Israel smiled. “Sorry. I was a reporter before I hooked up with Sentry. Small talk never really appealed to me.”
“Reporter?” Carter said. “Sentry usually recruits from military or the cops. Why’d they snatch you up?”
Israel shrugged. “They said I was a special case.”
Carter thought it over and then said, “Awakened, huh? You must be a Power.”
“Something like that,” Israel said.
Carter nodded. “How long?”
Israel thought about it. What he came up with surprised him “Not even a whole week yet.”
“Wow. A newbie. What bloodline?”
Israel shrugged. “I’m not supposed to say.”
Carter nodded. “And there it is: the standard Sentry secret-keeping. Olivia really likes to keep a lid on things.”
“The way I heard it, she kind of has to. The whole Veil thing.”
“Well, of course we don’t want the rank and file of humanity to know about us. I get that- we’d end up hunted into extinction. Olivia, though, she keeps things from her own people, only gives out as much information as she thinks is needed regardless of whether or not her field teams disagree. Stone’s the only guy she listens or talks to and he isn’t much better than her. It’s bullshit.”
“I can see that,” Israel said with a small shrug. “But it’s for the good, right? I mean, these Progeny guys are a kind of bad I thought only existed in fiction. If she’s got the most experience fighting them and keeping people safe, then maybe she knows best.”
Carter laughed softly. “Oh, keep thinking like that and you’re going to make a perfect little Sentry Group soldier. I just couldn’t do it. I got tired of being a drone for someone else’s agenda no matter how noble an agenda it might be. Look, here’s the best tip I can give you: Never forget that no matter how nice and kind Olivia Warburton may be to your face, you are nothing more than an asset to her whose value scales directly with how much hurt you can put out on her behalf. She is all business all the time, man. Forget that, trust her too much, and she’ll send you on a suicide mission without telling you what it is.”
Israel watched the clouds roll by outside the cockpit while he thought about that. “So what’s the story with Stone and Olivia?” he asked. “Are they a thing?”
“Not in a slap and tickle way, I don’t think,” Carter said. “The story I heard was that way back when, before Olivia landed in that wheelchair, she was on a team that rescued Stone from some bad guys in Europe. She helped nurse him back to health and then hunt down the group that had held him captive. Hunt down all of them- hundreds of people. Stone and Olivia shut that entire organization down to the last man but somewhere along the way she ended up a cripple.”
“Holy shit,” Israel said. He looked back over his shoulder at Stone. His beard shivered with every soft snore. “He must be a lot older than he looks.”
“Nobody knows, as far as I know. He’s always looked that way, even in the pictures I’ve seen from back in the day.”
There was a rustling from the back and Israel looked over at Erin just in time to see her seal a brown bag over her face and start heaving into it. He shook his head and tried not to smile. “I’d better check on her,” he said.
“There’s some towels and stuff in the lavatory,” Carter said. “Dramamine, too, if she wants it.”
Israel thanked him and went back to see about Erin. She tried to wave off his concern but, accepted a hand towel soaked in cold water. He sat next to her in silence for a time and, eventually, heard her breathing settle into sleep’s steady rhythms.
For the next two hours, the Cessna’s passenger cabin was a portrait of stillness. Engine noise droned through the space and mixed with the sounds of Stone’s and Erin’s breathing. Israel sat motionless, letting his mind wander over everything that had changed for him in the last four days. What he’d said to Erin on the roof of the Peachtree Towers in Atlanta still weighed on his mind. He should be freaking out. He should be an emotional mess. He was the walking dead, for god’s sake. What sane person didn’t lose his mind over something like that?
Yet, he couldn’t. The emotions just weren’t there. It was as though his feelings were a knife whose edge had been dulled. In his mind, what he had become just was, like looking out the window into a rainy morning. He might not like it but accepting it was just second nature. Was this some part of the change he had gone through? Did his passions die along with his body?
The plane dipped suddenly and Carter said, “Stone! Rise and shine, Mr. Pony Keg. It looks like we’re here.”
Stone was up and in the copilot seat in a second. He and Carter started looking out the window and pointing while talking in quiet tones.
Erin had come awake when the plane dipped and she said, “What the hell was that?”
Israel shrugged as Carter yelled, “Shit! Hang on!” The already dim cabin lights flickered and the plane suddenly banked hard to the right and then down. Israel could hear the engine’s pitch change as they labored against the sudden change in altitude. Erin latched onto Israel’s arm with one hand and let out a whining groan that grew in intensity as the plane banked harder and dropped suddenly, jarring them all and sending loose items clattering to the floor and against the right cabin wall.
Then, without warning, the lights suddenly grew steady again and Carter pulled the plane into a straight and level path. Israel felt no effect from the maneuvering, but Erin shouted, “Goddammit, don’t do that!”
“Sorry,” Carter said without looking back, “blame the bad guys.”
Stone joined them in the passenger compartment. His face was sculpted in hard lines of worry as he buckled in.
“What happened?” Israel said.
“I don’t know for sure,” he said. “Whatever’s happening on the ground is buggering the plane’s electronics. Buckle in- Carter’s going to land us on a highway a click or so outside Leticia.”
“Uhmm,” Erin said, “he’s going to land a plane in the dark, on a highway, in the middle of the Texas desert?”
“Don’t fret, little miss. There isn’t a pair of headlights anywhere in sight and he’s got some fancy military imaging stuff that will let him see well enough. You just hold on.”
“Military?” Israel said.
“I said he has it, not that he was supposed to have it. Just be grateful and hang on.”
Erin tightened her grip on Israel’s arm as the plane started to descend. Israel expected the landing to be a more dramatic event, but, aside from the highway being far more bumpy than a standard runway, it went well. Five minutes after Stone had joined them in the cabin, they were exiting the craft into a desert night under a thick canopy of gray clouds.
Erin was the first out and walked to the edge of the deserted highway. She bent at the waist and took deep, measured breaths. Israel and Stone stood with Carter next to the entry hatch. The engines had idled down, but were still spinning with a thick sound. Stone held up his cell phone and cursing at the lack of any signal.
“Thanks for not crashing,” Israel said.
“All part of the standard charter package,” Carter grinned. “This is U.S. Highway 67. Head south and take the first paved road you see on the right. That will turn into main street Leticia, Texas. Sorry I couldn’t get you closer.”
Stone grunted softly. “Did your best, I suppose.”
“Aw, stop it, giggles. You’re going to make me blush.”
Stone glared at the man and said, “You just get that message to Olivia, yeah? Tell her what’s what and that I’ll contact her as soon as I have a cell signal.”
“Just as soon as I’m clear of this mess,” Carter said.
Stone nodded and turned away without another word.
“Seriously, man, thanks,” Israel said.
“Don’t thank me too much. I’m getting paid for this.”
Israel shook his hand and turned to go.
“Don’t forget what I told you, Israel. Question everything the
y say.”
“I’m a journalist,” Israel said. “Questions are what I do.”
Israel stood back and watched Carter seal the hatch and taxi away. It wasn’t long before the plane was a blinking light disappearing into the night sky. He turned and faced his companions. He saw them in the strange gray-scale of his night-vision. Erin seemed to be recovering from her nausea and Stone looked impatient.
They walked toward the black distance.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
They had been walking down the turn off from the highway for about five minutes when Erin said, “Is it just me or is it actually getting darker?”
Israel looked over at her. “Is it?”
“Oh, that’s right,” she said. “I forgot about your fancy new eyeballs.”
“What’s that?” Stone asked. He’d donned the tactical vest and weapons that Carter had secured for them. He had a handgun in a thigh holster and carried a submachine gun in a easy, professional grip.
“Izzy here can see in the dark. One of the perks of being undead.”
“That’s right,” Stone said. “You mentioned that back at the Hobbit Hole.”
Israel explained how things appeared to him.
“Interesting,” Stone said. “And useful. Too bad you can’t share it with the class. To answer the question, yes, it is getting darker. It’s common around breach points but I’ve never seen it on this scale. A room, yes, a small building, maybe; this, though, this is new to me. It’s got something to do with ambient light wave energy being rendered null. Michelle tried to explain it to me once but I was drunk at the time.”
“Does that mean we’re too late?” Israel said.
“No, it just means it’s getting darker. If we were too late things would be more dramatic than that.”
Israel looked toward the horizon. It did seem that the grays and silvers that he would normally see were somehow muted but he could still clearly make out the distant buildings. “I can see the town,” he said. “Maybe a quarter mile or so, I guess.”
“That’s great, guys, but I literally can’t see the ground under my feet,” Erin said. She stopped walking and said, “Shit. If I can’t see where I’m going then I’m not much good to you. I can’t pull anywhere that’s nearby. Guys, I’m kind of useless without that.”
The men stopped next to her. “Can you still get us back to Las Vegas or Silversky if we need you to?” Stone asked.
“Yeah,” she said, “carrying both of you was a little rough, gave me a head rush, but I can do it.”
“Then you’re far from useless. If things go tits up for us then you’re our ticket out of here.”
“Doesn’t your phone have a flashlight app?” Israel said to Stone.
“It does, but my phone won’t even power up. Whatever’s happening here is mucking up anything electronic.”
Israel nodded. “Okay, I guess that makes me the tour guide.”
“I suppose it does. I’ll get behind you with my hand on your back. Erin, you do the same behind me. Israel can guide us around rough parts of the road so no one breaks an ankle.”
“Why? I mean, what good are we going to do over there if we can’t see anything?” Erin asked.
“If this breach is as big as I think then there will be light immediately around it. Not normal light since it’s a product of the Breach, but enough to see by. Also, we just have to get through this until the sun rises. Artificial light, starlight, moonlight- these are all easier to cancel out than natural sunlight. I think it’s just that there’s so much of it.”
“Still drunk when Michelle explained that part?” Israel asked with a smile.
“Completely pissed,” Stone said. “Let’s get moving.”
They took a few minutes to get into position and get a firm grip on each other’s clothing. Israel guided them along at a steady but careful pace, guiding them around potholes and warning them about rougher patches that were too big to avoid. After about ten minutes of this, he called for a stop and stared ahead. Leticia was easily in view now, and he could see the general details of the small town.
“What do we know about this place?” Israel asked. He whispered it without really knowing why.
“I looked up what little I could find while we were waiting for Black to prep the plane,” Stone whispered back. “It’s just another small town that’s circling the bowl. Population around a thousand if you include the outlying ranches and whatnot. The people are mostly welfare dependents, small Internet businesses, and anti-government militia survivalist types. Nothing really threatening. The place is barely surviving. What do you see?”
Sheer habit made him look back at Stone and Erin. Their eyes were wide and searching the dark in vain. “Nothing really,” Israel said. “It’s just a street running through a town. Looks like a stereotype almost. No intersecting roads but there are some cars parked on the street. Thing is, there are no lights, no people, no anything. No signs of life at all.”
“Oh good,” Erin whispered. “At least it’s not creepy as hell.”
“Let’s make the comments useful ones,” Stone said. Israel had to suppress a laugh when he saw Erin flip him off with her free hand.
“What do you think, Stone?” Israel asked.
“I think that’s a hell of a spot for an ambush, but the Progeny would be just as blind as we are. I also think the weapon I’m carrying is useless if can’t see who I want to shoot, and I think going around the town will be risky at best since we don’t know the lay of the land. Which reminds me, and I should have asked this sooner, but are either of you armed?”
“I’m not,” Israel said, “but I’m not much good with a gun, anyway. Erin, you’ve got one, right?”
“Not anymore,” she said. “John and his little stable of jerk-offs took it. I didn’t think to get it back before I sent them away.”
“So,” Stone said with a heavy tone, “we’re two-thirds blind, we’re going into a situation we have next to no intel on, and we have one weapon between us. Brilliant.”
“To be fair,” Israel said, “Erin and I aren’t exactly helpless.”
“No, but she can’t see what’s she’s touching and you turn into a monster if you exert yourself too much. No offense intended.”
“None taken. So what do we do?”
“I’d love to just wait this out until sunrise, but we just don’t have that kind of time. So, we keep moving. Slow and steady. Israel, you need to be as aware as you can. Sounds, smells- everything. If the Progeny have figured a way to see through this then we’re in deep trouble. Pick a side of the street and stick to it. Use alleys if you can, but try to keep something between us and the opposite side of the street. If there are riflemen on any of these buildings, let’s not make it any easier for them. Also, we need to keep an eye out for any light sources; they could be a hint as to where they’re doing this thing.”
“What if it’s underground or something?” Erin said.
“Then we’re right fucked, aren’t we?” Stone said. “Just look for anything that might give us a hint.”
They all agreed and resumed walking. They reached the edge of town and Israel guided them onto the cracked and pitted sidewalk that ran along the right side of the street. They moved slowly and kept tight grips on one another’s clothing. Erin and Stone’s breathing was a pulsing rhythm in Israel’s ears, so the squidhead that came at them from out of the darkness was nearly on top of them before Israel heard its feet slapping the ground. The thing ran at them from somewhere on the other side of the street and jumped onto the hood of a car where it launched itself high into the air, fingers opened like claws, dark violet eyes glowing with faint light, and black tentacles fanned out from its head like a hideous crown.
It descended toward Israel like a leaping jungle cat, intent on rending its prey. Israel caught it in mid flight by its throat and crotch and redirected its momentum, throwing it into the side of a building ten feet away. It hit the weathered brick with a crunch of bone, fell to the sidewal
k, then rolled to it’s feet with feline grace.
“What is it?” Stone said, alarm hardening his words.
“Squidhead,” Israel said.
“What?” Erin said, an edge of fear in her words.
“Squid-”
The rest of what he said was drowned out when the monster opened its mouth and screamed. The sound was far louder than it should’ve been and had no quality that was even remotely human.
Israel watched as twin lights started appearing at windows and in doorways up and down the street. Somewhere, a low hissing started and it was joined by similar sounds as more and more of the monsters noticed the three newcomers to Leticia.
“Oh, fuck,” Erin said.
“I agree,” Stone said.
The thing that had first attacked them rushed toward Israel again. It got three steps before there was a rapid trio of gunshots and its head snapped backward amid a spray of gore and black ooze.
Israel looked back and saw Stone lowering the sub-gun from his shoulder. “Glowing eyes make for good targets even in the dark,” he said, “but we really need to get off this street.”
The sound of gunshots faded and was replaced by a chorus of inhuman screams and the sound of dozens of running feet. Squidheads came at them from every door and window they could see. Israel tried to rush forward but felt the dragging weight of Stone and Erin behind him. The first of the creatures reached him and Israel met the charge by snapping his fist into the thing’s face with lightening speed. He felt something give under the blow and the monster staggered backwards but righted itself and came at him again, tentacles whipping in a frenzy and its jaw hanging at a loose angle.
“Israel, keep us together,” Stone ordered, “Erin, do what you did back at the mansion! Aim for the eyes!”
Israel watched as the monsters rushed toward them from every direction. There was a solid wall behind them but doors were opening on their side of the street and the former residents of the small town were coming out on either side of Israel and his blinded friends.
Awakened Page 23
