They fired their rifles until they were empty, tossed them aside, and then embraced. Finally, they waited for it all to be over. It didn’t take long.
They’d made good time, travelling fifteen miles according to Tosco, but Maddy’s feet were throbbing and she was ready to rest. Her watch told her it wasn’t even noon. “When can we take a break?” she complained.
Tosco raised an eyebrow, a cheeky smirk on his face. “Surely you’re not ready to quit?” She glared at him, but he only laughed. “I was planning to make camp at the twenty-mile mark. I know we’ve pushed hard today, but it’s nice to take in some new scenery. Most of us spent the first months of the invasion on the water, and we’ve barely moved since reaching Portsmouth.”
Maddy had spent the first months of the invasion on foot, desperately trying to stay alive. The thought of being on the road again didn’t exactly thrill her, but she understood that Tosco and his men must have been suffering with some pretty harsh cabin fever. Watching them now, she saw their sharp intakes of breath and wandering eyes. They were enjoying being out in the open – if out in the open meant a deserted village with smashed-in shop windows.
“So far so good,” said Tosco. “Maybe I should have brought Alice along. Poor kid’s been stuck on The Hatchet way too long.”
“We still don’t know how safe it is out here,” said Maddy. “When we last saw demons they were aggressive again.” She was, of course, referring to the temporary stupor the demons had entered, which had seemingly ended with their recent attack on Portsmouth.
“Alice is tougher than she looks,” said Tosco, “but I’m trying to keep her safe. I don’t know if it was the right thing bringing her along with me. She had friends in Portsmouth. Now she’s a fugitive surrounded by coast guards and mechanics.”
Maddy gave him a sympathetic smile. “Once we reach this camp in the woods we can send for her. She’ll be on dry land again soon. She’ll make new friends.”
Tosco nodded, but he seemed genuinely guilt-ridden. He’d become a surrogate father to the young American girl and Tosco was clearly trying his best to fill Guy Granger’s shoes.
The sole female sailor in the group prodded something up ahead with her boot. She looked back and grimaced. “Whatever this belonged to, it’s as fresh as airborne pigeon shit.”
The chunk of pinkish meat could have been from a pig, but it could also have been human. Maddy grimaced. “Maybe a lion escaped the zoo along with the zebra.”
Tosco nodded and added his own theory. “Dogs. There’re packs of them everywhere. We need to stay alert.”
Everyone raised their weapons and reordered themselves in a line. They moved through the abandoned village slowly, edging along the paths and road. Cars and debris blocked their way, and they passed with caution.
Maddy found another chunk of bloody flesh. It gave off a smell, rotting ever so slightly. Whatever had died had been alive not so long ago. “It’s a hand,” she said, stomach lurching. It wasn’t the sight of oozing flesh – that she was more than used to. It was the shock of coming across it so unexpectedly.
Tosco stood over the disembodied hand with a grim expression. “Damn it. There were people here. What if this camp in the forest has been attacked?”
“I’m sure it has,” said Maddy, “multiple times, but we know nothing until we get there. Let’s not panic.”
“You’re right. With the way things are, it would be a miracle not to find a few corpses here and there. It still could’ve been dogs. I don’t see any signs of demon activity.”
“Pity,” said the female team member. “I wanted something to shoot.”
Maddy didn’t see any threats either. Demons usually meant blood, and not just in pools, but everywhere. They bathed in it, spread it everywhere. “I say we keep moving. Sooner we reach this camp, the better.”
Tosco gave everyone the nod and they resumed their advance. It didn’t take long to find more flesh on the road, and this time there was no way to dismiss it. Four bodies littered the landscape, arms and legs strewn about and mixed together. Cracked and half-eaten skulls grinned up at Maddy and forced her to avert her gaze. The bodies weren’t fresh, but they weren’t old either.
“This is bad,” said one of the men. “I say we head back to The Hatchet.”
Tosco looked back the way they’d come as if considering the option. How could he not be? They were here to find sanctuary, not walk into the midst of a demon lair. But what would retreating achieve? They were a species at war. You could only avoid fighting for so long. They had come here for a reason.
Before Tosco shared what he was thinking, gunfire alerted the team. Everyone threw themselves into cover and raised their weapons. Maddy lifted her handgun and looked for something to shoot. “There are people alive out here,” she cried. “We need to help them.”
“We could be walking right into a losing battle,” said Tosco.
“It could be the group we’re looking for,” said the female team member, apparently arguing for Maddy’s side. The woman knelt nearby, peering down her riflescope. “They’re the whole reason we’re here, boss. Would be stupid not to lend a hand.”
Tosco grunted. “You’re right. Let’s move. Weapons ready.”
Maddy nodded appreciation to the woman and noticed a fine scar running the entire length of the left side of her face. It made her look fierce. “What’s your name?” asked Maddy.
“Sarah.”
They got moving, risking an ambush every time they passed a car or blind alley. The village ended abruptly, small thatch-roofed cottages giving way to a lone church, a small green, and then an empty country road lined by tree-lined embankments on both sides. The gunfire came from their left. Tosco took point and worked his way into the trees. The fight was close, maybe in
