Breathe Deep Fear Vol. 1 Read online

  The wind howled angrily as they took off for McKinnon’s bar and the shadows watched patiently for the moment to strike.

  * * *

  Lyons inhaled another drag from the cigarette in her mouth as her hands fisted around the steering wheel in a white-knuckled death grip. The windshield wipers flopped back and forth wildly while the high beams failed to make a dent in the storm. Honestly, she wasn’t even confident they were on the road anymore. Tony sat on her right and leaned up from the back, both their faces mirroring her internal concern.

  Still, she pressed down on the gas a little more. Chances are they would wind up dead one way or the other, and if a little reckless driving saved one or two more people then it was worth a few soiled skivvies. Although, rushing was probably pointless. They hadn’t found anyone after three hours of this damnable weather, and the few homes who had called for assistance were either empty, or completely destroyed.

  She couldn’t believe how far down the crapper the town had gone in less than a day, and she’d actually been hopeful when the backup had a guess about what they were dealing with. True, they were as screwed as the rest of them, but it was comforting to know there was at least someone who could give them a chance.

  Then, the kid had to go and get himself drowned in the river with some damned monster.

  His wife had almost dove in after him, would have too if Tony and Tim hadn’t held her back. Sure, she kept a deadpan demeanor and wasn’t hysterical by any means, but that kind of genuine worry wasn’t easy to hide. Lyons found it odd that it was only worry and not mourning. When asked, the redhead had basically stated that the kid had a lot of luck in him. Apparently, nearly dying but not taking that final step into the light was his specialty.

  They hadn’t had a lot of time to think about it.

  The storm started up and the phone rang a few minutes later – followed by another. By the tenth phone call, it was clear Hell had broken loose and was looking to consume anything breathing.

  Red had ordered them to stick together and gather up anyone who hadn’t- who hadn’t changed into some awful demon. She left on her own while they spent two hours picking up survivors and getting them into the station. It was the newest and best fortified place in town.

  They also had the small blessing that the townsfolk cooperated in fortifying the place after Mullen’s little rebellion, and everyone was dutiful in carrying out their assigned roles.

  It was too bad the redhead had disappeared out into the storm alone and that they hadn’t run into her. Not only would it help everyone having her knowledge available, but this weather wasn’t for anyone to be out alone in, much less with God knows what was out there.

  Lyons tossed the radio over to Tony.

  “Radio the station.”

  The Chief Deputy nodded and clicked down the button.

  “McKinnon, you there?”

  “Yeah Tony, I’m here. You guys coming in yet? The storm’s getting worse if that’s possible.”

  “Have there been any other calls or contacts?”

  “No I’m sad to say we haven’t.” There was a pause and the McKinnon talked a little quieter. “You should come back though.”

  “Why?”

  “The people are getting jumpy – saying the shadows are watching them.”

  Chapter

  30

  Cale marched through the rapidly deepening snow as the trio made their way to McKinnon’s bar. It was less than a half a mile outside of town, but in the storm it may as well have been three. His numb fingers clenched under his armpits in a futile attempt to warm the bare digits as the knee-high drifts tired out his legs. Julia seemed to be in a similar situation, but refused to holster the probably ice cold gun.

  Bad weather had honestly been the last thing on their minds when Tim had rushed into the diner that morning.

  Morning. It seemed like it had happened ages ago. For that matter, their time in the town was much shorter than it seemed. In just over twenty-seven hours, a nervous town with a few unexplained deaths had been eliminated. Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but from what he could get from Julia’s few terse words, in his five hour absence every monster had woken up and started attacking, and reports about War were increasing. The survivors, if there were any, were being sheltered in the sheriff’s station as Lyons went out with Tim and Tony to find more.

  The weather goes bad and everything goes to hell.

  His eyes lit up.

  “Julia, when did the attacks start exactly? What was the weather doing?”

  “The storm had just started to gain force.”

  “Has War, the big one, done any of the attacking or has it just been the smaller ones?”

  “No.” She stopped. “And the attacks were initially limited to the single homes on the outskirts where it would take greater time to- damn it!”

  “What are you two going on about?”

  “John, these things aren’t a byproduct of War’s attacks. They’re more like its offspring.” Cale glanced over his shoulder to the giant. “War is using them to herd everyone into a single location.”

  The skeleton rubbed the back of its skull.

  “Cale is right. The creatures didn’t become active for days, and now even the newest victims quickly reanimate. They have not attacked the town where most had originated, instead heading directly to the edge of the primary’s territory and sweeping inward.”

  “People do tend to group together when in danger.” John nodded. “And you said everyone is gathering up at the station?”

  “Yes. It will allow the primary to feed all at once, instead of expending energy tracking down small clusters.”

  “That’s what the smaller ones are for; like lionesses downing the kill for the king of the pride.”

  “I can’t believe we missed this.” Cale removed his hands from under his coat and rubbed his head out of habit. “Warning bells should of gone off as soon as we found out that War devoured some, but just skinned the others.”

  “You two have any idea how it’s doing it?”

  “That is irrelevant. The … offspring hunt in small packs and possess levels of strength equal to or slightly above that of an average human.” Julia kicked open the door to the bar. “They also display a greater affinity for stealth than what we have dealt with in the past.”

  “This may not be a bad thing.” John rubbed his gelled chin. “The fact that its using others to gather prey means it doesn’t want, or can’t afford, to expend the energy to do it itself. The bigger it gets, the more it has to eat and more often. I’m guessing it burns out faster too. If we keep it from getting the rest of the town, then it may weaken to the point I could trap it again.”

  “We could probably help with that. It ran from Mullen’s men originally and then massacred the farm to recover. Between you, Julia, myself, and maybe even the town, we could wear it down.”

  Julia stepped inside; Cale followed, pausing as John gave a brief wave, and shut the door remaining outside. The giant seemed immune to the cold, and the bar would be a little cramped for him. It was probably for the best anyway. Those things were out there and John could keep an eye out.

  Julia came down the stairs and tossed him a pair of gloves and some earmuffs. She had already put on the same, and set a metallic case on the bar counter. He pulled the gloves on as she set to work assembling whatever was in the case. The fabric was skintight, aside from the rubberized grip on the fingers and palm, but quickly warmed his hands. He opened and closed his hands to get the circulation working and walked over to Julia.

  She thrust a gun into his arms, some kind of automatic if he had to guess.

  “That is a Type 2 Shredder. It is a submachine gun developed by our organization.” She turned and started to dig around in her bag again. “It has an optional laser sight if you need it.”

  Cale almost let out a chuckle.

  “The Shredder?”

  “Our organization uses many weapons regularly that most governments h
aven’t developed a prototype for. Shredders use bullets that are half a millimeter in size and can therefore house several thousand projectiles in one cartridge. Damage is caused by the sheer velocity of the bullet. It doesn’t have a heavy kick, but be careful of holding down the trigger. It will decrease your accuracy.”

  He checked it over. Handguns were still giving him problems, and she wanted him to handle something like this?

  “It will probably take some getting used to.”

  “We don’t have time. The civilians are all at the station, and therefore the sole target of these creatures.”

  “Why didn’t we have these guns earlier?”

  “We shouldn’t be using them now. They are as confidential as our operations. I am only doing this because we will not survive with anything less. A Shredder lacks substantial power, but we will be able to lay suppressing fire. The current monsters seem to be less resistant to damage. However, their maneuverability and intelligence make up for it. Our goal should be to meet up at the station and eliminate as many of the offspring as possible.”

  “We have to handle War if and when it shows. John may be able to slow it down, but if we are going to save the survivors, we’ll have to help him.”

  “A cleaner team will be here in an hour. Engaging the primary will significantly increase our chances of failure. We must merely survive until their arrival.”

  “Merely, huh?” He pulled the gun tight to his forearm and looked down the barrel. It would work for the time being. “I don’t think we will have that option, Julia. That station isn’t going to keep War out. If we clear out the smaller ones, everyone spreading out around the station itself would give us better odds.”

  “Only if the smaller ones have been dealt with.” She walked up to him. “I request that you limit your normally reckless actions. We will not have the luxury of you being incapacitated.”

  “I’m going to assume that was your way of saying ‘be careful’.”

  She opened her mouth, and the window shattered, unleashing a gale of frigid wind. John tossed the eviscerated remains of one of the creatures to the ground as he perched on windowsill.

  “I’ve just killed five of these godforsaken things snooping around here and there are a lot of gunshots coming from the directions of the station. We’ve got to go now if you’re going to have any chance of saving the townsfolk.”

  * * *

  Lyons bit down on her cigarette, firing another round into the bloody wave swarming the station. She and her deputies had arrived, and rushed in as the things started to pour out of the forest. They had barely been able to get the front doors fortified enough to hold the things at bay.

  Not that it was doing a lot of good.

  Someone screamed, and she turned as a bloody and chewed hand burst through the wall. Leaping back as the appendages reached for her, several others failed to move in time and were viciously pulled into the wall. Their screams were high pitched and hysterical as they flailed against the wall to get away from whatever had them tethered in place. From the sounds they made, Lyons could only assume the monsters weren’t waiting to fully pull them out before they began to feast.

  More hands reached through whatever weaknesses they could find, grasping and clawing at any living thing that was near. Those unlucky enough to be ensnared repeated the sounds as those previously caught. Jesus, humans shouldn’t be able to make those noises.

  She pulled out her handgun and systematically began putting the dying out of their misery. They couldn’t be saved. It was better to meet their inevitable end quickly and mercifully than being chewed through the wall. The others in the room seemed to understand well enough and a few even took it upon themselves to assist her. It was crazy. Even if any of them lived, it was all too damn crazy for anyone to ever be normal again. So many people were dead, dying, and all they could ultimately do was stare blankly in shock, or scream.

  Then, an unearthly sound came.

  It literally shook the station and froze her blood, time seemingly slowing down as the entire front wall exploded inward. She was knocked to the ground in a daze as something gigantic and reddish-tan tore into, and through, the station. The smaller ones rushed in, tackling anyone still trying to move.

  She never felt the demons bite into her, or the station grow silent aside from the crunching of bone and tissue. She just knew it was over.

  The town was dead.

  Chapter

  31

  It shouldn’t have happened.

  They had been sent here to stop a repeat of his town, to prevent a worse tragedy. Instead, the remains of the town’s inhabitants lay buried beneath the ruined debris of the station, their last hope for safety. The only trace of anyone left was the odd blood splatter or a shredded boot intermingled amongst wreckage. Monster and human alike were only hinted at.

  It shouldn’t have happened.

  Julia walked forward, pulling a disk out of the duffle bag strung from her shoulder. With a sharp twist and a toss, the object ignited and quickly spread among the splintered wood of the station. She moved away as the flames rose higher, frolicking in the in the night sky with the snowflakes as they danced to the wind’s orchestrations. He would have called it beautiful on any other night. But tonight, it was a funeral pyre; a means of erasing what had occurred and preventing something from rising out of the ashes.

  Julia’s face was set in stone, a look he was trying to maintain. It would be insulting to the deceased if he broke down and admitted how powerless they were. No curses in the night, no anger would change things or alleviate the guilty disappointment weighing down his chest.

  John walked over to the flames and knelt down, clasping his claws together in front of his face and gurgling some prayer through his liquid vocal chords.

  “Do you think anyone is under there?”

  “Do you still believe I would burn it if there was?”

  He winced at her sharp tone. She was taking it the exact way he didn’t want her too.

  “No, and that’s not what I meant.” She stormed away from him. “Julia, hold on a second!”

  “You’ve said enough, Cale.”

  “Why aren’t there any bodies visible?” His shout lacked the confidence he had wanted it to have, and he spun back to the fire in frustration as the fire crackled. “There aren’t any traces of a single corpse, not even the monsters. You know Lyons and her guys had to have picked off at least a couple of them. Julia, I think War fed on everyth-”

  His heart stopped beating.

  Crouched on all fours in front of the woods, a creature the size of a large bear appeared in his peripheral. Its skin was a slimy, reddish-tan, stretched tightly over hundreds of massive muscles that coiled over each other. Rounded shoulders, the width of a car tire, blended into torso sized front arms. The barreled chest pulled up tight against the cavity, tapering off to a powerful waist attached to sinewy hindquarters. Five long and jagged talons adorned the end of each foot as two more jutted out from either side of its alligator like jaw.

  Three rows of pointed teeth glimmered in the firelight as its massive maw opened and closed slowly as it anticipated its next meal. Hot steam billowed out in clearly visible breaths. Pale blue irises bled into a sea of midnight black and stared down the field, locking on Julia’s back.

  It moved forward frighteningly fast, wicked feet slicing through the snow silently. The movements were unhindered by the environment as the storm dissipated around it – as if nature itself didn’t want to admit it existed.

  For the briefest of moments, Cale wondered if the creature was his mind playing a trick on him. Something that big, that instrumentally perfect, couldn’t really exist.

  The burning station proved otherwise.

  Words lodged in his throat and adrenaline dumping into his system, he moved without realizing it. Powering through the snow, one eye remained on the charging War, the other on an unaware Julia. He cursed leaving his gun in the jeep. He cursed that his voice was nothing more than
a hoarse croak when all he wanted to do was shout for her to run.

  God, he was too far away.

  He made a mad desperate lunge as the beast dove. She yelped as he tackled her, tumbling into the snow, War flying inches above. He was on his feet, yanking open the door and fumbling for the shredder before she had even realized what was going on. War spun in a mighty wave of snow and raced towards them again with a rage filled roar.

  He squeezed the trigger, the barrel flashing as hundreds of tiny bullets zipped through the air. Unaffected by the barrage, War closed the gap rapidly as Cale pulled the trigger tighter in some panicked thought that if he could squeeze a little more, the bullets would empty faster and the thing would drop. Please, let the thing drop.

  A series of rapid clicks came from the gun as it expended the last of the ammunition, and War leapt.

  John burst out from the snow under it, knocking it to the side and away from them. With a gargled snarl, the pale giant tackled the beast in a ferocious onslaught of flashing claws and acidic gel. They whirled through the snow in a titanic roll as War’s burned skin hissed and healed, their claws stabbing and rending at each other … gobs of John being torn off and scattered.

  Cale’s heart sank as the last few pieces of the giant dissipated into the snow.

  Julia pulled him into the jeep by the back of his collar, shoving a large handgun into his hands.

  “Shut the door, roll down the window, and start firing. It is equipped with explosive rounds so be careful of how you aim.”

  He clenched his teeth to focus and followed her lead. She tore off down the road as he leaned out and fired a single shot into the back of War’s exposed neck as it burrowed through the snow to find what was left of its victim. It bucked slightly, the bullet exploding against it and flame engulfing its face.

  Cale’s urge to grin faltered as the creature whirled around and took off after them no more harmed than if he had flung a pebble at an adult elephant. He pegged it again in the shoulder to no as it avail rapidly closed the distance to the retreating vehicle.