The Keras Genome

by Kurtis Eckstein

  Holding up his free hand, a crimson rod exploded straight through Riley in the distance, her body smashing into the ground from the impact. He watched her struggle, desperately attempting to free herself from his grasp to no avail.

  The wings of death on his back rapidly diminished in size, as blood shot up the arm of the massive Keras, climbing higher and higher. It finally reached the body, rapidly changing directions inside to find the other arm.

  He could feel it. He could feel the fear coming from the Keras. But it was powerless to stop him. His prey had no escape.

  The blood quickly found the connection to the other arm, instantly detonating at the joints of both limbs, exploding into thousands of long needles rapidly slicing – severing .

  A scream never heard by human ears before filled the air, echoing for miles. Except for the rod impaling Riley, Noah’s blood returned to him as the black pillar he was attached to began to descend towards the crater. Falling to the ground below, he noticed that Madison had already freed herself from the grasp of the claws. The massive black skyscrapers crashed into the crater below, filling it with a cloud of dirt. The behemoth was already retreating, trying to escape Noah’s wrath. He turned his attention to his other prey.

  Riley was still struggling to free herself from his grasp, when he abruptly retracted his blood with her still attached. He wanted to look his victim in the eyes.

  Within a second, he was holding her in the air in front of him, her feet struggling to reach the ground inches below. Blood shot from her sides in a futile attempting to harm him, but he was more determined than her. Her blood was as useless as grass against a rock. The rod piercing her chest began growing inside of her, spreading throughout her body. She struggled viciously, a defiant look in her eye. She wasn’t afraid.

  She wasn’t afraid, because he wasn’t looking at Riley. He was looking at a Keras, and this wasn’t its body. Noah’s blood entered her veins and mixed with hers without combining.

  Nostalgia suddenly overwhelmed Noah, breaking through his homicidal rage. His mind filled with a powerful memory .

  Riley led Noah into an abandoned warehouse. She wanted to show him something she had discovered. He was curious, and he didn’t see the harm in checking it out. She led him to a large black motionless object, but then she suddenly wrapped him in an embrace from behind. She was much stronger than he expected. Abruptly, he was stabbed in the front from a black spike, and simultaneously stabbed from the back. Riley’s blood instantly filled Noah’s veins, and he could feel a girl inside him who, in a brief act of fierce defiance, desperately called out to him to save her. Out of nowhere, gunshots fired, bouncing off the black object and hitting Noah. Overwhelmed, his blood erupted from his body slicing everything within reach, and the girl inside him disappeared.

  Gasping, Noah felt her, trapped deep inside. He felt Riley – the real Riley, who had been the reason he had escaped the same fate as her. She had interrupted the hijacking, saving his life in hopes he might save her. She was overwhelmed with a sorrow indescribable, consumed by a black pit of hopelessness. He also felt a foreigner, the invisible link between Riley’s body and the Keras revealing its location. It was already running, trying to escape his reach.

  It was too late.

  Blood erupted from his side again, bolting through the air like a missile, traveling so fast that the air exploded as it broke the sound barrier. Noah’s wings of death began diminishing again as his blood pursued his prey. He could feel its fear, the fear he craved.

  I’m coming for you. There’s no escape.

  Finding his victim miles away, Noah’s blood shot through its body, turning the Keras into splinters in a matter of seconds. He enjoyed how it squirmed just before being sliced into a thousand pieces.

  The real Riley immediately surfaced like someone held underwater with a life-vest on, suddenly freed to breathe again. All of her compressed emotions blew with such force that an uncontrollably cry exploded from her chest, followed immediately by devastated sobbing. Her body shook violently as all the desperation, hopelessness, and defeat surfaced along with her.

  Noah snapped completely out of his rage in response to her overwhelming return. He removed his blood from her body and wrapped her in a tight embrace, attempting to stabilize her viciously trembling figure. Her legs were limp, so he fell down to his knees with her, trying to envelope her even more in his arms. Madison was rapidly approaching them, slowing down as she took in the sight of Noah with massive black wings and a violently shaking Riley. Each wing held enough blood to fill the average swimming pool, turning black from the high density as Noah tried to keep them as small as possible. They were still three times as large as him.

  Madison didn’t say anything as she fell to her knees next to them, wrapping them both in her in arms. She began crying too, consumed with empathy for Riley’s despair. After a few minutes, she gathered herself enough to speak. “It’s over. You’re safe now.”

  Riley cried harder in response to her words, choking and coughing as she tried to respond. Her words came in between intense sobs. “I…I…killed…my…my mom.”

  Madison was suddenly intense, her voice firm. “No. You were a helpless spectator. It doesn’t matter if it happened with your body. You are not your body.”

  Riley’s figure curled inward, all her muscles tightening, as another wave of bitter anguish swept over her. A ragged sob erupted from her rigid body, as she slowly began accepting that truth. She had been helpless, unable to break free except for a few seconds at a time when her alien tormentor was distracted.

  They sat on the freshly unearthed ground, holding each other for what seemed like hours as Riley mourned for her parents and for herself. The memories of what the Keras had done with her body pierced deep into her soul, penetrating her very existence.

  The sunrise finally broke through Riley’s despair, catching her attention as it appeared over the horizon. It streaked the sky with bright oranges and pinks, brilliantly slicing through the darkness as if mirroring her resurrection from a living hell.

  Riley wiped her eyes to see it more clearly.

  “Those are my favorite colors,” she whispered as one last sob escaped her chest.

  Chapter 25: Angel

  Now that Riley had finally calmed down, Noah looked at Madison with concern. “Are you alright?”

  She nodded in response. “Yes, all healed up.”

  “Are you cold ?”

  She hesitated, and then nodded. “Yes.”

  Noah wrapped his wing around her, gently entering her body. He wasn’t sure if it was possible to give her blood, but he tried anyway. They both concentrated hard, and Madison managed to absorb some of the blood he had hoarded – it didn’t even make a dent in what he had. It was no different than removing a few cups of water from a swimming pool. When she tried to take in more than she needed, in order to share his burden, he withdrew.

  “Why?” She asked. “I can help.”

  He just shook his head. “This is my burden to carry. You can’t go home if you look like this.”

  “Then let me.” Riley said with determination. “I have no one to go home to.”

  “No.” Noah said firmly.

  Riley was just as firm back. “You saved my life.”

  “And you saved mine. You’ve suffered enough. I won’t let you look like a monster too. ”

  Madison grabbed his face with her hands. “You are not a monster.”

  Noah turned his head from her, disgusted at himself. “I was a monster…when I chose to accept all this death in me. Nothing but murder filled my mind.”

  Madison’s expression softened. “You didn’t kill anyone Noah. They were already dead. You were only trying to save me.”

  “And you did.” Riley reinforced. “You saved us both. We would all be trapped in a living hell had you not saved us.”

  Noah was suddenly concerned by what she said. “What do you mean?”

  “That’s what they were trying to do. That
was their queen, and it was trying to hijack your bodies. It was their last-ditch effort to regain control. Now that we are all free, they can’t win.”

  Noah nodded as he considered what she was saying. They had done it. They had won the war. They hadn’t needed to kill all of the Keras, only hurt them enough to force a retreat, like Dr. Robinson had said.

  It was over.

  Noah sighed with relief. It had required him to become a true monster to end it, but it was done. He knew he wouldn’t be able to return to his normal life, not now that he was disfigured by his decision. It would probably take years, possibly decades, to use up this much blood, and he couldn’t separate himself from it without passing it on to either Madison or Riley – something he wasn’t willing to do. They didn’t deserve to suffer for his choices.

  “So now what do we do?” Madison wondered.

  Noah looked off into the distance. “I think it’s over now. You two can probably go back to school tomorrow, or even today if you want.”

  Riley gave a bitter smile. “School seems pretty insignificant considering all this. I’m not even sure what to do now. I don’t have anywhere to go.”

  Madison was quick to respond. “You can stay at my house.”

  “And what about the army?” Riley asked. “They know about us, right? Plus, the police might be looking for me. I know they found my dad in the apartment.” Riley suddenly looked down then, her face failing to hide grief from unmentioned memories. “They probably think I’m responsible.”

  Noah recalled what Dr. Robinson had said. “The military confiscated their bodies, so it’s probably out of police hands now.”

  “Their bodies?” Riley wondered, her face distraught again.

  Noah’s tone was softer. “They found your mom too.”

  Riley looked down again, closing her eyes. They could see tears appearing at the corners again. Madison put her hand on Riley’s shoulder and rubbed softly across her back. Neither of them said anything while she tried to compose herself .

  Finally, she wiped her eyes and spoke again. “So, what do we do about the army then?”

  Noah was pensive. “I don’t think we really need to worry about them. Sure, they know who we are, but they don’t know we survived this devastation. Plus, even if they do figure out that we are alive, we took care of their Keras problem and it’s not like they can force us to do anything. Maybe they will leave us alone? And if they don’t we can decide what to do then.”

  Both Madison and Riley nodded in response. Madison seemed concerned again. “Noah what are you going to do? I’m not staying if you’re going to leave.”

  He just shrugged in response, thinking it over. “I don’t know, but I did promise to take you to prom this Saturday. Obviously, I can’t actually go to prom looking like this, but you and I can have our own prom outside the gym in the dark.”

  She smiled, happy to hear his plans, and then looked at Riley. “And you’re going too. I’m sure I have a dress that’ll fit you.”

  Riley gave a weak smile. “That’d be nice. I was really looking forward to prom at my school, before I transferred. A bunch of us girls had decided to just ditch the dates and go together.”

  “We need to leave,” Noah suddenly announced. They looked at him confused, but then noticed it too. They felt another hostile force at the edge of their perception. Looking far into the distance, Noah’s improved vision could just barely make out military jets .

  Worried, Madison asked, “Should we hide?”

  “I think I can fly faster than them.” Noah stated matter-of-factly.

  “Fly?” Riley and Madison asked in unison. Madison added, “Is that why you made wings?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t choose to create wings. It’s just what happened. It was like my body was substituting blood for lost limbs I never had. These wings were just the default.” As he spoke he spread the large new appendages out, allowing the condensed blood to disperse until they were hundreds of feet long. The deep black color transformed into a brighter red as they grew larger. He then added, “I wonder if the Keras have hidden wings – maybe that’s why it happened.”

  Both Madison and Riley didn’t say anything, mesmerized in wonder by the massive crimson wings.

  “They’re beautiful.” Madison finally said.

  He looked at her astonished. “Madison! They’re made of blood! How is that beautiful?”

  She looked embarrassed. “I’m just saying that visually , they’re beautiful. You look like an angel.” Riley nodded in agreement.

  Noah was about to retort, but then looked again at the jets in the distance. They were out of time. They needed to leave now . He leaned forward and wrapped an arm around each of their torsos. They both instinctively secured themselves to him with their own blood, and he abruptly slammed his wings against the ground with such force that they were instantly thrust into the air thousands of feet .

  Noah wasn’t sure why he thought he could out-fly jets traveling faster than the speed of sound, but instinctually he knew he could. His leg muscles could only carry him across land a little over 100 MPH, but whenever he used his blood it seemed to be able to move significantly faster. For one, the Keras had been able to move faster than him, but he was much faster when using his blood.

  As they reached the apex of the jump, his two massive wings split into eight, immediately taking turns slicing through the air, propelling them forward. Within seconds, they had broken the sound barrier as each wing moved almost instantly from front to back. Soaring through the air in this manner felt more like swimming to Noah, rather than flying. And surprisingly, it was loud as the air rushed past their ears. Being able to hear each other talk wasn’t an option, so Madison and Riley simply enjoyed the flight, looking ahead as the ground rushed by far below.

  All three of them had to cover their clothes in a thin layer of blood, because the wind catching the material at this speed started to tear them. Noah could sense that he was, in fact, out-flying the jets, and before long the planes were again outside of his perception. He wondered what the pilots would think when they saw a pair of several-miles-long Keras arms lying at the edge of the crater.

  Despite their rate of travel, the impact crater continued to be the dominate landscape as it seemed to stretch endlessly. Noah knew that millions of people had been buried instantly earlier that morning. Not even a nuclear bomb would cause this much destruction. It would have required hundreds of nuclear warheads to create devastation this widespread.

  Then finally, after a few more minutes of flying, the edge of the crater came into view. Noah felt Madison’s body relax as she realized the impact hadn’t reached their city. She had progressively become more tense as the featureless ground had continued on and on.

  Passing the edge, they were all relieved to have a change of scenery. From there, it only took a few more minutes at their speed to begin to be able to see their city in the distance.

  Not wanting to be seen landing too close, Noah picked a forested area to begin their travel on foot. As he slowed down their approach, his wings combining back into a pair, and then he just let them fall straight to the ground. He was surprised by the smiles on Madison’s and Riley’s faces from the freefall. They both enjoyed it, trusting him completely.

  Just as he reached the treetops, he beat his wings one last time causing them to hover in the air briefly before falling down into the forest below. He knew they would be fine hitting the ground at full speed, but he didn’t want to make too much noise to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

  “Well that was fun!” Madison cheered as they disengaged from Noah.

  Riley smiled. “Yes, now I almost want a pair of wings myself.” She then realized she was implying she might go find some more blood to create them. She tried to recover. “Err…borrow yours of course. Actually, do you mind? I’d like to try flying myself. ”

  Noah hesitated. “Umm. No.”

  Madison joined in. “Seriously? You can’t have all the fun!
”

  He sighed. “You can’t go back to a normal life if you look like this.”

  Riley became pouty. “We can give it back! Come on, I want to fly!”

  Madison grabbed his arm, using her charm to try to sway him. “Please?”

  Noah sighed again. “Promise to give it back?” He knew he couldn’t take it from them if they were unwilling. It required a lot of effort on both ends to make the transfer.

  In unison, they both replied. “Promise!”

  Madison didn’t wait for him to agree. She had already inserted some of her blood into his arm, waiting expectantly. With another deep sigh, he gave her a third of his wing size. Then he did the same for Riley. In concentrated form, each of them had black wings as large as their bodies.

  Without hesitation, Riley burst into the air, and was high above the trees within seconds. Madison gave him a grin and prepared to launch herself. But then unexpectedly her phone rang, and the joy in her face disappeared. She pulled it out of her pocket, looking to see who was calling, and then answered.

  Madison spoke rapidly, not giving the person on the other end a chance to talk. “Mom, I’m fine. I’m sorry I didn’t call. There’s a reason why I’ve been missing. I’ll explain everything when I get home. I’m safe. ”

  Noah could hear Madison’s mom talking the second she could get a breath in. “I’ve been worried sick! I called the police! I thought for sure one of those things had gotten you! And then that meteor strike last night! Madison, over nine million people are gone! Just like that! Is Noah with you? Is he safe?”

  “Noah’s with me mom. We’re okay. Please call off the search party. I’ll be home in a few hours. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

  Noah could hear Madison’s mom taking a deep breath. She was crying. “I was just so worried. I tried to check the GPS location of your phone, but nothing was showing up. I knew you had been with Noah, so I tried to tell myself not to worry, but then there was that attack in the city. You’re my baby girl. Don’t ever scare me like that ever again.”