A Time To Survive (Verge of Extinction): A Magical & Monstrous / Supernatural Urban Fantasy.

by J. Axbridge

  “If it can be seen as far away as you say Yu, then everyone and anything around will see the flashes and know someone is out here. We’ll be saying, ‘Hey, fresh meat here, live people, come and get us.’” I said with a hint of sarcasm, picking up my bag and handing the signaling mirror to Mayumi for safe keeping before I began climbing down the tower of earth and debris followed closely by my Manga Princess.

  “Let’s get over to that tall mound before we lose the early sun,” Mayumi said, and I nodded in agreement then followed behind her through the maze once more, this time at an even more rapid, urgent pace excited at the prospect of singling the rest of our group as soon as possible.

  Chapter 29 – Patience

  Arthur

  Standing on top of the tallest pile of former earth we could find, Mayumi and I set down our packs and took out the signaling mirror. The sapphire pendant hanging around Mayumi’s neck still glistened in the muted morning sun which quickly rose higher than we had hoped but her glistening pendant assured us that the mirror would work fine for the time being.

  “The dust and debris in the air is clearing more each day, it’s warmer and brighter this morning than usual. . . Look, my pendant is still catching the light even with the sun rising higher,” she turned her pendant around in her elegant strong fingers watching it sparkle with a smile.

  Facing east she pulled out the signaling mirror and aimed it towards the light then slowly pulled it back in towards her face looking through the small hole used for aiming the signaling flashes. Aiming it directly east she slowly rotated it left then right towards each of the tallest mounds of debris she could see in the distance hoping someone would notice the bright reflections. She did this every five minutes waiting for a response but none came and the light was fading again as the overcast dust and debris clouds began thickening.

  “It’s no use Mayumi; nobody sees our flashes, not one response,” I said mentally deflated.

  “Arthur, you are wrong. They may very well see our signals and may even be heading this way but what if they lost their mirrors or do not even have one, they would need to find something to signal us back, wouldn’t they? So we cannot move from this spot, we need to keep signaling throughout the day, it would be of no use to just wander around a maze of junk, Red Eyes and who knows what else, hoping to find your family. It is best to stay put and give them a chance to respond to our signals or come to our location. If we see nothing today then we will single again next sun rise and if we still receive no response then we will start heading east to go back to where we were originally separated from them, OK.”

  Mayumi knew patience better than I did and staying put was best in this type of situation of course. I was just anxious to find my family and found it hard to sit around, still I accepted her rationale for the moment, she was the one with survival training not me, and instead of pushing to leave, I asked her to teach me how to properly use a singling mirror and together we took turns signaling east until the light was totally muted by the thick clouds.

  Chapter 30 - Why So Special

  Doctor Xavier

  Leading the three young children on the long walk down the dark stairwell to the mall level, I explained how I’d been captured soon after the meteorites started falling and didn’t realize Law was a vampire until much later. Throughout our conversation and the trotting of our feet down the musty steps I tried to get a glimpse of their hands for markings and symbols every time my flashlight shown in their direction.

  “I di . . . didn’t believe in va . . . vampires or ghosts m . . . myself; I just thought Law was a crazy man. I know now that he is r . . . really crazy but also that he’s a vampire. Not the best combination! Still, as f . . . far as I know, everyone I’ve ever known is dead but here I am alive so I give him that much, he saved me from death but now the things he makes me do to the Red Eyes, the experiments, the t . . . torture, it’s t . . . too much.

  “I can’t take th . . . this life anymore, it isn’t living at all, I need to es… escape and you three may be my ticket to fre . . . freedom.” Watching the kids closely for their reaction; I wondered if I’d hit a nerve, would they help me? If I could just build their trust, then I could find out why they were here in the first place and why they were so darn important to Lawrence Karayan.

  I assumed that if they were that important to Lawrence then there must be something very special about them and maybe I could use that to my advantage. Yet all I saw was three scared young kids, two of them barely teens, the third a young boy and there was nothing special about them at all. Except for the fact that they were still living and breathing humans, in a land of vampires, Red Eyes, destruction and death . . . and that alone was rather impressive I thought, but special? I didn’t think so.

  “I b . . . better get back to my r . . . room, if they find I’m gone too long they’ll come searching and s . . . surely find you three and we don’t want that! But we must get you out of this b . . . building as soon as po. . .po . . . possible. I have a couple boats with motors docked below in one of the offices. During the next light when the va. . . . vampires’ sleep I’ll prepare one for you three to leave. Ple . . . Please meet me in the stairwell at next light and I’ll ta . . . ta . . . take you to the boats.”

  I’d searched for markings on the kids hands and played my role calm and cool as ordered; I had successfully convinced the twins and the young boy that the vampires did not know they were here. I now had no choice if I wanted to live but to tell Lawrence, the leader of the vampires, about the three young children even though I desperately wanted to slip away with them to safety.

  Turning I hurried away into the dark stairwell once more on my way to report to Lawrence Karayan, leaving the kids alone to fend for themselves for the rest of the day and coming night hours.

  *****

  “Come in Doctor . . . , what news do you bring?” Lawrence Karayan’s giant frame stood, sneering as I entered his room.

  “I’ve learnt that they’ve come here by mere accident, something about a fight with the infected people and they escaped by boat and drifted here. They do not know about the vampires here and I did not tell th . . . th . . . them a thing. Also I didn’t see a b . . . b . . . book or markings on their hands or fingers but they do want to get back to land to find their older br . . . brother and sister as soon as possible.”

  “GOOD! THAT’S GOOD!” Lawrence Karayan laughed evilly. “The five of them will be together and I will capture all the SymJin at once. . . Doctor, do give them one of your boats and travel with them. I’ll follow your scent first darkness and find you. Then we can bring all five back here to learn more. They must be the ones I’m searching for doctor, otherwise how did such weak humans survive the storm?” Lawrence said as more of a statement than a question.

  “Now Go Prepare!” He demanded, waving his large hand for me to leave the room.

  Chapter 31 - Strange Flashes

  Ethan

  “I feel sick,” I said, and walked towards one of the missing windows in the mall to breathe in fresher air before I puked up all the sugary snacks I’d eaten earlier. Sitting down at a table covered in thick brown apocalyptic dust, I brushed off a section watching it plume into a cloud of smoke after hitting the floor peacefully. Glancing up, towards the land we desperately wanted to return to letting the dust cloud I’d created settle gently on the floor, I saw a bright flash, or at least thought I did. Imagining I was seeing things I peered towards the same area careful not to blink and again, there was a flash. Instantly I realized someone was using a signaling mirror and I was sure I knew who it was.

  “VICTORIA! CAELYN! GET OVER HERE . . . ! HURRY, BEFORE IT’S GONE!”

  “What is it, a flying saucer?” Caelyn smirked sarcastically, as her and Victoria jogged over to have a look.

  “I don’t see anything!” Victoria said irritated. “Quit playing games Ethan.”

  “Just wait, you’ll see.”

  “I SAW IT!” Caelyn screamed.

  �
�I SAW IT TOO,” Shouted Victoria, a moment after her twin. “But what exactly am I seeing?”

  “It’s a signaling mirror. I ingeniously placed one in everyone’s emergency kit and someone found it. They’re signaling towards us too so they must know were trapped out here.”

  “What are you waiting for Ethan, signal them back”, Victoria looked at me in panic. “Get yours . . . Hurry up.”

  “I can’t get mine. Remember we lost our bags when the ‘Red Eyes’ chased us out here?”

  “There must be something we can use to signal them?” Caelyn tapped her fingers on the dirty table, “Were in a freaking mall after all.”

  My mind raced thinking of all the stuff we’d seen in the mall. That’s when I remembered I’d looked at myself in the large mirrors while trying on clothes in a few stores and in the bathroom of the convenience shop too.

  “The bathroom mirror, we can break it and make pieces to signal them back, especially with the sun going down in the west soon.”

  The three of us raced excitedly back to the store where we had slept and each grabbed cans of soup off the shelves before running to the bathroom. Looking into the bathroom mirror with grins, but standing a safe distance away, we threw the soup cans at it shattering the mirror in shards of various sizes. Then using rags to stay safe, we each took a chunk large enough to create signals with the sun’s rays and dashed back to the open window in the mall. Quickly we twisted and turned our makeshift singling mirrors in all directions hoping to reflect at least some rays before the sun was completely blocked.

  The multiple flashes we’d seen only minutes earlier had slowed, but that was no surprise considering the sun was now higher in the sky beginning to duck behind the rusty clouds making it difficult to send flashes east. But it would be setting in a few hours in the west and that’s when it would be our turn to catch the light better and reflect it back to land and hopefully to the same location we originally saw the flashes emanate from.

  Chapter 32 - Who Is That

  Mayumi

  “Arthur, I hate to tell you when you are wrong. . .” A knowing smile crossed my lips, “Although, I looove to tell you when I am right. Which is always, kohai,” I laughed. “Look,” Grabbing Arthur’s strong shoulders I swung him around just in time to see three distant flashes in random order.

  “Who the hell is that? Those flashes aren’t coming from land; they’re . . . they’re in the water,” Arthur leaned forward squinting.

  “True, but I believe they are from someone in your family. How many people do you think would realize we were sending out a signal except for someone who gave you these items, like Ethan?”

  “But there are three flashes, does that mean three people, where are the other two? There should be five flashes.”

  “No Arthur, that does not mean there are three people, it just means three mirrors, could be two or more people doing the signaling.”

  “Oh. So let’s say it’s Ethan or possibly Addie, how the hell do we get out there? I think all the boats and planes are fully booked or have left for the day?” Arthur quipped in his usual sarcastic tone before turning earnest. “It’s not getting any easier, is it? . . . This City Sucks!” Arthur yelled out. “I never did like Chicago.”

  “Obviously there is a way to get there Arthur. They are out there, aren’t they?” My mind began going over a variety of possible means of travel to the building in the water including swimming if need be. I knew I could make it with all my training as a Huntra and the triathlons I had trained for and competed in, but could Arthur make it? He is in good physical shape and did play sports. It would definitely be fun to find out. I smiled playfully, inspecting his body closely in thought.

  “What? . . . Why are you staring at me like that?”

  A simple grin crossed my face as I began to pack up without a word. Sometimes a girl must keep her thoughts secret!

  Chapter 33 – Flashes

  Adelaide

  “Jax - Jax look! Flashes are now coming from the building in the water.” Breathlessly I began twisting my head back and forth. “People are communicating with each other. . .? Or, you don’t think it could it be the Red Eyes, do you?”

  “I doubt it’s the Red Eyes,” His head now swiveled from east to west and back east again to the random flashes.

  “Holy crap Jax, it could be Arthur and Ethan communicating with my dad’s signaling mirrors. Hurry, hand me my bag. I think I have one too.” Snatching my bag from Jax’s outstretched hands; I flipped it over and poured its contents out.

  “A-HA,” I shrieked. “I’ve found it. My dad always said this was a great way to communicate in case of emergency and possibly be a life saver someday. How right was he?”

  Hastily sliding it from the black pouch it was snugly fit into, I began flashing the signaling mirror almost crazy-like in both directions hoping someone would notice us in the middle, although with the sun rising higher behind the clouds, I found it almost impossible to send a signal in either direction. I just prayed someone noticed us! I knew though, that once the sun was setting in the west I’d get another chance to signal.

  Chapter 34 – Meeting

  Arthur

  “Did you see that? There’s a second flash even closer, just beyond that ridge,” I pointed east in excitement.

  “I did, apparently we are not the only ones to be split from our group. We will head towards the closest flashes first, but we need to approach cautiously. First training as a Huntra, ‘Never underestimate your enemy’ . . . We must find out who is doing that signaling and it is imperative we are there before sundown, we will not be able to best those creatures in the dark Arthur. Can you keep up?” Mayumi’s face was a shade of seriousness I’d not seen before.

  “Keep up—with you? Not a problem!” I tried to make a joke out of the moment and laughed but Mayumi would have none of my foolishness and simply rolled her eyes.

  In a rush we packed our bags and scouted the area best we could from our vantage point. Seeing no obvious signs of danger we then climbed down to the ground and began a fast paced jog through the maze heading east towards the closest flashes first.

  As we ran up, down and around blind corners in the grotesque maze of earth’s afterlife, all I could think about was how smart Mayumi was and how great she looked in her tight fitting outfit. I should have been searching for imminent danger around every turn but instead my mind was focused on possibly the most dangerous thing of all, a beautiful girl. “I’m one lucky guy,” I mumbled under my breath, before stumbling and jarring my left knee while staring at her instead of focusing on the debris spread over the ground. Shaking my head cursing the temporary trance I was in, I unwillingly focused most of my attention back on the trail ahead of me and sprinted to catch up to Mayumi who hadn’t turned in the slightest to see if I was alright.

  Less than 30 minutes later we arrived at the water’s edge, slightly north of where we believed the flashes originally came from. Mayumi searched for tracks and easily found two sets of foot prints immediately. In silence we followed them down the shore to where the prints abruptly ended near a train car.

  Mayumi motioned for me to approach from the opposite side as she knelt down on one knee. “Is anyone up there?” She yelled towards the train car holding her bow and darrow taut ready to fire. I cocked my gun as slowly and quietly as I could, crouching down on the opposite side waiting.

  “YU . . . Is that you?” An elated voice floated over the edge, “You found us - Thank God! I thought we might never see you again.” I saw Adelaide’s head slowly peek over the edge of the train car at Mayumi

  “You mean, see us again, Arthur is here with me.” Mayumi’s eyes sparkled joyously in the lowering sun. “He’s hiding on the other side.”

  I knew things would be alright as soon as I heard my sister’s voice, yet Mayumi only lowered her weapon after Adelaide peeked over the side smiling. Reaching down their hands, Jax and Addie pulled Mayumi and me up to join them on top the toppled train car. Before we
were even settled Adelaide began recounting their crazy battles and what she thought had happened to Victoria, Caelyn and Ethan. I couldn’t wait to tell her what happened to Mayumi and me.

  Chapter 35 - Time to Go

  Caelyn

  The sparse light began fading into second darkness as it moved into the noon hour. After sending signaling flashes west and thankfully seeing flashes returned in our direction Victoria, Ethan and I decided to settle into the convenience store once more, fully expecting the vampires to be up and about the mall, now that we knew we were in their house. We were scared to say the least, but the thought of getting back to land and finding Arthur and Adelaide, especially after seeing those flashes, kept our spirits rather high. Hopefully Doctor Xavier is preparing the boat for us as promised so we can travel back to dry land, was all I could think. But I just had this sinking feeling that maybe this whole thing was a trap and we were going to be vampire food in the end after all.