Decamp said, “As I just told Officer Malloy, this situation is going to get worse very quickly. There are thousands of arachnids in this area and all of them are being mutated and will soon be out, searching for food. This facility is fairly isolated, but the spiders will soon begin looking for food closer to Bergen.”
“Jesus,” Calvin said. “We need to call in and let headquarters know what’s happening.”
“I don’t believe you’ll be able to do that, Calvin,” Decamp said.
Ignoring Decamp, Calvin pulled out his radio. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to call in for back-up earlier or for the fucking National Guard. Blame it on giant fucking spiders.
“Dispatch, this is SWAT Team One. Come in please,” Calvin said. There was no answer. Just a hiss of static. “Come in, dispatch.”
Again static, but this time Calvin thought he could hear a sort of whispering sound. He tried to talk again but the whisper seemed to grow louder, echoing from the radio. Calvin couldn't make out any distinct words, but he seemed to hear a series of sounds.
“Something's wrong. All I hear is what sounds like someone repeating gibberish. Like atlachna something.”
“Atlach-Nacha,” said Decamp. “The spinner in darkness.”
“What?”
Decamp said, “One of the Great Old Ones. An ancient god associated with spiders.”
“You're not making any sense, Decamp,” Calvin said.
“I'm making perfect sense. You just lack a point of reference for understanding.”
“I'm a smart guy. Explain it to me.”
“All right. All of you, listen please. My name is Carter Decamp and this is my associate, Mr Crowley. We are both experts in what you would call the occult. The supernatural.”
“Bullshit,” said Jenkins.
Crowley said, “Since you're only alive right now because you're sitting inside of Decamp's magic circle, you might want to listen to him.”
“If it makes you feel better, imagine there's a scientific cause for what's happening. Radiation or some such. In any case, you are surrounded by giant mutated spiders and there will be worse things later.”
“But what's causing it?” Perez said.
“In simple terms, an incursion from another dimension. Call it the Outer Dark. The void. I refer to it as the other side. But it's a dimension, the very nature of which is inimical to our own. Something from that dimension has crossed over into this one. A being or an artifact, and it is causing these spiders to mutate. The fact that your radio is manifesting voices from beyond and that they mention Atlach- Nacha perhaps explains why spiders are the first things affected. But there will be more.”
“This is fucking crazy talk,” said Jenkins. “What we need to worry about is how the hell we're going to get out of here and warn the town.”
“Very true, Officer Jenkins,” said Decamp. “How would you suggest we do that?”
“We're in a van, sir. How about we drive away?”
“Would you just leave whatever is causing this to continue its baleful influence?”
“We can come back with flamethrowers or whatever it takes.”
Crowley said, “If it gets a foothold it will take more than that to stop it. Decamp and I came here because we both were made aware of a flare-up of Eldritch power entering our reality. Don't interrupt, Jenkins. Just trust me on this. We thought whatever was causing the incursion was inside this facility. We were wrong. But it's close and we have to find it and deal with it.”
“How will you do that?” said Tessa.
Crowley smiled, and Tessa leaned away from him, resisting the urge to flinch. “Won't know that until we find it.”
“What brought you here, specifically?” Calvin said. “You got some sort of spook energy detector?”
“In a way. Jonathan is sensitive to such things and I have a grimoire that gives me warnings of this sort of occurrence.”
“But you say you missed your mark.”
“Only by a narrow margin,” said Crowley. “Now that I know this is related to Atlach-Nacha, I can pinpoint the source. It should be somewhere on the slope behind this plant.”
Decamp said, “What we need to know is can we count on you to help us reach it. The situation has grown out of hand faster than we anticipated.”
West, who had been sitting quietly said, “You want us to go back out there and fight our way past those things? You are out of your minds.”
Decamp said, “In some ways it's a moot point. The circle of protection that surrounds this van only works as long as I'm inside of it. It can only last a few minutes once I leave it.”
“So it's go with us or stay here with the spiders,” said Crowley. That smile of his flashed again. Either he was enjoying their discomfort, or he was a madman.
“Maybe we won't let you go,” Jenkins said.
Crowley said, “That would be an error in judgment.”
“We're going,” said Calvin. “Like the man said, we don't have much choice. Serve and protect, people. That's what we do. We can't let these fuckers overrun Bergen. What's the plan?”
Crowley, said “What sort of suspension does this van have?”
Calvin said, “Top of the line. Four wheel drive. Heavy duty shocks. Why?”
“Maybe we can drive to the source of this situation.”
Decamp said, “Would you take the wheel, Jonathan?”
“Since you asked so nicely, sure.”
There was something seriously unsettling about Crowley. He looked average enough, but Calvin just got a weird vibe off the guy. Of course, given the way things were going that might be good.
Decamp said, “As soon as we leave the circle the spiders will be on us. We don't want them turning the van over so we're going to have to take some action. What weapons do you have available?”
Perez said, “Couple more M-4s and a pump-action shotgun in the locker behind you. Beyond that it's what you’re looking at.”
“All right,” said Decamp. “Let's use two more of the flash-bangs to send the spiders around us running. It's dark out now so they won't like the light and the noise.”
Calvin voiced the question he had thought of earlier, “Can spiders hear?”
“Strictly speaking, no,” said Decamp. “They don't have ears. But they have sensory nerves on their legs that look like hairs. They can pick up vibration. They don't see well either, despite their multiple eyes. Mostly light and motion. It makes them quite susceptible to the flash-bangs.”
Jenkins said, “We're really going to do this? All right. I'll use my M8-4s. Just tell me when.”
The big man got up and opened the van's side door. Calvin felt his stomach lurch as he looked out at a sea of gleaming eyes and waving legs. He had never really been afraid of spiders before. That had sure as hell changed.
Crowley got into the front of the van and started the engine. He turned on the headlights and that sent a lot of the spiders scurrying for cover. He said, “They don't like the high beams. That will help.”
Decamp said. “Everyone shield your eyes. Use the grenades, Jenkins.”
Jenkins flipped the grenades out of the door and Calvin put his forearm over his eyes. He heard the blast and felt the concussive force and then the van was in motion. The spiders didn't indeed like the headlights. They scrambled away as the van plowed around the side of the building, heading for the slope behind the structure. A few fell in behind the vehicle and Perez shot any that came to close through the rear window.
They hit the slope and the van found traction and started up. Calvin could feel the bottom of the van scrape on rocks and limbs and he had a moment of panic as he realized the vehicle could get stuck at any second, leaving them in the dark woods with the spiders. He glanced around the van at the faces of his companions and realized he wasn't the only one having such thoughts.