SNAFU: Heroes: An Anthology of Military Horror

The demons gave chase, howling in anger and clambering over the bodies of their own dead to pursue the Templars.

Inside the SUV, Riley and the others switched out the magazines of their weapons then reloaded the empty ones they’d just removed, while Cade drove. He made several turns at random, driving deeper into the heart of the village, doing what he could to put some distance between themselves and their attackers.

In their altered forms the demons were fast, much faster than the average human, but they weren’t a match for the 300-horsepower engine under the hood of the Expedition Cade was driving. He gained a slight lead – maybe 200 yards, if that – and it might be enough to lose the demons if he could stay out of their line of sight.

At the next corner Cade cut the wheel hard to the right and took the turn without slowing. The SUV rocked, whipped around and Cade was still gunning the engine when a barricade appeared out of the darkness ahead of them; there was furniture piled at least ten feet high and across the entire road.

Cade’s reaction time had been honed by years of fighting the supernatural and could honestly be said to be near instantaneous, but that had very little effect when fighting the inertia of a 6000-pound vehicle moving at forty miles an hour. Still he tried, slamming both feet onto the brake at the same time and pulling back on the steering wheel as if that might somehow keep them from ramming into the barrier. It didn’t, of course, but his efforts slowed the vehicle enough to keep from severely injuring those in the front seat as the truck hit the barrier at twenty-five miles per hour, crumbling the front end and deploying the airbag into Cade’s face with an explosive whoosh.

The impact stunned him; for a minute he couldn’t remember where he was or what he’d been doing or why it was that all he could see was white.

Then Olsen was there, slashing at the airbag with one of his knives and dragging Cade from the front seat, shouting something urgently over his head to someone on the other side of the vehicle and it all came back to him – the mission, the dead man, the attack by the protean demons. Cade shook his head, like a dog shedding the water from his fur after a good swim, clearing the remaining fog from his mind, and then he took stock.

The SUV was nose-deep in the tangle of wooden furniture and discarded appliances that had been used to form the roadblock. Steam poured out from under the crumpled hood of the SUV and what looked like a tractor axle was jammed through the grill and into the engine compartment.

There goes our transportation.

On the other side of the vehicle, Duncan was helping a groaning Riley out of the front seat, while doing his best to keep looking behind them in the direction from which they’d come. It was the expression on the younger Templar’s face that caused Cade to turn and look back.

He could hear them coming, could hear that shrieking-howling cry that ground at the guts, but thankfully, the road behind them was still clear.

There was still time.

Olsen appeared in front of him, MP5 in hand. Cade was relieved to see the duffel bag that contained their swords slung around the sergeant’s shoulder.

“You good?” he asked.

Cade nodded.

“Another day in the life, huh?” Olsen grinned; he was always happiest when in the thick of things. “If we hurry, we might be able to get inside one of these buildings,” he said, pointing at the storefronts on either side.

But Cade disagreed.

“No. If we get caught on this side of the barrier we’ll have nowhere to go if we need to retreat. We’re going up and over and then we’ll find shelter,” he said, pointing at the barricade behind them. “Get going. Duncan will help Riley. I’ll be right behind you.”

“You’re the boss,” Olsen said, then cheerfully slapped him on the shoulder and moved to comply.

Cade meanwhile rushed around to the back of the SUV and grabbed the nearest of two spare jerry cans out of the rack attached to the outside of the rear doors, shaking it and then casting it aside when he realized it was empty.

Come on, come on.

He grabbed for the second and was rewarded with a healthy sloshing sound from inside the can, which brought a smile to his face. An emergency roadside kit was stored in the same rack as the spare gas cans and Cade took that as well. Turning, he hurried after the others.

The barricade was built well and it didn’t shift too much under the men’s weight as they clambered upward. Cade paused at the top, giving the others a few moments to get down the far side. When they were safely off the barricade he unscrewed the top of the can and poured the gasoline onto the barrier on either side of where he stood. Tossing the empty can aside, he quickly unzipped the emergency road kit and took out the flare stored inside.