by James Gough
“Nobody’s sure why they did it. Power? Greed?” Rizz spoke with a quiet pain. “We’ll probably never understand. It’s nearly impossible to communicate with their kind. They were about to seize power then, one day, the Builders just stopped attacking.”
“Stopped? Why?” Will looked around the table. Everyone lowered their eyes.
“That was the day they killed Josef W. Grimm, the last Immune.”
Will felt like the air had been punched out of him.
“He was the last descendant of the Grimm brothers, a doctor working right here in St. Grimm’s—head of Research and Development—the best in the world. Builders attacked his lab. There was an explosion.” Rizz clenched his fists for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. “Afterward, the Builders all went underground again, no reasons, no apologies, just a message from their queen saying they would abide by any punishment or restriction the Council of Wik demanded. They were exiled from enchant society and haven’t been seen since. Until today.”
The only sound at the table was the moan of wind through the archways. Builders hadn’t been seen for eleven years and now they show up on Will’s first day in St. Grimm’s? Cold fear spread through his chest when he thought about how close he’d been to them. They had singled him out. Did they know he was an Immune?
Rizz smacked his hand on the table. “Well, sitting around like this isn’t gonna solve anything.” The far-off look had left his eyes, replaced by determination. “A few Builders broke the rules today. We can’t be sure it was because of the kid. But just to be safe, I say we skip this whole acclamation nonsense and start naturalizing Will now.”
“Rizz!” snapped Kaya.
“Neutralize me?”
“No, kid, not neutralize, naturalize. We want to train you to be an enchant, so you can protect yourself, just in case.”
“Agent Rizzuto.” Kaya was on her feet, her irises closing. “We already talked about this.”
Rizz stood too. “That was before six Builders came after him. I think we should talk about it again.”
“He is too inexperienced to be naturalized right now,” Kaya growled.
“His inexperience didn’t stop him from protecting himself against the wolfchant while you were unconscious.”
Kaya’s hands shook, her claws digging into the tabletop. “He is not ready,” she snarled. “It’s too dangerous.”
“More dangerous than facing Builders deaf and blind?” Rizz grabbed Will by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “Right now he’s walking around helpless as a newborn mousechant. Let’s at least give him a chance.”
“Hey!” Will pulled his arm from Rizz. “I am not helpless. And I’m not deaf or blind either. I can defend myself. And I’m not afraid of Builders, even if they did do all that stuff you said.”
Rizz folded his arms. “I think he’s more ready than you give him credit for, Agent Das. Why don’t we vote?”
Kaya eyed Will for a long time, then turned to the others, who had been listening to the argument.
Agent Manning spoke first. “Tuttle has spunk. I think I could pull some fighting instinct out of him. It would take work, but I say we should try.”
Kaya faced Flores, who said, “I agree with Agent Das. We are here to protect the boy. I do not see why it is necessary for him to protect himself. Enhancers are too risky. You know what happened in the Nep trials. I say no.”
Everyone looked to Dr. Noctua, who sat with one wing folded, picking at his chin feathers with the other.
“You have the deciding vote, Doctor. He is your patient,” said Kaya.
Noctua’s huge yellow eyes searched Will’s face. “I choose not to vote.”
The protection team started to complain, but the doctor held up his wings. “I give my vote to Wilhelm. It is, after all, his life that will be affected.” He wrapped his feathered fingers around his cane and peered through his spectacles. “Wilhelm, the naturalization we’re speaking of is a training regimen that is like nothing you could imagine. Young enchants are naturalized only after they are able to pass rigorous tests to insure they can defend themselves in enchant society and be undetectable in the presence of Neps. Not only is it mentally and physically grueling, but there is an additional risk for you. Since naturalization requires basic enchant abilities like heightened hearing, vision, and smell, we need your senses to be equal to that of the most basic enchant.”
Will swallowed hard. “You have to make me an enchant.”
The doctor lifted the corner of his mouth. “No, never. But we would have to enhance your senses with prosthetics.”
“Prosthetics? Like artificial limbs and stuff?”
“Precisely, but far more advanced than anything in Nep medicine. These prosthetics are designed to enhance the animal senses in enchants. A few years ago we tried to ascertain if the technology could be beneficial to Neps with disabilities as well. The results were disappointing.”
“What do you mean disappointing?”
“Several Nep test subjects became…damaged. Loss of hearing, taste, smell, touch. I think you get the picture. About the only enhancement that did not cause irreparable damage were the night vision glasses you received last night. Although, I would suggest you not wear them for extended periods until the final test results come back. The point is that there are theories that enhancers will work fine with Immunes, but for obvious reasons, those theories remain untested.”
“Wait, so you’re saying that these enhancer things could let me smell and hear with super-animal senses?” asked Will with enthusiasm.
“Or leave you deaf and senseless,” stated Kaya flatly.
“Or give you the ability to live a normal, less odiferous life,” added Rizz with a wink.
Super senses or loss of senses. No more stink would be great. But being deaf or blind? It was a lot to think about. Will wasn’t sure. He sat back in his chair and mulled it over as he stared at the wind painting patterns on the prairie below.
“Do I have to decide right now?” he asked.
Doctor Noctua’s eyes twinkled. “Taking some time on a decision this important is a very wise course indeed. In the meantime, I prescribe we all carry on with our schedules, with a bit of added precaution, of course.”
The strain of the moment eased.
“Fine,” said Kaya, calming the after-tremor in her voice. “But from this point on I want to double Will’s protection—two agents at all times. No exceptions.” She and Rizz nodded to each other respectfully.
“You’re the boss.” Rizz placed his palms on the table. “So who wants to come with me and the kid on his first St. Grimm’s chore shift?”
“That depends,” said Manning. “What is it?”
“Maternity Ward, nursery duty.”
Kaya fidgeted. “Oh, I don’t do well with babies.” Her tail flicked uneasily. She faced Agent Manning. “You’d better go, Val. Flores is banned from the nursery after that incident with those parrotchants last month.”
Flores crossed his arms and began turning a molted shade of blue. “All I did was tell them their baby looked like my uncle Hector. It was a compliment. He is a very striking enchant.”
“Yeah, but he’s also a 60-year-old lizard, and that newborn was a girl,” Rizz snorted.
“A compliment is a compliment. Que sensitivos son los pájaros,” muttered Flores.
As they stood to leave, Dr. Noctua caught Will’s eye. “Remember,” he said quietly. “The decision is yours. Take as much time as you need.”
Will’s feet felt like lead as he took his place between Rizz and Manning. A week ago he had been locked in a bubble, forgotten. Now he might be the target of murderous ant creatures that had wiped out all Immunes.
As they passed Dr. Noctua’s collections, Will caught his reflection in a mirror. Next to Rizz, he looked pale and thin. Next to Manning, his movements were slow and sloppy. He did look helpless. The word was like a splinter in his mind.
Stuffing his latex-covered hands into his pock
ets, Will paused and weighed his options. Super senses or loss of sight or hearing? Fear and doubt burrowed deep into his chest. Either choice was a risk.
“Hey kid, the clock is ticking.” Rizz held the door.
Manning tapped her foot and checked her tiny watch.
Will forced his feet to move. Rizz was right. The clock was ticking. And as he spiraled down the stairs toward the heart of St. Grimm’s, Will was only sure of one thing. His life was about to change completely. Again.
19
Helpless
The beaming parents interlaced wing tips and held each other close as they watched a small crack appear in one of the large speckled eggs inside the incubator.
“Oh, isn’t it wonderful?” said Patty, the plump Irish midwife with the pointed nose and whiskers of a vole. “Quadruplets as a first time mother, Mrs. Knightly. You and Mr. Knightly must be bursting with pride. It won’t be long now,” she announced, twitching her whiskers.
The husband stared at the football-sized eggs and swallowed. He looked as nervous as Will felt standing next to Patty, holding a stack of pink and blue towels. Rizz was against the wall checking that the hatchling carts were set at precisely the right temperature. Manning sat on a stool next to a biowaste bin—she’d been put on egg shell duty.
A hole appeared in the first egg. The mother let out a little squeak of delight and kissed her hubby on the beak.
Will felt like he was intruding on a private moment. He tried to slip backward, but Patty grabbed him by the sleeve of the medical gown and pulled him back. “Now you stand right here and hand me those towels as soon as I say so. Got it?”
Will nodded and was surprised by a series of cracks. Two more eggs began to split. A second later, the first shell broke open and out flopped what looked like a normal pink baby with a tiny beak and little talons on his feet. The newborn cried softly and chirped, rolling over in the soft nest that supported the eggs. Will held out a blue towel.
“Oh, not yet. Just wait,” whispered Patty, the midwife. “Ah, there we go.”
The tiny baby leaned against the shell and pushed himself to his wobbly feet. After a moment of balancing, he took one step, then another. Mrs. Knightly stepped forward and Patty handed her one of Will’s blue towels just before the baby bird enchant climbed into her arms.
“Here come the rest,” motioned Patty. The scene was repeated three more times as the mother and father took turns catching the toddling newborns. Pictures were taken and the hatchlings were all placed in separate incubator carts to be examined by the medical staff.
When they were pronounced healthy, Manning cleaned up the shells and the two agents started to lead Will out of the hatching room.
“Just a minute, would you like to hold one?” Mrs. Knightly, who didn’t seem bothered by Will’s stink, held out a pink bundle of baby. Will carefully took her in his arms. The newborn peered into Will’s eyes and clipped her beak, then cooed and smiled. Will smiled back. “She’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Knightly beamed, rocking two of the other babies in her feathered arms.
Will looked down. “Hi there, baby. Goochy, goochy, goo.”
The baby reached up and grabbed his glove with her tiny fingers. She scrunched up her face and shrieked, causing one of the light bulbs above the incubator to shatter. Like a chain reaction, the other three joined in. Will thought his ears would burst, but the Knightlys and Patty just smiled.
“Looks like they’re hungry,” shouted Patty. She began moving the screeching infants to a little room with a comfortable chair surrounded by privacy curtains. Mrs. Knightly sat down and was given the baby Will had been holding.
“Okay, kid, time to go.” Rizz pulled Will away by the collar and whispered, “Trust me, you do not want to witness a regurgitated feeding. Talk about an image you will never get out of your mind.”
Will followed Rizz and Manning into the nursery, where they spent the next two hours trying to pacify twenty different kinds of enchant babies.
Will was the designated bottle runner. Whenever one of the infants started bawling, he had to retrieve the correct bottle and hurry it to Rizz, who was a pro at holding it just right to quiet the shriek or moo or hiss. Enchant newborns were much different than those in a normal nursery. They kept trying to climb or jump out of their cribs, grabbing at bottles as Will passed by.
A thirty pound grizzly bear enchant snagged Will’s sleeve and pulled him into a crib, where the baby stole a bottle meant for a zebra enchant newborn. Rizz pried the grizzly’s paws apart until Will escaped the bear hug.
“Think he’s strong now? You should see this helpless little guy in about a year. He’ll be a head taller than you.”
Looking around at these powerful newborns, Will suddenly felt very inadequate.
The rest of the shift dragged on. By the time Will had carried a four-gallon bottle to a hippochant baby, he was exhausted and ready to go.
The shortest route to the herbivore cafeteria was still blocked off by yellow crime scene tape. The next closest route was stopped up by a crew trying to free an elderly elephantchant who’d gotten her trunk stuck in an elevator.
Rizz and Manning were unhappy about the detour. Scanning over their shoulders, they rushed Will through tunnels where stalactites and stalagmites spiked from the ceiling and floor like redundant rows of teeth. The walls were covered in a crust of red lichen that bounced crimson light into every shadow. Unlike the rest of St. Grimm’s, nothing green grew in this tunnel. The air was smothering. As they rounded a corner Will noticed strange noises and smells coming from a downward sloping tunnel to his right.
“What’s down there?” He sniffed the air and smelled bacon.“Carnivore cafeteria, kid.” Rizz perked his ears. Both he and Manning were on full alert. “Not a good place to be caught during dinner time.”
Laughter and an ominous howl floated up from the tunnel. The agents grabbed Will and picked up their pace.
“Hey, what’s the hurry? You three are going the wrong way,” hissed a cold, mocking voice.
Rizz and Manning turned back to back, keeping Will between them as a dozen scaly teenage reptiles emerged from the shadows. An iguana with spikes like a Mohawk and a pierced nose blocked the path while a crew of tattooed lizardchants with spines jutting from their heads closed in behind Will and his protectors. Above Manning, snake enchants coiled around white-tipped stalactites, rattling their tails. Each reptile wore a cast or a bandage.
“Venison, wild goat, and…” A waxy yellow boy leaning against a stalagmite flicked a forked tongue at Will from under his hooded jacket. “Rancid gerbil? Shouldn’t you be heading down to the kitchens, Meat?”
The gang of reptile enchants laughed.
“Meat. That was a good one, Cylus. He-he,” said a scrawny lizard with a big mouth and flaps of scaly skin hanging from his neck.
“Shut up, Wart!”
Wart withered and moved away.
Manning stepped forward, her fingers hovering over one of her daggers. “Back off, boy. Let us pass. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Oh, how scary. I’m being threatened by an appetizer.” Another round of laughter filled the cavern.
Rizz began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” snapped the waxy teen.
“You.” Rizz cracked his knuckles. “Cylus, is it? You and your entourage here have no clue what’s about to happen. Do you?”
Angry hisses filled the air.
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen, grass-eater,” Cylus said. “We’re going to beat you to a pulp and drag you down that tunnel right there. Ever seen what happens to herbivores during a feeding frenzy?”
Rizz snorted. “You are hilarious, but your facts are a little off. What’s really going to happen is that in thirty seconds, your poky-headed iguanachant friend there is gonna be on the ground crying ’cause he just had his ugly nose ring ripped out. Then the viper triplets above my head, I’ll call them Larry, Mo, and Slimy, are gonna end up in
a barely conscious knot over there.” Rizz pointed with his thumb. “Next, the four boneheads behind me are going be pinned to the wall and finally you, my friend, will kiss the floor while I administer an incredibly painful wedgie. After that, I imagine there will be a lot of cowering and fleeing by everybody who didn’t get their butts kicked. You get the picture.”
“Really?” Cylus flashed a black set of fangs. The group closed in. “And you’re going to do all that, Goat-man?”
“Me?” smirked Rizz. “Nope. I only do wedgies. Manning.”
There was a bellow at Will’s side, and Agent Manning charged forward. She launched herself into a twisting back flip, planted a tiny foot into the hoop in the iguana enchant’s nose, and used it as a springboard to catapult herself to the ceiling. The iguana teen fell to the ground wailing and grabbing his bleeding nose. The metal hoop clinked across the floor.
Manning roared as she flew between stalactites. Grabbing the three viper enchants by the tails, she slammed their heads together. The slithering mass fell to the floor in the exact spot where Rizz had pointed. Realizing they were next, the four lizard enchants started to run, but as they fled, their hooded jackets were pinned to the wall by the six-inch daggers Manning had thrown with ridiculous precision. She dropped to the floor and glared at Cylus. He took a step back, but was hampered by the cast on his foot. Manning was fast. She bolted forward into a triple handspring, sailed over Cylus, and grabbed the sides of his hood. Using his own weight, she flipped him over and pressed his face to the stone floor.
“Come on, kid.” Rizz led Will to where Manning had Cylus pinned down. “I have a promise to keep.”
Rizz bent down, found Cylus’s underwear band and yanked it until it reached the base of his skull.
As predicted, the gang scattered, limping off in every direction.
“You kids enjoy your dinner now.” Rizz waved as the reptile enchants fled.
Will stared open-mouthed at the agents.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Manning reached up and closed Will’s jaw with her tiny finger.
