Enter the Janitor (The Cleaners) (Volume 1)

by Josh Vogt

  “Yeah?”

  “What do we use to make the hole? Are we really just going to try and stick our hands through some interdimensional membrane?”

  “Naw. We just gotta enchant an object to stick through the boundaries, like a needle.”

  Dani raised a finger, then sighed and shook her head. “I know. I know. It won’t pop. So where’s our needle?”

  “Oh, I dunno. Where we gonna find something really sharp in a place where a few ginormous chunks of obsidian have been blown to itty bitty shards?”

  She whiffed a punch past his shoulder. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Be all cryptic.” She went to the pile that had buried the gnash and rooted around. When she returned, she carried a six-inch black crystal, thin enough Ben figured it could tickle someone’s liver without them noticing.

  He nodded approval, and she went back to talk with Stewart. While she did, Ben sat near the border of the circle and pretended to study its construction. In reality, he closed his eyes and forced himself to face the very real possibility that he was about to die.

  “Been a good run, ain’t it?” he whispered.

  Carl gurgled in his stomach.

  “I know. Fat lady ain’t sung, and all that, but you gotta admit, things ain’t lookin’ pretty.” Ben laid a hand over his gut. “Then again, I guess things wouldn’t look all that pretty where you’re at, huh?”

  Bubbles fizzed and popped, and he stifled a belch.

  “Regrets? Less than I woulda figured. Wish I’d gotten the stuff with Karen all sorted out. Told Destin what I really thought of him a lot earlier. Eaten more barbeque before it started givin’ me heartburn.”

  Water shot up and splashed the back of his throat.

  Ben grimaced. “Y’know, I prefer these little chats when you’re in the bottle.”

  “Hey.”

  He opened one eye. Dani crouched beside him, hands on her knees.

  “Stewart says the containment circle is charged,” she said. “It’s a one-off trap, so hopefully it’ll hold long enough for us to get the hybrid under control.”

  “A’ight then.” He rose, grunting as his knees popped like miniature firecrackers and sent painful flares through his thighs. “One last bit of business.”

  “What’s that?”

  He opened his mouth and hacked. Water shot out of his throat and glommed onto his hand, where it swirled and foamed. He held this out to her. He expected her to recoil in disgust, but she cupped both hands and received the glob.

  “You’re giving me Carl?” she asked, staring at the water sprite.

  “For his own good as much as yours,” he said. “If anythin’ happens to me—”

  That summoned her angry look. “Why’d you have to go get morbid on me?”

  “If anythin’ happens,” he repeated, “take care of him. He’s as loyal as they come in the elemental way of things.”

  Dani eyed Carl, who spun into a series of geometric shapes and then subsided with a gurgle.

  “I know, buddy,” Ben said. Oddly, handing over his long-time partner affected him more than the thought of his potential death. Of all his associates, only the water sprite had stuck with him after Karen’s death.

  “I don’t like this,” Dani said. She looked ready to fling Carl back in his face, but cradled him against her chest.

  He smiled ruefully. “Me neither. Now don’t figure on keepin’ him too long though, if I got anythin’ to say about it.”

  The sprite rolled up to Dani’s shoulder, and she tried to lean away.

  “Uh, where do I put him?”

  “If there ain’t a bottle handy, usually I just swallow … oh … right. Guess that’s a little close to swappin’ spit, huh?”

  She flushed. “Am I that obvious?”

  He pushed up his wrinkled, sagging cheeks. “Ain’t ever pretended this face was gonna win beauty contests. Just let him slip into your sweat glands. That way he can pop out wherever you need.”

  Hearing him, Carl did just that, gliding up to Dani’s bare neck and absorbing into the skin. She twitched once, but otherwise handled it fine. Her cheeks filled out a bit, as did her fingers, which she frowned at.

  “Great. Now I’m filthy, tired, hungry, and bloated.”

  “You get used to it.”

  They stared at each other, and Ben searched for final words. Something encouraging, a way to help her get on with her life after this, whatever happened. Dani spoke first, however.

  “Ben …”

  Stewart’s shout cut between them. “You two done mopin’, or is we gonna have to start passin’ out hankies?”

  Ben and Dani shook themselves from the mutual silence. Anything left unsaid could be interpreted however the other wanted. She pushed him gently back toward the others.

  “Let’s go blow a bubble, gramps.”

  ***

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Dani watched from a few yards back, Sydney by her side, as Ben and Stewart prepared the spell. She’d handed the obsidian needle over to Ben, who coated it with a layer of soapy water he’d mixed up until the shard turned opalescent.

  Stewart knelt by the triangular glyph and hovered hands over it. Eyes closed, he took up his muttering chants. Ben glanced back with a weary smile.

  “Stay ready, kids.”

  He stretched a band of water from forefinger to thumb of the same hand. Dani laughed to herself as he placed the glimmering shard in the crook of this and pulled it back, like a pebble in slingshot. He sighted between the fingers and aimed for the X across the circle.

  Dani held her breath. She counted each second by the pulse in her ears.

  Ben let fly.

  The needle shot over the boundary. The instant it did, Stewart pounded a fist into the glyph, and the circle lit up with a wavering blue-green light. So long had they been in this bleak, colorless world that the sight almost made Dani cry out in relief.

  Right as it crossed over the X, the needle struck. A third of it disappeared mid-air, and the rest hung there as if hammered into an invisible wall. Dani tensed, ready to run in case anything went violently wrong. After a few breaths, however, nothing changed.

  “C’mon,” Ben muttered. His hands clenched and unclenched. Dani watched him as he stared at the needle.

  The needle trembled as if tugged from the other side.

  “C’mon!”

  The pearly coating ballooned into the size of a man’s head. Ben whooped in triumph as the bubble expanded. It swelled to the borders of the circle and stopped. Stewart raised his hands as if physically keeping it from moving further. The bubble strained against the boundary before it snapped back into a stable dome, twenty feet high.

  Once settled, it turned translucent and gave a clear view of what they’d created. Where the X had been, there now stood an arched, two-dimensional hole, big enough for any of them to walk through. The area within the containment circle shone with white light, a stark contrast to the gray earth.

  Dani looked closer at the portal and realized blurry shapes were visible within it, as if she looked through a doorway back into their world. She recognized the dark mounds in the distance, with small roads winding between them.

  “Isn’t that your dump?” she asked the trash mage.

  Stewart shrugged without looking her way. “Where else is I’s supposed to grab hold? ’S good as any. Holdin’ firm,” he told Ben. “Should be right ’n ready.”

  Ben stepped over the boundary. Dani watched nervously as the bubble rippled around him, but it let him pass without injury. He marched around inside the bubble, went up to the portal, stuck his hand through and drew it back. Stewart grimaced as Ben rejoined them on the outside, but otherwise maintained his vigil over the glyphs. Their green-blue glow cast the garbage man’s wrinkled face in such a light that Dani thought of mold growing on tree bark.

  “It worked.” Ben’s relieved grin elicited a brief one of her own. He rolled his shoulders like a prize fighter. “My turn.”

  Dani bit her lip as Ben
unwrapped the plastic bags from around his arm. The festering sores looked worse than before, coring deeper into the flesh. From the wrist to the shoulder, all the skin was pallid and gray, glistening with a green sheen. A series of scratch marks dug down from this elbow to inner forearm, crusted with black blood. What made her cringe most was a black handprint where she’d grabbed him while imbued with the essence of fire. How did he stand the pain?

  Ben waved for Sydney to join him. “Step on up, pretty boy. Put those magic hands to good use for once.”

  Sydney cocked a brow. “You forget. I never changed my mind from earlier. I won’t harm you, helpless and willing as you are.”

  Ben scowled. “Don’t be wastin’ our time. This thing ain’t gonna stay open forever.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have opened it,” Sydney said. “You simply decided to go ahead with your stellar plan, not considering that perhaps we weren’t all in agreement on how to proceed.”

  Ben’s expression darkened. Dani backed up as he stalked over to Sydney. The men squared off, Sydney’s calm unwavering in the face of Ben’s anger. Then Ben smirked. “What’cha afraid of? Killin’ me?”

  Dani caught Sydney’s quick look her way. The slightest flush tinted his cheeks.

  “Oh, I get it,” Ben prodded the mage’s chest. “You don’t wanna look bad in front of your little crush. Cute, but I ain’t got the patience for your simperin’.”

  Two slaps sent Sydney reeling. Ben closed the distance, fists clenched. The veins in his temples and neck pulsed.

  “Get over it,” he shouted. “You’re actin’ like a teenager who doesn’t know how to stick on a corsage. Need me to chaperone until your balls drop?”

  He shoved Sydney, who stumbled again before catching himself. When he righted, Ben grabbed the front of his jacket. The janitor turned and, with a shocking show of strength, threw the mage off his feet and into the bubble. Sydney squawked as he somersaulted, coming up within the circle. Light glittered on his blond hair and accentuated the tattered state of his white jacket. Before he could exit, Ben jumped over and shoved him further in.

  “That’s right. You think I’m just gonna lie down and let you sap me dry? You’re gonna have to work for it. Just try and lay a hand on me. I’ll have you cryin’ ‘grampa’ before I’m through.”

  His hook mashed Sydney’s ear. The mage hopped away, hand to his wounded face. His appalled look was so comical Dani almost laughed.

  Ben waded in. Sydney took several more hits to tender spots, chuffing and grunting with each. Dani saw the moment when testosterone and adrenaline took over. Sydney stiffened under the barrage of hits. Shoulders flexed. Fingers tensed. Nostrils flared.

  Ben’s next punch came straight at his nose. With a yell, Sydney latched onto Ben’s hand. Darkness pulsed.

  Dani cried out as Ben withered. One instant, he stood gray-headed, wiry, and tall. The next, his hair flowed white and coarse. He shuddered and hunched, spine twisted out of true. His skin turned mottled with purple and brown. Each joint poked out, knobbly and swollen.

  Ben bent before Sydney, hacking and wheezing. “A’ight. Good start. Hit me again.”

  Sydney hesitated, still gripping Ben’s hand. The janitor reared back, though his arms and legs shook as if he might collapse.

  “Do it. Else I’m knockin’ between your legs to prove you ain’t got a pair.”

  The fury in Sydney’s eyes flared, as did his power. Ben’s face contorted in a silent howl. Dani spun away, hands over her eyes, refusing to watch.

  Awful silence waited behind her. The softest groan made her turn back. Ben’s limbs were as thin as kindling. The jumpsuit hung off him like skin ready to be shed. He was almost unrecognizable, practically a skeletal mannequin with his eyes sunken deep in their sockets. A few scraps of hair clung to his scalp. Warts spotted his neck and his lips had taken on a purple tint.

  Sydney dropped the janitor and backed up, disgust writ on his pale face. As he retreated, Dani ran to Ben, fearing he’d been killed outright. His breaths came in fits; his blue eyes had glazed over with thick cataracts. He looked so tiny curled up on the ground. His hands had been reduced to claws, which she gripped, trying to offer her strength.

  “Dani?” His voice had faded into a crow’s chuckle.

  “I’m here,” she said. “How do you feel?”

  “Oh … chipper. Figured on doin’ a jig.” He sputtered. “Guess this is … what a turd feels like just before … it gets flushed.”

  Sydney sat with his head in his hands. Dani didn’t give him a second glance, though she knew she was being unfair in ignoring him. Ben had practically forced this on himself, but that couldn’t stop her horror at what Sydney had done.

  “Unzip me.”

  She looked down at Ben, who fumbled at his uniform.

  “What?” she asked.

  A yellow fingernail tapped the zipper. “Open up … the suit. It’s blockin’ … the Corruption.”

  Dani reached for the tag.

  “Careful … don’t be … touchin’ …”

  She tugged it down to his waist and moaned in sympathetic pain as Ben’s chest and shoulders were revealed. The Ravishing had spread as planned. The skin across his torso looked ready to slough off, and she kept her hands well away, even gloved as they were, not just to avoid contracting the infection but to keep from hurting him further.

  As he’d done earlier, she cradled his head in her lap, trying to provide as much comfort as she could. The back of her mind started screaming about all sorts of germs she might contract, but she ignored it as best she could. He felt too light, as if his bones had been replaced by sawdust. His shallow breaths frightened her, and she listened hard for each one, not knowing if it would come.

  While she held him, she woke her power to its slightest degree and let it burrow into the ground around her—the first step in the plan she and Stewart had discussed. Finesse wasn’t and likely never would be her specialty. Natural disasters, big or small, weren’t known for being discrete events, but she could punch hard on short notice.

  Now the hybrid just needed to show up.

  As minutes turned to ten, turned to half an hour, Dani feared Ben’s sacrifice was for nothing. What if Destin had already found and enslaved the hybrid? What would they do if nothing happened? How could they return to the world with him this weak? The Cleaners would no doubt track them down the moment they showed their faces.

  Ben’s breathing had steadied and deepened. A small relief. She wondered if he’d fallen asleep. Then he lurched in her arms and gave a soft cry, eyes still closed.

  “Dani?”

  She bent to his faint words. “Yes?”

  He spit up black blood which dribbled down his chin. His whisper wavered through trembling lips.

  “It’s comin’.”

  She looked up. The black sky had split open, revealing the dead planets floating overhead in their somber palette. Among them, a purple light winked into being. It blazed brighter as it soared through the heavens straight for them.

  ***

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Dani tracked the purple flame as it arced toward them. It enlarged with every second until, with a start, she realized where it would land.

  “Oh, son of a *****.”

  She scrambled to her feet, trying to be gentle in the rush. She grabbed Ben’s shoulders and dragged him out of the center of the circle, where the comet aimed. He’d lapsed back into unconsciousness.

  The area lit with a violet hue. The air screamed as the hybrid punched through whatever atmosphere this world still possessed.

  Once she reached the edge of the bubble, Dani dropped to her knees and curled herself over Ben, knowing she provided about as much protection as wet newspaper against a sniper bullet.

  With a wail, the purple comet slammed into the earth. The shockwave almost pounded her flat onto Ben, and she fought not to crush him. The ground shook. Thunder clapped. For a moment, she feared the earth might split and swallow them all.


  When the noise and reverberations faded, she raised her head. Gray dust obscured everything beyond an arm’s length. She tried to call out without opening her lips more than a fraction.

  “Stewart? Sydney?”

  “Here!” Sydney’s voice, off to the left.

  “Oi,” came Stewart’s, from outside the bubble.

  Dani stood on shaky legs. “Where is it? Do you guys see it?”

  Through the haze, a figure crawled toward her. It moved spider-like on all fours. Dani jumped back, throat tightened so she couldn’t call out.

  “Now, lass!”

  Stewart’s shout pushed her into action. Dani unleashed the power she’d been holding in check. The earth bucked with the short, intense earthquake she’d triggered, and the figure flipped backward, out of sight.

  A howl cut through the air. An electric charge sizzled in the air as Stewart’s trap sprung. Energy crackled around the edge of the circle, snapping like a thousand mousetraps triggering at once. The bubble quivered, but remained intact, as did the portal on the far side.

  Further silence.

  Dani worked her jaw until her ears popped. “Did we get it?” And, if not, should we start running?

  The last of the dust settled. Sydney stood a few yards away, wiping at his gray-coated clothes and face. “We captured something.” He nodded at a huddled figure halfway between them.

  They joined each other in studying what had fallen into their midst, and it took Dani a few seconds to make sense of what she saw. She met Sydney’s eyes, noting the same befuddlement there.

  “This is a godling?” she asked.

  A teenage boy lay in the circle, bare-chested, clad only in tattered jeans and old sneakers. He had buzz-cut black hair, olive skin, and thick lips. When he returned her stare, his pupils were black with a shot of gold. Bands of blue-green energy had lashed around his ankles, waist, and wrists, and strapped him to the ground. Each time he strained against them, sparks coursed across his skin and made him cower once more.

  Dani didn’t know what she’d been expecting. Something monstrous. Maybe demonic in appearance, or like an oversized slug. Alien. This … this was a malnourished teenager who looked ready to weep from fear. Not exactly awe-inspiring.