cass wasn’t dialed in on the channel, she had no idea what Swoop’s response was. But there was a sudden eruption of gunfire from the front of the building, and Finn gave a little whoop.
“There you go,” Finn yelled. “Get on ’em, son!”
“Check, we’re rolling out front side,” Gamble called. “Front side, watch my ping! Finn, stairs!”
“Finn moving to stairs!” he said, moving instantly and stepping into position as soon as Gamble was clear. Gamble strode across the room, snagged her pack off the floor and threw it over a shoulder. Pulled the boys to their feet, shepherded them towards the front door.
“Cass, with me,” she said. “We’re going out the front. We’re coming out!”
Cass fired a final burst and then turned and closed in on Gamble, who was already ushering the boys through the front door.
“Run, boys, run,” Gamble said as they made it to the street. She got them pointed in the right direction, and they both took off. She hesitated, waving Cass on, and then giving her a quick slap on the shoulder as she passed.
The street was littered with dead Weir. Three figures were rapidly approaching: Swoop, Mouse, and Able. Painter and Wren reached them first, but Cass wasn’t far behind.
Able lowered his weapon and caught Wren, and swung him up to carry him. Mouse took charge of Painter.
“Stay right behind me,” Swoop said when Cass reached him. “Right hand on my left shoulder, stand behind me and to my left.”
“Check,” Cass answered, and she slid around behind him into position exactly as directed. Back down the street Gamble was still standing at the entrance, directing the others in their evacuation. Sky was already out, heading their way. Then Finn backed out, but he stopped just outside and kept firing back into the building. A few seconds later, Wick came out backwards in a crouch, dragging his pack with one hand and squeezing off bursts from his rifle with the other. When he was out, both he and Finn went full throttle and unleashed a non-stop torrent of fire.