Flux Read online

  “Easy there, cave-bitch!”

  Growling, the cavewoman lunged at him, bringing her wide nose within centimetres of Brett’s own, in what was possibly a kind of challenge. The Neanderthal’s pale blue eyes bored into Brett’s. For a time, neither uttered a sound. They simply stared at one another, an obvious hatred burning in both of their gazes. The cavewoman eventually stepped away. One of her big hands swept up to the sheath, sown into the vest’s left-hand pectoral section, to retrieve Brett’s K-bar knife. Unsheathing the weapon, Brett watched the orange-red flames from the fire dance along the shining blade. A knot tightened in Brett’s belly as he came to a horrifying realization.

  She understands it’s a weapon!

  “What are you so pissed about?” Brett snapped. “You on the rag or something?”

  In the amber light, Brett swore the cavewoman smirked at him. It must have been a trick of the light.

  Some kind of shadow, possibly? Conn wondered.

  The dumb fucking brute couldn’t understand him… surely.

  “Is it because I called you ‘monkey’?” Brett knew he should have been taking his situation more seriously but he couldn’t help himself.

  The hulking human approached Brett’s bedside, holding the K-bar up for him to see. Coming to stand beside him, the Neanderthal looked down at the frightened young man. Brett was fighting not to show any fear, but he didn’t think it was working. His breathing was thinner and quicker than it was before. He struggled to control it, adrenaline flooding his system as his eyes locked onto the knife in the cavewoman’s hand.

  “Fuck you!” Brett shook visibly as he cursed, adrenaline getting the better of him.

  The Neanderthal lowered the blade of the knife towards him. Brett jerked in response, futilely trying to get away from the brute, but the restraints kept him in-place. The cavewoman ran the point of the K-bar up Brett’s side, the sensation causing him to flinch and yelp.

  “Get away from me!” Brett snarled. “Cave-bitch!”

  The Neanderthal paid him no mind. Instead, the big human wended the tip of the knife along Brett’s skin, the action inducing goose-pimples. The blade travelled up the centre of the captive man’s body, over his abdomen, passing between his pectoral muscles. Next, the Neanderthal trailed the point up Brett’s neck, over his Adam’s apple and under his chin. Lastly, curving up and over his lips, it came to rest just under his nose. Brett had nothing smart to say, anymore. Rather, his eyes lingered on the knife, and its razor-sharp edges. From his vantage point, he could see one of his own emerald eyes reflected back at him, the image bouncing off the metal of the wicked-looking blade. Brett’s eyes drifted to those of his prehistoric counterpart: there was no mercy to be found in them.

  Unexpectedly, the Neanderthal jerked forward, K-bar jutting towards Brett. He recoiled with fright as he felt the tip of the blade inserted inside his left nostril. The Neanderthal’s formerly free hand was now wrapped around the top of Brett’s cranium, helping to hold him in place as his captor toyed with him. Brett struggled, trying to escape the blade but it was useless. He couldn’t go anywhere. His green eyes met those of the cavewoman. With the slightest of twitches, the Neanderthal flicked her wrist, the curved tip of the K-bar slicing through the skin of Brett’s nostril. The action split the skin into two pieces, the flesh separating like the front of a tent, spewing blood over the wall.

  “Aaahhh!” Brett screeched, jerking about in the bed, held down by the cavewoman, and her restraints.

  He was in pure agony, blood gushing down his face, and over his neck and chest. In between cries, he thought he might have heard gunfire, but he couldn’t be sure. The pain was truly intense, overriding all other considerations. Once more, Brett tried to focus on his breathing, this time in an effort to forget about the pain; if that was at all possible. The Neanderthal had other plans, however. It quickly became apparent, that she had decided she wasn’t going to offer Brett a respite from his ordeal.

  Then, the towering cavewoman turned the knife on Brett once more. The Neanderthal dug the blade into Brett’s right pectoral muscle, slicing through the skin and dragging it along the flesh, eliciting a horrified, pain-filled shriek from her helpless victim.

  17.

  Lex had only started climbing the first flight of stairs, when the doorway, half-a-floor below her, burst wide open. There was a violent bang, followed by a vicious-sounding hiiiiiiiss! filtering its way up to her. The ghastly noise filled the entire stairwell, chilling Lex from head to toe. The carnifex was back and determined as ever.

  Looking over the railing to the floor beneath, Lex clocked the dog-sized marsupial’s russet-coloured hide flecked with chalky white spots. Door swinging shut behind it, the beast sauntered into the tight corridor. Rearing its stubby head, the raging creature locked eyes with Lex further up. Rasping, it flashed its fangs, hackles rising along its spine. Not hesitating a moment longer, the young woman lined up the monster in her sights, letting off several rounds. Somehow, the carnifex disappeared from view, blending with the shadows as bullets flashed and pinged about the place, failing to find their mark.

  Lex cursed. She was almost certain she hadn’t hit it. Unwilling to find out for sure, and not wanting to waste any more time, she restarted her ascent, unwavering in her quest to find Brett. As she pushed off, a frightful howl rode up the stairwell, trailing after her. The call was at once feline and canine; a hellish note sung just for her.

  Turning back around, a few steps further up, the young woman found the predator taking the stairs two- and sometimes three- at a time, closing on her. She fired off another few rounds, before reinitiating her climb. The carnifex didn’t let up. It dodged the incoming bullets by lunging at the wall and using its paws to thrust off as it contacted in a springboard motion. Doing this, it propelled itself upwards, gaining more ground. Like some kind of gymnast, it managed to avoid the red-hot missiles that cratered the footsteps where it had been standing only moments before. Another blast from Lex’s MP-5 saw the beast shrink back, conceding some of its gains, but it didn’t stop the animal altogether. Pushing harder, after a moment’s lull, the carnifex used its elongated forelimbs like a greyhound, retaking its lost ground.

  Reaching the top of the staircase, Lex turned to fire one more time. Heart pumping furiously against her ribcage, she squeezed on the trigger.

  Click-click-click.

  Her mag was empty. Cursing loudly, Lex immediately began rifling through her bags for a spare clip, swatting packets and strips of pills out of the way, desperate to find a fresh magazine. It was the only thing that could keep the carnifex at bay. The whole time, she was aware of the encroaching monster, fearful to take her eyes off it, even for a second, lest it pounce on her. In truth, the woman had every reason to be as frightened as she was. The thing’s speed was incredible, a terrifying attribute that was surpassed only by its cunning.

  Each step wary and methodical, the marsupial lion trod carefully up the last flight of stairs. Ears pinned back against its round skull, the carnifex kept its head low, parted jaws foaming from exertion brought on by the prolonged chase. Lex watched in horror as the dark-coloured predator’s outline emerged from behind the angled steps, its brawny figure growing larger with every second. Backed up against a door which seemed to lead to an adjoining corridor, Lex was forced to accept that she was out of ammo. The way the young woman saw it, she only had two options: either stand and fight, or keep running.

  A deep pain-filled cry sounded from the corridor beyond. So loud in fact, it stopped the carnifex in its tracks for a brief second, confusing it. The cry sounded human, at least to Lex.

  Brett? Lex asked herself.

  All of a sudden, the enraged carnifex lunged just as Lex made for the door, spurred on by what she could only assume were Brett’s pained cries. Swinging the door open, she managed to catch the marsupial hunter in mid-flight. Her ears registered a loud yelp as the frame of the door connected with the animal’s ribcage, trapping its body against the wall and
the exterior of the door. The ensnared beast was kicking ferociously with its hind-limbs, trying to free itself, claws out, and raking the air. For her part, Lex just started slamming the door into the devilish creature, over, and over again. With each unforgiving strike, the carnifex squealed in pain and roared with anger. Just as she was about to deliver one more blow, Lex heard another tormented scream that broke her concentration. Leaving the battered marsupial behind, Lex took off, moving out into the hallway.

  Stumbling into the passageway, she began calling for her teammate. “Brett! Where are you?”

  She ventured forth, almost blindly, trying to follow the sound of Brett’s voice. Panting from exhaustion, she was near collapse. At the end of the hallway in front of her, Lex could see a tall, tinted window that overlooked the centre of Brookeborough which provided some light, but not much. Her gaze was abruptly averted when a horrendous thud sounded behind her, as wood, metal and plasterboard collided in a violent storm. This was followed quickly by a terrifying, ghoulish screech. Several tense seconds passed before the carnifex ambled into view. Creeping forward, wet lips curled back in a ferocious sneer, it let out a low, guttural utterance. In that moment, Lex noted red strands dangling from the animal’s gaping maw. They looked like strings of mucous- saliva probably- mixed together with blood. Lex guessed she had injured her pursuer during their brief scuffle. Still, damaged or not, its gleaming eyes were narrowed at the young woman. Evidently, the pugnacious beast wasn’t out of the running yet. There was plenty of fight still left in it. The question was; did Lex have any fight left in her?

  “For fuck’s sale!” Lex screamed at the advancing monster. “Do you ever give up?”

  The marsupial’s reply was to rear its head back and spread its jaws wide, displaying its fearsome, shining incisors, as it issued another ear-fucking howl. The noise bounced off the walls, causing Lex to flinch. Then surprisingly, she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

  “Br-” Lex expected to find her comrade standing there.

  She didn’t find Brett, at least not right away. The thankful smile that had been forming at the edges of her mouth quickly vanished. Instead, a burly female- as wide and as tall as Brett- was watching her, a surprised look plastered on her bony, ridged face. The unidentified female was an odd sight to behold, dressed in an animal-skin loincloth ,and bulletproof Kevlar vest that squeezed her sagging breasts against her abdomen. In her right hand, she held a bloodied K-bar knife, now pointed unnervingly at Lex. Without as much as a word, her sparkling blue eyes appraised the young woman coolly. Behind her, Lex heard the carnifex’s claws scrape along the flat floor, trying to gain traction as it raced towards her. Lex refused to look behind her. Instead, she watched the big woman in front of her with her knife, listening all the while as the carnifex drew nearer, heart beating loudly in her ears, blood pumping forcefully in her temples.

  The muscles in the big woman’s arms twitched, and Lex knew instantly what she was thinking. Eyes locked on her, she could hear the marsupial lion scampering closer, roaring as it went. She knew the carnifex would be on top of her any second now. To her right was a gaping hole, punched through what was left of a thick hospital wall. Beyond, she could see Brett, bare-chested and bloodied, strapped to a hospital bed, his head slumped to the side and barely conscious. Thin wisps of grey-black smoke curled out from the yawning orifice, like the fingers of some ethereal wraith materializing from the ether. It was only then that the young woman’s nostrils actually registered the presence of smoke.

  As the ginger-haired giant made for her, Lex lunged to her left, flying through the ragged opening in the wall. Landing on her side, she looked back through the void, to see the chocolate-coated carnifex collide with the muscular figure of the loincloth-wearing female. The predator sunk its tusk-like incisors into the woman’s broad throat, the wound spewing blood, skin bursting like a water-balloon on contact. At the same time, its hyperextended claws pierced the skin of her upper-body, gripping her tight, burying into the flesh beneath. The two figures flew towards the tall glass pane, the window shattering on impact as the pair disappeared through it.

  The pane of glass exploded in a shower of crystalline shards. Big and small, the mangled sections of glass captured the light from the moon and stars hanging in the night sky above in a mesmerising, flickering display. Myriad sparkling pieces of debris scattered in all directions as the two duelling figures somersaulted through the air.

  Human and beast didn’t halt their fight, even as they fell for four storeys. The cavewoman stabbed with her stolen K-bar, gutting the crazed marsupial, spilling tube-shaped intestines, all whilst still in the air. Despite its mortal wound, the carnifex slashed with its hooked claws, raking long gouges across the female’s tanned flesh as it simultaneously tried to wrench the human’s head from her shoulders, working its jaws backwards and forwards.

  In any event, the contest came to a rapid end, when the thrashing mass of woman and marsupial impacted with the cracked, charcoal-coloured tarmac below. What was left of them wasn’t pretty. The explosion of flesh, blood, and organs, and everything else that came with it, sprayed bits of gore in every direction, staining the sidewalk like a spilled claret on a new crème rug.

  “Help… me,” Brett pleaded with Lex.

  His words sounded like they took every ounce of strength he had left in him, just to form them. Dusting herself off, Lex rushed to her feet, checking her body over for wounds. As far as she could tell, apart from a few minor scrapes and bruises, and the cut across her cheek, she was good. Brett however was in a truly horrid state. Lex’s deep hazel eyes assessed the battered figure of her former lover. She fought back tears as her mind began painting pictures for her, imagining the horrors Brett had been exposed to inside that little room.

  Lex didn’t rush to help Brett right away. Instead, she moved to the foot of the bed, her shock working to delay the young woman’s decision-making process. The dancing, amber light emanating from the fire, gave the area an eerie, rather unsettling atmosphere. She gasped at his horrific wounds, raising a hand to cover her gaping mouth. Lex’s eyes trailed over his bleeding torso. Diagonal slashes ran over both his pectorals, deep red canals dug into his pallid skin. Likewise, a long scarlet channel had been cut down the centre of his abdomen, ending just above his navel. This trio of larger wounds was accentuated by smaller cuts and abrasions, criss-crossing his abused upper body. Small rivulets of blood branched away from the main wounds, trailing the curves of his body, staining the mattress beneath his prone frame.

  “Help… me,” Brett repeated, his voice now much weaker than before.

  This snapped Lex back to reality, pulling her from her gruesome ponderings. She moved from the foot of the bed, coming to stand beside Brett. As she did this, Lex noticed his left nostril was now in two pieces. She bit her tongue, trying not to recoil in disgust at the sight of it as her fingers worked energetically, loosening his restraints. Ripping them off him, Lex tried to slide Brett out of the bed. This resulted in an agonising scream from Brett, who nearly passed out from the pain.

  “I’m sorry!” Lex panicked. “I’m sorry!”

  Sliding his arm around her shoulders, Lex eased Brett to his feet, the wounded man crying out the whole time, tears streaming down his ashen face. Inch by inch, Lex worked Brett’s flailing figure out of the hospital bed, feeling that bit guiltier with every screech from him.

  “C’mon Brett,” Lex encouraged him. “We have to get moving. We have to find Conn, and get the fuck out of here!”

  Brett mumbled a sluggish reply which Lex took to be in the affirmative. Half-dragging him, Lex moved Brett out into the adjacent corridor, more than happy to leave Brookeborough behind, for good.

  18.

  “Get in the bag, Ambie!” Conn barked at the albino raptor as he exited the basement, moving out into BPH’s almost pitch-black first floor. Out the corner of Conn’s eye, he could see the glass doors, marking the hospital entrance. “Fucking pest! Do as you’re told!”
r />   The baby dinosaur was inside one of his duffel bags, but it wasn’t happy about this arrangement. After all, it had no say in it. Ambie wanted to be closer to Conn, scrambling to get out of the sack. Conn was terrified what the others would think if they found out he had adopted a raptor, baby or not. So, he thought it would be better to keep Ambie’s existence from them, at least for a little while.

  Ambie was squealing and fidgeting; reminiscent of a toddler in the midst of a tantrum. It had been behaving like this from the moment Conn placed the dinosaur inside the bag, back down in the basement before it managed to crawl its way out.

  “No!” Conn swatted the end of Ambie’s snout with his index finger, exasperated with the persistent little reptile. “Stop being a dick!”

  Ambie wasn’t having it. The alabaster raptor hissed at him, flashing its needle-like teeth, reducing its ruby eyes to mere slits. The raptor’s little claws twitched like the fingers of a pianist, poised to strike and lash out should Conn try to whack it again.

  “No, Ambie! No!” Conn tried to swat the dinosaur again, but thought better of it when Ambie moved to bite him, claws swiping the air. “I swear to God, you little shit! Just behave!”

  The pair stood there for several seconds in the middle of the dim hallway, eyes narrowed at each other. Conn had his index finger extended, pointing at the insolent infant. Ambie on the other hand, stood waiting, forelimbs wide, talons extended, jaws slightly parted as if to say, ‘come ahead, then.’ Neither uttered a sound, rather they just watched one another. It was a Mexican stand-off between a full-grown man and a baby dinosaur, the outcome of which was anyone’s guess.