The Decay

Chapter 67 - Suicide Mission

67

The NFAD approached the airport at a rapid pace. A few hundred meters ahead was the old parking lot of the airport. It was mostly clear apart from the remains of some cars.

The NFAD touched down and the five jumped off, onto solid ground. 'Here we are,' announced Ray. 'The remains of the Logan International Airport', said Cole. 'You know, I'm surprised by how intact it is. I think...' his words were cut off by a roar. Mike looked at the others. 'Did that come from inside the airport?' he asked. A grim look appeared on Ray's face. 'Perhaps the rumors of monsters are more than just rumors.' 'Whichever the case,' interrupted Cole, 'We are going in there and getting out on the other side.' 'Speaking of which,' said Mike. 'When we make it through the terminal building, we'll be in the open space of the landing strips. We're probably going to have to make a run for it to the boat.' Ray nodded. 'Definitely.' 'Don't forget I have this bad boy here,' said Douglas grinning. Cole smiled. 'Yeah, you're right. What are we waiting for?'

Weapons raised, they slowly approached the front door to the airport terminal. Ray had once seen an old picture of the airport from many years before the war, when airplanes were still in use. It had changed many times over the years but he couldn't imagine it being the same building as what stood in front of him now.

As they entered through the main entrance, a large hall opened up in front of them. The insides were torn up and broken and debris lay scattered everywhere. Light entered from holes in the ceiling, the largest the size of a small car. Most worryingly, there were many large claw marks on the walls. 'What are those?' asked Mike. 'They look like claw marks to me,' replied Ray. A sound from the right made them all turn. 'What was that?' asked Ray. 'Probably noth-'. Before Mike could reply, a large creature appeared from the direction of the noise and, before anyone could so much as raise their gun, sped past the group and away. It was gone. A growl rose up from behind them. As they turned around, a large beast stood on top of an arch. It was Cole who was the first to open fire at the beast. As the beast dodged the bullets, it landed in a patch of light and it's true horror was unveiled.

The wolf-like beast was three times the size of a normal wolf and had six legs rather than four. It's tail looked like that of a scorpion and was much longer than it should have been. The gunshots had attracted more monsters to them. 'These are the experiments I've heard about,' said Ray in a broken, voice. The gunshots turned out to have been a bad idea. Within seconds, the group was surrounded by at least a dozen fearful creatures, all of different shapes and sizes. It was clear that they weren't going to fight these things and survive. 'EVERYBODY RUN!' Shouted Mike at the top of his lungs. He led the group in the direction of least resistance. They all raised their weapons and fired, hoping to have the monsters move out of the way. They did. Adrenaline pumping, Mike ran ahead, trying to locate the nearest exit to the opposite side of the airport. As they ran up a flight of stairs, they went through what had been a security checkpoint. In the main area past it, more creatures were present. Cole rolled as one almost ripped his head off with a single swipe. He shot it square in the mouth with his shotgun and the beast let out a growl before collapsing lifeless.

As they kept running, they had split into two groups. Ray and Douglas were behind because of Douglas' minigun. Mike, Anita and Cole ran up front, trying to clear the path ahead.

Finally a large broken window showed the airstrip beyond. 'We're almost there! Go, go go!' shouted Mike. Anita was panting heavily to his left and Cole was somewhere behind him, or so he hoped. Douglas had begun firing the minigun which gave him a sense of power, whilst a few well-placed grenades temporarily deterred the progress of the creatures.

As they entered the wide, open space of the outside, Mike ran as fast as he could. A wave of monsters was catching up on all of them. The near boat was now in sight. 'It's over here!' shouted Anita. 'Hurry!' Ray picked up his pace and and soon caught up with Cole. Mike had just reached the boat and stepped onto it. Within seconds, he and Anita were on board, Cole and Ray close behind. Unfortunately, so were the monsters. As Douglas came closer, the monsters right behind him, he knew that neither he nor the other two would make it. To Mike's horror, Douglas slowed down and turned around. Ray and Cole weren't aware of what was happening and had almost reached the boat now.

'If you want to get to my friends, you've got to pass through me, you bastards!' shouted Douglas defyingly. He proceeded to raise his minigun and fired wildly at the beasts. His shouts were only drowned out by the noise of the minigun. Then it eventually stopped and so did the shouts. Douglas was overrun, but with a last glimpse behind him, he saw Ray and Cole boarding the boat. He had succeeded.