The Veil: Corruption (HASEA CHRONICLES BOOK 2)

by Stuart Meczes

  With a victorious smile, I lifted the coms bracelet to my lips. “They’re gone. Let’s get to Black Dawn.”

  *

  The convoy pulled into the vast docks. I was back in the limousine, and through the window I watched as droves of warehouses slipped by, surrounded by cranes and columns of shipping containers. The tall metal stacks of the grain terminal stood in the distance, shimmering in the setting sun.

  We drove on through the port until we reached Black Dawn. It floated in the water among dozens of cargo ships, looking like an oversized container ship.

  That would change once we were at sea.

  The convoy pulled up, and Guardians started to climb out of the car. I got out and walked towards the ship, its dark metal surface making it look like a looming shadow rising out of the water. The captain was standing on the walkway, wearing a white maritime version of the HASEA uniform, with a cap bearing the emblem. He was in his mid-forties, with ginger hair and a beard. He shook my hand as I reached him.

  “Huntmaster De Luca,” I said.

  “Captain Shaw.” He nodded at the beaten up cars. “Looks like you had a bit of a rough journey.”

  “More than I could explain. We’ve lost the Warren.”

  “Dear lord. We had better get moving then.” He glanced past me. “Ah, you might have to deal with them first.”

  I glanced around, half expecting to see Yeth’s Army appear. Instead I saw three police cars drive up. One of them got out of the car. “This is Tilbury Port Police. What’s going on here?” he demanded. Then he noticed some of the less-human Guardians, and his eyes went wide in terror. I ran to the car and grabbed his shoulder before he could get back in. Whilst he struggled against me, I unhooked his corded speaker microphone and spoke into it using my Charm voice.

  “Hear my voice and understand. There is nothing to investigate in this part of the docks. When you leave the area, you will forget everything you have seen.”

  The policeman stopped struggling and stood dumbly. I reattached the microphone to his shoulder and gave a sweet smile.

  “Everything okay, officer?”

  “Err…yes. Carry on.” He climbed back into his car, and the three squad cars drove away without so much as a second glance. I lifted my own communication device and spoke into it.

  “Everyone onto Black Dawn. It’s time to leave.”

  The ship changed once it reached the Atlantic Ocean. Orion and the overseeing Guardians were keeping an eye on Alex and Sage Faru in the reinforced hold. As overseeing Huntmaster, it was my duty to stand with Captain Shaw in the bridge, which was nothing like you would expect for a container ship. It was sleek black and filled with flashing consoles and electronic maps. It was the bridge for a battleship.

  And that’s just what Black Dawn was.

  Captain Shaw leaned into a microphone. “Crew, prepare for the shift.”

  Outside I could see them bustling about, opening hatches and releasing leavers. He pointed at the displays and smiled. “Watch this.”

  He pressed a black button in the centre of the console. The ship made a loud groan. I watched in stunned awe as, all over the ship, metal panels flew up and guns rose out of hatches on the port and starboard sides. A large panel opened on the deck at the stern and a helipad with a sleek black helicopter came up from below. I felt the bridge rise upwards as the ship grew bigger, lifting higher out of the water, as it transformed into a giant warship. Out of the window on the bow I saw a metal panel slide back and a huge emblem of the Alliance rise up from the deck – proud and commanding in black and gold.

  Black Dawn sailed until the sun had set and twilight descended like an infinite shadow. Everywhere I looked, Guardians were standing, staring out into the dark water. I felt relief. We had lost a lot, but we were still strong. I knew we would unite and take back the Warren when this was all over. We were the Alliance. We could falter, but we never fell.

  Grey was standing outside, leaning over the railings. Surprised, I walked out to him and placed a hand on his back. He jerked upright.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Why aren’t you downstairs in the hold?”

  “Seasick,” he replied, shaking his head.

  I tried not to laugh. “It shouldn’t be too long now.”

  As if my words had become reality, I turned to see the hulking structure of Atlantis appear in the distance. It was camouflaged to look like a rig, but those stationed there weren’t interested in oil. They protected England from sea-born Pandemonians and rescued ships who were attacked. Atlantis was stationed over a broken shard of the Veil, and it saw a lot of activity, but not anything it couldn’t handle.

  Until now.

  We reached Atlantis. It was covered in platforms, steps, cranes, and ladders. A large antennae stretched into the sky. It was how they communicated with us at the Warren.

  Captain Shaw spoke to someone on the telephone and then ordered his crew to moor. Black Dawn was moored to one of Atlantis’ huge columns. As we started to leave the bridge, the captain called my name. I doubled back. He was frowning down at a radar screen.

  “Are you expecting company?” he said.

  I stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  He pointed to the display. “Look for yourself.” I stared down at the sweeping radar, and my throat tightened. Clusters of small blips were heading for our position. Bursting out of the room, I sprinted along the ship, up stairs and down walkways, until I was on the stern. On the horizon, I could see a fleet of boats heading towards us. I moved around the ship, checking each side. My skin broke out in a cold sweat.

  They were boats drawing towards us from every direction.

  With a trembling arm, I lifted the bracelet to my lips. My voice came out croaky and full of nerves.

  “Guardians, Yeth’s Army is coming. Prepare for battle.”

  34

  Alex

  I woke up feeling like my lungs were being crushed. I gasped, descending into a coughing fit. Only after the sensations faded was I able to gather my thoughts.

  I was in my own bed.

  The room was filled with shards of sunlight, which crept through the gaps in the drawn curtain. Everything was calm and still.

  I glanced down at my sweat-slicked body and saw that the tattoo had gone. There was nothing but my own skin – no horrible marker reminding me that I was losing control. Losing my mind. I let out a sigh of relief. It was a dream. I let my head sink back into the headrest and let out a long sigh. Thank god.

  I lay silent, letting the calm of the morning wash over me. As I did, the memories of my dream began to fade, like the loosening grip of some horrific creature. I didn’t fight against it – I didn’t want to remember whatever had made me wake up so panicked and full of terror. I felt an overwhelming urge to call Gabriella to make sure she was okay. I picked my phone up off the table and scrolled down to her name on my contacts list. Except it wasn’t there. I frowned down at the concerning gap between Freddie’s Pizza and Hattie – the old woman who lived two doors down and had a spare front door key in case the other spare went missing.

  “Alex, get your bloody arse out of bed, you’re going to make everyone late!”

  John’s harsh voice shot up the stairs. I glanced at the clock. The LED display read half eight in the morning. It’s summer, why the hell are they making me get up so early?

  I climbed out of bed, feeling a lot more lethargic than I was used to. Grabbing a crumpled t-shirt and pair of shorts from the chest of drawers, I chucked them on. I found a pair of Havaianas under the bed and slipped into them before heading downstairs. Trudging into the kitchen, I wiped the fading remnants of sleep from my eyes. The smell of cooked batter pervaded the room.

  The family was already working their way through a batch of overdone pancakes. As always Mum was cutting hers into delicate pieces as if we were on a reality TV program and she were being judged for etiquette by the nation. John was staring at the tabloid headlines as usual, except this time his frown
was so deep his eyes had all but disappeared. Mikey was sitting with his back to me, wolfing down his breakfast. There was something different about him – even at this angle. He seemed fuller – more built – than usual.

  “Morning,” I said heading over to the table.

  Mum turned to face me and paused, fork hovering at her lips. “Don’t you think you are a little underdressed, sweetheart?”

  John lifted his attention from the paper to regard me for a moment and then broke into a mean laugh. “Going on holiday, are we mate?”

  “What are you talking about? It’s the middle of sum…” my words faltered as I glanced outside through frost-covered windows to see a sparkling sheen of snow over the front garden. The sun was high in the sky, but it was winter sun. I turned back around and for the first time noticed the Christmas decorations hanging around the room.

  What the hell is going on? How is it almost Christmas?

  “Stop teasing him, John. Hurry up and sit down, honey. Your pancakes are getting cold.”

  I sat down numbly and absently picked up a fork. Mikey leaned over and placed a hand on me. “Bro, you okay?” he whispered.

  I recoiled away from him as if he were an alien. He had changed. He was even better-looking than before, and his jaw was strong and pronounced. His green eyes shimmered like polished gems, and his teeth were pure white. His already-defined body had become a mass of muscles stretching against his uniform. His school uniform.

  “What’s going on here?” I demanded.

  “What are you bleating on about?” said John.

  I pointed a shaking finger at a frowning Mikey. “Why does he look like that?”

  Mikey shot me a look that was a silent suggestion to shut up. But it was John who answered.

  “It’s called physical activity, Alexander. You should try it some time.”

  I went to ask more questions, but I remembered I couldn’t. Mum and John didn’t know anything about my Awakening and the Alliance. If I wasn’t careful, my confusion could unravel everything. So I just shook my head and ate a bit of pancake. It tasted like cardboard in my dry mouth.

  “Honestly, he gets weirder every day,” John muttered, which earned him a decisive slap on the arm from Mum.

  Mikey kept staring at me, searching my face for answers. I lowered my gaze and stared at my food instead, slowly forcing bits of my breakfast down my throat even though I was far from hungry.

  John flicked an edge of the newspaper page he was reading. “Can you believe this? Some nutter in the columns page is ranting about how he saw a horseman of the apocalypse riding through town.”

  A roll of pancake dropped from my mouth and splattered onto the plate, sending maple syrup splashing onto the table. John was too busy talking to pull me up on it. He held up the paper so we could all see. “He said he even got a picture – look.”

  I stared at a blurred photograph of what looked like a giant horse with an equally blurred figure riding on top. John tapped a finger against his temple. “I’m telling you, this is the sort of madness that all this internet and video game crap is breeding.” He pushed the newspaper away from him in disgust. “Back in my day the media kept well away from these fruitcakes. We didn’t indulge the poor bastards.”

  I felt an elbow nudge mine and looked up to see Mikey giving a sly wink. Some of the tension I had been feeling slipped away. He remembers about The Sorrow. I’m not going completely crazy. Thank god.

  I gave him a weak smile back. A few seconds later his phone rang. I tried to catch the caller ID, but he stood up from the table and moved into the kitchen, speaking in a low voice for a minute.

  He hung up the phone. “Hey Alex, don’t worry about taking me to school, I’ve got a lift. They’re almost here now.” He turned to Mum. “Mind if I jet?”

  Mum looked at the clock. “As long as they get you to school on time.”

  He smiled. “They will; don’t worry.”

  He headed into the hallway. I stood up and followed him. “Oi,” shouted John. “In this house we ask to leave the table.”

  “One second,” I said.

  I watched as Mikey ran upstairs and returned a moment later carrying a duffel bag that was far too large for a schoolbag, even with a gym kit. He swung it over his back with ease and pulled open the door. Before he could close it, I grabbed his arm. “Mikey, what the hell is going on?”

  He motioned for me to lower my voice. “You know what the hell is going on,” he hissed. “Jesus, what’s with you today? Look, I don’t have time for this, I’ll see you at school in a bit.” He shrugged away from my grip and closed the door. Before it shut, I caught sight of a black Jeep in the gaps between the lawn bushes. My heart missed a dozen beats. I moved away on unsteady feet towards the stairs. As I did, I overheard Mum taking to John.

  “Honestly, it concerns me that Michael is forever going out at all hours.”

  “Stop worrying, Elaine. It’s not like he’s some drug addict or lowlife criminal. The boy is in a relationship. You see them every chance you can. Remember what we were like back in the day? Couldn’t stay away from each other for two minutes.”

  The two descended into giggles and whispers.

  Okay, so he’s with Scarlett. That’s still the same. “I’m going to get changed,” I called as I mounted the stairs two at a time, not expecting a reply. I was right.

  In my room, I tried to mind link with Faru. If anyone could give me answers as to what on earth was going on, it was our leader. I stayed still for a while, calling on him.

  Nothing.

  He had never ignored me before when I had needed him. My unease grew. I need something to show me I’m not crazy. In desperation I flung open my wardrobe and scooped out all the clothes that I had placed on top of the hidden space at the bottom. The Alliance had installed the wardrobe for me – one that was identical in every design to my old one, except for the secret cubbyhole that held my spare uniform and weapons. I fumbled around for the release button. After a moment I stopped, sinking back onto my heels. It’s not there. I felt like my head was going to explode. I stood up, feeling dizzy. What is happening to me?

  It was then that I noticed my reflection in the mirror. I froze, rooted to the spot. The person staring back at me wasn’t me. It was him, the person I had been before – pale, skinny and a serving platter to a selection of spots. I saw then how the clothes I was wearing were old ones, hanging from me like bags, not like they had once I’d had my Awakening. I stifled a sob as I shrank away from the sight. This isn’t right. Things aren’t supposed to be like this!

  A sudden horrible thought occurred to me, and I ran from my room and into Mikey’s. It was far too organised and clean. Mikey was a notorious slob, but his room was showroom perfect. The fear grew inside me. I hadn’t always been the tidiest person, but that had changed after everything else in my life had changed. It was a headspace thing. For me, the clarity inside my head had been something I replicated around me. It wasn’t the same for everyone, but for people who shared some of my traits…

  I opened his wardrobe and removed the boxes of trainers and boots that lined the bottom and felt about. My breathing stopped when I felt a discrete switch and a panel at the bottom clicked. I pressed a hand down against it and watched as it slid to the right, leaving a space about three feet by two. I stared inside, and everything I knew to be true fell apart in my fingers.

  Inside were a scattering of apatropes and HASEA weapons. I placed a hand against my mouth in horror.

  I’m not the Chosen. Mikey is.

  I drove to school in my clapped out Peugeot; the broken wing mirror had come free of its masking tape wrap and clattered against the side of the car. Unsurprisingly, the Alliance car I normally drove had disappeared. As I drove, I rubbed at the area above my eyes. I had a fierce tension headache that seemed to radiate from the centre of my brain outwards in pulsing waves – the utter confusion and stress I felt seemed to be having a physical effect.

  After the shock of realis
ing what Mikey was and – apparently - I no longer was, I’d been too dazed to react properly. I’d simply closed everything back up and got changed on autopilot. But not before I’d taken one of the spare guns. Chosen or not, being unarmed felt wrong now that I knew what the world kept hidden just out of sight. I’d left the house soon after, with little idea of where I was heading. It was only after I’d been driving aimlessly for a good ten minutes that I came to my senses, pulled over, and took a moment to think logically.

  I knew that I needed to speak to Mikey. It was the only way I was going to get a proper handle on exactly what was going on. At first I’d contemplated going to the Warren and demanding to speak to him. There had been little doubt by the way he’d acted – determined, focused, and a little tense – that the call had been mission-related; it was the way I always acted before a mission too.

  I’d scrapped that idea soon after thinking it for two main reasons. One: I had no idea what was going on and heading to the base and demanding answers could make an already-messed up situation much worse. Two: if he was preparing for a mission, then it meant people were in danger. Regardless of how upset and confused I felt, I wasn’t about to hold things up and put innocent people’s lives in jeopardy so I could get some quick answers. So I’d decided - as hard as it was - just to head to school and hope that he turned up, like he’d said he would.

  I turned towards the gates of Chapter Hill high school, feeling my stomach tense in apprehension. The last few weeks of my school life within the dusty redbrick walls had become much better than I could have hoped, but it was still far from my favourite place. Too many bad memories.