The Anubis Plague полностью

Elyas and Tajj rejoined them, each of them now sporting assault rifles slung around their backs. Ali came up from behind them, having not fired a shot. He was also carrying a weapon of the same assortment.

The gunmen nodded to Rabia, confirming their findings. They had just killed Lahan and Qadim in the blink of an eye — and thank goodness they did. If not, Baahir and the others would have been gunned down from behind.

“Wait, you said ‘four,’ right?”

“Ajmal…” Ali said, gritting his teeth. “He’s still out here somewhere. We need to be careful.”

Baahir agreed. “Definitely.” He gave Rabia a slight bow and held out his hand. “So, um, ladies first?”

Zahra’s hands found her hips, and she sighed and shook her head. Baahir was way out of his league right now. Asking Rabia and Zahra to lead the pack was the smart thing to do. He fell in line behind them, with Ali, Elyas, and Tajj bringing up the rear. They swiftly crossed the road and found cover within a thicket of dried-out shrubs.

Khaliq roared in anger. The next room he found himself in wasn’t the long-sought temple he was after. The burning desire to find Anubis’ stronghold was still inside, but the desire to get there immediately had subsided some. Khaliq now walked instead of running into the unknown. The rising mania had slithered itself from being deeply rooted in every inch of his body to being mostly in his head.

Khaliq mumbled to himself as he progressed, his eyes darting left and right, taking everything in.

Khaliq paused mid-stride, seeing something on the floor ahead. Even from here, in the dim aura of his flashlight, he could tell what it was.

A foot.

Then, another.

He swept his flashlight back and forth, taking in the scene. The large space was naturally formed, and it featured a series of stalactites hanging from the domed ceiling. Interestingly, there were no stalagmites reaching up to greet them. Khaliq decided that they had been removed some time ago and moved on with his exploration.

Bodies littered the room. Very few were whole. Khaliq thought back to when Grant Upton tore one of his scientists apart with his bare hands.

Is that what happened here?

Stone slabs spread throughout this section of the cave, each standing vertically about eight feet tall. They were clearly manmade, and Khaliq stepped up to the first one.

It wasn’t just stone that met him.

The remains of a human had been fashioned to the rock.

…with spikes.

The poor soul hadn’t exactly been crucified, but the means of attachment had been similar, and it had likely been no less painful. This person had been held down and nailed to a block of stone.

And then what had happened here? Why had someone nailed this person to the stone while still alive?

Khaliq’s mind raced, then his eyes grew to saucers. He whispered in the darkness.

“It’s a laboratory…”

Zahra and the others stopped at the base of the large pyramidal formation. Rabia took the extra time to piece her Macmillan Tac-338 back together, and thankfully, everyone was able to catch their breath.

Zahra felt exhausted already, and she knew they hadn’t even done anything yet.

Unfortunately, Rabia was finished assembling the rifle long before Zahra felt sufficiently rested. She hefted it up and peered through its powerful scope, doing a little recon while Zahra and Baahir watched on.

“Anything?” Zahra asked, removing her war belt from her backpack. She sat next to the sniper but faced the opposite direction while buckling the belt in place. At the moment, she was more worried about what could be behind them versus what was on top of Gebel Dist.

Ajmal.

“Nothing I can see from here.” She pulled her face away from the scope. “We need to get closer.”

And so, they did.

Zahra stood and slipped her Glock from her bag, holstering it on her right hip. Her trusty grappling hook went into place on her left hip, as did her handheld flashlight. She also had her blade sheathed at the small of her back. Zahra breathed easier, knowing her gear was within reach.

Baahir led them this time, showing them the way Khaliq and his crew had taken. The hike wasn’t as bad as Zahra thought it would be, though she did hurt worse because of it. Her back, knees, and feet were already in rough shape. Now she could add ankles and hips to the list of injuries. The uneven incline was doing a number on her.

“Ugh,” she groaned, pausing and kneading the base of her spine — just above her butt. “Gonna hurt for a month after this.”

Rabia continued past her. “Better than being dead.”

True, she thought. Or is it? Zahra had never hurt in so many places at one time.