by Mark Tufo
Crouched near the corner, my attention is divided between the doorway and the group. I’m a little taken aback that the demon I escaped from hasn’t managed to pound his way out of the structure. As a matter of fact, since the one resounding slam into the entrance just as I dove through, there hasn’t been a single peep coming from inside. I keep checking my six and upward for any sign, but there’s nothing so far. I’m also wondering why the soldiers and perhaps Kalandar haven’t investigated the shaking boom, nor even turned to look when it happened. Probably a good thing, though. Had they done so, they would have seen me either standing frozen near the door or scurrying to the side. I suppose there’s a chance that they’re too far away for the sound to have reached; that has to be it because for all intents and purposes, they’re having a lovely picnic.
There’s a little part of me that wishes the demon inside would break out and tear that bastard Kalandar apart. I can’t imagine why he would be all friendly-like and then turn on us like he did. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can really do about it. If I were to confront him, I’d be easily swatted aside. And I’m still confused as hell as to why Truden and his men are still around. I clearly remember Mike telling him to get his men clear, as night was falling and the runners would soon be out and about.
Then it hits me like a switch being turned on. We were heading inside when night was approaching, but now, glancing up at the sun overhead, I see it’s a far cry from being nighttime. How in the fuck long was I in there? It seemed scant minutes. According to the position of the sun though, the timeframe indicates that we were inside for maybe eighteen hours. And, if that’s the case, then why the fuck are these people still camped around the structure?
Sweat forms on my brow from the heat and trickles down the side of my face. I think about slipping away toward the rearward side of the building, but where would I go? I still have my pack, but only two of my knives. Anyway, there’s nothing in any direction except endless sand. I may last a while, but unless I find a resupply somewhere, I’ll still end up being bones bleaching somewhere on the plain. From what I saw on the drive here, there isn’t much chance I’ll locate someplace to refill. That doesn’t leave me with too many options except to make my presence known, but there’s no way I want to again undergo what I just escaped. And there’s no way in hell I’m going through one of those doors at the far end of the building. My best bet is to wait and hope that Kalandar eventually walks away without the soldiers.
A very faint buzz penetrates my thoughts, barely discernible but slowly growing louder. I scan what sky and terrain I’m able to see, but there’s simply nothing. I look toward Kalandar and the soldiers; they’re still together without any sign that they’ve noticed anything. As the sound increases, Kalandar suddenly becomes more erect and begins scanning the area, the soldiers soon following his example.
With this place, who in the hell knows what’s approaching? Whatever it might be, I’m sure it can’t be a good thing. Far off, three tiny dots appear in the sky, growing larger by the second. The specks look like a formation of helicopters, however, the growing noise isn’t the sound of choppers—at least not any I know of.
As the objects grow closer, the less they look like helicopters and more like giant white bees. I suppose that would explain the buzzing sound. I glance at the carbine in my hand, wondering how effective it will be against mutant apians. Distance can create quite an illusion of size. I had thought the bee-like things were close, but they just keep getting bigger. The soldiers are all rushing toward their vehicles, some clambering on top to the mounted machine guns, a few manning the rocket launcher, the rest taking cover in and around the equipment. Kalandar stands alone, staring toward the oncoming creatures with his arms wide and gives a roar of defiance.
My thought process at the moment is that whatever is attacking the traitorous demon must be friends of mine. But it could be that there are three opposing sides here. What isn’t in doubt is that there is about to be a battle.
As the winged creatures near, details become clearer. For one, they’re moving fast and they’re fucking huge. They’re as large or larger than a locomotive and have a segmented body, somewhat crossed between an ant and a bee. The head is shaped like an upside-down pyramid with a jutting mandible and fangs hanging out of each side.
The buzzing grows in intensity until it drowns out everything else. Kalandar roars and beats his chest and the staccato chatter of heavy machine guns chimes in. Tracers arc into the sky, several merging with the creatures and just as many streaking by them. The huge winged monsters shift quickly to the side, avoiding most of the rounds thrown up at them.
One beast dives toward one of the vehicles, hovers above, and grabs the truck in its angular mouth. It squeezes, and with the torturous sound of metal grinding, the vehicle is nearly pinched in half. Soldiers scramble away from where they had taken cover around it as two other men fall out of the interior. The bee-like creature drops the torn and bent vehicle and quickly darts in, snagging the two falling men right out of the air. Blood splashes to the ground as the men are cut in half; chunks land in the liquid rapidly absorbing into the sand.
Bullets strike the stark white creatures seemingly without any effect except to make ripples along their segmented bodies, kind of like quarters dropped on a bowl of Jell-O. The staccato firing of weapons is constant, mixing with the resonating buzzing of the blurring, variegated wings. The flying beasts dip in among the men and vehicles, each time plucking one or the other from the ground.
One beast leaves the grouping to dart toward Kalandar. The demon ducks under the initial attack, turning to swing at the insect, but the bee is already out of range. Swooping around in a tight circle, the flying beast attacks again. This time, the red demon times his counterattack better, catching the bee square on the side of its body. The ant-bee-flying-whatever is knocked tumbling through the air.
Kalandar’s roar of triumph momentarily rises above the continuous sound of battle. He shouts something, but I’m too far away to make out the words. Recovering and righting itself, the giant bee flies straight as an arrow toward the demon, going from near zero to near mach speed in an instant. (Okay, perhaps not mach, but it seems something damn close to it.) Kalandar throws himself to the side to avoid the mouth and fangs. The bee barely misses its prey, its mouth snapping closed where the demon had stood a split-second before. Even from the distance I’m at, I hear the clack. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard a large dog’s teeth clack together at your heels, but that’s the noise it made. And for the sound to reach my position, I know I don’t want to be any part of that.
Speaking of which, I’m not really sure what my position in all of this should be. As I thought before, Kalandar and the soldiers seem to be on good terms now. I don’t know what to think about that, but they’re definitely fighting the same enemy together.
There’s a part of me that feels guilty just crouching on the sidelines, watching the battle, but there are a couple of good reasons why I’m not involving myself in the action. The first is already mentioned; I don’t know how I will be received by Kalandar or the soldiers. I for sure don’t want to be put back inside the fucking building. Another is that I don’t know what I can contribute to what’s already being done. Any gunfire I might add with my lone carbine isn’t going to make any difference. There are heavy machine guns pounding the beasts, so I seriously doubt my carbine rounds are going to make any difference. And I have to admit, I’m not really against having Kalandar get his ass kicked. With regards to him, I’m just watching karma happen.
I do, however, feel somewhat bad about the soldiers. They seemed amiable, but then again, so did Kalandar. The fight between the demon and lone bee continues, neither side really gaining an advantage. I watch as Kalandar takes a mighty swing at the incoming creature. The flying beast dodges underneath it and streaks past the demon’s side. A roar rises above the battle. When the bee flies clear, I see a long gash along Kalandar’s ribs. The bee turns sh
arply to press the attack.
I wonder why Kalandar doesn’t evoke any of his powers. I’ve only seen him use them on ground foes; perhaps he doesn’t have the capability of projecting them into the air. I put that little piece of information in my bag of tricks. Should I ever have to confront him, an attack helicopter might just be the trick. Perhaps that’s why Trip was so insistent on us getting one, although he didn’t exactly specify an attack version.
A trail of white smoke flashes from one of the military vehicles, streaking into the sky to impact directly on the creature attacking. There’s a flash of orange and dark smoke against the beast’s side near where the wings attach. The attack is thrown askew as the creature does the flying equivalent of limping away. However, undeterred, it marshals and returns to the battle.
Another cloud of smoke billows from the same vehicle as a missile lifts off the upraised rails, followed by another. Two additional rockets streak across the sky, trailing white smoke. The missiles race toward the same creature and explode against its side. This apparently does the trick, as one wing is torn from the huge bee and it tumbles violently downward, the shredded wing fluttering in its wake. Sand and dust shoot outward as the bee slams into the ground with a thud.
Kalandar takes two giant steps and sets in on the downed beast. With his enormous hands and claws, he starts rending the creature apart, avoiding the snapping mouth. The remaining wing is ripped from its body and thrown to the side. Getting around behind the bee, Kalandar takes its head and starts bashing it repeatedly against the ground. Dust flies and the white, segmented body ripples with each impact. Finally, with a roar, Kalandar raises the beast’s head. I’m able to see the strain of his muscles. Suddenly, as rust breaking free from a heavily oxidized hatch, the creature’s head is ripped from its body. Kalandar stands roaring, clutching the triangular head high.
Blood pouring from the jagged gash on his side, the big demon tosses the head onto the sand and looks over to where the soldiers are still battling the remaining two creatures. Bent and twisted vehicles are scattered across the field like toys in a child’s garden. Only about half of the men are still standing and putting up a fight. Kalandar looks from the ongoing battle to the front of the structure. He keeps turning his head as if he’s trying to decide on something. Given how he turned against us and with the injury to his side, I wouldn’t put it past him to just run away and leave the soldiers to the mercy of the beasts. He’s shown himself to be unreliable, his priority only to himself.
The demon sprints for the building, having apparently reached whatever decision was rolling around in his head. Not wanting to be seen, I crouch further back. I briefly hope that grumpy, left still inside, and Kalandar don’t get along and that the traitor gets ripped into, although, the interior has been strangely silent.
The demon pounds through the entrance, vanishing inside. The walls are thick, but even through the opening, I don’t hear the sound of a battle being conducted inside. With both of the demons apparently in league with the Overseers, it’s possible they’re having a little chit-chat and exchanging stories. I wonder now if Kalandar didn’t go inside to seek the help of the Overseers. If that’s the case, then I’ll have even more enemies to deal with. Maybe I should seriously consider leaving out the back and take my chances with the terrain and weather.
Kalandar emerges, carrying something in his clawed hands. It appears to be a body, but I can’t be certain, as most of what he’s conveying remains hidden. With only a slight pause, the demon turns and dashes along the side of the building—thankfully, in the opposite direction from where I’m crouched. At the far corner, he turns and disappears from sight.
Curious, I also turn and run down the side toward the rear. Reaching the corner, winded with sweat trickling down my back and face, I see the demon running away. His massive red form grows smaller as he heads out across the desert, eventually vanishing into the heat shimmer rising from the surface. I’m not sure what he grabbed that was so vital that he had to have it before he fled.
4
Jack Walker – Chapter Two
With the traitor gone, I return to my former position. The battle is apparently over; the two remaining bee creatures are settled to the ground. The triangular mouth of one plunges into the midst of wrecked vehicles and yanks a screaming man from it. The other one plucks a body from the ground and swallows it unceremoniously. A hundred men from a foreign land are slain, killed in an alien world. No one, neither their families nor friends nor history, will even know what happened to them, will never be able to get closure. I wonder if that’s to be my end.
Now that the battle is over, the soldiers vanquished and Kalandar having retreated, I ponder my own move. I should have left some time ago and taken my chances. The beasts are visually searching the area between their forays to snag another piece of flesh. Once they’re done with the bodies, the two start rending chunks from the twisted vehicles. The air fills with the squeal of tortured metal. Apparently, they aren’t very picky about what they eat.
I search more thoroughly and see several vehicles remain untouched and serviceable. I may be able to use one to escape, provided the creatures leave them alone. Of course, the beasts themselves will have to vacate; my hope is that they do that before they eat every single truck. They may have been out hunting and only chanced upon our location. I figure if they leave me alone, I’m more than happy leaving them to do their thing.
“One year, Jack,” a voice whispers off my shoulder behind me.
My heart jumps, the hairs on my arms and neck rise. I leap forward and spin around, my carbine coming up. There’s nothing there except for the tremendously long side of the building and its shadow. With the hair still raised on the back of my neck, I creep back into the shadows, searching the ground for any sign of footprints. There’s only those of my own boots where I traversed alongside the structure. I look upward, but there’s no sign of anything out of the ordinary.
I’m surprised I didn’t yelp, so sudden was the intrusion. With my enhanced abilities, I’m able to hear better than other humans, but I heard nothing sneaking up on me. I could swear that was Trip standing right behind me; it was his voice and everything, at least, I’m pretty sure it was. But again, there’s no one, no afterimage, no ghostly shape fading into nothing. There’s just…nothing.
And what is “one year” supposed to signify? I mean, I know what one year is, but I don’t understand the context. Am I supposed to wait here a year? I won’t survive with what I have on me for anything close to that long. Am I supposed to go inside for a year? After all, time seems to flow differently in there. Could it be that three weeks or so in there will mean a year out here? I’d maybe have enough supplies for that, but how would I keep track? It just doesn’t make sense. Plus, if I’m supposed to go back inside, how in the hell am I to get past the big bugs? It’ll be a close race to the entrance.
I glance quickly back to the freakishly large, feasting insects to make sure I wasn’t discovered during my startled dive and turn. Before much longer, as the sun heads into afternoon, the creatures rise from their meals. The air buzzes loudly as they drift over to the front of the structure. There, they descend on either side of the entrance, perching like two stone lions of old, terrifying guardians.
There goes my chance at getting inside.
So, am I then supposed to return in a year? For some odd reason, the memory of Kalandar carrying something out of the building in his arms flashes in my mind. I have no fucking idea what I’m supposed to do or where I’m supposed to be now, much less in a year. That’s a long fucking time. What am I supposed to do in the interim?
I decide to focus on getting the fuck out of this place. Once I'm away, if I’m able to, then I’ll focus on what in the hell that whisper meant. I’m under no wishful thinking that it was a figment of my imagination. It was real, and I have to keep remembering that. So, escape and return in a year. If I’m wrong about what the message meant, then so be it. The thought that I’l
l have to remain in this world for another year is pretty depressing, to say the least. I’ve barely survived each and every day. I have no idea how I’ll last another year. And that also means that I’m at least a year away from being able to return to my world, and that’s seriously messed up.
With my priority again aligned with escape, I focus back on the creatures, who are still motionless at the entrance. If this is where they decide to reside, I’ll be hard-pressed to make it to any of the still serviceable vehicles. And even if I do, they'll probably catch me before I make it very far. I visualize them peeling the roof off like a tin can and stabbing those jaws of theirs inside.
Aside from their quick reaction times, I’ve also seen how fast they can fly. It’ll be a near thing whether the vehicle is faster. The road we came in on is relatively straight, so they wouldn't be able to head me off by cutting corners. And, there aren’t any obstacles that might slow me down. If I can get to a vehicle, start it, and get up to speed relatively quickly, there’s a chance I can outrun them. It’s certainly better than me starting a cross-country hike. It’s warm here, but it was downright hostile on our journey in. I remember trudging under the blazing sun with Mike and know I won’t survive long in that tremendous heat. In all honesty, we shouldn’t have survived the one time.
Now the question becomes how to get to a vehicle undetected. I can distract them to the rear of the building somehow and make a dash. However, then I will have to run back along the side of the building as well. They’ll beat me back, and there’s a fifty-fifty chance they’ll pick the side I’m on to head around back. That's not optimal.
I search the local area more closely. From all appearances, the terrain is flat as far as the eye can see. However, there’s a very slight gully, just an indentation in the landscape, off to the side that heads in the general direction of the vehicles. If I can reach the indention and work along it slowly, I may be able to at least get close before being in the open.
