by Paul Sating
Though, it wasn’t that simple. This group had shown their hand. You couldn’t simply walk away from that. No, they would still have to deal with the Black Suits.
Pressure squeezed her head, her ears feeling like they were thumping from inside out. Serenity pressed both palms to the sides of her skull again, already knowing it wouldn’t help. The heat, the exertion, the stress, pain was merely a sign that her body was breaking down and overwhelming the nausea.
Deep breaths, slow, deliberate. Muted as the world was, it slowly cleared. Sounds, distance, and directions grew a dimension as the pain subsided. The ability to answer her own questions was returning, but not before the Screecher stirred. A bolt of light flashed from tip to tail. First one, then another, then ten, then the entire length became a net of bolts of electricity. The surrounding air crackled with revival.
The Screecher pulled up and up, slowly. Hilliard and his fifteen Black Suits stared at the monstrosity. Serenity and her family were as overwhelmed by its presence as their enemies. Only the last few feet of the Screecher’s body coiled on the floor, forming a base. In its hazy blueness, Serenity found a certain beauty. The opaque clarity of his sleek, powerful tube of a body. The featureless head and those bolts of bright electrical charges that shot down Atsidi’s length.
A beautiful terror.
A beauty that could be harnessed for good if she learned how to control it, once she freed Atsidi. That thing was him; she could make it be different. The violence, the terror, could end with him.
A gaping hole in the ceiling exposed the chamber to the desert above. Up where the people of the Tri-Counties had bravely fought the Screecher, where they might believe they defeated it forever, black knobs appeared over the edge of the concave sand pit, looking into this compound that had existed underneath them for generations. Whatever they saw from their vantage point, it didn’t appear they understood the danger.
The Screecher roared, its scream echoing through the chamber. Serenity balled up, wincing and covering her ears. When it was possible to open her eyes again, her mother had broken free of the Black Suits.
“We need to go, baby.” She gasped.
“After we get Jerrod and the deputy.”
They moved, her uncovered ears exploding in pain at the Screecher’s ongoing battle cry. It suddenly stopped. Serenity risked a glance up. Everyone was still spread out where they were after the beast crashed through the ceiling. The Black Suits had no idea how to react now that they had the thing they sought. Soon, they’d realize they still had Serenity. This advantage of distraction wouldn’t last.
As it was, the advantage didn’t matter, the Screecher attacked. Not her, not her family, but Hilliard’s Black Suits.
Gunfire rattled around the cavern. Serenity pulled her mother over to Deputy Rodgers and pressed two fingers against his neck to feel for a pulse. He moaned. Alive and conscious! His eyes flickered open, finding her, squinting against the sunlight.
“What’s going on?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
Serenity hugged him. She hadn’t led him to his death!
“We’ve got to go.” She pulled him to his unsteady feet.
His mouth dropped open when he saw the Screecher attacking the Black Suits.
Going to Jerrod, she pulled him up. “Do you have a knife?” she yelled to the deputy, who patted his pockets as if he just discovered he had them. “Your belt!” He reached to it, finding his utility knife, flipping open the blade and running to cut the zip tie around Jerrod’s ankles in one, fluid motion.
Once he’d done the same for Jerrod’s hands, Serenity ordered, “Let’s go!”
The Screecher screamed in rage, tearing into two Black Suits on the floor, firing at it. It wrapped both in a malleable opening, the mouth forming an oblong shape, sunken into the head of the beast. Without an opening, the perfectly consistent body of the Screecher mutating for the purpose of killing, the mouth pressed down on the men, pinning them. It snapped its head and broke both mens’ backs. It discarded their bodies and went for the next.
Serenity pulled her mother. “Come on!” she yelled, racing toward the open tunnel.
Reinforcements might be waiting, but it was the only way out. Serenity wasn’t interested in waiting on rescue from above. Especially as, behind her, the sound of men yelling and dying grew louder and gunfire more frequent.
A football field length separated them from the relative safety of the computer cases. If they got to them, they could hide and figure out their next step.
“No!” Hilliard screamed.
Serenity risked a glance over her shoulder. Hilliard pointed in their direction, racing after them, three men in tow. They closed the distance too quickly. One raised his sidearm, taking aim as he ran, but the massive body of the Screecher blocked the path.
It roared and coiled around the three Black Suits and Hilliard in one fluid motion, cutting off their dying screams.
39
Serenity tugged her mother toward the tunnel. Jerrod, supporting the deputy, brought up the rear. Together, they moved as fast as they could.
No matter how far she ran, she would never forget those sounds—screams, ripping and tearing of flesh, cracking of bones. Those were the sounds of the Tri-Counties’ liberation and the window opening to her fate.
From the mouth of the tunnel, too small for it to pursue them, the group of escapees watched as the Screecher roared in the absence of enemies and gunfire, destroying everything in sight, from cables hanging on the walls, to the computer cases and workstations. Volts coursed through the cables, through the beast that grew in strength, as if the facility designed to hold it was now feeding its recovery. It lunged for walkway after walkway, ripping them from the walls. Corrugated metal railings, steps, and platforms collapsed to the floor in a metallic crunch. The hair on her arms rose as zapping currents filled the air. The Screecher slammed into a large workstation toward the back of the chamber. Fire sparked in the hundreds of computer cabinets, first one, then the next, then groups at a time. Flames spread quickly. As the Screecher moved to destroy more, the fire trailed behind it and up. Red and blue flame arced through the air, as if fed by the Screecher’s nature. The chamber was burning.
The heat forced them farther down the tunnel.
The tunnel inclined as they ran. Jerrod leading, he took the first left down another long tunnel devoid of doors and any obvious exits, but also devoid of Black Suits. This new tunnel also angled up. Up. Toward the surface.
Serenity checked her mother for signs of pain or overexertion.
Deputy Rodgers held his walkie-talkie, the volume turned up loud enough that the crackle of static filled the tunnel. “Keep going up. Up is good.”
Serenity reached for her mother’s hand. Her pace had slowed. The age lines under Ida’s eyes sagged as she stared at the floor. Even if they got out of here, they might still have to face the Screecher if it didn’t die in the chamber fire.
“Momma, are you okay?”
Ida pumped her arms more aggressively to create upward momentum, panting heavily. “They aren’t beating me, baby. I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here; I don’t like being underground any longer than I have to.”
“What did they do to you?”
“Nothing,” Ida said through deep breaths. “Don’t you worry yourself about us. Your brother is strong, and they didn’t think to harm me. They knew better.”
“Jerrod?” She turned. “What did they do?”
Jerrod hesitated. He was always a terrible liar. “We’re fine, Porkchop,” he said. “They didn’t bother me.”
“Serenity,” her mother said, “I sat in a room all night. It even had a cot. I had a good night’s sleep. Let it be.”
“Jerrod?” Serenity asked, staring holes through the back of his head. “What did they do to you?”
“Come on, Porkchop,” he complained, “I’m out of shape; it’s hard enough to run this long, I don’t have the energy it to explain to you.”
�
�You’re in better shape than any of us,” she said as she sprinted to grab his arm, leaving Ida temporarily behind. “Please.”
Jerrod looked past her, to their mother. Then he gave in. “They just ran some test on me. That’s all. Pricked at my bite, that tag thing. Took some blood. That’s all. Really, sis. I swear.”
Serenity felt her anxiety wane slightly. That didn’t stop her from narrowing her eyes at Jerrod.
“Can you feel it?” she asked.
He looked at her more dumbly than usual. “Feel what?”
The undulating vision hit her hard as a fresh bout of nausea swelled within her again, but this time it didn’t come from the original source.
Without a pause, Ida answered for her. “It.”
Serenity spun to face her approaching mother. “Momma?”
Ida’s eyes were set in determination as she strode up the ramp, picking up speed with each step. “Do you think you’re the only Caller? Child, please.”
“What the fuck?” Jerrod said, earning a less than playful slap on the arm from Ida.
“I…I…how?” Serenity asked.
Ida was next to her now taking longer and longer steps. She turned her head, pushing her hair away from the side of her neck. Serenity saw it instantly.
Serenity reached out to rub her mother’s neck with the flat of her thumb. “Momma, I had no idea.”
“Because you didn’t need to,” Ida said.
“When?” Serenity pressed.
Ida let her hair drop back in place. “Long before you were born.”
“Did Pa know?”
Ida nodded. “I told him. He never believed me, but he knew. It caused a lot of problems between us, but then, what didn’t? I chalked it up to just being one more thing we could fight about.”
“How old were you?”
“Girl, do you think you get your adventurous spirit from your father? He’s wayward, but there’s only one thing he’s interested in exploring and it isn’t this world, trust me.”
“Gross.” Serenity stuck out her tongue and made a gagging gesture.
“I was a child,” Ida continued, her breaths coming heavier now. “Maybe ten, something like that. I had been out with some friends; we were riding our bikes along the edge of town. Men.” Her tone turned darker. “Boys really, harassed us. Chased us. We got separated, and I ran into the desert. They followed me, of course. I was so afraid; I ran and ran. When I saw a building, I figured I'd lose them inside, but it was a long way off, and they were gaining on me. I would never make it. Just when I'd given up hope, it hit me. The nausea. You know what I’m talking about, child. Felt the whole world spinning and then…calm. I didn’t know why for years, not until all this happened to the two of you. Everything was going to be okay. Those boys wouldn't hurt me. I was convinced.”
“How?” Jerrod asked.
“Because of the Screecher,” Serenity answered for her mother.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Jerrod said.
“I woke it. I don’t understand it either,” Ida said. “Haven’t for decades. Why do you think I've been such a pain?"
Tears rimmed Serenity’s eyes.
"Not even now that both of my children have seen it. But I knew then, as I did in the chamber, the Screecher was coming.” Ida huffed. “You did too, didn’t you?”
In a strange, selfish way, she’d hoped someone else understood all she had been going through, another tagged person. All along she thought that was Jerrod. None of the other tagged people from the volunteer event seemed effected, not even Mitzie. Neither gave a single hint they sensed the Screecher. Neither seemed to get nauseous nor complained about the dizziness. She thought she was the only one.
“Yes.” Serenity gulped.
Ida continued, “That thing burst out of the sand right in front of the boys. They turned and raced back toward where they came from, forgetting about me. The Screecher followed them. I watched until it…until it got hold of them. And then I ran and didn’t stop until I’d gotten inside that building. I’ve forgotten a lot of details, pushed them out of my mind because I didn’t want to understand any of it. But that changed when Patch came into our lives. Anyway, I spent the night inside that vacated factory and ran home as fast as possible in the morning."
"What about the guys who chased you?"
Ida's head dipped. "Never found. No one knows what happened to them.”
“Except you,” Serenity said. The fog in her head was abating, ever so slightly.
Ida nodded. “Except me.”
“You saw the Screecher for yourself but didn’t believe us when we did?” Jerrod grumbled.
“You never said a word to me about this either.” The deputy’s gaze never pulled away from the tunnel.
Ida looked sheepish. “Not my proudest moment,” she admitted. “But when you two found it, I…after all those years…I buried it. I thought I’d take to my grave. What I did, the way I acted, I did out of love.”
“That’s why you stopped Patch from telling us,” Serenity said.
The cracking and popping and groaning of the chamber grew quieter with each step, replaced by other muffled sounds from above. The sounds of war.
Ida swallowed, staring at the deputy with wide yes exposing a vulnerability Serenity had never seen before. “We need to end this. The Screecher is up there again.”
“Are you sure?” Rodgers asked.
That was why her head was clearing; the Screecher was moving away. But still close.
“I can hear it, feel it,” Ida said. “So can Serenity. We knew we could get away from those horrible men. We felt it coming for us. To help us. That’s how the Screecher found Serenity. There’s a connection, through the tag. It's deep for those of us who woke it. It won’t bother us but that doesn’t mean it will stop hurting people up there. We need to get there before it kills more.”
40
They followed the tunnel for another twenty minutes before coming to a heavy steel door. The Screecher raging against the people of the Tri-Counties travelled even through the door’s thickness. Explosion. Muted gunfire. Booming vibrations of the earth itself. Each sound acknowledging that peace required a heavy price. Deputy Rodgers gripped the latch, but Ida placed a hand on his. She turned to her children.
“Please, stay here,” she said, tears in the corners of her eyes.
“No, Ma,” Jerrod said. “I’m going out there if you are.”
Serenity was just as determined. Destined. She had to, though it was her hope that her mother didn’t understand why. “I’m going too, Momma.”
“No,” Ida said. “I want you to stay here, both of you.”
“Are you going?” Serenity asked.
Her mother nodded.
“Then I’m going,” Jerrod said.
“I have to, Momma,” Serenity said, almost as an apology.
“I don’t want you children out there,” Ida said, sternness returning, reminding Serenity of the woman she’d always seen as her mother. The overbearing, overprotective woman without the fascinating story.
Whereas Serenity had lived under the influence of the Screecher for mere weeks, her mother had undergone the same for decades.
This was a new version of her mother.
Newfound respect gave way to obligation. She couldn’t hide behind a steel door.
“Momma, those people up there are sacrificing for us. Some of them have betrayed lifelong allegiances and promises to help us. We cannot repay them with betrayal.”
“We won’t be,” she said, her words hanging in the air. “I’m going out there.”
Jerrod moaned. “I’m a grown man, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go out there without me.”
Determination carved heated lines across her mother's face. Each second they delayed, Atsidi might claim another victim.
“Momma.” Serenity gripped her mother’s hands. “I can hear the same thing you can. Deny it if you want, but I know what you do. Please, we’re wasting time here. We need
to get out there and help. We’re coming with you.” Serenity gave her mother’s hands a squeeze of reassurance she did not feel, but she did feel something that had to be said before it was too late. “I love you, Momma.”
Ida’s eyes filled with tears. She squeezed Serenity's hands in return. “I love you too. Both of you. Don’t you ever, ever forget that.”
“We won’t,” the pair said in unison.
Deputy Rodgers cranked down on the latch, releasing the door and swinging it open, exposing a thin concrete stairwell that rose to the desert floor.
***
The rumble only Callers could hear was so loud Serenity’s teeth rattled.
“Good God,” Deputy Rodgers said from the cover provided by the stairwell.
The stairs took them up to a dead end, capped. Only when Deputy Rodgers and Jerrod pushed on it and thin tendrils of sand fell into the tunnel did they find that it was nothing more than plywood concealed by a light layer of sand separating them from the battle. They pushed so hard that Deputy Rodgers fell when the plywood soared away from the opening. Jerrod caught him before he did a face plant into the concrete steps. The sounds of battle crisp, they crept toward the open sky and peeked out from their concealment in rows of two.
The Screecher was indeed back, climbing to the desert floor and into the fray.
“How do we get closer?” Serenity asked the deputy. They couldn’t cover the open space without being noticed by the raging beast. With nothing between them and the battle, they would be too exposed, and everything would unravel if the Screecher decided to attack the non-Callers in this small group.
Vehicles and scrap metal now crowded the clearing. Heaps of rusted metal had been obliterated, the waste spread across what had been the opening, obscuring the location of the shaft. The result was a lack of things to hide behind. And that wasn’t the worst.
The tall mountains of metal previously concealing the hideout spread for hundreds of yards in every direction. From her vantage point, Serenity saw all the way to the parked vehicles. The landscape was open, exposing the Scales’ deepest secret and an escape route. Small groups of Tri-Countians ran away. As more fled, their numbers increased, as if those they were passing were suddenly convinced this was a lost fight. They couldn’t afford to lose numbers; the army opposing the Screecher needed to keep it distracted and tired.