Endworld #28 Dark Days

by rebel4477

  A number of Family members, Blade knew, shared her sentiment. Not him. He’d learned to look past their appearance. They were outstanding Warriors. Lynx and Ferret possessed reflexes second to none and Gremlin was endowed with prodigious strength. He was glad they’d chosen to live at the Home. He wished more like them did.

  “Strange about Achilles,” Bertha was saying. “If he was attacked why didn’t he get off a shout or yell?”

  Blade wondered the same thing. “Maybe he was taken by surprise.”

  “That’d be hard to do,” Bertha said. “He’s awful quick with that sword of his.”

  “Did I hear someone mention my middle name ?” Hickok asked, and arrived at a run with Geronimo. Spartacus was close behind.

  “Your middle name is awful?” Bertha said.

  “Funny gal,” Hickok retorted. “But you know what it really is.” To demonstrate, his right hand blurred and a Python was in it.

  “Too bad your brain isn’t as quick as the rest of you,” Geronimo said.

  Blade ended their banter with, “We’re going to help Bravo sweep the walls. Spartacus and Bertha, take the south wall. Geronimo and slow-as-molasses, you’re with me on the north wall.” Geronimo laughed.

  Blade wasted no more time. He climbed to the rampart and nodded at Shane. “How about you? Have you seen or heard anything?”

  “No, sir,” the young Warrior responded.

  Worry ate at Blade like acid. The Warriors were not only his responsibility, they were his friends. Whenever anything happened to any of them, he tended to take it personally.

  “I’ve been thinkin’, pard,” Hickok said as they moved along the wall scanning both sides.

  “Uh-oh,” Geronimo said.

  “It’s been so long since a Warrior died, we don’t have any replacements lined up.”

  Blade stopped so abruptly that his friends nearly ran into him. “Why jump to the worst possible conclusion? For all we know Achilles is very much alive.”

  Just then Lynx came racing toward them, moving three times as fast as any human . “I heard that,” he said, “and no, he isn’t.”

  Blade felt an invisible knife pierce his gut. “Achilles is dead? Show me.”

  “What killed him?” Geronimo asked.

  In the act of turning, Lynx said, “You tell me and we’ll both know.”

  Chapter 8

  The way the hybrids told it, Lynx caught Achilles’ scent first but it was Ferret who spotted the grappling hook attached to the rampart. Gremlin stayed on the wall while Lynx and Ferret went down the rope and swung over to the bank. Lynx found the remains.

  Now, standing over the grisly ruin of someone he’d known since childhood, Blade felt bile rise in his throat and grimaced at the bitter taste. He’d seen a lot of horrors in his time and this ranked up there with the worst of them.

  “May the Spirit preserve us,” Geronimo exclaimed. “Something ate him.”

  “But what?” Blade wondered.

  “A critter that was really hungry,” Hickok said.

  An understatement, Blade thought. Achilles’ stomach had been ripped open and most of his internal organs were gone, leaving a dark cavity rimmed by shredded flesh. His throat had been torn out, his right thigh eaten down to the bone. Other bites had been taken from his chest and arms. His clothes were in tatters.

  Blade sank to a knee to examine the wounds more closely. “Look at the size of these bite marks.” Whatever the thing was that did this, he guessed that it had a mouth six inches across.

  “And how deep they are,” Geronimo said.

  Hickok grunted. “It’s big and it’s strong and it has to be fast or it couldn’t have killed him without him getting off a shot or shouting to warn the rest of us.” He patted his Colt Pythons. “Can’t wait to see if it’s faster than me.”

  Blade stood . “Unless the thing has wings, it’s still in the Home. Spartacus, Bertha , wake the rest of the Warriors. Have the Triads assemble at the A Block Armory in twenty minutes. That includes Shane. Off you go, double-quick.” He turned to the mutations. “Lynx, Ferret, what can you tell me? What did this? Have either of you caught the thing’s scent?”

  Lynx had been sniffing and casting about in small circles. “It’s here but it’s faint. The scent isn’t like anything I’ve ever come across.”

  “Me either,” Ferret said.

  “I can’t even tell if it’s a mammal, reptile, bird, or what,” Lynx said. “Usually I can.”

  “Even more strange,” Ferret said, raising his long nose to the air, “it keeps fading in and out.”

  “What could cause that?” Blade asked. “The wind?”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Ferret replied. “It’s the scent itself. As if the thing doesn’t give off much of an odor or the odor changes. How that can be, I don’t know.”

  “Whatever this thing is, it’s something new,” Lynx said, and nodded at what was left of Achilles. “Something vicious.”

  Blade faced the north wall and cupped a hand to his mouth. “Gremlin, come on down.” To Lynx he said, “The three of you are to start searching. With your sense of smell, you’re our best hope of finding it before it kills anyone else.”

  “And when we do,” Lynx said, clicking his claws, “we’ll gut the sucker.”

  “What about us, pard?” Hickok asked.

  “I want you to go to the cabins. Warn everyone to stay inside until we sound the all clear. Geronimo, you go to B Block and warn everyone in the dorm to do the same. We’re not going to lose anyone else if we can help it.”

  The Warriors departed to their tasks, leaving Blade alone. He stared down at the remains for a minute, then squared his shoulders and turned. He took a couple of steps and drew up short. An uneasy feeling came over him, as if he were being watched by unseen eyes. Unslinging the Commando, he worked the bolt.

  The woods were ominously silent. Not so much as a leaf stirred.

  Blade probed the black patches, the trees limbs, the bank. Was it just a case of nerves? he wondered. Or was the thing lurking nearby? He sidled along the bank, intent on the vegetation, his back to the moat.

  Behind him there was the slightest of sounds, as of something breaking the surface. Too late, it occurred to him that the thing might be in the water. Before he could react, a clammy hand that did not feel human wrapped around his right ankle and he was violently upended. He hit on his shoulder, glimpsed a bulk rising out of the water, and triggered a burst from the Commando. He scored, too. The thing uttered a sharp cry and submerged.

  Heaving to his knees, Blade stitched the water with .45 slugs. In the abrupt silence after the thunder, his ears rang.

  Bladed edged closer. The water was black as pitch. In vain he sought some sign of his attacker.

  The undergrowth crackled and out of it came Lynx, Ferret and Gremlin.

  “Are you all right?” Ferret asked.

  “You saw the thing, yes?” Gremlin said.

  “Yes,” Blade replied. Before he could say more, Hickok and Geronimo sprinted up.

  “What was that shootin’, pard? We came back because we figured you were in trouble.”

  “What about us, pard?” Hickok asked. “I want you to go to the cabins. Warn everyone to stay inside until we sound the all clear. Geronimo, you go to B Block and warn everyone in the dorm to do the same. We’re not going to lose anyone else if we can help it.” The Warriors departed to their tasks, leaving Blade alone. He stared down at the remains for a minute, then squared his shoulders and turned. He took a couple of steps and drew up short. An uneasy feeling came over him, as if he were being watched by unseen eyes. Unslinging the Commando, he worked the bolt. The woods were ominously silent. Not so much as a leaf stirred. Blade probed the black patches, the trees limbs, the bank. Was it just a case of nerves? he wondered. Or was the thing lurking nearby? He sidled along the bank, intent on the vegetation, his back to the moat. Behind him there was the slightest of sounds,
as of something breaking the surface. Too late, it occurred to him that the thing might be in the water. Before he could react, a clammy hand that did not feel human wrapped around his right ankle and he was violently upended. He hit on his shoulder, glimpsed a bulk rising out of the water, and triggered a burst from the Commando. He scored, too. The thing uttered a sharp cry and submerged. Heaving to his knees, Blade stitched the water with .45 slugs. In the abrupt silence after the thunder, his ears rang. Bladed edged closer. The water was black as pitch. In vain he sought some sign of his attacker. The undergrowth crackled and out of it came Lynx, Ferret and Gremlin. “Are you all right?” Ferret asked. “You saw the thing, yes?” Gremlin said. “Yes,” Blade replied. Before he could say more, Hickok and Geronimo sprinted up. “What was that shootin’, pard? We came back because we figured you were in trouble.”

  Blade wagged his Commando at the moat. "The thing is in the water. It must have swum off"

  "Then let's get cracking. "Hickok said grimly. "We've got us a spooky critter to kill."

  Chapter 9

  While half the Warriors patrolled the moat, the other half searched the Home from from east to west and north to south, covering every square foot. They found nothing.

  It was six in the morning when Blade called a council of Triad leaders and invited Plato to sit in.

  Their Leader was showing his age of late. He had a weary aspect about him, and these days his shoulders were perpetually stooped. He was the last to arrive and greeted them with, “Sorry I’m late. These old bones aren’t as spry as they used to be.”

  “Heck, old-timer,” Hickok said. “I hope I’m half as spry when I’m as ancient as you.”

  “Was that your idea of a compliment?” Geronimo said.

  Blade broke in with, “Let’s stay focused. Whatever killed Achilles is still on the loose and we have to find it before it claims another life.”

  “It has to be hiding in the moat,” Ares remarked. Almost as tall as Blade but much thinner, he wore his hair in a Mohawk. “It’s the only place we haven’t searched.”

  “But how did it get there?” Sherry asked.

  Blade was wondering the same thing. The stream flowed into the Home through an iron grate at the northwest corner of the compound and out again through another grate to the southeast. Both grates had been inspected and were intact.

  “We’ll have to close off the aqueduct,” Samson proposed. “Drain the moat completely dry.” Blade agreed. It entailed closing the northwest grate. The few times they’d done that before, the stream backed up outside the compound, overspread its banks, and flooded around the west and north walls. But it would only be temporary.

  “What about the rest of the Family?” Spartacus said. “Do we keep them in their cabins and the dorm?”

  Plato cleared his throat. “In times of crisis I’m required to bow to the judgment of the head Warrior. But I respectfully suggest that isn’t necessary. They should be safe so long as they stay away from the moat.”

  Although he didn’t entirely agree, Blade charged Omega Triad with spreading the word that everyone could venture outdoors. Then he assembled the rest of the Warriors across from the northwest grate.

  Samson volunteered to dive in and close it. He was one of two Warriors who came close to Blade in size and muscle. The other was the absent Yama.

  “I need two Warriors to go in with him and watch his back,” Blade said as Samson stripped to the waist.

  Bertha and Sundance stepped forward. “We’ll do it,” she said.

  “In and out as fast as you can,” Blade instructed them. “We’ll cover you from the bank.”

  “Hey, if you two are here,” Hickok said, “who’s mindin’ that sprout you took in?”

  Bertha smiled at Blade. “Jenny is. We dropped her off at your cabin. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Fine by me,” Blade said. His wife had a way with kids and would win the girl over in no time.

  Samson flexed his huge arms and stepped to the bank.

  “You’re not takin’ a weapon?” Hickok asked.

  “I have these,” Samson said, and held up his enormous hands.

  Blade peered down . The light of the risen sun did little to relieve the murk of the water. The thing could be lurking six inches under the surface and they wouldn’t know it. “Be careful.”

  Samson nodded and dived. A second later Sundance, who had removed his gunbelt and hat and boots but left his shirt and pants on, joined him. Bertha went in fully clothed.

  The other Warriors trained their weapons. The barest of ripples broke the water and Samson reappeared about halfway across. Sundance and Bertha rose in his wake.

  Blade put his hands on his bowies. If the thing, attacked he would dive in to help.

  Samson swam to the grate. The swivel bar that closed it was under water. Taking a deep breath, he submerged. Bertha and Sundance followed suit.

  After more than a minute Hickok said, “It shouldn’t take them all that long.”

  There was a commotion near the grate and the sheet of iron fell into place, closing off the flow. The three Warriors reappeared and swam back and were given a hand out.

  “So far, so good,” Sherry remarked.

  “Don’t jinx it,” Hickok said.

  Blade had the Warriors take up positions at spaced intervals around the moat and told them to sound off if they saw the creature. The water level took a good half an hour to drop to the point where only a few inches of water covered the bottom.

  “Has anyone seen it?” Blade called out, and his shout was passed along the line.

  No one had.

  Frustrated and baffled, Blade gathered the Warriors near the drawbridge. “We pull double duty until this thing is found,” he announced. “Two Triads at all times, one on the wall and the other patrolling the compound.”

  “It must have gone over the wall,” Shane suggested.

  Blade was inclined to agree. Unless it was hiding in one of the Blocks or a cabin, he couldn’t see how they could have missed it. But he said, “We’re not taking anything for granted.”

  “We still don’t know how the beast got into the moat in the first place,” Geromino mentioned.

  “There’s a lot we don’t know,” Blade said, “and we’d better find out before more people die.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The creature was tempted, so very tempted. Here it was , in its guise as a little girl, alone with Blade’s wife, Jenny, and their son, Gabe. It was like putting a cat in a canary cage. They would be ridiculously easy to slay and devour. But at the moment it was satiated.

  Seated on a small sofa in their cabin, it listened to Jenny prattle on about how wonderful the Home was and how much it would enjoy living there.

  “It’s one of the few safe places anywhere,” Jenny said with pride.

  “But someone was killed last night,” the creature remarked with feigned innocence.

  “It’s rare for that to happen,” Jenny said. “The Warriors do an outstanding job of protecting us.

  “I’m going to be one when I grow up,” Gabe said. “Me and Ringo and Cochise.”

  “Ringo and Cochise and I,” Jenny corrected him.

  The creature was aware that the other two were Hickok’s and Geronimo’s sons, respectively. “Only if the Home is still around,” it said in its sham sweet way.

  “Why wouldn’t the Home be?” Gabe asked. “It’s been here for over a hundred years.”

  “Nothing lasts forever.”

  “I don’t think I like you,” Gabe declared.

  “That was rude, son,” Jenny said, coming over from the kitchen counter. “Be nice.”

  “All she says are mean things,” Gabe said.

  “I’m sorry,” the creature feigned regret. “I guess…” It bowed its head and covered its fake face with a fake hand. “I guess I’m still upset over my mother and my father.”

  Jenny put a hand on the its shoulder. “Th
ere, there.” She frowned at her son. “See what you’ve done?”

  Gabe got up and went into his bedroom.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Jenny said. “He’s not normally so inconsiderate.”

  “That’s all right,” the creature said, pretending it was choked with emotion. “I understand why he treats me this way. I’m an outsider.”

  “That’s not it at all.”

  The creature looked up. The woman’s throat was so close that the sight of the veins in her neck made its own throat constrict with craving. It yearned to sink its fangs into the woman’s soft flesh and rip her open as it had the Warrior’s. Its body grew warm as it always did when it was about to transform but it controlled the change through force of will.

  “Are you all right?” Jenny asked. “You looked a little peaked there for a moment.”

  “I’m sad, is all.”

  The front door latch scraped and the door opened and in strode Blade. Jenny went to him and they embraced.

  “How did it go?”

  “No sign of whatever killed him,” Blade said, scowling. “We looked and looked.”

  The creature was amused by his frustration. It couldn’t resist toying with him. “We were told you even drained the moat.”

  “We drained it completely and not a trace of the thing,” Blade said bitterly.

  “It must upset you not being able to find it,” the creature said with another of its charming smiles.

  “You have no idea. The lives of everyone in the Home are my responsibility.”

  “Whatever it is, it’s probably long gone by now,” Jenny said.

  “So everyone keeps saying,” Blade said. “But if there’s another attack tonight we could have a panic on our hands.”

  “Surely not.”

  It amused the creature that the Family would fall to pieces over a couple of deaths. It debated whether to set the device that would signal the satellite and result in their destruction, and decided to hold off a while yet. It had promised itself to kill more Warriors first.

  And as it must continually keep in mind— this was personal.

  Blade unwrapped his arms from around his wife and turned . “I told Bertha and Sundance I’d take you to their cabin.”