Brian Keene - Deluge - The Conqueror Worms II

Mylon appeared at her side. With one quick motion, he shoved the barrel of his shotgun against the creature’s snout and pulled the trigger, spraying both Caterina and himself with crimson. Grimacing, Mylon wiped the blood away with one hand, while clutching the shotgun in the other. As he reached out a hand to help Caterina to her feet, one of the starfish men charged them from behind. Both Caterina and Sarah shouted a warning, but it was too late. The monster rammed its trident into Mylon’s back, lifting him from the deck. He fumbled with the shotgun, but it slipped from his grasp. Sarah gasped.

“Put him down, you fucker!”

She ran toward them, realizing a moment too late that she was unarmed. Sarah could barely believe it herself—to have survived for this long in a world gone mad, only to charge into battle now without a weapon…

She leaped for the shotgun, but it slid farther away. Mylon’s attacker turned toward her. Its eye-tipped arms seemed to leer.

And then one of the eyes exploded. Squealing, the creature lowered its trident. Mylon slipped from the prongs, collapsing on top of Caterina. The starfish man’s remaining appendages flailed as it collapsed to its knees, writhing in agony. Seconds later, another one of its eyeballs vanished in a spray of pulp. This time, Sarah heard the gunshot. She glanced up and spotted Novak, rifle stock nestled firmly in his shoulder, sitting atop the bridge. With a nod of acknowledgement, he trained the rifle’s scope on another attacker.

The beast was still alive. Its screams were inhuman. Sarah snatched up Caterina’s makeshift spear and rammed it into the monster’s gaping maw. The thing trembled, and then went slack. Sarah pulled the broom handle from its mouth. Slime dripped from the broken tip.

“He’s alive,” Caterina shouted, cradling Mylon’s head in her lap.

“He won’t be for much longer if you don’t stand up and fight. Give him the shotgun and lets go!”

“I don’t need it,” Mylon gasped. “You take it. I’ve still got my pistol.”

Nodding, Caterina retrieved the shotgun and then waded back into the battle, standing side-by-side with Sarah. Sarah glanced back long enough to see Mylon propping himself up against the rails. His face was pale and his expression was pained. Blood trickled from his open mouth. Despite his injuries, he managed to free his pistol from its holster and blast another attacker.

Sarah was alarmed to see more creatures climbing onto the deck. Novak picked off several of them before they could clamber over the rails, but for each one that he dropped back into the ocean, two more took its place.

She heard Henry call out, and turned to see him being menaced by three of the shark men. The creatures had backed him into a corner, and were too close for him to use his rifle. Indeed, as Sarah fought her way toward him, one of the beasts snatched the weapon from the teen’s hands and flung it over the side. The shark-man lowered its head, coming in for the kill. In his panic, Henry yanked the hatchet free from his belt loop and swung wildly. The blade sank into the closest shark’s nose. Roaring, the monster flailed backward onto the deck, taking Henry’s weapon—which was still lodged in its snout—with it.

Screaming, Sarah and Caterina both charged toward the group. The sharks turned, and Caterina pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. She slid to a halt, inches from Henry’s attackers, her eyes wide with fear.

“Oh, sh—”

One of the shark men ripped the shotgun from her hands. The other opened its jaws and attacked, engulfing her head and body in its mouth, biting down right above her breasts. Despite the stuffing in her ears, Sarah still heard the sounds its teeth made as they snapped shut, slicing through flesh and crushing bone. Its eyes rolled up in its head with frenzied, savage delight as it shook her still-kicking form.

Shrieking, Sarah shoved the spear into its right eye. Both Caterina and her killer fell to the deck. The other monster bared its teeth at Sarah, but seconds later, a metal spear sprouted from its chest. Glancing around in confusion, Sarah spotted Gail reloading her spear gun. The creature toppled over the side as the ship rolled again. Meanwhile, Henry managed to retrieve his hatchet.

“How did you kill it like that?” Sarah asked.

Henry wiped the hatchet blade on his raincoat. “I fought one when Moxey and me left the silo. If you hit them on the nose, it really hurts them. I reckon doing so with a hatchet was more than it could stand.”

Despite her fear, Sarah grinned. “Good to know.”

The battle continued. Sarah, Henry, and Gail ended up back to back as the various deep sea denizens tried to encircle them. Novak continued sniping them from above, but the ship was rocking so severely now that many of his shots went astray. Mylon continued fighting, picking off the creatures as they clambered over the railing. When he ran out of ammunition, he fumbled with the weapon, his fingers slick with rainwater and blood.

“We should do something for him,” Gail yelled, nodding at the injured man.

“There’s nothing we can do right now,” Sarah shouted. “Keep fighting. We’ve got to buy Simon enough time.”

More through desperation and scared savagery than skill, they managed to overcome their attackers. Soon, they outnumbered the creatures left onboard.

“Now,” Sarah ordered, “before reinforcements arrive—”

She paused, distracted. A few hundred yards beyond the ship’s bow, the sea began to churn. A bright, dazzling light appeared beneath the surface. Slowly, a whirlpool began to form.

“What’s that?” Henry asked.

At first, Sarah thought he was referring to the whirlpool, but then she realized he and Gail were staring aft. She turned, looking in the direction Henry was pointing. There, far off on the murky horizon, a shadow loomed, so large in size that its shape was difficult to comprehend. But Sarah recognized it. She knew it all too well. The bulbous head like a misshapen hot air balloon. The hulking, rubbery body. The impossibly long arms, tipped with claw-like hands big enough to tear down whole buildings. And most of all, the tentacles—both the ones dangling from its face and the slimmer, longer ones erupting from the water like a horde of snakes.

Sarah began to weep.

“What the hell is that?” Henry asked again.

Novak and Mylon started shooting as a second wave of creatures tried to board the vessel.

“That,” Sarah cried, “is Leviathan…”

CHAPTER 88

Leviathan trudged toward them. Sarah could only imagine the skyscraper-sized legs plodding along beneath the surface. Each step sent huge waves surging outward from the beast. The thing shook its massive, misshapen head, flapping its tentacles, and its roar echoed across the ocean, drowning out all other sound.

The group paused, stunned, as each step brought the monstrosity closer. Sarah trembled with dread, tears streaming down her already wet cheeks as memories of her encounter with Leviathan in Baltimore overwhelmed her. At her side, both Henry and Gail gaped, staring in disbelief as Leviathan raged.

Leviathan’s roar faded, and Mylon cried out in anguish. Sarah turned to see him clutching his wound with one hand and trying to steady his rifle with the other, as two more starfish men slipped over the side onto the deck. Before they could reach him, Novak shot them both from his perch. Sarah watched as Novak patted his pockets. Then, he gestured at her, shouting something. The wind snatched his words away.

“What?” Sarah shouted.

“I’m out of ammo!”

Ahead of the rocking ship, the whirlpool grew larger, spinning faster as the light in its center continued to expand. Sarah couldn’t be sure, because the rain obscured her vision, but for a moment, she thought she saw blue sky and clouds in the center of the light.