The Fourth Phase

TWENTY-NINE

Dee jogged a few paces behind Jack, with Maggie running alongside. The bodies that once lined these walls had gone, but the stench of their deaths still lingered in the air. The last time Dee had run down this corridor, she had been searching for Jack. She had promised herself to come back and help these people, but the Army had refused her request. Seeing the vacant spots fed her guilt. She was determined to make up for that failing and rescue the boys. Deep down, Dee wanted to kill the Trophy King too. It was the only way to end this properly. He had shown that he didn’t forget by attacking the island, and by kidnapping Boss and George he had let them know that he was king. The apex predator. Thinking of the boys, she grimaced. Not if I can help it.

Dee could hear the rattle of Ben’s rifle and the boom of Eric’s shotgun coming from behind the green door. She clicked the talk button on her two-way. “Captain. We’re in position.”

“Get your arses in here. Now!”

Dee exchanged a look with Jack and Maggie. She saw their determination. All right, Trophy King, I’m here.

Jack reached the door and gripped its handle. Dee swung her rifle up and nodded, meeting his gaze. In that brief second, she saw the love and admiration he had for her. It was all the encouragement she needed to carry on with the mission. Gritting her teeth, she moved through the open door, looking over the rifle’s sight.

Dee gasped at the scene greeting her. A dozen Variants had grouped together under and around the metal stairs opposite her position. Ben and Eric stood on the metal landing above, firing down into the group of snarling beasts. Each blast of Eric’s shotgun sent Variant gore spraying into the air. The Variants he was hitting merely shrugged off the rounds, rising and crawling over the bodies of their fallen kin. Their shrieks and howls filled the cavernous room.

Ben fired controlled, expert shots from his carbine, hitting the Variants in their heads. Gaping holes opened up in the deformed heads as they crumpled to the ground. Dee stood transfixed, watching the old soldier kill the hideous beasts with ruthless efficiency.

The Trophy King stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by a guard of larger Variants. Against the far wall was the prone figure of Beth, slumped against a rack of bones. Dee prayed that she was alive. Frantic, she searched for the boys. Jack nudged her arm and nodded his head at the box at the Alpha’s feet.

Adrenalin surged through her veins as she recognised the figures of Boss and George, huddled in the cage. Dee squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to block the image out. The stench of death was suffocating. Maggie brushed past her, firing into the mass of monsters. Dee snapped back to the battle and screamed at the Trophy King. All the motherly instincts buried deep down inside her, all her anger and frustration, came out in one long scream.

Dee raised her rifle and let loose at the Trophy King. The bullets bounced off his thick bark-like skin. He looked up at Dee and bellowed. She swore he was grinning at her. A few Variants scampered around the room, running towards them.

Dee reached into her vest and grabbed a couple of grenades. She waited until the Variants were beneath her before dropping them.

“Grenade!”

She yelled more for the boys’ sake, hoping they heard. She pulled Jack and Maggie back through the door and slammed it shut. The exploding grenades shook the metal stairs. Variant screams mixed with the constant sound of gunfire. Smoke and concrete dust hung in the air, causing her to cough.

Dee reached over and grasped Jack’s arm; he looked back at her. She didn’t speak. He knew what she was thinking. She turned to Maggie. “I’m going for the boys and Beth. You two, cover me. If you can keep those big bastards off me, I think I can get them out.”

“Gotcha. Give him hell,” said Maggie.

Dee raised her rifle, flung the door open, and ran down the stairs, firing at the Alpha as she went. Jack and Maggie added to her barrage. The Trophy King swatted at the bullets as if they were pesky mosquitos.

Dee skirted around the side of the room. She risked a quick glance to see Ben’s progress. He was sweeping his rifle back and forth, mowing down any Variant that happened to be within range. Their numbers were dwindling. She estimated about twenty Variants remained, including the Alpha and his guard. Her radio squawked.

“Keep firing, Renegades. Jack, Dee, get the kids!” yelled Ben.

Dee quickened her pace, pumping her legs. She sighted a Variant over her AR-15 and squeezed the trigger. The bullet entered its neck, spraying her with black, putrid smelling blood. The scent of rotten fruit almost overwhelmed her. The beast tumbled and fell at her feet. It looked up at her, pure hatred in its eyes, and clawed at her legs. Dee unsheathed her knife and rammed it into the Variant’s deformed skull. The knife grated on the bone before entering its brain, killing it. She scanned her immediate vicinity, looking for targets. Seeing no more, she ran the last few metres to Beth.

Dee checked the girl’s pulse. Her heart leapt. Weak, but present. It was then that she realised: the poor girl had been crucified. The depravity of it sickened her. With a silent apology, she yanked Beth off the cross and flung her across her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. Grunting with the effort, she struggled back to the stairs.

Jack had made it to the floor and continued to fire at the Alpha and his guards. He stopped firing to take Beth from Dee.

Dee pivoted around and fired her penultimate magazine at the Alpha. He bellowed at the barrage of metal.

Her two-way squawked, and Ben’s voice rang out. “Keep firing, I’m going for the boys.”

She looked over, and watched as Ben and Eric descended, firing as they went.

Dee concentrated on covering them. The Alpha bounded towards her and, bellowing, swung a huge claw at her. She spun to one side, but his claw gouged her shoulder. Dee winced at the pain. She ducked from his follow up, slipped on some intestines, and skidded. As she slid, she fired up at the Trophy King, hitting him in the groin. She saw his eyes go wide, and realised that her bullets had hit a weak spot. She peered closer. She could see patches of pink skin on his inner thighs and at the bottom of his stomach.

The Trophy King bellowed a deep, angry roar and swung out another huge claw. Dee rolled away, avoiding certain death. The Alpha caught her rifle and it slipped from her grasp.

“Dee!” Jack yelled, concern evident in his voice.

She didn’t look at him. The Trophy King turned towards her and snarled, flashing his sucker mouth filled with teeth. The grotesque heads mounted on his shoulders jiggled. Dee let out a breath. She reached back and drew her Katana.

The Alpha was ten metres away, his feet planted wide, arms and claws outstretched. He let out a ferocious screech.

“Dee! No!” Jack screamed again.

She smiled. She looked over at Boss and George, huddled in their cage of bones, watching her with tears in their eyes.

She let out a breath, and charged the Trophy King, Katana held high. Screaming all her anger. All her hate. All her frustration. Everything she had.

As she reached the Alpha, she tucked into a roll, ducking underneath his swinging claws. Passing through his legs, she leapt up and slashed deep into his groin, continuing the slice up into his stomach. Then she reversed the blade and swung down, slicing through the backs of his ankles. The Trophy King stumbled, turned, and fell to one knee, eyes fixed on Dee. A wet sloshing sound made her smile as the Alpha looked down to see his intestines falling to the ground.

Dee leant back and shoved the Katana through his eye, impaling him to the hilt. The Alpha grunted once and toppled sideways.

Dee dropped to the ground next to the Trophy King, relief overcoming her. She heard running feet and, looking up, saw Jack. He reached down and hauled her to her feet, pointing to the door above Ben and Eric, where Variants were struggling to get back into the room. Jack handed her rifle back to her before turning. He aimed his carbine and shot the Trophy King twice in the head.

Rule #2. Double tap.

Dee clicked in her last magazine. She ran over to the cage, opened it, and grasped the boys in a hug.

George sobbed into her shoulder.

“I’m sorry we weren’t there,” she sobbed.

Boss struggled to stand on one leg, so Dee wrapped an arm around him, helping him steady himself. She watched as he glanced up at the Variants fighting through the barrage of bullets to get to the humans. “Thanks, Dee. Let’s get out of here.”

Jack reached down and lifted George. Then he ran for the stairs and went up, taking two at a time. Ben, Eric, and Maggie fired into the knot of Variants swarming into the throne room. The Renegades backed out of the room of horror. Jack put George down next to Beth in the corridor, and lay down covering fire as Ben and Eric ran up the stairs. Screeches filled the cavernous room, bouncing around like an aviary of undead parrots.

Jack fired at a beast to his left, taking a chunk out of its face. The Variant howled and leapt, landing on the stairs next to Eric.

Eric spun, bringing up his shotgun. The Variant speared him through the torso, tearing into his flesh. Eric screamed and smashed his fist into the Variant, trying to get him off. The monster held on and tore at his chest.

The Renegades looked on in horror. Jack met his gaze. Tears forming, he raised his AR-15.

Eric shook his head. Holding up one of the explosive bricks, he reached down for a grenade.

Ben pushed Jack back out into the hallway. “Go!”

Jack reached down and lifted George into his arms. He could see Dee a few metres farther down the hallway with the hopping Boss. Ben slammed the door behind them. Jack ran with George in his arms, away from that pit of despair. Away from the horrors that would be forever etched into his mind. Away from the Alpha and his disciples of death. He shook his head, remembering Dee’s desperate move that ended the Trophy King. As he rounded the corner, a huge explosion tore through the air. He cradled George’s head and dropped to the floor. The heat of the fireball washed over him. Jack said a silent prayer for Eric, rolled over, and ran for the exit.