Grandma Anna walked slowly up the aisle. She had a strange walk – the gait was almost mechanical as if her legs couldn’t quite bend properly with each stride. As painful as it looked however, the old woman was smiling.
Stutter went over to help her but Grandma Anna waved him away and approached the edge of the altar.
“How is everyone feeling?” she asked.
The glum faces on display answered her question.
“That bad is it?” she said, laughing softly.
It was Tegan who spoke up.
“Rachel can’t fight the Exterminators,” she said. “It ain’t gonna happen the way we planned it Grandma Anna. They’re too strong.”
Grandma Anna looked at Rachel and winked.
“You children should be resting or eating,” she said, turning back to the others with a stern expression. “You should be building up your energy reserves.”
“What’s the point Grandma Anna?” Benji said, turning away from the altar. There was a flicker of anger in the small boy’s eyes that matched the color of his hair. “I thought you said she was going to fix it.”
Grandma Anna gently slapped Benji on the back of the head.
“I told you to eat something,” she said. “No wonder you’re so small. You need your strength as much as anyone if we’re going to win this fight.”
Benji looked stunned by the rebuke.
Grandma Anna addressed the crowd of children.
“Nothing has changed,” she said. “The plan remains the same as it’s always been. Now do what I tell you – go eat and get some rest. Remember that your bodies are weapons and must be strong at all times.”
The children grumbled amongst themselves. But they turned around and walked down the aisle like they were told to. Some of them turned around and gave Rachel a wary glance.
“Hurry up,” Grandma Anna said, shooing them away. “Dios mío! You’d think you lot were the ones pushing seventy-five!”
Grandma Anna turned back to Rachel. The sweet smile was back on her face.
“Are you cold sweetheart?”
Rachel nodded. “Yeah a bit.”
“And apart from that?” Grandma Anna said, approaching the altar again. “How do you feel otherwise? Have you eaten anything?”
“I’ve eaten a little,” Rachel said. “And I feel a bit better I guess. Stronger.”
Grandma Anna looked at the half-empty plate of food. She scratched at her chin and laughed softly.
“Good,” she said. “Very good. In that case Rachel, let’s go outside. We have work to do.”
Chapter Ten
Grandma Anna and Rachel walked down the aisle together.
They stepped through the wood paneled double doors, walking outside into what would have once been a pretty little garden area. It was now a small stretch of dried grass, mostly buried under the black snow and surrounded by small trees at the front of the church. There was a statue of a saintly looking woman further along that would have greeted visitors, both worshippers and tourists, as they made their way to the basilica door.
Rachel shivered in the cold. She thrust her gloved hands into her pockets as they walked in the garden.
This was her first glimpse of the building that Grandma Anna had brought her to after the crash. There were two towers at the front of the church, standing out above all else. Grandma Anna – who seemed to know a lot about the basilica – pointed to the north tower telling Rachel that a seven-foot tall statue of St Thérèse was fixed up there. But it was too dark to see the statue from the ground. The southern tower, which was a little taller than the north one, was the bell tower and it had a wrought iron Roman cross on top.
“It’s pretty,” Rachel said, looking around.
“Yes it is,” Grandma Anna said. “I used to come here a lot before the Black Storm. It’s a nice spot for an old lady to do some uninterrupted thinking.”
Rachel saw a permanent haze of bright colors hanging in the air over San Antonio. Directly above the city, the three gates watched over the chaos.
“They’re turning San Antonio into a junkyard,” Grandma Anna said. Her soft features hardened into a frown.
“I can’t fight them,” Rachel said, turning to the old woman. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see how bad it was. How bad I was.”
Grandma Anna looked at Rachel. Her back was hunched over slightly as she stood in the cold.
“You lost the first round,” she said. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Rachel shook her head. “You don’t understand,” she said. “Nobody does.”
“You’re gifted child,” Grandma Anna said. “Of that there’s no doubt. But it’s you who doesn’t understand.”
“What do you mean?” Rachel said. The weight of other people’s expectations was starting to get on her nerves. Ever since she’d woken up in the church, Grandma Anna and the kids had been leaning on her, going on and on about how she was going to go back and fight the Exterminators. But she’d done that already and look how that turned out. She’d tried to explain to these people that she wasn’t their savior. But still they looked at her with that awful, gut-wrenching hope in their eyes.
“You don’t fully understand your gifts yet,” Grandma Anna said. “At least, not all of them.”
Rachel shrugged and shivered yet again.
“I thought I was doing well,” she said. “All those early mornings on the roof with my dad and Rita in the freezing cold. I never said this to Dad or anyone, but there was a moment when I thought it was going to be easy. Like it was in the park the first time around. That’s how stupid I am.”
“Rachel,” Grandma Anna said.
“What?”
“You have their power in your mind,” Grandma Anna said. “Now I have no idea how it happened except that when they tried to kidnap you they failed and you absorbed something of them. That something has flourished inside you ever since. Now I can’t know for sure but if those things can tap into our minds, then I’d be willing to bet that you can too.”
“What?” Rachel said.
Grandma Anna tapped the side of her head. “Have you ever communicated with anyone? With this?”
Rachel almost shook her head. Then she remembered.
“Yeah,” she said. “I spoke to Crazy Diamond. I called her to come and help us when Mackenzie attacked us on the street. When Rita died.”
Grandma Anna stroked her chin in a slow, thoughtful manner. “I’d say that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what you can do.”
“I don’t understand,” Rachel said.
“Telekinesis,” Grandma Anna said. “Electrokinesis. Are you familiar with any of these terms child?”
“No.”
“No,” Grandma Anna said. “Well both these things are part of your extraterrestrial inheritance. To put it simply, telekinesis is the ability to move things with your mind. Electrokinesis is the psychic ability to control electric charges, electrical currents and so on. I suppose that’s how you’re able to switch on the lights in all those buildings.”
“I don’t really think about what it’s called,” Rachel said. “I just do it.”
“Of course,” Grandma Anna said. “And that’s the best thing about it. You don’t need to know what it’s called. Who cares what it’s called? There have been many great musicians throughout history who haven’t been able to read a single note of music or understand the first thing about theory. Like you, they go by instinct. Having said that, it’s still good to expand your knowledge base. Especially if you’re underachieving – as I believe you are.”
The old woman squinted her eyes.
“You must realize your true potential,” Grandma Anna said. “This is what I hoped to tell you before they arrived. I’m not trying to criticize your father or your friends, God knows I’m not, but you haven’t been coached properly. If you can do what the Exterminators can do, there’s no limit to the power that’s swimming around in your mind right now. Forget turning lights on
and off – that’s nothing!”
Grandma Anna took a step closer to Rachel. She moved slowly, taking care not to slip on the snow.
“Let’s try something out,” she said. “A test. Is that okay?”
“Okay,” Rachel said, taking a deep breath.
“I want you to close your eyes,” Grandma Anna said.
Rachel did as she was told.
“Now I want you to concentrate,” Grandma Anna said. “Concentrate on my thoughts. Don’t force it and don’t strain yourself. Let it come. Playing with cars on the street is all very well, but let’s see what else you’ve got in there Rachel MacLeod. Just relax, empty your thoughts and reach out to me.”
Rachel tried but the destructive noises coming from the city knocked her off stride. She opened her eyes and saw Grandma Anna standing in front of her. The old woman’s eyes were shut. Rachel shook her head and then closed her eyes again. Her muscles were as taut as piano wire.
The first thing she pictured was her dad hanging off the edge of the Robert E. Lee building.
Where was he now?
“Nothing else exists,” Grandma Anna said. Her voice was flat and emotionless. “Just you and I. Reach out to me child.”
A strange sensation came over Rachel. It happened suddenly and she felt like she was sinking inside herself. Like she was sliding down a long, narrow chute at a hundred miles per hour and although she could see nothing but darkness, she was certain that she was traveling towards something.
The movement stopped. It felt like Rachel had launched off the edge of the chute and now she was floating in midair. She stayed there for a while, hanging in limbo.
Then she fell hard and fast.
That’s it.
Grandma Anna’s voice was loud and clear. Rachel had landed in the old woman’s head – she knew that for sure. She barely resisted the urge to open her eyes and check to see if Grandma Anna was moving her lips.
Rachel waited for the woman to say something else, to instruct her. But there was only the silence of standing in a dark, vast wilderness alone. It was like Grandma Anna had gone on vacation and left Rachel in charge of her mind.
She was surprised at how natural it felt to trek through someone else’s headspace, like she was doing no more than wandering through an extension of her own mind.
At last she gave into temptation. Rachel opened her eyes.
Grandma Anna was standing in front of her. The old woman’s eyes were tightly closed and her thick arms hung limp at her side. Nonetheless her posture was alert, even if she did look like she was fast asleep standing up.
Rachel lifted her left arm. Grandma Anna’s left arm mirrored the gesture perfectly. Rachel wasn’t surprised – it felt natural somehow. She held her arm in that same position for a few seconds as if it was a yoga pose. Grandma Anna did the same. When Rachel finally dropped her arm to the side in a fast snapping motion, the old woman did likewise.
Rachel smiled. She felt like a puppet master, pulling strings only with people instead of wood. A renewed sense of wonder shone through, as if she was discovering her power for the first time. Had she become complacent? Why hadn’t she uncovered these skills before? She’d been doing the same thing over and over again in practice, hoping it would be enough.
What else was she capable of?
Rachel looked at her left forearm. She clenched her teeth and willed the shield to come alive. Did she still have the strength to summon it? Nothing happened at first and Rachel felt a shred of panic in her guts. For a moment, she was terrified that she’d lost the ability to do it. But then she heard the familiar crackling noise. A spark of red and blue light appeared, dancing along Rachel’s fingers and working its way up her arm.
It was the same with Grandma Anna’s left forearm. The shield was working its way up towards her shoulder.
Rachel gasped. She put the shield out right away and let her arm fall to the side. Grandma Anna mimicked the gesture.
“Wow,” Rachel said.
She had to talk to Grandma Anna. There were so many questions.
First she had to get out of the woman’s head.
Rachel closed her eyes and resisted that initial urge to tense up again. How to best evacuate another person’s mind? She’d slid down a chute first time around so now it only made sense that she’d have to go back up. She envisioned climbing out of a deep, dark pit with zero visibility. She couldn’t see the light but like before, when she knew she was sliding towards something, she knew the exit door was up there. Soon it was effortless, almost like a pair of helping hands had reached down to help Rachel out the void.
There was a brief swooshing noise.
Rachel opened her eyes.
Grandma Anna was blinking hard, as if snapping out of daydream. Although she looked a little disorientated, there was a huge smile on the wrinkled face.
“You did it,” Grandma Anna said. “You were in my head, weren’t you?”
“You don’t know?” Rachel said.
“How could I?” Grandma Anna said. “Now let me ask you something Rachel. Was it easy? It was, wasn’t it? Instinct took over and you knew exactly what you were doing in there. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah,” Rachel said. “I guess.”
Grandma Anna was glowing with excitement.
“Do you see the potential now?” Grandma Anna said. “Whatever they can do, you can do. You could even create a Black Storm of your own if you wanted to. You could do what the Black Widow did and plant hallucinations in human minds that would drive them to despair. Are you starting to understand why I brought you here?”
Rachel nodded. “I saw other things in your head,” she said. “It was in the background but since I’ve come out the pictures are becoming clearer.”
“Oh really? Grandma Anna said.
“I saw what happened to you,” Rachel said. “To your family.”
Grandma Anna was ashen-faced.
“Yes I thought you might.”
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said, not knowing what else to say to the old woman. She’d never understood why grown ups always insisted on apologizing for things that weren’t their fault. They did it all the time when bad stuff happened.
The black snow was falling hard as they stood outside the basilica.
“My daughter’s name was Samantha,” Grandma Anna said. “She was named after my mother. She looked like my mother too with her black hair, Latina good looks, and she had the feisty nature to go with them.”
“How long were you on the run for?” Rachel asked.
“We left not long after the Black Storm first hit,” Grandma Anna said. “Samantha, my two grandsons and myself. We went up to Canyon Lake where we’d vacationed in the log cabins many times before with the entire family. Took enough supplies to last us for months but the Black Widow was never far away. It was maybe a week or so before the Fever caught up with Samantha. That changed everything. We had to run again but this time it was from my daughter.”
Rachel already knew how the story ended. She’d seen it and didn’t want to hear the rest but Grandma Anna kept talking.
“Samantha chased after us,” she said. “Her own mother and two children. We had to leave her behind in Canyon Lake and take our chances.”
Grandma Anna dabbed at the side of her eye. Black snowflakes clung to her glistening cheeks.
“We didn’t get far,” she said. “She caught up with us pretty quickly. And then, well, a mother doing that to her children – it’s something that no one should ever have to see or hear. I hit her over the back of her head with a piece of lead pipe but it was too late to save the boys.”
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said. She figured now that people said this because there was nothing else to say. Nothing that would help.
“I was still alive,” Grandma Anna said. “Just me, someone who could have died years ago and still claimed to have lived a long life. I was a mess when I came back to San Antonio. But I wasn’t ready to die. I was so angry with the Black Stor
m and I wanted to do something, to fight against it – to defy it. So I started helping the children around the city. There were so many of them Rachel – they were like stray dogs on the streets with nowhere to go. I began rounding them up one by one. Thank God, I found that school bus abandoned in the middle of the road. That’s when it began to feel like fate. I drove a school bus back in the sixties and seventies.”
“Do you still miss them?” Rachel asked.
Grandma Anna scraped a frozen teardrop off her cheek.
“I’d give anything to have them back,” she said. “Anything to see those boys’ beautiful faces again. Oscar and Sam. And of course, Samantha – my Samantha.”
“Did you ever fight?” Rachel said. “With your family I mean.”
“All the time,” Grandma Anna said, wiping her eyes dry. “Like I said, my Samantha was a feisty girl and she was damn stubborn too. Yes we fought, tooth and nail sometimes. That’s what families do Rachel. Most of the time it doesn’t mean anything. You don’t stop loving someone or being loved because of a little squabble. Don’t you fight with your dad?”
Rachel nodded. “Sometimes.”
Grandma Anna came over beside Rachel. She put an arm on the girl’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Will you fight them?” Grandma Anna said.
Rachel wanted to say yes. But she couldn’t forget how badly things had gone during her first encounter with the Exterminators. Wasn’t she being naïve in thinking that she could go back and take them on? Sure, there was more to her powers than she’d first thought. Grandma Anna had opened her eyes to many possibilities but still, would it be enough?
“I can fight,” Rachel said. “But I don’t think I can win.”
Grandma Anna and Rachel were standing close to the statue of St Thérèse, which was drowning in a hail of black snow. There was something calming about its presence; it was a divine comrade watching over the children.
“My dear girl,” Grandma Anna said. “Who can blame you for being frightened? This burden should never have been placed on the shoulders of one so young. And yet this particular burden, it has to be a child. Only a child can do it.”
The Exterminators Trilogy: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Box Set Page 39
