His hands shook as the adrenaline began to burn out of his system and the shotgun grew extremely heavy in his hands. He fumbled with his belt, grasping for his flashlight when he realized he had dropped it. His eyes searched in the low lantern light until they spotted the butt end of the flashlight near the wall just below the window.
“Shit,” he muttered as he crept towards it. He extended his booted foot and caught the end of the flashlight with his toe, dragging it through the broken glass and pieces of wall plaster until he could bend and retrieve it.
He pressed the butt end again, having to tap it against the top of the shotgun before the light came to life again. He pointed it towards the shattered window, the thin curtain blowing inward in the soft breeze.
He listened intently for any sound outside and cursed himself for firing the weapon indoors. He stepped closer to the window and used the flashlight to draw the billowing curtain to the side.
In the moonlight outside he could see a form splayed out in the gravel. He leaned to each side, checking the perimeter for others. Satisfied that there were no monsters lurking just to the side of the window, he aimed the flashlight at the figure.
“Damn.” His eyes couldn’t quite register to his brain the amount of damage that the blast had caused. Most of the creature’s upper chest and lower jaw was shredded, dark blood still oozing into the rocks beneath it.
“Hatcher?” a soft voice called from the ceiling.
“It’s clear,” he called back. “I think there was only one.”
“One?” Even through the ceiling, her voice couldn’t mask the surprise. “One of those things rattled the foundations of this place?”
Hatcher sighed and fell back onto the couch, the shotgun shaking in his grip. “Looks like it.” He glanced at the access and saw it pull back into the attic. “Either that or the others had enough sense to hall ass when I cut this one in half.”
Her blonde curls fell through the hole and she stared at him, wide-eyed. “You know, the one thing I didn’t think about when we decided to climb up here…”
“Was whether my big ass would fit in the hole?” he laughed.
She shook her head then pointed to the kerosene lantern. “If they got in and knocked that thing over.” Her face paled again as the realization struck her and Hatcher’s mouth fell open.
“Yeah, that wouldn’t have been good.”
She turned around and dangled her feet through the hole. “Coming down.”
Hatcher pushed up from the couch and walked toward her. “Hold on. I’ll get the table—”
Her body fell through the hole and she clung by her fingertips. He dropped the shotgun and trotted toward her. He wrapped his arms around her middle and took her weight off her hands. It was only as he was setting her down that he realized her butt was smashed against his face the entire time.
“Thanks.”
He blushed and waved her off. “Don’t mention it.” He turned and picked up the shotgun again.
“Where are you going now?”
“I want to see exactly what I killed out there.” He pushed the couch away from the door and had to beat on the beam blockading the doorway. “They did a number on this thing.”
“Do you think it’s safe to go out there?”
He gave a slight shrug as he reached for the lock. “I suppose we’ll find out.” He pulled the door open and leveled the shotgun on the opening. If a mosquito so much as farted in their direction, he was pulling the trigger.
He took a tentative step outside and swept the front of the station. “Clear.”
Missy fell in behind him, her pistol in her hand. “I think we should wait until morning.”
“That would probably be the smartest thing,” he shot her a grin, “but I’ve never been accused of being smart.”
She covered his back as he worked his way around the corner. He bent low and splayed the beam of the flashlight over the offender. “Christ. It was a woman.”
Missy blanched. “It’s not your friend…is it?”
Hatcher shook his head. “No, I think this was an older woman.” He leaned back and rested his hand on his bent knee. “It’s too hard to tell an age with this much damage, but…”
“You’re certain it’s not her?”
He nodded. “Yeah.” He came to his feet and walked back toward the door. He ran his hand along the front and blew a low whistle. “Look at what she did to a solid-core steel door.”
Missy felt her hands begin to shake as she touched the dents and impressions. “She was alone?”
“As far as I can tell.”
“She must have been one of the new and improved snappers, right?”
“That would be my guess.” Hatcher sighed and pulled Missy back inside. “If there were others out there, I don’t think they’d sit and watch. They’d be attacking.”
“We’re safe then?”
“For the night, I think so.” Hatcher pulled the door shut and locked it again. He forced the beam back into the hooks and stared at the mess left behind. “I say we get whatever rest we can. In the morning we’ll pack up the essentials and take it to your outpost.”
She stared at him wide eyed. “The outpost isn’t nearly as solid as the station. If another one of those things follows us there…”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be okay.” He leaned the shotgun over his shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, we can take turns standing watch.”
She shook her head. “Yeah, it really doesn’t.”
Carol shook Andre’s shoulder. “Captain Hilliard is coming.”
Andre lifted his head from the workbench and stifled a yawn as the military man entered the lab.
“I have good news.”
Broussard came to his feet and reached for the cold cup of coffee. “As do we. The treatment is ready to be applied to the
