The sun continued to rise, bringing with it the Texas heat and a better view of the landscape between her and camp. Megan stood, stretched, and slowly made her way through the brush that she had plowed through the night before toward camp. She stopped at her tent and crawled inside. She downed a half liter of water and ate a granola bar. She exited the tent and moved cautiously toward camp. She had almost reached the tree that she’d hid behind the night before when a small kit fox darted through the brush before her. She jumped back from the sight and grabbed her chest in fright. She paused a moment to collect herself then walked the remaining distance to the tree from where she’d seen the massacre.
The sight she witnessed beyond the branches she stood safely behind was horrifying. There were bodies and pieces of bodies everywhere. The ground was soaked with blood and the area was already swarming with flies. The faces of the human dead had been mangled and torn beyond recognition, and the clothing that could have identified the remains were shredded and cast aside. Megan put her hand to her mouth and pulled it away as fast as she could and retched. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then wiped away the tears streaming from her eyes with the other.
She circled the brush that surrounded the fire pit, trying not to see any more of the hellish landscape that it had become, and made her way to the path that led to the clearing where the vehicles were parked. She climbed into the cab of Tom’s truck, locked the door behind her, and sobbed. She banged the steering wheel with gripped fists and screamed then calmed herself enough to think.
She opened the center consul and dug Tom’s keys from the mess within, brought the truck to a roar, and punched the gas.
53.
Taylor studied the cave in disbelief.
He ignored the team as they pried themselves from the tunnel behind him and instead shined a light over and up the walls of the cave, noting the multiple ledges, the grass and limbs strewed upon them, and the honeycomb of passages that led in almost every direction.
“What the…?”
Taylor didn’t let Hunter finish.
“Nests,” Taylor declared. “This is where they’ve been bedding down. This is their home.”
“Or one of them,” Drake added. She too was staring at the latticework of bedding areas. “We don’t know how many troops live down here.”
“Troops?” Pearce asked.
“Baboons travel in troops,” Drake explained. “In groups as small as five to groups of over 200 in number.”
“Two hundred?!” Nickerson exclaimed in disbelief. “I ain’t got but maybe 150 rounds.”
“Like you’d be the only one shooting them.” Jordan laughed.
Nickerson’s and Jordan’s joking was interrupted by a shrill bark.
The team swung around to see a fawn-colored baboon perched upon a ledge some 15 feet up. The monstrosity growled and stomped its front feet in anger. Taylor raised his AR until the green laser sight upon it projected a small dot on the beast’s head and squeezed the trigger. The baboon’s head exploded outward in a spray of red and gray matter. The rifle’s report echoed across the cavern, and the animal fell to the floor below with a resounding thud. The team surrounded the oddity and Dejah pushed forward for a closer view of the dead animal.
“Back away from it, honey,” Taylor warned.
“Awwwww,” Dejah cooed. “It’s a monkey.”
The cavern suddenly exploded into a symphony of violent screams and howls. Dozens of baboons appeared on ledges, in pockmarks in the walls, and in the entrances to other tunnels.
“Playtime, motherfuckers!” Nickerson roared as he unleashed a torrent of gunfire toward a wall climbing with monkeys.
“Behind me!” Taylor screamed as he grabbed Dejah by the shoulder and flung her behind him.
“Nickerson. Pearce. Jordan,” Hunter commanded. “Your three and six. Taylor, Drake, and I have nine and noon.”
The team split down the middle to cover their respective areas and released a barrage of gunfire at the advancing primates.
The cave reverberated with gunfire and danced in the strobe lighting of semi- and full-auto muzzle flashes. Green sighting lasers pierced the darkness and traced across the cavern in search of targets.
“Lights!” Taylor screamed over the melee. “Lights on! Blind them!”
Flashlights ignited and the beams they projected pierced the darkness.
Dejah fell to her knees and covered her ears, screaming in confusion and complete fear.
The baboons were too many and too fast.
They zigzagged through the darkness, dancing around gunfire, jetting in and out of the light, and under and over sighting lasers.
A monstrous bull baboon weighing well over 120 pounds plowed out of the darkness and into Nickerson’s chest, knocking him to the ground. The sudden blow caused Nickerson to strafe his rifle upward as he fell. The animal came to rest on Nickerson’s chest and violently slashed at his face and neck with talon-like claws. Nickerson pulled his knife from its sheath on his flak jacket and plunged it into the creature’s side. The animal howled in surprise and pain. It reared back in agony then attacked Nickerson’s neck with berserker speed and tenacity. Nickerson pulled his knife from his attacker’s side then stabbed it into the beast’s flesh once more. The baboon shrilled then ripped Nickerson’s trachea from his throat. Nickerson grabbed what was left of his neck to feel his life pouring forth.
Pearce rushed to his fallen comrade with machete in hand. Pearce swung the blade into and through the primate’s neck, decapitating the animal. Nickerson smiled in response to the action then faded into darkness.
A mob of eight baboons of many sizes surrounded Pearce. He brought his machete blade down and into the skull of the first animal. The beast wobbled then collapsed with the short sword still lodged in its head. Pearce raised his rifle and fired into the remaining seven animals, dropping two and wounding another three. The smallest of the remaining group leapt for Pearce’s face only to land at the end of his rifle barrel instead. Pearce jerked the trigger and the animal was almost halved by the blast, falling to the ground in two barely connected pieces.
Another animal made it to Pearce’s face. Pearce wobbled backward at the impact. He pulled the creature from his face by the scruff of its back and slammed it to the ground. He stepped on the beast’s neck, dropped his rifle to point blank against the animal’s face, and shot it. Pearce raised up to enter the fight once more but was overrun by three baboons that launched themselves into his chest all at once. Pearce was knocked to the ground and the baboons combined on his face and neck with such tenacious force that it ensured he would never rise again.
54.
Taylor didn’t have to give the command.
Didn’t have to say a word.
Hunter and Drake were well aware of the situation and they understood its gravity.
Their team was being overrun.
The attack that had begun with a single animal, turned into a charge by a few dozen, was now an overwhelming, marauding force of more than 50 animals. The scourge had taken out Nickerson, devoured Pearce, and was currently taking the last bit of life from Jordan.
“That one!” Taylor exclaimed over the frantic turmoil, pointing with his chin to a tunnel to his right.
Hunter and Drake responded with actions rather than words.
They fired into the wave of attackers as they pivoted with Taylor and Dejah into a slow retreat toward the exit.
“Out!” Drake ripped, letting her rifle hang at her side by its sling. She pulled her pistol, grabbed Dejah, and led the child into the passage. The tunnel was larger than the last few passages had been at almost seven feet high and was wide enough to allow Drake and Dejah to stand side-by-side with no issue.