Blood Awakens

by Jessaca Willis

  “I was in New York for my layover. It was horrible. Everything smelled of hot dogs.” Mara shrugged and continued. “But I suppose if you like, the next time we travel in the utorian, we can visit Genesis.”

  With exhilaration, Sean pressed one final, sticky button, six, and stepped cautiously inside the boundary of the utorian.

  The golden hoop gyrated slightly at first. Then, without warning, a burst of light emanated along the border, so bright that Mara struggled to keep sight of Sean inside.

  “Hurry!” Sean’s voice called from inside the force field. “Once it’s triggered, you only have thirty seconds to get inside its border.”

  One by one, they each rushed into the center of the burning light, Mara entering last to ensure they’d all made it.

  Once inside, she was surrounded by warmth much like she had been by the ring’s hum. The air was thicker than it was outside of the light. She imagined this was what it would feel like to be swimming in a vat of gelatin. Mara wiggled her fingers and felt its viscosity between each digit, sliding around with minimal effort. She noticed then that the gel looked like small beads. Interestingly, she could still breathe with ease. In fact, her lungs felt strong, as if revitalized by the crisp, fresh air of an early summer morning.

  However, as abrupt as a tropical downpour, it all faded instantly. In its place, searing panic awakened.

  Mara’s eyes locked with Sean’s, his pupils the size of nickels. He was on the far side of the ring, so she was unable to see the details of what transpired. All that she could tell was that he was in pain. Immense, agonizing pain.

  Sean stomped his feet and flung his arms wildly, all while gritting his teeth. Whatever he was trying to do, his actions weren’t accomplishing it. Mara thought about coming to his aid, but she couldn’t seem to move. Or maybe she didn’t have the motivation to move. Something kept her grounded, but she didn’t feel like a prisoner. Meanwhile, Sean flailed and kicked, rubbing each inch of his body in a desperate attempt to shake something off. Inevitably, he could no longer hold back the scream and it wailed, reverberating all around them, only slightly muffled by the gelled air.

  That’s when Mara saw it—a tiny hole in the middle of Sean’s forearm. Another one appeared on his upper thigh. One more on his neck. They began as miniscule divots in the skin, but the closer she inspected, the more she noticed them expanding into large cavities.

  Mara had been so concerned for Sean that she hadn’t realized that her own body was now feeling different, as if it was covered in fire ants, leaving nagging, pinching sensations on every centimeter of skin. She looked down just in time to see one of the gliding bubbles attach itself to her hand. The screams of the rest of her party were inaudible in the background as she herself became consumed in her own excruciating, flesh-eating experience.

  Fire. It felt like being on fire, a brand searing her skin. Everywhere. She couldn’t focus her terror on any specific part of her body because there wasn’t a single speck of her that felt as if it wasn’t disintegrating. Helplessly she watched as her hands disappeared, an invisible acid devouring them whole. She fell to her knees, insane with agony.

  Shrieking, she cried helplessly while the rest of her flesh tore away from her, sizzling into nothingness. She couldn’t even wonder what was happening or where her body was going, too drunk from the torture.

  Her eyes were all that remained in the circle. They searched for the others anxiously, seeking help and comfort. But no one was left. They had all endured the same fate. And then, her eyes were gobbled by the gelled light, and she became nothing.

  All that remained was a void, more empty and quiet than the bottommost depths of the ocean. Everything fizzled out of existence, and she was alone.

  Chapter Ten

  Sean

  Is anyone there?

  Unable to see anything, Sean tried to call out for help.

  Can anyone hear me?

  But nothing came out of his mouth, the words trapped inside his mind in eternal torment. There was nothing. He was nothing. There was no telling how long he’d been suspended in the plain of nonexistence, but there he was in total darkness. It was neither cold nor warm, time seeming to fly past in eons as well as half seconds.

  All he had were his memories and thoughts.

  When Zamira had told them she was working on a way to improve travel between the sister communities, she’d failed to mention the details of how the contraption would work, and admittedly, he hadn’t thought to ask. Already she’d given them new means of communicating, advanced technologies for stifling Awakened powers, and many other useful tools. He hadn’t even thought twice about using the utorian. What could’ve possibly motivated her to create such a painful device?

  Slowly, opaque shadows and lights blurred in with the blackness. As if he was flying toward a pinhole, he watched as the world swiftly swirled into focus.

  Molecule by molecule, Sean felt his body stacking itself together, thankfully a much more pleasant process than being broken down. As he completed reforming, his sense of time, and being, returned in a nauseating rush. Sean couldn’t keep from wobbling on legs that felt as if they’d just spent months on a boat. His stomach felt the same and not a moment later, its contents colored the dirt ground.

  Bent over his knees, Sean looked up wearily and discovered with gratitude that he wasn’t alone.

  Carson torqued his neck to either shoulder. “Well, that was pleasant.” The tall, plump man continued to twist and stretch the rest of his body, as if he were Humpty Dumpty after his first chiropractic visit.

  His attempt at lightening the mood was too soon and thereby vastly unsuccessful. No one was quite yet ready to laugh about the experience. Sean realized they might not ever be.

  Ryka and Meeka knelt side-by-side, hand-in-hand. Meeka sobbed as Ryka held her twin close for comfort, but her eyes were set to kill. “The Prana be damned, Sean! What in the universe was that? Some kind of sick joke?”

  Mara appeared bewildered as well as she carefully inspected her body for missing pieces. She responded, half in a daze, “I can assure you, no one here is laughing.” Even a third reassessment wasn’t enough to assure her that she was whole.

  Trey’s usual stoic demeanor was also visibly cracking, as he paced around the group in scattered lines.

  “I’m sorry,” Sean began feebly. “I had no idea that this is how Zamira had decided to transport people.”

  “You never thought to ask?” came another angry outburst from Ryka.

  Sean didn’t see the point in answering, as the response to that question was an obvious and unsatisfying one.

  Sean felt hollow, like he was still in the endless void. His fingers remained ice cold. Looking around at his group, he wasn’t sure if their psyches could endure another trip through the utorian, which they’d have to, if they were to make it back home ever.

  Focusing on what was out of their control was pointless though. The team would soon look to him for guidance, so Sean made haste of catching his bearings. He searched for a utorian guard, a requirement for all of the utorian sites, but found none. It didn’t bode well.

  “All right, everyone, take some deep breaths, drink some water. We need to get moving.” Ever the colorful gesticulator, for each action Mara listed, she mimed them. Even after an ordeal like the utorian, she still appeared to have the energy she always did.

  The rest of the group wasn’t fairing so well. Her directive had startled Meeka back into tears again. Trey too became ashen.

  “Hang on,” Sean murmured, tugging at Mara’s elbow. He lowered his voice so only she could hear what he was saying. “They look like they’re on the brink of losing their minds after what we just went through. We should rest a little here, help them take their minds off what just happened. We can pick up the pace later.” Mara looked like she might protest, but Sean reminded her, “We need everyone clear-headed when we enter Surviving & Thriving. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

  Mara blinked
at him knowingly, while still looking like she too was trying to re-compose herself. “You’re right. I forget not everyone is a warrior like me.” There was a hint of a spirit behind her wide, brittle eyes.

  Sean took it upon himself to start a fire, assured that the smoke wouldn’t be spotted by anyone outside of the utorian site as this one was also protected by a shield. While Ryka continued to console the human growth at her side, Trey settled down beside the fire, as did Carson and Mara, and Sean cooked everyone a quick meal from the provisions they found that had probably been for the guard—still nowhere to be found.

  Admittedly, Sean felt immense guilt as he chomped on a piece of bread and freshly warmed beans. While they were enjoying their meal, the people of Surviving & Thriving were being attacked. He tried not to think too much about it though because he believed what he’d said to Mara. If they would’ve left right then and encountered the same trouble they expected to find at Surviving & Thriving, they would’ve been no help.

  By the time he and the others were done eating, everyone seemed a little livelier. It was their cue to continue.

  °°°

  By its granular size alone, Surviving & Thriving was no Hope. They almost could’ve walked right past the singular row of buildings that marked the community, if it wasn’t for the leathery scent of flesh that Sean followed like a guide.

  Even from the fading light of the sunset, the place resembled a battlefield, bodies scattered about like hapless waste. It was like they’d been gunned-down, only there were no bullet wounds, no bullet casings clinking on the road under his feet. There wasn’t even blood. Just flesh.

  An uneasy quiet permanently settled over the place.

  “Carson?” Sean said, no further inquiry necessary.

  “I might be getting something,” he said, eyes closed in meditation. He was searching. “It’s very faint, could be someone far away, or maybe it’s someone passing.”

  “And what do you sense from them?” Sean probed.

  Carson shook his head. “It’s not pleasant and it’s not very focused. There’s a lot of guilt, sadness. Whoo! There’s a dark current of rage weaving through all that.”

  Dutifully, Sean nodded and set-out with the team.

  At his first glimpse of a dead body, Sean felt remorse knotting his intestines. One glance at Mara’s sorrow-struck expression and it was obvious she felt the same.

  Just outside the first home, an elderly woman sat limp with eyes white as milk, unbreathing. Sean didn’t know what to call her: dead, murdered, eviscerated, nothing seemed to compare to the damage wrought on her. It was like the skin had erupted from bones. Her stomach, forearms, neck, every layer of skin was peeled back, giving him a clear viewing of the woman’s bird-pecked insides.

  And she wasn’t the only one, she wasn’t even the worst of them.

  Just passed her, a whole scene of brutality awaited. Bodies clung to walls, benches, and other obstacles, or lay scattered about the pavement. Not even full bodies, just scraps and shreds of what was left of the people. Sean’s stomach unsettled, not because of the gore, but because of their suffering. He was grateful, however, that the stench that usually followed such death wasn’t present yet, but dread consumed him when he realized that meant this hadn’t happened too long ago.

  If only him and his team had been quicker.

  As the group tiptoed down the street, peering through doors and windows, searching for anyone remaining alive, all they found were more bodies. Each one—each person—was mostly just bone, their flesh having been torn free like some destructive blast had ignited from within.

  Wandering a place plagued by so much carnage left his chest gaping. Fear lingered on the street, making him afraid to make the slightest sound, thus risk bringing the same doom to the rest of them. Sean almost felt as if the dead still lurked, watching his every step, hoping that he might somehow save them from their fate.

  The next building proved to be much of the same, burgundy ribbons flowing from torsos to the walls like gory streamers of death.

  These people hadn’t stood a chance.

  From the looks of it, even if they had gotten there sooner, Sean wasn’t convinced even they would’ve been much help.

  “Something’s not right here,” Mara uttered.

  Sean pulled Mara ahead of the group, trying to find a distance that allowed them to talk without being heard, but also kept everyone close enough together to protect one another if need be.

  When they reached a distance that Sean deemed adequate, he responded. “I’m afraid it’s much worse than anything we’ve ever dealt with before.”

  Both of them were alert, searching for movement through windows, behind piles of wreckage, and along the horizon. As much as they scanned though, the graveyard around them remained still and silent.

  “This isn’t the usual work of the Proselytes of Niha. They may despise us, but I don’t think they are even capable of something like this.”

  Though reports of Holly Ann’s fanatics murdering the Awakened were plenty, few ever detailed this level of torment.

  He shook his head “No, this was definitely done by our own kind.”

  Mara’s steps faltered. “Do you know who’s responsible for this?” Snapping to face him, a sudden recognition played in her eyes. “Who? How?”

  “I’ve seen death like this before. Mara…I’ve…” Sean lowered his voice even more. “I’ve been responsible for this kind of slaughter. Back when Samson…”

  He didn’t need to continue for her to understand what he was saying. Normally, now that enough time had passed, Sean didn’t mind talking about his late brother or the way he’d died. But Mara already knew the story and he didn’t feel like recounting all the gory details just then.

  “You’re telling me you can cause this level of destruction?” she asked, too impressed to conceal it.

  Sean disregarded her fascination with a flat scowl. “Yes, and I can do it easily. That’s what scares me. I wouldn’t have been able to take down this entire place—not alone, which means we are dealing with at least a handful of them.” Of us, he corrected himself internally. “I’ve never encountered a group of blood guides before, never even heard of something like this, so I don’t know what they’re capable of.”

  “Me neither, but clearly,” Mara marveled, signaling toward the ruins of what used to be their sister sanctuary, “they’re capable of this.”

  “Right,” he said, trying to remain focused, but his attention was waning. Mara could marvel all she wanted. If something like this were to reach Hope, well…Sean didn’t want to even think about that. Sure, they were much larger than Surviving & Thriving, but all it took was one blood guide to take hold of one of their community members. All it took was a second. Sean knew that firsthand.

  He wouldn’t let the same fate befall Hope.

  In an attempt to pull himself from his reflexive, distracting thoughts, Sean peered down at a pile of tattered limbs, not a drop of blood between the bones and tissue. “Look at these bodies.”

  “What bodies?” she mocked with bite. “You mean the bits of human sprinkled everywhere?”

  Sean leveled her a look. “Yes, all of it. Do you notice anything strange?”

  “Aside from people who were, from the looks of it, blown to shreds by no visible explosive impact?”

  He bent over a piece of someone to get a better look. This person had possibly been a parent, a child, a partner, a sibling. Before an unbearable sadness could overwhelm him, he answered his own question. “They’ve been drained.”

  Meeka’s breathe caught at Sean’s back. When he looked up at her, the only pigment left in her skin was white. Inwardly he apologized for letting himself be so carelessly loud with his discovery.

  Mara, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat. “Drained?”

  It was obvious to him this wasn’t a detail she’d yet noticed, and it left her curious. Mara joined him in a squatting position for closer inspection.

  Sean j
umped. “Ack, no. Don’t pick it up!”

  In Mara’s hand, she held what looked like a forearm, a shattered piece of elbow jutting from loose skin. There was no distinction between her retrieving the severed appendage and the way a person might pick up a cookie they’d dropped on the floor to see if it were still edible. She came up with a disturbed expression. “You’re right. Their veins are dryer than flour. That makes sense I suppose. If you think blood guides did this, then obviously they used their power to make the blood expel itself from these people.”

  The two of them stood in silence. Many of the bodies hadn’t bloated. They simply appeared sunken, as bone dry as the desert floor in which they lay upon. And amidst the carnage, not a single splatter or droplet of blood was visible anywhere.

  “Yeah but, if that’s the case,” he said, looking across the sea of dead. “What did they do with all the blood?”

  Krsh shrsh.

  Sean stood attentive, the rest of the team doing the same when they heard bustling coming from behind the last house on the road. While everyone else stood erect and unmoving, Mara crouched low with a blade in hand and creeped around the side of the building. Her movement was silent, practically ghost-like. Just before disappearing behind the wall, she signaled for Sean to continue talking.

  He feigned a cough and continued.

  Not more than a second later, there was a soft thud and a blood-curdling scream.

  Sean, hearing the commotion, rushed to the backside of the building, whistling for the others to follow.

  When they arrived, Mara held her ground, straddled over the unknown person, but she was looking back at Sean as if for further instructions.

  It was then that Sean saw the face of the person on the ground. A girl. She was only twelve, maybe thirteen years old. The way she was laying made her orange curls fan-out like solar flares breaching the sun’s surface.

  Trey, Carson, Ryka, and Meeka fanned-out to circle around them. Sean signaled for Mara to release her.