Captured earth, p.17
Captured Earth, page 17
Xavier stepped forward, holding the one working rifle. “Our orders are to collect survivors and get them out of the infested area. That is what we are doing. If you don’t like it, you are welcome to stay.”
Dave crossed his arms and glared at Xavier. “I want to go to the boat.”
“No. Marsh is taking Kayla, Clarence, and Bird. They will load up. Too many will be too obvious. He needs to think we are all here because if he sees us all running for the boat, what do you think he’s going to do?”
“Sink the boat,” Tye said, jaw locked and grim.
Young glanced around the lobby. “You’re leaving us with the bugs.”
“Yeah. They’re everywhere, but they seem pretty quiet during the day. So let them get their beauty rest, and you’ll be fine.”
Dave’s scowl deepened. “What happened to Scott?”
“He was out, despite being told to stay in the room, but you knew that. You’re his room buddy,” Josh said. It had been Dave who’d told them Scott was out last night. He knew Scott was dead. “You should’ve raised the alarm that he’d snuck out.” He was sick of the questions. They were running out of time.
“What happened to him?” Dave pressed.
“The bugs got him.” Xavier’s voice was flat.
“You let them kill him.” Dave pointed at Josh and Xavier. “You saved her though. Fancy a bit a pussy, do you?”
Josh laughed, startling himself. When was the last time he’d laughed? Then he swallowed the laughter, his heart beating fast like he was running for his life.
“I’m gay, mate.” That shut the civvie up. And saying it out loud didn’t kill him the way he expected it to. Instead, there was a loosening in his chest as though he could put that burden down for the moment. “Follow orders, don’t fuck around, and we’ll all get out of here. No one deserves to die like Scott, but we can’t be everywhere.”
“Is he your boyfriend?” Dave asked, nodding at Xavier.
“Fiancé, actually,” Xavier said. “But what we do in our spare time doesn’t affect this. Rayne is in charge. Marsh, you have your orders. Everyone else, you’re to pack up. Take extra clothing. Fill vehicles. Prepare to leave. But do not leave. Do not draw this guy to the boat or we’ll be stranded here, and no one wants that. If you see the man or anything else out-of-place, report it to Tye. He’ll be in charge of the hotel. Consider the man armed and dangerous.”
He was definitely unhinged, but who wasn’t at this point of the invasion?
Xavier took a pain pill and his antibiotics with a mouthful of water. Fallon handed out sandwiches made of rice cakes and peanut butter. It stuck to the roof of Josh’s mouth, but at least it was food.
He licked his fingers. “You ready to go?”
“Sure. Let’s get this done.”
They took the one working rifle and instructed the remaining sailors on how to use the perfume bottles. They left the last radio with Tye along with a pistol.
The bugs had retreated deeper into the hotel. The door to the dining area was still shut, but there was nothing they could do about the pile of insects in what had been the jewelry show room.
Josh waited until the vehicles with the supplies, Marsh, and the others were driving away. Then he waited to make sure they weren’t being followed.
The streets were still.
He drew in a breath of warm salt air, then nodded at Xavier. They grabbed a couple of bikes, including one with a kiddie carriage at the back meant for tourists, and took off through the back streets.
They stopped at a few houses and borrowed the gas bottles attached to their barbeques, placing them in the carriage on the back of Josh’s bike, before turning down the street where the hospital was. His legs were burning from the extra weight, but Xavier shouldn’t have been riding. He’d be ripping his stitches open.
“You know, I have a bad feeling about this.” Xavier stopped and stared at the building that must have been crawling with larvae growing into adults.
“Same. But it’ll be a good distraction, and we really need to make sure the pests don’t spread.”
Xavier pressed his lips together and nodded. “There’ll be oxygen and all kinds of gasses in there.”
“I’m hoping so.”
“The parents might get pissed.”
“I love you,” Josh said. “I just wanted you to know.”
“No. You don’t get to jinx a mission by pulling that shit. You take it back.”
Josh leaned the bike against the wall of the building opposite. “I can’t. All this time and we never—”
“For good reason.”
“And now that reason has run out. We aren’t going to live forever.” Maybe not past this morning if this went badly. “I don’t want you to think it meant nothing.”
Why had they always been so casual? Pretending that it didn’t matter, that they didn’t matter to each other when his whole world spun around the times when they were both in the same place at the same time?
Xavier got off the bike and grabbed Josh by the scruff of his T-shirt. “I always knew. I always had a reason to come home so I could see your stupid face again. And I want to see it every morning for the rest of my life—and I don’t want you shortening my life or yours because you’ve got another shit plan.”
“I want to go to bed with you every night. Plus, you owe me one.” Josh rested his forehead on Xavier’s. Their noses touched, then Josh leaned in and took a kiss. “You’re going to like this plan.”
“I never do.”
“I’m going into the hospital.”
“I hate it already.”
“And I’m going to put the bottles in a small room and turn on the gas.”
“The larvae will be quick to find you.”
“I’ll be fast. We’ll give it a few minutes then toss in a Molly. If I don’t come out—”
“You will.”
“If I don’t, you need to do it. Don’t leave me alive in there.” He’d survived the farm once; he didn’t know if his luck would hold a second time.
Xavier swore and glared at him. “You are such a prick.”
“Just take up a position where you can keep watch and do the deed if needed.”
“Where are you going in?”
“The back. The front is all emergency waiting rooms and foyer.” Josh picked up both gas bottles, and they walked around the back. There was a staff only door that opened readily enough with a little encouragement from his boot.
The stink of death rolled out and made him gag.
“Hey, Joshy. Piss yourself.”
“You just want to see my dick.” But Xavier was right; it would buy him a bit more time. He took a moment, then wet his boots and new pants.
When he turned around, Xavier had walked away to crouch with the industrial bins. Josh picked up the bottles and made his way into the hospital. Without electric lights, the hospital was dim, but there were things moving in there. A squeak over lino as the larvae searched out new food.
Josh stepped into the first open door he found. It looked like a small staff room. Did he need to go deeper? Find something smaller that would fill up faster?
Out the window, the sky was already pink. He didn’t have time for perfect. He never did. He opened the gas bottles, then shut the door. There were larvae in the corridor already. Overhead, something scuttled.
How many adult bugs were in here?
He didn’t want to know.
That’s when he noticed the ceiling was bowing. The larvae dropped through where it was coming away from the join. As he watched, the tear widened.
Chapter Twelve
Josh darted across the hallway as the ceiling collapsed. Larvae and bugs hit the ground. He slammed the door shut and pressed his back against it. The scent of gas was already on the air.
“Fuck.” He was running out of time, and his exit had been cut off.
The radio on his belt crackled. “What happened?”
“Ceiling came down under the weight…the weight of the larvae.” He glanced up. How long would this bit hold?
“Get out of there.”
“I’m trying.” But his mind was static. Years of training and active duty had been erased, and he couldn’t move.
“I’m coming to you.”
“Stay where you are.” He didn’t want Xavier getting caught in this mess.
“Where are you?”
He glanced around the room. It was a bathroom with two showers and two toilet cubicles, each one with a high and narrow window that he wasn’t even sure he’d fit through.
“See the small windows to your right of the doorway?” Something, a bug, scrabbled at the door. He couldn’t go out there. And he couldn’t fit through the window.
The scent of gas was getting stronger as it filtered out from the staff room and spread.
He couldn’t light it from in here without blowing himself up or incinerating his lungs and giving himself burns that wouldn’t be able to be treated. At least larvae could be plucked off. Bugs could be batted away. He was going to have to leave the bathroom via the door.
“Talk to me, Josh,” Xavier’s metallic voice ordered.
“Just thinking through a few things.” He kicked open the locked cupboards. There were packets of paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning products.
“Get your ass out here. I don’t care if you have to swim through larvae and I’m pulling them off you for a week.” Xavier swore. “I can hear a vehicle. We’re out of time.”
Yeah, he was. He’d pass out from a lack of oxygen soon.
He picked up a bottle labeled ammonia and cracked it open. There was ammonia in piss. It might work. “How clear is the exit?”
“It’s not. It’s full of rubble and bugs. You need another exit.”
Josh nodded, wishing there were a good option. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going to exit out of the big window on your left.”
“Where the gas is.”
“Yes.”
Xavier was silent for a couple of seconds, no doubt having the same concerns as him. “I’m going to take the liberty of smashing one for you.”
“Thanks. Be there in ten.”
He pulled his shirt off and wrapped it around his face. Then he splashed ammonia on himself like it was holy water, wasting two seconds.
His heart pounded on his ribs, and his breathing quickened. He didn’t know if that was because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen or if it was stress. Maybe both.
“I’m not dying like this.” He repeated the mantra as he cracked open the toilet door and threw some ammonia at the larvae and small pale bugs—teen bugs, he was guessing.
Like they had done with the piss, they backed away. But this time, they didn’t stay away. Josh kept pouring the stuff, clearing a path as best he could, even though it was obvious the cleaning product wasn’t working very well.
The ceiling was split, the way out completely blocked with rubble and equipment.
Glass shattered, and he really hoped it was Xavier.
He drew in a deep breath, then ran across the corridor, barreled into the staff room, and kept running, his lungs burning.
Xavier was using the butt of his rifle to clear the broken glass. He pulled off his shirt, tossed it over the frame, and stepped back. Josh vaulted through like aliens were after him. He hit the ground and rolled up to his knees, sucking in air that was still tainted.
“You right?”
Josh nodded. “Find some cover.”
Xavier was half-way to the bins, jogging with a limp, before Josh pulled out the lighter and a little liquor bottle. His hand was bleeding, and he was pretty sure his leg was too as something was running down his calf. Josh took a few steps back, wanting to be close enough to get the Molly through the window but not close enough that he lit up.
He reckoned it was fifty-fifty. Not bad odds, but not great either.
There was gas out here now, wafting out of the broken window. He shoved the scrap of rag into the bottle, then sucked in a breath and flicked the lighter. When he didn’t catch fire, he relaxed a little, but that didn’t stop his hand from shaking as he held the lighter to the cloth. It caught, and he took a couple of steps forward and threw.
For half a second, he didn’t think it was going to make it. Then it sailed over the windowsill.
He turned and ran. Xavier stood and yanked him to the gravel.
He hit the ground, air escaping his lungs. The gravel bit his bare skin, but before he could register the discomfort, the hospital blew up. Heat and noise surrounded him. Debris rained down. But they were already getting up and running down the side street, pressing up against the wall. Josh glanced back at the now burning hospital, his chest heaving as he cleared his lungs of the gas.
“You good?” Xavier asked.
“Yeah. You?”
“Yeah. I think we’re shouting.”
Without saying anything else, they collected the bikes, Josh unhitched the bright kiddie carriage, and they rode to the police station. They parked around the back and watched the door for a moment.
“What are the odds there’s a trap?” Josh whispered.
“That would imply that he knows this is our target.”
Josh nodded. He might; one didn’t survive by being stupid, and he knew Josh wanted weapons. He got up and pulled the pistol out. Like Xavier, he had a limited number of shots and no refills. He’d left the spare clip with the sailors, who were busy packing anything useful like they were going to drive away.
Keeping low, he approached the door. Locked. The glass would be bullet proof. He considered shooting the lock, but he didn’t want to waste the bullets he had. He lifted his gaze to the roof. Or he could go in like he was an over fed larva. He shoved the pistol away, jumped up, and grabbed the gutter. His shoulder protested, but he ignored it and swung up onto the roof.
“We’ve got company,” he called out as he slid over the ridge line and lay flat.
A cop car pulled into the carpark, lights flashing.
Xavier crouched between two cars, rifle ready.
Josh willed the man to leave. To see that nothing was amiss and fuck off.
He wriggled the pistol out. From this angle and distance he’d be lucky, and he was pretty sure that he’d used up all of his luck for the day, possibly the week.
If this guy were smart, he’d have crept up on them. Was he more worried about his supplies or the girl?
At least if he was here, everyone else was safe.
The car door opened, and the man put his hands up. “I know you’re here. Don’t shoot me.”
Josh flicked the safety off and tracked the man through the pistol sights as he got out of the car.
He kept his hands up. He was fully kitted out in police riot gear, including the body armor and helmet. He didn’t step away from the car, and Josh couldn’t see what weapons he was carrying.
“I changed my mind; I want to go with you.”
That was bullshit. He wanted the girl back. Josh sighed. That was uncharitable. Maybe he had changed his mind and wanted out. A sane person would want out.
He scanned the area, and his arms lowered a little as though wondering if he was wrong and talking to himself. “I saw what you did to the hospital. At least they were contained there. Now they’ll be looking for a new place to breed.”
Not if I burn everything first.
If they took out the Geckos food supply, would that make them leave?
Josh lowered his aim to the man’s unprotected leg. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would inconvenience him. It was also a much smaller target.
He lowered his hands. “Fine. I’ll make you a trade. I’ll give you some guns and ammo, and you give me Kayla.” He turned around in a full circle. “I know you’re here. Show yourself!”
Josh didn’t move.
Where was Xavier?
Seconds ticked by. The tile roof was heating up, and sweat rolled along his spine. Blood dripped from his hand onto the roof and started its long journey downhill to the gutter.
The man muttered something and kicked at the gravel. He didn’t look happy. He’d wanted someone to be here. For a heartbeat, Josh felt sorry for him. But only one heartbeat. The man could’ve welcomed them yesterday and let Kayla go. Not keeping a human hostage was always a good place to start if you wanted to be seen as reasonable.
Then the man lifted his gaze and looked straight at Josh.
He grinned. Then he dropped as blood sprayed out of his leg. He screamed like he’d never been shot before. It wasn’t fun, and it stung like a bitch. But rolling around and crying about it didn’t stop the pain or heal the wound.
Xavier scrambled up and approached the man, rifle ready.
The man’s hand moved.
“Get back!” Josh called, but it was too late. The screaming had been a cover. The man fired.
Xavier dropped the rifle and lay twitching on the gravel of the carpark.
The man picked up the rifle, pointed it at Xavier’s head, and grinned. “Get down here, or I shoot him.”
Chapter Thirteen
Josh closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his arm. He had to think, but he wasn’t sure he was capable anymore.
“I’m only going to count to three,” the man said. “One.”
Josh looked up. Xavier had stopped twitching and was lying perfectly still except for his right hand, the one the man couldn’t see, which was tapping the ground with two fingers.
Josh waited, even though it was killing him.
“Two.”
Josh swung over the ridge line of the roof and skidded down to the gutter.
“Throw me the gun.” The man was watching Josh now, thinking Xavier was out of action. Josh flicked the safety on and ejected the magazine, then threw down the pistol.
Xavier moved, knocking the rifle out of the man’s hands. Then he shoved his fingers into the bullet wound in the man’s leg. The man howled like his soul was being ripped out.
Josh jumped down from the roof and scooped up the pistol. By the time he reached the car, Xavier had the man on his belly with his arms pinned.
