by Ryan Notch
“I know who you are, Shaw,” continued the man. “I got your letters.”
“Collin,” said Shaw in realization.
“Collin? Only my friends call me Collin. Now how did you know that?”
Shaw didn’t actually know the answer to that, and so didn’t bother with a response.
“Of course,” said Collin. “If I’d known who I was talking to, I would have suggested we meet in person. I’ve been looking for you everywhere, because It wills it.”
Collin gestured towards the spider on the cross, whose size dwarfed a man now. And yet it grew larger in a strange way, not outgrowing the cross. As if it had only been far away and was getting closer
“Of course it’s not like he could just give me your address. It knows where you are, but not in a way either of us fully understands. It’s still learning how to perceive things in our dimension, let alone manipulate them. Too little presence and it’s just a shadow, too much and everyone kills themselves. Everyone but you, Shaw...”
Shaw already had a million questions, but thought there might be some disadvantage in exposing his ignorance. He did what he usually defaulted to when confused and kept his mouth shut.
“You know Shaw, you’re really special,” Collin wagged a finger at him, pacing along the pulpit. “Before you talked to It, It didn’t even realize we were alive. All this time it was sitting out there and we were no more interesting than the storms of Jupiter or flares of the sun, just another natural phenomenon in the flat dimension that was the tiniest portion of their universe. But I don’t understand, Shaw. How did you talk to it?”
“Tit for tat,” Shaw replied after a moment. “First tell me why it attacked the institution after I ran the program through the network.”
Collin thought about it for a moment, considering the problem. The spider was massive now, towering over the pulpit. All legs, unfolding still.
“Depth would be my guess. One computer is a point, just one dimensional. A network adds a second dimension to it. Enough to triangulate your position, to home the rest of the way in on you. But what program was it?”
“Huh uh,” said Shaw. “I’ll answer your first question first. I talked to it through a signal sent from a radio telescope. Set up a long time ago, all I did was push a button on a keyboard. I don’t know what was in the signal. What do you mean to ‘home the rest of the way in on me’?”
“All you did was push a button on a keyboard?” Collin’s eyes went large in amused surprise at this. “Don’t tell It that. I think that It sees you as some sort of herald. I’m disappointed that despite my attempts to teach you, you still haven’t learned to think in four dimensions. Things look different from different angles, angles in any dimension. What aspect of Its holy self you see, what effect it has on you, all depends on whether It’s looking at you or not. The closer It is to facing you, the more pronounced Its effects become. Of course right now all It can do is look. But soon, very soon, it will be able to touch.
“Tit for tat. Tell me about the program. Tell me where you live, Shaw.”
Shaw was already backing away, the spider on the cross now reached towards the massive heights of the church ceiling. Its hundreds of legs the size of columns.
“The program was Its voice, Collin,” Shaw called as he backed away. “And you should stay away from it. But why? Why does it make people kill themselves?! And why not me?!”
Shaw didn’t wait for an answer, for the Spider seemed as if it might reach out and skewer him on those chitinous claws. He turned and ran out of the church, Collin’s voice following him. No longer arrogant and reasoned, but shouting and insane.
“Why not you, Shaw?! I guess because you both have so much in common! Don’t run Shaw, it sees you!”
Shaw ran from the church, down the dark road. He turned to see the spider on the cross rise into the yellow sky, the smoke furrowing off it’s skin. It was gaining ground on Shaw purely by the speed of Its growth. Truly it now took on the visage of a Dark God, Its legs the size of mountains and as numerous as stars. Blotting out the sky to midnight, unfolding forever and ever.
Shaw awoke from the dream unable to breathe. For a moment he was beyond panic or any other emotion, but only for a moment. Then the effects of suffocation set in and he began to make desperate little choking noises. Despite the fact that all the lights were on in his room, he felt sure something was lurking outside the vision in there with him. He thought for a moment that he must die soon from lack of air, and finally punched himself in the stomach to force himself to begin to breathe again.
He slumped forward as he breathed deep, reflexively rubbing his forearm against his head to wipe away the sweat. Instead he found it bone dry. He climbed out of bed and headed down the dark hallways and tunnel to his computer, trying to ignore the sensation of gathering shadows that trailed him.
So close, he thought as he looked upon the disarmingly simple looking result of all his hard work.
Just a little more. I just need a little more time.
Chapter 34
********************
The next morning Jack woke up sore and stiff and thirsty and generally miserable. He lay on the couch, where he’d fallen asleep. He wanted to get up, knew that sleeping in wasn’t what one did in a war zone. But he felt so very heavy. He stared up at the ceiling and tried to forget nightmares of things moving in the darkness with hurt and accusing eyes. He wondered about Terra in the bedroom, if she was awake yet or not. She hadn’t asked him to sleep on the couch, would probably have not minded him sleeping in the bed with her. But he had an idea that something might come in the apartment while they slept, and wanted to sleep facing the door.
After a while he pulled himself up, a process accomplished in stages as he gingerly tried to loosen one grievous injury after another. He glanced down at his pillow, covered in bloody splotches from his various seeping head wounds.
Have to stop by the store today and pick up a new one, he thought wryly.
He forced himself to his feet with the help of the cricket bat turned crutch. He couldn’t help but notice the terrible smell coming off him, and the fact that his shirt was grimy enough to stick to his skin. He debated briefly the merits of taking a shower in the tainted water, and decided finally he would settle on a change of clothes.
He had a breakfast of dried cereal from the box and some of the juice from Felix’s apartment. It didn’t touch his thirst, but he forced himself to only have half. He did follow it up with some of their remaining water though, which had been transferred to a carafe in the fridge. He’d mentally rationed off what he was going to allow himself to drink that morning, but finding himself in a frenzy drank almost half of the entire remaining supply. He felt like his thirst was becoming a terrible fever, and wished Terra had been there to stop him.
He decided to go to the bedroom to check on her. He didn’t knock, didn’t think to. She lay sleeping off on the side of the bed, the blankets pulled only part way up. She wore a black bra, surprisingly frilly. Not at all the sensible type he would have imagined. Her breasts were more full than he had thought as well, she never really wore tops meant to show them off. Her body type was a few sizes larger than his type, there was no doubt about that. But she looked very soft and he found himself thinking that she might feel much nicer in the dark than those skinny girls.
Her hair was mussed up, but past it he could still see her eyes were puffy, and not just from sleep. She looked sad, even when she slept.
She’s a pretty sleeper, he thought. Poor kid.
He breathed deep in a sigh, and grunted at the stabbing pain in his ribs. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking at him sleepily. She pulled the blankets up to cover herself and for a moment he thought she might be mad, but instead she smiled a small smile at him.
“There’s breakfast, if you want some,” he said. “Or you can sleep for a while longer.”
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she said.
Jack had expected her to want to
talk about little Billy, but she hadn’t said a word. He certainly had no problem with that, he didn’t think there was anything to say that would make it at all better. He didn’t know if she had figured out that he had known before hand and had brought the bat down anyway. But if she did, he didn’t want to explain it. He was sure it was the right thing to do, then and now.
Instead she quietly ate breakfast, only talking when he asked what she thought their plan for the day should be. They both knew Mr. Cooper wouldn’t be home, and since his apartment was between theirs it was the furthest from any apparent enemies. They would start there then move to the garden level. They agreed to only stop on the first floor if they had too, not being comfortable with the darkness. But both likewise agreed it was better to go there during the day, where at least a little extra light would spill in from windows. The garden level had Collin’s apartment, but there were three on the other side to try. An old alcoholic man who kept to himself and whose name neither could remember; Dick and James, the roommates/possible couple; and Dee, the local drug dealer who only seemed to be around for Alex’s parties.
So after a quick change of clothes for Terra, or what she called quick and Jack called practically a day at the outlet store, they went to work on Mr. Coopers door. Jack pried open the lock with the same large screwdriver he had used on the intercom, splintering the old wood of the deadbolt.
As soon as he got it open, the smell told him it was going to be a mistake going in. However, an hour later, after searching every nook and cranny for possible attack and supplies, they determined the place was well abandoned. In fact, as disgusting as it was, it seemed to be the most normal place they had visited.
And it truly was disgusting. Rotten food on unwashed plates everywhere. Dirty yellow underwear on the floor, old newspapers, a disturbing man shaped stain on the couch. They flipped a coin to decide who would open the refrigerator, the interior of which looked like a seen of monstrous corruption purely by virtue of ordinary mold.
“Gross,” said Terra, the loser of the coin toss. “I’m going to give Mr. Cooper the benefit of the doubt and say he was like this because of tainted water affecting his mind.”
“Oh sure, tell yourself whatever you want. Why do I suspect one thousand cockroaches fled the scene the moment we turned on the light?”
“Guess the landlord doesn’t have to worry about his security deposit,” she said. “Well this place is a bust, what’s next?”
“So lets head to the garden level and work from back to front, opposite side from Collin.”
“OK, so remember to look for any kind of bottled water, canned food, or phones that might have a signal.”
“Or guns,” he said. “I can’t believe we haven’t found any yet. I thought all Americans had guns.”
“Guess you should have moved to Texas,” she replied with a smile. “Of course then the monsters might be shooting at you. Where would you be then? Have you ever even shot a gun?”
“Of course I have,” he said, making no effort to disguise the fact he was lying. “Thousands of times.”
“Oh, a regular John Wayne.”
“Actually, I’m British, so it’s James Bond if you don’t mind.”
“Uh huh,” she said, following him into the hall.
As Jack stepped into the hall he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye to the right. When he turned it was gone, possibly around the corner. He couldn’t be sure he had seen it, but it seemed big.
“Lets work front to back instead,” Jack said to Terra. He lead the way left down the hallway, glancing behind them as they went.
On the garden level they were dismayed to find that not only were all three locked, but they got no response to knocking and calling out at each of the three doors. Jack liked it even less because of the feeling of them being exposed in the hallway, like something bad was stalking them.
“So I think we should go back to my apartment,” said Jack. “Come up with a new plan. I don’t really like the idea of breaking into these places. We knew Mr. Cooper’s would be empty, but anything could be in these.”
“I would tend to agree,” said Terra. “Except come here.”
She lead Jack back to the first doorway, closest to the front stairs. The one belonging to Dee. She leaned her ear against the door.
“I heard it a little a minute ago, but I wasn’t sure before. Listen.”
Jack put his ear against the door, and in a moment heard it too. The trickle of water. After a moment he pulled his head away, his mind already made up.
“Ok Dee,” he called. “We’re coming in. If you have a gun, don’t shoot.”
He jammed the screwdriver into the wood and pried at it for a minute until he could force it open. What they saw inside was a truly alien landscape, and at the same time instantly recognizable.
“Well this explains a lot,” said Jack.
“It does?” asked Terra, incredulous.
Before them was a jungle of tall plants, all completely black. Their thick, fanned out leaves were bathed in light from several hot blue lamps placed near them. The heat was further amplified by strategically placed aluminum foil surrounding them. The water came from a simple store-bought sprinkler system. Part of which was broken and was trickling down on the carpet, which was by now soaked throughout the apartment.
The plants themselves grew from large pots on tables throughout the apartment, and glinted with large bits of sticky looking sap growing off buds in the center.
“What the fuck was Dee doing in here,” asked Terra. Jack walked cautiously into the apartment, his feet squishing on the wet carpet.
“You really don’t know,” asked Jack teasingly. He was enjoying being a step ahead of her for a change. He walked to the other rooms, doing a careful circuit of the house. In the bedroom, instead of a bed, was a table with scales and various sized baggies. He smiled at the familiar smell in there, though tried not to breathe too deep for fear of the underlying scent of mold already growing on the wet carpet.
“What,” she asked. “What is all this?”
“You don’t recognize these plants? Tsk, what a sheltered life.”
“You do? Don’t tell me completely black alien looking plants grow in London?!”
“Oh these definitely grow in London,” he laughed. “They just aren’t usually all black.”
Terra looked closer at one. “I don’t get it. Why would Dee have a greenhouse in his apartment.”
“Oh it’s a greenhouse all right,” he said. He wished Alex were around to see this.
Terra put her hands on her hips and looked sternly at him. The sight made him laugh even harder.
“Ok ok,” he said. “It’s marijuana. Dee must not actually live here, he just rents the space to grow pot in. See the leaves? And those bits of resin on them are full of THC, the part that gets you high.”
“Ohhhh....”
Jack looked close at the huge blobs of resin on one. His college buddies would have gone crazy at the sight.
“Of course this would probably be the most disturbing high in the world,” he said as he turned back towards her.
“Jack look out!” she yelled, pointing behind him.
Jack jumped away, grunting with the pain from his injured leg. He turned and raised the bat, but didn’t immediately see the danger. It was only after a moment that he noticed the plant he had been looking at leaning slowly towards him. He swung the bat, knocking it off the table. The pot shattered and it lay on the floor, still moving slowly as if swaying in the breeze.
“Thanks,” said Jack.
“I wonder what would have happened if it had touched you,” said Terra. “Maybe it’s poisonous.”
“Maybe. Maybe it’s harmless, just some blind instinct. Still, I’d hate to see how these things look in a week.”
He looked down at the shattered pot. There was something twitching in amongst the dirt. He brushed it away and looked closer. Tied into the roots was what looked like a tiny heart, beating
slowly. Looking at it he felt a strange detachment, as if he were watching it from very far away. At the same time he felt feverish. The wounds on the sides of his head burned and itched. He wondered if they were infected. He stayed crouched there, caught between a desire to sit down and rest, and not wanting to sit on the wet carpet.
His reverie was broken by a noise from the other room. If they hadn’t been quiet he wouldn’t have heard it, but it was a squishing noise on the carpet. A footstep. Adrenaline forced strength into Jack’s tired limbs, and he stood ready. Terra saw the look in his eyes, and pulled out her own knife.
After a moment of watching down the hall, Jack glanced at Terra and headed towards the living room. He was careful to glance into the bathroom on the way, not wanting to be caught from behind.
When he reached the living room he was surprised to find it empty. He looked in the kitchen nook and saw it too was empty. The front door was ajar, but that was how they had left it.
“It must have left,” he said.
“What,” she asked. “Did you see something?”
“No, I heard a footstep in here. You didn’t hear it?”
“No,” she said.
“I guess I could have imagined it. Let’s check the fridge and then go back to my apartment. I think I need to rest a bit while we think things over.”
“Are you feeling ok?”
“Yeah, just tired. Must be dehydration is all.”
She nodded and they checked the refrigerator, which Jack was delighted to find actually did have a half of a six pack of soda left.
“Jesus,” Jack said. “An entire brownstone of apartments, and the only one with something to drink in the fridge doesn’t even live here.”
“Guess Dee likes to have something to drink while he works.”
“Yep. Looks like lunch is a going to be a celebration.”
With that Jack walked out the door. He hadn’t gone more than a step when he saw the danger, and knew it was too late to hide.
