Angie pushed back, trying to hold him in place. Her ankle was going to give at any moment. Angie could tell from Dalton's expression that he was fighting whatever was willing him forward. Fighting but losing. His eyes glowed so bright it was almost painful to look at them.
"Dalton," Angie said, feeling like she would cry. "Please stop."
Dalton’s face spoke great struggle, but he didn't stop.
Finally, Angie's ankle gave out. She let go of Dalton and fell back against the wall, her ankle throbbing. Dalton marched down the stairs and into the snow.
Carly followed Dalton out, her face confused and scared. She saw Angie's cane on the ground and squatted to pick it up. She stood and handed the cane to Angie, who took it, pushing herself up from the wall. She and Carly walked down the steps, followed by the Guard. The children all stood there, arranged in the square in no discernible pattern. They stood straight and stiff, their eyes glowing bright.
Carly looked scared. The guards looked scared. Angie felt scared.
"Hey!” Park’s voice called, “Fucking stop!"
Angie turned to see Lilly marching across the snow, her eyes glowing the same as the others. Park followed behind, looking confused and slightly pissed.
He saw Angie and the others. "What the ever-shitting fuck is going on?"
"I don't know," said Angie.
Lilly joined the other children and stopped. Angie looked among them, her mind racing. She recalled what Maylee—and here she pushed down a jolt of regret—had said about the church. About Zach. She'd said Zach had glowed. She remembered the children glowing after falling from the truck. She remembered them dying.
For a moment everyone stood silent. The air was cold and the night clear. Brittle stars shone down. The children's eyes glowed brightly across the snow. Angie, Park and the others looked on. Angie knew everyone was waiting for her to know what to do. She had no idea where to even start.
Then, as one, the children turned toward the gate and began to march toward it.
Angie followed after them, a small part of her curious to know what would happen next. Most of her was terrified.
She limped quickly up to Dalton. Park and the others followed.
Dalton kept walking, his glowing eyes staring straight ahead. Angie limped next to him. "Dalton stop!" she said. "Please, stop!"
Dalton grimaced as he walked. He looked like he was fighting to speak.
Then he did. Very quietly, he eked out one word. "Can’t...."
"What?" said Angie, leaning in closer.
Dalton was sweating despite the cold. He looked like every word was a monumental effort. "Can't....stop.....hurts... to...fight..."
The group of children drew near the gate. The older children pushed their way to the front of the group. They grabbed hold of the various handles welded to the doors and started pulling.
"Stop them!" yelled Angie. "Keep the gate shut!"
The guards rushed around the children toward the gate. They weren't quick enough. The older children got the gate open and the children started pushing their way out. Any attempt to shut the gates now would crush one of the children. The guards seemed to understand this and ceased their efforts. The children marched through the opening, oblivious to all around them.
Angie's mind raced. She had no idea what to do. She heard movement behind her and turned. Elton and his followers were collecting in the square, staring at what was happening. Elton shook his head as if to say none of this would happen under me.
Angie ignored him for the moment. The last of the children neared the gates. She looked to Park and those around her. "Everyone outside with them. You can stop them if you grab hold. Don't let them wander out into the dark. Stop them. One kid per hand if you need to. Just stop them."
Angie knew it wouldn't work. She knew there were too many children and not enough adults. Or rather, not enough adults currently taking orders from her.
Angie stepped across the snow, using her cane for balance. The last child stepped through the gate. Angie pushed through after him and the others pushed in behind her.
The children had stopped, forming a semi-circle in front of the town. Angie stopped as the others filed out behind her. The pattern confused her at first. Then she realized the children had stopped at the moat of blood. The barrier.
A few feet past that point stood Beulah. She had both hands up and out, pointing toward the children. The last child took his place at the barrier. Beulah dropped her hands. The children stayed where they had stopped, their eyes shining into the night.
Angie heard distant groans and looked across the field at the corpses stumbling toward the town. She snapped her eyes back to Beulah. Beulah turned her head to look where she had.
She turned her head back and smiled. "What beautiful timing."
Angie walked away from her group, closer to the semi-circle of children. She heard Elton and the others file out behind her. They muttered to each other in fear and excitement when they saw Beulah.
Angie stepped closer, wanting to show Beulah she was not afraid. This was a lie. "What the hell are you doing?"
Beulah kept smiling. It was a smug, knowing smile that drove Angie crazy.
"I believe this is what you would call an ultimatum." She indicated everything around her. "The corpses, the animals, the violent weather, all of it is my sister's doing."
"Then take it up with her!" Park shouted.
The corpses behind Beulah grew closer. Beulah ignored them. "I explained this to you, Parker. This is the plan. This how we fix what she's done! All over the world there are children just like this. Filled with the power to fix this. Power given by me!"
"What the hell is she talking about?" said Angie, low and meant only for those around her. The guards trained their guns on Beulah. Angie knew Beulah would survive the shots, but wondered what it would do to the children. She held up her hand. "Don't shoot. She's connected to the kids somehow."
Beulah's smile shifted to something more genuine. "Connected. What a wonderful way of putting it. I have touched each and every one of you children! You may not remember, but I was there. All it took was a touch and you were mine."
"None of these kids are yours!" yelled Angie, her eyes flitting to Dalton's rigid form on the line, then back to Beulah. "No one is yours!"
"The whole world is mine! I keep it running! Sharon would destroy everything! I hold it together!" The corpses behind Beulah were close now. They groaned and reached for her.
"Leave these kids alone!" yelled Angie. "Leave Dalton alone!"
Beulah raised an eyebrow, apparently oblivious to the corpses behind her. "Ah, we come to the heart of the matter. My mistake, putting the mother of one of the children in charge of one of my towns. The others understand. The others are making preparations."
"Preparations for what?" Angie shouted back. The guards kept their guns trained on Beulah. The corpses behind Beulah groaned and staggered closer. The children stood, staring light out into the dark.
"For the end," said Beulah. "For the sacrifices. The sacrifices that will save this world!"
"You mean murder," said Angie. "The murder of thousands and thousands of children!"
For the second time that night, Beulah's face betrayed an honest emotion. Anger. "Sharon murders! I preserve! I make order! I keep things together!"
Angie pointed at the area just in front of the semi-circle of children. "I happen to know you can't cross that line. So if I refuse to let you kill these children, to kill my child, I wonder what exactly you plan to do about it!"
Beulah smiled again. And again, the smile was genuine. A sort of genuine that chilled Angie more than the surrounding cold. The corpses behind Beulah were almost upon her. "You're right. I can't cross the barrier I made to keep Sharon out. But as you've seen, I can reach across it to grab what's mine!"
Beulah raised one hand. Johnny, the boy with the black hair, began walking. He headed out across the snow, toward Beulah.
"Stop it!"
The boy kept walking, his eyes glowing brighter than before. Tears ran down the boy's cheeks. Angie could hear him whimpering as he walked. The corpses grabbed hold of Beulah, attempting to bite into her. They clawed and closed their mouths on her skin but had no effect.
"Stop it!"
Johnny started screaming, loud and long. He took two more steps and stopped. He kept screaming. The rest of his body began to glow. Angie wanted to push past the other children and save him, but she didn't know what Beulah would do to the others if she did. She hated herself for standing still, but didn't know what else to do.
The corpses bit and clawed at Beulah but could not harm her. The child glowed brighter and brighter, his screams grew louder and sharper.
Then he stopped. With a huge flash, white light exploded outward from Johnny. Angie squinted but kept her eyes open. She had to see.
The glow faded. The corpses around Beulah had stopped. They stood, swaying in the snow, white glop spilling from their eyes and noses. They puked out a thick white liquid. Then they fell over.
Johnny toppled into the snow, clearly dead.
Beulah lowered her hand. She made a dismissive motion to the rest of the children. They stepped away from the line, their eyes normal again. They looked scared and reached to each other for help. Dalton started helping the younger ones back further away from the line. He looked exhausted, but kept helping.
Angie watched Dalton's efforts, her heart warmed by it. Then she looked back to the dead boy in the snow. Her anger returned.
Beulah smiled cruelly. "So here is my point. I could do this myself if I wanted to. I don't like to. Patterns, rules are important. But I will if I have to. Do you understand?"
"You fucking bitch..."
Beulah pressed on as the fallen corpses around her disintegrated into the snow. They fell apart into white glop and foam. "That child was one of the last I can spare. Too many more and the sacrifice won’t be enough to clear this area."
"You crazy fucking bitch!"
"But I can spare at least one more," said Beulah. "So here's the ultimatum. When the time comes tomorrow, perform the sacrifice. Arrange the children and kill them when I give the order. You will know when I do. Do this, and you may leave Dalton out of it. I will spare Dalton."
For a second everyone was silent. Then Angie said, "What?"
"You heard me," said Beulah.
Then she was gone.
Negative One
Beulah stood on the roof of a parked car. She was surrounded by cars, all smashed together in a snarl of metal. In front of her rose the walls of Ashton Memorial Zoo. It was dark and raining. Rain beat down on her head as she gazed around the lot. Corpses, those who’d died in their cars in a panicked attempt to flee, groaned and reached from the windows, reaching for Beulah. Other than as a reminder of what Sharon had done, Beulah took no notice of them.
She could hear shouting coming from beyond the walls of the zoo. Yelling voices, growling animals and moaning corpses. She knew things had come to a head inside. The one named Angela was fighting with the one named Gregory. Fighting for control. It would be a good lesson for Angela, for Angela would soon be controlling something herself.
Still, Beulah disliked the chaos of it all. It was ugly, haphazard. She had done her best to shape Sharon’s chaos to match her purposes. To feed into her plan to end what Sharon had started. And it was working so far. But still, she hated the material Sharon had produced.
She scanned the area in the dark rain for a few more moments, finally spotting what she'd been looking for. Across the parking lot, in front of the gates to the zoo. Sharon stood there, her back to Beulah and her arms out. Beulah knew what she was doing. Reveling in the chaos and death she was causing.
"Typical," said Beulah. She set out across the cars, her bare feet nimble on the wet metal. The corpses inside the cars groaned and reached out. The occasional cold hand closed on her ankle. She pulled free easily and kept walking.
She reached the end of the lot and hopped off the last car. She crossed the sidewalk to the gate. Sharon dropped her arms as she approached.
"Hello, Beulah," she said.
"Sister," said Beulah, stopping a few feet from her.
Sharon turned. Rain ran down her matted blonde hair. "Have you enjoyed the last few days? It's been quite a display, hasn't it?"
Beulah strode over to her. "I told you before, they are living creatures. You can't do this!"
"Seems as though I can," said Sharon, not backing down. "I told the world to reject them. The planet is purging them from itself. Chaos will rule again."
Beulah shoved Sharon and she flew back into the gate. It crumpled against her spine. Sharon stood, shaking water from her air.
Beulah stepped closer. "I'll stop you.”
Sharon smirked. “Not kill me?”
Beulah shook her head. “No. We can’t die, sister. I’ve realized that would be too dangerous. But I can stop you, contain you. I've always stopped you and this time will be no different."
Sharon stepped over and punched Beulah across the jaw. Beulah's fell to one side, smacking her face into the sidewalk. Blood pooled in her mouth. She swallowed and stood. The wound was already healing. Sharon stepped around her, facing her as she stood.
"Just accept it, sister," said Sharon. "I've won. You can't control everything. Everything can't be a pattern, a plan. It's not natural!"
"Chaos isn't natural!" yelled Beulah, punching Sharon. "If you had your way, everything would die wallowing in its own waste!"
Sharon turned back from the punch. The dark bruise on her temple was fading. "Only the weak! The strong would survive! Like it's supposed to be! The strong live and fuck and make more of themselves! At random!"
She rushed at Beulah, slamming her shoulder into her. Beulah flew back across the sidewalk, landing on the windshield of a parked car. It cracked and split underneath her. The corpse beyond it groaned and reached, scraping dead fingers across the glass.
She stood. Sharon strode across the lot, her black dress soaked in the rain.
"You're wrong, Sharon," said Beulah, spitting water from her mouth. "Everything is a pattern. Everything is a plan. You think you've won?"
"Looks like it to me," said Sharon, walking across the pavement.
"You haven't seen the end yet. I've known about this plan of yours for years now. I've got a plan in motion to fix it. To restore order!"
"Your order?" said Sharon, stopping when she reached the hood. She looked up at Beulah.
"I am order!" Beulah screamed, jumping from the hood. She landed on Sharon's chest, driving her to the pavement. Sharon crashed onto her back, splitting the concrete under her. Beulah straddled her, closing her hands on her throat. "I hold the universe together!"
Sharon smirked up at her. "And I make it interesting." She bucked, flinging Beulah off. Beulah flipped up and over, her hands slipping from Sharon's throat. Beulah landed on the concrete, the top of her head against the top of Sharon's.
Sharon starting laughing, cackling up into the rain. The sound enraged Beulah. Beulah reached over her shoulder and grabbed Sharon by the hair. She stood, twisting her arm to keep hold of Sharon. Sharon yelled and clawed at her hand. Her fingernails dug into Beulah's flesh. Blood seeped out and soaked back into her skin.
"Stop it!" yelled Sharon as Beulah dragged her across the parking lot by the hair. She kicked at the pavement.
Beulah pulled Sharon to the closest car and stopped. She lifted Sharon up by her hair to look her in the eyes. Sharon spit into her face. Beulah shook it off. "You have a few years, sister. A few more years of this, before my plan is done. Then all will be normal and then I'll deal with you!" She flung Sharon around, letting go of her hair. Sharon spun out across the tops of the cars, before finally smashing against a windshield and stopping.
Beulah stood in the rain, panting. Sharon stood on the hood of the car. Her wounds were closing, blood seeping back into her skin.
She pointed at the walls of the z
oo. "You think the woman in there will go along with your schemes?"
Beulah wiped water from her face and hopped on the nearest car hood. The corpse inside groaned and slid rotting, slimy hands across the glass. "She's strong. She's practical. She'll know what has to be done."
Sharon laughed, jumping to the next car, closer to Beulah. "Her son is one of your chosen ones!"
That stopped Beulah for a moment.
“That's right," Sharon said, jumping to another car. Its cloth roof bowed under her weight. Dead hands dug at the cloth, making it undulate beneath her feet. "I know about the children. I know who they are. I'll find them, and I'll neutralize them. Before you can trigger your stupid plan."
Beulah jumped to the next car. They were close now. "I can protect them. Make it so you can't find them."
Sharon jumped to her car. She stared into her eyes, the blonde hair wet and matted to her cheeks. "Perhaps. But it doesn't have to be me doing the killing. You made them immune to the dead, right? You can't protect them from the living. And you aren't the only one who can manipulate people."
Sharon shoved Beulah back. Beulah flew downward, her back colliding with the bumper of the car behind her. She felt her spine crack. The car moved backward, groaning against the cars pinning it in. The whole lot groaned and shuddered as cars shifted.
Sharon hopped to the hood of the car, then down to the pavement. She circled Beulah like an animal waiting to strike. Beulah sat up, her spine popping back together. She stood and punched Sharon in the stomach. Sharon slid back across the wet parking lot, into a nearby bumper. The car crumpled around her legs.
Beulah straightened, the last of her vertebrae snapping into place. "You lose this time, Sharon. I've foreseen it."
Sharon pushed away from the car. She stomped back over, her wet bare feet smacking the pavement. “I get visions too, sister. And I know how vague they can be."
She grabbed Beulah by the collar and whipped her around. She hoisted her up and slammed her down on the crumpled hood of a car. Sharp metal dug into Beulah's back.
World Memorial Page 28
