Destiny (27 page)

“Sarge, that’s not currently possible.”

“Private, enlighten me as to the WHY in five words or less.”

“He’s chained to a crystal.”

“Repeat that Private!”

“Sergeant, Professor Holdgate chained himself to one of the crystals as soon as you ordered the EVAC.”

Shaking her head angrily Megan’s voice rose in command. “Private, you are to use any means necessary to drag that pompous-.“ A terrified scream cut her off in mid-blast as a burst of automatic fire roared to life up ahead. Although the sounds were only about twenty yards away, a line of crystals completely blocked their view as to what was happening. Dropping the professor’s arm, Megan took off at a running as a bestial roar reverberated through the cavern. As another assault rifle began firing on full automatic, Megan began calling urgently into her MIC.

“Pierson, what is your status? Pierson, I need an update. ” Still running Megan screamed into her MIC. “Talk to me Pierson … PIERSON!”

Sprinting around the crystalline rocks, Megan whipped her M4 up as the rest of her Marines followed after her. Flashes of automatic fire lit up the shadowy line of crystals as the screaming white coated shapes of the science team came streaming towards them hysterically. “Lance Corporal Porter, make sure they don’t run off into the cavern.”

Immediately Porter’s voice began barking out orders. “Prat, Rodriguez, Gordon, get on it!" Tuning out the commotion around her, Megan focused on the pain filled screams of her Marines as she swept into the line of crystals. Throwing her back against the hard stone next to the opening, Megan watched Jordon and Porter get into position across from her as another burst of rifle fire ripped through the air. Her head jerked up as the roaring sound cut off a second later with a wet choking gurgle and the clattering sound of a rifle skidding across stone.

Giving the order with a sharp slash of her hand, Megan sprinted between the massive stones as a wordless battle cry ripped from her lips. Instantly the sound died as Megan came to an abrupt stop. Hanging in midair before her was Private Wilson. His eyes bulging out in horror as he weakly grasped at the gore covered claws sticking out of his chest.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Wilson’s hot blood spray across her face. The metronome sound of Megan’s beating heart echoed in her ears as she stumbled back in shock at the grizzly scene. Above Wilson’s head was the same fang filled maw and glowing red eyes she’d seen frozen inside the other crystals, but before she could react the abrupt roar of assault rifles shattered the moment.

The sound was deafening in the enclosed space as the creature flung Wilson away with a flick of its thick arm. Although Megan registered the sickening crunch of Wilson’s body slammed to a stop, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the nightmarish beast straight out of hell towering above her. Grayish reptilian-like scales covered its naked body, except for its head, chest, and back that were protected by bony misshapen growths. Throwing its head back screeching in rage, the creature spun around to face its newest attackers as Johnson and Pierson emptied their clips into the beast’s hide at point blank range.

The deafening roar of automatic fire abruptly cut off as the creature attacked in a blur. Johnson exploded in a spray of blood, his body cleaved in two, as Pierson was swept off his feet in one smooth motion with a clawed fist through his chest. Megan’s scream was drowned out as the carbine roared in her hands spitting out superheated tungsten carbide rounds. As burst after burst hammered into the monster’s head, and shoulders, Jordan and Porter opened fire next to her. Bright specs of light flared from the creature’s skin in her night vision scope as their rounds slammed home, but instead of killing the monster, their bullets just seemed to piss it off even more.

Backing up uncertainly Megan’s team was forced to hold their fire as the monster turned to face them with Pierson flailing body still impaled on its bloody fist. As the creature’s burning red eyes swept over them, incredulously Megan saw Johnson push himself up with his bloody arms. In a white-knuckled fist, he gripped a cherry-shaped device. By the focused pain-filled look on his face, Johnson knew he was already dead, but that didn’t stop him from pulling the pin with the last of his strength and wrapping his arms around the beast’s clawed feet. As the safety handle flipped into the air, Megan dove for cover with Jordan and Porter a step behind her as Johnson screamed out with his last breath.

“Fire in the hole!”

Tears momentarily blinded Megan’s eyes as she rolled to her knees, ears ringing from the concussion of the explosion as the cold realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She’d just lost a quarter of her squad. Pushing the bloody images away, Megan staggered to her feet forcing the grief away. She’d deal with the loss later, but first she had to get the rest of her soldiers clear of this shit storm. Even half deaf the nightmarish creature’s screeching cries still pierced her ringing head. Whatever the fucking thing was it didn’t die easily. She just hoped they had the firepower to stop it. Taking a quick scan of the horrified faces looking back at her, Megan pulled Jordon and Porter to their feet hollering.

“Everyone back the fuck up now!” At the scraping sounds of claws on stone came from behind them, Megan began waving everyone away holding her own grenade up. “Go … go … go!” Turning around, she threw the grenade through the gap in the crystals.

“Fire in the hole!” The ground shook as Megan shoved Johnson and Pierson ahead of her. Reaching the waiting teams she began bellowing. “We are getting out of here now! Rodriguez, report our status to command. Tell them the target area is hot and we are pulling out.” Pushing her way through the terrified scientists, Megan took up point calling over her shoulder. “Everyone follow me!”

They hadn’t taken three steps when all hell broke loose. From every direction sounds of automatic fire roared as bestial howls began screeching out in the darkness. As the sound of a small avalanche drew her eyes to the nearest crystal, it burst open like an overripe melon as another nightmarish creature struggled to rise onto its hands and knees. Wide-eyed Megan sent a burst at the disoriented beast screaming over her shoulder. “Don’t stop, just keep on moving.” Swatting at the bullets slamming into its misshapen face, the monster fell back in confusion as the rest of her squad let loose with their carbines as they took off after her. Within seconds they were pass the creature.

Unfortunately, that did little to stop the knot of terror forming in the pit of Megan’s stomach as more glowing red eyes began appearing down the dark row of crystals ahead of them. Pressing her lips together, she swore silently. They were running out of time. Slamming a fresh clip into her rifle, Megan’s lungs pumped in a steady rhythm as she mercilessly led the scientists and combat team through the maze of crystalline rows at a dead sprint, which was somewhat of a misnomer. The extra eighty pounds of gear each member of her squad carried greatly reduced their top speed. Still, listening to the ragged gasping breaths coming from the civilians behind her, she knew they’d have to stop soon. They just weren’t trained to take this level of physical punishment.

Coming to a wide gap at the center of the cavern, Megan brought the squad to an abrupt stop, her eyes sweeping the cavern between them and the exit intently. Even though Megan’s body shook from the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she didn’t let it sap her strength as it ran its course. Instead, she rode the high like a surfer, using the excess energy to increase her body’s perception and speed as the dark shadows began crawling with movement around them.

They were too late. Megan’s initial plan had been to disengage and get the noncombatants to safety, but after listening to the cries for help coming from her headset and the mass of glowing red eyes growing in the darkness, there was no question in her mind that escape was no longer possible. Especially when most of her civilian charges were collapsed on the ground gasping for breath in exhaustion. Not that their response was unexpected.

For most people an ‘Adrenaline Rush’ only lasts for about twelve seconds. After that, the body collapses from the depletion of nearly all of its available muscle energy. Interestingly enough, this survival instinct of twelve seconds must be the average time programmed into our hypothalamus needed for most humans to survive disasters in general over the ages. Meaning that if you could survive a life or death situation for at least twelve seconds, you probably have a fifty-fifty chance or better to survive.

Who knows, maybe this response was longer in our cave-born ancestors and this twelve-second physiological response is more of a modern phenomenon. Just enough time to get out of a modern-day life and death situation, but like anything else there are always exceptions to the rule. People that pop culture tagged as ‘Adrenaline Junkies’. Individuals like combat Marines or extreme sports enthusiasts who learned to stretch those twelve seconds out into minutes or even hours.

Psychologists liked to say this reaction in humans was not an instinct, but a learned survival response to a perceived threat. A built-in mechanism of the body’s fight for life mechanism. Pressing her lips together, Megan swore softly. Idiots the lot of them. That same response was called an instinct in every other animal on the planet. A typical institutionalized bullshit response to hide the fact that humans were animals too.

The thoughts flashed through Megan’s mind in the blink of an eye as dust and smoke choked the air while explosions shook the cavern. Around them, Marines fought for their lives in small groups as more and more of the nightmarish creatures rose up out of the darkness. Like a gear shifting into drive Megan’s tactical mind suddenly came to a decision as her eyes dilated. There really wasn’t a better option. Except for the large single crystal in the center, this was the only space she’d seen with a clear field of fire. This was it. This was where they would make their final stand.

Changing the settings on her personal navigation system to broadcast, Megan picked up her MIC broadcasting to the surviving fire teams in the Pit. “Hunter two Charlie calling all surviving Hunters in the Pit. All units are to fall back on my coordinates. I repeat, all units are to fall back on my coordinates, over.”

Slamming her handset back into its cradle, Megan began bellowing out orders. “Up! Get your asses up!” Pulling civilians to their feet, she shouted to the rest of her squad. “Everybody to the middle crystal. We’re digging in!”

Once they got everyone moving in the right direction, Mega pull Rodriguez to her side. “Get Command on the horn. Tell them we need the heavy weapons squads down here now!”

“On it, Sarge.”

“Lance Corporal Porter, I want the squad spread out covering every approach. Work with Jordon to get the surviving fire teams spread out as they come in.”

Feeling a presence at her back, Megan turned to see Lance Corporal Dion Jordon’s grim face. This was the first time she’d ever seen the large black man shaken. “What the hell are we doing Megan? You saw how effective our weapons were against those things.”

Frowning at the familiar use of her first name, Megan grabbed the larger man by the collar of his MCCUU’s hissing under her breath. “Lance Corporal Jordon, I expect you to act like a Marine!” Cocking her head towards the frightened civilians, Megan laid into him. “If you can’t then go ahead and sit your ass down with the civilians, because I don’t have time for this pussy-ass bullshit.” Ignoring the angry look spreading across Dion’s face she hammered her point home. “Our weapons might not have killed these things, but we sure the hell can hurt them. If they can be hurt, then by God we can find a way to kill them. Does that make sense to you Lance Corporal?”

“Yea.”

“Yea? Yea what, Lance Corporal? Yea like I need to stick a boot up your ass?

“Hoo-rah!” Looking straight ahead, Jordan snapped to attention answering smartly. “Yes Sergeant, I’m glad to be a United States Marine and to have this opportunity to send these fuckers back to whatever hole they crawled out of!”

“Excellent, now get your ass on the perimeter.” Megan’s eyes lingered for a moment on Dion’s back as the Lance Corporal quickly got into a prone position a short distance away. Anger was the surest way to keep him on track. Turning back around at the scraping sounds of boots on stone, Megan saw the first bloody fire team come running out of the darkness. The surviving group of Marines were from three different squads and looked like they’d been through hell. Without waiting for orders, Porter got them into position as more and more of third company’s Raiders began streaming out of the darkness.

Dion was angry, but that was okay. Megan could work with angry, but not that helpless bullshit. That shit just pissed her off. You’d think by now she’d have learned never to get wasted around her soldiers, but that’s what you got for shitting where you ate. Dion would never have back talked her if she hadn’t fucked him. Unfortunately, Megan liked alcohol and big men, especially large, broad-shouldered ones like Dion. Normally she would have handled his freak-out with a little more privacy, but there just wasn’t time to treat him with kid gloves. Right now she needed him to be a Marine.

Studying the massive crystalline shape that dominated the center of the clearing. There was no question in Megan’s mind that the snake-woman frozen inside was a Gorgon. The serpent-like tail clearly marked her as the monster of legend from Greek mythology. A creature of whose look could turn a human to stone, and cursed by Athena to live an immortal life of loneliness for having the misfortunate of being raped by Poseidon. Poor woman, Megan had always felt like the Gorgon had gotten a bad rap throughout history.