THIRTY.
Skyclade twirled the bone sword in its vessel’s left hand. Six large identical, naked female hybrids stood before it. They were large and muscular, towering over nine feet. Each had tree trunk arms and legs, with five thick black tentacles that sprouted from their backs. Their faces resembled a lump of shiny smooth black coal and large black veins ran up and down their pale white skin.
Skyclade grabbed a man as he walked past, following all the other residents. The man was in a trance, his eyes cloudy. Dropping the bone, Skyclade snarled and lifted the man with ease above his head. With a grunt, it threw the man at the hybrids. Two hybrids caught the man with their tentacles, one hybrid’s tentacles coiled around the man’s throat and right arm, the other hybrid grabbed hold of the man’s waist and left leg. The man’s face slowly turned and looked at Skyclade, mouth dropping open and expelling a large hiss. The hybrids pulled the man apart. Blood and innards splashed to the floor.
Picking its bone sword back up, Skyclade charged, shouldering a hybrid. The hybrid slowly rocked backwards but held its ground. Skyclade cursed as it felt its shoulder crack and the weakness of the vessel that had served it for so long. Stepping in close, Skyclade sliced the bone across the hybrids belly, black goo sprayed across its vessel’s face. A tentacle wrapped across its left arm and before it could react, the tentacle pulled hard and twisted Skyclade into the fist of another hybrid, knocking it to the ground. Skyclade touched its vessel’s eye. It was closing fast, puffy and bruised. It felt a foot smash down onto its vessel’s shoulder, and heard a large crack. As the foot came down a second time, Skyclade rammed the bone blade into the white flesh of the hybrid’s leg. The hybrid, silently fell backwards, hitting the concrete street with such weight that the stone beneath vibrated.
Skyclade stood up and tried to raise its vessel’s right arm but it didn't move, it just hung useless and limp. Screaming to the sky, Skyclade leapt in the air aiming for the sewer entrance and the crowds of residents, but as soon as it was in the air, a tentacle wrapped around its leg and it was propelled backwards, landing once more to the hardened concrete. The six hybrids silently stood before Skyclade.
Before Skyclade could react, a bright light engulfed its vessel’s body and Skyclade disappeared in a flash of bright light, re-appearing in a forest at the edge of Bonners Ferry.
Sitting up Skyclade breathed heavily. These creatures were stronger than the one it fought inside its vessel’s mind. It needed to repair this weak body and then find stronger weapons.
“The tracking potion worked! Whoa! Hold all the calls! You are in a bad way Vince. What happened to you? Have you been to a cowboy party?” asked a young girl sitting on a log, swinging her legs. Hall had changed from her stolen Happy Eater outfit and now wore a red leather jacket, tight blue jeans and red shiny Dr. Marten boots with rainbow laces. Her fluffy blonde hair was now in twin ponytails.
Skyclade turned and snarled at the young witch.
Hall narrowed her eyes, “Ah, so Vince has gone. The Red-girl warned me this may happen. I like this red eye thingy you have got going on. Intimidating!” She pulled out her phone. “Hang on, I’ve got this.” Tapping her phone with a long sparkly red fingernail, Hall scrolled through a list of notes. “Movies to watch, books to read, shopping list. Ah, got it, Red-girl stuff.” Opening the note, she scrolled through a list of instructions.
“I can see why the Red-girl chose this place, it has a lot of natural power, channels the earth spirits. Good place for a nature witch like me to hang out, be one with nature, yadda, yadda. In fact, I’ve practiced quite a few spells, while I was waiting for you. So much easier here. Can’t you just feel the power? I’m taking from the constant snarling and those red eyes that are staring at me so intensely, that you don’t care one bit. Here we are!”
Hall quickly read the note to herself and then leapt to her feet.
“Greetings oh wondrous and powerful Skyclade. I am honored to be in your presence. I am Hall. I am a friend. I am here to heal you.”
Skyclade licked its lips.
Hall held up her hand. “Whoa not like that. With magic.” She clicked her fingers. A blue flame appeared.
Skyclade stared.
“Hmm tough crowd,” frowned Hall.
Skyclade lifted its nose and sniffed three times, deep and long like a wolf assessing its prey. Its vessel’s brain felt like the girl was someone it could trust.
“Fix me,” it snarled.
Hall rubbed her palms together and smiled, “That’s what I do, danger man.”
THE HIVE.
ONE.
Keel spread a large sewer map across Drexel’s desk. She carefully placed an object on each corner; a heavy fossilized ammonite, a coffee cup that had an image of a buxom mermaid on it, a book with the title, ‘Girl in the gap’ and for the last corner, Keel grabbed the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels from Drexel’s hand.
“We weren’t finished with that.” moaned Drexel.
“I think you have,” replied Keel. She tapped the map. “What do you think?”
Canopus peered over Keel’s shoulder, his breath smelt of bourbon. It wasn’t a bad smell to Keel and reminded her of her father.
“Yeah, that’s where she went down.”
Keel traced the sewer lines with her finger, it intersected with three other lines. Each was color coded. The line that Lillian Fox entered, was colored brown.
Drexel puffed out his chest, “That red line is the abandoned subway. Never finished but it was used for smuggling during the prohibition. There’s an entrance on Oak street and one on Vaness street, but both have been sealed up.”
“Sealed with what?” asked Canopus.
Drexel shrugged, “Metal grills and big frigging locks. No idea who has the key. Maybe the Mayor. Whom, I’m pretty sure, I saw marching with all the other lemmings.”
“What is the green line?” asked Keel, pointing to a twisting line that went through the red and brown line.
“You want the rumors or what I know?”
“Both,” replied Canopus.
“Rumors are that they are catacombs, containing bodies from the plagues that hit the tribes here. Stacked full of Natives or whatever you are meant to call them nowadays.
“Native Americans is the correct term,” replied Keel.
Drexel waved his hand, “Yeah I know. Anyway, that's the rumor but what I know is something different. I heard, that was a story to keep people away. I heard, the tunnels acted as storage for Cakeland Asylum for the insane. They experimented on them in the tunnels.”
Keel nodded, “I can believe it. Cakeland was notorious. If you had the money, you could commit anyone and be sure that they would never turn up again. Some pretty evil experiments happened in Cakeland.”
“Problem is, there is only one way in and out and that's where it crosses the red line. Been sealed up for years.”
Keel traced her finger along the green line, it crossed the red line below Vaness Street and then snaked around the map, eventually joining itself.
“Ok, so what’s the blue line?” Keel tapped a straight blue line that ran from the brown to the coast.
“That’s another cold storage line, runs right under the forest, to the coast and was used to transport goods from boats. It was built by a guy call Ichabod, yeah Ichabod trading. They were smugglers rather than traders though.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Canopus.
“We take the red line. Looks like the quickest way to get onto the brown line and to where I think Lillian Fox is.” She pointed to the end of the brown line, where there were three large squares.
“Yep, those are the old storage areas. Around 53 feet wide. I’m told they still contain old freight trains. Never been down there myself,” Drexel placed his hand on the bottle of Jack.
“Finished?”
Keel took a photo of the map with her cell phone. “Go knock yourself out.”
Drexel lifted up the bottle and took a long gulp. Wiping the back
of his hand across his lips, he belched and then laughed. “Sorry,” he smirked.
“How much Insulin do we have?” Keel asked the pair.
Drexel pulled back his drawer, “Quite a bit actually. I have four boxes, each have twenty inside. I guess it paid to be partnering with the hospital after all.” He laughed but no one else saw the joke.
“That should be enough. We still don’t know if it will work on the hybrids, but if we get close enough to the residents, we should be able to expel the shrouds.”
Canopus nodded, “Have you thought about how we take down Lillian Fox?”
“I have. We are going to open the Cakeland corridor and seal her in. Without constant feeding she will eventually die.”
“You’re going to need to use a jackhammer to open it up and close it,” stated Drexel.
“I’m sure a guy like you has something quicker,” smiled Keel.
“That I do.” Drexel walked over to a large metal locker and opened it. It was full of cardboard boxes. Drexel pulled out a large box and placed it on the desk.
“Take a look.”
Canopus opened the box. Inside were six green metal mines. FRONT TOWARD ENEMY, was written on the metal casing.
Drexel puffed out his chest. “What we have here, are Mohawk M18A1 Claymore mines with a M57 firing device. They contain a layer of C four explosive, behind hundreds of steel metal balls. A mine like this will cut through anything. We can also daisy chain them together and use this.” He pulled out a metal pedal and clicked it.
“Where the hell did you get these from?” asked Canopus.
Drexel tapped his nose, “I have ways. You never know when the Sheriff’s department may need a mine or five.”
Keel smiled. “Show me how they work.”
TWO.
Laying before Lillian Fox were the bodies of two dead children, their bodies were twisted in agony. Standing next to them, unable to move, were two identical twin sisters, they looked no older than ten years old. The twins’ eyes were cloudy, their mouths dribbling spittle.
“Feed me Melissa,” commanded Lillian Fox.
The child that was Melissa, stepped forward and shivered. The shroud appeared over Melissa’s shoulders and vomited energy into the mouth of Lillian Fox. As the energy flowed, Melissa’s hair twisted and rippled in the air. The shroud jumped to the second child and Julia too stepped forward. More energy vomited from the shroud, into the Angel.
“What beautiful little girls you have become.”
Lillian Fox felt reborn. She stretched her arms high in the air. Light crackled between her palms and then jumped to her right hand, covering her fingers in purple and blue crackling energy. Lifting up her hand, she sliced the air leaving behind a long silver jagged line. The line grew, warping the air around its position and then it slowly cracked open, revealing a glimpse of swirling stars. A small ball of white energy, no bigger than a tennis ball, squeezed through the crack and floated before the angel. The crack collapsed on itself and disappeared.
“You are safe here,” she whispered. “I have enough to feed us both.”
The ball of energy vibrated and stretched. As it grew and sparkled, the energy first formed the shape of arms, then legs, then a head.
A glowing figure stood before Lillian Fox and held out two stumps that vibrated with light. The stumps elongated and split, forming fingers that intertwined with Lillian Fox’s open hands.
A burst of light exploded from the figure’s back, forming two large wings that slowly faded away. Standing before Lillian Fox was a naked, bald figure with dull dark blue eyes. Its golden body was so lean and malnourished that its legs shook, unable to hold its body’s weight. With great care, Lillian Fox eased the figure to the ground.
“Feed me sorrow, sister,” it pleaded.
Lillian Fox whispered under her breath and three residents stepped forward.
“I have something so much better, my brother,” she replied. The three shrouds that possessed the residents, vomited thick energy into the fallen angel’s open mouth.
“Slowly now,” commanded Lillian Fox to the shrouds. “Let my brother sip, before he gulps.”
As the life force of the humans ran into the angel on the floor, strands of dark hair sprouted from the angel’s bald head, thin and uneven. Its body became slightly fuller, meat and fat gradually filling out around its bones but it was still weak.
The three human residents fell to the floor exhausted, their shrouds falling to sleep.
Quivering, the angel arched its back and coughed, spewing white liquid with streaks of red to the floor.
“I want more,” it said and pointed a trembling finger to the twin girls that were standing still beside Lillian Fox.
“Those are mine and mine alone,” replied Lillian Fox. “But you will have more and you will regain your strength but it will take time.”
The male angel nodded and looked up at its sister, holding out a trembling hand that Lillian Fox held gently.
“Lillian Fox, I favor you. I sing your praise.” his voice croaked, barely a whisper.
Lillian Fox stepped in and held her brother, “Somerset Mills, I favor you. I sing your praise.”
Letting go of his hand, she looked up at two hybrids and nodded. The hybrids stepped forward and picked up her brother’s weak body, carrying him to a large purple freight train. It had no wheels, but instead sat flat on large wooden tracks. On the side of the train in large cream letters were the words, ‘Bonners Ferry Rose Line.’
THREE.
On the corner of Vaness street and Denver street, Canopus looked down at the large lock wrapped around the metal brackets of the old prohibition tunnel’s iron grate, “Rusted shut.”
The streets were deserted and the sun was starting to set, long shadows stretched from the trees and abandoned cars.
Keel walked to a nearby tree, pulled out her machete and cut off a piece of bark. She placed the bark across the lock and rested her hand on them. “Crystallus Tempastus.”
Ice quickly formed around the bark and lock, making it frosted and brittle.
Keel stepped on the lock and it broke.
“Not bad at all,” said Drexel.
“Nature magic,” confirmed Keel. “The Ice will take down the hybrids too but only if we can find wood to cast on.
“Easy,” replied Drexel, he walked over and pulled a branch of a tree. He threw it at Keel, who caught it. “Should be enough here for at least one attack.” He shook the bag over his shoulder, “These mines will do the rest.”
“I would feel a lot more comfortable if you stopped shaking a bag full of explosives,” commented Canopus as he lifted the heavy iron grate.
The grate’s hinges squealed and creaked until it was finally open.
“You ready for this?” Canopus asked Drexel and Keel.
Keel nodded, “My body aches all over, my leg feels like it’s on fire. But I’m ready. We have enough insulin between us to rescue the residents, plus I’m now one hundred percent sure I can cast the ice hex. I also have ten clips of ammo. With the ammo and explosives that both of you are carrying, minus the numbers against us and the psychical and mental state we are currently in, I give us a fifty percent probability rating of success with escaping.”
“What about not escaping?” asked Drexel glumly.
“I would raise it by five percent.”
“Girl, that was some pep talk.” Drexel turned on his flashlight and peered into the tunnel entrance. “There’s a ladder here. Looks old though.”
Canopus went to climb down but Drexel held up his hand. “This is my town, I’ll go first.”
“Be my guest. Keel you next.”
Drexel lowered himself onto the ladder and looked down. “It goes down pretty far. Kinda dark too.”
Keel took a flashlight out of her satchel and shined the light down the hole. She couldn’t see the bottom. She placed her hand on the ladder and shook it. The sound of metal hitting rock echoed down the hole and something dislodged a
nd fell.
Drexel panicked, nearly slipping. “What the hell are you doing girl?”
“Looks safe to me. Watch out for more lose rungs though.”
Grumbling, Drexel climbed down the ladder. “We stop at every ten rungs and shine our torches below. We do this army style you hear me.”
Keel mock saluted. “Aye. Aye”
“That’s the navy! Goddamn kids today,” mumbled Drexel as he disappeared from view.
Canopus placed his hand on Keel’s shoulder as she lowered herself into the tunnel. She looked up at his furrowed brow. “We do this by the book, right? No heroics. If it looks like we can’t handle this, we leave and get back up.”
“No-one is going to back us up Jon. I will avenge my father and take down this angel. If I don’t, we will never be safe. She will hunt us down, hunt Beth too. You know that.”
Canopus sighed. “I lost your Father to this creature and I won’t lose you too. Promise me. No heroics, like before. We face her together.”
Keel nodded, paused and then replied. “Understood.”
Canopus looked at her face and saw the kid he first met many years ago. Nose always in her Father’s occult books, studying, asking constant questions, hiding in the back of the Pontiac to come on cases. She should have been hanging with other children but she never had many friends.
Young Carina Keel was hard to get to know and the other kids felt she was too macabre. The real problem though was that she lacked the same social skills that other children developed naturally. Her father had called it ‘social blindness’. She often found it hard to understand emotions in others and to convey her own without overcompensating in some way.
An old friend of theirs, Bernandez, who they battled a witch with a few years ago, sent Keel a book called ‘Social stories, comic strip conversations’. The book used stories and drawings to build social understanding. It had been helping Keel a lot in the last year, and he would often find her nose deep in the book, scribbling her own notes in the pages. In today’s world, they would try and label Keel’s condition and would give her medication. Maybe it would help but then she wouldn’t be the girl before him now. She was his best friend.
Canopus and Keel - The Hive. Page 16