Broad sees it too; the figures are running at them up the runway and across the grass verge that separates the runway from the taxiways. It doesn’t matter. He still can’t see them clearly and the bright orange fire behind them flashes in his eyes. The figure’s silhouettes don’t move normally; it is an inhuman run, intersected with leaps and bounds, like animals.
“I’m fucking going!” Broad shouts as he rakes on the steering wheel, his phone still in his hand, turning the cart around to get it pointed back to the Terminal 5 building. At the same time, his foot pushes the accelerator.
“They are getting closer. Go faster, go faster,” Colin pleads to Broad.
“My foot is to the floor; this fucking thing won’t go any faster!” he tells Colin as he stops turning, the cart and the empty cages behind it straightening up.
The baggage cart does pick up some speed, and it bounces violently over the imperfections in the concrete slabs below its wheels, jerking them in their seats. Behind the cart, the empty cages crash up and down, threatening to break free. Both men wish the cages would break free and stop slowing them down.
“They’re gonna catch us; we’re not going fast enough!” Colin declares in panic, the sanctuary of the terminal building still a long way off.
“Can you see them? How close are they?” Broad demands.
Colin doesn’t want to look behind; he is too scared of what he will see. He concentrates on the distant lights of the terminal building in front of him, willing them to get bigger and closer.
“Colin! Pull yourself together man.”
Colin knows he must look, but he is ashamed of the fear gripping him. He feels like a frightened small boy, he closes his eyes for a second and gathers his courage. Fuck it, he says to himself as he twists in his seat to look out of the back window.
“I can’t see anything,” Colin tells Broad with some relief that he knows is misplaced.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s dark, I can’t see anything.”
“They are there, mate, I know it; I could run as fast as this cart. Keep looking!” Broad tells him.
Colin concentrates, his head trying to counteract the bouncing of his body as the cart jerks. Lights that point to the rear from the cab throw a dim light over the rattling cages behind, which doesn’t help his view. He tries to look beyond the lit cages and thinks he sees a shadow cross the orange glow of the fire in the distance, but he isn’t sure. They must be getting close to the terminal building now?
Colin thinks his eyes are deceiving him as a dark shadow crosses into the light of the cages behind. His confusion escalates as the shadow lands into the second cage at the back. The loud crash from its landing could be mistaken for a crash from a big bump in the road. The shadow disappears into the well of the cage and for a moment, Colin thinks he imagined it.
“What was that?” Broad shouts, but Colin doesn’t answer. “Colin, what was that bang?”
“I think something just jumped into the back cage?” Colin answers nervously.
“What you mean, something?”
Colin doesn’t answer; he is paralysed with fear as he watches the shadow rise up from the well of the bouncing cage. As it rises, it is caught in the light shining back from the cab. It faces away from Colin, and he can only see the back of its head and the green camouflage of its army uniform through the squared steel wire mesh. The thing suddenly whips around to face Colin, its hands rising to grip the mesh, its disgusting fingers poking through the mesh, pointed in Colin’s direction.
The beast’s evil black eyes lock Colin in its chilling gaze. Blood drains from Colin’s face and drops to his boots as fear courses through him. Hideous teeth appear as the beast’s mouth opens and it snarls, biting at Colin. Its right hand releases and the mesh moves up above its head, and it grabs the mesh again—and starts to pull itself up.
“What’s going on, Colin?”
“One’s climbing over the back cage.”
“Well don’t just sit there, shoot the fucking thing!”
Colin had forgotten the rifle in his hands; it had sat there like a useless toy. His hands tighten around it as if he could lose it again. All at once, he feels the security it offers and the power; it reinvigorates him. Colin bursts into action, brings the rifle up, and leans back at the same time, back towards the windscreen. The rifle nestles into his shoulder, where it has been a thousand times before. His aim comes naturally to him, and always has. It rarely lets him down. The beast is at the top of the meshed side of the cage and just disappearing out of the dim light as it comes over the top.
Colin adjusts his aim and pulls the trigger. The shot from the rifle rings out in the confined cab, making the men’s ears ring. The bullet pierces through the back window, shattering it into hundreds of pieces but the pieces don’t drop; they stay in position with just a small bullet hole near the top. Colin knows instinctively he hit his target, and through the shattered window, he sees something fall.
Colin can’t afford to take any chances; he pokes the muzzle of the rifle forward sharply into the shattered glass. As soon as the muzzle makes contact, the glass gives way and sprinkles down, out of the frame, the pieces pinging onto the floor.
Immediately, the rifle's sight is searching for its target again. Colin moves the rifle down to where the beast has fallen. Through his sight, he sees the beast in the well of the front cage, staring at him. The creature jumps at Colin so fast he barely has time to pull the trigger
