by Robert McKay
"Thank you, Pickle," said Beatrix, her shoulders slumping in relief. "You saved my life."
"My pleasure, Sting." She pulled the blade from the creature's back and flicked her wrist to shake off the blood. "Now, let's go rescue Torch and kill the queen."
"Agreed," said Beatrix, scanning the room.
Rescuing Torch wouldn't be necessary. He'd just dispatched the fish-face that had gone his way. Which was great, because killing the queen had suddenly become a much more difficult task. While they had been fighting, dozens more monsters had gathered. There was a large complement of the spiders and several more fish-faces. Thankfully, none of the new arrivals carried guns. Most were unarmed, but a few carried swords. Beatrix and Pickle stepped through the tide of Anthrak on the floor and met up with Torch.
"Glad to see you two again," he said by way of greeting. "What are we going to do about that mess?"
The monsters were swarming around the queen in ever-changing patterns. They seemed content to surround her and look menacing, rather than spreading out to attack. Beatrix hefted the enormous gun she'd taken from one of the fish-faces. "I say we empty a couple of these into the crowd and go from there."
Torch grabbed the gun from his dead fish-face and nodded. "Pickle, I know you like your sword, but how about you get the other gun."
"You got it, Captain," she said, and retrieved the massive rifle. "Do you guys hear that?"
Beatrix tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. There was a noise just at the edge of her hearing. It was a low rumble that she could feel in her chest more than she could hear it. "What is that?"
"I think the reinforcements have arrived," said Torch. "Form up. We do this now or we don't do it at all."
Beatrix opened her eyes and found Pickle looking back the way they'd come in. It was hard to see in the dim light, but the huge crowd of beasts swarming from both above and below was impossible to miss. She tapped Pickle on the shoulder. "The only way we make it out is if we get the queen. Nothing else matters."
Pickle turned to face the crowd around the queen and slid back the bolt on the side of her rifle. She was quite a bit shorter than Beatrix. The gun was almost as big as she was, but the fierce look of determination on her face kept it from looking ridiculous. She'd planted her sword in the spongy floor where she could easily retrieve it.
That's when Beatrix noticed that the Anthrak weren't tangling around their feet any more. They were all crowding around the queen in a writhing mass. The larger creatures paid little attention to them. "That's just disturbing," said Beatrix, raising her gun.
"Open fire," said Torch.
The rumble of their approaching demise fell into the background as the rifles exploded into life. Large flashes of fire spouted from the barrels of the guns and bullets tore their enemies to shreds. It was incredibly satisfying to watch them tumble to the ground, but they were always replaced by another. Beatrix glanced over her shoulder. The first of the monsters approaching from the rear were getting ready to lunge. She shot a few of the closest ones down. "We're out of time," she shouted over the din.
"One of us is going to have to make a run for the queen," called Torch.
"Or all of us could go," suggested Beatrix. "Torch and I could clear a hole and Pickle could slip through."
"Just don't shoot me," said Pickle, dropping her gun and taking up her sword. Before Torch could agree, she was charging into the fray surrounding the queen.
Torch signaled to Beatrix to move off to the side and he did the same. They concentrated their fire on the path directly in front of Pickle, advancing gradually until they were just out of range of the mob. Pickle lashed into the beasts with a ferocity that was frightening. Her sword bit into a neck on her left and then two legs on her right, all without stopping. Her feet climbed bodies as if they were stairs. She worked her way through the small hole Beatrix and Torch had carved, and then she dropped into a depression and was gone from their view.
One of the spider monsters lunged at Beatrix. She jumped back and gunned it down, only to feel hands groping at her from behind. They were completely surrounded. She spun and fired into the front line all around them, pushing the creatures back. It wouldn't save them to be a few feet further away, but they didn't seem to be the brightest beasts.
Beatrix heard a human scream of frustration from amid the heap of monsters surrounding the queen. She couldn't let Pickle die in there. She had to do something. Torch was firing short bursts at any creatures that dared encroach on their clear circle. Beatrix locked eyes with him and it was clear from the pain in his expression that he heard the scream too. "I'm going in," said Beatrix.
Beatrix knew there couldn't be much ammo left in the rifle, so she only fired when a creature reached for her. It was hard to keep her footing on the wriggling Anthrak and the corpses of the fallen monsters, but slowly she climbed the mound. A fish-face lunged out of the crowd around her and dropped like a stone when a bullet caught it in the head. Torch was watching out for her too. When she crested the top of the pile, Beatrix saw Pickle, dancing around two circling fish-faces. In the center of the circle was a two meter mound of Anthrak bodies, pulsing and squirming. Other creatures looked on, but it was as if they were afraid to come any closer. The queen was off limits, even during dire emergencies.
Beatrix took careful aim at the fish-face that kept circling around Pickle. She squeezed the trigger, a burst of fire tore into the thing's chest, and then the gun clicked, signaling the end of her ammunition. Pickle slashed at her last opponent, but he lurched out of reach, favoring a leg with a large gash. Beatrix stepped into the ring made by the other creatures, gawking at the surrealism of it all. She didn't drop the gun. It was the only weapon she had, and while it was out of ammo, it still made a good club.
Pickle harried the mammoth beast with her sword, driving it backward toward Beatrix. Not wanting to draw further attention to herself, Beatrix waited. When it was within a couple meters, the fish-headed beast stumbled and Beatrix took her shot, swinging the rifle at the back of its head like a baseball bat. It hit with a sickening thud and the creature dropped to the ground. Pickle was on it like lightning, finishing it with a quick jab to the heart.
"Nice job, Pickle," said Beatrix, holding her hand up for a high five.
Pickle slapped her hand and grinned. "I think I'd like it if you called me Alice," she said.
"Very well, Alice," agreed Beatrix. "Let's dig through this pile of leeches and find their queen."
Beatrix and Alice shuddered in unison and then immediately dove into the task. They each glanced furtively at the ring of creatures. Beatrix kept expecting more of them to drop into the circle and attack, but they didn't. Every few seconds, they would hear some gunfire and a whoop from Torch that told them he was still alive. Eventually, they peeled off the last of the lesser Anthrak and tossed them into the sea of churning bodies around them.
What was left behind was strange, fascinating, and disturbing. The queen of the Anthrak was the same basic shape as the others, but rather than black, its body was the color Beatrix had come to know as Colarian grey, and it was about three times the size of her inferiors. At first it was hard to tell the queen's size and shape because it was wrapped around a raised bulbous protrusion of the floor which almost matched its color. A second look revealed that the queen was attached to the protrusion in the same way that the Anthrak attached to the Leothen.
It took a while for the implications of that to sink in. They hit Alice and Beatrix at the same time. "Gross," they said in unison.
"This building is alive, and having its brain sucked on by this thing?" Alice held up her sword to strike.
Beatrix put out a hand to stop her. "May I?" she asked. A sudden rage rushed through her body, setting her blood to boil. She hadn't been thinking about revenge since she realized that she'd killed so many innocent Leothen, but there, sitting in front of her, was her father's true murderer. Her revenge would finally be complete.
Alice handed he
r the sword, and nodded an acknowledgment of Beatrix's right to kill this monster. As her hand seized the grip of the sword, a calm lassitude spread through her limbs. Her thoughts were clear like they hadn't been in years. She didn't stab down at the Anthrak queen, no matter how satisfying it would have felt. That would just bring more harm to a creature who was suffering like the Leothen. This building creature deserved to be left to its own life, assuming it survived being freed from the queen leech. She had to give the building its best shot. Beatrix carefully slid the blade beneath the Anthrak queen, took a steadying breath, turned the sharp edge toward the ceiling, and pulled it through the tough grey flesh.
There was a spray of dark red blood and then a resounding shriek from the creatures that surrounded them. A moment later, the entire facility began to tremble. The spiders and fish creatures fled toward the ramps, leaving only corpses behind. Among the corpses were all the limp bodies of the Anthrak, no longer wriggling and grotesque. They were just lifeless globs of black flesh. She had suspected they would all die when the queen was killed. It was something entirely different to see it. She thought she would feel some remorse for wiping out a species, despite what she'd told Torch. Now that it was done, she felt only relief. Their death meant that her father was avenged, and that the Leothen and who knew how many other races were free. Or dead. Her thoughts turned to Arryn unbidden. She wanted to get back to him, to see if he had lived when his leech died.
"It's done?" asked Torch, only a dozen paces away.
"It is," said Beatrix. She handed Alice her sword, though she doubted they would need it. Her feet were already moving toward the exit.
"Then let's get the hell out of here," replied Torch. "It's getting dark in here."
Beatrix looked up and saw that the glowing creatures on the ceiling were fleeing as well, taking their dim green light with them. The building rumbled, a clear sign of its displeasure. It had survived the Anthrak and it wanted them out. Beatrix felt the same way. "Lets get back to the ship as quickly as we can," said Beatrix.
The surrounding throng continued to ignore them in their headlong rush down the ramps. It was hard to get off on the next floor below because of all the pushing. Alice's sword, while no longer aiming to kill and maim, still provided them with enough space to avoid being trampled. Light was still pouring in through the gaping hole they'd shot in the side of the building, allowing them to find their way back to the ship. They didn't encounter any opposition along the way.
There were a few spider corpses scattered around the ship. One of them hung partially inside the loading door. "It's us," called Torch. "Don't shoot."
"Finally," shouted Gadget, the beam of his flashlight shining through the gap.
Hands pushed the broken door from inside while Beatrix and Torch pulled from outside. The crack opened enough to allow them to squeeze through. Beatrix was the first inside, her eyes scanning the passenger area until they locked on the large forms of Arryn and Woolly. It was too dim for her to make out their health. She thought she saw movement in the shadows, but couldn't be certain. Her feet were afraid to move forward and find out if she'd killed them.
"How are we going to get out of here now that you've destroyed our only ship?" asked Gadget. He looked squarely at Beatrix, his face framed in the beam of the flashlight.
"Oh, would you shut up?" growled Woolly. "You've done nothing but whine since we broke atmosphere."
Beatrix let out a wobbly cry. It was a sound of elation, strangled by the tightness of worry in her throat. Woolly was alive. "Arryn?" she asked, her feet moving once again.
"Beatrix," he replied. His voice was soft and warm in a way that it never had been before.
Beatrix stepped up next to his seat, and was finally close enough to see him clearly. His smile was bright, though tears tracked down his dark cheeks. She looked into his luminescent yellow eyes and then just above them. Instead of finding the dark Anthrak flesh pressing into his forehead, there were only two pink marks that would soon turn into dark scars. "You're free," she said, her hand hovering in the air before him.
"Yes," he said. "Finally." He hung his head. "It's been so long, and I've lost so much."
Beatrix watched her hand as it crossed the space between them. She'd never willingly touched Arryn, but he was no longer the beast from her nightmares. He was a friend in pain. The hair on his cheek was soft and silky, not at all bristly like she'd imagined it. "There is at least one thing you've gained," she said, before she could think better of it.
Arryn returned his gaze to hers again, the confusing tide of his emotions finally spilling over toward joy. "I have?" he asked tentatively, pressing his face into her hand.
For all the seriousness of the moment, it reminded her of her cat, Josh, on the few rare occasions when he wanted attention. She laughed, and saw a glint in Arryn's eye just before the corner of his mouth turned up into a half-grin. "Yes, silly, you've gained a friend."
"Well, if we're done with the happy reunion, we should be getting the hell out of here," said Hands, a teasing smile on his face. "You think these two are safe to unshackle?"
"Absolutely," replied Beatrix, holding out her hand for the key.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The trip out of the hive was without incident. Woolly took the lead and Arryn brought up the rear. Their intimidating physical presence was enough to keep the fleeing monsters mostly at bay. Beatrix took the spot directly in front of Arryn and found herself watching almost constantly over her shoulder. His movements were fluid and controlled, never applying more effort than was necessary. The more she watched him, the more she saw how much of him had been subsumed by the Anthrak, even while it only had partial control of him. He was quick to smile and even faster to tease.
"If you don't watch where you're going, you'll hit your head," said Arryn, having noticed her frequently looking his way. "These ramps weren't exactly built with beings of our size in mind." He had to walk with his shoulders perpetually hunched, his head bent.
"Our size? I'm tall, but I'm no giant like you," retorted Beatrix. "And these ramps weren't built at all. This hive is a living being. Shouldn't you have known that?" She tapped her head, referring to the knowledge that she still possessed from her brief contact with the Anthrak hive mind.
A shudder rippled through his body. "I've spent over a decade trying to push that thing and its thoughts out of my head. Now that I'm physically free, I'm keeping my distance from them as much as possible."
They stepped out into the open and surveyed the devastation around the hive. There were Anthrak corpses covering the ground and littering the river like an oil spill. The creatures boiling out of the hive paid them no attention as they bolted to the forests like startled prey animals. There were several piles of burning, twisted metal that indicated where ships had crashed after the Anthrak had died. At the edge of the clearing to their left was a ship that was very similar to the one they had arrived in. It was far enough away that she had a hard time making out the shapes milling around it, but judging by the look on his face, Arryn didn't have the same trouble. His smile was so fierce that it bordered on scary.
That's when it hit Beatrix how long and hard the road to recovery would be for the Leothen. They had been a people locked away from their own bodies and thoughts for over a decade. They would wake to find that many of their loved ones were dead and their society was completely destroyed. They would have to rebuild from scratch. Nedra, on the other hand, could simply stop fighting and go about their lives. The only lives that would change with any real significance were those in the Crown Fleet. Like hers.
She didn't know what life would look like in the Fleet without a war to fight, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She hadn't joined out of some sense of duty to her planet, though that had come later; she had been in it for revenge. Now that she had her revenge, she wasn't sure what she wanted for her life.
Beatrix watched the rest of their party as they trekked across the field of Anthrak bodies, tow
ard the Leothen and their ship. Woolly and Arryn outpaced the rest of them, their long legs and eagerness eating up the distance in no time. Beatrix noticed Arryn look back at her more than a few times, and she wanted to tease him about it. The smile on her face was completely inappropriate, given that she was wading through the corpses of a race she had just destroyed, but she couldn't help it. She found her thoughts wandering back to the library in that impossibly beautiful house on the Leothen's planet. There were still so many books she hadn't read. Maybe Arryn would let her borrow some. She shook her head at the thought. That just didn't seem right for some reason.
When they met with the three Leothen who controlled the ship, it was a joyous reunion for Woolly and Arryn, full of hugging and hands clapping on backs. They didn't know the men, but their shared experience brought them together in a way nothing else could have. Introductions were made and Beatrix promptly forgot their names. Her head was too full of other thoughts to hold onto new information.
Arryn made sure to tell his new friends that the Nedrans were responsible for their freedom, which led to crushing hugs that Beatrix and her friends tried to accept with grace. Gadget, surprisingly, was the most accepting of their new companions. He was a complicated man. Alice held herself apart, constantly looking up at the sky with a distant expression.
Beatrix was going to ask her about it, but Torch interrupted.
"It's time to get back to the Co—Leothen planet," said Torch. "That's going to take some getting used to."
"Arcata," one of the newcomers said. "Our home is called Arcata." Pride was clear in his voice.
"Arcata then," Torch amended. "Then I suspect we'll need to hurry back to the Fleet."
