by Wendy Knight
“No. It’s not. That’s why we have to go back.” Cole swung his gun up, starting back down the hill.
That was when the screaming started.
At first, he thought it was the rest of the group — that the Garce had already gotten them, or the Pys had somehow survived the sun and caught them all. It took his panic-riddled mind several seconds to realize the screaming wasn’t human.
It was alien.
The Pys had been forced into the sun. And it was burning them alive in a way Keven’s bomb, or anything human-made, couldn’t do. He let out the breath he was holding and started jogging again, his bag significantly lighter now that the C4 was gone.
They’d only gone about twenty yards when they saw a figure in the smoke. Enika froze, ax ready. Cole notched an arrow and raised the bow.
But it was Keven. Dirty, bloody, and covered in soot. “What the hell happened? We heard gunshots!” Enika screeched when he got within hearing distance.
“I got knocked backward and covered in debris. They found their way to me.”
“But you got away?” Trigger asked.
Keven smirked. “No. I’m still trapped there with them.” When no one seemed to be amused by his sense of humor, he continued, “I shot them both in the head. Backed myself out of there, and they tried to follow. The building crumbled and the sun made it through. Roasted both of them.”
“Wow.” Enika looked sick — exactly how Cole felt. It had taken so much C4… just to bring down two Pys. Their chances of survival were looking slimmer by the second.
“Let’s go.” Keven pushed them all forward, but they were cautious now. The Garce would come. It was only a matter of time. Cole kept his bow ready, even after his arms and back ached, watching through the site as hours passed and the sun started to descend into the west.
They almost made it to the hospital.
The smell hit them first. Enika moaned and they all closed in together, Justin and Trigger leading, Enika and Haylen on one side, Julian on the other, and Keven and Cole running backward. They dropped their guns for the bows.
Waiting.
The first one hit them from the front. Justin screamed as Cole and Keven jerked around, firing the arrows in rapid succession. The Garce shrieked and fell as two more came from the side, and one from behind.
They were under attack.
More materialized out of the shadows of the buildings surrounding them. What had once been a bank was now home to Garce. Many, many Garce. They came pouring out of the doors and windows, eyes red and glowing, jaws wide with rows upon rows of sharp, sharp teeth.
“We’re running out of arrows!” Enika yelled. Cole risked a glance over — her quiver only had three left, and his was nearly as empty. Julian and Haylen reloaded their guns, emptying round after round into the Garce, slowing them, but not enough.
“Nyx!” Keven screamed.
Hope surged like adrenaline through Cole’s chest and he scanned the skies before he realized…
The sun was still up. Nyx couldn’t come to their rescue, even if she was near enough to hear them.
Behind them, a building cracked and caved in, and Garce flooded through the broken wall. They’d infested the entire city, just waiting for something to venture into their midst.
And they were hungry.
“To the mountains. Go! Go! Go!” Keven yelled. Cole grabbed Julian by the back of the collar and pulled, jerking him out of the Garce’s reach, running backward because there was no time to turn away. The Garce dove, snarled, clawed, but they stayed just ahead of them.
“We’re gonna die!” Haylen cried. “We’re not gonna make it!”
“Yes, we will! Watch the sun. She’ll be here!” Keven shoved the next arrow into his crossbow and aimed, shooting the nearest Garce in the face. It howled and sank to the ground, Nyx’s blood eating away at its shadowy skin.
But they were running dangerously low on ammo of any kind, and the Garce were coming in droves.
“We’re not gonna make it!”
“She’ll be here!” Cole roared.
“Watch the sun!”
The sun, intent on signing their death warrant, sank slowly to the west. So slowly.
“Just keep running. She’ll be here!” Keven jerked someone else out of harm’s way, kids who should be in school, bored out of their minds and wanting to be free. Instead, they were fighting in a war for their lives, and the lives of all mankind.
Cole released his last arrow, and the Garce fell. The ones behind it tripped and collapsed, struggling to get to their feet. Keven unloaded his last round into the dark, writhing mass, and they lay still, black acid leaking from the shadows.
Grabbing the chance, the small group of humans spun and ran, sprinting for the shadows of the mountains in the distance.
“We’re never going to make it,” someone sobbed. Cole didn’t know who.
Keven didn’t answer.
No one did.
They’d run right into a dead end.
Cole cursed the sun. Go down. Go down. Go down!
The Garce snarled and paced in front of them, watching angrily for more shots. Keven swung his gun like a club and Cole did the same, holding them at bay.
For the moment.
Garce seemed, for the most part, to be mindless, blood-hungry demons, but somehow they realized the guns were no longer a threat.
And they lunged.
Haylen screamed. Julian screamed. Cole shoved them all behind him and raised his gun like it could actually do anything. Anything at all.
One grim glance shared with Keven, and they both braced for the onslaught, swinging mindlessly, fighting for one more breath, one more second.
I love you, Nyx. I’m so sorry.
The sun sank below the mountains to the west.
There was a roar — whether it was Nyx herself, or the Garce, or the force of her wings, Cole didn’t know, but she shot up out of the mountains at their back and into the sky, her mighty wings sparking. She swooped down through the shadows so fast the air cracked behind her like thunder. Blood exploded from her hands, arcing through the twilight into the Garce, hitting one and jumping to everything touching it, like an electric current.
The Garce screeched and howled, backing off, stumbling over each other in their attempt to run.
They remembered her. They remembered her attacks.
And they were running.
Nyx went after them, spreading her wings and shooting through the sky, weaving in and out of shadows like a demon herself. Silent as death.
Keven dropped his gun, chest heaving. Cole wiped the blood from his face, not even sure when he’d been hit.
Nyx flew past the Garce and whirled in the sky, her many tattoos lit in the darkness, current running through them, anxious to escape. Cole caught sight of her face for the first time and was shocked, as always, to see the fierceness in her eyes. She blasted straight up, into the rising stars. The Garce skidded to a halt, staring around them in confusion.
The sky roared.
Nyx’s wings exploded into blue and white and black flames, tucked tight against her, as she thundered straight back down. At the last possible second, her wings snapped out and jerked her upright, and then they were closed again, and she slammed into the earth, cracking it under her feet. Blood on fire escaped from her fingers again, writhing across the ground, widening the crevice. Each step toward the Garce seemed to tear the earth more and more until the chasm yawned open under the Garce.
And swallowed them alive.
Every. Single. One.
Nyx hung in the air over the gaping maw she’d just created. Steam rose around her, sometimes hiding her completely, except for the sparkling, still flaming wings and the shimmering tattoos.
“You know Utah’s supposed to be on some long-dormant and excited to wake up volcano, right?” Keven called, dropping his gun against his shoulder.
She smirked.
Enika dropped her ax and threw herself into Nyx’s arms. “Wh
ere have you been?” she sobbed. “I was so worried!”
Nyx met Cole’s eyes over Enika’s head as one pale hand smoothed her hair. “I’ve been looking for help.”
“Dude, how’d you know she was here?” Justin asked, slumping to the ground in exhaustion. They were all covered in blood and sweat and dirt and Garce ichor and exhaustion.
Keven shrugged. “She said she’d be here when we needed her.”
“You cut that mighty close, missy.” Enika scowled.
Nyx hid a smile. “Sorry.”
Turning to Keven, she said, “What are you doing this far from the compound?”
“We need medical supplies. And food. And gasoline.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That would explain why you’re on foot.”
“Things got bad, Nyx,” Keven said quietly. It was the first indication he’d given that they needed her since she’d left them.
“Sorry. I’m here now. And I learned some new tricks.” She grinned, motioning to the still steaming wound in the road.
“I see that.”
“We need to get you guys back to the compound. I can get the supplies you need.”
Keven shook his head. “There are Pys in the area, Nyx.”
Nyx didn’t blink. She’d changed. Cole couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she was different, somehow. Taller, for sure. He could tell that even from where he stood. Every time she left him, she came back a stranger. His heart ached for the two girls he’d lost already. He hoped this one wouldn’t hate him quite so much though.
“The ones in Costco?”
Keven blinked as the rest of them stared at her in confusion.
“You know them?” Cole asked with an exhausted attempt at humor.
“They killed half our team, Nyx.” Keven straightened to his full height.
“I don’t know them.” She shook her head, her hair shimmering down her back. “I saw the explosion. That’s what brought me back. I figured if you were blowing stuff up, you must be getting bored without me.”
Cole couldn’t stop staring at her. She’d been gone so long he’d started to think she was a myth. Something their minds had dreamed up to cope with the horror. But now, here she was, standing in front of them, having just split the earth, talking like they’d just taken a math test or stolen a car or any other mundane thing beside killing aliens.
“They’re here because the Garce are here. The Garce are here because you’re here. If we don’t see any more Pys tonight, it’s a good indication that those were the only ones.” She nodded, her eyes moving automatically to the sky.
Again, Cole noticed the complete lack of fear in her face. What had happened in these two months?
“Is your car still running?” she asked Keven, her gaze returning to his face.
“It’s a 4-Runner.”
She tipped her head to the side, frowning.
“Yeah. It’s running. Just no fuel.”
“We need to get you back to the compound. But I can’t carry all of you.”
“We’re out of ammo. If there’s another attack, we’re SOL,” Justin said, forcing himself to his feet. Nyx bit her lip, alternating between scanning the skies and watching the city around them.
“We might as well keep going to the hospital. Gather our supplies and then go back with Nyx’s escort. We just have to make it back before dawn, or she’ll be SOL.” Keven raised an eyebrow at Nyx, asking a silent question.
Nyx nodded, her wings sweeping out behind her. She rose into the sky, twisting and turning, dancing across the breeze, but she watched the ground constantly. Twice, she left them to fight off the Garce coming in. Twice, she rose easily back into the sky above them. k12
Like a Guardian.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NYX TUCKED HER WINGS, DROPPING TO the ground in front of the rag-tag team Keven had assembled. They had faced certain death, and won. But somehow, they didn’t look as excited as she would have expected. Instead, they looked terrified, all of them. And exhausted.
And Cole, he just looked hurt. The pain in his eyes had nothing to do with the blood soaking the back of his shirt or the claw mark across his face.
No, it wasn’t physical. She’d caused it. And it got worse every time he looked at her.
“I’ll go in first,” she said, tearing her eyes away from Cole and his complete refusal to meet her eyes.
Keven shook his head. “Not a chance, little bird. We stay together.”
“I’m not a little bird. If we’re comparing me to a bird at all, I’m big. Have you ever seen a six foot tall bird?” she planted her hands on her hips, facing him.
Keven ignored her. “Nyx, the last time you went to the hospital, you were ambushed. We can’t—”
She sighed, throwing up her hands. “Do I look like I can be ambushed, Keven?”
His eyebrows drew together as he studied her for the first time since she’d left. “No. You don’t. What happened, Nyx?”
“That isn’t a story for while we’re racing against the sun and a hospital exploration. I’m going in. You will come after I give you the okay. But first—” she flexed her fingers, then drew one long nail across her wrist. Blood welled to the surface and spilled down her palm, sparking and fizzling. She reached out, took Enika’s ax, and let the blood soak the battered blade. Then she did the same with Keven’s knife. “Just in case.”
When she looked to Cole, he handed his knife over silently. “You should bind that.” He nodded toward her wrist.
She shrugged, handing him back his knife. “I don’t have to. It will heal.” Turning her back on them all, she spread her wings, letting the blood flow through them. It was a trick she’d learned. Making herself look as big and threatening as possible. It was stupid, really, that she hadn’t thought of it before. She’d wanted to be a zoologist at one time. She knew the tricks butterflies and some birds used to scare away predators. They had scary faces on their wings.
It was the same thing. Aliens and insects really weren’t that different.
The doors had been glass, once. It had long ago been shattered, and if she had to guess, she’d say the brown chalky stains along the sharp edges was long-dried blood. She blasted it with the sparks from her fingers, knocking out the rest of the glass. For so long, she’d been walking around, afraid to use her alien half any more than she had to because she didn’t want to attract attention.
She was done with that.
The glass melted into a pool in the overgrown entryway. She stepped over it, her boots crunching against broken metal. Her wings lit up the hallway and into the foyer. She remembered this place too well. Her grandfather had been here for two weeks — they weren’t sure he would make it. She’d visited every day until he’d been discharged on Christmas Eve. She’d called it a Christmas miracle.
Two weeks later, the Garce had invaded.
She shook the memory from her head.
The Garce had been too abundant outside. She couldn’t tell if the smell came from them, or from in here, so she kept her alien half close, sparks constant at her fingertips. This hospital wasn’t even an eighth as big as the one she’d fought with Cole and Enika in. It had three single floor wings, instead of being the size of a small city. She went into the north wing first, so she could keep Keven’s team in her sight as she shot through the rooms, knocking doors open, searching for shadow aliens.
Or worse, Pys.
North wing secure, she moved onto the west wing, and it was still empty.
Instead of being relieved, she was worried. The whole city was overrun with Garce. Why weren’t there any here?
She found out, in the last wing she explored.
“We’ve been waiting for you, pretty one.”
Nyx swallowed the fear that automatically attempted to engulf her. “You really haven’t.”
She turned the corner, and found the Pys waiting in the lobby. Pys weren’t alone. Ever. It was unnatural. The Nine, even though half-human, still stayed together because of t
hat inherent need.
Nyx, once again, was an outcast among her own kind, because she preferred no one’s company but her own. No one could hurt her that way.
And she couldn’t hurt anyone else.
“She’s already been turned. She’s come to play with us. Are you hungry, pretty one?”
Nyx was probably a foot and half taller than they were. Where they resembled large fairies, she… didn’t.
“No. I’m not hungry.” She stalked into the room, lighting her wings so that the sparks chased each other across the soft skin. Her wingspan was probably nine feet. Theirs?
Maybe four.
Instinctively, both Pys, identical, as they all were, shrank back, worry crossing their beautiful faces. “We can feed you. We can bring you the human women. We know where they are.”
Nyx froze, fighting to keep any sign of surprise from her face. “Where are they?” she purred, matching their tone.
This pleased them and they came closer, out of the corner, eyes dancing. “They hide from us, but we know they’re near. We see them come out to play. We hear the Garce stalk them. We wait until they come to us.”
Nyx tipped her head. These Pys didn’t know her. They hadn’t been there when she’d been turned, or when she’d escaped. And apparently, no one had told them that escaped human-hybrids were anything to fear. All they saw was that she was huge, and they were not.
Only the elite Pys — the ones that controlled all the others — were as big as Nyx was now.
Because they fed off their own kind.
That little tidbit of information would have been helpful many, many months ago.
“You hear the Garce?”
The fact that she had to ask that question seemed to be cause for suspicion. They shared a nervous glance before looking back to her, eyes darkening.
Crap.
“You are not one of us.”
Nyx pursed her lips and shook her head. “I’m sure not.”
She glanced over their shoulder. The sky was lighting. If she didn’t get rid of these two and let Keven in, she’d die before she could get his team back to the compound.
“Who are you?”