Chimera Island by Martin Roy Hill

Author:Martin Roy Hill [Hill, Martin Roy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: 32-32 North
Published: 2021-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

LELAND STRANGE WAS still musing about Dr. Handley’s strange behavior when he noticed a large spike of gamma rays on Stalk’s full spectrum analyzer. At the same time his attention was drawn to one of the camera views. It showed Handley, standing motionless halfway between the lab and the barracks, holding his briefcase to his chest and looking up. At first, Strange thought the Navy researcher was stargazing. Then he noticed the creature in front of Handley, scarcely discernible through the night-vision camera. The camera magnified visible light, creating a ghostly green image. Even with the light magnification, the creature appeared almost as a shadow, barely reflecting the compound’s lights. But what Strange could make of the creature caused him to suck air. The creature towered over Handley.

He watched Handley move trance-like as he extended the briefcase toward the creature. Leland reached for his radio and pressed the red emergency button on the top. The instant he did, the creature froze. Handley snapped out of his trance but dropped the briefcase. Toilet paper rolls spilled out, along with something else. Strange could not be certain what it was, but he recognized it as some type of electronic component. He watched Handley try to gather the contents of the briefcase, saw the creature gliding toward him. Handley gave up collecting the spilled contents and ran toward the lab. A moment later, he was pounding on the lab’s door, screaming.

“Let me in! Let me in! God Almighty, please let me in!”

Strange pressed the PTT button on the radio. “Intruder in the compound. Intruder in the compound.” He leapt from his chair, unbolted the door, and pulled away the crossbar. The door burst open, and Handley rushed in. With eyes wide with terror, he glanced at Strange.

“They’re after me!” Handley gasped. “They’re after me!”

Handley gaped up the stairs, then into the lab, back and forth until he made his decision and darted through the lab into the shelter of the panic room. The door slammed shut, and Leland heard the bolts shoved into place and the crossbar slipped into its brackets.

Strange did the same with the lab’s door. Just as he finished mounting the crossbar, the door gave a heavy shudder as something slammed against it. He pulled his Glock—the only firearm he had with him—and snapped off the safety.

The radio squawked. “Leland, report,” Gates ordered.

The door shuddered again. Strange backed into the lab, the Glock gripped in front of him with both hands. Bumping into his desk, he reached behind him for the radio, the pistol still aimed at the door. “Some kind of creature just attacked Professor Handley,” he said.

“Handley?” Gates said. “Where is he now?”

“He locked himself in the panic room, sir.”

“What kind of creature?”

“Come into the compound and you can see for yourself, sir,” Leland replied. After a second, he added, “I think.”

Leland dropped the radio and picked up Cujo’s remote control, activated the LS3, and located the intruder using its infrared vision. He tagged the invader as a target, then said, “Cujo, follow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.