The First Ones

by Michael Weinberger

  “What’s happening?” He asked reflexively.

  “I don’t know,” Ursula admitted, “Be ready.”

  The sound of an impact came from the door leading onto the rooftop behind them, making Jet and Ursula both jump in surprise.

  “What now?” Jet practically shrieked, “How the hell did they get on the roof?”

  “Damn it!” Ursula cursed, aiming both of her handguns toward the rooftop door, as Jet kept his in the direction of the stairwell.

  There was a sound like the scraping of metal on metal, as if someone was trying to unlock the door by trying different keys in the lock.

  “They have the keys?!” Jet’s voice was accented with disbelief, “What the hell is going on?”

  Movement on the other side of the floor turned Jet’s attention back to their original problem, as in front of him a werewolf considerably larger than the rest, was slowly levering its way through the stairwell door. It maneuvered itself onto the floor and Jet’s breath caught in his throat at the immensity of the beast. The light wasn’t great, but Jet could see that this beast had reddish brown colored fur with streaks of blond running through it, adding to its already frightening features.

  Jet’s eyes narrowed as he guessed and firmly stated, “Kaylanna?!”

  The sound coming from the other side of the rooftop door went quiet as Jet had spoken, but the enormous red wolf’s body began shifting, undulating as if it were only some kind of gel filled sac, before solidifying into human form.

  Nope, not Kaylanna. Jet remembered the private airstrip and the last time he had seen a creature do that. He remembered how guns had little to no effect on it, and his legs threatened to give out underneath him, as the fear of what he was actually facing sent messages of retreat roaring through his body.

  The human-like thing was male, naked, and moving awkwardly toward them as if not accustomed to walking on two legs. And then it opened its mouth and only a high-pitched wail-like hiss came out, as it began to move faster.

  The horror of the thing coming at him was too much, and although he hadn’t intended on squeezing the trigger, Jet’s shotgun fired. The fifty-caliber slug blew a large chunk of the thing’s side away and its body recoiled from the impact, but it didn’t lose its footing. Hesitating only for a moment, in order to fully right itself, the thing turned toward Jet, smiled an awkward yet knowing smile that spread unevenly across its face. The creature started moving forward again, and this time at an even faster pace, as Jet fired again. The slug struck the thing in the shoulder, but this time the creature seemed to barely register the impact, as it crouched low increasing its speed.

  Behind him Jet thought he heard a muffled voice try to shout something, but he ignored it as the oncoming thing was going to close the distance between them within seconds.

  “Ah, to hell with it,” Jet muttered as he took in a long deep breath, blowing it out again and knowing that he only had three more cartridges in the shotgun. He cleared his mind with a split-second prayer, ratcheted the shotgun and ran to meet the thing head on.

  “Jet!” Ursula screamed, “No!” but Jet had pushed his body into a sprint and the creature coming for him was crouched even lower and increasing its speed as well. It shifted as it ran and Jet fired into that undulating mass in response. The slug hit center mass and A hole gaped in the thing for a split second, but the creature’s body simply flowed around the wound sealing it shut before it re-solidified into its original wolf-like shape. It leapt at Jet, mouth agape with teeth ready to sink into his flesh and front claws reaching for him.

  Jet saw the attack coming and dropped to his knees, letting his momentum continue to carry him forward in a slide as he bent backward as far as he could. His knee-forward-soccer-celebration slide carried him underneath the fangs, the claws and the body of the Akhlut’s aerial attack as it flew over its intended target. Realizing its mistake, the thing tried in vain to shift its position in mid-flight and, as Jet passed underneath it, its claws could only find empty air while Jet lifted the barrel of his shotgun and fired through the bottom of the thing’s head, blowing the top of its skull off in an explosion of gore. The Akhlut crashed to the floor and lay still as Jet pivoted and got to his feet while ratcheting another cartridge into firing position.

  Jet wasn’t going to wait to see if it was dead and quickly moved to the thing’s side, raised the shotgun to fire again when there was an explosion of sound as something slammed into the rooftop door. The metal screeched as it bent in the frame with such a volume that it startled Jet and he looked toward Ursula and Aurora, his attention shifting away from the unmoving creature at his feet.

  Jet had just managed to focus on Ursula when he saw her eyes go wide, “Jet! Watch out!”

  Jet’s head shot back to the Akhlut in time to see one of its front legs elongate and whip toward him. The rubber-like extremity struck him at the knees, sending him sprawling to the ground, as yet another forceful impact resonated from the rooftop door.

  Jet and the Akhlut scrambled back to their feet with Jet raising the shotgun, but the thing moved swiftly to the side. Jet tried to track the thing but his final shot just missed the Akhlut, blowing out one of the floor to ceiling windows in the hall. The Akhlut circled inside Jet’s defenses and lashed out with one clawed hand that struck Jet solidly in the chest. Jet felt something tear and heard his bones crack on impact, as his feet came off the floor and his body hurled through the air, before crashing back down at the creature’s feet.

  Blood surged and Jet looked at his chest to see four gaping slash wounds, one of which had the end of a rib poking through his flesh. He couldn’t draw a breath, and the pain… dear God, the pain was beyond belief.

  Gunfire erupted and the force of her large caliber rounds pushed the Akhlut back to the far end of the hallway as Ursula advanced on the Akhlut, continuing to fire round after round into the Akhlut’s body. She knew she wasn’t irreparably damaging the thing, but even such an impossible creature as an Akhlut couldn’t deny physics as it was knocked further and further back from where Jet lay helpless on the floor. When she reached him, Ursula grabbed the fabric of his ruined shirt at the shoulder and began dragging Jet bodily toward the roof access door. Jet screamed in pain at having been moved so abruptly, only absently hearing the roof access door reverberate with an impact once again. If the pain hadn’t blinded him he would have seen the metal door tear free of its frame… and Benjamin push through the opening.

  Without missing a beat Ursula tossed one of her guns to the big man, who caught it, looked down at the Desert Eagle with a confused expression, while she gently set Jet down on the floor next to Aurora. Benjamin only took a moment to peer down at the puddle of blood forming as it poured from Jet’s body before understanding the gravity of the wound that the man before him had suffered. Benjamin’s eyes followed the thick smear of blood across the floor to the creature, even now rising at the far end of the hallway.

  Benjamin’s head swiveled to Jet, his face briefly drooped in what looked like empathy for Jet’s condition, before turning back to the Akhlut at the far end of the hall. The creature opened its mouth and barred its teeth at Benjamin, but the big man didn’t seem afraid. Instead, Benjamin’s face altered into a sneer of his own, with a low growl escaping from his throat. The Akhlut hesitated, peering at Benjamin warily, as it sized up this new, much larger opponent. Then, apparently sensing no additional threat from the new arrival, it began to lope forward. Benjamin bent his knees and bolted forward, closing the distance quickly and slamming into the Akhlut before it had time to properly react. The Akhlut wailed in pain and surprise from the impact as Benjamin took it to the ground, pulling an obsidian knife from his belt sheath. The Akhlut saw the blade and whipped one arm around it in the same boneless fashion it had used to up-end Jet, and wrapped the newly formed tentacle multiple times around the wrist of Benjamin’s knife hand. The Akhlut pulled Benjamin in close so the large man couldn’t reach back properly to use the blade, but Benjamin began raini
ng heavy-handed blows directly into the beast’s face that drew more and more of what passed for the Akhlut’s blood with every blow. Clearly in pain, the Akhlut twisted its tentacle-like arm and the knife flew out of Benjamin’s hand before its wolf-like legs kicked Benjamin off, separating them. The creature tried to get to its feet, but Benjamin was on it again, faster than it could recover, and this time with his arm was wrapped around what passed for the thing’s neck.

  Through his failing vision Jet watched the battle in amazement, but soon found that he was incapable of keeping his eyes open any longer, the pain disappearing into a dull numbness as he went into shock. He shifted his gaze to Ursula, who continued to press her hands over his wounds, and he vaguely heard her screaming something at him before his world went completely blurred with his only thought being that he desperately needed to sleep.

  Chapter 23: On the roof…

  “He’s not breathing! Do something!” Ursula screamed at Aurora while pressing down on Jet’s open chest, “We need him!”

  Aurora looked at Ursula in a confused, detached manner as even more of his blood poured onto the floor. Ursula’s expression was completely panicked, but her voice dropped as she whispered, “I, need him.”

  The little girl’s head nodded slightly at those words, “You expressed how desperately you wanted to keep my secret from Benjamin. Know that, if I do this, then he will see and know everything.”

  Ursula was crying as Jet’s life poured through her fingers while she hopelessly continued her attempt to stifle his blood loss.

  “I know,” she confirmed, “but do it.”

  Aurora shrugged and shuffled forward in order to kneel next to Jet’s now limp and unmoving body.

  The sound of Benjamin grunting with effort filled the background as the large man lifted the Akhlut off the ground, driving it toward the stairwell at the far end of the hall, before slamming the creature against the wall and pinning it there for a moment.

  “Get to the roof!” Benjamin shouted, without looking back as the Akhlut shifted its form yet again, flailing unnaturally with all of its jointed limbs shifting seamlessly into boneless tentacles and trying to ensnare Benjamin and tear him away. If Benjamin was shocked by the transformations he didn’t show it, instead he smoothly shifted his weight, grabbed one of the new appendages and flipped the beast over his shoulder like a wrestler, slamming it onto the ground with tremendous force.

  Aurora knelt next to where Jet’s unmoving body was lying sprawled out on the floor and gently spread her little hands over his wounds. Her hands were so small they could barely cover the gaping slashes in his chest as she closed her eyes and spoke words too low to be heard. A glow began to grow beneath and around Aurora’s hands as Ursula wiped tears away and watched with an awed expression.

  There was no way that Benjamin could have heard or seen what was happening, but he shifted his gaze from the Akhlut for the merest moment; as if silently alerted to what Aurora had begun doing. The moment ended for Benjamin, as a tentacle encircled his head, pulling him to the ground, and his battle with the Akhlut continued.

  The glow under Aurora’s hands grew in intensity. Ursula could feel the air around her begin to draw in, as a pressure filled her ears, and then, with a quick flash of light, the pressure subsided and Aurora lifted her tiny hands away, now covered in blood, from Jet’s healed body.

  Ursula looked down expectantly, only to have her eyes open with renewed panic as she realized he still wasn’t breathing.

  “Jet!” Ursula screamed, and with the sound of his name, Jet’s whole body went into a spasm and he suddenly sat upright, eyes wide open and lungs gasping for air.

  Jet took in several rapid and deep breaths as he looked around, trying to remember just where he was and why. Ursula looked from Jet’s face to his chest and back again several times before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him tightly to her. Then, as if a miracle had not just happened, she quickly released him and, without a single word, began reloading her firearms.

  Memory stirred and Jet felt around at his chest for a wound, but his fingers only found undamaged skin beneath the tatters of his shirt. The pain was gone, his head was clear and he was feeling as though he had slept for a week.

  Ursula dumped Jet’s shotgun into his lap, now fully loaded, bringing Jet’s attention back to the battle raging just down the hallway as a cry of such anguish filled the space, making all eyes turn toward it.

  Benjamin stood there, frozen in place and staring at them with wide, pained and teary eyes.

  He still had one foot placed on the Akhlut’s neck, but the creature was quickly shifting out from under the large boot. Benjamin didn’t seem to even notice the creature any longer as he simply stepped off the beast and began walking toward Jet. In response, the Akhlut just lay motionless on the floor for the briefest seconds, momentarily bewildered at having been forgotten, before it righted itself and shot a tentacle out to encircle Benjamin’s waist.

  Benjamin was halted when the tentacle grabbed him, and the big man’s face went wild with a rage that was so pure that Jet had never seen its equal before. Benjamin grabbed the restricting appendage with one hand, pulled the Akhlut off the ground and used the tentacle to whip the creature’s body onto the ground with a terrible force once, twice, three times and then again and again and again, until he finally held the creature up and it merely dangled limply from his grasp. Then, seemingly without a second thought, Benjamin swung his arm wide and discarded the Akhlut, tossing it out the window shattered by Jet’s earlier shotgun blast as if it were no more than a wadded-up piece of trash. There was a wet sound of impact that came from the concrete parking lot several stories below, but Benjamin ignored it as he slowly resumed his walk toward Jet.

  Ursula stood up quickly, and Jet thought she might try to get in between them, but one quick glance from Benjamin had her ducking her head down in submission and stepping back out of the way. Benjamin knelt in front of Jet and extended one large hand toward his chest. The look in Benjamin’s eyes paralyzed Jet, but he unconsciously flinched when he felt Benjamin’s fingers flick the tattered fabric of his shirt to the side, in order to see the condition of the skin beneath. Jet hadn’t realized he was breathing rapidly in fear, but Benjamin’s expression shifted and his hand began to tremble, as the big man slowly turned to Aurora.

  “You?” Benjamin whispered, “After all this time…You?”

  Aurora’s face held no expression, but she said, “Hello Benjamin.”

  Benjamin seemed suddenly angry, “After all this time, that’s all you have for me? A ‘hello’ just as casual as can be? It’s as if you hadn’t once forsaken me?”

  There was a weight in Benjamin’s voice that accompanied the bitterness as he started to ask, “Why?” Then his eyes widened as if he suddenly realized something, “Wait… wait!”

  Benjamin stood, turning to Ursula and saying, “The child! She’s yours!”

  Ursula couldn’t stand to look Benjamin directly in the eyes, “Ben...”

  Benjamin shouted, “No! No more lies! We don’t have time!” Then he quieted and, with his voice now quiet and trembling almost in time with his hands, “She’s... yours?”

  Tears fell from Ursula eyes freely, and she raised her hands in a gesture that made her look as if she were unsure whether to shoot Ben, or hug him.

  For his part Benjamin, found an answer in her wordless response, “Oh... Oh, no...” Benjamin managed to get out before his expression grew deadly serious, as he rounded on Aurora, grabbing her tiny shoulders, his teeth bared and his expression once again wild with rage.

  “Get! Out! Of! Her!” Benjamin snarled at Aurora.

  Aurora looked so small as she stood between both of Benjamin’s huge hands and Ursula jumped forward to grab onto one of Benjamin’s arms, but even her strength was nothing compared to Benjamin’s.

  Aurora didn’t react at all to being grabbed, but instead, she only regarded Benjamin curiously.

  Ursula spoke urgent
ly, “We don’t have time for…”

  “Get! Out! Now!!!” Benjamin moved his face even closer to Aurora’s.

  Jet didn’t understand what was happening, and he got his feet underneath himself to stand, just as a howl came from the far stairwell.

  Aurora said softly, “They’re all reeling from the death of one of Kaylanna’s first born, but they’ll recover in a few seconds, and soon will be on us.”

  Jet shook his head as the first shadow moved out of the far stairwell and said, “Ben, we really need to go!”

  Benjamin didn’t release Aurora, and maintained his grip while continuing to stare angrily into the child’s eyes.

  In response, Aurora rolled her eyes... an exasperated gesture... before sighing, “Fine.”

  There was no light, sound or any other sign that something had happened, only a simple flick of Aurora’s eyes that shifted away from Benjamin for the merest moment. When the child’s eyes met Benjamin’s once again, the First One was gone and had left only the two-year-old Aurora in its place.

  Benjamin’s eyes studied the child’s and the fury in his face melted away as his mouth opened in a gasp. Then the big man’s body started shaking and his eyes immediately filled with tears. Aurora’s face lit up as she looked at Benjamin with an expression similar to one that a child who finds a room full of presents on their first ever Christmas might have. Her smile widened as every expression in her body language returning to that of a normal two-year-old.

  “I…I…” Benjamin stammered, his mouth moving as if trying to make words as he gently released Aurora’s shoulders.

  Aurora studied Ben’s face before, and in a voice completely different than the one the First One manifested in her, Aurora managed, “O’bear?”

  Benjamin’s lips moved, but still no sound came out. Then, ever so slightly, he nodded his head.