by K X Douglas
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
By the time Peter finally turned the shower on, thirty minutes had passed. He took his time washing himself clean, mostly owing to the fact that he was in a daze.
Once he was finished, the first thing he did was check his phone. As he predicted, he had dozens of missed calls and several voicemails waiting for him. He played them in order; the majority of them were from Heidi, but there were a couple from Lachlan and even one from Tadhg.
He dressed himself and checked the time; it was seven in the evening.
I should at least send them a text letting them know that I’m okay.
But his thought process was interrupted by a knock on his door. He answered and saw Heidi standing on the other side, face soaked with tears.
“Where were you?! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for over an hour! You didn’t get caught in the earthquake, did you?”
Peter could only give her a hollow stare.
“You did…” she said.
“Yeah,” he croaked.
“Oh my god, how did you even make it home?”
“I swam across the river and walked the rest of the way,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What were you doing in that part of the city, anyways?”
“Going after Kevin. The earthquake was his doing. Either he or one of his subordinates summoned that worm in order to get me off of his tail…and it worked.”
“Holy shit…just…holy shit,” she muttered. “Peter, we’ve been dating for, what, six weeks? I feel like we’re still strangers. You haven’t done much to open up to me, and you keep going off on your own to do shit, and now because of that probably hundreds of people are fucking dead in the span of an afternoon.”
“I…I didn’t have a choice, Heidi. You know that. If I don’t kill him in time, the world might end. There isn’t much for me to open up about compared to a human. Anyone could rat me out to the government at any moment, and they’d come after me because they want to conduct experiments on me, or because they think I’m involved in the attack on the academy, or the earthquake, or whatever other supernatural incident happened recently. You can imagine why I’m slow to trust people.”
“Why does it have to be you, though? Are you the fucking chosen one or something? Why can’t we just get in someone else’s car and run him over or something?” She paused to take several deep breaths. “I know you aren’t human, but you act enough like one that I can overlook things and pretend that this is a normal relationship. Besides, what if that thing was lying, and everything you end up doing was for nothing? You had no way to confirm that it was trustworthy.”
“Heidi…I…I don’t know. I’ve gotten used to getting myself involved in every little incident where people are in danger because now that Professor Carter is dead and Tadhg’s a fugitive, Silas can’t do it on his own.”
“How long is this going to last, though? If you want to live like a human, you’re going to eventually have a family to worry about, aren’t you? Are you going to become like Tadhg? Serena told me that her mom divorced him because he fucking killed someone over a goddamn garden gnome!”
“I…no, I’m not going to end up like Tadhg. The only person I plan on killing is Kevin. I still don’t know if I can do it, you know…if I can actually, intentionally kill a human being. I’ve managed to avoid it for who knows how long, now…I’ve only killed aliens and monsters.”
Peter looked down at his hands and saw that they were shaking. His whole body was shaking.
“You don’t have any backup plans, do you, Peter? What if you fail to kill him? What then?”
“I didn’t think there were any other options, so I didn’t bother to think about it. I just have to kill him.”
“Ugh, I knew it. We’re going to have to come up with a few contingency plans before the day arrives. What is it, a week and a half away? Maybe just over that?”
“What kind of plan do you have in mind?”
“Well, what if he succeeds in summoning that Old One or whatever?”
“Then we’re all fucked.”
“Why? I thought Tadhg managed to kill one of them once?”
“He…he never really told me the details. I had asked Professor Carter about it once, and all he said was that it involved a ‘ridiculous amount of TNT’. Like, where the hell do you buy TNT?”
“I don’t think you can just ‘buy it’, Peter. Although…now with the earthquake basically sinking most of that area into the river, wouldn’t we be able to employ explosives there without worrying about collateral damage?”
“You…you have a point there.”
“You’re planning on blowing up the Old One if you fail to kill Kevin, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Heidi facepalmed.
“Well, I guess that’s an improvement. Just…don’t try to take care of everything on your own again, alright? If we’re going to make this work, we need to be able to rely on each other.”
“Yeah…okay…I promise I won’t try and take care of this on my own.”
Heidi wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He returned the hug, and they stood there for nearly ten seconds.
“Now, I think we should start preparing for the festival. You should get a hold of either Tadhg or Silas and see if they can source some explosives. I’ll handle the rest.”
“You have a plan now?”
“Fuck yeah, I have a plan. But I think that can wait a day. For today, you should just relax. Everything’s going to turn out okay; you just have to trust me. You have to trust us.”
“Wait, have you all been planning something behind my back?”
Heidi only held a finger to her lips and smiled.
“It’ll all make sense later. I promise.”
Later that night, Peter decided to send a text to Tadhg.
He put his phone down on his desk and waited. In the meantime, he searched the internet for anything related to the earthquake that had struck earlier that day. To his surprise, he could not find video footage of the incident anywhere. A quick browse through social media indicated that someone was trying to sweep the incident under the rug, and people in the area were starting to take notice.
A few minutes later, his phone beeped, and he looked at his recent messages. Tadhg had already replied.
Well, that’s one thing out of the way. Hopefully.
Time flew by as he continued to look into the coverage, or lack thereof, of the earthquake. Some people had mentioned seeing the gigantic worm that had caused the tremors, but they were by and large dismissed as run-of-the-mill conspiracy theorists.
Later that night, after everyone else in the dormitory was likely sleeping, someone kicked Peter’s door down. Several RCMP officers clad in body armour stormed into his dorm room, guns drawn.
“RCMP! Put your hands where we can see them!” one of the officers shouted.
Peter put his hands behind his head and stood up from the chair.
One of the officers restrained him, pulling his arms behind his back and cuffing them.
“I am arresting you for attempted murder. You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. You have the right to telephone any lawyer you wish. If you are charged with an offence, you may apply to Alberta Legal Aid for assistance. You also have the right to free and immediate legal advice from duty counsel. Do you understand?
“I understand,” Peter replied.
“You need not say anything. You have nothing to hope from any promise or favour and nothing to fear from any threat whether or not you say anything. Anything you do or say may be used as evidence. Do you understand?”
“I understa
nd.”
I can’t try to escape yet. The walls here are probably paper-thin, and I don’t want to risk anyone getting hit by a stray bullet. I’ll at least have to wait until I’m in transit.
His thought process was interrupted when one of the officers pressed something into the back of his neck. Suddenly, he was unable to move as electricity coursed through his body, and he fell to the floor. One of the officers lifted him over his shoulder and carried him out of the dorm room.
Much of what happened next was a blur to him. He felt his body collide with the back seat of what had to be an armoured transport of some kind. Someone clamped handcuffs over his ankles. Minutes later, the vehicle began to move.
What the hell did they do to me? Was that a taser? I didn’t think those would work on me.
Eventually, he was able to sit up. There were no windows through which he could see where they were headed.
How am I going to get out of this situation without killing anyone? I’ve never taken a bullet from one of those guns before, so I don’t know if they’d actually hurt me or not.
The ride continued for about a half hour, at which point the vehicle parked. When the doors opened, he was escorted out of the vehicle by the same group of officers, and he saw that they were at the same prison where Tadhg had been incarcerated.
The process of being transferred into a holding cell passed by in a slow-motion blur. After being made to change into prison clothes, he was confined to a regular cell in one of the blocks at the rear end of the complex. Eventually, he lay in bed and pretended to sleep.
So, I’m probably under extra surveillance at this point. In all likelihood, I won’t get away with just squeezing through the bars and jumping out through the nearest window. They probably have some system that lets them know when the cells are unlocked, too.
Not long after dawn came, someone approached his cell and slid a tray of food through a slot near the floor. He didn’t touch it, being too busy examining the person who had brought it.
I could try capturing that person and taking their place, but I don’t know how long it would take for them to get wise.
His thoughts were interrupted by a deafening boom as the whole building shook. He slowly rose to his feet and walked up to the bars, hoping that he would be able to see what was going on without sticking his head through.
At first, there seemed to be no response, as the cell block broke out into chaos. Eventually, Peter watched guards sprint down the hall past him towards the source of the noise. It wasn’t long until they were running the other way. From the looks of fear and confusion on their faces, they were fleeing something.
It was then that he heard several familiar voices, followed by the sound of gunfire. Taking advantage of the commotion, he slid through the bars, managing to keep his clothes on while doing so.
The entire wall at the end of the building was missing, having apparently been detonated. Slowly advancing in his direction, shotgun in hand, was Tadhg astride a winged reptilian steed much like the one that Kevin had summoned.
“Tadhg?! What are you doing here?”
“Returning the favour. Hurry up and get on; let’s get out of here before they send in the big guns.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Peter climbed onto the creature and sat behind Tadhg.
“So you…blew up the wall to get in?” he asked.
“Yeah, I thought I’d test out some of the TNT I got. Nobody died, though, don’t worry. I know you’d get your knickers in a twist if I killed people on your behalf.”
“So…what? You flew all the way down here on your own to bust me out of prison just to return a favour?”
“Oh, I didn’t come alone, Peter. Your little polycule came along for the ride.”
“What?!”
“They’ve been busy, you know. Preparing for Halloween.”
Have they? I guess Heidi did get angry at me for trying to take care of everything by myself.
The beast crept down the hall, having to crouch in order to avoid crushing its riders against the ceiling. When it stepped outside, Peter saw that there were four more of the creatures waiting outside. Astride them in pairs were Eric and Victoria, Serena and Silas, and Lachlan and Isabelle. Heidi rode one by herself.
Peter and Tadhg approached the group, and the creatures inspected the former with forked tongues flicking in and out of their mouths.
“How did you all find out where I was so quickly?” Peter asked as he jumped down from his mount to approach Heidi.
“We heard them arresting you in the middle of the night and, well, where else would they take you?” Eric said. “All the other facilities are too far north or too close to urban areas for someone like you. Remember, they probably think you’re a murderer.”
He took Heidi’s hand and climbed atop the creature’s back, sitting behind her.
“Remember what I said about trust?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t want to see you go off on your own to try and settle things with Kevin. We’ll take care of this together. Now let’s get the hell out of here before the armed forces show up.”
Heidi patted the steed’s neck. It unfurled its wings and took flight.
Peter had no issue holding on to the beast as it accelerated, owing to its size.
“What are we going to do if the armed forces do show up, Heidi?”
“What else? We take them out.”
The wind whistled in Peter’s ears, making it difficult to hear what Heidi was saying despite their proximity.
“Heidi…”
“Look, I know you don’t want to kill anyone, but what are you going to do if they come after us in a fighter jet? You don’t exactly have a way to stop one of those things without injuring or possibly killing the pilot.”
The sun was in the midst of rising now, and from their vantage point they could see far in all directions. Peter looked back at the others, whose steeds were keeping pace. They were flying directly over the highway that led from the prison back to campus, and there was no doubt that they would be seen by a large number of people.
“So, once we make it back, what then? Where are we going to hide?”
“We all discussed that before we set out. We can either go to the professor’s house, or Serena and Silas’ mother’s house.”
Oh no.
“You…does…does Serena’s mother know?”
“From what Serena told us, she knows enough. You have to remember, she and Tadhg used to live together.”
“Alright, I guess that’s an optio-”
He was interrupted by the roar of several jet engines. Looking towards the sunrise, he saw a squadron of fighter jets on the horizon.
“Shit, how are we going to get away from them?” Peter asked.
“Leave that to us, babe. Get in front of me and handle the…whatever it’s called.”
Peter reached past Heidi and gripped the beast’s neck with one hand. Stretching his body, he swung around her and sat in front.
Heidi, meanwhile, watched the jets as they soared over them. She held out her hand towards one of them, and it began to glow.
After a moment, the glow subsided, and one of the jets broke off from the others. It coasted onward for a second or so before hurtling towards the earth. Upon impact, it broke apart and exploded in a magnificent fireball.
“Did you just kill the pilot?”
“Yeah. Our lives are in danger; I can’t afford to take the moral high ground. I’ve had it with watching you constantly get involved in this shit while not being able to help. We all have. So I’m going to kill every single one of these pricks if that’s what it takes to get you back home safe.”
Suddenly, Heidi began breathing heavily. Sweat trickled down her face.
“What’s going on?” she asked between gasps.
“Magic does a number on humans, Heidi. You must be absolutely exhausted.” Peter extended a tendril out from his back and encircled her waist. “Don’t worry, I
’ve got you. Just hold on tight.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned on him.
Peter looked towards the squadron of jets as they turned around and approached him again; he had to squint to keep the morning sun out of his eyes as much as possible. A small speck detached from one of the jets; he couldn’t quite tell what it was.
“Peter, dodge!” Heidi gasped.
“What?”
“They’re firing on us!”
“How the hell do I command this thing?”
“It understands human speech!”
“Okay, dive! Dive down as far as possible without hitting the ground.”
The creature obeyed, folding its wings against its body and diving down towards the highway. Peter extended his legs and wrapped them around the beast’s belly and leaned forward to the best of his ability. It descended hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds before unfurling its wings again.
Peter could have sworn its tail brushed against a semi that was driving down the highway.
The missile soared overhead, flying off into the distance before exploding midair.
“Alright, fly back up,” Peter said to their steed.
It ascended sharply, angling its body upward. If not for Peter using his legs to hold on, he was certain that they both would have been thrown off. When it reached the same altitude as the other flying things, it levelled off and matched their speed.
Peter grew an eye on the back of his neck to watch Heidi. She still looked absolutely drained, but she was managing to hold on.
We still have…what? Eleven of them left? There’s no way any of us could take out more than one of the jets using magic without risking going unconscious, especially since everyone’s probably tired from summoning our mounts. We’ll have to lure them in and engage them up close, as much as I hate the thought.
Their mount growled suddenly. Peter looked down at it and saw that it appeared to be following the squadron of jets with its gaze. He felt its muscles shift and tense, as it if were preparing to make a sudden movement.
“You’ve arrived at the same conclusion as me, haven’t you?” he said to the creature.
