by Nate Phelps
Johnny’s eyes opened wide and he let out a frenzied yell. He swung at the creature with all his might. It was a blow that could have ripped a hole through the main gate.
Too slow.
The creature ducked and Johnny stumbled as he missed. It shoved him against the wall a third time and rammed its claws into his chest.
My foam gun dropped from my limp hand and dangled by the hose. Johnny stared past the Crawler a look of complete disbelief and confusion on his face. He looked down at his chest and then slowly turned his gaze to me.
His eyes—I knew I would never forget the look in those eyes, conveying the expression I never thought I’d see on his face.
Fear.
The creature pulled its claws free and the hero of the city slumped to the ground. Johnny tried to say something, but nothing came out.
It followed his gaze and then smiled when it saw me hovering just twenty to thirty feet away. A deep and raspy laugh escaped past its sharp teeth and through its grey lips.
“Hello, Kleiner.”
Chapter 13
It knew my name.
Johnny dived forward. The creature jumped out of the way and I snapped out of my frozen state, grabbing at my foam gun and pulling it up by the hose.
Johnny snatched the sword from where it had been abandoned and tossed it towards me, before collapsing. It clattered against the road, tumbling end over end. I shot after it and picked it up as it came stop.
“Give that to me!” barked the creature, its speech interspersed with guttural clicks.
I looked at Johnny. Did he expect me to fight it? His body was still, the chest not moving.
The Crawler rushed towards me, snarling. My limbs spasmed with terror and I nearly dropped the sword before squeezing my glove and shooting up into the air.
Escape was all that mattered now. I would fly as high as I could. If I gained enough altitude, I’d be out of its reach.
Up I raced, the lighted windows passing me like a blur. A few hundred more feet and I would be free.
Then Shania coughed and I dipped.
“Whoa!” I squeezed the glove to level out. When I tried to ascend again, the same thing happened, and I dipped even further.
What was happening? I pulled the patch on my glove aside, revealing the power level. It was nearly empty—of course it was. We’d been riding hard for the entire day.
I looked down and saw the monster crawling up the side of a building like an insect, keeping up with me easily.
“No, no…!”
Where could I go? The Agency? In my mind, it seemed like the only possible sanctuary. I oriented myself and aimed towards HQ. Shania wheezed and pulled me along going at about forty-five percent her normal speed. We fell lower as we went, the cars below whizzing by under my feet.
I made a sharp turn, then another. This wasn’t going to work. Maybe I could hide. There was an extra battery in one of my pouches, but it was hard to access. If I could just get a moment to dig it out, I could escape.
Shania’s purr started to fade, and I cried out as I dropped faster than last time. Where was the creature? I looked back, but didn’t see it. Had I lost it?
Glass exploded outward just above me as the monster erupted through the center of a building. I screamed and dodged out of the way. It grabbed at me , missing by a hair. Shania gave out and I fell. She gave me one small boost just before I hit the sidewalk and rolled awkwardly. The creature hit a moving car, causing the roof to cave in.
I stumbled to my feet, sheathed the sword through my belt, and burst through the door of the nearest building. There were startled gasps and angry shouts. It was some sort of fancy restaurant. Waiters and customers turned towards me, confused or angry at the intrusion. Could they not hear the screaming just outside?
I fled right down the middle of the room. “Run!”
There were a few chuckles and an angry response or two, but these were cut off by the sound of twisting metal. I looked back and saw that the creature had ripped the doors off their hinges. It tossed them into the room. Customers scattered, narrowly avoiding the doors as they ploughed through the tables and sent dishes flying.
I made for the kitchen entrance. The monster vaulted across the room towards me. I burst through the swinging doors rushing past ovens, steaming pots, and sliding on a patch of floor that had just been mopped.
The doors crashed open behind me and cooks and servers screamed as I slipped by. I bounced off the back wall, righted myself, and sprinted down a hallway towards the exit.
Dishes banged and shattered as they hit the floor. I glanced back. Flame ballooned up against the ceiling as the Crawler swatted an oven aside, still close on my heels. My tools slapped against my side and jumped in their pouches as I ran. I reached the door, pushed my way through, and slammed it behind me. My trembling fingers found the foam gun and I retreated a few feet, firing a large shot. The foam swelled between the door and the wall, filling the space up to the ceiling and expanding towards me.
There was a loud bang followed by a rubbery stretching sound. My foam bulged outward as the creature shoved against it. I turned and jumped down the stairs. After two flights, there was another door. I went through, shoved it closed, and foamed it up, just like the last one.
Looking around, I realized I was in a garage. The worst things happened to me in parking garages. I spotted the exit to my left and ran that way, unbuckling Shania as I went. A roll of metal tape dropped as I ripped at the pouch containing my spare battery. It came out and I quickly swapped it with the dead one, snapping my buckle back on. I squeezed the glove. Shania growled, purred, and then wheezed.
What?
I checked the energy level and my heart stopped. This one was nearly empty too. How? With a jolt, I realized that I’d never recharged it after Lutosa.
A loud boom and crash came from the direction of the stairwell.
I was dead.
There was a squeal of tires as a car turned a corner. They nearly hit me, stopping just short.
“Hey!” I slapped the hood and rounded to the driver’s window. “Give me a ride!”
The woman looked at me fearfully but seemed to understand my urgency. She nodded and I pulled open the back door. Concrete exploded outwards as the monster came hurtling through the wall. It spotted me and shot forward. I fell back, barely missing a claw that raked the air where I’d stood. The Crawler slammed into the side of the car. I could hear the woman screaming as it flipped, rolled, and slammed into a pillar.
The monster spun around, looking for me. I slid between two cars, laying low. I had hidden just in time. It brought it’s fist down on a parked car as it looked for me, crushing the roof and setting off the alarm.
Cars screeched down the ramp past the monster, trying to escape. It shoved one of these and the vehicle bounced off the garage wall, smoke rising from the engine. I crawled on my hands and knees, keeping out of its line of sight.
There was more screeching of tires and then the car alarm stopped and there was silence. I stopped and peeked around the edge of a row. The Crawler stood near the exit, panting heavily, but as I watched it seemed to calm down and stand straighter.
“Give me the sword,” it growled. I ducked back, worried it had seen me. “I don’t want to kill you.”
My shuffling was too loud. I crawled beneath a truck and laid perfectly still. Shania’s soft rumble began to sound like a roar.
If I was careful, I could probably send a message on my watch. But who would I send it to?
I rolled my head towards the Crawler. About a dozen or so cars away, I could see the clawed feet making their way towards me. It was listening, waiting for me to make a noise.
“All is not as it seems,” rasped the monster as it drew closer. “I’m not your real enemy.”
I scooted back, but as I did, I accidentally tightened the fingers on my glove. Shania wheezed.
The truck lifted from above me and I jumped to my knees firing my foam gun. A glob smacked in
to the monster’s face. The car dropped and I squeezed my glove as tightly as I could. Shania growled and I was yanked up into the air, right before the truck crushed me. With one last gasp, my jetpack went dead and I fell over a rail. It was a short drop and I hit feet first before falling on my butt.
The Crawler shoved the vehicle aside and hopped over the railing. I stood up and ripped the sword out of the sheath. It gave me a wicked grin, advancing toward me.
“Get back!” I swung the blade wildly in a feeble attempt to ward it off.
The creature stopped and its head shuddered. I looked at the blade. Had I done that?
“Not now,” it snarled. There was another shudder as it clawed at its ear.
This was my chance. I turned and ran, glancing back. It moved to follow me, but then stopped and held its ear again. I rushed out the exit, onto the street, and quickly got lost in the thronging crowd of terrified people.
Chapter 14
After nearly an hour of walking, I arrived at the Agency to find it in pure chaos—an unusual state given the late hour.
I could hardly get through the door between large batches of Enforcers and bewildered workers. There was a layer of panic to everyone’s movements. I heard more than a few mentioning Johnny, and realized that they must all know what had happened. Everyone in the city probably knew. His body might still be out there in the street.
No one paused to give me a second glance—they didn’t know what I’d just gone through, what I’d seen. I ignored them and headed for Dr. Henry’s office; he would know what to do.
When I got there, it was empty. I pounded the doorframe in frustration and went to office 12B instead. Sarah was gone. I didn’t know why I had thought she would be there.
“Are you Kleiner?”
I turned and saw a bald man in a suit. The suit bothered me. It looked too formal and clean, reminding me of Thirteen.
“Yes,” I said hesitantly.
“My name is Erik. I work for the President. Come with me.”
I’d seen more emotion from a brick wall than this guy. I followed him down the stairs and into a seldom-used office on the first floor. There were more men in suits. They had me take off my equipment.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked. No one responded.
Erik directed me towards a chair and sat across from me. “We understand you were with the Sentinel in his last moments?”
“Yes.”
“We need to know everything you know regarding what happened tonight. Please be thorough.”
I sighed and did as he told me, starting with the moment we’d been alerted about the fire.
Erik grilled me hard about the details asking about street names, times, and descriptions. It was a painstaking process.
I got to the part just before I’d given Johnny the sword and hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” asked Eric.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Just trying to keep it straight in my head.”
I realized I didn’t want to tell them about the sword. If I did, they wouldn’t give it back, and I really wanted Dr. Henry to see it first. That felt important to me. If he handed it over after I did so, then that was fine. This seemed almost childish, but I continued with the omittance regardless.
They kept me there for over an hour. I went over the story three separate times with three different men. Each time, I told them how it killed Johnny and how I escaped, but I left out the sword. Sometimes they would pause before asking new questions, almost as if they were listening to something I couldn’t hear.
After a while, I was convinced they were trying to trip me up on purpose.
“Do you think I’m making it up?” I finally snapped.
Erik was unfazed. “There’ve been dozens of eye witness accounts so far. We have to be thorough to sift through the confusion and find the facts. For example, you mention that it spoke to you. No one else mentioned it talking.”
“They weren’t being chased by it!”
“You also mentioned that it knew you? Who do you think it could be?”
“I told you! I have no idea. You think I haven’t been trying to figure that out?”
“Hey,” another dark-haired man said to Erik. “Maybe ease up a bit.”
“Not yet,” Erik stared at me, his gaze intense. “This is important.”
I had to go over the story twice more before he finally stood and made a call. After a couple minutes of muttering to someone on the other end, he left.
“What’s your address?” asked the dark-haired man as Erik left the room. “We may need to talk to you again.”
“It’s…” My stomach sank. I’d just been about to list the Tower’s address as I’d always done. “I… I don’t know.”
He gave me an odd look, but didn’t press the issue. I sank down into the chair and rested my face in my hands. The thing that scared me the most was that I couldn’t feel anything yet. No pain or sorrow or anger. Just exhaustion. When would it sink in? What would it do to me?
There was a knock at the door. They opened it and I finally saw a familiar face.
“Kleiner!” said Brad. His eyes were wide and I noticed a slight tremble in his hand.
“Brad?” I was relieved to see him, but he wasn’t my first choice. “What’s going on out there?”
He laughed nervously. “What’s going on? The city is panicking. He’s gone. One day here, and the next gone… gone forever.”
Brad laughed again and there was just a hint of hysteria as he trailed off.
I frowned. “Are you okay?”
“I got fired.” He shrugged as if he didn’t care. “The agency is being reduced by almost half. Those left will patrol the streets while the rest of us wait for the invading Lutosians, or that… that…”
That monster. That thing that had killed Johnny.What were soldiers supposed to do against that?
“So,” I said slowly. “Does that mean…”
“Yes, you too. We report for emergency training in the next couple of days.”
This gave me pause. What did “Emergency Training” entail? They couldn’t possibly have enough time to get us ready to face the Lutosians. We would just be extra bodies.
“Where’s Dr. Henry? Can I talk to him?”
“No.” Brad shook his head vigorously. “They’re in a big meeting upstairs. I heard you were here and I thought I could help. I am… was your boss after all.”
“Yeah.”
Brad was in terrible shape. I decided it would be wise to stick with him for a bit.
“My jetpack is out of juice,” I said. “Could you give me a ride?”
“Yes, yes,” Brad nodded. “I’ll get you wherever you need to go.”
I looked up at the dark haired man. “Can I leave?”
“Sure, we’re done for now. Just don’t leave town.” He grinned as if he’d said something hilarious.
I grabbed my equipment. When I took the sword, I glanced at the man. He was looking at a hologram on his watch, ignoring me. I followed Brad out of the room.
We headed towards the front doors, but I paused. Brad kept walking for a few steps before he realized I’d stopped. “What is it?”
“I forgot some equipment on the top floor. You can wait for me by your car, I remember what it looks like. It won’t take me long.”
Brad began complaining, but I went back anyway. I rushed up the stairs, my heart pounding in my chest. If Dr. Henry couldn’t come to me, then I was going to him. He had to know the full story, and I didn’t trust the jerks who’d interrogated me to do a decent job of it.
When I got to the top floor, I went to the board room they typically used for important meetings. It’d been turned into an impromptu workroom and new computers were being set up. From a glance, it looked like they were searching through camera footage from around the city.
Dr. Henry was probably in the long room on the other side of the building, next to the bathrooms. I jogged that way, fighting against heavy traffic. The Enforcers shouted l
oudly as they pushed their way through the hallways. They went about their business diligently, but the regular employees looked terrified. I saw one who had slumped against the wall and was sobbing. The others flowed around her, often kicking her feet in their haste.
Is this what it was like all over the city? Yesterday, we’d lived in blissful ignorance under an immortal’s protection. Today, we had nothing.
Professor Laevis flashed before my eyes and I missed a step. I hadn’t saved him. He’d died because of me.
No. Not because of me. Because of that thing.
I shook my head and kept going. When I got to the other boardroom, I saw Erik. He was talking to a guard that was stationed at the door. I stopped—there would be no getting passed him.
He turned in my direction. I didn’t want to talk to him again, so I ducked into the men’s room, finding it abandoned. How long would I have to wait here before I was sure Erik had gone?
As I stood there, I heard a muffled murmur. It took me a moment to realize the bathroom wall was shared with the boardroom.
My heart beat faster. How bad would it be to listen just for a moment? Just to see if Dr. Henry was there. After a moment of deliberation, I went into a stall and locked it, pressing my ear to the wall and cupping my hands around it. The voices were diluted, but as I concentrated, I could make out the words.
“…stay that way for the foreseeable future,” said a deep voice. “Our first priority is protecting our borders from invasion.”
“And what do we do if it comes back?” This voice belonged to Dr. Henry. I should have stopped listening at that point, but I didn’t. “It got in easily enough the first time. What is the use of protecting our borders if the enemy has already passed them?”
“We have more than one enemy,” said the first voice. “If Lutosa attacks soon, as we fear they might, we can’t leave our defenses weak. Maybe that was their intention.”
“That… THING… just killed Johnny Q, the strongest Sentinel we know. He was the best weapon we had, and now he’s gone. We’re lucky that it ran off. Nothing would have stopped it from decimating the city. We have to investigate the source and find out how to kill it.”