Read Online Instinct (2010) by Ben Kay - Free Book Online

the switch again to lock the structure in place then passed it back to Wainhouse.
    ‘Cap–’ Van Arenn could just about make out that Wainhouse had spoken, but didn’t hear what he said. He was too distracted by what was in front of him.
    They were moving, crawling and flitting amongst each other.
    It was time to get out of there.
    Van Arenn turned, catching his heel on a jutting stump of rock.
    It only put his stride off by an inch, but that was the difference between finding a clear space to plant his foot and flattening a wasp’s head with the edge of his toe.
    The release of the dead wasp’s alarm pheromone was instantaneous. The first effect was as if the volumecontrol on the hum had been violently whipped clockwise, sending the noise to fill every forgotten corner of the cave.
    Van Arenn knew instantly what he had done, as did the rest of the team. The mission had just gone from by-the-numbers to red alert.
    This meant a recharging of the Ripple Gun. It would take about a minute for it to be ready again so that the soldiers could reassert their dominance. For that minute they were going to have to defend themselves with everything they had.
    Van Arenn ran out to join the others, drawing his CS pistol as he went.
    Carter and Jacobs had already reloaded and had been waiting for Van Arenn to clear the target area so they could get a shot in.
    When he ducked beneath their guns, they emptied their clips at the rocks closest to their end of the nest, creating a CS barrier to bring about their primary aim: stop the wasps escaping.
    They were too far away to see what was happening in the most populated area of the nest, so they just had to keep firing. This gave them the protection they needed, but it also created a cloud of gas. Visibility was reduced to just a few yards.
    The soldiers watched, their weapons aimed at the swirling grey.
    The hum of the wasps became the anonymous hum of the cloud.
    How long would it take?
    How many seconds had to tick by?
    Each wisping curl made a shadow that drew the aim of a gun.
    Each finger was poised with aching tension.
    Pulses thudded with –
    Three of them exploded from the vapour. Jacobs was quick, shooting the first through its left eye.
    Carter got the next one. Jacobs’ shot had been instinct but Carter’s was very deliberate, sending a bullet into the jaws to leave a splatter of insides across the cave wall.
    But the last one got through to Van Arenn. He had fumbled with his safety catch, leaving his weapon temporarily useless.
    The wasp powered through to his suit, driving its mandibles into the arm. Carter could have shot it with ease, but he would also have blown Van Arenn’s wrist in half.
    ‘Shit!’ Van Arenn gave a stifled yell from behind his mask. The gas was seeping into his suit.
    He was coughing uncontrollably, waving his arm around in a desperate attempt to loosen the wasp. But it wasn’t working: the mandibles had cut through to the flesh.
    The pain seared through his arm like the blast of a blowtorch. The intensity of it grew as the jaws closed, taking in more of his muscle. He was going to pass out.
    Carter got a grip on the wings, tore the wasp away and punched it into the cave wall. As he did so, Van Arenn collapsed in a heap of blood, mucus and violent coughs.
    Carter and Jacobs dragged him away, the exposed flesh of his deep, jagged wound searing with the pain of the gas.
    It was now time to finish the job. Wainhouse held on his back a large tank from which a metal-alloy hose wound its way around his waist like a silver anaconda. He stepped forward, pointed the hose at the walls, and pulled its trigger, emitting a spray that resembled a fine mist of molasses. Then he guided it across the wide span of nest, taking great care not to miss any potential hiding places.
    This part of the job reminded Wainhouse of his previous life as a painter and decorator in Caspar, Wyoming. The main difference was that old ladies’ parlours were not usually caked in the