Spores (16 page)
Dustin joined him, “I’m so sorry, man. Look, please wait on; don’t go in there just yet. I know what those creatures are doing is like defilement or something, but it’s not like those dead folks are going to feel it.”
Miles felt his hand form into a tight fist. These were his friends, how dare he talk about them like that. Dustin must have seen his face harden as he let go and backed away.
“I didn’t mean any offence, man.”
They both instinctively fell to the floor as deafening gunfire filled the room.
Chapter Fifteen
Amber heard the multitude of voices, beseeching their master to unleash them. Daniel cried out as one of the creatures edged closer. It growled and dug its claws into the wooden floor, leaving five deep scars as it pulled them out. It, like the others, craved the soldier’s meat.
His will began to waver; something was wrong, he was losing control of his tribe. Amber gasped as all the others suddenly brushed past her and out into the corridor. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as the ones around him went with them.
Amber heard his messages, his demands, threats, and finally his begging. Nothing worked; the creatures were now following their own agenda.
Her new friend pushed past her and the other two and followed the creatures out of the laboratory.
“I think we’d better go too.” She murmured.
They raced after the huge creature. Amber never realised that they could move so fast. She heard another burst of gunfire.
“I won’t let the other men take you,” said Daniel.
Up in front, she saw the creature had stopped, there was no sign of its followers.
“What’s going on?”
Amber shrugged; her new friend had fallen silent, he wasn’t responding to her questions. One thing was clear though, he didn’t want them to come any closer.
They slowed down, Amber watched in disbelief as his body compressed like a wet sponge. Thick, milky glutinous fluid seeped out from under his base. He twisted his neck and bared his teeth at Daniel. Amber grabbed his arm. “You really do need to stay here.”
The creature had shed most of its bulk. It squeezed through the open doorway into the next room.
Daniel shook off her hand, “I’m sorry, Amber but I’m not going to let a giant slug tell me what to do.”
He ran towards the door.
“Wait!” Patsy spun around and grabbed her friend’s arms. “We can’t let him go, Amber.”
She sighed and, against her better judgment, she followed the soldier. He stopped just by the doorframe. He heard them approach and held out his arm, “You really don’t want to see this.”
The two women pushed past him and gazed in horror at the scene in front of them. It looked like a living carpet of primary colours. Then she noticed lumps of bright crimson matter beneath the seething mass. Amber slapped a hand against her mouth. Those things were sliding over the remains of the rest of the Institute personal.
“What the fuck has been going on?” She watched her friend gaze up, towards the walls. “Oh my God, those evil bastards.”
Amber followed her gaze and felt hot bile rise up her throat when she saw the dozens of small holes gauged out of the plaster. Amber knew bullet holes when she saw them.
“They’ve executed them,” cried Patsy. She bared her teeth at Daniel, “tell me you knew nothing about this.”
“Of course I didn’t.” He replied, stammering.
Amber looked down at the things on the floor, wondering why the approaching invaders would bother to go to such elaborate length to wipe everyone out. All they needed to do was sit up there in there spaceships and just let us do it for them.
She backed away a couple of steps and then turned away, unable to watch any longer. It was time to go, to get the hell out of here.
“That’s Miles!” shouted Patsy.
Amber looked back, “Where, I can’t see him.” She saw the creatures fighting amongst themselves then she saw another creature just like her new friend, in front of a set of double doors on the other side of the room. Amber then noticed a couple of men crouching on top of a metal desk. The other creature was clawing toward those two men.
“That’s Jackson,” muttered Daniel.
Amber’s new friend lunged forward, sliding over the smaller creatures. It growled then his head darted forward like a striking cobra and sunk his teeth into the other creature’s neck.
Then her eyes found Miles; he stood behind the other creature wrestling with a tall man with long black hair. The other man managed to escape Miles’s grip; he pushed Miles back then ran into the room.
Both the creatures turned at this intrusion. Amber watched the two soldiers look at each other then they stood up and fired a volley of shots into the mass of creatures below them.
Amber’s new friend screamed when a couple of stray shells created scarlet geysers on his flank. He responded by reaching down and grabbing the scruffy man’s arm. He lifted the shrieking man up and threw him into the wall.
Daniel raised his gun at the approaching man and fired, the soldier’s bullets creating a bloody path through the creatures.
“I’m sorry,” he said to Patsy, “but I just can’t murder them.”
The other creature had retreated and now headed towards the broken body of the scruffy man, it sounded like it was crying.
Jackson abruptly stopped; he grinned at Amber then fired into her new friend.
“No!” she shouted.
Amber saw it collapse and sprinted up to it, Jackson and the other soldier ran past up to her.
“You’re supposed to be dead, bitch.” He bared his teeth, “well you will be soon.”
The other soldier pushed him back, “Leave it, Jackson, Do you want to die here? There’s a gun trained on us.”
“Get the fuck away from here!”
That voice belonged to Daniel.
Amber turned and watched the men flee; Daniel and Patsy moved back and allowed them to leave. When she turned around, she saw that the other creature and gone through the other doors, the smaller creatures were following it.
“I never thought I was going to see you again!”
Amber gasped as Miles ran to her and grabbed her hand, “Come on, we need to get out of here before they come back.”
Amber threw her arms around his neck, “Oh my God, you came back for me.”
He nodded, “Of course I did.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw Daniel and Patsy approach them.
“We need to rescue the other girls,” said Amber.
“We can’t,” replied Daniel, “They have a helicopter gunship, if we try anything, they’ll blow us away.”
Patsy stroked Amber’s hair, “We’ll see them again, I doubt they’ll harm them.”
Miles looked into Amber’s eyes, “We need to find somewhere very safe. This is just the start of it.”
Amber nodded, turned, and watched the last of the creatures go through the doorway, leaving the four of them standing in the middle of a human abattoir.
The End
