Pippa realized that the small cylinders on the metal belt that hung down to her side were bullets. Rebecka locked the end of the ammo belt in place and nodded at Rathbone, who nodded back and accelerated out of the building. The leaders took their place at the head of the convoy, and it took off toward the highway. Pippa wondered if the road was destined to be her permanent home.
Within ten minutes, Aiden picked up Abby’s scent. The ferals were still hours ahead, but the convoy would easily catch up, as long as they weren’t ambushed again. Pippa and Aiden sniffed for any trace of Salvatore, but only a hint of his scent still hung on the air. The scent of the ferals masked it. Aiden and Pippa both prayed that he would have enough sense not to attack a group of ferals by himself.
As the morning drifted away, the stench of the small pack of ferals grew stronger. The smell was so strong it bothered Aiden.
“There are a lot more than fifty together now,” he said.
Pippa nodded.
“How is it that you two know that, when none of my bobcat sniffers are picking it up?” Rathbone asked.
“Aiden and I aren’t the same physically as any of the werecats in your group,” Pippa said.
Rathbone didn’t pursue the topic.
“We’re heading toward what’s called the Hoover Dam,” he said at length. “We have sentries posted there. Years ago, there was a main bridge down from the dam, but it was destroyed in the final cataclysm. There are also huge chunks of concrete missing from it, which allow tons of water to pour through. The river below is pure whitewater.”
“It sounds dangerous,” Pippa said.
“It is. Dangerous as a wounded feral. But the Hoover is our main passageway from here to our home, so we keep it heavily guarded. There are several parapets that extend out from the top of the dam over the water. Our guards watch over the area and pick off any ferals before they reach the dam, so it’s possible they could wipe them all out before we reach them.”
“Then my sister is in danger!”
“That’s why we’re racing to beat the ferals to the dam. I’ve tried to radio ahead, but I haven’t received a response. Our best chance to save your sister is to catch up to the feral pack and eliminate them before they reach the dam.”
To Pippa, it seemed as if the next thirty miles took hours. The stench of ferals began to be pervasive. Everyone kept a sharp lookout, peering into the surrounding overgrowth. Now and then a shadow slipped by, but no one could be sure if it was feral or animal.
“Hoover Dam is just a few miles off,” Rebecka said. “We should’ve caught up to them by now. Get prepared, in case—”
Without warning, a massive swarm of ferals emerged on all sides of the convoy. The soldiers on the four-wheelers, serving as escorts, had no time to react. Most of them were killed in the first onslaught.
Rebecka opened fire with her automatic, and werecats fully morphed, bounding from the tarp-covered military vehicles and launching themselves at the attackers.
Pippa saw her sister and screamed her name. She morphed and sprang from the vehicle. She heard someone else yell her sister’s name and saw Salvatore riding like the wind on a four-wheeler. He veered toward her, and she leaped onto the seat behind him. He swung back and raced toward Abby, but she fled with the remaining pack of rabid creatures, and they disappeared from view. Pippa cried out in anguish when they lost sight of Abby.
“There’s a dam up ahead,” Pippa screamed over Salvatore’s shoulder as the wind whistled past her ears. “We’ve got to reach her before she gets there. The dam is guarded, and they’ll shoot her down the minute they see her!”
Rathbone’s men fought like savages against the ravening beasts and quickly gained the upper hand. The ferals abandoned the fight and fled toward the dam. Rathbone and Rebecka charged after them, directing their convoy onward, after the fleeing monsters.
Salvatore rode like a man possessed, chasing Abby and the gigantic feral with long black hair that clung to her. It turned once to howl at them, and then took off again.
“Don’t lose them,” Pippa screamed.
“We’re going to save her, Pippa,” Salvatore yelled back. “Nothing can stop us now.”
As Salvatore and Pippa flew across the rocky desert terrain, they were suddenly surrounded by tall metal towers spread out among the rocks and dirt. Just ahead was the massive concrete dam.
Salvatore continued toward the curved road that ran along the top of the enormous structure. The closer they got, the louder the sound of rushing water became, filling their ears until it was nearly deafening. Pippa searched the barren terrain, looking for any sign of Abby. As she scanned the parapets and roadways, she saw dead bodies littering the landscape. None were feral.
They reached the top of the dam and saw the devastation. Dozens of werecats lay dead, some half eaten, strewn about on the concrete structure. Some of the bodies hung over the ledges of the concrete parapets.
Hundreds of ferals charged from the other end of the dam. They’d been hidden in the valleys of the scorched earth. Abby and the black-haired abomination led the pack. His screams could have frozen blood. The beast bolted forward, eager to kill.
“Go!” Pippa screamed. Salvatore turned to flee back to their group, and they saw the convoy inching toward them. Pippa and Salvatore morphed and prepared to fight. Aiden leaped through the air above them and attacked the first line of ferals. Seconds later, hundreds of werecats joined in the battle.
Pippa was a killing machine, bigger, stronger and more fearsome than she had ever been. Aiden matched her in ferocity and seemed almost to lose his mind. He had morphed into something beyond possibility, like a demon god or a monster from the depths of demented imagination. Aiden’s body had accepted what he was, beast and reptile, a chameleon able to change instantaneously at need, yet always retaining the massive right claw that ripped through feral flesh like a meat cleaver.
But the ferals kept coming. It was only a matter of time before their numbers would tell, and even as the large group of werecats fought back, they knew it was a lost cause.
Then the airplanes appeared. They flew low and dropped explosives onto clusters of ferals on the far end of the dam. Dozens of the beasts were ripped apart, and the blasts sent shudders through the concrete structure.
New hope spread among the werecats, and they howled their defiance. “Kill them,” Rathbone screamed above the noise. His werecats howled back in response and intensified their efforts. Inch by inch, they began to push the ferals back. The tide was turning, the werecats were winning.
Salvatore and Pippa raced to reach Abby. Pippa screamed her sister’s name as she ran, but Pippa was Abby’s enemy now. The rabid girl turned to face them and crouched, ready to spring.
Salvatore and Pippa tackled her at the same time and brought her to the ground. Abby shrieked and tried to bite them, tried to kick and punch and tear at them.
“She’s too strong,” Pippa screamed, before a claw raked her shoulder. She lost her grip, and Abby shoved her away and took another swipe, ripping Pippa’s back open. The savage with long black hair appeared and grabbed Pippa’s head, ready to break her neck. She tensed and then heard the thing howl in rage and pain as Excalibur bit into its arm, slicing it off at the elbow. Pippa rolled and got to her feet to see the beast howling at Jack Tanner. Jack stood his ground.
Abby and Salvatore were rolling on the ground, neither willing to give up, but neither able to settle the issue. Salvatore was pleading with her even as he fought against her. Unwilling to harm her, he was at a disadvantage, and the outcome would be victory for Abby, death for Salvatore. Pippa raced toward them but was blocked by three ferals defending their new queen. Abby was baring her teeth and screaming, and her body heaved as if she were convulsing. She lurched upward and knocked Salvatore to the ground.
“Please, Abby,” he said as she pinned him to the ground and prepared to tear out his throat. “I love you.”
Abby hesitated at his words and cocked her head. Her blazing eyes softened f
or an instant, but then she growled and bent down to bite his neck.
Pippa slammed into her sister, knocking her off Salvatore. The boy lay stunned as the two girls rolled over and over, locked in mortal combat. Salvatore heard Jack crying out in pain, and he turned toward him. The black-haired beast, its arm stump dripping blood, had Jack pinned against the ledge of the dam. Salvatore launched himself at the creature and struck him a mighty blow, sending him over the side wall and into the raging rapids.
The planes returned for a second pass, and explosives hit the ground again, rocking the earth.
Salvatore returned his attention to Pippa and Abby, but a new onslaught of ferals was coming at him and Jack. They fought back, but as Jack spun to knock a feral from Salvatore’s back with Excalibur, the weapon was knocked from his hand, and he slipped over the edge of the wall toward the rapids.
“Jack,” Salvatore screamed. He picked up a charging feral and swung it into two of its fellows. The rest of them backed off, and Salvatore ran to the wall. The doctor was splayed against the concrete wall of the dam, six feet down, clutching a root that had grown through cracks in the concrete. His other hand still held the fire saw.
“Hang on, Jack!” Salvatore screamed.
Jack let go of the fire saw and stretched his free hand toward the root. As he grabbed it, it began to give way.
Salvatore leaned over the wall and reached a hand toward Jack. From behind him, he heard Pippa screaming his name, heard Abby shrieking in a kind of frenzied laughter, taking sadistic pleasure at her imminent victory.
“Salvatore,” Pippa screamed again.
Salvatore hesitated. He turned toward the sisters for an instant before turning back to the doctor.
“Save her!” Jack shouted.
The root gave way, and Jack Tanner dropped into the whitewater below.
“No!” Salvatore screamed as he watched the rapids swallow his friend.
“No!” Rathbone screamed as he rushed toward Salvatore. Salvatore looked and saw Aiden pull Abby away from Pippa and throw her through the air.
“You fool!” Rathbone yelled at Salvatore. “He held the secrets to our only hope of survival.”
Salvatore slumped down and put his head in his hands. Around him, the battle was dying, and ferals were fleeing, frightened by the fire falling from the sky. Abby had retreated with her feral comrades.
Aiden and Pippa ran up to Salvatore, who sat motionless, staring into the distance. “I made a mistake,” he murmured.
Aiden screamed and morphed, calling forth his reptilian side. His body was covered in greenish scales. He looked at Pippa through small red eyes and blinked at her.
“No, Aiden!” she screamed.
Rathbone reached out to stop him, but it was too late. Aiden dove over the edge of the dam and disappeared into the furious river.
Pippa dropped to the ground and fell to her hands and knees, crying. Rebecka arrived on the scene and put a hand on her shoulder, but Pippa was inconsolable. Around them, cries of victory rose from the surviving werecats and humans. Their sense of triumph would be short-lived.
Pippa wept uncontrollably. She had lost her sister and her lover and the one man who might save humanity. She raised her head and shrugged off the hand on her shoulder. She heard the demon inside her calling again. She opened her eyes and stared in the direction in which Abby had fled.
“I’m coming for you, Abby,” Pippa said. She rose to her feet, fully morphed, and bolted away, headed toward the fleeing ferals.
“No!” Rebecka cried, but Pippa was already gone.
Despair filled Salvatore as he watched her run away.
“She’s nuts,” Rathbone said. “She’s going ahead on her own to save her sister.”
“No, she’s not,” Salvatore said. “She’s rabid again. She’s gone to kill her sister.”
Aiden glided below the surface of the violent river, following the call of his reptilian instincts, searching the waterscape for any sign of Jack. He spotted something in the shape of a man and raced ahead until he reached the doctor. He wrapped his front limbs around Jack and swam toward the shore of the northern side of the river. He surfaced and pulled Jack into an inlet cut into the shoreline, away from the rapids. A rocky overhang blotted out most of the sunlight. Below the overhang was the opening to a large cave.
Aiden pulled Jack onto the wet, sandy shore. He wasn’t breathing, and he was cold to the touch.
“Jack, Jack, wake up,” Aiden yelled. He pumped the doctor’s chest and applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but Jack didn’t respond.
“Please, Jack,” Aiden pleaded one final time. He stopped pumping and set his head on Jack’s chest. There was no heartbeat. Jack was dead. And the possibility of a world without ferals, a world without chaos, had died with him.
Aiden yelled out in pain as his reptilian form morphed back to his human side. His human emotions poured out of him in tears of grief and cries of anguish. He lay on the sand next to his dead friend and wept. Too beaten by physical exhaustion and the loss of the doctor, he didn’t see the shadowy creatures until they were right on top of him.
He leaped to his feet and attempted to morph. He was instantly paralyzed. His mind was awake but his body was rigid, and he could no longer control it. Unable to speak or move, he watched as three beings, unlike any he’d ever seen, silently glided toward him from the mouth of the cave until they were circling him and the lifeless body on the ground. The creatures were covered with a grayish skin, and bat-like wings wrapped their bodies like blankets.
As Aiden looked into the big, round, black eyes of one of the beings as it passed before him, he realized that the creature didn’t have a nose or mouth. There were tiny pinholes where nostrils should have been and a thin line where a mouth should be. Otherwise, the face was devoid of features, except for those hollow, empty eyes, which seemed to be looking deep into Aiden’s psyche.
Whispers began filling the air, and though he couldn’t hear the sounds through his ears, he heard them in his mind. The mental sounds sent chills up and down his spine, reminding him of the sounds and voices of the malevolent ghosts that lived in the basement of the Athens safehold. Suddenly, the whispers formed familiar words, and he realized the creatures were communicating among themselves. He also felt an uncomfortable pressure on his skull, as if the creatures were picking strands of memories from his mind like pulling cotton loose from a bush. The thoughts overwhelmed him, yet he was forced to listen.
The doctor is the one.
Yes, he seems to hold the secret.
But is he worthy of our gift?
The boy will have to choose.
Through sheer force of will, Aiden regained some control of his body. “Who are you?” he blurted out. “What are you?”
The beings hovered for a moment, seemingly undecided whether or not to address him. Suddenly, Aiden felt as if the heat of the air had been vacuumed away, replaced by a cold, dark void. The three beings halted before him, and melded their minds with his. They spoke to him, mind to mind.
We are beings of our own creation, born before the Fallout. Once, before the cataclysm, we were men, scientists. But we succumbed to our own experiments. Now we continue to exist to find one who might save us all. We thought we were all that remained of our kind, but now that we have found you, hybrid, we know our other children still exist.
“You were once men? Experiments? Your own kind? Your children?”
We are the result of forbidden experimentation. We surrendered our integrity and our ethics in a foolish and dangerous quest to advance biological technology. And now that you have been brought to us, we know that others of our experiments do still exist. But we see that you are not a pure child, but a hybrid. We see the feline and the reptile living together within you, as well as your human side fighting to claim dominance. We see that you are the result of our reptiles and the one you call Pippa Reyes. Your mind reveals many secrets.
Aiden raised his right hand and stared at the bl
ack claws that extended from each greenish finger. “I didn’t choose this,” he said.
No, you did not. But it was a gift nonetheless. The blood of the werecat Pippa Reyes saved your life. The bite of the reptile should have killed you. But the blood of the werecat, transferred to you with the aid of the doctor, gave you a second chance. Now we wish to give the doctor a second chance. We have read your thoughts, Aiden. We see your past, present, and possible future. You must learn to embrace it. What is done is done, and the choice you make today may lead us to a new era. The lifeless doctor lying next to you holds the key to correcting our mistakes, and we can give him that chance if you so choose. If we revive him, he will need your help.
“Just a minute,” Aiden said. “Are you saying that the cataclysm was your fault?”
Yes. We mistakenly initiated the final cataclysm. We three created the virus that produced the ferals and caused the metamorphosis of a variety of species, including reptiles such as the ones you fought in the swamps. Our experiments spawned many other species as well, including our own. We, too, are hybrids, a breed we were creating for the war that was brewing and that seemed inevitable. We are a combination of flying mammals of the order Chiroptera, known as the bat, as well as the sugar glider, a marsupial.
Questions flooded Aiden’s mind, swirling around like leaves in a maelstrom. He forced himself to focus. “Are you saying the virus was supposed to be a weapon? That you created the virus? I was told that the virus was brought here by our enemies, that we suffered biological warfare at the hands of others. Why would you create such a horrible thing?”
It was not intended to be a virus. We created strands of new species that could be combined with human DNA in order to create super soldiers. Some of our efforts were failures, and we stored them in what we thought was a safe underground storage facility called the Bunker. But we were wrong. The Bunker wasn’t safe. Our government blamed others for our mistakes and claimed that we were under biological attack. They would not reveal the truth. They would not take responsibility. We played with fire and burned the world. The release of the virus was a miscalculation, an unfortunate mistake that polluted the air when the Bunker exploded. So, yes, we accidentally caused the warfare, the Fallout, the final cataclysm. And now, for our role in this devastation, our punishment has been to live in this hybrid state for more than fifty years. How much longer we will live like this, even we do not know. But now that the doctor has appeared and your mind has revealed its secrets, we have a chance to alter the future by reviving the lifeless body on the ground before you.
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