Dean burst into his quarters dripping rainwater all over
the floor. His three other roommates were there, two lying on their bunks, the
other was sitting at the little table with a magazine.
CHAPTER 3
Dean
sprinted down the corridor and skidded around a corner. Heavy boots clattered
past as he pressed himself against the wall. A voice called to him, he turned
to face more guards tearing down the hall towards him.
Yelping in surprise he took off
again dashing for the stairs and throwing himself down to the lower level. The
swing doors to the canteen squealed open as Dean lunged through knocking over a
sailor with a tray full of the acrid smelling slime that passed for food.
Shouts of outrage echoed around the room as he charged for the far doorway
spilling plates of gravy and clanging cutlery.
More clumping Umbrella guards barged
in after him bodily tossing men out of their way, "Freeze!" one of them
shouted. Dean felt hot lead whiz past his ear as their rifles barked, peppering
the wall; every sailor hit the deck as the bullets ricocheted in all
directions.
The wooden doors shattered into hundreds
of splintered shards as Dean bounded down the two steps into the crew lounge.
The men were cowering behind the sofas and under the tables as more bullets
pierced the air. Suddenly Dean's forehead exploded in pain and he felt himself
falling backwards onto the floor.
Dazed, he struggled to a sitting
position and saw that the soldier he had run into had already dragged himself
to his knees and was straightening his helmet. Dean lashed out kicking him hard
in the kneecap. He collapsed clutching his shattered leg unable to resist as
Dean tugged his rifle over his head and scurried off.
Jon, Phil and Stuart lay on their
bunks straining to hear the commotion in the distance. The gunfire had stopped
but frustrated shouts still drifted down to their quarters. "What do you think
that's all about?" Jon wondered aloud
"I don't have the faintest…"
CRASH!!
The door exploded inwards as Dean collapsed
through it. Jon immediately leapt to his feet and helped, leading him over to
his bunk and sitting him down. "What the hell happened to you, Dean? Where did
you get that gun?" Jon cried. Dean let the heavy rifle fall to the ground and
put his head in his hands. They were trembling, he saw. "Dean!"
Jon's voice snapped him back to
reality. He snatched up the weapon and fumbled around for the catch to release
the clip. His finger found it and it clattered to the floor. Jon bent down and
grabbed it. "Tell me what's happened!"
"I can't stay here, it'll put you
guys in danger. Gimme that." He snapped seizing the magazine. He looked in the
top like in the movies but had no idea how to tell if it was full.
"In danger from what?" Phil asked
from the bunk beside the door.
"Them! The Umbrella guys!
They killed Captain Taylor and they're after me 'cause I saw the whole thing!"
"Jesus…"
"Holy shit…" Boot steps echoed along
the corridor as the soldiers approached their room.
"God, they're coming. I have to get
out of here!" Dean bleated shoving the clip back into the stock clumsily.
Suddenly a shadow fell across the door as it was filled by three black
uniformed men, all pointing their rifles at the sailors. Dean stood and tried
to raise his gun.
"Don't do it." Said the first man.
He hesitated. "That's right, now put it down and come with us." Dean bowed his
head in defeat and let his rifle clatter to the floor.
WHUMP! The door slammed
closed throwing the soldiers out into the hall. Dean looked up at Phil; half
hanging out of his bed he had shoved it with his feet! Dean bent down to grab
the rifle and blasted the wooden door sending splinters flying and the others
diving for cover.
Tentatively Dean opened it and found
that the three guys were lying in a bloody heap against the wall. Round craters
pumped crimson into the rapidly expanding pool. Their blank eyes stared up at nothing,
and everything.
Loud footsteps and shouts
approached. Dean looked back at his friends who pointed down the corridor,
shooing him away. He hoped they would be okay and ran down the passage.
Moments later more soldiers arrived.
They looked dumbly at the corpses then at the men in the cramped room. "What
happened?" One of them demanded. Jon stepped forward and began to speak.
BRATTATTATT!
His
body juddered with the impacts of five rounds to his chest sending him sliding
across the ground. Phil and Stuart tried to move but were blown away in their
bunks.
Dean
froze half way up a flight of steps. The gunshots close by assaulted his ears
and made him fear the worst. Had they killed his friends? Almost certainly. But
what would they do to him? He didn't want to die! His mind was lost in a
swirling fog of confusion. With no idea what to he would do he ran up the
stairs.
Aimlessly he ran down corridors and
hallways till he found him self outside in the pelting rain. A bolt of
lightning flashed in the dark, boiling clouds far above. Moments later the boom
of thunder resonated through the air.
Dean took a step out to the middle
of the deck. He was on the forward section amongst the undergrowth of tangled
pipes and huge square lids of the oil tanks. Looking out at the special tank
near the bow he decided that he had to find out what Umbrella was hiding. What
his friends had died for. What he would surely die for soon enough.
Carefully he trekked across the
expanse of the ship, occasionally slipping on the slick metal. His forehead
stung from the heavy rain and he shivered as it soaked through his sweater.
Finally he reached the steel grid covering the shadowy tank. His feet made
panging vibrations as he stepped up onto it and walked to the hatch while trying
not to get flung off by the wind.
A padlock secured the hatch. Dean
brought his rifle up to it and held the barrel at the metal hoop. He grimaced
as the lock smashed and clattered to the floor. His ears rang but he ignored it
and looked around, the coast was clear.
Straining against the gale he heaved
the lid open, shining the little light on the end of the gun down into the murk
he tried to make out what was at the bottom of the impossibly deep tank. The
circle of white light from the torch zigzagged along the walls but barely
pierced the gloom. He decided to climb down to the bottom and carefully backed
down onto the ladder. A steel grid platform met him at the end of the ladder,
his footfalls echoed loudly as he clumped over to the stairs dripping water
everywhere.
The stairs down to the floor were
like a fire escape with steps going diagonally and then horizontal landings.
Normally you could only go down as far as the first landing after the ladder
but they had been extended in Umbrella's refit.
His teeth chattered as he made his
way down, finally reaching the bottom. Purple and green rainbows swirled across
the floor as his torch beam passed over the oily surface. Once he was on the
floor he realized that something was wrong. The area was small, far too
small. A faintly glowing light caught his eye. He walked to it and realised it
was a computer terminal. A little red LED showed it was on standby mode.
"What the hell is this…" he wondered
aloud. There was a row of three flat-screened monitors above a keyboard set
onto a panel covered in glowing lights and flickering nodes. Reaching out he
touched the return key. Suddenly the whole terminal burst into life, the
screens blinked on and something started to beep rhythmically.
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
A line traced across the middle screen,
peaking and falling every few seconds. "A heart beat?" Dean whispered to
himself. "What are these people doing?"
The left hand monitor pinged
more regularly than the middle one. It showed five smaller traces. A box along
the bottom read "MA-50 NOTES." He read them aloud:
"SUBJECT: MA-50
CODENAME: Frog Hunter
CLASS: Amphibious
STATUS: Cryogenic stasis
NOTES: Subjects are fast, strong and aggressive. Can survive under
water for extended periods. If outbreak occurs utilize all resources to
recapture, extremely dangerous."
Confused, he fingered the roller
ball till the curser was over the "Display" button on the screen and clicked on
it.
Ka-chung! Ka-chung! Ka-chung!
Ka-chung! Ka-chung!
He spun around with surprise as five powerful
lights snapped on behind him. They were set inside big tanks up lighting 5
hideous beasts. A blue bubbling liquid suspended the pebble-skinned creatures;
intravenous tubes pierced their bodies. They had thick strong arms with sharp claws
for hands; their legs were lean and sinuous. Wide, frog-like mouths hung
loosely open partly exposing rows of dagger teeth. Bright red speckles adorned
their backs, arms and heads running all the way to the tip of their blunt
snouts. Small reptilian eyes spun around and around under closed lids as if
they were dreaming.
Dean stepped back and stared in awe.
His mind struggled to understand what he was seeing. "Hunter" he mouthed
silently.
"FREEZE!" a distant voice screamed.
Dean whirled around and saw soldiers far above him on the stairs readying their
weapons. Red lasers sliced through the air as their guns burst into life. Dean
ducked under the computer terminal narrowly avoiding the bullets. Panicking, he
held out his rifle so it pointed upwards and pressed the trigger down till it
clicked empty.
Someone screamed; the sound of
fabric flapping in a high wind could be heard before a body crashed to the
metal floor of the tank. Dean stared at the corpse for a moment. The soldiers
weapon was lying across his chest, the strap still wrapped around his arm.
Acting as if on autopilot Dean leapt out from under the terminal and snatched
it, ripping his pouch of magazines from his belt as well. Sparks flew in all
directions as the soldiers above fired again, one bullet found the front of the
middle Hunter's Stasis tube. The blue fluid poured out in a torrent as the
glass fell away in great sheaths.
Dean was startled by the chill that
shot through his legs as the liquid sloshed over his knees where he was crouched.
The still form of the Hunter crumpled into a heap on the floor snapping its
intravenous cords.
The soldiers advanced down the
stairs towards Dean, pausing every now and then to shoot. Dean's perceptions
seemed to dim as his instincts took over. He moved automatically, leaning out
from under the computer and spraying the steps. The rounds clanged off of the
metal walls, a ricocheting slug thoked into the helmet of one of them,
dropping him like a stone. His rifle clicked empty again, this time he pulled a
fresh clip from his stolen bag.
Another stasis tube shattered
spilling more freezing solution. The four remaining soldiers finally made it to
the bottom of the tank shouting at Dean to drop his weapon. He paid no
attention and blasted in their direction. The two leading the small group
tumbled to the ground as the bullets impacted their body armour and ripped
through the flesh of their shoulders and legs.
The last two fired while trying to
step over their fallen comrades. Dean rolled out from under the computer
terminal as it exploded into a hail of sparks and broken plastic as the barrage
tore through it. His rifle spat yellow flames tossing the soldiers backwards
screaming.
Then all was silent except for the
trickling of water and the omnipresent creaking and groaning of the ship. Dean
couldn't quite believe what he had done as he inspected the corpses of the men.
One had caught a bullet in the face; another had a ragged bleeding hole in his
abdomen where his armour met his belt. Dean had been lucky, really lucky, and
he knew it.
Turning, he walked over to the still
bodies of the Hunters. They both lay face down in the pool of blue fluid. Their
brethren bobbed up and down in their tanks, oblivious.
"Dead…" Dean said aloud prodding the
nearest with his toe. It didn't move. Content, he grabbed the pouch of ammo he
had gotten and took another soldiers pistol as well as some magazines for it,
which he stuffed in his pocket.
As he climbed the stairs he ravaged
his mind for a way to get off of the ship. The lifeboats were an option, but in
the storm he would be drowned for sure. The only way to survive this terrible
situation would be to find somewhere safe to hide till they reach land in a few
days.
Happy now that he had some semblance
of a plan he poked his head through the hatch then disappeared through it.
But… far below him, on the floor of
the tank something began to stir. One of the Hunters twitched it's clawed
finger, it's chest began to heave as it sucked in it's first shuddering breaths
since it was put into cryo-sleep. Grunting it pushed itself up till it was
sitting hunched over on its back legs and looked around. It's brother, lying
face down next to it, let out a long low moan. It struggled to its feet and
inspected the wound on its leg where the bullet that broke its container had
punctured its blue-green skin.
The first suddenly took off in a
blur of speed. The second followed and they both bounded up the outside of the
stairs towards the hatch far above…
CHAPTER 4
Dean clambered out through the hatch into the pounding
rain. Staying as low as possible he walked along towards the main structure
while keeping a tight grip on the railing. His gaze wandered over the side of
the ship to the black writhing waters of the stormy ocean and the white froth
that was churned up as the mighty vessel carved its way along.
"Ah! Shit!" he grunted. His vision
turned a bright blinding red as a laser passed over his eye. Clamping his hand
over it he ducked down. More lasers waved back and forth in his direction until
gunfire erupted from the soldier's rifles. Dean ran to his right, half blinded
he ducked behind a thick cluster of pipes. The soldiers ran toward him, there
was at least twenty. Bullets bounced off of the steel and whizzed past his head
as he blinked, his vision slowly returning.
As they came closer and closer he
tried to return fire. His aim was weak; most shots went totally wide of their
targets, only one or two connected. Click. Empty, he struggled to pull a
magazine from his little pouch of ammo. He was surprised when he saw that one
of the soldiers seemed to fall forward flailing his arms above his head.
No, not falling. He threw
something!
A
small black shape arced through the air thumping to the deck just behind him.
Shit-
The
grenade lolled from side to side on the spot before exploding in a huge ball of
flames and smoke. Dean, in mid leap, was tossed a couple of meters by the
blast; his rifle skittered along the floor out of reach.
Dean lay unconscious against a thick
set of pipes. The soldiers approached him, their rifles drawn. Slowly he began
to come around as the black-clad Umbrella grunts surrounded him.
Suddenly a loud high-pitched scream
pierced the air. The soldiers looked around as two big, bulky shapes sprang
upwards from the open hatch of the oil tank.
"Jesus Christ! Fire, fire, fire!"
screamed the leader of the team. Their rifles chattered as they all opened up.
One Hunter leapt towards them; the other wounded one hissed menacingly. A
grenade was thrown. It bounced along the deck and rolled between its legs,
disappearing down the hatch into the tank.
The first Hunter was quickly amongst
them. Bullets tore through its body at point blank range but it seemed to feel
no pain. It's razor-sharp claws gouged and slashed every man that came close.
Blood splattered the pipes and deck; limbs were severed by the swinging talons.
Some soldiers tried to run but were
cut down, screaming as the second Hunter entered the fray. One man drew his
pistol and fired at the Hunter, the bullet smashed into its throat. A second
round pulverized its chest. He smiled, looking at its twitching corpse. He
thought he had won, but the second, wounded Hunter pounced on him. He hit the
deck hard, the creature pinned him with one hand and gutted him with the other,
spilling his intestines in a slimy pile of red coils. The monster roared in
triumph amongst the bodies of the soldiers.
One body was missing though. Dean
was gone.
Far
below the commotion of the battle, at the bottom of the oil tank, a warning
flashed over the surviving screen of the computer terminal. The grenade that
fell down the hatch had gone unnoticed by the soldiers as they fought. Its
detonation had blown a hole in another of the cryo stasis chambers starting an
unstoppable chain reaction. The fluid that leaked from the chamber flooded the
tank far beyond the level that the Hunter chambers did, it was already four
feet deep and still rising.
The computer screen blinked
furiously.
"WARNING. WARNING. Main chamber
loosing fluid; stasis effect destabilizing." No one was around to heed the
warnings. As the fluid continued to flow a big panel of glass broke away from
the front turning the stream into a torrent, and an ungodly creature began to
wake.
Dean
slammed the door and leaned against it, holding his grazed leg. A small rivulet
of blood trickled between his fingers from the frayed hole in his trousers. A
small piece of shrapnel the size of a penny had embedded itself in his thigh.
With a grunt of pain he tugged it from his skin. The wound was superficial-
Whump!
Something crashed into the door jolting him forward. He
gasped in surprise and pressed himself against it again.
Whump!
Harder
this time, the impact shoved him to the ground. He looked back; the lock was
broken and hanging off of the doorframe. A final crash snapped the hinges
toppling the heavy metal door onto his back. He was pinned to the floor,
trapped. The Hunter poked its head into the corridor and looked around. Water
dripped from its hide as it stepped in out of the rain.
Hunched over like some kind of
hellish gorilla it hopped onto the door. Dean tried to breath but its weight
forced the air from his lungs. He could feel a scream of terror and agony
rushing up into his throat but it was strangled before he could utter a squeak.
The monster seemed to take forever
to walk along his back, every footstep putting pressure on his legs, back,
chest. He was afraid that if it stopped at his head he would be crushed…
Relief flooded through him as he saw
its dark green ankles drop in front of him and he gulped down his first breath
in what seemed like years. Hissing, the Hunter skulked along and disappeared
around the corner of the T-junction. A huge hysterical grin crossed Dean's face
as he realized how close he had just come to being killed by it.
It took a minute for Dean to haul
himself out from under the battered door. He lifted his sweater and saw that
angry purple bruises were already forming on his ribs and stomach. At least he
was alive.
A scream cut the air. Loud and terrified
it tapered off into a high-pitched wail then a wet gurgling choke. Snapping,
slashing sounds filled Dean's horrified ears. The Hunter shrieked like a stuck
pig. Dean was afraid to look around the corner at what was happening but felt
that he had to try to help.
Peaking tentatively into the
corridor he surveyed the scene. The
Hunters clawed foot rested on the chest of a sailor, its bloodied talons
digging long furrows on his abdomen. The dieing man struggled weakly to push
the creature away but it seemed to enjoy his pain. Another man twitched as its
webbed fingers tightened around his throat till his eyes bulged and his tongue
protruded from his blue lips. Staring at his pale face it seemed almost like an
act from Hamlet twisted beyond logic and reason.
Doors slammed all along the corridor
and crewman bolted for safety. Dean thought they had the right idea and turned
to run. His original plan to find somewhere to hide and wait out the voyage
seemed all the more appealing.
Backing away from the beast as
quietly as possible he edged down the other T of the junction. Almost at the
corner, and out of its view he half crouched and took a running step before
skidding to a halt. A team of the Umbrella soldiers were trooping towards him,
rifles squarely aimed at his still aching chest.
Trapped between the soldiers and the
monster he had to decide which he wanted to run from the most…
"Don't shoot!" he begged throwing
his hand up in the air. They advanced forcing him to step back against the
wall. The first man lowered his gun and spun Dean so he was spread out. The
guard was so intent on Dean however, that he didn't notice the hulking beast
skulking towards them. "Shit! Shit!" Dean screamed pulling himself out of the
mans grip and ducking behind him to curl up in the corner. The soldier was
confused till he looked up. His face was ripped of in a flash of movement.
Blood splattered the walls and rained down on Dean and the corpse crumpled to
the ground.
"Fuck! Shoot it!" cried the other
soldiers as they opened fire. Dean lunged behind the Hunter as short bursts of
auto fire peppered its body and raced for the door. For what seemed like the
hundredth time today ice cold rainwater soaked him through. He didn't mind the
cold, though, as long as he was away from the death and the killing. For now at
least.
CHAPTER 5
The
sea as calmer than before, the rise and fall of the ship had ebbed so that it
was easier to run on the deck, even with the slippery surface. Dean's only
thought was to get out of sight in case those soldiers follow him.
"Hold
it!" came a deep voice.
Oh shit, too late to hide now, he thought as he froze on
the spot, not far from the open tank. He turned and looked over his shoulder.
To his dismay four soldiers and the mysterious Umbrella Representative
were strolling towards him. He searched for a way to hide, to fight back. The
corpses of the dead guards and the big Frog-Hunter beast still littered the
area around the hatch. Long slashes of blood were streaked across the
glistening metal plating on the deck and the snaking pipes.
Suddenly he remembered the pistol he
had stolen. The heavy lump of steel weighed down the back of his waistband. His
hand swiftly flicked under his sweater and tightened around the cold handle.
Spinning, he drew the weapon and pointed in towards his enemies, his finger
already tightening on the trigger.
The Umbrella rep tut-tutted as four
long rifle barrels levelled at Dean's chest. The rep pulled his hood back
allowing the rain to flatten his short, gel-saturated hair to his fore head.
His small mouth contorted into a wry smile. "Well well. It's a pleasure to
finally meet you, Mr Simmons. You've evaded us for some time, I'm very
impressed."
Dean's shoulders slumped in defeat,
the gun clattered to the floor. The soldiers parted so the Rep could approach
him, their weapons never wavered. "I
can see that you know what I'm about to say to you."
Dean nodded, trying to suppress the
chattering of his teeth. The terror of the past few hours seemed to ebb away as
he realised that there was no escape. His fate was sealed; the fact was
strangely calming. Knowing that was no hope left gave him the chance to rest.
"It's truly a shame that I have to
do it," He continues "My employers could use a man of such resourcefulness on
the payroll. But, I can also see that you're not suited to our kind of work. Morally
I mean."
Dean looked into the reps eyes with
burning hatred. His glacial blue gaze was devoid of emotion as he acted as
judge jury and executioner.
"Shall we just shoot him here, Sir?"
asked one soldier shoving the barrel of his rifle into Dean's gut.
"No, no." he said hastily. "There
won't be any of the usual stomach shot or any other torturous ends for Mr
Simmons. He has earned a quick death." Thinking hard he glanced around the rain
soaked deck for anyway to kill him in an original but painless fashion. "I
know, throw into the tank over there," He pointed to the open hatch. "The fall
will do the job."
The soldiers roughly grabbed Dean,
pinning his arms behind his back they dragged him towards the tank. He didn't
struggle, instead he watched as the rep walked nonchalantly back towards the
bridge. His indifference angered him all the more.
Dean
stood on the metal landing peering down into the darkness. The soldier hopped
off the ladder and hit the ground with a jarring clang. He immediately
jammed the barrel of his rifle into Dean's ribs. "You gonna jump or what?" he
demanded. Dean said nothing. "Fine."
Crack! Dean cried out in pain
as the butt on the rifle hammered into the base of his skull. The landing
seemed to buckle and bend, swirling around and around as his eyes swam in and
out of focus. He leaned heavily on the handrail to catch his balance but strong
hands grabbed his shoulder and tugged at the back of his belt. The soldier
heaved him over the railing.
The world seemed to slow down to
practically a stop as the air beat across his face. His arms and legs flailed
as he tumbled through the shadows. He started to remember things from his past.
Things he thought he had forgotten: Jason, his best friend in grade school.
Michelle, the brunette he took to the prom in junior high. The day he broke his
leg falling out of a tree. The time he burned himself playing with fireworks.
The day he decided to join the Merchant Navy. All those years were gone. He
never imagined it would all end like this.
And then he hit the ground.
A sudden
shock rippled through his body. Then there was only the cold. There was no pain
at all. He felt like he was floating in the sea, bubbles of air rushing across
his face as he sank lower and lower into the darkness.
I'm dead…
His whole body relaxed as he let the
cold take over him. He took a deep breath— and choked. Freezing liquid rushed
down his throat. He started to struggle as his lungs began to burn. His legs
and arms pumped until he finally broke the surface. His chest heaved as he
sucked in the chilled air. Shivering, he kicked his feet to keep his head above
the water.
"What the fuck was that splash?" the
soldier demanded from about fifty meters above. The torch on the end of his
rifle clicked on and the light glittered on the surface of the pale blue
coloured stasis fluid. Dean closed his eyes holding up his hand against the
blinding glow and tried to swim. His body was stiff; fatigue and probably
hypothermia were finally starting to take their toll as gunshots rang out. Dean
dived under as the bullets splashed the surface and zipped all around him.
Unable to hold his breath any longer he allowed his buoyancy to drag him to the
top. His head touched something floating in the water. Running his hands over
it he realised it was a body, one of the dead soldiers laying face down in the
fluid.
The bullets continued to patter in
the middle of the tank as Dean searched the bloated corpse. His back was
pressed against a hard, smooth surface. It didn't buckle like the steel sheets
of the rest of the tank but he wasn't particularly worried about it right then.
His fingers found the butt of a
heavy pistol and tugged it from its holster. The other soldiers joined the
first casting round spots of bright white light around the area, shooting at
the dancing shadows.
Dean rested his elbows on the chest
of the corpse to steady his aim lining up one of the men in the sights. As he
squeezed the trigger he prayed that he would hit him, and that the wet rounds
wouldn't miss-fire.
BAM!
One of the soldiers yelped and tumbled
forwards over the railing. Screaming all the way down he splashed into the
fluid. The others zoned in on the shot and aimed at him. Dean let himself slip
under as the carcass began to jerk and flop with the impacts. Swimming
desperately away from their target area he sidled up behind the soldier. The
bloody wound in his abdomen spilled crimson swirls into the water but he was
still alive. Dean wrapped his arm around his neck tightly to use him as cover
as he fired again.
BAM! BAM!
The first round pinged against the
metal wall, the second ploughed into one of the solders thighs blowing muscle
and bone fragments across the floor. He fell screaming in anguish.
Dean allowed himself a moment of
triumph that abruptly ended when the dieing soldier's weak struggles ceased and
auto fire riddled his corpse. Shoving the body upwards Dean propelled himself
down into the gloom. Every bullet that hit the water trailed a ribbon of
bubbles in its wake. The lights cast strange, disorienting shadows across the
walls.
Kicking madly he surfaced against a
wall, the men far above still concentrated their fire on their dead comrades
carcass and didn't spot him. He tiredly treaded water and aimed at the
soldiers. This time he blasted indiscriminately, jerking the trigger until the
top slide jammed itself open and refused to expel another round.
The rifle fire had also stopped. The
lights from the weapons were directed horizontally onto the walls. The only
sounds were Dean's rasping breathes, the gently lapping of the water and the
pained moans of the injured soldier up on the landing clutching his leg.
Sighing with relief Dean let the
empty handgun slip through his fingers and flopped onto his back to float in
the gently rippling liquid. He let his body totally relax, closing his eyes he
listened to the whooshing, hissing sound of the water as it covered his ears.
Suddenly the water grew stormy. The
whole tank began to shake and violent waves tossed Dean up and down. A rifle
was shaken from the landing and tumbled into the water. Dean grabbed the strap
before it sank and pointed the rifle towards the source of the quake.
The light from the torch hit the far
wall making the hazy blue coloured surface twinkle oddly. It wasn't steel after
all, but more like incredibly thick glass. A crack suddenly exploded across it
with the sound of a bomb causing a huge swell in the water that launched Dean
against the far wall. His panicked flailing arms found the handrail of the
steps and he managed to haul himself out of the water.
Bubbles frothed from the thick crack
that extended about fifteen feet above the water level. Dean stared in awe as a
huge form behind the glass shifted.
Jesus Christ, he thought. It
must be another of those stasis chambers. But it's so big I couldn't even SEE
it before.
An impossibly loud crash assaulted his ears
as something pounded on the glass sending spider web cracks in all directions What
kind of monster have they created?
CHAPTER 6
Dean paused at the top of the stairs to watch a huge
section of glass break away from the front of the massive stasis chamber and
crash into the liquid that half submerged it. The wounded guard lying on his side
on the blood soaked metal begged Dean to help, tugging the ankle of his
trousers. Dean ignored him, staring in horror as some kind of clawed hand
appeared through the raged hole and gripped the upper half of the glass. More
white cracks snaked from the points where the tips of its man-sized claws
squeezed it ripping another section away from the metal surround.
Dean swore and pulled away from the
soldier's pathetic grip. His cold, wet hands slipped on the metal rungs of the
ladder as he struggled to escape the tank. Finally he burst through the hatch
into the pale moonlight that winked through the parting clouds.
A squad of Umbrella soldiers were
charging towards him. They skidded to a halt and pointed their rifles at him.
"Freeze!" shouted the leader. Dean looked straight at them but didn't slow.
Suddenly the entire ship was rocked. The deck tipped at an insane angle
throwing everyone to the floor shouting in protest. Something in the bowels of
the Samantha was shifting its weight.
Dean got to his knees and grabbed on
to a thick cluster of pipes that ran the length of the ship as the deck tipped
in the opposite direction. The soldiers slid across the metal floor grasping at
each other and smacking into the pipes.
An explosion louder than thunder reverberated
through the hull. Dean looked back at the huge lid of the oil tank. It was
buckled and bulging upwards. Another explosion made it buckle even more,
tearing the rivets that held it in place. A final blow tore the thick metal as
if it was made of foil, pealing it back like a sardine can and tossing it
through the air and into the sea.
The soldiers screamed and ran in
terror as a dark beast rose up from the tank. Frozen with wonder, Dean looked
on as it pulled itself up and planted its first foot onto the deck. Dean
quickly snapped out of it as its gargantuan paw thumped down meters from where
he sat.
Leaping up he sprinted after the
soldiers as the enormous creature got its balance on the wildly rocking craft.
The beast was almost bird like. Two muscular legs supported its barrel chest,
smaller more sinuous, clawed arms were folded against its side, like a birds
wings. A long swaying tail balanced its long thin neck and spear shaped head.
It stayed low, hunched on its strong legs. Its pebbled skin glistened in the
moonlight as it looked around at the flat horizon.
Dean saw the soldiers flee into the
ship but decided not to follow. Running left, to the starboard side he bound up
a short flight of steps to one of the lifeboats. The small white craft was
basically a motorboat with a radio and rations covered by a dark green
tarpaulin. It swung on four ropes suspended by pulleys on two beams. Dean found
the release for the lowering system and flipped the lever as he climbed into
the boat.
Suddenly the tanker was pulled down
to Port. The lifeboat clanged into the hull shooting sparks as the motor
operated pulleys continued to lower it. The end of the ropes loomed and it was
still too far above the water. Dean ripped the tarp out of his way and leaned over
the side to look down at the blue-green ocean below.
Mitchell,
the Umbrella rep gripped the helm tightly as the ship rocked hard to the port
side. His eyes were wide with fear as the five-storey-high Tyrant clambered
across the deck towards the Bridge. Its reptilian head lowered close to the row
of windows, shifting from left to right scanning the room. All of the Bridge
crew panicked and raced down the steps.
Mitchell was too scared even to do
this. Paralysed, he stared into the thin oval pupil of its yellow eyes as it
bared its long sharp teeth. With a low growl its face disappeared upwards.
Mitchell leaned forward and craned his neck to follow its light coloured
underbelly into the sky.
Suddenly the squeal of steel being
stretched and torn filled the air as its heavy foot rested on the roof. Plaster
fell from the ceiling in chunks of crumbling white. Finally the metal beams
gave way and the creature's foot crashed into the room. Mitchell died
screaming.
Dean
sighed with relief as the monster readjusted its weight, dropping the boat into
the water. Unsteadily Dean clambered over the tarp to release the ropes when
the ship suddenly leaned over towards him. He yelled as the boat was tipped
over chucking him into the water.
He swam as hard and fast as he could
as the huge ship tilted further and further over. Members of the crew leapt
from the deck into the churning water screaming as the Creature rampaged across
it. Other lifeboats were released too early by panicking sailors and crashed
into the surface in a hail of spray and shattered wooden splinters. The men
aboard tumbled after and were killed as they splashed awkwardly into the sea.
After what seemed like hours of
swimming Dean stopped and looked back as the bow slowly began to rise. The
massive beast was squatting on the stern; it's colossal weight dragging the
tanker under the water. White water crashed over the deck and its feet as it
sank down. Dean was awestruck as the barnacle encrusted keel reached 45
degrees.
KERRACK-A-BOOOM!!!
A thick crack exploded across the middle of
the hull. As if in slow motion the bow of the ship slowly fell creating a tidal
wave of deadly white foam. It finally hit the water with an ear-shattering boom
sending tones of cold Pacific water into the air.
Dean spun in the water and swam for
dear life against the waves as debris rained down on him. The monster screamed
as the stern of the vessel gave way dumping it into the ocean.
As the two halves of the stricken
tanker disappeared into the deep three muscular figures leapt from the deck.
"Holy SHIT!" Dean cried as one of the figures powered through the water with
ease and mauled a paddling crewman. Dean could hear his screams as he was
ripped limb from limb. "The other Hunter things have escaped!"
The second and third Hunters skimmed
the waves, zigzagging like sharks stalking their prey. Dean's eyes bulged as he
realized that they were homing in on him!
Scrabbling through the water like a
struggling child as his first swimming lesson Dean reached a big pieced of floating
debris, a section of deck. With a grunt he pulled himself onto it and rolled on
his side to look back. Two arrowheads of bubbling ripples raced towards him at
terrifying speed. Looking around desperately for a weapon Dean wrenched a loose
board from his makeshift raft and held it like a harpoon, splintered edge
first.
With a squeal and a splash the first
Hunter propelled itself out of the water and high into the air. As it came down
to strike Dean heaved the board upwards imbedding it in the back of the
amphibians throat. It howled in agony and collapsed into the end of the raft
flipping Dean off and back into the water.
As he sank down into the murk of the
sea he spotted the other Hunter swerve from its course to follow him down. His
lungs began to burn but he couldn't possibly get to the surface before the
thing got him. Kicking madly he fought the currents and swam down and back
towards the sinking vessel. The Hunter shot overhead and twisted gracefully to
give chase.
Several sets of legs dangled just
ahead of Dean as some men gripped a capsized lifeboat. Dean burst up from the
calmly lolling waves and grabbed the shoulder of one of the survivor's life
jackets.
"Help me! I need a weapon! Please…"
be begged between ragged breaths.
"A weapon? Why…" one man started.
The rest of his reply was lost in a terrible scream as he was dragged under
into a rapidly expanding mist of crimson.
"Fuck! Get the flare gun! It's in
the metal box beside the helm!" another shouted while he scrambled to climb
atop the slippery boat.
Dean nodded and took a deep breath.
Diving he held onto the side of the boat and dragged himself under the deck. He
paused to look at the Hunter as it floated below him munching on the seaman's
abdomen hungrily dropping large chunks of flesh as it did. He closed he eyes
tightly, trying to block out the scene and felt around for the flare gun. After hours of groping in the dark
he finally touched a square metal box. Ecstatic, he tugged it from its mounting
and swam to the others.
Thankfully the box was watertight.
Dean popped open the cover and drew the squat little handgun. Leaning with his
elbows on the boat he undid the catch so the thick barrel folded open and
shoved the flare into it. It snapped closed with a flick of his wrist.
SCRRREEEEAAAAAAACCCCHHHHHH!!!!
The
Hunter soared over their heads and landed nimbly on the hull of the lifeboat
with a thud. Hissing it menaced the sailors. Dean smiled and flopped onto his
back so he floated there and aimed carefully.
"Hey, Fucker." He said. The thing
turned and looked down the barrel. Dean squeezed the trigger and was instantly
blinded by a bright red flash. The air was filled with the loud fizzing sound
of the flare and the pained screams of the Hunter as the burning fireball
blasted through its reptilian eye into its brain.
Dean could hear all the other men
laughing as the dead creature flopped into the ocean but could still barely see
anything between the white and pink spots that blighted his vision.
"That's two down, guys," he warned
blinking. "There's still one more…"
"AARRRRGGGGHHH!" cried one of the
sailors as he was dragged under. His comrades tried to grab him but he slipped
through their fingers in a cloud of scarlet. They all coward away from the spot
where he disappeared and crowded towards Dean.
"Quick, get up on the boat!" he
ordered. Desperately they jostled to
climb up onto the bulge of the hull. A big, green hand shot up from the water
and dug its claws into the flesh of another mans back. He shrieked and vanished
under the waves, his face contorted in terror and shock. Dean made it to the
top and straddled the keel to help drag the last man to safety. Wrapping his
strong hands around the shoulders of his yellow lifejacket he hoisted him up.
But, in the blink of an eye the
bullet shaped head of the Frog Hunter lunged from the black liquid and sunk its
teeth into the back of is thigh. The man cried out in agony and gripped Dean
even tighter. The Hunter planted its taloned foot on the boat for leverage and
tore a great lump of bloody flesh from his body. Convulsing with shock the man
let go and toppled spasming into the water.
At last it was just Dean and the
Hunter. Its wide maw seemed to be grinning as it climbed onto the boat.
Squatting at the stern it watched Dean closely as he backed away to the bow,
slipping and sliding all the way. His breaths were quick and ragged as he
looked around for a weapon or way to escape.
KER-AAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHH!!
A
massive tidal wave rose up from the deep obliterating the boat. The Hunters
screams were cut off as it was swallowed by a monster far bigger than it. Dean
was tossed into the churning water in a hail of wooden splinters. The colossus
soared impossibly high into the air before slowly toppling over like a Killer
Whale.
Strong alternating currents dragged
Dean left and right, up and down under the water, he kicked and struggle
pathetically against it finally coming to rest far from the sinking tanker,
gripping a slab of wood drifting aimlessly.
EPILOGUE
Dean
squinted against the harsh mid day sun at a shape coming slowly towards him in
the sky. As it got closer and closer he realised it was a helicopter. A huge
grin played across his dirty, stubbled face. Shifting his weight on his plank
of driftwood he waved furiously at the red copter. A cool breezed blasted him
as the rotors made big round ripples in the calm sea.
A man on a rope lowered towards him
slowly till he was being dunked into the water. Dean allowed himself to be
manhandled into a harness and dragged skywards to safety. Lying on his back on
the floor of the Coast Guard rescue chopper he wondered if people would believe
what had happened to him.
Actually, he thought. I
don't really care. I just want to go home and forget it.
But he knew that he never would. He
knew that the Umbrella creation that had sunk the Samantha was still out
there. Everything would come out eventually, but not from him.
