The cramped space of the bunker became a resonance chamber for hell. Kael and Rook pressed themselves against the cold concrete wall, guns aimed at the vibrating steel door, but it wasn't vibrating from being breached. It was vibrating from the concussions outside.
The sound of assault rifles rang out, short, panicked bursts. They were no longer controlled shots meant to break down a door. They were the desperate screams of metal.
Answering them was a deep, resonant growl, a sound that made the air in the room feel thick. Kante.
CRASH!
A terrible noise, as if a car had slammed into the wall, was followed by a suddenly cut-off scream. Kael closed his eyes, picturing the scene. Kante's secondary limb, that perfect biological weapon, was doing its work.
"He's... tearing them apart," Rook whispered, his eyes wide, fixed on the door. He was a hardened soldier, had faced B.O.W.s before. But this was different. This was the sound of an apex predator slaughtering a panicked herd.
Another burst of gunfire, closer this time. Then a wet SLASH. A short "Ah!" Then silence.
Kael counted. Four Delta soldiers. He'd heard at least two screams cut short. That left Hunnigan and two others. At most.
They didn't stand a chance.
The scrape of metallic claws on concrete sounded again, this time pacing back and forth. Kante was patrolling the hallway, like a tiger toying with its last few victims. He was in no hurry. The game wasn't over.
Kael and Rook looked at each other. They had escaped one trap only to fall into another. They were stuck. If they opened the door, Kante would kill them. If they stayed, sooner or later Hunnigan would remember their existence, or Kante would get bored and decide to smash this door down to find a new toy.
The silence outside stretched on. A silence even more terrifying than the screams.
"Hey! In there! Can you hear me?"
Hunnigan's voice came from right outside the door, a hoarse, frightened whisper. She was no longer a cold BSAA Major. She was cornered prey.
Kael and Rook didn't answer. They kept their guns trained on the door, ready.
"I know you're in there!" she hissed. "Listen! That monster... Kante... he's gone insane! He's killing my men! He's going to kill us all!"
Kael remained silent. He didn't trust a word she said.
"We can make a deal!" Hunnigan said, her voice becoming desperate. "Open the door! We can fight it together! The four of us! We have a chance!"
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The old adage echoed in Kael's mind. But he knew that the moment the monster was dealt with, Hunnigan would turn her gun on him without a second's hesitation.
"Go make your deal with the devil, Hunnigan," Kael said, his voice like ice.
"You fool!" she screamed. "We're all going to die in here!"
Just then, a deafening roar erupted right behind Hunnigan. She let out a piercing shriek.
BAM! The steel door was struck by an incredible force, denting deeply inward. A massive claw-shaped crack appeared on the metal surface. Kante had found them.
"It's here! Help me!" Hunnigan screamed.
Gunfire erupted again, then one final scream. Silence.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Kante was trying to break down the door. Each impact shook the entire room, sending dust and plaster falling from the ceiling. The door wouldn't hold for long.
"This is it," Rook said, his shoulder pressed against Kael's, forming a last line of defense.
Kael looked into Rook's eyes, then over at the motionless Viper. He wasn't going to die here. Not in this rat hole.
He reached for his earpiece. "Wraith! It's now or never!"
Above them, in the darkness of the rafters, Wraith had been waiting for that signal. She was on a narrow catwalk right below the roof, next to the winch mechanism for one of the giant industrial light rigs.
She had already placed a small but powerful shaped charge on the main support bolt of the rig.
"Gryphon, are you ready?" she whispered into her comms.
"Ready! Ropes are secured! Blow it, kid!"
Wraith hit the detonator.
A dry BOOM echoed from above. The steel support bolt was blasted away.
The massive, multi-ton light rig hung suspended for a second, then plummeted with a screech of metal.
It didn't fall on Kael and Rook's position. It fell right in the middle of the warehouse, where Hunnigan and her team had been fighting.
It fell, dragging with it a tangle of still-live power cables.
When the rig hit the concrete floor, it created an explosion of light and sound. A shower of electrical sparks shot out in every direction. A few nearby barrels of oil caught fire, sending pillars of flame roaring toward the ceiling.
The entire warehouse was plunged into a chaos of fire, smoke, and arcing electricity.
The pounding on the door stopped. The monster had been distracted by the sudden event.
And through the smoke, Kael and Rook saw it. Four thick ropes, dropped down from a hole in the roof, directly above them.
That was their way out.
"Go! Go! Go!" Kael yelled, pulling Rook toward the door.
They rammed the damaged door with their shoulders. It burst open, revealing a corridor engulfed in smoke and fire.
"Viper!" Rook cried, turning back.
"I've got her! You cover us!" Kael commanded.
Kael rushed into the room, heaving Viper onto his shoulder with surprising ease. Adrenaline had numbed the pain from his own wound.
They charged out of the basement. The warehouse was a vision of hell. Fires burned everywhere. Electrical arcs still danced across the floor.
They saw the ropes, only about thirty meters away.
"There!" Kael pointed.
They started running. But Kante had regrouped.
Through the smoke, they saw him standing there. He was unhurt. Only a few scorch marks on his bio-armor. He turned, his amber eyes locking onto them.
"I will not let my prey escape!" he roared.
He charged toward them, faster than anything Kael had ever seen.
"Jotun! Pin him!" Kael yelled, knowing the sniper was somewhere on the roof.
A single rifle shot cracked from above. The bullet wasn't aimed at Kante, but at a large water pipe above him.
The pipe burst, and a wall of water crashed down on Kante, slowing him for a crucial moment.
It was enough for Kael and Rook to reach the ropes.
"Hook in!" Kael ordered. He quickly clipped Viper's safety harness and his own onto two of the ropes. Rook did the same.
"Pull! Gryphon, pull us up!" Kael yelled into his comms.
The ropes went taut and they began to ascend, lifting off the burning floor.
They were pulled up through the hole in the roof, the cool night air filling their lungs. Gryphon and Jotun were there, pulling them up by hand.
"We made it!" Rook gasped.
They looked down. Below, Kante had freed himself from the torrent of water. He looked up, a roar of pure, frustrated rage echoing. He couldn't fly. They were safe.
But then, a horrific scene unfolded.
From the wreckage of the light rig, Ingrid Hunnigan crawled out. She was injured, one leg broken, but she was alive.
She looked up, saw Kael and the others being pulled to safety. Her eyes were filled with hatred.
But then, she realized Kante was standing not far away, and he was looking at her.
Pure, abject terror appeared on Hunnigan's face. "No... please..." she stammered.
Kante smirked, a demonic grin. He turned his back on Kael and the others. He had a new, more interesting toy.
He slowly advanced on Hunnigan.
"We have to help her!" Wraith said, her face pale.
"No," Gryphon said, his voice cold. He drew his knife. "We can't. She made her choice."
"But..."
"He's right," Kael said, his voice heavy. "There's nothing we can do."
They heard Hunnigan's final, piercing scream as Kante reached her.
"Cut the ropes!" Gryphon ordered.
With a final, decisive slash, they cut the ropes, leaving the machine depot, leaving the battle, and leaving a woman to her horrific fate.
They had escaped. But as they looked down from the roof, watching the flames and listening to the fading screams, none of them felt like a winner.