The Tower

by L. A. McGinnis

  “Holy hell.” He groaned.

  Well good. At least they agreed on something.

  Gabriella struggled to her feet and went to him, finding his wrist. His breathing had evened out, his pulse was steady. Moving the blanket, she examined the gouge on his thigh. It had opened back up and was bleeding, but the black tendrils had faded and it appeared almost…normal. “Thank God you knew what to do, or we’d both be dead. How did you know?”

  “The anti-venom is for the Grim. The spider things.”

  Gabriella cocked her head, remembering the huge creature lying in the street. “But that’s not what you killed. I saw it—that thing was different. Its head was…human almost, except with lion-like fangs. And the body, bigger, but still humanoid, although with elongated legs and arms.” She asked again, louder this time, “How did you know the green stuff would work on us?”

  “The thing I killed, and the spiders. They were made in the same place.”

  Gabriella’s heart stilled, the blood draining from her face. “Made? What do you mean, made?” Her voice rose. “Look, I appreciate you getting me off the street and all, but you’d better start explaining what’s going on.”

  “Not down here. We should get upstairs. It’s cleaner, better up there.” She glanced around. This room, while well-stocked, did look abandoned. And the hallway outside appeared—or had been made to look—deserted.

  “There are more…people living in the top floors of the building. I’m calling for help. And once I do, you’ll have five minutes to brace yourself.” The guy struggled to a sitting position, muscles bulging, but his color sickly. With the vile liquid all over the floor, the smell of death hung heavy in the air. “There’s a button, behind you on the wall. Press it.”

  “Before I do anything, I want some answers.” Gabriella wasn’t about to press any button. And the guy didn’t look in any shape to make her. “First, I’d like to know who you are, and what this place is. Who booby-traps their own house?”

  “That’s a question I can’t answer.”

  “And you can’t even give me a name?”

  “My name’s Balder. But I can’t tell you why we booby-trapped the building. You’ll just have to trust me, we have good reason.” The guy was shaking. “Look, there’s no way I’ll make it all the way upstairs, even with you helping me. So, push the button and call someone who can.”

  “How far upstairs?”

  “All the way to the top.”

  “Where there are more people, like you, up there?” He nodded. Gabriella processed this. He was right, one flight had almost killed him. She pressed her thumb to the button, and nothing happened. “Okay, it’s broken or something. Can you even stand?” He lurched up off the table, the blanket twined around his waist. Gabriella caught him with an arm, groaning under his weight. “You weigh a metric ton. Tell me where to go. Maybe if we go really slow, we can make it a floor or two.”

  Something like hammering echoed down the hall, the sound of it jarring against the silence.

  “I seriously hope that’s not the building exploding or anything. I swear, I did not come in here just to die. I want to get out of this freaking city.”

  And then she couldn’t talk at all as a solid wall of muscle came charging down the hallway, causing her to almost lose her grip on Balder’s slippery, practically naked body. She stared up at three huge men, completely outfitted in full-assault gear.

  “Shit,” she whispered. She’d been around mercenaries before. Rubbed shoulders with some of the most dangerous people in the world. But there was a quality to these men that was beyond dangerous. These guys lived and breathed death.

  “What the fuck happened to you, Balder? Tyr was putting together a search party when the emergency alarm went off.”

  It didn’t escape Gabriella that even while the huge guy spoke, his electric blue eyes remained fixated on her. “You look like shit, my brother. Here”—he reached out and pulled Balder from Gabriella’s arms—“let me take him from you. He’s heavy as hell.”

  Standing on her own, without Balder’s body to block hers, Gabriella suddenly realized just how precarious her position was. She had no weapons, she wasn’t familiar with the building, and it was three against one.

  Still, maybe she could make a run for it.

  She took a sideways step, when Balder spoke for her. “Had a run-in with some new type of creature, and this woman saved my life. She got me inside the Tower, then injected me with anti-venom. But Mir’s got to check her over, since she got some of this poison on her too. Take us upstairs, Loki.”

  Which was how she found herself wedged between three burly men, ascending a never-ending flight of steel stairs. Nobody spoke, except for Balder’s low groans of pain, until the door at the top of the steps flew open and light blinded her.

  “Go with Balder to the infirmary.” The blue-eyed guy directed, and she obeyed, only because there was nowhere else to go, and her hand was still doing the weird burning-aching thing. When they breached the door, she blinked. Who were these guys?

  “Get him on the table. Put her in the chair. Over there.” Gabriella looked over to the order-giver. He was a beefy redheaded man, whose no-nonsense tone and steely blue eyes told her immediately whose facility this was. “What the hell happened here?” he asked, wiping his hands, his gaze swinging between the two of them as he moved quickly to Balder, scrutinizing the wound.

  “Care to explain?” he challenged, while Balder lay back, fighting for breath. When she hesitated, he pushed, “You can start any time, I’m dying to know who the fuck you are, sweetheart.” While her first instinct was to snap out a retort, she also wanted to live.

  “I was running from… The Grim, I think he called them. And Balder was fighting this huge, scaly monster. It had fangs and long arms. It bled all over him. I washed most of it off, but not fast enough…”

  “Washed it off with what?”

  “Saline. He’d ingested some as well, so I fed him a hydrogen peroxide solution to get it out of his system.”

  Those blue eyes narrowed. “And this blood, it came from a scaly monster?” The redhead immediately whipped the blanket away from Balder’s body while Gabriella averted her eyes.

  She nodded faintly. “Yes. It glowed and was oily, unlike any blood I’ve ever seen. Too viscous and thick to be considered normal. His clothing is still downstairs, laying in a pool of saline, if you care to take a closer look.”

  From the table, Balder’s weak voice added, “Anti-venom. I had her use the anti-venom on me. And on her.”

  That clever, blue-eyed gaze swung back her way. “How did you get bit?”

  “It isn’t contracted only through a bite, it’s any contact with the liquid. My hand…his leg and skin—it was as if the fluid ate away our flesh. I had only a trace of it on me and…” Her hand was swallowed up in the man’s grasp as he inspected her skin.

  “I can still see the damage.” His gaze turned back to Balder, and Gabriella’s followed, noting his gray pallor, the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

  “He needs medical care, immediately. All I did was stabilize him, but I don’t really understand what’s happening here. I… I…” Her words tapered off as she realized she truly didn’t understand anything about this situation.

  Monsters roaming the streets. Poison that ate away your skin. Green liquid that fixed you.

  This morning, she’d hoped to make it out of the city alive. Now she was struggling to understand this complex, new world. Gabriella felt as though she’d set foot into some alternate reality where the rules didn’t make sense, not in any sane way.

  Her entire life she’d prided herself on her ability to adapt, to excel in environments and situations most people would have fled from. But this version of Chicago mystified her, and nothing she’d ever experienced prepared her for it.

  “How did you know how to treat him? How to administer the saline? How to counteract the ingestion of poison?” Those clear blue eyes swam back into her line of vi
sion while the rest of the room grew hazy. “Who are you?”

  One thing never changed, though. Physiology was physiology, and the way you treated injuries remained a constant. That, she could depend on.

  “I’m Gabriella Mendoza. And I’m a doctor.”

  8

  Hours later, ensconced one floor up, Gabriella stared out at what was left of Chicago. A few fires glowed golden orange, here and there, beneath the crust of snow. Her fingers rested on the edge of the window; the edges of the glass frosted white.

  Balder watched her, knowing she must be terrified.

  “They say they gathered the finest craftsmen alive when they built this tower at the turn of the century,” Balder said softly. “And only their finest work was good enough.”

  Her fingers traced the hand-carved walnut that curved around the leaded glass, its edges a rainbow where it captured the light. Her lips quirked as she turned around, taking in the messy floor, the rumpled bed.

  “I left in a hurry this morning.”

  “It looks like some of these piles have been here for weeks.”

  “Cleaning is overrated.”

  “Then you and I have something in common.” She blew out a heavy, nervous breath. “So, you have a hospital and a triage area, plus a fortified perimeter. I probably should have asked you before now, but who are you guys?”

  “Military.” He narrowed his eyes, daring her to laugh. It was the explanation they’d all settled on, the account that made the most sense, at least to the mortals.

  She smiled, and when it reached her eyes, as if lighting her up from the inside out, Balder felt the breath catch in his throat. How long had it been since he’d noticed something so lovely? How long since he’d felt anything but the day-to-day horror that had become this existence? A smile. Just one smile and something inside of him broke apart.

  “Okay.” She nodded. “Okay.” She relaxed, as if something loosened inside of her too. “Military. That’s a good thing, since the whole world’s at war. I’m Gabriella. Gabriella Mendoza, but my friends call me Gabbie.”

  She looked again at the floor. At the window. At the bed. At him. He was clearly an idiot.

  “Next door.” He blurted out. “You can stay next door, the room’s empty. Most of this floor’s full, but that one’s…empty.” Since when did he babble? “It’s cleaner than mine, and there might even be hot water, if the solar’s working. You can take a shower, and I’ll see if I can find you some clean clothes around here.”

  “How is any of this even possible?” Her smile faltered. “Because I don’t understand any of this. It’s been months, and I still don’t understand anything that’s happening. Even the weather is messed up. And these…monsters… I don’t get what’s happened to the world.”

  “For now, you’re safe and that’s what’s important. This building is completely self-contained. Powered by solar energy and hydro-electric, no dependence on external energy sources. We set it up this way, just in case…” He didn’t continue.

  “In case what happened…happened?” Her face cleared. “Ah, the booby traps. I get it now.”

  “Yes.”

  Gabriella paused. Clearly, she had questions. “Do you know what happened here, to the world?” With her head tilted, waiting for an explanation, Balder took the opportunity to get a good look at her. Round, strong face, set with a pair of huge, intelligent eyes. Long black hair, falling almost to her waist. A beauty mark perfectly positioned on her chin.

  “Yes. I’m afraid I do.”

  “Would you tell me, if I wanted to know?”

  “Yes, but only if you want me to. You won’t like what I have to say. And knowing won’t make any of this easier. In fact, it could make it worse.”

  Gabbie considered him carefully for a moment, those huge eyes fixed steadily on him. “I’ll think about it, then. For now, I’d better get some sleep. You should too.”

  Next door was smaller, but had the same stunning view. Roaming the luxurious space, she flicked on a light and practically swooned.

  “Hellooo, beautiful,” Gabriella crooned, stepping into the marble and glass bathroom. Illuminated by a floor to ceiling strip of lights that sent off a cool, silvery glow, there was a shelf lined with the sort of toiletries Gabriella usually drooled over. Sniffing a bottle, she almost dropped it when Balder spoke from the doorway.

  “If you need anything, I’m right next door.”

  Since when did someone so recently injured move like a cat? “I’m fine, thanks. This is really nice. Nicer than what I’m used to. I’m really looking forward to taking a real shower. It’s been a while.” She watched his impassive face, noting he had some color back.

  “I’ll leave you alone, then.” He offered a grave nod, his expression softening. “Thanks for not shooting me tonight, and for getting me inside. I’d have never done it alone, Gabriella.” His voice rolled over her name with a mix of rugged power and wondering curiosity as he added, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a hum… a doctor before. Mir’s impressed by your quick thinking and will want to pick your brain tomorrow, probably has a ton of questions regarding the medical stuff. Like I said, anything I can do for you…”

  Gabbie chuckled quietly. If these guys only knew the medical training she had. “Tell you what you can do—get me out of the city tomorrow. That’s all I care about—never, ever seeing these streets again. If you do that for me, it’s reward enough.”

  She watched his forehead furrow and realized how beautiful his eyes were, a gorgeous golden brown. Her brain faltered for a second before redirecting. “Now, I stink and I need sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours. Six or seven, if you think I can manage it? But wake me up if you need anything, I’m used to short sleep shifts.”

  And when Balder shut the door behind him, she barely had the energy to wash the night’s grime off before she collapsed into bed.

  9

  When one big hand clamped over her mouth and another pinned her down in total and complete darkness, Gabriella froze. Maybe not the best fight-or-flight response, but hey, she was out of practice.

  “Quiet, Gabbie, it’s only me.” Balder’s voice was a low growl in her ear. “Don’t scream, I’m going to remove my hand now.”

  Nodding, she took a gulp of air the second his hand slipped away. “Don’t make a sound. Someone needs your help, don’t ask me how—or why—just come with me, okay? I’m taking you downstairs to meet them, but we have to keep this quiet.” He ran a gentle hand down her arm, his big body giving off heat in waves in the darkness. “Nod if you understand.”

  She didn’t know how he’d even know, but she nodded anyway. He eased her from the bed, her bare feet landing softly on the cold floor. Winding his fingers into hers, he drew her close, and she snugged her fingers into his.

  They followed the curving steps, twenty-one in all, and at the bottom, she felt it. A strange shift in the air that told her they weren’t alone. Her chest compressed, as if something bigger and heavier was pressing against her in the pitch-black. No skittering of claws, but yet… She strained her ears, pulling closer to Balder. There was definitely something bad waiting up ahead. And when Balder halted, she clung to him for dear life. Setting her into a deep alcove, he warned, “I’m going to bring her to you. I’ll be right back, I swear. You hang tight, I won’t be more than a couple of minutes. Got it?” She squeezed his hand once, and he pushed her farther in, and then he was gone.

  It took her all of twenty seconds to come apart.

  What in the holy hell was she thinking? She really needed to re-examine her life choices.

  When footsteps echoed down the hallway, filling her with a kind of wary relief, she didn’t expect Balder’s voice to sound quite so harsh when he demanded, “I need you to tell me, Gabriella, are you really a doctor?”

  “I am,” she whispered, but then hesitatingly tacked on, “Sort of.”

  “No games, Gabriella. Right now, I have to know exactly what your capabilities are. Tell me what your degree is
in and…”

  She bristled. Seriously? She’d endured monsters and blood and poison and needles and… “Why does that even matter? The whole world’s burning to the ground and whether I have a freaking degree is what matters right now?”

  Behind Balder, a smooth, cunning female voice crooned, “Because my darling, you have only a minute to convince me to trust you.” The air itself froze as the stranger closed in, and the feeling of suffocation intensified like the air was being vacuumed out of her lungs.

  The woman was beautiful, Gabriella observed, or would have been, if it weren’t for that strange, otherworldly darkness surrounding her, her body nothing but a glossy shell encasing something sinister. Evil simmered beneath her pale skin, her beauty disguising something horrible. As though she understood what Gabriella saw, the woman grinned, white teeth glinting. “Convince me to trust you, Gabriella Mendoza. If you can.”

  Balder let out a warning growl. “Damn it, Ava…”

  “Shut up, Balder. Let the girl speak for herself.” The woman prowled closer as Balder threw out an arm, stopping this Ava person in her tracks.

  “I’d like to know what her credentials are. I can’t use an amateur for this particular job, she has to be qualified. Up to the task.” There was a sneer to those last words, as if this woman thought Gabriella wasn’t up for anything.

  Gabriella knew she didn’t look like much. She realized the last few months had wreaked havoc on her body. Her mind. Possibly her soul. Her Latin temper, however, was a whole different matter. Carefully stepping around Balder, she approached this snotty-Ava-person. And the closer Gabriella got, the more that simmering rage—the banked anger that began when she’d dug two six-foot holes in the backyard—climbed up and up, threatening to explode. Seeing the woman’s sneer grow wider, Gabriella’s hands curled into fists.