by Amy Miles
I look to Thesa and see that she is barely breathing. Her neck lies at an awkward angle and the stain of blood has begun to spread. I look about me in search of a way out, knowing that even if I find one it is not likely that I will get far in my current state.
Outside my door I can hear the approach of pounding boots and know they are coming for me. How long will Thesa’s makeshift barricade last against laser guns?
There is no other door out of this room. I’m sure the imposter saw to that when he selected it for me. One way in. No way out.
Pounding at my door sends me careening back away from Thesa. I want to help her, to get her out of harm’s way, but I’m barely standing as it is. I can feel my heart thumping in my throat, hear its steady beat in my ears. What am I going to do?
Pressing my hand against my stomach, I whisper, “now would be a good time to wake up, kiddos.”
Nothing. I guess they don’t deem this enough of a life threatening situation! I snort, feeling the irony of that.
A terrible crash behind me nearly sends me carpet diving. I clutch my chest, leaning heavily against my stick as I turn and see a huge hand beating against my window. Bursts of red lasers light up the night sky as soldiers begin to emerge from their vehicles. The pounding at my door increases. “Open up or we are coming in,” a man shouts. His accent is thick and distinctly non-human. There is a gurgling raspy tone to his words. I suspect he is one of the many otherworldly creatures that Hendrix has acquired along the way.
Another slam of the giant fists cracks the liquid state of the window and I watch in wonder as it begins to solidify, like a rapid freeze on a pond.
“Illyria, back away,” a voice shouts. I barely have time to react before the fist breaks through and a gaping hole opens before me. Shards of the frozen liquid slice at my skin. I cry out in pain as hundreds of tiny razors bite at me. The hum of laser guns erupts behind me and the mattress begins to shudder. It’s only a matter of time before it catches on fire.
A slender figure appears from the dark outside, gripping the edge of my window with black gloved hands, and then rises before me. Her dark hair falls over her face, concealing her.
“You just gonna stand there like an idiot or let me rescue you?” With a shake of her head I realize that a ghost stands before me.
“Natasha?” I limp backward until my back is against the wall. She rolls her eyes and rushes forward.
“Now’s not the time to start fainting on me.” She holds up her hands before her, cautious as she approaches. I stare at her, trying to figure out what my brain is trying to tell me. “I gotta get you outta here.”
Her arm snakes around my back and I flinch. “You’re alive? I saw Hendrix kill you!”
“No,” she shakes her head and forces me to hop with her as she rushes me toward the opening. “You only saw what we wanted you to see.”
THIRTY-ONE
A great giant hand reaches through the shattered window to grasp me in its clutches, drawing me out into the frigid night air. Natasha hops down beside me and I glance back just in time to see my mattress explode into a cloud of fluff. Thesa is down there!
“Wait!” I cry out, beating against the giant’s arm as it winds around me. “Thesa is in there. We have to save her!”
“She knew the risks.” Natasha pats the giant’s arm and I turn to look up at him, recognizing the orange tufts of hair behind the ogre-like man’s ears.
“Handal? You’re alive too?”
“He won’t be for long if you don’t shut your trap and let us get out of here,” Natasha snaps. She motions for Handal to follow her and fires off a round of cover fire. I have no idea how a man of such great size can manage to move so smoothly but what I anticipated to cause great pain is actually a rather soothing motion. I look down at the ground and realize that Handal is holding me aloft, cradling me like a child.
“I don’t understand. How are you still alive? How are you here?”
Natasha ducks behind one of the vehicle wheels, her gun held aloft before her. In the dim light I’m pretty sure I see her roll her eyes. “Does shut up mean nothing to you?”
She whips around and fires off another three rounds. The return fire misses her by less than an inch. Throwing herself to the ground, she rolls and takes out two soldiers but many more begin to pour in.
“You’ll never make it,” I say, trying to see around Handal’s great frame. “We are outnumbered.”
“You think?” She grunts and tosses a small silver orb through the air. I can hear her count to three before she ducks low, covering her head with her hands. Handal curls his great form around me but I am still rocked by the explosion. Cries of pain rise above the zings of laser fire as the laser grenade takes out a group of soldiers behind us.
“Handal, run!”
Natasha is fast. She weaves in and among the vehicles with ease. Handal shows a similar grace, but his great size makes it more difficult for him to slip between. When we reach one particularly narrow gap, he raises me high into the air over his head and squeezes through. The vehicle rocks as he shoves, bouncing on its axles.
Although I am only aloft for a brief moment I can see the forces mounting up behind us and my stomach rises into my throat. We don’t stand a chance. Hundreds of soldiers have begun to amass, illuminated by their drawn swords. They are beautiful against the lightless sky. Each rises about three feet in length and glows a brilliant white, reminding me of sun beating down across an ice-glazed snowy mountain, so bright you want to look away.
“Move, Handal!” I turn to look at Natasha as she dips down to her knees and chucks three more silver orbs behind us, aiming beneath each of the vehicles nearby. The tank-like vehicle goes up first in an explosion of molten metal and flames. It bursts off the ground and tumbles side over side until it slams into one of the mobile barracks.
I don’t look back as the second and third explosions rock the night. Handal chases after Natasha’s fleeing figure in the dark, moving deeper into the swamp. With each step that Handal takes I can feel his struggle and know that his extra weight must make him sink faster into the muck.
“You can’t escape them out here,” I shout to Natasha.
“We don’t have to. We’ve got guys coming for us.” I hear her call come from ahead but I can’t see her. The light of the flames behind us isn’t enough to see by ahead of us. A trickle of fear begins to wiggle through me as I hear Handal grunt and stumble to the left.
“Handal?”
“No worry.” There is pain in his voice, deep and raw. “Keep going.”
His steps are labored as he surges through the knee deep waters. In the best of light they are murky. The human eye can’t penetrate the muddy depths but I know there are all manner of vile creatures that live within and if I were to bet money I would say one of them just took a chunk out of his leg.
“Natasha,” I scream, realizing that my voice has grown hoarse. “Handal is hurt!”
I can hear splashing off to my right but I can’t tell if she is coming back or not. Handal turns to follow the sound and cries out again. His grip on me tightens and I begin to feel a burning in my lungs as he squeezes me but I can’t ask him to loosen his grip. I have a feeling that I’m the only reason why he’s still on his feet.
“You’re doing great, Handal,” I soothe, placing a hand on his arm. “You are very brave.”
He increases his speed and follows blindly after Natasha. The cold night air nips at my exposed skin. The rough fabric dress that I wear is hardly suitable for these freezing temperatures but I say nothing, knowing that Handal is suffering far more than I am. As my teeth begin to chatter I realize that the fever that has clung to me these past few days has broken.
I guess that is one thing to be grateful for!
“Over here!”
Handal immediately shifts, hoisting his legs high to plunge back in. He stumbles forward as something rams into him. His fingers clamp down so tightly against my legs and arms that I fear my bones wi
ll snap in half. His pain hisses through his clenched teeth.
“I’m so sorry,” I cry as tears sting my eyes. His gait is off as he greatly favors his right leg.
“No sorry,” he says. He ducks as a red laser blasts through the trees, lighting the swamp around me. I suck in a breath as it highlights the bony-ridged backs of several white monsters as they slip beneath the surface, heading straight for us. “Happy to--”
I cry out as Handal screams and is yanked off his feet. The blast of icy water fills my nose and mouth as I plunge beneath the water. The stench of the foul liquid makes me gag as I surge back to the surface, my stomach barely an inch or two above the water as I struggle to balance on one foot.
I look frantically all around in search of Handal, but he has not come up. The thick slime that coats the top of the water clings to my arms as I reach for something to hold on to, knowing that if I don’t move I will be an easy target.
“Natasha,” I scream at the top of my lungs. I no longer hear her splashing. Has she been attacked as well? Did she leave us to die?
Terror clamps down on my throat as the water goes calm around me and I am no longer buffeted by the waves. Red laser fire flies sporadically through the swamp and I realize that the soldiers have picked their way around Natasha’s flaming barricade and entered the swamp.
I can hear their shouts as they call for me and I am tempted to call back. Surely death by their hand would be far better than death by these creatures of the deep.
Something bumps against my side. I scream and flail, desperate to rise to a standing position but my foot keeps slipping on the sludge at the bottom. I cry out as I am bumped again. In the blast of a laser I stare down in horror at the severed arm that washes up against me. As a laser blasts nearly ten feet over my head I realize that the water all around me is thick with blood.
“Handal,” I whimper as I use my arms to swim backward. I shriek as my back slams into something solid.
Using my arms as leverage I turn to find myself backed up against a tree. Thick roots plunge deep into the muck, creating a cage-like space beneath the towering tree. There is only a foot of space between the roots and the water but it would be enough. It has to be.
My fingers quake as I grasp at the roots, tearing them, bending them. I fight to wedge myself in between as I make a hole, hoping it is only large enough to fit me inside and nothing else.
The water beside me shifts and I feel something slither past. I screech and yank at the final root, shoving it aside just enough to fit my belly through. I dig my foot into the bottom and push with all my might. A stabbing pain flares near my ankle but I shake it off as I collapse into my little hovel and desperately fight to close the roots back in around me.
They are far more pliable now, making it far too easy for me to risk attack but as I kneel in the center of the small cage I suck in several deep breaths. The sound of wailing screams rises behind me and I know that the soldiers are under attack. There is no way to know how many of those bony creatures live in these depths, but as I close my eyes and press my forehead against the roots, I pray that once they are done feasting they won’t need me anymore.
The screams lingered long into the night, even hours after the laser light stopped reaching this far into the swamp. I tried to plug my ears to avoid hearing their slow deaths as they were torn apart piece by piece, but it was impossible. My teeth chatter from the frigid waters. My ankle throbs with a growing intensity.
I huddle in my cage, clutching my belly and praying for an end. At this point I don’t care who finds me as long as I am not forced to wade through this nightmare on my own.
I have not seen or heard from Natasha. She is either dead or has abandoned me. Either way I know that I am in great danger. I do not have my walking stick to help me even if I did find a way to swim to safety.
From time to time I can feel small disturbances in the water beneath me. I can only pray that they are fish trying to escape the larger predators as well. So far I have been left alone but I have no idea how long that will last.
Not long after the final cries cut off my eyelids begin to droop. I smack my face, trying to stay awake but I know that I am in extreme danger of hypothermia. I am already aware of the loss of feeling that is beginning to creep into my extremities. The stabbing pain in my ankle has begun to recede.
“Illyria!” My head whips up and I stare out into the dark. “Illyria!”
That voice! I know that voice!
“Bastien!” I scream, pushing to the edge of the root cage bars. I grip them with fingers far too stiff. They ache as I attempt to curl them around the roots. “Bastien, I’m here!”
The sluggish yet logical part of my brain tells me not to trust Bastien. He is sure to be the imposter but I have no other choice. It is either call out and be saved or die here in the muck.
“Where are you?” His voice sounds distant and I realize he is moving away.
Frantically I begin beating at the water, knowing that the sound of the splashing will be far louder than my hoarse voice. In the recesses of my mind I know that the splashing will alert other predators as well but I have to take the chance.
“Illyria!” This time the shout is closer.
I grip one of the roots and yank, grunting as I fight to tear it free. It twists in my hands, too slimy to get a good grip. I give up trying to use it as way to bang to call for help and just start screaming.
I can hear splashing but there is something else. Something I can feel.
There is a vibration in the water. Placing my hand against the tree I can feel it in the roots as well. What is that?
The temperature of the water hikes up so fast I cry out. My body begins to quake in shock as the murky surface begins to bubble around me. A bubble here or there but increasing in frequency. I can feel them bursting against my skin.
Oh god! No! I beat at the roots, my hands sliding down their slick surface as I fight to free myself. Day is coming and with it the waters will begin to warm, but that is not what I fear. The scent of sulfur rises around me and I realize that I am trapped in the middle of one of those hot spots that Thesa spoke of. The spots where the ground opens up to relieve some of the pent up gasses to allow for the crust to remain intact.
If I don’t get out of here fast this whole area is going to erupt!
I can hear Bastien calling for me. He sounds terrified, but no more so than what I am feeling. The roots have begun to give around me but not nearly fast enough. I pull until my arms begin to shake from exhaustion and wedge my upper body through.
“Bastien!” I scream as my arms give out on me and the root cage clamps down around my stomach. I am too weak to pull myself free. He is my only hope now. “Bastien, I’m trapped!”
Splashing comes from my left and I beat against the water, desperate for him to find me. Already feeling has returned to my fingers and toes, and with it biting pain. I dig my foot into the ground, pushing with all my might but I am wedged too tight.
“Bastien, hurry!”
“I’m coming!” He calls back. The splashing grows closer. I desperately try to see him in the dark but it is all consuming. “Call to me. I need to hear you.”
I scream until my voice is nearly gone. I can hear him less than ten feet away and begin to weep.
“I’m here,” he soothes as his hands flutters across the surface to find me. Strong hands curl around my arms and slowly slide down to meet with the roots. He gasps and pulls back. “What is this?”
“I’m under a tree,” I say, clinging to him. “You have to pull the roots apart for me to fit through.”
He splashes around to the side of me, bracing his body against the tree and grunts as he pulls on the roots. I suck in my first full breath since I became trapped and feel a pain tear through my abdomen.
“Illyria?” Bastien grunts.
“I’m fine,” I moan as my stomach is freed. I float up to the surface but have no energy to try to stand.
“Hold on to m
e,” he calls and wraps my arm around about his waist, hoisting me upright. He groans as my weight pulls both of us back under. His hands flail about trying to grasp me as I sink under the surface. The pain in my abdomen is stabbing, stealing my breath away.
“Bastien,” I whisper as he hoists me up. He leans me against him, wrapping his arm around tight enough to support my weight. My head lolls back against his arm. “I think the babies are coming.”
THIRTY-TWO
The bright light overhead is blinding as I open my eyes. I blink, raising my hand to shield my eyes from its intensity. I feel warm. Something soft surrounds me, cocoons me. I breathe out a slow sigh of relief and feel someone stir beside me.
I roll my head to the side and suck in a breath at the sight of Bastien sleeping beside me. His head is laid against his shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest, rising and falling slowly. His face is beautiful, serene as he sleeps.
His hair has grown out, falling over his shoulders, concealing part of him from my sight. His stubbled growth is neatly kept and I feel a tug deep within my gut as I stare at the handsome ruggedness of him that I suspect I have always loved.
Bastien seems older than he should be. Life has forced him to age far too quickly...but is this really my Bastien?
I reach out and place a hand upon his arm. He sucks in a deep breath and slowly blows it out, his arms unwinding as he stirs and stretches. His eyes slowly open and when he finds me staring up at him he jerks upright.
“Illyria! Are you ok?” He is instantly on his knees besides me, the chair tumbling backward out of his way.
I smile and nod. “I am now.”
He presses the palm of his hand to my cheek and lowers his head to mine, placing a soft kiss against my forehead. I can feel the tremble in his lips and the patter of tears against my nose before he draws back. There is pain in his eyes as he slowly trails down the bed to look at my leg.