And it gave me nothing.
The internet has spoiled me, so I’m left to vague approximations.
Since I compared it to the Washington Monument, that’ll be my point of reference. The structure dedicated to America’s founding father is about fifty-ish feet square at the base and about five hundred-ish feet tall. If it isn’t hollow, and I do the rough math to get the volume of the rectangle, and then guess on the volume of the pyramid, that should equal a volume of about one million, seventy-seven thousand, six hundred and thirty-six cubic feet of stone.
I picked up a rock from the trail we were walking back from and focused on the weight, then imagined the heft if it were a perfect cube. Different kinds of rocks have different densities, and a quick internet search would tell me everything I needed to know, but tough shit. As a perfect one-foot cube, the rock would weigh around one hundred and fifty pounds. So one million, seventy-seven thousand, six hundred and thirty-six multiplied by one-fifty is… about… twenty-four billion, two hundred forty-six million, eight hundred ten thousand pounds. And that’s just going on the assumption that the Marker could be hollow. If it was solid, then it could be double the weight, maybe even triple.
Even if I had a thousand pounds of plastic explosives, it wouldn’t be enough to topple that structure. It would take an intercontinental ballistic missile to reduce it to rubble.
With an aggravated sigh, I hucked to stone off the cliff, watching as it fell.
Going, going, going, and then I lost it long before it hit the ground. I stared blankly at the mountain as I moved, conscious of my steps to keep from suffering the same fate as the stone did.
While looking at an odd rock formation on the opposite side of the valley, something dark moved in the very corner of my eyes. Stopping abruptly, I jerked my head to where the blur was, my eyes frantically dancing to see what it may have been.
“Trouble?” Wei whispered from behind.
The other lamia picked up right away on my unease, their weapons drawn and ready.
“Movement over there, near the leaning tree,” I said, pointing.
Wei kept her mask trained to the spot. Then a black shadow streaked across the land. She looked up for a moment, and then her shoulders slacked.
“It may have been a cloud,” Wei said gently, pointing her finger at the cumulus puffs moving lazily in front of the sun.
The form moved too fast to be a cloud. But I didn’t see it directly either; just a quick glimpse giving the illusion of speed. Plus, the mountain face across the way was fairly steep, and the trees were very sparse to make any decent cover. About a thousand feet of space exists between us and the spot. Unless the potential monster could jump far, or fly, then we’re not in any sort of real danger.
Taking a breath, I took the first few steps forward, setting everyone else back on track to the cave.
The last several hours of thinking about how to drop the Marker gave the entire left side of my head a migraine, the degree of which was so severe that if left like someone tilted my head and dumped Fireball down my ear canal. Should’ve brought the last of the Tylenol.
When we neared the cave, Sanvi went ahead alone with her the business end of her spear ready. The others were waiting silently and patiently, their masked faces panning around methodically. While they may be bizarre creatures, I couldn’t criticize how they functioned. They worked diligently while gathering, remained within view of each other, and they took notice of any abnormalities. Only the occasional moan from the wind sounded in our time out.
The approaching cloud of darkness made it clear why it was so quiet. Anything with half a brain has the survival instinct to run far, far away from that ominous cloud. And maybe it was just mind, but being in these mountains has been giving me a bad feeling of nausea.
Once I get back, I’m going to try to rest; a dream might give me an answer. At least to quell my head for a bit. It felt as though an aneurysm was going to pop somewhere in my skull.
Wouldn’t that be a hilarious way to go?
Sanvi gave the OK, so I followed after Nuna onto the cliff. Closing my eyes, I drew in a long breath and tried not to think about how much the ride back was going to rattle my already throbbing brain.
A soft swish sounded, making me stop when I was in front of the cave.
“Did anyone hear th—”
The rest of that sentence came out as pained grunt when a grey blur slammed into me with enough force to take me off my feet and send me tumbling down the sloped cave. The light was gone in a flash, and I lost all sense of direction as I continued to barrel deeper into the cave, the screams, and shouts of the others echoing down with me. Along with the distinct, heinous screech of the thing that tackled me.
A flash of white and purple flashed in my vision when the back of my head collided with a rock, the helmet keeping my head from popping like a grape.
Once the tumble finally came to a stop, I jumped to my feet, stumbling over a moment later. The world spun, the entire right side of my body felt numb, and all I could taste was iron.
Belatedly, and probably due to a concussion, I realized my rifle was gone. Frantically patting my left pocket with my left hand, I drew my pistol with my right. The cardinal directions came back as soon as my flashlight came to life. Gasping, I stared into the blackness before me. I whirled around at the sound of clicking from behind. More darkness.
How far did I fall?
I backed away from the sound slowly, my footsteps barely audible over my own thrashing heart. The steps back continued until the clicking sound directly behind me again.
The muscles in my chest continued to pound like an industrial power hammer, my body burning up as capillaries expanded and allowed more acid to flow into my muscles. Everything went to a standstill in the lonely cave.
Steadily, I panned from right to left, revealing where the cave went deeper. Or where it led. I’ve already forgotten which way I fell in from.
Panning back once more, I only managed to clip a glimpse of the face of the thing charging at me. Some demonic vampire-monster swiped at me, enough to clip my arm and knock the flashlight from my hand. I squeezed off two rounds in the exchange, the blasts of which left my earrings ringing with a high-pitched drone. Not before I heard the thing screech and back off.
The flashlight had crashed into the floor a few feet away, the light flickering randomly in a discombobulating strobe. Before I could even think about racing towards my only light source, it flicked out. Partially deaf, without light, and alone, I was stuck in a cave with a wounded spawn of evil.
There was a noise somewhere on my left. Not a clicking or a hiss, but something new. A growl. Then there was the clicking on the right.
An idea sprouted from my damaged and adrenaline-filled brain. Holding my breath and remaining as still as possible, I did the unthinkable and slowly unclipped my helmet. Bring my pistol close, I tossed my helmet towards the growl.
The monster on the right scrambled towards where I threw my helmet, then the struggle ensued. Aiming the best any could in complete darkness, I fired off several rounds, the flash of my pistol illuminating the tangled forms for a second.
Ears ringing anew, I heard the last brass casing clattering around the stone, then nothing. Several seconds passed, then minutes, and then years. My mind was getting stretched to its absolute limits while waiting for more.
Whatever it is, I’ll face it, kill it.
Sounds came from two different directions, and I gambled on which to go at first. The gamble was a bust.
Something struck my chest and roared, sending me to the ground, not before I roared back and unloaded the last of my pistol. It was only for a second, but I saw some twisted, contorted face of some lion with vicious-looking teeth. The rounds had to have landed in the thing’s gut, but it was still roaring and wrestling with me.
Using my spent pistol, I bludgeoned this lion-monster where I thought its head would be. The heavy impact registered down my arm, and the monster fell b
ack. Blood pumping hot and not wanting to waste time reloading, I drew my knife and sank the blade deep into whatever was near.
Whatever I was stabbing kicked me good in the stomach, knocking away my air while throwing me into the wall. Pain lanced down my shin, but before I could process the burning sensation, it was on me again. I went low and wrapped one arm around the monster’s hairy torso. With the other, I rammed my knife in deep, twisting it back and forth like I was snuffing out a cigar. Squeezing the handle until it felt like ligaments were going to snap, I ripped the knife away from me, slicing through several inches of meat.
There a sickening squelching sound before a wet smack echoed through the cave. The last sound was the monster making a choking whine before it sagged against me, eventually slipping away and hitting the ground with a great thump.
I stood there gasping for a while, waiting for more. No. Hoping for more. I need to kill them, all of them, to make up for what they took.
At the sensation of something touching me, I whirled around and tackled another great form into the nearest wall. Blinking rapidly, I realized red light offered me sight. Pinned against the wall was Sanvi, her eyes wide with the tip of my knife hovering just an inch from her throat. For several moments, I just sucked in air while she stared.
Sanvi deflated and gave a saddened look. She popped the red light crystal in her mouth and leaned forward, pressing her neck right into my knife. Her hands found her way around my head. Then something was pulled taut across my neck. Pulling the crystal out of her mouth, Sanvi looked down at the knife calmly, then at me.
“Am I your enemy now?”
Taking another minute to get control of my breathing, I pulled the knife away. “No.”
Turning my back to the snake-woman, I looked down at what tried to kill me. The red light masked most of the monsters’ features. One was like I thought, some feline monster decked out in fur. The other was a sort of hairless, gangly bird creature. It had a face like Nosferatu, but it hand wings instead of arms, and the feet from some bird of prey.
The bird-thing was done in by two shots in the dome. The were-lion had a few holes in its chest, but having its entrails spilled out was what did it in.
Squatting down, I picked up my pistol and slid it into my holster. Then I took a few steps towards the wall and retched.
The other girls joined Sanvi, and they all watched me. Except for Haya.
Tru slithered forward with my rifle in her hands. “Where are you hurt?” she asked daintily.
“Haya,” I said, ignoring her.
She cast her gaze to the ground. “She fell over with a Corruption.”
Nodding to myself, I held a hand out for my M4.
After handing it back, Tru slithered closer and set her hand on my arm. “Let’s see where you’re—”
“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, the rise in my voice bouncing down the tunnels. Wei recoiled and moved back a little. The women burned holes in me with their prying eyes. Looking to Sanvi, I groused, “We’re done. Let’s go.”
Sanvi started for a bit before turning around and slowly leading the way back to the temple. The others gave me a respectable buffer of space, space I desperately needed because it felt as though some invisible force was trying to crush me.
My helmet was still in the cave back there, but I didn’t care.
✽✽✽
Nothing was said the entire journey back. Or maybe they did. While holding onto Sanvi, it felt as though I blacked out a few times, but I couldn’t know for sure. By the time we came into the temple proper and exited the creepy snake labyrinth, I was feeling fucking awful. The smelled contributed.
Now with proper light, I was able to see that my entire front side was coated in black gore like I fell into tar. Four diagonal slashes ran along my vest, shredding the nylon and Kevlar as well as carving a rent in one of my spare rifle mags. The smell of rot made me woozy.
I started down the corridor towards my room when Nuna seized my hand.
“Where are you going?” she demanded. “We have to see Wren.”
“Leave me alone,” I said, then tried to get my hand back.
“You’re not thinking straight,” she argued, tightening her hold.
I growled and jerked my arm away. “Worry about your own damn people, Princess. I’m fine.”
One step, then my leg gave out, and I fell into the wall. My right shin went from burning to stinging, but it felt numb and heavy. Using the butt of my rifle as I crutch, I got to a knee, but couldn’t summon any strength.
“Peak of health,” Nuna retorted. “Stop being an ass and—”
She went quiet when Sanvi slithered forward and got down to my level, her purple eyes taking pitiful stock of me.
“It’s bad enough we lost Haya,” she said in a resigned voice. “It would be even worse if you died an easily avoidable death. Is that what you want? A pointless death?”
Frustration percolated in the depths of my gut. I didn’t want to be near anyone, but I didn’t want to be another wasted casualty. Not yet.
I hung my head and sighed. Thankfully, Sanvi didn’t need to hear me relenting for confirmation. Slithering closer, she got herself under my shoulder and hosted me up with ease. Nuna, still wearing a frown, shot a look at my rifle before cocking her brow. I relinquished it to her, and then she handed it off to Tru to place in my room. Once that was settled, Nuna worked herself under my other arm, aiding where Sanvi could easily cradle me like a baby.
I didn’t care. Too tired to care.
The two lamia carried me down the corridor and into the common room where others were milling about. A few lamia hastily uncoiled themselves and approached Tru and Wei. After hearing the news of the Haya, the other lamia grew crestfallen and engaged Tru and Wei with hugs. Meriel and Fell were sitting around the hearth, who jumped to their feet as soon as they saw me.
The elf weaved through the other lamia and shuffled alongside Sanvi. “By the heavens, are you okay?” she asked frantically.
Her pearly blues shimmered as they took me in, but her gaze stayed glued to my face when I glared at her. Not wasting my breath, I turned my head away. She took the hint, and I didn’t hear her feet following us as we passed across the common space and through a different portal. Straight ahead at the far end of the extra-wide corridor was a heaping pile of rubble, the entrance to the temple, probably. We went right and into a hall some ways before coming into a room.
The only thing in the cold room of stone aside from the crystal sconces were three stone slabs set in the middle of the room, each about three feet tall and the size of an extra-long twin mattress. It took a second to realize this was where I woke up when they pulled the arrows out. Wren was coiled on the ground in the corner with some jars and sacks, looking like she was grinding some things in a stone bowl.
With a groan, she rose and slithered forward. “What happened?” she asked while scrutinizing me.
“Corruptions ambushed us,” Sanvi answered. “Flying Corruptions contributed. The bird-beastkin from the far east most likely. Haya died.”
Wren closed her eyes and summoned a deep breath. “Get him on the stone and strip him.”
I was loaded onto the slab. When Sanvi and Nuna got their hands on my chest, I shook them away.
“I can do it myself,” I answered gruffly.
Wren slithered forward and crossed her arms. “Really? Go ahead then so I can treat you. Go on,” she urged.
Aggravated, I choked down a swear and went to unfasten the velcro for the vest. The right side came undone, but I couldn’t get the left strap no matter how much my fingers fumbled. Wren took my left arm and pulled it towards her. Pulling the sleeve back and rotating it to the side, Wren clicked her tongue. There was a six-inch gash starting near my wrist and twisting to the underside of my forearm. Only my index finger and ring finger moved at my command.
“People offer help to help,” Wren said, aggrieved. “It’s not an insult, especially not when you can hardly work your
hand.” She turned her eyes to the other lamia.
Like I was some sort of an old man in a nursing home, Sanvi and Nuna started undressing me. Once they pulled my vest over my head, my jacket and shirt followed. Wren laid me back and started feeling me around.
“I’m going to fill in Nolala,” Sanvi informed. She set her eyes on me and reached for my cheek. Before her fingers could reach, I turned my face away. When I looked from the corner of my eye, she gave a tight smile. Then she left.
“Will I be expecting anyone else?” Wren asked as she took my arm. An aqua glow manifested out of her palm, the sensation cool and tingly as she rested it over the gash.
“Wei got a scratch on her belly. Regular medicine will be more than enough,” Nuna answered, coiling under herself and taking a seat.
Wren grunted at that. After a few more minutes, she pulled her hand away and pressed it to her brow, her face correcting slightly in a grimace. “Does everything work?”
I made a fist and did a dexterity test with my fingers, stiff and still painful, but working. “Yeah.”
“Leg, then. Nuna, his boots,” she ordered, then cocked her brow. “Would you like me to do your pants?”
Rolling my eyes, I got the buckle undone and started to pull my pants down. The burning, stabbing pain in my leg returned when I had them halfway past my thighs. Wren intervened and set her hand on the damaged limb, then ordered to help her pull my pants the rest of the way off. Once my shin was exposed, I couldn’t even see the injury, just dried and crusty blood.
“Oh, interesting,” Wren mused, then started probing my shin. Pain caused me to jerk, and Nuna was quick to keep my leg still. As soon as the agony came, it was gone. “No wonder you couldn’t walk,” she said, placing a bloodied three-inch-long claw on my chest.
I picked up the pointy piece of collagen and admired it as Wren did her magic healing thing. It was amazing I walked as far as I did before my leg crapped out. I dropped my head back onto the icy stone, then tossed the claw into the corner of the room. Sleep almost took me when Wren shook me.
Heart of the Resonant- the Soldier's Tale Page 18