Ben sailed through the air. Missing the creek, he thudded into the clay bank, spraying up mud and coating a nearby tree. The frustrated howls and shrieks of the Variants chasing them frayed Jack’s already-shot nerves. Bloody things never give up. Jack clicked his talk button on the radio.
“Dee, guys, cover us. We’re nearly at the tower.”
Hiss and static belched out over his radio. Jack gave it a whack. “Oh thank goodness, Jack. You’re going to have to run for the river. There’s too many of them. They’re climbing over the zip-lines.”
Jack had reached Ben, and was helping the old SAS soldier to his feet. Ben clicked his own radio. “Dee, take the Doc and go. Get to the LZ. Eric, set some charges and blow those fucking things to kingdom come. We’ll catch up. Dee, it’s vital you get the Doctor to safety.”
There was a slight pause before Jack heard the response. “Copy that. Affirmative. Hurry, guys.”
Ben looked up at Jack. “All right, Legolas. Lead us out of here.”
Jack grinned as he took off at a run down the creek, jumping over moss-covered rocks and splashing through the brackish water. His movie obsession had saved him again. He loved that.
He led Ben down the valley and out into a small clearing. He recognised the river gorge up ahead; Jack had taken Dee through here on many trips, enjoying the history and the way the sun bounced off the iron-rich quartz that lined the cliff faces. He was aiming for the campsite up ahead. Thoughts of his cabin flashed through his mind. It was only three kilometres away. He knew he had several weeks’ supplies there. Jack desperately wanted to see if his family had escaped the Variant purge. He glanced to his right, and his heart soared as he watched two cradles zipping across the valley. Two figures crawled out at the final tower. There was no mistaking the petite frame of his rock helping Katherine out.
The river he was searching for emerged out of the morning light, mists swirling over its surface. Jack glanced back, looking for Ben. It amazed him how the 65-year-old kept going.
He leapt off the small bank and plunged below the water, enjoying the chill. The sweat, mud, and frustrations washed off him as he kicked to the surface.
Jack realised the water wasn’t much deeper than his height, so he bounced off the bottom into the shallow water and pushed himself out onto the rock-strewn sand bank in the middle. He looked at the shrieking and howling Variants as they poured down the valley towards them. Several had climbed up the zip-lines and were hauling themselves over to the other towers. Jack shook his head. He had never seen them climb before.
He glanced over and watched Dee help Tony off the last tower, Katherine hovering nearby. Eric bounded down the ladder and pushed them away. A few Variants were scrambling their way across the last zip-line, eager to taste the fleeing man-flesh. Jack and Ben’s radio crackled.
“Fire in the hole,” yelled Eric, and three huge explosions tore through the once-peaceful landscape. Ben grabbed his shoulder, shoving him down onto the sandbank as the shockwave thumped into them. It felt like someone had reached into his brain and split it apart. He pressed his hands over his ears, desperate to lessen the pain. Heat washed over them. It was like the first time he had hopped off the plane onto the tarmac of Sydney Airport and into the heat of Australia. Coming from the milder temperate climate of New Zealand, Sydney’s heat had been a shock.
Ben hauled him to his feet and yelled something at him. Jack signaled he couldn’t hear anything above the ringing in his ears. The light from the sun seemed to strobe around him. Ben grasped him by both shoulders, getting his attention. He pointed towards Dickey Flat and signaled a chopper. Understanding, Jack took a couple of unsteady steps after him. Nothing like a movie explosion at all.
Jack splashed through the water. Acrid smoke blew over the gorge, invading his olfactory nerves. The stench of burning flesh caused him to gag. He had no sympathy for the wretched beings as they lay scattered about, screaming and burning.
Water cascaded off Jack as he jumped up the bank and ran out onto the grassy clearing. The ringing in his ears was beginning to fade, and a cacophony of noises filtered through. Howls, shrieks, the thumping of the chopper. He reached Dee and the others. Jack threw open his arms and pulled her into a hug. Squeezing her tight, he didn’t want to let go for fear of never being able to hold her again. He nuzzled her neck, kissing it. Enjoying her comforting embrace.
She leant back and whacked him on the arm. “Don’t do that to me again, you bastard!”
Jack grinned at her. She was smiling, tears falling down her flushed cheeks.
“Sorry, baby. I thought we were finished.” Dee sniffed and wiped her nose.
Jack pulled her back into the hug. “I love you so much.”
“And I you, you silly thing.”
She kissed him. Jack reveled in the sensation.
The howls of the gathering Variants gaining on them reminded him of the danger they still faced. He heard Ben yell into his radio as the chopper hovered above the clearing.
His radio crackled. “It’s too hot, I can’t land. I’m running on fumes. I’m sorry. I’ll come back for you.”
Jack looked up into the morning sky, horrified to see the chopper banking away.
Ben screamed into his radio, “Don’t you fucking leave us! I’m going to kill you, you piece of shit!”
Jack spun towards the Variants gathering on the opposite river bank. There were dozens, if not hundreds now, lined up and ready to attack. They jumped up and down howling, but waiting. Waiting, but for what?
A deep baritone bellow echoed up the gorge, bouncing off the steep cliffs. Jack flicked his eyes to Dee. She reached down and checked that her safety was off.
Katherine Yokoyama cowered behind Dee, her eyes flickering around. Fear was evident on her face. Even from where Jack stood, he could see her trembling.
Another bellow sounded out, and the Variant horde parted. An Alpha Variant lumbered into view. It stood at least seven feet tall, with huge, bulky muscles. Its skull had distorted into an oblong egg shape, giving the Variant an alien-like appearance. But that wasn’t what chilled Jack. The Alpha had a swollen, deformed left forearm ending in a huge pincer-like claw. It reminded him of a cross between Hellboy and a crab. It glared at Jack and the Renegades. It raised up its deformed arm and slammed it into the ground, bellowing.
This was the signal the Variants had been waiting for. They split and ran down the banks towards the two foot bridges spanning the river.
Still afraid of the water, then?
Jack spun around, scanning the grass clearing behind them. Variants streamed out of the thick bush, snarling and hissing as they leapt over each other, eager to taste flesh.
“Renegades! Into the river! Head south into deep water,” Ben yelled.
Jack reacted, pushing Katherine ahead of him. He fired off a burst into the charging beasts. Katherine had stopped in the knee-high water, terror etched on her face. Jack urged her farther into the river. “Keep going!”
He caught up to Ben. “Sir, our cabin is three kilometres upstream.”
Ben nodded, his eyebrows rising. “All right, Jack. Let’s hope we make it.”
The Renegades waded out into deeper water, rifles raised up, watching as the Variant hordes streamed across the bridges. The deformed Alpha led a squad of beasts up the far side, tracking their movements.
Jack kept glancing upstream, looking for the deep swimming hole he knew was coming up. The swarm of Variants had reached their side of the river, joining with the other beasts. They were now surrounded, with only the river remaining clear.
Some Variants had stayed on the bridges, howling and shrieking at the group of humans. Several jumped up onto the wire rope side, clinging to it with their claws.