Abomination (31 page)

“How was your flight?” asked Ryan with a handshake.

“I’ve never been the only passenger on a plane,” replied
Derek.

“I apologize for no in-flight movie,” said Steve,
holding out his hand. “We didn’t have much time to prep.”

“Derek, this is my good friend Steve.”

“So you’re the man I need to thank for the ride,” said Derek,
shaking his hand. “You’re also the guy making sure Jennifer is safe, correct?”

“On both counts, yes,” said Steve.

“You have a very difficult and important job, Steve.”

“One I take very seriously.”

“For everyone’s sake, I hope so.”

“Let me get you caught up on the details of the
mission,” interrupted Ryan, sensing Derek’s apprehension. “We have a room next
door we’ve set up for the briefings.”

“As soon as I’m done here, I’m back on that plane,” said
Derek. “Do both of you understand?”

“We do,” said Ryan. “The plane doesn’t leave the runway
unless you’re on it.”

“Okay,” said Derek, “I’m all yours.”

Ryan and Derek had to walk by nearly every man on the
assault team. They had heard about his abilities, and each tried to size him up
as he walked past. Derek didn’t make eye contact with any of them. He was
focused on doing the job as quickly as possible and getting back to Atlanta before sunrise. He was already starting to worry he had made a mistake leaving
Jennifer.

*****

As soon as the sun went down, Joshua was on the move. He
didn’t waste any time in returning to the woods behind Jennifer’s house.
Cloaked in darkness, he made his way to the foxhole Derek had created as a
place to watch and protect her. He climbed inside and pulled the camouflaged
tarp over his head. He saw her shadow through the curtains as she moved from
the kitchen to the living room. He felt a sense of urgency to kill her, bury
the body, and get back to the safe house as soon as possible.

He knew they’d be leaving for Maine in less than twelve
hours. Joshua was already devising plans to postpone their return to Georgia indefinitely. He’d keep them on the move so Derek wouldn’t be able to easily check
on Jennifer. He figured after a few weeks, or possibly even a few months,
Derek’s connection to his girlfriend would become weaker. But in the off chance
he discovered she had been killed, he already had a story created that would
point the finger of blame at Ryan and the feds.

After lying in wait for nearly an hour, she opened the
back door and began to light the Tiki torches and candles. She turned on the
music and sat down with a cocktail. Joshua breathed deeply, taking in the
moment during his favorite phase of the hunt. He enjoyed knowing what they
didn’t. He enjoyed knowing he would soon be taking his prey from a peaceful
night on the deck into an unimaginable nightmare. He reveled in the silence
before his attack. It was as if he were allowing them to have a few more
moments of serenity before he would introduce sheer terror into their world. A
world they’d no longer be a part of when he finished. He gave her the moment
and then slowly climbed out of his hole.

******

Ryan finished giving Derek the details of the assault on
the lab. He’d be going in with the Alpha team consisting of Ryan, Dallas, and
Steve. Their mission was to quickly get to Alex and engage him with maximum
violence. Two other four-man teams would breach the lab at separate locations
and converge at the highly secured Didache section of the building. Their
assignment was to take out any security forces they encountered along the way
and seal off possible exits the Colonel could use to escape.

They had four hours until the assault. Ryan took Derek
to the small office Dallas was using as a bunk room to grab a few hours of
sleep. Dallas didn’t budge as Derek spread a few blankets on the floor in a
corner of the room. He was nearly asleep before Ryan killed the lamp and closed
the door. He found Steve talking to some of his men who were re-checking their
gear.

“He may be as strong as four men, but he went down like
a baby when I turned out the lights,” said Ryan, motioning Steve to join him at
a nearby table.

“I’m guessing he’s had a busy couple of days as well,”
said Steve, walking with Ryan. “But I’m actually a little surprised he can
sleep as uptight as he is about leaving Jennifer.”

“Yeah, he didn’t seem too confident in our ability to
protect her,” said Ryan, taking a seat beside his longtime friend.

“Like I said, I don’t really blame him with our track
record,” said Steve.

“It’s a little different now,” said Ryan. “I’m not
playing by their rules anymore.”

“Speaking of which,” said Steve, “Are you ready for
this?”

“Of course I’m ready.”

“No, you know what I mean. Are you ready to cross the
line? You’re not going in there serving a warrant and identifying yourself as a
federal agent. You’re going in there looking for revenge.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Fuck yes, I am. But my situation is considerably
different from yours. I’m already on the other side you’re looking to join. I
know what the consequences are going to be of my actions tonight. You have no
idea how you’re going to react when we finish this. And to be perfectly honest,
I’m a little concerned you may hesitate to pull the trigger without the usual
warrant or without identifying yourself.”

“What are you saying, Steve?”

“Look, I’m not questioning your ability or courage. You
know that. But what I am saying is, you may want to hang back until we secure
the facility. Derek can do the job of a four-man team by himself. He’s got
everything to lose if he doesn’t go in there like a bat out of hell. I say we
turn him loose, follow the bodies after they hit the floor, and watch his back.
I’ll make sure we put the Colonel on ice and wait for you. That way you don’t
get your hands dirty. Well, too dirty.”

“I’m leading Alpha team inside with you, Derek, and Dallas
behind me,” said Ryan, narrowing his eyes at Steve. “I’m staying on point until
we clear the building and reach the Colonel. Am I clear?”

“Okay, okay,” said Steve, holding up his hands and
backing down. “I just feel like I’m turning a boy scout into a pirate. I’m not
exactly comfortable sitting idly by and watching you flush your career down the
toilet. But I’ll respect your wishes and I won’t bring it up again, okay?”

“Thank you.”

*****

He silently slithered down to the creek bordering the
edge of Jennifer’s backyard. The normally ankle deep water was up to his waist
after a series of afternoon thunderstorms. Even with his enormous strength,
Joshua had to concentrate on his footing or be swept downstream. When he made
it to the bank on the other side, a solitary bolt of lightning flashed its
warning of another storm beginning to form in the pitch black summer sky.

Joshua slowly raised his head above the creek wall,
expecting to see her scrambling to extinguish the candles and return to the
false safety of the house. Instead, she sat motionless as if in a daydream. He
imagined her thoughts were of the future with Derek. He knew she was the one
filling his head with lies about a return to normalcy. He grew angry at the
audacity of her believing she had more power and control over Derek than he
did. It was time for Joshua to cut the ties that bound him to her. He scanned
the backyard one last time, making sure they would be alone when he took her.

He lowered himself from the steep bank and took two
steps back to the water’s edge. The six-foot muddy wall was slippery, and he
needed room to launch himself to the grassy yard above. Joshua knelt by the
torrent as another bolt of lightning lit up the night sky. A sharp clap of
thunder indicated the fast growing storm was also preparing to unleash chaos
onto her world.

He took a deep breath as the transformation caused every
nerve in his body to electrify. He opened his mouth wide to allow the fangs to
push through his gums. The rustling trees masked the sound of the bones
cracking and popping in his fingers as they grew into hideous claws. His face
turned pale, and the blue veins under his skin pulsated with each accelerated
heartbeat. As another bolt flashed in the sky, he uncoiled from his kneeling
position and cleared the bank with several feet to spare. Joshua landed on the
grass at the edge of the backyard and prepared to hurl himself at top speed
toward her. He still had over thirty yards to cover before he reached the deck.
As he planted his back foot like an Olympic sprinter ready to fire off the
line, he slipped.

He assumed the ground was waterlogged from the earlier
storm as a large divot of grass flew into the air behind him from under his
boot. He looked up to see her still unaware and undisturbed sitting in her
chair staring into the darkness. The building storm was helping him remain
concealed from his prey. In the slippery yard, he wouldn’t be able to reach his
top speed of forty miles per hour as he started running to close the distance
between him and the first stair of the deck.

Joshua was only able to propel himself less than twenty
feet before she launched out of her chair, dropped to one knee, and raised her
weapon at her confused attacker – It was Michelle. As he planted his foot to
stop his advance and maneuver out of her line of fire, he quickly realized the
water soaked yard had not been created by an earlier storm. The team had
effectively eliminated his advantage of inhuman speed and agility.

At that point, Joshua wasn’t terribly concerned with his
inability to maneuver at full capacity. He knew she would probably miss her
first shot as he pulled his weapon, knowing he wouldn’t miss his. But before he
was able to level his gun sights, the entire backyard was bathed in intense
white light. The team had also effectively eliminated his advantage of inhuman
accuracy and rate of fire with a weapon. At that point, Joshua became
concerned.

Michelle squeezed the trigger, and as he suspected, her
first shot missed but only by a few inches. What Joshua didn’t know was the
first shot was a signal. Before he could regain his footing and return fire,
every window on the back side of the house exploded outward as the large
caliber bullets cleared a path to their target. The first projectile traveling
at 3,000 feet per second to impact Joshua was fired from Tom’s sniper rifle.
The .50 caliber round tore through his hip, nearly severing his left leg from
his torso.

Two three-man teams concealed in the hedges flanking
Jennifer’s house added to the chorus of bullets. Joshua fell to the ground,
stunned, while firing blindly into the white light. The wet ground around him
erupted into dozens of tiny volcanoes as all twelve guns aimed at the same man
delivered their payload.

Earlier in the day when Michelle and Tom received word
from Derek that Joshua had returned to the hideout, they started setting the
trap. They’d been working on a plan for days, trying to figure out how to even
the playing field. Joshua’s strength wasn’t as much a factor as his speed,
agility, and accuracy with a weapon.

Jennifer had been put on a plane two days earlier and
was resting comfortably with Steve’s wife and children at an undisclosed tropical
location. They knew Michelle would pass as Jennifer at a distance with a wig
transforming her brunette hair to red. What they didn’t know when they started
working on the trap was how to slow him down. The answer came with the first
storm. As Tom was walking through the backyard mapping out firing positions, he
noticed there was little traction in the slippery grass. He realized the house
was built on a flood plain and was one more downpour away from becoming a
marsh. He immediately dropped two hoses in the middle of the yard and left them
running for hours.

Dallas came up with the idea of installing high-powered
floodlights with the purpose of instantly blinding Joshua when the shooting
began. Tom covered nearly every window on the back side of the house with a
tinted film which would allow Steve’s men to see out, but would obstruct Joshua
from seeing in. It gave them the advantage of taking their time lining up gun
sights on the target. Each man was behind a heavy weapon mounted on a tripod
for stability and increased accuracy. As a backup, two teams were concealed in
positions flanking the house and would advance on Joshua during the attack.
They’d also give chase in the unlikely event he survived the first round of
fire and attempted to escape through the woods. As insurance, a third team was
stationed along the path leading to Jennifer’s backyard as insurance which cut
off his only way out.

Joshua managed to roll away from the initial hail of
bullets but didn’t get far before Tom fired another round from the sniper
rifle. The huge bullet ripped a large hole through his abdomen, flipping him
onto his back. The only movements afterward were his arms extending up to the
sky as if he was reaching out for something to help him get back on his feet.
Several more shots were fired into him before his arms dropped and he lay
motionless in the middle of the yard. As if on some kind of celestial queue,
the sky answered by releasing a heavy downpour of rain. The order to cease fire
was broadcast over their radios. The two teams stationed at the sides of the
house cautiously approached the downed killer. They stopped less than ten feet
away from him.

“He’s still alive,” said the lead shooter, hearing the
gurgling sounds emanating from his wrecked body. “I don’t know how, but this
piece of shit is still alive.”

Michelle coolly walked up to Joshua who was spitting up
blood with every agonized breath. He slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly
at her as she removed her wig. He narrowed his gaze and managed a slight smile
as he coughed. She calmly raised her gun and put the front sight between his
eyes.

“The only regret I have is that I can’t make this hurt
more,” said Michelle. “But I’m glad the last thing you’ll ever feel is a woman
killing
you
.”