by Aaron Hodges
In his arms, Ashley moved again. He glanced down as her eyes fluttered open, a frown creasing her brow. “Chris?”
His heart lifted at her words. A smile spread across his face as he drew to a stop. Ashley wriggled in his arms, lifting her head to look around. “Liz?”
Liz grinned as she turned back. “Welcome back.” She started forward, then paused, her shoulder falling.
Ashley closed her eyes with a groan. “Feels like I’ve been hit in the head with a brick.”
“Chris probably bumped it on the way out of the infirmary,” Liz commented wryly.
Chris found himself laughing. “Hey, I was careful. Besides, I’ve been shot, so join the club, Ash.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow. “Pretty sure I joined that club first,” she said with a grin, “but put me down if you’re that much of a baby. I think I can walk now.”
Carefully putting Ashley on her feet, Chris made sure she was steady before releasing her. “Take it easy,” he said, offering his arm.
Nodding, Ashley panted as she straightened. Her snowy wings hung behind her, flexing slightly with each breath. She gave Chris’s arm a squeeze and he nodded back.
Her eyes flickered between Chris and Liz. “No answers to your little problem yet?”
The smile fell from Liz’s face. She quickly looked away, but Chris had caught the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “Come on,” she said shortly, “before Richard and Jasmine get too far ahead.”
They started off again, still moving slowly to allow Ashley time to recover. She was uneasy on her feet, no doubt due to the drugs lingering in her bloodstream. But that she was standing at all, just a few weeks after being shot from the sky, was a miracle in itself.
“What are you guys doing here?” Ashley asked as they walked. “What madness made you come back?”
In the lead, Liz snorted. “Blame Chris,” she replied, apparently having recovered some of her humor. She looked back. “He was distracted by a pretty girl. Got us all caught.”
“Sounds about right,” Ashley laughed.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Chris said in halfhearted defense, shifting Ashley’s weight on his shoulder.
“Hmm, let’s see. You got shot…” Liz counted off his failings. “Got us caught and locked away. Is there something I’m forgetting?”
“Hey, we found Ashley, didn’t we?”
Liz snorted again and Ashley laughed. They drifted into silence as they made their way down the long corridors. No one appeared to stop them, and Chris found himself pondering what had happened to everyone. Other than the dozen or so Liz had…killed, they had not seen another living soul.
Idly, he wondered where they were now, where such a place could be hidden amongst the packed skyscrapers of San Francisco. The facility was massive, but he hadn’t glimpsed a single window so far. The weight of the concrete walls and ceilings pressed in around him. His wings twitched, and a longing for the escape of open skies rose inside him.
Soon.
Chris let out a long breath as they turned another corner and found a set of elevator doors waiting for them. The scent of the others lingered strongly in the corridor, and he hoped they had found the right way out.
Liz strode into the elevator as Chris and Ashley staggered after her. Ashley was taking more of her own weight now. She disengaged herself from Chris as they stepped inside and leaned against the wall. Liz pressed the button for the lobby.
“Hope there’s no one home,” she murmured.
The elevated shuddered and started moving upwards.
We’re underground, Chris realized.
Within seconds, the lift shuddered to a halt again. They shared glances as the doors slid open, readying themselves for whatever waited. But nothing could have prepared them for what they stepped into.
A massive hall opened out before them. A row of reception desks stood in front of the elevators, behind which three terrified women were huddling. Beyond, pure chaos had engulfed the gallery. Men and women stumbled across the tiled floor, rushing for the revolving door at the far end of the hall, while in the middle of the open space, five winged figures fought in a blur of sound and movement.
A flash of green and copper feathers came from overhead as Sam soared upwards to clash with Jasmine, but a sharp kick of her boot to send him crashing back to the ground. A shriek drew their attention to where Richard stood wrestling with two newcomers. Chris stared as Richard leapt into the air, his wings beating hard, only for the boy to jump on his back. Black wings tore the air as he dragged Richard back down. They smashed into the tiles and rolled. Richard was up first, but the girl was on him before he could recover, sending him staggering back towards the far wall.
And in the center of it all, Halt.
The doctor stood with his arms folded, a calm smile twisting his lips. His grey eyes watched the scene with detached interest, as though this was no more than a game to him. Mira lay slumped at his feet, but as Chris watched, Halt reached down and grabbed her by the arm.
Halt hauled Mira up and held her in front of his face. “Ah, my little miracle.” He laughed as she struggled, but even her enhanced strength could not break the doctor’s grip.
Liz was right: Halt was Chead.
The thought sent a chill through Chris’s stomach as he stepped from the elevator. He had barely had time to consider her accusation back in the cages, but the scene before him left no doubt.
Silently, they slid towards the reception desks, seeking cover as they struggled to figure out what was happening. Ashley moved without aid now, and some of her old sharpness had returned to her eyes. They crouched behind the desks as the women fled into the elevator.
“Halt!” A familiar voice echoed through the hall. “Leave her alone.”
Chris’s heart soared when he saw Sam striding across the hall, his copper wings spread, his face filled with rage.
Halt stared at the boy for a second, seemingly taken aback by Sam’s pronouncement. His surprise did not last long, however, and scowling, he tossed Mira aside and pressed a finger to his watch.
A collective scream carried across the hall as Sam and the two winged strangers crumpled, their hands clutching desperately at their necks. His face dark with rage, Halt strode across the hall to Sam and drove his boot into their friend’s stomach.
“How dare you defy me!” Halt screamed, his rage echoing from the ceiling as Sam clawed at the tiles. Caught in the clutches of the shock collar, he could do nothing to defend himself.
On the other side of the hall, Richard stood over the boy and girl he’d been fighting, his eyebrows raised in surprise. A smile tugged at his lips as his gaze found Chris and the others.
Ignoring him, Chris started towards Halt. He leapt past Mira as she staggered to her feet, gesturing for her to stay back. This had gone on long enough. It was time they rid themselves of the vile doctor. And this time, there would be no mercy.
Chris was still a few feet away when Halt looked up and saw him coming. The doctor drove a final kick into Sam’s side before turning to face the new threat. A wild grin spread across his lips as Chris leapt.
At the last second, Halt twisted away, leaving Chris clawing at empty air. A fist caught him in the stomach. The breath exploded between Chris’s teeth as he staggered back. Straightening quickly, he went for the doctor again.
Halt moved to meet him. Chris’s instincts kicked in and he turned, shifting himself from the doctor’s path. As Halt barreled past, Chris lifted his leg and drove his knee into the doctor’s stomach. Halt crumpled beneath the blow, and grinning, Chris stepped in to finish him.
An awful growl rattled up from Halt’s throat. He straightened suddenly, and before Chris could jump back, a fist caught him in the side of the head. Stars spun across his vision as he staggered, the strength fleeing his limbs. Before he could recover, a second blow caught him in the chin, lifting him from his feet.
Chris gasped as he crashed onto the hard tiles. Bones creaking, he struggled to sit up, but
a heavy boot landed on his chest. Ears ringing, breath straining, he collapsed back to the ground.
And then, with a bloodcurdling scream, Liz appeared from nowhere and slammed into Halt. Her wings extended, the force of Liz’s attack lifted Halt off his feet and hurtled him through the air. Heart pounding, Chris struggled to sit up, to find the strength to help Liz.
But she didn’t need it.
Halt was cursing, clutching his arm where Liz had grabbed him. He staggered back, his grey eyes wild as he looked at her.
“You!” he snarled.
Baring her teeth, Liz advanced on him. “What did you do to me?” she shrieked, eyes wild.
His face pained, Halt stood staring at his wrist where she’d touched him. “The nematocysts are functioning,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Incredible.”
“Nematocysts?” Liz hissed, closing in on him.
Halt shook his head. By the tightness to his face, Chris could tell he was still struggling to cope with the pain of Liz’s touch. Chris did not envy him.
“Stinger cells, from marine jellyfish,” Halt explained, wonder and pain mingling in the lines of his face. “The virus has incorporated them into your skin cells. But we thought the gene had remained dormant. Something must have triggered them. Fascinating.”
“Glad you think so,” Liz snapped.
Distracted, Halt did not realize his danger until it was too late. Lips drawn back in a snarl, wings extended, Liz sprang. Catching Halt by the throat, she lifted him into the air.
Halt growled, struggling in her grasp. Then his eyes bulged, and a short, sharp shriek rattled up from his throat. Liz’s eyes flashed, speckles of grey appearing amidst the blue as she lifted him higher. The doctor’s feet kicked helplessly at empty air as his face paled. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his skin turned an awful red where Liz held him.
Chris shuddered as Halt moaned, the low, pitiful sound of a dying animal. He couldn’t imagine the pain, the pure agony that must be sweeping through the doctor’s body. He had only felt Liz’s touch for an instant, and that had been enough to take his feet out from under him. This…this was infinitely worse.
Purple lines ran up Halt’s neck, radiating out from Liz’s fingers. His struggles weakened, the whites of his eyes now stained red. A low whine came from his mouth. Chris could see the life fleeing his body, suffocated by Liz’s touch.
Then he was still.
With a casual shrug of her shoulders, Liz tossed Halt’s lifeless body aside.
Chris swallowed as she turned towards him. Her grey-speckled eyes watched him, and for a moment he wondered who was looking out from them—Liz, or the Chead. Then she blinked and the grey faded, the blue swelling to replace it.
She shuddered, her shoulders sagging. Finding his feet, Chris started towards her, then froze at the memory of her touch.
Hurt flashed across Liz’s face as she saw him hesitate.
Without speaking, she turned away.
27
A red-hot poker twisted in Liz’s chest as she saw the fear flash across Chris’s face. She sucked in a breath, fighting back the sting of tears, and turned her back on him. Across the hall, she saw Ashley and Sam embracing. Sam’s collar lay on the ground beside them, the key they had used on Ashley’s earlier still in the lock. Beside them, Jasmine had staggered to her feet. Mira huddled under her arm, her cheeks streaked by tears.
Pushing aside her pain, Liz moved to join them. She heard Chris’s footsteps behind her but did not look back. In that moment, she didn’t have the strength face him, though all she wanted was to bury her head in his shoulder. Glancing at her hands, despair rose in her throat as Halt’s words echoed in her mind, threatening to drown her.
Would anyone ever hold her again?
Halt was dead, but what did it matter, now that he had forever altered them, after he had taken their families and stolen their lives?
She looked up, seeing again Ashley and Sam, and her pain receded slightly. She had never expected to see them again, but despite the odds, they were alive. All that was left to do now was walk through the front door, and they were free. The last of the occupants had fled through the revolving door, leaving them alone in the hall.
Her eyes drifted beyond their little group, to where Richard still stood near the elevators. He was crouched over the strangers he’d been fighting, trying to remove their collars. Sam and Ashley were too preoccupied to have noticed his plight. Wearily, Liz moved towards them to retrieve the key.
As she moved, a bell dinged from the direction of the elevators. She turned to see the metal doors slide open. A woman stepped into view. Her cool gaze swept the hall, taking in the scene in an instant. Lifting an arm, she pointed at them. Soldiers stepped from the elevator behind her, rifles at the ready.
Then there was no more time for thought.
On the far side of the hall, Richard saw the men approaching. He looked at Liz, terror flashing across his face. Their eyes met, and he stilled, the fear falling from him. He nodded at her and turned away.
“No!” Liz screamed.
But too late. Richard was too far away, cut off from the exit by the men and their guns. Straightening, he spread his wings and roared. The guards swung around at the sound, and Richard charged.
The others turned as the first gunshot rang through the hall. They weren’t using darts now, and still several feet from his foes, Richard lurched as a bullet took him in the shoulder, but he did not slow. He plowed into the first man, bearing him to the ground and tearing the weapon from his grasp.
He was up again a second later, already charging the next soldier. A gun roared again, and blood blossomed from Richard’s chest. He stumbled, almost went down, before steadying and smashing the man into the ground.
Spinning, Richard met Liz’s gaze from across the hall. “Go!”
Tears shimmered in Liz’s eyes, but suddenly she was sprinting for the door, and the others were beside her. Chris was half-dragging Jasmine, even as she pleaded for them to go back, to leave her behind.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Liz winced with each gunshot, but she did not look back. With every step, she expected hot lead to tear through her, for a hail of bullets to bring them all down. They raced towards the exit, wings spread and beating hard, half-sprinting, half-flying.
Chris shoved Jasmine through the revolving door first, Ashley and Mira cramming in behind her. Chris followed, then Sam, as Liz cast one final look behind them.
Richard swayed on his feet, looking around at the ring of guards. His wings slumped to either side of him, torn and broken by bullets, and blood stained his shirt. He staggered for a second and then straightened, his green eyes looking up to catch Liz’s gaze. A smile tugged at his lips as he lifted his arm, as though in farewell.
Liz turned away as the roar of gunfire filled the hall.
28
Hecate drew to a stop at the edge of the empty stream and looked back, checking that the others were close. They trickled in one by one, picking their slow way across the plains. The harsh sun beat down from overhead, burning their pale skin, even as the orange globe dropped towards the distant peaks. Their shadows cast long silhouettes across the grass.
As the Chead drew up around him, Hecate’s thoughts drifted back to the strangers they’d left behind. In his mind’s eye, he saw again the explosion on the mountainside, the inferno engulfing the buildings. Out on the plains, Hecate had watched the flames, waiting to see whether anything had survived.
But no winged creatures had emerged, and as dusk fell, he had finally turned away.
Now, days later, Hecate still felt the pang of regret.
Such a waste.
The boy and girl had been talented, strong. The Chead could have used their strength. Still, it mattered little now.
For days they had raced across the grasslands, their powerful legs carrying them easily over the flat ground, following the distant scent. They rarely stopped for rest, and hunted on the move, slaughtering chi
ckens and other livestock when their hunger demanded it. They reveled in their freedom, in the touch of the breeze on their skin, the sun on their faces.
Though none could recall a time before the facility, each of the Chead possessed a rugged endurance, an ability to run for endless days and nights. Imprisonment had not lessened them—the doctors had been sure to keep them fit and healthy, the better for their experiments.
Now, Hecate could sense the wind changing, carrying with it fresh traces of the scent they followed. A delicious sweetness filled the air, somehow both familiar and alien. It was close now, its source at hand.
The others smelled it, too. They shifted around him, lifting their faces to breathe it in. They growled, and Hecate nodded. He leapt down onto the stream bed.
Starting upriver, Hecate listened to the crunch of gravel as the others followed. His eyes scanned the riverbed ahead, searching for the source of the scent, but finding only grey stones. There was no water here, only the empty husk of the once great river. Perhaps as spring set in, the snow on the distant peaks would melt, and return the waters to the dried-out river. But for today, the river remained dead.
Ahead, Hecate’s keen eyes alighted on a shadow amidst the stones. Drawing to a stop, he allowed the others to gather once more. His lips twitched as he looked at the cave. The worn bedrock around the entrance suggested the river had once plunged underground here, falling into depths unknown. Now though, with the waters gone, the entrance to the cave stood open.
The sweet scent of the Chead hung thick in the air.
Grinning, Hecate dropped into the darkness.
Part 4
Aftermath
29
Maria Sanders sighed as her alarm sounded in the darkness. Stretching out an arm, she pressed the snooze button, silencing the shrill buzzing. Somewhere outside a cricket chirped, and beyond her windows the world remained dark. Maria stared up at the ceiling, struggling to summon the will to move.
