The White House stank of rancid meat. It overwhelmed his senses, muddled everything like a fog would hide a landscape. Too much death, too much fresh blood.

Cade had to rely on his ears. He could hear footfalls on carpet despite the other sounds.

The lobby.

Cade was there in seconds. The marine guards who ordinarily stood watch at the door were already dead, their dress uniforms in tatters, their blood painting the floor and walls.

Three Secret Service agents were doing all they could against the thing that had killed the guards. They had their weapons up, firing round after round.

It all seemed to happen underwater to Cade. His perceptions were working as fast as possible. The bullets looked like lazy bumblebees, floating in the air.

The bullets didn’t even pierce the creature’s hide. The bullets kept coming, the agents firing wildly, until, one by one, their guns clicked empty.

The creature still stood. It then moved its mismatched limbs and overgrown torso and advanced on them. Dead eyes fixed on the agents.

It was within a dozen feet of the stairs to the Oval Office.

Cade leaped, hurdling over the heads of the agents in one move, hitting the creature as hard as he could.

It rocked back but not very far. Then it swung at him, nearly tagged him.

He barely rolled clear. Its fist left a crater in the floor. Faster than he remembered. Konrad had installed upgrades.

The agents were behind him now, staring, frozen in place.

“Humans, out!” Cade bellowed.

Their leader—Cade knew his name, it was Patterson—seemed to wake up. He shouted the order for retreat.

“Get out!” he screamed. “Go! It’s just the monsters now!”

Cade almost smiled at that.

He steeled himself and then threw himself back at the creature.