by Pal, J
THEY CALLED ME MADDER
©2021 J. PAL
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ALSO IN SERIES
THEY CALLED ME MAD
THEY CALLED ME MADDER
THEY CALL ME MADDEST
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Thank you for reading They Called Me Madder
About the Author
ALSO IN SERIES
Chapter One
Where the Crushing Things Are
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The ground trembled beneath our feet, and the alley’s walls shook as we ducked in its shadows. Dust and fingernail-sized concrete fragments rained on us from the buildings as the tremors grew in intensity. We held our breaths, not just to keep ourselves from inhaling the powder, but to quiet ourselves as well. The last thing we wanted was for the creatures to see us again.
Then the monstrosity turned a corner, rolling onto the street. Two days had passed since we’d first encountered them, and we still couldn’t get used to their horrific appearance. The cars parked on either side were dented, bruised, and pushed up on the pavements from their previous visits. The few that were still functional came to life with their loud, whining alarms. Kitty and I both breathed out and then in again, hoping the annoying beeps had drowned out the little sound we had made. We heard the crunches and high-pitched whining before one of the alarms went silent. Moments later, a ball of silver and black metal came crashing down on another loud car to our right.
Kitty tucked her face into my shoulder as the horrid amalgamation of flesh-and-machine giant wandered closer. It moved on continuous tracks much like a tank—except it was much larger than any tank I had ever seen. The horror’s width took up the entire two-laned street. Bloody metal supports connected the tracks to a gray human-like torso. Metal paneling blended into the flesh in parts, making the creature more monstrous than its height of two stories already made it. One arm was mostly human: upper arm, forearm, and hand. The bloody spikes haphazardly impaling the flesh between the elbow and wrist added to its grotesque appearance though. The other limb’s lower half was all gray metal, ending in a three-fingered claw.
We watched the arm crush another car. The creature raised the vehicle above its head and squeezed all the oil and transmission fluid into its giant mouth. That’s right. It had a head too—mostly human, but with a Terminator eye and metal cap along the right side. The lack of neck only added to the entity’s terrifying appearance. A red light shone from the mechanical eye, scanning the street and surrounding buildings as it went about silencing any car that made a noise.
My technopath senses came to life as it passed us, alerting me of the monster’s violent red energy. I didn’t make the same mistake as before and avoided probing said energy. My technopathic abilities weren’t nearly as powerful as I thought. The last time we did that—a day after entering the sector—the creature had gone on high alert and hunted us for a couple of days. We’d almost lost all of our food escaping it. Despite my protests, Kitty had piled all the supplies into Morpheus and moved with me on foot. The bike golem still dragged the cart of crafting materials behind it. It proved much safer than dragging two carts, as they would often bang against one another, giving away our position.
After some scouting, Liam discovered that these hulking creatures roamed only a tenth of the sector, concentrating their efforts mostly around the area where it met two others. We hypothesized their presence was focused around the pylon. On entering the border into the region, we had made the mistake of looking for a hideout close to our target. Now we had spent several days trying to get away from the heavily guarded streets. The three of us had no other choice but to hole up within the crumbling buildings, moving in between them away from the pylon whenever one of the creatures was far from our location. Besides the patrols, all unwanted noise seemed to attract them. To put it simply, the bastards were downright terrifying.
“Get ready to move,” Liam told me through the comms link. “Recon is creating a distraction in thirty. Head straight for the overpass. We should have little trouble getting out of here if we follow it.”
“Roger,”
I replied.
I took Kitty’s hand, giving it a little squeeze. Morpheus buzzed to life next to us, and Winnie checked that the bindings attaching it to the cart were secure. We could see the overpass ahead of us. The quickest route there would be through the parking garage, but we knew better than to head through it like last time. The sector housed nocturnal monsters too, and they were using parking structure as their nests. We weren’t ready to find out what these monsters were or what they could do.
My scanner goggles counted the thirty seconds down. It felt like time to go, but only ten had passed. It was probably our racing hearts and stress—they were skewing our perception of time. “Deep breath in, deep breath out,” I whispered. “We’re going to be okay, Kitty, just don’t let go of my hand.”
Kitty didn’t say anything but slipped her fingers in between mine, locking them in place. She proved how amazing she was with every passing day. The lovely woman had a fire and positivity within her, unlike anything I had seen before—not that I had a ton of experience. If not for her support, I would’ve crumbled under the heartbreak of losing Rajesh and Pallav. Bloody hell, when we found ourselves cornered by a duo of the destructors a couple of days ago, Kitty had kept me from giving up.
“Go!” I exclaimed as soon as the counter hit zero. Morpheus took the lead, Kitty and I chased after the cart, and Winnie, the stuffed bear golem, brought up our rear. As soon as we exited the alley, an explosion sounded in the distance.
I didn’t need to worry about Liam. It was Recon that had caused the explosion while he was in flight mode following us overhead. Neither of us had the time to look up and look for him, but my technopathic abilities told me he was close by.
The ground shook underneath our feet once again. “Shit!” I swore, trying to figure out what direction the rumbling was coming from. “Why is there one coming this way?”
“I don’t know, Matt,” Liam answered. “That’s not an excuse to go near the parking garage, though. Stay on the route, and I’ll direct you if the crusher gets close.”
That wasn’t its correct name. I had scanned the creature the first time we’d encountered it. The system called it a Biometal Hybrid Devourer. The scanner claimed they were supposed to be solitary beings but were attracted to strong psychic activity. The data said nothing about why so many of them would cram themselves into a corner of a giant hexagonal sector.
The rumbling got louder, and the world trembled around us once again. Kitty and I didn’t slow though. We could see the overpass ahead of us. It stood on large concrete pillars covered in cars, marking the border of the crushers’ territory.
“Where is it coming from, Liam?” I asked through ragged breaths.
“The road to your left. It’s scanning the buildings. As long as you just keep running straight, it won’t see you.”
Liam’s words didn’t give me a lot of confidence. Red light illuminated the street in front of us. Was the crusher scanning the area? Why the hell was it here? The explosion near the pylon should have drawn it away from the overpass. Either way, Morpheus had already crossed the exposed area, but we were lagging far behind.
“Send Winnie ahead,” I told Kitty.
“What?”
“I’ve got an idea. Tell him to slingshot himself over the street. Let’s see if the crusher can track movement outside of the light.”
It was only going to get harder once we crossed the street though. We’d be running uphill, and the incline was steep as hell. We desperately needed to pass it unseen, because there was no way Kitty or I would be able to outrun the continuous tracks of the crusher.
Winnie overtook us and his little bear arms shot forwards, wrapping around a lamp post. We slowed, watching him take a few steps back to get the elastic limbs nice and taut. Then he launched himself. Winnie shot past the pole, releasing it mid-flight, and soared through the air over the street. Instead of falling to the ground, Winnie extended an arm and latched onto a fire escape. He hung there, waiting for us.
The crusher’s red light didn’t budge. Great! We had nothing to worry about. The rumbling was still getting closer as it approached the junction, but as long as we went over the street, it wouldn’t see us.
“Climb on,” I told Kitty, kneeling. She looked between the red light and me, wide-eyed and hesitant. “We’ll be fine. Trust me!”
She sighed and accepted the piggyback ride. I tapped my heels, releasing the shoes’ wheels. Then I took a running start, mentally nudging the motors to get the wheels spinning. Once I had gathered enough speed, I bent my knees, closing in on the junction. Then I activated the Pogo Heelies’ jump function and they launched me into the air, sending me flying over the street.
We were doing it! Kitty and I were flying over the light. My heart thumped as escape became a real possibility. A week had passed since we’d entered the sector, and the crushers had kept us trapped in their territory. After tracking their movements over several days, Liam had finally found a safe way out. Just as we crossed the jump’s apex, the hunting monster’s searchlight shot up and narrowed on us. My stomach dropped. If my heart rate went up any further, the damn muscle would explode. The crusher had seen us. Thankfully, the Pogo Heelies’ stabilizers helped me with the landing. The momentum pushed me up the incline’s gentle start before we came to a stop.
“Run!” Kitty exclaimed, jumping off my back.
Morpheus was already halfway up the incline, lugging the trolley behind it. We just needed to get to the top, and then we’d be out of the crusher’s territory. Hopefully it wouldn’t follow us to the overpass.
“Speed up!” Liam said through the comms link. He had more to tell us, but a deafening roar drowned out his words. I dared to look over my shoulder. The damned crusher was right behind us, turning slowly to chase us up the slope.
“Don’t look back,” I told Kitty. “We can do this. We’re going to make it!”
She tightened her hold on my hand. Much like the rest of our bodies, our palms were wet and slippery from all the sweat. Her grip was so tight that it hurt, but without it, I’d fall behind. Kitty’s cardiovascular prowess was far better than mine. I needed her help to keep up.
We were a third of the way up the slope when the crusher roared again. It tossed a car, but unlike its usual throws, it landed far from us in the middle of the street. The follow-up attack struck far away from us as well.
“Matt, it’s alright,” Liam said. “You can stop running!”
“What? Why?”
“Just look behind you, mate.”
It took a little bit of pulling and convincing to get Kitty to stop. We leaned against a neighboring building, struggling to catch our breaths as we studied the scene behind us. The crusher roared again, trying to chase us. Its tracks moved a couple of meters up the incline but struggled to go further up, forcing the creature to slide back onto the horizontal plane. Due to its lack of a neck, the creature couldn’t look up either. The red light shook wildly several meters behind us. We were in the clear.
“It must be too heavy and off-balance to go up slopes,” I coughed out, still catching my breath.
“Meet me at the overpass,” Liam told me. I looked up to see the recon drone meet him over our heads, and they merged into a single triangular form in mid-flight. Then he picked up speed and zipped on ahead.
“That was intense,” Kitty said, wiping sweat from her brow. Despite the chill in the air, we were both soaked. “Come on.” She pulled on my arm. “Now’s not the time to rest.”
We ignored the crusher as it roared behind us and continued on our way up the incline. It was of no threat to us now. If we had figured out the creature’s limitations earlier, we’d have escaped their territory long ago. Despite my Pogo Heelies’ power, I didn’t dare jump from roof to roof yet. However, there were plenty of sloping roads in the sector. Some of the inclines were probably gentle enough for the crushers to climb, but the descent would have likely slowed them down enough for us to avoid them easily.
Liam
was waiting for us when we got to the overpass. He had resumed his spider form and hung upside down on the structure’s underside. “We need to head to the hills,” he said, pointing to the sector’s heart. “It’s high above sea level, and the slopes are steep enough to ensure that the few crushers roaming the upper half of the city can’t chase us there.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kitty said, studying the buildings in the distance. “Looks like a residential area too. Maybe there will be shops with more food there.”
“Let’s get going then,” I said. “As long as we have access to freshwater, I’m happy to settle anywhere.”
Chapter Two
Ratings Fever
Liam traveled with us on foot while the recon drone kept a constant check on our perimeter. We stayed in the underpass’s shade, heading towards the hills in the distance. If not for the food and crafting materials we’d get there within the hour, but we trudged along slowly. Pallav had been right to suggest that I construct a proper trailer or towable container for Morpheus. It would make everything so much easier.
Liam suggested we stash all our belongings, get to our destination, then come back for everything, but I shot the idea down. We didn’t know what monstrosities the new sector housed. Encountering the crushers had been a humbling experience. After gearing up, we as a group had assumed we’d steamroll through all the creatures we encountered. Then the staggering difference between the threat levels had set us straight.
