“Why don't you go and get us a table, dear,” she said, giving him a light pat on the arm. “I'll bring the food when it's ready.”
He nodded but as he turned from her, our eyes locked. His brown eyes dimmed suddenly and he stumbled. I reached a hand to steady him which made things worse as I felt a trickle of energy flow into me. I was supporting most of his weight so I pushed him away and stepped back breaking our unexpected contact. His wife came over quickly.
“What is it John?” she whispered, clearly not wanting to make a scene. “Are you OK?” He mumbled something incoherent and together they shuffled over to a table where he sat down. A few seconds later he seemed better; I saw him reassure her.
Relieved, I turned to the counter and gave my order. While I waited for it to be filled the old lady got hers. She gave me a dirty look as she passed, perhaps sensing I was somehow to blame for her husband's difficulties.
My order came but as I paid the clerk suddenly put a hand to the counter to steady herself. Her panicked eyes met mine and she dropped the money she'd taken. I felt a spike of energy leap between us as our eyes locked. My Beast roared and reached out before I could stop it. A connection was made and I felt a slight surge of energy. It tasted so good! I leaned forward so I could be closer to her, saw my hand reach out to cover hers and only just stopped myself from making contact. I pulled back and felt real pain as the connection between us shattered. The girl cried out and slumped to the floor. A short heavyset man who must have been the manager hustled out from the back and helped her sit up. He mumbled something to me about bringing the order to my table. I hurriedly retreated to the back of the restaurant.
Behind me I heard worried voices and then the girl's voice came to me clearly. “I don't know what happened. He was staring at me. His eyes were normal, then they were black and I fell. There’s something wrong with him!” She was crying now. Other girls crowded around trying to console her. After a few minutes, when the manager was certain the crisis was over, they were sent back to their stations. I heard him sigh with relief and tell her to go home and rest, maybe see a doctor. “People don't faint without reason,” he told her. Another girl brought my food to the table. She gave me a worried glance before setting the tray down and scampering swiftly away. I heard her whisper to her friends behind the counter that Kelsey was right, “That guy is definitely weird!”
I ate my food sullenly, determined to enjoy it. Like most I'd dreamed as a child of having powers that made me special. Now that I'd achieved that dream I realized being ’special’ wasn't all that beneficial. I could rip the table from the floor and toss it across the parking lot, but so what? So far my new abilities had brought me nothing but grief. Not to mention placing me in direct conflict with similarly powered individuals who wanted to kill me. My old life had been good. My new life was crap! If it were possible I'd go back to the old one in an instant.
"Not possible. Not anymore," came the answer from deep inside me. I tested the flavor of the message and decided it had come from Kat. That was one thing I appreciated about her, she was always honest.
I was taking the Expo Line to Stadium. I checked the map, found where I was and where I wanted to go and paid for my ticket. It was all automated with ticket kiosks everywhere. I took the escalator up trying hard not to get too close to people. The doors to the train opened and I saw with some relief there was plenty of space. I'd be able to sit down. The doors closed. The next station was Langara 49th. The woman's digitized voice announced it three times more than I thought was necessary. There was also a digital runner that displayed the current stop and changed to the name of the next stop once the doors were closed and the train had started up again. People piled in and suddenly there was a lot less room.
I stood up, on the surface because I was being polite and letting a young girl take my seat but really because she had brushed up against me and I'd seen her wobble. Also, I'd be unable to stop myself from grasping her forearm as I helped her sit. I‘d felt a jolt of energy when she sat back, and her eyes had glazed slightly. I turned away and moved to the back of the car. People parted to let me pass, some instinct for self-preservation moving them away from me. Even still they all looked weaker by the time I'd put my back against the car wall. No one looked at me but I could see them holding on to the guide poles with a concerned ferocity. As for myself, I was beginning to feel a kind of mild euphoria. So far I hadn't really hurt anyone but was still managing to feed. Our plan seemed to be working.
"How are you feeling, Kat?" I asked, confident she'd also be enjoying the ride. Her response was an angry snarl that sounded more animal than human.
The doors opened and I was at Stadium, the final stop. We were going to a Bruce Springsteen concert. Surrounded by thousands of people I should find enough food for the both of us without harming a single person. All I had to do is keep moving. At a concert lots of people stood and moved around. Even danced in the aisles.
I'd thought Kat would be happy everything was working out. "What's the matter?" I asked, concerned.
"You take all."
I'd thought the energy we took in came to both of us. Then I recalled what had happened with Walker and realized it wasn't like that at all. I was her conduit to the outside world and unless she got rid of me completely, her access to food was through me. I needed to open myself to her. The Beast in me rose, angrily reminding me Kat was a predator. You didn't make yourself vulnerable to another predator! Tired with the whole debate, I shoved my Beast down and tried hard to lock it away. I'd promised Kat help so I opened myself to her. She came on like a wave, rolling over me with such force I dropped to a knee. A young man wearing an orange T-shirt that read "Born in the USA" reached down to help me up. A moment later he lay on the ground beside me. I staggered to my feet and left him struggling to get up. Some friends gathered around, voices concerned.
I rallied my strength and pushed Kat back. I'd fed a little already so I was stronger. I put a block up between us, then opened a thin line of power to allow her to feed.
"Patience!" I admonished.
Her response was another inarticulate snarl. Her Beast was strong now, more dominant than I'd ever felt before. I worried about what would happen if it got loose. Then started to worry that someone might notice I was walking like a drunken sailor. Fortunately, this was a major stop so people were everywhere. I could have started singing the national anthem and no one would have noticed. The kid in the orange T was up now and walking with help but appeared to be recovering quickly. Relief filled me. If I could learn to take a little no one had to be hurt.
I stepped quickly forward in the middle of a throng of noisy, excited people. Everyone getting off the train must have been on their way to the concert as well. I felt a surge of adrenaline course through me. Anticipation of food made the palms of my hands sweat. Up the stairs and we were out with only a busy street between us and BC Place just ahead. A breeze blew from the water over us. I straightened, smelling the salty air and enjoying the wind ruffling my hair. My heart was beating rapidly now and I was very excited.
We were almost there. Soon I'd have a thousand people around me. More than enough. I looked across at the stadium seeing the white oval dome standing out in the dusky sky and felt a growl of anticipation bubble up. This was a big place. It would hold lots and lots of people! Then the traffic light changed and we started across. We were tightly packed and I chortled gleefully looking both ways before crossing. Wouldn't want to get run down by a car!
I felt the heat of the bodies around me. People were brushing up against me all the time now. There were so many it was inevitable. Suddenly the woman next to me fell. The man with her turned to help and pushed up against me. He also fell, much harder than she had. I moved on. Another fell and another. Halfway across the busy street and people were falling all around me until I stood alone in the crossing with my hands outstretched and a smile on my face.
I was feeling amazing. I was strong, the ultimate predator surrounded b
y his prey! There was some screaming now. People on both sides of the street were looking toward the disturbance, trying to discern the problem. I ignored them. They were meat but they were fewer in number compared to how many must be inside BC Place. I had to get in there. Lots and lots of tasty sheep would be there for me! I bounded across the street forgetting that I needed to continue to pass as human. There were shouts behind me. People started pointing at me. I grinned, enjoying the attention. I'd get back to them later.
When I reached the ticket gates security had already been called and were aware of the problem. Two big men, looking very concerned, approached me. They were wearing blue jackets with the word "Security" emblazoned in yellow on them. The big beefy guy with the moustache and sad brown eyes put a hand on my arm to stop me.
“Sorry sir, but we need to find out …arg.”
I laughed, pulling energy from him as easily as I took my next breath. Then I leaped over the turnstile knocking him to the ground and put both hands to his chest and pulled. He screamed and that only made the food taste better! Yes, I liked this! I felt something hard hit me and I growled a warning in anger.
His backup had a hard rubber stick and had hit me with it across the shoulders. He hit me again. Then twice more, interrupting my feeding. He had my attention now. I snarled, springing off the beefy guard who was beginning to lose his flavor anyway and onto my new prey. This man was tall but thin, no mustache, tiny eyes that widened appreciably once he was on his back and I was feeding.
This was so much fun I could hardly stand the intensity of the experience. To blow off some energy I stood and howled at the crowd. Who was next? Who would I get to chase next? The answer was all of them. They ran everywhere and for the next while I breathlessly chased them all, pouncing on one then another and another, taking a bite here and a bite there.
The next thing I realized I was inside the building. Springsteen music was playing and it was loud! With the music and the people screaming there was so much noise it hurt my ears, but that was OK. They'd stop soon. I began the game again. This time with so many in such close quarters it was impossible for them to run. I wondered briefly if this made the game less fun but now I was getting full and the game was starting to lose its luster. Finally I stood by myself, groaning people piled around me and a clear path behind me of more people moaning and rolling on the concert floor. No kills? There‘d been so many and the chase such fun I hadn't had time to kill. Good to keep the herd plentiful anyway. This was a good place to hunt. I'd need to remember it.
I'd feasted and now I was tired. I looked around but there was no good place to rest. You didn't sleep near prey, you chased it. I laughed then realized there were actually too many people around me. If they ever managed to contain their fear they could give me real trouble. I frowned. That was something to be avoided. The way I'd come in was no longer a good way to leave. I heard sirens behind me. There were probably more coming like the ones with the security jackets, and I didn't feel like fighting anymore. I was too sleepy.
I looked around and saw a sign that said "Exit" off to the left. I leapt on top of the seats and half ran, half jumped my way to the other side where the exit was. From somewhere deep inside I realized it was a fire door. People could use it to escape in the event of an emergency. Well, this was an emergency and it was time to go. I grinned widely, thoroughly enjoying myself.
The door was locked. Stupid to have an emergency door and then lock it. I gave the door a hard kick and it flew into the parking lot. Through the doorway I saw the sea and hundreds of small boats floating on the water. I savored the sweet salty air and leapt through the door into the empty lot. This was the side of the building so there was no parking, just a little asphalt, some trees and then the ocean and those cute boats bobbing in the distance.
Abruptly my ears were assaulted by a "whap whap whap" sound which a distant part of me identified as a helicopter. It was close, too close. A spotlight hit me, strong and bright enough to blind me so I stood for a moment longer than I should have, bellowing angrily and shaking my fist at the helicopter. Through tearing eyes I saw a dozen black suited men race into position around me. A man stepped out from the group. He was old, grey haired, with a grizzled time worn face. He wore a beret with some kind of shiny metal on it, slightly tipped to the side.
“Over here asshole,” he said to me. I was trying to decide whether to kill him first, when the air filled with a weird buzzing noise. I felt multiple small stings just before my world exploded into hot light. I pirouetted to the side but I'd been hit by too many already. From somewhere deep inside came the thought I'd just been tasered by a small army. The black asphalt rushed up to greet me as I fell.
Chapter Fifteen
One minute I was sleeping and the next I was perfectly awake. I was in a big room with a high ceiling, bare white walls and an impressive feature window that took up the majority of a wall. Assorted furniture decorated the space, most notably a bed in the corner. There was also a fridge and exercise equipment near the window. And Kat. She stood by the window looking out; a tall imposing figure with shiny black hair and a thin, athletic build that I could see was all muscle. Her hands were clasped behind her and it seemed she was determined not to look at me. I stepped up beside her and looked out at the bars in front of us. That's when I realized I was inside. We were in a cell, or rather two cells; the cell inside my mind and the one outside in the real world. This room was a variation of the box she'd put me in when I was just an inconvenience so long ago, spruced up a little, made more livable but still another version of ‘the box’.
“This isn't working,” she said, staring out through the windows at the outside with her back to me. “You have heart but you're untrained. We need to finish this and it seems only I can do what needs to be done.”
Her words stung. After all we'd been through I thought she'd have more faith in me.
“I screwed up, I know that. My Beast got out too far but it won't happen again. I'll know better next time, be more careful...”
I stopped as she put a hand gently on my shoulder and turned to look at me. Her eyes were round and dark and held a hint of distant sadness. “Yesterday something impossible happened: our Beasts merged. Beasts hate, Beasts take, Beasts fight but they never merge. When the two merged, all your lack of control came as well, and we were swept away. I was swept away. In all my time, that's never happened! I've never lost control! It is the one thing I've held to, the one thing that's made this life possible. I always knew, even while I hunted for the benefit of others, that I controlled me!” Her eyes flared black and I had to work to resist the temptation to step back. “Our Beasts were out Nicholas, fully out! Given enough time, they’d have destroyed us. Only the unexpected intervention of the one Walker calls 'the Major’ saved us.” She sighed. “It’s most ironic. Before we were struck down I felt his anger. It is long cherished and almost a madness now. He will try to use us only to destroy us later if he can.” Her voice faded and she released me to turn back to the window.
“So we're back to this then?” I asked in disgust. “A better box for me?”
“A better box,” she agreed.
“An exercise bike, a big screen TV and a window to look out at the real world? That won't do Kat. It's a prison. After all we've been through, I can't believe you'd do this to me.”
I was up close, could even feel the heat from her body. She smelled like summer. For a moment I felt her lean into me but only for the briefest of moments. She pushed me roughly away and stepped to the side. “No choice Nick. I can accept death. I've known from the beginning this life has only one end for me. There’s no escape. Just unending battle until I die. So I have one goal, one purpose. To die as myself, not some mindless creature. And before I go, I'll watch my Beast die first. That‘s the end I want, the death I choose.” She spun away from me and walked to a door that had suddenly appeared. “You have the window. I will try to keep you safe. You’ll see and hear everything. That’s the best I can o
ffer.” Then she was gone.
I ran to the wall and tried to find some edge, something that might open under my will. Several fruitless minutes later I realized my search was a useless one. There would be no door for me unless she put it there. She‘d trapped me once again. Then I heard a noise from outside and realized the door to our cell had opened.
◆◆◆
The Major stood in the doorway for a full minute savoring the moment. This had started thirty-three years ago and in all that time he’d never captured a live one. A ’Shadow Maggot’. That's what he called them because they lived in the dark and ate their victims from the inside. He imagined them slithering between dark places searching for their next victim. Saw them wiggling inside when they found one, eating away at what was once a normal person just making a life, trying to be happy. Changing everything because suddenly that person wouldn't be normal. They'd be something else, something dangerous and not human anymore. Hatred filled his mind. Hatred and disgust. He fingered the gun he’d pulled from his holster without thinking, turning it in his hands; thick, blunt fingers dexterously manipulating the cool steel.
Then he thought of Elaine and how this had all started so many years ago. He’d been twenty-nine and rising swiftly through the ranks of the military. Just a captain but destined for more. He remembered her face, her smile. Her image was a little blurry now, but that smile? Even after all this time it was still clear. His grip on the gun tightened and his jaws clenched as he considered the prisoner before him. He finally had one in front of him. One of the monsters. Until now all they'd had were the husks the monsters left behind. An image of Elaine came swiftly once again opening the old wound. Her face and body beaten, bloodied, dead. Nothing remaining but dead meat. All the beauty drained away.
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