Earthbreaker

by Robert Jeschonek

  The tremor started as a modest rumble and quickly intensified. I swayed as I worked to keep my balance. “All thanks to ultra-fracking, huh?”

  “Ultra-fracking,” said Rune, deepening her voice like a radio announcer reading a commercial. “When you want your quakes to come on stronger and last much longer than with plain old everyday fracking!”

  Ashanti held on to the side of the Highlander, even as it bumped back and forth on its suspension. “But I don’t hear any drilling noise,” she said. “Shouldn’t there be more noise?”

  “Ultra-fracking is ultra-quiet,” said Rune. “It’s one of the selling points. It’s how EarthSave was able to convince the state to let them frack so close to a state park. Never mind the earthquakes, right?”

  The rumbling got even stronger, and I decided I’d had enough. Focusing my senses and mind, I reached down into the ground, following the vibrations below the surface. They led me on a jagged path, following the fractures in the rock—gliding toward the point of greatest pressure and friction.

  I saw it up ahead like a wound in the crust of the world...a needle pumping a mix of water and grit into the deep, deep channel. Solid rock split and liquefied under that intense bombardment, releasing bursts of oil and natural gas to surge up and fill the crevices left by the blasts.

  With my mind’s eye, I sighted on that web of fissures and breaks, building up my own inner force like a seething fireball. Just when I felt I could no longer contain it, I unleashed the power dead-on at the gaping red wound, expecting to smash the injector and stop the quake.

  Instead, the fireball went halfway to the target and fizzled, losing most of its power. It sputtered the rest of the way, shedding even more energy...and by the time it reached the drill site, its charge was gone.

  And I had a splitting headache.

  “What the hell?” What had just happened should not have happened. Was the site protected somehow? Were other forces at work in this situation?

  In spite of all my power, I’d accomplished nothing. The quake rumbled on for another few minutes, then finally faded out on its own.

  “Will there be aftershocks?” asked Ashanti as she pushed away from the Highlander.

  “There usually are, but they tend not to be so bumpy.” Rune let go of the tree and dusted off her camouflage. “No reason not to get on with our birdwatching, ladies. What do you say?”

  I hesitated, wondering if there was a reason to turn back. My power had been drained in a way I’d never seen before. Was EarthSave a greater threat than I’d guessed?

  Phaola was no pushover. No Landkinder was, for that matter. Whatever had made them disappear must have been formidable.

  For the first time, I found myself wondering if it was too formidable for Ashanti and I to handle.

  “Gaia?” Rune pulled a bottle of water from her knapsack and flicked the pour spout open. “Are you ready to go scope out those triple-breasted blue butthatches we’ve come to watch?”

  Staring in the direction of the drill site, I shot my mind down into the ground, feeling for a clue to whatever had stalled my attack. I sensed the same network of jagged fissures under the surface, the same welt of shattered rock bubbling with oil and natural gas. Everything was just like before.

  Only something had sapped my power. Something had shrugged off Mother Earth as if she were no more threatening than a feather.

  But my friends were out there somewhere, and I couldn’t give up on them. This might be my last chance to bring them back alive.

  Withdrawing from the underground channels, I winced at my headache and turned to Ashanti. “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  “Better now that the earthquake’s over, Miss Glow,” said Ashanti.

  “All right then.” I nodded at Rune. “Let’s go get those birds.”

  Rune swigged some water, then closed the spout and tucked the bottle in her knapsack. “Stick with me, tweetheads.” She whistled a rough birdsong, raising and dropping the pitch several times. “We’ll find those mother-pluckers if it’s the last thing we do.”

  15

  The further we walked through the woods, the worse my headache got. It took up residence in the middle front area of my head, in the vicinity of my sinuses, and just wouldn’t let up.

  If Ashanti and Rune were experiencing anything similar, they didn’t mention it, and I didn’t ask. Heading into a dangerous situation, the last thing I wanted to do was give my teammates cause for concern.

  Pushing the pain down as best I could, I kept going, hoping I’d be at full strength when push came to shove.

  “Are we out of the park yet?” Ashanti asked after a while.

  “We’ve been in enemy territory for a long time now,” said Rune. “Didn’t you notice the dark shadows hanging over everything, sucking the life out of your soul?”

  “Oh, right,” said Ashanti. “I thought those were just mosquitos.”

  I didn’t laugh, because there was some truth to Rune’s words. The closer we got to EarthSave’s facility, the more its dark influence overshadowed me. The headache got worse, and so did the sense of foreboding.

  “Hold up,” I said eventually, when I sensed we were almost out of the woods. “You’ve taken us far enough, Rune. Let’s split up here, and you can meet us back at the car when we’re done.”

  “Nope.” Rune grinned and adjusted her big glasses. “You don’t think I’m gonna just ditch you guys, do you?”

  Scowling, I rubbed my temples, but the headache wasn’t going anywhere. “I don’t want you getting hurt. This isn’t your fight.”

  “It is if I say it is,” said Rune. “Now shut up and get going, both of you.”

  “Rune, please,” I said. “Just describe the facility in detail so we know what to expect, then hold down the fort until we get back. And if we don’t get back, call in the cavalry. Call Sheriff Briar in Confluence.”

  “Bite me,” said Rune, and then she pushed past us, continuing on course toward the EarthSave facility. “There’s no way you’re leaving me behind.”

  Ashanti watched her go and shrugged. “I guess she told us.”

  For a second, I thought about trapping Rune in a sinkhole until we got back—but I changed my mind. I wanted to keep her out of the line of fire, but I also didn’t want to hurt her myself in the process.

  Not to mention, I respected that kind of pig-headedness. It reminded me of myself.

  “Let’s go.” I nodded in Rune’s direction and fell in behind her. “We’ve got people to rescue.”

  We walked a little further, and the woods melted away, leaving us exposed at the edge of a vast open space. A wide, weedy field stretched out before us, with a tall metal spire jutting from the middle of it. It was the exact injector/drill structure I’d seen and attacked earlier, source of my headache and faltering powers. Physically closer to it than ever, I winced as my headache amplified to its highest level yet.

  Various trailers and buildings were arranged around the central tower. Rune pointed to the closest one, a long shed with corrugated gray plastic walls. “That’s where we’re heading first,” she said. “There’s a blind spot on this side, no cameras. As long as we stay in this wedge, we can sneak right up and scoot in the side door.” She held out her hands in a “V,” the open mouth of the shape facing the shed.

  “Is that where they keep prisoners?” asked Ashanti.

  “Last time I was here, it was part canteen, part infirmary,” said Rune. “But we gotta start somewhere.”

  Reaching out with my senses, I strained for a mental snapshot of what was inside that shed. I should have gotten one in a heartbeat, reading the displacement of dirt underneath the structure and the vibration of rock and water to determine the number of people and inanimate objects within those walls.

  But for once, I got next to nothing...just a muddy blur of objects and bodies. It was like someone had stuck a helmet on my head to interfere with the signals I was trying to tap.

  “Ready?” asked Rune, and we n
odded. “Then let’s go. I don’t see any security staff nearby, so let’s run before the window of opportunity slams shut.”

  As we charged across the field, the ground rumbled again, jarring my strides. Looking up, I saw the injector/drill apparatus was in action, whirling and driving into the ground. Up close, I could hear it wasn’t completely silent, that it made screeching and crunching noises while it worked—but it was still amazingly quiet for such a massive, destructive machine.

  The three of us made it to the gray shed without a problem and paused there as the rumbling grew stronger. Then, Rune waved, and we followed her around the corner and through a side door there.

  Once inside, we saw we were indeed in a makeshift, deserted canteen. There were four round, gray tables, each big enough to seat six or seven people, and a couple dozen gray plastic chairs. A refrigerator hummed in the room’s far corner, alongside a counter occupied by a microwave oven and coffee maker.

  Rune crossed the canteen for a look out a window facing the drill site. Then, she proceeded to the door in the far wall, leading deeper into the shed.

  She opened it slowly, peered through the crack, then pushed it open the rest of the way and walked through. Following her across the still-rumbling floor, I saw the next room was an infirmary as she’d remembered, complete with exam tables, medical monitors, instruments, and first aid supplies.

  “Where to next?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “Is there some kind of security trailer where they might hold suspects?”

  Rune nodded. “There’s a security shed over that way.” She pointed in the direction away from where we’d entered. “I’ve seen them haul trespassers in there before.”

  “Sounds like a good bet then.” I crossed the infirmary to a door that had a small window at eye level and led outside. “Though who knows if they’re even here at this site at all, the way...”

  Suddenly, the side of the shed wrenched violently outward. It broke away from the roof and peeled down, the corrugated plastic splitting as it plunged toward the ground.

  At which point I realized the search was over. We had found the missing friends we’d come to rescue, alive and well.

  Or, rather, they had found us. And they didn’t look friendly at all.

  16

  Phaola hovered in midair, looking mightier and more beautiful than ever. Her slender form, clad in some kind of silvery, clinging spandex, was surrounded by a shimmering aura. Her long blonde hair with its icy blue highlights flowed and crackled with power, writhing around her head like a fiery halo. Her eyes pulsed with a silver glow that made them seem closed-off and challenging, not at all friendly or welcoming.

  On her right stood a heavyset man with jet black hair, wearing black spandex. I recognized him instantly as the avatar of Prince Gallitzin State Park—a Landkinder who no longer looked as kind and gentle as I’d known him to be. Back hunched, head bowed, he clenched his fists and pawed at the ground like a bull getting ready to charge.

  At Phaola’s left, a middle-aged man with sandy hair and a trim beard stood tall in brown spandex, his hands and forearms enveloped in sparking golden light. I knew him as Blue Knob Mountain, another local avatar and man of great kindness—though the look on his face spoke only of hatred and rage.

  None of them looked happy to see us. None of them looked like they were glad to be rescued.

  Though I knew we couldn’t take that for granted. “Phaola?” I said. “It’s me, Gaia. We’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Phaola bobbed on currents of air and power, considering my words. She frowned for a moment, and I thought maybe I’d gotten through to her, that the challenge in her fiery eyes had just been due to momentary confusion.

  Then, the frown disappeared, replaced by a blank and icy abyss in the shape of her face.

  Where this was headed, I no longer had any doubt.

  “Are you sure these are your friends?” asked Rune.

  “Something’s happened to them,” I told her.

  “My memory was somehow erased when I went missing,” said Ashanti. “I wonder if the same thing happened to them.”

  “By the way,” said Rune. “You never told me your friends had superpowers.”

  It wasn’t the time or place to have a conversation about the nature of Landkind. “Get out of here!” That was the only thing Rune needed to know right now, before the shit hit the you-know-what. “Right now!”

  “Like hell!” snapped Rune. “I’m in this whether you like it or—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Phaola flung up her arms, and deafening thunder boomed around us. She wove her fingers in a complex pattern, sending up sparks, and lightning flared across the sky.

  Then came the rain. As a Hyade nymph, she controlled water and related weather in all its forms; that power had been multiplied a thousandfold since her ascension as the Lady of the Alleghenies.

  A downpour of blistering intensity crashed upon us, instantly soaking us to the skin. It came down so hard, it hurt; it felt like thousands of tiny teeth chipping into my flesh in a relentless bombardment from above.

  “Take cover, Rune!” I shouted through the roar of the murderous shower. Even as the words left my lips, I was reaching into the ground with my mind, grabbing the shelf of rock below the topsoil and fighting to tear it asunder.

  But then my concentration was shattered as Prince Gallitzin State Park rammed into me with terrible force.

  His weight flung me into the mud and planted me there. Before I could pull up rocks and bash him away, he jammed one utility pole of an arm into my throat, cutting off my air.

  Thrashing in his grip, I struggled to break him away, still half in shock at the fact that my good friend was trying to kill me.

  Dark spots danced in my eyes. I reached with my power into the earth, trying to make it lurch up under us and pitch him away...but it kept slipping from my grasp. What was wrong with me?

  Then, before he could kill me, a beam of golden energy blasted into him, knocking him away like a speck of dust.

  Gasping for breath, I turned and saw Ashanti hovering nearby. She was the one who’d saved me—but she faced another problem now. Blue Knob Mountain unleashed rays of searing energy from his own fingertips, catching her dead in the chest. Crying out, she spun away from the blast, leaving a trail of smoke curling behind her.

  “Gaia!” Rune ran over and helped me to my feet. “Are you all right?”

  I shooed her away, my gaze flashing to Phaola. My view of her was blurred by the curtains of heavy rain.

  “I said to run!” I told Rune. “I can’t protect you!”

  “I’m an eco-warrior!” Rune shouted. “Chickenshit isn’t in my vocabulary!”

  The ground shook from the still-churning ultra-fracking tower, and lightning blazed. Phaola clapped her hands, and thunder rolled and crashed louder than ever.

  Twirling her hands overhead, she created a pair of waterspouts, then slashed her arms down and sent the spouts shooting toward me. Digging deep, I managed to dredge up a sheet of mud-encrusted bedrock as a shield—but I got it only half as high as I wanted. I had to duck down behind it to avoid the worst of the spouts’ propulsive force; even then, I was buffeted by their punishing wakes, pummeled behind the bedrock.

  “Surrender!” shouted Phaola—or whoever was in control of her. “Or be destroyed!”

  As she fanned her hands wide with palms facing me, the rain turned to golf-ball-sized hail, coming down just as fast but with more painful physical impact. Wobbling as the ground underfoot continued to shake, I tried turning the bedrock I’d raised into a protective suit of stone—to no avail. I pulled some of the rock around me, but I couldn’t flex it into the right shape to contain my body. Hunks of it kept falling away until I gave up trying to mold it.

  At that moment, Prince Gallitzin State Park charged out of the dense hailstorm and plowed into me, flinging me over the mucky ground. I hurtled into the metal side of a construction trailer, leaving a dent as I bounced o
ff and splattered into the slop.

  I pried myself out of the mud just in time to see Prince Gallitzin State Park racing toward me again with fists extended. Head pounding like mad from the beating I’d been taking and my proximity to the ultra-fracking spike, I had trouble summoning the focus to pour my earth-based powers into stopping him.

  But all I really needed was the tweak I managed to transmit. Reaching out, I drew up oil from underground into the mud in Prince’s path, making it much more slippery. His black-booted feet skimmed over the oily slick and lost all traction, sliding out from under him. Shouting in surprise, he flipped over backward and went down hard, slamming into the muddy ground like a bull dropped from a helicopter.

  Squinting through the hail, I saw his eyes were shut, and I felt relieved—as relieved as I could while being peppered with hail and threatened by a powerful ex-friend even as my own powers were on the fritz.

  That slight relief lasted all of thirty seconds. Suddenly, the soggy muck flash-froze under me, locking me in place on my knees. The golf-ball-sized hail changed to baseball-sized, absolutely pummeling me as I fought to bat it away with my arms.

  I took monster hits to my head, back, and abdomen. Mentally scrambled, I couldn’t haul up a rock shield to deflect or capture them, couldn’t stop the bludgeoning assault.

  The next thing I knew, Phaola was hovering right above me, bathed in light. “Prepare to die.” Even as she said it, her features looked eerily serene, utterly unlike any expression I’d ever seen on her face before.

  Peering through the hailstorm, I saw Ashanti battling with Blue Knob Mountain, lashing out at him with energy bolts that he repelled with bolts of his own. They were locked in a stalemate; she wouldn’t be helping me anytime soon.

  I reached down again into the earth, grasping for anything that might help me. Every time I got a grip on something with my powers, the earthquake or hailstones or lightning smashed my focus to bits, and I lost it.