Fatalis

Grand still had the concrete wedge. He was about to charge again when Captain Mclver appeared in the opening.

"Stand clear!" he shouted.

Grand froze, then jerked back as the officer fired his MP5 into the cat's head. The saber-tooth's eyes widened and it rose on its hind legs as though it wanted to charge. Its head struck the roof of the fissure, leaving blood on the stone. Then its powerful hind legs just folded; the cat fell back down at Gearhart's feet, lifeless.

The sheriff wasn't breathing either.

"Come on!" Mclver said, extending a hand.

One of the other officers arrived then and covered them. Tar was now pouring over the lip.

Grand threw the concrete aside and dropped beside Gearhart He slipped his hands under the sheriff's broad shoulders and pulled him back under the opening. He stood, still holding the body. Blood was ru

"Help me," Grand said.

Mclver reached in. "Aw, shit," he said. "Shit. Shit."

As Grand was passing the sheriff's body out of the hole, he felt a change in the fissure.

Warmth, coming at him in waves.

The fire was extinguished, and the cats smelled death, he thought. The death of one of their own.

They were coming.

Chapter Seventy-Four

Ha

The sheriff was dead; there wasn't any doubt about that. But Grand knelt beside him anyway, one knee on the ground, feeling frantically for a heartbeat, then for a pulse, then for a sign of breath.

He finally gave up.

"It's not your fault," Ha

"I told him not to go in."

"I know," Ha

As they bent over Gearhart, Mclver sent two officers to collect the body. Then he called for medical teams to be waiting by on Curson. Meanwhile, Mindar's team moved in. The scratching sounds and long, low hisses rose from somewhere below. It sounded to Ha

The Wall came over but he didn't take any pictures. He stood there with a shellshocked expression and made the sign of the cross as the two officers ran over with a canvas sheet from the back of the truck. They wrapped it tightly around Gearhart's body.

Grand put his arm around Ha

Ha

"I'm sorry about this," Ha

Grand nodded and hugged her close. Then they, the Wall, and the two police officers carrying Sheriff Gearhart's remains ran forward. There was blood on Grand's hand and forearm. As soon as they got behind the line, Ha

It wasn't. Grand had stuffed his handkerchief halfway into his pocket. Ha

The sounds were getting louder. Or maybe they only seemed louder because everything else was so silent.

Captain Mclver was standing between his team, which was on the truck, behind the barrels, and the soldier.

"Pick them off as they come out of the hole," Captain Mclver said softly. "We don't want to tag the first one and have him fall on the others."

Grand looked anxiously toward the soldiers' backs. He tried to rise but Ha

"Don't watch," she said.

"Ha

"You did everything you could," she said. "It all happened too fast and people are dying."

There was a sound behind her. Ha

"Jim?"

He looked back.

"When we were on the truck Gearhart said something about tributaries," Ha

"He was right."

"Do you think this room drains into the underground water system?"

"We'd have to check the building plans-"

Just then the heavy iron grate flew from the opening. It spun through the air like a tossed coin and crashed just feet away from them. A golden-furred head appeared in the bright lights. A moment later saber-tooths began leaping into the garage.

Chapter Seventy-Five

The Army National Guardsmen turned. So did the police. Before they could fire, more cats rushed them. "Watch your backs!" Grand yelled.

Still crouching behind the truck, Grand threw himself on top of Ha

When Grand shouted, Mclver turned back toward the original hole in the concrete. He saw two more cats ru

Grand didn't have a weapon. The only nearby object he might be able to use was the grate.

"Get under the truck!" he yelled at Ha

As gunfire exploded around them, Ha

The cat backed away and Grand stayed with it, pushing hard, focusing his moat, crying with fury as the cat hissed its own desperate rage. Grand wanted to work the fangs between the bars and trap the creature, leave it helpless until the police got the situation under control and he could tranquilize the animal, save at least one of the saber-tooths. In the midst of everything he was careful to keep the grate head-on. He was afraid that twisting it to one side or the other might cause the fangs to snap off at the gum line.

Suddenly the cat lowered its head and pushed forward, knocking Grand back. The saber-toothed cat put its front paws on the grate, jerked its head back several times, and pulled free of the bars. With a roar, it charged Grand. The scientist rolled under the truck next to Ha

Ha

"Do you see the Wall?" Ha

"He was over by the Jeeps," Grand said. "I think he's okay-"

Just then, Grand felt hot pain rip against one of his legs. He looked back and saw a huge set of claws. The saber-tooth was working its way under the truck, its large paw on its side and scratching furiously. He squirreled in a little more; going any farther would put Ha