Rimmer attempted to bring his rifle up, but the beast swatted it out of his hands so hard that it almost broke his wrists.

Jerry ran at the creature, smashing his fists against its boulder-like back. The grendal spun around, snarling. It swiped at Jerry with what would surely have been a fatal blow if it had connected, but he managed to duck just in time and leap away.

Rimmer scrambled for his fallen rifle, but the grendal stomped forwards and grabbed him by his belt. It yanked him up by his waist, three feet off the ground, and stared into his face.

Rimmer winced as the creature's foul breath washed over him. He was starting to pass out.

The grendal opened its jaws, ready to take off Rimmer's head with a single bite from its vile, stained teeth.

Rimmer fiddled with his belt. Found the clasp.

Just as the grendal snapped its jaws shut, Rimmer pressed the release on the belt and slid out of it. He hit the floor and crumpled. The grendal bit down on thin air.

Jerry appeared in Rimmer's peripheral vision and was grinning ear to ear.

"Say hello to my little friend!" The kid had picked up the fallen assault rifle and was holding it at his hip like Al Pacino. He pulled the trigger and let off a burst of rounds.

Ratatatatt.

The rifle kicked upwards, striking Jerry in the face and knocking him on his ass.

Rimmer shook his head and sighed. If anything, the errant gunfire had at least distracted the grendal. Rimmer leapt to his feet, pulled his backup combat knife from the scabbard around his thigh, and lunged at the beast in front of him. He managed to leap three feet into the air and brought his arm around like a windmill.

The grendal caught Rimmer in its thick tree-trunk arms and immediately began squeezing the life out of him.

Rimmer managed to use the last of his momentum to bring the knife around, but he couldn't land a lethal strike. Instead he buried the blade up to its hilt in the beast's shoulder where the bulbous arm met the hairy collarbone.

The grendal roared. Blood jetted out from its wound.

Fighting against the vice-like grip around his waist, Rimmer yanked and pulled at the knife, working it around like a gear stick and doing as much damage as possible. The beast continued to roar but the high-tones of agony had entered its mighty voice. The wound on its arm widened, spilt more blood.

Rimmer managed to yank the knife free. He slammed it down again in the exact same place as before, widening the existing wound into a bloody canyon.

He pulled the knife free again.

Stabbed again.

The grendal wailed; released its grip on Rimmer.

Rimmer left the combat knife sticking out of the creature's collarbone and instead used his hands to yank at the creature's arm. Jerry recovered and ran over to help. Together the two of them pulled and tugged at the grendal's arm as though they were dancing around a maypole on a sunny English day.

The arm tore loose.

Blood jetted into the air.

The grendal whimpered; immediately backed away.

It staggered down the corridor, roaring and whimpering in equal measures. It passed by several cells before entering the one that was his.

His home.

Rimmer picked up the assault rifle and ran after the beast. But when he got to the cell he saw that it was hunched over and dying. The grendal was lying inside an artificial rock cave, surrounded by a growing pool of its own blood.

Rimmer raised his rifle, surprised that he even possessed the capacity for mercy.

Chapter Thirty-Five.

Nessie led Andy, West, and Lucas over to the desk she had been working at. Upon it sat an open book, dusty around the edges but wiped clean across its open face.

"Jerry and I were researching Bub's origin earlier today, trying to find how far back in history he went." Nessie cleared her throat and seemed to sadden. "Does anybody know what happened to Jerry?"

The three men shook their heads.

"Sorry," said Andy. "Kane had Rimmer take him to the upper levels after he opened up one of the cells and let the werewolf out."

Nessie straightened in her chair. "He did what?"

"He let the werewolf loose."

West sighed. "Then the kid was most likely dead before any of this even started. I'm sorry Mr Dennison."

Andy said nothing. The time for mourning would likely never come.

Nessie stared into space for a few moments, but then cleared her throat once again and went back to the book in front of her.

Andy took a seat beside her and leaned over the book to see. "So what are we looking at?"

"This book covers the Aurignacian period-approximately 40,000 years ago."

"Yikes," said Andy.

Nessie nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty far back to say the least. The earliest cave paintings ever discovered were from that time period. It is those paintings, found inside a cave in Cantabria, Spain, that this was discovered."

Nessie pointed to a picture on the page. It was pretty clear what it was supposed to depict.

Andy narrowed his eyes. "The batlings?"

"Yes."

The image portrayed a dozen flying red demons, leading an army into battle. The army was made up of a vast assortment of monsters-monsters just like the ones kept within the Spiral. Facing down the batlings was an opposing army: one made up of men and...

"Are those angels?" said Andy.

"Aye," said Lucas, standing behind their chairs and leaning over the top of them at the picture. "Angels joined with man to stop the scourge before it extinguished every last spark of God's creation."

Andy craned his neck. "How do you know about this?"

"Because I was there, lad. I led God's armies alongside Michael and Gabriel. The war waged for centuries, until there was barely a soul remaining on either side. Those left amongst the angels retired to Heaven while mankind inherited the earth, left behind as its protectors. The surviving humans made an oath to contain the defiler and his wicked creations for evermore."

"Deus Manus?" Andy asked.

"Aye. Deus Manus took what was left of the scourging army and vowed to keep them from ever being able to do harm again. The defiler was cast into a tomb never to be released."

"What happened?"

"Civilisation happened. Mankind pillaged and manipulated the earth to suit their every whim, digging and cutting, reshaping things to their liking. Eventually the defiler's tomb was unearthed and he once again began walking the earth-biding his time until he could regain the strength he once wielded. Until recently he had been unable to rediscover his armies. Then came along the Internet; and some fool who gave Bub access to it at Samhain.

"Dr Belgium?"

"Aye. Bub was able to research enough from online conspiracy theorists, secure military websites, and Google Earth images to make an educated guess at where his former legions now lay."

"That's why the batling is here," said Nessie. "It wanted to get captured all along; so it could spring a prison break and raise an army."

Andy tapped at the book on the table. "And if these pictures are anything to go by, this place is just the tip of the iceberg."

"What do we do?"

"What can we do?" said West. "If we even last the hour I'd call that a success."

Andy rubbed at his forehead and tried to think, but all that his mind could focus on was Sun. If West was right, that they would be dead soon, then he wanted to be with his wife.

But getting across that hall to the next room may as well be a swim across shark-infested waters.

Andy looked over at Lucas. "Okay, so if you're here in some sort of 'advisory capacity'...start advising."

Lucas sighed. "Well, the way I see it, you got two options. One, you wait here until those things bash through and get ya. Or, two, you man up and go out there and get them rotten sods first."

West snorted. "We just go out there and get them? Simple as that? I couldn't even land a single shot on that sucker when it was just him alone. Now there's a handful out there, not to mention the other prisoners that are wandering around God knows where."

Lucas huffed. "Didn't say your options were any good now, did I?"

"I have a third option," said Nessie.

"What?" asked Andy.

Nessie stood up and went over to the back of the room. She pointed up at the top of one of the large wooden bookcases. "Up there. The old ventilation shaft. It used to go all the way to the top. They may have blocked it up, but they never filled it in."

West snorted again. "So we're supposed to, what, just float six-hundred feet to the surface?"

Nessie rolled her eyes. "Not if we can reach the ladder up there."

Andy went over to join Nessie at the bookshelf. He peered upwards into a shaft rising into the ceiling. About twenty feet up was a rusty old ladder attached to the wall by brackets.

"They put the ladder there for maintenance," Nessie said. "There are grates every hundred feet or so, but I think they're pretty easy to remove."

Andy folded his arms. "And it goes all the way to the top?"

"It used to. I think they may have filled the top in, but it will get us most of the way there."

"I like it," said Andy. "Certainly more than options 1 and 2."

"Okay," said West. "I'm in. Let's get to it."

Andy turned around, chest puffed out. "No. I need to get my wife first. We're not going to leave her and Dr Gorman down here to die."

"Do what you want," said West. "But you don't give the rest of us orders."

Nessie huffed. "Really, Tyler? Is that the type of man you want to be? Because I know better. I know most of your paycheque goes to your elderly parents in Maine. Do you really think they would be proud of a son that left people to die?"

West grunted. "Not cool, Nessie. Not cool at all." He folded his arms. "Fine, but I'm not going out there without a plan."

"So let's make one," said Lucas. "Sooner we get this done with, the sooner I can go find a boozer."

"So what do we defend ourselves with?" West picked up a book on the shelf and let it fall to the floor. "A bunch of dusty old books?"

"Maybe," said Andy. "We're in a prison, so why not do as prisoners do?" He went over to one of the bookshelves and picked up a slim volume of what looked to be geographical maps. He placed it down his waistband and tucked in his shirt over the top. "Voila! Armour."

"I think I'm going to be sick," said Nessie. "Some of these books are thousands of years old and you want to shove them down your pants?"

"Better than dying," said West, following Andy's lead and shoving several slimmer volumes beneath his clothing."

"As for weaponry," Andy said, walking over to one of the wooden study desks. "We have West's assault rifle, but let's get a bit more traditional." He kicked the leg of the table hard, again and again. Eventually the leg snapped free of its bolts and fell to the floor. The table rocked on its three remaining legs but remained standing. Andy picked up the broken shaft of wood and held it out in front of him. The broken end was sharp and splintered. "Those things come near us and we can Van Helsing their asses."

"It won't kill them," said West. "That's just in the movies."

"Will it hurt them?"

West nodded.

"Then it will do. Let's move the barricade out of the way."

"Okay, then," said Lucas. "Let's get this shindig a-rockin'."

Andy grinned. "Time to go to war."

Dr Gorman stared at the video feeds on her computer. The facility was lost. The employees at the Nucleus had been slaughtered by the rampaging batling as they desperately sought to get the lift working. All other floors were littered with bodies, with no one left alive.

The only thing of any interest was Rimmer and the English boy stalking down the corridor of subbasement 10 like some sort of hopeless Delta team. She had watched them dispatch the grendal, though, which had impressed her. Right now they were heading towards the conference room. What they were planning to achieve, she did not know. Whatever it was, they wouldn't succeed. They were being stalked from behind by death itself.