The awakening hc-1

by Stuart Meczes

  Midnight pointed to a red spot on the floor I hadn’t noticed. “Stand there,” he grunted.

  I shuffled over to it. He walked to the large fridge and returned a second later carrying some kind of injector. It looked like an insulin dispenser, more pen than needle; except this one was see though and full of dark blue liquid.

  “Hold out your hand,” he ordered.

  I didn’t respond.

  He stared at me. I sighed and held out my trembling arm. He jabbed the needle into it. Liquid fire seared up my wrist. I yelled and shook the wounded appendage. The pain kept sweeping up regardless, through my bicep and into my shoulder. My entire arm ballooned and the veins morphed into thick blue worms.

  “Damn that hurts!” I yelled, clutching my infected arm.

  Midnight rolled his eyes. “Give it time.”

  “I’ve had them before. They don’t hurt that much,” added Sophia, laughing.

  Great, I’m more of a wimp than a little girl, I thought in between the swear words. After a few more seconds the pain dissipated and my arm shrank back to normal. “I think I’m okay now,” I admitted. “What do ya want, a prize?” snorted the hulk. I stared at the red welt left by the injection. It grew smaller until it had completely gone. “What was that?” “Something to help if you get hurt.”

  I don’t like the sound of that.

  “Face the entrance.”

  I rotated so that Sophia and the equipment were to my left and the cracks on the wall were behind me.

  Midnight lumbered over to the computer and tapped at the screen. I couldn’t see properly with his large frame blocking most of the screen, but I did notice the words ‘Start training’ appear in flashing green letters. He glanced over his shoulder and a wide smile spread across his face. “Get ready.” “For w-” I began to ask, but saw the answer swing towards me from the ceiling. A battering ram.

  It arched towards me at an immense speed. I dived out of the way just in time. I felt the wind as it rushed past me followed by the deafening crack of stone connecting with brick. The fractures in the plaster increased. Small fragments dropped to the floor.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” I shouted at the giant madman, who looked even bigger from my position on the ground.

  “No,” he said simply. “If I was trying to kill ya, you’d be dead.” Then he turned back to the screen and started tapping away again. “Reaction speeds are good,” he muttered to himself.

  The ram winched itself back up on its supports.

  Midnight tapped the screen one last time with an over the top motion. “Right,” he said without turning. “Let’s do that again, but don’t move this time, k?”

  “Don’t move?” I spluttered, picking myself up off the ground.

  Sophia shouted encouragement from the bench. “Come on Alex, you’ll do great! If I can do it so can you!”

  I was shocked that they had let a little girl take part in something like this. Then I remembered that she wasn’t a normal little girl at all, just like I wasn’t a normal teenager. Nothing around here is normal.

  “Okay,” I said positioning myself back on the spot. My heart punched against my chest. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, ignoring the rational part of my brain, which screamed that I would die in the next few seconds.

  The ram came down harder this time. It carved through the air, heading right for my midsection. I shut my eyes and forced myself to stay put.

  Smack!!

  It felt like a nuclear bomb had hit my stomach. My feet left the ground and I flew backwards, arms flailing wildly. Then there was a second impact as my back smashed into the wall behind me. The air rushed from my lungs and I slipped to the ground wheezing as I struggled for precious oxygen. “Calm down,” said Midnight. “Your body can handle this.” “Glurrgh,” I said in reply. Eventually my lungs reflated. I ran a hand through my hair, sweeping away flecks of plaster like bad dandruff.

  I waited to see how I felt. Apart from the initial blow, there was no longer any tangible pain. Only a dull ache which soon faded. I looked over at Midnight who gave a noncommittal shrug.

  “Not bad for a first try I guess,” he grunted. “Let’s do it again.”

  Three more times we tried and three more times my body was sent careering into the wall. It began to look as if it were in danger of collapsing all together. Midnight was shaking his head in disappointment. “Come on, you’re not trying!” he growled. His response sounded like something John would say. I felt the anger rise in my stomach. “It would help if I knew what the hell I’m supposed to be doing!” I retorted before I could stop myself. Midnight’s eyebrows descended over his dark eyes. He looked like he was brewing an anger all of his own. One that could rip mine into pieces. “Stop the ram with your body,” Sophia whispered. Midnight gave the girl a sideways glance. She went red. “Sorry.”

  The behemoth composed himself. “You ain’t supposed to know what to do in this training. We like ya to use intuition to work it out. But we’ll pretend pint size didn’t say anythin’ yeah?”

  I nodded and stood up. The battering ram cranked up on its chain supports.

  “Come on Alex!” encouraged Sophia.

  Placing my feet on the red target, I tried to mentally prepare myself. My mind flashed back to when the car had hit me. I remembered how without trying, I’d stayed rooted to the spot, whilst the car folded itself around me. Sophia’s right, I can do this.

  “Okay I’m ready.” I clapped my hands together and jumped a little on the spot. Midnight seemed to approve my change of attitude. He nodded and almost threatened to break a smile.

  I was prepared when the ram swung down this time, but my reaction still surprised me. Instead of just letting it hit me, I sprang forward, driving both fists into the stone. There was a thunderous crack and for a second I thought I’d shattered my knuckles. But then several deep jagged lines appeared on the ram’s surface. A second later it crumbled into a shower of concrete rain. I rotated my wrists and was relieved to see that they were fine. There was a light dusting of powder on my knuckles.

  Midnight’s expression was one of pure shock. Sophia copied it like a ventriloquist’s dummy, staring at the pile of rubble at my feet.

  “That, I have never seen.”

  “Whoa…” breathed pint size.

  “Better?” I asked trying to keep the smugness from my voice. Midnight nodded and rubbed a large finger on his chin, surveying the destruction. Sophia started clapping like an excited seal. The sound of footsteps approaching made me look over at the doorway. Delagio entered the room. His Stetson hat emerged before he did.

  “Just in time,” said Midnight. “Alexander just smashed strength training…literally.”

  The American raised his eyebrows at the pile of rubble on the floor. “Not bad. Let’s see if you can bring that energy to part two.” His Southern drawl combined with waist jacket and hat reminded me of a bad guy from a cheesy western. I couldn’t resist a smile.

  He gestured for me to follow. We were almost out of the room, when a loud siren started blaring from a speaker near the ceiling. It sounded like something from a World War II film.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” cursed Delagio. “Looks like trainin’ is gonna have to wait.”

  All three charged out of the room. I followed. We ran through the gym, which was emptying of people. They were squeezing into various elevators.

  “Let’s take the stairs,” called Delagio.

  We headed through a set of double doors and into stair well. We were at level B18. Thundering up the stairs, we twisted up and up, until we were at level B2. We exited into a long white corridor and rocketed along. Doors whipped past us. If anyone were to come out now, they would be mown down, no question.

  At the end of the corridor, Delagio burst through the doors and we piled into the room.

  It looked like a control centre. Rows of desks were covered in rows of computers. They were occupied by a myriad of people who were tapping frantically at keyboards.
At the very front on the wall was a huge screen. It showed a map of the UK on a grid system; currently one section of it was flashing red.

  I noticed Faru at the front below the screen looking up at it, his cane dug firmly into the ground. Two bodyguards stood just behind him, hands clutched around their electric crosiers as usual. No other Chosen appeared to be here yet. I wondered where they had all gone. Midnight grunted “What we got?” “Vampire pack.” Gabriella moved past us into full view. My breath snagged in my lungs when I saw her.

  She was wearing some kind of black leather uniform. A miniature silver version of the emblem on the Feasting Hall doors was indented on the breast of her jacket. It reminded me of a police badge. Her raven hair was tied back into a long ponytail. Guns, knives and other strange weapons I couldn’t identify hung from a thick metallic belt wrapped around her waist. A samurai sword ran diagonally down her back, secured by its scabbard. She looked like she meant business — she looked like a soldier.

  Gabriella paced over to one of the computer screens. The assistant — a squirmy looking man with round glasses — scrambled out of the way so she could use it. Her gloved hands muffled the sounds of the keystrokes.

  “Quite a large pack,” she informed the room. “At least fifteen. They tripped the perimeter sensors at the five mile marker.”

  Faru’s voice boomed across the room. “Do you think it could be Rahuman?”

  Gabriella tapped a few more keys and the large screen changed to show a blue line originating from a point roughly in the middle of the country. It wasn’t entirely straight, sometimes shooting off in random directions, but mainly heading down towards London. At certain points, the line had thick blue pulsing circles marked on it. “Judging from the direction of the attacks and where we’ve encountered him before, I’d say yes.” There were nervous murmurings from the people in the room. Faru nodded. “He is coming for us. Let’s save him some time.” The old man looked in my direction, then back at Gabriella. “I want you to take Alexander with you.” Her head shot up. “But sir, with all due respect, he hasn’t even finished his training yet. He isn’t ready!”

  Faru nodded. “I am aware of that, which is why he will be observing only. Take Twelve and Thirteen with you.” He gestured towards the silent guards.

  My friend’s face looked conflicted. Sighing, she conceded.

  As you wish Sage Faru.”

  “All remaining teams are in defence positions around the base. I’ll place Echo on standby for support. Be safe.” He crossed his arms in salute like the Guardians had in the gym. Everyone returned the gesture.

  Midnight smacked his hand into his fist. “Alright let’s go finish this arsehole once and for all.”

  I stood there looking and feeling like a lost child.

  “Five minutes everyone. Get ready and meet me in the garage.” Gabriella pushed away from the computer and took my arm. “You come with me.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “It’s Showtime.”

  15

  Gabriella led me to an underground parking lot somewhere in the cavernous depths of the base. Shining black tiles covered the walls and a purple glow from arching wall lights filled the area. Around us were dozens of parking spaces. Most of them were filled with enough beautiful cars and bikes to make even Bruce Wayne jealous. I followed her over to a sleek black Ferrari. She rested against the bonnet and stared at me with her captivating blue eyes.

  “Alexander, I need you to listen to me.”

  “Okay.” When she looked at me like that, there wasn’t anything else I could do but listen.

  “This could be a very dangerous hunt. If it’s the Vampire pack we think it is, they’re extremely powerful. We’ve lost several Guardians to Rahuman, including Chosen. So I want you to stay behind me and the bodyguards the whole time. I don’t want you to get involved at all. No matter what happens. If anything goes wrong, I want you to drive away as fast and as far as you can. Do you understand me?” Her voice carried a no mess authority tone.

  “I understand. I won’t do anything,” I promised shaking my head. What can I do anyway?

  Gabriella’s face broke into the reassuring half smile that I loved. Looking behind me she rolled her eyes. “Here comes your protection.”

  I spun around to see Faru’s guards walking towards me. Instead of robes, they now wore long white trench coats, with matching boots. As well as the menacing electric crosiers, they carried an array of impressive looking pistols and knives on their belts. Up close I discovered that the numbers on their foreheads weren’t tattooed after all, they were carved.

  They reached us and stopped. Gabriella pointed toward a silver Range Rover opposite the Ferrari. “You travel with the rest of the team.” She tapped the metal of the bonnet. “We’re in here.”

  The guards shook their heads like twins. One moved forward to grab me, but Gabriella jumped up and swept me behind her.

  “Listen to me you retarded clay doll. I’m the leader of this team and what I say goes. When we get there, you protect Alex with your lives — if that’s what you call them. Until then, he is not leaving my sight. Clear?”

  I felt a rush of warmth at how protective she was being over me.

  The guards paused before nodding in eerie unison. They both turned and walked over to the jeep.

  I frowned, watching the odd figures fall silent as if their batteries had run out. “Why did you call them Clay dolls? Is that like an in joke or something?” I asked.

  “Not at all. Have you ever heard of a Golem?”

  “Never.”

  “They’re made from clay. Faru creates them and brings them to life using Fae magic. They help serve us and protect us, but they can’t speak and have no compassion whatsoever. They just do what they are told like mindless dogs. I hate the things.” I suddenly understood why their skin had been so devoid of lines. To all intents and purposes they were living statues. “I’m getting the impression Faru is pretty powerful,” I said. Gabriella glanced over the driver door. “You have no idea.”

  I sank into the bucket seat just as the rest of Orion ran in. They were all dressed in the same black leather uniforms. Delagio was still wearing his cowboy hat.

  They paced over to the Range Rover and jumped in. Sophia climbed into the boot space so there was enough room for the Golems to crank themselves in.

  A second later the window buzzed down. Delagio leaned out and yelled, “You got a lock on em right?”

  “Yeah, follow me,” Gabriella called back.

  “Sure thing boss.” He tipped his hat and the window glided back up. Gabriella turned the key and the engine roared to life. I hardly had time to put my seatbelt on before we lurched forward, tyres squealing. We raced towards the exit ramp. Behind, the jeep rumbled into existence and followed. We spiralled up and up like a helter skelter stuck in reverse.

  The slope straightened. Ahead, a large garage style door cranked open. We shot out into the daylight — car soaring off the ground. It slammed back down and Gabriella spun the wheel sharply to the right, power sliding around a decorative circular fountain. Gravel sprayed up from underneath the tyres. I craned my neck back and saw that we on the front drive of the grand mansion. From the outside, the exit we burst through was designed to look like the rest of the stone. As the jeep roared through, it closed automatically and all trace of it vanished.

  The Ferrari raced down a long winding driveway. The G-force pinned me to the seat. The speedometer slipped past the 100 mark. I squinted my eyes and gripped the sides of the seat as Gabriella jammed her foot to the floor. A looming brick wall appeared, stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. An iron gate stood in the centre. Four Golems stood guarding it — two on either side. One pressed a button on the wall and the gate swung open just in time for the car to blitz through. On the other side, we roared down a long deserted road. A few expensive looking houses flashed past in between the hedges and trees.

  “Who lives here?” I asked over the thu
ndering engine.

  “Humans in key positions to aid the Alliance,” Gabriella answered. “Like police chiefs, judges and MP’s. We look after them and their families. In return they help us maintain the cover of normalcy. As far as anyone knows, Faru is Mr Farris, a retired oil billionaire.”

  The speedometer now hovered over the 150 mark. The scenery whipped past in a blur of colours. Still, it’s better than being underground in one of those elevators. Wait…

  “Why aren’t we using the Nexus?” I asked.

  “Hold on a second.”

  Gabriella gunned the sports car out of the private road, onto a slip road and then onto a duel carriageway without breaking speed. The screeching of the wheels matched the sound of my fearful yell as we slewed sideways, narrowly missing a ford estate. The driver blasted the horn. Gabriella eased up on the accelerator before stamping her foot down again once we were straight.

  “Ella!” I shouted.

  “Calm down you big baby! I won’t crash, trust me. And in answer to your question, the Nexus is for travelling around London quickly.” Her lips thinned. “Problem being that the pack is already in Chapter Hill.”

  I shuddered when I thought of the danger being so close to my school…to Mikey. All of those people oblivious to the horrific creatures hiding in the shadows. Until it’s too late.

  “Faru said something earlier about most Vampires being from Pandemonia. What did he mean by that?” I asked.

  Gabriella slipped the car down a gear and overtook a Porsche. The young businessman inside scowled with defeat.

  “He’s talking about Bloodlings. Human Vampires.” She tapped a gloved finger against her tooth. “Bloodseeker teeth are coated in a poison which paralyses their victims. But it has a far worse effect on humans. If one gets bitten and doesn’t die from their injuries, they’ll be reborn as a Bloodling.”