Emerald Sky

by David Clarkson

  Once he was on his own it did not take long for Charlie to be re-apprehended. There was no alternative. It was impossible to hide from the base’s astral spies. Neither could he run with the mountains cutting off the facility from the rest of civilisation. All that left was to fight or to give himself up. No choice at all given that he was a pacifist who abhorred violence in any form.

  Rather than return him directly to his cell, the general had him brought to the command centre that housed the astral projection units. This could mean one of only two things. Either the general planned on coercing him into performing a task or he intended for him to bear witness to some sinister new use of the technology he had provided them with. A part of him actually hoped it would turn out to be the former.

  ‘A pardon is out of the question now,’ the general told him. ‘Having allied yourself to Emmy Rayne, you have committed the ultimate act of treason.’

  ‘You’re mistaken,’ he replied. ‘The girl came to me and we can’t even be sure that it was Emmy.’

  ‘Lies,’ the general said. ‘We both know full well that it was her. You called her by her name – what more proof do I need?’

  ‘Something tells me you’re not the type to require evidence,’ Charlie replied, but the general ignored the implied insolence.

  ‘It does not matter how she found her way in here. Emmy Rayne no longer poses a threat to our operation. That is why I have brought you here – to show you the true fruits of your labour.’ Then turning to one of his guards the general added; ‘bring in the dogs’.

  The guard spoke into his walkie-talkie and moments later a door opened allowing another guard, this one holding two Alsatians on leashes, to enter. The dogs did not display signs of aggression, but they radiated menace all the same. It was clear that they were hunting dogs, trained to seek out and if necessary; to destroy their prey.

  The guard and the dogs were followed by two men in white lab coats, neither of whom Charlie recognised. His worst fear was becoming a reality. He guessed what was going on long before one of the unfamiliar scientists withdrew the syringe. It shone emerald green from the toxic mixture within.

  ‘Astral travel is yesterday’s news,’ the general said, proudly. ‘Our latest achievement far surpasses your previous experiments, Dr Nguyen. By using the blood from the prisoner we captured during that feeble assault on this base, we have finally found a stable bonding agent for our serum. Or should I say - your serum? It was, after all, you who introduced us to the remarkable properties of the astral radiation.’

  The scientist injected the serum into the necks of each dog in turn. They displayed no physical change, but inside they were evolving rapidly. The capacity of their primitive canine brains was being enhanced dramatically. These were no longer mere animals. They had reached a higher level of consciousness, but they were also docile – awaiting their master’s orders.

  ‘So what now?’ asked Charlie. ‘Are you going to send them out to track your perceived enemies? Even with your ungodly formula they won’t survive the cold. Your plan is as flawed as your attitude to science.’

  ‘Don’t worry about the welfare of the animals,’ replied the general. ‘They will be perfectly safe as they are staying here on the base. It is, after all, their minds that we have enhanced and their minds are all that we need.’

  He nodded to the scientist holding the leads, which was the signal to place the animals inside the projection units. Normally, only a human being would have the neurological capacity to achieve astral separation, but with the psychic serum coursing through the animals’ bloodstream they had become direct conduits to the will of their masters.

  Once settled into the chambers, another scientist flicked a switch and the canines appeared to fall instantly into a deep sleep. The same scientist then adjusted some more dials until an image appeared on a large overhead screen situated above the main command console. The image was being fed from an outside security camera and it was focused on the recently restored electrical generators. As the power coils burst into life, the canine shapes began to take form. They were like Hell Hounds rising up from the depths of Hades.

  ‘You have to be kidding me,’ said Charlie, but he already knew that this was no joke.

  Noting his former lead scientist’s reaction, the general indulged in a sadistic smile. His vision was coming to life. He possessed more power than any military commander in history and he was about to wield it for the first time.

  Chapter 32

  ‘Calm down, Jimmy,’ said Emmy. ‘Whatever we’re about to face, we’ll fare a lot better if we’re all able to keep our heads. Panic helps nobody.’

  ‘She’s right,’ added Esteban. ‘We have survived this far by remaining strong and sticking together. So long as we continue to do so we will get through this.’

  Jimmy looked up at the soldier. There was a shift in the younger man’s eyes as if they were only just beginning to focus on what was around him.

  ‘Where’s Jack?’ he asked.

  Esteban turned away.

  ‘Jack didn’t make it,’ said Emmy and then sensing that Jimmy was about to revert back to a sense of panic, she quickly added; ‘but we did and I believe that is for a reason. Everything that has led us to this point must have a purpose. Don’t you see? You finding me in the desert, the train crash, and now you coming back to me here. And you still have your powers. They helped you escape the compound and they will help us all to escape whatever comes next.’

  ‘I didn’t escape,’ he said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘The compound – I didn’t escape. They let me go.’

  ‘Why would they let you go? Surely they’d realise that you’d find your way back to...’

  Rather than complete the thought, she turned to Esteban to see if he was thinking the same thing.

  He was.

  ‘He’s led them right to us,’ the soldier said. ‘It’s a trap.’

  ***

  Hounds are used for tracking because of their unparalleled sense of smell. These dogs possessed no such skill. They did not require it. A much more powerful sense was available to them. As they bounded up the base of the mountain, clearing more than twenty metres with each leap, they could see the exact path taken by their prey mapped out as a ghostly imprint of psychic energy. To them, the past could be picked up as clear as any scent to a conventional flesh and blood canine. They had just one objective - to find that energy and destroy it.

  They scaled the mountain quickly and soon came upon one of the entrances to the monastery. With their unnatural astral view of the world they could not tell the intricately carved stonework of the temple walls from the crude rock formations of the mountain, but they did not need to. The life energy of the inhabitants shone before them like a beacon. Their first victim did not even see them coming. The second was not so fortunate. He reacted in the only way he could.

  ***

  They all heard the scream as it reverberated around the stone walls of the monastery.

  ‘Is it worth getting my gun?’ Esteban asked.

  Jimmy shook his head.

  ‘Is there anything that can help us?’

  The question received the same response so he turned to Emmy for further guidance.

  ‘What about you? The weapon that you improvised at the compound - can you rig up another one?’

  ‘I don’t have access to the right equipment. Everything here is so basic. I’m not sure that there’s anything that’ll be of help.’

  ‘In that case, we must rely on our natural abilities. Whatever is coming, if we stick together and remain strong, we will deal with it.’

  ‘How can you be sure?’

  ‘Because I have to be.’

  The chamber they occupied was small and had two ways in and out. Esteban was able to gauge from where the scream had originated from which of these the threat was likely to approach. He grabbed one side of a wooden bench in the hope that he could use it to barricade the doorway.

  ‘
These things don’t use doors,’ said Jimmy.

  As if on cue, an interior wall of the room crumbled under the impact of the charging astral dogs. Before the dust had time to settle, the three caught a glimpse of what they were up against.

  The creatures were more than twice the size of a regular Alsatian and resembled bears more than dogs. When still, they were perfectly black, but in a way that suggested not just an absence of light, but of matter itself. It was like an inverse of reality. As they moved, their ethereal joints glistened like finely polished diamond.

  ‘Are these your monsters?’ asked Esteban. ‘They look more like a pair of poodles to me.’

  Emmy was speechless. She could not believe that he was actually trying to tough talk these things. It was what Jimmy had to say, however, that really sent her heart racing.

  ‘No, that’s not it. There’s worse to come. Something bigger - much bigger.’

  Esteban carefully positioned himself between the dogs and Emmy.

  ‘I’m counting two pooches, Jimmy. How many have you got?’

  ‘Four of them, six of us.’

  ‘Can you draw them away?’

  ‘Not all of them.’

  ‘On three?’

  ‘On one.’

  Jimmy spun on the balls of his feet and made straight for the far door. The first of the diamond dogs was onto him within a split second. It lunged at his back and his friends feared the worst, but he was able to twist his body out of the ethereal beast’s path with perfect timing that only a psychic could achieve.

  ‘He’ll be fine, now come on,’ said Esteban, taking Emmy by the wrist and pulling her along with him.

  They soon came across a group of monks gathered around one of their fallen brethren. Two of them were tending to the injured man, whilst a third knelt alongside, his head bowed in prayer. When he saw the soldier and the scientist, the one that had been kneeling got to his feet. It was Yonten.

  ‘What happened?’ asked the monk. ‘These demons attacked from out of nowhere. I fear the order will not survive this.’

  ‘They’re not demons,’ Emmy told him. ‘They’re no different to your tulpa. Somebody is controlling them.’

  ‘What shall we do?’

  The beast carved its way back through the hole in the wall. It smashed all it touched to smithereens creating a nerve shattering cacophony, but produced no sound from within itself. No growl. Not even breathing. Nothing but absolute silence.

  ‘Group together,’ Emmy said to the monk. ‘The more of us there are, the harder the creature will find it to distinguish us as individual entities. It will think we’re a larger predator and be more cautious in its approach.’

  ‘That’s your plan - a group hug?’ asked Esteban, incredulously.

  ‘You don’t have to join us. If you want to go it alone and try calling it names, you’re perfectly welcome.’

  This time, he knew better than to argue. The pair of them formed a tightly knit group with the three monks and two others who had been cowering in a corner of the room. The change in the posture of the creature was immediate. It hunched its shoulders, adopting a more defensive stance as it tried to gauge what threat, if any, it had been presented with. Very slowly, it edged toward the group.

  ‘We need to regulate our breathing,’ said Emmy. ‘It cannot hear us, but it will be able to see right through us. We have to convince it that we are all of the same entity. We must breathe as one.’

  Yonten translated her instruction for his brethren and they all began to inhale and exhale in unison. The creature had no eyes, but instinct and memory shaped its form, giving it a head (albeit faceless), a body and four distinct limbs. It tentatively approached the tightly huddled group and began to circle them from a safe distance.

  ‘Stay strong,’ said Emmy, but it was actually she who was beginning to waver. She noticed that the creature had slowed slightly when she was directly within its field of comprehension. It could sense something about her life energy that set her apart from the others.

  She did not wait for it to strike. Instead, she decided to make a run for it, hoping that Jimmy would intervene at the crucial moment. Esteban was not so optimistic. He knew that she would not survive for long on her own. He threw a chair at the beast, though its impact had no apparent effect, it bought him a second or two to catch up to the scientist.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked her. ‘I thought the plan was to stick together.’

  ‘It saw me. I don’t know how, but it just did. If I’d stayed, I would be dead already.’

  ‘So now what?’

  ‘Now we get out of here. When Yonten showed me around he pointed out an old, disused access hatch that may lead down to the tunnels. It’ll be too narrow for those things to follow and with solid rock enclosing it on all sides they won’t be able to break through it either.’

  ‘May lead to the tunnels?’

  ‘He wasn’t certain. He said it hadn’t been in use for decades.’

  They continued to run down the passageways, all the time aware of the beast closing in on them by the sound of the destruction echoing in its wake. When they got to the hatch they found Jimmy approaching from the opposite direction. They could see nothing in pursuit of him.

  ‘Where’s your monster?’ Emmy shouted.

  ‘I lost it,’ he replied. ‘I came back to help you.’

  Seeing the boy filled Emmy with a greater sense of hope than she had felt in a long time. She was starting to believe that they really were going to make it. Jimmy was closer to the hatch and before she had the chance to tell him about it, he was already opening it up. They were just moments from safety when the second dog creature fell through the roof landing between her, Esteban and the hatch. Jimmy was just as shocked as the scientist – another psychic misfire.

  ‘We’re finished,’ Emmy said.

  ‘No,’ replied Esteban. ‘You can still make it.’

  He grabbed a torch from the wall, which he waved in concentric circles whilst backing away from Emmy, drawing the two creatures along with him.

  ‘Go!’ he shouted.

  The creature nearest the hatch had moved away, which created an opening for her, but she was reluctant to leave Esteban to die. Too many people had died because of her and it was time for it to stop. There was an anger building inside of her like she had never felt before. It started deep down in the dark hole where her heart had once been and began to expand outwards. She felt it rising in her chest, over her lungs and up into her throat where it was finally released as a deathly scream. She screamed so hard that she thought her vocal cords might have broken in two and bright spots clouded her vision. She screamed until the very foundations of the building shook and the walls collapsed around her. And then the real monster arrived.

  Chapter 33

  The creatures were, to all practical intents and purposes, indestructible. Esteban had no hope of defeating them. He sought only to distract them long enough to buy his friends the time they needed to make a safe getaway. His own survival was now of little consequence.

  Fifteen seconds was how long he expected to last. Maybe thirty if he was unlucky. Any more was out of the question. They were too quick and too powerful. All it would take was one landed blow and he would be finished. That blow could come at any moment and without warning. There was no way of predicting just what these monsters would do next.

  He turned the torch over in his hands. It was not the most substantial weapon, but it did give him one slight advantage. The flame seemed to confuse the beasts, allowing him to get close enough to strike them. Every time he scored a hit, however, it was met with the same reaction.

  Nothing.

  These animals (if they could be called that) did not feel a thing. No pain, no fear, no remorse – just the inescapable urge to destroy their prey. They were the perfect killing machines and they had Esteban in their sights.

  The creature closest to him lunged forward. He countered the attack by thrusting out with the torch, but with
its indistinct form and lack of features, he could not determine the best place to target his strike. He was not even sure if placement mattered at all. As with his previous attempts to hurt it, there was no apparent effect. All he gained was another handful of seconds where he was not having his limbs torn apart. This time, they were likely to be his last. As he stepped backwards, he felt the cold surface of the stone wall press against his spine. There was nowhere left to run.

  His only remaining desire was the hope that the others had made it out. To trade his life for theirs was a worthy exchange. After ducking another potentially fatal swipe from one of the creatures, he managed to steal a glance past the beasts. The entrance to the tunnels was clear, but his relief was short lived. Emmy was still in the chamber.

  He could not understand what she was waiting for. Surely she understood the sacrifice he had to make. She opened her mouth as if to scream, but before he could hear any sound come out, he was knocked off his feet, losing his grip on the torch as he hit the floor.

  He quickly rolled, in order to retain mobility and to keep some separation from the beasts.

  That was when he saw it.

  Unlike the dogs, its entire body was covered in fur; thick and brown. It was too large to be a bear and it dwarfed the original monsters. Ignoring him, they had now redirected their attention on the new threat. They did not stand a chance.

  The monster grabbed the first of its foes and lifted it from the ground like it was composed of nothing but hot air. As the second dog leapt toward it, the larger creature batted it back down to the ground using the body of its first victim like a mace. It then proceeded to smash the beast into submission before tearing its unwitting weapon clean in two. As the dog’s body ripped, it bled pure energy, which briefly lit up the chamber with blinding electricity. The fight had lasted just seconds, leaving the previously thought indestructible destroyed, but the monster was not finished yet.

  Once done with its prey it turned towards Emmy, who continued to scream mindlessly. Her eyes were closed and she seemed oblivious to the advancing danger.