Pilch is in shock, “Smith, no.”
“You hate ’em, I know you do, Pilch. Just shoot him.”
Yusif looks up to Pilch.
“Kill him, Pilch! Kill him!”
Pilch turns his back on Smith.
“No!”
Monte kicks Smith in the head, “Hey!”
Smith looks from Pilch to Monte.
“I heard enough outta’ you,” Monte says.
“I can feel it, on the edge of perception,” Smith whines.
“Heaven?” Johnson asks, hopeful.
“I don’t know, but I need to get there and I can’t. Please.”
“I can help you,” Monte says.
Smith looks to him, “Yeah, kill ’em, Sarge, kill ’em.”
Monte takes aim at Smith.
He gives Monte a demonic smile, “You’ll never make it out of here alive.”
“You don’t have to worry about that now,” Monte says as he fires.
The men watch the ball of light float into the ceiling and then look at the corpse of their friend, stunned.
Monte looks to Johnson, “Johnson.”
Johnson stares at Smith.
“Johnson!”
He looks to Monte.
“Check the door.”
Johnson nods and moves down the hallway. Yusif prays over Camir’s lifeless corpse. Vanessa follows after Johnson.
Johnson opens the door. He looks inside, followed by Vanessa. The room has four cots and a table. Ancient weapons hang on the wall, and a journal and hairbrush lay on a table. Vanessa looks at the swords on the wall and an intricate painting of a city on the sea.
“Carthaginian,” she states.
Pilch lights a cigarette, “Who?”
“Rome’s ancient enemy. A great city… never mind.”
Yusif raises his scimitar.
“What are you doing?” Monte asks.
“Saving him,” Yusif gives his old friend a last look, then beheads him. Monte looks on, understanding.
Johnson opens the next door. Vanessa looks in.
A statue stands in the center of the room with a water pool at its base. Pilch notices the statue is holding a beautifully gilded gold jewelry box. Vanessa assesses the artifacts.
“Babylonians. This is an incredibly rare find!”
Pilch steps in and picks up a gold jewelry box. Vanessa starts to go in, Monte grabs her.
“Let’s go.”
“But these are once-in-a-lifetime discoveries!”
Monte pushes her down the tunnel. Vanessa looks back, disappointed. Monte looks to Pilch, “Leave it and move.”
Pilch sighs, “Bet Matty’s little girl would like this.”
Monte takes in a breath to shout and then notices Pilchs’ face; he’s still shaken from the incident with Smith, “Leave it, buddy.”
Pilch sets it back down and walks out. Ahead, Vanessa sees another door. She opens it.
A series of bunks line the walls. Resting on each bunk are remains of chain mail armor and piles of bone dust.
“What are they?” Oddball asks.
“Assyrian, I think, could be older”
She starts to step in, but Monte jerks her out and slams the door shut.
“I must document these rooms.”
“This ain’t a field trip lady,” Monte snaps and pushes her away from the door.
“Doctor,” she informs him.
He shoves her down the hallway roughly, “Doctor,” he chides.
“Come on, Sarge. Let her, uh… document. It sounds important,” Oddball whines.
“Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, this is why I’m here.”
“Lady, take a look around you. These boys are my responsibility and I ain’t losin’ none ’cause you want to ‘document’ a bunch of crap!”
Monte swings the last door open. His eyes go wide as he sees 4 armored skeletons laying in the cots. Vanessa looks in, “Greek, look at the shields, from Alexander’s personal guard,” she starts to step in, and Monte stops her.
“No!”
“They’re long dead…”
One of the skeletons turns toward her. Vanessa eyes go wide. The four start to rise, but before they can stand the old bones burst into powder and their armor falls to the floor. The balls of energy escape into the ceiling with shrieks of agony. Monte slams the door closed.
“Geez, Sarge, you ain’t gotta be so rude,” Oddball tell him.
Vanessa and Monte share a look.
“It’s OK,” she tells Oddball.
Yusif pushes past them, “We must continue.”
Chapter 14
Yusif leads them on. The tunnel is gradually becoming more loose rock than stone.
“Slow down,” Monte calls ahead to him.
Upset at the loss of his friend Yusif ignores him and pushes on.
Dark holes lead into the depths on both sides, some big enough for a man. Unknown creatures scurry into the shadows. The men move cautiously.
“You’re sure this is the right way?” Monte asks Vanessa.
“If the map is correct.”
Oddball looks into one of the caves leading off the main tunnel back into darkness and then turns to Johnson, “So we’re almost out of here, right? All them Zumbi, Zombie thingies are behind us, right? No reason they should know where we are, right?”
Johnson looks up to see caves leading off above them, “Just keep tellin’ yourself that, buddy.”
A muffled scream comes from behind them, and they all look back.
“Where is Hans?” Krugger asks.
Uneasy, the men look into the dark holes; water drips and the sounds of movement come from all around them. A German soldier walks back, looking for Hans.
From one of the dark holes behind them a spear is thrust out and into the German’s gut; the man screams as the spear is jerked out along with a portion of his entrails. As he drops to his knees, another spear hits him in the chest.
“Look out!” Krugger yells as he jerks a spear and pulls a leather-clad woman warrior from the passage next to him that was attempting to run him through, “What do we have here?” he says with a smile. She hisses at him, an inhuman sound, and Krugger looks at her face to see it’s weathered and evil. She reaches for a dagger in her belt. “No you don’t,” Krugger tells her and in a quick move he snaps her neck and throws her back into the hole.
A rope noose descends from the ceiling and catches a German around his neck and jerks him up toward a hole in the ceiling. Krugger grabs hold of his feet to try and pull him down.
Vanessa screams. Oddball looks to see her being pulled up into another hole by her neck.
“Vanessa!” he grabs her feet.
Krugger struggles to hold on, “Your knife, use your knife!” Krugger is lifted off the ground. The warrior whose neck he broke steps back out, her head twisted awkwardly and hanging limp. She comes at him, and he kicks her in the chest, “Cut the line!” he calls up.
Monte and Karl fire wildly into the holes as more leather-clad warriors attack.
Pilch struggles with a warrior as she tries to run him through with a spear, “Three months without a dame, and it’s gotta be this.”
Muller steps up and shoots her in the face.
“Thanks…” Pilch turns to see that it’s Muller and bites his lip with frustration.
“Pilch!” Monte screams.
Pilch looks to Monte, who tosses him his rifle. Pilch looks at Muller and then turns to shoot an attacking warrior.
Oddball struggles to hold onto Vanessa, “Hang on.”
Krugger tries to save his comrade’s life and beat back the crippled warrior. From the shadows, a warrior emerges, with spear in hand. “No, bitch,” he kicks her in the face and then loses his grip, falling to the ground. The German on the rope is jerked up screaming. Something in the ceiling above makes a deep rumbling growl followed by the sickening sound of crushing bone. The German’s screams abruptly stop, and Krugger rolls away as a fountain of blood rains down from above.