Earthfall (12 page)

One of the automated turnstiles that once would have checked people’s tickets stood wide open and the five of them passed through one by one and into the vaulted concourse that encircled the stadium.

‘Oh God,’ Nat’s voice whispered in Sam’s ear as they took in the sight that greeted them. The floor of the concourse was filled, as far as the eye could see, with people lying in neatly ordered rows, flat on their backs with their eyes shut. Sam’s mind flashed back to the first night after the arrival of the Threat and the warehouse that was just the same. Suddenly, he saw his sister’s face in his mind, looking just as it had on that night, the last time he had ever seen her.

He shook his head and told himself to focus.

‘OK,’ Rachel said quietly, ‘we all know that there’s nothing we can do for them now. We need to keep moving.’

Jay pulled the handset that Stirling had given him from one of the pouches on his chest and examined the display.

‘OK, on me,’ he said, setting off across the concourse.

They picked their way carefully between the rows of bodies, following Jay as he studied the direction and range indicator, hunting for the source of the transmissions that Stirling had intercepted.

‘Have you seen this before?’ Sam asked Rachel, gesturing at the dormant bodies that lined the concourse floor.

‘A couple of times,’ Rachel said with a frown. ‘This is how the Threat store people who were wiped by the Signal. It’s always large buildings like this – kind of mass dormitories, I suppose. Creepy as hell, no matter how many times you see it.’

‘You can say that again,’ Sam said.

‘The source seems to be inside the stadium itself,’ Jay said, looking up from the scanner and over to one of the numerous gates that led into the central arena.

‘Can I just go on record as saying that this feels all wrong,’ Nat said, looking both ways down the concourse, her rifle raised. ‘If this thing is as important as Stirling thinks it is, why isn’t it better protected? This is too easy.’

‘Maybe the Threat weren’t expecting any kind of attack,’ Rachel said. ‘Perhaps they’re just assuming that they don’t
need
to protect the transmitter.’

‘Hey, I’m not complaining,’ Jay said. ‘I kinda like easy. Come on.’

The others followed as Jay headed through the archway and into the stadium. Sam’s mouth dropped open in amazement as he looked around. The stadium was filled to capacity, every seat taken by dormant Walkers. There was no sound except for the creepy whisper of tens of thousands of people breathing. Below them in the centre of the green rectangle of overgrown grass that had once been the most famous football pitch in England was a black spire, twenty metres high, made up of dozens of huge, angular obsidian shards. Occasional pulses of green light shot across the surface of the spire, sending ripples of light dancing across the grass.

‘I’m guessing that might just be what we’re looking for,’ Sam said quietly.

‘You know, I think you might be right,’ Jay replied.

The five of them walked down the stairs between the sections of banked seating, heading towards the pitch. As they got closer, Sam began to hear a muted, throbbing hum that seemed to be emanating from the transmission spire. The sound was deeply unpleasant, resonating inside his skull and filling his head with a dull ache.

‘What is that?’ Sam asked, rubbing his temples as the sound grew louder and louder the nearer they got to the spire.

‘What is what?’ Rachel asked, looking slightly confused.

‘That sound,’ Sam said. ‘It’s giving me a headache.’

‘What sound?’ Nat asked, frowning. ‘I can’t hear anything.’

‘It’s coming from that thing,’ Sam said, pointing at the black monolith. ‘I can’t believe you can’t hear it.’

‘I don’t hear anything either,’ Jay said, turning and looking at Sam. ‘Are you sure you’re feeling OK?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just plant the charges so we can get out of here,’ Sam said, backing away from the Threat transmitter. He took another few steps away from the spire and realised with growing unease that the sound wasn’t getting quieter as he moved further from it; in fact, it was getting louder. Now he could hear another sound within the subsonic thrum: a high-pitched whispering noise that felt like it was scratching at the inside of his skull. He gradually realised that he could make out something bizarre within this hissing sound, something that sounded almost like
voices
. He couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but it definitely sounded like some sort of language. Sam tried to ignore the sound and focus on the rest of the team, watching as Jay placed the explosive charge on the base of the spire.

‘OK,’ Jay said, ‘once I hit the switch we’ve got five minutes to get clear before these puppies blow.’

‘What about all these people?’ Nat asked.

‘The blast radius shouldn’t be more than about ten metres,’ Jay said. ‘They’ll be fine.’

Jay hit the switch on the timer and Sam yelped in pain as the whisper in his head turned into a scream. Suddenly he heard what sounded like a multitude of answering screams that seemed to come from somewhere above them.

‘We need to get out of here now,’ Sam said as he looked upwards.

‘Don’t worry,’ Jay said. ‘We’ve got five minutes – that’s more than enough time to get clear.’

‘It’s not the explosion I’m worried about,’ Sam said, pointing up towards the stadium roof.

The others looked where Sam was pointing and realised exactly what he was talking about. The entire underside of the stadium’s domed roof was covered in Hunters, countless thousands of them hanging upside down from the ceiling.

‘Oh my God,’ Rachel said as the first of the alien creatures began to detach themselves from their perches and drop towards them. ‘It’s a nest.’

‘RUN!’ Jay yelled at the top of his voice when the trickle of Hunters dropping towards them quickly turned into a torrent as the alarm spread throughout the swarm. The buzzing drone from the ever-swelling host of Hunters grew louder and louder as Sam and the others sprinted across the grass towards the nearest flight of stairs that led out of the arena. The five of them bounded up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. As they ran through the archway and on to the outer concourse, Tim turned and raised his rifle, opening fire at the nearest Hunters, the hammering noise of his rifle echoing off the concrete walls.

‘Tim!’ Jay bellowed as Sam and the girls ran on ahead. ‘Don’t be stupid! We’ve got to get out of here now. There’s no way we can fight that many of them.’

Tim fired one last burst into the mass of silver creatures before running after Jay. Sam pointed at another block of automated turnstiles set into the outside wall fifty metres away.

‘Come on,’ he yelled. ‘That’s our way out.’

They sprinted between the dormant Walkers covering the floor around them, and headed for the exit, the deafening buzz from the pursuing Hunters filling the air. Sam felt a sudden moment of despair as he realised that the gates ahead of them, unlike the ones they’d entered through, were firmly sealed.

‘There’s no way out here,’ Nat shouted. ‘Keep moving. Head for the next gate!’

Tim turned and fired another burst into the swirling mass of Hunters just thirty metres behind them and getting closer all the time. It was pointless; he might as well have been shooting at a tidal wave.

‘Oh no,’ Nat said under her breath, coming to a standstill.

Sam ran up beside her and stopped as he saw what she had seen. The concourse ahead of them was filled with Hunters coming in the opposite direction. They were cut off from the exit. Sam looked around desperately, trying to spot some way for them to escape. ‘Everyone! This way!’ He hopped over the unconscious bodies and vaulted across one of the refreshment counters that were set into the outside wall of the concourse, with Rachel and Nat just behind him. Jay and Tim stood back to back, firing at the waves of Hunters that were now advancing on them from both directions.

‘Help me!’ Sam yelled at the two girls as he climbed up on to the counter and grabbed the bottom edge of the rolling steel security shutter protruding from the ceiling above them. The three of them pulled as hard as they could and the shutter began to slowly inch downwards.

‘Jay! Tim!’ Sam shouted. ‘Come on!’

Jay lowered his rifle and sprinted towards the counter, sliding over it and then grabbing the shutter and pulling on it as hard as he could. Tim backed towards the counter, still firing at the nearest Hunters who were getting closer all the time.

‘Tim, get in here!’ Jay yelled. ‘Now!’

Tim stopped firing, turned and ran towards them. He was only five metres away when he tripped over the legs of one of the brainwashed people lying on the floor. He fell forward, landing flat on top of another dormant Walker. He tried to scramble back to his feet, but it was too late. He barely had time to scream as the Hunters hit him from both sides, and he disappeared in a whirling mass of stinging tentacles.

‘NO!’ Jay screamed. He was halfway back over the counter before Sam caught hold of his pack and dragged him back inside.

‘There’s nothing you can do. He’s gone,’ Sam shouted, grabbing the bottom of the shutter again and hauling it downwards with all his might. Jay hesitated, just for a second, and then he too helped them finally slam the shutter down on to the counter. Sam quickly threw the bolt at the bottom, locking it firmly in place. Moments later the shutter began to rattle and bang as the Hunters on the other side attacked it. Jay, Sam and Rachel leant against the shutter trying to brace it against the onslaught.

‘Nat, we need a way out!’ Rachel said.

Nat dashed into the back of the store, looking around desperately for an exit. She spotted a door at the far end of the room and carefully opened it, wary of what might be waiting on the other side. The room was lined with shelves filled with cardboard boxes that had once contained food for the hungry visitors to the stadium. Their contents had long since rotted and now the boxes were covered in mould. Nat walked to the back of the storeroom, and felt her heart sink as she realised that there was no obvious way out. She ran back to the others who were still desperately trying to support the steel shutters against the ferocious, relentless assault from the other side.

‘There’s nothing back there,’ Nat said, fighting to keep any sign of the panic she was starting to feel out of her voice.

‘There’s got to be a way out,’ Sam said with a grunt as something slammed into the shutter right next to him.

‘There is,’ Nat said, pointing at the security door next to the counter that led back out into the concourse.

‘Well, we’re not going that way,’ Jay said. ‘Please don’t tell me that’s the only way out of here.’

‘It’s not,’ Sam said, as he suddenly realised what they were going to have to do. He leapt down off the counter and ran over to Jay. ‘Give me your pack.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Jay asked, frowning, shrugging off his backpack and handing it to Sam.

‘I’m going to get us out of here,’ Sam replied, running towards the storeroom.

Jay turned back to the shutter just as a Hunter sting punched straight through the metal just a few centimetres from his head.

‘Make it quick!’ Jay yelled as one end of the shutter buckled, popping out of its runner and numerous metallic tentacles began pushing through the gap. The writhing mass slowly forced the opening ever wider, just a metre away from where Rachel was still desperately fighting to brace the shutter.

‘They’re coming through!’ Rachel yelled as Nat climbed up on the counter beside her and tried to help reinforce the barrier.

Sam ran to the rear of the storeroom and put his hand on the wall.

‘Here goes nothing,’ he said under his breath as he pulled one of the two remaining C4 charges from Jay’s pack and placed it on the floor next to the wall. He tapped on the keypad attached to the charge, set the timer for thirty seconds and activated it. Sam slung Jay’s pack over his shoulder and ran out of the storeroom, slamming the door behind him.

‘Everybody, take cover,’ he yelled as he ran back towards the others. ‘Fire in the hole!’

‘What?’ Rachel gasped in astonishment. ‘Are you mad? Have you seen the size of this room? You’re going to blow us all to pieces.’

‘That’s a chance we’re going to have to take,’ Sam said, pointing at the silver tentacles that were forcing their way around the buckling edges of the shutter. ‘Anything’s better than the alternative.’

‘He has a point,’ Jay said, leaping down from the counter and taking cover behind one of the stainless steel units. ‘At least this way it’ll be quick.’

Sam felt the blast a split second before he heard it as the concussion wave blew the heavy storeroom door clean off its hinges and sent it spinning across the room and slamming into the opposite wall. A sheet of flame roared out of the doorway and raced across the ceiling and Sam felt the heat on his face as he forced himself to his feet.

‘Move!’ he yelled at the others and began to pick his way through the burning debris towards the shattered remains of the storeroom doorway. He held his breath and stepped into the smoke-filled room, praying that the explosion had been powerful enough. The smoke began to clear and he felt a wave of relief when he saw a ragged hole in the back wall. He ran up to the hole and kicked at a couple of the loose cinder blocks around the edge, widening the gap just enough for someone to crawl through.