Donahue looked at him like he had just recited an epic poem all in Latin.
“Salamanders,” Knight said. “Squid. Lizards. Starfish. They can all re-grow severed limbs or tails. This thing can do the same thing, but on a much grander scale and very quickly. You don’t really need to know how it does this, only that it can. And you need to adjust your tactics to compensate.”
The SAS commander opened his mouth to speak but didn’t have time to utter a single word before a flustered member of his team ran up to them. Fear showed on the SAS soldier’s face, but he still tried to maintain a modicum of respect and composure. The man was breathing hard, and the spaces between his words were punctuated by sharp intakes of air.
“Major Donahue, we’ve lost contact with the outer perimeter guards, and we’ve spotted something big headed our way.”
15.
“What do you mean something big?” Donahue said.
The man diverted his eyes. “It looks like… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Knight leaned into Donahue’s field of vision, blocking his view of the other soldier, and said, “You need to bust out the biggest guns you have and prepare for the fight of your lives.”
Donahue hesitated a moment. His face still showed a level of suspicion and doubt. But then he moved toward the front of the loading dock and started barking orders to his men.
Knight pulled the top from his crate of weaponry and ammo. He took out another 32-round cylinder of explosive shells for the AA12. He mounted the drum onto the rifle and yanked back the weapon’s slide. Then, he held out the large, fully automatic shotgun to Beck. She took it without a word. “That’s all the ammo I have left for that gun. Make them count.”
“What about you?”
He smiled. “I’ve got another toy that I’d like to take for a ride.”
She nodded and ran off to join the others in defending the perimeter.
He reached back into the crate and retrieved that Barrett XM500 sniper rifle. The weapon fired a round capable of blowing a man in half from over a mile away. Once the weapon was ready, he grabbed for the walkie-talkie at his belt. “Ling, do you see the monster now?”
After a moment of static, the voice on the radio responded. “We see it! It’s coming your way.”
He didn’t bother to respond; he was already on the move. He sprinted to one of the loading doors and pressed the button to open it. The roll-up door began to rise, and after it had cleared about a three-foot opening, he pressed the button again. The door’s upward climb ceased.
He dropped to his knees and then went prone with the sniper rifle still in his arms. His hope was that a well-placed .50 caliber round through the creature’s brain stem would be enough to finally take it down. But there was only one way to know for sure.
The creature loped forward on all fours, running like a mountain gorilla. The fact that the beast didn’t seem to fear them at all and was charging into a nest of highly trained and heavily armed commandos didn’t fill Knight with very much confidence at their chances of survival. But he’d always agreed with Wayne Gretzky when the hockey legend said that you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.
Instantly and instinctively adjusting for wind, distance and speed, Knight took a breath, pushed it out, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle bucked, and the massive bullet sliced a path to its intended target. In a spray of red mist, the impact struck the creature, halting its headlong charge. Through the scope, he could see the bullet wound blossom in its neck. The trunk-like legs fell out from beneath the beast, and its momentum carried it forward, skidding across the pavement of the parking lot.
The SAS team cheered as they witnessed the shot through their own scopes. He ignored them and refused to breathe while scanning the creature for movement. It lay still for what seemed like a long time, and he allowed a small hope to creep into his mind.
The feeling evaporated, however, as the beast began to twitch. Within a few seconds, it pulled itself to its feet and shook its head from side to side like a dog that had just run into a sliding glass door.
The group fell silent as the beast continued its charge. He stood up and pressed the button to close the garage door back down. Donahue appeared at his side.
“What the hell is that thing?” Donahue said in a whisper.
Knight chuckled. “Welcome to my world.”
16.
Knight dropped the XM500 sniper rifle onto the table, shook his head in disgust and turned to Donahue. “Major, you need to have your men hold that thing back for as long as they can with whatever they’ve got.”