The Maddening: Book 2 in the Terror Saga

by Nicholas Head

  “Get off me!” Quinn spat between his teeth, “You are going to ruin—”

  Garrick recovered and slammed his knee into Quinn's thigh, his brother's colossal body crumpling to the pavement. He rolled him over to wrench the gun from his hands, only it led to a struggle as Quinn tried to escape. Garrick quickly wrapped his legs around his brother's chest and squeezed. Quinn wiggled his arm loose and reached his arm back just above his head, again putting it just out of reach.

  “I should have...done...this...a...long time...ago.”

  Garrick brought an elbow across his chest, hitting Quinn in the face. Quinn's face went slack and his arm limp. Garrick reached for the gun again, trying to twist it loose.

  Quinn's hand clamped down like a vise.

  Garrick brought another elbow down, but this time he missed. Quinn twisted his head to the side as Garrick fell off balance, his elbow and face colliding with the pavement.

  While still holding the gun, Quinn curled an arm around his brother, attempting to pull him off.

  Garrick shook it off, then swung his free arm, grasping for the gun. This time his hand landing on the barrel, brutally twisting, pushing his brother's wrist back.

  Crack!

  Garrick's eyes went wide, his fingers released, and his body stiff, slowly pressing into Quinn.

  “Noooooo!” Quinn sobbed, gripping his brother, “Why couldn't you have just...” Tears welled up in Quinn’s eyes.

  Marisha tried going back over to help, swinging a leg over, “I never meant for this to...”

  She knew there was nothing she or anyone could do. A trickle of blood formed into a crimson pool next to Garrick's neck. He was dead. There would be no forgiveness for her.

  Quinn violently tossed his body aside. His hand shook as he pushed himself up with the other, keeping the gun aimed at her.

  “Stop,” she said, “we have to—”

  “You killed my brother.”

  “This isn't my—”

  Marisha had to leave, and there was only one way out of here. She swung her leg over the rail and jumped into the freezing water.

  Fifty

  Colleen

  It felt like someone was slowly sucking all the air out of the room. Colleen felt her chest tighten, making it harder to breathe. The same thing was happening all over again.

  “That’s not going to work for me,” Colleen said as she shook her head, looking Kali dead in the eye.

  “I beg your pardon,” Kali said.

  “I said, that’s not good enough. I never agreed to that.”

  “I think you said it yourself; you don’t have a choice. So why don’t you just enjoy the hospitality and settle in for a few days?”

  Kali was changing the terms for whatever reason. Something about her had felt off since she had arrived; her tone so disturbingly sweet. Colleen was beginning to believe Marisha was in serious trouble. Why else would this woman have lied to her like this? What wasn’t she telling her?

  “You know, I think Jackson and I would rather take our chances out there. The hospitality was great, but I think it’s best we get going.”

  Kali cast her eyes down and let out a sigh, then began rubbing her hands together. She sidestepped Colleen and continued into her office, stopping behind her desk.

  “Like I said, we’re leaving,” Colleen said, her words unsteady. “I’ll be taking my horse as well.”

  She had to keep herself together.

  “You certainly can try.” Kali reached into her top desk drawer and pulled out something, palmed it, and put it into her pocket. “I really had big plans for you, Colleen. You could have been an integral part of the great things we do here, but you aren’t really the type to conform, are you?”

  “What does that have… to—”

  “You’re just more trouble than you’re worth, my dear.”

  Colleen backed up, keeping her eyes on Kali. She felt sweat forming on her forehead. Something about this woman terrified her more than words could describe. If she turned and ran right now, maybe she could be up the stairs before Kali could do anything.

  Kali reached into her pocket, revealing her gun tucked tightly in her waistband. Her eyes were still soft, compassionate, but Colleen knew underneath that Kali was boring holes right through her. Slowly, she drew out the device she had taken from the desk and clicked a button.

  A weak yelp escaped from behind Kali, almost as if trying to escape from behind the wall. Kali clicked again, this time holding it longer... The sounds were louder, more pained, nearly making her heart skip a beat.

  “What are you doing?”

  “All livings things respond to pain differently, wouldn’t you say?” Kali asked. “It’s quite fascinating.”

  Colleen didn’t like where this was going. The conversation had taken a disturbing turn. She stepped back, her hand gripping the sheathed knife hanging around her neck through her shirt.

  “If you say so.”

  “Let’s take humans, for example, they usually just cower the more pain you put them through. They almost always break down and become useless.” Kali said. She shook her, the disappointment tangible.

  “Where are you going with this?”

  Colleen clutched her knife tighter, wrapping her fingers around the handle. All it would take is the flip of her thumb for her to be ready.

  “But animals, they are different. They cower at first, but...with enough training, the pain leads to compliance, and that compliance provides power.”

  “And with great power comes...yeah yeah yeah. I’ve read the comics too.”

  Kali clicked the button again and gazed into Colleen’s eyes, never wavering. A distressed yelp escaped so loud, it pierced her ears. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, and her mouth went dry.

  This madwoman was the pain giver.

  Kali clicked again and held onto it. Gone was the yelp, instead replaced by a low whine.

  “See, what did I tell you. They learn to either deal, or they learn to... die.”

  “Who does this?” Colleen inched back, feeling the handle digging into her hand. “I thought you were a bit out there when I got here, but this is madness.”

  Kali clicked once more, her perfect features plastered in euphoria, as her eyes rolled back into her head. She was enjoying this too much,

  A chill shot between Colleen’s shoulder blades. Her stomach churned.

  That all too familiar guttural growl is all she heard.

  “Not again.”

  “Stop!” Colleen yelled. “They’ve had enough! Leave them alone!”

  “Enough? Oh, you are mistaken; they’re just getting started. Like I told you, the pain doesn’t kill them. It strengthens them, makes them more obedient, and more like their ancestors.”

  “To what end? To serve you?”

  “You don’t get it, do you?” There was almost pity in her voice.

  “I guess I don’t. Then again, I've prided myself on keeping Jackson from returning to his more primitive instincts. Silly me.”

  Kali’s eyes lit up, stroking a finger down her chin to her neck. Just as if she had just enjoyed the most ingenious idea.

  “You just need to be open-minded. I think we can find a way for him to fit in here. I have to admit I was hoping, praying, you might be more on board with my methods here. You of all people should appreciate what they can do.”

  No matter how hard she tried, letting someone selfish do what they want to innocent people or animals wasn’t something Colleen could let slide. But not keeping her mouth would cause more harm than good. This Kali was a slippery one.

  Colleen exhaled, running her fingers through her hair.

  “You know what? Maybe you can show me what you have going on here. I can’t promise you I'll like it, but...what choice do I have?”

  “You can’t possibly think that I believe you just flipped a switch like,” Kali scoffed, then snapped her fingers. “that.”

  “Perhaps, but as you’ve proven—my choices are lim
ited. Just... just show me.”

  Kali walked towards her, each step polished and focused. “Turn around and walk. I’ll direct you.”

  Colleen did as asked and walked out the door, Jackson close behind. She pressed her lips together. Her fingers feeling for and unsnapping the latch on the leather sheath. The knife dropped, slipping in between her waistband and stomach. She slowly flipped the edge of her shirt up and palmed the knife.

  “So, where are you hiding your precious—” Colleen said sweetly.

  Every nerve in her body was on edge, like balancing on the edge of a freshly sharpened blade. It took everything in her to keep her feet moving as her side still burned from the blows by Lin.

  “Keeping going and turn left.”

  They rounded the corner and entered pitch black. Colleen smelled a damp, musty stench tinged with something unbearably rotten. Her breaths were short, her pulse was racing.

  “I can’t really see anything anymore.”

  She tried to turn around to look at Kali, promptly feeling a hand spin her back around. Jackson had taken refuge next to her, pressing his body against her.

  “We’re almost there. Keep going.”

  They were now behind the office. Colleen ran her thumb up the knife, wrapping her fingers around the handle.

  “Stop,” Kali said, so close her words made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

  A solid metal door stood in front of her, latched shut with a single deadbolt and a flimsy chain. Deep gouges spread from the handle down to the floor. Colleen expected more sounds coming from the room, but it was the silence that worried her most.

  “Is that for you or them?” Colleen said as she swallowed her breath.

  Kali tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a key.

  “Unlock it.”

  Colleen looked over her shoulder in shock.

  “You can’t be serious? It looks like something was trying to get in... or out.”

  Jackson’s deep bark pulled her out of the fear that had nearly paralyzed her. He lunged at the door and barked again.

  No sound, Nothing.

  Kali nudged her forward with the barrel of her now unholstered P320, conveniently pressing into her now swollen kidneys. Colleen stepped forward, reached a shaking hand out, and slid the chain off, letting it ping against the metal. She took the key, her hands still shaking, causing the key to bounce off the lock.

  “Come on, come on.”

  “I’m trying.” she cried through gritted teeth.

  Colleen took a few breaths, slowing her breathing, slid the key in, and turned the deadbolt. It clicked. She placed her hand on the knob and turned. Hinges squealed, and metal creaked as she felt a rush of cold air and the stench of rotten meat slap her in the face. The only thing between her and what was in that room, now gone.

  “All the way, dear.”

  Jackson whined as she finished pulling the door open. The hackles on his back stuck straight up, his tail stiffly stuck between his legs.

  “They must be shy... I’ll call them out.”

  Colleen couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move, and all she could think about was how she had once more gotten herself mixed up with the people who want to kill her. The stench was unbearable now, drifting in waves.

  Kali tapped her on the hip, purring behind her, “Closer.”

  Colleen stood her ground, inching the knife down into her palm until she had a firm grip on the handle.

  There it was, the unmistakable low rumbling growl she had never wanted to hear again. A sound that haunted her nightmares. The question was how—how had she tamed the untamable.

  Without warning, something huge hurled itself at them, but before it reached her, a mass of red fur crashed into something immovable, tossing it back. Gashing teeth bit down on metal, eyes spidered with red veins. Jackson arched his back and bared his teeth. Jackson growled, gnashing at the beasts.

  “You should take precautions. They can be...unpredictable.”

  “You think?”

  “I know you think I’m crazy, but you just don’t grasp the importance of what I’m doing,” Kali said with a giddy tone, her words like a kid who had just discovered fire. “These gorgeous creatures present a return to that ancient being, nearly untainted by human domestication. Dogs are no longer the alpha animals they once were. No, they wallow in mediocrity and complacency, no longer able to defend themselves. What better time in history than now, a time when the food chain is rebuilding itself. Humankind rising back to the top but not dragging man's best friend. Instead, they will be side by side taking their rightful place in the kingdom's order.”

  “Are you telling me, you bred these animals? I’d say impressive, but…”

  “Oh no,” Kali chuckled, “I can’t take credit for these beautiful animals. No, no, they migrated from down south a few years ago. I was resourceful enough to capture a few when everyone else was too afraid to see their potential.”

  Colleen tried to feign fascination, hoping it would buy them some time.

  “So, what do you call them?”

  “Kutta,” the woman said, “It means dog in Hindi.”

  “You’ve got me down here; you’re talking in hyperbole and vague plans. To what end can I help you?”

  “To this one.”

  Colleen felt the barrel dig into her side again. Pain shot down her leg. The Kutta paced back and forth, the sliver of light in the room only briefly illuminating their dark red fur. Nails scraped the floor with each step. A massive triangular head slowly turned to her, lips receding from the gigantic jaws as saliva pooled on the ground.

  “Unlock the cage,” Kali said.

  “No,” Colleen shouted. “I’m not going in there.”

  She just needed the right opportunity to strike.

  “Just turn the latch like I ask. You won’t get hurt.”

  Colleen inched forward, blindly looking for the latch, her fingers eventually landing on something round. She swallowed, closed her eyes, and turned the lock. The door swung itself towards her, opening nearly halfway. Her knife was at the ready, but nothing attacked. They just sat there, waiting. She looked back to see Kali holding out the remote, the dogs waiting, conditioned to heel at the ready. Jackson stayed as well, with every muscle on alert, waiting for her command. She could tell he could barely contain himself.

  “What about all this primal, untainted by humans mumbo jumbo?”

  “I said nearly. They’re waiting.”

  “For?”

  “Jackson...”

  He wouldn’t last a minute against these animals, and it wouldn’t be for lack of heart or courage. He might survive one on one, but not with the odds stacked against him. Colleen wasn't about to let anyone, or anything, hurt him.

  Mom, this isn’t me. I don’t want to do this. It’s this world sinking its claws into me. I’m sorry.

  With her back still facing Kali, a single tear rolled down, dropping onto Colleen’s knifed hand.

  Colleen twisted her body to the right, her arm snapping out like a whip, the blade silently sweeping across and through Kali’s neck.

  It was swift and it was powerful.

  There was nothing this woman could do against a blade this sharp. Kali clutched her throat, but it was futile as blood oozed between already feeble fingers. Her arm limply fell to her side, her hand released, dropping the device on the ground. She would be dead before she hit the floor.

  Fifty-One

  Marisha

  Almost as soon as she plunged into the water, Marisha felt her heart stop, the icy water digging its frigid fingers inside her chest and clamping down. The water's surface was like breaking through glass. Her body torpedoed to the bottom of the shallow river as her feet careened into the rocky bottom. The impact tossed her back up onto the surface as she flailed her arms to keep her head above water. Each breath she took was shallow, cut off by the water's chilly hold on her body.

  A slight jerk pulled her forward with the current. Luckily for her,
it wasn’t violent, or she wouldn’t have been able to keep her head above the water. In only a few seconds, her arms were already cramping up as it sapped the energy out of her.

  Marisha looked up just in time to see the bridge passing over her head. Muffled screams came from above.

  Clang!

  A shot rang out above her head. He had spotted her.

  She felt her body being pulled back under, as her already exhausted arms could no longer keep her afloat. Holding her breath, she struggled back up to the top, then gasped for a shallow breath of chilly air. The air burned as she barely filled her lungs. Looking up again, she could see the underside of the bridge pass over her head. In a few seconds, Quinn would just have to aim and shoot at her body, bobbing up and down in the water as it pulled her downstream.

  Looking ahead, she saw a massive boulder diverting the surrounding current. If she could just grab onto that rock, she might have a chance. Marisha was now a few feet beyond the bridge. She struggled to put her arms out, the rock still a few yards off.

  Closer

  Bam!

  Her defenseless body crashed into the rock; white light flashed before her eyes, a deafening ringing inside as she tried to recover her senses.

  Crack!

  Another shot, but this one was so close it ricocheted off the boulder in a cloud of dust. Numb fingers fumbled for anything to hold on to as the unyielding current pulled Marisha downriver.

  Crack!

  The shot came up short as the water dragged her back under. Marisha flailed her arms again, able to get her nose above the water for another flaccid breath of icy air. Even if she was now a faster-moving target, the water would soon do her in. Her numb body slammed against another rock, the pain now an afterthought. Flashes of yellow and blue filled her vision as the water slingshotted her to the left–towards the shore.

  Marisha grabbed for anything to slow her demise. Her fingers wrapped around a branch and pulled herself up hoping she could get just one more breath. Adrenaline had kicked in, providing enough strength to hold on, but not enough to get onto the shore.