Then the chaos really began.
Two more Blackhawks arrived. Ropes dropped from the sides. Soldiers descended like waves of army ants.
Kaiju tore into the soldiers still clinging to the ropes of the first chopper as it righted itself over the clearing again. But this time, it clung to the cables. The sudden weight pulled the Blackhawk down and the pilot lost control.
Bullets began to fly as soldiers officially got boots on the ground.
Hawkins, Drake, and Joliet ducked for cover, huddling by the gallery wall.
Bennett made a beeline for the cover of the jungle, heading south. Through the chaos, Hawkins could feel a repetitive pulsing in his ears. Every conditioned chimera on the island would be in a frenzy.
There was a roar of pain as several rounds struck the monster. It let go of the drop lines and fell to the ground. But it was too late for the chopper. The Blackhawk spun out of control, falling sideways to the ground. It crashed in the jungle. There was no explosion, but the rotor blades snapped free. One of the flung blades flew from the jungle, cleanly severing a palm tree trunk and one of the soldiers at the waist.
More gunfire erupted and Hawkins thought Kaiju was done for. But then—
“Hawkins!” The voice was closer to a shriek. Blok. He was running fast, as though charging the soldiers, but only because what followed at his heels was far more frightening.
Twelve oversize black spiders with turtle shells and prehensile tails scrambled up the path.
The soldiers’ attention became divided between Kaiju and the spiders. Guns roared all around. Hawkins saw a red laser dot appear on Blok’s chest. He found the source just ten feet away. A soldier looked down the sights of his weapon, finger on the trigger.
They’re here to kill everything and everyone, Hawkins remembered. “No!” he shouted and charged out of his hiding spot.
Hawkins grabbed the assault rifle under the barrel as the soldier pulled the trigger. He felt a three-round burst shake his arm as he yanked the weapon toward the sky. The soldier spun in surprise, pulling the weapon from Hawkins’s hand, but not in time to stop Hawkins from landing a punch on the side of the man’s head, which was unfortunately protected by a helmet. Luckily, the soldier was stunned enough for Hawkins to land two jabs to the man’s face.
It was a good start, but the soldier was a pro. He spun the assault rifle, wrapping its shoulder strap around Hawkins’s extending arm. With a yank, the trained killer pulled Hawkins in close and delivered a kick to the chest, right over Hawkins’s five long wounds. The pain crippled Hawkins, dropping him to his knees. The man drew a long blade, and raised it over his head. As the knife descended, aimed for Hawkins’s face, a hand reached around from behind the soldier, clasped the knife-wielding hand, and redirected the blade into the soldier’s own gut.
The soldier doubled over, revealing Drake. Joliet stepped past him, reached down, and yanked Hawkins to his feet. “It’s time to go, Mark!”
Hawkins turned to where Blok had been. He saw the man on the ground. Part of his head was missing. A spider leapt upon his back, jabbed him three times with its stinger, and then charged a soldier. Some of the giant spider chimeras had been mowed down by the gunfire, but their speed made them hard targets and their shells protected them from most of the rounds. As a result, five of the soldiers already lay on the ground, twitching from the inside with rapidly growing young. There would soon be many more creatures to deal with.
But the soldiers kept arriving, as well, and several of them who’d witnessed Drake and Joliet save Hawkins now turned their attention to the human threat.
Once again, the action was interrupted by the arrival of a new force. Their arrival was forecast by a resonating rumble and shaking ground. The stampeding herd of cattle arrived like a flood, surging through the line of soldiers like they were nothing more than dead trees.
The Apache helicopter finally opened fire as the men were trampled. Gouts of blood exploded into the air, merging with the wails of slain cattle.
Spiders leapt through the air, stinging soldier and cow indiscriminately.
The giant bull arrived, fresh tentacle wounds on its back and sides, bucking its head and horns wildly, sending men and spiders flying.
Here was Bray’s chaos.
No one would see them flee into the jungle.
Hawkins turned with Joliet and fled toward the trees where Drake, and now Bray, waited for them. As they slipped into the jungle, leaving the battle behind, Hawkins took one last look back and quickly noticed something that filled him with dread. Amid the raging cattle, stinging spiders, and gun-blazing soldiers, there was no sign of Kaiju.
The monster had fled, no doubt following after Bennett.
Who’d headed south.
South.
To the boat.