The Changlings (The New Earth Chronicles Book 2)

by J. J. Thompson

  Sarah sat up on her cot and looked around in confusion. She had been sleeping soundly, but something had woken her up. Had someone been calling her?

  A few torches were burning sullenly in brackets around the room and she could see that the others were still sleeping. Some of the Changlings were snoring and one person was grinding their teeth. She shuddered at the sound and swung her legs around to stand up. She didn't know how long she'd been sleeping, but there was too much to do and she decided that she should get up and get started.

  The first thing I should do is check on Bobby, she thought as she slipped on her shoes. He's probably dying to use the latrine by now.

  She had just finished tying her laces when the ground under her feet vibrated slightly. She froze in place and then sat up and listened intently. What had caused that?

  She waited, ignoring the sounds of the others in the room. A few minutes passed and then, just as she let out a long breath, it happened again.

  She jumped up, scooped up her stone, and hurried out into the hallway. She slipped her stone into a pocket, pulled out her wand and raised it over her head.

  The yellow glow from the wand lit up the hallway and Sarah looked down toward the far end. There was nothing moving and no one was wandering around.

  The other end of the hallway, where the stairwell door was wedged open, was silent as well. So what had caused those vibrations?

  She poked her head back inside of the rec room and saw that everyone was still sleeping peacefully, even the tooth grinder. Sarah grimaced at the noise and decided to head up and talk to Bobby. Maybe he had felt the shaking as well.

  She walked down the hall to the stairwell and started climbing. The metal steps rang softly under her sneakers as she went. The constant up and down travel was one thing that she wouldn't miss about the bunker. And the gloom. It didn't matter that this had once been her home; the Diefenbunker felt alien now. Alien and unwelcome. It was as if it didn't want them there anymore and was brooding about it. A silly notion, but one that she couldn't seem to shake.

  Ah well, just a few more hours and we'll be gone for good, she thought. And I, for one, can't wait. A whole new world is waiting for us out there and we'll meet it head on, just like we did the last time we left the bunker.

  It was an exciting prospect.

  Up on the main level, Sarah walked toward the entrance. It was just as dark as it had been in the hallway below. She had left Bobby in the dark, assuming that he would go back to sleep in the chair. It looked like he was still resting.

  She was surprised when she reached his chair to find that he was nowhere to be seen. The blast door was still sealed, so he hadn't gone outside. So where was he?

  “Bobby?” she called out.

  There was no answer except for her own echo. That was weird. Maybe he'd gone downstairs to the latrine while she was still sleeping? That was possible.

  Sarah hesitated and then stepped up to the door and put her palm against it. The metal was cool to the touch. She closed her eyes and tried to feel her way past the barrier and sense anything that might be lurking outside.

  Maybe it was just good luck that she had done that, or some instinct of which she wasn't even aware, but touching the blast door saved her life.

  An immediate wave of malevolence washed over her mind that almost choked her. With a cry of fright, she leaped back from the door just as it began to glow red. A wave of intense heat engulfed her and she began to run back down the hallway in a panic. Just as she did, the door exploded inward.

  Thick jagged pieces of steel shot straight down the corridor at her and she instinctively waved her wand, creating a shield around her as she ran.

  The metal smashed into the yellow barrier and evaporated in flashes of light and smoke. As the rain of fragments ceased, Sarah realized that she was safe for the moment and stopped to stare back at the now open doorway.

  At first, all she could see was a bright square of sunlight where the door had once been. She wondered why it was so bright. Shouldn't the light be blocked by the building outside of the entrance? It only took her a moment to realize that the building itself must have been destroyed. That was the only way that the sun could be shining directly into the bunker.

  These thoughts passed through her mind in an instant and then all she could do was watch in horror as the square of light was blocked out by a gigantic, reptilian head.

  A black snout, crisscrossed with scars and as long as a bus, was thrust into the opening. Its lips pulled back revealing rows of jagged white fangs Behind it, burning red eyes filled with inhuman hatred stared straight down the corridor right into her own. It was the black dragon.

  “Oh my God,” Sarah whispered in terror.

  There was intelligence behind those eyes; intelligence and disdain in equal measure. And she could feel something else coming from the great beast, a feeling of recognition. It seemed to know her, somehow. But surely that was impossible.

  She was almost swept off of her feet as the dragon opened its maw as wide as it could in the confining hallway and began to suck in a huge breath.

  It was going to attack!

  Sarah turned and ran, her shield falling apart as she lost her concentration. The sound of the dragon's inhalation was all around her. It filled her ears and added speed to her retreat. She knew that as soon as it stopped, she would die. There was no way that her little shield would be able to block a dragon's breath attack, even if she could raise it again. No way at all.

  It was close. She reached the stairwell just as the sound of the dragon's breath stopped. With a last, mighty effort, she wrenched the door open, leaped through the doorway and slammed it shut behind her.

  “Sarah?”

  She cried out and spun around, raising her wand so that she could see.

  Bobby was standing on the stairs, several steps below her, holding a torch. He was looking up at her in surprise.

  “I went downstairs to look for you, but I couldn't find you,” he said, just as she leaped down the steps. “What's going on?”

  “Get down!” she shouted.

  “What?”

  Sarah didn't wait. She grabbed Bobby, sending his torch flying, and both of them tumbled painfully down the steps all the way to the second level landing. As they slammed into the metal floor, the door at the top of the stairs exploded in a blast of sparks and molten metal. Arcs of electricity slammed into the wall across from the doorway, leaving black streaks of soot in the gray paint.

  “What the hell was that?” Bobby exclaimed as he sat up.

  Then he groaned. He had landed badly and stabbing pains shot up his back.

  Sarah pushed herself to her feet and raised her wand. Remarkably, she hadn't dropped it as they both tumbled down the stairs. She tucked her hair behind her ears and offered Bobby a hand.

  “A dragon,” she told him as he stood up. “The dragon, I suppose we should call it. Magnus did say that there was only one in the city and this one's black, so it must be him. Or is it her? No, only the queen was female, right?”

  “Sarah, focus,” Bobby said sharply. “What do you mean, it was the dragon? The tunnel is too small for a dragon to get into. Isn't it?”

  She looked up at the doorway and slowly began climbing back up the steps.

  “Too big for the whole dragon, maybe, but not its head. It blew the blast door apart and shoved its head into the hallway.”

  She stopped and looked back.

  “It saw me, Bobby. It looked right at me.”

  He stared at her, eyes wide with fear.

  “It looked at you? What do you mean?”

  “I think it knew me. And not as some random human, but me, Sarah. It recognized me somehow.”

  She crept up the steps with Bobby close behind her.

  “That's not possible,” he whispered. “You've never even seen the damned thing. Well, not until just now anyway.”

  “Shh!”

  She reached the edge of the empty doorway and peeked around
it cautiously.

  “Hey, it's gone!” she said in surprise.

  “What, just like that?” Bobby asked in confusion.

  “Yeah. Come up and take a look.”

  He slipped past her and looked out into the hallway. He wrinkled his nose at the overwhelming stench of ozone and melted metal, but he immediately forgot about it as he saw the distant square of daylight.

  “He blew in the blast door? My God, I didn't think even a dragon could do that.”

  “Well, this one did. But where's he gone?”

  They slowly stepped out into the hall and just stood there, watching and listening.

  “Why would he leave?” Bobby asked.

  “It's not like the monster could do any more damage,” Sarah replied thoughtfully. “His head barely fit into the corridor. Which means that he didn't smash the door in for himself. He must have done it...”

  A distant screech of rage made both of them flinch.

  “To send in the drakes!” Bobby said, finishing her sentence. “Of course. That makes sense.”

  He looked at the pieces of metal scattered all over the floor; the remains of the stairwell door.

  “We have no way to keep them out!” he said frantically. “I was down on the second level, checking out the emergency exit tunnel a little while ago. I felt some vibrations in the ground and I was searching for their source.”

  “I think we found it,” Sarah told him as she retreated back into the stairwell and pulled Bobby in with her. “The dragon must have been smashing the outside building into dust. Doesn't matter now. Look.” She nodded toward the end of the hall. “The drakes haven't entered yet. We might have a few minutes' grace. Is the emergency tunnel clear?”

  “It's clear. It leads all the way to the other side of that hill to the south of here. Far enough that you can't even see the main entrance to the bunker.”

  “Excellent. Would you hurry downstairs and wake everyone up? Tell them to grab the packs that we prepared for them and then lead them to the escape tunnel. And make it quick. I don't think that we have much time.”

  Bobby frowned at her.

  “And what are you going to do while I'm doing that?”

  “Slow down the drakes, of course,” she told him matter-of-factly. “The only place to do that is this doorway, so this is where I'll block them.”

  She gave him a little push toward the stairwell and, once he was inside, she stepped into the empty doorway and waved her wand. An intense yellow shield sprang up around her, just large enough to cover her from head to toe and fill the opening.

  Bobby stood frozen, unable to believe what he was seeing. Did Sarah actually think that her little shield would stop a pack of drakes? They would tear through it like it was made of tissue paper.

  She looked back at him and smiled gently.

  “Hurry, Bobby. I don't know how long I'll be about to hold them.”

  “Sarah, I...”

  He suddenly realized that she knew exactly what she was doing, and just how futile it would probably be. But she might slow the monsters down long enough to give the others time to get out. Which meant that he had to move and move quickly.

  “I'll come back for you,” he told her fiercely. “I swear it.”

  Before she could answer, he turned around and leaped down the stairs, taking them two at a time and trying not to slip and break his neck.

  Dear Bobby, Sarah thought as he disappeared and she heard the sound of his heavy footfalls fading away. He'll get them up and out, somehow. Just as long as I give him a little time.

  Another hunting cry echoed down the hall and she braced herself, squaring her shoulders as she watched the distant square of sunlight.

  This should be interesting, she told herself.

  Bobby reached the bottom level and raced out of the stairwell. He ran down the hall and burst into the rec room. Then he slid to a stop and looked around.

  About a dozen of the Changlings were awake and moving around. They were chatting happily and joking with each other. Bobby thought that the whole thing seemed surreal. It all looked so normal and calm.

  He spotted Miesha and Caroline sitting on a bed together. They were sharing a dried ration and talking quietly. Eric and Magnus were standing next to each other with their backs to the door. Magnus was gesturing as he spoke and Eric was nodding at whatever the shaman was saying.

  Bobby took a moment to catch his breath and then ran over to join Magnus.

  “Morning, Bobby,” Eric said cheerfully.

  He looked rested and calmer than he had been the night before.

  Magnus saw Bobby's face and he frowned.

  “What has happened?” he asked quickly.

  “The bunker's been breached,” Bobby said loudly so that everyone could hear him.

  The Changlings around the room immediately became silent. The few who had been lying down sat up and gaped at him.

  Caroline and Miesha jumped to their feet.

  “What are you talking about?” Eric asked him. “Breached? What could get through the blast door?”

  “A dragon,” Bobby replied hastily. “It smashed through the main door and then used its lightning breath to destroy the entrance to the stairwell. Sarah is still up there. She wants everyone to grab their stuff and get out of the bunker, right now!”

  A chorus of objections pelted him, but Magnus raised his hands and everyone stopped speaking at once.

  “So, it was waiting for all of us to gather in one place to attack. Clever. But the dragon would not be able to reach us down here. What else threatens us, Bobby?”

  “Drakes,” Bobby replied soberly. “We heard their hunting cries. It's pretty obvious that the dragon opened a way for its servants to get in. We have got to move! The emergency tunnel is clear; I just checked it a little while ago. So please, everyone grab a backpack and get moving. The emergency exit is on the second level. We have to go!”

  “Everyone, listen to me,” Magnus said in a commanding voice. “We don't have time to argue about this. All of you know what drakes can do, what they have already done to the Changlings who didn't make it. Get up, get dressed and get moving!”

  There were no objections. Those who weren't dressed quickly began to throw on their clothes. The leaders all gathered together around Bobby and began speaking quickly.

  “What is Sarah doing?” Miesha asked Bobby. “She's still upstairs?”

  He looked around at all of them and drew in a shaky breath.

  “She's going to try to block the drakes from entering the stairwell, at least long enough for our people to get into the exit tunnel. There is still a door leading into the second level, plus a heavier door that opens on to the emergency exit corridor. Once everyone is through them, we can lock them behind us. That should buy us even more time to escape.”

  “Sarah's going to block them?” Eric asked incredulously. “How in the hell is she going to do that?”

  “That wand that she found,” Bobby told him. “She can cast a barrier with it, a pretty strong one. She's up there right now, using that shield to block the entrance to the stairwell.”

  “Well, what do you know?” Caroline said in wonder. “So that's what it can do. Amazing.”

  “She learned how to use the wand?” Eric asked. “Wow, Sarah's a quick study.”

  “That she is,” Magnus agreed. “Come now, all of you check on your people and get them ready. I don't know if this shield of Sarah's can hold back a drake, but even if it can, I doubt that it will last very long. So let's move quickly.”

  The leaders scattered around the room, helping their friends to put on their backpacks and reassuring some who were white-faced and seemed on the verge of panic.

  Magnus remained with Bobby and looked at him closely.

  “How are you doing?” he asked quietly.

  Bobby laughed bitterly.

  “Me? I'm fine. Just great. Sarah's the one who's about to get ripped apart. It should be me up there holding back those drakes, not her.”


  He angrily slapped the sword on his hip.

  “I could do it. Sarah has so many more responsibilities that she should be dealing with. I'm not a leader and I'm certainly not a magic-user, no matter what the two of you seem to think. At best, I'm a fighter. This blade came to me for a reason, Magnus, and that reason is to kill our enemies. Sarah should be down here helping the others.”

  Magnus put a gentle hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

  “She is exactly where she wants to be, Bobby. But perhaps, once you see your friends to the emergency exit, you can return to her and take her place. Or at least help her against the drakes, hmm?”

  Bobby's eyes widened in surprise.

  “I hadn't thought of that. You're right, Magnus! If we move quickly enough, I'll be able to help her.”

  He looked around the room.

  “Come on, guys!” he barked. “Don't get fancy. Just get dressed, grab your packs and move! Sarah won't be able to hold out for long.”

  Sarah stood waiting. She hadn't heard another cry from the drakes, but she could almost feel them. They were close.

  Was the dragon still out there, she wondered, directing his troops? When the others left via the back exit, would the monster spot them? Surely not. Bobby said that it was hidden from the main entrance. She could only hope that he was right.

  A dark shape was suddenly outlined against the distant square of sunlight at the end of the hallway. She squinted at it and saw a second shadowed outline join it. And then another and another. She counted six in total. Drakes.

  Half a dozen of the beasts. Can I hold them back? Maybe. A drake was longer than a horse and that didn't include its tail. And they were a lot heavier.

  So as long as I wait just inside the stairwell, Sarah reasoned, they can only come at me one at a time.

  Well, that's something anyway, she thought. If only I knew a way to use my wand to attack. Maybe if I'd had just a little more time to experiment, I could have learned how to do that. But it's too late now. The shield will have to do. I just hope that it will hold, at least long enough to give my friends time to escape.

  The pack of drakes advanced down the hallway toward her. They had a weird way of moving. When they ran, they leaped along in great bounds, covering ground at amazing speed. But when they stalked their prey, as they were doing with Sarah, they just looked like over-sized iguanas. A front leg would move forward and the opposite back leg would do the same. It made them look like they were waddling and Sarah felt an urge to giggle as she watched them close in.