Chapter 45 - The Kraken Gate
Lieutenant Banks and Private Overstrand were waiting for us outside the stockade. They were grimy and sweat stained. They’d cleared all the shrubs within a fifty paces of the radius. They’d also used two of the torches they’d brought through to fire-harden the points of the stakes. It was the least impressive fortification I’d ever depended on in my life, but I’d never felt as happy as I did now.
‘What in the name of the Black Soul Gates is happening?’ demanded Banks. ‘We heard explosions.’
‘We’ve fallen out with the locals,’ I said through gritted teeth. Predictably, Benjamin was more military in his response.
‘Alien creatures inbound. Three of them dead. Yates down. We may need an early evacuation.’
‘The portal doesn’t open for another another bell,’ said Banks, checking his pocket watch.
‘Then we’ll get to see how well we can defend this Draxil-forsaken spot,’ said Benjamin. He patted one of the menacing stakes on the sled which stood outside the stockade, waiting to be pulled in to plug the gap. ‘Congratulations, Banks! You’ve done a great job. What are we calling this thing, if you please?’
‘We’ve been calling it a portcullis, sir,’ said Overstrand. ‘On account of it having spikes and being a door.’
‘Not like any portcullis I’ve ever seen, Private, but it’ll do.’ Benjamin waved everyone inside. ‘Come on now! Quickly, we don’t have much time.’
Once we were inside the stockade, James helped Banks to pull the not-quite-portcullis sled into the gap between the stakes. Overstrand jammed it in place with a couple of sturdy staves. The painted line that marked where the portal had been lay at the centre of the ring. Aside from that, and a couple more packs of provisions, I only spotted two new features I hadn’t seen before, two waist-high, semi-circular platforms, essentially drystone walls that Banks and Overstrand had made.
‘I thought we needed something to stand on so that we can shoot over the top of our defences,’ said Banks. I noticed that one of the bags of quicklime had been placed on each of the walls. We would get to try out Inigo’s idea soon.
‘Excellent work,’ I breathed, as James lowered me to the ground. I pulled the hunting knife from the top of my boot and used it to slit my bloody breeches from boot to thigh. The men averted their eyes to avoid an embarrassing display of female flesh. Benjamin put everyone to work, loading crossbows and assembling all the spears we had, while Inigo and Millicent Onacar came over to help me.
Inigo knelt down and dug through his backpack for bandages. With those ready, he poured water from his canteen over my thigh and wiped it clean.
‘Nothing much you haven’t seen, eh Inigo?’
‘Maybe not everything, boss.’ he admitted. ‘But there’s no room for prudishness in the gutter.’ The gash in my thigh poured blood every time he took the cloth away. ‘Whatever made this mess is still in there.’
‘Wonderful! It’ll have to stay in there until we get back home. Just bind it tight for now.’
‘Dr. Onacar,’ Inigo pointed at the gash in my thigh. ‘Please would you press down on the wound here? That’s it…two fingers. A little harder.’
Inigo managed to get a clean cotton pad on the wound, and while Millicent reapplied pressure on top, he wrapped a bandage around it. Millicent had recovered well. She cut the remains of my trouser off below the knee to stop it flapping, and then Inigo helped me to stand. It felt like I was being stabbed in the leg every time I tried to take a step, but there was no time for self-pity. The Charg were on their way.
Mahkran showed Millicent Onacar the technique for reloading crossbows; feet resting on the limbs, using back and thighs to pull the string back and a strip of cloth to protect her hands. Benjamin and Overstrand assembled the remaining spears we’d brought through the gate and propped them in bundles of three around the inside of the stockade. Inigo and I riffled through the backpacks and retrieved all of the dynamite. Inigo had just lit two coils of match cord when the first of the Charg appeared.
‘Two. No, three,’ said Benjamin gazing back at where we had come from.
‘Three more on the right,’ called Mahkran.
‘And two more on the left,’ I added. None had circled around behind us yet, but something told me it wouldn’t be long.
Two of the creatures were shredded by the first sticks of dynamite that James and Inigo lobbed over the top of the stakes, a third one was left on its side, flailing uselessly. Mahkran feathered another one with crossbow bolts until it slid away.
‘Ha! That showed them!’ cried Overstrand, waving his fist triumphantly.
‘Hold your celebrations, Private. A few more of them have joined to replace their fallen friends,’ Benjamin remarked. I was impressed at how calm his voice was. It was the voice of a natural born leader.
The kraken-like aliens halted their advance just out of reach of our spears. Mahkran occasionally hit them with crossbow bolts, but was not a serious threat at that range, even though he was using the wooden stakes to steady his aim. As I’d feared, a couple of the Charg slithered around behind us.
‘These things are smart. They’re testing our defences.’
‘I’ll watch our backs,’ said Inigo and crossed to the other side of our circle carrying a bundle of dynamite sticks. Soon enough, one of the Charg advanced cautiously until Inigo judged it to be within range. He lit a stick of dynamite using his match cord and then threw it with all his might. It was a good throw, landing very close, but the creature had seen this before and recognised what the consequences would be if it didn’t move. It scrambled clear before the dynamite exploded. Another Charg came forward, repeating the exercise.
‘Scales of Aballas! They’re trying to work out our range,’ cried Overstrand.
‘Save your ammunition, Inigo,’ I cautioned. ‘We might be able to just wait them out.’ I ate an apple and drank some water from my canteen. The Charg were on the move all the while. Some of them drew close to each other and touched tentacles, vibrating them before pulling free.
‘Look! They’re communicating,’ exclaimed Evershed.
I grimaced, having the notion that this discovery would prove to be very bad news for us, and it wasn’t long before I was proved right. Through my telescope, I watched them loop their sinuous limbs ahead of their bodies and pull themselves along, congregating on one side of us, closest to Inigo, but still out of range. Behind them, the gathering storm was closer and a breeze was blowing up the valley. Benjamin came over to where I had propped myself against one of the makeshift emplacements.
‘What are they doing?’
‘They’re getting upwind of us.’
Benjamin wrinkled his nose. ‘Now that you mention it, that horrible smell is stronger now.’
‘I wouldn’t be so concerned if it was just their body odour we had to contend with.’ I pointed at the exudations of purple vapour that were beginning to stream in our direction.
‘Oh. That is not good!’
We were caught in a cage of our own making. If the Charg could spread their sleeping gas across our stockade, we would die.
‘Everyone, collect as many weapons as you can and follow me,’ I shouted. ‘We need to get out of here!’
‘What?’ exclaimed Banks, horrified at the thought of abandoning the defensive position he’d worked so hard to construct.
I shook him. ‘Lieutenant! We’re trapped in here and those things are about to gas us. A few sharpened sticks won’t keep them them out for long once we’re comatose on the floor.’ Banks needed no further persuasion. He grabbed a spear, a crossbow and a pack of quarrels.
James, Mahkran and Overstrand shoved the portcullis out of the way, leaving the path clear for us to make our escape. My leg nearly buckled under me several times as I led everyone to a spot no more than thirty paces up the side of the valley, keeping a weather eye on the rocks beyond.
‘We can’t let them get between us and the portal,’ I panted. ‘Stick together and try to keep them at bay. When they try to gas us here, we head back to our defences.’
The cloud of purple gas drifted through the upturned stakes, dissipating a short way downwind. The Charg were quick to relocate, trying to get upwind of us again, so we shifted back to our original position inside the stockade. Evershed, gripped with a childlike fascination at the spectacle of an intelligent species hunting humans, didn’t appear to grasp the seriousness of our situation.
‘They’re hunting in a pack!’ he said, almost whooping with delight.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘And it’s not good at all, so stop your foolish grinning and keep a tight hold of that spear. If they split into two packs then…damnation!’ They had split into two groups. The sickly vapour drifted towards us again, only this time, we were caught between the two trails of it; one headed for the stockade, and the other for the space we had occupied outside it. We couldn’t risk moving further from the stockade, where the portal would open again, so we had no choice but to head for a spot between the two.
‘Connie,’ Benjamin grabbed my arm. ‘They’re going to try and close the gap, aren’t they?’
He’d barely uttered the words when the two groups of Charg began to move. The corridor of clear air between them began to narrow. We would be enveloped soon, and we were too far away to reach them with the dynamite. This game would not last long unless we found a way to change the rules to our advantage. I breathed hard, trying to steel myself for the pain of running again.
‘Come on, everyone! The air is clear twenty paces to the right. We can hold our breath long enough to get through.’
I picked up a couple of sticks of dynamite and snatched the match cord from Inigo. ‘Lead the others to safety, Inigo. James, you’re with me!’
‘Where are we going?’ The big man looked puzzled. Either side of us, the purple vapour had begun to close in. I could already taste it in the air.
‘We’re going on the offensive,’ I said, grimly. ‘We get close enough to them to throw a couple of sticks then dive off to the right.’
‘Holding our breath?’
‘Yes. Are you ready?’
James was holding a fistful of sticks. They looked small in his dockworker’s hand. He checked the match cord was alight. ‘Let’s go.’
We broke into a run. Searing pain shot through my leg. Damaged muscle tore some more, but adrenalin was mixed with anger now. I blinked back the tears in my eyes and turned my scream into a yell, what I hoped was a blood-curdling battle cry. Beside me, James bellowed his own throat-rending roar. My focus was on the dozen or so aliens that were about to merge into one group about two hundred hands away. The indignity of death by farts from some pesky jelly-creature was too much. We were sprinting now. The wound in my leg forgotten in the madness.
The Charg watched us approach. Their own progress slowed, but the two groups were a few paces apart. The fog had already closed in. A few more ticks and we would be totally enveloped. James and I were already struggling to breathe. I drew to a halt.
‘Light and throw at the same time, James,’ I gasped, but there was no answer. I looked behind me. James had stopped a few strides behind me and was standing still, a puzzled expression on his face. Fuck! I slapped him hard. His eyes refocused on me. ‘Light and throw!’ I screamed at him.
My own sense of urgency plummeted suddenly. I recognised the signs and thumped the bandage on my leg. Fire, born of agony, blossomed in my skull, but it cleared my mind enough that I could touch the match rope to the fuses on two sticks. James did the same. ‘Now!’ We hurled the dynamite at the Charg. I would have liked to lay a spread across them all, but James and I were already sinking fast. A huge roaring sound filled my head and the lights dimmed.
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