by D. C. Akers
“Honey, I know it doesn’t, but there isn’t time. That thing out there is a hunter, and right now it’s hunting us. The only way we stay alive is if we keep moving. Do you understand me?”
Sarah didn’t say a word. Her face had gone white now.
“Sarah,” Alisa said again. She reached out and shook her shoulder. “Do you understand?”
Sarah eyes blinked in acknowledgement, but as she opened her mouth to speak the room erupted in flashes of green fire that exploded on the wall next to them. Quickly, Alisa planted Nara firmly in front of her and the staff came to life once again in a blue blaze. Streaks of green fire shot through the darkness from beyond the doorway, heading right for them. It was too late to move, the fire was upon them in an instant. Sam closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. Sarah screamed and Travis turned, placing himself between the oncoming fire and Sarah. The sheer force of the explosion rocked the confines of the small room. Green sinuous flames curled around the huddled mass like long fiery tentacles. Sam felt the jolt beneath his feet but nothing more; he had expected to feel the hot flames engulf his body, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and suddenly he became very still. Just inches away, shimmering in the darkness was a magnificent blue transparent shield that radiated from his mother’s staff. Sam’s lips parted in amazement, Sarah’s body stiffened, and Travis glanced around to see if the others were seeing the same thing he was.
Alisa was down on her knees. Both her hands were gripped around her staff, which was braced against the side of her body. Before anyone could speak another barrage of fire balls exploded against the shield, which began to crack with the impact of the attack. Sam flinched and watched in amazement as the pieces of the magical shield fell away like shards of broken glass, dissolving into thin air.
“Sam!” his mother yelled. He was barely able to hear her over the explosions against the shield. “When I give the word, you and Travis take your sister and get to your room.”
“What? No!” Sarah yelled, “We can’t leave you!”
Sam’s eyebrows drew together. “Mom, what are you saying? What about you?” he asked desperately.
“I’ll hold it off. We need to buy time! If I know Xavier it won’t be long before he breaks the spell!” And Xavier is here, she told herself. There was only one person she knew that ate Becker’s Famous Chocolates, and he was not from this world.
Sarah grimaced, “Who? Who’s that?”
But Alisa did not reply. Her focus was on Sam.
“Sam, ready?” she asked. Her pained stare caught Sam off guard. He didn’t know what to say.
“Sam, answer me! Are you ready?”
Sam swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.
Three oncoming fire balls struck the failing shield like missiles. Alisa flinched, her muscles straining as she tried to keep her grasp on Nara, who trembled violently under the onslaught of explosions.
“No, Mom, no! PLEASE!” Sarah screamed.
Alisa gave Sam one final look. “NOW!”
Alisa spun Nara in her hand like a large baton, sending the hilt of her staff crashing down on the bedroom floor. A shockwave of billowing blue flames erupted, obliterating the bedroom wall between her and the Viper, and hurling shards of wood, wires, and sheetrock in the monster's direction.
Sam and Travis took Sarah by the hands and sprinted toward Sam’s room through the hole in the wall. Flashes and sparks of electricity skewed their vision as they dove into the bedroom.
The house shook violently and the floor began to crumble and crack beneath Alisa and the Viper. She tried to brace herself but it was too late. The floor buckled and gave way, sending Alisa and the Viper tumbling into the dark abyss below.
Chapter 10
Sam, Travis, and Sarah slid to the back wall of Sam’s room as the rest of the second story collapsed behind them. The house shook with such force that the floor beneath them rumbled and large plumes of dust billowed in through the doorway. Sam straightened himself against the wall, wincing as he moved his shoulder in a slow circular motion. A few scratches from the other night at the caves had opened up again and were bleeding now. Travis had positioned himself against the wall and was trying to help Sarah to a sitting position. It was completely dark, except for the small traces of moonlight that penetrated the tattered blinds.
“Sam, what about Mom? We have to go back!” Sarah said, trying to catch her breath.
Sam looked to the doorway and tried to steady his racing heart. From where he sat it looked as if the entire second floor had disintegrated in the blast.
“Mom,” Sam gasped. The thought of losing his mother made his stomach roll and his chest tighten.
“Guys,” Travis said, his voice cracking, “I … I think we have a bigger problem at the moment.”
What could be bigger than his mother trapped downstairs with that monster, Sam thought. He looked over at Travis; his eyes bulged and his mouth was gaping open. Sam’s eyes met Sarah’s and together they followed Travis’s gaze.
In the opposite corner of the room was a huddled mass. At first Sam was not sure what it was, and then he realized it was a man. But how was that possible? Sarah had been in the house all day and he and Travis had been in the garage. There was no way he could have entered their home without someone seeing him. The man was trembling and his hands covered his head. His knees were tucked so close to his chest that it was hard to tell exactly how big he was. The outline of his body was clearly visible in the shadows, but what caught Sam’s attention were his shoes—they looked familiar. They were ragged leather boots that were cracked and weathered. The left boot was missing the front part of the sole, revealing a filthy red sock. It was that boot in particular that Sam remembered.
Sam swallowed hard. Sarah reached across Travis, who sat between them, and nudged Sam’s arm.
“Who … who is that, Sam?” she whispered. Her voice was quiet with panic.
Sam stared for a moment at the crumpled man. What he wanted to say was How should I know, but the truth was that he did know.
“I …” Sam hesitated. It just sounded too bizarre. It didn’t seem possible. How could he get in here when nobody else could get in or out? Sam swallowed again. “I think it’s Ernie.”
“Who?” Sarah asked.
“Dirty Ernie?” Travis said.
“Yeah, I think so.” Sam replied.
Travis let out a sigh of relief and put his hand to his forehead. “Holy crap, dude, I thought it was one of those Grim Reaper things. I was about to have a heart attack.”
Sam didn’t say a word. He agreed with Travis though, a Grim Reaper would be worse. He continued to stare at Dirty Ernie. Something was not right. Ernie began to whimper, repeating the same word over and over.
“No … no … no …”
“Sam,” Sarah whispered again. “How did Ernie get up here?”
Sam leaned forward to get a better look at Ernie. He wanted to see his face, but that was impossible because of the way the man was cradling himself in his arms.
“I don’t know …” he replied.
“I thought Mom said something about a spell and that no one could get in.”
Sam lowered his head, staring at Ernie as he answered his sister. “She said no one could get in or out.”
Travis slowly inched himself closer to the back wall. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he muttered.
So did Sam but he couldn’t wait around to feel better about things. He needed to find his mother. He braced himself against the wall and got to his feet.
Sarah frowned. “Sam, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to talk to him,” he whispered.
“Are you crazy? ’Cause I’m pretty sure Dirty Ernie is!” she hissed.
Sam didn’t answer; he didn’t have time to explain. All he knew was that he was running out of time. His mother was out there somewhere, possibly injured, and he had to find her.
“Where are you going?” Sarah said again. She was trying her best
to keep her voice down but was failing miserably.
Sam looked down at his sister. “Shhhhh, I’ll be fine. I’m just going to see if he’s okay. Besides, we’ve got to find Mom. I’m not going to just sit here.”
Travis got ready to stand too but Sam put a hand up. “No, stay with Sarah, just in case.”
Travis looked up at Sam, frowned and shook his head. “Sam, Sarah is right. Dirty Ernie is crazy. He eats trash for a living, for God’s sake. That says something about a person!”
“I know, I know,” Sam replied. He was becoming frustrated now. “But I’ve got to do something. Stay with Sarah.”
Travis sighed. “Then here, take this.” He reached over Sarah, grabbed a piece of the charred banister that was lying on the floor next to her and gave it to Sam. “And buddy, whatever you do, don’t miss,” he said.
Sam smirked and took the charred piece of wood in his hand. It was heavy, about two feet long, with three broken sharp spindles attached to its end.
Sam hid the piece of wood behind his back and turned his attention to Ernie, who was still muttering “No” under his breath. Sam took one careful step forward and then another, slowly inching his way through the darkness to the other side of the room.
As Sam approached, it became clear that the man before him was definitely Dirty Ernie and that he did not look well. Dressed in a tattered black t-shirt and frayed jeans, Ernie was dressed the same as he was most days. The only thing missing was the long black coat he normally wore.
“Ernie,” Sam whispered. “It’s me, Sam. Sam Dalcome.”
But Ernie wasn’t listening; his harsh voice kept repeating “No, no, no,” like he was slowly going insane. As Sam got closer, thin wiry muscles contracted in his arms, pulling his head down lower to his knees. Trembling, he began rocking back and forth.
Sam almost felt sorry for the man. Maybe he’d had an episode and lost his memory or something. But that didn’t explain how he got in Sam’s house, or in his room for that matter.
“Ernie, how, how did you get in here? Do you know where you are?” he asked softly so as to not frighten the man. Sam felt like he was talking to a small child who had lost his way.
Travis and Sarah craned their necks to get a better look. From where they sat they could only see Sam’s back. Sarah was gripping Travis’s arm again.
“I can’t see a thing. What’s happening?” she asked.
But Travis couldn’t see much either. “I don’t know, but Sam’s getting closer,” he whispered.
Ernie was breathing harder and rocking faster now. He seemed to be getting more agitated the closer Sam got.
“Ernie, can you hear me? Are you okay?”
Then the man abruptly stopped as if he had heard his name for the first time. Sam froze and his pulse quickened.
Slowly, Ernie began to unravel his arms from around his head. His emaciated limbs unfurled like thin spider legs emerging from a deep dark crevasse.
Sam stood rooted to the spot. His hand tightened around the piece of wood he was holding behind his back.
Ernie slowly lifted his head to face Sam. The tendons in his neck strained and a visible pulse throbbed just below his ear. A long open gash ran down the side of Ernie’s jaw line. Dried blood covered his chin and the right side of his face. His gray dreary pupils twitched from side to side, as if he was searching for something or someone in the empty room.
Sam struggled to catch his breath. He felt his skin tingle as every hair on his arm stood at attention. Ernie’s mouth opened, exposing gray elongated fangs that dripped with saliva.
“Nooo,” he hissed.
Alisa opened her eyes to a haze of dim lights. At first she couldn’t tell how many lights there were. Her right temple throbbed; a trail of pain seared its way across to the back of her head. She closed her eyes once more and then opened them again. Now there was only one dim light in the distance.
It was dark. The smell of scorched wood and dust lingered in the air, like a thick undulating fog. She coughed and felt a sharp pain on the left side of her body. Closing her eyes again, she winced and bit down on her lip. She was lying flat on her back and could feel something heavy across her legs. Slowly she lifted her head, straining to get a better look at her surroundings. Pain shot through her body, traveling from her abdomen to her lower back.
She gritted her teeth and took short shallow breaths. Quickly, she scanned the room. Silver iridescent veins of moonlight cascaded from the living room window through the billowing clouds of dust. Water continued to gush from the ruptured kitchen pipes, creating a fine mist that lingered in the stale air.
Debris from the blast littered the living room. Mounds of wood and sheetrock lay in heaps around her. Wires and scraps of insulation clung loosely to severed floor joists above her.
Gasping, Alisa eased her head back to the ground. The agonizing pain was almost unbearable. She waited a few seconds before gradually taking another breath.
But this time the air smelled different. There was something more than dust and wreckage there. It was the smell of iron; it was the smell of blood. Alisa knew that if she could smell the blood, chances were that she had lost a lot of it.
Slowly she turned her head, tilting it just enough to see her midsection, but it was too dark to see anything clearly. The large support beam and part of the staircase that lay across her legs obstructed the moonlight.
Alisa leaned her head back down and listened intently. She could not hear anything over the spewing water in the kitchen. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Did the children make it? Were they safe? She had to find out.
She needed Nara, but where was she? Alisa looked around the room to the best of her capabilities but Nara was nowhere in sight.
“Nara,” she called out, her voice strained and raspy. She brought her hand to her mouth and coughed. When she pulled it away, she grimaced. A thick dark liquid oozed down the length of her palm.
Blood, well, that’s disappointing, she told herself.
“Nara,” she cried again, this time a bit louder.
In the distance, just beyond the debris, a familiar blue glow appeared in the darkness. “Nara,” she gasped as a weary smile fell across her face. There is still a chance.
Carefully, Alisa slid her hand down the side of her body to the injury. She could tell she had broken a few ribs, but even worse was the thin shard of wood lodged between two of them. If she had to guess, it was between rib six and seven. She could feel the sharp shaft protruding out of her body but she was too weak to grab it.
Alisa pursed her lips and closed her eyes. She took several shallow breaths and braced herself for the pain.
“Nara!” she yelled. With the cry her body cringed and her lungs constricted. She clenched her jaw and felt her muscles contract around the wooden shaft. The pain was excruciating.
Out of the darkness a blue light sped toward her. Alisa tried to lift her hand to catch the staff but she couldn’t; she no longer had the strength. Nara bounded over the wreckage but she fell short and landed on the ground next to her.
Alisa turned, her breathing labored. She could see Nara’s sapphire hilt just inches away from her hand. Her familiar dim glow was soothing but Alisa was too weak to move, she had lost too much blood. With her arm outstretched, she called once more a barely audible, “Nara …”
The staff responded as it always had and snapped into her open hand. Instantly the symbiotic connection took effect, and Nara knew what her master needed. Alisa felt the rush of Nara’s healing race through her body. Her heart quickened and her muscles began to tingle as blood coursed through her veins. Alisa knew in the end it wouldn’t be enough to heal the wound completely, but it was enough to stop the bleeding and restore her vitals to a normal level.
Within minutes, Alisa could move again. She twisted in pain as she pulled the spike out of her side. She closed her eyes, breathing quickly as she waited for the wound to close. Within minutes, Nara had healed her. She was still in p
ain but was on the mend now.
Alisa positioned her hand underneath the large wooden beam that lay across her legs. Just as she began to lift, two flashes of light illuminated the back of the living room. Still trapped, Alisa froze.
“Nara, silent,” she whispered, and Nara obeyed.
She listened closely; she thought she heard voices coming from the back of the living room but she wasn’t sure. It was still hard to hear anything over the gushing water. But then she heard them again—voices, she was sure of it. Was it Xavier? If it was, who was with him? It wasn’t the Viper; they didn’t speak that she knew of.
There was only one thing Alisa knew for sure: she had been compromised. Her role as a sleeper agent had come to an end and there was no telling who was after her now.
The intruders began walking around the room, their feet crunching on the scattered wreckage that was once her home. They were coming closer. Alisa could feel a rush of adrenaline but she wasn’t sure if it was her or from Nara, who was vibrating intensely in her hand, awaiting her command.
Alisa gripped Nara so tight her knuckles had turned white. They were almost here; they were almost on top of her.
Chapter 11
Sam took another step back. His legs felt weak and his hands were trembling. Quickly, he brought forth the piece of wooden banister he had been holding and grasped it firmly in his hands. Behind him he could hear Travis warning him.
“Not Ernie, Sam, not Ernie!”
“Sam, get away!” Sarah yelled as she got to her feet.
Sam blinked rapidly. His hands were clammy and shaking as he repositioned his grip on the wooden shard.
“Travis, keep Sarah back!” he said.
But Travis had already gotten to his feet and was standing in front of Sarah, protecting her from whatever was in the room with them.
Ernie slowly rose, and as he did, his body began to change. Long, slender arms morphed into thick, twisting muscle. His gray, pallid skin hardened, changing from flesh to a flat black exoskeleton marred with thin black scales.
