Gabe: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 3) (12 page)

Soon Marcus was pulling the Hunter up the exit ramp, Cruz’s Hunter following close behind.

Elle’s voice came through their earpieces. “I’ve mapped out the best route to the stadium. There are raptor patrols in the air, so I’ll let you know if any get too close. Illusion systems up?”

“Yeah.” Marcus’s gravelly reply.

“You got it, Ellie,” Cruz confirmed.

The illusion system was an awesome piece of tech that, while didn’t cloak the Hunters completely, did the next best thing. It blurred them, messed with their signatures on raptor scans, and used directed sound waves to distort any noise and make the enemy think they were in a different location. The Hawks had them too.

The journey through the ruined suburbs, past empty schools and looted shops, was uneventful.

As they neared the stadium, Gabe saw its distinctive shape ahead in the distance.

“I’m not picking up any raptor signatures,” Elle said, a frown evident in her voice. “Not one.”

“You still picking up the alien substance?” Marcus asked.

“Yes.”

“Then they can’t be far away.”

Gabe searched the area, but didn’t see anything. Nothing was moving out there.

“Wait!” Elle’s frantic voice came through loud and clear. “I got a flicker of something. Wait a second…oh, God, Marcus you have three…no,
four
raptor ground vehicles inbound.”

A second after she said it, Gabe saw them. Everyone else cursed, but Gabe calmly swung the autocannon around. The raptor vehicles were squat and ugly, with large spikes sticking out at the front. He’s always thought they’d resembled some dinosaur, a triceratops maybe. He knew the armor plating was tough as hell.

But not tough enough for an autocannon.

He opened fire, the deadly green laser cutting through the gloomy afternoon.

A second later, Shaw did the same from the second Hunter.

The four black vehicles split apart.

“Marcus! Swing us round,” Gabe yelled, twisting the autocannon as far as he could. Laser cut across the hull of the passing raptor vehicle, scoring the side of it.

The vehicles roared around them. Marcus gunned the Hunter, glancing at his rear camera view. Gabe touched his display and the camera image flashed up.

The raptor vehicles were coming back.

“Cruz,” Marcus said. “Let’s pull that maneuver we used back in Syria with the Hummers.”

“Good idea,
amigo
.”

When the raptors returned, Marcus and Cruz yanked the wheels and the Hunters veered left.

“Gabe, Shaw, keep the others off us. And everyone, hold on.”

A second later, Cruz pulled in an inch behind their Hunter. And a second after that, Marcus and Cruz rammed the Hunters into the isolated raptor vehicle.

Ahead, water shimmered. Homebush Bay was a dull, dark gray, reflecting the lack of sun and sullen clouds.

Another ram by the two Hunters and the alien vehicle lost control. It zigged and zagged, before running straight into the harbor, landing with a giant splash.

“Woo-hoo!” Shaw yelled. “Now spin us around, Cruz. I got some shooting to do. Gabe, let’s hit the same one and even the odds.”

“The one on the far left?”

“Got it.”

Together they targeted their cannon fire. Marcus and Cruz drove to give them a perfect view of their prey.

Flames and smoke appeared from the back of the vehicle. A moment later, the raptor vehicle hit a parked car, flipped and crashed down.

“Two down, two to go,” Marcus said.

But the other two vehicles were wary, keeping their distance.

Soon, the Hunters and the two alien vehicles were racing down the streets. The hulking form of the stadium was close now.

They roared into a large, empty parking lot.

The raptor vehicles did some fancy maneuvers. But Marcus and Cruz kept on them.

And this time, the raptors were returning fire. Deadly raptor poison arced through the air.

“Fuck.” Marcus swerved to avoid being hit, but a small splatter caught the rear of the Hunter.

Burning metal sizzled, and the ugly, smoky smell caught Gabe’s nose. He glanced back—right through a small hole the raptor poison had chewed through the vehicle.

“Gabe?”

“It’s okay. Minor damage.”

Suddenly, Marcus braked. The Hunter skidded and he swung the vehicle around. Gabe sighted the next raptor vehicle and fired the autocannon. The alien vehicle lost control and hit a pile of rubble. It exploded in a giant ball of flames.

“Woot!” Shaw called out. “Last one’s mine, Jackson. Hands off.”

Thirty seconds later, the final raptor vehicle—already scorched by laser fire—crashed into the side of the stadium.

Hell Squad pulled to a stop. As they climbed out, Gabe eyed the horizon. The sky had begun to dim, and he thought of base, of Emerson.

“It’ll be dark soon,” he said.

“Yeah.” Marcus didn’t sound happy.

Night was always problematic in the city. And lately, the few survivors making it to Blue Mountain Base also talked about strange attacks in the dark that left people a bloody mass of meat.

“Come on,” Marcus said. “Hell Squad, ready to go to Hell?”

“Hell, yeah! The devil needs an ass-kicking!”

Cautiously, guns up, they moved into the tunnel leading into the stadium. Their boots made a faint echo on the cement, but the place was empty. As they stepped out into the stadium itself, at the base of the rows and rows of empty seats, Gabe felt a flash of sorrow. This place had once been full of life, with people laughing, celebrating, and cheering on their favorite athletes.

Now it was an empty relic, mocking the past.

He shook his head to clear the gloomy thoughts. Kill raptors. That was all he should be thinking about.

They walked along a row of seats.

“Gabe, you see anything?”

He had better vision than the others, but didn’t spot anything unusual in the growing shadows. “Negative.”

“All right, let’s switch to night vision.”

Gabe flicked the lens across his right eye. Instantly, everything around him appeared in shades of green.

“I really, really don’t like this,” Shaw said.

They stepped out on the central field of the stadium. The grass was the same high-tech turf that most stadiums had switched to years ago. It was made of recycled products and it was virtually impossible to tell it apart from real grass. But Gabe could tell now. Instead of being brown and crunchy from lack of care and water, it was still a vibrant, unrealistic green.

Hell Squad moved as a group, quiet and tense. Still nothing. Overhead, clouds formed a dark, roiling mass that blanketed the sky.

Shaw was looking up. Through the high-tech scope of his long range laser rifle. Gabe followed his gaze.

One strange cloud was larger, and blacker, than the others. And it was moving, twisting.

“What the fuck?” Shaw said.

Everyone turned, looked up.

“What is it?” Marcus demanded.

“No idea.” Shaw shook his head. “I can’t make it out.”

Gabe kept staring. The cloud was growing larger.

And heading toward them.

His pulse tripped. “It’s a mass of some sort of animals! Birds, maybe.”

“Shit. Get to cover,” Marcus roared.

They started running, but they were only half-way across the field when the swarm hit.

Chapter Twelve

Sharp things nipped and slashed and bit at Gabe.
Fuck
.

He heard the rest of the squad cursing and yelling. It was like a cloud of bats. Gabe pulled one arm over his head, batting at the creatures with his other hand.

One animal landed on the grass at his feet. Not a bat. A tiny, winged, dinosaur-like alien with barbed wings, sharp teeth, and curved claws.

He heard some of Hell Squad shooting. Gabe swung his carbine around. They were too small to shoot at, but maybe they could scare them off. If they could see them in the growing darkness. He flicked on his tactical flashlight.

With a high-pitched squeal, the creatures rushed away from him in a flutter of wings. He frowned, then he realized. “The light! They don’t like the light.”

The others flicked their flashlights on. It left them in a small cocoon of safety. At the edge of the light, the aliens screamed and flapped their wings. The team kept moving and Gabe glanced around. Everyone was bleeding, faces covered in cuts and blood. Reed had a hand over one eye, blood oozing between his fingers.

Then Gabe looked up. Oh, no. “Hellions!”

The canid-like creatures were pouring down the sides of the stadium, leaping over seats and railings. Their bellies glowed red, filled with acidic poison.

“Use your cedar-oil grenades,” Marcus yelled.

Gabe snatched his off his belt. Santha had come up with the substance and canids and hellions hated the stuff.

He tossed his canister. He heard the bang and the hiss of spray. Around him, the others were doing the same.

“Won’t hold them for long,” Marcus yelled. “Elle, we’re pinned down. Everyone’s got minor injuries. We need to retreat.”

Retreat? Gabe’s stomach clenched. No, they had to find the head raptor and the Genesis tanks. “But we’re so goddamned close.”

Marcus’ eyes gleamed in the shadows. “We won’t give up. But we won’t die for it, either.”

Gabe gritted his teeth and looked again at Reed. The guy had moved his hand and was probing his cheekbone. His eye was a bloody, gouged mess. Gabe cursed. The sensible thing to do was retreat.

But that dark, angry part of him didn’t want to turn back.

“Hellions are almost here,” Shaw said. He was firing, picking off what alien dogs he could. The others were braced and ready, guns up. Claudia looked like she’d gone head-to-head with a serial killer and lost. Her face was covered in ugly scratches and cuts. And right now, you couldn’t tell Cruz had a face the ladies at base drooled over.

“Marcus,” Elle said. “There’s a tunnel exit into the team locker rooms. To the east.”

Marcus turned. “Got it. Hell Squad, let’s get back to the Hunters. Pull in and stay close.”

They entered the narrow tunnel. The hellions were yowling and yipping outside. The squad was walking backwards, guns aimed.

They did not want to get caught in this tunnel with the hellions.

The first creature bounded in through the tunnel entrance. The team opened fire, the sound of their carbines deafening in the enclosed space. They kept up the steady stream of laser fire and kept moving backward.

One hellion managed to get through. Gabe yanked out his combat knife and leaped forward to meet it. Adrenaline roared through his blood stream. He kicked the animal in its tooth-filled mouth and stabbed it in the neck, avoiding its poisonous belly.

As the alien dropped down dead, he kicked it away and swung his carbine back up.

“Left!” Marcus roared.

Gabe looked. The tunnel had opened up into locker rooms. He spotted an emergency exit light, still lit. No doubt powered by some tiny nuclear reactor still running in the bowels of the stadium.

The squad moved through the locker room. Cruz slammed the door to the tunnel shut. “Help me with some of these lockers.”

Shaw and Gabe helped him manhandle some of the metal lockers in place. A second later, weight hit the other side of the door, making the door and the lockers shudder.

“Let’s keep moving.” Marcus headed out through the opposite doors.

They passed offices, shower rooms, medical treatment rooms.

Elle’s voice came again. “At the end of the corridor you’ll find stairs leading up. They’ll bring you to the main level and you can get out to the parking lot.”

“Roger that, Elle.” Marcus gestured them on. “Reed? You okay?”

Reed’s face screwed up. “I can’t see much. This eye is messed up and the other’s got blood in it.”

“Claudia, stay near Reed.”

“You need Claudia bringing up the rear, not babysitting me—”

“Your vision is compromised. Gabe, watch our ass. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

They rounded a corner. Ahead, Gabe saw the stairs, and everyone moved steadily towards them.

A noise behind him made him turn.

He stiffened. The one-eyed raptor stood in a nearby doorway.

And he was holding Emerson in front of him, an ugly, scaled hand clenching a gun that was jammed up under her chin.

Gage lifted his carbine, his heart roaring in his ears. “Marcus!”

Marcus cursed. Emerson made a small sobbing sound.

Gabe blinked. Not Emerson. Another woman who looked similar, with her blonde hair gleaming in the darkness.

The raptor stared at Gabe with his glowing red eye, then stepped backward out of view, dragging the woman with him.

Gabe took a step forward. One shot. That was all he needed. One good shot and he could end the fucker and rescue that woman. He took another step toward the doorway.

“Gabe!” Marcus growled. “We have to go. Reed’s injured, we can’t—”

“He’s got a woman, Marcus.” A woman who looked like Emerson. It would only take a second.

He strode through the doorway. It was a large, open-plan office area. Empty except for now-dusty desks. Across the room, another door stood open.

“Gabe?” Marcus’ furious whisper across the comms. “Where the fuck are you?”

“I’m in pursuit.”

“No, dammit!”

Suddenly gunfire ripped across the comms. Marcus was bellowing orders, the others were yelling. The squad was under attack.

Gabe turned, he had to get back. Then the raptor appeared, the woman still in front of him.

Gabe fired. The shot was high, he couldn’t risk hitting the woman. The raptor dodged it easily.

“I’ll get you out of here,” Gabe yelled.

The woman lifted her head. And laughed.

Gabe tensed. Her eyes were glowing a faint red and her face was covered in patches of scales.

Fuck
. The bastard had lured him in here…and like an idiot, he’d followed.

“Grenade,” Cruz shouted.

Gabe heard the violent bang. Heard one of the team yell in pain.

The raptor said something in his guttural language. Three huge hellions slunk into the room behind him.