Дэвид Уоллес - Island of Fog and Death

Peri ejected the magazine from the pistol but fumbled the replacement, and heard it skittering across the cave. “I’ve dropped the fucking reload,” she shouted. “I’m getting out.” She turned and started running.

Steve called out, “Flash bang. One away.”

A couple of seconds later came the loud crack and bright light. The creature hissed and growled, and they caught a glimpse of something big retreating back up the cave. They ducked out through the doors and slammed them shut.

“I need a reload,” said Peri. She accepted two spare pistol magazines and loaded one of them.

“I don’t think we were hurting it,” Steve said.

“Just annoying it,” added Troy.

“It didn’t like the flash-bang,” observed Peri. “I think it was the light that bothered it. So come on, boys, let’s take stock. What resources have we got?”

“Bullets,” said Steve. “I’ve got three full rifle mags plus what’s loaded, call it one hundred rounds.”

“Same.” said Troy.

“Nine mil rounds, call it sixty apiece and Peri has thirty,” Steve said. “Gus, what about you?”

“Twenty,” said the Swede.

“None of which seem to bother the beast,” said Peri. “What about things that go bang?”

“Between us, me and Troy have one frag and three flash-bang grenades.”

“And let’s consider what we’ve learned,” said Peri. “Bullets, at least in the quantities we’ve got, only irritate it.”

“Chop the end off a tentacle all you have is a chain snake plus an annoyed beastie,” said Steve.

“It doesn’t like flash bangs.”

“We haven’t tried a frag on it yet,” said Troy. “Would it do enough damage to kill the main creature without just throwing out a load of snakes?”

“And that’s the big question,” said Peri. “Do we have anything big enough to really hurt it?”

There was an ominous sound of hissing and scraping at the door.

“Well,” started Gus, but he was interrupted by a resounding crash against the door.

“Did that just move?” asked Amanda.

“That just moved,” confirmed Peri. “Come on, hold the door!”

“Well,” Gus said again. “I believe this type of creature can regenerate itself from large enough parts, as we saw with the tentacle tip. So a large explosion risks just scattering parts that will grow into several more creatures. All weaker, but all capable of killing and growing.”

“Fuck, Gus, how long have you known that?” asked Peri with anger in her voice. “It didn’t occur to you to maybe let us know what you know about the fucker, like, hours ago?”

“Peri, I have only seen it just now. It is only now that I recognise it. I am not holding back information, I assure you.”

“Okay, sorry, Gus, I’m just a bit – how I can put it best? – a bit shit-scared. I’m not at my best when I’m a bit shit-scared. Now that you have seen it, how do we kill it?”

“It is similar to creatures that manifested in Japan, in Nagasaki, and the USA, at Mount Saint Helens.”

“How were they dealt with?” asked Steve.

“Nukes,” was Peri’s terse reply.

“Yes,” said Gus. “I believe the only solution the authorities could come up with was vaporisation.”

“So, Steve,” said Peri conversationally. “I don’t suppose that’s a nuke in your pocket?”

Troy answered for him. “No. He’s just that happy to see you.”

“Hilarious,” Peri replied with a note of irritation. “So, Gus, let’s think about this. What we need is something that delivers a really high temperature, such as burning very intensely and energetically. Am I right?”

“I think so. But it needs to be intense enough to vaporise its tissues, not just scatter them.”

Steve was nodding his head. “Sounds like we need a fuel-air bomb, or a shed load of white phosphorus.”

But Peri was shaking her head at the same time. “They use atmospheric oxygen, and loads of it. I suspect we couldn’t get the effect we need down here because there isn’t enough oxygen. That was why the Yanks had to nuke Mount – no, forget I said that, or I’ll have to kill you all. Guys, where my head is at, is that we have two options here. One is a complex mission to use bunker-busters to open up the cave system and let in air, quickly followed by intense incendiary action. The other is simpler: programme a Trident to just nuke the fucker. No doubt the top brass can think of other options besides. Steve, can you get up to ground level and update Captain Mike?”

Steve nodded and made for the stairs.

Peri continued, “The rest of us, we’ll try to secure the door again. Then it’s mission accomplished and over to the Ministry to arrange a big bang, and we can all Foxtrot Oscar out of here before the shit hits the monster. Grab the iron bar, people.”

Peri moved to the left end of the bar, Troy went to the right, and Gus and Amanda spaced themselves in the middle. They squatted to take hold of it. Troy counted down, and on ‘go’ they heaved it up to waist height and shuffled a few paces closer to the door before letting the bar drop.

“God, that’s heavy!” complained Peri. “How the hell did Bandra manage to chuck it on her own? Come on, let’s get this done. Ready? Count us in, Troy.”

This time, though, before they managed to get it to waist height, there was another crash against the doors. They flew apart, striking the iron bar a double blow that pushed it back, bowling over Amanda and Troy. Peri and Gus both managed to hop backwards out of its way.

“The doors!” yelled Peri, jumping over the bar and hurling herself against the left door to try to force it shut. Gus jumped for the right door. Glancing back, he saw that Amanda was shouting in pain, an ankle trapped under the bar, and Troy had taken a blow to his head that left him dazed. Gus eyed the dog sitting calmly behind them all.

“Tash!” he shouted. “Come and help! Throw your weight onto this door!”

“No.” The dog’s reply shocked him. That it was audible, rather than telepathic, also surprised him.

“What are you thinking?” he yelled. “Come on, Tash!”

“What’s in it for me, Gustav?” asked the dog. “Come on, what’s my incentive?”

“Tash! Help us, please!”

“Nah, don’t think so.”

“What do you want, dog?” Peri all but screamed.

“Opposable thumbs,” said Tash. “That’s all. It’s not much, really, is it?”

There were a series of ominous thuds against the doors, and Peri and Gus struggled to hold them closed.

“No,” said Gus, firmly.

Troy was back on his feet. He tried to lift the bar off Amanda, but without success.

Seeing him struggle, Peri spoke up. “Gus, I’ll move to the middle and hold both doors, if you grab the bar and get Amanda out.”

“No,” he replied. “You cannot hold it alone. Tash will help. You will, Tash!”

“Opposable thumbs,” said the dog again.

Peri shuffled sideways, towards the centre of the doorway, her back against the door and her feet pushing, hard. “We’ve got to get her out, Gus. Now, go!”

She moved sideways another foot, and now she was pushing against both doors. With a grunt of frustration, Gus pushed off from the door and joined Troy. The two men heaved the bar up at one end, and with a sob of relief Amanda rolled free.

There was another crash against the door. Peri was jolted forward. The door opened. A black tentacle lashed out and wrapped round Peri’s middle, its sharp spines digging in. She yelled with the pain. A second limb flashed out from behind the door and whipped around her leg. Blood sprayed the air as a barb hit an artery. Troy jumped forward and slammed against one leaf of the door, slamming it shut, but a third tentacle slapped across Peri’s face. She screamed. The creature hissed and whistled in triumph from behind the door, tightening its grip and dragging Peri toward itself, the knife-like spines slicing into her flesh, and contracting muscles breaking bones with a sickening sound. Someone – it might have been Troy – grabbed her wrist to try to hold her back, but slippery blood was everywhere now. Peri felt rather than heard a roaring in her ears, the sound of screams, shouting – and then her world blacked out.