Wormwood Dawn (Episode VIII) Read Online Free Page B

in horror. The creature inside was exactly like the one that had attacked the camp. It was tall and skinless; only muscle and spiked bone. Its skull was exposed, and grinned like a demonic Halloween decoration with jagged teeth and black, hollow eyes. He remembered the one he saw as having glowing eyes, so knew that this one was dead.
    “How did you kill this?” Toby asked.
    “Let’s just say its death was… shocking. Now, I have no information on this one. As I said, I have never encountered one before. But what you are about to see now is the ultimate in mutation. These creatures are sentient, highly intelligent, and seem to be the same as they were in their previous lives. Only now, they are nearly invincible, and god-like. Behold the Overlord.”
    A large curtain along the back wall opened slowly, revealing the most horrifying and alien creature that one could imagine. There, fastened to the wall by its arms, legs, and four long tentacles, was a giant-sized skeletal creature. Like the other mutants, its skin was white and glossy, but with armored plates of bone. It had black alien eyes that were like orbs of glass, and the most fearsome and evil rictus grin that Toby could imagine. There were transparent fangs that interlocked perfectly, as if designed by some mad scientist. Its very appearance made Toby shudder, and he stepped back in terror.
    It was like looking into the face of the Devil himself.
    “This, my little friend,” Maynard said as Toby’s vision began to blur, “Is our future.”
     

 
    Chapter Three
    “I can’t believe the debris has reached this far,” Cpt. Blair shouted over the chopper’s rotors.
    “Jet streams and such,” Dr. Grace Hill shouted. “It’s not that unusual. It was a large impact, but not as bad as it could have been if the fragment had been a solid object.”
    One of the Army grunts leaned over to her. It was Ramirez, a Private First Class whose job was to patch structural damage. She was tough as nails, but oddly curious about science—especially anything that had to do with the comet.
    “If it wasn’t solid,” she said. “Then what was it?”
    Grace leaned over to get closer. The chopper was loud enough, but the howling wind outside made it all the worse.
    “Mostly ice, mixed in with small chunks of rock, hydrocarbons, amino acids, etcetera.”
    Ramirez nodded, seemingly satisfied. Grace knew she didn’t have to explain much to Ramirez. She was a smart girl, despite her gung-ho military attitude. She liked her. A lot.
    “Dr. Hill,” the Captain shouted again. “Once we reach Atterbury, I’m touching down. We’ll need more fuel to get to the Impact site.”
    “Alright,” Grace shouted back.
    She looked over to Ramirez, who gave her an upward nod. That was the signal for “all good”, Grace supposed. She wasn’t sure.
    “Where are we now?” Grace asked her.
    Ramirez leaned forward to look at the radar in the cockpit. “Looks like we’re just south of Indy,” she said. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
    “What is Atterbury?”
    “Camp Atterbury,” Ramirez said. “It’s a training base for the Guard.”
    Grace nodded, smiling. “That’s good. Will there be more soldiers there?”
    Ramirez chuckled, and the other grunts joined in for some reason. Grace was confused. Had she said something amusing?
    “What?”
    “Not soldiers,” she said. “Grunts. Marines are Marines, Army are grunts. The Guard, well, they’re weekend warriors. But for now, that’s all we got.”
    “I see,” Grace said, still not sure what the difference was.
    There was a sudden jolt that knocked her off of her seat. She was grabbed by another grunt tightly, and shielded as he pressed her against the seat. The chopper spun and pitched, letting in the harsh winds and cold rain. Grace gritted her teeth, thankful that the young man had offered his own body in her defense. She could feel his hands clutching her lower leg and her shoulder. His grip was tight and