“Oh, no.”
“Kateri. Get her downstairs,” I say.
“No,” Sora says defiantly. “I have to help.”
I know she won’t go, so there’s no point in fighting her on it.
“At least let Kateri take care of the cut.”
She nods and Kateri helps her sit down on an overturned cabinet. I climb over the fallen pieces of the ceiling, jumbled equipment and overturned beds in search of any survivors. I spot an arm sticking out from under a medical cart, but as soon as I touch it, it comes away, free from its body. I take a deep breath in an effort not to puke up my lunch, but it’s a futile effort. I vomit all over the floor just as Sora and Kateri come up beside me.
“You all right?”
“I’m fine,” I answer, wiping my mouth. “How many people were in here, Sora?”
“Maybe twelve.”
E ~ A dozen…shit.
“Over there!” Kateri yells, pointing to the far side of the room.
We can see a girl struggling to free herself from a pile of debris. The three of us clamber our way through the tangled pile of wreckage. Kateri tosses things out of the way, when I suddenly recognize the girl.
“Trista!”
She looks at me, black soot, blood and plaster from the ceiling in her hair and on her face. She grins and shakes her head.
“Eve. So, this sucks,” she says.
“Hold on!”
“We need a trauma team up here. Now!” Kateri screams into her microphone.
“Roger that.”
Sora and I lift an overturned medical cart off Trista’s leg and help her up when she cries out in pain.
“Stop! Stop!” I yell.
A chunk of wood, about ten inches long and two inches thick is stuck through her right leg. The damage looks extensive, although there’s not much blood, but it’s obvious that we can’t handle this on our own.
“Where the fuck is the doctor?” Kateri screams into her mic again.
“Team is coming,” comes the terse reply.
I look at Trista, and nod.
“They’re on their way.”
“Quite the welcome home,” she says with a grim smile.
“Yeah,” I reply, frowning. “Sora. Stay with her, we need to see if we can find anyone else.”
“You got it.”
Sora sits down next to Trista, holding her hand in her lap.
“Come on Kateri.”
We head deeper into the room, pushing aside debris looking for any sign of bodies or survivors. We find the lifeless forms of three more people buried under the wreckage. Thankfully, the damage is much less extensive the further we go. The explosion hit the center of the exterior wall. I lean against a portion of the collapsed ceiling, my eyes closed as I try to shut out the images that keep flooding my mind, and then someone puts their hand on my shoulder.
“Okay?”
I look at Kateri and she looks as devastated as I feel.
“Kateri! Eve! We’ve got a problem!” Evan shouts over the radio.
“What now?”
“We have multiple incursions happening right now.”
“Where?”
“In the parking lot!”
Kateri and I rush to the shattered exterior wall. There are four blue, shimmering portals beginning to open two stories below us.
“Jax! Reeva! Get everyone you can outside. Now!” Father orders.
I look over at Kateri and she gives me a wicked little grin.
“You ready for this?” she asks.
“I’m always ready,” I say, and then I suddenly realize we don’t have any weapons; we were having lunch with my mother for God’s sake.
“These’ll have to do,” Kateri says picking up a length of broken pipe with water still dripping out of it and tosses it to me. She twirls a twisted piece of metal with multiple jagged edges with her right hand.
We slip into the building’s shadow and stream directly down to the pavement. I materialize just inches above a wiry demon covered in small spines. I bring the pipe down, throwing all my weight behind the strike. I literally shatter the beast’s spine, bending the metal rod. The creature collapses in a heap at my feet. I look over at Kateri, watching for a moment while she trades blows with a large black and green demon wielding what looks like a sledgehammer; their weapons clashing and clanging off each other.
I start toward her when something suddenly slams into me, knocking me to the ground. I lose my grip on the pipe as it clatters and tumbles away on the dirty asphalt. Scrambling to my feet, I turn to face my attacker, but I take a step back as it looms over me. It’s the largest demon I’ve ever seen…hell, it’s one of the largest living creatures I’ve ever seen. My ribs jab me as I stand, so I’m sure at least one is broken. It glares at me with two sets of eyes, one pair just above the other, blinking in unison. It has no weapons, not that it probably needs any, other than its massive fists which look like they could crush concrete blocks.
It swings at me and I slip to the right, ducking at the last second. I feel the rush of air as the beast barely misses me. I kick out with my leg hitting the monster in the thigh, but that gets me nothing. It spins around, its quad-eyes tracking me. I need a weapon, or I can forget about taking this thing down. The pipe is too far away, but the shadow from the building is only just behind the beast. It advances on me, roaring in anger, raising both arms to smash the life out of me. Instead of moving away, I rush the creature, dropping at the very last moment and sliding between my attacker’s legs.
Scrambling to my feet, I make a dash for the shadow, literally throwing myself into them just as the demon reaches me. I fade and stream over onto the top of the old delivery truck on the far side of the lot. For a moment, the monster looks left and right, but the confusion is only momentarily. The second it spots me it runs toward the truck. I wait until it’s only a few feet away and I fade again, this time back to the Factory. I reappear right next to the now bent pipe. I pick it up, but I know it’ll be nearly useless against this demon. When I look up, it’s already almost on me, roaring in anger as black spittle flies from its mouth.
Suddenly the doors of the Factory burst open and Jax, Reeva and the others flood into the parking lot.
“Eve!” Jax yells, tossing me his sword as he rushes to help Kateri.
I catch the weapon, unsheathing it and discarding the leather sleeve in one fluid moment. The demon swings at me again, but this time I return his attack with one of my own. The blade cuts deep into his right arm, the dark, gray flesh not as impenetrable as it first seemed. The beast pulls back his injured limb and growls before suddenly charging again. I try to dodge out of the way, but it sweeps me up in its massive arms and slams me against the Factory wall. The impact knocks the air out of my lungs and it takes a step back as I slump to the ground. Before I’m able to recover, the demon grabs me by the throat and lifts me off the ground, his massive hand slowly crushing my throat.
He raises me until I’m eye to eyes with him.
“You’re…the…one,” he mutters, the words sounding strangled and twisted.
“Go to hell,” I say as I use the last of my strength to thrust the sword up into the bottom of his jaw.
The tip of the blade emerges from the top of its head. The monster stares at me for a second, a look of pure shock on its face before he collapses, both of us crashing to the ground. I drag myself out from under the dead weight of the monster’s massive arm, coughing and wincing from the pain in my ribs the entire time. When I look up, Kateri is standing there, blood dripping down her face from a cut on her forehead.
“Jesus. Are you okay?” she says, helping me stand.
I look up into her face and I feel some of my strength returning.
“I’m okay, are you?” I ask.
“It’s nothing,” she replies with a little grin.
“We get them all?”
“Yeah.”
I nod slowly and then I remember the infirmary.
“Come on,�
� I say, grabbing her arm and streaming us back up and through the gaping hole in the side of the Factory.
There are other people already here, helping the survivors and searching for more victims.
“Let’s just check this back here,” I say pointing to a door at the back of the room, partially blocked by a fallen ceiling beam.
After shifting the debris, I push the door open and a little face stares out at me from the darkness.
“Hey,” I say, kneeling down in front of him.
“Hey,” the little boy says, his eyes wide.
“Are you okay?”
He nods, and I extend my hand.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
He walks out of the little room gripping my hand like a vice.
“What’s your name?”
“Corwyn.”
“I’m Eve. Are you sure you’re okay?”
He just nods.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“My mommy works here,” he replies, and my stomach sinks.
“Where is she?”
He points at the smoking hole as a piece of the ceiling dislodges and crashes to the floor.
Oh, fuck.
“We should get out of here,” I say, standing and swallowing all my emotions.
We start through the rubble when he pulls hard on my arm. I stop and look down at him.
“I saw it,” he says.
“Saw what?”
“The monster.”
Chapter Three
“What did he mean the monster?” Sela asks from across Father’s desk.
“I don’t know,” I reply.
“Maybe I should talk to him,” she says, her pure blue eyes feeling like they’re seeing right through me.
“No. You’re not going to do that.”
“I don’t think you have the authority to make those kinds of decisions,” she says, her voice flat and cold.
“I don’t care if you don’t think I do, or not. The kid just lost his mom, so I’ll talk to him when he’s had a chance to recover.”
I glare at her, my gaze unflinching.
“That’s not—”
“That’s the way it’s going to be,” Father interjects, effectively ending the conversation. “We have other things to discuss.”
The room is crowded, which just makes everything worse. Kateri and I are seated in front of Father’s desk, while my mother, Reeva and Jax are standing by the door. Sela is leaning against the big picture window behind Father’s desk, her arms crossed as she stares at me. Jerol’s face is on a video link from wherever he’s at. He doesn’t look happy.
“First off. How many casualties do we have?” Father asks.
“Five dead, fifteen injured,” Sela says.
“Five,” Father says shaking his head. “Will all the injured recover?”
“They should, but we lost two of our doctors and one nurse.”
“Kurt, Alon, and Jena,” Kateri says with some bitterness in her voice. “The other casualties were Kira and Lars.”
“Yes. Those were their names,” Sela says flatly.
“Those are their names,” Kateri replies, glaring at her.
“Also, Trista may lose her leg,” my mother adds from behind us.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What do we know at this point?” Jerol asks.
“We don’t know a whole lot. There was an explosion in the infirmary. Whether the bomb was there, or a floor below, we have yet to determine,” Father replies.
“Well, how in the hell did someone get a bomb into the facility to begin with?”
“We’re trying to determine that as we speak,” Sela says. “That’s why we need to talk to the boy. He may know something important.”
“I agree he may know something,” Jerol says and Sela looks at me, a smug expression on her face, “but I also agree with Eve. He needs some time to recover before we interrogate him.”
Now it’s my turn to give her a look.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Just don’t make it too long,” Jerol replies. “Keep me informed Father.”
“I will. We’ll speak soon.”
Father switches the monitor off and his demeanor changes immediately.
“What the hell is wrong with all of you?” he asks, scowling at us.
“What do—”
“We just lost five people, five good people, and Trista who we just rescued from the Abyss may end up losing her leg and all you can do is snipe at each other.”
“I wasn’t trying—” Sela says, but Father cuts her off.
“Just get out,” he says.
She sighs and storms out, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. For a moment, no one else moves and then he looks at us.
“I mean everyone.”
Without a sound, we all begin filing out of the room. Just before Kateri and I reach the door, Father speaks again.
“Eve. Can you stay a moment?” he asks, his tone quieter and more controlled.
“Sure,” I reply, glancing at Kateri.
K ~ I’ll go check on Trista.
E ~ Okay.
She gives me a wink before exiting the room.
“Could you close the door?”
I push it shut and then return to my seat, leaning forward slightly. Father sighs and locks eyes with me.
“I need you to talk to the boy, now” he says, almost timidly.
“I know. I just didn’t want Sela there, interrogating him.”
Father nods slowly.
“She means well, Eve. She has a tough job.”
“I know, but there are places where her talents don’t really fit.”
“Agreed,” he replies with a small grin.
I rise from my chair and head for the door.
“Eve. One more thing,” he says.
I stop and turn.
“Yes, Father?”
“Do you think Jax has anything to do with this?”
I stare at him, dumbfounded for a few seconds before I finally answer.
“If you’re asking if he did this, then my answer is no. If you’re asking if this may have something to do with him…I don’t know.”
“Thank you, Eve.”
I tilt my head to the side.
“Do you think he did this?”
“No, but we need to find out who did.”
I look at him for a moment. He looks worried. He looks tired. He looks scared.
So am I.
“We will,” I finally answer.
When I walk into the temporary hospital facilities, located one floor down in an old storage area, I’m surprised and saddened by the number of injured. I knew the count, but seeing it is a different matter. There are at least twelve beds occupied by victims with a variety of injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to those who are critically injured. I spot Kateri and Sora by Trista’s bedside. She’s sitting up, leaning back against the headboard, and looks in good spirits, but my heart drops when I spot the sheet covering her bottom half and the way it drops suddenly below her right knee, lying flat on the mattress. She sees me and smiles.
“Eve!” she calls out to me, waving me over.
I wave back, forcing myself to keep a happy expression on my face.
“Trista,” I say, trying to keep from looking at her leg.
I stand there for a few seconds, struggling to come up with any other words.
“It’s okay,” she says, looking down at her missing limb. “It’s still better than the Abyss.”
She chuckles and I’m finally able to relax. I sit down on the edge of the bed and Kateri takes my hand, squeezing gently.
“Doc says they’ll have a new leg for me in a few days, and after I heal…say three or four months, I should be as good as new.”
I nod as I try to force back the tears.
“I’m so sorry, Trista. I wish I—”
She shakes her head and looks at me, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
“It’s not
your fault, Eve. You saved me from God knows what. This is just a little setback.”
“A setback?”
“Yeah…ya know. Crap happens. I mean a lot of it seems to happen to me, but whatcha gonna do?”
A second later she laughs and the rest of us join in. When the last giggle fades away, I sigh deeply.
“Can I ask you some questions?”
“Sure.”
“Did you see anything? Anything at all?”
She shakes her head.
“I didn’t see much. I was in the infirmary for my final checkup, you know, since we got back. Dr. Alon was examining me. We were on the far side of the room and I was facing away from the wall. A couple of minutes into the exam, she stopped talking and looked at something over my shoulder. I should have looked, but I was obsessing over my new phone, and I wasn’t paying attention.”
“She said she’d be right back, and I think I said something like, okay. I don’t even remember the explosion. The next thing I knew you guys were digging me out of the debris.”
I nod and frown.
“I kinda figured, but I had to ask.”
She smiles at me and then shakes her head.
“I wish I was more help.”
“You’re fine, Trista. You did help. Now we know there was something there, or more likely someone.”
I look over at Sora. She looks much better than she did the other day, although stitches adorn her forehead.
“You feeling better?”
“Yeah. Still hurts a little, but not much.”
“What about you? Anything?”
She shakes her head slowly.
“Sorry. I was just coming on shift. I was in the back when it happened.”
“You knew the doctors were over by the wall, right?”
“Yeah, but only because I saw them when I came in.”
“What were they doing?”
“Nothing, just talking and laughing about something.”
I think I grumble and Kateri touches my hand.
E ~ This is going nowhere.
K ~ It’ll be okay.
E ~ I hope so.
“Do you know the little boy, the one I found stuck in the room? I think his name is Corwyn.”
All Things in the Shadows II Page 3