Children Of The Mountain (Book 2): The Devil You Know (18 page)

The blond giant steps forward and bends down, slipping his fingers under the door. It groans in protest as he takes its weight and then there’s a loud metallic clang that echoes along the hallway as he lets it fall back onto its track. He grips one edge with a huge glove and pulls. The runners screech in protest but inch by inch the door slides back until there’s a gap large enough for a person to fit through.

Hicks’ fingers move closer to the pistol on his hip. He tells me to be ready so I press the rifle to my cheek. I take a deep breath to try and steady the barrel but my hands are shaking too much for that to work.

Ortiz picks up the flashlight and shines it inside. On the other side of the door there’s a large, tiled room. Some of the tiles have peeled away, revealing a dark surface that shines dully as the light slides over it. A table where people would have had their X-rays taken waits in the center; even from here I can see how badly corroded the metal is. There’s a cubicle in the far corner from where the machine would have been controlled. The glass there is broken; it gives back fractured carmine images as Ortiz points the beam at it. After a moment he steps inside, continuing to sweep the room. I wait, holding my breath. My insides feel like they’ve been scooped out and replaced with Reddi-wip. But there’s nothing. He turns around and motions to Hicks that we can move on.

As I step back to let him out I catch a glimpse of something slip from behind the operator booth. Ortiz has his back to it; he hasn’t noticed yet. My eyes widen and for a second I just stand, paralyzed with fear, the gun heavy and useless in my hands. Hicks must see it now too, or maybe he just reads what’s written on my face. If he’s shocked he doesn’t show it; his expression doesn’t change that I can tell. But then I reckon Hicks is the kind of person who does his freaking and starting mostly on the inside. By the time I open my mouth to stammer a warning he’s already shoving me out of the way. The hands that were empty a moment ago now hold a pistol.

Ortiz finally realizes something’s wrong an instant before Hicks starts firing. I’m expecting it but the noise the old gun makes is loud in such a confined space and I jump. The inside of the room reveals itself in a series of flashbulb images. The fury suddenly on top of the X-ray table, lit for an instant by the flare from the muzzle. Dark circles surrounding silvered eyes, thin lips pulled back wide. Sparks fly and a bullet shrieks and whines off the metal where an instant before it was perched. The next time Hicks fires the flash catches it in midair as it launches itself. I think I see the bullet graze its shoulder but it barely seems to notice.

Ortiz has dropped the flashlight and is desperately trying to bring the baton up to ward off the attack, but he’s left it way too late. Long, thin fingers are already clawing at his neck; its teeth snap furiously.

Hicks adjusts his aim and fires one last time, and this time the bullet finds its target. The fury releases its grip and drops to the floor. The burnt stench of gunpowder hangs heavy in the stale air. Hicks steps into the room.

‘Did it get you?’

Ortiz doesn’t respond. He just stares at the thing lying there on the floor, the beam from the discarded flashlight casting ugly red shadows across its contorted features. Hicks grabs him by the shoulder and repeats the question. When he still gets no answer he unsnaps the throat of Ortiz’s parka and pulls the ruff back. A second later his hand falls away. Ortiz finally seems to come back from wherever he’s been. He tears his eyes off the fury and looks up at Hicks.

‘How bad is it, man? Can you fix it?’

Hicks looks for a moment longer and then just shakes his head. Ortiz just nods, once, like he understands.

‘You know I can’t go back, Sarge. Not like this.’

I see Hicks raise a finger to his lips. Without turning around he tells Jax to get me out. But I just stand there, rooted to the spot with fear. The Viking steps in front of me and extends one huge arm. At last I tear my gaze from the fury and allow myself to be shepherded back in the direction of the stairwell. I’ve barely made it half a dozen paces when a single final shot rings out and then it goes quiet again.

*

T
HE STORM THAT’S
been keeping its distance for the last couple of days looks like it’s finally coming our way. It’s still too far off to hear the thunder, but the sky behind us crackles with lightning.

Hicks picks up the pace. There’s no talking and the hike back passes in cold silence. When we finally stop to eat he sits apart and sips from his thermos. I break out an MRE but I’m not hungry and after a few mouthfuls I hand it to Jax.

I wonder if he blames me for what happened to Ortiz. Maybe if I hadn’t frozen when I first saw that thing crawl out from behind the booth he could have been saved. Well even if that’s true there’s nothing I can do about it now. The fact is Ortiz is dead and we have nothing to show for it. It’s already been days since Mags was infected.. The best I can hope for is that the storm will shift course and Hicks will want to take us out again soon.

Only next time it’ll be my turn to step into a darkened room with a baton and wait for one of those things to come at me.

It’s long after dark when we make it back to The Greenbrier. The storm hasn’t switched direction. All afternoon it’s followed us, growing steadily closer, and now the lightning is accompanied by the low rumble of thunder. It’ll be with us tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest.

The tattered flags snap and flutter on their flagpoles as we make our way up to the entrance. We pass under the massive portico and remove our snowshoes. The camera above me blinks as I open the door and step through. A flurry of snowflakes follows me inside.

I take my mittens off and rub my hands together to get some feeling back into my frozen fingers. The emergency lights are on and from somewhere down below I hear the low thrum of a generator. Hicks has already shucked off his backpack and is unzipping his parka. He still hasn’t said a word to me. Well, whether or not he holds me responsible for Ortiz I need something from him now. I undo my boots and bring them over to the bellhop cart.

‘You promised you’d let me see Mags.’

He looks at me for a long moment.

‘Yes, I did.’

He hands me Ortiz’s rifle.

‘Get that cleaned, yours too. I’ll come find you when we’re ready.’

I sling the rifles over my shoulder and head for the dining room. The Viking is already sitting at the table. He looks up from his plate of franks as I walk in. His flat blue stare follows me as I cross the room.

When we first met, Hicks said Jax was harmless. But after what happened in the hospital I’m not so sure. Marv warned me when Peck came for us there’d be no reasoning or pleading with him, and I wonder if it’d be any different with the Viking. I saw the look on his face when Hicks told him to get me out of there, after the fury got Ortiz. It was the same vacant expression I’d pretty much gotten used to. But I think I know how it would have gone if I hadn’t complied.

I go to work, trying not to look over at him. At some point he finishes eating. He stares at me a while longer then gets up and lumbers off in the direction of the door without saying a word. When I’m done with Ortiz’s rifle I start stripping down mine. When they’re both clean I reassemble them and then just sit there and wait.

At last Hicks shows up. He says they’re ready for me. I follow him back through the lobby and then down the long corridor that leads to the Colonial Lounge. When we get to the Exhibition Hall Dr. Gilbey’s already there. She turns around and gives me a tight-lipped smile. Behind her the screen’s been pulled back. The emergency lamp bolted to the wall above it flickers, casting the alcove behind in intermittent shadow. I can see the vault door’s open, but little beyond. I start to cross the hall to join her but she holds up one hand.

‘That’s far enough, Gabriel.’

She turns back towards the entrance to the bunker.

‘You can bring her out now, Corporal.’

Hicks puts a gloved hand on my arm.

‘Prepare yourself, son. They’ve had to bind her.’

At first there’s nothing and then I hear a shuffling coming from the darkness and for an instant all I can think is that it’s the same sound the fury that was stalking me in Mount Weather’s tunnel made. The footsteps grow steadily louder until eventually something steps out of the shadows.

Her head’s been shaved, her almost-black hair a stubbled furze. A strip of duct tape covers her mouth and there’s a thin plastic noose around her neck. She’s wearing dark overalls that seem several sizes too big for her. The cuffs are rolled up and her hands are held together at her waist, like they’ve been cable-tied there. There are more plastic restraints binding her ankles.

Her eyes scan the room for a second before they find me. There are worrying shadows there but when she turns her head I can see the pupils are dark, just like they’ve always been.

She continues to shuffle forward until she clears the door and then she stops and Truck steps out from behind her. The noose around her neck’s attached to a long pole, the kind of device you might see being used to round up strays for the pound. Truck’s gripping the other end with both hands, his tongue working the wad of tobacco that’s tucked behind his lip. He glances over at me and I think I catch a trace of a smile, like maybe this is a show he’s glad he got tickets for.

I look back at Mags.

‘Are you okay?’

She nods, once, a terse gesture.

I turn to Hicks.

‘Take the tape off. I want to talk to her.’

Hicks’ eyes never leave her. His voice remains calm but the tips of his fingers don’t stray far from the pistol on his hip.

‘Can’t do that son.’

Mags’ eyes flick over to Hicks then back to me, like she’s trying to work something out.

‘How… how did it happen?’

It seems like a stupid question, but it’s the only one I can think of right now.

Dr. Gilbey slips her hands into the pockets of her lab coat and turns to face me.

‘Well, I blame myself, of course, Gabriel. It was an unforgivable error.’ She shakes her head, but it’s a brusque gesture, sterile and unconvincing. ‘I asked Magdalene to remain in the dormitory, but I didn’t think to lock her in there. I thought she could be trusted not to wander off. After I had gone to sleep she must have taken it upon herself to explore.’

I look back at Mags. The expression on her face hasn’t changed but I recognize that look in her eyes. She’s furious. She glances over at Hicks, like she’s checking whether he’s still watching. Her eyes switch back to me one last time and for a second she holds my gaze, like she’s trying to tell me something. Then without warning she throws herself forward towards Dr. Gilbey. It happens so fast she catches Truck by surprise.

For all his size he recovers quickly. He yanks the pole back towards him and then lifts it up. I see the noose tighten around her neck; her head jerks backwards and she’s forced onto her toes, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the marble tiles. The muscles along Truck’s arms bunch as he hoists her up and I hear him grunt with the effort of it but he holds her there and in that moment I know I would kill him if I had the means. I take a step forward but I make no more than that. Something grabs my arm and in the same instant I feel a pressure against my thigh and then the room’s spinning around me; the next thing I know I’m lying on my back staring up at the Exhibition Hall’s featureless ceiling. I try to get up but Hicks has a knee on my chest, pinning me there. For someone so thin he’s surprisingly strong. He fixes me with a stare from his one good eye while he barks an order at Truck to set Mags down. Truck hesitates for a second and then lowers the pole. She drops to her knees, gasping for breath.

If Dr. Gilbey is shaken by this she doesn’t show it. She slowly removes her hands from the pockets of her lab coat and folds them across her chest. She nods at Truck.

‘Take her back inside Corporal.’

Hicks looks up for a second.

‘Gently, Truck.’

He lifts the pole and Mags gets unsteadily to her feet. She manages one last glance in my direction before she’s herded back through the door and in that second our eyes meet and I nod.

The emergency lights flicker, like they might go out, then steady. Hicks watches the door for a second more then looks back down at me.

‘If I let you up will you be calm?’

I nod and a moment later I feel a weight lifted from my chest as he stands. He holds out a gloved hand to help me up.

‘Now I know today was rough. That was to be expected, your first time and all. But you can’t give up. She needs you now, son. And trust me, it’ll get easier.’

I nod again, so he’ll think I’m listening, but the truth is I’m not. I know what I have to do now, and it doesn’t involve following him into another hospital to look for one of those things that attacked Ortiz. I need to be by myself to work this through, though. I glance over at Dr. Gilbey and then back at him.

‘How soon can we go out again?’

*

T
HE GIRL HAS BEEN GONE
for some time now but still the scent lingers.

It was worse before.

After the doctor left she sat quietly for a while. Then without warning she leaned back and kicked the bars. He had been worried she was going to bring the mean soldier down again, but she only did it once, and afterwards she went to the back of her cage and sat there for a long time without moving. When she finally stirred it was only to reach for the food tray and he had been happy then because he thought maybe she was going to eat something. But all she took was the plastic spoon. He saw her wipe it on her overalls and a little while later he thought he heard a sound like plastic splintering.

It was shortly after that he smelled it. Faint at first, fainter than when the soldier had hurt his elbow right in front of his cage, but growing stronger with every passing minute. He felt the now familiar knot in his stomach, felt it begin to twist, to gnaw at his insides. He pushed himself all the way to the back of his cage and covered his face with his hands to try and shut it out. It was no use though. The scent was still there; it slipped between his fingers, filling his nostrils, sliding down the back of his throat until he could almost taste it. There was no way to escape it.