Frank Schatzing - The Swarm

Pain rushed through him.

He wasn't on his back any more, he was standing upright. Or was he hanging upside-down? He couldn't tell. He seemed to be floating. No, he was flying backwards. Through a mist of blood he saw the platform, then the edge of the platform, moving away from him, disappearing into the sky with the nets.

The cold hit him like a blow. Foaming water washed the blood from Vanderbilt's eyes, as his body dropped into the depths. There was no sign of the vessel, just featureless green, a darkening expanse from which a shadow emerged.

It was moving quickly. Its mouth opened as it approached.

Then there was nothing.

LAB

' What the hell are you playing at ?'

'Let him go.'

The words were still echoing in Weaver's head: Peak's horrified question, followed by Li's brutal order. Then the lab shook and heeled. The rumble of the blast was drowned by a cacophony of noises as everything around them toppled and smashed. Weaver was hurled across the room with Rubin. They landed behind a bench in a hail of instruments and receptacles. A thunderous noise swept round the lab. Everything was vibrating. Then they heard glass shattering. Weaver's first thought was for the containment facility. She hoped to God that its hermetically sealed chambers and armoured glass would hold. On her butt, she shuffled away from Rubin.

She spotted the metal case of test-tubes. It had slid across the floor towards her feet. She and Rubin stared at it.

There was a brief pause while they weighed up their chances. Then Weaver lunged forward, but Rubin was quicker. He grabbed the case, jumped up and ran towards the back of the lab. Weaver swore, knowing she'd have to leave the shelter of the bench. Whatever was going on around them, no matter what Li was up to, she had to have that case.

Two soldiers were slumped on the floor. One lay still, but the other was clambering to his feet. The third had kept his balance and was holding his gun at the ready. Li bent down to take the weapon from the motionless body. At the next second it was pointing at Weaver. Peak was leaning stiffly against the locked door. 'Karen,' he shouted, 'don't move. We won't hurt you. For Christ's sake, Karen, don't move.'

His voice was drowned by the rattle of the gun. Weaver sprang, catlike, behind a nearby cluster of benches. She had no idea what Li was firing, but the ammunition shredded the benches as though they were cardboard. Splinters of glass flew past her head and a hundred kilograms of microscope crashed to the floor. Amid the chaos the alarm buzzed steadily. Suddenly Rubin was running towards her, eyes wide with panic.

'Mick!' yelled Li. 'Mick, you moron, get over here.'

Weaver dived out of her hiding-place. She flung herself on top of Rubin and seized the case. Just then the vessel shook again, and the room tilted further. Rubin slid across the floor and crashed into a shelving unit, which toppled over, bombarding him with test-tubes and trapping him on his back. He howled, his arms and legs waving in the air. Out of the corner of her eye Weaver saw Li turn the weapon towards her. The third soldier was leaping over the ruins of the benches. He had one of the enormous black weapons too, and raised it.

There was nowhere for her to run. She dropped down beside Rubin.

'Don't shoot,' she heard Li shout. 'It's too-'

The soldier fired. He missed her. The shots thudded against the deep-sea simulator, making a gong-like sound on the glass. They ploughed straight through the oval window in a single line from left to right.

Suddenly there was an eerie silence, except for the alarm, which continued to buzz at regular intervals. They all froze and stared transfixed at the tank. Weaver heard a single loud crack. She turned her head and saw fissures spreading through the enormous sheet of glass.

'Oh, God,' groaned Rubin.

'Mick,' veiled Li. 'Get the hell over here!'

'I can't,' he whimpered, 'It's my leg. I can't move.'

'Too bad,' said Li. 'He's expendable. Let's go.'

'You can't just-' Peak was cut off before he could finish.

'Open the door, Sal.'

If Peak said anything, no one heard it. There was a deafening hang as the glass shattered. Tonnes of seawater spurted towards them. Weaver ran. Behind her a torrent of water raged through the laboratory, knocking down everything in its path.

'Karen,' she heard Rubin cry out. 'Don't leave-'

The room was full of spray. She saw Peak limping through the door, followed by Li. As the commander walked out her hand hit a switch on the wall beside the door. Weaver knew what that meant.

Li intended to lock them inside.

Water rushed up her back, pitching her forward. She crashed to her knees and scrambled up. She was drenched, but her arms were still wrapped round the case. Panting and trying not to be dragged back by the tide, she fought her way to the door as it started to close. She covered the last few metres in a single bound, glanced off the doorframe and tumbled on to the ramp.

DECK ELEVATOR

Greywolf and Anawak helped Johanson to his feet. The biologist was in a bad way, but still conscious. 'Where's Vanderbilt?' he murmured.

'Gone fishing,' said Greywolf.

Anawak felt as though he'd been run over by a train. His belly was hurting so much that he could barely keep upright.

'Jack,' he kept saying, 'Jeez, Jack.' Greywolf had saved him again. It was becoming a tradition. 'How did you get here?'

'I was a bit short with you earlier,' said Greywolf 'I wanted to apologise.'

'Are you crazy? You shouldn't be apologising for anything.'

'Thank goodness he didn't see it that way,' said Johanson, between groans.

Greywolf's face was waxen beneath the copper-coloured skin. What's wrong with him? thought Anawak. Then his friend's shoulders slumped and his eyelids fluttered…

Suddenly he noticed that Greywolf's T-shirt was covered with blood. For a moment he allowed himself to believe it was Vanderbilt's. Then he saw that the stain was growing bigger – blood was spilling from his stomach. The ship was rocked by another blast and Johanson stumbled into him. Greywolf tipped forwards and disappeared over the edge.

Jack!' Anawak dropped to his knees and slid over to where Greywolf had been standing. He was caught in one of the nets, gazing up at him. The waves crashed below. Jack, give me your hand.'

Greywolf didn't move. He stared up at Anawak, pressing his hands to his belly. Blood welled through his fingers.

Vanderbilt. The bastard had shot him.

'It's going to be OK, Jack.' Words from a movie. 'Give me your hand. I'll pull you out of there. We can do it.'

Johanson crawled to the edge. Lying flat on his belly, he tried to reach down into the net, but his arms weren't long enough.

'You need to pick yourself up,' Anawak said. Then: 'Stay there, Jack. I'm coming down. I'll push you up, and Sigur can drag you from above.'

'No,' said Greywolf.

'Jack…'

'It's better this way.'

'Don't talk like that!' Anawak snapped at him. 'I don't want to hear any of that Hollywood shit about not worrying about you and leaving you to-'

'Leon, buddy.'

'Jack! I said no!'

A thin ribbon of blood trickled out of Greywolf's mouth. 'Leon…' He smiled. All of a sudden he seemed to relax. He sat up with a jerk, rolled towards the edge of the net and splashed into the waves.

LAB

Rubin couldn't see or hear. Water from the tank swirled over him. He wondered what on earth had happened in the last few seconds. Then he felt the raging mass of water lift the shelving unit off his leg. He rose, spluttering, to the surface.

Thank God for that, he thought. At least the worst is over. The tank held a hell of a lot of water, but not enough to flood the lab. Once it had spread out, it wouldn't come higher than a metre.