The Pale Titan (The Convergence Saga Book 1)

by Rick Kueber

  “There's a pulse,” she said softly, fearing they may not be alone. “I'll take his feet if you can get his head.” She rolled the body of the man onto his back.

  Jimmy slipped the pistol back into his shoulder holster, slid his arms under the armpits of the injured man and wrapped them around his chest. Angie put one leg on either side of her hips and took hold of his ankles. The two clumsily carried the man nearly a block away, with several stops along the way to rest and recover their grips. When they made it to the second safe house, Jimmy and Angie laid the man on the porch while he dug into his front pocket for the key. When the door was unlocked and swung open, they picked the man back up and carried him inside. The injured and limp body was laid out on the kitchen floor. Angie searched blindly through the cabinet drawers, looking for a clean dish towel while Jimmy went up to the second story and opened the blind on the south wall of the master bedroom. Slipping a disposable lighter from his pocket, he flicked the flint-wheel under his thumb and lit the flame for a count of two seconds. He paused and repeated the action three times when he saw a flash of light from the distant treeline.

  ***

  Elle was confused and disoriented when she felt a hand gently shaking her shoulder. The inescapable darkness blinded her and moments of dream and reality, rationality and illogical fantasy flickered through her mind like movement in a strobe light: Bits and pieces of her life, her family and friends before the alienation, glimpses of memories made with Tanner, illusions of a life with him that had never existed outside of her hopes, the woman and the children in the cave... Maddie! Like the crack of a whip she was awake and present.

  “Tanner, is that you?” She wondered if I was okay, but soon realized she did not see my eyes glowing in the murky blackness. “Who's there?” Her hands and feet shuffled backward, on her butt sliding against the cold concrete floor.

  “It's me... Jimmy” A familiar voice, that she could not place, said. “We met outside when I shot...”

  “Where are they?” Elle spat out in anger. “Where are my friends?”

  “The girl is in the next room.” His voice sounded desperately somber. “Sh-sh-she's...”

  “No, she isn't!” Elle shouted in the darkness, cutting him off, mid stutter.

  “Well, n-no, but she's not doing too good... not good at all.” His voice was quiet and remorseful. “I'm sorry. I thought I knew, but I didn't know... Hell, I don't know anything anymore. I was s-s-s-so scared.”

  “And Tanner?” Elle almost felt sorry for the young man.

  “They took him to the other house,” he spoke as if she knew what 'the other house' meant. “I'll take you there if you want.”

  “I wanna see Maddie first.” Elle's voice was calmer now, but still demanding.

  “Of course,” Jimmy said, “Right in here.”

  Elle heard the rattling sound of a doorknob and the squeaking hinge of a seldom used basement door. The striking sound of a disposable lighter gave a bright glow to a very small area of the doorway and Elle followed it like a spirit drawn to the warmth of the light on the other side. She followed it diligently into the next room where she saw the middle-aged woman, who had been performing CPR on little Maddie, sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair at the child's bedside. No movement could be seen, in the faint flame-light, from the child's form as it lay silently on the fold out sofa-bed. The lighter grew too hot for Jimmy to keep his thumb on it any longer and he let go, putting them in blinding darkness.

  “Sorry,” Jimmy whispered. “Gimme a minute.” Elle heard him blowing on the lighter wheel to cool it down.

  “It's okay,” Elle said calmly. “I understand.”

  “They have the crank light at the other house.” The woman in the chair said. “By the way, I'm Maryanne.”

  “Nice to meet you, Maryanne. I'm Elle.” She felt odd speaking into the darkness and not being able to make eye contact.

  “And I'm...” Jimmy began, but Elle cut him off again.

  “Jimmy... yeah, I know.” Elle was less than interested in Jimmy, or what he had to say. “Maryanne, I don't remember much, but I do remember seeing you helping Maddie. Thank you.”

  “Maddie,” Maryanne said out loud. “What a lovely name for such a lovely young girl.” She realized her error and said, “Is Elle a name or an initial?”

  “Name.” She smiled in the darkness. “Like the woman's magazine.”

  “I like it very much Elle,” Maryanne spoke very softly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, even under such horrible circumstances... just nice to know we aren't all alone. You'll have to tell me all about you and your story... and how you found us.” The woman rambled a bit before Elle broke into her monologue.

  “Eventually, maybe... how is Maddie?” Elle cut right to her point. It's all she really wanted to know right at that moment.

  “Hard to say,” Maryanne spoke as Jimmy flicked the lighter on again and Elle took the opportunity to rush to Maddie's side. “She's breathing on her own, but her pulse is very weak. She may have lost a lot of blood and we did our best, but she's still bleeding some.”

  “You've got to make it sweetie... I need you.” Elle took the child's hand in hers and felt the clammy chill in it. Turning her head toward the woman, she noticed the silver flecks in her hair. “Is she going to be alright?”

  “I wish I could tell you, yes, but I'm no doctor, and this isn't even close to a hospital. We do have a small clinic on the other side of town... maybe a mile or so.” The woman looked off into the empty dark corner of the room, deep in thought. “If she is still with us in the morning, we'll move her there and maybe we can do more for her then. It's too risky to move at night. There used to be more of us, you know? There were eighteen the first day after. Now, just six.” She reached out and touched Elle on the back of the head, stroking her hair. “Don't be so hard on Jimmy. He was just trying to protect us... doing what he thought was right.”

  “Jimmy...” Elle mumbled the name. “Take me to Tanner now.”

  “Tanner?” Who's Tanner?” The woman questioned Jimmy.

  “Later. It's a long story.” Jimmy said as he let the lighter go out again.

  “It's a longer story than you know... maybe I'll tell you sometime. Nice to meet you, Maryanne. I'll see you again soon.” Elle seemed confident.

  Jimmy blew on the lighter again and fumbled through the dark until he found the stairs. “When I light the lighter again, come here and head up the stairs as quick as you can.”

  He stood still for a minute while the lighter cooled down and then he whispered. “Ready?”

  “Ready.” Elle echoed as the tiny flame cast its shadowy glow on the lower steps.

  She rushed to the top of the stairs and took two steps out into the hallway just as the light went out again. Rapid thuds signaled Jimmy's ascent of the steps in his sneakers. He whispered to Elle, “Follow me... grab my shirt if you need to.” Elle almost resented the statement, but the angel on her shoulder told her he was only trying to be considerate. She followed closely behind him to the front door and then through it and out into the open night. The two crept from bush to house, to behind cars and even trash cans as if they were crossing a dangerous war zone... which is literally what they were doing.

  Elle hadn't been able to keep track of how many houses they had passed, but they hadn't traveled more than a block, at least, they hadn't crossed a street. Elle followed Jimmy up onto a small concrete front porch and listened as he knocked three times lightly, paused, knocked once, paused again and then knocked three times lightly again. They stood tight against the front of the house, as quiet at church mice, and waited to hear an answer. No footsteps were heard, but soon the metallic click of a deadbolt unlocking drew their attention and they stared as the door swung open quickly and an elderly man poked his head out.

  “Hurry.” was all he said and disappeared back inside.

  The two entered the home and the old man reached out to them in the dark. He clumsily groped in the dark and at length too
k them by the arms and led them to the back of the house where they stopped. Letting go of them, he opened a door that swung away from them and a cold and pale glow filtered up from the lower level of the home.

  “Lot of bedrock around here.” The old man said as he began to descend the stairs one at a time. He paused and looked over his shoulder. “Not many houses with a basement to hide in.”

  It seemed to take forever, but they finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Elle saw something she hadn't seen in what seemed like a lifetime- a flashlight. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit space from right to left and was filled with touches of micro-nostalgia. An old yellow-orange flower print couch lined the wall to the right, with a slender, elderly woman in a house dress and blue, plush slippers sitting on one end and a fat, white Persian cat sprawled out on the other. In front of the couch was a worn out, scratched and dulled rectangular maple coffee table. It looked like something that was once straight out of a 1970's Sears and Roebucks catalog. The flashlight rested on it and in its fading beam, dust sparkles danced and drifted down onto a scattered arrangement of cello wrapped hard candy... Butterscotch. Elle wanted to reach out and grab one up and just smell it. It had only been a few weeks since the world had gone to hell, but she already missed the simple things that had been taken for granted for so long, by so many. Her eyes were soon drawn away across the Berber carpeted floor to the far left side of the room where an air-mattress held her only real friend, who lay still, under a plain, flat sheet.

  Elle, without a word or introduction, darted to the side of the air mattress, knelt down and laid her hand on the chest of her new found companion. Her mind denied, to her heart, that she was falling for this odd stranger, but there was an undeniable comfort when she felt the shallow murmur of a heartbeat in his chest. A tear rolled slowly from the corner of her eye as she leaned over and rested her head on his chest and listened contently to the faint sounds of life. Jimmy wanted to speak and explain who this silent stranger was, but he stood quietly and watched the emotional reunion along with the others. He looked at Elle in the dying light and could almost see the care and sorrow pouring out of her like the two were becoming one. The elderly man sat down on the couch, placing the fur-ball onto his lap and the silver-haired woman rested her head on his shoulder. Knowing of the little girl at the other safe house, she wondered if this had been a wandering family and if there might be other survivors.

  Chapter 11

  BLINDING PASSION

  After a lengthy rest, Elle was jolted back to the present by a whirring sound. She opened her eyes and lifted her head to see the light growing brighter and bouncing off of the walls and ceiling. Rubbing her eyes, Elle ruffled her fingers through her jet black hair and saw the elderly gentleman cranking away at the emergency flashlight. When he had finished, he placed it back on the coffee table and Elle found that she had become the center of attention.

  “I didn't mean to be rude, but right now Tanner and Maddie are all that matter to me,” She spoke honestly. “I'm Elle.”

  “Tanner? Is that his name?” The silver-haired woman asked and Elle nodded. “I'm Jean, and this is my husband Ed. We've been married for thirty-seven years... and you already met Jimmy.”

  Elle simply bobbed her head up and down, taking it all in, and then silently lipped the name 'Jimmy' repeating after Jean, but getting her first good look at the tall and slender man. She sized him up to be about six foot two inches, or so and probably in his very early twenties. His hair was short, blonde and curly and he had the appearance of having attempted to be clean shaven, but he had a gruff two or three-day shadow.

  “I... I... don't know how to tell you how sorry I am.” Jimmy stuttered in a child-like way that Elle found genuinely sweet.

  “I understand.” Her voice was firm, and not forgiving, despite her words. “It was a mistake... but it was a stupid, chicken-shit mistake. You could have waited until we were closer and asked us to stop or something.”

  “He was only trying to protect us.” The elderly gentleman, Ed, spoke with a voice as smooth and silky as a late night radio announcer. “It may have been a bad mistake, but it wasn't on purpose.”

  “You have every right to be angry, furious in fact,” Jean said. “Jimmy could have killed your little family, and it's still iffy. He... Tanner is doing better than he should be, but he isn't outta the woods yet.”

  “Better than he should be?” Elle asked curiously.

  “Yep,” Ed answered back. “He not only stopped bleeding, but his would is already healing up. Can't explain it, but well... there it is.”

  Elle thought about the expedited healing of Tanner's leg after his brush with the Ashusha, but knew that a cut on the leg was completely different than a gunshot to the chest. She didn't mention anything to the new people about the unusual changes he had undergone since his encounter.

  “Ed and I are going upstairs to get some sleep.” Jean said and moaned as she stood up. “Make yourself at home. There's the couch here, or there's a spare bedroom upstairs if you want.”

  “I'm just going to sit here on the couch. I'll stay awake while you all get some rest.” Jimmy offered, but Elle thought it was most likely out of guilt.

  “I'm Just going to sit here too. I'm not leaving him until morning and then I'm only going to go check on Maddie.” Elle announced firmly.

  “It's safer down here anyway.” Jimmy pointed out. “At least, have a seat here...” He patted the open couch cushion. “It's a lot more comfortable than the floor.” Elle reluctantly joined him and the time slipped silently away. She struggled to stay awake, but the old couch that had the appearance of a second-hand store reject was far more comforting than she could have imagined. The blinking of Elle's eyes grew more frequent and with each blink, they remained closed slightly longer, until her strength and her ability to hold her eyes open faded in perfect synchronicity with the dimming of the crank-light.

  ~***~

  TANNER:

  The stinging pain in my chest shot through every cell of my body and the stars above me spun. My mouth watered and a familiar, sickening metallic taste filled it. My stomach turned when some distant memory took over my senses.

  I was maybe ten years old and chasing a yellow-haired boy through a wooden privacy fenced yard, filled with thick green grass. The sun shone blindingly down on us as we played carelessly in the magic of summer. Grabbing the corner of the redwood stained picnic table, I sped faster than humanly possible making a hairpin turn, imagining I was a superhero with lightning speed. My childhood friend and arch-enemy/super-villain was nearly in my grasp when I became a victim of his secret weapon, a booby-trap so ingenious, I was completely unprepared for the crushing blow it dealt... the dreaded sprinkler trap! I slipped on the long, wet grass where the yard sprinkler had soaked it with its oscillating, arching streams. Before I could even blink, my feet flew to the side and off of the ground. I was briefly airborne before my hands and face met sharply with the ground. My eyes welled with tears and the world around me became a watery blur. The wind had been knocked out of me and as badly as I wanted to cry out, I had no breath. My ribs ached as I raised and lowered my chest, trying to fill my lungs with precious air. Wiping the tears from my reddened cheeks, I sniffed in deeply and that is when I felt a new pain that I hadn't noticed until that very moment. I had busted my nose and split my lip wide open. At ten years old, I was sure I was about to die a tragic, yet heroic death that would be written about in an epic comic book and the story told at sleepovers and cookouts for years to come. I rolled onto my back and glared up at the summer sky. Everything began to turn off-kilter and I wasn't sure if I would puke or pass out when I noticed something odd. The sun had been hiding behind a full sugar-maple tree, but now there were three suns, or that is what I was hallucinating. One sun even larger than normal, and two smaller ones on either side. I watched as they appeared to grow closer, brighter, larger... filling my sight with a light so brilliantly white that it washed away all color from my sight. My m
uscles tensed uncontrollably when I choked on the liquid that had begun to pool in my throat. My involuntary reaction had forcefully expelled a spray of blood out of my mouth, which to the other boy, who had come to see what happened, was probably either the coolest or the single most frightening thing, he had ever witnessed... and there it was, that putrid, rich metallic taste. Blood... my mouth was filling with blood.

  The pain left with my consciousness and it only seemed like the blink of an eye when I was aroused by a very passionate kiss. I opened my eyes and my gut knotted up immediately. It must have shown very clearly in the expression on my face.

  “What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream, or are you feeling sick again?” A beautiful woman with sandy brown hair said and pushed out her lower lip in a pout.

  “Serena?” The name came to me the instant I heard her voice. I opened my eyes to find that I was sitting next to my wife on a large airliner. My wife? My head spun and I really did begin to feel sick to my stomach.

  “I shouldn't have woke you up. I'm sorry.” She said and took my hand in hers. “But look, isn't it beautiful?”

  She leaned her head against the plane's window and gazed out and I could see the awe in the sparkle of her eyes. I leaned over her and peeked out. It was unlike anything I could have imagined and more brilliant than any photograph could have ever captured. Pinks, purples, oranges, and reds had painted the most amazing sunset over the desert below, and the view from this height was indescribably beautiful. Without warning, a sharp pain struck, like someone had jabbed an ice-pic down through my skull, frontal lobe, and its pressure throbbed behind my left eye, with such intensity that it felt as if my eye could burst out of its socket. In perfectly synchronized time, a brilliant flash of light appeared in the sky overhead. Instinct pushed me to squeeze my eyes closed with a pain-induced flinch, but there was a force greater than the pain that had my stare fixated on the unidentified luminous object. The light grew larger and suddenly two smaller lights appeared just behind it. The plane shook violently for a moment and the lights flickered.