Storm (The Storm Chronicles Book 6) Read Free Page A

voice say, “Use extreme caution, Agent McNally, we don’t know what’s inside.”
    “Confirmed, sir,” McNally replied. “Lila, get the door.”
    Agent Lila Norman, a tall woman with black hair and doll-like eyes, stepped forward and pulled the door open, allowing the rest of the team to enter. The bridge was a scene out of a B-grade horror film. Blood and offal, somehow still wet, hung from the ceiling and coated the controls in thick, scabrous globs. A skull, devoid of flesh, but still wearing a sailor’s cap, was pinned to the wheel with a dagger and the floor was two inches deep in water thick with seaweed, blood, and entrails that sloshed with the ship’s movement. Unlike modern ships that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, this ship was old and the controls reflected it, with rotary dial shipboard phones and a massive radar-screen that looked like it belonged on the Missouri. Three bodies sat in the command chairs, their uniforms perfectly intact, their skin gone and the meat beneath still slick with blood.
    McNally moved forward, his gun camera panning back and forth. “Sir, are you seeing this?”
    Again King heard his own voice. “I am, Agent McNally. Check the controls, we need to stop the ship before it reaches New York, that is your first priority.”
    “Acknowledged. Lila, get on it. Rand, you’ve got rear guard, I’ll start collecting evidence.”
    King watched the team disperse. McNally moved to stand beside Lila at the controls. She was cleaning blood off of them, one gauge at a time.
    “Can you make anything out of this?” he asked.
    “I can, but most of them are smashed or full of blood,” Lila said. “I’m not sure if I can make this beast respond.”
    “Do what you can. If not, we have to blow it. King wants this ship stopped before it reaches the mainland, and I don’t disagree,” McNally said.
    Lila acknowledged him with a nod and turned back to the controls. McNally watched for a beat then turned to the back of the room, where the captain’s conference room and rest area were. He was reaching for the latch when the ship lurched again, almost spilling him to the deck. A deep, rumbling chorus of unearthly voices cried, “Nolueritis!”
    “What the hell was that?” Lila asked.
    McNally steadied himself and moved back toward the door. “Lila, stick with the controls. Rand, what’s out there?”
    “I’ve got no visual, but I hear movement below,” Rand replied.
    “Check it out, stay in contact, thirty second intervals,” McNally ordered.
    “Right, boss.”
    King watched as Rand disappeared down the steps. A moment later McNally’s camera picked up the sound of gunfire and he ran back to the door. “Rand! Report!”
    Rand gave a muffled, painful scream. McNally leaned over the railing and his camera light fell on Rand. He was lying in a pool of blood on the deck below, surrounded by shadows.
    “McNally! He’s gone. Pull back and hold the bridge, you have to stop the ship!” King said.
    McNally turned and backed away into the bridge. He closed and locked the hatch then turned to Lila. “Give me good news!”
    Lila shook her head. “Nothing is working. This ship is dead, we have to get out of here!”
    “You will hold your ground, Lila,” McNally roared. “Lives depend on it. Find a way to stop this ship!”
    Lila turned and her face was a mask of terror. “We have to run, flee, before it is too late!”
    “Tempus sero…” the voice rumbled.
    The video feed ended with Lila’s scream.
    King leaned against the desk, staring into nothing. The ship had to be stopped, if it reached the mainland, all hell would break loose. Literally.
    “Orders, sir?” the shadow at his elbow asked.
    “What?” King asked.
    “Are we sending in another team? Or should I ready an airstrike?” the man asked.
    “No. An air strike will just make it worse. Get me Kincaid, and assemble a team to go with her,” King said.
    “Are you sure? Aspen’s not exactly a field agent