Enemy Invasion (32 page)

“Over here,” Sarah said and they ran for the cover of a stack of building materials. The spider swarm reached the chain-link fence but, rather than surging over it as it could have
easily done, the mass of spiders paused there, so densely packed it was difficult to distinguish one from another. Thousands of blazing red eyes stared at them.

“Why have they stopped?” Wei asked, crouching down by a stack of bricks.

“There must be some kind of barrier around the base,” Alex said. “To prevent the swarms from getting inside.”

Sarah nodded. “Luckily for us.”

“But what about Nestor and Octavio?” Louise asked. “They’ve been bitten by those spiders, right? Just like Robert was.”

Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll go back for them. We’re going to find a cure for the virus and save everyone.”

“What about the Entity?” Alex asked. “It must know we’re here.”

“No,” Sarah said. “I’m shielding our presence from it.”

Alex glanced at the thousands of spider eyes fixed upon them and gave her a sceptical look, but said nothing. He peeked around the edge of the bricks at the power station. On the roof area
between the giant chimneys it was possible to make out the shape of sentries walking back and forth.

“It’s well defended,” he said.

“Can you get us inside?” Sarah asked.

“Not a problem.” Alex put his hand in Sarah’s. She in turn clasped Louise’s hand, who held onto Wei. Alex began to fade out... In less than five seconds both he and the
others were completely invisible.

You’re getting faster at that,
Sarah said.

Alex gave no reply, but pulled on her hand to indicate they should move. He led them from behind the bricks and out across the open ground towards the front of the power station. As they drew
closer, they made out two giant doors at the front, open the width of a house.

This is weird,
Louise said, meaning the sensation of walking while being unable to see your feet or legs.

Yeah,
Wei agreed.
What happens if you eat something while you’re invisible? Do you see it go into your stomach?

Don’t be stupid,
Alex replied tersely as they approached a ramp leading up to the entrance. The ramp was wide enough to drive two trucks up side by side and bore a multitude of tiny
scratch marks – no doubt made when the spiders trooped out of the building to take over the city.

A merc walked out of the station and down the ramp. Alex and the others paused as he passed, then carried on through the entrance and through the doors…

Wow,
Louise said as she and the others looked over the inside of Bright’s base. Technicians sat on raised control decks along one side of the interior, while heavily armed mercs
patrolled all around. Two helicopters sat ready for action at the far end of the building. Sunlight streamed down through the open roof…

And in the very centre was the hypersphere, its liquid surface reflecting and distorting the world around. Next to the sphere were two tables, upon which lay Hack and May.

Let’s get closer,
Sarah said.

Alex led them into the station, keeping near the wall to avoid any technicians wandering around or mercs on patrol. They stopped level with the hypersphere. It was possible to see the straps
holding Hack and May in place. Electrodes attached to their bodies stretched to monitoring equipment, which was in turn linked to the hypersphere itself. The surface of the sphere rippled and the
shape of a newly formed robospider dropped from the bottom. It scuttled along the ground to join a group of a hundred or more on the floor, waiting to be mobilized like a battalion of tiny
soldiers.

We have to get them free,
Sarah said, looking over Hack and May.
Remove them and the hypersphere will shut down.

Easier said than done,
Alex replied. The raised area upon which the hypersphere sat was exposed to the entire base and packed with personnel – both scientific and military.

I’ll create a diversion while you get them free,
Sarah said urgently. Her plan was hastily thought out, but they just didn’t have time to waste.
Louise and Wei – be
ready to give Alex backup if he needs it.

And who’s going to give you backup?
Alex asked, concern in his voice.

Don’t worry about me.
Sarah began to pull her hand free, but froze as a figure approached the hypersphere… Major Bright.

“Why has the spider production slowed?” Bright demanded as Marlon Good turned from one of the machines controlling the hypersphere. “I need armies.”

“The system is still bedding in,” Good replied. “You can’t expect one hundred per cent efficiency from the get-go.”

One of the technicians swivelled in his chair and indicated monitors showing brainwave activity in the two children strapped to the hypersphere.

“We’re pushing these kids too hard, sir,” the technician said. “Carry on like this and they’ll be vegetables within a few hours.” As if to prove the point,
Hack gave a feeble cry from the table. On hers, May’s whole body jerked in pain.

Major Bright nodded, as if mulling over that point, before bending in to speak softly to the technician. “Poor little children. We mustn’t push them too hard, must we? Perhaps we
should order in some pizza? See if they want to watch a
Harry Potter
movie?”

Marlon Good took a step back. The technician looked nonplussed. “I… Uh…”

Bright grabbed the technician’s head and slammed it onto the workbench. The man’s skull bounced off the table and he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Around the base,
Good’s people looked on in shocked disbelief. Marlon Good himself had gone a greenish colour at the sight of blood pouring from the technician’s broken nose.

Bright addressed the entire base, yelling as he did so. “Anyone else want to tell me how to run my plot to take over the world?” He paused for silence. “No? Then get back to
work!”

Around the base, technicians suddenly found something important to do. Bright stepped up to Good, who swallowed heavily, no doubt expecting the worst.

“Do what you have to do,” Bright said quietly, keeping himself under control, “but get me more of those machines. When the world finds out what’s happening here,
they’re going to throw everything they’ve got at us. We’ll be lucky if we just get nuked by China. We are going to need all the firepower we can manage. Understand?”

Good nodded. Bright stalked away to the other side of the base, where Kotler and more of his men were waiting. Laughter broke out among the mercs as their leader made a comment.

“Turn up the power on the ECG drain,” Good said to the nearest technician. “No arguments.” He looked at the unconscious tech on the floor. “And someone take care of
him.”

At the side of the hypersphere, Alex led the others over to some cover by the wall. Sarah placed Louise’s hand in his and then pulled away. She immediately became visible again.
We have
to do this before they kill those kids,
she said urgently.
Wait here for my signal.

What signal?
Alex asked.

Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it.

34

Sarah ran along the wall in a crouch, keeping to the shadows as she approached the helicopter landing area at the back of the base. In the distance she made out Major Bright.
Although he was in contact with the Entity, the man showed no sign of sensing her. She’d told Alex that she was shielding their presence from the Entity, but this had been a lie – this
close, there would be no hiding from it. Clearly the alien did not want Bright knowing she was there – but why? Once again she had the feeling of being drawn in…
This is what the
Entity wants,
she reminded herself.
It needs me more than Bright. It’s letting me get close, just like it did on the island…

Putting such thoughts aside to concentrate on the job in hand, she stopped near the two helicopters. It was relatively quiet at this end of the base and a single pilot stood guard over the Black
Hawks, sitting on the open back of the nearest, smoking a cigarette. Sarah reached out with her mind and connected with his. The pilot’s head raised and the cigarette dropped from his lips.
He stood and walked slowly over to her hiding place. Checking they were unseen, Sarah placed her hand against his right cheek, fingers splayed…

And scanned his mind for the information she needed – his expertise in piloting the chopper. It took less than ten seconds for her to learn everything the man knew about flying one of the
Black Hawks.

“Return to your aircraft and get it in the air,” she ordered, lowering her hand.

The pilot nodded dumbly, completely under her control, and turned back to the landing area. Sarah watched from her hiding place as he climbed into the cockpit of the nearest machine and powered
up the engine. The blades began to spin, picking up speed until they were whining away, ready for take-off. Sarah gave a concerned glance towards the other end of the base, but both the technicians
and the mercs were too occupied with the hypersphere to pay much attention. No doubt they assumed it was just another patrol taking off.

The Black Hawk rose several metres, and then turned so it was facing down the power station. Rather than continue towards the open roof, however, the pilot sent the helicopter on a slow approach
towards the other end of the base, where the majority of the mercs were stationed.

Fire your weapons, pilot,
Sarah ordered.

The machine guns on both side of the Black Hawk opened up. The far wall of the power station exploded as hundreds of rounds ripped into the brickwork. Mercs scattered as debris rained down
around them.

Rockets,
Sarah ordered, smiling with satisfaction at the chaos she was causing.

The pilot fired two rockets down the length of the power station. They flew with a scream and hit one of the raised platforms. Technicians and mercs jumped free just in time as computer
equipment exploded…

He released the hands of the other two children. They became visible, but during the present chaos, no one in the base was going to notice them crouched in the shadows. Alex remained faded-out
as he ran onto the raised platform holding the hypersphere and the monitoring equipment. Marlon Good’s people, unused to barrages of machine-gun fire over their heads, had abandoned their
posts and were sheltering under their desks. Good himself had retreated to the other side of the base and had tucked himself into a ball on the ground – all that was visible was two terrified
eyes between his fingers. Mercs were firing their machine guns at the Black Hawk, but the pilot inside seemed oblivious to the danger as he strafed another area of the base with the twin machine
guns.

Wasting no time, Alex moved to the table upon which Hack was strapped. The boy’s face was deathly pale, as if the machines had been sucking the very life out of him. Tearing away the
fastenings on his legs and ankles, Alex then proceeded to rip off the electrodes attached around the boy’s forehead. Hack’s eyes flickered open as the connection with the hypersphere
was severed and he looked around in confusion. Alex placed a hand over his mouth as he began to rise.

It’s okay,
Alex said.
Just stay still for a moment. I’m going to free the girl.

Hack nodded his understanding and lay back to gather his strength. Alex moved past the hypersphere to May’s table and began to repeat the operation of freeing her. If anything, she looked
even more deathly than Hack. As Alex freed her from the machine, she barely managed to open her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the table.

“Hey!” Marlon Good yelled, no doubt surprised to see the girl levitating off the table. The American took a step towards them, and then flew back violently, as if pushed. He rolled
into a heap on the floor. Louise appeared at the opposite side of the platform.

Hurry up, Alex!
she said.

Becoming visible once more (there was little point in expending the energy now), Alex moved back to Hack, who had swung his legs off the table and stood, looking shaky on his feet.

“Can you walk?” Alex asked and the boy nodded.

The Black Hawk roared overhead, guns still firing wildly around the base. Mercs fired from every direction. Major Bright strode across the floor of the station, seemingly oblivious to the
danger. He raised an open hand at the helicopter and its engine made a terrible groaning sound…

“Come on,” Alex said. “I don’t think the diversion is going to last much longer.”

They ran to the edge of the platform as Major Bright closed his fist... The fuselage of the helicopter crumpled inwards and the blades spun into the body of the vehicle. Bright twisted his fist
and the vehicle compressed further, as if it had been put through an invisible crusher. The major opened his hand and the remains of the Black Hawk crashed to the ground. Around the station, the
mercs stopped firing.

“The hypersphere!” Marlon Good shouted from his prone position on the floor as Alex and the others made the wall. Bright shouted an order and the guns opened up again. Alex ducked
behind cover with May, closely followed by the others, as bullets ricocheted around them. A merc came running, but Wei threw up a wall of fire between them.

Over here!
Sarah’s voice rang in their heads.
The other helicopter!

Alex looked round and saw her waving from the landing pad. He didn’t need to tell the others – they started running for the back of the station. Alex carried May, while Hack leaned
on Wei for support. As they went, Louise turned her attention to the hypersphere, which was now a dead lump of metal in the centre of the power station. As mercs approached on the other side she
gave it a mental shove – the sphere detached from its frame and went rolling, crushing equipment and newly-formed robospiders as it went.