Abruptly the hidden door turned red and began emitting a quiet but persistent chime. Kailex's eyes snapped open. He sighed. “There's never any time for fun. Oh well. No time to explore further. A pity.” He looked at her, his eyes boring into hers. “If I had more time we could really get to know one another.” His big head came close to hers. He licked his lips thoughtfully. “So much fun we would have.” He sighed. “Right now though you’re a distraction. And in this game that could turn out badly for me. I can't afford errors. So unfair of them to chase me around like this. As if they could win with any number of Hunters. They need to see I can't be beaten.” Kailex grinned and stepped away from her. “Fusto! Get up! We have to leave.”
Although she couldn't move her head in the slightest Walker could see the giant getting unsteadily to his feet. Disappointingly her gun seemed to have done him no lasting injury. His gaze centered menacingly on her. He staggered two steps towards her but Kailex cut him off sharply, “No time for that now. You heard the warning. Our first test of the Gravex is minutes away and we don't want to be anywhere near when it starts up. Besides, I've already thought of an excellent way Special Agent Walker can spend her last few minutes on this barbarous planet. It will be a nice lesson to anyone else who’s chasing us as well.”
Kailex turned to her and said, “That,” he pointed carelessly toward the bug, “is a tracker. It's from a planet of trackers, each just a little bit nastier than the next. This particular type of tracker is called a Mimic and it is very, very dangerous. Right now it's not too impressive. I'm able to hold it because it's still in tracker form, but in Hunter form?” He laughed weakly before turning to stare intensely at it. “It becomes supremely dangerous. Almost unbeatable without the correct technology.” He pointed at her gun on the floor, then picked it up and put it in his pocket.
Abruptly, he grabbed her left hand and twisted so that her arm extended revealing the bloodied bite she'd taken earlier and smiled. “Oh dear. You've been bitten. Not deep and not dangerous in itself, but ultimately this small bite will be your death. You see, this creature doesn't bite to kill, it bites to sample DNA. In a world chock full of nasty murderous predators this one's adaptation allows it to thrive by transforming itself into a bigger, stronger, faster version of the very creature it's hunting, or that was hunting it. Everything is amped up just enough so that the prey has no natural advantages left. On its world the Mimic often starts as the prey and ends as the hunter. But you’ll see that for yourself very soon.”
“The moment that door,” he pointed behind him, “closes. I'll be gone and the Mimic will be free to act. Its priority will be to protect Brenal-Tik from threats. It will scan the room and determine you are the most dangerous threat. It will use that sample it took to transform and then it will kill you and every other possible threat in here.” He waved expansively around the room. “You, your men. Well, you understand. And just to make things interesting. I've given your remaining men the strong idea that you are Fusto. To them, you will look, act and sound like him. He's very scary, not likeable at all. And we know how humans react toward the things they don’t like. Should be interesting to watch, eh?” He flipped a small globe in the air where it hung unmoving. “Just a camera to record the fun. I'll watch it later when I have time, as a cure to the constant boredom that afflicts me.” Then he turned and walked casually toward the door. “Gather your wits Special Agent, you’ll want to be clear headed in your final moments.” Then the door closed behind him and he was gone.
With a shriek the bug leapt high into the farthest corner, clinging to the ceiling. Then it began to vibrate faster and faster until its carapace started cracking in hundreds of places. Pieces of itself began to move around, shifting, changing, melding into something new. Walker watched for a moment, caught up in sheer amazement. If this creature was doing what Kailex said it could do, she was in big trouble. She started. Not just her, everyone in the room with a gun was in trouble. Anyone who could threaten Brenal-Tik. She leapt backwards. Bullets from seven rifles tore the air she'd just vacated! She considering ordering her men to stand down, but dismissed the idea. To them she wasn't Walker anymore but Fusto, a nine foot tall monster! She could try to talk to them but who knew what they'd hear? Maybe they'd hear her threaten to eat them. She shuddered. Fusto looked capable of that. She had no choice but to take them out as quickly as possible! This fight was way beyond them. All they could do is die and she wasn't about to let that happen. Unconscious, they wouldn’t be a threat.
Decision made, she moved! This is what she lived for now. Action! Every day, all day she had to hold back. Slow herself down. Now she could just let go, become what she was. An elbow. A knee. A spinning kick! Her men went down one after another. Once she was the only threat left, she could lead the bug away from them and confront it someplace safe. She poured all her speed and power into her blows. Each had to be hard enough to incapacitate but not to kill or injure!
A sudden scream caused her to stumble and miss the pistol hand she was grabbing. A bullet raked across her forehead, burning and stinging even as she jerked away. She followed with an elbow to the man’s head that connected with a satisfying 'thunk" giving her a brief second to look around. Two men remained but they were no longer firing at her. They were unloading their weapons on the Mimic. She blinked. The bug was gone. In its place was a spidery version of herself. Her face looked down on them, teeth bared, fingers ending in razor sharp talons as it reached for the first man and threw him into his squad mate. Then it leapt and all was blood and frenzy before Walker could even consider moving. In that one action she understood she could never outrun this bizarre version of herself. It was faster than her. And though it looked similar, that resemblance was a lie. It was just an animal that killed. There was nothing human in it!
She turned and ran; knowing it would be right behind her. It had morphed into a nightmare parody of her. It was after her now. She had to lead it away from her men that were left.
She had one chance to get away. Head down she fairly leapt across the room! The elevator door was open but she couldn't remember if it was still working. Bullet holes were everywhere, inside and out. Her body slammed hard against the back wall of the elevator. Even as she rebounded off the wall her right hand pounded the button to the main floor. Another screech blasted her ears and made her eyes water. Looking up she saw the Mimic drop the head of a squad member and gather itself for a leap of its own across the room.
The elevator dinged and the doors closed. Maybe she could make it to the main floor! Two taloned claws slid between the doors and metal squealed as the Mimic pulled them open. A bloody face pushed itself between the doors, teeth chittering at her, eyes bulging from the effort to get through doors that had been closed a moment earlier. Without thinking Walker shoved her thumbs hard into each eye, trying to blind it. The creature screamed and fell back! The doors slammed shut and with another ding the elevator started down.
The elevator's descent, while swift, was still going to be too slow to give her the time she needed to escape. Another shrill bark, this one of triumph told her the creature was through the doors above. A massive thump on the elevator ceiling came a moment later. Kailex hadn't lied when he’d said Mimics were relentless! Taloned fingers drove through the thin metal sheeting and began working it back. The high pitched wail of tortured metal filled the small confines of the elevator, hurting her ears. This time the Mimic didn't stick its head in for a look but worked steadily to widen the hole. When it came in, it wanted to bring its whole body with it. Walker smiled grimly, at least she'd hurt it enough to give it pause. Still, if it got inside such a cramped space with her, she doubted she’d survive. Then the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
As the Mimic dropped into the enclosure, she was moving, slipping between the doors and racing for the streets ahead. Perhaps in the dark she could lose it? She felt steel bands close on her right foot and pulled hard at the leg, only just squeezing through its grip. But the damage was don
e. Her forward momentum interrupted, she flipped in the air and slide across the floor on her side. A dark shadow loomed suddenly above her. Desperately she rolled away from the straight forward direction the slide was taking her. The shadow flew over her at an angle now but claws still raked across her ribs even as she rolled to her feet in a fighting crouch. An involuntary moan of pain slipped from between clenched lips as rivulets of blood burst through her jacket. One pass had ripped three deep gouges down her side! Blood welled and began dripping down her legs to the floor. Her tough leather jacket had been no protection from its talons. Ahead of her the Mimic crouched in its own version of a fighting stance in front of the only door. It deafened her with another shriek, this one of anticipation and hunger.
“Fuck you bitch!” She shouted back. Reaching over she ripped a metal banister from the side of the big reception desk in the main lobby. Kailex's building was ultra-modern, ultra-posh. Everything in it was expensive so the metal railing was real steel, heavy. She hefted it, enjoying the feeling of its weight. If she connected with this she could do major damage. She moved so that one of the thick supporting marble columns stood between her and the Mimic. It may have every natural advantage but it wasn't the only killer in the room. She’d been trained by the best.
She was hoping it would leap at her but it didn't. It crept to the side, advancing slowly. She swore under her breath as it forced her to back away from the column's protection. When she was fully in the open it did what she'd expected and leapt. She swung hard but the Mimic twisted its body so that the blow glanced off its human-looking shoulder. She threw her head back barely avoiding another mid-air slash while it landed on its front talons and somehow sprang back at her, planting two feet into her midsection and throwing her hard into the heavy column she'd hidden behind. Her head snapped back against the pillar hard enough to send bits of broken plaster spraying into the air. The blow would have killed a normal human. As it was, she felt the room darken and twist around her.
Falling, she rolled to her feet and started running again. She was on auto now, just doing what her training had drilled into her. Failure to move meant death in any fight, so she moved. The doorway was just to the left but the Mimic was close behind her. She choose a straight line through the lobby picture window. Glass rained down even as a hard body catapulted her off her feet, across the sidewalk and onto the grass in front of the building. Claws ripped down her back and she screamed, twisting and driving her elbow into the Mimic's face with enough force to throw it off her. On her knees she pushed to her feet and turned to face it. There was no running now. This was the end game!
She faced the mimic, wobbling slightly while it scrabbled to its feet. Readying her homemade club she happily noted that one eye on the Mimic was so badly damaged it had closed. Her elbow to its face had split open a large gash along the cheek bone as well. She wasn't the only one bleeding now. The last blow must have been enough to shake its confidence because it stood dancing back and forth on its feet, first to the left then to the right as if uncertain how to finish her.
“What's the matter bitch, eye hurt?” She prompted, knowing it was foolish to taunt such a powerful creature but unable not to. “Got you worried huh?” She hefted the thick chunk of metal, swishing it back and forth in front of her. She still had a chance. A solid blow to the head could kill it. The problem was its speed. It moved awfully fast and her head still spun from the last hit she'd taken.
Abruptly a vicious hit from behind sent her to the pavement. She tried to get up but fell back to her knees, blood pouring from a deep gash across her forehead. A hand pulled her head back sharply and Brenal-Tik's face swam fuzzily into view.
“I should let Bragg kill you but you fight like a Hunter and there is little time for play.”
Brenal-Tik's face was only inches from her own. “A Hunter should be killed by a Hunter. When we have time, I will finish this. For now, know this. I am here for Fusto but when that is done, I will see you again.” Gesturing at Bragg, he pointed toward the portal that had appeared.
“Bragg, SHIP!”
The Mimic shook itself angrily, then gave Walker one low hiss before disappearing obediently into the silver haze. Brenal-Tik released her, then turned dismissively and did the same. A second later the portal became a tiny circle of silver, before disappearing completely.
She'd survived! For a moment Walker couldn't believe her good fortune. She had to contact Castle, let them know what had happened. She tried to stand but a dizzy spell kept her on her knees. Blood poured down her forehead, making it difficult to see properly. She wiped it away dismissively before climbing wearily to her feet.
Now that she had time to check the parts of herself that hurt the most she realized she’d broken some ribs. She groaned, feeling the pain of her injuries. No matter. She healed quickly now.
Suddenly everything started shaking and her ears filled with a terrible sound. How badly had she been hurt? Then she realized it wasn't her injuries causing her confusion. The ground itself was doing the shaking! No, it was doing more than that, it was ripping itself apart! The noise ratcheted up while she struggled to her feet, barely able to stand! The grinding sound was so fierce she clamped her hands over her ears and staggered away from the building. Shards of metal and wood, laced liberally with pieces of glass began raining down around her.
She ran, unsure if she was moving in the right direction. When she'd gotten far enough away from the building she turned and watched as the earth split and the building sunk into the ground until all that was left were three shattered floors, rising like a broken tooth from the ground. The damage didn't end with one building though. She stared incredulously. A whole city block had been levelled, much of it sunk deep into the earth. Around her the screams and cries of the injured started up. In the distance came the sirens of police and medical staff hurrying to help.
She remembered Kailex saying something about a test of his device and the need to be away before it went off. This must have been what he’d meant. Numb from more than her injuries, she stared in disbelief at the damage. An entire city block levelled! How many people had been hurt she wondered? How many lives lost?
Oh no! Her gaze returned to the building in front of her. She'd left her men in that building. It was rubble now. No one could have lived through that. She had tried to save them and failed! Tried to capture a killer and failed. Kailex had done this. She wouldn’t forget that. It had been a mistake to try to capture him. That wouldn’t happen again. The lab rats would have to be content studying bodies. These Hunters had to be put down. They were too dangerous for any other course of action. From now on, she'd remember that.
Chapter Seven
For the longest time I thought I was dying. It felt like I was losing myself one thin layer of skin at a time. I'd long since stopped screaming and just drifted in a sea of agony waiting for death. Then, surprisingly the pain abated. Time stopped and all connections to my body fell away. I became a mind drifting in a river of light. With effort I moved, became caught in a current that tumbled me into a thick soup of flashing colors and unformed shapes. Sounds and images flickered to life around me. Everything I heard or saw was indistinct and fleeting. Then I realized there was meaning in this cascade of noise and shapes. Without conscious intention I had shaped the images into something I could understand. I was in the middle of a story. Not mine, someone else's. Above me I watched their memories flit across the sky.
A picture of a factory bloomed in front of me. It was unbelievably huge with hundreds of floors that were filled to bursting with gelatinous sacs that pulsed like panting lungs. Chrome gleamed amid the spotless walls and floors, paced hurriedly by staff who worked with a mechanical precision that lacked interest while maintaining admirable efficiency.
The picture in my mind zoomed down until it focused on one such sac to the exclusivity of all others; number 143782. Two technicians attended it; both extremely tall, with lengthy, nimble fingers and elfin faces. Their designations we
re Meeta-Tik 113 and Meeta-Tik 78900.
“Meeta-Tik 143782, designation "scientist" is ready for evac,” said 78900.
“Very good,” replied the senior Tik briskly. “Cut the sac and welcome her into our world.”
“You mean, welcome her into a life of servitude,” muttered 78900 with an air of stale bitterness.
113 raised an admonishing finger. “You know all work conversation is monitored; yet you continue your aberrant comments? Are you so anxious to return to the Vats? I urge you to learn control young one! Take satisfaction from the fact you bring new life into the world. This is a good thing to be doing. You know this. Many would trade places with you and consider themselves fortunate.”
Grunting noncommittally Meeta-Tik 78900 opened the sac with a quick downward swipe of her laser. Water and other fluids gushed outward, sucked away by the specialized venting below. Carefully she reached inside and plucked out a tall, long fingered female with blinking, slightly dazed eyes. Meeta-Tik 143782 was fully formed, naked, wet and shivering. All Tiks were female. With no males they could only be born in the Vats. Both techs helped the new Tik stand while she adjusted to the light and gravity. Absently they wiped away the mucus covering her.
“Welcome Meeta-Tik 143782. You have reached a productive age so your long sleep ends. Are you ready to serve?” Asked the older Meeta, completing her part in the birthing ritual.
The God Hunters Page 11
