He looked at each of the HAWCs. “I think this will be your graveyard today.”
He lowered his head, large, dark, glossy eyes glaring at Alex. His remaining men stared unblinkingly at Alex with the same weird eyes. The HAWCs were like statues, with their RG3s pointing unwaveringly at each of the Russians’ heads.
The foggy atmosphere curled around them, if anything becoming more crowded with the floating specks. Alex’s laser-focused attention detected the sound of something large moving out beyond the curtain of mist.
Zlatan cocked his head. “Yes, I know, we are not the only predators that stalk this mountain.” His strange eyes narrowed, as he seemed to be tracking something that even Alex couldn’t see.
The scream that tore through the atmosphere was one of fear and absolute pain. Casey spun at him.
“Erikson.”
“Shit! Pull back,” Alex yelled.
“Another time.” Zlatan’s eyes never left him.
CHAPTER 25
“Hey you!” The tall female HAWC, Erikson, pointed at Scott McIntyre, who was wandering away. “Get the fuck back in here.”
Morag’s head whipped around to where the young NASA scientist had ambled away. His back and shoulders were hunched and his suit looked strangely bulky like he was hiding something underneath it. Also, one of his arms, the one that had been spiked, now hung down by his side, and weirdly lagged all the way down past his knee.
What the hell is up with him, she wondered as the man continued to ignore the HAWC and stumble away out into the gloom.
“Son of a bitch,” Erikson hissed, her head going from the NASA tech to where her comrades were fighting the Russians. “Got no time for this.”
“Scott,” Anne Peterson called. “Scott?” She turned to Russell Burrows, her brows knitted. “I think there’s something wrong with him.”
“You think?” Morag scoffed.
“You two.” Erikson thumbed toward the vanishing Scott McIntyre. “He’s your buddy. Go and get him. You got one minute.”
“I’ll get him,” Russell sighed and ran after Scott.
Morag shifted her facemask so she could see better. McIntyre was staggering on and still only twenty feet away but already becoming indistinct in the smog. Russell caught up to the man, grabbed his arm, and tried to turn him around.
The young NASA scientist pushed Russell hard, making him fall back into the slime. Then without a word, McIntyre began to sprint off into the gloom.
“Hey, stop!” Russell leaped to his feet, and went to go after him, but Erikson immediately raised her RG3 and fired a few near silent shots toward him. The sludge splashed up in a line in front of him and stopped him dead. She showed her teeth.
“Burrows, don’t even think about it. Get back in the group, he wants to play hide and seek, that’s his funeral.”
“But there’s something wrong with him,” Anne complained.
“Something wrong everywhere, lady. Everyone just stay close and stay focused.” Erikson turned back to where the HAWCs were facing off against the Russians.
Morag looked back to where Scott had vanished into the wall of swirling clouds. It’s getting thicker. Soon, they’d barely be able to see six feet in front of themselves, and then they might need to rope themselves together to stop getting separated and lost. She stepped closer to Erikson, trying to see Alex Hunter again — the fighting seemed to have momentarily stopped, and the huge soldiers now just faced each other.
“Is it over?” she asked.
Erikson didn’t turn her head. “Boss’ll let us know when.”
Morag muttered to herself as she headed back to the group. She had to duck under a stunted tree-type thing that was dripping with the mud. She stopped for a moment to stare at it. Did it quiver slightly as I went past? She stayed watching for several seconds, before putting the thought down to reduced visibility, fatigue, and a good dose of nerves. Still, yech.
There was a rounded rock sticking up out of the muck that looked relatively dry. She headed toward it, turned, and sat down heavily.
It moved.
She looked down. It moved again, and Morag leaped to her feet.
“What the hell?”
“What is it?” Anne also sprang upright, and backed away. Behind her Russell and Calvin Renner did the same.
“The rock…” Morag stepped back. “It’s goddamn moving.”
“Get a grip,” Erikson said over her shoulder.
The rock began to rise. “You get a grip — of this.” Morag pointed.
With a sucking noise, the oval-shaped rock lifted from the surrounding ooze. It was about six feet in length and around it smaller mounds began to appear.
“Erikson, gonna need you here… like, right now.” Morag continued to back away. “Calvin…?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m rolling.” Renner had his legs spread and a small camera to his face.
The second mound lifted stickily, and they saw then that it was really part of the larger one — the head. Tucked under a collar of armor plating it gently extended two whip-like feelers that sprung up as the mud slid from a pair of huge glossy eyes. It hissed like a snake.
“Holy fuck, what the hell is that?” Renner had the camera away from his face and behind his visor his eyes were round as poker chips.
“Get back,” Erikson yelled, and stepped to the side of the group, with her RG3 aimed dead center at the thing.
“Don’t shoot,” Anne said, stepping forward. “I think it’s…”
Spindly legs lifted the thing’s head higher and two wicked-looking mandibles eased open about a foot before clacking closed. They yawned open again as the thing faced them, and inside they could see moving parts that looked like buzz saws on the end of mechanical arms. Behind the thing on its rear, it looked like there was a ribbed barrel attached to it.
The thing hissed again and seemed to lunge forward, which was too much for Erikson who let loose a stream of projectiles that ripped all along the thick carapace from its head to its rear. The effect was instantaneous as the huge insectoid erupted in spastic movements accompanied by a constant hiss like a broken steam pipe.
“Oh yeah?” Erikson dialed up her RG3 to a more meaningful projectile size, and let loose again.
This time, fist-sized holes punched into the shell with a sound like cracking tiles. Morag winced as the thing’s hiss changed to a high-pitched squeal. Erikson then blew its head apart.
“Fuck you!” Erikson seemed to vent her rage, fear, and frustration on the thing as she continued to drill it. But even with holes punched through it, and now missing a head, the thing bullocked its way forward, causing Anne to scream as it headed toward her.
It came clear of the mud.
Like a massive cockroach. In fact that was exactly what it looked like, except a thousand times bigger. And she’d heard that cockroaches could live for three days even without a head, and only finally ended up dying from dehydration, rather than the missing brain.
Erikson fired again, and this time she punctured the barrel shaped appendage that was attached to its abdomen — big mistake — it exploded.
The casing was an egg sack containing hundreds of tiny roaches the size of rats. They boiled free, small whip antenna waving, bristled legs moving in a blur. They spread in every direction.
Something that looked like a bear claw gripped Renner’s leg and he yelled in pain. “Ouch, it’s fucking biting me!” He knocked another one off that tried to shimmy up his thigh.