NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (18 page)

The monster demonstrated his familiarity with human anatomy as it held Mark down with one of its clawed hands and surgically inserted its bladelike appendage into his spine just below his shoulders, likely to sever his spinal cord. Surprisingly little blood oozed into a small pool next to his broken body as the creature stepped away.

Mark, wild-eyed, had lifted his head as the blade had penetrated and gasped as the alien withdrew it before passing out from what must have been unbearable pain, or was he was dead now? No, John thought he could make out the shallow movements of his breathing from his otherwise motionless body.

How could the creature know enough to paralyze someone in such a precise manner while allowing them to stay alive? Why would it do such a thing? John looked around. The answer was obvious. Humans and other animals were being stored as food for future meals. It was probably better for the alien hatchlings if the victims were still alive, doubtless more nutritious. Obviously humans were part of the alien food pyramid and the team was destined to be the hatchlings first buffet dinner of fresh meat.

John was more determined than ever to free himself and the others. Like watching a horror film over and over in his head, he kept seeing the replay of the monster cutting into Mark’s spine. He struggled against the hardened substance that held him glued in place. He pulled, pushed, squirmed and twisted, but still could not budge.

In the past, even when he had been beaten, stabbed, nearly blown up, burned and left for dead, he had never before felt so defeated, as though there were no chance he’d survive. But this time, it was complicated. This time there were eight other people involved, including a beautiful woman with whom he was becoming more enamored by the hour. No! This was not a good way to die!

“Fuck this!” he muttered as he tried again to break free from the giant wooden skewer that was holding him in place. He strained again, finally letting the air escape his lungs as he gave up one more time. In that split second of desperation, he remembered his buck knife strapped to his belt. He hoped it was still there and he could reach it, then maybe he could cut himself free.

After many attempts at breaking loose, he had managed to free his right hand. He could move it now but only at the wrist, which left him straining to reach what he considered his only hope, the handle of the knife.

The wailing of the team had increased after witnessing Mark spine being severed in such a coldblooded and precise manner. The clearing began to echo with a chorus of moaning and sympathetic pain, and John could hear crying and whispered words that sounded like someone reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

He shared their shock, but he could not afford the distraction of grief or fear. He pushed his balled fist against the tree, attempting to get just a bit more room to move. “Come on!” he snarled and gritted his teeth, giving it a couple more tries until he felt something give a little as his hand moved every so slightly closer. At long last, he could get three of his fingers around the handle.

With the alien glue tearing at his skin, John stretched even farther to pull his hand back far enough to unsnap the safety strap that held the razor sharp blade in its sheath and carefully pull the knife out. He would have to take quite a bit of its length into his hand to get it clear of the leather.

John was focused on controlling every movement of his fingers. He was slowly inching the handle up into the palm of his hand when he was startled as someone let out a scream. He lost his grip and let the knife slide back into place.

To his left, he could see the beast eyeing Macy, up close and personal. It was showing its teeth in a wide smile-like expression. It seemed to be trying to provoke her to scream again, as if it found the noise to be entertaining. When there was no reaction, he opened his mouth wider to show the rows of teeth in his mouth in a more threatening pose.

Macy yelled, “Where is she, you piece of shit? What did you do with her?” The beast tilted its head as though it was asking her to repeat the question. “What did you do with my sister? Was it your fucking ship we were taken to? What did you do with her?”

The creature turned its back to her swinging its tail hitting the base of the tree where she was glued as it headed back toward Mark. “I’ll kill you, motherfucker! I’ll kill you and I’ll gut you like a fucking fish!” She was screaming at the top of her lungs at it as it walked away without looking back. From John’s perspective, it seemed to be shaking its head and laughing at her.

“John, you used to be a marine, right?” The creature turned to look at Eddie as he spoke. “Oh shit!” His voice was almost a whisper now. “Can’t you help us get out of here somehow?” Eddie remained quiet as the alien turned away again.

John continued trying to get a grip on his knife. He had needed the short rest since his hand had begun to cramp before it had slipped from his fingers on the last try. He was hoping to get a better grip but, since his arm was locked into such an awkward angle, it was almost physically impossible and quite painful to reach the handle and pull it out.

Just as he managed to force his hand back into position, John caught sight of the movement to his right. A second creature was moving slowly into view. It was down on all fours, the extra appendage hanging limply to the ground as it crawled. It swayed and staggered as though it was sick. John watched it lumber across the clearing as he began to work the knife little by little out of the sheath. Slowly the second alien moved toward the hanging eggs. It stumbled collapsing with its face in the dirt.

From the look of its stretched, sagging skin John guessed it to be a female. She had most likely been weakened from producing the eggs. The male creature moved to help his mate get to her feet. He walked along supporting her as they moved to the egg sac. She needed to lie down, and did so with help. She positioned herself right across Mark’s back!

Thirty Five

The male creature was somewhere out of sight, and John was determined to free his arm enough to get hold of his knife. Marcus was just regaining consciousness. Until now, even Mark’s screams had not awakened him, and Mark had screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

Marcus was not sure what was happening around him. Things looked very green, and he could sense that he was somewhere in the woods. He couldn’t remember hiking here. Although he realized he had been asleep, he sure as hell didn’t feel like he was in a sleeping bag. One thing he was sure of, he was unable to move.

He was definitely hung up on something vertical. Was he tied up? His eyes began to clear. “What the fuck? What is this shit? Where am I? Why the fuck can’t I move?” The steady stream of questions did not allow time for a response. “Very funny, guys. Now cut me down!”

A voice beside him spoke, “Marcus, be quiet! It will hear you.” He recognized the speaker even though it was more of a desperate sounding whisper than someone actually speaking out loud, and he could hear the fear in Sherri’s voice.

“What? Who’s gonna hear me?” He blinked and squinted as the scene in front of him came into focus. “Oh shit! What is that? Is that Mark?” He saw the blood that had oozed around Mark’s body. He rasped, “What the fuck happened here?” Marcus suddenly became quiet as his vision cleared and he could take it all in.

Sherri whispered, “Hang in there Marcus. We’re gonna get out of this.” She tried to reassure him. “Gran and Nana said not to worry. We are gonna be freed and then we have to run like hell.”

“Are you sure about that, girl? Cuz this looks pretty fuckin' bad,” he whispered back. He tried to turn his head, but it was fastened securely to the tree.

“Can you see John from there?” Sherri was even quieter this time. 

“No, is something wrong with him? Is he hurt?” He was trying to be as quiet as Sherri. He couldn’t remember speaking this softly since the days when his dad would slap him at the dinner table for being too loud.

“Look. I think he’s trying to get loose. Looks like he’s trying to pull his arm away from the tree and grab his knife.” This time she was so quiet he strained to hear her. “If he can get to it, maybe we all can get free. This must be what Gran was talking about.”

As she finished speaking, John’s forearm suddenly broke loose from the tree, and he was free to grab the handle of the large knife and pull it out of its sheath. Sherri could see him carefully turning it in his hand, bending his arm and inserting the tip of the blade behind his shoulder. The seconds it took to free his right shoulder seemed like minutes.

John continued to work the knife as he pulled away from the tree with his shoulder. Inch by inch he was becoming free! As soon as he finished cutting his upper right side free, he forced himself back against the tree. After putting himself back into place, he turned his hand to hide the knife behind his arm.

Sherri wanted to yell at him to finish it, get loose and save the rest, but she suddenly grasped the reason he had put himself back into position against the tree. The creature was moving around in the clearing now and looking at the humans helplessly hung there.

It seemed to point at Macy as it opened its mouth and let out a high pitched sound that rumbled into a low roar. It was a bone-chilling call as it motioned to each person in turn. Had any of them been able to understand this strange behavior, they would have known that this was a part of the ritual that preceded the hatching.

After completing its circle, the male creature walked toward the bundle of eggs and lowered itself down on all fours. The top of its head came to rest against the lowest hanging eggs and it closed its eyes to rest. It was only a matter of minutes now before his life would have completed its purpose.

In his mind he could hear the chattering of tiny aliens with a near singular voice as they shared one thought. Hungry!

Thirty Six

John had a clear view of the alien creature’s back as it knelt below the hanging eggs. He took the opportunity to finish cutting himself free as he grew increasingly concerned that they were running out of time. He sliced through the thick rubbery material that held him against the tree. He thanked God repeatedly that he was fanatical about keeping his blade razor sharp.

Now he just had to get off that tree before the alien became aware. He was suspended off the ground and, with only the right side hanging free, his position was skewed. If the thing turned around it would surely notice that he was halfway to gaining his freedom. That very instant he heard a popping sound and saw a thick clear liquid drip down onto the head of the monster. This was followed by another pop and then another. 

The alien’s head was dripping with the fluid as three or four, foot long creatures dropped from the egg sac and onto its ugly head. As the tiny ones landed, the monster turned and smiled at John, baring its teeth as if it were enjoying the thought that soon John and his team would be inundated with hungry little copies of itself.

From his perch, John quietly freaked out as the young monsters began eating the head of their still live parent. It let out a hideous howl as the group bit off large chunks of the top of its head, its brain, if that was what it was, and then the head was gone. The body slumped down onto the pile of food below it.

“Time to go!” John said loudly as he sliced the other side of his body free from the tree and dropped to the ground. He wasted not a moment and ran to free the others. After he cut Emily free, she helped him, pulling each of the others away from the tree while he sliced through the thick substance that was holding them firmly in place.

Now dozens more of the creatures had hatched and they had eaten a large portion of both of the parent aliens. As John was finishing up cutting Eddie loose, he began to freak out. “Did you fuckin’ see that? Those things are growing right before our eyes! I swear they take a bite to eat and then immediately grow an inch or two!” He was panicked and his eyes were wide as he dropped to the ground.

By then, the creatures had eaten through their parents and were starting on Mark. John figured he’d be unconscious after the thing had paralyzed him that way. He shrieked and screamed so horribly between rattled breaths and then, mercifully, lost consciousness. It was enough to strike panic in the team.

While John and Emily had been working on Eddie, the rest of the group had gathered just outside the clearing. Macy was talking about what they should do next, but all of the others were arguing about why her idea was not going to work. It was chaotic, and beginning to attract the attention of the creatures. When John and Emily finally joined them, John yelled over their argument, “Those fuckin’ things are just about finished eating Mark! We need to GO!”

“Are we gonna try to stick together? Which way are we s’posed to go?” Marcus was looking around, confused.

“We need to get our backpacks. All of our shit is in them!” Eddie was walking around in a circle scratching his head.

“Does anyone have any idea where the plane is?” Macy asked.

They were all talking at once when Karla screamed. Everyone turned to see what was happening. Mark’s entire body was gone, nothing but a pile of bloody bones remained on the ground. The little monsters that had devoured their parents and Mark were not so small anymore. They stood up on the ground below the remainder of the eggs, eating other hatchlings as they dropped to the ground, even fighting over them as they gorged themselves, and growing larger and larger with every bite.