Retribution (The Praegressus Project Book 5)

by Aaron Hodges

  “No,” Talisa mused. “It is strange, but still, they may baulk when faced with humanity’s execution. They cannot yet see the true nature of their former species, that humanity will never tolerate an equal. Only their extinction can bring the peace we seek.”

  “Yes,” Susan bowed her head. “We will do as you say, Talisa.”

  At that she turned away, her eyes taking in the shadows clinging to the entrance of the cave. The strangers were long gone, but her lips drew back in a snarl as she thought of them. An orange glow lit her mind as she imagined the flames that would soon engulf humanity. A smile spread across her lips as she thought of the winged girl burning alongside them.

  Yes, let them all perish, she thought. And the freaks with them.

  Chapter 21

  Chris staggered sideways as a Chead pushed past him. His feet slipped on a loose rock and he almost went down. Only a slight flutter of his wings kept him upright. Straightening, he glared at the creature, but the perpetrator was already moving off, winding between the faded stone buildings of the abandoned settlement. It had hardly spared him a glance as it shouldered past.

  Gritting his teeth, Chris sucked in a breath and headed in the other direction. The darkness was just beginning to give way to the light of day, and Talisa had finally called a stop. Though he would never admit it, the news had come as a relief to Chris. They had left behind the mountains a few days ago, and were now somewhere out on what he guessed were the plains of Arizona. Dry, inhospitable land stretched out all around them, and he had no desire to spend another day exposed to the unforgiving heat of the summer sun.

  It would have been easier if they could fly, but out of respect for their flightless cousins, Liz had decided they should run alongside them. Not wanting to argue, Chris had agreed, though he was now long past caring if he insulted the Chead.

  As Talisa’s daughter, the deadly creatures had welcomed Liz as one of their own. Chris, however, was treated with a cold indifference. Only Hecate seemed to enjoy his company, though Chris wasn’t sure why. Perhaps he’d won the young Chead’s respect in their fight—or perhaps Hecate simply found it amusing to watch Chris struggling to keep up with the gruelling pace set by the Chead.

  Shaking his head, Chris dismissed the dark-haired Chead from his thoughts and turned his attention to the buildings around him. Liz had headed this way just a few moments ago, though she hadn’t bothered telling him where she was going. Still weighed down by guilt, Chris hadn’t said anything, but he was quickly becoming irritated by her behaviour since joining the Chead.

  When she had appeared from nowhere to save him, Chris had allowed himself to hope they might have a future after all. Her whispered promise they would talk as they crept through the sleeping Chead had only reinforced that hope.

  But the reappearance of Liz’s mother seemed to have driven everything else from her mind. She had taken to spending all her waking moments with the old Chead, though Chris had no idea what they discussed. He was rarely invited to join them. Instead he was left to wander their campsites alone, surrounded by the hostile grey eyes of the Chead.

  Ahead, he caught a glimpse of Liz through the old mud-brick buildings and picked up his pace. The settlement must have been a mining village once upon a time—he couldn’t think of anything else that would have drawn so many people out into this barren place. The buildings were probably a hundred years old, but in the dry of the desert, they remained in good condition. A few had collapsed from the slow corrosion of time, but most still stood as they had been built. Inside, the floors were dirt, most of the furniture long removed, but they at least offered some protection from the sun.

  “Liz!” Chris called as he turned a corner and saw her in the doorway of one of the buildings.

  Her blue eyes flickered around. They widened when she saw him. A frown marked her forehead as she turned away from the door. “Chris? What are you doing?”

  Taking a breath, Chris closed the remaining distance between them. Coming to a stop in front of her, he tucked his hands into his pockets. His gaze drifted down to his boots as he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. “I…” he bit his lip, then forced himself to look at her. “I’m not sure,” he finished lamely.

  Liz stared at him for a second, then rolled her eyes. Shaking her head, she started to turn away.

  “Wait!” Unbidden, Chris’s hand shot out and caught her hand. “Wait…Liz...can we talk?”

  Turning back, Liz’s crystal blue eyes met his. This time he did not look away. “Please?” he added.

  “Talk?” Liz’s lips twisted into a frown. A long moment stretched out before she went on. “What is there to talk about, Chris?”

  Chris swallowed, his nerve failing him. But gritting his teeth, he forced himself to say the words. He needed to know, one way or another. He couldn’t stand this in-between, this being caught between hope and despair.

  “About us,” he mumbled. “About why you came after me.”

  A softness appeared in Liz’s eyes as she looked at him, and for a moment his heart lifted. Then a steely hardness came over her face. Her jaw hardened, and she gave a curt shake of her head. “There is no us, Chris,” she said. “Not anymore.”

  At that she turned and disappeared into the house. There was no door to keep him out, but Chris made no move to follow her. He stared at the dark shadows of the doorway for a moment longer, and then turned away. His legs shook as he stumbled through the settlement, ignoring the stares of the Chead still out in the streets. Their sweet scent pressed in around him, and his stomach twisted with nausea. The need to escape rose in his chest, a desire to spread his wings and fly away, to flee the girl he loved, escape the truth of her rejection.

  The Chead made no effort to stop him as he leapt into the air. His auburn wings beat down, hurling him skywards, and he raced up towards the harsh glow of the sun. As the stench of the Chead fell away he sucked in a breath, savouring the crisp, dusty scents of the desert. Angling his wings, he circled the settlement, watching as the last of the Chead disappeared into the buildings. Marking the spot in his mind, he turned away, wings beating hard.

  Soaring out over the vast desert, Chris almost felt free.

  He knew now he’d lost Liz for good, that she would never forgive what he’d done in Alcatraz. He didn’t blame her. Even now, soaring through the clouds, Chris could not escape his own guilt, his own bitter self-loathing.

  All that was left for him now was Ashley’s command—that he make his life worth something. He had thought by coming here, by stopping Hecate’s slaughter of innocent people, he might make a difference. But nothing had been as he’d expected. Hecate, the dark, powerful monster from his past, was nothing more than a pawn.

  It was Liz’s own mother who controlled the Chead.

  Chris shuddered and dipped slightly as he remembered Liz’s tale of how her mother had turned. Liz had found her mother standing over the body of her father, in the middle of her ruined house. Outside, all her childhood friends were already dead.

  Yet even then, Talisa had spared her daughter.

  And now the ancient Chead had welcomed Liz into a new family, a new life.

  Tucking his wings, Chris went into a dive. His stomach lurched into his chest as he plummeted towards the distant ground. Blood pounded in his ears as adrenaline flooded his veins, and for just a second he felt alive, almost his old self again.

  Below, the ground raced towards him, swelling until it filled his whole vision. Gritting his teeth, Chris snapped open his wings. Pain tore down his back as he lurched to a stop. Then his wings beat down, stabilising him.

  For a while he drifted close to the ground, mind lost in thought. Moving into a thermal, he let the hot air gather beneath his feathers and send him soaring back up into the sky. High above the desert, he looked around. A distant flicker of movement near the horizon caught his attention. Turning towards it, he spotted the dark, glimmering streak of a highway. A van rumbled along the road, a cloud of smoke billowing
up behind it as it made its ponderous way across the desert. He guessed it was making its way towards Las Vegas. The Chead had angled around the desert city, but apparently not by enough.

  Another flicker of movement came from ahead of the truck. Chris stared as the roadside seemed to come alive. A dozen figures swarmed across the road, barring the van’s path. The squeal of breaks carried up to Chris as the vehicle slammed to a stop. His jaw dropped as he realised a group of Chead had intercepted the van.

  Shouts came from below as the Chead leapt forward and tore open the doors of the van. Without hesitating, Chris folded his wings and raced towards the Chead and their prey.

  By the time he reached them, the Chead had the occupants of the van surrounded. Kneeling on the scorching asphalt, they looked around at the blood-thirsty creatures, eyes wide and faces pale with fear. There were four of them in total—a mother and father, plus two young girls in their twenties.

  The Chead jumped as Chris slammed into the ground nearby. He swallowed as their cold grey eyes turned towards him. He counted four of the creatures, until Hecate wandered out from behind the van and smiled at him.

  “Chris,” Hecate laughed. “What are you doing…so far from your babysitters?”

  “What are you doing with these people?” Chris replied, ignoring the taunt.

  On the road, the humans squirmed on their knees. Chris could feel the heat radiating from the asphalt. It was late in the morning now. The temperatures had already climbed well above a hundred, and the road would be hotter still. They looked at him, mouths clenched closed, probably trying to work out if he was there to help them or kill them.

  “Making war,” Hecate growled.

  Turning his eyes back to Hecate, Chris shook his head. “These people aren’t any threat to you.”

  Hecate’s lips twitched as he raised an eyebrow. “No? Well, let us see.”

  Before Chris could move, Hecate grabbed the kneeling man by the scruff of his shirt. As the helpless man screamed, Hecate lifted him into the air. Clenching his fists, Chris tried to intervene, but Hecate only laughed and tossed the man at another of the Chead. Leaping up, the creature caught the man mid-air.

  Gasping, the man tried to break free, but he was no match for the Chead’s strength. As Chris turned towards the creature, it laughed and passed the man to a third Chead.

  Chris staggered to a stop. Looking around, he saw the Chead had spread out to circle him. The man screamed as he was sent soaring again. His face had lost the last of its colour. He looked close to throwing up. Standing his ground, Chris turned to face Hecate.

  “You’ve had your fun,” he grated the words through clenched teeth. “You’ve proved he’s harmless. Now let him go.”

  Laughter whispered around the circle of Chead as the man was passed again. This time though he twisted as the next Chead caught him, and his foot swept up into the creature’s groin. Roaring, the Chead hurled the man at the ground. He bounced once on the asphalt before coming to a stop. Groaning, he tried to crawl away, but the creature he’d struck bounded forward and drove its foot down on his skull. A sickening crunch ended the man’s cries.

  As one, the remaining passengers started to scream. The three women tried to scramble back towards the van. Hecate leapt forward to intercept them, but Chris was faster still. Tackling Hecate to the ground, he slammed his fist into the Chead’s face. Before he could land a second blow, Hecate rolled beneath him, sending Chris toppling sideways.

  Coming to their feet, they squared off against one another. Chris sneered. “You want to try your luck again?”

  Hecate straightened and chuckled. “Perhaps,” he shook his head and nodded at the cowering family, “But not today. What are these…humans to you? You know…what they did to us. To you.”

  Chris shook his head. “Not these humans.”

  “They are all the same. Such pitiful creatures…do not deserve our mercy.”

  “Leave them be,” Chris pressed. “They have nothing to do with your war.”

  Hecate laughed. “They have everything to do with it,” he licked his lips, eyes drinking in the sight of the three women. “But perhaps…you are right. The young ones…do not have to die.”

  Chris’s stomach twisted at the look in Hecate’s eyes. He edged slowly forward. “What do you mean?”

  The cold grey eyes returned to him. “The Chead need…mates.”

  “They’re human,” Chris managed to stammer, mere words unable to express his horror.

  Hecate chuckled. “Yes…and we have no more…virus,” he mused. “But…the Chead are strong. If the offspring…are weak…they can be culled.”

  Bile rose in Chris’s throat. On the road, the girls whimpered, clinging to the older woman that could only be their mother.

  Standing in the middle of the road, Chris gathered himself. “I won’t let you touch them. This is wrong.”

  “Wrong?” Hecate asked, starting towards the group.

  Chris moved to intercept him, but two Chead leapt in and grabbed him by the arms, pinning them behind his back. He fought to break free as Hecate approached the huddled humans. Quick as lightning, he had one of the younger girls by the hair. Hauling her away from the others, he pushed her towards Chris.

  “Your mate…has abandoned you,” he said, head tilting to the side. “Would you not like…a fresh one?”

  Chris growled, trying to throw off his assailants, but together they were more than his match. “Let me go!”

  “Not to your liking?” Hecate smiled.

  His arm shot out and caught the girl by the neck. The girl opened her mouth to scream, but his hand gave a sharp jerk. A sickening crack broke the silence of the desert. All of a sudden the girl went slack. She toppled to the asphalt when Hecate released her.

  “No!” Chris screamed, but Hecate was already dragging the second girl towards him.

  “What about…blonde?” the Chead cackled, shoving the screaming girl at Chris.

  Tears streamed down the girl’s face as she fought to break Hecate’s hold. Her hands lashed out, her fingernails digging into Hecate’s arms, but the Chead didn’t seem to notice. Holding her by the hair, he pushed her forward until her tear streaked face was an inch from Chris’s own.

  Her big brown eyes suddenly found his. “Please,” she croaked.

  “I…” Chris gaped, hardly able to breathe.

  “No?”

  Before Chris could reply, Hecate drove his fist into the girl’s back. The sickening squelch of tearing flesh and breaking bones followed. The girl’s mouth fell open in a silent scream. A shudder ran through her body as the brown eyes rolled back in her skull. As Hecate released her hair, her head lolled forward, but she remained on her feet, propped up by the fist embedded in her back. With a jerk of his hand, Hecate sent her toppling to the ground.

  Tears streamed down Chris’s face as he stared at the dead girls. He hung limp from his captives’ arms now, but behind Hecate the woman screamed and charged at the grey-eyed boy. Turning, Hecate casually batted away the woman’s fists, then downed her with a blow to the forehead. She collapsed without a sound, dead before she struck the ground. Wiping his bloody hand on his shirt, Hecate grinned at Chris.

  “You’re right, Chris,” he said, stepping in close. “These creatures were…beneath us. I’m glad…you set us straight.”

  Laughing, Hecate nodded to the Chead holding him. Chris sagged to the ground as they released him. The hot asphalt burned at his palms, but he hardly felt it. Unable to tear his eyes from the slaughtered family, he listened to the crunch of stones as the Chead moved away.

  Only when silence returned to the desert did Chris climb to his feet. Swallowing his horror, he closed his eyes, and then forced them back open. He looked at the dead women and man one last time.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” he whispered.

  Then he was turning, spreading his wings, hurling himself into the sky. The wind caught in his feathers, sending him hurtling back towards the settle
ment. As the ground fell away, there was only one thought in his mind.

  I have to warn Liz!

  Chapter 22

  Liz smiled as her mother dismissed a group of Chead and turned towards her. She was still struggling to accept this new reality, this impossible dream come true. How many days had it been now? Three? Four? In truth, she’d lost count, swept away in the wonder of it all. She was afraid to pause and take a breath, lest she wake and the dream end.

  Moving across the room, her mother settled down on the crumbling couch beside Liz. The foam cushions had rotted away long ago, but Liz had found some moth-eaten blankets in the cupboard. Folded up, they made do as cushions. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was better than the dirt floor.

  Liz shivered as her mother’s arm went around her, pulling her into a gentle hug. A part of her still flinched at the touch, fearing the deadly Nematocysts lacing her skin cells. But like Ashley back in San Francisco, her mother seemed immune, and closing her eyes, Liz returned the embrace. Breathing in, she tasted the familiar scent of her childhood. She hardly noticed the pungent sweetness of the Chead anymore.

  When they finally broke apart, Liz swallowed. “How can you touch me?” she croaked.

  Her mother smiled, the wrinkles spreading across her face. “I am Chead, my daughter” she replied. “I have spent years wandering the wilderness, gathering our people, providing them shelter. In that time, I mastered our true nature, harnessed my potential. Your venom holds no bite for me.”

  “What do you mean, ‘harnessed your potential’?” Liz asked, frowning.

  Her mother sighed. “You have witnessed the rage, the uncontrollable madness of our kind?”

  A tremor went through Liz. She remembered that anger all too well, the rage that had flooded her mind, burning away all thought and reason. At once she had felt all powerful, as though no feat was beyond her strength—even as all control was stripped away, and she found herself in the grips of some inner beast. In that state, she had torn grown men apart, leaving them in bloody pieces on the laboratory floor.