Operation Syria

— 24 —

Maggie went to Davies’ side when he stepped forward to cover the stairwell; he was the only one of the squad with ammo remaining in his rifle and she had Wiggins’ pistol. The scene down the stairs was one from hell, a fiery conflagration in which spiders scurried up and over and around each other in frenzy to try to reach the stairwell and safety. There were some of the smaller ones on the stairs, coming up. Davies let them close in, hoping for a clear shot.

Maggie heard Banks at her back, on the satellite phone.

“We need an evac and we need it fast.”

She didn’t hear what was said at the other end but heard his reply clear enough.

“Two minutes. Got it. Come in on my signal, I’ll leave the line open.”

She had a glance over the small parapet, all that stood between then and the horde of spiders out on the hill. The beasts weren’t paying attention to them at the moment but if that changed and they attacked, two minutes was going to seem a hell of a long time.

Davies took out the nearest two spiders with clean shots into the eyes. There was already one of the much larger ones at their back, pressing forward, a thing larger than a bull, fangs clacking angrily as it scurried upward at a full run, knocking the smaller ones aside in its rush, sending them down, shrieking, into the flames.

Davies put two shots in it but missed the eyes and it kept coming. Maggie braced herself in a two-handed stance, fighting the tremble that threatened to spoil her aim. She took a deep breath and put two quick shots right into the center of the cluster of red eyes. The shock sent pain through her wrists and the crack of the weapon deafened her but she looked down to see the beast fall backwards into the fiery pit below.

Their shots had done more than deafen her. They’d caught the attention of the spiders out on the plain. Tens of thousands of red eyes turned as one and stared up at the tower.

Excited rat-a-tat clacking echoed across the night sky above the escarpment.