The New Haven Incident - Part Forty-Nine

“Shit!” Mendez fired twice at the Changeling that stood in his path. It dropped, falling onto its side. He stomped hard on its neck, feeling, rather than hearing, the sickening crunch of vertebrae separating beneath his heavy boot. He turned to continue across the street, very nearly slamming into a Dark One that landed immediately in front of him.

A single shot dropped it. Sebastian leapt forward, landing hard on the thing’s chest with his knees, driving his knife through the throat and between the bones in its neck.

“Go!” he barked, standing to engage the next one.

“Going,” Mendez muttered to himself. He crossed the street with quick feet, adrenaline and training keeping him relatively safe, until he reached the door of the bakery.

Officer Patricia Fernly ducked as a Dark One slammed against the window, three holes in its back. It dropped then, moments later, rose. A man appeared; blond, painfully handsome. With an expert spin, he got behind the creature and plunged a knife into the back of its neck. The bizarre winged creature shuddered, then collapsed, its head rolling in the opposite direction of its body.

The door to the bakery opened and a tall, dark-haired man in tactical gear entered. “Officer Fernly?” he called.

“Here!” Patricia said, standing. “We’re here.”

“I’m Oliver Mendez. Time to go,” the man said, turning towards the sound of the officer’s voice. He nodded at her and smiled as she approached, her small collection of children following behind. He saw two black boys standing slightly apart from the group. “Mike and Sam,” he guessed.

“Yeah,” the older boy said.

“Okay. Sebastian and some others are clearing a path for us to get to the stadium. You’re going to have to move quickly.”

“Okay kids,” Officer Fernly said, turning to the children. “You have your rope?”

“Yes,” the children chorused in unison.

“Good. Remember what we talked about. Don’t let go and no one gets lost, okay?”

“Yes,” the children said again.

“There was another officer,” Mendez said.

Officer Fernly looked at the ground briefly before looking up. “He… uh… he didn’t make it.”

Nodding, Mendez offered a soft, “I’m sorry,” before turning back to the door. He grasped the handle, took a deep breath in preparation, then flung the door open. Lifting his rifle, he stepped forward, firing into the press of Infected in order to create a path.

“Go! Go!” he barked.

“Go!” Patricia said, sliding her wrist through the loop that sat at the end of the long, sturdy rope. She moved as quickly as she could with the children behind her, their heads down in order to try and protect themselves from the horror around them. Mike and Sam followed. Sam still had his father’s gun, and was not afraid to use it. He aimed and fired twice, keeping the infected away from his baby brother.

The infected were distracted. Sigma Team Six had taken position at one of the entrances to the stadium, keeping it clear and lending support, ensuring that a path was cleared for Officer Fernly and her group. Sebastian leapt into the fray, playing a game of chase with the infected to keep as much heat off Mendez and the children as possible. It was working.

Mendez entered the stadium. He paused at the door and took a knee, raising his rifle to ensure that the children all made it through.

They gathered in the lobby. Mendez joined them. “First door on the right and straight through will take you to the choppers,” he told Officer Fernly, shouting to be heard over the gunfire. “Team Five will meet you and escort you across the field. Your transport will take you out immediately.”

Officer Fernly nodded. “Thank you!” she said.

Mendez flashed her a grin. “Get going,” he said, turning and running back to join Team Six, who were now concentrating on getting Sebastian in.

“They’re in!” he barked over the comms unit.

Okay, Sebastian answered. He disengaged and made his way towards the stadium. The comms cut out as Sebastian was tackled to the ground.

“For fuck’s sake!” Mendez growled. He ran forward, firing as he went, moving to Sebastian to drag him out of the mess of angry infected. But Sebastian had squirmed free from beneath the pile of Infected that had crashed atop him by the time Mendez arrived. He felt the big man grab his collar and drag, pulling him well clear. A shift in position and Mendez had hauled him to his feet. They ran together to the stadium.

The infected were so busy attempting to scratch through one another’s bodies to reach where Sebastian used to be, that they didn’t notice he’d gone. Sebastian and Olivier sprinted through the stadium doors and barred them. Team Six retreated.

Sebastian and Mendez stood by the door, facing one another, bent over in identical positions and panting. Connors straightened. Still breathing heavily, he patted Mendez’ shoulder. Oliver looked up, but did not straighten. He chuckled, shaking his head. He should be dead a thousand times over at this point. He could not believe his luck. He heard Sebastian answer him with a chuckle of his own.

“Fuuuuuuuck,” Mendez said, finally straightening. He looked at Sebastian.

“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed.

“Alright you two,” Captain Saab said, “we can all bond later, when we’re out of this pit. Let’s go.”

Mendez nodded and turned to the captain. “Lead the way, Saab.”

Ignoring the cheek in the warrant officer’s tone, Saab turned and led them and his team back out into the field in double time.

Team Five was not there to greet them. They had already taken Officer Fernly’s group of survivors and were halfway across the field. Team Six followed, with Sebastian and Mendez making up the rear. Neither party had reached the transports when a deep rumble sounded from the opposite side of the stadium.

Mendez’ hairs stood on end as the sound reached him, throbbing through his chest and rattling his heart.

“What the…” Saab said, his head fixed to the west.

An enormous clawed hand made an appearance, gripping the top of the tall wall of the stadium with talons at least as long as a man’s forearm. The cement crumbled as the owner of the paw gripped the edge and hauled its weight up.

“Jesus H. Christ,” Mendez whispered as the shoulders and then head of an enormous hellhound appeared. The enormous muzzle swung to the side, coating the wall and chairs in the top row in drool that hissed and smoked as it made contact with the surfaces.

Two more hounds, these of a more regular size, appeared beside the colossal creature, lifting themselves up and over the wall, a third one, smaller still, following.

“Go,” Sebastian barked. He ran forward.

“Hey!” Mendez shouted.

“I said, go!”

Mendez turned to Team Six, who were still frozen in place, staring at the new arrivals. “Saab! Go!

Hearing his name, Captain Saab roused himself and turned to his men. “Go! Go! Go!” he yelled. Team Six leapt into action, turning and sprinting as hard as they could for the transports. No one checked to ensure Mendez was still with them.

He was not. He turned instead and sprinted after Sebastian. The scientists were rescued. The rest of the teams, except Teams One and Two, were at the transports ready to go, or would be shortly. His own and Team One had been obliterated. There was no real reason for Mendez to return with the rest of the Sigma mercenaries. He was done with Sigma now. But Sebastian; he was not done with Sebastian. Keeping his eye on the smaller blond man, Mendez lifted his rifle and fired, keeping the way clear for his friend as best he could.

Mendez! Sakata screamed over the comms unit.

“Sakata, go while you can!”

But—

“But nothing! Go, you idiot! We’ll follow when we can!”

Behind him, Mendez could hear the rising whine of multiple engines firing up. He nodded to himself, his lips forming a thin, grim line.

Transport two will provide air support.

This voice was unfamiliar to Mendez. Still, he responded. “Uh… thanks.”

No problem. Warner would never forgive us if we lost Connors.

Ah, a Department man, then. Mendez flashed a grin, though the pilot of transport two would never see it. “Weird. Didn’t think they much liked each other.”

The pilot’s answering chuckle sounded sinister over the comms unit.

Mendez dropped to a knee, keeping back from the new swarm that followed the monster over the wall, picking off Infected to keep Sebastian as safe as possible. Connors endeavoured to keep the hellhound distracted for long enough to allow the transports to lift off. He was quickly overwhelmed.

A Dark One reached Mendez, striking hard. Mendez brought up his rifle. The talons struck the flat side of the weapon. It snapped in half. The force of the impact threw Oliver onto his back. A shadow rose above him. A stinger plunged down, digging into the turf as Mendez rolled away.

“Fuck you!” Mendez grunted. He rolled back around and punched the thing in the side of its face. His knuckles collided with the creature’s jaw, the chitin armour crunching beneath the strike. The pain in Mendez’ hand was immediate. He grunted, and rolled away again, rising to his feet and shaking his injured hand. Broken, he suspected.

The Dark One opened its mouth, revealing long, needle-like teeth and hissed at Mendez. Mendez hissed back adding, “To you too, you stupid fuck.”

The Dark One attacked, but was thrown sideways as Lilith struck it hard with her shoulder. She winked at Mendez, giving him a short, cheeky grin before turning and rejoining the fight. She was in her element it seemed, as much as Sebastian. In the blink of an eye, the Dark One lost its head, and she was at the agent’s side.

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