The Cats by Nick Sharman

Author:Nick Sharman [Sharman, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror, deadly animals
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2019-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Crowther looked up, dazed. The line of paratroopers was advancing steadily, knocking aside anyone in their path with professional detachment.

The air was suddenly full of the sharp crackle of machine guns. The cats halted, juddered and seemed ready to fall back. The guns blasted forth in one continuous volley. The cats stood their ground, heedless of companions dropping dead around them. They occupied an area five yards in front of the line of parked cars. Others hunched on top of the automobiles. A seething, multicolored blanket of fur was visible between the hoods of the cars. The front line coldly assessed the situation as the continuous hail of bullets tore into them and then, incredibly, they started advancing once more, cautiously at first and then with increased confidence. The troops began slowly to edge backwards, their heavy-duty army boots scraping against the road surface.

There was a momentary lull in the firing and, as the crackle of the guns started up again, the cats pounced, their composure gone, snarling and spitting furiously at the troops.

Crowther gasped. This was the last hope. Once through this line, the whole of London lay at their mercy, defenseless against one long, bloody rampage. He heard a dull explosion and rapidly scanned the scene to discover its source. One of the cars in the protective line had burst into flame, fire pouring from its engine and racing through its insides. Hideous belches of black smoke curled upwards from the wrecked vehicle and, before the cats or the troops had had time to react, the blaze had crept to the next car which exploded with a dull boom. The cats milled about in confusion. One of the soldiers, catching on that the petrol tank of the first car had been ignited by a stray bullet, began strafing the rest of the automobiles. Soon his companions had joined in, a steady barrage of lead thudding into the motors. Within seconds the whole line was ablaze, a readymade funeral pyre for the animals on top. Flames licked out at the cats on either side, frying them where they stood. The heat rapidly took care of many more, asphyxiating them in seconds. The few who were far enough away to escape the inferno ran forward blindly to be met by the deadly accuracy of the machine guns.

From where he stood, Crowther could feel the overpowering heat singeing his body and clothes, but he couldn’t have cared less. The air was filled with the noxious smell of burning petrol and with the wild, screeching sounds of the burning cats.

A heavy, black pall of whirling, writhing smoke hung over the scene, obscuring everything behind and in front of the cars. Crowther held his breath. The guns were silent. What would they see when the smoke cleared? A line of cats waiting to surge forward once more, this time with no obstacles in sight? Slowly the flames began to die as the automobiles burned themselves out. Crowther peered into the gloom.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up and the smoke cleared for an instant.

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