Invisible Death

Invasion of the Mutant Snatchers

The small car sped down the hill towards the marina. At the wheel, a blond woman, her long hair flowing in the wind. After shoving the young nurse, Emilia, to the passenger seat, Shalimar drove with a decided look on her face. For the first time in her life, she would be a participant in the invasion of a sovereign republic. From guerilla fighter to investigator to field agent, to spy, now covert ops soldier. The feline feral shook her head and smiled reassuringly to the girl seating to her right and clutching the handler in the car panel so tightly her knuckles were white.

That time of the evening, the streets were deserted, and few cars rode in the island anyway. People preferred mountain bikes, quaint horse drawn coaches or going around on foot. The docks of the lavish marina opened before the VW bug and Shalimar parked the little vehicle at the main gate. The two women hurried to the yacht where Samihah Shah, microbiologist, waited for them and where they would contact the submarine where government agent April Dancer, head of the black operation that would secure the demise of an extremely dangerous project carried on in the island and intending to wipe out all mutant kind off the face of the earth, had her troops deployed and ready to go.

The Vindicator gently swayed against its docking place, the lights softly glowing inside. The gangplank that linked the vessel to the dry land was in place and the women boarded the yacht fast, rushing to the main room where they'd worked the night before. Calling out for the microbiologist, Shalimar opened the door and entered the room with the young nurse. There, in the middle of the room, Samihah Shah, bound and gagged, had a weapon pointed to her temple. Two other guards in the island police uniforms flanked the door. Shalimar and Emilia heard the distinctive noise of guns being cocked and they felt the muzzles touch their heads.

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The tunnels had started off fairly wide, allowing Brennan and Adam to half stand, half crouch as they hurried deeper and deeper into the mountain. Little by little, however the passageways got narrower, until there was barely room enough to crawl and the darkness was complete. They pulled their bodies forward by the sheer strength of their arms. Suddenly, as the tunnel widened just enough for them to proceed on all fours, the rat feral Terra made them stop. Her eyes flashed red and held. This time, only one other pair of red dots responded to the animal communication. After a long moment, the two pairs of red dots dimmed down. "Hombre, dame luz," she demanded.

"What?"

"Terra is asking for some light, Brennan," Adam translated.

"Si, si, luz. Dame luz."

The elemental formed a small bunch of tesla coils and the narrow passage was bathed in white light, just enough so they could see each other. They were filthy, covered in sweat and dirt. The feral, her thin fur matted with mud, launched a thick barrage of words in Spanish, speaking very fast, so fast Adam made her stop and speak slower or he wouldn't be able to understand.

"What did she say? What's wrong?" asked Brennan, keeping the light shining in his hand.

"She said there was a small cave-in up ahead and the passage is too narrow."

"What now?" asked Brennan. "Do we go back and try another tunnel?"

Before Adam could translate the question to Spanish, the feral shook her head. "No! No go back," she reverted to English. "We make the passage big." Then she started in Spanish again and, now, Adam's eyes were wide open and he had an incredulous look in his face.

Turning to Brennan, Adam said, "Listen to me, something is going to happen. Turn off the light, lie down on your belly and cover your head with your arms." His hand touched Brennan's shoulder. "Remember back at the entrance, when the rats climbed on you?"