SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

104

KEITH

Keith Cross ignored the sights and sounds of the pitched battle engaging everyone else around him. More important matters presently consumed his attention.

Their prey wasn't exactly subtle while fleeing for their lives. The four bodies they left behind proved to be as useful as a trail of breadcrumbs. He followed the row of corpses to a metal seal defacing the stonework of the fort's bayside wall. Though he suspected this was the entrance he sought, the lack of any external means to open the door left him confounded.

Intermittent pops of gunfire from the other side of the fort momentarily distracted him from his investigation. His army's efforts to stack the bodies of the dead continued unabated. It wouldn't take long before their expanding corpse mounds surmounted the structure's ice-packed walls. Factoring in their enemy's depleted ammunition, he expected a swift and bloody end to this battle before much longer.

Despite the failed assassination attempt, initially holding back the bulk of his forces while the mindless ones harassed the compound had been a genius maneuver on his part. Making the enemy waste precious resources battling an inconsequential foe had only exhausted their ability to protect themselves against the real threat lying in wait.

The tactic required patience, a resource that the former hitman always possessed in short supply. Having the good fortune to discover a second, unguarded door in the east wall meant an early conclusion to this standoff. The feast he'd deliver ahead of time would cement his position as pack alpha for months to come.

Now, if only he could get it open...

He whispered into his bearer's ear. She echoed his call for assistance with a piercing screech. While waiting for his followers to appear, he had her face the scorched remains of the fence through which the small band of escaping prey had fled.

It irked him to discover two of his hunters on the ground and a third hanging from the wall, but in the grand scheme of things, their failure didn't matter that much. Compared to the banquet still inside the fort, the absconding snacks were virtually insignificant.

Minutes passed, during which Keith closely studied the metal barrier preventing access to the fortress interior. It was tight against the stone, leaving only a tiny gap that was far too snug to pry open. Pounding on its flat surface also served no purpose. The sturdy iron portal barely dented under his carrier's fists.

Keith spotted two of his followers running towards him from around the corner of the north tower. A third sprinted to his side from the south.

At the same time, a string of blasts suddenly echoed from the docks. The gunfire was a steady, prolonged drumbeat, lasting for some time before fading into silence. He could only speculate that it meant the prey they pursued had won their freedom – for now. Their escape only provided him with a new hunt after his army fed and increased in size following tonight's success.

His followers huddled before him, awaiting his orders. Keith looked beyond them, seeking inspiration in his contest against the sealed portal. His gaze landed on a stone monument standing at the edge of an empty fishing pier.

Keith breathed instructions into the ear of his protector. She in turn directed the others to fetch rocks to help bash the door open. They immediately rushed off, coming back moments later with handfuls of stone and broken bricks.

Keith put them to work hammering the stubborn door on all sides. They kept at it for ages, pounding scratches and dents into the metal without getting any closer to cracking it open.

Every second they tarried on the futile exercise taxed Keith's patience further. He was practically salivating over the fresh meat remaining tantalizingly out of reach. It galled him that the only thing standing in the way of his victory was this pitiful hunk of metal.