The ships started to fire back. Long beams of white light burst down from their centres, destroying the areas targeted with huge explosions until the entire landscape was ablaze and the dying screams of the victims carried on the wind. The first-born watched on helplessly as the fire cleansed the earth.
Jerrico felt someone’s hand take his. It was Ashley. Silently, she led him back inside the manor and locked the front door behind them. He knew where she was leading him. Reaching Celeste’s sickbed, they were greeted by the familiar beeps and hisses from the technology that kept the little girls’ fragile body functioning. Ashley took her seat at the side of the bed and placed Celeste’s limp hand in hers. She shook for a moment before she was gone, her eyes white, Celeste now inhabiting her mindscape.
‘Now that Kaleb is gone, it is up to you. Cradleworth has shown his hand. The end game has begun. You must lead them away from here, away from harm,’ she said.
‘What about you – this place?’
‘The Urkers will grind it to dust, like everything else.’ Her voice echoed with resignation.
‘There must be something we can do. Can’t we dim the house like before?’ Jerrico replied.
‘There’s no time, and even if we could, we would not have the strength to hold it for long enough.’
Jerrico thought hard, scratching between his braids, then shaking his head. ‘No. I’m not leaving you here. We’re nothing without you – we’re lost.’
‘You’re wrong. You are so much more. That is why you must survive, why you must protect the others.’
‘But if you die, you’ll go to him, and he will learn what you know,’ Jerrico said.
There was guilt in her hesitation. ‘Not necessarily.’ She faltered, before going on. ‘I have not been completely honest with you, and I have my reasons. The carriers may yet help me to avoid Cradleworth’s grasp. I have done it before. That is how I know so much about him, but there’s no time to explain now.’
‘You mean—’
‘It’s possible I could find a way back to you somehow.’
A beam of light from an approaching craft struck the ground less than half a mile away. Its shockwave made the house shudder.
‘You have to go,’ Celeste said solemnly.
Jerrico had to concede. Whether he believed Celeste could survive or not, at any minute, one of those ships would target them. ‘What are they?’ he asked.
‘Urker war boats. Trust me – life on this planet will be in far more danger when they land. Restricted by the matterless no longer, they will be flesh and blood. That is what they will take…When I break the connection, it’s going to be hard for Ashley. She will not understand.’
Jerrico nodded. ‘I won’t leave her here.’
‘Thank you. Are you ready?’
‘No,’ he replied. He tried to smile, wanting to reach out and touch the comatose girl, even though he knew she was nothing but a vessel anchoring Celeste to this world.
‘Remain together, whatever it takes,’ she said.
‘I’ll do what I can.’
Ashley’s head fell forward as Celeste’s spirit left her body. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was. She stood and backed away to the wall. As Jerrico tried to grab her, she flailed with both arms to fend him off. ‘I’ve taken care of her for all this time. I can’t leave her,’ but the more her emotion grew, the more her energy to fight ebbed away. ‘Please, Jerrico. She’s all I have left,’ she sobbed.
Jerrico gripped the top of each arm, lifting her so she was standing straight again. ‘Ashley, Ashley. You heard what she said. You know it’s true – you know it.’ He looked her in the eye. ‘We’re your family now, and we’re not leaving you behind to die.’
2
When the other first-born noticed that two people from their group were missing they attempted to re-enter the house. ‘The fucking doors locked. What are they doing in there?’ Martha kicked against its painted oak surface.
Once again, the pressure in their heads started to build. Celeste’s voice came through as clear as it had ever done. You must go now. Run for the trees before it’s too late.
‘She has to stay behind. How could we possibly move her?’ Evelyn gathered herself and looked to the illuminated sky. Amidst the mayhem and explosions, she saw her Unkindness flying majestically through the red night. ‘Come.’ Evelyn held out her hand to Josie.
‘We’re leaving her?’ Stuart asked.
‘We don’t have a choice, dear. She knows that,’ Evelyn replied.
‘What about Jerrico and Ashley?’
‘Don’t worry. Ain’t no way she’ll let Jerrico stay behind,’ Heven said. He took the handles of the Jollybird and turned it in the direction of the forest.
‘I need to get back inside.’ Martha looked to the others in desperation.
‘Why?’ Heven moved across to her.
‘I don’t have time to explain, just do what you do,’ she pleaded.
‘Marth, we can’t screw around. Did you see how close that blast was just now?’
‘I’ll be right behind you, I promise. Just get me inside.’
Her green eyes begged him. Pushing her aside, he tried to focus his overworked mind on the door’s lock. The door jolted, and the loud crack of metal against wood rang out, barely audible over the terror descending upon them. The door burst open as if someone had kicked it down. Martha smiled at Heven and rushed into the manor.
‘Where’s she going?’ Stuart asked.
‘How the hell should I know,’ Heven shouted back.
Barnes released a single bark, alerting Stuart to their immediate danger.
‘Watch out!’ Stuart screamed.
A beam of light struck the earth no more than fifty yards from them. The sound was deafening as it tore up the ground, with a tremor that knocked them off their feet. The only person to stay upright was Stuart, held firm by the Jollybird’s heavy engine. As Heven helped Evelyn and Josie to get up, he realised what an idiot he’d been giving in to Martha.
3
Martha sprinted up the first flight of stairs, meeting Jerrico and Ashley coming the other way. She paused, making eye contact with Jerrico, still tending to Ashley, who could hardly put one foot in front of the other. She was so full of grief following her communion with Celeste.
Martha made a break for the left as Jerrico reached out, grabbing at her with his free hand. She proved too fast and too strong. She managed to wriggle from his grasp and disappear around the corner. ‘Martha!’ he shouted, but there was no way he could go back for her and get Ashley out in time.
When he eventually made it outside, he was surprised to see everyone else standing at the bottom of the steps. ‘Why the fuck didn’t you leave without me.’ Jerrico turned to Heven, still clinging tight to Ashley. ‘Lead them into the forest. I’m going back for Martha.’ He was about to pass Ashley over to Heven and head back into the house, but Heven placed a hand in front of his chest to block him.
‘I owe her. Please, let me do this?’ Heven said.
Jerrico blew hard through his teeth, reaching up to his braids for a scratch. ‘Don’t mess about,’ he said, letting Heven pass, then he started to carry Ashley toward the trees, forcing the others to follow.
4
Martha entered the mock-up trailer interior Celeste had created. She rushed over to Davy’s bed and wrestled with the duvet, desperate to find what she had come back for. Her heart raced as another explosion erupted close by. Her hand grasped at something, a soft piece of denim. She clutched the dungarees with both hands, taking in their scent. She felt strongly that he was alive, but the chances of seeing him again… The old, tattered dungarees that were two sizes too small for him were the only tangible link she had left.
She hadn’t made it down the first flight of stairs when she came face to face with Heven. ‘Damn it, Heven. Why didn’t you run?’ she said.
‘Because you never gave up on me.’ Heven held out his hand. ‘Let’s get out of here before th
is place is a pile of rubble.’
5
The others ran well clear of the manor. Ashley and Josie were still shaken, and Evelyn was finding it tough going. The tree line seemed as far away as ever.
Jerrico stopped for a moment, Ashley’s arm slung over his shoulder. As he turned back to see a war boat coming in fast over the top of the manor’s towering roof, it dawned on him that Clover was missing. He hadn’t seen the creature since he submitted himself to it in the tall grass. He felt a fear for it that repulsed him. The vile nature he’d excreted as a child had taken his parents away, and now he was worried for its safety. He half-expected Clover to come bounding out of the night towards him, but it didn’t. Instead, he watched the rectangular craft hover above the manor, casting a greater darkness than the night over its white walls. Several lights flickered out from the points of the craft’s jagged edges, and a circular ball of energy began to gather at its centre.
‘Jerrico!’ Stuart called back to him, aware that Jerrico and Ashley were not running alongside the group anymore.
‘Just run, dickhead. Don’t look back.’ Jerrico started to sprint towards the boy.
Evelyn glanced behind her as she ran. ‘Oh my God. It’s going to fire on the house.’
‘Martha and Heven, did they get out?’ Josie asked, trying to keep pace. A bolt of energy from the war boat tore through the manor’s roof, entering the building’s heart, and the whole place erupted. Its foundations dissolved under the intensity of the blast, its brickwork and girders dispersed like seed heads in a gust of wind.
The first-born were not clear of the danger zone, and pieces of debris showered down upon them. A large wooden cross-section, previously attached to the manor’s canopy flew overhead. Consumed by flames, the fiery wreckage smashed into the ground in front of them. It chewed its way into the earth as it landed, scattering its burning fragments in every direction. The impact knocked Evelyn and Josie to the ground.
Stuart and Barnes turned back for them. Taking the back of Josie’s jacket between his teeth, the dog yanked her to her feet. Stuart positioned the Jollybird next to Evelyn so she could use it as a crutch. She’d landed awkwardly on her shoulder and cradled her right arm in discomfort.
‘Run, you idiots!’ Jerrico staggered towards them with Ashley, waving his free arm in dismay to urge them onwards. Behind him, the remains of the building swirled and burned into the night. It was just another devastated spot on the landscape. The same fires raged across the world, with the promise of much worse to come, as the first war boats began to land.
Jerrico ushered the others around the broken cross-section, but the war boat that had destroyed the manor was aware of their escape. It started to turn its jagged nose in their direction. Barnes yelped to raise the alarm.
‘I know,’ Jerrico muttered. He pushed Evelyn along to keep her pace up. Sensing her difficulty, Ashley ducked from under his arm and moved to help Evelyn, whose need was greater than her own. Stuart and Barnes had already made it to the tree line.
‘Don’t stop.’ Jerrico waved them on but they waited all the same. Stuart wasn’t sure if the Jollybird could handle some of the terrain off the path. There was no way he would let someone carry him and slow them down. If his chair tipped over, he would not call for help, and he would hope that the others didn’t notice.
By the time they had all reached the cover of the forest, the war boat was already on top of them. They were only twenty yards into the woodland before the craft sent down a burst of energy that rattled into the ground, uprooting two trees and sending the first-born running off at a tangent. The blast knocked them off balance, but they managed to stay together. Jerrico brought up the rear, shepherding the others. He saw that Josie had taken Evelyn’s hand and was directing her through the trees, running as though she had twenty-twenty vision.
The war boat groaned as it changed direction. It was close again. Jerrico caught sight of something in the corner of his eye and glanced across, expecting to see Martha and Heven catching up to them, but it was Clover, bounding with huge strides, less than a few metres away. His spirits soared. The bond that existed with Clover was all he had left; the only thing Cradleworth had not taken from him.
A further energy blast struck the ground behind them, propelling them forwards. Jerrico remembered what Celeste had told him about protecting the others and he knew that she was passing the baton onto him, entrusting him with her children. As he ran, he looked upon them as his own father would have looked upon him. They were his family now, as real and as true as the one he’d lost. They appeared to be running ahead of him in slow motion, followed closely by the ominous shadow of the war boat. Jerrico anticipated the next attack and changed direction. The savage beam struck the ground in between the group of runners. The impact threw Stuart from his chair. He landed against the side of a tree trunk. The Jollybird flipped and came to rest with its wheels up in the air, still rotating from the power of the motor. In the same instant, Barnes yelped out in pain, skidding over the ground on his side. The latest beam had virtually severed the base of a nearby oak. Dizzy from his fall, Stuart looked up to see the tree toppling in his direction, with a volley of splintering wood. There was no way he would be able to pull himself clear in time. The fall had damaged his glasses, which sat diagonally across his face, skewing his vision so it looked to him that two trees were about to land on top of him. He lifted his hand to meet both speeding trunks, his fingers almost touching the bark before the tree stopped dead. It hung in the air, segments of broken branches and showers of leaves suspended around it, captured within Stuart’s telekinetic projection. He threw his arm across his body, and in turn, sent the tree crashing down to his left. Gingerly he pulled himself into a sitting position and re-adjusted his glasses so he could search for Barnes. All he could see was smoke and dust. He made a reach for his chair but it was too far away. Just as he began to make the arduous crawl, he heard trampling feet coming towards him. Josie and Evelyn emerged from the chaos, coughing and gasping for air. The pockets of forest fire were multiplying, and the smoke was closing in around them, leaving few paths of escape.
‘Stuart.’ Forgetting her injury, Evelyn bent down to where he sat.
‘Get the Jollybird,’ Stuart said, pointing to where it lay upside down. Evelyn went to retrieve it, dragging it back to him using her good arm, while Josie stroked his face, relieved they had found someone else alive. ‘Barnes?’ Stuart cried in anguish.
Josie shook her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she said.
‘I saw him just before the blast hit us,’ Jerrico appeared from nowhere, panting heavily, his face covered in blood from a nasty gash just beneath his hairline. ‘But after that…’ Jerrico shrugged. ‘We have to move.’ He bolted around the tree to help Evelyn get Stuart back into the seat of the Jollybird.
‘Has anyone seen Ashley?’ Josie said.
‘She was with me when we entered the woods, but I lost sight of her when I lost you,’ Jerrico replied.
The war boat made another sweep of the area. The rising smoke may have been choking them, but it also provided much needed cover from their enemy.
‘So, which way?’ Evelyn looked to Jerrico for an answer.
‘There.’ He pointed off to the northeast. ‘I remember the way we came in.’ He stepped in front of the others, before stopping in his tracks again. ‘Oh shit!’
‘What is it?’ Stuart asked. When Jerrico veered off to his left, Stuart feared he had discovered Barnes’ broken body, but Jerrico ran to the aid of Clover, his creature. When Stuart had thrown the felled tree aside, it landed on the creature as it scampered, trapping its right leg. Evelyn and Stuart watched Jerrico struggle to pull Clover free, and were about to assist him when the war boat settled overhead.
‘Jerrico, watch out!’ Stuart screamed. Jerrico couldn’t hear the boy’s warning over the raging flames.
‘Come on, dear.’ Evelyn said anxiously.
Stuart was about to go to help his friend, but the precurso
ry surge from the belly cannon of the war boat made him hesitate.
The beam hit the top of a large oak, splitting it right down its centre. The impact showered Jerrico and Clover with huge splinters of wood, sending a thicker, darker wave of fire and smoke rolling downwards.
Stuart could no longer see Jerrico at all. Devastation closed in from every direction. ‘Jerrico!’ Stuart shouted out into the darkness, fearing that his plea was in vain.
‘Don’t look back, dear. Don’t look back.’ Evelyn said.
They ran, and kept on running, with Josie leading them. Sight was useless in the cauldron of the blaze. Josie used all the skills she’d developed over the years to move them away from danger. She could smell when the smoke became dense. The heat from the tree trunks indicated to her whether they were moving away from a fire or heading towards one.
The war boat fired once more, this time, much further from them. After the blast, the groan from the craft started to disappear, until only the sound of crackling flames from the dying forest and the falling branches remained. Eventually, Evelyn forced them to slow the pace, too out of breath and in pain to keep going. They walked after that, managing to put enough distance between themselves and the nearest fires, so the smoke didn’t feel so heavy in their lungs. They could not see more than ten feet in front of them; they were lost.
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Stuart shouted out, giving the other two a fright. ‘Barnes…Jerrico!’ The only reply he received was the faint echo of his own desperate cries as they bounced from the ash-covered trees.
‘Save your strength.’
Josie’s advice was unwelcome. Stuart did not appreciate the resignation in her voice. It made him want to shout even louder. ‘Barnes…Jerrico…Ashley!’
After he had called out four or five more times, Evelyn approached the side of his chair. ‘That’s enough now. Let’s just concentrate on getting out of this smoke first.’
Infanticide (Fallen Gods Saga Book 2) Page 22
