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“We’re getting nowhere with this,” Tam said, rubbing her eyes hard. She and the others scoured the lab clean, looking for anything that could help them defeat Hoor. So far, all the tech was over their heads. Even the things they thought they recognized were no hope. Everything was in a language none of them spoke.
“Too bad Haugen isn’t here,” Bones said from behind. “Maybe he’d be able to help.”
“Who?” Tam asked.
“Henrik Haugen, Chief of Police in Vikersund. He helped us find this place. He was a good guy.”
“Was?”
Bones nodded. “Hoor shot him point blank in the head before going berserk. He was innocent and just doing us a favor. We sort of saved his son earlier and he offered to help us go after the people who were responsible.”
“It was his duty,” Tam countered. “He knew the risks.”
“Getting chased by a crazed psychopath while in possession of an alien doomsday weapon was hardly Haugen’s job. He’s dead because of us.”
“No,” Tam said, “it’s because of me. I asked you to come here alone. You did what you were trained to do, survive. You were severely outmatched and underinformed. If anyone is to blame for your friend’s death, it’s me.”
“You’re right, it’s your fault,” he said. As her eyes widened in surprise and dismay, he went on. “Or... We could just blame the bastard that killed him.”
“Look,” Max put in. “I may not be a professional or whatever you people are, but I know what murder is. This guy, Hoor, took the life of an innocent man. He needs to be put down Old Yeller style.”
Bones smiled. He was starting to enjoy having the pilot around. But then he had also thought the same about Haugen. Getting too close to people was a bad thing in their line of work—a sin. Especially civilians with little or no training. And even worse when it was in as hostile an environment as now. He, Maddock, and even Tam knew the consequences. They could die at any time. It was a part of the gig. They had plenty of close calls over the years and every single time things went FUBAR, the prospect of death was also a potential outcome.
“Ugh,” Max said, reeling back from something.
“What is it?” Bones asked.
“Not sure, but whatever it was, it looks like it was overcooked. Like a piece of meat was left on the grill for a month.”
As Bones neared the man’s position, he saw it too. A vaguely human form, but shrunken and twisted, and coal black. Max was right. Whatever happened to the test subject, it was burnt to a crisp.
“Huh...” Bones murmured, kneeling. There was an ashy residue on the ground surrounding the stomach-high examination table.
“What are you thinking?” Tam asked, circling the scene.
Groaning at what he was about to do, Bones reached down and swiped a finger through the soot. Lifting it to his nose, he sniffed and rubbed the debris between his thumb and forefinger
“Strange,” he said, inhaling again. “It’s definitely ash but there’s an underlying trace of something else too.”
“Might be a chemical of some kind,” Tam suggested. Even though centuries had passed, disturbing the ash had released a distinctive and almost familiar chemical odor. “Maybe an accelerant.”
Bones shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. It smells more like ozone. I think the body was fried by an electrical discharge.”
“He was struck by lightning?” Max asked.
Bones stood, wiping the ash on his pant leg. “I doubt it.”
“What then?”
Bones looked down at the pilot. “I think it’s this place. It’s powered by a strange form of electrical energy. Whatever power source the beings here used is still active. They could’ve weaponized it.”
“If they did,” Tam said, “then maybe it’s what they used to kill all these.”
“Could be,” Bones said, “but we’ll have no idea until we find some sort of weapons vault or—”
“Already did.”
The three of them turned and found Maddock and Sorensen marching toward them. Following closely behind them were two of the three men Tam had sent away to secure the room. The third was still over near the platform ramp keeping watch.
“Sorensen found a map of the place,” Maddock explained, answering an unasked question. “He knew a shortcut to get us past Hoor.”
As if triggered by the very mention of the berserker, a shudder vibrated through the floor, followed by a distant—but not too distant—roar.
Bones nodded in Maddock’s direction. “I see you’ve been accessorizing.”
Tam followed his gaze and saw the hilt of the enormous weapon on Maddock’s back.
“Don’t worry,” Maddock said, grinning. “I got you one, too.”
Sorensen held out an enormous double-sided axe.
“I think you could use this,” Sorensen grunted, looking like he’d been through hell.
Smiling as he took it, Bones could hardly contain himself. The axe was made from the same black metal as the doors and the spear.
Realizing this, Tam shot a glance at Maddock. “Where’s Gungnir?”
“Safe,” Maddock replied simply.
“Where’d you get these?” Bones asked, stepping back to give the axe a few test swings. As he did, its dual-blades ignited with blue energy.
“Bones called it,” Tam said, turning to Maddock. “We think they weaponized their power source. It might be able to kill Hoor too.”
Maddock glanced to Sorensen who nodded.
“So,” Max said, standing behind Maddock, inspecting his new addition, “what’s this beast?”
Maddock carefully drew the enormous sword, getting a silent reaction out of everyone when they saw its blade. Its surface roiled like an angry wave but stayed in form. It didn’t dance like a serpent did, it just shimmered and twitched like an agitated swell of water. “This is Skofnung, the Berserker Blade. It’s said to hold the power of a dozen berserkers, infused with their legendary might.” He glanced up at Sorensen. “Right?”
The giant gave another quiet nod as the room shuddered again. The vibrations were stronger now... A lot stronger. And this time, they were accompanied by an agonized scream.
Tam looked back in the direction from which Maddock and Sorensen had come, and flinched as she saw her remaining agent floating a few feet above the ground, suspended in midair, brutally impaled by the wickedly sharp talons of Hoor. Then, suddenly, the man was torn in half, exploding in a mess of gore, and revealing the killer.
“The hell?” Max exclaimed, backing up some.
Hoor was the same twelve-foot height as before but now as thick as a big rig. His arms were still at an extended length as were now his hands, making him look that much more alien. His two large, black, unblinking eyes regarded them, emotionless and yet somehow, full of fury.
What kind of beings could produce such monsters? Tam wondered.
She glanced at the table nearest their position. “Why is he so big and the others barely larger than us?”
“It’s his belief and his unbridled rage,” Sorensen answered, even as he squared off with Hoor, preparing to meet the charge when it came. “It has completely consumed him. The original inhabitants of this place, while a warring race, were still knowledgeable and advanced—smart. The evidence of that is in everything here. I doubt this place would exist if they all acted as Hoor does now.”
Tam took a few steps back. So did everyone else.
“He was insane before becoming a monster,” Maddock added.
The berserker virus only made him more of what he was.”
“I too feel it attempting to take over my body,” Sorensen said. He glanced at the people around him. “And my mind.”
Bones chimed in. “One part lunacy, add in a double measure of Dr. Banner’s own personal creature cocktail, mix thoroughly, and... Hulk smash!”
Hoor didn’t press his attack, but instead growled a single word. “Gungnir.”
Maddock stepped forward. “Gungnir is gone,” he said confidently. “You’ll never have it.” He raised his sword. “You can’t have it.”
Hoor eyed the large weapon, studying it. Maddock wasn’t sure if he/it understood what the blade was or not. Either way, Skofnung was intimidating as hell and even the mighty alien berserker giant seemed to be wary of it.
“Be ready to lay down some suppressive fire if this goes pear-shaped,” Maddock said, turning to Tam.
Raising her own Desert Eagle, she nodded and relayed the order to her two remaining agents. Max followed suit but from further behind the others. He was all in, just not quite as all in as the rest of the group.
As Maddock continued to give out orders, Hoor’s heavy footfalls quickened and became those of rolling thunder. The floor beneath their feet vibrated and bounced as the monster approached.
Looking left and then right, Maddock got a quick nod from Bones and Sorensen. The three moved as one, charging forward blades at the ready. They’d all fight to the death if necessary.
“Just give me a chance to get inside his reach,” Maddock said, planning out his next set of moves. “Let’s hope this thing is all it’s cracked up to be.” He needed to stay ahead of his foe and make sure he could get close enough to deliver the killing blow.
Lord Jesus, Tam thought, Please let this do the trick.