by Eddie Patin
"Jason, look out!" Riley cried. Jason pulled his finger away. He looked up and felt the ground shaking. A deep, growling animal sound filled his guts with sloshing fear and vibrated his spine with terror so bad that Jason thought he might piss himself...
He turned to look at the calamity behind him and took it all in as if in slow motion:
Riley abandoned his position, leaping down to stand next to Jason with superhuman agility; the sand and dust and small rocks around them shaking and leaping like popcorn as a huge black shape that radiated pure rage and bestial pheromones and stark horror came charging in; its deep growl like the revving of a huge truck. Jason saw the wide, black horns and the gleam of large yellow fangs sneering among a sea of shaggy, black fur!
The Alpha! Jason thought with a rush of terror. His mind reeled. He totally forgot about the bugs because this monster that appeared out of nowhere was charging at them like a freaking locomotive. Jason was going to be a red paste in just a moment...
Riley fired one burst, then another, then leapt to the side as the beast closed the distance and lunged at him with its massive, sharp-tipped horns. The monster moved with impossible speed—it must have been a thousand pounds of pure, iron muscle!
Suddenly, Jason found himself scrambling to his feet. Struggling for balance, he fired at the minotaur from the hip and his Rigby Magnum Mauser boomed painfully in his ears, throwing him back onto his ass as if he tried to catch a football made of lead.
Stupid! Jason thought, growling to rouse himself to action and up to his feet despite the flood of terror sweeping through him that tried to keep him on the ground. Every instinct inside Jason told him to just hug his arms and legs together, cover his head, and become a tiny human ball in the sand, as if the monster was a grizzly bear. But it wasn’t a bear—it was a minotaur; an alpha minotaur.
The creature’s hooves thundered around him, shaking the ground and pelting Jason with waves of sand. Riley danced with the beast, dodging like a madman while trying to keep the hell away. He fired his Gauss rifle whenever he could get it up to his shoulder.
Jason finally jumped to his feet and ran several steps in the opposite direction.
He heard a snap of a Nothrix railgun, and saw the ground next to him burst into a spray of sand.
"Shit!" he cried, aiming his rifle at the massive monster trying to get its hands and its horns into Riley. The soldier’s face was cool and grim. He dodged with inhuman speed. Jason realized that he was aiming a spent casing at the minotaur. He cycled his bolt wildly. "Gliath!" Jason screamed. "Gliath! Help! Help!"
The big, black minotaur made a loud, feral growling sound that turned Jason’s guts to water, reminding him of dogs or wolves when they get crazy and riled up, but deep and thunderous and scary as hell! Riley tucked into a roll, desperate to get away from the sandstone wall that he had backed into. The cyborg leapt up again—raising his railgun to the beast once more—then monster caught him with its right horn.
Riley cried out in pain, and his rifle went flying. Jason realized with fresh horror that the soldier was completely skewered through the middle—through his jacket, armor, body and all—then the minotaur flipped its thick, mighty head and neck, ripping Riley through the air, up and over its shaggy, black form. Riley's body flew like a doll’s, pitched through the air then crashing down into the sand.
Jason felt hopelessness wash over him.
Riley lay dying in the sand, crumpled and broken, unconscious, his coat splayed out around him.
The minotaur brought Jason back to reality with a bone-shaking roar. As it advanced on him, Jason brought up his Rigby and shot it in the face. The boom of the rifle pierced Jason’s ears like icepicks and the beast rushed up, shaking the ground...
Jason cycled the action even though he knew he was done for.
Then a blurring black shape flashed through the air and the minotaur was thrown off course. The snarling and gnashing and intense growling of two dark, iron-muscled beasts was bloodcurdling. As Jason watched the rolling, vicious tangle of arms and legs and claws and points and teeth, he knew that it was Gliath who'd jumped in to save him.
Jason looked down at Riley.
Riley was fucking dead—or at least he looked like it.
The minotaur stomped around and raged, fighting the leopardwere. They were both as black as ink under the yellow sky. The monsters’ various roars and snarls and cries of pain blended together into a nightmare of vicious animal sounds. Staring at the confusing mass of tearing and clawing, Jason realized that Gliath was quite a bit smaller than the minotaur and was scrambling around on the bull-man’s back and shoulders, tearing at it and sinking his teeth in again and again in a brutal display. Jason saw Gliath's kukri stuck in the minotaur's neck, but the black beast fought on, uncaring.
Gliath wouldn’t hold off the monster for long...
There was another snap of a railgun. Jason looked back into the ambush area to see three bugs hovering in the yellow sky, their wings buzzing almost invisibly behind them.
Frantically moving back to the partial protection of the boulder, Jason lowered his gun and reached into his shirt for the focus key to back home. He held it in his hand, feeling the edges of the metal press into his gloved palm.
He felt for the connection. He hadn’t used this focus key before but he knew what to do. He envisioned the garage and a single point in the air next to Riley’s broken form. Jason visualized the infinite space in between; traveling through the ninth dimension from this point in this universe out of its containing multiverse, across the bubbling chaos in between, all the way to Earth’s multiverse, then his own universe, then the single point in Ridgeview, Colorado...
There was a gust of wind. Jason didn’t hear the fluttering over the insane noise of the fight between Gliath and the alpha minotaur. Then he heard the snap, and the canyon suddenly lit up with brilliant, orange light!
Jason felt fear for Riley. He didn’t want Riley to die. Yeah, Riley had been being a dick to him at times, but Jason understood. The man had lost his friends. He’d lost his fellow Reality Rifters. They were like a family.
And Riley felt like family to Jason now, even as crazy as things had been; even though it had only been a short while since these two planeswalkers had turned his life upside-down.
Jason knew then that he wanted this life of adventure. He wanted these men to be his brothers.
The portal smoothed out and Jason saw his garage inside—absurd next to the violence and melee in the sand next to him. The alpha minotaur’s hooves shook the ground as it raged on and fought against Gliath.
There was another pop of a railgun, and Jason ducked instinctively, hearing the round buzz past his head.
Shit!
"Gliath, come on!" Jason screamed.
Then he wheeled on the flying Nothrix, aimed, and fired.
The rifle hurt his ears again, but Jason felt a brief flight of pride when he saw one of the bugs burst—its belly splattering into shadowy chunks against the sky. It plummeted to the ground.
Jason cycled the bolt.
Gliath and the minotaur fought on. The open rift swirled and roared and spit sparks all over.
"Get to the portal, Gliath!" Jason screamed again. "Come on! Get Riley!"
Over the madness, Jason heard one of the Nothrix hiss and click like a rattlesnake’s tail. It hung in the air only twenty yards away and up, pumping its railgun up and down.
"Stupid human!" it shouted from over there. "Puny Riley dead now! That what happens when cross Nothrix Reapers! Now you get smooshed by—"
Ghrag...?
Jason snapped the rifle up, aimed at the shouting bug, and fired.
The Rigby boomed and rocked against Jason’s shoulder. He watched as one of the bug’s wings was disintegrated with a splash of silhouetted muck in the sky. The creature cried out in pain and immediately fell to the ground. When it hit the sand, there was a splash of whatever served as blood.
That had to be Ghrag.
Ja
son cycled the bolt again, and when he looked back at the pandemonium of the battle with the alpha, he saw Gliath disengaged as the minotaur spun in the sand to gore at him again. Dark blood was spurting out of the leopardwere in two places, coloring the sand as Gliath moved. The horned beast roared and charged in as Gliath deftly scooped up Riley’s body in his long, black arms, then darted into the rift without hesitation.
"Shit!" Jason cried, jumping to action and diving in at the portal himself. It wasn’t hard to reach it—he was right next to it—but as he plunged through the rift back into his garage, Jason felt a surge of adrenaline as he realized that the alpha minotaur was thundering in right behind him, slowing down in the face of the whirling, sputtering portal...
As Jason fell into his garage, crashing into Gliath’s sturdy form—he felt his face turn wet when it collided with Gliath’s side. He immediately felt a rush of relief when his brain caught up and he saw that he was home!
Then something massive and heavy smashed into him from behind, sending Jason sprawling out on the concrete. Gliath and Riley’s limp body did the same—they all went down like bowling pins. The three Reality Rifters were a mess of bodies for a moment then Jason bellowed an unthinking noise of fear when he saw what had just happened...
The monstrous black alpha minotaur stood before them—almost as tall as the ceiling of his garage—its horns as wide together as the bicycle hung on the wall behind it. Hooves the size of basketballs touched down onto the concrete with a shuddering sound. The rift to Maze World yawned behind the beast, swirling and sputtering, filled with the yellow sky full of maze-like furrows in the clouds and purple sandstone walls.
The alpha minotaur had followed them through...
Chapter 24
"Oh God!" Jason cried. "The alpha!"
Gliath was back on his nimble feet before Jason could react. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw splashes and spots of red blood all over the concrete where the leopardwere had fallen down. Riley’s form was still crumbled there. Jason felt a wave of horror and nausea as he saw a ragged hole in the soldier’s stomach under his ribs, with blood surging forth onto his armor and belt constantly as if with the beat of the man's heart.
Jason stared up at the monster, stunned and unable to think of anything to do, stuck on his back on the garage floor. The horned beast could easily just reach forward with one leg and crush Jason's chest, breaking every rib and pulverizing his organs...
The minotaur was scary as hell. It snorted loudly, heaving its mighty, shaggy chest, glaring down at Jason and across at Gliath with dark eyes that glittered in the fiery, orange light of the portal as it looked around, its hooves thumping on the concrete floor.
But it didn’t attack.
The monster regarded Jason and Gliath for just a moment, then turned to the closed garage door and charged at it! It took off in a thunderous run, immediately lowered its massive head, then crashed through the garage door as if it was made of Styrofoam, sundering the old Masonite wood panels and sending splinters flying through the air! Chunks of green-painted garage door flew all over and Jason watched in dumb shock as the monster ran out into his driveway. It was surprised momentarily by Jason's parked car, turned to challenge it, then slammed its head and horns into the rear driver’s side area, making the little Ford Escort jump and its tires chirp. Jason heard one of the windows shatter.
"Shit!" Jason exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.
Then, apparently satisfied with its damage to the car, the alpha minotaur continued out into the street, its hooves thumping deeply on the concrete and asphalt. It turned right and charged off out of sight to the north up Kestrel Drive.
Jason stared at the shattered space in his garage door. It wasn't like a cartoon cut-out. The door was FUBAR.
The thumping receded into the distance. There was a crash. A car alarm went off.
"Ranaja..." Gliath rumbled, dropping down to his knees and pulling Riley’s body up into his armored and black-furred lap. In normal light again—as well as the brilliant flaring glow of the rift—Jason could see that Gliath’s body was caked with blood. The leopardwere’s long, black tail whipped back and forth just like Zelda’s did when she was upset or agitated.
Riley’s wound continued to pulse. He was bleeding out.
"Oh shit!" Jason exclaimed, snapping back to reality. He turned to Riley and Gliath, feeling helpless. He felt scared, and felt that same terror of being alone again that he felt when Amanda and Tom moved away.
He looked back up at the rift to Maze World then released it.
The rift crumpled to nothing with a pop.
Everything was quiet again, and Jason’s ears were ringing. Two car alarms were blaring up the street. There was a roar in Jason's senses, like the constant drone of the ocean...
He looked down at Riley.
Then he remembered the potion!
"Oh yeah!" Jason said, dropping his rifle and dashing up, throwing himself down onto his knees. He went for the belt pouch where he was pretty sure Riley kept his last remaining healing potion. It was covered in hot, sticky blood.
Opening the pouch, Jason pulled out the single crystal flask—swaddled in cloth—and unwrapped it. He looked at the decorative vial against the light. He watched the purple fluid whish around inside—of course this was the one! What else would it be?! Then Jason unscrewed the top.
"Hold his head up!" Jason said to Gliath, rushing the potion toward Riley’s sagging face.
Jason's hands were shaking.
With Gliath’s help, he opened Riley’s mouth. The soldier’s face was slack. It was cold and grey. Jason noticed a fine, pale scar running along one cheek that he hadn't noticed before when Riley's face was at its normal color. There also seemed to be a mild burn scar across the left side of the soldier's face, partly concealed by his beard. Then, Jason pushed the end of the bottle into Riley’s mouth and let the fluid flow...
He tilted the bottle up, making sure that every last drop made it into Riley’s mouth.
They waited.
Jason held his breath and his heard pounded in his ears. He felt his heartbeat in his neck.
The hospital, Jason thought. Take him to the hospital.
No. Riley was from another world. Shit—his body was full of cybernetic implants! Talk about asking for trouble...
"But if it’s the only way..." Jason muttered quietly to himself, noting Gliath’s yellowish-green eyes darting up to his for a moment. The Krulax had no expression on his feline face. Jason wondered if the leopardwere was as torn up on the inside as he was...
Is he already dead? Jason thought, suddenly choking on a welling of emotion in his throat.
Jason flowed with sadness. Feelings of loss and fear burst in him like fireworks and he watched Riley’s face, desperate to see something—anything! He was suddenly struck again by how young Riley's face looked. Normally, the soldier's face was very animated, weathered, and lined. Now, it was soft and almost olive in tone...
He wasn't grey anymore...
Jason looked down and saw that the wound wasn’t bleeding anymore. Either Riley had outright died—and his heart had stopped beating—or the wound had healed...
Reaching for the bite valve on his shoulder, Jason squirted a stream of water from his CamelBak onto the bloody tear in Riley’s Merc armor. The water mingled with gore, slowly washing it out. Impatient, Jason reached down with his other hand and rubbed at the hole, cleaning the blood away, and then ... he saw clean skin!
"Whoo!" he screamed suddenly, giddy with emotion. "It’s closed! He’s ... Riley’s healed!" Jason looked up at Gliath, who met his gaze with no expression then stared down at his friend again. "What’s happening?! Why isn’t he waking up?!"
When Jason looked back at Riley’s face, he saw that the skin was tan again and the soldier was slowly, steadily breathing. His eyes were still closed; he was still unconscious.
"Perhaps the potion did not heal him fully, Jason Leaper 934," Gliath rumbled. "He must rest."
Shit.
Jason’s mind raced. There was an alpha minotaur loose on Earth—on his street. It was his fault. The monster had to be stopped, but ... Riley was out of the fight. How long would he be unconscious?
The Wilderlands, Jason thought with a flash. The Vitality Element! Riley could heal there for days if need be, regenerating because of the universe’s strange laws while barely any time on Earth would pass at all!
He stood.
"Come on, Gliath," Jason said. "Take your guns—shit. Riley’s Gauss rifle is back on Maze World, isn’t it?" Gliath nodded, watching him with Riley still in his lap. "Did you get your knife back? It was stuck in the alpha's body..."
"Yes."
"Let’s get you two to the Wilderlands," Jason said. "We’ve gotta get Riley there to heal faster."
Gliath stood, carrying Riley in his arms. Without effort, the leopardwere took the soldier in one arm as he picked up his railgun and Riley’s lever action rifle and strapped them on. Jason led the way into the kitchen, where he frantically threw a dozen bottles of water from the bulk pack under the dining table into a grocery bag. Then he loaded up another grocery bag with Gliath’s packs of meat from the fridge.
They went outside through the backdoor and Jason led the way down the slope, being careful not to slip in the sloppy, melting snow. He looked off to the north briefly, wondering if he’d catch a glimpse of the minotaur wreaking havoc several houses away, but only saw his neighbor’s back yards.
"What are you going to do, Jason Leaper 934?" Gliath asked in his deep voice as he carried Riley down the slope behind Jason. The Krulax was still in his hybrid form, but Jason didn’t give it much thought while a huge, black alpha minotaur was running around his neighborhood.
"I’ve got to stop the alpha," Jason said. "Somehow..."
He approached the familiar place at the bottom of the slope up against the thicket of scrub oak where the permanent rift to the wyvern’s cavern hung invisibly in the air.