NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (19 page)

Horrified, the group began to move in all directions away from the carnage when John glanced over his shoulder and took control of the situation, “Macy! Everybody! Follow me! We can make our plan when we get away from this shit. This way! RUN! Run like hell!”

Thirty Seven

The aliens scanned the clearing for something more to eat. Creatures of opportunity, the eighty or so hatchlings stood below the remaining eggs ready and waiting to catch and devour their smaller siblings as they dropped from above. The newly hatched beings seemed to be aware of their perilous position immediately. Several stronger ones used their larger hind legs to leap away from the carnage just as they exited their egg. Many were chased down, torn apart and eaten.

The young who were lucky enough to make their way to a place where there was still food began to consume whatever they found before turning on each other. The many rabbits, deer and other animals which had been collected were eaten quickly. The creatures that had moved away from the hatching young to eat, were already nearly two feet long. Suddenly one of them jumped into the air and landed on the clutch of remaining, un-hatched eggs and empty sacs. It crawled to the top of the cluster and began chewing on the thick fibrous strands that held it suspended.

Seconds later, the whole thing fell to the ground trapping two or three of the creatures beneath it. Immediately a crowd of ravenous monsters swarmed over the blob of writhing eggs, devouring them and each other with increasing ferocity eating right down to the unfortunate ones that had been trapped when the mass fell.

This was the hatch day finale. There was no more food to be found inside the clearing. The remaining creatures seemed to be satisfied enough for the moment and the cannibalism had subsided. It was time for them to work together to find more food.

The hatchlings looked at one another as though waiting for something to happen. One of them let out an ear-splitting shriek proclaiming itself as their leader and none seemed willing to challenge it. Heading off into the forest in the same direction as the team, the others followed in pursuit of their prey.

Thirty Eight

About two hundred yards from the clearing, the group stopped to plan what to do next. All of them were winded from running so far, and several were coughing. In that anxious moment, the first one who could speak was Raj.

“We left all of our gear back there, John.” He stopped to catch his breath. “Now we have no food, no water, no shelter, and all we have is the knife you used to free us.” Again he paused, his chest still heaving. “I don’t see how we can make it out here for very long like this, do you?”

“Raj is right. We should circle back and get the gear.” Macy was pacing back and forth to try to slow her pulse. “We won’t survive in these woods more than a day or two without supplies. If nothing else, we need water.”

“But what if those things come after us?” Karla challenged.

Eddie chimed in, “Yeah, those fucking things back there were growing as they ate! Did you guys see that? I’ll bet some were already double in size by the time they ate Mark!”

“Yeah, I hear you. All of you...” John started but was cut off by Marcus. “Yeah, motherfucker! You hear, but did you see those things? They fuckin’ ate their own parents and they just about finished off Mark in, like, less than two minutes! Man, they was just babies. What’re we gonna do when they get even bigger? They could be fuckin’ three feet long by now!”

Emily finally spoke up, “Listen, guys. If we stay here, those bastards are going to get us for sure, and if we run, we could run deep into the woods and die from exposure or starvation. I’ve seen those survival shows where they say to find the water and follow it because streams lead to creeks, creeks lead to rivers, and rivers always lead to civilization. But I don’t see any water around here. Not a drop!”

“Or rivers drop off cliffs into waterfalls.” John cut her short. “That’s television. Who do you think is running the cameras while those people are ‘surviving’? I’ve had some survival training in the military, and we are not going to just find some stream and follow it to get out of here. We need a better plan.”

“Does anybody have a compass?” Sherri asked. “I have a friend with a cell phone that has an application that works just like a compass. Anybody have one like that?”

“Hell yeah!” Marcus said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I got that one - if this bitch is still working!” He pushed the button on the phone to wake it from its sleep mode.

Everyone gathered around him hoping it would work. They waited as he thumbed through screen after screen of icons. As he was searching, they got a good view of the photo of a nude, large breasted blonde that he had loaded as the background graphic for his phone. She looked to be straight out of a Playboy centerfold. “Nice choice! Why don’t we just call for help,” Eddie suggested with an air of exasperation, “or at least use the navigation app.”

Marcus was a bit embarrassed in front of this group who were now eyeing his photo of the perfect Queen. “’Cuz I don’t have a signal, asshole!” He scrambled to click the icon and bring up the compass app. As it opened it seemed to freeze. “I have to shake this bitch to wake it up.” He was vigorously shaking the phone.

“How ‘bout we try it the old-fashioned way?” John suggested. “It just so happens that I have a small compass in my pocket here.” He reached into one of the side pockets on his cargo pants and pulled out a small compass. He held it out flat against his palm. Everyone was straining to see where it would point when they let out a chorus of “Oh shit!”

The compass needle was spinning, slowing down, and then spinning in the opposite direction. “We must be in some kind of magnetic field,” John said. He looked around as though checking for some sign of it. Sherri looked over at Marcus who was staring at his phone. The compass on his phone app was spinning in the same crazy way as John’s, and he held it out for her to see.

“Watch out! Get down!” Suddenly Sherri was hearing a familiar voice warning her. The group had been so intent on looking to the phone, they forgot to keep watch for the creatures that were running silently through the woods and now were almost upon them.

Sherri had become so accustomed to the voices telling her what to do, she didn’t question it. She simply dropped to her knees in compliance without a second thought. All eyes turned toward her as she hit the ground. Those who stood directly across from her were stunned when out of the stand of trees came one of the creatures. It was snarling and bearing a mouthful of jagged teeth when it launched itself into the air over Sherri’s head.

The monster landed on Marcus pushing him forward into the middle of the group. John reached for his knife as everyone screamed, and the monster scrambled up Marcus’ back to take a large bite from his neck. There was a sudden gush of blood as the crazed alien pulled back and ripped out a chunk of flesh. Tendon and muscle made a snapping sound as they tore apart.

Marcus staggered forward with a stunned look on his face while blood sprayed from the severed artery in an arc to the ground. John yelled for Emily to move behind him as the creature took a second bite, sending Marcus’ head rolling into the pine needles. His decapitated body crumpled to the ground with the alien still on his back. Drops of blood spattered Sherri as she knelt frozen on the ground, screaming in terror. To the other side of Marcus, Raj wiped the splatter from his face as his knees began to go out from under him.

In shock, the rest of the group began to move like a slow surging wave. Shrieks from the distance signaled the oncoming horde of hungry alien babies. Sherri pushed herself up from the ground, With tears streaming down her cheeks, she followed them pulling Raj along with her. If she hadn’t dragged him, his reaction to the horror they had just witnessed might have left him frozen where he stood.

John started to run with the others, then hesitated as they ran on without him. Roaring with rage, he turned back and met the monster head on. He plunged the blade of his knife between the black lifeless eyes of the creature. He twisted the blade as he pulled it out dripping with orange alien blood and shoved it in again.

The dying alien rolled off its victim’s body and lay writhing in a pool of its own blood. John shook the slimy mess from his knife sheathing it, as he turned and ran to catch up with the others. He had no idea that behind him in the rotting leaves lay the blood-soaked compass and Marcus’ shattered phone.

He found the others travelling slower than he had expected, bogged down trying to navigate thick brush and fallen trees. It was not long before he realized the gravity of the situation they faced. The long tangled vines that seemed to be growing everywhere were covered with sharp thorns all along their stems, and it hurt like hell to move them out of the way with their hands.

“Was Marcus dead for sure when you left him?” asked Raj. His brain had checked out of the horrific scene before his legs had failed him. If he had his senses about him he would have known the answer to his own question.

“You saw him. That fucking monster bit his head off! And that’s what they’ll do to us if we don’t get moving. Does anybody see a branch or a loose piece of wood on the ground?” Perspiration soaking through to his shirt, John was breathing hard and bending over, resting his hands on his knees. “We need to find something to move the brush out of the way.”

“Over there!” yelled Emily, pointing to a large branch that had fallen from a tree and become entangled in the vines. John forced his way through to the branch yelling back to the group, “Follow me!”

No one hesitated as they all fell in behind him. He reached the branch and cut it loose, breaking the smaller branches off and leaving two larger stubs that he could use like handles. He took hold of them and turned the thicker end of the branch facing into the tangled mess before him. As he readied himself, he shouted, “Eddie, Raj, get behind me. When I say push, push against my back.”

They did as they were told and, when John said push, they began shoving him forward from behind. The way John was holding the branch parted the vines in front of him like a wedge as they forced their way through. It looked good for them to get through this until, with a loud snapping sound, John’s makeshift handles broke off.

“Damn, this is bullshit!” He said getting a grip on the main part of the branch, “Fuckin’ push! Failure is not an option! Not here, not now!”

Thirty Nine

The group came to a small clearing and stopped for a rest, pulling thorns from their skin and clothing. John pressed a strip of fabric from his shirt against the skin on his right arm to stop the bleeding from the cuts and scratches he had sustained from the brush. He pulled his shirt over his head without unbuttoning it, leaving the cotton t-shirt he wore underneath. Handing her his knife, he asked Emily to use his shirt and cut strips for anyone who needed them.

When she had finished, she handed back the knife and what was left of the shirt. John shook his head and took only the knife from her hands. “Hang onto that, Em. I think we’re gonna need more bandages before long, and it probably won’t get as dirty if you’re holding it.” He was still breathing hard as he spoke.

“I hate to say this, but we might need to split up… spread out the group.” He looked over at what was left of the team deciding in his head which of them looked like survivors, and which of them looked more like an entrée at an alien buffet.

“What about safety in numbers, and all that shit?” asked Eddie.

“That’s usually true, but if we break it up a bit they’ll have a harder time picking a target. I’m not talking about going separate ways. I’m talking about spreading out and putting about ten feet or more between us. Maybe that will give us a wider field of vision, and make it easier for one of us to spot them when they’re coming.”

“Easy for you to say, John. You’re the only one with a weapon!” Macy sounded pissed. “Who gets to walk next to you?”

“I might be the only one with a knife,” John gestured, pointing at some baseball-sized rocks and fallen tree branches, “but there are weapons all around us. All we have to do is pick them up and use them.” He tossed the strip of bloody shirt he had used on his arm aside and made eye contact with each one in the group.

“Those things bleed and die just like we do. I killed the one that killed Marcus. We can defend ourselves if we have to with sticks and rocks, but we have got to keep moving. If we stay ahead of them, they may get tired of chasing us.” Even though frustrated, the group nodded their heads in agreement. No one else had any better plan, or any plan at all.

“I’ll do whatever you say, John. We’d all be dead right now if you hadn’t cut us free back there.” Karla moved to stand beside him and put her hand on his shoulder.

Emily saw the game Karla was playing and stepped up as well, brushing Karla’s hand away. “I think you, Eddie, Raj and Sherri should spread out on that side and John, Macy and me over there.” She glared at Karla.

“But that isn’t fair. What if we get in trouble, John? Macy’s right, you have the knife! None of the rest of us has anything lethal for defense. That puts us a long way from some help if we need it,” Eddie complained.

“Okay, listen. I hear ya, but we need to get a good lead on these things first. Then we’ll stop to make you some weapons. I think we should keep our voices down too. We don’t know how these things operate.” He was scanning the forest all around them as he spoke.