Time Reavers

by Jacob Holo

“Why would I want to do that?”

  “I don’t know. You did say they were your classmates.”

  “Yes, I did say that. So let me ask you again, why the hell would I want to hit them with a crowbar? Just what kind of school did you attend?”

  Daniel snapped his fingers. He turned around, smiling at her.

  “What?” Nicole asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “I bet you’re an acrobat!” he said, putting the half-eaten Big Mac and his notepad into separate coat pockets.

  “A what?”

  “It’s what I am,” Daniel said, puffing out his chest. “My strength and reflexes improve when I’m in a tau freeze. Here, watch.”

  He leaped into the air, back-flipped, and landed on the Russian goth’s head, balancing easily on one leg.

  “And that doesn’t hurt her?” Nicole asked.

  “She can’t feel a thing,” Daniel said. He jumped from head to head, hands in his pockets, making it look so easy.

  “So, why don’t you try it?” he asked.

  “No thanks.”

  Nicole followed him, forcing her way through the crowd like a normal pedestrian. She had no desire to start hopping up and down while making a fool of herself.

  “You sure you don’t feel especially nimble today?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “Why don’t you try jumping? Just see if you’ve got some extra lift today.”

  “No, thank you.”

  Nicole tried following Daniel, but got caught in between a throng of six elderly women with canes and had to back track.

  Daniel danced from head to head around her.

  “Come on. Give it a try.”

  “Now listen here, mister!” she said. “Would you please stop that? All I want is out, okay? I don’t want to set things on fire or hunt reavers or jump around like an idiot! I just want out of this mess!”

  Daniel landed in front of her. He looked like a whipped puppy.

  “Err… I mean…” Nicole muttered.

  “Mister?” Daniel said. He made it sound like a vile curse word. “I mean… yeah I’m a little older than you, but I’m not that old.”

  “I didn’t mean…”

  “Look, no premature grays, see?” Daniel ran fingers through his uncombed hair. “And in my line of work, that’s saying something. Plus it’s not like I have a gut or anything. I keep myself in good shape and exercise regularly.”

  “Umm…”

  “I mean, ‘mister’? Really,” Daniel said. He turned and walked away. “I’ve barely started college and people are already calling me ‘mister’.”

  “Sorry?”

  “It’s like…”

  Daniel turned to the platform. He cupped an ear.

  “What is it?” Nicole asked.

  Daniel held a single finger to his mouth. They were close to where Nicole had been when time stopped, next to the frozen subway train just emerging from the tunnel.

  Nicole hardly breathed. She strained her ears. Every little sound they made was like thunder in the silence, but on the very edge of hearing…

  It was a most peculiar sound. Like someone furiously typing on an old-fashioned typewriter: distant, but heavy and metallic. The sound grew louder and seemed to come from the closest train tunnel.

  Nicole looked at Daniel, who was suddenly all business.

  “Reaver,” he whispered.

  “What’s a reaver?” she whispered.

  “You’ll see. Don’t worry. I’m a professional.”

  “For some reason, I’m still worried,” she whispered, following him closer to the subway car.

  Daniel reached into his trench coat. There was a brief metallic whisper, and suddenly he had a long, elegantly-curved sword in his hand.

  “How did you ever get on a plane?” she whispered.

  “Oh, I have my ways,” Daniel said, watching the dark patch of tunnel just above the subway car.

  The rapid metallic clicking grew louder. Daniel had to speak up so she’d hear him.

  “Stand back,” he said, grasping his sword two-handed and lowering his stance. “No need to panic. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  Nicole shuffled back from the subway car, but bumped into a frozen pedestrian and almost tripped.

  The sound continued to crescendo.

  “Is it supposed to be this loud?” she shouted.

  “Must be a big one!” Daniel shouted back. Nicole thought she heard an uneasy waver in his voice.

  The metallic chattering grew louder and louder as the reaver came closer.

  “How big do they get?” Nicole shouted, putting hands over her ears.

  But Daniel didn’t respond. He lowered his sword slightly and turned around. What Nicole saw then scared her more than anything so far. Deathly fear covered every inch of his face.

  A sound pierced the air like a cross between a lion’s roar and a jet engine.

  BRAAAUGH!!!

  “What the hell is that?”

  Daniel watched the dark tunnel, every muscle in his body tense, sword held high and ready. Its razor edge gleamed in the chandelier light.

  The reaver emerged, clambering over the subway car and almost as large. Nicole’s first thought was it looked like a giant metal centipede. Her second was to scream.

  Its body was flattened and long, disappearing into the depths of the subway tunnel. Its skin gleamed like polished silver and its hundreds of long spindly legs ended in bladed points. A horrible, many-eyed face turned towards them, its dozens of mandibles twittering hungrily. Eight glowing, ruby-like eyes swiveled independently, some locking onto Daniel, others onto Nicole.

  The reaver flung its mandibles wide and roared, revealing a fathomless white-hot furnace within its metal body.

  BRAAAAAAAAUGH!!!

  Intense heat washed over Nicole, scorching the exposed skin on her face and hands. She clenched her watering eyes.

  “Run!” Daniel shouted, holding his ground.

  The reaver reared up, surprisingly nimble for such a huge creature. With a sudden burst of speed, it stabbed down with its blade-tipped legs. Daniel rolled deftly out of the way. Three legs barely missed him.

  A reaver leg pierced through the little girl in pink standing near the policeman. She exploded into gory shrapnel. Nicole screamed again. Daniel rose to his feet and sprinted towards Nicole.

  “Don’t worry about them!” he shouted. “Run for it!”

  As soon as the reaver removed its leg, the horrible fragments drifted inward like a crimson jigsaw puzzle. The pieces accelerated, and the little girl snapped together, whole once again.

  “Head for the escalator!” Daniel shouted.

  Nicole sprinted towards the escalator, but Daniel caught up quickly. He grabbed her wrist and urged her on.

  The reaver climbed off the subway car and smashed through two stone columns. Nicole glanced over her shoulder, still running, and watched the reaver’s head turn towards them. Its long body twisted back into the subway tunnel, and its hundreds of legs pierced elaborate stonework and unmoving people with ease. The reaver charged after them, shattering the chandeliers into thousands of tinkling fragments.

  “Come on!” Daniel shouted. “Move!”

  They passed through an archway, turned right, and began racing up the escalator. The Saint Petersburg subway was so deep they couldn’t see the escalator’s top. They raced up steps with dozens of frozen people blocking their path. Daniel jumped onto the escalator’s railing and ran up it, but Nicole struggled through one human impediment after another.

  “Come on!”

  Stonework exploded behind them. The reaver clambered through and turned, fiery eyes catching sight of its prey. It spread its mandibles and roared.

  BRAAAUGH!!!

  Terrible heat scorched the back of Nicole’s neck, even though she was two stories up the escalator.

  “You need to move faster!” Daniel shouted.

  Nicole squeezed desperately between a mother and two little girls. />
  “I’m trying!” she shouted.

  “Try harder!”

  Nicole heard dozens of stabbing clicks. She turned around, blood pounding in her ears. The reaver sank its legs into the escalator and rushed towards her, seconds away.

  “Ah, damn it!” Daniel shouted. He leaped over her and charged down the escalator. The reaver turned all eight eyes to him. It rose up, dozens of sword-legs spread wide.

  The reaver struck with speed that would make a cobra jealous, but Daniel dodged swiftly to his right. A single reaver leg caught the ratty edge of his trench coat, tearing it.

  Daniel hit the ground, rolled, and came up with his sword ready. The reaver stabbed two legs towards him, but with quick strokes of his sword, he cut both of them off at the first joint. Thick yellow fluid burst out of them as if under pressure. The reaver growled angrily.

  The yellow fluid and chunky bits of goo drained out of its injured legs. It was like something from a burst pustule. An eye-watering mixture of sewage stench and sulfurous fumes hit Nicole.

  “Keep running!” Daniel shouted. He hopped from pedestrian head to railing to head, dodging constant reaver attacks.

  Nicole ran as best she could, but she kept turning back, watching Daniel fight the reaver. He’d severed five of its legs, but the creature had hundreds, and could crush him with its body if it had to. There was no way he could win. It was insane for him to keep fighting!

  Finally, after all his skillful dodges and rolls and leaps, Daniel made a mistake. The reaver feigned an attack to Daniel’s right, only to strike from his left when he dodged that way.

  Daniel swung his sword in a silver arc. Two more bladed limbs went flying, but this was a small sacrifice for the reaver. It lunged at him with its head, dozens of mandibles reaching for his sword arm. Daniel pulled his arm away just in time, but the reaver bit down on the sword.

  The reaver crushed the sword with its jaws, shattering it into metal splinters. Daniel was left holding a hilt and a few inches of jagged blade.

  Undaunted, Daniel charged screaming at the reaver’s lowered head. He thrust the broken sword into one of its jewel-like eyes. The eye burst and darkened. The reaver reared back, bellowing—

  Everything went dark.

  Chapter 2

  The Kinetic

  The world flashed alive with color.

  With a gasp of breath, Nicole found herself on the train station platform, subway cars screeching into the stop. The thick crowds of people pressed in around her. Loudspeaker announcements and overlapping conversations filled the station.

  “What the…” Nicole looked around.

  Out of nowhere, Daniel appeared in front of her.

  “Ah!” she exclaimed.

  He leaned close and whispered in her ear.

  “It’s still tracking us. You need to follow me.”

  Nicole looked past him and watched people board the train she was supposed to be on. Maybe if Amy hadn’t tricked her, she’d be safe in a subway car far away from here. She suddenly felt angry, and that helped a little. Anger felt better than fear.

  “Nicole?” he asked, urging her on with a hand on her back.

  She nodded, trying not to think about the reaver, trying not to be scared out of her wits. She followed him towards the escalator. It was strange seeing the columns and archway whole again after the reaver had torn through them. It felt like a dream.

  “Was all of that real?”

  “Oh, it happened,” Daniel said. “What happens in a tau freeze is very real and very deadly.”

  They stepped onto the escalator. Daniel pulled his sword hilt out, and looked at the broken blade.

  “Damn. Shoko is going to kill me for this,” he said, shaking his head. “This was some of her best work, too.”

  “You went after that thing,” Nicole whispered. “With a sword?”

  “Well, of course.”

  “Why not, I don’t know, a gun or a bomb or something?”

  “Uh huh. And how long did you want to wait for the bomb to explode? Time wasn’t moving.”

  “I don’t know! This is all very new to me!”

  “I can’t use something like that in a tau freeze, okay? Too much energy involved, plus the whole chemical reaction thing. In fact, I don’t think there’s a tau guard alive that can actually fire a gun in a freeze.”

  Daniel sheathed his sword and pulled out what looked like a compass. Nicole crowded next to him.

  It was a compass, except it had two hands instead of one. One hand wiggled gently, pointing north. The other pointed east… then south… then west… then started twirling around in circles.

  “It’s closing in on us. Crap,” Daniel said, pocketing the compass. He pulled out a cell phone and dialed.

  They waited on the escalator. Nicole could finally see the landing at the top. A massive chandelier hung from an elaborate domed ceiling.

  “Come on, Viktor. Pick up, you damn commie… Viktor! Daniel here. I’ve got a… would you just shut up for a minute! I’ve got a situation over at the Avtovo train station and I need backup!… no, I… Viktor, just send a team as soon as—”

  * * *

  The whole world froze except for Daniel and Nicole.

  “Ah, crap! It found us!” Daniel said. He pocketed the cell phone and pulled out three gleaming metal knives. “Here.”

  Nicole took one. “What’s this for?”

  “It’s better than nothing,” Daniel said.

  He twirled his two throwing knives between fingers. Nicole cringed, expecting to see a finger fly off and blood spurt wildly out, but Daniel’s reflexes didn’t fail.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get to the surface.”

  Nicole sucked in a deep calming breath. It helped a bit, but her stomach felt full of terrified butterflies.

  They were almost to the top when Nicole heard the sound again, like a person madly slamming keys on an old-fashioned typewriter. She stopped and looked towards the bottom of the escalator.

  “Daniel?”

  “Yeah, I hear it. Keep moving!”

  Daniel jumped onto the escalator railing.

  “Can you see it?” Nicole asked.

  “No… wait, I think—”

  BRAAAUGH!!!

  Noise like an angry jet engine roared up the escalator shaft with a deafening echo.

  “Yeah, I see it! It looks pissed! Hurry and get to the surface!”

  “And then what?”

  “I don’t know! I’ll think of something!”

  They climbed the last few steps of the escalator, weaved through a group of Russians covered in metal studs and spiky hair, and ran across the domed atrium. Nicole followed Daniel out through a tall, columned archway and into the open. Afternoon sunlight streamed down through a partially clouded sky. They rushed down a flight of wide stairs to a two-lane street with a few frozen cars on it.

  Stone and metalwork exploded within the train station. The reaver had almost reached the top.

  “Okay. What do we do?” Nicole asked, gripping the knife so tightly her knuckles turned white.

  “Umm…”

  “Daniel?”

  “Umm…”

  “That’s not a very encouraging plan!”

  “Shut up and let me think!”

  The reaver reached the top of the escalator. It turned and faced them. One of the eyes had blackened. Yellow fluid laced with gooey pus dribbled out of the eye. The reaver threw back its mandibles and roared.

  BRAAAAAAAAUGH!!!

  “Daniel!” Nicole shouted. A wave of furnace heat struck her face.

  Daniel threw one of his knives. The reaver shut its eyes, and the knife ricocheted off its face. He threw the second knife and the reaver batted it away with a leg.

  Daniel drew two more knives from his trench coat.

  “That didn’t work!” Nicole said.

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  The reaver charged out of the train station, bursting columns aside with its girth. It cla
mbered down the stairway towards the street. Nicole squinted from sunlight gleaming off its body. The thing moved so fast, she couldn’t possibly outrun it.

  “Circle it!” Daniel shouted, running to the left. “Stay away from the front!”

  Nicole ran to the right. The reaver turned, tracking Daniel. He threw two more knives. One struck a leg at a joint and severed it. The second bounced off the creature’s thick skin.

  Daniel drew two more knives before he rolled away from an attack. The reaver stabbed three legs through pavement, just missing him. Rock and dirt exploded upward and hovered in the air. The reaver turned, following him.

  Its body was so long that Nicole still couldn’t see the tail end, which was somewhere up the stairs, through the broken archway, past the atrium, and down the escalator.

  Daniel screamed and Nicole had to duck down to see underneath the reaver. The creature had stabbed one of its legs all the way through his thigh. With a brutal jerk, the reaver ripped the blade free. Blood splattered onto the pavement.

  Daniel fell back, a frantic look on his face. He scrambled away from the reaver, blood pulsing out of his leg.

  The reaver inhaled deeply. Nicole thought she heard a satisfied rumble deep within the creature. It reared up, its many legs catching the sunlight, ready to butcher Daniel.

  Nicole didn’t think. She just threw the knife with all her strength. But instead of clattering harmlessly off the reaver’s flanks, something entirely different happened.

  The knife didn’t arc clumsily through the air, nor did it slow down. Instead it accelerated. When it hit the reaver’s segmented body, the knife was a streaking glint of metal. It punched into and through the reaver. Heat, light, and fetid pus blasted out of the wound.

  The reaver flung its head skyward and let out a shrill, high-pitched cry of what sounded like intense pain.

  BREEEIIIIIGH!!!

  “Oh my god, you’re a kinetic!” Daniel shouted. “Holy sh—!”

  BRAAAUGH!!!

  The reaver turned towards her with shocking speed, its eyes wide, its mouth a hot furnace of rage. She scrambled out of its way. The reaver brought dozens of deadly legs and a train car’s length of body segments crashing down behind her.

  “Throw another one!” Daniel shouted, skidding a knife across the pavement towards her.