The Scourge (Book 5): The Eyes of Darkness

by Maxey, Phil

  “Blood…” The word was less than a whisper, so he swallowed and tried again. “Need—”

  “Ah, he’s awake!” said the old woman in the driver’s seat.

  “— Blood. Need blood.”

  Corine was looking back at him from the passenger’s seat. He couldn’t make out if she looked sad or angry. Maybe both. She frowned, then leaned forward grabbing something and tossed it into the backseat. It landed a few inches from his right hand. Too far.

  “Shit,” said Corine. “I’m going to have to feed him like a baby. Pull over there. Near that fast food place.”

  “I… don’t know if we should stop in this town Corine. You know the biters are still out at this time.”

  “Just pull over. If we see any, I’ll take care of it.”

  The car slowed while momentum pulled Joel left and right, then stopped.

  The old woman sighed. “You reckon if I eat a four-month-old burger it will kill me?”

  Corine pushed her door open and a cool night breeze rushed in. “If you find any, I want one too.”

  Joel heard a handgun cock, then the driver’s side door opened, while the door to his right, next to Anna did the same. He turned his head as far as he could. Anna, her face more yellow than blue laid to his side, her eyes closed. Corine was hovering over her, then leaned forward and grabbed the blood bag and pulled the stopper off.

  The scent of blood was like perfume to Joel, but he shook his head regardless. “Give… her…”

  Corine looked at Anna then frowned. “She’s been unconscious since I saw her, back at that junction.”

  “Give… her…”

  Corine sighed. “Fine, yeah I hear ya. Lady’s first. Old school. I can respect that.” She held Anna’s mouth, squeezing her lips to open them slightly and let the crimson liquid drip into her mouth. Seconds passed and just when Joel thought the blood was having no effect, Anna’s eyes flicked open, her eyes turned back, and her hand shot up grabbing Corine by the neck. The young woman kicked and punched while Joel tried to pull Anna’s hand free. The metal shell of the car began to crumple inwards.

  Summoning what moisture was left in his throat, Joel shouted. “Anna! Stop!”

  She turned to him, anguish across her face, then as quick as her eyes turned black, they returned to normal and she let go, instead throwing both arms around him.

  “Bitch!” shouted Corine outside between coughs.

  “What the fuck did you do to our car!” shouted the old woman from somewhere outside, but Joel didn’t care. Anna pulled back briefly, then her lips met his and for a moment the pain crying from his skull quietened.

  She pulled away then looked around as if awaking from a dream. “Where are we?” Then continued before Joel could answer, not that he knew. “Who are they?” She looked back at him, concern written across her face. “Your badly hurt. What happened?”

  “Get out of the car!” shouted Corine. “I’m leaving your crazy asses here! Wherever here is!”

  Anna looked at Joel, who shook his head indicating his lack of answers, then back at the dark-haired young woman outside. Then to the older woman pointing the handgun at her. Anna held her hand plus stump up, the blood bag falling to the footwell, which Joel tried to reach but couldn’t.

  “Get out!” repeated Corine. “I saved your ass! And you try and kill me? Got no time for that shit!”

  With a flick of her heel Anna pushed the bag to Joel’s footwell who immediately made a more successful attempt to grab it and raised it to his hips. She then got out of the back of the SUV, her arms still raised. “I… sorry I scared you. I didn’t know what was happening. My name is—”

  “Don’t let her do her vamp mind tricks on you!” said the old woman, whose large gun was wavering at Anna’s head.

  “No mind tricks I’m promise you. I’m Anna. The man behind me is—”

  “Joel, yeah he grumbled it at me before he passed out,” said Corine. “I don’t care. This is where we part—”

  “Ah, damn it!” said the old woman who now was gunless. Joel stood near her, with it in his hand.

  “Why you let him take the gun!” shouted Corine at the old woman.

  The blood had given him a small respite, but Joel could feel his injuries needing more than just human cells, he needed rest. He wavered and Anna ran forward, holding him up, then took the gun from his hand. She handed it back to the old woman, who looked surprised.

  “Please, we’re no threat to you. But he needs rest. Thank you for saving us.”

  Corine frowned and let out a slow breath. She looked back at the old woman. “You find any burgers in there?”

  *****

  Amos felt the collar around his neck as soon as his unconscious mind plugged back into the world. Even before he opened his eyes, he tried to reach out to other minds, to see through their eyes when a burning sensation began to creep through his brain. He paused and tried again with the same result. Giving up, his eyes opened to the inside of a fabric bag, with no light outside to allow him to see through even the tiniest of gaps. There were others around him though, he was sure of it. Despite not having been given the same heightened senses as most that had been changed by the scourge, his average human olfactory sense told him people were nearby.

  Images flashed through his mind. The collar not doing anything to prevent them, but he winced at the unwanted memories. He didn’t need to be reminded of Geri…

  The jostling came to a halt and he hit up upon someone else. Maybe another of the group that came to the small town on a fruitless rescue mission.

  He frowned beneath his hood. He should have listened to his instincts, and ran into the shadows with Kizzy before shit got real.

  Kizzy…

  She was the first of them to be taken down. Some kind of taser weapon got her, dropped her like a stone. He tried to react, tried to project an overwhelming feeling of depression into the enemy which had just appeared out of literally nowhere, but he couldn’t. The abilities that had become second nature to him were missing, or maybe suppressed. And that was another thing.

  Where did all of those corporation soldiers come from? They weren’t there. Then they were, as if…

  An idea hit him as if he had been slapped across his face.

  Another mind reader…

  The corporation had another like himself. That would explain why his abilities did not work. And whoever they were, were more powerful than he was. Masking the presence of a small group from minds was one thing, but hundreds? Including the vehicles they came in? Who could do that?

  His curiosity was quickly quelled by the understanding that he was a slave again to the corporation. Unless they decided he was better used as a lab rat.

  There was a sound of a van door opening and fresh air replaced the heat inside the van’s interior, which he was glad for.

  “Where—” said a whisper of a voice before there was a crack sound and then a heavy thump as something fell to the van floor.

  “Human’s stay quiet!” shouted an angry man. “Everyone out! Now!”

  Amos wanted to say that he couldn’t see, but remained quiet on the chance that they still thought he was human. So he stood and shuffled towards the light. After a few steps something pulled him forward and he fell for what felt like forever until rough hands caught him, and pulled him upright. He looked left and right trying to gain any insight to where he was and instinctively searched out to minds around him, but the burning surged into his mind again, making him cripple over in pain.

  Someone laughed. “This one thinks he can get inside our heads fellas!”

  More started laughing.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Marina stood on the lower deck at the bow of the cargo ship as it cut through the waves towards the rising sun. The orange glow bathing her doubled her exhaustion, but she needed some time alone, to think. Jess, Mary, Jasper and the others were sleeping in their cabin below. She still had no idea where they going, only that they were leaving the mainland,
and heading south. From her days in the military she had spent some time on Navy ships which stopped off in the Caribbean. She assumed that’s where they were heading but had no idea why.

  Refuge…

  If the idea was to find an idyllic island and hold up against the corporation, well… there were worst plans.

  An iron door opened behind her, and the scent of a hybrid was evident.

  “Ah, same idea eh?” said Galloway.

  “And what’s that,” said Marina not turning around.

  “Get some alone time.”

  Marina looked to her side where the general was now standing and smiled. The older woman leaned on the handrail. “Never been much for the sea, but seeing the sunrise like this, even though it’s already making my eyes sore… It’s something to see.”

  Marina nodded.

  “I guess you’re curious about where we’re going?”

  Marina looked at her.

  “Now we’re on our way I can tell you. The island of Puerto Rico…”

  “If I remember, there’s a base there? Or was before it was closed or something?”

  “It’s still there, and still functioning. Perhaps the only United States military base that still is. But that’s not the reason we’re going there…”

  “Okay…”

  “We did not know of the tablets until Joel told us about them. But the people I have assembled around me are fast learners, and with the documents we salvaged from the fire, Evan’s help, Maddison’s insights and… some of my blood we got the tablet functioning again.”

  Marina’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you use it to stop the town from being overrun?”

  “Because that option was not available to us. The tablet only has enough power to run at a low level. Not enough to nuke the vamps, but enough for us to access its database. Because that’s mostly what it is. A guide, or a very advanced library of information, stretching back eons, long before our records of civilization begin.”

  Images of Max and Bill came to Marina and she felt a wave of sadness. She looked back at the general. “What’s that go to do with where we are going?”

  “The tablet talks of the kings, Rynon, Eltir and the one that was killed—”

  “Killed?”

  Galloway sighed. “Yes, he was killed.”

  “Joel worked him over, but he was alive when we left.”

  “Someone else.”

  “But he was to be exchanged… is that why they attacked? They knew he was dead?”

  The general shook her head. “No, I don’t think that was it. But as I was saying, the tablet mentions those ancient kings, but… it also mentioned another. One that was as powerful as them, but fought against them. A king called Freon.”

  “Okay…” Marina was beginning to bore of the history lesson. She wanted to hear how the place they were going to was secure, that it would offer them a chance to survive whatever the corporation or kings would throw at them next.

  “His sarcophagi was not in the tomb Copeland excavated in Iraq… but the tablet did point to where it is now. Or should be, and that would be—”

  “Puerto Rico…”

  “Yes…”

  “You think you can wake this hybrid, get him to work with us against the others?”

  Galloway looked back to the orange disc and squinted. “That’s the plan.”

  Images of lying back on a hot beach with a cocktail in her hand, and the two kids playing in the sand, with Mary watching, started to dissolve in Marina’s mind.

  Galloway gave a brief smile and turned back to the door behind. “Anyway, now you know why we are going there. It’s quite some way. A few days journey.” She started to walk away.

  “I guess you haven’t heard anything from Joel’s team…”

  “No, I haven’t sorry,” said the general continuing to the entrance to the lower deck.

  Hesitantly, Marina spoke again. “Umm…”

  Galloway stopped, her hand on the handle then turned around. “Yes?”

  “I need a favor from you…”

  *****

  Joel’s eyes flicked open to a small gloom laden room, with daylight fighting to emerge through the slats of blinds covering a window. Dust danced where the sun succeeded and on the wall a calendar sat frozen on January, with a half naked woman posing across an equally glamorous sports car. A busy desk sat opposite the stone colored sofa Joel was on.

  He smelled the blood without seeing it, and dropped his arm, which felt twice as heavy to the carpeted floor. Fumbling he picked up the bag and started to sip. His limbs felt lighter instantly, but his skull still throbbed with each movement.

  Suddenly a rush of memories blocked all other thought and the pain in his head intensified. He sat up, dropping the bag and held his temples with both hands.

  “Stop…”

  Footsteps came from the other side of the door, and it flew open, Anna briefly standing in the doorway before she ran forward, holding his arms. “You need to rest still.”

  “I’ve rested enough,” he said between gritted teeth. “What time is it? And…” He looked into her eyes, realizing how well she looked. Emotion welled up from somewhere deep. Seeing his reaction she threw her arms around him.

  “Ah… easy.”

  She pulled back. “Sorry.”

  “You look better.”

  She smiled. “I am, well—” She held up her arm with a lack of hand. “There’s this.”

  Emotion continued to build within him, and he looked away. “I should have been there, should have protected you, and the others.”

  She placed her hand on the side of his face. “You didn’t know. We…” She briefly looked away. “They’re strong Joel. Strong and evil.”

  He put his hand on hers. “You’re alive.”

  She nodded, smiling. “I am.”

  More footsteps came from the hallway outside, followed by the old woman. “Good, you’re awake. You like burgers? They got a shit ton in the cold room, which mostly are edible.”

  “Err…”

  Anna laughed. “You should try one, they’re not too bad.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  The old woman nodded and walked away.

  “Who is she?”

  “That’s Shirley, or Shirl as she likes to be called. She and Corine had quite a story to tell.”

  “Corine saved us… she’s—”

  “Telekinetic… I know. Still don’t believe it, even though I’ve seen her use her ability. She gave me a demonstration earlier. Lifted a two ton truck ten feet in the air like it was nothing. It’s… she’s amazing.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Sleeping in the back of the SUV.”

  “Is she fast? Strong? Heightened senses?”

  “I don’t think so, at least not like us. Apart from needing blood like we do, she looks human…”

  “But can take out a whole platoon of the king’s people with a thought.”

  “Yeah… Do you know what happened to the others?” Guilt rested within her, but she was doing her best to not let it turn into depression.

  Joel looked down. “Geri’s dead… I think Dalton escaped, but the others…”

  Now it was Anna’s turn to suppress emotion. She looked directly at the man next to her. “We have to save them Joel.”

  His eyes returned her resolve. He nodded. “We will.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Marina looked at Mary, strapped to a gurney. A wall of curtains pulled around the bed. A small dining hall, usually reserved for merchant sailors had been converted by the town’s medical staff into a triage, with a space against two walls for the more seriously injured and even a makeshift curtained off area for surgery if that were needed. Mary didn’t need cutting into, but she did need blood. The generals.

  Marina could only get Galloway to give up one small vial for Mary, but for the tens of others that had a fever burning through them, their life consisted of a few days at most. They were made as comfortable as po
ssible in the medical ward, but it was not a place Marina wanted to be. She had somehow avoided seeing the effects of the disease which changed or killed most of the population of the planet, as it worked its way through bodies, altering DNA as it went. Most had already been claimed by time she left her sisters, and only the aftermath was left on the streets.

  Mary gave a meek smile and gripped Marina’s hand. “It will be okay,” said the older woman.

  Marina replied with her own brief smile then looked at the army nurse on the other side of the bed. “These straps won’t be enough. You need chains or something as strong.”

  The young man’s expression remained the same. “She’s got a strong sedative inside her. That will subdue any affect the blood has…”

  Marina shook her head, turning back to Mary to tell her that she would make sure she did not harm anyone when she changed, but the older woman’s eyes were closed, a peaceful look across her face.

  “Shall I proceed?” said the nurse.

  Marina nodded.

  The nurse examined the syringe, found a vein, then plunged the needle into it. A heart monitor beeped in constant rhythm as the general’s blood seeped into the woman that Marina had come to think of as grandmotherly figure to the children and a friend to herself.

  As other assistants and nurses attended other beds, Marina held Mary’s right arm and waited.

  The young nurse looked closer to the woman on the bed. “How long does it take—”

  Mary’s body stiffened then started to shake, rattling the gurney. Marina placed more pressure on her arm, then both shoulders as the convulsing increased. The monitor was now a rapid pulse, and the din in the room increased with gasps and shouts as to what was happening.

  Mary’s eyes flicked open, the whiteness replaced with a charcoal black. The old woman sneered and grimaced. “Give me blood! I need...” Her eyes closed and she fell back to the bed, the strain on the straps giving way as her hands fell by her side.

  A constant high pitch drone came from the heart monitor.