“When a man murders pretty much the entire police department, you learn his face well,” he answered.“But the way you describe him, he sounds like a hero, not a mass murderer, and he may have even been working with the FBI.”“That’s one of the things most puzzling about the whole situation.”“Could it be that the police have been searching for the wrong man?”“I have no idea, but it was baffling to us how one man could cause so much devastation to this town. After witnessing all that—whatever that was—I now understand. This man is capable of extraordinary things and clearly possesses some . . . superhuman abilities. I sure hope he isn’t the villain he has been made out to be. Because if he is, then God help us.”Andrew turned directly toward the camera. “You heard it here. Some extraordinary events are taking place, and we hope and pray that the worst is behind us. Back to you, Teri.”The news feed changed back to Teri in the helicopter. “Thank you, Andrew. We are now receiving report
The girls both dropped to the floor, and Kyle sank as far down in his seat as he dared while still keeping an eye on the road. Another puff of dust appeared from much lower down on the mountain, and this time, the RPG was closer to its mark. There was a deafening explosion, and the SUV flipped onto its side, sliding crazily for a couple of hundred feet before finally coming to a stop at the foot of the mountain.“Is anyone hit?” asked Kyle.“I think we’re good,” Kristen answered, her voice sounding a little muffled.“Kora? You okay?” he asked.“Yeah, I’m all right. What hit us?” she said.“RPG,” said Kyle, sounding angry. “We’d better get out of here before they launch another one.”Kyle kicked out what was left of the windshield, and the three of them climbed out of the car. As soon as they hit the ground, they ran and took cover behind a big boulder to avoid another shower of bullets.“I wasn’t expecting a gunfight. This is when we need Wilson,” said Kristen.“Well, Wilson is not he
The Analoya were getting tired and frustrated, Kyle in particular. He started ignoring his gun and tried to throw himself at Thunderbird every time it flew near, but it was too quick, and he missed again and again. Thunderbird started targeting him with each flyby, and his attempts to knock it out of the air became increasingly risky. Finally, he managed to briefly grab a hold of some of the tail feathers. Thunderbird swerved and nearly crashed into the cliff face, but it was still able to swoop around for another attack.As it came near, he leaped into the air and grabbed it around the chest. Thunderbird sank its talons into Kyle’s chest plate, piercing every layer of armor. He yelled in pain, but he didn’t release his grip as they tumbled to the ground. He managed to roll to his knees and pushed the bird far enough out that most of the talons came loose, but this opened up an opportunity for Thunderbird to attack again. It opened its beak directly in front of his face. Since some of
The animal moved more and more until it finally began to get to its feet. It only stood on two legs, each about thirteen feet long. There were large industrial-strength straps around its ankles which were anchored to the ground with heavy chains. Kyle, Kora, and Dutch moved around to get a better look. The animal had a large head with rows of long sharp teeth and fierce eyes. Its arms were relatively short compared with its body, with feathers growing along the back of them and only two fingers on its hands.“It’s not a Stegosaurus—it’s a T. rex,” Kyle said with even more excitement.“I think it’s both,” said Kora.“Stegosaurus rex—no, Tyrannostegosaurus. I like it,” said Kyle.“I think you need to tone down your excitement a bit,” said Kora.“It’s a friggin’ Tyrannostegosaurus! A hybrid of two of my favorite dinosaurs!” Kyle said, struggling to keep quiet.His excitement soon ceased when the dinosaur let out a deafening roar and fought to break out of its restraints. It swung its spi
With their attention drawn to the dying gunner, they didn’t notice that the micoaz atl on the lower leg had begun eating its way through the floor of the helicopter. One soldier, kneeling down next to the gunner, felt his foot move through the rapidly widening hole. He panicked and tried to move to safety but slipped through the opening. The liquid attached itself to his boots and his clothes as he slipped. He grabbed a hold of the floor to catch himself, but it was covered in the liquid and burned through his hand before he had time to react. He screamed as he fell and hit the ground hard. The others in the chopper were yelling and trying desperately to avoid the spreading micoaz atl as it steadily ate through everything it touched.The chopper descended rapidly, and before it even touched the ground, the passengers began jumping out. While everyone watched the micoaz atl melt the chopper into a twisted pile of goop, Kyle noticed Isaac run off toward the mountain. As he chased after
“And it’s the same for my hand,” said Kristen. “Dr. Bryant bandaged me up and gave me some painkillers, and I replaced the armor on my arm. We’ll be okay.”“Where are Jolly and Eraser?” she asked John.“They were hurt pretty badly at the stadium. They’re still being treated for their injuries. They wanted to come with me when they heard what was happening up here, but I insisted they stay.”Kora looked back at Wilson, who had that “let’s go” look in his eye.“Okay,” she said hesitantly.“All right, everyone, were moving out toward the mountain!” Wilson shouted to the men. “We’re looking for a cave. Keep your eyes open for any signs of one.”They acknowledged him and began moving toward the mountain, but they stopped when they came to the flames from Kyle’s grenade; they were still burning hot.Kora fell to her knees. “I’m sorry, Kyle,” she said with her head bowed. ”I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you.” She began to cry again.After a minute or two, Dutch approached her. “We need to get g
Wilson took it one step further, removed his glove, and placed his hand into the mist.“I’m not feeling any pain,” he said. “If I focus, I can feel a slight tingling sensation, but that’s it. The eyes are much more sensitive to chemicals than the rest of the body, which is probably why it hurt Flint. If we keep our heads above the mist, which shouldn’t be difficult since it’s only a couple of feet deep, then we should be okay. But the tingling sensation does make me a bit nervous, so let’s try not to spend too much time in here. Every once in a while, rotate into the circle so you’re not exposed to the mist for too long especially if it starts to irritate you. We’ll all take turns.”“Easy for you to say—you get to stay in the clearing the whole time,” said Ghost.“I would take turns if I could. I’m sorry,” said Wilson.They carefully ventured out into the mist. Wilson charged up the lightning sword again to make the circle as large as possible. As they moved, their attention turned to
The tail whipped through the air, aiming right for Wilson’s face. He whirled around, swung his sword, and sliced the end of the tail clean off. The severed section thrashed and twisted grotesquely when it hit the ground, and he kicked it away in disgust. It flew into the mist and vanished, but they could still hear the thump, thump, thump as it continued to flail around.A bone-chilling screech made everyone’s hair stand on end. It grew louder and louder, and the trees and brush near where the tail stump had landed began to shake and move, sending more ripples through the mist. Suddenly, Tepianicoatl shot out from the trees toward them. There was cold fury in its black eyes; its mouth was open and fangs bared. Its torso-sized head struck one marine, biting him on the shoulder, and he began convulsing violently and foaming from the mouth even before the snake let go of him.Bullets and laser blasts were flying everywhere. Most missed the snake, but some hit their target, leaving wounds