The Serpent League

by Brendan Walsh

  Patrick hung his head and rubbed his neck with his clammy palms. For over an hour Gary, Lindsey, and Johnny were outside searching the borders of the area for any signs of what happened after Gary came back inside. Other than the fresh blood on the snow there was no other sign. Meanwhile, Slate and Jane stayed inside and attended the ailing Patrick. It took his head half an hour to stop pounding like a jackhammer, and he’d been too in shock to put together a long string of words. But he was looking better now. They’d hidden his watch far away in case it begun going rogue again.

  Patrick sat at the table with a cup of tea in his unsteady hands and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. If he had not been too troubled, he would have made a smart remark about Slate’s caretaking abilities.

  “I don’t get it, dude.” Gary took a seat opposite of Patrick. He now had a steaming green tea as well. “Why is this only happening to you? That must mean our watches are different somehow.”

  “And to think all this time I thought you were just freaking out over nothing like you always do.” Slate added.

  “Since when do I do that?”

  His friends looked at him in dry amusement.

  Patrick tried to smile. “Alright enough of that. I don’t have any idea. I don’t think this has to do with the watch. It must have to do with me.”

  “Makes sense.” Jane helped put Patrick’s cup down on the table. In his shaking he spilled on his blanket. “If it had to do with the watch, then how could it know to only target you? There must be something else.”

  “It must be about me. There needs to be a specific reason why only Gary and I can operate the watches. We’re the only people the devices respond to, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts that Gordon and James had something to do with it.”

  Gary slowly sipped his cup. “This is getting nuts. These watches have been in our respective families for a long time. Somehow, sometime, someone must have done something to give them superpowers. How could Elder have known that our families, Frosts and the Buchanans, had these devices? How far back does this go?”

  “Can you tell us anything about what you saw?” Slate asked Patrick, who was getting noticeably more stable. “Anything at all that could help us find Edgar and figure out what Elder is plotting next?”

  Patrick collected himself. After a couple more sips of honeyed tea he told the story that came in the form of old theatrical flashes, only with aggressive sound and centrifuging blasts of scenic colors. Most of what had come to him was not intelligible, or if it was it was nothing he was familiar with. Beyond that were images of people he’d never seen before gathered in a dark room. The scene had an antique vibe to it, as if it was composed of props from a Shakespeare play. But none of that was useful.

  “What about Edgar?” Gary interjected. “What told you that he had been ambushed?”

  “That was the clearest part of it. I saw him out in the snow, then suddenly he was surrounded by some of Elder’s gryphons.”

  Lindsey spoke out. “They’re still around? I thought they chose not to serve him anymore.”

  “He probably had a bunch of others.” Patrick continued. “But there was something different about these but I can’t put my finger on it. So, they fought and Edgar was knocked out. Afterwards he was taken away, but as that was happening the strangest thing happened to the gryphons.”

  “What?” almost everyone asked.

  “They became people. Not normal humans, but mutated ones. They had wings like angels, tiger-like claws. Below in the field under them was an entire army of them. Each different sets of abilities.”

  Johnny groaned. “Can’t we get a one-day break from crazy? Considering that we couldn’t find any army of half-humans, maybe they don’t exist.”

  “That’s exactly what I was going to say.” Patrick bounced in his seat. “Something about how they were presented in my vision was different. While I could sense Edgar’s abduction in real time, the army was ‘still loading’ if you get me. I think that could be the future.”

  “As in, it hasn’t happened yet?” Jane asked. “I’ve never believed in fortune-tellers, but this is too mundane to ignore.”

  Patrick slowly finished the rest of his tea. He dramatically wiped the foam from his lips. “Elder’s amped up his game. This is totally different than his previous plan. What is he trying to accomplish with his new plan? His army of recruited soldiers perhaps?”

  “Maybe. We’ll get to all of this. But Edgar is our biggest priority now. Is there anything else you saw regarding him?”

  Patrick’s eyes drooped away. Several seconds went by and he was still stone still in his seat.

  “Patrick?” Gary urged. “Did you see anything else about Edgar?”

  Swirling around the surface of his conscious mind was the strongest flash the seizure had supplied him with. Patrick was mentally replaying that last scene, the one with the army of half-humans. Their teeth and claws were hungrily bared, looking around the surrounding at countless civilians who were cowering in terror. At the moment the cavalries were about to strike the hapless witnesses, a darkness descended from the sky. A giant black, familiar face manifested large enough to shut out any light the night could provide. The bat’s maw unhinged wide open like a snake’s and in an effortless motion it swallowed up the entire force before anyone could react, along with everyone standing around in abject fear. After the giant bat closed his mouth there was nothing but an empty void.

  “No.” Patrick finally answered. “There was nothing else of him.”

  More than an hour passed before Edgar accepted that Elder wouldn’t come back until morning came. He figured as much. He had tried to get some sleep multiple times but he wasn’t accustomed to sleeping on the ground. That and the fact that he found out he would be dead in a week was enough to induce some insomnia. The bat didn’t know how he would tell his friends about it. Sure, they cared about him, but they’d never approve of him going to the bad guy’s side just to keep breathing. He would be a slave anyway, and he knew that was no way to live.

  And there was no way he’d actually accept Elder’s offer. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure about that. Both outcomes were unpleasant. Perhaps the humans don’t need to find out, Edgar thought, I have to decide before Elder programs me again. So if I say no, I don’t have to tell them. But then he thought of how convoluted it would be to his friends if he dropped dead on Christmas, and if the doctor was to be believed, he’d be in terrible pain days before it anyway. They would notice his screams.

  Edgar was forced back onto his feet when a soft brushing noise came from the dark collection of trees behind him. He slumped his head against the steel bars, using his unique senses to tell what kind of animal was stalking him. He knew he didn’t have anything to fear, as no wild animal in the Eastern United States could take him down. But the ominousness of it spooked him, and he couldn’t tell what it was.

  “Samuel Elder!” he bellowed with his mind. “If you’re out there, just get over here!”

  It was a weak attempt, but he didn’t know what else to do. He could feel it slowly rustle closer. Whatever it was, it was trying hard to identify him. It surely had size of its own. If the giant bat’s size didn’t send it running the other way, it was either strong or stupid.

  In a spontaneous burst from a distant bush, a four-legged creature planted its paws down in the dirt outside Edgar’s cage. He couldn’t help but do a double take in surprise. Now that it was staring right at him a couple feet away, the bat could tell what animal it was. It was a lioness. Not a mountain lion, but a female lion native to Africa. She had a clean golden coat, and a wise look in her feline eyes that was soothing.

  “It looks like you need some help.” the big cat asked.

  Edgar choked. “How are you doing that? You’re a lion.”

  “And you’re a bat, but I’m not pestering you about it.” she replied hotly. “Do you want my help getting out of your cage or not?”

  “Yes, of course. But will you tell me how you’r
e doing this after?”

  “It’s a long story, but I can make time for you.” She turned around, and started to bolt back into the darkness.

  “Wait!” Edgar banged on his prison bars. “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll be right back!” she shouted back to him. Soon she was too far for the bat to see her with any of his senses.

  For almost a minute he waited in uncertain silence. It would make no sense for her to reach out so friendlily to him and just leave. It made as much sense as a talking lion. Edgar’s mind quickly became exhausted.

  But his despair was short lived and it was replaced with a whole new brand of feeling. Terror. From the direction the lioness had split away now came a manic, behemoth level pounding of feet. Edgar nervously gulped and darted to the back of his cage. Seconds later he could sense the presence of an entirely different animal. It was a massive rhino, charging at full force towards his cage, its horn extended like it was going to joust a dragon.

  The bat only had time to release one series of frightened cries before the immense horn made contact with the cage and it toppled over. He struggled to grab onto something, but now that the bottom of the prison was the left wall, there was no time. In just as much time, the next set of bars was now the opposite wall, and he would have snapped his wings in half if he attempted to withstand that much force.

  The loud creaking and cracking of the base of the prison was one of the last things he heard before his bumped head made him fall asleep. But he could still see the indents the rhino’s spike was providing to the thick bottom of the cage. The last thing he heard was from the mouth of the pachyderm.

  “Sorry about this, friend.” The animal said. It had the same voice as the lion.

  “Ho ho holy crap!” Patrick shouted as he looked out the window.

  His friends rushed to his side, bending over to see what he was seeing.

  “What the…” Slate stuttered. “Somebody, gah. Everyone, get out there!”

  But it had been a long day. Since they were becoming well accustomed to their new routines they mostly slept during the day. Johnny and Lindsey were out cold on the couch a few feet away. Patrick and Slate’s shouts didn’t even budge them.

  After seeing what he saw out the window Patrick threw his blanket off himself and didn’t bother to put on a coat. As if the night couldn’t get any weirder, Edgar had managed to come back to them. But he wasn’t alone. Their friend was lying motionless on the back of a large lion. It was just standing out there in the cold, looking straight at the group of humans inside. He didn’t know how long it had been standing there, but it had been waiting for them to come out.

  Patrick, Slate, Gary and Jane busted through the back door to greet the strange new visitor. Slate and Gary had come armed with clubs from the storage room, but when the feline didn’t make a move they put them down. Now the gang was approaching her, wide-eyed in wonder.

  “I believe this bat is your friend.” The lioness said kindly as she put Edgar down in the snow.

  Their eyes nearly poured out of their sockets.

  “How...” Gary’s jaw was jittering, partly from the cold. “the hell do you know how to do that?”

  She sighed. “It’s a really long story alright, now are you going to take your friend in or are you going to be rude hosts and not help me out?”

  Jane and Patrick looked at each other, nodding.

  “Yes. Yes of course.” Jane said. “Patrick, you should go back inside. You’re still not well.”

  “And miss this? You do realize we’re living a CS Lewis novel right now?”

  His cousin and the rest picked up opposite sides of Edgar until his weight was evened out. They brought him back inside, and the talking lioness followed them in. They knew better than to protest. They laid him down on the soft carpet and covered his chilly body with two layers of sheets. When he stopped shivering, they let themselves breathe again.

  They returned their focus to the kind feline who had brought their friend back from Elder’s grasp. She motioned back to the back door and shut it with a swift swipe of her paw. Everyone eyed her curiously as she centered herself in the room. They could tell she enjoyed toying with them.

  “Now that that’s out of the way,” Slate said, returning to his seat. “tell us, are you one of Elder’s creations? Is that how you can speak?”

  There was conflict in her feline eyes. “No. I pre-date them by many years.”

  “Right,” he continued. “So that would make you how old?”

  “I’m 21.”

  “And how old does that make you in lion years?” Gary asked.

  She dropped her head, nearly smiling as she giggled like a human. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  “How old are you for your species?”

  “Oh,” she raised a paw to her chest. “no, I’m not a lion. I’m a human.”

  The four made multiple series of uncomfortable sounds with their mouths. Jane and Slate coughed.

  “This is really awkward.” Patrick merrily looked around at his friends. “Should we tell her? Who wants to be the one to tell her what she is?”

  “Wait,” Jane moved closer, pressuring the lion with an open hand. “you said you pre-date Elder’s experiments by a few years. What do you know about them?”

  “Only a little. I mean, Samuel and I have not been close in a really long time.”

  Jane stepped closer, staring the cat right in the eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Have I not introduced myself yet? How rude of me.”

  The lioness leaped into a bipedal pose just as her body began to be swallowed whole by a bright, colorless glow. The light didn’t penetrate the space around her. All it did was make her body begin to look like it was changing form after form. Patrick stopped trying to shield his eyes when he could make out what was happening under it. What was once the illuminated shape of an African cat was now taking the body of a human female.

  As the blaze started to fade, everyone could see that she was draped in simple looking dark clothes. When the last ray of light was extinguished, a young woman was standing smirking in front of them. She was barefoot, with her blueish, white hair down to shoulder length. She had a strong, untarnished look on her face that made Patrick suspect she was an angel.

  “How did you do that?” Patrick managed to say in between slow breaths.

  She replied with a toothy smile. She clearly enjoyed the way that trick effected people. Looking at the astonished crowd of four made her look like a child on Christmas.

  “I’ll tell you all about it. But let me introduce myself. My name is Billie Jean, but everyone calls me BJ.”

  “Are we supposed to know who you are?” Jane said. “I mean, probably, considering what you can do to yourself, but how are you related to Elder’s work.”

  “Because I’m the reason he started this. The reason you’re all here right now.”

  “No way.” Gary mouthed to himself. “That’s not possible.”

  “Ah!” BJ snapped her fingers at the perplexed Gary. “You got one smart guy here at least.”

  “Can you guys just fill us in?” Patrick said, wiping his hands over his face. “Answers! I can’t take any more crazy today!”

  Gary looked at BJ in disbelief, and a jubilant grin took over all his features. Patrick had never seen anything like that before.

  “But you died.” he said. “Everyone thinks you’re dead.”

  “And there’s a good reason for that.” she said solemnly as she lost her smirk. “My name is BJ Elder, the daughter of Samuel and Mary Elder, and I am very much still alive.”

  6

  Zoo Girl

  This was the third officer this morning to pester him about his next move.

  “I’ll tell you what I told the two before you, I have no further plans to pursue the case!” Detective Hunter swung the door shut, locking it this time. “If I’m ever promoted captain those three will be out on the street, and I don’t mean giving parking ticke
ts.”

  Guajardo stood leaning against an adjacent desk. She was lacing her coffee with some extra espresso shots. “Give the kid a break, John. That guy’s been on the job for barely a week.”

  “It’s never too early to acquire the valuable virtue of knowing when to shut the hell up.”

  The days since Hunter and Guajardo returned from Washington were supposed to be more relaxing than the previous weeks. Save for the part about them solving the case and not reporting anything to their supervisors. At this point, both of them would be fired, if not required to serve jail time. Especially John, who had been a detective fifteen years longer than Rita and had a lot more to lose in the fight.

  He knew Lindsey could take care of herself. Even as a girl he and her mother could trust her to not burn down the house when they both had to work late. But there were unnatural things going on that would get even the brightest cop killed. The whole fiasco at the Science Gala proved that much. Because of his injury, he had had to walk with a cane. The doctor said he would only need it for another few days, but the pain would still stay for the rest of the month. When his boss asked about it, he said it was because of a bad golf stroke.

  “While I always enjoy your philosophy lectures,” Guajardo chugged the rest of her coffee. “we need to know how to handle ourselves right now. What does the Raven Gang think we should do next?”

  Hunter sat himself down, shrugging his tie loose. “Lindsey contacted me late last night. She assured me that everyone was fine. But anyway, she told me how she and the gang hit up some library in the capital. They got some top-secret document about Sam Elder’s doings before this whole thing got started.”

  “Okay, good. Where does that take us?”

  “Right now, the doctor has gone into hiding, and is putting together another plan. Something bigger and badder. And to find out what that is, we need to find out more about how this all started. If we can uncover that much, then we can decipher what his ultimate end game contingency was.”