Awakening: The First Tale of the Trine (Trine Series Book 1) (10 page)

If the Army and the Navy

Ever look on Heaven's scenes,

They will find the streets are guarded

By United States Marines.

Individual bugs which had not left the bodies of those they were devouring sat bloated all around the room. Stopping at each cubicle, Delmont ripped out a monitor or desktop tower, crushing each of the monsters gleefully. The fumes from their shattered frames hung thick and oily in the air, finally bringing his song to an end as he gagged and coughed. Realizing that his chest, arms and legs were covered in acidic goo, Delmont ripped off his tie and the remains of his shirt, wiping at the welts seared into his flesh. In the silence that followed his rampage, he heard hysterical sobbing coming from a tall cabinet near the far wall.

“It’s all right,” he called, moving closer. “It’s Delmont, I’ll help you get out of here.” Opening the cabinet, he found two of the team, Lena and Nadia, clutched together. “Don’t look at this,” he told them quietly. “Just head out this way and run by the receptionist desk. Hit the panic button. Then run out into the parking lot and look for a black Lincoln Navigator. There will be two men inside. Tell them to get their asses up to the second floor, Delmont needs them.”

Stunned, the two women stared at the towering figure momentarily. Delmont’s pants were shredded, his undershirt was pitted, and he was covered in seeping burns. Despite his warning, they looked around the room, then fled from the horrific scene through the back hall. Delmont wasn’t sure if they were more frightened of him or the carnage surrounding them in that moment. As the fury that had consumed him began to fade, pain and shock began to eat away at the edges of his consciousness, leaving him shaking. He quickly stepped into the back hallway to try get some clear air, as his stomach heaved.

A high pitched blare filled the hallway as one of the women pulled the fire alarm during their escape. Delmont saw a flurry of activity at the other end of the hall, as the staff who had been unaware of the terror taking place on the opposite side of the building began to file out. They seemed blissfully unaware of what had transpired, and as they drew closer to rear stair well he could hear them chatting.

“Did you know there was going to be a fire drill today?”

“No, you don’t suppose this is real do you?”

“Where are we supposed to meet up outside? I never pay attention to these things.”

Delmont stomped over to them, yelling, “Move people, move! This is no drill! Get out of the building now!” His scorched flesh and tattered clothing did what the actual fire alarm could not. The other employees, wide-eyed with shock, began to run down the stairway.

A painting fell from the wall as a huge crash came from the breakroom, further down the hall behind Delmont. Determined to help everyone out of the building before succumbing to the exhaustion and pain of his injuries, he jogged towards the commotion. He heard the sound of glass breaking as he threw open the door of the break room, then stood thunderstruck as his overtaxed brain tried to absorb the new terror facing him.

More ceiling panels littered the room, as though this creature had also burst forth from the ductwork above. It appeared to be some sort of insect as well, but Delmont’s eyes refused to process what was before them. It took a moment to take in the enormity of the creature, as it stood well over six feet tall, with a shining black abdomen perched on four thick, segmented legs. Its thorax was perched atop it at an angle, so that the creature stood upright, with four more appendages in front of it. The lower two ‘arms’ were clutching the vending machine aloft in its segmented claws, while the upper two limbs greedily unwrapped chocolate bars, stuffing them into a wet, hairy maw. Two rows of multiple eyes were perched atop the head, and a double pair of thick, gleaming mandibles closed spasmodically as the candy disappeared into its gullet.

Delmont’s hand was still on the door handle. None of his co-workers were in the room with the spider-mantis horror, and he was a man who knew when to pick his battles. “Nope,” he said quietly. “Nope, nope, nope,” as he began to pull the door closed.

He could hear the scuttling of the creature’s spindly legs as it raced towards the door. Its  limbs ended in sharp, pyramid shaped claws. The claws spread open to form three digits, one of which it wedged into the doorframe to prevent Delmont from closing it further.

His eyes bulged as the spider exhaled a stinking breath through the crack in the door. It was as tall as Delmont, and they were face to face with only a narrow span of wood between them. Putting both hands on the door handle, he strained to slam it that last inch. “
Donaldson
!” he roared. “
Stanley
! Get over here! WITH YOUR GUNS!”

The spider chuckled, more of its fetid breath wafting across Delmont’s face. His nose was running freely from the stench, and he was gasping for breath. The monster had a candy wrapper caught on one of its mandibles.

“Chock. O. Lut,” it hissed through the crack. Scuttling to brace itself against the wall, the spider used the leverage to throw the door open wide, dragging Delmont back into the room. Its two upper limbs slammed down, the wedge shaped tips burying themselves into Delmont’s upper arms. Lifting him from the floor, the spider slammed Delmont onto the counter, using its lower limbs to sweep away the microwave and the Keurig that he held in such high regard.

“You,” it hissed directly into Delmont’s face. “You. Chock. O. Lut. You. Del. Mont.”

Delmont squirmed in agony as the creature’s claws dug into his thickly muscled deltoids. He grabbed both of the spider’s top legs, struggling desperately to pull them free as the monster leaned into him. The legs were covered in wiry hairs that ripped at the flesh of his hand.

“FUCK YOU!” he roared into that hideous visage. “YES…I’m Delmont” he cried, as the spider spread its claws, ripping his upper arms. He pulled his knees up to wedge into the creatures torso, trying to push it back. The pain was immense, but it had cleared his mind of the initial shock. His exhaustion was gone, replaced once again by the soaring euphoria of battle.

“Yes!” it hissed. “Dark. Sweet. Del. Mont. My. Prize!” it screeched, as its mandibles lunged towards Delmont’s face.

Delmont was ready. As the head lunged forward, he released his grip on its appendages and grabbed the lower set of fangs, pushing the spiders head upwards. Rage and terror coursed through him with every beat of his heart. Focusing all of his effort on his forearms and hands, he spread the spider’s jaws, watching the spongy flesh around its maw rip apart. As the creature attempted to pull its head back, Delmont jerked the fangs straight down, ripping the lower set out of its face. Black ichor spewed over his forearms as the creature screamed in agony. Dropping the lower mandibles, Delmont attempted to grab the upper set, as the spider leaned its weight into him to hold him down.

Still screaming incoherently, the spider whipped its head back down, bringing its hairy, oozing maw down onto Delmont’s left hand. He realized too late that those hairs in the thing’s mouth were actually
teeth
, as the creature’s throat closed on his hand. Reacting instinctively, he did the worst possible thing, ripping his hand free of that dripping vice. With an audible
gulp,
the creature gave a rapturous shiver as Delmont stared at the mangled, squirting stump of his left hand.

His vision narrowed and his body trembled with the agony that swept through him. “Yes,” the creature hissed. “Fear. Me.” The spider still had its upper appendages pinning Delmont’s shoulders, but it abruptly ripped them free as gunshots exploded throughout the room. Ricochets whined all around them, and the floor to ceiling glass of the breakroom’s back wall shattered as bullets flew wildly. The spider spun to face the two agents who had burst into the room, hissing and spewing black goo from its torn mouth.

The two agents continued to fire, emptying the clips of their pistols. A faint shimmer a few feet around the spider was the only sign of what was occurring as the bullets continued to deflect around the room. Agent Donaldson took a step back out of the room, yelling, “Reloading!”

Agent Stanley, closer to the creature, dropped his pistol and pulled a taser from under his jacket, just as the spider descended upon him. Lashing out with all four of its upper limbs, it impaled the agents head and throat, ripping his skull apart with one powerful jerk. The taser slid across the floor, coming to a rest near Delmont’s feet.

Agent Donaldson grimly slapped a clip into his pistol, stepping forward over the body of Agent Stanley as the spider spread its legs invitingly. Donaldson dropped to his knees as the spider again lashed forward with its upper limbs, narrowly missing his face. Scrambling forward, he began firing the pistol directly into the creature’s thickly armored torso. This close, the shimmer that had deflected the earlier rounds did not appear, and the spider staggered backwards as Donaldson emptied his clip into it, the bullets exploding out of its back and upward into the ceiling.

Screeching, the spider lashed out at the agent, two of its appendages striking his chest and sending him sprawling into the hall, where he crumpled motionless against the far wall. Gasping and bubbling from its torn maw, the spider turned back to Delmont, who kneeled by the counter clutching his mangled hand to his chest. The monster recoiled slightly at the look of blazing hatred on his face, then lunged forward, intent on finishing its meal.

All four of the upper appendages speared towards Delmont’s torso. Delmont slammed his forearms into the spider’s upper limbs, spreading them wide, but could do nothing as the lower set slammed into his abdomen. The crackling of the taser was the spider’s only warning, as Delmont fired the weapon he had scooped up directly into one of the monsters rolling eyes. The prongs of the taser pierced the eyeball just before Delmont brought the weapon down viciously, splattering the eye as he buried the weapon into its head.

The spider whipped its head back, screaming in agony, and ripped its claws free of Delmont’s belly. As the monster staggered backwards, Delmont collapsed to the floor. He didn’t need to smell the stench of bowel to know that he was mortally wounded, the pain was all consuming.

Grinding his teeth, he forced himself back to his feet as the creature plucked the taser from its mutilated eye. The spider grabbed Delmont’s arms with its lower limbs, almost gently this time, lifting him closer to its face.

“Eye…for…an…eye,” it hissed softly. Delmont struggled feebly against the limbs pinning him to the creature’s torso. His lower belly had been shredded by those hideous claws, and the blood pouring from his wounds was robbing him of the last of his strength. Despite himself, he could not restrain his screams as the spider’s upper limbs approached his face.

He whipped his head side to side, making the creature gurgle a laugh as it spread its tri-clawed appendages, holding him still. Delmont closed his eyes tightly as the claws ground against his eyelids. Pressing forward sadistically, the monster slowly pierced both of Delmont’s eyes, as his screams echoed out into the parking lot from the shattered glass wall. With a swift jerk, the claws were withdrawn, and Delmont was dropped to the floor. He clutched his face with his uninjured hand, the agony of his empty eye sockets overwhelming even the pain from his torn intestines.

There was only darkness now for him, and the only thing assuring him that he wasn’t yet dead was the pain raging through his shattered body, the horrifying slurping sounds the spider made as it greedily sucked Delmont’s fluids from its claws, and the screams from outside floating in from the broken window. Delmont realized there was one more thing…despite the agony, despite the certainty of his impending death…there was still that fierce, dark joy dancing within him. His entire life it had haunted him. As his friends, his brothers, had died around him in combat, he had endured. Not just endured, but flourished, always overcoming and raising his hands in victory. His lust for battle haunted him, brought him endless guilt…and sustained him.

He latched onto it now, one final time. “Thank god,” Delmont growled, forcing himself back to his feet. “I couldn’t stand the sight of you anyhow, you ugly motherfucker. NOW COME ON!” he roared in defiance.

He heard it gurgle laughter, and then the crackling of the taser as the probes slammed into his face. The blast of electricity jerked him back into the counter, his muscles locking and actually keeping him upright as the current roared through him.

Dropping the taser, the spider gathered Delmont up in its limbs, clutching him tightly until their faces were pressed together. “Play…over,” it breathed heavily into his ear. “Now…feast. Tell…me…”

“NO,” Delmont growled. He didn’t know how, but the taser had cleared his mind. The pain and weakness were gone, and he ripped his right arm free of the creatures grasp. Ducking his head down, he twisted violently, dragging them together closer to the window. Delmont roared “YOU tell ME…what does a Marine do if he goes to Hell?”

The spider’s fangs crashed down, but Delmont’s head was bent low. He slammed his free right elbow into the creature’s mouth, grimacing as it clamped down onto his arm. “He waits in the back of a line,” Delmont hissed through his gritted teeth. With a final heave, he threw himself from the window, dragging the spider with him. Twisting as they fell, he lodged his elbow into its mouth as far as he could.

The spider landed on its back, Delmont’s elbow slamming into the pavement and splattering the creature’s mouth and eyes. Delmont’s arm fared no better, and it flailed grotesquely as the spider’s death spasm threw him off of its body. Delmont came to rest a few feet away, his mutilated arms clutched to his chest as his empty eye sockets stared at the sky.