Day of the Predator - Alex Scarrow [126]
He was considering that point when he heard two sounds at the same time: one a far-off scream, shrill and terrifying that rattled around the clearing like a gunshot, and the other the sound of approaching trainers slapping the hard ground. He exchanged a hurried glance with the girls, and with Becks as she stopped fiddling with their damaged windmill and snapped erect like a spooked meerkat.
‘Help!’ He heard Edward’s voice through the gathering gloom, and then a moment later picked out of that gloom the dancing outline of his pale T-shirt.
‘Edward! What’s up?’
The boy joined him, gasping and looking anxiously back over his shoulder. ‘They’re h-here! THEY’RE HERE!’
Liam followed his gaze and saw nothing across the clearing, just the dark outline of the apron of jungle. ‘Where are the others?’
The boy ignored his question, his eyes wide with terror. ‘Th-they’re h-here, they’re h-here!’
Liam grasped his arm firmly. ‘EDWARD! What about the others?’
The boy looked at him. ‘Dead,’ he replied. ‘All dead.’
‘Oh God, look!’ gasped Laura.
She was pointing across the clearing. Where a mere second ago he’d seen only jungle, now he saw a line of the creatures approaching them cautiously, spreading out like beaters for a hunting party. He quickly estimated thirty, maybe forty, of them; all sizes.
The whole pack … Jay-zus!
In the middle of the line, he thought he recognized one of them in particular. The one he’d seen in the jungle, barking orders to the others, their leader.
‘Liam,’ said Becks, stepping back from the windmill to join him and the others near the smoking fire, now beginning to take hold and crackle and spark. ‘Do you see the middle one?’
He knew what she was referring to. The one in the middle, the pack leader, was holding one of their spears in its claws. He nodded.
‘Like my adaptive AI,’ she continued, ‘the species has observed our behaviour and learned from it.’
He swallowed nervously. ‘Back to the palisade … we need to go now!’
‘Negative, I must stay.’
‘What?’ He looked at her.
‘This location has been probed in the last twenty-four hours.’ She nodded towards their broken windmill. ‘There are decaying particles in the vicinity of the interference device. They may scan again at any moment.’
She was right, of course. Utterly barking mad, but quite right.
‘All right, all right,’ he uttered, watching the approaching hominids closing the gap slowly. ‘You four,’ he said to the others, ‘get inside the wall and wait there!’
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Edward.
He really had no idea just then … some notion of holding out beside the campfire, back to back with Becks until … until … what?
Until they’ve finally worn her down, and jump her. Then turn on me.
But, there was a slight chance, wasn’t there? A slight chance Maddy and Sal were going to sweep this place again at any moment. And, if they did, this might be their last chance to flag the signal, to tell them they were right here. The alternative, hiding inside their flimsy palisade until these creatures finally managed to gnaw their way through the twine, pull aside a couple of the logs from the wall and get in … He shuddered.
‘There’s a return window coming,’ he said. ‘It’s coming soon! Becks and me need to be out here waiting for it. You four will be safer inside. I’ll call for you when it opens. Now just go!’
‘I want to stay,’ said Edward, picking up one of their hatchets from a pile of cut wood beside the fire. The other three nodded. ‘We’ll f-fight them t-together,’ whispered Laura, her teeth chattering noisily.
Jasmine looked across at the palisade, twenty yards away beyond the flickering pool of light from the fire. ‘They’ll find a way in anyway.’
Liam looked at the creatures, now almost entirely encircling them, maintaining their cautious distance. ‘All right. Perhaps you’re right,’ he uttered. ‘Becks, how’re we gonna do