The City of Monsters

by Matthew McCollum

  Akane looked down at herself. “I think... I have no idea.”

  Ling frowned. “Wait, you didn't know you could do that?”

  Before Akane could say anything, the dirty girl picked up her scream again and charged forward. Akane tried to activate her speed again, but nothing happened.

  No, that wasn't true. She could feel something in her gut, a reservoir of power that was trying to fill itself, like the burn in her legs from running too much. She knew she'd be better in moments, but those were moments she didn't have.

  The screamer leaped past Akane, towards Ling... and bounced off a translucent blue force field that appeared in front of her. Akane didn't get a good look at it, but it looked like a softly glowing shield of blue plastic. The screamer screeched and fled to the back of the room, where she watched them warily.

  Akane stared at Ling. She had thrown herself backwards when the screamer lunged, and seemed to have hurt herself banging into the heavy door. “Was that you?”

  “No, that was me.”

  Akane turned to see the newest arrival. Derek, as it turned out. He was panting, with his arm outstretched, and was covered in dirt-encrusted cuts and scrapes that were still oozing blood. He looked like he had survived a fight.

  Behind him was another man in a similar state. Other than that, there was nothing notable about him other than the two pillows he was carrying. One looked like it had been dragged through the mud.

  Next to him was a girl with iron eyes. She had a gun in her hand, and looked prepared to use it, but Akane could tell from the way she was holding it that she wasn't accustomed to it. She knew because it was the exact same way she held guns.

  “Akane!” Derek said. He nodded, pleased to see her, but didn't waste time on pleasantries. “We're taking her alive.”

  Akane instantly sheathed her sword. “I don't think that's wise. She's obviously dangerous.”

  “And if we take her alive, we might figure out how she's dangerous. C'mon, it's you and me. Take point.”

  Akane headed forward, sheathed sword raised. It wasn't lethal anymore, but it was still a heavy stick. It would serve as an adequate weapon.

  “Derek, she's right, we should kill her now.”

  It was the bland man, the one holding the pillows, who had spoken.

  “We can always kill her later,” Derek said. His tone brooked no argument.

  Akane didn't stop, carefully inching forward. She could feel her speed replenishing, but she wasn't sure if that was actually what it was, or something else entirely. She didn't want to rely on it until she was sure it would actually work. Derek stayed back, near Ling, who was still near the door, rubbing her head.

  When Akane got within five feet of the screamer, she stopped. She needed to finish this in one blow, if possible. If she could rely on that speed...

  No. Later, once she had more practice, she could use it. Right now, she'd stick with the sword.

  But before she could strike, the girl sprung into motion, screaming past her towards the most vulnerable member of the party—Ling, still dazed from earlier.

  Ling shrieked and covered her face in a desperate attempt to shield herself. Akane tried to rush forward, but I was too far away, and she couldn't activate her speed.

  Before the screamer got to her, Derek jumped between them.

  Akane didn't know if he was having the same problems with his powers she was or if he just forgot about them, but he threw Ling out of the way and took the screamer's tackle himself. He grunted in pain, but tried to wrestle her to the ground.

  “Akane!” he called.

  She came up quickly and struck the screamer as hard as she could in the face. The screamer's nose broke with a sharp crack, and her screams momentarily changed to a screech of pain, but she was otherwise unfazed. Then the pair rolled over, and Akane couldn't get a good hit in any more.

  The girl with the gun rushed forward, but Akane stopped her. “You'll hit Derek.”

  She glared at Akane, but nodded.

  Akane waited for another opportunity to strike, but Derek was stronger than he looked. Years of hunting monsters was a hell of an exercise program. Crazed as she was, the girl was outmatched. He quickly managed to pin her to the ground, though he was still having trouble keeping her there.

  “Get a rope,” he ordered. “Quick.”

  Akane searched the room as fast as she could, but there wasn't anything they could use to tie her down.

  “The sheets,” the bland man said. He ripped open one of the packages he was carrying, pulling out a set of sheets with long tears and streaks of dirt on them. He tossed Akane one end. “We can catch her with this.”

  They braided the cloth into something vaguely resembling a rope. It would restrain the girl, if only for long enough for them to knock her unconscious.

  She, however, seemed to have other plans.

  The screamer gave a great howl of anger and threw Derek nearly five feet with a surge of adrenaline. She thrust her hand toward him and fire blossomed out of thin air, a cone of it rushing towards him.

  He managed to get his shield up before he got hit, but Akane could see it was straining him. The flames were pushing against the barrier and licking the edges, and it looked like a large amount of heat was getting through. He was already sweating like a pig.

  Akane couldn't get to the screamer with her sword. She had backed herself into a corner, and her flames would roast anyone who tried to get close. If she could activate that speed again...

  Bang. A gunshot echoed through the small room.

  The flames flickered and disappeared. The girl fell to the ground, and a pool of blood began to grow around her chest, where Akane could see the exit wound for a bullet. A moment later, Derek collapsed as well as his shield died. Akane rushed over to make sure he wasn't hurt, but he waved her off. He took a few deep breaths before speaking.

  “Who shot her.”

  “I did,” the bland man said. He still held Akane's revolver in his hand. He didn't look like he knew how to use it much more than she did. “Got it from the...” He wiggled his fingers in Ling's direction “...her.”

  Derek took another deep breath. “What part of 'We're taking her alive' didn't you understand?”

  His friend seemed unfazed. “She was going to kill you.”

  Derek sighed again. “Yeah, yeah, I suppose there was no choice.” He held out his hand. Akane helped him up. “We need to find out what's going on here.” He looked at Akane. “Is there any chance you know why we have powers now?”

  She shook her head.

  “Yeah, me neither.” He brushed his hair back from his forehead. He didn't seem to have any idea what to do next.

  “We'll need to see if everyone else has powers,” the girl with the gun said quietly. She had holstered her pistol. Akane held out her hand for her own revolver, and the bland man gave it back. “Derek and... Akane know each other, so it's logical to assume there is some common source.”

  Everyone was quiet for a moment, considering.

  Then a phone rang. Five simple beeps, then a pause, and five more.

  No one moved.

  “Who's is that?” Ling asked groggily. Akane shrugged.

  The bland guy jumped. “Oh, sorry, I think that's me. New phone.” He pulled out his cell. “Adam speaking.”

  Well, at least Akane knew his name now.

  “MC? I... uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll pass it along.” He hung up. “Someone called 'Mr. Butler' wants to see us. She said you'd know where.”

  Everyone else in the room looked up, surprised.

  “He wants to meet us?” Ling asked. “Are you sure?”

  “Uh, yeah.” Adam glanced around. “Guys, who is he?”

  Akane looked at Derek. He shrugged, defeated.

  “He's the biggest gang lord in the city.”

  Chapter 8: POTESTAS

  LING

  Ling Yu had lived in Domina most of her life. Her family moved when she was two, and she got stuffed into an orphanage a
bout a year later, when they got killed by some gang or another.

  Ling wasn't very smart. That was just a fact. She knew she only got into college because of her soccer scholarship—and even then, she had to personally beg the dean.

  But just because she wasn't a genius didn't mean she was an idiot. She knew when to keep her mouth shut, when to listen. And now, going to see the Big Boss while carrying a corpse wrapped in blood-soaked sheets, seemed like an excellent time to just listen.

  “Adam didn't hear the screamer,” Laura was saying. “We stopped on the curb, but he stepped into the road. A truck came, and this moron—” She jerked her thumb at Derek. “—jumped in front of it. That's when we found out about his ability.”

  “You two heard the screams too, right?” Derek asked Akane. “From farther than you should have, I mean.”

  Akane opened her mouth to speak, glanced at Laura and Adam, and nodded meekly instead. She had been shy when she first met Ling, but grew out of it within the hour. The same would probably happen here.

  “So it would be safe to assume that anyone that can hear these screamers has a power,” Laura said, half to herself. “We'll have to find out... what did you say your name was?”

  “Ling.”

  “Find out Ling's later.”

  “Sorry, Adam,” Derek said with genuine concern. “I guess that means you don't have any powers.”

  Adam snorted and shifted his grip on the corpse. Ling was forced to do the same to keep from dropping it. “We don't know anything about these abilities yet. For all we know, you guys will turn into screamers too. I'm fine with being normal.”

  Ling's stomach churned as she looked at the corpse again, but she suppressed it. It wasn't a person, not really. It was just some kind of zombie.

  “Talk later,” she grunted. She really didn't have a good grip on the corpse. It was tiring her out. “This is it.”

  The Big Boss had sent a van to escort them to Necessarius Headquarters, in the very center of the city. The driver hadn't helped carry the body out of the van, but at least they had gotten to skip a few annoying checkpoints.

  NHQ was a short building, in contrast to the massive skyscrapers that surrounded it. It was still big though, a massive fortress that covered at least one whole block. There were cameras everywhere, but other than that it looked perfectly normal. It could easily be a hospital building—they didn't even bother with a flag.

  There was a pair of wide double doors at the front that looked far too flimsy to be the front of a fortress. Before they could get close, the doors burst open and a dozen guards marched out. The only thing that identified them as Necessarians was a simple black band on their arms with a horizontal stripe of red. Other than that, there was nothing resembling a dress code, although most of them stuck with jeans and a t-shirt. Of course, these were the elite, so they had the latest military rifles and body armor as well.

  One of the guards stepped forward without a word and flipped out his phone. He glanced at the screen, then at Ling and the others, then closed it and waved them through. He didn't seem at all fazed by the bloody sheets.

  Past the flimsy doors they found a pair of much larger ones, made of thick steel. They ground open as they approached, and a guard pointed them down the hallway. They passed through more doors, some even thicker than the first, and kept getting pointed down one turn or another. It slowly occurred to Ling that this place was a literal maze, and the signs seemed misleading. Without a blueprint, invaders would never be able to find anything important.

  At last, they reached their destination: A small well-lit meeting room with a desk, one occupant, no spare chairs, and the only exit the one behind them. There were no guards. They weren't needed this far in.

  “It is a Friday night,” a deep, calm voice said. Ling immediately recognized Artemis Butler sitting behind the desk.

  He was much, much bigger than he looked on TV. He wasn't quite fat, but he wasn't muscular either. He was just so massive that it was hard to not feel tiny—and Ling wasn't exactly large to begin with. If he stood, he would have clocked in at seven feet. Not a skinny seven feet, either. He was thick like a tree.

  In fact, that was the perfect word to describe him: Tree-like. Big. Heavy. Unmoving. Eternal. On TV, he was just a big man. In person, he was like a mountain.

  He had a large cane in his right hand, and he wore black gloves to match his tailored black suit and sunglasses. But rather than hiding it, this all served to accentuate his unnaturally pale skin and ivory hair. If he took off his glasses, Ling knew she would see his startling blue eyes. A specific shade that, normally, was impossible without use of the toy maker.

  “It is a Friday night,” he repeated. He sounded like a rock slide. “And I am receiving the delivery of a dead zombie from five college students. I sincerely hope you have some good news for me.”

  Adam and Ling put down the corpse. Almost before they finished, a pair of 'sarians with large rubber gloves that reached their elbows came from behind them, lifted the package, and quickly took the body away without saying a word.

  “I suppose we could have a lot of fun dancing around the point,” Butler mused. “I decide what to tell you, you decide whether I'm telling the truth, and we verbally spar for a few minutes.” He sighed. “But I don't really have time for that. I have meetings to get to, people to speak to. And I'm sure you have things to do as well.”

  Derek crossed his arms and glared at the gang lord. “I'm saving this city with or without you.” There was no boasting in his voice. Just a little bit of mild accusation, directed at the Big Boss. He was going to save the city, Ling knew right then and there. The fact that he didn't even know what the danger was yet wouldn't even slow him down.

  Butler didn't move, though the corners of his mouth did twitch upwards briefly. “You're definitely your mother's son, it seems. Let's just share our information first, and see where we stand from there.”

  Derek didn't relax an inch. “Agreed. But you seem to know more than we do, so you go first.”

  Ling thought she heard the mechanical sounds of the guards outside adjusting weapons. Neither Derek nor Butler seemed to notice.

  Butler nodded. “The creature you just killed is what we call a screamer—I'm sure you can guess why. It is the second one we have encountered.” He shrugged almost imperceptibly. “Or the fourth, depending on your point of view, but I'll get to that in a moment. The first was twelve hours ago. I was hoping it was an isolated incident, and if we are very lucky, it still is.

  “What we know is that these creatures are insane, violent, and possess powers. They are similar to zombies in many respects, including their ability to infect others.”

  Ling and the others came to attention at that, but Butler held up his hand in a placating gesture.

  “I don't think any of you have anything to worry about. The other infected turned within minutes, and symptoms arose within seconds. As far as we can tell, if you come in contact with a living screamer's bodily fluids, you are turned. Saliva from a bite and blood are the only confirmed instances right now.”

  Ling struggled to think of whether or not any of them had gotten any fluids on us.

  Butler frowned. “Interestingly, it seems to be only a living screamer. We took a sample before we killed the first one, and afterward it was inert. Very odd.” He leaned back in his chair a little. “But I digress.

  “One of my men tried to restrain the screamer, and was bitten in the process. He quickly devolved into a similar state, with identical powers. Another was infected when he shot the first victim at close range, and was showered in blood. He turned the same way, but we were able to neutralize him without casualties.”

  “What powers did they manifest?” Laura asked. She didn't seem very intimidated by the most powerful man in the city, and instead had a very thoughtful expression on her face.

  “The ability to manipulate electricity,” he answered. “Both the original and his victims. Now, please tell me that is the
same power your screamer manifested.”

  Derek shook his head. “Pyrokinesis.”

  Butler sighed deeply and slumped a little. “Which means it's a different strain. I suppose it was too much to hope for.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then straightened again. “This means that there is some sort of intelligent force behind these creatures. I am certain we will see more shortly.”

  “Wait,” Ling said before she could stop herself. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly. She swallowed. “Uh... right. Sorry, it just seems like a major jump from 'multiple strains' to 'intelligent force behind them.' In anime—” Akane glared at her, while the rest looked at her like she had grown a second head. “—ah. Sorry. I just think it's a bit early to make that assumption.”

  Butler nodded. “True enough. I am simply focusing on the worst-case scenario. I will be happy to be proven wrong later.” He smiled, a little bit sadly. “Unfortunately, in my experience, expecting the worst rarely leaves you surprised.” He turned his gaze back to Derek. “Now, I understand you five have powers as well.”

  “Only Akane and myself for sure. But everyone but Adam heard the screamer... uh, screaming from farther away than should have been possible. We think that means we all have powers.”

  “Hm,” Butler said. “Interesting. But better than I expected. We can use you to hunt down the screamers. They don't seem to be able to shut up, which is a very good thing.”

  “Wait,” Adam said. “You're willing to work with random college students? And to put us in such an important position?”

  “Never turn down an asset that is available to you, Mister Anders,” Butler advised him. “None of my men—nor anyone else, as far as we can tell—have powers. Though on that note, I would like blood samples from all of you. If we are very lucky, your abilities may be transferable in the same way the screamers' are.”

  Derek immediately held out his arm, and Akane followed his example, but Laura narrowed her eyes. “And if not?”

  The Big Boss matched her icy gaze without flinching. “If not, then nothing. We go back to plan B, have you help us hunt down the screamers. Mister Huntsman, I have heard of the skill that you and Miss Akiyama have displayed while hunting monsters. I hope that you can apply that here as well. However, if your blood creates screamers, we'll have to isolate you and only let you out for missions. We can't have you accidentally starting the very zombie apocalypse we're trying to stop if you get a paper cut.”