Martial law was declared in most industrialized countries and people starved to death in their homes, too afraid to go outside. Many cities and towns located near waterways emptied, by attrition as well as evacuation. Governments with resources build strongholds to protect their citizens. Poor countries had to fend for themselves. Any population that failed, or was forbidden, to migrate to one of the stronger countries was decimated.
The sixth dispersal took several years and Baskel didn’t bother with the math. The creatures’ young were taking longer to mature, the result of there being fewer humans to eat and far more creatures trying to eat them. At least half had adapted to land, while others improved their ability to swim long distances and moved into the oceans, hunting the larger game, whales and giant squid. One by one, each remote island was found and infested. Eventually, every land mass had at least one colony terrorizing and devouring the population.
They evolved in hideous and terrifying ways, sprouting multiple sets of legs and wings, growing long pointed horns they used to spear their prey or giant pincers that grabbed and crushed. Their heads grew into grotesque shapes and sizes, some even grew two or three, to terrorize the population so the creatures could feed on the emotion.
As mankind’s destruction unfolded before him, Baskel realized two things never changed. The creatures either could not or did not wish to break their attachment to water. They adapted and hunted on land, but always returned to water every day before the sun came up. They also never adapted to the sun or to bright light. In fact, people could go about their business, if they had any, during the day without fear of attack. They planted crops, repaired buildings, built fortresses they hoped would keep the monsters out, and traveled during the day. But when night came, anyone foolish or unlucky enough to be out would be killed and eaten in minutes.
Years passed. Poor countries and areas with sparse population became barren. Eventually only the United States, Great Britain, Japan, Russia, and some Western European countries had significant populations. Survivors were forced to move into large well-fortified cities or be harvested during the monsters’ nightly raids.
Mankind attempted to repel them by lighting up their cities at night. It worked until the creatures adapted and found ways to disrupt the city’s power supply. With no electricity to power the lights, the creatures needed only find ways into the fortresses, which they always did.
One by one, the cities fell and survivors found themselves grouped into fewer strongholds. Despair blanketed the planet. Many chose suicide over the sure knowledge that someday they would be torn apart by the monsters who never ceased attacking, never slacked. Their bodies were thrown outside the city during the day in the hope the corpses might slake the monsters’ hunger. The corpses were devoured, but primarily by the young who weren’t mature enough to compete for the living with the larger, evolved creatures. Still they came, ever relentless in their pursuit of human flesh, never stopping.
Baskel sensed the end was near and asked Lawless,
(“Where did they come from?”)
(“They arose from the oceans of our planet.”)
(“You know this for a fact?”)
(“Yes. They do not belong to any other planet’s past.”)
(“How did they get to Earth? I don’t see them using any space crafts.”)
(“The same way the Facilitator and I came to Earth, through our space travel machines. They overran our planet much in the same way they will overrun yours if they are not stopped here. We made the mistake of not destroying the machines when we retreated, thinking we would find a way to defeat them and take possession of the machines again. We did not and the Evil Species adapted to use them.”)
Baskel was confused.
(“So it’s your race’s fault they’re here?”)
(“That is correct.”)
(“Why didn’t your ... seers ... foretell their coming and prepare your people for it?”)
(“There was no need for Seers as there was no evil among us. All were taught the way of the Leader and all followed it willingly. We built the space travel machines to share the wisdom of the Leader with other planets and civilizations. That is why we came to Earth many centuries ago. Unfortunately for you, your kind prefers evil over good.”)
The image threads began to fade and Baskel knew the vision, or whatever he was having, was coming to an end.
(“Wait! You haven’t told me the way out of this. How are we, you, going to stop these things? Isn’t that why you said you were here, to stop them because it was all your fault?”)
(“Yes. That is why we are here.”)
(“Okay then, how are you going to kill these things?”)
Lawless didn’t answer and Baskel unhappily found himself being drawn back through the tunnel. He wasn’t ready to go. He wanted to know there was hope.
(“How are you going to kill them, man? Tell me!”)
The vision closed and he was standing in Jensen’s front room, no longer holding Lawless’s hand.
“Brothers and sisters, it’s time now to talk about our children, your children. These are perilous times we live in now. Can I get an amen?”
“Amen!” the congregation shouted.
Sister Tanya shouted with them, and worried about the children, even though she didn’t have any and never would. Young and foolish, running with bad boys, she was injured in a motorcycle accident and something happened to her insides; organs got bounced around, something started bleeding, and they had to open her up and remove her uterus.
That was that: a barren womb. Who would want such a woman? She dedicated the rest of her life to the Lord, swearing off passion, love, and lust. She’d been doing well until tonight: Pastor Keith’s revival had whipped up things in her that hadn’t even been stirred in seventeen years.
She was afraid, yet thrilled. She couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out tonight.
“Old Scratch has it in for your children, brothers and sisters. He has them in his sights. Now, he won’t make himself known to them like he did to Jesus when he tempted him on the top of the temple, on the top of the mountain! No sir! He comes after them on the mtv!”
A few “Yeah!’s” were heard coming from the congregation.
“He comes after them in low-rise, hip-hugging, skin-tight jeans!”
A chorus of mumbled “Yeah!’s” and “Amen’s” and “Praise the Lord’s”.
“He comes after them in slick magazines that make your daughters feel flawed if they’re not having sex with a boy, ugly if they don’t paint their faces up like a Jezebel, deprived if they’re not wearing designer clothing.”
More “Amen’s”.
“He comes after them in movies and television, telling them, showing them, that it’s alright to have sex before you’re married, that it’s unnatural not to.
“He comes after your young men in the locker room, where their friends offer them drugs and tell them who the loose girls are, the girls who do the devil’s bidding, who will drag your young men down to hell!”
“No!” shouted the congregation.
“Yes he will, brothers and sisters! The devil is coming after your young men and women. What are you going to do?”
“Help us Lord!” they shouted, their hearts pounding in fear for the children.
“Sisters, the devil is coming after your young ones, too, your little ones, the ones who suckled at your breast just yesterday!”
The congregation gasped. Women grabbed their small children and pulled them onto their laps, clutching them tight.
“The Dark One wants your little ones to make his own, to take them away from the Lord.”
“Help us Lord!” they shouted again.
“The Great Liar will hold them prisoners, corrupt them, lead them into a life of debauchery. He will whisper in their ears that it’s alright for a man to lie with another man and for a woman to lie with another woman.”
Shrieks of shock and horror arose from the congregation.
&
nbsp; “The Deceiver wants your little ones, brothers and sisters. He aims to make them his, to make them miserable as he is miserable, to drag them down into the pit of hell!”
More cries of protest and shock.
“Are you going to let the devil have your little ones?” Pastor Keith shouted.
“No!”
“Are you going to let the devil corrupt them and make them vile sinners?”
“No!”
“What are you going to do, brothers and sisters?”
There were cries and mumbles and shouts; a great din of noise.
“What are you going to do, brothers and sisters?” Pastor Keith yelled again, louder.
They mumbled and grumbled louder, then a voice rang out above the chaos: “Help us, Pastor Keith!”
“Help you?”
“Yes, help us Pastor Keith!”
“What would you have me do?”
They mumbled and grumbled, then looked at him with pleading eyes.
“Brother and sisters, send your little ones up and let me pray for them. Let your little ones encircle me while I raise my voice to the Lord God Almighty and ask his blessings to be poured down upon their innocent heads.”
No one moved, too afraid to let go of their children.
He needed to get the ball rolling, again, so he spied a family with four-year-old twin boys sitting in the third row and said to them, “Brother Tom and Sister Lucy, will you let me bless your little ones?”
Lucy looked as if he’d just asked her to pull an arm off one boy and use it to beat the other one unconscious. She clutched her children tighter until they cried out in pain. Tom snapped out of the spell he was under and pried one of Lucy’s hands loose, saying, “It’s okay, honey. Pastor Keith just wants to give the boys a blessing.” Lucy clutched tighter with the one hand.
“It’s okay, honey. Let go of the boys.”
Still looking frightened, Lucy released her grip. The twins gulped in air and slid off their mother’s lap.
While pleased his sermon had been so effective, Pastor Keith now worried it had been too good. The grand finale would never work if the parents were afraid to allow their children to go up on the stage.
He jumped down and made his way to the two little boys, who by now were using their father as a shield in case their mother tried to crush them again.
“Come, little ones,” Pastor Keith said, offering his hands to the boys. “Come and be blessed of the Lord.” Their father gave the boys a smile and a nod, so they took the pastor’s hands and walked with him to the stage.
Now that he had two, he was sure he could get more. He positioned the twins at the front of the stage and knelt between them.
“Who would like their little ones to join these two handsome boys in being blessed of the Lord? Who wants their little ones to have the Lord’s protection, to have their names read into the Lamb’s book of life?”
Four more children were released and began walking to the stage. Pastor Keith helped them up. He knew the other parents wouldn’t want their children to miss out and that he would soon have them all.
“Behold, the little ones of the Lord! The little ones whose souls the Devil lusts for, whose purity he wants to tarnish with sin. Let us pray for them, pray for the Lord to wrap his loving arms around them and lay a shield of protection over them.”
That did it for the fence sitters; they pushed their children into the aisles and ordered them to the stage. The timid children, too shy or afraid to go on their own, were carried or ushered up.
Pastor Keith took a silent tally as he and a church helper positioned the children into circles: thirty-two. There would be at least that many fat donations in the collections plates at the end of the night. He smiled despite himself.
The children arranged to his satisfaction, he knelt in the middle, looked to the heavens, or the top of the tent, and began praying in a loud deep voice, hoping he sounded majestic.
Captain Bozeman was waking people up, making enemies.
His first goal was to drain the canals. It couldn’t wait for Monday, it had to be done, or at least started, tonight. He didn’t care who he had to yell at or threaten, he would get the tap shut off tonight and he would do it at gunpoint if necessary.
Then he would call in the National Guard. A drastic step, but it would better to try and evacuate the city than have another night like tonight on his hands, a night of blood and death.
So he called and waited on hold and plead and yelled and threatened, all from the safety of the police station in downtown Modesto, some two miles from the nearest canal.
That was not the case for the men and women in uniform; they were sent back out on the streets. Their new orders were simple: keep people away from the canals and don’t get killed.
After the massacre on
Elm Street, many cops left town with their families. They didn’t care if they would be reprimanded later, fined or prosecuted. It would be a small price to pay to see their kids grow up.
Officers Howard and Wendover stayed, and although the events of the night were horrific, at least one good thing came of it: Wendoever finally shut up.
They agreed to run if the creatures showed up in their area, or anywhere close to them. Wendover had said, “We can’t do anything to them anyway and I don’t see how us being ripped apart and eaten would serve anyone’s best interests, least of all our own.” Howard had agreed.
They broke up a couple of parties, even though neither were close to a canal, and sent everyone home with a warning to stay there. The people left, a few grumbling about how their rights were violated, others smug at having successfully hid their drugs from the cops, most just moving on to another house where the good times were still rolling.
As Howard and Wendover watched the last of the partiers drive away, the two policemen assigned to patrol the section of north Modesto where a revival was coming to a close were pulling onto Hwy 99, their vehicles packed with kids, a couple of suitcases, and a few other belongings their wives thought they couldn’t live without.
Baskel was a jumble of emotions. The vision with Lawless at first left him speechless and in awe; he would never be the same because of it. But then the left side of his brain took over and he wondered if they had put some psycho-active drug in his drink when he wasn’t looking. Was the vision just a drug-induced hallucination? He doubted it was possible to be under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug one minute, yet feel fine the next. And he was feeling fine, wasn’t he?
He struggled with his doubts for a while, then thought about what he had seen. The creatures would dominate Earth in a relatively short period of time, decades, defeating the most powerful armies the world had ever seen. They would not only do it, they would make it look easy.
The memories of the vision left him in despair.
One thing was crystal clear: if the creatures left Modesto, you could pull the plug and drain the pool because the party would be over.
One thing was very unclear: if modern man with all his weaponry could not kill the monsters, how could one ordinary, unremarkable man like Daniel Lawless kill them?
But Lawless wasn’t ordinary or common; he could see things no one else could see. But just seeing things wasn’t enough, he would need some kind of special weapon, something he’s kept hidden up his sleeve all this time. Baskel’s imagination ran amok. Maybe Lawless could shoot laser rays out of his eyes or produce some kind of toxin or germ that will kill the creatures without poisoning the Earth. Perhaps he had the plans for a super weapon that could be constructed, something no one knew about. But was there time for that?
His mind reeled.
“So, tell me if I’m understanding this correctly: you’re not really sure how you’re supposed to kill the creatures?”
(“That’s correct.”) Lawless’s voice said in Baskel’s head.
“How come I don’t feel comforted by that?”
(“The plan will unfold when his transformation is complete and the time i
s right.”) Jensen’s voice said.
“Let’s just hope it happens before they sprout wings and fly away.”
The creatures entered the Goldsworthy Lateral and swam northeast until it joined Lateral No. 7. From there they continued northeast to Lateral No. 6., then northwest until they detected the presence of a large number of prey close to the canal.
The adult creature did not feel the Assassin working his way into her mind.
(“But how will I know what to do?”)
(“You are who you are, little one, because you know what to do. It is inside you, deeper than your feelings, deeper than your mind, in the part of you that was before and will be after. The you.”)
(“I don’t know what that means.”)
(“You will when the time comes.”)
(“I’m afraid the Evil Species will know when I try to get in and will keep me out. I’m afraid I won’t be able to kill it.”)
(“You are Assassin, little one, the greatest of our kind, save for the Leader. You must have faith in yourself.”)
(“Can’t you be there to help me?”)
(“Not me, little one. Another will be there to help you see, and become.”)
(“Assassin, what do you see?”)
(“The Evil One is thinking of the dispersal. Planning. It’s young are big and will be ready to evolve tomorrow night.”)
(“Go deeper into the Evil One’s mind. What do you see?”)
(“I see it entering the space machine and being sent here. It is timid at first, not knowing what it will find on this planet. It soon learns that humans are identical to our kind, though not as docile.”)
(“Further back, Assassin. Look for the beginning. What do you see?”)
(“I see the Evil Species in the deep, where there is no light. Before. They cannot rise from the deep to hunt because they are too weak.”)
(“Good. What else do you see?”)
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