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Maddock remembered the way to the weapons vault, but what he didn’t recall was the blood. It was splattered over every surface of the platforms. Apparently, Sorensen and Hoor fought the entire way down. He tried not to think about it.
“What else do you think is down there?” he asked, trying to make conversation to get his mind off the carnage and the looming threat to Tam.
Bones just shrugged. “No idea, hombre, and honestly, I really don’t want to find out. What I’d like to do is bring this whole place down and bury it forever.” He stopped and looked back the way they came. “Way too much death down here.”
Maddock nodded. “Couldn’t agree with you more.”
Cautiously leaning out over the edge, he peered into the darkness below and thought he saw a faint glow of light. “This place has to have a power source, right?”
“You got me, dude. I’m not sure of anything when it comes to alien tech. For all we know, it could supply its own power because it just can. There may not be a better explanation than that.”
Maddock nodded. “You might be right but I think it’s worth a look once we sort out our other problem.”
“Speaking of that,” Bones said, “didn’t you say that Sorensen’s altered DNA is what allowed him to open the armory? I hate to break it to you but I’m pretty sure we’re both human.”
“Good point.” Maddock knelt next to the closest blood smear and swiped one gloved finger across it, collecting what he hoped would be a viable sample of the altered DNA.
Bones shook his head disparagingly.
“You know, we could circle back and try to get the drop on Max,” he said. “If Tam hasn’t already taken him out, that is.”
“I considered it,” Maddock replied, “but I think our chances of saving her and stopping him will be a lot better if we go in loaded for bear. You’re not going to believe the stuff that’s in here.”
He pointed ahead to what he now thought of as “the armory.” “This is it.”
Bones whistled at the sight. “Okay. I guess you weren’t exaggerating.”
Maddock led the way to the large container and cautiously touched it with the blood smeared fingertip of his glove. As soon as it made contact with the black exterior, a tremor rippled across the surface, and then it lit up just as before.
“Holy crap.
Maddock went in without delay, heading straight for the collection of spears. He thought he remembered where he left it, but like before, the numbers were so great that it made it tough to tell them apart. “Which one is it?” Bones asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“Fan-friggin-tastic,” Bones said, rubbing his forehead. “Keep looking. I’m gonna see if I can find something a bit more beastly than what we have.”
Maddock nodded and continued his search for the correct spear. The only way to know for sure was to touch them and he decided that would be his last option.
Behind him, Bones was experimenting with one of the axes, activating it and swinging it experimentally. Blue fire cracked in the air and Maddock smelled the sharp tang of ozone.
Bones set the axe back in its place. “Blades are cool, but Max has a gun. What we need is a ranged weapon. You see anything like that down here?”
Maddock shook his head, more in an attempt to concentrate on the puzzle before him, than in answer to the question.
“Hello gorgeous,” Bones said a moment later. Maddock glanced back and saw his friend holding a crossbow and a quiver of bolts, all fabricated from the mysterious black metal. “What do you want to bet these things do a whole lot more than just poke holes in a target.”
“Just be careful where you point it,” Maddock replied.
At that moment, a shout reached them. “Dane!”
Maddock started involuntarily, even though he immediately recognized the voice.
“Tam?” As Maddock turned toward the entrance, he saw her running toward them.
“I knew you’d kick his ass,” Bones chortled.
“Not quite. He’s right behind me.”
Bones brought the crossbow to his shoulder. “Let him come.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Tam snapped. “He’s got a gun. At least find cover.”
Bones accepted the rebuke, ducking down behind one of the racks. Maddock and Tam joined him, just as a shot rang out, followed an instant later by the sound of a ricochet. Several more shots followed in quick succession, all of them close enough to confirm that Max had a pretty good idea where they were.
There was a break in the firing and then a shout. “You might as well make this easy on yourself. You can’t outrun a bullet.”
“No,” Bones muttered, “But if he keeps shooting like that, he’s going to run out of them.”
“He’s probably already figured that out,” Maddock said. “We need to go on the offensive.”
“Is there another exit?” Tam asked, still trying to catch her breath.
“Possibly,” Maddock replied, “but I have no idea where it is or where it goes. This is the way Sorensen brought me. He could read the rune glyphs.”
A grin spread across Tam’s face. She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone.
“Really?” Bones said. “Is this really the time to post to Snapchat.”
“I uploaded a translation program from headquarters just after arriving. It might be able to read the runes for us.”
“But these aren’t ordinary runes,” Bones countered. “This is an alien language.”
“If I have to come in there,” Max shouted, “I promise your death will be slow and painful. Make it easy on yourself.”
Maddock ignored the taunt. “It could work. Sorensen said they were close to the Norse runes we all know from history. But right now let’s focus on getting around him. If we can get to the upper platform and get between him and the exit, we can end this.” He then looked at Tam. “Or pin him down until you can call in some reinforcements.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure that’ll work. There’s a dead zone up there. It’s why our chopper went down. We had a complete instrument failure, including our comms systems.”
“Our watches are still working,” Bones said. “And your phone.”
Tam gave a helpless shrug.
“One thing at a time,” Maddock said. “Right now, we need to get out of this container without getting our asses shot off.”
“Since you didn’t ask for suggestions, I assume you have a plan?”
“Sort of.” He scanned the rack of weapons until he found a sword that would serve as a suitable replacement for Skofnung, which Hoor had taken with him into oblivion. After slotting the weapon into the scabbard on his belt, he pointed to Bones’ crossbow. “You know where we can get a couple more of those?”
Bones jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Two rows over.”
“All right. We’ll fire a spread of bolts. Two apiece in staggered sequence, then run like hell for the exit. Maybe we’ll even get lucky and take him out.”
“What about Gungnir?” Tam asked. “We’ll be leaving the door open for Max to take it?”
Maddock glanced over at the rack of spears. “He’ll have to figure out which one it is, first.”
“And what if he uses the trial and error approach and turns into a berserker?” Bones countered.
Maddock just shrugged. “Like I said, one thing at a time.”
––––––––
An explosion of blue fire sent Max tumbling. The focal point of the impact was a good twenty feet from where he had been crouching, sparing him the worst effects of the blast energy, but the heat lashed at the exposed skin of his face and neck, scorching the hand that held the pistol so severely that he dropped it. He screamed, in surprise as much as pain, and recoiled away from the dying flash, even as another eruption bloomed to life. The second one was further away, but he still felt the heat on his seared skin. The smell of burnt hair made him gag.
The back of his hand had gone a livid red and was oozing dew-like droplets. He touched this face where he could still feel the heat, and his hand came away wet.
Second-degree burns.
I can buy a new face, he thought, recalling the millions ScanoGen had already delivered to his offshore account. That number would double when he handed over the spear. But payback is priceless.
He would kill Broderick and her friends for free.
More explosions followed, some a little too close for comfort, and he’d had no choice but to hunker down and cover up. When a full minute passed without any activity, he raised his head, and then retrieved his gun to begin searching for a target.
He decided not to taunt them this time. Instead, he would sneak up on them, catch them unaware. They were penned up inside the big container—it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
But as he drew closer, he realized the truth. The explosions had been a distraction to cover their escape. Tam, Maddock and Bones had slipped away while he’d been cowering in terror.
His initial anger passed quickly however when he realized what they had left behind. Standing before the still open armory, he marveled at its contents. He saw axes and swords like the ones Maddock had brought back earlier, and other items too bizarre to describe.
He ventured inside, wandering the aisles in amazement until he found it. The spear... or rather, “Spears,” he muttered.
There were dozens of them, lined up side-by-side in multiple racks. And they all looked identical.
“Which one?” he rasped, then shouted, “Which one?”
His sweat stung the freshly scorched skin of his face, but he ignored the pain, willing himself to stay on his feet. In a fit of frustration he thrust out both hands and started grabbing the spears, flinging them aside without even examining them for telltale markings, shouting all the while. “Which one, dammit? Which one?”
Suddenly, one of the black spears grabbed him back. The sensation was as immediate and as vivid as an electrical charge, and it floored him. He howled in pain and then anger as he realized his mistake, but even before he hit the floor, his cries turned into monstrous roars.
He was becoming one of them.
He was becoming a berserker.