Black-Eyed Kids: The Complete Series

by Miranda Hardy

  Astid, we need to go, Kren pleads with me from afar. He and Garn have found the others in the forest. This is your chance to get away. You can’t save Dr. B!

  Balor slowly squeezes Dr. B’s shoulders.

  Through his tightened mouth, Dr. B says, “I’m sorry, Astid.” He attempts to say more, but his bones are being crushed under Balor’s vice grip.

  Dr. B’s life force begins to drain from his body, despite his resistance. Balor’s mouth opens wide, as does Dr. B’s.

  I’m unable to move. Kren grabs me from behind, dragging me away from the horrible scene. After putting some distance between us, I manage to glance behind us to witness Dr. B’s body shriveling into nothing but skin and bone. We move fast through the woods, tracing Maverick and the others with our minds. I can still sense Dr. B’s essence for just one flicker of a moment, and then it’s extinguished.

  21

  MAVERICK

  MARCUS AND JENNINGS join us first in an open field of purple flowers, and we all stop to catch our breath.

  “That’s Balor?” Dad asks. “Is that what the agents are trying to recapture?”

  “Courtesy of Project Hero,” I reply. We left our bags at the river and don’t have fresh water. I’m dying of thirst.

  “Me, too, Mav-Man,” Marcus says.

  Dad wonders what Marcus is agreeing with.

  “Sorry, Mr. Ashe. It’s a telepathy-thing. I was only telling Maverick I was thirsty, too.” Marcus slaps Dad’s back. “Also courtesy of Project Hero.”

  Astid, Garn, and Kren plow into the field. I reach out with my mind, but I don’t sense Balor is pursuing them. On the other hand, my disappearing abilities can’t be trusted at this point.

  Astid inadvertently sends us the mental replay of Beck’s demise as she approaches.

  I wish you hadn’t shown me that. Marcus shakes his head. “Poor guy.”

  “Where’s Beck?” Jennings asks Astid.

  “He’s no longer with us,” she replies. “Balor killed him.”

  Lisa grabs my hand and squeezes. The old Lisa would be freaking out right now, but she manages to keep it together. She reaches down to her aching leg wound. “Where’s Balor now?”

  “We left him at the river.” Astid plops down onto the soft flowers. “I am not sure why, but he did not follow us.”

  “Dr. Beckett was central to our plan.” Jennings rubs the back of his neck in frustration. “He knows everything about Project Hero.” He turns to Dad. “No offense, but you don’t know shit outside of your own project.”

  Dad shrugs. “I can still get us in and out of Level 6 installations, with a little help. As far as Project Hero is concerned, you’re right, Drake.”

  Kren remains staring into the woods. He realizes Dr. B’s regret was sincere, and he is sorry for directing so much hatred towards the man who not only let us go, but who also loved his mother.

  I felt the same way, too, Astid says to her brother. I even almost took his life force.

  Astid mentally tells Kren everything about their mother. She reveals all that Beck had told her, and Kren tears up listening to it. Garn’s amazed by the fact their mother was a succubus and had lived that long. He may not be a direct descendent, as he started out human, but he knows their mother’s DNA is mixed into his forever. They are all linked to Anna.

  “What are we going to do now?” Dad asks the group. He’s still trying to process all of the day’s events, and putting all the pieces together has been painful for him.

  I turn my attention to the group. “I’m not sure how all of this is going to play out, but one thing I know is we need to figure out how to kill that—”

  “Frankenmonster,” Marcus interrupts with a scowl on his face. “You all saw its strength. How are we going to take it down? I’m not opposed to nuclear weapons at this point.”

  Kren says in a low voice, “Balor is very strong. He was able to redirect Astid’s energy force. He did not require Dr. B to submit and give permission to take his essence.” His eyes narrow. “What if we all attacked him at the same time? We force our way into him and draw his life force at the exact same moment. He might not be able to push us all back at once.”

  I can’t help but harbor deep hatred towards Kren. He’s really the one who got me involved in this entire mess to begin with. He killed Tarick, and he almost killed me, and he would have if it wasn’t for Astid. He senses this, and he conveys an apologetic emotion directed at me.

  I make sure to let him know where I stand. I’ll never forgive you for what you did.

  “So, gang up on Frankenweiner?” Marcus asks.

  “We would all have to get close enough to draw his power,” Astid says. “There is a good chance Balor will target one of us, but I do not think he can focus on all of us at the same time. It may work, although nothing like this has ever been done.”

  Their idea sounds like the longest of long shots. “I doubt Frankenwarrior is going to give you permission to suck his soul.”

  Marcus looks like he wants to say something, but he’s hesitant.

  “What is it, man?” I ask him.

  He replies in a near-whisper, “I, um, can suck a person’s soul without needing their permission.”

  Kren and Garn immediately don’t believe him. Astid knows Marcus has been hiding something from all of us for a long time. They were both in on keeping a secret.

  I ask, “How do you know for sure?”

  “When we were back at Lisa’s house, I snuck out and went home to see my little bro Robby one last time.” Marcus tightens his lips, holding back tears. “Tony sold him drugs. Bad drugs. They might have been laced with something dangerous, and I was so angry.”

  My stomach actually hurts seeing Marcus like this. “You took Tony’s life force.”

  Jennings is stunned. “Did you also burn down Tony Watson’s house?”

  Marcus nods. “I didn’t ask permission at all. I pushed my way into his crappy-ass shack against his will and killed him.”

  No one is able to utter a word for a long time. Astid, thankfully, breaks the silence.

  “Marcus can break through Balor’s psychic defenses, allowing the rest of us in.”

  “Sounds very dangerous for all of you,” I say. “What can the rest of us do? Jennings has a gun, which just pisses it off even more. Against Balor, we’re nothing more than beef jerky sticks. You know, a light snack.”

  “We’re not totally useless.” Jennings snaps the cylinder of his revolver shut.

  I sense a plan forming in his head. “How so?”

  Jennings says, “Dr. Beck felt exposing Level 6’s secrets to the public would get the ball rolling. There’d be the media hounds investigating, government inquiries, all sorts of messes that would make it tough for Level 6 to continue to operate as it has.”

  “We talked about that before,” I say. “Conspiracy theorists get things on video all the time, but they are quickly discredited or laughed at. People will think anything to do with top secret government projects are a bunch of bull.”

  “Right. And he thought Balor’s destruction would bring some attention to this place, but Level 6 has sealed that down pretty good.” Jennings’ eyebrows rise. “We have our Golden Ticket, though.”

  Marcus laughs. “What does a lifetime supply of chocolate have anything to do with this?”

  Old Marcus is back.

  Jennings lets out fake exasperated sigh before saying, “We’ve got Dr. Charles Ashe. I’ve also got some of Dr. Beck’s files in my pack, which I left by the river. Hopefully it’s still there.”

  “I would need to go back to my office and gather as much evidence as I can,” Dad says.

  “And then we’ll just have to make it out of here alive,” Lisa says.

  Astid says, “We cannot leave while Balor is still free.”

  “No, of course not,” I say. “We’ve got two parts of our plan, and it’s obvious who needs to be doing what.”

  Dad mulls over our strategy for a while. “If this all
works out, we would have to disappear, Maverick. With all I know, Level 6 will want me dead. They will mark both of us. Marcus, too. Any official inquiry means we will have to be under the protection of the Department of Justice.”

  Jennings is concerned with the task at hand, but he gets what Dad is saying about us being marked. He turns to Lisa. “I’ll have to make sure you’re kept out of all of this. For your own protection.”

  “But what about—” Her eyes are already welling up with tears when she takes my hands. “What about us?”

  I pull her close and tell her, “Don’t worry about all of that now. We’ll figure everything out later. There’s still a lot to be done.”

  “Exactly.” Jennings is ready to take action. “Us non-superheroes need to go back to the river to get our stuff, and then we’ll make our way back to the Red Top compound so we can get Dr. Ashe’s evidence.”

  Astid steps forward. “We will take care of Balor. The best way to do it is to lure him out. We must face him on our terms.”

  “How will you manage that?” I ask.

  Garn looks at Kren. We can gather the others to help us.

  Kren is in agreement. “We will find the rest of our family. Balor will not be able to help himself. We can bait him out into the open, but it will take us a little time to get the others. They would take some convincing to come back here since Balor killed Wanek.”

  “Once we show them how to draw vitality from other sources, they will become stronger,” Astid says. “Together, we stand a better chance to kill Balor.”

  “How long will it take you to bring the other BEKs back here?” Jennings asks Kren.

  “Tomorrow morning,” Kren answers.

  Jennings stops to think. “Keep low, use your brain powers as best you can to keep away from Balor.” He turns to Astid. “Meet us here, back in this field, tomorrow morning. The timing of all of this has to be perfect, and there are never any guarantees things will pan out how we want them to, but this is the best we’ve got right now.”

  “I won’t be able to waltz right into the facility to gather my things,” Dad says. “This won’t be easy. Without evidence, I’m just an aeronautical engineer with a tall tale to tell.”

  I give Dad playful jab on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Team Human has one trick up its sleeve. I still have some remnants of ESP that will come in handy.”

  Marcus rips a purple flower from the ground. “Aw, I wanna be on Team Human.”

  I bend down and point at his black eyes. “Have you looked in a mirror lately, dude?”

  22

  ASTID

  WHEN I FIRST decided to join Maverick on his search for the BEKs and Level 6, my intentions had been clearer to me. Our objectives and motivations are now blurred and broken.

  As we race through the woods, I block my thoughts from Kren, Garn, and Marcus. When we first started our mission, I was convinced I would have to eventually kill Kren. Confronting him would be an inevitability, and one way or another, I knew our paths would cross again very soon. Much has changed is such a short amount of time.

  Kren and I had been raised together in an underground installation with Mother, who told us nothing of her own life or the outside world she had lived in for so long. We knew nothing outside of the experiments being conducted on us and the endless sessions testing our abilities. Taking human souls always weighed on my conscience, even though Mother encouraged me to do it to stay strong, and I hated each moment of it. Instinctively, I knew it was wrong, but Kren felt differently. Taking lives was as natural as breathing to him.

  Now that we know we no longer need to extinguish human lives to survive, my plans have changed. If Kren is sincere about abstaining from killing, then there is hope for a reconciliation. I want us to live in this world and travel it, just as Mother had. I want to learn about all the unfamiliar cultures and what this planet has to offer. I want to experience life, and I want Kren to be at my side every moment.

  Just several days ago, I didn’t see any hope for our species. Even with Level 6 destroyed, all of us would still be resigned to living in the shadows and taking human life forces forever. But now, I have hope for all of us. All of us deserve the right to live in peace without fear of being hunted or killed, or return to the underground prison we all knew too well.

  Marcus is the first one to break our mental silence. Do you think Maverick and the others will be okay going back to the river? Frankendouche may still be near it, waiting for them. I’m not sure Maverick’s ability works like it used to.

  I sense the uneasiness growing inside of his mind. He doesn’t like the fact we will lure Balor out of hiding to fight him, but he knows it is the best plan we have. He is willing to risk his life to save his friends. He is truly a selfless human.

  He will be fine. He is still strong and will sense Balor if he is nearby. I am confident Balor will find us first. He is on a mission to absorb our energies to make him stronger, so we are his primary targets.

  Marcus nearly stumbles as he hurdles a fallen log. That’s great. That makes me feel much better.

  My mind stretches out, and I feel the presence of many entities in the distance.

  Kren tells me, They are safe. I feel them.

  I had forgotten this feeling of being surrounded by my own kind. It is as if I am returning home from a long absence. It is a familiar awareness I had missed without realizing it.

  One distant voice enters our minds. Who is with you?

  Is that you, Kren? another one asks.

  Did you find another group of Specials? an older, familiar voice asks. Is that…Astid I’m sensing?

  Felix recognizes my aura the moment I identify his.

  We pause for a moment, bombarded by the rainfall of thoughts pouring down. Kren sends a thought to the others. My sister has rejoined our family, and we are here in need of everyone’s help. Marcus is back with us as well and he is looking forward to seeing you all again.

  I had forgotten Marcus had seen them after leading Level 6 away from Dr. B’s cave.

  We resume our approach and quicken our pace. We finally enter a clearing. A rocky hillside juts steeply upwards just on the other side. Small cave entrances protrude at the base of the miniature mountains. A crowd of our people wait for us in front of them. I count fifteen of them. Some are familiar to me, but most of them are new.

  Kren had done an admirable job finding all of them, and I can feel his pride bursting from his heart. I’m almost ashamed to have thought I needed to kill my brother.

  Excitement fuels my legs, and a burst of speed gets me to the group first. I sense their curiosity, and I’m relieved Kren hadn’t portrayed me as a threat or a traitor to them.

  It is good to see you, I tell everyone.

  Two giggling little ones run circles around me. Most of them look malnourished. They have not taken energy in a while, and it shows on their faces. Despite that, their spirits remain strong.

  Felix approaches me. His cheeks are sunken in, and his lips are peeling and bloodied. We are happy to see you again. Is it true you lived with humans all this time?

  Alyssa is by his side, and she has the same question.

  Kren is about to communicate on my behalf, but he backs off.

  It is true, I reply. However, not a day has gone by when I didn’t think about you or any of the others.

  Despite his weakened state, Felix manages a wide smile. There are many more of us. Kren gathered us together. We hope to search for even more Specials.

  Marcus is uncomfortable being surrounded by so many Black-Eyed Kids. “Specials?” he asks aloud.

  Kren motions towards the others. “That is what we call ourselves. The scientists call us Dark Angels. The humans say we are Black-Eyed Children. I believe we are Special.”

  “I love it!” Marcus reaches down to take the hand of the smallest child. “My mom always said I was special.”

  Kren addresses the entire group. Astid has news to share with us that will make you all very happy. She h
as learned how to take the essence of the wildlife all around us, and we will no longer need to go on the hunt for out sustenance.

  We are bombarded by their thoughts.

  How?

  Is that true?

  What wildlife?

  Must we kill the animals now?

  I’m so hungry, Kren.

  Garn holds up his hands. It’s true and we will teach you all, starting with the youngest.

  The young ones have already gravitated to Marcus, and they reach out to touch him. “Whoa there, little dude and dudette. There’s enough of me to go around.”

  A thin little boy with auburn hair tugs at Marcus’s pants.

  Marcus turns to Garn. “Let’s do this!”

  Garn and Marcus lead the littlest of the Specials to the edge of the clearing. They settle near a patch of trees where Garn begins to show them how to draw the energy from trees into their tiny bodies.

  The older ones remain with me and Kren by the caves, watching Garn turn a tall tree into a shriveling stump of wood. They applaud at the demonstration, and Marcus does a funny little dance.

  Kren gathers the stronger, older Specials into a circle while I silently watch him explain the process to them. It had taken several hours to get here, and with our larger group, it will take us even longer to return to our designated meeting area.

  They all intently listen to Kren’s every single word. He has truly established himself as the leader of this family. No one questions his authority, and he takes them through the process of recognizing the auras of all the living things around them. It is easier for the weakest ones, as they are near death. Felix is able to make out the misty rings of light surrounding the trees in the distance.

  Kren and I lead them away from the cave and towards the forest. I pick out a small tree just barely taller than myself. I place my hands on its rough trunk and concentrate on drawing the life force out of it and into my body. The leaves shiver and turn brown, and with a violent rustling, it shrinks down to the size of a branch before becoming dust on the ground.