“What killed them?” Georgia asks and begins walking over.
“Who cares? Let’s go.” Santiago complains and looks around.
I check both bodies, but I can’t see any wounds or bruising. They both have black bearskins wrapped around their waists, pinned in place with a large fish hook. The goatees are a bit longer than the ones we fought at Area 51. Their eyes are closed, and their faces look peaceful, like they’re sleeping. I crouch down again and lift the eye lids with my fingers.
“Whoa. That’s different.” Georgia says and I step aside to let the others see.
“Their eyes are white.” I point out. “What the hell happened?” I ask.
“I don’t know. But we better get going. I don’t like this.” Mitchell says and steps away, rifle at the ready.
I rise up from the ground and fly westward again, while the others run back on to the dead highway and disappear in a blur. I catch up after a few nanoseconds, then I swerve and fly between two high rises, before climbing higher.
Once I’m a few thousand feet up, I step on the gas, and fly over the gray, dead city, holding the yellow device in front of me.
In a few seconds, I leave the drab concrete jungle behind, and breathe in the fresh air as I soar over meadows and woods. I keep an eye on the streets far below, as my old friends blur along the roads, dodging abandoned vehicles and skeletons.
I whistle and point to our left, then bank and aim for the mountain range in the distance. I check the G P S device again, then descend to a hundred feet.
“Hold up.” I call out, and Mitchell’s green blur begins to come into focus as he slows down.
I drop to the ground near some cottages opposite a large dark forest. Mitchell stops in the road, and we’re joined shortly by the others.
“Where’s the map?” I ask as I hold up the yellow device, and wait for a good satellite signal.
Mitchell pulls out the map, and lays it down on the small sidewalk. I check the small black screen, and read off some of the strange town names.
“Here.” Mitchell says and points at the map. “We’re on the Romanian border, just east of Chernivtsi.”
“We have to cross the Carpathian Mountains.” I state and point to the mountain range to the west of us. “Are you sure you don’t want to fly?” I ask.
“Those clouds don’t look too friendly.” Santiago says, pointing up, as dark clouds hang over the mountains like a threat.
“I’ll go easy on you.” I say. “Promise.” I add and smile innocently.
“Let’s find something more comfortable, okay.” Pamela suggests and starts walking along the sidewalk.
Mitchell shrugs and follows.
We manage to find a family car that can carry six people easy. The roof is dented and the windows are smashed, but the seats are intact and it doesn’t smell like death. Santiago places the rifles in the trunk, and climbs in the front passenger seat, resting the bag of ammo on his lap.
Georgia and Pamela climb into the back, and Mitchell gives me a take it easy look, then climbs behind the wheel. I fly up to the roof and stretch my arms out. I grab the roof rack, then begin to lift the car slowly into the steadily darkening sky.
Once I’m above the tree line, I begin to fly us forward, not too fast, just a hundred miles per hour.
I begin to feel the splat of rain on my back and legs after a few minutes, so I climb faster. There are groans of complaint when I fly us through the raincloud. But once we’re on the other side, the sky is a deep blue.
The mountains rise up through the dark roiling clouds in the distance like shark teeth. I climb a little higher and aim for the jagged peaks. As I get closer, the peaks vanish inside the storm cloud as it grows. After a few seconds I have to climb higher, and lightning lights up the cloud below, while the thunder rumbles through my bones, making my teeth rattle.
“Do you really think the wormhole’s still there?” I hear Mitchell ask.
“I pray it is.” I hear Georgia say, sounding tired.
Me too.
“I still don’t get why you think they’re man-made. Even if they are, who the hell would want to create them?” I hear Santiago say.
“The face they wear, belongs to a man Britney has seen. They have to be man-made.” I hear Georgia say.
“As to why they would make them? Who the hell knows?” Mitchell replies.
“We’re gonna find out, and put a stop to it.” I call out, then a deafening boom of thunder makes me flinch.
I climb higher and accelerate again. I just want to get past this storm, but the cloud is immense. I crane my neck and look left and right, and the roiling gray cloud stretches on for miles in every direction. I look forward and rest my chin on the roof just above the windshield, and power on faster and faster.
After another ten minutes, the clouds begin to thin out, then I’m flying over overgrown meadows, dotted with farm houses. The buildings look more like gray fingers clawing for breath, while the foliage around them wraps their thin green fingers around them.
Everywhere I look is green, like nature has turned savage and is claiming the world back for itself. I pass over mile after mile of this savage garden, and now and then I spot a blue giant. A few are faced down amongst the grass, and are barely visible. It’s like the grass has continued to grow around them, and they’re slowly being swallowed. A couple I see sitting with their backs against a tree, like they’re resting. But one catches my eye a few more miles ahead, as I scan the horizon.
This creature is on its knees, crawling through the long grass.
“Look below.” I call out as I get closer, then stop and hover.
“Is it dying?” I hear Mitchell ask.
I swoop down to the long grass and set the car down.
“What are you doing?” Pamela asks, as I drop down to the grass.
“I want to see.” I say over my shoulder and hover over to the blue freak.
It doesn’t seem to notice me.
I land next to it and walk in front of its path and crouch down in the grass. Its long blue fingers are outstretched in front of its face, almost like it’s blind. The face is twisted into a mask of pain and confusion. The large red eyes shift left and right, like it can hear me, and it stops and lowers its head, coughing.
“What are you?” I ask it, as it spasms, coughing and retching.
Its face lifts to look in my direction. Its watery red eyes searching.
“Uplasena.” It mutters in a raspy guttural voice.
Its red eyes begin to darken as they search for me.
“Šta se događa?” It splutters and coughs, and I gasp as the eyes darken to a deep mahogany.
Human eyes.
Then its mouth opens as it gasps for breath. The eyes fade to a milky white in less than a few seconds, and the creature coughs once more, then collapses to the grass.
The fear etched in its face during the last few seconds make me shiver.
“Is it dead?” Georgia asks as she walks through the grass, stopping by my left shoulder.
“I think they’re all dying.” I say as I stand up.
She puts her hand on my shoulder and I turn and look up at her.
“Let’s go.” She says and I nod slowly.
“Why don’t you touch it? It might help find them.” I suggest and motion to the still creature.
“I don’t want to see what this thing’s been up to.” She says and backs away.
“I can’t put myself through that again.” She mutters and begins walking back to the car.
I take one last look at the creature, then turn and float back to the car.
Once we’re back in the air, I climb to a few thousand feet and accelerate until the trees and roads rush by below at over a hundred miles per hour. I fly in silence, with the creature’s tragic face etched in my mind.
I notice a beautiful clear lake below to my right. The surface of the water is broken, and I hear a splash faintly. Something dark bounds on to the mud around the lake and sh
akes its wet fur.
I smile, then realize it’s the only sign of life I’ve seen for thousands of miles.
Anger wells up inside me, and tears are in my eyes as I behold the beautiful vista all around me.
“Bank to the left.” Mitchell calls out, and I blink away the tears.
I begin to bank to the left, and make a slow turn, leaving the lake behind me.
“Okay, straighten up.” He calls out again, and I comply.
“How much farther, man?” I hear Santiago ask, and I close my eyes and try to compose myself.
“The Croatian border is just over that river.” I hear Mitchell explain, and I open my eyes and look ahead.
A thin dark river snakes its way through the land below around two miles away. The landscape around it was probably fertile land at some point, but now it’s just wild, green, and thorny looking in most places.
“Okay, boss. What are we looking for?” I call out as we pass over the river.
“I don’t know.” I hear an exasperated Mitchell complain. “Something out of the ordinary. A lot of activity, maybe.” He adds after a few seconds.
“A factory maybe.” Georgia calls out from the rear passenger window.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” I mutter into the wind, as I scan the horizon.
Twenty Two
“I don’t understand. They have to be here.” Mitchell rants as he paces back and forth outside the eleventh factory we check.
“We haven’t looked everywhere, yet.” I say to try and calm him down, as he kicks a rusted out car, sending it tumbling down the street. It smashes into a blue bus, shattering its windows.
“Yeah, we’ve only checked a few hundred square miles.” Santiago says and folds his arms.
The sun is already starting to sink towards the west, and I find myself yawning.
Georgia approaches Mitchell and steps into his path pressing her hands against his chest.
“We’ll find them, darling. We will.” Georgia says calmly and places one hand on his cheek. “Close your eye.” She tells him firmly. He reluctantly agrees, then takes a deep breath.
“If there was any active factory or lab, we would have seen something by now, right? A plume of smoke, or something?” Pamela asks as she wanders into the middle of the street, looking in both directions.
“Maybe they’re being made underground.” I suggest.
“Maybe.” Mitchell mutters and opens his eye.
“Or maybe, you’re both wrong. What if they’re not being made by some mad scientist?” Santiago smirks, then flies up from the ground.
“What if this is a complete waste of time?” He says in frustration, then accelerates upwards until he’s out of sight.
Mitchell looks at me, and the disappointment is etched on his tired face.
“We’re not wrong.” I tell him, firm in my own belief.
Georgia takes her hand from Mitchell, and her sad eyes flick to mine briefly before she turns and walks away.
“If they are here, then what would they need?” Pamela asks, as I step towards Georgia. I stop and look at Mitchell as he strolls over to a car and sits on the hood.
“Power.” Mitchell mutters and scratches the stubble on his chin.
I catch up to Georgia as she takes a map from a bus stop. The map is brown and soggy. It turns to mulch in her hands as she opens it.
“Georgia.” I say, and she looks down at me.
“I’m not here for Mitchell. Okay?” I say and try to smile, but the confusion in her eyes makes me doubt myself.
“He never stopped loving you.” She says quietly. “I couldn’t fill that hole. No matter how I tried.” She says, throws the map to the ground and turns her back to me and starts walking away.
“Hey.” I say and follow after her. “He loves you. I know it.” I say as I walk quickly next to her.
“No he doesn’t.” She says and raises her hands. “These never lie.” She says bitterly.
“But you have a son together.”
“I thought, that if I could give him a child.....it might bring us closer.” She says and sighs. “Everything was fine for a while. Then you show up.”
“I’m sorry.” I say and touch her hand.
She stops and lets out a groan.
“You care about him.” She says.
“I care about you, too.” I reply and clutch her hand. “Prove me wrong.” I say in challenge.
“You don’t know what it was like. You were dead, Devlin was on a rampage that no one could stop. We felt powerless, useless.” She says and let’s go of my hand.
“A part of him died, when he realized you weren’t coming back.” She says, then turns and looks back at him, and smiles sadly. “But now.....that old spark is being stoked again.”
I hold up my hands. “Hey, I’m not stoking anything.” I say defensively.
“You never had to.” She says and starts walking back toward Mitchell and Pamela.
I look up at the grey sky.
Where’s Santiago?
I watch Georgia as she sidles up to Mitchell as he sits on the car, deep in thought. She takes his hand, and he looks at her, a warm smile appears on his tired face for a second, then it fades, like the sun hiding behind a cloud.
Damn. What if she’s right?
Is Mitchell falling in love with me again?
I shake my head.
I haven’t got time for this right now.
I kick up from the ground and take to the sky. The streets recede, and the buildings become clearer from up above. Most of the roofs have holes in them the size of footballs, and those that don’t, have cracks running through them like tiny earthquakes. I stop and hover when I get to the clouds, keeping them above me, so I have a good view. I look around in the hope that I will see a plume of smoke, or some clue as to where the cloning labs might be.
After ten minutes of desperate searching, I close my eyes and concentrate, and think, heat. When I open my eyes again, the world below is mottled black and blue. Mitchell, Pamela and Georgia stand out amidst the black as white, ringed with red. I turn my head and scan the surrounding land. But all I see is blue and black.
“Where are you?” I grumble.
I begin to look up and search for Santiago. I find him after a few seconds. His white and red body is several thousand feet above me, and roughly twenty miles to my right. I turn and push my arms forward, then accelerate towards the glowing figure. I reach him in a couple of seconds, and glide to a stop a few feet from him.
“Come here often?” He asks and folds his arms.
His glowing form is so mesmerizing, that I don’t realize that I’m staring. I blink and focus my eyes. Normal.
I open my eyes and find him looking at me quizzically.
“We shouldn’t split up.” I tell him and fold my arms.
“What are you, my mother? You’re too young.”
“We need to stay together.” I tell him.
“We’re wasting time here.” He says.
“No we’re not. You are.”
“Me?” He asks and frowns.
“We’re trying to find a solution, and you’re up here working on your tan.”
“I am not.”
“Then do something useful and help.” I say then turn and fly back towards the clouds.
I hear the flap of his coat behind me as I pass through a cloud.
“Have you always been bossy?” He calls out behind me.
“I’ve no idea. Ask Pamela?” I fire back over my shoulder as I emerge from the cloud.
I pitch forward more, and the fields, buildings and rivers fill my vision as I rocket towards the ground headfirst. I flinch when I hear the crack of gunfire from below.
“Oh, shit.” Santiago calls out behind me. “Did you hear that?”
“Gunfire.” I shout back and accelerate until the buildings are as large as my fists.
I see some blue forms sprawled in the street, while another blue freak is grappling with Mitchel. I aim
for the freak, backflip, then straighten up with my boots aimed at the creature’s head, and slam into it full force.
“Shit!” Mitchell yelps and leaps out of the way, as the creature crunches under my feet. As the blue giant bursts under my feet, spraying green blood over the nearby cars, I spring back up into the air, and rotate, looking for any more.
“Damn, girl. You know how to make an entrance.” I hear Santiago say behind me as I begin to relax.
“That’s it.” Mitchell says. “There were only three.” He says and waves me down.
Pamela and Georgia appear in a burst of black light and a faint pop. She lets go of Georgia and stands staring at the gory scene.
“Are you alright?” Georgia asks Mitchell as she hurries over.
He nods his head, then bends down and picks up his rifle.
I remain in the air and check the other creatures with my thermo-vision. The amber is slowly fading to black on the two motionless bodies that lie further down the street. I blink and look down at Mitchell.
“Where did they come from?” I ask.
“From that direction.” He says and motions with his arm.
I turn and follow his arm, and rise up higher. I concentrate and zoom in on the horizon. I move my head slowly, inch by inch, scanning the land and buildings. I see some water in the distance. Too large to be a lake. The sun is blood-orange as it sinks towards the water, turning the clouds a beautiful peach color. After the water, the land rises again, and hills and mountains fill my vision. The trees on the slopes of the mountains are stripped of leaves, and look more like toothpicks than trees. I focus back on where I am and slowly descend.
“There’s a body of water. Maybe a hundred miles. That way.” I say and point to the south-west.
“Did you see any labs, or large buildings?” Mitchell asks as he steps closer.
“No. But it’s getting late.” I say and gesture up at the now purple sky. “I’d feel a lot safer with water behind me.”
“Okay. Let’s find somewhere to make camp.” Mitchell says, and I extend my hand.
“Come on.” I say, then extend my other hand to Georgia. “Hop on. I’ll carry you.” I offer.
Mitchell shrugs and steps forward and takes my hand. Georgia takes my other hand, hesitantly, but once her hand is in mine, she grips me tightly.
Cosmic Girl: Lost & Found: Superhero series for young adults - Book Three. Page 15