~Mallick
“Daddy, what’s that?”
I started at the intrusion.
“It’s a book, son.”
“No, Daddy, that.”
Savoye’s little hand pointed away and behind me into the distance. I scanned the truly lovely view of the front of the estate, sweeping my eyes to that side of the estate were trees nested in a park-like area with riding trails and a pond of algae covered water. Then my view took in the area beyond the north wall.
It was a seething black mass that was being added to by a steady trickle from the forest edge. It seemed that in the hours since our last encounter, the battle with the Wisps had indeed been decided. The Geechigatha were now replenishing whatever number they had lost and preparing to attack en-masse from the rear wall of the estate.
In columns of two and three they scampered from the tree line to join the force being staged on the open field between the wall and the woods. I watched in those final seconds as the last of their number trickled in from the forest. There were thousands!
Then, suddenly, as one great black amoeboid mass, the creatures surged toward the ten foot wall and poured over it like black water.
“Damn it!”
“Daddy, don’t say that!”
“I’m sorry son. Let’s go. Josiah!”
I yelled to my elder son using the stern, fatherly voice reserved for commanding their attention. He popped up, wide-eyed from his place on the couch. With Savoye’s hand in mine, I moved quickly back inside.
“What’s the matter, Daddy?”
“We have to go, son, quickly!”
I knew we would be doomed if we did not abandon the house before it was surrounded. Those monsters would overrun any obstacle we could bring to bear in this place. Staying here would be suicide for me and my sons. That was unacceptable.
I moved to the writing desk and tossed the three books I now assumed were additional journals into my pack with the fourth. Josiah had just pulled on his pack while I threw Savoye’s pack inside my own. We raced out of the wizard’s rooms. I held each of my boys in a one-handed grip below the armpit to ensure they didn’t tumble down the stairwell.
With no real knowledge of the layout of the property we had no choice but to leave the way we came in, out the front door.
With the incredible number approaching the rear of the estate their strategy seemed to be an en masse surprise attack. From the journal, the beasts seemed to have some respect for the wizard’s power. That would explain their perceived need to use overwhelming numbers to assault his residence.
Not slowing for the locked door from the third to the second floor, I kicked hard at the center where the doors met. They swung open in response to the force. I had cleared the landing with the boys in tow as the doors slammed hard against the thick draperies covering the walls with enough force to cast a shower of shattered glass clear over the landing rails.
Descending the stair to the second floor, I lifted the boys inches above the steps as I took them two and three at a time. The doors to the second floor landing fared no better than those on the floor above. Though as I took the first stair of the wide, curving staircase, I missed the edge of the step and slipped down to the third, landing hard enough on my tailbone to send sparks to my eyes.
Now the boys stood over me, Josiah massaging his armpit.
“You okay, Daddy?”
“Yes, son. We have to hurry.” I got up wincing through the pain. I switched the boys to opposite sides in case I had the need to grab them up again. Although for the next few moments all I could manage was a quick trot down the stairs that both my sons could easily keep pace with.
We gained the main hall and crossed its marbled floor quickly. That’s when I heard them.
BOOM…BOOM…BOOM
They were battering at the doors to the rear of the ballroom! We had to get out now!
BOOM…BOOM…BOOM
Then, we were at the front doors in the foyer. I sat both my sons to the side of the door. I threw off the locking bar and, with the strength of shear adrenaline; I pulled at the handle of the door we had squeezed through before. It moved three inches, then the handle ripped from its socket!
“NOOO!”
BOOM…BOOM…Crrrreee-ASH!
My boys looked up at me in confusion and fear, and in that instant my fear became rage.
Turning to the wall I snatched down the curtain and the black iron rod it hung upon, jammed it in the three-inch gap and pulled with all of my might. The gap was maybe a foot wide, enough for my sons. Without time for more, it would have to be enough for me too.
The staccato of clawed feet on marble and the screeching and squealing of the charging rat horde was an overwhelming din as Josiah pulled his little brother through. I was stuck halfway through when the mob of rat monsters had reached the entryway to the grand hall. With my head turned to the interior of the house I could just see the lead line charging after me with wide, red eyes and foam flecked mouths. They were insane for the kill.
“Come on, Daddy!”
One had me by the wrist, the other by the belt. Both boys pulled as hard as they could. I sucked in as much of my girth as I could and pushed backward out of the crack between the doors, tearing the front and back of my over and undershirts and some of the skin beneath. And I had not even taken a deep breath when the mass of armored rodent bodies hit the doors. But instead of being able to easily squeeze through the space I had just vacated, the better part of five, or possibly six of the beasts were smashed to jelly as the weight of the rushing horde slammed the doors shut!
“Ewwww, that’s nasty!”
“I know, son. Now, let’s get out of here!”
I could hear the scrabbling at the door as more of the beasts tried to force their way forward. I knew that either the doors would give in to the force of the mass of bodies, they would try battering them in as they did with the doors to the ballroom, or…
CRASH!
I chanced a look back at the sound of shattering glass.
“It’s the Grabme-gotchas!” Savoye’ screamed. The rats had piled high enough to reach the entry windows and crash straight through them to the patio below. By the time we had made our way to the closest of the walks through the rock filled pools I had again grabbed up the boys, this time one under each arm and ran for the wall hoping that we could find the postern gate before being overrun.
Then I noticed the din of the creatures’ pursuit had greatly receded. I chanced a glance behind us. Amazingly, even as more of the Geetchiegatha fell from the window landing safely on the pile of bodies of their dead brethren who were the first to advance the attack, the building number of battle-ready attackers seemed to halt several feet from the edge of the patio. In front of them lay overeager Geetchiegatha that seemed to have passed out at or on the steps down to the path we were on.
It was the rocks; they were lodestone!
Slowly, I set the boys down on either side of me.
“Don’t move, boys.”
The large half-circular patio was filling with hostile Geetchiegatha now. I reached over the edge of the path and scooped up four of the larger stones. One by one, I threw those rocks as hard as I could; knowing that it would affect whoever was close to where it landed, hoping to brain one of the bastards with each one in the process.
The squeals and squeaks changed in pitch as several of the Geetchiegatha closest to the rocks clutched their heads in pain. I launched a dozen or so more at the vermin. Pulling Savoye’s pack from my own, I told the boys to grab a few of the rocks and put them in their packs.
As I reached down to put several in my own pack. I could see a dozen or more of the beasts launching themselves at the door trying to get back into the house. Then I noticed that there were no more eager rat warriors jumping out of the window.
“Let’s go, boys.” We were running again.
We made it to the gardens and I had to pick the boys up again to keep them out of the brambles and weeds. My th
ighs and shoulders ached and I had a stitch in my side. It was only a force of will that kept me plodding forward though I could tell that my current speed was significantly reduced and getting slower. Mallick had written that these Geetchiegatha had a certain cunning. I had seen that already. It wouldn’t take much to know that Mallick’s only means of escape had come to be ours as well. We had to make it to the Slipth before them; with enough time to spare in order to figure out how to work the Slipth, or we would be just as cut off as the wizard. Even with the lodestones to keep them at bay, they could still overwhelm us with force of numbers. They had proven a willingness to die readily if it meant getting a chance at their prey.
The wall was in sight.
“Savoye’, do you see the door son?”
“Put me down, Daddy!”
I put both boys down reluctantly, though I sorely needed the respite. We continued to trot toward the wall with Savoye’ scanning right and left for the door.
“There it is!”
We all ran for the door a dozen yards to our left. Arriving first, I pushed down on the left side of the bolt to free the door. As we finally made our exit of the estate, I could hear no buzzing of the Wisps. We headed south toward the main gate. The remains of the Wisp mound was somehow saddening as we passed by even though without the benefit of a particular flower they most assuredly would have killed us before the Geetchiegatha ever had the chance. Neither of the boys even spared a glance to the side to notice the tumbled mound of dirt.
Grabbing the boys by the hands I angled us toward the tree line just as the main gate came into site. There was a slight tug from Savoye’ but a quick squeeze of the hand let him know that we had no time to visit his new friend.
“Run, young Master! They come now, from the north.”
The rumbling voice rang out across the high grass of the open field. From my left came the horde. They were quickly eating up the lead we gained by their having to backtrack to the rear of the property before regaining the trail of their quarry.
We broke the tree line holding hands, but first Savoye’ stumbled and I had to tuck him under my left arm, then Josiah stumbled and he ended tucked beneath my right. With no real idea of where I was going, all I could do was to continue going forward as fast as I could, praying with every step that I didn’t stumble next (since we had run out of arms to tuck into).
“Savoye’, look for the tree that we go through to get us home!” I yelled.
“Ri-iii-iiii-iight there, Da-aa-dd-ddyy!” I had his arms pinned so he pointed with his chin at a tree straight ahead of us, but fully fifty or sixty strides away. The noise of our pursuers seemed all around us since they had broken the tree line and their squeals and yips seemed to echo through the trees. No, they were in the trees, moving faster from branch to branch than they did on all fours!
It was clear that they would be upon us by the time we reached the tree. I would have no time to help Savoye figure out how to activate the spell. Almost there, almost there!
Something took a swipe at my head from above, and a line of searing pain burned across my bald scalp. They were upon us already, with a good eight strides left to go!
Six.
My eyes began to water at both the pain of exertion and the thought that my boys lives might end in those wretched woods.
Four.
One of them leaped onto my shoulders, scrabbling viciously at my back for purchase on my already torn over-shirt.
But before the monster had a chance to do any worse than tear at my skin with sharp, curved claws or pointed teeth, it squealed from its close proximity to the lodestones in my pack. I took a final step toward my goal, spinning on that foot to crush the beast against the tree bole protruding from what was meant to be our means of escape, and I saw them.
There were hundreds of them. They attacked from the ground and the trees, bounding at us in running leaps even as I ready myself for the impact against the tree. It never came.
We all landed hard on the far side of the three-trunked tree. The air whooshed from my lungs as I slammed well over two hundred and fifty pounds of father and sons hard atop a dead or dying Geetchiegatha. Josiah was crying and clutching his ankle, but Savoye’ just seemed a bit winded. We were all safe and alive.
A quick examination revealed that Josiah had only suffered a minor sprain but the walk home was going to be a long one.
The Geetchiegatha that travelled through with us was dead. My guess is the lodestone caused something in the beast’s head to burst as dark red fluid ran from its ears, eyes and snout. And, if there was any life in the beast before I fell upon him, there most assuredly was none left now.
The three of us moved several yards away from the evil thing before collectively exhaling in real physical relief. We sat together against the trunk of a non-ensorcelled tree and rested for several moments before anyone had the strength to speak.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Josiah?” He had long since stopped crying and rubbing his ankle. He’d likely be fine in a few hours time.
“Daddy, are we finished with this adventure? I really think I’m ready to go home now.”
“Me, too, Daddy!” Savoye’ added.
I looked up to the clear sunny sky with its blue and red moons tracing out their daily path; it was just half way between two and three o’clock.
“You know what, boys?”
Looking down at them, I could not believe how truly fortunate I was to have them.
“I’ll bet if we start now, we can get back to Ms. Mika’s house in time for dinner!”
Write On Press Presents: The Ultimate Collection of Original Short Fiction, Volume II Page 13
