The Dark Trinity (Book 1): Shuffle
Page 28
“Hold the fuck on! Wait for me!” Ronnie cried as he pummeled zombies with his giant black dildo.
Breaking through the last of the undead, Ronnie jumped over the few wolves that continued to fight and disappeared through the opening. Maalik followed, leaving the rest of his brethren behind to hold off the Horde while they escaped.
Inside the large tunnel, Bataviah, Maalik, Ronnie, Nathan, and Boomer ran as fast as they could down the steep incline of the passage which ran underneath the main trolley line. Maalik carried Theresa over his shoulder as they sprinted. Fluorescent lights staggered along the walls on either side cast an eerie light. Two hundred yards ahead, the tunnel leveled out and turned towards the right.
Behind them, the last of the wolf army outside sounded their last cry of battle as the Horde finally overtook them. The hell spawn began to filter into the tunnel.
“Run faster! Don’t stop!” Maalik commanded. “We need to blow the tunnel!”
The group quickly approached the bend. One by one they rounded the turn and continued towards an immense steel door which resembled a giant bank vault. He could see that the door had begun to close. The front of the vault had a strange symbol emblazoned on it that Nathan didn’t recognize. The zombies continued to give chase and were making their way down the tunnel towards them. Maalik made the turn around the bend; as he passed the corner, he hit a large red button on the wall. Instantly, the C4 charges that lined the tunnel began to explode in succession.
The vault was almost closed. The group made it through and waited as Maalik sprinted towards the shrinking opening. He jumped through at the last possible moment, just as the fiery explosion reached the vault. The wolf general tucked and rolled as flames licked at his heels. Finally, the immense vault thundered closed.
Beyond the door, the entrance tunnel collapsed onto the burning bodies of the Horde. Hundreds of tons of concrete and metal sealed the entrance. The group sat solemnly at the base of the vault door. Nathan wept as he caressed Evelyn’s forehead. She looked back at Nathan with a heartbreaking look. Maalik and Bataviah watched their zombie friend grieve for his love. Ronnie stood in sad disbelief. Boomer gave a quiet whimper as he gently licked Evelyn’s face. Theresa sobbed to herself.
Moments passed. Finally, Maalik stood.
“Come with me,” he said. “There is someone who wishes to speak with you.”
CHAPTER 44 THE RABBIT HOLE
The group was now inside the bunker’s outer perimeter. Before them, another tunnel stretched ahead. The passage was bigger than the entrance tunnel they had just blown up. A wide roadway, about equal to a four-lane road, ran down the middle of the tunnel, flanked on either side by wide walkways. Dozens of wolves stood at attention in human form at periodic intervals along the walkways. They were clad in the same black attire as Maalik and Bataviah. Nathan could feel their eyes on them as they made their way down the tunnel.
The silence weighed heavy as minutes passed. They reached another gargantuan vault, much like the one before it. This one was of a gunmetal-gray material and had ornate carvings on its facade. Intricate reliefs depicted humans and wolves around the outer edge of the large circular door. In the center, strange rune-like symbols encircled a large wolf head. Above the wolf relief, a larger symbol, the same one that appeared on the door to the bunker, gilded in silver. A loud mechanical click echoed and the vault began to open.
They walked through the sixteen foot opening into an immense room. Large, ornate columns, made with the same intricate reliefs and gunmetal material as the vault, reached towards the vaulted Gothic arches above. Below them, the black asphalt of the road gave way to a white illuminated Plexiglas floor. Nathan estimated the room to be about a hundred yards long, and about fifty yards across. He also noted the strange conglomeration of old-world architecture and modern minimalism.
Maalik stopped in the center of the room.
“Ronnie,” he said in a soft voice. “Bataviah will show you to your room. There you can get yourself cleaned up. She will ensure you get some proper nourishment and that you are comfortable.”
Ronnie stood in a daze. Always the joker, he was rarely ever at a loss for words, but seeing his friend’s fiancé get de-boned like a fish made him realize that the world was not a joke. Bataviah gently touched his arm and began to lead him to a doorway at the one side of the room. Dropping the large, black, blood-covered dildo onto the pristine white floor, Ronnie followed her.
Turning to Theresa, Maalik waved his hand. Two women dressed in long, charcoal gray robes approached. In the same soft, comforting voice, he spoke.
“Theresa, these women will take care of you. You are safe. There is nothing here that will hurt you.”
The two attendants, both possessing kind faces, assisted the shell-shocked woman to a doorway at their left. They ushered her through the passageway and out of sight. Nathan watched her go. Blood dripped from Evelyn as she lay cradled in his arms. Blood tears streaked her face as she looked up at him with tormented eyes.
“As for you, my friend,” Maalik said, turning towards Nathan, “Follow me.”
He led Nathan to another door, opposite the one that Ronnie disappeared through. Boomer followed close to his master. They entered another long hallway; this one was much smaller and narrower than the others. The same white, illuminated floor extended before them. The walls were also white and bare, giving Nathan the feeling that they had entered a clean-room environment. Blood dripped from Evelyn’s spinal column onto the immaculate floor.
They entered through a non-descript door into a large empty room. Nathan looked around and was unable to discern any walls. The illuminated floor seem to stretch forever in all directions. Blackness surrounded them. As they continued to walk, the door behind them clicked shut, leaving a black void where the hallway had been. The wolf-general walked several more paces into the vast expanse. Boomer continued to stick close, walking alongside his master and fallen lady.
Maalik stopped. The seamless floor opened up before them; various pieces made from the same gunmetal material as before rose up from below. The parts slid and moved with mechanical precision and an organic motion. In a few moments, the movement stopped and there in front of them was what appeared to be a sarcophagus. The outside sported similar carvings as the ones on the enormous columns, but he noticed that there were no human depictions among the wolf sculptures. More of the strange runic script intermingled among the wolf effigies.
A low, powerful voice filled the chamber from the darkness beyond.
[“Place the girl inside…”] it commanded.
Nathan looked to Maalik, who simply nodded towards the otherworldly coffin. Taking a step towards the crypt, Nathan raised Evelyn’s remains over the side and eased her down. It was lined with a soft pliable material like silicone that glowed white like the floor. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
“I love you, so much,” he whispered.
As he removed his hands from inside the tomb, the sarcophagus began to move as before. Pieces slid and turned until a large cover sealed Evelyn inside. Slowly, the entire tomb lowered down into the floor, as the white tiles slid back into place. If he hadn’t seen it happen, Nathan would never have thought a large metallic tomb had stood there.
[“Do not worry for her,”] the loud disembodied voice stated.
“What are you going to do with her?” Nathan pleaded.
He was only answered with silence. Maalik placed a comforting hand on Nathan’s shoulder.
“She is safe,” he said. “The answers which you seek are here. You are about to meet the leader of our kind.”
“I thought you were their leader,” Nathan said.
A smile crossed Maalik’s face. “I am but a humble servant of our Father.”
And with those words, Maalik bowed and turned, disappearing into the nothingness from which they came.
Nathan and Boomer stood in the empty chamber. The furry dog cocked his head and gave a little whimper, then began to w
ag his tail vigorously. A loud thud sounded off the floor. Then another. The noise echoed through the expanse. Nathan looked around but couldn’t see what was causing such a noise.
“Hello?” he asked with a quiver in his voice.
Another thud.
[“Hello Nathan,”] the voice said. [“I am pleased that you were able to find your way to me.”]
Boomer became more excited. His tail waved so furiously, he began to do his little happy dance that he often did when he saw Nathan or Evelyn return home.
“Who are you?” Nathan asked.
Another thud. Then another. Nathan finally saw movement ahead. A colossal wolf, far larger than any he had seen thus far, emerged from the shadows. It stood approximately thirteen feet high on all fours. Its quills shimmered in a smoky-gray color. Pale white eyes looked down at him like two full moons. He was taken aback by the sheer size of the ancient creature. The long canine snout held rows of sharp teeth, some of which were over a foot in length. He had no doubt that the creature could swallow him whole if it wanted to.
[“My name, is Sanvi, Lord of the Lunae.”]
Nathan stared in awe at the wolf-lord before him. At that moment, he knew what Theresa was going through. After everything that he went through the past two days, it was still difficult to comprehend the facts.
“I’m sorry,” Nathan started. “But this is all a lot to process. Two days ago, zombies and werewolves were nothing more than myth. Now both my fiancé and I walk among the dead, she’s reduced to a blinking head, and I’m standing here conversing with a giant werewolf. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Let me guess...Magic? Witches? Bigfoot?”
The wolf-lord gave a snort. [“Please, Nathan, don’t be absurd. There’s no such thing as magic.”]
Sanvi sauntered in a slow circle around Nathan as he continued.
[“The child that has caused all this turmoil, the one that has pursued you, is no child. That body is nothing more than a husk. A shell, to hold her spirit. She is a woman. The first woman. Her name is Lilith. Some of your religious mythos refer to her as the Mother of Demons. She was Adam’s original wife, long before the creation of Eve. When she refused to bend to Adam’s wishes, our Father punished her by exiling her from Paradise. He cursed her to birth and devour a thousand of her children every day. These devoured children of hers became the Lilitu. They are the demons your bible mentions throughout its pages. They are the evil side of humanity’s moral coin. Lilith has found a way to return to Paradise and I’m afraid that she may finally get what she has wanted all these millennia.”]
Nathan eyed Sanvi as he paced around him. “What does she want?” he asked.
Sanvi paused and then took two steps towards Nathan. [“Everything,”] he answered.
“So, God is real then? You’re talking about Adam and Eve and Paradise as though it’s all real,” Nathan observed.
Sanvi continued with his slow, circular pace around the confused young Lilitu.
[“God is real, in a manner of speaking, but he does not exist in the sense that humans believe. He is not omnipotent and He is certainly not infallible.”]
Nathan contemplated for a moment. “What’s going to happen to Eve?”
[“She will be whole again, but it will take time. Our healers are tending to her as we speak. Right now, we have a great deal to discuss; like the reason you are the subject of Lilith's desire. Come with me.”]
The Lord of the Lunae broke from his walk-circle and started towards one of the unseen walls. Nathan followed, his mind awash with thoughts of Evelyn and of what challenges their new hellish existence holds for them. They faded into the darkness as they traveled deeper into the Lunae stronghold.
****************
Sam held his breath. The roar of the battle outside the trailer had ceased. The humans huddled around the green chem-stick in the back corner of their refuge. Alison sat in catatonic silence. Pete sat next to her. Carlos gave an uneasy look at Chatty, who in turn looked at Daniel, who looked at Sam, who continued to stare beyond their cardboard fort at the trailer door.
Daniel broke the silence. “Is it over?” he whispered.
“I don’t know,” Sam replied, never taking his eyes off the door.
“Do you think we won?” Daniel prodded.
“It seems doubtful,” Carlos replied. “It’s been several minutes since the fighting quieted down. If we won, I would imagine that Nate or Eve would have come for us by now.”
“There’s only one way to know for sure,” Chatty whispered.
The large man inched a couple of the boxes aside and tip-toed his way to the trailer door. Behind him, the others readied their weapons. Taking a deep breath, Suresh pushed against the door. It budged, but stopped as the bent rebar clanked against the metal door.
Outside the trailer, the Horde stood around their injured queen. The snow continued to dump from the sky and had already begun to cover the cold corpses of the dead. All Sunshine’s minions stood motionless as the child-queen lay on the bloodied ground. Black smoke listlessly oozed out of the torn stump where her arm used to be. Further back amongst her children, a former paramedic stood near an overturned semi-truck. His red eyes turned in the direction of the loud metal clank that came from the back of the trailer door.
Lilith opened her eyes. One of her children had found something. Turning to her mind’s eye, she looked through the consciousness of her spawn. She could see the overturned trailer that was nearby. Inside, she saw several faint heat signatures. There were humans inside, no doubt the same ones Nathan had traveled with. A satisfied smile appeared on her face as she giggled out loud.
“This is going to be fun,” she hissed.
She projected her command to the tens of thousands of Lilitu that surrounded her. They moved in unison, like a grotesque school of predatory fish. The Horde surrounded the semi-trailer and lifted it up. Lilith glided over on black wisps of smoke and settled on top of the human’s new prison. The undead army plodded and crawled northward, towards the Pleasure Palace. She had liked it there, high on the cliff above a bastion of human sin. It seemed a fitting place to call home.
The humans began to cry louder and louder from within the trailer as the reality of the situation sank in. It was now clear they were now in the hands of their enemy. Cries soon became wails, as the hopelessness of their fates became apparent.
“Save your screams,” Lilith spat. “You will need them.”
She released the most hideous laughter from the eleven-year-old body. The wind ferried the chilling cackle throughout the valley as the Horde faded into the black-gray haze of the Arctic squall.
To Be Continued…
COMING SOON
When everything has been taken, how does one find the strength to fight on? Where does one find hope? Find out what happens to Nathan, Ronnie, Evelyn, and the survivors in the next chapter of The Dark Trinity nightmare.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steven is an accomplished creative mind, having been classically trained in music and holding two degrees in animation and visual design. After publishing two textbooks on 3d computer modeling and animation, he decided to start writing what he loved—scary stories. His short story, INVERSION, garnered awards and publication and motivated the release of SHUFFLE: The Dark Trinity Book 1, his first fiction novel. Steven lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his loyal dog Boomer.
Find out more at STEVENTILLONLINE.COM.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PART I: THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL
CHAPTER 1 DMITRI
CHAPTER 2 EXPOSURE
CHAPTER 3 RUN AGROUND
CHAPTER 4 TURBULENCE
CHAPTER 5 THE CLEANSING
CHAPTER 6 GRANDPA
CHAPTER 7 WAKE UP CALL
CHAPTER 8 EMERGENCY CALL
CHAPTER 9 NAPALM
CHAPTER 10 EVOLUTION
CHAPTER 11 SAFE HAVEN
CHAPTER 12 I, ZOMBIE
CHAPTER 13 THE SUBWAY
PART II: SMOKES, GUNS, AND ORIGINAL SIN
CHAPTER 14 FILL ‘ER UP
CHAPTER 15 MAN’S BEST FRIEND
CHAPTER 16 SHOPPING SPREE
CHAPTER 17 THE MARATHON
CHAPTER 18 THE QUEEN
CHAPTER 19 ON THE RUN
CHAPTER 20 INSIDE VOICE
CHAPTER 21 TWO AMIGOS
CHAPTER 22 BAIT
CHAPTER 23 FORT PITT
CHAPTER 24 THE ROOFTOP
CHAPTER 25 HOME SWEET HOME
CHAPTER 26 DOBBS
PART III: THE GREAT ESCAPE
CHAPTER 27 GOTCHA
CHAPTER 28 WAITING FOR THE MOON
CHAPTER 29 LORRAINE
CHAPTER 30 GESUNDHEIT
CHAPTER 31 TUNNEL TROUBLE
CHAPTER 32 THE CROSSING
CHAPTER 33 REUNION
CHAPTER 34 WAITING
CHAPTER 35 CROSSING AGAIN
CHAPTER 36 NEXT STEPS
CHAPTER 37 HANG IN THERE
CHAPTER 38 DINNER TIME
PART IV: THE BEGINNING OF THE END
CHAPTER 39 A SHEEP IN WOLF’S CLOTHING
CHAPTER 40 DEAD SLEEP
CHAPTER 41 HOMECOMING
CHAPTER 42 EXODUS
CHAPTER 43 BLOOD STORM
CHAPTER 44 THE RABBIT HOLE
COMING SOON
ABOUT THE AUTHOR