The pilots leant forward, pushing down on their control sticks.
“Wait,” said Addy. “Ever heard of killing two birds with one stone?”
Mass looked at her. “Huh?”
“If we can lead Crimolok so he’s in front of the gate, we could hit him with the nuke and send him back to Hell, just like you said.”
“Like we joked,” said Smithy. “We’re taking things very literally here, people. We can’t harm Crimolok. He’ll just shake it off, so why risk it?”
Mass thought about it. “He can’t be harmed by our weapons, but he has been harmed. Rick hurt him. Maybe Crimolok can be hurt by the right kind of weapon. A nuke isn’t the same as a bullet or even a bomb. It’s like the power of the universe unleashed in a tiny package, right?”
Smithy shook his head. “I was due to study astrophysics next year. This year was home economics.”
“We’re kind of in a no-lose situation,” said Addy. “I say we try it.”
Damien crossed his arms and nodded. “Yeah, let’s fuck things up.”
Angela shook her head. “That kind of language will get you sent straight to Hell, young man.”
“Been there, done that.”
Mass took a deep breath. “After we do this, there might not be a Hell left.”
“The engines are starting to struggle,” said one of the pilots. “We need to get down on the ground.”
Mass nodded. “Okay, take us down in front of the gate. Once we’re back within reach, Crimolok will come for us. Make it look like we intend to fly right on through. Soon as he’s close enough, paint a target on the gate and get us out of there.”
The pilot chewed his lip for a moment. “We’re not going to survive a nuclear blast. It’ll fry our circuits even if we don’t get obliterated by the blast.”
Mass sighed. “We’re not doing this for us.”
The pilot nodded; he understood. They all did. None of them were making it through this alive. That wasn’t what this was about.
“Okay,” said the pilot, “descending.”
Everyone held on to the roof straps while the helicopter plummeted. The cabin vibrated, not fully under control after the damage it had taken. The engines made unhealthy noises and several warning lights lit on the dashboard.
Mass felt like puking again, but he held on, knowing there wasn’t time even for that. This was a nearly impossible mission, and he held onto that… nearly. The nearly was hope.
Mass moved to the open doorway and looked out. Crimolok was a hundred metres away, watching them balefully. The giant had been unable to reach them at high altitude, but now that they had descended he came right for them, crushing droves of his own demons beneath his feet. He let out a soul-shattering roar and Mass felt his bladder let go for the second time. The warmth against his leg reminded him he was alive. He could still fight.
“Okay, paint a target on the gate,” he yelled to the pilots.
A second passed. “Target painted. Commander Klein, do you copy?”
Another second. “Ja! Target acquired. Missile launched. May Heaven take you fine men.”
Mass kept his eyes on Crimolok and wondered how long it would take for a nuclear missile to travel twenty miles. Seconds, he imagined. “Hold our position,” he shouted. “Hold it until I say go, and then get us the hell out of here.”
Crimolok’s enraged sprint tore up the ground and uprooted trees. The roads cracked beneath his feet. It was the most terrifying thing Mass had ever seen, and only his hatred allowed him to face down the charging beast. Annihilation was seconds away – a clash between an ancient evil that thrived on spoiled flesh and mankind’s greatest weapon launched by a computer. It was just a question of which would reach the helicopter first.
“Hold!”
Crimolok bounded twenty metres in a single step.
“Hold!”
Twenty metres left, a single second.
“Hold!”
Crimolok swung a massive arm and released an ear-splitting roar.
Mass roared back. “Move! Move! Move!”
The helicopter tipped onto its side and fell. Mass’s feet left the ground and he was swinging from the handholds beside the doorway. Through the opening he saw Crimolok’s huge fist swipe the air. Then Mass saw the ground, a blanket of flattened demon flesh covering the road and fields. The helicopter’s searchlight strobed wildly against the countryside, making the whole thing feel like an acid trip. Everyone inside the cabin screamed, but Mass could do nothing to help them. This was the end, and as much as they were together, they would face it alone.
There was an almighty flash and Mass closed his eyes, but it was like staring into the sun.
The helicopter tumbled and spun.
The pilots yelled at one another, fighting for control. The helicopter’s cockpit was a chaos of sounds, warnings and alarms.
Mass didn’t know which way was up. His legs dangled in the air as he held onto the nylon roof straps with everything he had left. It felt like his arms were going to tear off. Any second, it would all end. They would hit the ground and explode, or the nuclear blast would eat them up.
Mass’s ankles struck the side of the helicopter’s cabin wall and bounced. His body rotated and his legs entered a wind tunnel. He was dangling outside the helicopter. The wrist strap tightened around his arm, the only thing keeping him alive.
Why wasn’t it over yet?
Why weren’t they dead?
Mass’s legs crashed back down. His shoulders were on fire. The light began to fade. He dared to open his eyes. What he saw was chaos. Smithy was unconscious sliding around beneath the seats. Harry was bleeding from his nose. Steph and Angela were clinging on in the back. The pilots fought with their controls. Even Damien seemed terrified.
“Hold on,” one of the pilots shouted. “Hold on!”
There was an almighty crash, followed by the sound of imploding steel.
Mass was upside down, his knees pressed against his face. He heard moaning but couldn’t tell if it was his own. The helicopter’s interior had changed. It
