Chapter 5

Carpenter was stunned at what he had just heard. "Let me get this straight. You think you heard the guy that killed the First Sergeant laughing."

"I heard him laughing into the radio." She said slowly with conviction. "It was as if he knew someone was listening".

"Someone is always listening here. The SINGAR radios they use here are on a 'closed net', but the signal is bounced off a satellite. It may not immediately be heard by someone, but it is there if something happens. They can go back to it and listen." Carpenter interjected.

"We need to get out of here, it's not safe." He continued. "Grab the video tape and…."

At his attempt to take command, Jessica stiffened. She straightened to her full height before interrupting.

"Excuse me! I understand that we are both Captains, but honestly, I have way more tactical experience than you two holy rollers. No offense intended."

"None taken" Carpenter replied as Louis's mouth dropped open.

"So you agree, then, that I should take charge." She continued.

Carpenter ducked his head to hide his smile and scratched his forehead

"Ok, Captain. What do you think we should do?" He asked, his lips still twitching. Jessica looked at him suspiciously before pulling out the video tape and tossing it into Louie's chest. He managed to catch it before it fell to the ground.

"We need to contact HQ as quickly as possible and find out from the high brass what we should do. They will need to review that tape too. The phone lines here are dead, so we need to get to a phone outside the base. There is a town about ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />100 miles west of here, we can head there." She spoke while reloading the shotgun.

"Excellent plan." Carpenter said, pulling out his cell phone, then with a snort of disgust slipped it back into his pocket. He looked up to see that both his companions were watching him. He shrugged saying "No signal" then gesturing toward the door. "We can use my car it's out front."

The three left the communication room and walked down the hallway, Jessica leading the way. Carpenter checked his watch to see it was O-five hundred hours. He was surprised to see that they had been there for almost 3 hours.

Once out of the building Jessica stopped to look around, carefully inspecting the area. Seeing everything was clear, she lead them over to the Crown Vic at a run. Louis automatically went to stand by the passenger's side while Jessica and Carpenter both stopped by the driver's door.

"What are you doing?" Jessica demanded.

"I am about to drive the car, what are you doing?" Carpenter responded his voice amused.

"No, you are about to get in the back, while I drive the car." She snapped, glaring at him.

"I don't think so. You can get in the back and cover us with your really big gun, I am gonna drive"

"No, I am going to keep my really big gun next to me and drive the car out of here." Her voice was tight with suppressed anger and her lips formed a straight line.

"You can't drive and cover us at the same time, it's not logical." Carpenter responded reasonably.

"You'll be amazed at what I can do."

"Get in the car." Carpenter snapped.

"You get in." Jessica fired back.

They glared at each other, neither willing to back down until Carpenter gave a little smile.

"You're gonna have a tough time driving without car keys." He said, holding them aloft.

"And your going to have a rough time sitting in the back with your testicles throbbing," she responded, her body tensing.

"GET IN THE CAR!" Louis screamed, his voice wobbly with fear. "You're both wasting time!"

Duplicate looks of consternation passed over their faces.

Carpenter leaned over and opened the rear car door, "Ladies first."

Jessica hesitated, then realizing that any further delay could endanger them, slide sullenly inside. Carpenter got in and fired the engine up. The car roared to life. He stomped his foot on the gas, the tires spun on the loose gravel as the car swerved around pointing toward the exit. The car tires began to grab the ground below and lurched forward only to come to sudden stop as Carpenter hit the breaks. Both unbuckled passenger flew forward, only Carpenter braced by the steering wheel remained upright.

"What the hell did you stop….." Jessica's words trailed off as she spotted the man highlighted in the headlights 40 feet in front of them.

"Oh my god, a survivor!" Louis gasped.

The stark white beam shone starkly on the intimidating and solitary man, as he stood at ease in front of them, the light curiously reflecting off of his skin so that a shimmer of light seemed to ring his entire body. Tall, possibly close to 6'5", he was wearing little but two leather straps crisscrossing his chest, metal wrist bands and a skirt made out of leather strips, each strip having a point, rather like something a Roman soldier might have worn in Julius Caesar's time. His bodily, plainly illuminated in the harsh light, was sculpted like a Greek statue, his muscles bulging. He had a half smile on his face as if he could see through the glare and into the car, catching and holding each passenger with the heat of his gaze. A strand of long, dark hair blow across his forehead but with a negligent flick of his head he tossed it back and out of his eyes, all the while continuing to watch them.

"No…that is not a survivor" Carpenter said his voice devoid of emotion, staring at the man and feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rising. He didn't know what it was about this unusually dressed individual that put his senses on alert. However, his experience told him that this man was dangerous.

An eerie silence fell inside the car. The engine idled almost silently as Carpenter met the stare of the man. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he prepared for what was to come for he knew the next move was not to be his.

"What are we going to do?" Louis asked his voice hushed.

As if on cue, the man gave a small nod and began to run toward the car. Carpenter slammed the accelerator to the floorboards and held it there, swiftly closing the gap between them.

Within feet of a collision the man suddenly sprouted leathery looking wings, and with a single downward swoop, propelled himself into the air before turning sideways into a fetal position and slamming into the windshield. The glass shattered into a crazy jigsaw of fragments, but did not break, the safety glass holding together and doing its job.

Carpenter immediately slammed on the brakes, the car skewing to the right, causing the body to shot forward, rolling off the hood and onto the ground, where it flipped several times before finally coming to a stop.

Rolling to his side, Carpenter brought up his right leg and kicked at the windshield. After three tries it pulled away from the frame and suddenly collapsed into millions of fragments, covering the hood and front seat.

Looking out he could see the thing, he had no idea what it was, but it had landed laying face up, its motionless body about 15 feet to the front left of the car. He kept one foot on the gas and the other on the brake prepared to punch it again if the thing moved.

"Is it dead?" Louis muttered after a moment of silence

"No" both Carpenter and Jessica responded together. She had rolled down the left passenger window and was hanging half out, the shotgun held in front of her, leveled at the beast.

"So what do we do now?" Louis asked.

"Carpenter is going to hit it with the car again." Jessica said.

"No, Carpenter is not going to hit him with the car." He retorted sharply.

"Yes, yes he is. Make sure that damn thing is dead." Although in command of her emotions, Jessica's voice came out a little high and she bit down on her lip, fearing her composure might slip.

"Did it occur to you that if we try and drive over it, we might damage the car and not be able to get out of here? I don't think we should jeopardize the only transportation I have seen on this base. So, get out of the car Captain Tactical and shoot it with your shotgun."

Jessica turned her head and looked at him through the driver's window. "Has it occurred to you that this thing killed a bunch of fully armed Rangers. Hit it with the damn car." She responded tightly.

"Will somebody please do something!" Louis interjected, a note of hysteria creeping back into his voice.

Carpenter slammed the car into park and got carefully out keeping his gaze fixed on the downed man, for that was what it resembled most, even with the wings. He reached back and grabbed the barrel of the shot gun. There was a brief tug of war and then it came free. He slowly turned and aimed the weapon, watching with deep concentration for any movement, never taking his sights off the target. He slowly moved around the open driver's door stepping with great caution to get a better shoot. Before he was fully exposed he saw the tiniest of movements in the creature's hand and, without wasting any time, fired two rounds into its chest. The solid slugs slammed into the beast, causing it to bounce off the ground and creating two large holes. It came to rest, one of its wings caught under it, while the other lay open against the roadway. The body was silent and still. After waiting several more seconds Carpenter again moved forward. He walked to within a few feet and fired point blank into the beast's breast. The creature did not move. He slowly took his gaze off the thing's face and looked at the open wing, which seemed to be made of thin leathery looking skin, blue colored veins pulsating through it. There was a line of thicker looking material forming a bony ridge along the outer edge. Dragging his eyes from this extraordinary appendage Carpenter moved his gaze back to the face of the beast, for surely this was what it must be. However, instead of some horrific creature's countenance, there was only innocence and beauty. Below closed eyes, long, dark lashes lay against high cheekbones. The nose was classically straight and the lips full and well molded. He felt an unexpected sense of guilt well up. He was just reaching out to check for a pulse when the beast's eyes opened, large, red ovals with no iris or pupil, staring straight at him.

"Hello monkey" it said, its voice deep yet hollow.

Carpenter staggered a step back in astonishment and surprise. The wing that was open whipped forward in a startlingly fast move, catching Carpenter behind the knees and launching him into the air. The beast then followed this action by rolling lithely to its feet and with its other wing hitting Carpenter across the stomach, the movement so fast that he caught Carpenter while he was still in the air from the first blow. The impact knocked what little air he had left in his lungs while sending him flying backwards. He landed heavily on the hood of the car pain shooting through him. The blows had been extremely hard, like being hit with an iron pipe.

He struggled to get up, sliding down the hood feet first until they hit the ground. He was amazed to find that he still held the shotgun. With one hand he brought it up trying to target the thing, then fired from the hip, the other hand held protectively against his stomach. The beast hadn't moved and was again hit squarely in the chest causing it to jolt backward a pace. It made no sound of pain or anguish and, although the wounds were tinged with red, there was no flow of blood. In fact, as Carpenter stared in amazement, the holes were slowing closing. Still holding the shotgun with both hands, Carpenter slipped his left hand off the barrel leaving his right hand on the grip. He used a fast up and down motion with his right hand to reload another round and brought the sights to bear on his target again. He was beginning to feel nauseated from the blow to his chest and there was a ringing in his ears.

"It appears there is no one left but us." It said slowly, lowering its arm to its side. "I will not kill you quickly, as I did the others, but will savor the thrill of your deaths."

Into the shocked silence there was the sound of a door opening.

"Savor this!" Jessica yelled jumping out of the car. She had pulled a pistol from the small of her back and unloaded its contents into the beast who staggered back another few steps, his smile still in place. Holes appeared across his chest and abdomen, but they were like bees stings to a honey bear, ignored by the beast, simply irritating and irrelevant.

Carpenter, using this distraction to his advantage, also fired his weapon and then ran for the car. He jumped into the driver's seat and threw the shot gun down beside him.

"Get in the back!" he yelled at Louis, who was sitting in the front seat in a daze, his eyes dilated and showing white around the iris. Carpenter shoved him and the young man managed to pull himself together, turning to scrambled over into the back and falling heavily onto the rear seat. Carpenter leaned over and opened the front passenger door, yelling to Jessica to get in. He glanced quickly to see what his opponent was doing and felt a great sense of unease. The creature, his chest now riddled with bullet holes, was still smiling, a look of amusement on his face.

Even as he watched, the beast took a step towards them, then stopped, tilting its head to one side as if listening. The beast then looked skyward obviously trying to identify something.

Jessica slid across the hood to get to the passenger door, then onto the front seat screaming at Carpenter to move it. The beast moved a few steps to the side, now looking upward and, seeing that there was room to get by, Carpenter rammed the gear shift into drive, flooring the gas pedal. The car viciously fishtailed as it picked up speed. Jessica leaned out to grasp the door, which had not latched and had swung out as the car swerved. She had just caught the handle when they past the distracted animal, inches away. The door slammed into it with a thunk, the shock vibrating up Jessica's arm. In a lightening move the being caught hold of the doorframe and, with a wrenching screech, the door was ripped from its hinges. Jessica just had time to let go of the handle, saving herself from being pulled out of the opening and following the door. Their opponent took a couple of steps after the speeding vehicle, but its attention was once again caught by something it heard and it stopped, again looking skyward.

With one eye on the road and the other on his rear view mirror, Carpenter careened away his foot all the way down to the floor. The engine powerful engine roared in response, quickly picking up speed. He took a turn in the road at 85, nearly losing control, the car rising up onto two wheels for several seconds, before coming down with a heavy thump. Seeing that they were not being pursued, Carpenter slowed to 75, then 60, still with one eye on their rear.

"What the hell was that thing?" Jessica asked, her voice breaking in delayed reaction to the terror she had been feeling.

Neither man gave an answer.

"I mean holy shit, what was that thing? What the hell, could have survive after what we did to it?" She grabbed the seatbelt and strapped herself in, the wind from the open doorway blowing her hair around her head.

Again the men remained silent. Carpenter still concentrating on the road with a vigilant eye on the rear view mirror. He was not sure why it was not following them and to be honest, he didn't care.

Louis sat in a stunned silence his eyes focus forward.

"Was it some kind of mutant? Maybe some kind of military creation?" She continued, talking more to herself then them.

Carpenter slowly answered her. "I don't know what it was, but it doesn't really matter. We just need to stay calm and keep our cool and get somewhere we can report this." He knew this would be an uneasy ride. The sun was beginning to rise in the east, sending its light down into the valley. In the car it was silent, everyone focused on their own thoughts. Only the engine and the wind whipping through the windshield and open doorway could be heard.

"I know your going to think I'm crazy, but….." Louis trailed off

"But what?" Carpenter prodded.

"Well, maybe the crazies on the street corners are right. Maybe this is the end or the world and that was Satan."

"Shut up" Jessica snapped, her fear and anxiety spilling out in anger. "There is no such thing as Satan. Jesus, every time you guys see something you can't explain, you think it the work of the devil. You guys make me crazy." She turned and looked back at Louis, her face showing red with anger. "Listen to me zealot. There is no such thing as Satan. I grew up on a block with a 1,000 Catholics. All of them. and I mean every single one. believed and believed hard. If a fucking ice cube melted they would somehow see the Virgin Mary in it. They made miracles out of everyday events and not one single time, I mean not once, did I ever see anything, that would make me think there could be a God or Satan. Religion is just the opiate of the masses, a form of control for the sheep. There is a perfectly good explanation as to what happened and it was not Satan!"

Louis whitened, Jessica's words hanging heavily in the car, all three occupants suddenly very ill at ease.

Jessica felt immediate remorse for turning her fear onto her companions and was about to apologize when she noticed that the car was slowing down. She looked at Carpenter to see why. He was pulling the car to the edge of the road and came to a full stop, his stare still fixed straight ahead.

"What?" Jessica asked, glancing forward to see what he was looking at, her tone still belligerent. The road ahead was clear.

Carpenter kept his gaze forward. "You may want to rethink that."

"What are you talking about?"

Continuing to look forward Carpenter parted his lips to speak, but hesitated, then in a curiously flat voice he said. "Because I don't know how else to explain that." He pointed through the broken windshield.

Jessica looked forward, still not seeing anything on the road. She then followed the direction of his pointing finger and, in the middle of a wheat field to the side of the road, saw two men fighting. No not men. After watching in awed disbelief for a brief moment she felt the same numbing disbelief that had caused Carpenter to be so vague in his response. Words could not have covered the magnitude of the scene in front of them. Despite seeing it with her own eyes, she could hardly believe what she was watching.